Written by: Jonathan Hickman
Art by: Kev Walker
Publisher: Marvel
Discussions of intelligence, intricate preparations for doomsday scenarios and the cravings for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is what New Avengers #25 is all about.
One of the most shortsighted labels that I have seen persevere throughout imagination powerhouse Jonathan Hickman’s career is the fact that many who analyze and review his work write off his books with the phrase “typical Hickman”. This label is used to brandish all of his books under this wrongful umbrella of pretension and completely negates all of the heart, humor, and fount of imaginative ideas present in almost every issue written by said author. I fear that New Avengers #25 may be written off in this same regard and have inquisitive fans overlook how wonderful, thoughtful, and intricate the storytelling leading up to and present in this issue.
In this issue, we see a fragment of The Illuminati (Reed Richards, Beast, and The Hulk) hiding out in a sort of doomsday bunker underground, hoping to seek refuge from the onslaught of Shield agents knocking at their door for their perceived indiscretions, some of which haven’t been fully revealed at this point. The way Hickman has been telling his Avengers saga (which is important to note because this series is incomplete without reading it’s sister title Avengers, as well) by embracing the grand scope of the conflicts he presents his heroes and using this expansion as almost the main characters and through-line of the series is quite remarkable for any learned fan. Not entirely knowing the ramifications of the conflict The Illuminati find themselves in doesn’t entirely matter for we still understand the ramifications and direness of the situation completely. Seeing Reed Richards conflict with his wife, Sue, as they remain on opposite sides of the conflict is harrowing and worth buying this issue alone.
Also to be noted is the wonderfully awesome inclusion of Captain Britain, an underutilized but excellent character that I hope Hickman brings back a few more times before Time Runs Out closes (seriously, doesn’t Captain Britain look awesome with that Beard?!). Issue #25 also introduces new artist Kev Walker, taking the reigns after Valerio Schiti left the book. His art remains one of the best surprises in this book (which I must add is already full of awesome surprises), capturing facial expressions incredibly, almost channeling Kevin Maguire’s classic work on Justice League International. His art perfectly captures the direness of the situations present when needed while also not abandoning the (darkish) humor that Hickman loves to embed in his scripts.Happy to have two Kevin’s in this business that rock socks at facial expressions.
While this book is excellent for this up to date on all of the wherewithal, it still remains a daunting task to embrace this series this far into it’s lifespan. There remains no easy solution for this that doesn’t include trade-waiting or simply buying the back issues. This may frustrate some as most of the major changes present in the Marvel Universe are debuting in this series first and foremost. Also, while this issue slowed down enough to allow our main protagonists a breather, it still was a jaunting transition considering how fast things have been moving and that we only have seven issues left before this series closes out. Also, where was Namor? I miss Namor!
