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Avengers (2012) (Collected Editions)
Avengers, Vol. 2: The Last White Event
The Avengers must scramble to deal with the threat of another Universal SYSTEM. The New Adam is transformed, and his true self revealed. And the most dangerous hero on Earth is created. The Avengers face off against the World Breaker. Discover the imminent threat to the Avengers World. Watch as we get our first hints as the hidden connections between the events of Avengers and New Avengers.
Collecting: Avengers 7-11
Collecting: Avengers 7-11
168 pages, Hardcover
First published April 29, 2013
33 people are currently reading
506 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Hickman
1,224 books2,046 followersJonathan Hickman is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for creating the Image Comics series The Nightly News, The Manhattan Projects and East of West, as well as working on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, FF, and S.H.I.E.L.D. titles. In 2012, Hickman ended his run on the Fantastic Four titles to write The Avengers and The New Avengers, as part the "Marvel NOW!" relaunch. In 2013, Hickman wrote a six-part miniseries, Infinity, plus Avengers tie-ins for Marvel Comics. In 2015, he wrote the crossover event Secret Wars. - Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 188 reviews
March 2, 2017
Alrighty. So *cough* this is a tad trippy, disjointed, and weird.
But. I'm assuming that Hickman is building towards something big, and I'm willing to cut him some slack.
I'm struggling to put into words what exactly happened here. Struggling, and failing. The yellow dude (above) has fucked with Earth and kinda made it sentient. Ish.
This causes problems.
And then there's this SuperFlow...thing? I don't know what it is, but it's dying/breaking down/being eaten...something!
Again, this is bad.
Besides that stuff, there are a couple of new beings that have been created recently. Their jobs are supposed to be to fight whatever is coming, but it appears that something went wrong in their programming. Except they aren't robots...so, I'm not sure (<--I'm not sure about anything in this comic, by the way!) if I'm explaining it right.
Anyway, this young man (Star Brand?) gets bestowed with godlike powers, and while he's all naked and freaking out, the Avengers (for some odd reason) decide to attack him.
Like, they are ALL total dicks.
WTF?! Captain America was trying to talk calmly to him, and then all of a sudden they (somewhat randomly) decide they need to hit him with hammers & laser beams.
The whole thing was ridiculous and VERY avoidable.
Lots of eye-rolling and head shaking during this issue...
There's an issue with Canada's Omega Flight, as well.
I knew you Maple leaf bastards had nukes!
It was, um, like everything else in this volume. The team runs into otherworldly problems, and...Trippy Things!
What's happening?!
Then Thor and Hyperion decide to teach these new beings/children how to be good, and recruit some of the other Avengers to help them with classes.
Maybe Superior Spider-man isn't a good choice, though.
Another storyline has a group of Avengers heading to Vegas to find out who is buying/selling a super-duper powerful weapon.
Someone take the pliers away from Natasha, please!
Ok, there's really nothing wrong with the actual stories, but it feels like you're only seeing snippets of a much bigger picture, and it's, quite frankly, pretty annoying. I have volume 3 on loan from my library, so I'm definitely going to read it, but beyond that I'm not sure.
Oh, who am I kidding?! There's a ton of it on Marvel Unlimited, and I'll probably finish this out just to satisfy my curiosity.
Anne = Sucker
But. I'm assuming that Hickman is building towards something big, and I'm willing to cut him some slack.
I'm struggling to put into words what exactly happened here. Struggling, and failing. The yellow dude (above) has fucked with Earth and kinda made it sentient. Ish.
This causes problems.
And then there's this SuperFlow...thing? I don't know what it is, but it's dying/breaking down/being eaten...something!
Again, this is bad.
Besides that stuff, there are a couple of new beings that have been created recently. Their jobs are supposed to be to fight whatever is coming, but it appears that something went wrong in their programming. Except they aren't robots...so, I'm not sure (<--I'm not sure about anything in this comic, by the way!) if I'm explaining it right.
Anyway, this young man (Star Brand?) gets bestowed with godlike powers, and while he's all naked and freaking out, the Avengers (for some odd reason) decide to attack him.
Like, they are ALL total dicks.
WTF?! Captain America was trying to talk calmly to him, and then all of a sudden they (somewhat randomly) decide they need to hit him with hammers & laser beams.
The whole thing was ridiculous and VERY avoidable.
Lots of eye-rolling and head shaking during this issue...
There's an issue with Canada's Omega Flight, as well.
I knew you Maple leaf bastards had nukes!
It was, um, like everything else in this volume. The team runs into otherworldly problems, and...Trippy Things!
What's happening?!
Then Thor and Hyperion decide to teach these new beings/children how to be good, and recruit some of the other Avengers to help them with classes.
Maybe Superior Spider-man isn't a good choice, though.
Another storyline has a group of Avengers heading to Vegas to find out who is buying/selling a super-duper powerful weapon.
Someone take the pliers away from Natasha, please!
Ok, there's really nothing wrong with the actual stories, but it feels like you're only seeing snippets of a much bigger picture, and it's, quite frankly, pretty annoying. I have volume 3 on loan from my library, so I'm definitely going to read it, but beyond that I'm not sure.
Oh, who am I kidding?! There's a ton of it on Marvel Unlimited, and I'll probably finish this out just to satisfy my curiosity.
Anne = Sucker
July 23, 2015
Shallow Comic Reader Buddy Reads are back!
Nice banner, Kat Stark!
Here: If Hollywood has gotten their grubby, greedy mitts on these characters, then they qualify.
Dear Mr. Hickman,
Please write super hero comics that normal people, like me, can read, understand and enjoy. Save all your highfalutin ideas for East of West, which nobody who’s not doing massive doses of mind altering drugs can have a hope of understanding. Okay?
Your New Avengers stuff is a case-in-point about doing it right. It’s a big boy idea, but it’s accessible (enough), clever and fun without dumbing it down for those of us whose minds wander when we have to read a lot of words instead of look at pretty pictures.
