REVIEW: ‘All-Out Avengers,’ Issue #1

All-Out Avengers #1 is the first of a new series published by Marvel, written by Derek Landy, with pencils by Greg Land, colors by Frank D’Armata, and letters by Cory Petit. An alien invasion of Earth has led to Captain Marvel being possessed. As Carol battles Thor and Iron Man, the rest of the Avengers take the fight to the spaceship.

This is the start of what is intended to be a full-on series, where the action is paramount. It throws us straight into a fight, not even wanting to explain how Captain Marvel gets taken over. The exposition comes later on the spaceship, but that is brisk. The comic constantly wants to move to the next battle or clash between characters. Some pieces of technology create hints at solutions, leading to some great callbacks. But the critical factors of this comic are energy and fun, which is here in spades. Despite the emphasis on action, there are signs of an overlapping threat and story that will tie the series together.

Brought together in this story is broadly the same team from the main Avengers comic. This maintains the continuity of the current squad, although there are additions such as Spider-Woman and Spider-Man. The most recent events of Jason Aaron’s comics, including Black Panther leaving, don’t appear to have too much impact on this series, streamlining the book. It’s a group filled with history, negative comments, and friendship. But there isn’t much time given to conversation as the pacing is incredibly swift. But these are well-known characters, and their personalities can exude with the briefest of dialogue. The villain of the book is interesting, fleshed out so that the rules of their invasion can be used in the fight.

The art is a brilliant fit for the dynamics of the comic. Land takes the brief of all-out action and rolls with it. There is a fight on almost every page of All-Out Avengers #1, but it never gets old, with various situations being used. On Earth are Thor and Iron Man trying to control the changed Danvers. This is open, powerful, and intense, with an emphasis on powers. On the spaceship, it is confined to close quarters and focused on martial arts. The alterations to Carol’s design are incredibly cool and hardcore, with her sharp teeth and spikes growing out of her. Additionally, there are some amazing creations for the alien invaders, especially the queen. But credit has to be given to the tremendous inking as Leisten’s thick lines and heavy shadowing influence both designs. The queen has these dark, zigzagged lines all over her face that are superb both from afar and up close.

There are some characters that I didn’t personally gravitate towards artistically, most notably Thor. The signature photorealism of Land’s art doesn’t always shine, and the God of Thunder, unfortunately, is an example.

The colors are fantastic. The characters, particularly the Avengers, possess the most vibrant shades, with red being a particularly present tone in this lineup. On Earth, there is a sickly color to the sky, heralding the sign of an invasion and instantly alerting us to the fact that things aren’t right. The spaceship walls and surfaces are purple and blue, rich and prominent. The lettering by Petit is extremely well done and always easy to read. Even when custom word balloons are created, the fonts remain unaffected, never losing legibility.

All-Out Avengers #1 is an energetic comic that is unashamed of putting the action first. While there is a plot that will link the issues, it appears that it is merely a setup for the characters to go into battle. It is a fun issue that doesn’t let up from its intensity from the opening page to the last. The art isn’t perfect but what it does do is capture the kinetic motion that is required. How this concept plays out over multiple issues will be fascinating to discover.

All-Out Avengers #1 is available now wherever comics are sold.