To Infinity and Beyond!

I was not looking forward to this series.

From the premise, it all seemed pretty "been there done that"...So what changed? This time we've got ourselves a nice twist, and we finally see the return of Marvel's Illuminati!

Cap, Iron Man, Black Panther, Black Bolt, Dr Strange, Mr Fantastic and Namor find themselves facing their toughest decision yet (well some of them), when an anomaly in an alternate earth, leads to alternative earths' gravitating towards each other causing an incursion, resulting in either the destruction of both worlds, or the sacrifice of only one earth (imaging throwing 2 eggs towards each other).

3 issues in and the team now have, Decided to use the Infinity Gems to restore the Infinity Gauntlet to stop the incursion by repelling the oncoming alt planet, Been joined by Hank McCoy - who has replaced Professor X after he posthumously recruited Hank to be his replacement (How? read and you'll find out), Enlisted Cap to be the wielder of the gauntlet, Repelled the alt earth (for now) - resulting in the destruction of the gauntlet (naughty Cap), Decided that they may need to make some tough calls - i.e. do all they can to make sure their world is saved over another's, Mind wiped Cap, Anddd they appear to have pissed of Galactus, Thanos and the Watcher (we'll see).
It's safe to say it's been pretty jammed packed, and as a result, whilst I like Hickman's work, this has made part of these issues very wordy. But that said, Hickman's depiction of Reed Richards is strong, bold, and very matter of fact. He's definitely the stand out character.

However, we feel the main star of this series so far is the colourist- Frank D'Armata. We're no stranger to his work (Look at Cable & X-Force!). D'Armata and Epting work great together, but D'Armata's colours really make this story what it is.
This is a very insular and quite a dark story in terms of mortality and getting your hands dirty, and this is reflected perfectly in the colours. The tones are dark and brooding - even the red's of Strange's cloak and Cap's shoe's aren't as vibrant and heroic as we're used to seeing. We're surrounded by blacks, greys and sepia, and even when they step through to the wall edge and see the oncoming danger, whilst the land looks calm, it's a stark bloody red. It really sets the scene, and it's almost as if you're not only an observer, but this insular feel makes it seem as if you're the silent watcher in the room.

Hickman's New Avengers definitely has a way to go to hit the top of our list, but it's definitely one to watch whilst your pining for your next hit of Marvel Now.

What Would Doom Do?
He woulda shattered these universes ages ago AND kept the Infinity Gauntlet looking brand spanking new...just sayin. READ.