New Avengers: Breakout

I actually got into the Avengers through the Ultimates, which was really the first true Avengers type book I had read.  After that I picked up the Essential Avengers and went from there.  So while I know the basics, I’m still a little foggy on their recent history right before Breakout which means, I read Breakout without having read Avengers Disassembled.  Blasphemous, I know but that’s the way it is with TPB’s, sometimes you get what’s available.  So the question I had going into this book was, ‘how well is this book going to stand on its’ own?’  Turns out, pretty well.

I remember seeing a Joe Quesada interview about the New Avengers and I remember him seeming excited about a brand new start and mentioning how they could add popular characters like Wolverine into the mix.  Hearing his excitement made me want to pick up the title even more, but adding Wolverine to the mix, not so much — isn’t he stretched pretty thin as is?

Other than that I knew nothing about the title so I picked it up and jumped into it with both feet, reading and enjoying the book in a single sitting.  The first thing I noticed was that the coloring was amazing, just like it was in The Ultimates. See to me, coloring is really important because it can make good art look like crap if it’s done wrong.  The art, text and layout look excellent as well, as I would imagine it should in a top shelf title.

So the story opens up with Electro inciting a jailbreak at a maximum security prison for the super-powered.  I love this concept, even if it is a bit played out.  A bunch of bad guys with a lot of pent up rage make for an outstanding super hero beatdown, and that’s exactly what happens.  Some of the released criminals include Carnage, Purple Man and The Hydro-Man, you know the usual suspects. The heroes who just happen to be there or get there quick enough to make a difference include Captain America, Spider-Man, Spider Woman, Luke Cage, Daredevil, Iron Man and some guy called Sentry who only plays a small part in this book.

The battle that takes place is absolutely fantastic.  It’s mass chaos set at a frantic pace with bone-crushing results.  I would suggest this book to anybody just for the initial fight scene alone, it’s just that good.

After the fight, Captain America attempts to recruit the heroes that helped put some of the super-criminals back in their cells to be the New Avengers, because as he says, ‘it’s fate’ that they all gathered at the same spot in a moment of need.  Most agree and a new team is born.  Soon after the collective team discover clues about the breakout that lead these heroes to the Savage Land where they run into Wolverine.  Our heroes let him tag along because it never hurts to have a killing machine along with you for the ride when you’re in a jungle filled with dinosaurs and mutates.

Our heroes eventually discover the reason for the breakout and and get caught up in intrigue fueled by an unsuspected conspiracy that leaves the New Avengers unsure as to who their allies and enemies really are.

So with the amazing action in the jailbreak fight, the humorous interactions of Spider-Man with Luke Cage, the sexiness of Spider-Woman and the inclusion of some of the best heroes Marvel has to offer — Captain America, Wolverine, & Iron Man — you’ve got to pick up this book because it’s got something for everyone put together by some of the best writers and artists Marvel employs.