This is a great comic book that I forgot I had read before, it’s what you might be thinking as you’re digging into The Avengers in The Veracity Trap!. The heroes on the book’s cover have their classic 60’s era appearance. Hulk’s pants are a deep-hued purple. Captain America has his wings on his cowl, evident for everyone to see. Iron Man’s mask is obvious, not melding into his suit and its colors are a very pure yellow and red. But the book’s format is larger than most graphic novels and the story breaks the fourth wall. This is an original graphic novel that old-school comic fans will embrace. It will also give next-generation fans a glimpse at seeing why these comics were so awesome, without worrying about damaging those golden age gems.
Up to a certain point, the pages in The Veracity Trap! have a yellowed, aged quality about them. This effect adds to the illusion that you’re reading a long-lost gem from the 50’s. The monsters that they’re fighting have a more generic appearance than the highly detailed creatures we see in modern comics. Each superhero is provided with their own full-page entry point where they can exclaim something that fits with their personality. These pages are labeled “A Marvel Masterwork Pin-Up”, but do not cut them out of the book. Your middle-age self will recoil in horror about the fact that you created a collage of them on the back of your bedroom door, trust me.*
The battle with these space monsters is going according to plan with every hero doing their smashing best. Suddenly Loki appears and issues a vague threat about them being transported to a realm beyond their comprehension. Thor throws his hammer towards the mystical orb of light and it disappears. Entranced by the orb he goes to touch it, only to disappear and then reappear in a different location where his friends find him.
Thor mutters something about “the Veracity Vortex showing him the truth”. The rest of the Avengers aren’t sure what to make of Thor’s confusion, but they decide to solve the mystery of this orb and touch it for themselves. All of the Avengers are transported to a warehouse office where they discover two people drawing or writing dialogue. The Avengers are confused and the comic book artists are convinced that they’re witnessing some next-level cosplay. Our heroes aren’t having any of their dialogue so they grab them and usher them back through the Veracity Vortex.
Back in the superhero world, the comic book creators are transformed to themselves when they were about 10 years-old. However, before they create their own version of 13-Going on 30, they get freaked out by a giant two-headed monster and run back through the orb to their adult self, but are vexed with the visions of what they’ve just seen.
The comic book characters have realized that they are simply entities from someone’s imagination. Michael Cho and Chip Kidd, the two comic book and graphic novel designers, realize that their pencils have the power to save the world. It’s a meta joke that’s referenced in The Avengers in The Veracity Trap! on its face once, and very slyly by the members of the Avengers many times. I know, you need another multiverse story like you need a hole in the head. This one works. It works because of the gorgeous art, the witty dialogue between the characters and a quote from a polymath expert. Aristotle is credited with saying something along the lines of, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”**
More simply put, it’s like Ratatouille, where the ingredients are good, but when they’re combined together, they’re fabulous. You’ll open The Veracity Trap because it’s a big, oversized graphic novel with throwback characters. You’ll look at it due to the action and big illustrations. You’ll read it because the text so effortlessly fits in with the action and then parallel The Avengers in The Veracity Trap! to a Pixar movie from 2007, has it really almost been 20 years?
*True story.
** Do not research the history behind that quote unless you want to wade into the pseudo deep end of the pointless parade.
The Avengers in The Veracity Trap is by Chip Kidd and Michael Cho and is available on Abrams Comicarts, an imprint of Abrams Books.
There are affiliate links in this post.
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube