I’m reading “Avengers Vs. X-Men”, but I do it not out of joy or interest but out of obligation. I suspect many readers are the same way. “God, fine, Marvel, I will read your crossover to make sense of the other books I read!”
Still, even by crossover standards, “VS” came off as a huge slap to the face. Oh, we’re not going to put the actual fights in the actual book! We expect you to buy another six issues to get the actual fun parts of the book!
What Marvel didn’t seem to realize, though, is that they’re putting out a book that’s actually a lot more compelling and interesting than their actual crossover. In fact, if you just want to read the plot summary on Wikipedia, I’d recommend ditching “Avengers Vs. X-Men” altogether and just buying “VS”.
Why?
#5) VS. Is Better Written
Part of this is just that the writers here are under far less editorial obligation than the AvX writing room: he knows who has to fight, and who has to win, so his job is just to fill in the blanks and maybe toss in the occasional plot crumb to tie in what’s a deliberately over-the-top book.
#4) VS. Is Way Less Dour and Self-Serious
In fact, this book is funny, as you can tell from the FAQ that opens it. Nobody is taking this remotely seriously, and the book is sprinkled with one-liners and “Fun Facts”, like how much it’ll cost “S.H.I.E.L.D.” to repair the Helicarrier after Namor punches Ben Grimm through it.
#3) The Fights Are Well-Drawn
Granted, the art in the main book is no slouch, but you can feel Kubert and Immonen enjoying themselves with every panel. This is what artists who love comics love to draw, and frankly, it shows.
#2) The Matchups Play Out Reasonably Well
The fights are actually pretty well-balanced: you don’t walk away, so far, muttering under your breath about what a load of crap this was. That’s frankly a lot more welcome than “AvX”, so far.
#1) It’s Ultimately a Lot More Satisfying
There’s no nice way to say this: “Avengers Vs. X-Men” is heavily padded. There’s no reason it needs twelve issues, except greed. “VS”, though, really brings out how flawed the main book is in this respect because the fights are concise and fun to read.
“AvX” feels like the comics equivalent of broccoli, currently. “VS” is a hell of a lot more fun, more engaging and just generally more enjoyable.
So, yeah, if you can, read this, and ditch “AvX”. Plot summaries are what Wikipedia is for.
image courtesy Marvel