Avengers Forever #15: Duel Of The Giants

Keeping with tradition, Avengers Forever #15 is another issue carried by the talents of its penciller, inker, and colorist. “Carried” feels like a minimizing term, however, as the art within does not simply keep this barebones story afloat but allows it to soar despite its flaws.

The impressive amount of striking imagery worked into this issue is a much-needed dose of ambiance for a climax that has begun to lose its sense of grandeur. Perhaps the most impressive aspect is how Aaron Kuder, Mark Farmer, and Frank Martin’s efforts combine to grant weight and scale to the more enormous spectacles. Kuder generously uses a worm’s-eye view when drawing Galactus and Mephisto, keeping readers in the characters’ shoes at ground level. The black line art has varying levels of thickness, which bring depth to each character and help to frame them distinctly against the action occurring in every background.

With so many Phoenix and Thor variants present, it is no surprise that every page bursts with blue and red contrasted well against more neutral purple and orange tones. Even more unique is the contribution of Martin’s colors to further sell the massive size of Mephisto and the Celestial Deathlok as they duke it out across the God Quarry. Each panel has these imposing figures rendered semi-translucent by the rusty orange atmosphere. It is a masterful recreation of the natural lightning effect seen when viewing a mountain range on the horizon or the moon in the daylight sky.

Regarding narrative, issue #15 does set the comic’s stakes back on track by establishing Mephisto’s true intentions, which have remained ambiguous for a while. No longer does the conflict feel aimless, but the twist reveals that Mephisto desires the destruction of the multiverse rather than its recreation is not the shocking twist tell that series has set it up to be.