REVIEW: Young Avengers #2

[CBR News]

"Young Avengers" #2 from Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie and Mike Norton isn't short on charm or inventiveness, as Wiccan and Hulkling discover that some things are too good to be true.


Full article here.

[SnakeWesker]

Been a fantastic two issues. I think it's the best Avengers book that Marvel publishes.

[Kieran_Frost]

Been a fantastic two issues. I think it's the best Avengers book that Marvel publishes.

QUOTED FOR TRUTH!!! And that is a compliment to Marvel, between Hawkeye, Journey into Mystery, Uncanny X-men, Gambit, New Avengers, Fearless Defenders... there are some fantastic comics currently being produced by Marvel; not only with stellar writers and artists, but also bringing new stars to the front, and pushing new characters and more diversity. It's a great time to love Marvel!


My favourite quote was this: "You want to read Loki complain about Wiccan's name and keep ordering food everywhere he goes, or continue to get the sense that Wiccan and Hulkling really are boyfriends because of how much they care for each other by the way they speak to one another. And with the latter, it's not so much using terms of affection, but rather affectionate language. There's a distinct difference, and Gillen's got it."

[Flinkman]

this book is so far beyond incredible. Gillen is easily my favorite new comic writer of the last decade, maybe even more.

[InformationGeek]

I just don't get this comic. I just don't get it all. What was so good about this issue? There was very little actually accomplished, the characters were rather forgettable (except for Kid Loki) if they were actually there at all (half of the cast is missing in action), outside of that diner scene the dialogue was rather forgettable, the art was fine but was not really memorable outside of one scene with the panel prison, and the ending was very WTF. I mean, what the hell is up with that? Who is that? Why is it important and not just a plot interruption? It's not a badly put together comic, but my reaction to it is just so very meh (Seen here).

Well one could say I should just give up, but nope. I will not give up on this. I will stick with this comic (and by stick, I mean reading it in stores or reading my friends' copies) and hopefully see something good in the future. I mean, I've read comics before where after 20 or more issues, they did a remarkable turn around in quality and became amazing, so whose the say this comic won't for me?

[Centipede Damascus]

\the ending was very WTF. I mean, what the hell is up with that? Who is that? Why is it important and not just a plot interruption?\

Let's see what the comic tells us.

1. His name is Laufey.

2. He used to be dead.

3. He has some connection to Asgard, and especially to Loki (Notice how Loki seems a lot more surprised than Teddy or Billy).

What can we deduce from this? Well, Teddy's Mom was also dead and is now back. Could Laufey, another dead person being alive, be connected to the situation with Teddy's mom?

[InformationGeek]

What can we deduce from this? Well, Teddy's Mom was also dead and is now back. Could Laufey, another dead person being alive, be connected to the situation with Teddy's mom?

But Teddy's mom is from another dimension if I recall. Are you saying this Laufey is another goo/putty person?

[Centipede Damascus]

Why not? Perhaps he is the same dimensional parasite, only in a different form! We will not know for a few weeks!

[xerosere]

But Teddy's mom is from another dimension if I recall. Are you saying this Laufey is another goo/putty person?

Issue #3 makes it definitely look like this is the case. Also as a side note, Issue #2 also states Laufey is Loki's dead father, so it more or less ties in perfectly with Teddy's resurrected putty mum

[vampiric_cannibal]

Been a fantastic two issues. I think it's the best Avengers book that Marvel publishes.

Not quite as good as Arena.

However, Arena is an Avengers book in name only, so I'll concede the point.

[Mr. Holmes]

I just don't get this comic. I just don't get it all. What was so good about this issue? There was very little actually accomplished, the characters were rather forgettable (except for Kid Loki) if they were actually there at all (half of the cast is missing in action), outside of that diner scene the dialogue was rather forgettable, the art was fine but was not really memorable outside of one scene with the panel prison, and the ending was very WTF. I mean, what the hell is up with that? Who is that? Why is it important and not just a plot interruption? It's not a badly put together comic, but my reaction to it is just so very meh (Seen here).

