Avengers #36 Review

writer: Jonathan Hickman / illustrator: Stefano Caselli If you read these reviews with regularity, maybe you remember that in my review of Avengers #35, that I liked the book, but definitely the stuff dealing with Cho and the Illuminati, more so the Avengers World stuff from the first part of the book. Well, this Avengers book is all Avengers World type stuff so…there’s that. Which isn’t to say that those characters and that habitat are inherently bad at all, but this was a particularly trying issue for other reasons as well. For one, its really talky. Like, completely talky. I can deal with an issue that is slowed down with setup and reflection, but I’m not sure just how much is gained through all the dialogues that makes the ending any more real or pressing than it was going to be regardless.

The issue revolves around Bobby Da Costa and the various conversations he has with different members of his development team (that will portal the Avengers across Multi-Dimensions to stop the threat) and members of the Avengers team about their findings for why they should go. It doesn’t talk in circles like Hickman is prone to sometimes, but it isn’t all that compelling or necessary by the end. This was definitely a table setter issue more than anything else, as I imagine next issue we’ll get the Avengers actually fighting something. A ho-hum issue with lots of talking and not much happening or changing by the end. Caselli’s pencils handle the characters and uniqueness of them all …