Book Review: The Avengers Initiative by Fred Van Lente

The Avengers Initiative
Fred Van Lente and Ron Lim
Genre(s): Graphic Novels, Comics, Superheroes
Published: October 10th 2012
Pages: 88
Rating: 4 stars

“The perfect introduction to Marvel's The Avengers movie! All your favorite characters from the film packed into one digest! Meet the incredible cast of the Avengers Initiative: Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye! The perfect introduction to Marvel's The Avengers movie! All your favorite characters from the film packed into one digest! Meet the incredible cast of the Avengers Initiative: Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye! Collecting MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS: THE AVENGERS INITIATIVE, CAPTAIN AMERICA & THOR!: AVENGERS”

The Avengers Initiative was a good, quick, and fun graphic novel that focuses heavily on the Avengers from the film. I really enjoyed this take on them, as I saw the film prior to reading any Marvel comics, and so my versions of the characters and ideas about the Avengers were those of the ones in the cinematic universe, which do not necessarily match those in the comic universe.

The artwork in this instalment are sharp and crisp, realistic and boldly coloured, and very good cartoon interpretations of the actors from the film. I especially liked the way Black Widow was drawn, this is probably my favourite version of her. I also really enjoyed how in Captain America's issue in this, his comrades look just like the ones he was with in his film, Captain America: The First Avenger.

I found this to be a very nice introduction to the Marvel comics, and I wish I'd found it before I read any other graphic novels, as the continuity from film to comic was excellent, even if the stories did not follow the events of the film. As a prequel to it, though, it works nicely. I did find myself wondering a little about how everyone was recruited before Avengers and what they got up to before, and this sheds a little light on those situations.

Overall, a very enjoyable read. Perhaps a little on the short side; it would have been nice to have issues for all of the individual Avengers, not just Cap and Thor. The inclusion of Tales of Suspense #64 was really the only thing that pulled the rating down to four stars. Definitely give this a go if you're a fan of the film and want to get involved with the comics, though.