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rach 's review for:
Young Avengers, Volume 1: Style > Substance
by Kieron Gillen
I haven't ventured very far into the world of convention comics because the amount of titles out there can be very overwhelming to sort through. This one seemed like a safe bet, though, because one of the ones I HAVE read and become obsessed with is Matt Fraction's Hawkeye, and one of my favorite characters in THAT run is Kate Bishop. In my quest to know more about Kate, the latest volume of Young Avengers seemed like a great place to start.
So far, so good. The only character I know anything about is Kate Bishop, AKA Hawkeye, so it's going to take some time before I really get these new characters, but so far, they all seem really likable and/or hateable. It's an interesting storyline, too - rather than a group of superheroes banded together by an organization like SHIELD, the Young Avengers end up together out of necessity. Billy, aka Wiccan, has the best of intentions when he tries to bring in their dimension the dead mom of his boyfriend Teddy, aka Hulkling. Unfortunately, he accidentally brought instead a parasite that wants to eat their souls, and because Kid Loki was interrupted in trying to stop Wiccan's spell, something went even more wrong and linked the parasite monster with each of their parents, dead or alive.
How do the others get roped into this group? America, aka Miss America, had already been herded/tricked by Loki into coming to the US to protect Wiccan. I'm still not sure WHY Loki knew Wiccan would need protection when he was planning on stopping his spells anyways, but I'm sure that will come up later. The last duo to show up (and make a spectacular rescue, btw) was Billy's BFF Kate and her new boy/friend Noh-Varr, aka sometimes Marvel Boy, though he doesn't seem to like that name very much.
In addition to the soul-eating parasite, when they are around any of their parents, or where their dead parents died, those parents either come back to life or are possessed and working with the parasite to kill them. Obviously, that's a problem, especially for Billy, who lives in NYC with said parents. This is a problem that can't be solved in just one volume, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out.
As I mentioned before, the characters, what little we've seen of them, are all interesting. I already love Kate Bishop and her Hawkeye, so it's no surprise that I love her in this book as well. Noh-Varr hasn't really done much to emotionally connect with me as a reader (wow, that sounds really demanding), but he is pretty epic with a rescue, appears to be pretty loyal, and seems like a good guy to have on your side in a fight. Plus, he's pretty cute and adorably switches his word order around and wants to learn about the Earth custom known as "Hot Make Out." So yeah, he can stay. Billy/Wiccan and Teddy/Hulkling both seem really sweet but also really insecure. It's nice to see their relationship so strong, though, and them trusting each other seems like it will be the cornerstone of the group as a whole. Hopefully Loki doesn't mess that up with his sneaky talking and meddling, which it seems he has already started. Loki is definitely an interesting character, one who isn't easy to figure out. His sidebar during the battle was definitely helpful, because I didn't even know how Loki had changed into a kid in the first place. So now, I know that Kid Loki is just as chaotic evil as old Loki was, except no one REALLY knows it, because they think he's the reborn, good Loki. Except, even though he's the evil one, it seems like he might have trouble battling the good nature of his new body? And of course, there's America, who sees right through Loki's facade. She seems to like punching things. And the list of agents in the book told me she is full of rage and anger. I'm sure that stuff will come up more as the story progresses.
All in all, a good start, and luckily, I have the next two volumes right here as well. :)
So far, so good. The only character I know anything about is Kate Bishop, AKA Hawkeye, so it's going to take some time before I really get these new characters, but so far, they all seem really likable and/or hateable. It's an interesting storyline, too - rather than a group of superheroes banded together by an organization like SHIELD, the Young Avengers end up together out of necessity. Billy, aka Wiccan, has the best of intentions when he tries to bring in their dimension the dead mom of his boyfriend Teddy, aka Hulkling. Unfortunately, he accidentally brought instead a parasite that wants to eat their souls, and because Kid Loki was interrupted in trying to stop Wiccan's spell, something went even more wrong and linked the parasite monster with each of their parents, dead or alive.
How do the others get roped into this group? America, aka Miss America, had already been herded/tricked by Loki into coming to the US to protect Wiccan. I'm still not sure WHY Loki knew Wiccan would need protection when he was planning on stopping his spells anyways, but I'm sure that will come up later. The last duo to show up (and make a spectacular rescue, btw) was Billy's BFF Kate and her new boy/friend Noh-Varr, aka sometimes Marvel Boy, though he doesn't seem to like that name very much.
In addition to the soul-eating parasite, when they are around any of their parents, or where their dead parents died, those parents either come back to life or are possessed and working with the parasite to kill them. Obviously, that's a problem, especially for Billy, who lives in NYC with said parents. This is a problem that can't be solved in just one volume, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out.
As I mentioned before, the characters, what little we've seen of them, are all interesting. I already love Kate Bishop and her Hawkeye, so it's no surprise that I love her in this book as well. Noh-Varr hasn't really done much to emotionally connect with me as a reader (wow, that sounds really demanding), but he is pretty epic with a rescue, appears to be pretty loyal, and seems like a good guy to have on your side in a fight. Plus, he's pretty cute and adorably switches his word order around and wants to learn about the Earth custom known as "Hot Make Out." So yeah, he can stay. Billy/Wiccan and Teddy/Hulkling both seem really sweet but also really insecure. It's nice to see their relationship so strong, though, and them trusting each other seems like it will be the cornerstone of the group as a whole. Hopefully Loki doesn't mess that up with his sneaky talking and meddling, which it seems he has already started. Loki is definitely an interesting character, one who isn't easy to figure out. His sidebar during the battle was definitely helpful, because I didn't even know how Loki had changed into a kid in the first place. So now, I know that Kid Loki is just as chaotic evil as old Loki was, except no one REALLY knows it, because they think he's the reborn, good Loki. Except, even though he's the evil one, it seems like he might have trouble battling the good nature of his new body? And of course, there's America, who sees right through Loki's facade. She seems to like punching things. And the list of agents in the book told me she is full of rage and anger. I'm sure that stuff will come up more as the story progresses.
All in all, a good start, and luckily, I have the next two volumes right here as well. :)