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A review by squidbag
Avengers: Time Runs Out, Vol. 1 by Jonathan Hickman
3.0
First and foremost, this is only called Avengers: Time Runs Out because it took place in the pages of the two functional Avengers titles and has now been mooshed together. So that's an editorial titling, because this book has none of the feel of a typical Avengers story, instead having a black, bleak, "so it's come to this" sort of pre-apocalyptic set-up for the "new" Marvel Universe that's coming out of this Summer's Secret Wars.
So - it's dark and layered and does not reward new readers; this is no one's "jumping on point." This is enjoyable homework - you are reading this event in preparation for the next event, and as such, my least favorite kind of Marvel story. I understand the whys and wherefores, but when the status quo fluctuates like it does here and every character exists as a shade of grey, then they come off as somewhat soulless cogs in the machine of purpose-driven story.
Because it's Hickman, the writing is extremely well-done, and the art in this favors the small nuance the titanic, and not much in between. If a thing is simultaneously fun and frustrating (funstrating?) it gets three stars. On to chapter two.
So - it's dark and layered and does not reward new readers; this is no one's "jumping on point." This is enjoyable homework - you are reading this event in preparation for the next event, and as such, my least favorite kind of Marvel story. I understand the whys and wherefores, but when the status quo fluctuates like it does here and every character exists as a shade of grey, then they come off as somewhat soulless cogs in the machine of purpose-driven story.
Because it's Hickman, the writing is extremely well-done, and the art in this favors the small nuance the titanic, and not much in between. If a thing is simultaneously fun and frustrating (funstrating?) it gets three stars. On to chapter two.