This volume:
I don’t even know where to begin with the questions. Dreamspace? – Superflows? – Central Web? - Starbrand?
And this dude?
Huh? Who? Even a brain box like Tony Stark is having a hard time getting a bead on this.
Thanks for including the Hulk, so he can just smash sh*t instead of thinking things through.
The other two stories included in this volume were okay. Not so much heavy lifting (Thanks! My head was starting to hurt. Real bad.). Omega Flight and Canada need help from Murica (again) and Avengers at a gambling casino with drunken underlings from A.I.M. wearing their bee hive helmets. Your portrayal of Black Widow here was hilarious and spot on. Kudos!
I hope we can be friends and I’ll probably keep reading your comics. I guess.
Sincerely,
Jeff
Nice banner, Kat Stark!
Here: If Hollywood has gotten their grubby, greedy mitts on these characters, then they qualify.
Dear Mr. Hickman,
Please write super hero comics that normal people, like me, can read, understand and enjoy. Save all your highfalutin ideas for East of West, which nobody who’s not doing massive doses of mind altering drugs can have a hope of understanding. Okay?
Your New Avengers stuff is a case-in-point about doing it right. It’s a big boy idea, but it’s accessible (enough), clever and fun without dumbing it down for those of us whose minds wander when we have to read a lot of words instead of look at pretty pictures.
This volume:
I don’t even know where to begin with the questions. Dreamspace? – Superflows? – Central Web? - Starbrand?
And this dude?
Huh? Who? Even a brain box like Tony Stark is having a hard time getting a bead on this.
Thanks for including the Hulk, so he can just smash sh*t instead of thinking things through.
The other two stories included in this volume were okay. Not so much heavy lifting (Thanks! My head was starting to hurt. Real bad.). Omega Flight and Canada need help from Murica (again) and Avengers at a gambling casino with drunken underlings from A.I.M. wearing their bee hive helmets. Your portrayal of Black Widow here was hilarious and spot on. Kudos!
I hope we can be friends and I’ll probably keep reading your comics. I guess.
Sincerely,
Jeff
March 2, 2017
This Hickman run on Avengers isn’t doing much to impress me so far. The idea that there’s a group of core members who call on a deep bench of reserves for each mission is a good idea on paper, but the problem is that there’s way too many second rate superheroes that I just don’t care about on the roster. When I read Avengers I want to see major characters like Iron Man and Captain Marvel interact. I just don’t give a rat’s ass about Manifold and Hyperion.
It also seems like so far this is a lot of table setting for the big Secret War reboot that came later, and as I often end up doing I was left wondering why it’s so damn hard to find some Marvel stories that just have the superheroes that are supposed to be the stars of the title just having an adventure with a beginning, middle, and end.
There’s kind of an interesting thread regarding a Canadian city being destroyed by some alien shenanigans. But honestly it’s just Regina, Saskatchewan so it's not like anybody of value lives there so how important could the story end up being?
Oops. Sorry, Trudi!
It also seems like so far this is a lot of table setting for the big Secret War reboot that came later, and as I often end up doing I was left wondering why it’s so damn hard to find some Marvel stories that just have the superheroes that are supposed to be the stars of the title just having an adventure with a beginning, middle, and end.
There’s kind of an interesting thread regarding a Canadian city being destroyed by some alien shenanigans. But honestly it’s just Regina, Saskatchewan so it's not like anybody of value lives there so how important could the story end up being?
Oops. Sorry, Trudi!
June 3, 2015
Loved it! Better than the first volume in my opinion!
July 21, 2015
It’s been a couple years since I read the first crummy volume of Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers and I think I’m just about ready to face the second. Maybe I was wrong and Hickman needed some time to get going, maybe his writing got better, maybe I’d find a new appreciation for his Marvel stuff now, maybe… not. The Last White Event (which sounds like something the Klan would attend) is yet another poor Avengers book to add to the pile of crap Avengers books Marvel has, and continues to, put out.
From my understanding of this odd tale: Earth is evolving into a new phase and is somehow becoming sentient - this process being called a White Event - and something called a Starbrand - a being with the power equal to the power behind the White Event but with the aim of potentially destroying the planet rather than cause it to evolve - is formed. There is a Nightmask - the dude with the glowing tattoos - who was born 47 days ago (he’s an adult by the way) to shepherd the Starbrand into fulfilling the White Event. Or something.
This volume introduces us to the Starbrand, a nerdy university student who doesn’t realise he has the power (of Greyskull) to destroy the world, who fights the Avengers - they’ve got to have something to do in their own book!
I could sort of follow along with Hickman’s ambitious if convoluted story and, now that Secret Wars (the final chapter in his Avengers run) is almost upon us, I can see this volume is a building block in the overall story - I just don’t care. White Events, Starbrands, sentient planets - I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Hickman is a great ideas man but he’s a lousy writer. His Starbrand character really doesn’t seem interesting at all, despite all the importance suddenly heaped upon him. And all this talk of other new things, White Events and so on - meh. I can too easily take it or leave it.
Rounding out this underwhelming volume are two issues, the first of which might well be the most forgettable superhero comic I’ve ever read. It’s about a father and daughter sharing a secret about some person somewhere who does something - again the Avengers are background characters in their own comic - and then it’s over. No idea what was accomplished or why.
The other issue has the Avengers attempting to do an Ocean’s 11 and failing. They try to pull off a heist in a casino where a black market auction is taking place, except all the baddies, mostly AIM personnel, know who they are despite trying to keep a low profile. They play casino games and win some, lose some, then fly away at the end. While not as bad as the last issue, it certainly feels as throwaway.
On the one hand I think Hickman’s big, cosmic ideas are well suited to the Avengers title. They should face massive threats and be challenged. Dustin Weaver and Mike Deodato’s delightfully cinematic art backs up this approach. It’s just Hickman’s limited writing ability that gets in the way of realising that in a compelling comic. He’s all surface texture, like those symbols representing the characters at the start of each issue (what, I’m not going to read it if my favourite character’s not in it?) - style without substance yet again and the effect is like reading an outline rather than a finished comic.
