Comics Bulletin logo
Search
  • Columns
    Random
    • Countdown Breakdown #49

      Chase Magnett
      May 25, 2007
      Columns, Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    Recent
    • The Full Run: Final Crisis #4

      Daniel Gehen, Jason Jeffords Jr.
      December 11, 2019
    • What Looks Good for the Week of December 11, 2019

      Daniel Gehen, Jason Jeffords Jr.
      December 9, 2019
    • What Looks Good For the Week of December 4, 2019

      Daniel Gehen
      December 2, 2019
    • What Looks Good
    • Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    • The Full Run
    • Leading Question
    • Top 10
    • The Long-Form
    • Jumping On
    • Comics in Color
    • Slouches Towards Comics
  • Big Two
    Random
    • Podcast: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou reads Suicide Squad #10—RCBC

      Chase Magnett
      August 22, 2016
      DC Comics, Interviews, Reboot Comic Book Club, Suicide Squad
    Recent
    • The Full Run: Final Crisis #4

      Daniel Gehen, Jason Jeffords Jr.
      December 11, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: Orm (Ocean Master)

      nguyen ly
      December 7, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: DC Stargirl

      nguyen ly
      November 30, 2019
    • DC Comics
    • Big Two Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
  • Indie
    Random
    • Monday Morning Pick 'Em - 5/22/2019: Blood, Bones, and Monsters!

      Chase Magnett
      May 20, 2019
      AfterShock Comics, Columns, IDW, Image, Monday Morning Pick 'Em, What Looks Good
    Recent
    • Review: Transformers Galaxies #3 and the problem with Constructicons

      Stephen Cook
      December 3, 2019
    • AHOY Comics Announces A Wave of Titles for 2020

      Daniel Gehen
      November 12, 2019
    • What Looks Good for the Week of November 13th, 2019

      Daniel Gehen
      November 11, 2019
    • Reviews
    • Archie Comics
    • Boom! Studios
    • Dark Horse
    • IDW
    • Image
    • Oni Press
  • Reviews
    Random
    • Review: 'Tex the Lonesome Rider' is a gift to fans of Joe Kubert

      Chase Magnett
      March 16, 2015
      Reviews
    Recent
    • 2.0

      Review: Roku #1 Fails to Deliver

      Jason Jeffords Jr.
      November 11, 2019
    • 3.5

      Review: AMAZING MARY JANE #1 Starts Strong But Plays it Safe With Messaging

      Daniel Gehen
      October 29, 2019
    • 4.0

      Review: Count Crowley – Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter #1

      Mike Nickells
      October 22, 2019
    • Singles Going Steady
    • Slugfest
    • Manga
      • Reviews
    • Small Press
      • Reviews
      • ICYMI
      • Tiny Pages Made of Ashes
  • Interviews
    Random
    • Pete Crowther: Pre-code Horror Comics Rock Your Boat

      Chase Magnett
      March 30, 2012
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview: V.E. Schwab on revisiting Red London in The Steel Prince

      Stephen Cook
      March 13, 2019
    • Interview: David Foster Wallace and Hellblazer, words on Wyrd with writer Curt Pires

      Stephen Cook
      February 27, 2019
    • “The Night Has Teeth” An Interview with Sarah deLaine, Artist of Image Comics’ “Little Girls”

      Jason Sacks
      February 26, 2019
    • Audio Interview
    • Video Interview
  • Classic Comics
    Random
    • Classic Interview: Clem Robins Pt. I - A Lettering Legend

      Chase Magnett
      September 18, 2015
      Classic Interviews
    Recent
    • Countdown to the King: Marvel’s Godzilla

      Daniel Gehen
      May 29, 2019
    • Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

      Daniel Gehen
      February 15, 2019
    • Reliving the Craziest Decade in Comics History: An interview with Jason Sacks

      Mark Stack
      January 2, 2019
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade
    • Classic Interviews
  • News
    Random
    • Exclusive Preview – Bucky Barnes Winter Soldier #4 from Marvel

      Chase Magnett
      January 15, 2015
      News, Previews
    Recent
    • AHOY Comics Announces A Wave of Titles for 2020

      Daniel Gehen
      November 12, 2019
    • Valiant’s BLOODSHOT Trailer is Finally Here

