Composed By:
Writer: Christos Gage, Penciller: Sean Chen, Ink: Scott Hanna & Rebecca Buchman, Colours: Jeromy Cox, Letterer: Joe Caramagna, Cover Artist: Rodin Esquejo
Story:
Hank Pym tries to resurrect Jocasta following her brutal murder, calling on Magento, Emma Frost and Cyclops to help solve the mystery. Avengers Academy staff and students butt heads with these X-Men with some residual feelings clouding the judgment of some
Review:
It is hard to make a story feel as worthy as the one just past, in Avengers Academy #22, we see a story that takes the momentum that these stories have had and build a new dimension to it, one that sees this ball rolling fast and hard.
Issue #22 starts at a hairy moment in the Avengers Academy world when the safety of all is in jeopardy and all are in a frantic state. Gage builds his story around these feelings, showing us just how frayed around edges the characters are, and just how on alert they are too. Magneto coming into the story has a powerful feel, for these students had the tendency to turn bad, as Magneto did, so his presence can be seen as both a reminder of evil, or one of redemption, “Regenesis,” so to speak.
Gage proves his might with his handling of the guests in this issue, making it a touchy issue not only in the relationship of Magneto and Quicksilver, who do not see eye to eye and do not have any working relationship to speak of, but likewise, in Cyclops who quashes any affiliation the X-Men will have with Avengers Academy. Feeling are strained as Cyclops waves Pym off on his suggestion of a baseball game, isolating the Academy even more, after their run in with The Avengers last issue. Gage looks to make things more suffocating for this team, they have no one to turn to except in peril.
Chen has some nice artwork in this issue, it has a flavour that I particularly enjoy to see, it is vibrant and alive, filled with a kinetic energy. Often I have found though with Chen is that his art is not representational of the action and movement in the frame, he services the immediate action/reaction in the writing that isn’t always the right move, this is how he misses the mark. Frames need to feel like they work in tune with the writing, for a lot it is there however some do not convey the meaning accordingly.
It is not a hit and miss issue by any means, it just has its problems like most do to have the synthesis of writing to art, it is not new or uncommon, but in this issue I felt it could have been less obvious and frequent.
Verdict:
Although it has its flaws it is a good issue and has a really powerful team that works hard to produce quality. Its mistakes can be easily overlooked in favour of a suspenseful and enticing story and beautifully crafted frames that beckon us to read.
SERPENTS LAIR 