Secret Avengers 12.1

The Ronin here,

In February Marvel started their "point one" program, the idea was to release a new .1 issue for each of their lines that would serve as a jumping on point, It would bring new readers up to speed so they could jump in with this issue then start buying the regular series. It is not a terrible idea. Although I have to wonder, how did they expect new readers to know this? I mean 614.1 is not exactly an inviting number.

That said the .1 issues were hit and miss, they sold about as well as their regular counterparts, which I am sure Marvel does not mind, but I'd guess the regular readers are the ones who bought them. Only time will tell. So Today i am re-reading two .1 issues I picked up. One from a series I was unfamiliar with and wanted to try, and the other a series I love and own all of.


Up first is "Secret Avengers" 12.1. Now I am a huge fan of the current Avengers series. "New Avengers" especially, but "Avengers" is a fun book as well. And of course the related "Avengers Academy". But what about Secret Avengers? What does it bring to the table? I do not know which is why I picked up this book. Well lets look at the cover, We have Steve Rogers standing in front of Moon Knight, Black Widow, War Machine and Valkyrie.

Oh and It is easy to over look Ant-Man, The irredeemable one, the one who got into a fight with a 14 year old girl after insulting her dead father. The one who saved the day in secret invasion because he was too chicken to go out and fight with the other characters. While the 14 year old girl from earlier faced the Invasion.

Now the cover does not bode well. They have the action packed pose of standing in front of the reader. Okay so it is a basic team shot. I have to think this would only really entice you to buy the book if you were already a fan of one or more of these characters and you wanted to read more about them. For a new reader? or a reader like me who doesn't really care much for any of them except Steve Rogers, does it work? Well It must of since I bought it, but honestly it is only because of the Avengers name on it. Will this have an effect on people new to the Avengers as a franchise? Probably not.

(Oh shit, Beast is on the cover too, hes hiding behind Steve Rogers you can only see him under his arm pit. Awesome composition. )

Now into the issue itself, The reader quickly opens it up to find a US Agent look alike threatening an unknown science guy (scienctician? scienceologist?) the scene shifts and Mr. Negative shows up (hes a current Spider-man villain) Mr. Negative meets with an inventor who has produced some sort of gauntlet weapons for him. Here is a nice shout out to 'The Runaways' as well for those who like such things.

Oh... I see what you did there Marvel.... trying to get me to like this book huh?

Ultimately the plot gets moving and there are a few spots of good action. Beast does nothing here, but Valkyrie kicks a lot of ass in this. At one point she is wearing a jacket over her normal outfit and kicking ass with a sword. I think I'd buy a Valkyrie solo series if she was well wrote and dressed like this. Think about it Valkyrie as a street level hero in Los Angeles (New York is to crowded with heroes) or elsewhere, desperately trying to hold things together. I would buy that.

This I would buy.

It is an okay story, but it gives me no reason to care for these characters, it doesn't suck me into any of their story lines and I dont think this would really appeal to anyone unless they were already a fan of several of these characters. Did it work on me? Well I have not purchased Secret Avengers 13, so that is telling.

Ultimately I think this '.1' fails, while it is an alright self contained story it fails to do its job of sucking in a new or casual reader into the world of these Secret Avengers. However the Art is clean, and it is a fun a stand alone romp. And it did give me a good feel for how this team was different then the other Avengers teams. If any of these characters interest you, then at 2.99 give it a try it may very well appeal to you more then me.

Its not a perfect introduction to the series and while, ultimately, it fails, if you are curious at all about the "Secret Avengers" then give it a go, Cap said it best.



Next up, Avengers Academy #14.1