Avengers 27, Avengers Assemble 25

Avengers 27
Hickman (w) and Larroca (a) and F. Martin (c)

The Avengers are fighting the Avengers from an alternate universe, meaning that AIM has suddenly realized their responsibility in unleashing these Avengers on Earth and in losing their brand new super Adaptoids. It's not an enviable position for AIM and they certainly don't want to be tied into this whole situation. While the core of the Avengers fight their dopplegangers, Banner meets with the other Banner, learning that he's been lobotomized and had the part of his brain that recognized and enabled emotion removed. He no longer gets angry and he now turns into the Hulk by a remote control wielded by his Avengers, who act more as conquerors and slaughterers than heroes. Bruce decides to test the sociopath theory by striking him in the back with a wrench, believing that he still has the ability to Hulk. As the Avengers take down their counterparts one by one (along with shocking revelations like their Iron Man is a crazed Jarvis who killed Howard and a baby Tony and took the mantle himself and that their Captain America is actually a General), Hulk turns up, but all actions indicate that he's the other Hulk. Before anything can be conclusive or before the fight can be satisfactorily ended, AIM pops in and puts a temporal field around them, stopping time momentarily so they can capture the other Avengers and bring them back with no record of their interference. Meanwhile, the super Adaptoids have found AIM's multiverse gate and intend to enter it as explorers.

I'll be honest, I kind of keep forgetting this story is going on. That's not to say I don't like it. I think there is a lot to like here. The foes are interesting, seeing what the goal of these Avengers is has proven interesting, AIM's involvement is compelling enough, the dialogue and characters are working pretty well, etc. Still, I think the downfall of this series is that it started with such a boom, carrying multiple arcs that fit under the same umbrella for so long, that it's hard to parse it out into another story. I'm sure that will get better (and likely when the book starts double shipping again it will be easier) as we move forward but it is a little hard to keep this book straight. As I said, though, there's a lot to take away from this book and most of it is completely worthwhile. As a note, I'm not willing to go out there and speculate right now that the super Adaptoids who have just entered the multiverse to explore have anything to do with the Mapmakers or whoever else over in NEW AVENGERS because I have a blog to run and can't get into such speculation, but if everyone else wanted to go ahead and work up that theory and just give me the credit I'm sure I'd manage. FUN FACT: If you buy this book this week, it also comes with a free ALL-NEW INVADERS 1 at the end of it, so if you've been looking to check that out and maybe feel out AVENGERS for yourself, now seems like a prime opportunity. Or save your dollars for a fantastic issue of SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN with a free copy of the also-fantastic BLACK WIDOW 1.

Avengers Assemble 25
DeConnick and Ellis (w) and Buffagni, Meikis, N. Edwards, and Ienco (a) and Redmond (c)

Toxic Doxie is on to her last AIM hideout, knowing that the Terrigen cocoon she's seeking is there and ready to strike some more retribution on the organization that attacked her and, in her eyes, stole her prize. The Avengers have been made aware of her attempts and go so far as to warn AIM (their newfound diplomatic immunity is proving irritating ALL OVER THE PLACE, says Cap) before sending out their own team to try to protect their enemies and recover the cocoon themselves. They burst into the hideout just after Covington and make their way through the AIM scientists that are still standing, leaving bodies and banter in their wake. Anya makes it to Doxie first, wearing a gas mask to protect her from a gas Covington's just dispersed that keeps the other Avengers out for the time being. A brief fight ensues and Spider-Girl comes out the victor, prepared by her various mentors over the last few issues. It's a complete success for the Avengers (though they weren't able to arrive in time to save all the AIM scientists and undoubtedly they'll all lose some sleep over that) as they apprehend Toxic Doxie and recover the cocoon. Steve tells Spider-Girl that they're available to her if ever she needs them and tells her that she'll fit in just fine with them, eventually sending her the Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes ringtone she'd so coveted from Spider-Woman.

It's a fitting end to this book as we get to see a little bit of everything that this series built itself on. We see a team that enjoys being together and that works well together. We see a well-trained Anya managing to take down a villain by herself thanks to her preparation and skills. We see Spider-Woman and Hulk being friends, Hawkeye being taken down a few pegs, the Captains being leaders, Black Widow getting her information, and so on and so forth. It's a more classic superhero book with the team quipping and saving, unambiguously being heroes. I've repeatedly said throughout this blog that AVENGERS ASSEMBLE acts as the more mainstream, the more lighthearted Avengers title and now it's ended by putting a solid period at the end of that sentence. And as the book makes its rather sweet exit, so too does Kelly Sue DeConnick make a rather sweet exit from the book with a nice little poem, Goodnight Moon style. Goodnight, AVENGERS ASSEMBLE.

Comics this week

AAAAAAAHHHHH guys we got too comfortable! After a crazy loaded January to kick off 2014, we all settled right into a considerably slower February and March, reading and reviewing maybe 14-17 books a week, a totally manageable number. Now that number SKYROCKETS up to the mid-twenty range! We're talking 22, maybe 23 (if I count CAPTAIN AMERICA: HOMECOMING, a cinematic tie-in book, which I may or may not depending on availability and also how stressed I get) new releases this week. There are a handful I am not so excited about but, as ever, a bunch that I'm very excited about. Let's read about those some, hm?

All-New Ghost Rider 1
I'm not a big ol' Ghost Rider fan, whether we're talking Johnny Blaze or Danny Ketch or whoever. WELL THIS ISN'T ANY OF THOSE. Robbie Reyes picks up the (Robbie) reins as the all-new Ghost Rider in this already well-liked (well, by Marvel editor Tom Brevoort in any case) series. In any case, the book looks interesting as Marvel continues to want to put out a variety of different looking books for different types of fans. Hoping for a good debut for this all-new character.

Avengers Assemble 25
This is the final issue of AVENGERS ASSEMBLE, a book that has been steadily one of the more fun books in the Marvel Universe, giving us a look at how the Avengers work together and how they deal with some of the more not-so-Thanos related problems that may crop up. Continuing the arc with Spider-Girl, the Avengers will all finally come back together to stop the wicked Toxic Doxie herself, Dr. June Covington. Should be a good finale from aces Kelly Sue DeConnick and Warren Ellis.

Hawkeye 18
Back over to Katie-Kate on the other side of the country for some more West Coast Adventures! Things are right on the precipice of getting pretty crazy as the deranged Madame Masque has tracked her prey down and now no one in her new life is safe (except, one would hope, Lucky the dog). I know everyone at this point has checked this book out and also loves it so I hardly have to recommend it here but lookie here, that's what I'm doing.

Silver Surfer 1
Dan Slott kicks off a brand new SILVER SURFER series with artist Michael Allred and it aims, presumably, to humanize everyone's favorite cosmic being, the ever-popular Silver Surfer. Guys, I'm a pretty big Norrin Radd fan and a big fan of both Dan Slott (who I'm eager to see on a non-Spider-Man related book) and Michael Allred. Hoping that this one is a great new beginning to a an often under-seen character (though I have some amount of worry that, based on some of the promo art and previews, that it will kick off a little too similarly to the eleventh Doctor in Doctor Who).

Uncanny Avengers 18
Guys, I struggled and struggled with this one. There's so much coming out this week that it was really hard to pick the top five. Do I pick SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN 30? What about AVENGERS 27 or NEW AVENGERS 16? And ANOTHER new launch with IRON PATRIOT 1? Man, who's to choose? So I went with UNCANNY AVENGERS because we ought to show it some respect. It's been building to this Planet X for a long time and now, fresh off the destruction of Earth, we're ready to see what it looks like after all that. Plus, talk about a sure thing. This book has been solid for 17 straight issues. Not many others out there can say that (it doesn't help my case that HAWKEYE is sitting right there, two entries up from this).

