Thursday, March 7, 2013

Age of Ultron #1

Well, I certainly didn't expect that. It's like the '90s all over again!

The Age of Ultron was teased a few years ago, during one of many recent Avengers restarts. Brian Michael Bendis also wrote that story, which presented a future world where the evil robot Ultron had conquered the world.

One of the nifty things about that story was that it featured a timeline for future events in the Marvel universe, culminating in Ultron's devastating attack - the Age of Ultron.

That attack has apparently arrived, and the results are shocking. The events that play out in this issue (with the focus on a rescue effort by Hawkeye) are surprisingly grim and gritty.

There are deadly attacks, strong language and lots of mayhem. Most surprising is the condition of New York and the time frame for the story.

The art is by Bryan Hitch (with Mark Neary inks), and it's impressive stuff, loaded with detail (sometimes too much detail to absorb), dynamic layouts and shocking visuals.

Hitch may not be for everyone - his art is (to use TV terminology) High Def to the extreme, and his panel layouts can take surprising turns. Personally, I'm a big fan - you're definitely seeing a master at work.

This event seems to be taking over the company for the next few months, and it's an epic of impressive scope right out of the gate - I can't wait to see where it goes from here.

Oh, and the cover features a foil-embossed cover. Can't get more '90s than that!

Grade: A

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