Everything Still Dies
This review was originally posted on my website Imagination Centre (here).
WARNING: THIS REVIEW WILL SPOIL INFINITY #6!
Infinity was an amazing event and although I felt that it was the right length, I am still sad that it's ended. We do however get one more instalment in the form of this epilogue, and although I usually feel epilogues are unnecessary and at times purely to make more money, with it being New Avengers I'm sure this one will be good.
Plot
In the aftermath of defeating Thanos, Black Panther has to face some questions over his alliance with Namor while the other Illuminate members have their own personal tasks to attend to.
Review
This was an amazing issue and one of the best epilogue issues to an event that I've read in a while. Jonathan Hickman does a superb job of both following in the aftermath of Infinity, whilst also setting up future events for both the Marvel Universe as a whole, as well as certain Illuminati members personally, with this being a suspenseful issue with a lot of drama. Hickman would also add a lot of excitement and emotion to this issue, as although there wasn't any action it had a lot of tension and intensity, which in itself created some excitement. It is however still only an epilogue with nothing too amazing happening, hence it isn't quite the perfect issue.
The artwork on this issue was also spectacular with Mike Deodato Jr. as usual doing a phenomenal job. The detail in his art would also be very consistent throughout with very few imperfections, if any at all. The best thing about Deodato Jr.'s art would be his layouts which were simply breathtaking, adding a lot of depth and atmosphere to the issue. I was however still not a fan of the way that Deodato. Jr drew Beast, as although it didn't bother me quite as much in this issue, the oversized look of him still makes it feel slightly unrealistic, especially as he's not as big in other series'. The character emotion and facial expressions throughout would however be great adding yet more depth to the issue.
Black Panther's alliance with Namor as part of the Illuminati would come to haunt him in this issue as Shuri and the Dora Milaje question Black Panther over consorting with the Namor the leader of their enemy. Now it was only a matter of time before this came to affect Black Panther, and the way it was handled in this issue was very interesting. Now I won't go into too much detail as to avoid spoilers, but it is certainly not quite what I expected, though it was the natural direction to take this development in, and I will be looking forward to seeing how this will affect Namor and Black Panther's relationship as Illuminati members.
Doctor Strange would be affected a lot during the Infinity event, and this issue would see the Doctor take some measures to rectify this. Yet again I won't go into too much detail but I will say that the sequence had a very eeire and dark tone to it, and I am definitely looking forward to seeing if/how this will affect the series going forward and whether we'll see a change in Doctor Strange from now on. During the sequence itself I also found the interaction between Doctor Strange and Wong set-up this development brilliantly.
Finally Iron Man (Tony Stark), Mr. Fantastic and Beast would remain to talk with Black Swan. Now much like the previous two paragraphs I won't go into too much detail as this is probably the most interesting sequence in the issue and I'd hate to spoil it for anyone. I did however find the tone as well as the dialogue to be very interesting, adding a lot of depth and tension to the issue. I also loved Black Swan's attitude as a whole to be very intriguing and I look forward to seeing what Hickman has in store for her as this series develops beyond Infinity.
Final Verdict
This was a terrific issue and a brilliant epilogue. It would also set-up the future of this series perfectly, utilising the events of Infinity to do this. The issue itself would be very dramatic and exciting, and would have a lot of suspense as well with it's overall tone being simply perfect. Due to this I'd highly recommend this issue as well as the whole of the Infinity event and can't wait to see what will happen in this series next.
