This was probably the first Bendis-penned comic I’ve really enjoyed since he left Daredevil. (I’ve never tried Powers, though.) The art of Chris Bachalo, who’s always been one of my favorites, is what caused me to pick this up in the first place, and I was pleased that there was nothing in the script that offended my intelligence or caused me to think less of humanity. Sorry, but what Brian Bendis has become as a mainstream writer is usually diametrically opposed to my tastes: it’s not that I don’t think he’s still very talented; it’s that I think he’s using his talents in ways that I don’t agree with…philosophically. (I believe, for instance, that the words of heroes should always be more weighty and unique than those of sitcom characters.) That said, this was a good one-shot story. Marvel Boy is finally poised to become an interesting part of the Marvel Universe proper now that this tale gives him a niche and a reason for being on Earth. For the art alone, these 31 pages might have been worth $5 to me, but it was a nice surprise to find the story compelling enough in its own right.

The idea of an alien abandoned on Earth has been used many times in science fiction. The alien “seeks to understand humanity”…but runs into difficulties. Some authority is out to get the alien, but along the way the alien meets one human (usually a girl or a child) who causes the alien to pause for a moment and thereby learn something somewhat beautiful about the way Earthlings are. This is what happens in Dark Avengers Annual. It’s nothing new, but it doesn’t feel like a cliche to me because the idea is filled with enough goodwill and curiosity.

The young woman Marvel Boy meets initially seems to reflect (how can I put this without seeming like a pompous jerk?) everything that I despise about the stereotypical young American: predictably lost in life, in college and thus “educated” (yet presumably in a laughable amount debt and, as she herself admits, totally unsure why she went into the field of study she did), in a typically bad and immature relationship with another young fellow traveler, and lastly…a “fashion victim”, let’s just leave it at that (serious scholars do not dress that way; it’s not a sexist thing, either, because her boyfriend looks like even more of a goon whose mind has long been colonized by entities such as Hot Topic). Are these criticisms unfair? Sorry, but I can’t NOT look at the sociological side of things. Bendis’s story, HOWEVER, actually shows the woman becoming a bit of a hero…and by the end the character is almost entirely redeemed in my eyes. To hate this character, for me, would almost be like hating humanity. The character shows some gumption, some individuality, a great deal of courage and–at the end–some aptitude for trying to say something big about humanity…something not entirely untrue or un-profound. While on the one hand this character represents so much that is tired, uninteresting and uninspiring about young Americans today, on the other hand Bendis uses the character quite well. And while I don’t think Bendis himself would consider this character’s position in life to be nearly as troubling and dismaying as I do, in the last pages the character seems to transcend those qualities that I perceive as very regrettable failings, and this is a happy coincidence that allows me to enjoy the story more. As Marvel Boy learns something about humanity through the young woman, maybe the young woman herself will be inspired by Marvel Boy to improve her lot.

The rest of the story? There’s not much for me to say about it. I wish Bendis would have used more reference material for the “alien lost on Earth” theme. Maybe he could have watched the original Day the Earth Stood Still movie, then listened to some ’70s Bowie and watched The Man Who Fell to Earth. Not that I would have wanted him to straight-up copy anything from those sources, but as I writer I think he could have used material like that as a launching pad for his own ideas. Instead the theme–though intrinsically good as far as I’m concerned, and serviceable–seems undeveloped. It begs for more specificity and uniqueness; Marvel Boy wasn’t such a stoic blank slate under Morrison (or under Jason Aaron in last month’s Wolverine The List). The other stuff–the appearances by the other Marvel characters–didn’t affect me one way or the other. It was okay, neat enough. Overall, 3/5 on the writing: “Good”.

The art, though? 5/5, hands down. The use of diagonal paneling, the white space, the details, the “camera” angles, and colors (Bachalo is co-colorist)–all beautiful and innovative and just what I would expect from the latest Chris Bachalo offering. This guy is always refining his style, and consequently his style is always slightly evolving. It’s always interesting for me to see his latest offering. For what it’s worth, his panel-to-panel storytelling skills seem a lot better here than they were on X-Men a few years ago. The style is similar to his later X-Men style, but there are no “wtf just happened?”-moments anymore. I know some people just don’t like Bachalo’s work on sight, and that’s fair. He has a very distinct style, and if you don’t like it, you don’t like it. To me, though, it’s always a treat to see what he’s going for this time, to see what subtle changes or improvements he’s made to his style. It just really, really hits home with me.