Young Avengers #14

Writer Kieron Gillen Artists Christian Ward, Annie Wu, Jamie McKelvie, and Emma Vieceli

 

Introduction

 

It is truly beautiful to see a great plan come together in such a pure manner. Young Avengers #14 brought every single piece of the entire series in place, and then destroyed virtually the entire team. The seeds for Young Avengers were even placed in another book that ended before Marvel Now. To say writer Kieron Gillen nailed his last few installments would be a horrific understatement. This issue calls in the glorious afterparty, it is one of those installments taking place after the damage has already been done. Issues like these have always been my favorite, because they can bring in some of the best character moments. It has also been a really long time since we have seen people like the Runaways hanging out in the Marvel Universe. The bottom line is that Young Avengers has never ever dipped in quality since Allan Heinberg initially launched the book in 2005. Readers should consistently embrace and enjoy the series through all of it’s different incarnations, but for now they should enjoy a party.

 

Writing

 

Gillen does a great job giving each member of his cast a nice moment or two here. He also wisely chooses to have a party without a giant evil monster. This issue is focused even with several different artists contributing to the book. The only scene that is out of place is the sequence with Christian Ward, while his pencils are stunning, the storytelling does get lost there. It is also amusing to see this installment ending where the variant cover to the first chapter left off. This comic mostly revolves around the different teenage couples of the Marvel Universe that were forged around this book. For the most part, all of these scenes and character moments feel inspired and unique.

 

Art

 

In the opening moments of this issue, readers are treated to the comfortable pencils of Jamie McKelvie. The artist has definitely proved himself over the last several gorgeous looking moments of this title. The beautiful storytelling and gorgeous facial expressions that readers have come to love are still here in spades from the artist. He deserves the month off that is given to him after the next and final installment of Young Avengers in the current volume. Next up is a Emma Vieceli and Lee Loughridge, their art is nice, but not quite up to par with some of the heavy hitters in this comic. The manga style is pretty, and works quite well with the Young Avengers, but lacks something greater to latch onto. Facial expressions and storytelling can also be murky at times. Christian Ward delivers some great work here. The artist goes all out, using his painterly style towards his advantage, and delivering some highly expressive work here that should really capture the imagination. The artist may have some trouble with curvy lines at some spots, but the inherent skill he has begins to steal the show here. Annie Wu and Jordie Bellaire are also quite lovely within these pages. Her retro style works quite complementary to the pages of Jamie McKelvie seen earlier in the book. She nails some of the siller expressions of the different characters, and can tell a great story. Comic Books fans should seek out some original pencil work by the stellar artist.

 

Conclusion

Gillen and McKelvie and the various batch of artists contributing give this afterparty the life that it deserves.