I knew it was coming. Marvel Comics kept saying that the storyline titled "Final Exam" didn't mean the end of Avengers Academy. Sadly, they lied. What a shame, too. This was one of Marvel's best written books. It dealt with real human issues and interactions. It offered character development and not just boring action sequences. These were real kids with real problems...on an elevated level. All thanks to writer Christos Gage. With Tigra, Hawkeye, and Giant Man as instructors at the academy, it was even getting close to being the line-up of the original West Coast Avengers, my favorite Avengers-related comic of all time. The academy was even based at the old WCA compound!
It's sad to say goodbye to old friends. I'm not too confident in the Academy's replacement: Avengers Arena. It's the younger Avengers in a Hunger Games setting. Haven't we seen this before? Waaaaaaaaay too many times? Secret Wars. Dark Side Club. Murderworld. Just to name a few.
Just what we need. A comic that's all about battle sequences with a cast of dozens. Goodbye, character development and interaction. Hello, boredom and uncreativity.
Wake me when it's over.
Showing posts with label avengers academy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label avengers academy. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Crossing Over
I remember when two crossover events in the 1980s really shook up and reshaped the comic industry's two biggest players. DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths and Marvel's Secret Wars were two of the best series I'd ever read and really started the annual crossover boom. I loved that they were both so different than each other, but both so engaging and so much fun. Well, not fun for characters like the Flash and Supergirl, but they've been resurrected since then...several times. Out of those came a shift from DC's multiple earths to one. And, for Marvel, Spider-Man's black suit and The Thing manning his own series, staying on the Secret Wars planet. Yes, they were indeed creative times.


Anyway, despite my initial lack of enthusiasm for Avengers vs. X-Men when hearing/reading about it, so far, I've really been enjoying it. It feels fresh, and I don't feel like I have to read additional comics to understand what's going on. Best of all, the Phoenix Force entity, although overused in the past, is being used in a manner that it different than previously. It didn't bring back Jean Grey. It didn't inhabit the body of a red-headed Jean Grey lookalike (yes, I'm talking to you, Madelyne Pryor, Rachel Grey/Summers, and Hope Summers). Instead, it inhabited five X-Men, giving them immense powers to (so far) do good in the world, but altering their minds and personalities.
While I'm on the subject, let's talk about Madelyne Pryor. Bringing in this first Jean Grey lookalike was brilliant. It complicated matters by confusing Scott Summers (Cyclops) and toying with his emotions. At the same time, Madelyne had to deal with the fact that the man she loved only loved her because she looked like his one true love. This was some amazing character development. Unfortunately, Marvel ruined all of this by making Madelyne yet another villain. Worse, a Phoenix knock-off and Jean Grey clone.
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Avengers Academy #32 |
I'm looking forward to seeing where Marvel takes the remainder of this series and beyond. However, I'm skeptical (again) about the new Marvel NOW (secret) plans that promise (threaten?) to reboot the Marvel Universe and restart with all #1 issues, much like DC's New 52 which, as you know from reading my blog postings, I'm not AT ALL happy with.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Lost Your Own Series? Come Join the Avengers Academy!
I caught up with Avengers Academy over the weekend. (I was about five or six issues behind!) I have to say that AA is probably my current favorite Marvel comic. It's very fresh and relevant and, thanks to writer Christos Gage, the characters become more and more developed with each issue, as they explore their relationships with one another. Gage gives each member their own personality, incorporating diversity in a subtle (or not so subtle) way.
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Avengers Academy #1 |
I liked the possibilities of characters Veil, Hazmat, Mettle, and Reptil during the first several issues. However, I felt that Finesse and Striker were too generic, both in their codenames and their personalities. The name "Striker" reminds me of a character from the Airplane! movies, while "Finesse" sounds like a hair product. They also have black and white costumes to match their bland, angry personalities.
When it came time to shake things up during a roster change (circa issue #20), I was disappointed that Veil was the one to go. She was my favorite character and had what I thought was the best costume. What about Striker or Finesse? I felt like they could leave and nobody would even notice they were gone.
