New Avengers #30
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Dalibor Talajic
Hickman’s Avengers saga is headed towards one of Marvel’s biggest events in recent history. My faith in Secret Wars is undeniably due to my love for Hickman’s Avengers titles, which are always such a great read. After the longest break between issues in 2015, New Avengers is back this week with a follow-up on Hank Pym’s return in New Avengers #29. Unfortunately, this could possibly be my least favourite issue of this entire run.
Though, I did not dislike this comic. It’s hard for me to dislike comics by Hickman because I admire his creativity and aptitude at creating complex stories. There are high concepts presented here and Hickman places the originality of this series in the forefront of this issue. There isn’t much like his Avengers books, at least Hickman could emphasize that here.
There are also a few developments and we revisit a seed planted all the way in New Avengers #9. Hickman's long-term planning is in full force this issue, which means it relies very heavily on continuity. Thankfully, I’m a reader that loves putting pieces of the puzzle together so I enjoyed that aspect of this issue. Though, if you do not like this sort of puzzle piecing, Hickman’s writing doesn’t necessarily oblige you to do so. You can perfectly understand this comic without remembering every detail of his run. But it’s fun to look at a page and say, “Oh yeah, I remember that.”
The main problem here is that this comic is literally filled with exposition. There is not one page dedicated to the intense character drama that I crave from this series. The whole issue revolves around Hank Pym telling the story of his voyage through the multiverse. Through such a hefty information drop, Hickman wasn’t able to retain my interest for very long. I read the issue with breaks because the exposition was so intense and sometimes confusing. The story presented in this issue isn’t given much time to breathe and that’s a lot to ask from readers. I’m very dedicated to this series and story but this time Hickman didn’t hold himself back enough.
This issue welcomes new artist, Dalibor Talajic to the rotating roster of people working on this series. His art fits in with Mike Deodato’s so at least it won’t be such a jarring change in trade. However, I’m tired of getting new artists on this book. It would be good to have some consistency. Anyhow, Talajic was very capable at bringing grand, cosmic ideas to the page. His art was one of the better aspects of this issue.
I usually have more to say about issues of New Avengers and Avengers but this issue felt too one-note for a long review. Hickman gave us one huge dose of exposition and while there are some really good ideas and interesting developments, he couldn’t latch on to my attention for too long. Hickman hasn’t gone very far in terms of plot since Avengers #40 and this story really needs to pick up if it’s going to regain my undivided attention. I don’t doubt that it will, but I’m hoping that it’ll be soon.
Artist: Dalibor Talajic
Hickman’s Avengers saga is headed towards one of Marvel’s biggest events in recent history. My faith in Secret Wars is undeniably due to my love for Hickman’s Avengers titles, which are always such a great read. After the longest break between issues in 2015, New Avengers is back this week with a follow-up on Hank Pym’s return in New Avengers #29. Unfortunately, this could possibly be my least favourite issue of this entire run.
Though, I did not dislike this comic. It’s hard for me to dislike comics by Hickman because I admire his creativity and aptitude at creating complex stories. There are high concepts presented here and Hickman places the originality of this series in the forefront of this issue. There isn’t much like his Avengers books, at least Hickman could emphasize that here.
There are also a few developments and we revisit a seed planted all the way in New Avengers #9. Hickman's long-term planning is in full force this issue, which means it relies very heavily on continuity. Thankfully, I’m a reader that loves putting pieces of the puzzle together so I enjoyed that aspect of this issue. Though, if you do not like this sort of puzzle piecing, Hickman’s writing doesn’t necessarily oblige you to do so. You can perfectly understand this comic without remembering every detail of his run. But it’s fun to look at a page and say, “Oh yeah, I remember that.”
The main problem here is that this comic is literally filled with exposition. There is not one page dedicated to the intense character drama that I crave from this series. The whole issue revolves around Hank Pym telling the story of his voyage through the multiverse. Through such a hefty information drop, Hickman wasn’t able to retain my interest for very long. I read the issue with breaks because the exposition was so intense and sometimes confusing. The story presented in this issue isn’t given much time to breathe and that’s a lot to ask from readers. I’m very dedicated to this series and story but this time Hickman didn’t hold himself back enough.
This issue welcomes new artist, Dalibor Talajic to the rotating roster of people working on this series. His art fits in with Mike Deodato’s so at least it won’t be such a jarring change in trade. However, I’m tired of getting new artists on this book. It would be good to have some consistency. Anyhow, Talajic was very capable at bringing grand, cosmic ideas to the page. His art was one of the better aspects of this issue.
I usually have more to say about issues of New Avengers and Avengers but this issue felt too one-note for a long review. Hickman gave us one huge dose of exposition and while there are some really good ideas and interesting developments, he couldn’t latch on to my attention for too long. Hickman hasn’t gone very far in terms of plot since Avengers #40 and this story really needs to pick up if it’s going to regain my undivided attention. I don’t doubt that it will, but I’m hoping that it’ll be soon.
A Look Inside
