If you were looking for justification for both why decompressed storytelling in comics has worn out its welcome and why Marvel’s just ripping you off at this point by increasing their cover price, look no further than New Avengers 49. That’s Brian Michael Bendis trying to recreate a cinematic zoom, and in the process spending three pages to show three panels’ worth of action. It could have been a panel where Jarvis is shot, a panel where Luke looks through the hole the bullet came from, and panel where Bullseye is shown as the shooter. Instead, you get a panel of Luke looking out eh window, the same shot from another angle, seven panels showing the same thing, then a full page showing Bullseye. I used to love Bendis’s stories and ritually bought everything he wrote. Now I’m glad I’ve stopped. I’ll just wait for Powers trades1.
- Okay, I still love Ultimate Spider-Man.