Comics / Comic Reviews / Marvel Comics

Avengers Academy #9

By Colin Andersen
February 17, 2011 - 18:42

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I love Avengers Academy! I was fully prepared to hate this series when it was first announced. I didn’t see the point of starting a book so similar seeming to Avengers: The Initiative so shortly after that book was cancelled, even with Christos Gage on board. I was even less enthused when I heard that Mike McKone, one of my personal least favorite artists, was going to be the penciller for the book. Well I admit it, I was wrong on all counts. There has yet to be a issue of Avengers Academy that has failed to entertain me and issue #9 is no exception.
   

This issue not only picks up where the cliffhanger from last issue left off, but also features Finesse’s pursuit of the villain who may be her father: the Taskmaster! Overall, the story is a strong one this month and really follows Tigra as she tries to deal with the beating some of the kids gave to her former abuser, The Hood. If you have seen any of the solicitations for the next few months of covers, then you know already that the kids’ expulsion from the Academy doesn’t stick. However, knowing that they will return does not detract from the story as the issue is more about how Tigra and the other instructors handle their own emotions based on what the kids did and why the decide to allow them back into the Academy. This is handled extremely well with some of the instructors getting some very insightful lines in that deal with their own sordid pasts. Quicksilver gets a particularly good moment in a conversation with Tigra that really incorporated his own past particularly well into the issue.
    Back on the side of the Taskmaster plot, things are handled equally well. I particularly enjoyed the way Gage chose to answer the question of whether or not Taskmaster is actually Finesse’s father; I think anyone who read Fred Van Lente’s recent Taskmaster mini-series will enjoy it as well. Some might find it a bit unfulfilling but I really think it worked well for the characters and the answer still allows for some wonderfully emotional scenes. Gage writes one of the best Taskmasters I’ve seen in recent years and he shines in his relatively little screen time. The encounter also allows for some much needed character moments for Finesse as well. Her emotionless personality has the unfortunate side-effect of making her one of Avengers Academy’s more bland characters but the reader gets a chance to see a bit of her vulnerable side here.
    I am consistently amazed at how much I enjoy Mike McKone’s work in this series. His cartoonish and loose art style just never worked for me and his characters tended to look strangely rubbery, but that problem is almost entirely absent  in Avengers Academy. He still has some problems making faces look particularly distinctive and some pages look more rushed than others but overall this is a great looking book. At first I was not sold on the way he drew Taskmaster’s mask, but it really grew on me as the issue progressed; it makes him look both frightening and surprisingly emotive as the scene calls for it. Credit also has to go to Rebecca Buchman for her inks here as they really help control McKone’s loose style and keeps things looking mostly consistent. Colorist Jeremy Cox also does an excellent job at making colors pop and making this issue feel like, well, a comic book. When a series makes me sad to hear that Mike McKone is leaving art duties, it has definitely done something very right.
    Avengers Academy is easily one of the most consistent comic books on stands today. There really is little for me to complain about from month to month. Gage makes Academy so entertaining even with each issue telling its own story for the most part. Honestly, if you like superheroes at all and especially if you love tips of the hat to Avengers history, there is no reason that you should not be reading this series. It is that good. Do yourselves a favor and start reading this now if you aren’t already.

Rating: 9.5 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12