I'm not a regular Marvel reader, at least not since the early 80s, and although I will pick up the occasional book like Hawkeye or Black Widow, I tend to stay away from the group books. I have no idea what's going on with the X-Men in the Avengers, or what version of the X-Men we have now, or why Marvel's teams are always at war with each other. I dunno, it just doesn't interest me.
The day before Thanksgiving I was at my local Books-A-Million and they had some library carts on the sidewalk filled with books up to 80% off cover price. Turns out one cart was full of Marvel trades. I picked up a few (Marvel Romance, Classic What If?, Best of Marvel Team-Up, an Eternals miniseries not by Neil Gaiman, and this book.
I had a vague idea who the Young Avengers were, plus it was a Volume 1, so I thought I'd dive in and check these guys out. Turns out it was a good use of my $3.99. I really enjoyed this story of these young super heroes who decide to become backup members of the Avengers (who are "disassembled" at this time). There is time travel and witty dialog and a gay pairing that isn't obvious at all and of which not a huge deal is made. It was a very fresh look at teen heroes, and definitely got my interest enough to order the second volume. It's a nice look at sidekicks in an era when kid sidekicks are no longer part of the scene (with the exception of Robin, I suppose).
There is a cheeky cross-company reference made here that I thought was nice. One of the characters is from the 30th century, just like the Legion of Super-Heroes over at DC (although they are now in the 31st century). The Legion, which has been around since 1958, is notorious for keeping some of the most outdated and silly code names around (most members are X Boy/Girl/Lad/Lass/Kid). This particular hero, who was meant to be an Iron Man "sidekick," calls himself Iron Lad. I can't believe this is just a coincidence, and the poor boy gets ribbed by his teammates for having that name. Either way, it looked to be in good fun to me.
Because this was a true introductory volume, it was easy to get into without having to peruse Wikipedia on a non-stop basis to get the back story. Along with some pretty cool art, this is a book worth checking out whether you're a long time Marvel fan or more of a DC fanboy like myself.