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3.06 AVERAGE
3.06 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Good and bad points, here. Good points: Clint Barton's speech to Cap at the end was great. Also, the Hulk/Bruce Banner's entire was gold, the whole way through. I loved how he identified with the creatures. And contrary to what some people think, I thought the art was pretty good. The Iron Man suit was badass looking! (Even though it broke 3 times?? I think the writer should have more faith in Tony) Bad points: uh hh characterization whaaah? For basically everyone. They kept making fun of hawkeye, which I get in like the new trend in comics recently, but it seems cruel of the Avengers to do so incessantly. I've been in friend groups where I'm always the butt of the joke, so I sympathized with Clint instead of laughing at him like the writers seemed to want. Also, flimsy plot is flimsy.
All in all, passing good, but doesn't hold up to much scrutiny.
All in all, passing good, but doesn't hold up to much scrutiny.
A random ex-library sale book I picked up last year. Warren Ellis is always good for interesting ideas, if not perfect execution. But this was honestly one of the worst books I've read by him. It was just so pedestrian, so boring. It obviously came out around the time of the first Avengers film, and seems to exist primarily as a corporate mandated "make a comic that people who've seen the movies will like". It has incredibly clunky captions explaining the backstory of characters, and pretty much everyone has the most surface-y levels to their characterization and dialogue. Iron Man is witty and arrogant, Cap is a leader unsure of his place in the world, Thor is a noble warrior, and Hawkeye is disrespected by everyone. (Hawkeye's probably one of the best written, but I don't know what that says). Black Widow gets a handful of badass moments but they're all so "stock strong female character". And her primary role most of the book seems to be explaining why SHIELD isn't helping, constantly saying "I called SHIELD to update/ask them and they didn't say anything". She does that like 4 times in the book, it's so stupid and annoying. Reminds me of Sigourney Weaver in Galaxy Quest, whose only job is to talk to the computer.
The ending had a little bit more Ellis-y weird ideas, but never explored enough, and some of the best characterization, mostly from the Hulk, Cap, and Hawkeye of all places, who gives a final speech to Cap about how they all live in "an endless wartime, nothing will ever be done" which I think was mostly a meta commentary on how comics never end, these characters don't get endings, even when they die. That last scene was probably my favorite.
Captain Marvel and Wolverine filled out the non-movie character roster. Carol was not that interesting, except for some fun army vs. air force banter between her and Cap. Wolverine was written really well though, he was a consistent high light. I think because he didn't have a movie version to live up to, he could just be himself if that makes sense.
The art was exceptionally middle-of-the-road. Nothing very interesting, clear panels for the most part, good faces, if a bit vague at times. Bland coloring. Coulda been a lot worse, but that seems to be the entire edict for this book, be a decent adventure for movie avengers fans to start with. I'd like to think that it worked for someone, that some fans read this book and then went on to read other, better avengers books. If they followed their way to Iron Man: Extremis, also by Warren Ellis (and a big influence on Iron Man 3's plot) then that's great.
The ending had a little bit more Ellis-y weird ideas, but never explored enough, and some of the best characterization, mostly from the Hulk, Cap, and Hawkeye of all places, who gives a final speech to Cap about how they all live in "an endless wartime, nothing will ever be done" which I think was mostly a meta commentary on how comics never end, these characters don't get endings, even when they die. That last scene was probably my favorite.
Captain Marvel and Wolverine filled out the non-movie character roster. Carol was not that interesting, except for some fun army vs. air force banter between her and Cap. Wolverine was written really well though, he was a consistent high light. I think because he didn't have a movie version to live up to, he could just be himself if that makes sense.
The art was exceptionally middle-of-the-road. Nothing very interesting, clear panels for the most part, good faces, if a bit vague at times. Bland coloring. Coulda been a lot worse, but that seems to be the entire edict for this book, be a decent adventure for movie avengers fans to start with. I'd like to think that it worked for someone, that some fans read this book and then went on to read other, better avengers books. If they followed their way to Iron Man: Extremis, also by Warren Ellis (and a big influence on Iron Man 3's plot) then that's great.
Playing with these well-known Marvel characters, Ellis takes a pretty tongue-in-cheek approach and the result is pretty solid. One of the best aspects of this series is how Ellis (often through female character's dialog) makes the male Avengers look so dumb and hawkish.