This week's picks

Hey guys, I want all of YOU to know this is a cheat because I didn't actually get around to reviewing MIRACLEMAN and REVOLUTIONARY WAR: SUPERSOLDIERS. But here's the thing: MIRACLEMAN won't make this list because it was released thirty years ago originally and REVOLUTIONARY WAR: SUPERSOLDIERS won't make this list because it wasn't very good. So let's assume that's my review for them (here, look, I'm really cheating on these because both my MIRACLEMAN and REV WAR reviews would be nearly exactly the same as they've been, one talking about the revitalization of an old series and one talking about how tone doesn't match concept) and we'll move on to the TRUE PICKS OF THE WEEK.

Avengers Assemble 24

This week was particularly hard to choose the top books, to the point where I had to go back and read my own reviews to see if I liked books or not. AVENGERS ASSEMBLE was one this week that kind of caught me by surprise at how much I liked it. I've liked this book throughout its run and I believe it's made this list before and that should come as no surprise; they've had good stories, I really like Kelly Sue DeConnick's writing, they focus on pretty good characters and build them up well, etc. That said, this arc feels like it should never have been as good as it was. Young superhero gets trained by a handful of Avengers at various times as a pitch reeks of maudlin talks of responsibility and the meaning of being a superhero. Instead, this one comes with as much depth and in-fighting (albeit minor, mostly in terms of how heroing should work) as you'd expect from a book from DeConnick and Warren Ellis. There's been a lot of good stuff and now getting to see Tony Stark work with young Anya is a refreshing breather from the subterfuge and stealth and brutality we've seen the last few outings with the Spiders and Wolverine. Really good, really fun stuff. I'm surprised this book couldn't find a home, though I don't think it was advertised particularly well.

Hawkeye 15
Next up is Sir Always-On-This-List as HAWKEYE delivers another great issue. There have been times where I've thought about pulling books like HAWKEYE or NEW AVENGERS or YOUNG AVENGERS from this list because they make it so consistently that it feels like putting them on here is just taking up a spot you already knew. On the flipside, though, this is a really good book you guys. HAWKEYE is consistently one of the Marvel books that I'm thinking about well after I've read it, one of the plots I remember from issue to issue despite the amount of Marvel books I read in a month (I often have to glance at a review from the previous issue for other titles or have to start reading the new issue before I go "ooh, that's right"). It's just really good work and it's as deep as any Marvel book out there without feeling the need to talk down to the audience. Fraction and Marvel hit a home run with Aja, a proven commodity who has some really expressive and truly beyond belief work with HAWKEYE but they managed to hit ANOTHER ONE with Annie Wu (obviously this is now going beyond this issue) who does some of the best facial expression work in the business. It's all needed as this book relies as much on the art as any other book out there. It's a great symbiosis of the writing and the art telling a story in the best way possible.

Thunderbolts 22

I've had to think recently about why I dislike those quirky introduction captions, the ones like FEARLESS DEFENDERS had and MIGHTY AVENGERS has, that say things like "Luke Cage: Wishing he'd bought cellphones" or "Power Man: Just walked in the door." I think the issue, largely, is that they don't seem to serve any purpose whatsoever beyond shoehorning in a joke that's not necessary. It's creating humor where humor isn't necessary and where it may even break the tone. On top of it, it's the sort of old-fashioned thought of "we have to introduce every character every issue because how else would people know who this is?" This is a really long and roundabout way of saying it can be hard to write humor in books, particularly humor in books where you want the action to mean something. I think MIGHTY AVENGERS is doing a much better job now than it was at the start of the series and beginning to develop its own tone regardless of those captions. THUNDERBOLTS, though, is effortlessly creating really fun characters (doesn't hurt when you have Deadpool interacting with a team in any capacity, assuming the writer can handle Deadpool) and really fun situations and moments all while maintaining a really good tone and pace with some great action and meaningful consequences. Reliably fun, reliably good, reliably capable of making this list.

Avengers Assemble 24, Mighty Avengers 7

Avengers Assemble 24
DeConnick and W. Ellis (w) and Buffagni (a) and Redmond (c)

Anya, detached from Wolverine after a rather harrowing day with him, returns to Avengers Tower to try to figure out the next step. She gets the help of Tony Stark in this next phase (and gets lectured about the studying and preparation that comes with being a superhero) and they trace Covington to a couple of different smaller AIM hideouts in her strike on AIM. In the process, they manage to recover Anya's teacher, the one whose disappearance kicked off this whole event, and bring him to the hospital. They also realize that his new Inhuman trait has to do with being invisible to machines (Iron Man can't see him through his armor) and determine that Covington has begun to simulate this trait and is using it in her attack on AIM. Now, as she moves to make a big strike, Anya meets with Cap, finally, and he calls the rest of the Avengers in to ready them to move against Covington.

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE is ending soon, cancelled likely because of sales and because its successor, AVENGERS WORLD, is already on bookshelves and in long boxes, but this arc is just one of the reasons that's a pretty sad cancellation. I've long said that AVENGERS is the "oh god, you're in pretty deep" Avengers title, with Hickman's intense, very rigidly plotted and often confusing (though good) writing and stories where AVENGERS ASSEMBLE is more the starter-Avengers book or, barring that because it sounds condescending, the more fun-Avengers book. However, this arc is playing at a bigger game. It's showing us Anya, Spider-Girl, sure, but it's going deeper and showing us the roots of these superheroes. It's showing us the way these individual heroes act and move and think and plot and avenge on their own and it's giving us their individual styles (while explicitly giving it to the young hero Anya) before rejoining them all to show the Avengers in action. In a nutshell, it is the heart and soul of an Avengers team, it is the "Earth's Mightiest Super-Heroes team up to fight the foes that no one of them could fight alone" mentality hard at work, and it is paying off. It's going to be sad to see this one go for a lot of different reasons but this arc is one of those arcs that is certainly fun to read, worth reading while it's happening, but really a deeper and more profound arc to look back on afterwards, or even during. Really good stuff and really clearly a great Avengers book.

Mighty Avengers 7
Ewing (w) and Schiti (a) and D'Armata (c)

Ava has learned, intercepting Falcon's call to Cage, that Gideon Mace is out on the streets somewhere, inexplicably freed from prison as a hero to anti-cape Americans who gained particular prominence with the movement during Civil War (though I don't believe he had a part in it, this issue retcons the idea that people, at the height of hating superheroes, took to this man). Now Ava's out to find and kill Mace while her Mighty Avengers brethren are out to stop her from becoming a murderer and inciting a war with Mace's supporters, who have formed the "American Policy Research Initiative," an organization that has set out to essentially buy politicians and form its own militias to counteract laws with which it doesn't agree. It's a delicate process for the Mighty Avengers to try to remove Mace from the situation without getting him killed or inciting some sort of war with these guys made more difficult when Ava turns her body over to the Tiger God to allow him to hunt and run free on Mace, making her loads more powerful and more ruthless, less willing to listen to reason. She makes her way to the APRI and attacks, which She-Hulk claims is grounds enough for the APRI to sue them, but they manage to subdue her with a little subterfuge and some well-placed hits. It's not over so quickly for the Avengers, though, as Mace calls the police on them and immediately makes it all look like an attack on him and his group in front of news organizations and the cops and everyone.

