All-New, All-Different Avengers #15

By Mark Waide, Adam Kubert and Paul Mounts

There are several Avenger’s titles or Avenger character titles on the racks these days. Picking one or two books to whet your whistle can be difficult, especially since there really isn’t a stand-out book in the bunch. All-New, All-Different Avengers has been fairly good, but not without some bumps in the road along the way. This is the last issue before yet another re-launch and yet another team change, but don’t hold that against it. All-New, All-Different Avengers #15 is an excellent issue to break up the seriousness that is Civil War II.

No other Avengers book has come under as much criticism upon launch as All-New, All-Different Avengers. Most of this had to do with the new team members of Nova, Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel. These were all teen characters and some contingent of readers, myself included, scoffed at the lineup. Having said that, this has been a decent series so far, and this issue acts as a closer before the new re-launch (thanks again Marvel). Waid focuses on Thor as she goes to see Heimdall for advice on the Civil War between the heroes. From there we get thrown into a flashback issue of a similar scenario where Thor Odinson, while with an original group of Avengers, asks Heimdall for advice due to his ability. Waid gets down all of the characters in this flashback; everyone’s voice is spot on. It’s also great to see one of the best Avenger’s lineups actually working together again, instead of fighting each other. The biggest stan out of the issue under Waid’s pen is no doubt Doctor Doom. Waid writes him with a cockiness that no matter what happens against the good guys, Doom wins. While nothing happens that really adds to what is going on in Civil War II, this is a good standalone story that works with or without being a tie-in to an event.

The pencils this issue are handled by Adam Kubert with colors by Paul Mounts. This is an issue where it almost seems like we have two artists and two colorists because of the present and past sections of the book. Kubert delivers on both sections spectacularly. The modern day panels look great and in the first two pages we are treated to a huge image of Heimdall before Thor. The page looks flawless and everything about it rocks. Kubert earns extra points for having the stars or other galaxies surrounding Heimdall’s eyes in every panel. As the issue goes to the flashback the book gets vertical. The art in these pages has a more classic feel to them and things get very detailed. Everything from blueprints on the table to sweat running down Tony Stark’s brow are seen. The colors by Paul Mounts are great here too. Without his work, Kubert’s pencils may not be as wonderful. Mounts uses some lighter colors for the flashback panels that really make it feel older. A great job on the art section of the book and this may be some of Adam Kubert’s best work of his career.

As All-New, Al-Different Avengers winds down, you should walk away from this issue satisfied. If you didn’t love the series as a whole, this is at least a very good way to wrap it up. Everyone involved should feel proud, as this was honestly one of the best issues of the entire run.