Dr. Strange is no longer Sorcerer Supreme and needs the Avengers to help find the new one.
The New Avengers #52
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: Chris Bachalo and Billy Tan
Inkers: Matt Banning and Tim Townsend
Colorists: Antonio Fabela and Justin Ponsor
Letterer: Albert Deschesne
Cover A: Billy Tan, Matt Banning and Jason Keith
Variant Cover: Chris Bachalo
Summary: Who is the new Sorcerer Supreme? The entire Marvel Universe hangs in the balance as the Avengers race to help the fallen Doctor Strange battle the forces of the Dark Dimension as they make their earthly power play.
Review:This review also touches upon recent major events from Amazing Spider-Man #591. New Avengers #52 starts out cracking on a town where I used to work and only one hour from where I live, not to mention the home to the Joe Kubert School of Cartooning, Dover, New Jersey. Picking up this particular issue as my first foray into the New Avengers seemed like fate. The dialog and story save this issue from a thumbs-down rating.
The biggest surprise hitting the Avengers team this week is that Spider-man has revealed himself as Peter Parker to them (again). This comes after the Amazing Spider-man devastation, One More Day which gave back Spidey his secret identity (among other catastrophic changes) after he outed himself publicly at the end of J. Michael Straczynski’s run. When Spidey repeated his unmasking in his own title’s issue #591 to just the Avengers, the teammates recalled their memories which had been wiped by Mephisto. Now, in New Avengers #52, an unmasked Spider-man is amongst the team in Captain America’s Brooklyn hideout meeting with Dr. Stephen Strange.
Since the finale of Secret Invasion, Dr. Strange is no longer the Sorcerer Supreme, a mantle bestowed upon him. Dr. Strange is still in possession of the Eye of Agamotto which should rightfully be in the hands of the new Sorcerer Supreme only he has no idea who that is. The Eye is able to lead him from city to city but it does not give him details on who the person is. You might be wondering where exactly Wiccan fits into this, but it’s not yet revealed to readers.
This issue gets bonus points for some rather witty banter between Dr. Strange and his fellow heroes regarding the Eye of Agamotto:
Spider Woman: What does it do?
Spider-man: It holds up his cape, right?
Strange: No. (That’s funny.) It does much more than that.
Strange: It’s not a magic eight ball.
Wolverine: Maybe you should get one of those too.
Meanwhile, the Hood’s demon Dormammu is trying to take over his human host Parker Robbins, completely eliminating any humanity left. Robbins finds some friendly comfort in Madame Masque.
There are several problems in the production of this issue. The lettering could use some improvements. It was difficult to figure out the proper order to read the speech bubbles, most especially when the Avengers were sitting around a table but in other points of the book as well. The art felt incredibly schizophrenic with vast differences in scenes; then I realized the art was done by six different people! It’s inconsistent and adds to the confusion. With this many different hands touching the panels, it’s no wonder the book was visually jarring.
With the character development of the Avengers and Dr. Strange moving along as they handle all of their personal issues and still adapt to life on the wrong side of the Super Hero Registration Act, Spider-man’s black and white stance on what’s right and what’s wrong feels incredibly unnatural. Ms. Marvel admits to stealing a jet in order for their team to continue crime fighting and Spidey’s response, “Stealing is stealing,” is naive and lacking. If there’s one thing the SHRA proved, it was that right and wrong are not so easily definable. And if memory serves me correctly, there have been moments when Spider-man would steal a formula, chemical or gadget if it meant he could use it for one of his greater plans; even if he intended on giving it back.
The issue is still a recommended reading for those who love hilarious dialog. You won’t be disappointed in Hellstorm’s “emotional conversation” with his ex-wife on the telephone.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
That is one awesome cover. I’m tempted to pick it up just for that and the dialogue.