See, this is what happens when you read comics. Reading one inevitably leads to you reading another, and then another, and then oh you have to read this other one to understand that one, and oh then that one because it introduces these characters, and then oh that one because it was the start of the run, and blah blah blah, somehow you end up ordering seven new trade paperbacks in one afternoon, and then your library won’t let you order anymore. This is how I went from reading Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal to Captain Marvel to this, and to all the others I will be reading shortly. Dammit.
Having never read an Avengers comic before, this was pretty easy to follow. It also wasn’t very good (it wasn’t bad either). The art was meh (and sexist in parts–I really hate how some of these artists draw women, which is not a new complaint, I’m aware–sidenote: the art in Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel is NOT sexist, so this was extra glaring for me). It also wasn’t as easy to follow as it could be. The panels tended to blend together after a while. Not enough differentiation or something. I don’t know. I’m not an artist.
Anyway, this is the first of the second Avengers Assemble run, which Kelly Sue DeConnick took over from Brian Michael Bendis (thank God) after this volume. A bunch of assholes calling themselves Zodiac start stealing mysterious, high-power objects and laying serious beatdowns on the Avengers. Only it turns out they’re just puppets of a bigger enemy out to claim (i.e. lay waste to) the Earth for his own. The Guardians of the Galaxy get involved, also. The best parts of the book involved either the Hulk, or the Guardians interacting with the Avengers, but mostly this book was all spectacle, and very light on common sense. Needed to read it, though, because I’m a completionist, and Vols. 2-4 should be arriving at my library any day now. Bring on the DeConnick!
