Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: Sidekicks: Part One
Written by: Allan Heinberg
Penciled by: Jim Cheung
Inked by: John Dell
Colored by: Justin Ponsor
Lettered by: VC’s Cory Petit
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
When I first heard about Young Avengers it seemed like an absolute joke. The announcement at the 2004 San Diego Comicon promised something different than what you’d expect. I didn’t believe it. A team with a youngish Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, and Captain America seemed like a cheap Teen Titans wannabe. A few weeks later when I was at WizardWorld Chicago my interest was piqued by Joe Quesada’s unabashed promotion of Young Avengers. It wasn’t the usual sales pitch routine. Quesada kept saying that Allan Heinberg’s pitch for Young Avengers was the best one he’d ever read. He went on to make a point of what a comic-geek Heinberg was. My expectations were raised. Unfortunately, the book was announced so long ago, the intrigue I felt was largely lost over the course of the next four or five months.
Then, a few weeks ago, Marvel put the first nineteen pages of Young Avengers #1 online at Mile High Comics. My good buddy Mike Maillaro read it first, and told me it was outstanding. After reading it, I had to agree. Those nineteen were all that I needed to go out and buy issue #1.
Before I get into the review, let me make a quick comment about the preview at Mile High. Marvel had been giving Mile High a lot of full-issue or almost full-issue previews in the months leading up to Young Avengers showing up there. Sadly, the week that YA was put up, seems to be the last with the lengthy previews. Everything since has been six-pages. I think that’s a major mistake on Marvel’s part. Several times these free previews have gotten me to try books that I wouldn’t otherwise have bought. Four, five, or six issue previews don’t always cut it. Come on, Marvel, stand behind your product and offer free previews again. It’s one of the best marketing tools you have.
Passion of the Creator
Writer Allan Heinberg’s love of comics is absolutely apparent from this premier issue. Not only is it important to constantly bring fresh writers into the comic scene (Heinberg is a successful television writer currently working on The O.C.), but it’s even better when the writers are passionate fans of comics. Heinberg clearly knows his way around the Marvel Universe. While he’s crafted a set of heroes we don’t seem to have met before, we are also treated to a wide-ranging group of guest stars that we’ve all run into many times. Heinberg’s use of Jessica Jones, J. Jonah Jameson, Captain America, and Iron Man, isn’t window dressing. He uses them to introduce his characters and sell the concept. The story is both accessible and steeped in continuity. Young Avengers is a rare treat that can be enjoyed by a longtime comic fan or a brand new reader to the medium.
The story picks up with the mystery of who the “Young Avengers” are. We begin with Jameson, Jones, and another reporter, Kat Farrell, discussing the team that just appeared on the scene. By starting at the beginning of their teaming, but just after their introduction, there’s no downtime. Heinberg builds the first eleven pages around the mystery then we get the heroes’ first appearance. The build isn’t needless fluff. It’s actually necessary for setting the stage and making the team’s appearance more gratifying. The second half of the book features the team in action, shows us a little of what they’re about, and leave us with a huge cliffhanger. A near-perfect first issue!
Turning Heinberg’s script into pictures is the amazingly-talented Jim Cheung. Cheung brings Young Avengers a manga-feel that should appeal to a youthful market, but mixes it with the super-detailed art that most American comic fans clamor for. Cheung also succeeds at giving our four heroes–Iron Lad, Hulkling, Asgardian, and Patriot–a look that harks back to the heroes they are named from, but also a decidedly-individual look.
Cheung’s success bringing a look that’s new, yet retro, wouldn’t have mattered if Heinberg’s writing didn’t set the Young Avengers apart as distinct personalities. Heinberg and Cheung tell a story that you not only want to follow, but you desperately need to know more about. Avengers Disassembled, as maligned as it was, has yielded New Avengers and now Young Avengers, which seem poised to be two of 2005’s most enjoyable series. I still haven’t read Disassembled, but since it’s one of the most influential titles to come around in a long time, I’m loving it vicariously!
