untitled (10 pages)
Written by: Mark Waid
Art by: Mahmud Asrar
Colors by: Frank Martin
Letters by: VC’s Joe Sabino
Cover (front) by: Jerome Opeña & Frank Martin
Cover (back) by: Nick Bradshaw w/ Richard Isanove
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: FREE!
It’s Free Comic Book Day 2015!! Two brand new refreshing takes on teams!!!
Role call — Captain America. Iron Man. Thor. Vision. Check! Standard. Solid.
— Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), Nova (Sam Alexander), Spider-Man (Miles Morales). Stop!! Back up! Say what? New blood, baby!
The line-up could not be more accurate in terms of the adjectives used to describe this near-future version of Earth’s Mightiest. Kamala Khan is absolutely ebullient. She and the other two young men have made it to the big leagues!! They join the ‘old fogies’ in combatting all manners of badness.
The three newbies engage in battle against a mystical jade dragon along with the pros. Iron Man asks for the purpose behind this. Miles gets the right answer. They are ordered into the Manhattan Federal Reserve Bank to investigate.
Delight turns to dour when Kamala spots dead bodies. This is not fun and games. Stakes are real and dangerous. At the centre is the culprit: the Radioactive Man. Their combined efforts are no match for the veteran villain. He humiliates them a bit and escapes by putting someone in danger.
The older guard is faring no better against the dragon. Eventually, they meet success. Cap chews out the rookies for their slip-up. Miles staunchly stands his ground: saving an innocent’s life was top priority. Cap smiles widely. They passed their initiation with flying colours.
The group bandies about in terms of their designation. Another crisis arises. Everyone takes off as Sam shouts the word familiar to all fans: “Avengers Assemble!” Cap quickly snaps at him saying he hasn’t earned the right to utter that phrase.
Mark Waid is the current chronicler of DARDEVIL and the scribe of S.H.I.E.L.D. Does this mean he’ll be heading this book when in launches in the fall? I sure hope so since he’s an old hat with copious encyclopædic knowledge who handles characterization flawlessly. While he definitely thrusts the young blood into the fray with their gung-ho attitude, he doesn’t let us forget that the more experienced members are equally as important. It’s no accident that he makes Ms. Marvel the mouthpiece for this tale. She’s the newest brightest star in the current Marvel landscape. She is the heart of this team. Sam Wilson is starting to date himself, especially with that “I have shirts older than you.” remark. I love Iron Man’s dis of the Avengers name. Wasp would definitely cry over it. He thinks “Defenders” would have been better-suited. This is obviously a plug for the up-and-coming Netflix series spotlight the urban Avengers that will adopt that moniker.
Mahmud Asrar has been billed as one of 2014’s Young Guns. He’s already riding high as the main artist for ALL-NEW X-MEN. Will this be his post-graduate work? He balances the seriousness of the adults with the ‘silliness’ of the adolescents. Kamala shows an appropriate range of emotions. She’s still learning about the super-hero biz and is in awe of every single experience. The dragon has a canine-like face and Radioactive Man looks like a run-of-the-mill Green Lantern.
***The cover is definitely evocative of NEW TEEN TITANS #1. Good one, Mahmud ;-) ***
Frank Martin puts so much splash into every panel. Ms. Marvel’s tricolours brighten her character even more and create a natural focal point to the other costumes.
Joe Sabino gets his fair share of word input. I wish Kamala’s enthusiasm was shown with a completely different bubble. Nevertheless, I can hear her loud and clear and feel her words. Iron Man and Vision’s speech is as distinct as their appearances.
This is a deliberate set-up to yet another #1 issue. *sigh* I’ve fallen for it hook, line, and sinker!!
In terms of the training session, I give this a score of 7.5
There is an extra helping here, teasing the red-hot UNCANNY INHUMANS #1:
untitled (10 pages)
Written by: Charles Soule
Art by: Brandon Peterson
Colors by: Justin Ponsor
Letters by: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Other bonus feature: three-page preview of MAX RIDE: FIRST FLIGHT
