Avengers: Prelude to Infinity, Jonathan Hickman

"It’s the buildup to the biggest event of 2013! First, Hyperion and Captain Universe begin the godlike education of the transformed Savage Land children. But when the High Evolutionary stakes his claim on the Children of the Sun, Hyperion learns the true cost of the decisions he’s made — as the techno-titan Terminus returns! Then, the prelude to INFINITY begins as all of Earth’s Origin Sites go active — and the planet begins communicating with something much more ancient than humans. And when alien races fleeing an intergalactic terror crash to Earth, Captain Universe and Manifold must take a trip across the universe. Whatever happened to Ex Nihilo, Abyss, Starbrand and Nightmask? As the Avengers recruit more members to deal with the mounting threat, the Builders enter the Marvel Universe — and INFINITY is upon us.  Collecting AVENGERS (2012) #12-17."



I think that it's probably fair to say at this point that I am unashamedly pro-Hickman's run on Avengers, even if there is a hard-core contingent of fans who believe his style of long-play, character presence heavy stories. Just as there were people who said that Bendis 'ruined' Avengers (he didn't), or Johns 'ruined' Avengers (still no), there are now some who seem convinced that any Avengers story that wasn't written, drawn and inked in either the 1960s or by Kurt Busiek doesn't count. So, Jonathan Hickman has 'ruined' Avengers, in the sense that he has expanded the cast, introduced interesting new characters, and crafted an ongoing series of arcs that require attention and comprehension skills beyond recognising who punched who.

Complicated doesn't always mean cerebral - it's a mistake that Doctor Who has suffered from over the last few years - but in this case it often works. It's certainly true that the huge number of characters who are now Avengers means that not everyone gets the spotlight every issue, but in creating new characters who all feel like they could hold their own for years to come Hickman reinvigorates the franchise, and has set it in a bold new direction. This isn't Bendis's street level team, but a cosmic crowd. Any team that can boast Hulk, Thor, Hyperion, Captain Marvel, Starbrand, Captain Universe as just the most over-powered of their membership is going to be powerhouse, so throwing in what would have been the New Avengers in years past, as well as the more classic line ups, allows for a greater rang of stories - note the difference between the battle with Terminus, the assault on the origin site in Canada, and Shang Chi vs. ninja's in a Chinese casino.

It's certainly true that character development in the overly monologuey style beloved of Bendis, the kind that requires you to pick up comic after comic to see the seeds sown in one chat play out, but reading this in trade makes it a better proposition. I can only imagine how unejoyable it may feel to get so little out of one issue, but that's, sadly, modern comics.

Also Try:
Jonathan Hickman, The Manhattan Projects
Jonathan Hickman, Secret Warriors
Brian Michael Bendis, New Avengers