Well one could say I should just give up, but nope. I will not give up on this. I will stick with this comic (and by stick, I mean reading it in stores or reading my friends' copies) and hopefully see something good in the future. I mean, I've read comics before where after 20 or more issues, they did a remarkable turn around in quality and became amazing, so whose the say this comic won't for me?

Jesus christ, we agree on something?

Not getting the appeal of this book either, and Gillen is my favorite Marvel writer. Character-wise, for me the draw was Gillen + Kid Loki + Noh-Varr. But it turns out that Loki really has no business on this team after JiM, Noh-Varr dances in his underwear to the Beatles, and well I couldn't care less for the rest of them.

Plot-wise, these two issues were so hollow. I greatly anticipated this book, but I'm not getting what people are being blown away by.

[Neutrino]

I'm enjoying Young Avengers, but I think maybe it was hyped too much. Still, there was never any promise that every issue would be segmented to give all the characters equal panel time. I mean, come on. The kvetching over too little Noh-Varr/Kate/MAC, too much Hulkling/Wiccan is ridiculous considering only two issues have passed. And all the complaints that the issues aren't some kind of revolutionary Watchmen-level masterpiece are just crazy. The fans and the marketing team have done their jobs too well. These are great comics, well above the mean for Marvel, and that should be enough. Either give Gillen a chance to tell his story as he wants to tell it, or don't. Good things take time.

I will be glad to see Hulkling and Wiccan exit the spotlight, though. I can't stand teen romance. Real life has given me my fill of that. :/

[Mr. Holmes]

And all the complaints that the issues aren't some kind of revolutionary Watchmen-level masterpiece are just crazy.

It's more that people here are treating the book as if it is that, which I'm just not understanding for the life of me.

[xerosere]

Man the variety of responses from both fans and reviewers for this issue is quite interesting. For me personally the last 2 issues have been fairly easy to understand and pretty much included everything I want from the comic (well not much MAC and Kate so far but I can wait and would rather Gillen take his time on character introductions). I could probably read an entire issue consisting of nothing but Loki, Wiccan and Hulkling eating bacon in a diner and arguing over superhero names and still feel like the story was going somewhere. However not everyone seems to agree.

I feel like one of the biggest problems this series is going to face is that its not a "mass appeal/big action blockbuster" kind of book that everyone can just pick up. If you're into character development/relationships, slower story telling and prefer books that leave the reader to work things out for themselves instead of spelling everything out, you are gonna love the hell out of this book. If you are more into big plots, faster paced stories and prefer details to be clear and straightforward instead of leaving things vague than this book will probably annoy the hell out of you. Nothing wrong with being in either camp of course- everyone likes different things. I just hope there's enough YA lovers out there that we get a long and healthy run =)

[Drithien]

I could probably read an entire issue consisting of nothing but Loki, Wiccan and Hulkling eating bacon in a diner and arguing over superhero names and still feel like the story was going somewhere. However not everyone seems to agree.

I feel like one of the biggest problems this series is going to face is that its not a "mass appeal/big action blockbuster" kind of book that everyone can just pick up. If you're into character development/relationships, slower story telling and prefer books that leave the reader to work things out for themselves instead of spelling everything out, you are gonna love the hell out of this book. If you are more into big plots, faster paced stories and prefer details to be clear and straightforward instead of leaving things vague than this book will probably annoy the hell out of you. Nothing wrong with being in either camp of course- everyone likes different things. I just hope there's enough YA lovers out there that we get a long and healthy run =)

This! Exactly this! Young Avengers is not a book where the writer takes a few panels to establish a basic structure for the characters and then introduces some huge threat that they have to deal with and /commence fisticuffs. And I'm glad it isn't since almost all team books are like that pretty much.

I understand how most readers of the Big Two are addicted from a diet of titles that require short attention spans, don't like to think much, and where there is a major fight scene at least every other issue; but this is not such a title.

So if you don't relax, spend some good time reading and comprehending the story, it's going to be a tough sell for people. Not because it is bad, but because it is different.