The Last White Event is like a game of sci-fi D&D where the Dungeon Master is intoning an incredibly boring story except you have no choices - you just have to sit there and listen to him drone on without any control over what to do next. If that sounds appealing, Hickman’s Avengers might be for you. Me, I think it’ll be at least another two years before I attempt Volume 3!
From my understanding of this odd tale: Earth is evolving into a new phase and is somehow becoming sentient - this process being called a White Event - and something called a Starbrand - a being with the power equal to the power behind the White Event but with the aim of potentially destroying the planet rather than cause it to evolve - is formed. There is a Nightmask - the dude with the glowing tattoos - who was born 47 days ago (he’s an adult by the way) to shepherd the Starbrand into fulfilling the White Event. Or something.
This volume introduces us to the Starbrand, a nerdy university student who doesn’t realise he has the power (of Greyskull) to destroy the world, who fights the Avengers - they’ve got to have something to do in their own book!
I could sort of follow along with Hickman’s ambitious if convoluted story and, now that Secret Wars (the final chapter in his Avengers run) is almost upon us, I can see this volume is a building block in the overall story - I just don’t care. White Events, Starbrands, sentient planets - I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Hickman is a great ideas man but he’s a lousy writer. His Starbrand character really doesn’t seem interesting at all, despite all the importance suddenly heaped upon him. And all this talk of other new things, White Events and so on - meh. I can too easily take it or leave it.
Rounding out this underwhelming volume are two issues, the first of which might well be the most forgettable superhero comic I’ve ever read. It’s about a father and daughter sharing a secret about some person somewhere who does something - again the Avengers are background characters in their own comic - and then it’s over. No idea what was accomplished or why.
The other issue has the Avengers attempting to do an Ocean’s 11 and failing. They try to pull off a heist in a casino where a black market auction is taking place, except all the baddies, mostly AIM personnel, know who they are despite trying to keep a low profile. They play casino games and win some, lose some, then fly away at the end. While not as bad as the last issue, it certainly feels as throwaway.
On the one hand I think Hickman’s big, cosmic ideas are well suited to the Avengers title. They should face massive threats and be challenged. Dustin Weaver and Mike Deodato’s delightfully cinematic art backs up this approach. It’s just Hickman’s limited writing ability that gets in the way of realising that in a compelling comic. He’s all surface texture, like those symbols representing the characters at the start of each issue (what, I’m not going to read it if my favourite character’s not in it?) - style without substance yet again and the effect is like reading an outline rather than a finished comic.
The Last White Event is like a game of sci-fi D&D where the Dungeon Master is intoning an incredibly boring story except you have no choices - you just have to sit there and listen to him drone on without any control over what to do next. If that sounds appealing, Hickman’s Avengers might be for you. Me, I think it’ll be at least another two years before I attempt Volume 3!
August 31, 2014
Bullet Review:
That's it! No more buying trades just because Captain Marvel is on the cover!
Seriously, what did I spend the last two days agonizing over? WHAT THE FRAK HAPPENED? I though Volume 1 was inscrutable enough, but this...this was absolute gibberish!
Characters barely act like themselves. Mostly they are bland beings walking around, blathering techno-babble or philosophical musings. Sometimes they punch things. Most of the time NOTHING HAPPENS. Nothing is explained. The plot goes into a black hole of nothingness. All excitement and intrigue goes absolutely NOWHERE.
And then there's the final "where the frak did you come from?" issue of this comic, a somewhat decent undercover casino plot. But once again - boring, colorless characters, inscrutable plot, meandering "deep" musings that repetitively repeat themselves over and over again and absolutely no frakkin' resolution.
I've had enough. I don't care if Captain Marvel is enormous on the cover of Volume 3, my brain can't suffer anymore of this...this...whatever this THING I spent reading.
NOT recommended.
That's it! No more buying trades just because Captain Marvel is on the cover!
Seriously, what did I spend the last two days agonizing over? WHAT THE FRAK HAPPENED? I though Volume 1 was inscrutable enough, but this...this was absolute gibberish!
Characters barely act like themselves. Mostly they are bland beings walking around, blathering techno-babble or philosophical musings. Sometimes they punch things. Most of the time NOTHING HAPPENS. Nothing is explained. The plot goes into a black hole of nothingness. All excitement and intrigue goes absolutely NOWHERE.
And then there's the final "where the frak did you come from?" issue of this comic, a somewhat decent undercover casino plot. But once again - boring, colorless characters, inscrutable plot, meandering "deep" musings that repetitively repeat themselves over and over again and absolutely no frakkin' resolution.
I've had enough. I don't care if Captain Marvel is enormous on the cover of Volume 3, my brain can't suffer anymore of this...this...whatever this THING I spent reading.
NOT recommended.
September 24, 2018
This was more enjoyable for me the second time around.
I still can’t get as invested in the plot with Starbrand, Ex Nilho and the Universe. It’s just... a lot of exposition and more than a little confusing.
However, I enjoyed the character moments more this time around. I even appreciated the bit where half the team goes to Hong Kong. I liked seeing Shang Chi in action. The bits with Spider-Man and sunspot, Hyperion And Thor reflecting on their friends’ mortality, and some of the other smaller moments were interesting.
The art is gorgeous. Absolutely breathtaking at moments.
Still not quite a recommend but the second read was easier to get through.
I still can’t get as invested in the plot with Starbrand, Ex Nilho and the Universe. It’s just... a lot of exposition and more than a little confusing.
However, I enjoyed the character moments more this time around. I even appreciated the bit where half the team goes to Hong Kong. I liked seeing Shang Chi in action. The bits with Spider-Man and sunspot, Hyperion And Thor reflecting on their friends’ mortality, and some of the other smaller moments were interesting.
The art is gorgeous. Absolutely breathtaking at moments.
Still not quite a recommend but the second read was easier to get through.
