West Coast Avengers #6 // Review
During the entire run of Marvel’s Avengers comics, one thing has almost always been true: always count on Hawkeye. Despite being an unpowered human with really good archery skills, Clint Barton has been a key figure with the team since he first joined in 1965’s The Avengers #16. From stopping alien invasions to taking out villains with arrow tricks, Clint Barton has proven he’s one of the best. His shared heroic namesake, Kate Bishop, has also shown she’s no slouch either. The newest issue of West Coast Avengers, that’s issue 6, looks to be showing exactly that once again.
Kelly Thompson is once again at the wheel of this joyride, writing the story. Danielle Di Nicuolo comes along for the ride as the artist, with Triona Farrell adding her colors to the page. Joe Caramagna also letters the pages.
The newest incarnation of the Pacific Avengers have been captured by Madamme Masque and a collective of other villains with an axe to grind and territory to defend. Modok, Satana, and the Eel all have shown up to help Madamme Masque kill off this team and make sure that California is as hero-free as possible. However, they forgot to capture Kate Bishop. Instead of running into a villain, she ran into someone claiming to be her deceased mother! Kate’s not about to leave her team behind, though. But can the Avengers keep surviving deathtrap after deathtrap while their powers are on the fritz?
Kelly Thompson really has the voices of her Avengers down pat. Kate Bishop’s scenes feel like she might have seen a bit too much Die Hard recently, but “Die Hard in an Amusement Park” is actually a pretty awesome idea. The idea that the villains who were in the area before want to get rid of their new heroes is a nice one, and one that doesn’t see a lot of play in either of the Big Two these days. Gwenpool and Quentin Quire still completely steal the show, however, with some delightful banter and a nice twist on a tried and true death trap.
As with every issue prior, Danielle DiNiculol does some incredible work on the printed page here. Kate Barton’s fight with her villain, Lady Bullseye, is simple and delightful. Special mention also has to go to Quentin’s idea to escape his deathtrap with Gwenpool. While a simple idea, the execution is excellent and worth the splash page in execution. Colors are plain for the issue, Triona Farrell’s colors still work well in establishing the dour attitude of the amusement park the heroes are trapped in.
While this is a middle part of the story, issue 6 of West Coast Avengers is still incredibly strong and delivers a great comic. While it’s hard to recommend as someone’s first issue, the story does a solid enough job filling in people as it goes. Readers familiar with the story so far really shouldn’t miss this one.
