The AVENGERS join the intergalactic war against the BUILDERS in this issue written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Leinil Yu, Gerry Alanguilan and Sunny Gho.
Before I proceed, let me hit you up with this...
- So the Skrulls are back and this time their lead by somebody very familiar, Kl'rt the Super Skrull. I like the idea of the Skrulls getting back in the game and I certainly hoped that this wouldn't be the last of them. Plus the way they were drawn by Yu gives them additional badassery. It's like you'll be scared to even look them in the eye as opposed to their classic purple and black togs.
- Guardians of the Galaxy gave us a peek at the Galactic council spearheaded by Peter Quill's dad J-Son of Spartax. AVENGERS # 18 finally gives us the full extent of what other cosmic beings are part of the council. Clue, these are vicious killers and people known for their knack at annihilation. It does bring a sense of grandness and a sense of desperation to have them join the council.
- Hickman uses these scenes to put the readers and the AVENGERS into perspective. We might be following the war through the eyes of the Avengers but that doesn't mean their the center of everything. Mind you at this point in the story, nobody even knows that THANOS has some wicked plans for Earth.
- Leinil Yu's art definitely kicked ass in this issue. If you're a fan of Yu then Yu'll know that you should be pre-ordering (it hasn't come out yet since Storm Maring delayed comic book deliveries here in Manila) this issue. There's tons of things to see here like a galactic battleship fight, some mean looking Skrulls and Alephs killing each other and many, many more.
- The art team is pretty swell as well. I do like Sunny Gho's work here much more than Gerry's inks.
- You know for a team that's massively powered, I'm still unsure why the Builders got the drop on the Avengers. Seriously. It seemed pretty silly especially the team's already amassed some serious firepower within their ranks. I dunno, those scenes with the retreat needs to be re-read to get a better understanding.
- No sign of Thanos here which is good although it would've been great to at least give us readers a hint of what that death loving scoundrel is planning to do. But then again it could've ruined the surprise.
- The ending is traditional albeit interesting. I'm really curious as to how things are going to play out now that the team's roster has dwindled immensely. Also why is Quincruiser 1carrying a smaller amount of members as opposed to Quincruiser 2? Didn't Captain America think it through to equally distribute team members?
- The issue also respects continuity in the case Spider-Woman aka Jessica Drew and her general feelings towards the Skrulls who abducted her and made Jessica the face of Secret Invasion.
If anything, AVENGERS # 18 just added sweetness to the already heaping goodness of the INFINITY cake. It didn't take anything, just add in more sprinkles and more icing. Plus Leinil's art alone is a flavor of it's own.
RATING: A
(Definitely getting a copy from COMICX HUB when it comes out hopefully by the weekend)
