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Avengers Academy: The Unusual Suspects

November 8th, 2011 Posted by Gavok

Last week started the new status quo for one of my favorite comics going on right now, and maybe my favorite comic coming out of the Big Two, Christos Gage’s Avengers Academy. In a time when new characters get shoved into cancelation only months into creation, it’s good to see that this series has lasted through 21 issues, a Point One, an appearance in Amazing Spider-Man, a giant-sized crossover with the ill-fated Young Allies, a crossover with Thunderbolts and some cameos in Ant-Man and the Wasp. Like with all good comics that don’t feature a marquee figure, there’s always that looming threat of it being canned, but with the new setting and storyline, now’s as good a time as any to get people to jump on.

I figured I’d take a look at our main cast and maybe inform someone out there enough that they’d give the series a try. In this series, it’s not the past that truly matters for the team of six, but the future. You see, this isn’t your regular young generation superhero team. Just because “Avengers” is in the title and our protagonists are teens doesn’t mean that this is your usual Teen Titans knockoff. It’s not so much a book about teenage Avengers as it’s basically the Teen Thunderbolts. Much like the Thunderbolts, the true hook of the series isn’t actually revealed until the very end of the first issue.

The hook? These are all kids who were controlled, captured, experimented on and/or tortured by Norman Osborn when he was in charge. Now that the good guys have the keys to the kingdom again, some of the mainstays from the ended Avengers Initiative take these kids in and offer to train them, insisting that they’ve got the most potential to do the most good. As the kids discover, this is a big lie. According to their psyche profiles, power sets and histories, they’re all most likely to become some of the world’s biggest supervillains. Hank Pym and the rest are using Avengers Academy as an over-elaborate way to nip their dark futures in the bud. It’s not about training the best of the best. It’s about predemption.

The comic becomes an exercise in looking at each member under a magnifying glass. Who is going to turn out good and who is going to fall from grace? At first it seems obvious. Half come off as truly decent folks while the other half seem like ticking time bombs. As it progresses, the lines begin to fade. We’re kept guessing on who’s going to crack and who’s going to stand tall. Over the last couple years, we’ve seen them clash with the faculty, make decisions that split the team down the middle, see their own possible futures, win battles, lose battles and be forced to take part in the Fear Itself war. And let it be said that Avengers Academy was one of the better tie-ins to that miniseries event.

As of #21, things have become very different. One of the members has quit and Pym has moved them all to the old headquarters of the West Coast Avengers. Now they allow more teen heroes to join, such as Power Man, Boulder, Spider-Girl and that kid with the pet Sentinel, among others. They’re all background, mainly, though Lightspeed and White Tiger have joined the main class with X-23 set to join in a couple issues. Hawkeye’s joined the faculty, showing that Wolverine and Spider-Man aren’t the only ones who can be on way too many teams. Most importantly, there’s been a bit of a murder.

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This Week in Panels: Week 109

October 23rd, 2011 Posted by Gavok

Welcome to This Week– ah, screw this. I’m getting my random YouTube clip out of the way. Look at this shit.

What the hell, 80’s? What the hell?

Yeah, so I got David, Was Taters and Space Jawa on board. If ThWiP is about whittling down a comic to one panel, I think we’ve done gangbusters with Supergirl #2.

Avengers #18
Brian Michael Bendis and Daniel Acuna

Batman #2 (Was Taters’ pick)
Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo

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This Week in Panels: Week 105

September 25th, 2011 Posted by Gavok

Welcome to This Week in Panels: Wolverine Saying Awesome Shit Edition. This week I’m joined by David Brothers, Was Taters and Space Jawa. A good amount of overlap here with the DC New 52 and I had to give all three stories in Fear Itself: The Home Front their own spots because each one was just as enjoyable. There was also a one-page story in there about Dust that was funny because Howard Chaykin drew it. Chaykin drawing a character with a covered up face. That’s too perfect.

Avengers #17
Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita Jr.

Batman #1 (Was Taters’ pick)
Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo

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This Week in Panels: Week 100 SUPER SPECIAL EXTRAVAGANZA! (Part 2)

August 22nd, 2011 Posted by Gavok

Okay, so PART ONE is getting a little too stuffy. Here’s part two.

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This Week in Panels: Week 100 SUPER SPECIAL EXTRAVAGANZA! (Part 1)

August 22nd, 2011 Posted by Gavok

God, has it been 100 installments of this garbage already? Well, I said we’d be doing something special and I wasn’t lying. The regular update is merely the appetizer.

