Comic Review: Justice Inc- The Avenger #1- You’re Awful, But I Like You

Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Ronilson Freire
Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Released: 3rd June 2015


I shouldn’t like this comic book. It’s deliberately corny, very stupid and completely pointless, and the voice over narration that describes the unfolding action is straight out of that camp old Batman television show from the 1960’s.

Is it supposed to be a knowing, post-modern corny kitschy joke? Probably, but who is laughing?

Added to that corn factor is an ugly dollop of 2015 era social justice warrior political correctness. A woman who acts as a secretary isn’t a secretary at all. No, she’s a very rich and important woman because obviously having a young female secretary in the 1930’s (Is that when this book is set?) would be sexist, and we can’t have that, can we? I mean, women in the 1930’s never worked as secretaries did they? No, we can’t portray that in a comic book, because that is sexist, even though it is true.

Bugger reality, let’s all be politically correct and pretend that reality doesn’t exist.

<<<HUGE SIGH>>>

So what do we have here?

Yes, it’s just another comic book, desperate not to offend, very safe, and very depressing. The book should be chucked in the bin with all of the other inoffensive saying nothing junk that you’ll find in a comic book shop today, right?

Hang on, there’s a but.

There’s always a butt. Sorry, that’s a joke. Did it offend anybody? I hope so, anyway, the but is that something happens in this book that completely redeems it.

After an opening fight sequence that features the usual mix of cool quips and acrobatic women kicking men in the face, the narrative plods on and is uniformly awful, dull, laughable and pointless. But then, in one large panel, something is introduced, and yes it’s really, really stupid and meaningless as well, but (more butts) it somehow works.

I smiled, laughed even, and now I’m writing up this review not to say that the book is pointless and awful, but (I can’t escape the butts in this review) that it’s worthwhile after all.

I’m not even going to mention what this ‘thing’ is, because I don’t want to spoil it. I want it to be a nice surprise for everybody, so get the book, endure and wait for something that is genuinely cool, something that makes all of the awfulness worth enduring.

So, in summary, it’s an awful book, it says nothing, it doesn’t even try really, but you need to get yourself a copy of it immediately. Off you go, to the ebay, trust me, it’s not great, but it’s worth spending a couple of quid on.


Rating: 6.5/10 (Awful, but good)