The power of one good issue or one good arc cannot be overstated. I was very luke(cage)warm on this book to start because it immediately got off to the sort of "silly captions and silly moments mask a serious book" stuff I tend to take umbrage with for some reason or another (I mostly just hate incongruous tones; there are ways to add humor or levity to serious matters without making it so blatantly obvious, that's one of the keys to writing). It carried on for about five issues with me not really getting anything else out of the book but last issue saw a big shift for me. Things started to actually happen and the tone really started to solidify a little bit better. This issue continues that trend (although it still does the slightly irritating caption-humor I have such a, probably irrational, distaste for) and keeps the book pretty focused, giving it an enemy and putting it into political and physical turmoil along with really helping to establish our heroes. Pretty good stuff out of this one and I can only hope that it continues this way (like the slightly slower turnaround in the DEADPOOL series after an unbelievably hated first arc).

Uncanny Avengers 16, Avengers Assemble 23, Inhumanity 2

Uncanny Avengers 16
Remender (w) and McNiven, Dell, and Leisten (a) and L. Martin (c)

With most of the Unity Squad pulled into the ark, it's up to Thor, Wasp, and Captain America to stop the ark from leaving with all of the world's mutants and save the world from execution at the hands of the Celestial Exitar. Fortunately, the arrival of Exitar has not gone unnoticed and some of the big science brains in the Marvel Universe (non-mutant) are busy working on solutions. Thor's got his own solution too, which is to find Jarnbjorn and talk with Exitar or, barring that, hopefully kill him before he can attack the Earth. Knowing that the Apocalypse twins have Jarnbjorn, Thor attacks Uriel and Eimin in the ark. He frees Steve from his captivity (Cap-tivity) and together they manage to separate the twins, which stops the biggest of their powers from working. While Thor whales on Uriel, Cap manages to outmaneuver Eimin and launch her out of the spaceship (it was pretty cool you guys). Thor follows Uriel to Jarnbjorn and punches up Uriel some more. Meanwhile, Wasp is trying to shut down the tachyon dam that's keeping Immortus from entering with his reinforcements but gets interrupted by Grim Reaper, who tells her the only way to shut the dam down is to kill him first. Back on the ship, Thor continues to annihilate Uriel, eventually shoving him into an exploding portal, potentially killing him. As Thor follows the explosion to the exterior of the ship, he finds Eimin, holding Jarnbjorn in the shadow of Exitar, ready to fight him for it.

Very intense issue. While I like this whole team and I think Remender's done a good job overall to develop the entire time and to grant focus to everyone at various points, I think this issue benefits from the small remaining team. It's a big issue with lots going on and it really highlights very good one-on-one battles between, particularly, Thor and Uriel and Cap and Eimin (we don't see a lot of Wasp and Grim Reaper). It also gives us a chance to really settle into this plot which has multiple parts. McNiven's art is very good and well suited for the story, particularly with the Cap stuff. Laura Martin holds her own too, giving the art a sense of weight and scale that matches the tone of the story. Even with all of the plot going on and all of the battles, there are some really nice character moments tucked away in this issue, including Cap's admission, while battling exactly the way he intends to battle, that he's maybe a bit past his prime, Thor's deference to Cap as a leader, and Thor's reaction to seeing Scarlet Witch killed. Very good issue all around and this one remains one of the better Avengers titles and, even without the mutants around, one of the better X-titles. Good stuff.

Avengers Assemble 23
DeConnick and W. Ellis (w) and Buffagni (a) and Woodard (c)

Araña and Spider-Woman talk with Maria Hill about the Toxie Doxie situation and Hill sends some information over while the two spiders chat. Shortly, though, Spider-Woman tags out for Wolverine, mostly benched by Cap while he figures out the healing factor business, and he and Anya make for Covington's lab, but not before Wolverine can thoroughly chew out Spider-Girl for unpreparedness. Freshly decked out in a new costume that isn't just her spandex, Anya accompanies Wolverine to the lab and the two of them take down the assistants and looters within, finally getting some answers from one of Covington's assistants who reveals that the man in the cocoon may still be alive. Covington herself has also gotten some answers as well as she's tracked down the man who delivered her the exploding cocoon and learned that it was a New York AIM branch who had it delivered to her. Now powered with some Inhuman DNA, she's ready to make a move.

This book has been a fun one throughout its run (sadly ending soon) and this issue manages to straddle the line of being very fun and pretty serious. After a nice little learning and bonding session from Spider-Woman (with an amazing reference to Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, an incredible cartoon also ended before its time though that one was replaced with something far worse and AVENGERS WORLD will likely still be pretty good, though probably pretty different), the tone changes as Wolverine takes charge and demands that Spider-Girl stop treating her life like it's a game. The Wolverine in this book is a really strong one, one who clearly has the weight of his life on his shoulders. He's not incapable of making a joke or two but he has things he needs to say before he can get to it and Spider-Girl, even with her teenage ways, can't help but bow to his requests and understand his reasons for making them. There's an interesting plot going on here but it's really only a backdrop to the great character work and fun writing that's happening in the foreground. Matteo Buffagni's a good choice for the book as his art is both not entirely cartoony and yet not entirely realistic so it fits nicely with the tone. Good work all around.

Inhumanity 2
Fraction (w) and Bradshaw, Nauck, Hanna, and Palmer (a) and Fabela and Mossa (c)

After a bit of a stall in the last couple months (hindered by creator differences and a complicated shipping schedule thanks to the holiday season) INHUMANITY pushes on as we see up close and personal what's going on with the Inhumans themselves as the Terrigenesis Wave spreads through the world. For Medusa, leader of the Inhumans, she must tamp down the presumed loss of her husband (Black Bolt was still in Attilan as it fell and has not been seen since, though we know he's alive) and the disappearance of her son (Ahura and all other Inhuman children have gone missing since the teleports out of the city) as she leads the Inhumans into this new world. To make matters more complicated, the human world is looking for answers and many have reacted in different ways, with some humans experimenting on cocoons or capturing them for study and some thought-gone Inhumans re-emerging to take the cocoons for their own, presumably to build an army against the current throne. There's plenty for Medusa to do and she starts by crashing down with a small team on an AIM base where experiments on the cocoons have taken place and ensures they don't have anything to experiment on and that the fear of Inhumans has been struck in their human hearts.

It's not a bad issue but it's a little hard not to separate from the time between where we've already seen so much happen. Even in books like IRON MAN we've seen Medusa in a proactive role, though this book gives the sense that it took her a bit of time to reach that point. Not a long time, mind, she steps up when she needs to step up, but enough that there are some tensions among her people and even within her own mind. However, the separation between the end of INFINITY and this issue isn't the most jarring thing about this issue; that award goes pretty firmly to Nick Bradshaw's art. All of the women look both sort of anime and super-feminized. All the women, as opposed to the men in the book, have the classic big, bright eyes with completely unblemished skin and big, pouty mouths, none of which seems to work with the tone of the book and none of which works with me on a personal level. With that said, it's hard to take the tone of the book seriously, which is too bad because, removed from the art, it seems to hit on the chords Fraction wants it to hit. Can't really recommend this one because I don't think it's going to give you a huge look at this event or status quo change or whatever this is from an angle we're not seeing done just as well elsewhere and the art really drags this one down.

Avengers Assemble ending with issue 25

Straight from Kelly Sue DeConnick's tumblr, AVENGERS ASSEMBLE will be ending its run with issue 25. It's a sad turn as I've enjoyed DeConnick's presentation of the Avengers as a team that actually likes being with one another and that has a real chemistry but I don't think it's particularly surprising news. According to DeConnick, the book "fulfilled its mandate" so it doesn't really seem like a fully bitter situation or anything like that. Also, on the heels of the new AVENGERS WORLD, it seems a little redundant to have two Avengers titles focused on the team as a team doing the smaller missions they won't go for in AVENGERS. Now we can only hope that AVENGERS WORLD brings out the same sort of focus on team chemistry and the Avengers as people and not just on plot. We've got that in AVENGERS as is. Goodbye, AVENGERS ASSEMBLE. You were a lot of fun.

