New Avengers 31: ACTION!

New Avengers 31: "Revolution, Part 5" (Bendis & Yu).

After four issues of mostly stagnated or frustrated action, Bendis lets Leinil Yu cut loose this issue and we get a book 95% full of Avengers vs. Ninjas. I can't help but think these must be nearly impossible books for Bendis to write. He's not a Claremont, who often (especially at the initial waning of his run as the #1 writer in comics) seemed to take particular delight in putting as many words on the page as possible, choking away the effectiveness of the artistic presentation. No, Bendis is more than fair to his co-creators, giving them plenty of room to tell the story visually, but he likes to write, and he likes to write intrigue and mystery. He is, after all, first and foremost a crime writer. In a book like New Avengers, however, you've got to let all that tension out in big ways every now and then or you risk frustrating the audience too much to make your payoffs work like you want them to.

Such is the case with New Avengers 31. The Marvel Hype Machine promised "the most important last page of any Marvel comic this year!" It may turn out to be just that (especially since this is supposed to be the start of the 2008 Mega Event), but it wasn't a "blow your mind" moment. Elektra's a Skrull. I dunno - not exactly shocking, but then "important" doesn't mean "shocking." It's means, ironically, "important." But while many are focusing on this moment and while it's never a good idea to hold the Hype Machine to its words, the revelation that Elektra is a Skrull isn't the issue's last page. The last page is back at Strange's Sanctum Starbucksium, where the implication is that Luke and Jessica's daughter is a Skrull.

That'd be a Bendis move - hit everyone with the big Elektra reveal and then try to slide the most important moment in under the radar. Or maybe it doesn't mean anything. Either way, the implication is pretty clear - the Skrulls are attempting another invasion of Earth.

All told, New Avengers 31 wasn't the most satisfying read. Yu's pencils (which I like) are at their least effective during fight scenes where it often becomes difficult to clearly follow the action. The colors are way too murky, too.

"Revolution" was a solid story overall, but the weakest issue was the last issue and that doesn't leave a good taste in your mouth when then happens.