So for those of you seeing this for the first time because of the allure of triple digits, here’s the skinny: every week, me and my crew (usually 4L boss man David Brothers and readers Was Taters and Space Jawa) supply panels for all the comics we’ve read from the previous Wednesday. Each panel is meant to be a breakdown of what the comic is about. The essence. The chance to sell it and show off its tone. Give you an idea of what its contents are all about. Yes, some people actually enjoy this. Go figure.

Now let’s get moving.

Avengers #16
Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita Jr.

Avengers Academy #18
Christos Gage and Andrea DiVito

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This Week in Panels: Week 99

August 14th, 2011 Posted by Gavok

Take one down, pass it around and we’re on Week 99. Got the regular crew with me this time with David Brothers, Was Taters and Space Jawa. I was going to say that ThWiP would take a big hit from the exodus of all the Flashpoint tie-ins, but it’s going to be pretty nuts next month when I find myself reading every single DC #1 for review purposes. Why do I hate myself?

Batgirl #24
Bryan Q. Miller and Pere Perez

Batman and Robin #26
David Hine, Greg Tocchini and Andrei Bressan

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This Week in Panels: Week 97

July 31st, 2011 Posted by Gavok

Hello, neighbor! This week I’m accompanied by Was Taters and Space Jawa as I inch closer and closer to Week 100. Which is good because I finally came up with an idea of what to do with it.

I’ve been lax on the writing lately as I’ve been trying to finish watching every WWE Summerslam PPV for the countdown series, which will start up this week. I only have two left to sit through and I’m saving 1994 for last. That one features the Undertaker wrestling his evil twin while Leslie Nielson and George Kennedy try to get to the bottom of it. Wrestling is fucking weird.

Captain America and Bucky #620
Ed Brubaker, Marc Andreyko and Chris Samnee

Deadpool MAX #10
David Lapham and Kyle Baker

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This Week in Panels: Week 96

July 24th, 2011 Posted by Gavok

This week the team of Was Taters and Space Jawa bombard me with so many panels that I almost feel like I didn’t read enough. Thanks to both of them. Also, I’m glad Jawa covered the Adam West book, as my shop didn’t get it this week. Though I notice he picked the same panel as I did in the Free Comic Book Day preview.

You’ll have to trust me on this Avengers Academy panel. It was a great character moment.

Avengers #15
Brian Michael Bendis and Chris Bachalo

Avengers Academy #16
Christos Gage and Tom Raney

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This Week in Panels: Week 94

July 10th, 2011 Posted by Gavok

This week I’m joined by only Space Jawa, who still loves him some Flashpoint tie-ins. For a while, I was just kind of okay with the two big Marvel/DC events. They weren’t hurting the regular books (well, I guess Flashpoint will in a few months) and they haven’t been offending me in any way. With their latest issues this week, I’m finally won over on both of them. Especially the Fear Itself scene my panel is from.

In non-comics news, I’m still at work for the upcoming Summerslam Countdown series, which will start up early August. Right now I only have 12 shows left to sit through. The good news is that I’ve endured Undertaker vs. Giant Gonzales already. The bad news is that I still have to endure Good Undertaker vs. Evil Undertaker.

Batman and Robin #25
Judd Winick, Greg Tocchini and Andy Smith

Fear Itself #4
Matt Fraction and Stuart Immonen

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This Week in Panels: Week 91

June 19th, 2011 Posted by Gavok

Hola. This week I’m joined by the regular crew: David Brothers, Was Taters, Space Jawa and I form the head! Jawa happened to supply the entirety of the Flashpoint tie-ins, God help him.

Today I took in a double-feature of Green Lantern and X-Men: First Class. Green Lantern was really average, but then became completely forgettable once I finished watching First Class. While the movie was merely okayish, the mid-credits sequence had me laughing my ass off at how bad it is.

I don’t feel like I’m really spoiling anything with this. I mean, we all know who Sinestro is, right? You’re on a comic site. You know that Sinestro is to become a bad guy. Rather than give him some kind of character arc to push this, he plays the role of Ice Man from Top Gun until it’s time for the credits. You know how people complain about the way Anakin Skywalker was portrayed in the Star Wars prequels? Imagine if at the end of Attack of the Clones, after the wedding, they cut to the credits, then afterwards show Anakin put on his Darth Vader armor and go, “Okay, I’m evil now. Kuh….shhhh!

Avengers Academy #15
Christos Gage and Tom Raney

Avengers #14
Brian Michael Bendis and John Romita Jr.

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