Review: Secret Avengers #2

SECRET AVENGERS #2 "Secret Histories, part 2"
Written by Ed Brubaker; art by Mike Deodato, Will Conrad.

For some reason, I'm not quite as excited about this comic as I was after reading the first issue. I can't point to anything that is specifically wrong with it, but I think maybe it has something to do with the fact that the team members all kind of blend into one another for me. As a new Marvel reader, I'm not familiar with any of these characters and I need them to really stand out individually in order to care about what happens to them. The first issue spent a lot of time introducing each of them and they all seemed to have distinct personalities and appearances. But here, they're all walking around in space suits, checking things out on Mars and getting into fights with anonymous bad guys who are even more indistinguishable from one another. There just doesn't seem to be a lot of characterization.

I probably make it sound like a terrible comic, but it really isn't. I'm sure that those who are already familiar with these characters won't have the same problem I had. The issue focuses on advancing the plot and I'm sure that there will be more character moments coming up in future issues.

The art also seems a bit less impressive to me than in the first issue, maybe because most of the issue takes place on Mars, which is not depicted as the most visually interesting setting.

Overall, this is a good issue, even if I don't have a lot to say about it, and it ends with a double-cliffhanger that promises a lot of action in the next one. Looking forward to it.