March 13, 2014
This White Event stuff is probably adding up to something, but I can't really tell what. And I'm not sure that I care. Maybe after a few more collections, all of this will make sense, but right now it feels disjointed. And then, as though even Hickman is sick of the White Event stuff, there's a sudden, abrupt detour from cosmic heroics to... superheroes in an AIM casino. I'm not really arguing the point, as this is the single best issue in the collection. But I'd be happier if it felt like there was more forward momentum in this story, no matter how well Hickman writes the characters.
December 29, 2014
Good step forward for this uber-story, even if not all of it is fitting into tidy slots. Give Hickman an open-ended run, he'll take you for a ride. So just keep your eyes open and you might learn something kids. I know I did.
Superflow of the Universe sounds like a pop music group with a serious case of overcompensating, or the latest feminine hygiene horror from a Proctor & Gamble.
Bringing the 80's experimental "new universe" into this mythology is a bold move. I remember when it first came out I was unnaturally excited - probably even back then, getting in on the ground floor of a comics world with no legacy, no continuity to learn - that's pretty liberating.
Seeing it here gives me a cheap thrill of nostalgia, and makes me wonder if Hickman is being reverential to these second-class comics ideas, or he's about to make them the punchline to a cheap party trick. I'd go for either at this point, is how much faith his first Avengers/New Avengers books earned from me.
One thing that's bugging a lot of people about Hickman's Avengers-verse: the number of infinitely powered heroes and villains showing up. Smells a little like Marvel Cosmic to me, and while this book has plenty of extra-Earth-616 action, it's still human-centric enough to keep me from losing interest like I did when I went off the deep end and tried to catch up on the Abnett/Lanning/Giffen space opera crap from last decade.
Whereas the New Avengers is Hickman's intellectual morality book, this one is his big action fighting book. I don't mind it - it's nice to have the two available in this Uber-storyline - but I can't help think that Hickman is using this the way Bendis went a little light on the scripting for one of his Avengers books to be able to keep up the murderous schedule.
I sat up damned straight when I saw Regina show up (although "Regina, Canada" is like saying "Portland, America" - always naming the US state for a city in American literature, but can never be bothered to remember other countries have subdivisions - like they're all backwaters with their single-payer health care and empathy for the rest of the world). Whenever Yankee comics notice Canada it's cause for celebration among us Canucks. And making this an Omega Flight mission suddenly makes me want to read the lost tales of OF (well, except that shit Michael Avon Oeming wrote - that dude should stick to his amazing art).
I loved the spy mission to the big criminal gathering in the fictional southeast Asian nation, and the teaching mission in the Savage Land. I didn't really understand what was going on, but it sure gave us a chance to get up close with the personalities of our heroes. (I want to see more of that Carol, that's for sure.) After a ton of action, it was sure nice to take a breath and see how these threats are sinking in. And to get a smile or two out of the creative team.
There's something inconsistent about Weaver+Ponseur on the art. Sometimes it's incredibly realistic or at least has depth and light shading - and the other times it's just flat and cartoony. Often on the same page. It's jarring enough to notice, not so glaring to label the art "bad", but definitely doesn't immerse me in the story.
Deodato does his usual shadowy photorealistic thing and that's fine, very fine. It's hard to keep saying nice things about his stuff, as it seems he's been at the top of his game for years and hasn't evolved much since - though I for one am glad he laid off the bottles of India ink. Nice to leave room for shades of colour and not just black shadows (as cool as they were).
I'm noticing a lot of people who read this trade when it came out are scratching their heads, at a loss. I think this might be the "Hickman long game" effect, and I'm glad I waited until a big chunk of this was ready to read. I've plowed through 18 issues of his Avengers/New Avengers and I have around 20-30 more before I take a break. Like I said to Jason in another thread, I feel like this is Hickman's Lord of the Rings epic - lots of plot threads we flip among from chapter to chapter, building to a big climax that will tie them all together, and as a single read it's got the same crescendo. I'm still seriously "in".
Be haunted by this review and further diatribes at
Superflow of the Universe sounds like a pop music group with a serious case of overcompensating, or the latest feminine hygiene horror from a Proctor & Gamble.
Bringing the 80's experimental "new universe" into this mythology is a bold move. I remember when it first came out I was unnaturally excited - probably even back then, getting in on the ground floor of a comics world with no legacy, no continuity to learn - that's pretty liberating.
Seeing it here gives me a cheap thrill of nostalgia, and makes me wonder if Hickman is being reverential to these second-class comics ideas, or he's about to make them the punchline to a cheap party trick. I'd go for either at this point, is how much faith his first Avengers/New Avengers books earned from me.
One thing that's bugging a lot of people about Hickman's Avengers-verse: the number of infinitely powered heroes and villains showing up. Smells a little like Marvel Cosmic to me, and while this book has plenty of extra-Earth-616 action, it's still human-centric enough to keep me from losing interest like I did when I went off the deep end and tried to catch up on the Abnett/Lanning/Giffen space opera crap from last decade.
Whereas the New Avengers is Hickman's intellectual morality book, this one is his big action fighting book. I don't mind it - it's nice to have the two available in this Uber-storyline - but I can't help think that Hickman is using this the way Bendis went a little light on the scripting for one of his Avengers books to be able to keep up the murderous schedule.
I sat up damned straight when I saw Regina show up (although "Regina, Canada" is like saying "Portland, America" - always naming the US state for a city in American literature, but can never be bothered to remember other countries have subdivisions - like they're all backwaters with their single-payer health care and empathy for the rest of the world). Whenever Yankee comics notice Canada it's cause for celebration among us Canucks. And making this an Omega Flight mission suddenly makes me want to read the lost tales of OF (well, except that shit Michael Avon Oeming wrote - that dude should stick to his amazing art).
I loved the spy mission to the big criminal gathering in the fictional southeast Asian nation, and the teaching mission in the Savage Land. I didn't really understand what was going on, but it sure gave us a chance to get up close with the personalities of our heroes. (I want to see more of that Carol, that's for sure.) After a ton of action, it was sure nice to take a breath and see how these threats are sinking in. And to get a smile or two out of the creative team.
