Avengers #15

The Team
Writers Nick Spencer Jonathan Hickman Artist Stefano Caselli

Lets get the obvious out of the way and mention that Avengers is building something huge. This is one of the more cryptic issues of this run, not really giving us any information but going towards it’s first giant crescendo. In this respect this is a hard comic book to read, however I would rather it break all story convention than be like everyone else. There are about two dozen or so Avengers titles that plague the stands, with a linear narrative. This is one of the few books in comics that does not care if you enjoy a certain issue. The industry at large has stopped paying attention to this title. For all intensive purposes that is a major mistake, because a new part of the Marvel Universe is being shaped here. With that being said there is not a whole lot going on here, there isn’t even something cryptic enough to peak my interest save for the last page. This is one of the first issues of the series where the writing seems like it is overtly decompressed, which is a shame. Last issue was packed with a dense amount of information and intrigue, that made the installment one of the best issues of the series. There are two more issues of this series left before Infinity begins, so hopefully subsequent issues will focus on more story or character than this one did.

The teases in this comic are all very cryptic, and building towards something strange. The weird robot will hopefully be expanded on next issue. Along with the signal that is going off in Mars possibly? Like us The Avengers have no idea what is going on in their own world, which is slightly refreshing in this vague book. Only the characters from the New Universe can light the way, Captain Universe also seems to know what is going on. Even though there is only a small amount of character work here, it all seems to fit in terms of their personalities. Bruce Banner is given something to react to in character fairly well. The character of Abigail Brand was great to see, after her book was recently cancelled.

Stefano Caselli delivers some awesome pencils here. His serious style is well suited for a book like this, which features some big dramatic moments. The facial expressions of his characters always make them pop off of the page. The strange ship and new character at the end both have some interesting designs, that seem to suit his style very well. The artist completely nails the wider shots with all of The Avengers looking cool. Each one is interesting looking and stands out among the other in the title. This is thanks to the great coloring of VC’s Clayton Cowles. Sunset hues look bold, and make the pencilers images stand out among contemporary art.

Even with this strange issue of Avengers, readers should be excited for what this could mean down the line for the series. Infinity will be a different kind of event comic, simply because Avengers and New Avengers have been building up the conflict for such a substantial amount of time.