Avengers: Endless Wartime is Marvel’s first in their new Original Graphic Novel line, featuring in-continuity stories that are easily accessible to new readers. Marvel also promote these as featuring well-regarded creators, with Warren Ellis writing and Mike McKone providing art here.
The idea for the line is certainly a good one; giving bookstores a Graphic Novel they can guide interested new readers to. The presentation of Endless Wartime is fantastic with a shiny cover featuring the 3 prime Avengers that is definitely eye-catching.
Unfortunately the story contained within is also all gloss with little depth. Warren Ellis is a great comics writer, but here his story of Corporate-created drone weapons sold to Government Agencies all linked to past events in the lives of Captain America and Thor ends up being very shallow.
After a brief prologue showing one of the drones being shot out of the air, Cap rallies the Avengers into action and we flashback to how Cap and Thor are individually linked the drones. From there we swap back-and-forth from exposition dropping talking heads to one of three invasion scenes.
Never during the plot is the reader asked to put any clues together or ask questions, just instead take in that the Avengers are doing what their doing, not because it ever seems like they would be saving the world, but because Cap says so and Thor has a grudge to settle.
Ellis does include other characters such as Black Widow, Hawkeye, Captain Marvel and Wolverine. Widow is pretty much a plot device to connect the time to SHIELD while Hawkeye is played as the fool of the team suffering the same monotonous ‘trained in a circus’ insults.
It is entirely possible for a mediocre story to be saved by exciting and interesting art and design work, disappointingly though, while McKone brings clean artwork to the book, nothing is ambitious or eye-catching. The background suffer a lot from just being fading colours, and while the colouring is bright and well-done, the work
under it just isn’t inspiring.
Avengers: Endless Wartime is certainly approachable for people who don’t read comics, but when the opportunity has come along to really reach out to a new audience and prove what comics can and are about in the 21st century, all we’ve provided is a shallow, dull story with serviceable art.
Jimmeh Excitement Rating: *3/4 (Out of 5)
P.S. Since Endless Wartime is a disappointment, look out here for a list of recommended Avengers stories for new readers coming soon.
– Jimmeh
@KingJimmeh
The Cutting Edge 