As the clock ticks down on his time writing the Avengers franchise, Bendis has been all over the place in terms of quality. It has been a most impressive run, but lately he’s been delivering less hits than misses. Luckily, this issue of New Avengers hits strongly by adding a sense of closure to the series while also delving into the mystery of a powerful villain.
Artist Michael Gaydos has a style not unlike Mike Deodato with lots of thick lines and heavy shadows. Most of the issue looks quite good, but a few panels were not given enough attention, resulting in awkward looking faces. Still, the scenes where the unknown mystic villain strikes are chilling. Without using blood and gore, Gaydos makes you feel just how violent the magical attacks are. The best part about the villain is that I don’t know who s/he is, which helps drive the story forward with a “whodunnit” vibe.
Unrest fills Avengers Mansion as news of Luke Cage quitting the team to spend more time with his family reaches the rest of the crew. Iron Fist takes the news the hardest, which leads to a thoughtful conversation with Doctor Strange that Bendis sneaks a moment of humor into. It was also fun to hear Carol talk to Jessica about her new Captain Marvel persona. Bendis hits his stride here with an excellently paced issue balanced by the right amount of humor and tension. Hopefully he carries this quality on to the end.
Joshua writes for IGN. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl, or on IGN at his poorly chosen screen name. He hopes that one day he will reveal himself to the Jedi; that one day he will have revenge.
Source : ign[dot]com