New additions to the team were -- surprise! -- Lightspeed (from one of my favorite 1980s comics, Power Pack) and White Tiger, whom I had never heard of, but I liked the costume, despite being black and white, colors already in abundance at the Academy. I was excited to see Julie Power join and grateful that at least one of the Power kids was finally being used in a series and allowed to grow up outside of the confines of the Fantastic Four's Baxter Building. She's more a teenager now with a more adult costume (hello, bare midriff!). (Note to FF: let the other Power kids grow up a bit, too!) She also comes with secrets that I never would have guessed (more on that later). Additionally, I was pleased to see series-canceled teens Spider-Girl, X-23, and She-Hulk (Lyra) joined the Academy. I guess they have to go somewhere, right? The new Avengers Academy recruiting slogan should be: "Lost Your Own Series? Come Join the Avengers Academy!"
Not only were there good additions to the team, but the team also added Hawkeye as a full-time teacher AND moved to the old digs of the West Coast Avengers! How psyched was I?! It was like a WCA reunion!
The Avengers Academy series gets a bit bogged down during the crossover events (I'm talking to you, Fear Itself) and is at its strongest when dealing with one-on-one character interaction. I love the relationship struggle between Mettle and Hazmat. It reminds me of the torture that Colossus and Kitty Pryde went through for years and years, with a little bit of The Thing and Alicia Masters thrown in for good measure. And Mettle's kind of sexy in his own, skinless way.
Most recently, I loved the very personal conversation between Striker and newcomer Lightspeed. (SPOILER ALERT! Just warning ya.) Striker gay? Lightspeed bisexual? Whoa... Thanks for making me appreciate Striker more, Christos. He's not just a pompous ass; he's confused and insecure! Can we change the generic codename, though? And, come to think of it, Julie always was pretty butch back in her Power Pack days. Now, she's more of a lipstick lesbian -- er, bisexual. I'm still not crazy about Finesse, though. Can we kill her off?
I look forward to the continuation of Avengers Academy with characters that aren't popular enough to support their own series, but as a team do pretty damn well. After The Children's Crusade, how about adding Hulkling and Wiccan to the school? (Hint, hint.)
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Mettle and Hazmat |
Most recently, I loved the very personal conversation between Striker and newcomer Lightspeed. (SPOILER ALERT! Just warning ya.) Striker gay? Lightspeed bisexual? Whoa... Thanks for making me appreciate Striker more, Christos. He's not just a pompous ass; he's confused and insecure! Can we change the generic codename, though? And, come to think of it, Julie always was pretty butch back in her Power Pack days. Now, she's more of a lipstick lesbian -- er, bisexual. I'm still not crazy about Finesse, though. Can we kill her off?
I look forward to the continuation of Avengers Academy with characters that aren't popular enough to support their own series, but as a team do pretty damn well. After The Children's Crusade, how about adding Hulkling and Wiccan to the school? (Hint, hint.)
Friday, May 6, 2011
Drawing the Line at $4.99
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Brightest Day #24 (2011) |
Yesterday, I stopped into my local comic book store and picked up the past two weeks' comics from my reserve bag. Included in the stash were the last issue of Brightest Day, the last issue of Justice League: Generation Lost, Action Comics #900, and Avengers Academy Giant-Size #1. The first two were $4.99 each, Action Comics $5.99, and Avengers Academy was $7.99! Are you freakin' kidding me with all of these jacked-up prices?! I bought the first three because they're part of the ongoing series that I've collected, but I couldn't justify spending $7.99 (really?) on the Avengers Academy book. I can honestly say that I've never seen such an expensive "regular" comic book. Even Annuals don't cost that much! I hope whatever's in it isn't integral to the regular series' storyline, because if it is, I'll never know about it. How many people does Marvel think will actually fork over $7.99 for a single comic book?
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Avengers Academy Giant-Size #1 (2011) |
I read the Brightest Day and Justice League issues one evening. While they were enjoyable, they certainly didn't provide more excitement than a $2.99 comic. In fact, BD had several two-page spreads, so it wasn't even more story, just bigger pictures. I felt a little violated.