      Daniel Gehen
      October 21, 2019
    • The Rafaels Team-Up for “HIDDEN SOCIETY”

      Daniel Gehen
      October 3, 2019
    • Titan to Release Phantom of the Opera GN

      Daniel Gehen
      October 1, 2019
    • GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Title Awarded to Todd McFarlane for SPAWN

      Daniel Gehen
      September 30, 2019
    • Jim Shooter Brings SLOW CITY BLUES to IMAGE

      Daniel Gehen
      September 24, 2019
  • Books
    Random
    • Jeff Lemire's 'Roughneck' is a Journey to a Wilderness as Bleak as its Characters

      Chase Magnett
      April 11, 2017
      Books
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen

      nguyen ly
      November 22, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: NFL Superpro

      nguyen ly
      August 31, 2019
    • “THE BEST OF WITZEND” is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2018
    • Review: ‘Machete Squad’ is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Jason Sacks
      July 31, 2018
    • Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Jason Sacks
      July 23, 2018
    • Review: ‘Bizarre Romance’ Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
What's New
  • The Full Run: Final Crisis #4
  • What Looks Good for the Week of December 11, 2019
  • Collecting Profile: Orm (Ocean Master)
  • Review: Transformers Galaxies #3 and the problem with Constructicons
  • What Looks Good For the Week of December 4, 2019
  • Collecting Profile: DC Stargirl
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Write for us!
  • Visit Video Game Break!
Home
Big Two

Watching the Avengers: Avengers Standoff Assault On Pleasant Hill Alpha #1

Chase Magnett
March 11, 2016
Big Two, Big Two Reviews, Marvel Comics

A couple of weeks ago we tooks a look at Marvel Comics’ current lineup of X-Men comics reviewing each of the five significant titles (Extraordinary X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, All-New X-Men, Old Man Logan, and All-New Wolverine). This was written under the nominal excuse of discovering whether Marvel really planned to cancel the line. That’s all a bunch of rumor mongering nonsense from comics clickbaits sites though. In actuality it was a way to review a series of titles and perform a “checkup” on the health of a brand.

This week we will be setting Chase Magnett on another assessment of Marvel mainstream titles. However, this time he’ll be taking a look at those with the greatest connection to Marvel Studios: The Avengers. So how are the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes performing? Are they involved in quality comics or putting out the same saddening mediocrity we observed in the X-line? Stay tuned to find out.

Avengers Standoff Assault On Pleasant Hill Alpha #1

Written by Nick Spencer

Art by Jesus Saiz

Letters by Clayton Cowles

Event comics already come with a negative stigma. Taken as a whole, they generally trend in a negative direction for all aspects of quality. The intense combination of plot machinations and loads of characters coupled with even more rigorous scheduling makes it difficult to pull off a great event. Even with a reasonable handicap applied for these considerations, Avengers Standoff Assault On Pleasant Hill Alpha #1 (henceforth known as Avengers Standoff #1) is an absolute, interminable mess; it is a slog that fails to deliver even the slightest rewards over the course of 32 pages.

The script for Avengers Standoff #1 bears a greater resemblance to The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe than any Avengers comics currently being published. Much of the book is devoted purely to exposition with characters explaining key concepts, character arcs, and previous events to one another. The narrative flow of the book crawls like a sludge-filled river serving primarily to string all of this explanation together. Most pages are packed with captions and word balloons focusing the act of reading almost entirely on prose. Letterer Clayton Cowles does an admirable job of making all this text fit and function, but the good placement of poor writing still leaves poor writing on the page. It could be claimed that all of this is meant to build towards a cliffhanger, but the plotting of Avengers Standoff #1 fails to either build excitement or construct a conclusion that will leave readers shocked.

