Aero #11 // Review
Lei Ling is just getting started as a superhero in Shanghai. In very little time, she's been able to help secure one of the world's largest cities while maintaining a business as an architect. Naturally, things will get a bit tense when one of the most established heroes in the world shows up. Ling's powers have chosen the wrong time to start to glitch on her as she and Iron Man team-up in Aero #11. Writer Zhou Liefen fills an entire issue with a portion of a single encounter between Iron Man, Aero, and a mysterious threat to Shanghai. Once again, given plenty of space by Liefen, artist Keng fluidly brings the action to the page.
It's embarrassing. Aero is the champion of the third most populous city in the whole world. She's a formidable hero. And as the issue opens, she's saved from certain death by Iron Man. Things get a bit better from there as the two team-up to save the city from a strange invasion of monsters that have popped-up in vertiginous crystalline towers all over the city. Aero knows more about what they're facing the Iron Man does. Aided by her knowledge, he's more than happy to help out.
Having come to the end of her first year, it's gratifying to see Aero meet-up with one of Marvel's biggest heroes. It's just too bad Liefen ends up making Aero a guest-star in her own book as a result. A team-up is appealing as it's a chance to see a couple of heroes work together. In this issue, Aero and Iron Man ARE working together, but they might as well be in parallel comic books as they instantly split-up and talk to each other by radio for the rest of the issue. Iron Man gets most of the action. Aero has her own action in the issue, but for the most part, she might as well be tech support for Tony Stark.
Keng may not have much of an opportunity to directly contrast Aero and Iron Man, but the action breezes across the page with great kinetic sweeps that feel suitably powerful. Two flying heroes battle flying monsters in swift slashes of movement with classy color-coded sound effects. Liefen is careful not to crowd the issue with too much story, allowing Keng great expanses of room to show the overwhelming impact of Iron Man's tech and Aero's power. It all hits the page quite beautifully. There's very little hint of Shanghai, though. With panels so heavily bathed in power and action, a sense of altitude and location are disappointingly absent. That aside, the visuals in this issue are beautiful.
The crossover continues into a third issue next month as Aero closes out her first year's worth of story. With the tandem action finished, there's hope yet that the crossover can turn into something more equal with issue twelve. As written by Liefen, the rapport between Stark and Ling IS fun. A third issue's interaction should wrap-up the current story arc quite well.
