Books: The Avengers: Secret Avengers: Run the Mission, Don't Get Seen, Save the World

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Secret Avengers: Run the Mission, Don't Get Seen, Save the World
Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Jamie McKelvie, Kev Walker, David Aja, Michael Lark, Alex Maleev, Stuart Immonen
2012



Available now from Islington Libraries
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Even before I had even started one single word (or image) of Secret Avengers I opened up a new document so I could note down the stuff that came to me as I read it [1] and wrote down: "Good old Warren Ellis." At this point - that's how confident I am that having his name of the front cover of a comic means that - at the very least - it's a book that will be worth the time it takes to read: and - hell - if he's on form: then the sky is much less than the limit.

Of course: seeing how this is a mainstream marvel book (and not even a proper stand-alone one: I mean: at the start I was confused by the fact that it started at issue 16 and wondered if I was missing important story-stuff by starting at the middle [2]: but after deciding: "what the hey" I jumped in and realised that none of this was even an issue: and that the Vol 3 thing is a bit of a misnomer: seeing how it reads as a collection of short stories more than anything else: but we'll get to that in a bit) it's Ellis working for a (what I assume is a fat) paycheck more than trying to set the world on fire: but there's enough here to keep your brain (well - my brain at least) ticking over and twisted in knots: plus the fact that the artwork is (at points) pretty cool (I'd classify it as B-list [3] - which is several letters above the type of thing you normally get in your typical mainstream superhero comics so - you know: that's something at least): or - to put it another way: ok - yeah: it's basically just bubblegum - but it's well made bubblegum: with a lot of interesting flavours.

What that means: it's got a robust vocabulary (which means that you get lots of lovely words like "stellify" and "indubitably." [4]), Ellis' typical gonzo dialogue (with "Where is your Bluddy Steve Jobs Tricknology now, rich yankee pigs with your tight pants?" on one side and "People always forget that a time machine is also a space machine." on the other) with a healthy smattering of ideas (including: how to use city as a bomb)   and a deft touch with superhero characterization (with basically just means everyone gets to say one cool line at some point): like it says in the book: "it's clever and insane at the same time."

What's even better is that (taking a cue from Planetary): each issue is it's own self-contained little story: which means that it's really easy to dip in-and-out (because - you know: reading a whole comic can be such a major chore). In fact - forget Planetary: a much better example would be the short-lived Global Frequency: I mean - all you need to do is swap Miranda Zero for Steve Rogers and it's practically the same - only with the science-fictional volume turned all the way up (hey: I mean - it's superheroes so that's expected - right?): compact little action-adventure tales poking holes in the fabric of the world: short stories that are all quips and teeth.

I mean: for me - if you wanted to know what would make it better then I'd suggest that it cut down on the fighting (and: man - there is a lot of fighting) and ramped up the M C Escher style craziness: but that's just niggles. But like I said at the start: it's Warren Ellis - so (at this point) you should know exactly what it is you're going to get. And - hell: I'm always game for whatever good time he has to show me: even if the next day I can barley recall what it was that we got up to: but that's bubblegum for you.

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[1] Here's my tip for anyone out there thinking of reviewing stuff - it helps a lot if you write down your thoughts are you read it / watch it: trying to remember the things you were thinking of afterwards isn't really a viable option.

[2] And nosing around I discovered that there are two volumes of Secret Avengers that came before this (courtesy of Ed Brubaker): plus a tie-in to the Fear Itself blah: not to mention the Rick Remender series that comes directly after. However: I don't think I'm gonna bother to read either of them (let alone write them up on the blog - so (for the time being) this is as much Secret Avengers insight you're going to get from me: so enjoy it while it lasts.

[3] Notable artists (for me anyway) include: Kev Walker (a 2000AD graduate done good), Michael Lark (best known for his work on Gotham Central: and his lean, mean drawing style), Alex Maleev (the guy who did all the heavy lifting on Bendis' Daredevil run: who's even better at that realism feeling: and messing around with different drawing old-fashioned styles) and Stuart Immonen (who worked on the tail-end Ultimate Spider-man: and whose artwork looks like it would bounce if you threw it up against a wall).

[4] Which - obviously - reminds me of this. 

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Links: Forbidden Planet Blog Review.

Further reading: Global Frequency, Thunderbolts: Faith in Monsters / Caged Angels, The Avengers: The New Avengers: Illuminati, Ultimate Comics: Iron Man: Armor Wars, Gotham Central, Daredevil (2001 - 2006), Ultimate Spider-Man, Planetary, S.H.I.E.L.D..

Profiles: Warren Ellis.

All comments welcome.