There's something inconsistent about Weaver+Ponseur on the art. Sometimes it's incredibly realistic or at least has depth and light shading - and the other times it's just flat and cartoony. Often on the same page. It's jarring enough to notice, not so glaring to label the art "bad", but definitely doesn't immerse me in the story.
Deodato does his usual shadowy photorealistic thing and that's fine, very fine. It's hard to keep saying nice things about his stuff, as it seems he's been at the top of his game for years and hasn't evolved much since - though I for one am glad he laid off the bottles of India ink. Nice to leave room for shades of colour and not just black shadows (as cool as they were).
I'm noticing a lot of people who read this trade when it came out are scratching their heads, at a loss. I think this might be the "Hickman long game" effect, and I'm glad I waited until a big chunk of this was ready to read. I've plowed through 18 issues of his Avengers/New Avengers and I have around 20-30 more before I take a break. Like I said to Jason in another thread, I feel like this is Hickman's Lord of the Rings epic - lots of plot threads we flip among from chapter to chapter, building to a big climax that will tie them all together, and as a single read it's got the same crescendo. I'm still seriously "in".
Be haunted by this review and further diatribes at
January 30, 2015
I really liked this!!
The artwork was fan-freaking-tastic! Every page had panels on them that caused my eyes to pop outta their sockets!
The whole thing started off really strong - I loved the countdown at the college...you just knew shit was gonna go down! Sure enough, it hits the fan and we get some crazy action set pieces. Again, the artwork is kicking me in the ass during all of this! Such a treat.
Obviously one of the biggest things for me was part of this book takes place right next door to me in Regina, Canada. Us Canadians get all giddy and froth at the mouth when Americans recognize us. We're like puppies bouncing around in circles when the rest of the world remembers that we're here. So yeah, that was fun!
There was also a cool little 'spy' mission that goes down and it really switches gears on us and slows the pace down; giving us a chance to catch our breath.
I'm really enjoying these. Kind of regret passing on them when the whole Marvel NOW thing originally went down. It just all looked to convoluted to me and I didn't have the energy to try and figure everything out. Now, years later, I realize that I was missing out on a pretty kick ass series!
Although, I guess now I do get to reap the benefit of having 40 issues or so to binge read - and that's happy!
The artwork was fan-freaking-tastic! Every page had panels on them that caused my eyes to pop outta their sockets!
The whole thing started off really strong - I loved the countdown at the college...you just knew shit was gonna go down! Sure enough, it hits the fan and we get some crazy action set pieces. Again, the artwork is kicking me in the ass during all of this! Such a treat.
Obviously one of the biggest things for me was part of this book takes place right next door to me in Regina, Canada. Us Canadians get all giddy and froth at the mouth when Americans recognize us. We're like puppies bouncing around in circles when the rest of the world remembers that we're here. So yeah, that was fun!
There was also a cool little 'spy' mission that goes down and it really switches gears on us and slows the pace down; giving us a chance to catch our breath.
I'm really enjoying these. Kind of regret passing on them when the whole Marvel NOW thing originally went down. It just all looked to convoluted to me and I didn't have the energy to try and figure everything out. Now, years later, I realize that I was missing out on a pretty kick ass series!
Although, I guess now I do get to reap the benefit of having 40 issues or so to binge read - and that's happy!
May 9, 2019
3.5 stars rounded up.
There's almost too much going on here, but I like the introduction of new characters and I'm sure with Hickman there will no doubt be some end purpose to it all.
There's almost too much going on here, but I like the introduction of new characters and I'm sure with Hickman there will no doubt be some end purpose to it all.
August 28, 2015
A new hero, Starbrand, is created by the White Event, who goes with Nightmask to meet Ex Nihilo on Mars. Starbrand can't control his new power and triggers a smackdown with the Avengers. Omega Flight encounters some inexplicable weirdness. Yet another set of Avengers goes on a somewhat covert mission to find out what new scary tech A.I.M. is selling. In the final fairly calm issue, a different set of Avengers goes to the Savage Land to investigate some newly formed children who were also apparently created by the White Event.
I have to admit, I'm not getting it. Even with these six issues available in a row to read, I still don't see how this apparently epic story is fitting together. Each piece is somewhat interesting on its own, but there is very little context or connecting tissue between episodes that explains why certain teams are handling certain problems or what each team's purpose is in the larger scheme of things. Most of the endings carry an implication that what I've just read is important, but the next issue cuts away and doesn't come back. It's almost like a set of six one-shots, except they're all inconclusive and not satisfying individually or as a collection. The stories certainly aren't pointing toward a resolution yet, though it may be coming. I'm just not sure I want to keep plowing forward while confused. I'm sure I could look up an overall synopsis online that would explain everything, but the comics should really be clear on their own.
All that being said, there are still a lot of good scenes, especially in the A.I.M. mission and the mission to the Savage Land. The art is excellent, and there are a few evocative images that have stuck with me even if I'm not clear on what they mean.
I have to admit, I'm not getting it. Even with these six issues available in a row to read, I still don't see how this apparently epic story is fitting together. Each piece is somewhat interesting on its own, but there is very little context or connecting tissue between episodes that explains why certain teams are handling certain problems or what each team's purpose is in the larger scheme of things. Most of the endings carry an implication that what I've just read is important, but the next issue cuts away and doesn't come back. It's almost like a set of six one-shots, except they're all inconclusive and not satisfying individually or as a collection. The stories certainly aren't pointing toward a resolution yet, though it may be coming. I'm just not sure I want to keep plowing forward while confused. I'm sure I could look up an overall synopsis online that would explain everything, but the comics should really be clear on their own.
All that being said, there are still a lot of good scenes, especially in the A.I.M. mission and the mission to the Savage Land. The art is excellent, and there are a few evocative images that have stuck with me even if I'm not clear on what they mean.
