Young Avengers #3

by kanchilr1 on March 27, 2013

Young Avengers
This new volume of Young Avengers burst out of the gate with the first issue, and has maintained that speed ever since. As of late Marvel has been letting go of the darker drama in favor of lighter more diverse titles. This book written by Kieron Gillen breathes life into the superhero genre every month that an issue hits the stand.

One of the darker elements of the series is the new but old Loki. The character has gone through a massive transformation as of late going from good to evil. As a reader not knowing the moral compass of the protagonist is frightening. In each and every issue it is more than wise to keep a close eye on Loki because this new team of Young Avengers are his creation, but his evil plan remains a mystery.

Aside from the attitude and of the title, the best part about the Young Avengers is the design work and art. Jamie McKelvie, Mike Norton, and VC’s Clayton Cowles are manipulating comics into a more cinematic scope. Author Kieron Gillen has never written a title with a normal recap page, which means he is more than likely to have a hand in the design work of the title as well. Ideas burst off of the pages here but thanks to the clean pencils of the multiple artists everything is clearly illustrated.
Page layout is constantly being innovated in modern comic books, these pages deserves to be remembered as one of the elite innovators. The art shines when in the middle of fight scenes. McKelvie and Norton stray away from the obvious, where they place panels in interesting positions. In a later scene the artists turn normal panel borders black and red.

Gillen knows that this title is about being young and confused in the modern world. The opening scene conveys an exchange adults often have about pining towards youth. The adults tend to gloss over the strange emotions, hormones, and confusion. This conversation while amusing and ironic, will speak to many older readers of the series who picture there youth through rose colored glasses.

In terms of scripting Gillen has this dialogue with an odd rhythm that is almost completely maddening, until you listen to teenagers and realize that is how they actually speak. In many projects Gillen plays up the asgardian dialogue as stiff, which allows for some of the great humour sequences. Game Of Thrones fans are likely to have a laughing fit when traversing these pages.

While brilliant Young Avengers has the slight problem of turning into a Runaways clone. The Runaways were at war with their parents, who were in fact supervillains. This series is hitting that plot beat head on with all of it’s characters. What makes the two titles different in tone are the characters.  

While the Young Avengers features some familiar plot beats, it also contains the smartest writing and art in comic books. The title also continues to be awe-inspiring from an art perspective. This book is one the gems in the crown of Marvel Now!

Our Score:

8/10

A Look Inside