Comic Book Wednesday, Part Two: Review Of Young Avengers #2

Young Avengers #2 cover, art by Jamie McKelvie.

The drama is amped up. We get to see artist Jamie McKelvie’s (Phonogram, Suburban Glamour) interpretations of the Uncanny Avengers. Loki eats more bacon and reminds the world how magic it is. Young Avengers #2, despite being oddly bereft of ass- (or should that be Loki?) kicking America Chavez, Kate Bishop, and Noh-Varr, #2 proves to be an exciting follow-up to the popular first issue. 

Continuing on from the cliffhanger ending of #1, Teddy Altman (Hulkling) and Billy Caplan (Wiccan) AKA Marvel’s cutest couple, are on the run from an alien race after a spell goes wrong, causing Billy’s parents and the Uncanny Avengers to act… Strangely. Teddy and Billy are soon caught and placed into weird, white cells, and in one of the most creative page and panel layouts all month, escape with the help of Kid Loki. After Teddy and Billy pay for Loki’s bill in a nameless back-end café, they decide the best thing to do with him is to forcibly drag him back to Asgardia before he causes more chaos. However, when they get there, things aren’t quite what the trio expected…

Another character heavy issue, which are writer Kieron Gillen’s (Uncanny X-Men, Journey Into Mystery) specialty, this issue wracks up the tension and drama effectively, whilst still maintaining the humour that Gillen is so well known for. This issue, while answering many questions from the previous goes onto ask even more, making it imperative to pick up the next issue. Furthermore, the opening ‘Yamblr’ page is hilariously put together, channelling the pure insanity that is Tumblr and its overabundance of feels into a brilliant summary page. 

Interior B&W artwork. Snagged from Comic Book Movie.

I will never, ever, not love Jamie McKelvie’s artwork. With smooth lines, beautiful facial expressions (and faces in general… I’m yet to see an ‘ugly’ character drawn by McKelvie!) and stunning backgrounds and buildings, McKelvie’s artwork is stunning as usual, and Matthew Wilson’s bold, bright colours fit the series excellently, in all its 4th-wall-breaking, bacon-divining, pop-culture referencing glory. However, the strong point of this issue, both in terms of writing and art (and the brilliant way writer and artist come together to create something amazing) are the pages were Billy is in the strange white prison and is getting rescued by Loki. In a convention-breaking, creative and frankly interesting way, McKelvie shows Kid Loki and Teddy literally tramping around the cells, which make up the panels on the page. It’s a stroke of genius. 

Young Avengers is a series not to be missed. I would like to see more of the other characters next issue, but no doubt it’ll be part of some evil, feels-inducing masterplan put together by Kieron Gillen and his right-hand man, Jamie McKelvie. The drama is upped in this issue making it hard to put down, and making the wait between issues all the more bittersweet. A thoroughly enjoyable, heartily funny second issue, Gillen & McKelvie deliver their brilliant craft once again. 

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