Assembling in the Arctic: A Review of The Avengers #8

written by Jason Aaron
drawn by David Marquez
colored by Justin Ponsor

After finally wrapping up his somewhat disappointing "Dark Celestials" epic a couple of months back, Jason Aaron delivered a one-shot origin story for the Ghost Rider of 1,000,000 B.C. which I honestly found so weak that, after enduring months of disappointment with this title, I didn't even bother to review it, even for Sara Pichelli's artwork, which, incidentally, was below her usual standard in that issue.

Fortunately, Aaron manages to bounce back a bit with this issue, in which the new team finally has a chance to officially assemble, and the next big storyline, one involving the infamous Roxxon corporation and Namor, the Submariner, is set up. Interestingly, upon their defeat of the Dark Celestials, the "light Celestials" make a gift to the Avengers of the gigantic carcass of the Progenitor, the Celestial who, according to the last story, gave birth to humanity, which is effectively the new Avengers' Tower. Defeated yet again, Loki delivers a brief soliloquy on how the Avengers owe their very existence as a team to him before he is whisked away by the Celestials to pay for his crimes. Doctor Strange takes his leave, opting to serve as a reserve member, but for everyone else, namely Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Panther, She-Hulk, Captain Marvel and new recruit Ghost Rider, this is now their new headquarters.

This is a relatively quiet issue, considering that Aaron wasn't much for talking-heads type narratives for the first story arc, but it's effective storytelling in that it quickly takes stock of what happened in the last arc, finally settles in the new team, and immediately sets the stage for the next big adventure. It was actually an effective epilogue to the last story arc, with the new headquarters being introduced and with Loki finally being dealt with (though of course, we know he'll be back).

Also, after the extremely uneven art that resulted from having Ed McGuinness and Paco Medina alternate on this title, I'm hoping for some consistency with A-list artist David Marquez on board, even though he's had Carol Danvers sprout a hilariously long mane of hair after she spent the first story arc with a crew cut. I'm glad Marquez came along, to be honest, because I'd already resolved to drop the book after McGuinness left considering how disappointed I was by the first few issues. I'm glad my patience with Aaron has paid off as well, because I've known this guy to be a talented writer, albeit one who just lost his stride during the first arc.

8/10