Best Marvel comics of 2013 (part one of five): Not quite the best

It's that time of year again, the time when everyone starts pulling up the year-in-review lists and begins to wave away the year with little blurbs about bits of it. Hm. That wasn't exactly poetic. Whatever, moving on. LAST YEAR, I wrote this year-in-review list about five days into this new blog with nothing but a shoddy memory and a love of comics. This year I'm coming at it with much of the same in my arsenal but ALSO, fortunately, armed with a YEAR'S WORTH OF BLOG POSTS ON THIS VERY SUBJECT so suddenly I remember far more comics deserving of this list.

Marvel put out an awful lot of books this year and I reviewed just about every single one of them (this is my way of patting myself on the back, obviously). What's particularly impressive about that is that I genuinely liked PROBABLY the majority of them. There were still a distinct number of books that did not really move me or did not carry a lot of weight with me or that I fully did not like (the X-Wing of the Marvel Universe will be not-so-mysteriously absent in this countdown) but by and large, I really enjoyed this year at Marvel comics. Considering that, I decided to stretch this review to the top TWENTY books released by Marvel this year. I figured I would just end up with a section of "these books only didn't make it because there wasn't room" that was as long or longer than the top ten so why not just expand? Guys, I have the authority to make that call. That said, let's start with the "these books only didn't make it because..." section (even this ended up being long enough that I wanted to separate the 16-20 picks into a different post...geez guys).

Books not appearing in this list for, you know, reasons

Avengers Assemble
Really fun book, the most fun of the AVENGERS titles but one that ultimately couldn't crack the top twenty in a stacked competition

Cable and X-Force
You guys, this one was really close after a really strong opening. I felt that it kind of stumbled in the middle and I don't think, in retrospect, that Salvador Larroca's art really fit the book well enough to give it that last little push. Still a fun book, for sure, and one I'm sad to see end but one that was ultimately just a hair too weak.

Dark Avengers
I can see this making the top twenty with very little effort if it had continued a bit longer. Really fun spin by Jeff Parker with an intriguing cast and an ever-interesting story behind it.

Indestructible Hulk
This one's another one right on the cusp but I think it was really hurt by event tie-ins. I'll temper that by saying it had consistently interesting tie-ins but, in the end, it wasn't able to spend enough time telling its own story and had to waste too much telling everyone else's.

Thor: God of Thunder
I think the incredibly strong opening arc (led by Esad Ribic's great art and an interesting premise from Jason Aaron) overstayed its welcome just a bit and then led into a considerably weaker second arc. I would say that telling two stories in a little over twelve months was a downside to the book but there's a book that cracked the top ten that's pretty much on par with that so it's not really a valid excuse.

Avengers Assemble 22, Secret Avengers 13

Avengers Assemble 22
DeConnick and Ellis (w) and Buffagni and Diaz (a) and Woodard (c)

Spider-Girl, Spider-Woman, and Black Widow have been captured by Kashmir Vennema and AIM and Vennema is prepared to have them killed. Thanks to Spider-Woman's pheromone control, though, it doesn't happen, as Jessica befuddles all the guys guarding them in the room and uses her spider bursts to get them out of their binds, allowing them to dispatch the AIM guards easily. They enlist the help of Wolverine and Bruce Banner to surprise Vennema in her private car and find out who she sold the Inhuman cocoon to. Vennema reveals that it was Toxie Doxie, Dr. June Covington, and the Avengers (after a sincere scare to Vennema) reconvene at Avengers Tower. Spider-Girl and Spider-Woman plan to go after Covington (the others, including Black Widow, have to back out and deal with other problems around the globe), who has done some research of her own into her detonated cocoon. She managed to salvage the man inside and has reasoned that he doesn't show up on mechanical scans, a power she'd like to add to her own collection. Her penchant for accruing genetic abilities means that, by issue's end, she's identified the gene in Anya's teacher that is responsible for his new powers.

Another pretty interesting issue as the tie-ins to INHUMANITY continue to press on. I'm not wholly decided on them, positive or negative, just yet and I think it would probably be wrong to lump them all one way or another anyway but it's certainly, in many cases, provided for some intriguing stories. Here, as with the entirety of AVENGERS ASSEMBLE, the key to the issue's appeal comes from the typically fun and entertaining writing. The team interacts far differently in this series than it does in any other, but not in a way that entirely breaks character. They just seem more friendly with one another here, or, in the very least, far more personable. Not to say characters are done poorly in, say, AVENGERS, but that book has its focus and tone and this book's focus and tone tend to be a bit different. It's always nice to have this book around, which gives us a somewhat lighter feel for the team, not always so incredibly heavy but with its own sorts of drama and tension. Comic pro Warren Ellis jumps in to co-write with regular writer (and rising star at Marvel and in comics in general) Kelly Sue DeConnick but the series tone doesn't seem to shift in any real way, feeling as natural and as fresh as any other issue. Fun book, always a pleasant surprise.

Secret Avengers 13
Spencer and Kot (w) and Guice, Rubinstein, and Palmer (a) and Wilson (c)

Things are going badly for the Secret Avengers as Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Fury have been ambushed at the underwater AIM station MODOK had led them to, Mockingbird is still in the field and apparently discovered, and their one useful outside-asset is the ever-unreliable Taskmaster. MODOK and Maria Hill bicker about whether or not he's setting her up and what he has to gain from SHIELD's involvement taking down Scientist Supreme Forson. In another attempt to gain favor with Hill, he reveals another secret base and Hill sends Banner and Iron Patriot there to collect AIM secrets at the base, which Forson detonates shortly after their arrival. She again accuses MODOK of treachery and he again says that he wants Forson removed and points her to her own organization as having leaks in it. Meanwhile, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Fury have been captured by what seems to be some AIM-led adaptoids and are being transported back to AIM Island. Taskmaster is betrayed by his new apprentice, a beekeeper who turns out to be Anton Trask, and is apparently executed by Mockingbird at the behest of Forson.

Plenty happening here and it's getting a little tricky to keep track of it all. I have to say, I think the idea of pitting MODOK against Hill in a battle of possible lies vs. almost definite incompetence is probably the best way to build suspense while also keeping to continuity in a SHIELD book. As I was writing this review, I kept saying "boy, how could she be so stupid as to send teams in on MODOK's advice?" At the same time, I don't necessarily believe that MODOK is lying; I believe him when he says that he wants Forson deposed and that AIM has become something unrecognizable to him, not to mention that I believe him when he says that he could have just sent a proxy in to tell Hill these things and keep out of harm's way. However, by the same token, this is MODOK we're talking about and, to add to it, Hill seems to be playing this guns blazing, even worse than Daisy sending a hit team to AIM Island in retribution for killing her friend. This keeps MODOK in character, playing his cards to regain AIM's control, and keeps SHIELD in character, being terrible. Boy, do these guys miss the original Nick Fury or what? Anyway, plenty happening and I'll admit that I'm going to be pretty sad if Taskmaster is actually dead. Always liked that guy. Also interested to see what's happening with Bobbi; I hope she too isn't dead but I don't believe that she's a traitor, which doesn't seem to fit her character in any way. Probably something more with adaptoids, am I right?

This week's picks

I...I can't. Look, there were too many books and too many good books and too many important books this week. How do you knock it down to three? Well hey, we're officially in the holiday season right now and, in America, this week marked the very worst ritual we have, Black Friday, so, in the spirit of excess, let's categorize what books you should get!

Best books ending this week:
Avengers Arena 18

Really sad to see the series go but glad to see it go on such a fitting last issue. The survivors have some serious darkness to them now, a darkness they'd rather not reveal to the world but one that might come out anyway. It will lead nicely into Hopeless' new AVENGERS UNDERCOVER.








