Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways, Part 4 of 4
Writer: Zeb Wells
Artist: Stefano Caselli
Colour Art: Daniele Rudoni
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover: Jim Cheung, John Dell & Justin Ponsor
The Long of It
Kids, eh? What can you do with ‘em? They either run away to the Los Angeles underground (where they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem; if no-one else can help; and if you can find them”¦”¦), or they disobey the law and join a resistance force, only to disobey THEM and go looking for the Runaways. Same everywhere. I don’t know a single kid that didn’t do one of those two things. Well maybe one, but anyway”¦.
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Stranger danger. If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times. |
So then what happens to them? You warn them, but they never listen”¦. They end up getting attacked by a team of cape-killers and a displaced alien warrior, then four of them (three more aliens and a male witch – isn’t that a warlock?) are captured and taken to a secure facility where they’re viciously tortured. Ya see? Stranger danger. If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times.
So this is where the story picks up. The rest of the two teams are combining to free their captured team-mates, while Mr Nasty-Warden is playing with knives. So how does it play out? Well without spoiling anything, nobody dies (so it’s not a New X-Men crossover), and everything turns out nice again (if I put a George Formby reference in here you just wouldn’t get it). The teams agree to go their separate ways, and in the end nothing much has changed. It’s a Civil War filler story, effectively. But filler stories can be fun still. So is this?
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Karolina doesn’t like broccoli |
Well yeah. Everyone on this here interweb thingamajig was freaking out after the first issue that the characterisation was off, or Wiccan was wearing the wrong colour socks, or Karolina doesn’t like broccoli or some such rubbish. Listen to me now (or read me now, but that doesn’t have the same ring to it):
I. Don’t. Care.
This is fun. Sometimes we can really over-analyse stuff. The dialogue is light and natural, the characterisation has improved from Issue 2 onwards (not that it was all that bad to begin with), the plot is simple and tightly held together, and like I said before – it’s fun. For f*ck’s sake – this is a book with fourteen principle characters as well as the bad guys. Just take a moment to chill and go back to hiding behind the counter in the comic shop, geek boy. You probably fear the outside anyway.
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If you want more, seek help. |
Wells has done a really good job here. He’s got a story to tell within the confines of Civil War, and it’s got aliens, robots, unrequited love, cute kids, vicious torture (never thought I’d put those two together again – not since being taken off the sex offenders register), random violence and a happy ending. If you want more, seek help.
Plus they’ve found something to do with Noh-Varr, which is more than anyone else has since Marvel Boy came out in the infamous U-Decide debacle.
As far as the art goes, it’s great. Caselli’s style has the perfect mix of grown-up-superhero and super-expressive-cartoony. It is fabulous for a teen-book like this. The action is busy, but not confusing. The layouts are clean. Rudoni’s colouring is nice and bright when they’re not in the Cube, but toned down when they are. Again, it works just fine. Leave it alone and start picking on someone your own size, comic boy.
This book does exactly what it says on the tin – it’s a fun-filled action book, with lots of cute moments. And I’m perfectly OK with that. I don’t think I’d want Molly Hayes in Dark Knight Returns.
