Cinemusings - Rot Your Brain

NEW AVENGERS #39
Momar Van Der Camp

Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Illustrated by David Mack

Plot:
Skrulls are invading the Marvel Universe and the team doesn't trust each other. This issue mainly features Echo, Wolverine, Hawkeye, and a skrull.

Commentary:
I've been reading Bendis' iteration of the Avengers since he took over the book and Disassembled the team. I've been a vocal supporter of the book in spite of inconsistent art teams and a constant influx of "We'll tell you later." The modus operandi of this team is "We'll figure it out later." Everything seems to be
coming to a head, paying off, in the next few months, and I feel that is the major reason I've stuck with this book. I like the book, but with the loss of Leinil Yu (they're only consistent artist since the book began, as he hit more than 6 issues in a row, the only other close contender was David Finch), I feel this book is starting to slip into a sense of tedium.

But this issue manages to invoke the changing landscape of the Marvel Universe with the impending Skrullmageddon (I still feel that and Skrullocalypse are better names for the mini starting April 2nd than Secret Invasion). From the opening pages of Echo and Wolverine discussing how they know neither is a
Skrull (Echo asks Wolverine about their past and he runs around the subject because he doesn't feel like going into specifics about their past as it would just lead them down the same romantic entanglement again), we get a sense of who Echo is and how tormented she is now that she doesn't feel she can trust
anyone, and the same for Wolverine.

There is actually what could be considered a cute scene between the two where she tells Wolverine not to hit on her, and he says he doesn't have to because she'll just hit on him, it actually sounds like Wolverine.

And that's one of Bendis' strongest suits usually. The voices of the characters. Until the (SPOILERS AGAIN) Daredevil skrull catches up to Echo. The scene feels completely wrong. With a group of alien invaders attempting to take over the Marvel U, why would Dareskrull be so inempt as to make so many mistakes and act completely unlike Daredevil, when so far, all of the Skrulls that have been seen have been so intwined in their world? It doesn't make sense. And this makes me think that Daredevil was not really a Skrull, this was just a Skrull out looking to take down Echo (stopped, of course, by the wonderful Wolverine, again, leading me to believe there's no possible way he's a Skrull if he'd save her life to the point of becoming cooked like bacon).

Finally, the issue ends with Hawkeye/Ronin and Echo making out. Overall, the issue works best with the character interactions (except Dareskrull) and the small moments, which for hardcore Avengers fans, either is completely against what they want for their favorite characters or just what the doctor ordered. To me, the small moments make this book work. It's where Bendis shines, it's where Mack shines, and it's where the Marvel Universe shines in general.

My last thought is regarding the up-in-arms movement people have struck against Mack's artwork, about his seeming theft of other people's stances or character art. It doesn't hurt this book at all, it doesn't affect me, especially as the Dareskrull (lifted from a Maleev cover) is probably one of the best looks for Daredevil, and the Skrulls mimicking these characters, shouldn't the artist be allowed to mimic another (just kidding)? As long as the art can remain consistent (which may never happen with this book again) and on time, so long as entire pages aren't lifted from another artist and redrawn then I feel like the lambasting of the amazing talent of Mack need not continue.

But who's a Skrull?

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