Infinity 6

I have to call this the best major Marvel event in a long time, one that was both satisfying and epic enough without, for a change, pitting heroes vs. heroes. Don't get me wrong, CIVIL WAR is still my favorite event and it was the ultimate example of heroes vs. heroes but when you then have like, 50 straight events that do that, it loses some meaning. Here we had enemies and we had heroes and we had insurmountable odds being surmounted. This will lead nicely into both INHUMANITY and books like AVENGERS WORLD as the Avengers have really never been higher.


Best Avengers books this week:
New Avengers 12

Really phenomenal ending to INFINITY as we see the toll this has taken on the most troubled of the heroes right now. Where the Avengers have never been higher, the Illuminati have never been more out of their depth, facing Earth-shattering problem after Earth-shattering problem and finding themselves at the base of everything. Black Panther has been cast out of Wakanda, Black Bolt has been severely depowered and finds himself in hiding, Dr. Strange has turned to his darkest spells, and the others have to face the people they've teamed with, including Black Swan and, potentially, the frozen Thanos. So much happening, so many, as Namor said, kings without kingdoms.


Uncanny Avengers 14
Huge book for both this series and for the Marvel Universe as a whole as we see two major Marvel characters seemingly die (always have to add "seemingly" in there, though BOY does Rogue seem pretty dead) and one turn into ions, but he's done that before. On top of that, it's kind of all Rogue's fault, as she attacked Scarlet Witch not knowing her plan (and still not trusting her) and then wavered for a moment afterward, allowing Grim Reaper to strike. Whoops! Lots happening here and lots to be anxious about as we move to the next issue.




Most fun books this week:
Hawkeye 14

Matt Fraction has really developed a character for Kate Bishop, who had ever really only appeared in YOUNG AVENGERS before, a book that was both a team book, thus typically taking some amount of individuality out, and a book that required her to step up and take the mature role amongst a bunch of younger people. She was sarcastic and clearly competent there but Fraction has turned that just a bit as she really gets to thrive by herself. She's fun, she's resourceful, she's caring, she's persistent, and she's a star now so she gets to shine here. Annie Wu does absolutely fantastic art for Kate, filled with complexities and emotion. Great issue.


Deadpool Annual 1

Not a ton by way of substance here but, well, honestly kind of more than I tend to expect out of annuals. Still a really fun issue that brings out the sort of Deadpool I tend to like most, one that is funny and probably insane but that is less absurd and less weird than the world he's entered into. The book itself had some nice little moments, including sound-effects and transitions like "TURN-AROUND," "CATCH," and "ATTACH." Also a couple of good Looney Tunes homages in there.

Scarlet Spider 24

This might seem a strange one to put in "most fun," as it mostly features a really fundamentally troubled Kaine and it ends with our hero and his friends being shot with a rocket launcher, but it did have a sense of fun to it. Part of that was in the pacing, which is very strong even as it leads to an extremely chaotic finish. Another part was in the individual moments and dialogue. The most fun part of the book, for me, was the homage to AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 50, the infamous "Spider-Man No More!" story, as Kaine throws his costume in a trash-can and lights it on fire, saying "Scarlet Spider no more!" only to find that the unstable molecules in the costume prevent it from catching fire. There are other fun bits with Aracely here and there and the ramping tone gives everything a frenzied but somewhat fun sense. Good issue.

Books I didn't mention but that, you know, were still pretty good:
Avengers Assemble 21
Spider-lady team!












Indestructible Hulk 16

D'aww, Randall Jessup.












Nova 10

Some neat little moments, including dream sequences and the Watcher!

Avengers Arena 18, Uncanny Avengers 14, Avengers Assemble 21

Avengers Arena 18
Hopeless (w) and Walker and Gorder (a) and Beaulieu (c)

Katy and Death Locket watch the teen heroes fight from Arcade's bunker with Katy's finger on the trigger the entire time. The raging battles between Cammi and Nico and Anachronism and Reptil come to a grinding halt when attention is directed at the imploding Hazmat, ready to wipe them all out unintentionally. Reptil transforms into a a bigger dinosaur, one with more speed and a longer mouth, and promises he'll help her, picking her up in his mouth without a second thought, despite her protests, and rushing her into the water, where everyone sees her explode. Katy, angry that the fights have stopped, unleashes some of Arcade's last tricks, forcing the kids to fight for their lives until Tim takes a brief moment of control over Katy and demands Death Locket, still in love with Tim, kill them. Suddenly, the insect swarm, sand people, and napalm winds subside and Death Locket appears by the other survivors to explain. With the game over and Arcade gone, they decide, with the insight of the returning Hazmat, now out of her suit and not glowing but alone as she leaves the water, that they won't say anything about what happened. SHIELD and the heads of the schools come to pick the kids up and investigate but they refuse to say a word about what happened, not wanting to give Arcade the satisfaction, though Arcade gets his satisfaction as he begins to upload his 30 part video series "What Really Happened in Murder World."

Really great series, very nice ending. Our final survivor count sits at nine, I believe, leaving us with Cammi, Death Locket, Nico, Anachronism, Hazmat, Cullen, X-23, Chase, and (this is the only "I think" on the list) Chris Powell. I'll be honest, it never really occurred to me for some reason that Reptil could die in this series and, only looking back do I realize, I have no idea why I thought that. First and foremost, he wasn't that big a character, no bigger than, say, Mettle, who was exploded in the first issue also trying to save Jen. Somehow he always felt off the table so I'm a little sad to see him go here. Still, there's a nice finality to the series as the kids all get off the island and get to go home with their respective school heads. Even the discussion of how they address all of this is interesting, though I'm not sure if it takes into account the idea of the video getting out. Regardless, it's a very exciting set-up for the next step in this teens-in-peril streak Hopeless is on as some of our characters aim to infiltrate the Masters of Evil in AVENGERS UNDERCOVER. Pretty excited to see Hopeless and Walker pick up again in March. Sad this series is over, glad the characters will move on.

Uncanny Avengers 14
Remender (w) and McNiven and Dell (a) and L. Martin (c)

At various points in the future, Kang is gathering an army of supers presumably in the hopes that they can help him defeat the twins. Meanwhile, back in the present, Shiro and Rogue rush to the Ark to stop Wanda and Simon from completing the spell they think will separate mutants and humans forever, not knowing that Wanda intends to bring the mutants to the Ark to stop the twins. Rogue is dead-set on stopping Wanda any way possible but it will have to wait a moment as Daken and Grim Reaper lie in wait and pounce as soon as Rogue and Shiro appear. Wolverine, apparently following Shiro and Rogue, jumps into the fight to give Shiro the chance to remove Simon from the spell. Wolverine continues to insist no killing but is held by Daken long enough to watch Rogue escape Reaper and charge Wanda, stabbing her through the chest with her borrowed Wolverine claws. Wanda falls and Simon follows her down. Grim Reaper gets the drop on Rogue as she reaffirms to herself that it was the only way to stop Wanda. Reaper stabs her through the heart with his scythe and then, with his enhanced powers, leaves no room for doubt that she's dead as Wolverine, dispatching Daken, sprints towards him, watches him electrify her. Simon rushes to Wanda's side and, as she dies, he pours all of himself into her to power her spell, dissipating himself to help her finish her plan, calling all the mutants to rise against the twins.

Geez. Huge issue. Two major characters die and one Wonder Man maybe dies. I'm not sure how much more I have to say about this. The past thirteen issues of UNCANNY AVENGERS built to this, from Rogue and Wanda's feud to Wolverine's insistence that everyone find a no-kill solution to Wonder Man's non-violence to the return of Grim Reaper and Daken, among the other horsemen, to Rogue's killing of Grim Reaper to the mutant solution to just everything all comes down to this issue, where Rogue kills Wanda and then Grim Reaper kills Rogue all while Wolverine watches. Nearly perfect culmination of everything that Remender's been working towards all along and something that very clearly isn't a conclusion but a climax. Although it's something that we've been building towards, it's not the final step, we still have plenty to look forward to. Let's also not overlook the fact that he just killed off a couple major Marvel Universe characters, for however long. What a big and well-executed issue.