I don't love the connection between that time of Captain America and Thor syncing up and don't think that plot line makes a lot of sense, but overall it's really fun read and everyone gets a few good jobs in on Hawkeye.
3.75
I don't love the connection between that time of Captain America and Thor syncing up and don't think that plot line makes a lot of sense, but overall it's really fun read and everyone gets a few good jobs in on Hawkeye.
3.75
Smart, witty, beautiful, stylish... I wish they were all this good.
A pretty pedestrian Avengers story. Warren Ellis definitely phoned this one in.
I don't quite know where to begin with Avengers: Endless Wartime. Part of me was jazzed to see Warren Ellis tackle writing some of these Avengers characters again, and the thought of Mike McKone on art duties is enough of a sell for me, but I can't help but feel confused and disappointed. For a story that takes place in the Marvel 616 continuity, it sure didn't have the feeling it belonged.
Ellis is one of my favorite writers, always bringing thought-provoking, often satirical and socially aware elements to his work and the characters he writes, but this story was all over the place. I had a hard time believing any of these characters would speak or react in the way that Ellis depicted them to, especially Tony Stark. The voices for the characters just seemed off from the Marvel 616 universe and more in line with the Marvel cinematic universe. That would be a fine tool to use to bring in new readers who are solely familiar with the Marvel Avengers-related movies, but Avengers: Endless Wartime wasn't marketed that way. I am not even a stickler about continuity in the least, I just had a troublesome time sorting through the characterization in my own head, which in turn caused even more confusion. I also found the pacing to be jarring and had to re-read some panels and pages over again a few times because I was certain I has missed something when in fact I didn't. The plot was overly-convoluted for the page count. This would have been a much smoother read had there been an extra 20 pages to flesh out the story and fill in the slight gaps. But alas, there weren't.
Mike McKone's art was not up to par with his previous work. I can't perceive it being due to deadline issues, but I don't know. Once again the pacing was off, and the art's sequential story telling was choppy. This could be due in part to either page count or just the script Warren Ellis provided, but it still took its toll on the story. The artwork started off strong in the first quarter of the book, but I cannot make sense of where it went wrong or why. There were many gaps in between panels, where normally easy to fill in the blanks, that came off as missed opportunity in the narrative's fluidity (or lack there of). Colorist Jason Keith did a great job keeping the art together, really nailing it on the coloring duties, but that's the best part about the art.
I can't fully endorse this as a book that can be a nice stepping stone for new readers to sink their teeth into, and I can't convincingly say this is a must-read story for the die-hard continuity freaks either.
Ellis is one of my favorite writers, always bringing thought-provoking, often satirical and socially aware elements to his work and the characters he writes, but this story was all over the place. I had a hard time believing any of these characters would speak or react in the way that Ellis depicted them to, especially Tony Stark. The voices for the characters just seemed off from the Marvel 616 universe and more in line with the Marvel cinematic universe. That would be a fine tool to use to bring in new readers who are solely familiar with the Marvel Avengers-related movies, but Avengers: Endless Wartime wasn't marketed that way. I am not even a stickler about continuity in the least, I just had a troublesome time sorting through the characterization in my own head, which in turn caused even more confusion. I also found the pacing to be jarring and had to re-read some panels and pages over again a few times because I was certain I has missed something when in fact I didn't. The plot was overly-convoluted for the page count. This would have been a much smoother read had there been an extra 20 pages to flesh out the story and fill in the slight gaps. But alas, there weren't.
Mike McKone's art was not up to par with his previous work. I can't perceive it being due to deadline issues, but I don't know. Once again the pacing was off, and the art's sequential story telling was choppy. This could be due in part to either page count or just the script Warren Ellis provided, but it still took its toll on the story. The artwork started off strong in the first quarter of the book, but I cannot make sense of where it went wrong or why. There were many gaps in between panels, where normally easy to fill in the blanks, that came off as missed opportunity in the narrative's fluidity (or lack there of). Colorist Jason Keith did a great job keeping the art together, really nailing it on the coloring duties, but that's the best part about the art.
I can't fully endorse this as a book that can be a nice stepping stone for new readers to sink their teeth into, and I can't convincingly say this is a must-read story for the die-hard continuity freaks either.
I really enjoyed this book. I can see where comic book purists might think it's too close to the movie, but that's the part I really liked. Characterization and especially dialogue were very reminiscent of the movie. Overall, a fun read.