March 20, 2018
2,5*
A tad better than vol.1 but not much clearer.
The so-called white event is in progress. For some reason bad stuff happens in weird other stuffs. A certified nerd becomes a heavy hitter first class for some reason linked to the aforementioned stuff. Then the Avengers try to tackle him because that's what they do.
The yellow guy with horns is back too and it seems that the cocoons he sent on Earth are full of surprises. This guy gets funnier by the minute I swear.
Cool art by Dustin Weaver.
Then we go to Canada in a creepy Tomb Raider environment where creepy (cryptic) stuff happens. It's also linked to the other stuff but don't ask me how. Cool and Creepy art by Deodato.
Last issue is actually fun if pointless. The second fiddles of the team play Ocean's 11 in a casino full of AIM guys. They come out empty handed but there are some really funny moments like Natasha and her pliers or the AIM minions that were very like those in Despicable me. Good Deodato art again.
Hickman obviously goes somewhere with this plot. Maybe it'll blow out or it'll be a dud. But for now it's mostly stuff.
A tad better than vol.1 but not much clearer.
The so-called white event is in progress. For some reason bad stuff happens in weird other stuffs. A certified nerd becomes a heavy hitter first class for some reason linked to the aforementioned stuff. Then the Avengers try to tackle him because that's what they do.
The yellow guy with horns is back too and it seems that the cocoons he sent on Earth are full of surprises. This guy gets funnier by the minute I swear.
Cool art by Dustin Weaver.
Then we go to Canada in a creepy Tomb Raider environment where creepy (cryptic) stuff happens. It's also linked to the other stuff but don't ask me how. Cool and Creepy art by Deodato.
Last issue is actually fun if pointless. The second fiddles of the team play Ocean's 11 in a casino full of AIM guys. They come out empty handed but there are some really funny moments like Natasha and her pliers or the AIM minions that were very like those in Despicable me. Good Deodato art again.
Hickman obviously goes somewhere with this plot. Maybe it'll blow out or it'll be a dud. But for now it's mostly stuff.
July 10, 2023
this run sucks
June 10, 2021
Reread: 10/06/21
It starts off with the Planetary defense mechanism being activated when the Superflow is destroyed and a random Starbrand is chosen and we see their history and all that entails there and the destruction and him learning about his powers, revisit to Mars, fights with the Avengers and then the silent subjugation and then there is a story with Validator in Regina and some big secrets being set up and some Undercover work for Avengers on AIM Island or something. This was a cool volume
and just continues to build on with more members, giving some members like Shang-Chi awesome moments and setting some stuff for the future in Canada. This was an awesome volume and just shows the scale of Hickman's work and the art with the dark and gritty feel is perfect for this book!
_________________________________________________________________________________
This was a pretty fun book. It starts with the white event happening but with the Superflow destroyed as the universe is dying, the starbrand aka the Planetary Defense mechanism has been chosen at random and many people have died because of its host aka Kevin Connor and thus the story evolves around how it happens, about him finding about his new powers, fighting the Avengers and revelations and ultimate acceptance in his role and it sets the stage for big things to come! It was a really good story and sets up a lot of things to come and then we have the story with them going to Hong Kong and infiltrating some gang/things to find information about something, good focus on Shang-Chi as he fights these random villains named Chimera and Robbie and Bobby vs AIM or partying with them. It was cool but the revelations will happen in future but the art overall is really good!
It starts off with the Planetary defense mechanism being activated when the Superflow is destroyed and a random Starbrand is chosen and we see their history and all that entails there and the destruction and him learning about his powers, revisit to Mars, fights with the Avengers and then the silent subjugation and then there is a story with Validator in Regina and some big secrets being set up and some Undercover work for Avengers on AIM Island or something. This was a cool volume
and just continues to build on with more members, giving some members like Shang-Chi awesome moments and setting some stuff for the future in Canada. This was an awesome volume and just shows the scale of Hickman's work and the art with the dark and gritty feel is perfect for this book!
_________________________________________________________________________________
This was a pretty fun book. It starts with the white event happening but with the Superflow destroyed as the universe is dying, the starbrand aka the Planetary Defense mechanism has been chosen at random and many people have died because of its host aka Kevin Connor and thus the story evolves around how it happens, about him finding about his new powers, fighting the Avengers and revelations and ultimate acceptance in his role and it sets the stage for big things to come! It was a really good story and sets up a lot of things to come and then we have the story with them going to Hong Kong and infiltrating some gang/things to find information about something, good focus on Shang-Chi as he fights these random villains named Chimera and Robbie and Bobby vs AIM or partying with them. It was cool but the revelations will happen in future but the art overall is really good!
April 10, 2014
A great sequel to the first volume in that Hickman builds on the groundwork from the first volume and is using that to build a great, long, multi-issue story involving Earth's potential evolution.
April 14, 2015
Interesting comic book. White Event was very weird. Who is Shang-Chi? Nice to see the Avengers back.
May 6, 2015
Well. This one was weird.
March 19, 2019
In typical Hickman style there are gigantic and batshit weird things afoot. It moved right along and had some humorous moments, but I have no idea what the hell is going on. The first 2/3 of the book seems to have nothing to do with the last 1/3.
I decided to continue reading this series primarily to see how Hickman handles the Thanos Infinity Stones storyline before Avengers: Endgame comes out and to get some modern Shang-Chi story since Marvel announced a movie based on him. We definitely got some of the latter, which I hope continues, as the Avengers investigate AIM’s, er, aim to start a war. Meanwhile the other story is cosmic as the Earth is made to become self-aware, which is somehow tied into a dying universe triggering a White Event and creating a cosmic-level powered college kid named Star Brand. Not sure how this all ties together, but we’ll see.
