The Avengers #19 Review

Comic publishers often try to make accessible jumping on points to all of their comics. This is not one of those comics. Infinity has taken root and Avengers and New Avengers are inescapably tied to it. If you’re not reading all three, then you may feel completely out of the loop on some key aspects. This Avengers issue focuses half on Captain Marvel’s captured team and half on the remaining members struggling to come up with a way to win, and even though this is a dialogue-heavy installment, it’s nonetheless exciting and tense because the stakes are as high as can be.

Captain Marvel ups her badass factor another level this issue. She’s been selected for interrogation by the Builders and in the face of death she’s a stone cold quip-machine. Love it.

That said, when artist Leinil Francis Yu draws Captain Marvel tied up with restraints as a female Gardener puts her hands on her, it becomes an over-sexualized and uncomfortable experience, effectively killing any empowerment you might have been feeling while reading up to that point. Don’t love it.

Aside from that, Yu delivers an issue full of impressive looking aliens and epic shots of armadas floating in space. His grim visual tone fits the perilous nature of Jonathan Hickman’s plot to a tee. With the main narrative of Infinity being rather broad and sweeping, this Avengers tie-in shows a closer look at the intergalactic politics and personal conversations between the likes of Captain America, Gladiator, and J-Son. Even better, mysteries that have been brewing ever since Avengers #1 are becoming more and more clear. With Hickman’s longform writing style, that is a godsend.

Joshua writes for IGN. If Pokemon, Game of Thrones, or Green Lantern are frequently used words in your vocabulary, then you’ll want to follow him on Twitter and IGN.

Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com