Review: Young Avengers

 

Ah, the eternal struggle of I want to get into superhero comics but where the heck am I supposed to start?? This was my first foray into Marvel comics, at the recommendation of a friend, and it was definitely a new experience. It’s been quite a while since I’ve read any graphic novels at all – probably close to seven years. And I think it’s a kind of reading that you definitely need to get into the habit of to really enjoy properly. So I think a lot of my issues with the book came from 1) not being in the right reading habits to follow it properly and 2) my brain desperately needs to understand character backstories fully if they’ve been covered in another book, and since this is sort of the second installment of these characters (as far as I can tell), I felt like I was playing catchup quite a bit. Not to mention, of course, that most of the characters also have tie-ins to other series and their stories are picking up from those.

Like I said, kinda just how comics tend to operate, which my brain struggles with. But it did make for a rather confusing reading experience that I just had to accept. That being said, the art was absolutely brilliant. Probably not the best for someone just stepping into the comic book world because some of the pages were really complex, but just phenomenal. There were pages where I’d just sit and stare for five minutes to take everything in.

Also, delightfully queer – in fact, almost every main character is queer, and the central conflict revolves around Wiccan, the son of Scarlet Witch, and his ill-fated attempt to save his boyfriend’s mom from another dimension. Plus, the subtext of the villain – who is able to keep adults on her side by convincing them that parents know best – is also a clever nod to the behavior of homophobic and controlling parents. Also America Chavez is SO FREAKING COOL and much cooler than she was in the movie. Overall, although there were elements that confused me or were difficult to follow, I definitely want to read more of these stories, especially about these characters.

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