I decided to continue reading this series primarily to see how Hickman handles the Thanos Infinity Stones storyline before Avengers: Endgame comes out and to get some modern Shang-Chi story since Marvel announced a movie based on him. We definitely got some of the latter, which I hope continues, as the Avengers investigate AIM’s, er, aim to start a war. Meanwhile the other story is cosmic as the Earth is made to become self-aware, which is somehow tied into a dying universe triggering a White Event and creating a cosmic-level powered college kid named Star Brand. Not sure how this all ties together, but we’ll see.
March 20, 2025
4/5 ⭐️
🇵🇱
Białe zdarzenie, wkońcu zaczyna się coś wyjaśniać z New Avengers, kolejne nowe wątki, ciekawe co dalej 😅
🇺🇸
White event, finally begins to explain something with New Avengers, more new threads, interesting what's next 😅
🇵🇱
Białe zdarzenie, wkońcu zaczyna się coś wyjaśniać z New Avengers, kolejne nowe wątki, ciekawe co dalej 😅
🇺🇸
White event, finally begins to explain something with New Avengers, more new threads, interesting what's next 😅
September 17, 2015
Nightmask and Captain Universe warned of the imminent arrival of the White Event, a harbinger of universal upheaval. While many champions were intended to emerge from it, the White Event produced only Starbrand, a burdened young college student who suddenly possessed immense power that produced a devastating accident, killing numerous people around him. Starbrand fought the Avengers to a standstill, until Nightmask intervened. Nightmask helped Starbrand begin to understand his new powers and took him to meet Ex Nihilo and Abyss, who explained his nature as a kind of planetary defense system. Starbrand and Nightmask journeyed to one of the origin bomb sites on Earth and clashed with the Avengers again, before the duo agreed to go into quarantine in space while figuring out their abilities. One Avengers squad investigated the Canadian origin bomb site, dealing with its effects, while another went undercover at an arms buy, where they discovered A.I.M. was bulking up its defenses.
Jonathan Hickman continued to develop his master saga, doing an expert job of choreographing characters, events and plot points to serve the slow build. His penchant for making use of discarded pieces of Marvel’s past, such as the New Universe concepts, remained welcome. The undercover story injected some fun into the proceedings, and really showed what Shang Chi, Cannonball and Sunspot added to the mix. Dustin Weaver handled art for the Starbrand trilogy, working in his sharp, clean, detailed style. He essayed the action scenes quite well and demonstrated some imagination in the origin bomb site depictions. Long-time Avengers artist Mike Deodato came onboard for the rest of the arc. His darker, scratchier style was an apt fit, especially for the caper tale. Overall, Avengers succeeded at being the “ground zero for the Marvel Universe” title that the publisher wanted and The Last White Event was another important link in the bigger chain.
A version of this review originally appeared on www.thunderalleybcp.com
Jonathan Hickman continued to develop his master saga, doing an expert job of choreographing characters, events and plot points to serve the slow build. His penchant for making use of discarded pieces of Marvel’s past, such as the New Universe concepts, remained welcome. The undercover story injected some fun into the proceedings, and really showed what Shang Chi, Cannonball and Sunspot added to the mix. Dustin Weaver handled art for the Starbrand trilogy, working in his sharp, clean, detailed style. He essayed the action scenes quite well and demonstrated some imagination in the origin bomb site depictions. Long-time Avengers artist Mike Deodato came onboard for the rest of the arc. His darker, scratchier style was an apt fit, especially for the caper tale. Overall, Avengers succeeded at being the “ground zero for the Marvel Universe” title that the publisher wanted and The Last White Event was another important link in the bigger chain.
A version of this review originally appeared on www.thunderalleybcp.com
January 5, 2020
*****second read*****
Man, Jonathan loves making his stuff dense. Don’t get me wrong, I love it... but this requires all of my focus to follow. It twists and turns, and many of the plot components are high concept sci fi. This is definitely a one-of-kind Avengers run.
******first read*******
This series is fun.
It has really neat and engaging trippy sci fi elements, the characters are at their best, and the art kicks ass!
My favorite part was the Oceans 11-ish scene at the end. It’ fun watching these characters interact in different ways.
This Ex-Nihilo dude is insane. He’s shaping up to be quite a villain. I’d love to see someone like Thanos interact with him.
Carol Danvers and Black Widow have some awesome little moments. Starbrand is awesome. I wonder how he would stack up against The Power Cosmic or The Phoenix Force.
Captain Universe needs more pages devoted to her. She’s the most interesting addition in this whole series and I’m starting to really look forward to seeing her on the frame.
This gets points for being a particularly interesting Avengers series. I don’t feel flooded with cameos, the pacing is character focused, and the story is something far different than what I’m used to from The Avengers.
I look forward to seeing where this goes!
Man, Jonathan loves making his stuff dense. Don’t get me wrong, I love it... but this requires all of my focus to follow. It twists and turns, and many of the plot components are high concept sci fi. This is definitely a one-of-kind Avengers run.
******first read*******
This series is fun.
It has really neat and engaging trippy sci fi elements, the characters are at their best, and the art kicks ass!
My favorite part was the Oceans 11-ish scene at the end. It’ fun watching these characters interact in different ways.
This Ex-Nihilo dude is insane. He’s shaping up to be quite a villain. I’d love to see someone like Thanos interact with him.
Carol Danvers and Black Widow have some awesome little moments. Starbrand is awesome. I wonder how he would stack up against The Power Cosmic or The Phoenix Force.
Captain Universe needs more pages devoted to her. She’s the most interesting addition in this whole series and I’m starting to really look forward to seeing her on the frame.
This gets points for being a particularly interesting Avengers series. I don’t feel flooded with cameos, the pacing is character focused, and the story is something far different than what I’m used to from The Avengers.
I look forward to seeing where this goes!
August 9, 2017
I feel like I'm missing something here. It seems like the white event just sort of ends and then the next issue is about AIM gathering an army, and then we're off on another adventure. Each issue stars a different variety of Avengers.
This makes for fast-paced and exciting storytelling, but I also sometimes feel lost and I'm not sure if it's because I'm reading too quickly or if there was a miniseries that I missed (a joke, but quite possible).
