Uncanny Avengers #1 // Review
Psylocke is slashing her way through faceless, crimson Orchis agents. It really isn’t a problem for her. She’s done this sort of thing a million times before. She’s not going to have any trouble with a mass of relatively untrained people carrying woefully inadequate weapons. Of course...when her blades run into a disc of adamantium, she’s going to have to slow down a bit. She’s going to be given a very important offer in Uncanny Avengers #1. Writer Gerry Duggan opens a new chapter for a ragtag group of heroes with artist Javier Garrón and colorist Morry Hollowell.
The legendary shield of Captain America is going to stop a couple of katanas, but it’s NOT going to stop Psylocke. For THAT, a few important words are necessary. She thinks he’s there to stop her. He thinks she’d be a good addition to a team that he’s putting together. He’s aware of what the anti-mutant group Orchis is, and he’s had plenty of experience fighting fascism. So he figures he could be of some help in a team that just might be able to help take it down...if they can manage to defeat a radical group of mutant terrorists first.
Duggan lays out the opening action with wit and poise as the series opens. The team he’s working with on the other side of the comics page is an interesting mix that includes Quicksilver, Rogue, and Deadpool. There’s a clever enough combination of elements at play in a story that mixes just a dash of Avengers with traditional X-Men themes and dynamics for a fun new iteration of the team. Scenes flow pretty fluidly from one moment to the next, building some interesting conflicts that will begin to assert themselves as things progress into the coming months of the series.
Garrón’s work has a staggering amount of detail that’s all placed quite well on the page. Establishing shots of New York firmly ground the action in Marvel Manhattan as heroes fight an identical army of nameless super-thugs before the real conflict sets in. The overall feel of the first issue isn’t really all that different from so many other superhero team series, but Garrón and Hollowell give the action a depth and radiance that feels refreshingly well-rendered in a very distinct personality. The visuals feel every bit as witty as Duggan’s script, giving the book a very tight and cohesive feeling.
Duggan and company manage a very cleverly-modulated first issue. It’s remarkable how much the creative team manages to cram into a single book without making it feel cluttered. It’s really only 38 pages or so, but it feels spacious and well-executed enough that they could have actually filled a few issues. There’s a sharp slickness about it all that feels like it’s. Going in a fresh direction for everyone involved. The themes being covered have been around in X-books for decades, but Duggan and company are giving it fresh life in a new series.
