New Avengers #12

By Jonathan Hickman and Mike Deodato

Infinity #6 is great and does a nice job of wrapping things up. New Avengers #12 serves as an epilogue of sorts and helps conclude the Illuminati’s part of the story. This is also where Marvel decided to throw in their teasers in order to sell you on the things to come, but they don’t beat you over the head with it.

Issue 12 answers some questions but manages to give us even more to ponder and scratch our heads over. It appears that the whole world ending thing is far from over. The Illuminati have a very long and chatty talk with Black Swan, discussing what they have and have not accomplished. It almost gets to be a bit much, but Hickman gives us enough juicy material and foreshadowing to keep things interesting.

Hickman uses Black Panther as the heart and soul of New Avengers and this issue is no different. Black Panther is now kicked out of his own city and faced with a fascinating dilemma. He’s now torn between his loyalty to his people and his duties as a world-saving hero. Being a member of the Illuminati requires much sacrifice and at the moment, T’Challa is sacrificing the most.

Mike Deodato does what he does best and draws the Illuminati the way they are meant to be drawn. Deodato and Frank Martin (color artist) uses scratches and shadow work to set the mood. The Illuminati are doing dark things that they don’t normally take part in and the art reflects that. Deodato’s work on facial expressions might be the best in the business.

New Avengers allows Infinity #6 to have a clean ending by taking the burden of the sales pitch of things to come. That being said, Hickman still manages to give us the goods and gives us no reason to believe that the drama and excitement will stop after Infinity. Hickman has closed Infinity on a high note and I can’t wait for what comes next in New Avengers.