By Kieron Gillen and Kate Brown; Marvel Comics
There are easily dozens of reasons to read Young Avengers. Kieron Gillen has created a big campy superhero story that is simultaneously a hugely empathetic metaphor for growing up, with all of the hurt, beauty, and drama that entails. This issue is drawn and coloured by artist Kate Brown who maintains the high standards of the comic usually maintained by series regular artist Jamie McKelvie. Young Avengers #6 is still great comics.
As usual, my favourite part of the issue is the keynote, experimental layout that is the trademark of the Young Avengers series. And what makes it so great, beyond its aesthetic value, is that provides additional story and character information. Which is kind of great...
Note: there will be *SPOILERS* in beyond this point. Procede at your own risk.
In this issue of Young Avengers we focus on super speester and former Young Avenger, Speed and the depowered mutant Prodigy, whose mind contains all of the knowledge of the X-men. The hook of the issue is that these two former heroes are trying to make it after all by working in a boring office where Prodigy provides tech support and Speed does superfast manufacturing. The layout above depicts Speeds rapid construction work and does a really effective job portraying the speed and intricacy of the process. Specifically the blurring and disjointed nature of all the little inserts convey speed, and the glimpsed intricate manufacturing steps as well as the component like frames sell the intricacy of the process. Which is all really cool.
But what makes this even niftier is the idea, explained in the dialogue of the panels that Speed experiences these rapid moments subjectively as weeks of his life. And the way we BARELY glimpse the manufacturing, and dont really get to see or understand the process really sells the temporal disconnect between Speed and us "Snails". And this I think really sells the unique experience of being Speed, what it is like to be a normal-speeded character around Speed, and gives some neat insite into why Speed is a bit of an arrogant, flighty jerk. And this is even cooler.
Previously:
Favouring The Young Avengers #5
Favouring The Young Avengers #1-4
Is Speed dead at the the end? It's a bit confusing ........
ReplyDeleteThe answers to this question come considerably later in the series. If this your first read through, keep on keepin' on and you'll eventually figure it out. If you've already finished the series we can try to hash it out.
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