Avengers A.I. #8 Review
Marvel Comics
Writer: Sam Humphries
Artist: Andre Lima Araujo
Colorist: Frank D’Armata
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover Artists: David Marquez and Frank D’Armata
Review: Tom Barnett
Circumstances keep getting worse for Hank Pym and his band of Artificial Intelligences. Captain America and the Avengers are breathing down Pym’s back. The government is moving forward on legislation, making all AI’s personal property that can be deleted and destroyed. All the while Dimitrios has set his plan against humanity in motion.
I can’t get enough of this book. Sam Humphries has turned this title into a story that is fresh, funny, and full of plenty of drama. It also asks some big questions. As I’ve said in past reviews of this title, we get a Hank Pym, a character who’s been in the Marvel universe since day one that is full of personality. We are finally getting to know who Hank Pym is.
Humphries is so good at his dialogue. His dialogue is what gives life to these characters. Notice for example how he has Cap and Hank using each other’s first name. He also has Hank reference the very first mission the Avengers took on. And he has Cap clearly questioning Hank about his mental stability. All of these interpersonal moments work to give full life to these characters.
The hook in this issue’s plot is that Dimitrios’s plan feels like it’s plausible. Humphries set up a great scheme for his antagonist. A scheme that makes you pause for a moment and wonder how our tech could be used against us.
Regular artist, Andre Lima Araujo, brings a unique feel to this book that sets it apart from any other title. He excels at conveying emotions through his characters facial expressions. And then there’s his fantastic visualizations of the world inside the Diamond and inside the computer networks. A favorite panel was of a Doombot shark attempting to shut down a stream of signals inside the internet. Araujo does a great job going back and forth from the two arenas of storytelling, reality and AI.
A quick mention for letterer Clayton Cowles, he does a great job, especially when Pym enters into the Diamond. Some really cool effects for that scene. I really like how Colorist Frank D’Armata gives everyone in the Diamond they’re own color of word balloon. Nice touch there.
This is a great book for comic geeks and computer nerds as Humphries has a clear understanding of how the technology of Dimitrios plot would work. He even throws in references to the film Hackers. Oh and we get Rogue calling Doombot a Fashionista! What more could you want.
And as of this writing, this issue was going back to the printers for a second print. Congrats!
Story: 5/5
Art: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
Tom is a contributing writer for Drunk On Comics. You can follow him on Twitter at @tphoto10.