What a wonderful comic this could have been were it not for Ellis' poorly disguised disdain for Tony Stark and Clint Barton. Every time I discover a writer that previously wrote an Iron Man comic hates the character, my heart hurts. I get that Tony isn't everyone's cup of tea but, the way these writers (Bendis, for example) write him just shows they don't seem to have a great understanding of what lies under the surface. Case in point, a lot of his dialogue and interactions with the Avengers in this comic make it seem like Ellis would have rather just had the suit and left Tony behind. Which is baffling considering he wrote Extremis. But... onward.
So, the beginning of this comic was great. It had the Avengers behind the scenes, team dynamic that I love and haven't seen since Bendis' New Avengers. Carol teasing Cap about Air Force v. Army ("Army just means "Air Force Rejected Me Yesterday"), Cap refusing to let Jarvis make him coffee, Clint being hungover and Tony calling Cap "beloved". The premise is interesting enough: SHIELD is using a secret death machine.
There are a few great character moments with Logan v. Cap regarding Cap being too "lily white" and disgusted over what Logan did in wartime. Again, a bit confusing because it's clear Cap had to kill people during WWII. In a way, the comic shows that, as well but, I guess Ellis wanted to posit that Cap was ashamed of his actions in a way Wolverine was not. There's a moment with Bruce feeling sympathy for anyone who was turned into a monster. Kind of bummed me out that he has this speech about getting the autonomy to choose what he attacks when... he really didn't get a lot of say in the matter here. There's a lot of Cap's introspection; a lot of which I found baffling but, I'll get to that in a moment. There's a moment where Tony talks to Cap about Howard and it would have been really sweet were it not for Ellis pretending as though the team very much hated Tony.
Every. Single. Interaction Tony has with members of the team (Carol and Cap included) involves digs at his character. Even his interaction with Pepper has her speaking as though she hates him. It's one thing to have a few comments and teasing between Tony and his friends. That's a given since Bendis wrote New Avengers and thought he was being clever with it. When every single interaction has the Avengers joking about pummeling him or killing him or leaving him to die, it's not funny; it's just disheartening. For a founding Avenger that gave so much of his life and his health to the team, for a man that spent years wrecking his mind and body to protect the universe, for a man that gave all of these people a home and showed up whenever they needed him, this is disheartening. Tony Stark is an Avenger in more than name only and it's a freaking bummer that it's been ages since the Avengers have had a writer that seemed to understand that. Kelly Sue DeConnick excluded because she seemed to get it.
Anyway, there's a lot of Cap's introspection and that... was a little off for me. I love Steve Rogers. I've read quite a bit of his comics and I'm still working my way through his back catalog. One thing that's always stood out to me, no matter what I've read: Steve thinks of the Avengers as his family. He constantly tells Tony that Tony gave him a "home", a place to belong. He was alone until he embraced the team. He thinks of them as family. Here, Ellis posits that Steve thinks he has "nothing" and he's all alone. What? Timing wise, this is most baffling.
Also, there's a point where it seems as though Steve blackmails and guilts the Avengers into joining this fight. It doesn't make any sense to me because another thing common amongst every Avengers book I've read: the Avengers would follow Cap anywhere. Why does he need to do this?
Anyway, this is a tough book to recommend. It's decent stuff if you love Wolverine. There's a bit of Bruce Banner here that's pretty cool. There isn't much here if you love Cap because I found his characterization confusing. It's downright belittling towards Tony and Clint.
So... I'll just say "it's a book."
So, the beginning of this comic was great. It had the Avengers behind the scenes, team dynamic that I love and haven't seen since Bendis' New Avengers. Carol teasing Cap about Air Force v. Army ("Army just means "Air Force Rejected Me Yesterday"), Cap refusing to let Jarvis make him coffee, Clint being hungover and Tony calling Cap "beloved". The premise is interesting enough: SHIELD is using a secret death machine.