Avengers Standoff Assault on Pleasant Hill Alpha Rick Jones

That stilted scripting of never-ending exposition provides very little opportunity for visual exploration in any case. Most panels feature only a few characters talking at one another. They don’t utilize even basic techniques like “Wally Wood’s 22 Panels That Always Work” to make these coma-inducing scenes engaging in individual panels though. The workmanlike hacking of the words is matched by similar artistic techniques. A painted quality of panels fails to evoke any sense of wonder or admiration as colors are sloppily layered upon one another. In the rare instance when a panel does manage to form a dramatic perspective, like when Maria Hill flies towards a diner on a helicopter, it’s only a sad reminder as to how long it has take to read the rest of the issue. Even the big finale of the issue falls flat as everything goes off the rails. The conclusion of this issue has been broadcast not only in Avengers Standoff itself, but in another one-shot that essentially touched upon the same beats. Action is a longtime coming and when it finally hits, it is only a montage of undramatic chaos.

Struggling under the demands of explaining so many concepts and establishing so many scenarios, Avengers Standoff #1 does not even reflect a sense of style. Attempts at pop culture-based humor and references to American politics all fall flat. One S.H.I.E.L.D. agent pokes at the scandal around Hillary Clinton’s e-mails in a joke that is neither funny nor inciting; it just is. Other mentions of things like The Simpsons are dropped on readers with the assumption that a passing knowledge of television can be passed off as a sense of humor. This is the sort of “cleverness” that a college freshman ought to be disabused of in his very first workshop. Whether the ties to reality are sunk in only a cursory viewing of CNN or a lack of respect for reader’s intelligence, they fail to lift ample dialogue above a drone.

Avengers Standoff Assault on Pleasant Hill Alpha Maria Hill

If a justification for providing this comic any sort of rating must be given, then let it be this: If you read Avengers Standoff #1 you will comprehend what is on the page. The massive exposition dumps may be baffling and it might be a struggle to keep your eyes open, but the comic is a cogent narrative that could be summarized in a book report. Avengers Standoff #1 displays a comprehension of how comics are assembled, and that’s the nicest thing to be said about it.

Watching The Avengers Wrap Up

Based on this review alone you might be inclined to think that Marvel’s lineup of Avengers comics are in bad shape, but that’s not true. Avengers Standoff is a unique low point amidst a set of titles that generally fall in the range of mediocre to great. While the [Insert Adjective] Avengers titles all fall into the basic sets of tropes in team superhero comics, most offer at least something of value. The Ultimates takes the title of best Avengers title showing what science-fiction, superhero, and Marvel comics are all capable of. It’s the crown jewel of this lineup and one that shows the Avengers line is far healthier than the current crop of X-titles.

This might just be a matter of luck with the two best Avengers books both being written by Al Ewing. Excluding Avengers Standoff #1 though, the entire set hits a much more consistent set of highs. Even with the generally lackluster and safe comic All-New, All-Different Avengers, there’s something to be said for reliable entertainment. There appears to be greater attention and effort being paid to the Avengers right now. Well, it’s that or Ewing just makes this group look good.

Check Out Other Installments Here:

All-New, All-Different Avengers #6

New Avengers #7

Uncanny Avengers #6

The Ultimates #4

Watching the Avengers: Avengers Standoff Assault On Pleasant Hill Alpha #1
1.0Overall Score

Assault On Pleasant HillAvengersJesus SaizNick SpencerStandoff

Share On:
Tweet
Classic Comics Cavalcade: Steve Gerber’s Morbius Part 4: Jet Packs and Other Random Brilliance
Classic Interview: Joseph Barney Pt. II – Headin’ West

About The Author

Chase Magnett
Comics Theorist

Chase is a mild-mannered finance guy by day and a raving comics fan by night. He has been reading comics for more than half of his life. After graduating from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with degrees in Economics and English, he has continued to research comics while writing articles and reviews online. His favorite superhero is Superman and he'll accept no other answers. Don't ask about his favorite comic unless you're ready to spend a day discussing dozens of different titles.

Related Posts

  • Singles Going Steady – Welcome Aboard Edition!

    Daniel Gehen, Mike Nickells
    October 1, 2019
  • The Apoliticism of Mainstream Comics

    Daniel Gehen
    September 12, 2019

Support Us!

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Friends of the Site

  • Your Chicken Enemy
  • Psycho Drive-In
  • Women Write About Comics
  • The Beat
  • Loser City
  • Comic Book Collect
RSSTwitterFacebookgoogleplusinstagramtumblr

Comics Bulletin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, Comics Bulletin earns from qualifying purchases.

All content on this site (c) 2018 The Respective Copyright Holders