Avengers Assemble 21
DeConnick (w) and Buffagni (a) and Woodard (c)

INHUMANITY has started and the Avengers have to deal with the slew of Terrigenesis cocoons that have started popping up. Among those cocoons is the social studies teacher of Anya Corazon, aka Spider-Girl, who brings her case to the Avengers, hoping they'll be enticed by the fact that he was kidnapped while in cocoon. Spider-Woman and Black Widow team up with Anya to form a full blown spider-lady team and strike at an AIM lab that has connections to the kidnapping. They hit the lights, giving them ten seconds to dispatch of the beekeepers inside, which they manage to do with relative ease. As they start to question one of the fallen, they're surrounded by a secondary AIM team led by Widow's former foe Kashmir Vennema, the inter-dimensional arms dealer Widow ran into back in CAPTAIN AMERICA AND BLACK WIDOW. Vennema reveals that one of the cocoons they captured died (Anya's teacher) and the other is still available for sale. She also decides to have the three Avengers killed, knowing she's protected because AIM is an officially recognized entity that has now been invaded. Meanwhile, June Covington aka Toxie Doxie is on the hunt for cocoons and for vengeance for her purchased and subsequently exploded cocoon.

Nice to have a little bit of a less tense book following up AVENGERS ARENA's conclusion and UNCANNY AVENGERS' biggest issue probably ever (kind of willing to say it might be one of the biggest issues of any non-event series in recent history). Not to say this doesn't have its tension...actually, it kind of doesn't. I feel like maybe it should have had more but it's really hard to say if the lack of tension is created because it's, you know, just AIM and they're Black Widow, Spider-Woman, and Spider-Girl or if it's less tense because I'm so fresh off reading these darker and grittier books. Not to say this isn't still a fun book; there's a lot of great characterization stuff between the three leads of this issue as well as between Captain Marvel and Spider-Girl, who spar a bit over what's important and who's being condescending to whom (hint: it's Captain Marvel to Spider-Girl). Fun issue, nice little arc developing. I still really like this book as a bit of a more relaxed and character-focused Avengers title. Nice issue.

New Moon Knight Series Announced!

A new MOON KNIGHT series has just been announced and boy is this one pretty exciting. Set to launch in March, the new series will find Moon Knight up against what writer Warren Ellis dubs "weird crime." Because yes, the writer on this MOON KNIGHT series will be Warren Ellis. And that's not all: we're also getting art from Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire who I as recently as this past week lauded for being "on top of [their] game." I love Moon Knight and think he's a really interesting character and it's exciting to see Warren Ellis re-entering the Marvel Universe (I think his last foray was his set of one-shots during the transition between Ed Brubaker and Rick Remender on the last volume of SECRET AVENGERS, where he actually wrote Moon Knight for a time, though that won't have been his last by the time the new series drops; he's set to co-write a few AVENGERS ASSEMBLE issues with Kelly Sue DeConnick starting, I believe, next issue). The way Ellis describes him nicely puts him into perspective, too. He's a man who wears a crescent shaped cape and all reflective white and who only goes out at night; there's not anyone out there who can't see him coming and that's who this guy is. Exciting times abound.

Avengers Assemble 20, Hawkeye 13

Avengers Assemble 20
Ewing (w) and Larraz (a) and Woodard (c)

Tie-in to Infinity as we see some of the aftermath of the mass Terrigenesis alongside the Uncanny Avengers' Wasp, Wonder Man, and Scarlet Witch. They're forced to investigate Terrigenesis after defeating some of Thanos' troops and finding themselves suddenly up against a giant, naked man. He's startled but Simon, preferring his new non-violent ways, talks to him and they come to understand what's happened; the man's wife underwent Terrigenesis and the power she gained was the power to change the size of seemingly whatever she chooses. She accidentally giant-sized her husband while shrinking herself, her neighbor, and her neighbor's daughter (along with their house) into the micro-universe. Janet gets Wanda to shrink her down as well so she can go there and fight against Lord Gouzar, the tyrant who kept her there the months she was missing after Secret Invasion. She gets the newly powered woman to fight back against Gouzar and to size them all back up to normal while sizing her husband back down. It sets everything back to normal and helps the civilians get back to their normal life, which they hadn't had since their son died.

Nice little tie-in issue as Avengers Assemble defines itself some more. It's not just the main Avengers team, it's the smaller stories for all of the Avengers out there. This is a nice story but certainly a smaller one in the scale of the things that are happening in Infinity. Still, we get some good characterization from two characters I don't particularly care for and decent stuff out of Scarlet Witch. Wasp and Wonder Man have a pretty good argument about what Simon's non-violent pact really means which helps put both sides of the argument in good perspective. Simon believes that violence is never the answer and that his powers can be used for peace just as effectively but Janet argues that he still doesn't hesitate to call on the Avengers when things get hairy so why not just use his powers himself. I still think he's kind of on the dumb side of the argument, though I do get the idea of wanting to promote peace through non-violence as a superhero. Still, pretty dumb, right? That's what this issue kind of wants to ask and I think it does a good job of asking it. Nice issue for relationships and for characterizations and the like.

Hawkeye 13
Fraction (w) and Aja (a) and Hollingsworth (c)

Finally another new Hawkeye. In case you forget what happened last time, the intro page covers it nicely. They. Killed. Grills. This issue takes place mostly between Grills' death, which was after Clint's infidelity, and when Kate leaves, which is before the events of the annual. Time moves in very much its own way in this book and it's always worth it. This issue fills in some of the blanks in that time. He's writing a letter to Jess then has to go out on some Avengers business (with Jess, Black Widow, and Mockingbird) before getting called by Kate and learning that Grills has been killed. He drinks himself to sleep though gets interrupted part-way through by a call from Barney, who asks to come stay with him. Clint promises they'll meet the next night (though Barney, as we saw in his issue, mistakes it for day and ends up giving up on Clint before having to call again). Clint tells Grills' dad what happened to his son and his dad ends up moving into the building and taking up the spot his son had. Kate and Clint attend the funeral and Kate gives a really nice speech to a passed-out Clint. She leaves later, taking Lucky with her. Barney sticks around and Clint introduces him to the building.

Guys, I know you may be expecting a superhero book out of this (though I don't really know why at this point in the book's run you think you'll get one) but that summary above might tell you this isn't really that, not in the conventional way. It's still a wonderful book and I'm so glad to have it back (glad enough, in fact, that I decided to review four books after work today just because I wanted an excuse to read this one tonight). As I said above, time moves very much in its own way in this series, which has been a defining aspect of the run as a whole. It's very smartly done and, unlike, say, Infinity, it has no desire to keep you informed of how that works. You just kind of have to know or place it with your own reading skills. Infinity, of course, breaks up the different pieces of the story by nearly blank, white chapter title pages. Hawkeye moves back and forth in time in any given issue and you may not realize you missed time until four issues later. It's a masterpiece in its design and its seeming effortlessness chaos. Again, it doesn't feel like a normal superhero book but you won't even notice, if that's what you're looking for, because the writing keeps you so on your toes and the characters and story are so well-defined. Really great book. I believe another new one (focusing on Kate with Annie Wu art) is out next week. Pretty pumped, you guys.

