Review: Young Avengers #2
Posted By Ian Menard on February 27, 2013
The first issue of Young Avengers was a flashy, fast-paced music video of a comic, zipping between lovers in space, lovers in New York, and mysterious youngsters on roof tops. It was witty and charming and a ton of fun. Issue #2 continues to be many of those things, but is generally a more focused story, picking up the story of Wiccan bringing Hulkling’s mom from another dimension to ours. As last issue revealed, she Came Back Wrong.
This month, Hulkling and Wiccan are confronted with the Eldritch Abomination that is this faux-Mrs. Altman, who immediately demands that the boys break up, stop super-hero-ing, find new friends, and stop talking and eat their eggs. What’s worse, she now has the Kaplans under her thrall. Appropriately heartbroken and terrified, the boys flee to Avengers’ Mansion, only to find that faux-Mrs. Altman has gotten to the Avengers as well. Luckily, Loki comes to their rescue, extorts them to pay his breakfast bills, and explains the true nature of what Billy has brought to our world.
Last issue, Gillen and McKelvie made the claim that “Style > Substance,” while proving that they were masters of both. This issue further proves that statement. Stylistically, there is a tumblr page serving as a recap, characters getting trapped in empty panels and escaping through the margins, and a band poster in the middle of the issue as the title page. But there’s also a great deal of substance. There’s a touching sequence between the boys that features almost no words. You can feel Teddy’s heart breaking as he realizes this… thing… in the kitchen is not his mother. The terror is palpable as the boys discover even their heroes and mentors have succumbed to its power. McKelvie nails every scene, bringing a fresh, clean feeling that perfectly captures the mission statement of the book while also conveying action and emotion expertly.
Ultimately, Gillen has proven to have a solid grasp of the characters’ voices – which is perfectly encapsulated by Wiccan’s final, fanboy question. Loki is hilarious as an endearing blend of naïveté and pompousness – bossing people around while marveling in the wonders of bacon. And while half the cast is left out of this issue, Gillen reminds us towards the end that yes, there is an alien invasion in space right now and no, he has not forgotten that fact. Hopefully next issue will begin to pull our characters together and start forming a team. Until then, this issue more than merits a re-read or two.
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