Warren Ellis has had one of my favorite runs on Secret Avengers thus far. If you were a fan of his Global Frequency series, this run on Secret Avengers is as close to that as you’re going to get. The main theme of his issues have been, “Run the mission, don’t get seen, save the world,” and every issue has lived up to that statement. Each story has been unique and played in many unique genres overall with a nice covert ops bent. With each issue there’s been a good art team and this one is no exception with Michael Lark doing breakdowns, Stefano Gaudiano with Brian Thies doing finishes, and Jose Villarrubia doing the color art. This team fits nicely to their mission to Symkaria, heading into the capital city of Aniana.
The beginning of Secret Avengers is what sucked me in from the start. The mood setting was something I haven’t seen done often in comics, the shades of darkness and neon in Aniana gives you an amazing atmosphere. The early part of this comic is mostly wordless so I think that’s what impresses me that just the art sucked me in. When the story does kick in Warren gives some nice screen time to Sharon Carter, Black Widow, and with Moon Knight in disguise looking like he walked out of a movie. One scene I really enjoyed was Steve Rogers fight with one of the possessed thugs. Very reminiscent of Lark’s Gotham Central work. Warren Ellis let Steve Rogers cut loose in this fight and made it a joy to read. Especially that last double page spread that ended the fight, the deep purple background showcasing that mighty punch from Steve Rogers is a thing of beauty.
Moon Knight is the star of the show in the latter half of the book. Black Widow and Sharon Carter get nice moments but this is Moon Knight unleashed. If Warren Ellis ever wants to write the Moon Knight series I’d be all for it. Warren gets Moon Knight in a way that not many creators do. I loved how the book ended with the last page end being spelled out on letters on the building itself. With the work Lark and company do on this issue, you have another fine single issue adventure in Secret Avengers.
What saddens me about Warren Ellis and his Secret Avengers run is the fact that it seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle. Every one of these stories has been between solid to excellent. This one is my personal favorite so far. The continuing work of Ellis on this series has been phenomenal. If you’re looking to grab an extra comic try out one of Warren’s Secret Avengers issues and I guarantee you’ll have fun. Each of Warren’s issues on Secret Avengers are self contained and you don’t need to know anything going in. Just the appreciation of a good story. It’s going to take a lot to top this one and I’ll be interested to see if the next issue can even match this. Until then, I’ll live with another impressive issue in Warren’s run on Secret Avengers.
