Avengers #34: Ancient Egyptian Hoedown With a Side of Vengeance!

“Go big or go home” is without a doubt Jason Aaron’s philosophy when it comes to writing Avengers – for better or worse. Sometimes, readers wind up with stories that shoot for the moon and wind up collapsing under their own ambitions. But other times, you wind up with Thor as a Brood, or “The Age of Khonshu.” The very idea of this current arc is absurd – that Moon Knight could defeat the Avengers and steal their powers, only to have Khonshu warp reality to suit his sensibilities.

But that’s exactly why it works.

The Avengers are the world’s mightiest heroes. Their threats should be nothing less than epic, and although there’s something to be said for occasionally bonking the Living Laser on the head for robbing a bank or whatever, in the final analysis, a team whose ranks include Captain Marvel, Thor, Iron Man, She-Hulk, Black Panther and Captain America (to say nothing for anyone else who may fill out their ranks at a given time) should only fight the biggest, baddest, most insanely over-the-top threats imaginable.

“Age of Khonshu” provides nothing less. By subverting expectations right off the bat by having some of their most powerful members fall to Moon Knight of all people (look, I love him, but he’s hardly punching in Thor’s weight class), Aaron has immediately spun the metaphorical world off its axis, which leaves readers completely unsure as to what will happen next. The team’s backs are against the wall from the get-go, and from a storytelling perspective, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Javier Garron is a more than capable partner-in-crime for Aaron. In fact, the work he’s turning in here shows he’s more than an up-and-comer – he’s primed to be the next superstar. His imagery is epic in both scope and detail; is page layouts are creative and expressive. He knows exactly how to frame a page in such a way that you aren’t just looking at a page of panels, you’re looking at an entire work of art. That’s a rare talent. Combine it with Aaron’s knack for crafting madly, wonderfully over-the-top, and you have an Avengers book that’s suddenly firing on all cylinders. Don’t miss it.