‘Young Avengers’ go dark

“Dark Reign: Young Avengers” is a 5-issue miniseries that co-stars the original YA team and a new one composed of rookie analogues of old Masters of Evil members. Written by Paul Cornell, scribe of the short-lived but excellent Captain Britain book and some of the best episodes of the revived Doctor Who show, “Young Avengers” showcases characters that don’t follow the same set of rules as the original team of “sidekicks.”

While it’s a simple adventure that mostly focuses on some of the new adventurers’ questionable intentions, it has memorable ruminative moments, and introduces a rivalry that’s worth developing. Standout characters like Enchantress (a dumb blonde mystic) and Coat of Arms (a pretentious but intelligent artist) deserve to be seen more, preferably as guests (or potential new members) in future YA storylines. Speaking of which, where is that YA ongoing? Cornell is clearly a capable writer; if he were to take over, the characters would benefit from his guidance and storytelling ability.

The art by Mark Brooks is decent. His faces sometimes confuse, because they look too alike (Melter and Executioner, when the latter isn’t masked, etc.). There aren’t many variations in facial expressions, too. But his figures are solid and dynamic enough, and the costume designs are attractive.