Broken Frontier

When I first picked up Avengers Prime #1, I was afraid it would be a little like the weekly Trinity books that DC put out after Infinite Crisis.  In theory, gathering the three most central characters of the universe’s most premiere super-team seems like a good idea, but for some reason Trinity just didn’t draw me in.  That is not the case here.  While I stopped picking up that book around issue twelve, I’d follow this book into Hel and Niffleheim itself. 

Over the past few years, ever since the Avengers: Disassembled storyline, Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America, have gone through some crazy things.  All three have faced some sort of resurrection, with Thor and Steve Rogers literally coming back from the dead, and Tony Stark facing a recent complete mental reboot.  In addition, other massive things have threatened Earth for the whole Marvel Universe, like the Civil War, Dark Reign, and Siege.  After all of that, there are things that needed to be said and things that needed to be worked out.  Apparently, this book is where that happens. 

This issue opens with the big three standing in the ruins of Asgard.  Almost immediately, an argument erupts between Captain Rogers and Tony Stark, as they both scratch at tensions that have been building up for years.  I was captivated from this point on, and it was the second page.  The most impressive thing about this scene was how relevant both Rogers’ and Stark’s arguments were.  It wasn’t arguing for the sake of arguing or filling the page, it was really something that had been a long time coming.  This was when I flipped to the cover and realized Brian Michael Bendis was the writer. 

Bendis is amazing at constructing a comic that not only gives fans what they want, but tells a complete and exciting story, as well.  The dialogue in this book didn’t just flow naturally, it was really clever and dynamic, too.  Each character had a life of its own, and each scene had a grand cinematic quality.

Incredible writing aside, I don’t know if this book could’ve been as amazing without Alan Davis and Mark Farmer’s art.  They deliver flawless forms throughout the entire comic.   Davis is an absolute pro at creating grandiose battle scenes.  There are a few panels where Steve Rogers is being attacked by a whole swarm of angry battle trolls.  There are swords and clubs and flaming arrows flying around in every direction, but there’s not a line out of place. 

Overall, the artwork in this issue is vibrant but the style is traditional, which is an interesting combination because these are traditional characters in a new and interesting dynamic.  Even the colors are warm and engaging, but low-key.  Neither aspect oversteps its boundaries and distracts the reader from the other; it’s the perfect balance of art to story.