Man, I seriously need a holiday. I just want to be able to relax and read comic books and watch movies and still get paid well. Is there a job that does that? Does Warner Bros Discovery need anyone to run their comics department? Haha! Anyways, as I considered which Marvel series I wanted to return to, I remembered that I had enjoyed the first novel in the All-New All-Different Avengers series and thought it was time that I read their next novel.
“Family Business” is a three-part novel. The first third of the story sees the Avengers discover that Hank Pym had a daughter who has been until now unknown to the world. She steals some of his technology to suit up as the new Wasp and is determined to become part of her father’s legacy. Although initially hesitant, the Avengers give her a chance to prove herself and she helps to undo the last of Kang the Conquerer’s hold over Vision. Following that, the Avengers are drawn to Pleasant Hill, the weird prison where all these villains have been brainwashed into normal society members. However, as the facade fades, the Avengers along with the Unity Squad, a team consisting of a number of different characters such as Deadpool, Rogue, Johnny Storm and Dr Voodoo, are attacked by the villains who now remember who they are. The final part of this novel sees this team of Avengers venturing out into space to help Sam, aka Nova, find his father who has been lost for some time. They end up crashing on a planet where there is a multitude of stranded aliens who have all fallen into the same trap. To make matters worse there is a large energy-based creature that comes every day to consume some of the aliens. The Avengers deduce that the creature is actually a portal to another place and when they all end up flying into the creature, they find themselves in the Negative Zone where the villain, Annihilus has taken over and is attempting to destroy their dimension. Can this team stop Annihilus in his tracks? And just what are the implications of a new Wasp on the scene?
I remember reading the first novel in this series and actually finding myself enjoying it. I have to say that I’m generally a fan of the original line-up of the Avengers, be it the original comic book line-up or the MCU one. That being said, having a team with younger heroes alongside ‘veterans’ of the superhero game like Iron Man and Vision leads to a refreshing take on this team novel. I think that Iron Man provides the perfect father figure to a lot of these youngsters and yet never feels overbearing. I also like that there is a little bit of ambiguity over who is the actual team leader in this roster. I’ve always said this and I’ll most likely continue to reiterate this, team novels should be fluid in their roster and leader and type of mission. That’s what makes it fun. That can naturally lead to a lack of individual character development but for the most part, a greater team development. Another thing that I really enjoyed about this novel was the fact that the team are taking on fairly powerful enemies but relatively unknown ones. It gives the reader exposure to more characters!
I really liked most of the artwork in this novel, I thought the style was crisp and clean and very nice to look at whilst reading. The only qualm I had were the covers, which I’m sure are drawn by the legendary Alex Ross. I know he’s a legend, don’t get me wrong, but I just am not a fan of that style. Overall though, this was a good novel and I’m really enjoying this series!
Favourite Panel:
Just read it. Nothing needs to be said.
Favourite Character:
Can’t believe I’m saying this. It’s Iron Man. He’s ridiculously more likeable in the comic books than in the films. So wholesome.
Rating:
Story Arc: ★★★½
Character Development: ★★★
Artwork: ★★★½
Enjoyability: ★★★½
Re-readability: ★★½
Level: Intermediate