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The
Avengers
Lionheart of Avalon - Part 1
77/MAR/2004
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Chuck Austen
Pencils: Oliver Coipel
Inks: Andy Lanning
Colors: Chris Sotomayor
Letters: Comicraft & Albert Deschesne
Price: $.50 US/R6.00 SA
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The Avengers have been under the microscope of
late with a recent issue changing its age rating to that of a ‘mature
readers’ title due to sexual situations found between
its covers [pun intended]. This of course ruins the run of comics
for any kids in the audience and so Marvel decide to put this issue
out at 50c to hopefully lure in some new readers.
The Avengers visit England in this the first part
of the four part storyline entitled ‘Lionheart of Avalon’.
Captain America and Hawkeye discuss women as they explore the alleyways
of an English town. Meanwhile we learn the story of a young boy
whose mother has been horribly scarred and is ashamed about showing
her face in public. The Wrecking Crew show up and the Wasp joins
the fray as she tries to stop them from hijacking an armoured truck
full of cash.
The story is far from gripping, has little of interest in it and
on the whole it just doesn’t read very well. Why is the Wasp
suddenly fighting The Wrecking Crew? What are the Avengers doing
in the UK? Why does a local lady get scorned so much by those around
her when they should all be aware of her condition by now? It’s
these totally over the top ‘soap opera’ moments that
make this issue fall awfully short. There is no major plot running
through this issue connecting the core characters and the side story
is flat and boring on the whole. One positive that can be plucked
from the wreckage is Austen’s[Uncanny X-Men]
knack for usage of English colloquialisms. He seems to understand
and catch onto the phrasing and use of language by the English characters
in the story relatively well.
Oliver Coipel’s pencils seem to be doomed from the get-go
by Marvels completely pathetic levels of production, from out of
register colour plates to blurry and pixelated line work. The artists
don’t help either with completely shoddy inking and slipshod
pencilling this book just doesn’t look good at all.
Coipel seems to be rushed and nothing like the artist he was on
the earlier ‘Red Zone’ Avengers arc.
His pencils seem sketchy and largely inconsistent from page to page.
The mother with the massive scar across her face is horribly disfigured
for five pages and then on the sixth we see barely a mark on her
as Coipel seemingly ‘heals’ her for no reason. This
entire comic screams of a rushed job on the artistic side and along
with shocking production values by Marvel helps
me to understand why this was sold for only 50c, any more than that
and I’d feel robbed.
A far from satisfactory comic marred by awful production
values and sloppy artwork. The story matches up with the
above statement to help make this book a sub-par experience.
Score
3/10
Reviewed By:Iain Duncan
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Comic Reviews