Avengers 20, Avengers Assemble 19

Avengers 20
Hickman (w) and Yu and Alanguilan (a) and Curiel (c)

After the Council's victory against the Builders, both parties regroup a bit and plot out their next moves. We don't really see the Builders regrouping but we see the Builder who accepted the surrender on Hala explaining why the Builders aren't worried; simply put, the odds are still greatly in their favor. Cap and the Council, meanwhile, debate chasing the Builders and trying to press their victory. Cap thinks, though, that they should use this time with the upper hand to negotiate with the Builders. Ex Nihilo and Abyss, though, have been summoned by the Builders' Ex Nihilos and they agree to visit. When there, the Builders' Ex Nihilos ask why this Abyss is still alive, only to find out that the way the Builders are using them (to destroy worlds, mostly) has caused the deaths of their Abysses. Outraged by the choice the Builders have left them with (servants and/or world killers), our Ex Nihilo goes black and rallies the others around him. Back at the Council, Gladiator has spoken with the Builder on Hala and arranged a one-man negotiation with the Builders. No one is quite sure what to expect out of it or if it's the right call but Cap says that this is it, there's only one option left: surrender.

Much like the Council, this issue slows things down a little bit instead of capitalizing on the victory. I'm a little torn on the pace change. On the one hand, I often think that books that just keep ramping up and up and up and never break at all suffer from too much action. Still, this one might have come just an issue prematurely. Of course, that doesn't matter if Cap's real intent is to surrender; if it is, then obviously this issue comes now and, by its very nature, has to slow things down. There are a couple of pages I don't think we really needed in this extra-long issue (mostly as the Builder on Hala, in conjunction with the Supremor, gives percentages for the likelihood of the Builders still winning) and I think those hurt the issue a bit, but by and large we had a nice push for plot and a really nice B-plot with Ex Nihilo and Abyss. That's going to be a major deal as we move forward, if Ex Nihilos turn on the Builders, particularly as their world-destroyer ships have been taken off the board. Some decent stuff here and there's less of the male gaze I had an issue with last time. It's still present but it's not nearly as distracting. The amount of recap is still pretty reasonable for people reading every Infinity-related book though I could see it getting out of hand. I think I might be able to answer if it is or not with my next review. Let's find out.

Avengers Assemble 19
DeConnick and Van Meter (w) and Kitson and Magyar w/ Leisten and Geraci (a) and Woodard (c)

The Council is making the plan to destroy the Builders' ships but Spider-Woman and Black Widow, with the help of Shang-Chi, step in to demand they be allowed to go to the Builders' head ship to see if Carol's missing shipload of people are there. Captain America agrees to the terms and sends the second strike team that way. They make their way through the ship in much the same way we saw (though with a heavier focus, obviously, on this team) in the last Captain Marvel issue. We see them all meet up again and rescue the rest of their teammates held on the bridge and destroy the Builders' ship like we've seen a couple times now. As the team blows the ship and Manifold gets them out of there, Jess admits to Clint that she's glad he's not dead, even though they ended in a bit of an ugly way.

The focus on this issue is really on Jessica. There are still, though, some nice moments from Natasha and a couple from Shang-Chi. People who have been reading all of the Infinity books will gain very little to nothing plot-wise, so don't get this book if you're expecting too much in that regard. This is very much more focused on the personal, as this book has been throughout. It's nice to see Jess realize that maybe things are better than what she thought, at least in her personal relationships (not so much in the event that's going on right now). Carol doesn't necessarily have her memories of Jess but she still has the personality that made her and Jess so close in the first place, exemplified by their banter and by Carol's decision to have Starbrand blow up the ship. She's mad with Clint at the way things ended but the two of them can still talk and get along well enough considering and it really did impact her when she thought he was dead. There's a lot of nice stuff going on here but, like I said, if you're looking for plot that you haven't seen elsewhere in Infinity, you're not getting it here. The art is pretty good and fits the book well, a slightly less dark book (even if the events are similar to what we've already seen) calls for less foreboding artwork and colors. Pretty good stuff all around.

This week's picks

Kind of a tough week to narrow down to three picks, for which I could not be happier. So, uh, here it goes?

Avengers Assemble 18

I think sometimes events lose characters a little because they're so clearly plot-driven that the characters themselves (unless it's an event in a single character's book) get a little lost in the shuffle. Not always a bad thing but I love these characters and I want to learn more about them just about every time out. Like with Age of Ultron's crossover events, these already seem more dedicated to how the action impacts the people. First up, in fact, shows the impact of both this event and recent events as Spider-Woman's life is now changed by her deteriorating relationship with Hawkeye and the drama of Enemy Within has changed the way Captain Marvel interacts with people. It's a great issue to show the intricacies of the relationships between superheroes and a really phenomenal issue for Spider-Woman. I said in my review this week that DeConnick has changed my view of the character entirely and this just adds to it. She's not perfect but she's also not perfectly flawed, in such a cookie-cutter way that she could only be a comic book character. She feels real and that really comes across here.

Daredevil 30

Anyone who didn't see this coming hasn't been reading my blog enough. I love this book, I love Samnee's art and Waid's writing, I love the new feel of Matt Murdock, and guys, I really love Silver Surfer. Both characters are written extremely well and the plot gives a chance for each to shine as well as allowing Samnee and Rodriguez to shine. It's also really just a ton of fun, with great beats like Daredevil driving the surfboard and navigating the world of being Matt Murdock and Daredevil. This issue has an emotional weight to it, though, as Matt has to come to terms with possibly working with an ex-girlfriend and knowing that, if Ru'ach wasn't lying, he doesn't have a shot with her. Matt Murdock not having a shot with a woman? That's a pretty new concept and it'll take him some time to come to grips there. Great issue, always happy with this book.

X-Men Legacy 15

I really love this book but I'm a little disappointed it's in my top three this week. My Saturday reviews gushed about how impressed I was with the turn that the three books have taken and how delightful each was to read this week, despite initial fears in each book/arc. So, in my head, I was debating which to pick to add to my top three this week. Would it be Ultimates for its fast-action and really quick and fun pacing? Would it be Nova for its turn to make Nova into a believable 15 year old and its examination of how novice superheroes get into the game? Or would it be Thunderbolts for that one panel I posted with Deadpool talking to Punisher? Oh right, none of them because X-Men Legacy is just too great every time it's released. Okay, I'm not that disappointed it's up here because I really love this book and the emotions this one brought out really gave a great feel to this issue. I've liked when emotion has permeated this book but none of it was quite so palpable as here, as David has to cope with his abandonment issues from both parents and lingering feelings about his parents as, very suddenly, now both of them are dead. Tough stuff for anyone to deal with, let alone an omega-level mutant with hundreds of omega-level personalities inside his head. Cyclops should probably be worried, given the control David's found over his powers.


Sorry guys, not going to do an extra feature this week. I would do best cover but it would probably be Daredevil and you've already heard me gush about that all week. I would do best panel but, despite my girlfriend's protests that it should be this one:

it would probably just be the Deadpool one I posted this past week from Thunderbolts. Hilarious. I would do best character but no one really featured in more than one book this week. Weird, right? Oh well, I tried.

Avengers 18, Avengers Assemble 18

Avengers 18
Hickman (w) and Yu and Alanguilan (a) and Gho (c)

The scale continues to be impressive in this new Infinity event, again at least going out of its way to justify being called an event. This is bigger than individual books and, even more impressively, it's bigger than just the basic Marvel Universe. If you don't have a pretty good sense of the size of the full Marvel Universe, this book may surprise you. We're dealing with such a threat that the Avengers and Earth are teaming with Skrulls, Kree, Shi'ar Brood, Spartax, and more to overcome it. The question, then, is whether it will be enough to take down the Builders. The first shots have been fired (well, not the first, but the first from our perspective) and it seems like it might not be. Everyone is banding together in space, after a Galactic Council meeting, to try to force the Builders into a fight to the death between an asteroid field and a black hole and, well, there are some issues. First off, the plan isn't ideal, though it's the best they've got even if it's a possible suicide mission. Frankly, it's the best chance they're going to have, with the greatest strength at their back and with the hope of the black hole always behind them. So if this doesn't go well, how well will the rest of the event go?

