"BOSS LEVEL" PART 3:
THE FINAL BATTLES BEGIN!
• Up on Murder World Island, it's the surviving contestants in an all-out battle royale!
• Down in Arcade's lair, it's two other contestants vs. Arcade!
Karl Moline fills in for Kev Walker this issue, and while he does a fine job (his layouts and action panels are specifically cool) it's still hard not to miss Walker. There's a few individual panels that fall prey to the "too many cooks in the kitchen" trope due to all the inkers on duty this issue, specifically Arcade's pow wow's with Apex and Death Locket. But all the characters maintain their distinct looks so it's not too jarring as Avengers Arena heads toward it's promised "epic" conclusion. Read Full Review
Aside from this there were some inconsistencies with the art, even though overall it was clean with bold colors and inking. This still doesn't stop Avengers Arena from having a set up to the finale we have been anticipating. Who will die? Who will be the hero of this story? Will any of them be the same who survive? All reasons to read this book and want to get to that ending. Read Full Review
It's funny that this book has taken so much flak for being a "stunt" or "killing so many characters" when really, over sixteen issues, Hopeless has killed fewer characters than Superboy Prime did back in a single issue of Infinite Crisis. None of the deaths, no, not even the ones that made everyone so very angry at the beginning, were done arbitrarily or without reason and that's the linchpin that holds the entire book together in the end. There's a certain suspense that holds the book together that is absent from a LOT of mainstream books, and it's what I mentioned before: you honestly don't know who's going to live and who's going to die. Read Full Review
Avengers Arena #16 is another solid entry in a very enjoyable series. This is one of the few series put out by the Big 2 that can consistently offer surprises for whoever is reading it.Avengers Arena is turning out to be the sleeper hit of Marvel NOW. Read Full Review
Kev Walker is again absent. Why can't we get more consecutive issues out of this guy? He's one of the best artists working today and the main draw of this series. Artist Karl Moline does a fine job filling in with a style that is in line with Walker's, but it's not as good as the real thing. To be fair, Moline has some excellent layouts and paneling that pick up as the momentum of the story reaches its surprise conclusion. Two more! Read Full Review
© 2024
Prev