There are a few great character moments with Logan v. Cap regarding Cap being too "lily white" and disgusted over what Logan did in wartime. Again, a bit confusing because it's clear Cap had to kill people during WWII. In a way, the comic shows that, as well but, I guess Ellis wanted to posit that Cap was ashamed of his actions in a way Wolverine was not. There's a moment with Bruce feeling sympathy for anyone who was turned into a monster. Kind of bummed me out that he has this speech about getting the autonomy to choose what he attacks when... he really didn't get a lot of say in the matter here. There's a lot of Cap's introspection; a lot of which I found baffling but, I'll get to that in a moment. There's a moment where Tony talks to Cap about Howard and it would have been really sweet were it not for Ellis pretending as though the team very much hated Tony.
Every. Single. Interaction Tony has with members of the team (Carol and Cap included) involves digs at his character. Even his interaction with Pepper has her speaking as though she hates him. It's one thing to have a few comments and teasing between Tony and his friends. That's a given since Bendis wrote New Avengers and thought he was being clever with it. When every single interaction has the Avengers joking about pummeling him or killing him or leaving him to die, it's not funny; it's just disheartening. For a founding Avenger that gave so much of his life and his health to the team, for a man that spent years wrecking his mind and body to protect the universe, for a man that gave all of these people a home and showed up whenever they needed him, this is disheartening. Tony Stark is an Avenger in more than name only and it's a freaking bummer that it's been ages since the Avengers have had a writer that seemed to understand that. Kelly Sue DeConnick excluded because she seemed to get it.
Anyway, there's a lot of Cap's introspection and that... was a little off for me. I love Steve Rogers. I've read quite a bit of his comics and I'm still working my way through his back catalog. One thing that's always stood out to me, no matter what I've read: Steve thinks of the Avengers as his family. He constantly tells Tony that Tony gave him a "home", a place to belong. He was alone until he embraced the team. He thinks of them as family. Here, Ellis posits that Steve thinks he has "nothing" and he's all alone. What? Timing wise, this is most baffling.
Also, there's a point where it seems as though Steve blackmails and guilts the Avengers into joining this fight. It doesn't make any sense to me because another thing common amongst every Avengers book I've read: the Avengers would follow Cap anywhere. Why does he need to do this?
Anyway, this is a tough book to recommend. It's decent stuff if you love Wolverine. There's a bit of Bruce Banner here that's pretty cool. There isn't much here if you love Cap because I found his characterization confusing. It's downright belittling towards Tony and Clint.
So... I'll just say "it's a book."
Avengers: Endless Wartime - an enemy from Thor’s past, the nidhogg, mixes with the AI weapons developed during captain americas past to make a modern day army of AI dragon drone. Thor is very mopey because he tried to defeat the nidhogg alone like a hero and ended up winning but came home cloaked in shame. Captain America is mopey because all of his old friends are dead and his old enemies seem to all be alive. Ironman talks a lot, captain marvel and black widow both berate him. Shield knows about the AI dragons and is planning to use them not only in war but in NYC. It turns out they’re buying these weapons from an island that Thor and Captain America happened to both be at in 1944. The avengers plus Logan go to the island and fuck it up. Two Nidhogg babies show up and call Cap and Thor daddy for teaching them that war is endless. Logan kills two unnamed people who are trying to escape off panel and tells Captain America to basically fuck himself because logan is also a soldier and does what has to be done and tells thor to fuck himself because he’s a hunter who does what needs to be done. Then everyone goes home and Hawkeye teaches cap the real meaning of friendship, which is that war never ends and every time you take a weapon off the street you create a vacuum which will inevitably be filled by new weapons. And Captain America smiles because only the old are idealistic enough to believe war can end and he realizes he’s old. The end.
Is it good? Not really. Is it entertaining? Somehow, even the spectacle of Avengers Vs Robotic Dragons from Norse mythology falls short. Is it pretty? At times.
The dialogue, which was praised as witty banter, feels dull, uninspired, and generic. I could read a line of dialogue by itself and not have a clue who was saying it without the art. I know there’s a symbiotic relationship between writer and artist, but the characters voices should be obvious on their own. Two stars because there’s some cool art and Thor fights the Nidhogg.
Is it good? Not really. Is it entertaining? Somehow, even the spectacle of Avengers Vs Robotic Dragons from Norse mythology falls short. Is it pretty? At times.
The dialogue, which was praised as witty banter, feels dull, uninspired, and generic. I could read a line of dialogue by itself and not have a clue who was saying it without the art. I know there’s a symbiotic relationship between writer and artist, but the characters voices should be obvious on their own. Two stars because there’s some cool art and Thor fights the Nidhogg.