A few days later, I read Action Comics #900, hoping for some big revelation or big conclusion to the "Reign of Doomsday" storyline. Nope. It was just a mediocre segway story that was about the same length as a regular issue. I can't even call it a "bridge" between two other issues because nothing much really happened. If I hadn't read the story, I certainly wouldn't have been lost reading Superman or another Super-title. The additional $3 I paid for this "100 page" issue were random Superman stories that weren't part of current continuity...and weren't very good themselves.
A few days later, I read Action Comics #900, hoping for some big revelation or big conclusion to the "Reign of Doomsday" storyline. Nope. It was just a mediocre segway story that was about the same length as a regular issue. I can't even call it a "bridge" between two other issues because nothing much really happened. If I hadn't read the story, I certainly wouldn't have been lost reading Superman or another Super-title. The additional $3 I paid for this "100 page" issue were random Superman stories that weren't part of current continuity...and weren't very good themselves.
DC may be "Drawing the Line at $2.99," but I'm drawing it at $4.99. No $5.99 or $7.99 comics in my future (even $4.99 was severely pushing it!). It's time for me to re-evaluate the comics I currently read and shave a few off the list accordingly.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Avengers Discombobulated
When I heard that the Avengers were going to have a fresh start with the Heroic Age after the dreaded Dark Reign cloud that hovered over the Marvel Universe, I was elated. I have fond memories of the Avengers from the 80s and wanted to recapture that excitement. I've picked up the first three issues of The Avengers, the first two issues of The New Avengers and the Avengers Academy, and the first issue of The Secret Avengers. Color me unimpressed. The only one that has interested me so far is the Avengers Academy.
The Avengers Academy takes a group of relatively unknown teenagers and allows them to interact, working out their personality differences, learning how to use their powers together, and coming to terms with why they were chosen for the group. This is great storytelling.
What isn't great storytelling? Avengers, New Avengers, and Secret Avengers. The stories have been pretty bland and generic and aren't a very good starting place for newcomers. The characters aren't given enough time to interact before they're thrust into battle with some other worldly villain. We never get to really know them and, frankly, at this point, I don't even want to.
My main pet peeve: why are Spider-Man and Wolverine on both the Avengers and the New Avengers teams? Furthermore, they each have their own comic book series (Spider-Man's is published thrice monthly), and Wolverine is in the Uncanny X-Men, X-Force, Astonishing X-Men, and the new plain ol' X-Men comic. Talk about overkill. I wish I had that much free time. No wonder they created clones of Spider-Man. Then there's the addition of the Thing who is and will always be a member of the Fantastic Four. I think there are plenty other Avengers out there with good tales to tell that could use a wee bit o' screen time.
Unfortunately, Marvel missed the boat on this "revamp" of a classic series and team(s). 2010 isn't so much the "Year of the Heroic Age" or even the "Year of the Avengers." It'll be remembered by me as the year I wasted $3.99 a comic on some crappy Avengers wannabe series.
Check out: Avengers Academy: Permanent Record

What isn't great storytelling? Avengers, New Avengers, and Secret Avengers. The stories have been pretty bland and generic and aren't a very good starting place for newcomers. The characters aren't given enough time to interact before they're thrust into battle with some other worldly villain. We never get to really know them and, frankly, at this point, I don't even want to.
My main pet peeve: why are Spider-Man and Wolverine on both the Avengers and the New Avengers teams? Furthermore, they each have their own comic book series (Spider-Man's is published thrice monthly), and Wolverine is in the Uncanny X-Men, X-Force, Astonishing X-Men, and the new plain ol' X-Men comic. Talk about overkill. I wish I had that much free time. No wonder they created clones of Spider-Man. Then there's the addition of the Thing who is and will always be a member of the Fantastic Four. I think there are plenty other Avengers out there with good tales to tell that could use a wee bit o' screen time.
Unfortunately, Marvel missed the boat on this "revamp" of a classic series and team(s). 2010 isn't so much the "Year of the Heroic Age" or even the "Year of the Avengers." It'll be remembered by me as the year I wasted $3.99 a comic on some crappy Avengers wannabe series.
Check out: Avengers Academy: Permanent Record
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