Uhm, wow. That book went quick. This is going to be a short one. The good news? Alex Maleev’s art does not disappoint. Everything looks sketchy and dreamy and gorgeous and is honestly the reason I paid my $3.22. Otherwise, the book is cotton candy: sweet and unsatisfying.
We start with Hawkeye waking up post-HoM outside the Avengers broken down mansion and setting up his infamous marker that we saw at the end of that series, with his costume and the arrow through the article about his death. Once that’s finished, he does the perfectly smart thing and goes to see Doctor Strange. Because if you’re really confused about your existence, hes the guy to see.
Spooky fingers are wiggled, the Eye of Aggamotto used and Clint is given a clean bill of resurrected health. Reasonably upset about Wanda killing him not once, but twice, he wants to go find her and shake her until answers come out. Doctor Strange advises against it, since really, what kind of answers is he expecting? It’s just only going to get worse and it’s not like anyone is going to take responsibility for a rather good idea rushed through the issues. After all, who would want to hear Wanda’s side of things, isn’t she just crazy?!
I digress.
Despite being Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange says he can’t find Wanda and doesn’t seem at all keen on going to investigate a woman who single handedly warped the reality he’s sort of in charge of by being Sorcerer Supreme, so Clint goes on a quest. First to Genosha, which we never see and then to Wundagore Mountain where he rescues a woman from having her purse snatched. As someone else helps the mystery woman to her feet, she rises to reveal herself as- A GHOST RIDER AD! I mean, Wanda! Clint swoons.
Waking up, he’s been carried to Wanda’s humble apartment where she warns him against waking up her Aunt Agatha in the next room. Going through a series of head-holding and seductive poses, we find out that she’s made a new life out of thin air for herself and appears to have no memory of the whole debacle she caused. Lucky her. Clint, upset by the lack of closure and the fact that Disassembled and House of M still are pinned on just some chick going cuckoo (women! I tells ya…), makes everything better by having sex with an obviously lost and very hot Wanda. Waking up, he decides to give her a mysterious exit when he notes the door that holds dear ol’ Aunt Agatha who isn’t supposed to be bothered; of course, wants to take a peek. His hand on the knob, Clint remembers Strange warning him that he might not really want to know ‘the Truth’ by this point, I mean, really and so we’re left with him heading out into the street.
Well, the book is gorgeous, but nothing is answered and nothing is gained. Wanda is still some dizzy dame and Hawkeye is left to just bum around the MU with no one knowing if he’s alive or dead. Thanks, Bendis.
Next issue: Revolution!
6 Comments
Cripes, that’s the issue? I know Hawkeye’s a horndog, but you’d think his anger would last long enough to not get in the sack with the person he’s ticked at.
And I really wish bendis would just stop trying to include Strange in books he writes. He’s awful at writing Strange, so anytime the team could use his help, just say the Doc is off in some other dimension battling Nightmare or something.
Better than making him look like a tool.
I dunno. Normally, I agree, Bendis just likes him as a Exposition Monster, but I think that if I had randomly resurrected a second time, I’d go find a doctor with a serious mystical bent to him. Mind you, after the check up he just seems kind of lazy but…. eh.
Silly me and looking for more answers to last year’s events.
Bendis’ use of Dr. Strange in this book works. Hell, after Jeff Parker’s interview at NewsARama about his Avengers Disassembled What If? I would even argue that his appearance in the original Avengers Disassembled holds water. Just don’t ask me about the overusage of the phrase” chaos magicks.” That all being said, this isn’t your daddy’s Avengers. No way in hell. Its an interesting glimpse into what’s up with Hawkeye that deserves its own one shot. This is where something like Marvel Comics Presents comes in.
I would have liked to see more than a glimpse, but then I’m a sucker for character development. My daddy’s or no, it’s… not exactly the Avengers. I wholeheartedly agree that Marvel Comics Presents would have rocked this story which makes me again ponder why they don’t like ot keep anthology books around for just such occasions. You’d think with the glut of ‘Spider-Man Family’, ‘Giant Size Wolverine’ and whatnot, mostly filled with reprints (boo), they would have taken the hint.
Loved the art in the issue, not so hot on the lack of focused content, but the single most amusing thing is reading the comments on a lot of the message boards.
The issue seems to have confused the heck out of a large segment of the population. Some people seem to think that readers developing conflicting theories for what actually happened in the issue = “writing with depth to it.” And that, while sad, makes me snicker.
Hey, the vaguer you are, the more people make up their own stories and the more satisfied they are. Classic horror movie trick. Not so good for comics with no answers.
2 Trackbacks
[...] Bendis bewilders Filed under: uncategorized — duras January 1, 2007 @ 12:07 am After reading this synopsis of New Avengers #26, I’m hard-pressed to figure out: what’s so great about Brian Michael Bendis? The story sounds insulting to the intellect. [...]
[...] Bendis bewilders Filed under: uncategorized — duras January 1, 2007 @ 2:07 am After reading this synopsis of New Avengers #26, I’m hard-pressed to figure out: what’s so great about Brian Michael Bendis? The story sounds insulting to the intellect. [...]