Some time has passed since the Young Avengers left their home in order to keep their parents safe from Mother, the space parasite that only infects adults, and in that time, they’ve had some pretty cool adventures. While the last issue caught up with a former team member (or two?), the latest installment of this awesome new series from Kieron Gillen brings us back to Wiccan, Hulkling, Hawkeye, Miss America, Noh-Varr, and Kid Loki to see what they’ve been up to.
Previously, in ‘Young Avengers’ #6, guest artist showed us what Tommy Shepherd AKA Speed had been getting into since we last saw him with his old teammates in ‘Avengers: The Children’s Crusade’. Since then, he had been doing the superhuman equivalent of tempting and that’s where he met former X-Men protégé Prodigy. But after some mysterious activity around the office brings the familiar face of Patriot to their neck of the woods, the two heroes do some investigating of their own. This leads to a face to “face” confrontation that results in Speed being blinked out of existence.
In this new issue, after tracking down the Young Avengers due to their affinity for breakfast foods after battle, Podigy informs Tommy’s brother, Billy, what had happened and brings the team back to the scene of the crime in the hopes that together they find out what happened to their friend.
In any story, time jumping can be detrimental if not done correctly. However, when it’s spiced up a little, then it’s not so bad and that’s definitely the case with this ‘Young Avengers’ issue. Gillen and McKelvie showed the passing of time with Instagram posts from Loki. Not only was it a brilliant storytelling device, but also it was hilarious! Instead of using cumbersome dialogue to allude to the fact that the battle with Mother was three months ago, the timestamps on the posts show the reader how long it’s been since the end of the last arc. Seriously, I’m jealous that I could never think of something that genius.
Moving on from the amazing Instagram montage, there are a number of other great things about this issue as well. As there tend to be in every issue, there are some insane graphical elements. The main one is definitely when we get to see how Miss America gets around. There’s also Prodigy’s flashback. There’s really no other book on my pull list right now with such excellent use of panels like there is in ‘Young Avengers’. I love seeing what the creative team comes up with.
Finally, I really love the relationship between Kate and Noh-Varr. They’re that new couple that makes you kinda sick, yet you still adore the cute things that they’re doing. For instance, the mind control conversation was pretty funny. I’d totally take Loki’s side and be against the smooching as well if I didn’t think that they were so adorable.
With a new member of the team and a lead in their investigation to find an old member, the Young Avengers are thrust into another adventure that I can’t wait to follow along on.
Final Score:
YOUNG AVENGERS #7
Written by Kieron Gillen
Art by Jamie McKelvie & Matthew Wilson
