The Good
Shang-Chi knows Gorgon controls the hand on Madripoor, which is now on the head of a centuries old dragon, who is flying around Asia. Shang-Chi decodes to fight Gorgon, but has to keep his eyes closed the entire time because Gorgon's eyes can turn people to stone.
I'm finally understanding this book as a whole. At first, I wondered if we'd see any other Avengers, or if it would just be Shang-Chi, which is was. AVENGERS WORLD takes a hard focus, each issue, on a single branch of this very large team. I really enjoy how this book operates, and kudos for writers Nick Spencer and Jonathan Hickman for doing it this way. As the issues go on, I'm sure we'll see the larger picture of all of this, but for now, I'm really enjoying how each issue is playing out.
The issue long fight scene is pretty cool. It's paced extremely well for a martial arts comic and it isn't just non-stop kicks to the face. This issue is a chess match between two very strategic characters. It plays out extremely well, and it's a real back and forth battle.
On the artistic side of things, this book is pretty beautiful Stefano Caselli did the art with Frank Martin, Antonio Fabella, and Edgar Delgado on colors. This is one stellar team of artists that paint a breathtaking picture from page one, all the way to the end. Why so many colorists? Well, there are some flashback sequences within the issue which have a completely different color scheme than the rest of the book which works amazingly well here. This issue is a prime example of using multiple artists/colorists/inkers in an extremely effective way that not only makes sense to the story, but also enhances the reading experience for the person holding the book.
The Bad
The solicits don't lie. This was almost entirely a fight between Shang-Chi and Gorgon. Don't get us wrong, it's a ton of fun, but not much else happens overall. On top of that, Wolverine, Black Widow, and Falcon are with Shang-Chi but are no where to be seen aside from one panel in the opening page.
The Verdict
There's not too much you can say about the overall issue for AVENGERS WORLD #3, since it is one long fight scene. However, the issue really plays out nicely and it is a lot of fun to read. Hickman and Spencer, along with the great visual storytelling of Caselli, have put together a book that really compliments Hickman's AVENGERS run, while expanding into a new world that is pretty accessible to new readers.