Review: ‘A-Babies Vs. X-Babies’
A-Babies Vs. X-Babies [Marvel One-Shot]
Big Boy Words: Skottie Young
Pretty Pictures: Gurihiru
Alphabet: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Released October 24, 2012
“The book you’re about to read doesn’t really have anything to do with the AvX event, but it does have baby versions of the Avengers and X-Men fighting each other. So, yeah, you’re buying a book where babies fight babies. What does that say about you?”
The quote above says it all. A-Babies vs. X-Babies is about the Avengers and the X-Men, re-envisioned as toddlers, engaged in an epic battle for teddy bear supremacy. Tiny Steve Rogers is readying for bed when he suddenly realizes that his “Bucky Bear” is missing. Across the road, little Cyclops holds Bucky Bear hostage, and both sides call their respective teams into battle. What ensues is a war of epic proportions waged by super-powered anklebiters.
A-Babies vs. X-Babies is Cute. As. Heck. The cover art fooled me into thinking this was a book drawn by Skottie Young, but it’s actually drawn and colored by Gurihiru. Gurihiru’s style is not unlike Skottie’s, however it’s slightly more polished versus Young’s messier style. I think it’s a perfect fit for this book; cute, round, and popping with color. There’s a huge two-page spread featuring every character in mid-combat that you can stare at endlessly and still find things you’ve missed before.
Plus, Cap’s mom might be Nanny from Muppet Babies. Bonus points for that.
“Avengers Babies” by Gurihiru. (Not from the comic.)
Skottie Young wrote the story for A-Babies vs. X-Babies. It’s witty, with a great flow. The battle that comprises the majority of the book follows Bucky Bear’s journey throughout the fight nearly seamlessly, being tossed from one superhero to another at a breakneck speed. It’s not a deep story, and nobody learns any important life lessons, but it’s incredibly fun. The ending is abrupt, as though the book should go on for a few more pages, but is satisfying enough. Not a fantastic ending, but it will suffice.
This book is accessible to everyone. I would definitely recommend it to children. Yes, it is filled with cartoon violence, but nothing even remotely as bad as anything you’d see on Looney Tunes. I’m not sure why ComiXology has it rated as “12+ only”, because I’m sure a six-year-old (or younger) could handle it.
Not only is A-Babies vs. X-Babies accessible to children, but it’s friendly towards non-Marvel fans as well. I will admit that the majority of my Marvel knowledge comes from the movies. A-Babies vs. X-Babies caters to that fanbase by prominently featuring characters from the Marvel and DC movie universes as the main characters. There are others involved, but they’re mostly relegated to the background. There are a handful of characters I don’t recognize, and that just makes me more interested in researching who they are.
I will admit that I didn’t quite understand the ending until I researched the AvX event. That might be the one point where a non-Marvel fan won’t understand the plot. A quick check of Avengers vs. X-Men on Wikipedia made the twist at the ending (no spoilers) much clearer.
Overall, A-Babies vs. X-Babies is an enjoyable read for the entire family. It’s Muppet Babies with mutants, superheroes, and gigantic explosions. I give A-Babies vs. X-Babies 4 out of 5 Bucky Bears.
WIKI!!!!