Angela: Asgard’s Assassin (Marvel)
Story by Kieron Gillen Art by Phil Jimenez and Stephanie Huns
I have been saying for quite some time that I am excited to see Angela get her own series. Ever since she debuted in the Marvel universe I’ve been waiting for her to be given her own little corner to set up shop. This week we got our first taste of Angela: Asgard’s Assassin and I have to admit to being kind of disappointed.
A good first issue gives the reader something to latch on to, sense of the characters and then throws something at them that will make them want to buy the next issue. In this issue, I got very little to latch onto; Angela was not particularly likable and the hook at the end didn’t make a whole lot of sense.
The story begins with Angela, carrying a mysterious something, showing up at some town on the edge of reality, where she is confronted by the townsfolk like in a bad western. This is quickly disrupted by the introduction of Sera (as in seraphim…facepalm) who readers can only assume is, or was, a fellow angel. Then Angela is attacked by creatures that look like they should be Vikings, but what little is visible beneath their armor makes me think they may be something more. These guys are quickly dispatched, and I can’t help feel that they only showed up so that readers can be amazed by Angela’s martial prowess.
Kicking ass and removing heads.
From here the story takes a slight detour that, at first, threw me for a loop, but once I recovered I was less put off by it than I had originally anticipated. Sera proceeds to tell one of the denizens of the town a story about Angela that again showed that she was a badass who had saved Sera’s life.
In five pages, Kieron Gillon set forth a very well thought out main story that could have stood on its own if he had chosen to use it as such. What bothered me about the sub-story, and has generally bothered me about Marvel angels since Original Sin, is that they are all about getting paid. There is literally nothing that angels do that doesn’t revolve around getting something for it. It’s like they’re more capable Ferengi. They go so far as to imply that a person literally owes someone their life for saving them as an infant, as if an infant is capable of making that kind of determination. While I realize this is a comic, this is avarice taken to a grotesque level that really jolts me out of the story. This also doesn’t feel like the same Angela that has been finding her way through the Marvel universe lately. I have no delusions of seeing the same Angela I use to enjoy in Spawn, but I’d also come to enjoy the character who was palling around with the Guardians and making bizarre, yet fitting friends with Gamora. The character in Angela: Asgard’s Assassin just seems out of place with what we’ve seen before.
As much as I was turned off by the story, the art was absolutely spot on. Both main story artist Phil Jimenez and sub-story artist Stephanie Hans did an amazing job with this book. While I may have been put off by the story repeatedly feeling the need to show how tough Angela is, the art which is used to demonstrate her superiority is superb. Jimenez gives the reader a great sense of speed by first showing Angela as a Flash-like color blur and then showing her making short work of her foes. One of the things I loved about Angela, even back in early Spawn, was the fact that the ribbons that surrounded her were almost alive and were often used as weapons, not just as decoration. While this was probably orginally intended to mirror Spawn’s chains, I’m thrilled they decided to keep this touch and this book makes use of them while Angela is taking care of the “Vikings.” Stephanie Huns’ art for the sub-story was also wonderful. I was familiar with her work from the Journey Into Mystery covers she had drawn a few years ago, but I hadn’t seen her do interior pages yet. Her painted style comes across very well, and is especially fitting for the flashback nature of the sub-story. It really feels like we are diving into Sera’s memory.
Although I was disappointed by the story, I intend to read at least the next few issues, if for no other reason than the art. Knowing Kieron Gillen’s work, I’m optimistic that the story will improve, however it has a lot of improving to do before it can stand on it’s own and not lean on the art. 2.5/5 Death Stars.
Therefore I Geek 