Comic Info
Comic Name: New Avengers (Volume 1)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artist: Alex Maleev
# of Issues: 6
Release Date: 2007
New Avengers (1) #26
Reprints New Avengers (1) #26-31 (January 2007-August 2007). Following the events of the Civil War, the Avengers are on the run. Hawkeye’s quest to locate the Scarlet Witch leads to shocking results while Ronin’s attempt to take down Elektra and the Hand in Tokyo leads to an emergency mission for the Avengers. As the Avengers battle the ninjas, a revelation could change the fate of the Avengers and the fate of the world!
Written by Brian Michael Bendis, New Avengers Volume 6: Revolution is a Marvel Comics collection. Following New Avengers Volume 5: Civil War, the series features art by Alex Maleev and Leinil Yu. The issues in this volume were also collected in New Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis: The Complete Collection—Volume 3 and the Secret Invasion Omnibus.
I liked how New Avengers started out, but it quickly degraded as Bendis’ “master plan” for the series unfolded. Millar’s Civil War really threw a wrench in a lot of Marvel titles and Secret Invasion kind of stuck the knife in and twisted. New Avengers 6: Revolution is the lead up to Secret Invasion and is a rather dull collection.
The first issue of this collection has hope and relates back to the House of M. Hawkeye is seeking out Scarlet Witch who has been missing since her big “no more mutants” declaration and was responsible for Hawkeye’s death. Here, the two (who have a long history) are allowed to mend fences and move forward. Of the issues in the collection, it is the best simply because it has a start and a finish.
New Avengers (1) #31
New Avengers #27-31 is the “Revolution” storyline which has the Avengers facing off against the Hand to rescue Echo. The story plods along and represents a dark period in Marvel. I don’t like the whole Iron Man vs. Captain America aspect of Civil War and this is even worse with Captain America being dead and the “New” Avengers in hiding. The mission to Tokyo goes on too long and the big reveal at the end is that Skrulls have infiltrated the planet…and anyone could be an enemy! This makes characters more unlikable and even sets up a generic out for Bendis “that character wasn’t really her…it was a Skrull”.
The collection also isn’t helped by the art. Alex Maleev’s art for New Avengers #26 is ok. I’m not a huge fan of his style, but I am definitely not a fan of Leinil Yu’s art. Not only is everything always over-inked like some bad ’90s comic, it always looks like everyone he draws has pink-eye. The gritty realism attempted in the art just comes off as sloppy and not very good.
New Avengers was a low point in Marvel’s publishing in that it really took a lot of fun out of the comics. Bendis really wasn’t very good at controlling team books and he also wasn’t very good at crafting “Big Event” series. It just lacks the fun and escapism that comics generally provide and can provide while still presenting a story for adults and younger readers. New Avengers 6: Revolution was followed by New Avengers 7: The Trust.
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