Broken Frontier

Announced late last year just before the start of the Avengers Disassembled event, the Young Avengers appeared to me to be a rip-off of the Teen Titans. The characters looked like sidekicks of certain Avengers. What the book would be offering was a complete mystery to me as Marvel did a good job of keeping things under wraps. All they fed readers and fans with were promotional images, which led to a whole lot of speculation on just who the kids were. In hindsight, the intense secrecy surrounding the project worked with interest reaching a boiling point. 

Series writer Allan Heinberg is an unknown quantity as far as I’m concerned since The OC doesn’t interest me that much. Perhaps it worked out well because I didn’t have any expectations as far as his writing goes. On the other hand, artist Jimmy Cheung is someone I’ve been familiar with and whose work I’ve admired since his initial Marvel days on X-Force and his subsequent work with CrossGen.

Not knowing what to expect from Heinberg proved to be a blessing as I had no preconceived notions as to how he would write this initial arc. To my pleasant surprise, Heinberg has proved to be a compelling storyteller which belies his relative inexperience as far as his comic book work is concerned. In Young Avengers, he has managed to build interest from issue to issue without any drop-off in quality. If nothing else, curiosity is built up each succeeding issue.

I understand that The OC is built around some aspects of adolescence and teenhood. Heinberg’s expertise in those areas clearly pays off on a book like Young Avengers. With the exception of Iron Lad (gotta love that name), the other teen heroes of the book have shown impetuousness and brashness which are hallmarks of people their age. I like the pragmatic personalities he has given the kids as opposed to other writers who are supposed to write about teens yet imbue the characters with very adult attributes. The fact that Heinberg writes about teen heroes being teens makes the series all the more enjoyable for me.

While it would have been easy for Heinberg to take the typical approach of having the first issue reveal everything about the characters it features (especially for new characters like these), I like it that he is unraveling the team’s origins slowly and isn’t cramming everything in one fell swoop. This delicate approach ensures that the reader understands fully what each character is about. In the issues out so far, it has taken the writer three issues to tell the origins of the characters. While some may consider the pacing to be slow, the approach works to the benefit of these Young Avengers.

Do remember though, this is still a superhero book at the core and there is no absence of action throughout. From the team’s botched attempt at ending a hostage situation at St. Patrick’s Cathedral to some of the team members trying to subdue drug dealers, this book is not low on the adrenaline factor. And with the appearance of a familiar Avengers foe at the end of the third issue, things look to even escalate as the first arc races to its conclusion.

Another thing that impressed me with this book is how Heinberg has managed to introduce a brand new team with some brand new characters while at the same time establishing ties to the original Avengers—after all, one has to assume that there has to be a reason why the team is called the Young Avengers. The writer conveniently unveils why these new kids on the block can use that name. The connections are there and may surprise some readers.

Having Jim Cheung on this book is like having an old, reliable friend around. I’ve seen his early work with Marvel during the 90s, but I really started to take notice with his amazing work on CrossGen’s Scion. Cheung’s style made a quantum leap during his time on that title and I’m glad to see that he continues to refine his work with his current work at the House of Ideas. He is one of the rare artists these days whose style is so distinct that people know his work off the bat.

Cheung has had some experience working with young characters as he did some work on X-Force before while Scion also featured a youthful character as well. Cheung has an understanding of how young people should look in terms of physical and facial features. As a result, he makes us believe that the Young Avengers are really just kids. Moreover, he also shows off his superhero chops with great action panels that are very dynamic and frenetic.

I have to give kudos to inker John Dell as his work really enhances Cheung’s pencils. His ink work is unobtrusive and clearly elevates the total look of the book. Colorist Justin Ponsor also has to get some credit as superhero books really rely a whole lot on making heroes bright and shiny. Ponsor knows his superheroes and does a terrific job on the book.

Guiding Line: Despite of my initial reservations about what this book would be, I have found Young Avengers to be one of the best books in 2005. At times, it has even proven to be better-written than New Avengers—not a mean feat considering the creative team behind that book. Alan Heinberg is having a spectacular comics debut with this book and having a star artist in Jim Cheung at his side guarantees Marvel has a winner on its hands here. Simply put, if you’re missing Young Avengers, you’re missing a lot.