Secret Avengers #1

Secret Avengers #1
Secret Histories part one
Written by Ed Brubaker
Art by Mike Deodato

Action Ash
If someone came up to you and said "There should be a team of Avengers that are like well spy fiction and do stealth missions. All black ops ninja and shit." you'd call them a sucker MC, slap them with a glove and demand satisfaction. However...you'd be wrong!

Yes Secret Avengers is just that. It's superhero spy fiction with a good, and interesting, roster. Obviously Brubaker is a little bit good, so no surprises when I say that the story is well penned with some nice dialogue. The narrative is tidy, with a great sense of adventure, and great action sequences. Brubaker does a brilliant job of merging the high concept superhero aspects of the characters with the more down to earth, but still high concept, spy aspects of the story. Also there's a surprise reveal at the end that will have you shouting WTF!

Deodato aids the story perfectly, creating their super secret world of espionage with smooth lines and lashings of shadow. It's the perfect look for this kind of story. One thing though. Sometimes, in close up panels especially, he draws faces a bit weird. Look out for it and you'll see what I mean.

Anyway, jolly good show boys.

4 crude jokes about where Valkyrie keeps her sword, out of 5