Heiae
06-09-2010, 10:15 PM
Steve Rogers, the legendary Captain America, is now the top cop of the world. He has established the Avengers franchise, the Thunderbolts and a host of other heroic forces as the primary protection the world has against evil threats. And now he has established the Secret Avengers - a team created to stop the threats veiled in the shadows and to clean up the mess of powerful technology and artifacts that now find themselves in the possession of villainous forces after Norman Osborn's destructive reign.
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j73/Tenkaitsu/secreta.jpg
Cover by the ever-awesome MARKO DJURDJEVIC
Have you ever read Brubaker's run on Captain America? Well Secret Avengers feels like an extension of it - and that's a great thing. It might help that Secret Avengers, too, is a Brubaker book.
The first issue highlights the team's first adventure and introduces us to the members of the team. See, the Secret Avengers doesn't work like standard super-hero teams; instead, those who have agreed to join Steve's preemptive strike force are only called in when they're needed. It's a much smarter and efficient way of handling it, especially when certain members of the team don't work well with others.
This idea of certain heroes filling certain roles is what really drew me into the first issue and I can see it becoming a very interesting aspect of the series. The tactical nature of it fits a team with motherfucking Steve Rogers heading it.
Oh, so who ARE the Secret Avengers, you ask? We have:
-Steve Rogers, the first (and in most fans' eyes, the only) Captain America and leader of the group
-Beast
-Black Widow
-War Machine
-Valkyrie
-Ant-Man
-Moon Knight
-Nova (FUCK YEAH)
As you can see, Steve has assembled a group of people that cover a wide range of specialties.
This first issue focuses on Roxxon's involvement with powerful artifacts known as the Serpent Crowns and the Secret Avengers trying to keep them out of their hands. It's a decent opening story that introduces us to the characters and leaves you on a nice cliffhanger. Brubaker's writing really fits the book and his dialogue for Steve captures his essence perfectly where other writers seem to fall short (like in Bendis' Avengers #1).
Mike Deodato's artwork does its job but I feel like it's too dark and muddy in a lot of panels. I don't know if he was a good match for Brubaker, either, because Brubaker tends to focus on focused exchanges between characters and Deodato's weird angle choices doesn't fit that. It fits the covert nature of the team but it's rather expressionless and unfitting to a book that has such a wide range of unique individuals. Deodato isn't a bad artist by any means.. just.. mismatched. Brubaker needs a more EXPRESSIVE artist.
The artwork is about the only hang-up I have on the first issue of Secret Avengers. It's a great introduction to a series that you just know is going places.
I recommend picking this up, especially if you're a Steve Rogers fan.
Two preview pages from Marvel's website included for your convenience under this spoiler tag.
(Preview pages tend to have the dialogue removed)
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j73/Tenkaitsu/prv5060_pg6.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j73/Tenkaitsu/prv5060_pg7.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j73/Tenkaitsu/secreta.jpg
Cover by the ever-awesome MARKO DJURDJEVIC
Have you ever read Brubaker's run on Captain America? Well Secret Avengers feels like an extension of it - and that's a great thing. It might help that Secret Avengers, too, is a Brubaker book.
The first issue highlights the team's first adventure and introduces us to the members of the team. See, the Secret Avengers doesn't work like standard super-hero teams; instead, those who have agreed to join Steve's preemptive strike force are only called in when they're needed. It's a much smarter and efficient way of handling it, especially when certain members of the team don't work well with others.
This idea of certain heroes filling certain roles is what really drew me into the first issue and I can see it becoming a very interesting aspect of the series. The tactical nature of it fits a team with motherfucking Steve Rogers heading it.
Oh, so who ARE the Secret Avengers, you ask? We have:
-Steve Rogers, the first (and in most fans' eyes, the only) Captain America and leader of the group
-Beast
-Black Widow
-War Machine
-Valkyrie
-Ant-Man
-Moon Knight
-Nova (FUCK YEAH)
As you can see, Steve has assembled a group of people that cover a wide range of specialties.
This first issue focuses on Roxxon's involvement with powerful artifacts known as the Serpent Crowns and the Secret Avengers trying to keep them out of their hands. It's a decent opening story that introduces us to the characters and leaves you on a nice cliffhanger. Brubaker's writing really fits the book and his dialogue for Steve captures his essence perfectly where other writers seem to fall short (like in Bendis' Avengers #1).
Mike Deodato's artwork does its job but I feel like it's too dark and muddy in a lot of panels. I don't know if he was a good match for Brubaker, either, because Brubaker tends to focus on focused exchanges between characters and Deodato's weird angle choices doesn't fit that. It fits the covert nature of the team but it's rather expressionless and unfitting to a book that has such a wide range of unique individuals. Deodato isn't a bad artist by any means.. just.. mismatched. Brubaker needs a more EXPRESSIVE artist.
The artwork is about the only hang-up I have on the first issue of Secret Avengers. It's a great introduction to a series that you just know is going places.
I recommend picking this up, especially if you're a Steve Rogers fan.
Two preview pages from Marvel's website included for your convenience under this spoiler tag.
(Preview pages tend to have the dialogue removed)
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j73/Tenkaitsu/prv5060_pg6.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j73/Tenkaitsu/prv5060_pg7.jpg