I'm enjoying this and Hickman's New Avengers (which stars a different assemble of Avengers than this book), but I'm probably going to get bored awful quickly by these huge earth-shattering - scratch that - universe shattering - not big enough? - multi-verse, reality shattering events; events that just sort of end, I assume so the next one can begin.
This makes for fast-paced and exciting storytelling, but I also sometimes feel lost and I'm not sure if it's because I'm reading too quickly or if there was a miniseries that I missed (a joke, but quite possible).
I'm enjoying this and Hickman's New Avengers (which stars a different assemble of Avengers than this book), but I'm probably going to get bored awful quickly by these huge earth-shattering - scratch that - universe shattering - not big enough? - multi-verse, reality shattering events; events that just sort of end, I assume so the next one can begin.
June 14, 2014
I am assuming that this is building toward something. The writing and handling of the amount of characters here is still stellar, as is the artwork, but I feel like the casino located final issue in the collection exists because the writers got bored of the technobabble and the White Event plot line. The Avengers themselves are not given too much to do either, the bulk of the work lies with Nightmask and Starbrand talking with our terraforming aliens from the last volume. I'm curious enough to keep going but I'm just hoping that this ends toward something with a point.
February 4, 2015
Re-read. Still pretty confused. I know Hickman's got a plan but this just seems like way too many pieces to properly make whole.
Maybe a third reading Post-Secret Wars would help it but that seems like a pretty big commitment.
Maybe a third reading Post-Secret Wars would help it but that seems like a pretty big commitment.
February 24, 2016
Better than the first volume. Much tighter.
August 4, 2021
My reread continues. The Last White Event is the second volume in Hickman’s Avengers saga.
This volume continues the sci fi shenanigans of the first volume. Like the previous volume, this still has a lot of build up to it. There is action, but I found I left the volume with more questions than answers.
We have the introduction of another new character in Starbrand. He is linked to the mythology set up in the previous volume. The Avengers confrontation with him however feels a little off.
The Avengers team has also expanded significantly since the previous volume. At the start of each issue there is a handy outline of what characters are involved. The roster is currently: Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Hulk, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, Spider-Woman, Falcon, Shang-Chi, Sunspot, Cannonball, Manifold, Smasher, Captain Universe, and Hyperion. Some of the characters spend more time in the spotlight than others, Shang-Chi getting decent page time later, with the film coming out later this year it was cool to see the character in action in the source material.
This volume still maintains a not friendly for newcomers vibe. The final story in the volume- Wake the Dragon seems to bring in an extra storyline involving A.I.M. Time will tell how this all ties together.
Like the previous volume the artwork here is pretty good throughout.
This volume continues the sci fi shenanigans of the first volume. Like the previous volume, this still has a lot of build up to it. There is action, but I found I left the volume with more questions than answers.
We have the introduction of another new character in Starbrand. He is linked to the mythology set up in the previous volume. The Avengers confrontation with him however feels a little off.
The Avengers team has also expanded significantly since the previous volume. At the start of each issue there is a handy outline of what characters are involved. The roster is currently: Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Hulk, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, Spider-Woman, Falcon, Shang-Chi, Sunspot, Cannonball, Manifold, Smasher, Captain Universe, and Hyperion. Some of the characters spend more time in the spotlight than others, Shang-Chi getting decent page time later, with the film coming out later this year it was cool to see the character in action in the source material.
This volume still maintains a not friendly for newcomers vibe. The final story in the volume- Wake the Dragon seems to bring in an extra storyline involving A.I.M. Time will tell how this all ties together.
Like the previous volume the artwork here is pretty good throughout.
May 8, 2020
Hickman's Avengers run doesn't get any more accessible in this run. While I enjoyed the Starbrand focused arc, and the adventures of the Avengers at a casino on an AIM controlled island, they didn't add up to a fun story. Mostly because Hickman is trying to make this series Cosmic Cosmic by using Way Over The Top narration about just how important and apocalyptic the events are, even though they're all relatively on scale with your average Thanos, Kang, or Galactus story.
And while I did like the adventures of Starbrand and Nightmask here, I'm still not sold on The Garden aliens as an interesting set of villains. And I still don't know why Captain Universe is a part of this team/an interesting Marvel character, aside from their PTSDed alter ego.
I guess I recommend this for the Marvel fan who picks up their first Guardians Of The Galaxy or Nova trade, and thinks This Is Awesome, I Would Like More Of Whatever This Is.
And while I did like the adventures of Starbrand and Nightmask here, I'm still not sold on The Garden aliens as an interesting set of villains. And I still don't know why Captain Universe is a part of this team/an interesting Marvel character, aside from their PTSDed alter ego.
I guess I recommend this for the Marvel fan who picks up their first Guardians Of The Galaxy or Nova trade, and thinks This Is Awesome, I Would Like More Of Whatever This Is.
January 25, 2023
Pek keyifli bir okuma olmadı. Yer yer kafa karıştırıcı ve sıkıcıydı. Çok fazla kahraman var ekipte fakat yeterince varlıklarını hissettiremiyorlar. Captain America, Iron Man ve Captain Marvel dışındakiler ha varlar ha yoklar. Olmasalar bir şey eksilmez hikayeden. Yaklaşmakta olan büyük hadisenin yolu yapılıyor tabi de olaylar çok karışık. Ex Nihilo ne ilginç bir varlık ne de ne istediği belli.
İkinci bir hikayede de Avengers'tan bir grup kılık değiştirerek casinoya sızmaya çalışıyor. Tabi ki normal bir casino değil orası da yapılan şey biraz tuhaf değil mi? Tanınmamaları mümkün olabilir mi o kadar tanınan bilinen kahramanların?
İkinci bir hikayede de Avengers'tan bir grup kılık değiştirerek casinoya sızmaya çalışıyor. Tabi ki normal bir casino değil orası da yapılan şey biraz tuhaf değil mi? Tanınmamaları mümkün olabilir mi o kadar tanınan bilinen kahramanların?
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