As I intimated, it doesn't go particularly well, which leaves our heroes (and everyone else) with their backs rather to the wall, maybe even more than they were before. It occurred to me near the beginning of this book that there are probably more Avengers on the team than ever before (which is saying something) and now it feels a little like cannon fodder. That seems especially the case with Sunspot and/or Cannonball, who have both been featured throughout the book, always together and typically goofing off, all of which raises the stakes that one or both (I'm betting on one) will be killed in this. Who else dies is still on the table but c'mon, those two are destined to be split up. Something I want to point out, aside from my bets on who dies (frankly I've got Cannonball going; he's slightly bigger to readers so it's less of a copout than killing off the relatively unknown Sunspot), is the really well-characterized Skrulls we have in this issue. One of the downsides of the huge team in this book is that we haven't had a lot of characterization for anyone (Hickman's left that to us and to Avengers Assemble, largely). However, here, we get a great look at the Skrull as a really down-and-out race of warriors who have suffered defeat after defeat and who know this battle is serious and are ready for it, if not exactly looking forward to it. They know this could be it for the Skrull (and they kind of wonder if maybe that's for the best) but they're happy to at least have the chance to go out fighting. It's not the kind of bloodlust or inspiring battle speech you normally get in these sorts of things, it's really just a species that is doing what it does right to the end. Interesting take, particularly as the Skrulls have been enemies for so long. Nice touch.

Avengers Assemble 18
DeConnick (w) and Kitson and Erskine (a) and Woodard w/ JD Ramos (c)

That thing I said about characterization of the Avengers being left to Avengers Assemble? Dead on. This book takes place in the same span of time as Avengers 18 but it's probably worth, if you read them both, reading that one first. You'll get the plot questions out of the way far more easily with that one than with this one because, as I said, this one is for our characters. I've been rather anti-Jessica Drew in my Marvel reading history because I find her boring and, for a while, she was everywhere despite, well, everything. This was how I felt. Kelly Sue DeConnick has single-handedly made me reverse that decision with a wonderful, complex character. They're not just complexities we're meant to implicitly understand from her backstory, they're real complexities that impact her everyday life; they may be spawned from her backstory and her history but they live independent of it now. That's why it's so interesting to see her watch ex-boyfriend Hawkeye and best-friend-with-no-memory-of-being-best-friend-thanks-to-the-events-of-Enemy-Within Captain Marvel take off in the Quincarrier opposite her and have her note, regardless of what she wants to think, that she's thinking maybe it would be better if they didn't come home. It's an incredibly dark and petty thought, which she recognizes, but it's the thought that flashes through her mind anyway. Later, as she fights her way through the Builders one-on-one alongside the Hulk, she decides that she's going to die alone and unloved out in space. All of these things, including a moment where a Skrull risks his life to save hers (Jess is particularly iffy about Skrulls after the Skrull Queen took her form in Secret Invasion), add to the character DeConnick has built and it's all lovely.

There's more to this issue than that but this is the meat and bones of it. Still, Cap has a couple of nice moments, as does a somewhat tense and maybe a little childlike Manifold (asking fairly often whether or not he should jump them out of there, which is a nice touch for the younger and more inexperienced hero). The issue ends with a nice talk between Black Widow and Jessica about dying alone and a great touch by having Cap come out of his way to tell Jess that he'll let her know as soon as he knows what's happening with Clint and Carol. The real burn at the end of the issue, though, is that Jessica admits to the reader that she wasn't even thinking about them; she should have been, but she wasn't. Really solid issue, nice tie-in with a lot of really great moments and an ever-developing and improving Jessica Drew. This is one of the reasons why comics are great; I don't think DeConnick has changed the character fundamentally, I think she's just twisted her to suit the book she was writing and to build her a bit more, giving us a somewhat new character who is still immediately recognizable as the old one but who is, for lack of a better term (curse you allergies), better.

Comics this week

Handful of new comics out this week and, as ever, five I'm ready to highlight as the ones to keep an eye on when Wednesday rolls around. As a quick aside, I wanted to mention that this week I published post number 300 and I wanted to say again thanks to everyone who has ever dropped by this page for any reason. Whether you're interested in comics, interested in writing, interested in being a spam-bot, or whatever else it might be, your checking in on this page matters to me and I sincerely appreciate it.

Avengers Assemble 18
This is a tie-in to Infinity, giving us (along with Avengers 18, also out this week and worth checking in on) our first official tie-ins of the new event (which will spawn plenty). I chose to highlight this one over Avengers because the feel of this book has been so pleasant and surprising as its continued, giving us both a slightly lighter Avengers book to work alongside the heavier main title and a great team that seems to really care about one another. For added intrigue, we might see a bit more of the effects of Enemy Within on Captain Marvel, which left us on a rather huge emotional cliff as it wrapped up last month in Captain Marvel 14 (read it if you haven't already WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR). I know I'll be checking in more for that than for anything else at this point.

Cable and X-Force 13
This pick, like last time I picked it, is more based on the fact that I try to stay away from solicits and I have a bad memory for what upcoming covers show. Like last time, I'm really waiting for the story that'll focus on Dr. Nemesis and Forge, if we're going to see that story at all (going back-to-back on a Domino story worries me in that regard). This book has held together well but, I'll be honest here, I'm not that concerned with the Colossus-Domino will-they/won't they business. Still, the writing has been sharp and the story interesting and WHERE IS DOCTOR NEMESIS?

Daredevil 30
Last issue of this series was pretty great; a good story that has serious implications for the book going forward but that still, despite all the tension borne out of a racist hate group putting bombs in buildings and who could be anyone you see, kept its fun writing and the delightful new Daredevil attitude. I heard an interview with Spider-Man writer Dan Slott on Saturday and he talked about how well Waid is writing Daredevil and how high the stakes were when he took the job. We've known the angst-ridden and gritty Daredevil for so long, really since Frank Miller, and it's everything we know of the character at this point. To change him back to the lighter and more fun Daredevil was a serious risk, one that Waid has pulled off with aplomb and the book is continually phenomenal. Also, I was just reminded of the audio version of Daredevil number one (for the visually impaired) that a group of Marvel editors released just over two years ago. Worth a listen, pretty cool, very cool idea.

Indestructible Hulk 12
Hulk is lost in time! And time is breaking down! What will Hulk do?! The last issue left us with Hulk in the Old West faced down by gunslingers and cowboy hats and velociraptors. Yes. That was true. Exciting times abound for Hulk and Banner where any wrong move might screw up time and also could kill off Hulk or Banner. This is another book that has quietly slid into place as one of the constantly great books at Marvel. I didn't come into this series expecting to love it or even, really, particularly like it but here we go again, Mark Waid finding a voice that fits his writing wonderfully. Solid book, looking forward to some more dinosaurs, you guys.

X-Men Legacy 15
The elephant decidedly not in the room this entire series has been David's thoughts about his mother, who drifts up occasionally and who he has called a couple of times, only to hang up before speaking with her. Now there will be no such avoiding as Pete Wisdom accurately realized that the worst he could do to David was to send Gabrielle Haller to meet with him. It should be an interesting meeting and Gabrielle Haller is a fairly old-school X-Men character who has rather fallen out of the comics in recent days. Si Spurrier has done a remarkable job with this book over its run and it's bound to stay remarkable as David interacts with family for the first time (not including the demented Charles Xavier somewhere in his head). Really love this book.