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By Jason Bourgeois
Ok, I need a break from all things 52 after writing almost exclusively about it for a few months now. That, and I don't have all of the September #1's, and will wait until I get my greedy little hands on all the ones I want, and do one last DC relaunch post with my thoughts on the real thing now that it's here. Since that means everything DC is tied up at the moment in a holding pattern, let me just ramble about a random Marvel comic instead.
With the lamentable, to me, success of Brian Bendis' Avengers, there are now almost as many Avengers comics as there are X-Men books. One of which is a recent addition to the family is something a little new to the mix, Secret Avengers.
In the wake of...everything that has been kicking the Marvel Universe's collective behind the last few years, Steve Rogers formed a more black ops, secret group of Avengers to deal with things off the books, and before they became problems, hopefully.
Overall, the book has been uneven, and struggled to find its tone. It's been mostly fun, solid stories, and the pay offs have made up for some of the more lack lustre parts of the overall story, but mostly it's just been a solid okay. Which isn't bad, but in a flooded market, okay doesn't always cut it.
Ed Brubaker, who kicked off the title, recently left it, and handed it over to a few fill in writers, but decent ones. Nick Spencer is a new find for Marvel, who has mostly done independent work up 'til now, and a little DC. I'm pretty much only familiar with a few of his books, but he did a good job of covering the Secret Avengers side of things during the Fear Itself event. In some ways, they were better than the preceding year of the title. They were more personal, intimate looks, and a little bit crazy too.
The Fear Itself tie-ins may not have been the closest to the book's original mandate, but they were solid, fun issues, and definitely better than okay. I'll recommend any comicbook that features the statue from the Lincoln Memorial coming to life to defend Washington D.C. from attacking Nazis in mech suits. That's the kinda stuff I read comics for sometimes.
On the downside, Nick left the title after that, but on the upside, he handed it over to Warren Ellis for six issues. And more upside, Nick will return after Ellis, which is absolutely fine by me.
Now, this next statement is probably going to catch me some flak.
Warren's first issue? Is one of the single best comicbooks I've read by him in a LONG time. Right up there with classic Transmetropolitan, which I love. I am sure Ellis and his fans will hate me for saying that a lowly superhero comic he did is so good.
What makes it so good, is that it has all that Ellis flare, that style, those mad ideas, and none of his usual pissing all over superheroes, like he and so many others can do when they write these people. Far too often do they like to point out how these silly people like to run around in 'pervert suits'. He generally keeps those thoughts to himself when he's working for Marvel, but the bias does sometimes creep in around the edges. But somehow, not here. Maybe it's because he can play the chosen characters - Steve Rogers, Black Widow, Moon Knight, and Beast - as mostly straight spies. Beast is the only aberration, but he plays the tech guy scientist role. Even if he is blue and furry.
And that idea totally works for this group. That is what this book always should have been about. And I am surprised at just HOW straight Ellis writes Captain America. You would think his cynicism would shine through especially on the walking flag, but no. This is a very recognisable and likable Steve.
So yeah, you have Warren Ellis writing pretty typical superheroes in a crazy situation, discovering a gigantic underground city beneath an American city, threatening to create the world's largest time platform and be used as a weapon, left abandoned since the '50s, and populated with mad science toys and an atomic powered car. How awesome is that? It almost outdoes living Lincoln statues fighting robo-Nazis.
Aided by some amazing art by Jamie McKelvie that does the small moments as well as the widescreen action, this is just a superb done in one comic. I need more stuff like this from Warren Ellis, stat. Heck, more comics like this period!
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