Civil War Comic Review – “Fallen Son – Avengers”

The second chapter in this series is out, so I’m writing the review now. Next week, I’ll continue with the model of reviewing the contents of new trade paperback collections.

General Information

Title: Fallen Son – Death of Captain America: Avengers

Author: Jeph Loeb

Illustrator(s): Ed McGuinness (pencils), Dexter Vines (inks) and Jason Keith (colours)

Original Publication Date: Cover dated June, 2007.

Cover Price: $2.99US, $3.75 Can

Past comic reviews can be found here.

Premise

The second stage of grief, anger, is played out by the two teams of Avengers as they deal with the loss of Captain America.

High Point

“Bob said he had therapy. You want to interrupt that?

Low Point

Not seeing the end of the game.

The Scores

This feels much more original than the first issue. We’ve got two very different plots with the same emotional core. This one really does set itself apart from the rest of Marvel’s fare than the first chapter did. I give it 5 out of 6.

The artwork led by McGuinness is far less goofy than I’ve come to expect from him. The emotions come through clearly, but they don’t overwhelm the story. I give it 5 out of 6.

The story is well paced, with a great concept splitting the view of the two teams. There is also enough humour present to keep a very heavy story afloat without leading to depression. I give it 5 out of 6.

The characterization is hard to pull off with this setup. Anger will often mask individuality, so combining that with a large cast in a single issue doesn’t leave a lot of room for any depth for each character. I give it 3 out of 6.

The emotional response is good. This is an entertaining and interesting chapter in the story, and it moves along nicely with the entire group. I give it 5 out of 6.

The flow through each perspective works well. However, the constant switching back and forth does hold it back a bit. I give it 4 out of 6.

Overall, it’s a much stronger entry than the first chapter. I give it 5 out of 6.

In total, Fallen Son – The Death of Captain America: Avengers receives 32 out of 42.

Civil War Review Checklist