Following up on my recent One Fan’s Trials where I looked at Marvel’s Concentrated $ameness and also lamented that Avengers Academy (AA) feeling like a poor addition to Avengers lore when Young Avengers (YA) was around and under-utilized, we now have YA news and I have an AA epiphany.
Young Avengers Return
Marvel had another one of their promotional calls to plug “(Young) Avengers: The Children’s Crusade” a nine-issue, bi-monthly, comic epic that hits stands July 8, 2010.
Along with returning The Scarlet Witch to prominence, CHILDREN’S CRUSADE-first issue hitting stores July 8-also brings writer Allan Heinberg back to the Avengers after a near five-year absence and reteams him with YOUNG AVENGERS artist Jimmy Cheung. Heinberg says that “it feels very much like we just picked up where we left off creatively.”
As well as the following:
Of course, Wanda’s return almost necessitates a virtual army to greet her. After all, the last time readers and the heroes of the Marvel Universe saw the character she spoke three simple words that caused devastating effects and wrecked havoc on the entire mutant population.
In terms of how people are viewing her, I think it certainly depends on the person,” admits Brevoort. “As regards to the individual Avengers that were her friends, that all depends particularly on their relationship. The fact that Wanda is back again, to some that will pose a hideous threat. She has shown that she can turn the world upside down and inside out at a whim. On the other hand, these are characters that have a long history and connection with this woman who would want to find a way to save her and pull her back from the brink. In the middle of all that, the Young Avengers themselves have to figure out, even as they embark on this quest to find Wanda, once they get there, what then? What do they actually want to do?”
More here.
Avengers Academy Interlude
In addition, I will say that the Avengers Academy #1 was NOT what I expected and its cliffhanger surprised me the way Thunderbolts #1 did in the late 1990s. While Christos Gage is a great writer and Mike McKone is an awesome artist, I thought their team on its surface was redundant. I was proven wrong. Not all young or teen Avengers teams are the same. And, after reading the debut issue, establishing an Avengers Academy makes more sense than having a team called “Secret” Avengers or “New” Avengers. So, I’ll be sticking with AA through its first arc. Nice work Marvel! Also check out Grey Scherl’s review of issue #1 here.
