Ellington

There have been many comic eras—the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Bronze Age and the Grim/Gritty Age. Currently (in what is called, funny enough, the Modern Age) comics are going through a "rebirth" of sorts. Old characters and teams are being retooled and reintroduced for the 21st-century generation of comic readers. One of these teams is "The Avengers."

Now, just as there are different ages of comics, there are also two kinds of comic readers. The New/Casual Reader and the Fanboy/girl who has read comics for years. So, in an effort for readers to get both sides of the story, I enlisted my sister, Jennifer, who is a New/Casual Reader to read the issue being reviewed and give her take on it, too.

The back story is this: Bendis sets the stage on the first page with a quick recap of where we stand at the moment. Six months have passed since the worst day in Avengers history, and the Scarlet Witch, a long-time member in good standing, suffered a total nervous breakdown after losing control of her reality-altering powers. In the chaos created around that breakdown, beloved Avengers Hawkeye, Ant-Man and the Vision lost their lives.

The other Avengers, hurt emotionally and physically, decided to quietly disband after it was discovered that they didn't have the funds to repair all the damage that was caused during the battle.

As a Fanboy, I went into this re-launch cautiously. I was a long-time fan of the previous run of "The Avengers" and wasn't sure if I would like or be able to get into Bendis' run. At the same time, though, I trusted Bendis. His other comics work; from his creator-owned "Powers" and "Jinx" and his work on Marvel's "Daredevil," have made him one of my favorite writers, so I knew he could deliver.

But he also had a lot to prove. Many other long-time Avengers fans were not happy (and this is putting it mildly) about the massive changes he put the old team through to get to this point.

Did he pull it off? Yes. Know why I know this? My sister.

See, the whole point of a re-launch is to, really, tell new stories and get new comic readers.

And after reading this issue, having not read an Avengers comic before in her life, my sister said that she would actually spend money to buy the second issue to see what would happen.

What's happening in this issue to make her say that? The Fantastic Four are out of town. The X-Men are busy. The Avengers are disbanded. Now, imagine a jailbreak that frees some of the worst super-criminals in the world.

Throw in a tight script from Bendis and dynamite art from David Finch and Danny Miki, and you have a comic that starts off with a bang and an unspoken promise to live up to the Avengers' rep as "Earth's Mightiest Heroes." 'Nuff said. Or, In Jennifer's words, "This comic freakin' rocked!"

THE NEW AVENGERS
Issue: #1
Cost: $2.25
Published by: Marvel Comics
Written by: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: David Finch
Inks: Danny Miki
Cool Point Rating: 5/5