Avengers: Endless Wartime Trade Review




Once again I am here to tell you about a graphic novel, whether you should BUY it or even bother giving it a look. This book was released only a week ago on October 1. The illustrator is Mike McKone and author is Warren Ellis.

Warren Ellis is known for his somber, depressing, realistic tone. His most famous work is probably the Iron Man Extremis arc. The dialogue in this is real, organic, and natural. At times it's comical with strong social and political tones. The biggest weakness of the writing was that I wasn't sure if these characters were being written as if they're from their respective movie universes or the Marvel 616 universe and which time if so. Now if you're not reading any current Marvel story lines then you have nothing to worry about. Mike McKone's break out work was Marvel's Exile's and most recent job is on Avengers Academy. McKone does some amazing stuff in this book whether it's epic scenes of Cap, Thor, battle, environments, or Asgardian lore. Some of the faces did look off or eerily similar at times. One thing I felt he didn't get down most of the time was Captain America's outfit. Overall he did a solid job but I just felt that it could have been better maybe with an artist like John Cassaday who recently did a decent run on Uncanny Avengers but is most known for his run on Astonishing X-Men. Most of the characters looked and acted spot on except for Wolverine. He was just dressed in black and acted like he didn't want to be in this book. That was mostly due to the fault of the writing in the story.

The story started with Steve Rogers calling Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Tony Stark, and Logan together. The banter amongst the characters was fantastic. One of my favorite parts was the very characteristic thing Wolverine says to Cap referencing him being a soldier of World War 2 but acting like he never killed anybody. Something from his past appears to be coming back to haunt him in a new form. There is a flashback to reference the past. Thor shows up on the scene to reveal that he is back to hunt a past demon of his own and they may be one in the same. This fear is confirmed when they arrive at ground zero for the first sighting. It's kind of funny and a little pathetic when Stark was rendered almost useless in both skirmishes against these mythical beasts rigged with tech. It's was interesting when it was brought to the forefront that these creatures may only be attacking because of Thor and Captain America's presence. Nonetheless it was nice to see the result of their teammates doubt and fear. The Avengers even take on SHIELD who are using these things as drones. Despite it all in the end it just becomes a lesson of life, war never ends. It made me really sad and kind of depressed to think that these characters will never find peace and always be fighting some war much like how life can be sometimes especially for soldiers.

It's always an amazing thing when a book can give you a story you come to expect from comics but also deliver a message that moves you and pushes you deep into thought. I definitely would have liked to spend more time with these characters and this story as it felt a little short especially for $25. The fact that they only face the opposing force twice was a little disappointing but the true adversary was the moral decision these friends, teammates, and individuals had to make on their own and together. The art could have been a little bit better but most images were stunning, impressive, and awe inspiring. This is a solid stand alone story so not only do you not have to be up to date on ongoing comics to get whats going on but you might be more satisfied with the characters and story if you're not. Right now only the hard cover is out and as awesome as it looks I would suggest waiting until the paperback trade comes out because it will be cheaper.
Verdict: BUY
You can pick up these comics at Age Of Comics or

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