Avengers Annual #1 Review
Marvel Comics
Writer: Kathryn Immonen
Artist: David LaFuente
Color Art: Rain Beredo & Lee Loughridge
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover Art: David Lafuente & Lee Loughridge
Review by Tom Barnett
First off, this is a perfect annual. Yes, I said perfect. Infinity is over and other evil deeds are in the works, but this story takes place in between all the world saving. It’s the holidays and the Avengers get a break too, right? Every Avenger has made his or her holiday plans, just as soon as they can get Shang-Chi’s tour group out of the tower. Unfortunately, a young girl named Zamira, yes the girl with the big Z on her shirt, has other plans.
This tale of Christmas mayhem is brought to you by the creative team of Kathryn Immonen and David Lafuente. They’re the same folks that gave us the great Hellcat series a few years back and the Iron Fist and Doop story in A+X #5. I’ve gushed about Immonen’s writing before on Journey into Mystery and I’m doing it again on this book. She brings great plotting and wonderful scripting to anything she writes. But more than that, Immonen brings an understanding for the characters she writes. These aren’t just cardboard cut outs in an action story. They’re believable characters in an engaging and oft time’s humorous narrative.
And then there’s David Lafuente, who loves to drop easter eggs in his background, such as the poster for Hellcat 3. I love his work as it is a totally unique style that is instantly recognizable. I really enjoyed his splash page of Times Square. He does great action scenes and adds some wonderful details. Immonen and Lafuente work well together and should really be doing an ongoing. Even a series of ongoing mini’s would be cool.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the great job by the colorists and letterer. Color artists Rain Beredo and Lee Loughridge, who is everywhere nowadays, do a splendid job here. Their colors make it feel like Christmas time, you know how it’s dark at 5, but the holiday lights brighten things up a bit. Cory Petit does a great job on all the voices in this issue, especially the off panel ones.
This issue has moments of action and quiet introspection all wrapped up with a bow of humor and whimsy. It’s a pure delight to read and a nice break from the heavy events that permeate comics these days. Oh and by the way, Hellcat doesn’t like mornings! But this humble reviewer loves this comic!
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.