Avengers #14

The Team
Writer Jonathan Hickman, Nick Spencer Artist Stefano Caselli

All of the plot threads in Avengers have finally begun to culminate in this issue. There are almost a few dozen that I could list here, due to all of the abstract pieces that writer Jonathan Hickman has thrown on the table. In fact his plot threads tie together through three different comic books. The first giant piece of the Avengers crescendo is coming with Infinity. Twenty issues of earth’s mightiest heroes since Marvel Now are set to payoff here. To say that there is a huge amount of vested interest in this coming event is understatement. With all that being said, this issue takes many of the pieces of the Hickman puzzle and starts fitting them into place with each other. What the pieces actually mean for the plot and our heroes still remains a mystery. The more fans dig into both of these books, the more enjoyable the process will be for them. Each issue of this series has garnished close attention and a second read through from me. Catching the nuances of what exactly is on page is certainly thrilling.

As the threat of the Gardners and Builders becomes more apparent the superteam in this title is on full panic mode. Disaster sites are placed over the globe. The Avengers World concept introduced in the opening arc finally begins to get some play here. Without this entire team carefully orchestrated around the earth catastrophe would have broke out. The best part about this issue was some of the bombastic action where costumed heroes saved others. In modern superheroes stories a scene like this is barely given time to breathe. Watching Smasher save the people on the plane inspires a new brand of confidence in her from readers and heroes alike. Captain Universe once again proves to be the failsafe of the issue, she has constantly bailed the team out of trouble at the very last second. This can be repetitive at times and hopefully Hickman will stop using it to bail the Avengers out of trouble.

Stefano Caselli hits the ball out of the park on pencilling duties. His style is very specific to whatever he does, but here it clicks. His faces are very expressive on everyone in the title. Watching Bruce Banner freak out in such detail raises the stakes of the title. In the short scene where she saves the day Captain Marvel is drawn in a new sort of style. She looks great in a more serious context like the way Dexter Soy depicted her earlier on in her home series. The pencils are very clean which help with some of the more interesting moments of the title. This comic includes some hardcore Sci-fi concepts which could be confusing in a less competent artists hands. Frank Martin delivers on the colors here which are so vibrant and bright, there is so much to offer the reader visually on this title.

Nick Spencer joins Jonathan Hickman on scripting duties here. Perhaps he is the reason for the jolt in the usual quality of the title. This will be heralded as one of the best installments of the series alongside last issue and the first arc. If readers are truly excited for the Infinity storyline at the House Of Ideas they should get caught up on this awesome title.