Avengers #20

Writer: Jonathan Hickman Artist: Leinil Yu

Introduction

Jonathan Hickman continues to break the mainstream atmosphere with Infinity. This comic plays on the saga that has been brewing in Avengers for nearly twenty issues now. To say this is a bold move from the writer and publisher is understatement. Yet, giving readers a saga as expansive as this one will pay off in the long run. Many readers will look back on this run fondly at least up to this point. The scribe’s previous Fantastic Four run is remembered well by most, even though it seemed to take the same approach in some cases. Which is why it makes sense that the comics press collectively have not quite known what to make the entire sprawling crossover. Those who have astutely reading all of the copious material are all enjoying this excellent material for the most part. The last issue of major crossover had a couple of huge turning points for this entire saga that began to pay off some of the disparate threads waiting to be brought together. While the latter half was based off of the events set in motion from New Avengers, the other half encapsulated the events of this title. Now that we are almost halfway through this main storyline, lets see what else Hickman is capable of going forward into the run.

Writing

The Avengers are in a precarious position towards the end of this installment. Hickman seems to widen the scope of this entire saga even further with the threat of the gardeners and their relationship with Ex Nihilo. The council plays an even bigger role in this issue than usual, as the discuss the future of the Marvel Universe here. With this big war brewing, eventually it would be lovely to see a bodycount. With all of the intergalactic space battle to the deaths there is literally nobody dying. An excellent moment in this issue, was the way that the New Universe were meshed together in such a big notion. Readers in the know may see a tie towards the end of Age Of Ultron with the characters.

Art

Leinil Yu is continuing a visual assault of the readers of this book. His style works incredibly well in this colorful science fiction setting with a dark tone. He brings the words of this title to life in an incredibly interesting manner, that should satisfy all readers enjoying the work up to this point. The saga has been very reliant on the optical aspects with different kinds of aliens and robots towering over every page. Color artist David Curiel continues the tradition of giving some really great hues to the action, which in turn helps readers grasp the sprawling sci-fi with much more clarity. The downside here to the art has is the addition of Gerry Alanguilan on the inks. In previous installments of the title there has been no inker credited, which could mean that Yu provides his own. The change in art has led to some really heavy looking panels that stand out in a negative aspect. Sometimes there are almost too many dark lines in the issue detracting from some of the tight plotting.

Verdict

Infinity keeps growing further, larger, and more intense with each issue. You would be hard pressed to find a better science fiction comic this side of the pond.