Let's just get the important parts out there right out of the gate: this is not Dark Reign - Young Avengers - The List - The Hyphenating, or whatever it was called. That book continually annoyed me with its utter failure to be about the Young Avengers themselves, and subsequent appearances by them have left me scratching my head over the question of why Marvel couldn't seem to find someone who could actually write this team. It turns out - as is noted on the title page - that's because Heinberg has been working on this so long that this book isn't even set in the present Marvel storyline. I don't know what's gummed up the works for so long, and I sincerely hope it's nothing tragic, but where many books would offer a last-week-on-Buffy-esque synopsis of the book so far and the major players, this one informs the reader that the work has been in development for a long time, it might be hard to explain where this falls in the overarching metaplot and, hey, anyone who's been paying attention to the Marvel universe should be able to figure out where this falls in the overall Marvel timeline.

Uh... wow. That's some serious hand-waving. And you know what? I really couldn't care any less if it paid a bonus in ice cream sandwiches. Heinberg can do anything he wants to conform to Marvel's storyline as far as I'm concerned as long as he's the one at the reins of this book and he clearly is. Right away, it feels like Young Avengers. There's no other way to say it, they just sound right.

What's interesting is how that affects the other characters who are introduced. The issue includes some interaction with the (New) Avengers - Cap, Iron Man and Ms. Marvel - and their portrayal is particularly unlike the ways they seem to be represented elsewhere. Captain America has a sense of humor I'm not accustomed to seeing in his current representations, but that may be my own limited exposure. In contrast, Ms. Marvel comes across as being a stone bitch. I realize that a lot of the point of the distinction Young Avengers draws between generations of heroes is that the younger set still have all the hope and optimism and openness that's been smothered in those who've been around through decades of darkness and loss, but damn, Ms. Marvel was about as much fun as a car crash.

That makes the events of the story itself all the more satisfying, though, and it serves to emphasize further that distinction between the young and the old. The Young Avengers don't have as much context for the Scarlet Witch as, say, her former teammates. They may have just as much invested in who she was and what she did, but their issues aren't the same and they don't bear the same scars. In the meantime, the characterizations of the Young Avengers themselves are as spot-on as I've ever seen them. Heinberg has not wasted the time this book has been in development. There are doubtless people who are disappointed that we don't get to see very much of some members of the team, yes, but I loved this issue because it made it clear that this story is about Speed and Wiccan and, by extension, Hulkling.

Let me not forget to praise Cheung, whose faces for the characters are beautifully lifelike and emotive. I'm not even sure Hawkeye gets two lines but she certainly gets to express a range of emotions. The art in this book depicts more than players; it depicts characters.

To pontificate on art briefly, the art styles between Marvel and DC feel like they've never been more different than they are now and it further feels like while both are enjoying a tremendous renaissance of artistic precision and skill, Marvel has the edge in terms of realism. I don't feel like "realism" is really the word that I want, but there's something about the way Marvel is illustrating people that seems more... lifelike than the (incredibly good) depictions at DC. I'm not saying Cheung is better than, say, J.H. Williams III or Frank Quitely. I think "better" is a fallacy in most art analysis. I'm saying they're all incredible but in different ways. Basically, I feel like there's something really remarkably good happening in comics art right now - something not unlike the surge in animation quality in the '90s that arguably started with Batman: the Animated Series and brought us things like MTV's adaptation of The Maxx and the WB's Superman cartoon and the influx into America of high-quality anime like Cowboy Bebop and Big O - and I want to note this moment so that I can be conscious of my enjoyment while it lasts.

All that is neither here nor there, though. This book? It's a strong buy. It's not just a recommendation; I think it's probably required reading for our cohort. There are things I don't like - for instance, at this point they're just freakin' teasing me about a kiss ever happening, and though I do strongly prefer limited series I am extremely cranky over finding out that this is a limited run - but this is a great book and a welcome return of one of some of my favorite writers and artists. That Heinberg and Cheung make up possibly the net hottest creative team in comics today is just the cherry on top.