New Avengers 25

New Avengers 25

After the first two issues of EIGHT MONTHS LATER (I keep writing and/or wanting to write TIME RUNS OUT but I think that's AFTER all this business?) in NEW AVENGERS 24 and AVENGERS 35 (and 36, but that doesn't apply here), we've seen what some of the Illuminati and their new associates are up to, with Amadeus Cho getting captured by the Avengers and SHIELD trying to salvage Stark files, and Black Panther forced to watch as Wakanda falls to the Cabal. Now we see what Beast, Reed Richards, Hulk (DOC GREEN), and Captain Britain are doing these days. Mostly they're trying to figure out what the Avengers are doing and what the Cabal is doing and how the planets are doing and so on and so forth. Things aren't going great. The book ends after the team checks in on the captured and interrogated (by Sue Storm) Amadeus Cho and Black Panther returns, proclaiming that Wakanda has fallen.

There's still a good deal of useful information here but it's on a backdrop of events we've seen already, so most of this issue is soft science and reactions to the things we've seen. Again, that's not to say this isn't still a useful and/or important issue, but it almost serves more to catch readers up on what's been happening since this new event started. Hickman tends to take opportunities like this to give us a sense of the current tone and a little bit more on the characters and I think he does that well here, letting us see Reed's reaction to Sue's pursuit of his team and him specifically and building up the characters of people like Amadeus Cho and Captain Britain. Hickman also does a good job of highlighting while not hitting us over the head with the absences of some major characters in this future. I've had some issues with Kev Walker on some of the NEW AVENGERS art that he's done prior to this but I think he handles this issue admirably. If you're looking to save a bit of money this month and you've read the first couple issues of this mini-event so far, you can probably skip this one without missing too much.

Total Score: 3/5

Avengers 35, Uncanny Avengers 24, Avengers World 13

Avengers 35

We're eight months into the future and the entire world is completely different. Cannonball lives off world with Izzy and their newborn baby, though Sunspot, the new leader of AIM after he managed to hostile-takeover their business (one of the drawbacks, he says, of running your evil scientist group like a corporation), needs them to come back to Earth for what's coming. Hyperion has been working with his children in the Savage Land to build a device for...reasons, which he and Thor, now Mjolnir-less, will use to cross over somewhere. Likely it has to do with incursions. SPEAKING OF INCURSIONS, the Illuminati, comprised of the original members plus a bunch of other super scientist types like Amadeus Cho, Brian Braddock, and Hank Pym, is on the run from SHIELD and the now-SHIELD sanctioned Avengers. These Avengers catch up with Cho as he breaks into the old Avengers Tower trying to salvage some of on-the-run Tony Stark's data but the Avengers, led by Sue Storm, capture him, though he has no information for them.

Okay, so there's rather a lot that's changed, hm? This isn't an alternate dimension, this isn't a WHAT IF... story, this is the main Marvel Universe just eight short months from now. It's a bit reminiscent of CIVIL WAR but with a very different schism at the center and with a very specific sort of hero going up against SHIELD and the Avengers. The story, of course, is very interesting and compelling to get into because, as you'd expect with a story like this and particularly with Hickman, we just into a fully formed world just the way it is, no real explanation given yet besides what you can surmise from the natural dialogue and your own assumptions about the situation based on what's been happening. It's a strong start to the ambitious TIME RUNS OUT storyline and it looks like Hickman, as ever, has this well in hand. Have I mentioned that I adore Hickman's EAST OF WEST? That it's one of the best comics I've ever read? Good.

Total Score: 5/5


Uncanny Avengers 24

As the Unity Squad gets back to Avengering, the greater mutant part of the team (Havok, Scarlet Witch, and Rogue) finds itself abducted by Red Skull's S-Men and brought to his new concentration camps on Genosha. While unconscious, Rogue sees Charles Xavier (seen here with Banshee) in her mind. Charles says that he's just the last psychic residue in his old brain, now in the Skull's head, and tells Rogue that she has to keep Scarlet Witch away from Skull, that he has some horrible plans for her. He also reveals that she's the secret weapon because Skull knows all their powers but doesn't know yet that she has Wonder Man in her head. She wakes up and tells the others, chained up next to her, and together they break out, running into and rescuing Magneto on their way. Magneto wants to save all of the mutants and is furious and derogatory when he learns that they want to go and get more help first. The fight is interrupted, though, when Skull and his S-Men confront them.

AXIS seems ready to burst forth (I know it's now called AXIS: AVENGERS AND X-MEN but that's a dumb name and AXIS is a solid name) as Skull's fight with the Unity Squad continues, now more hateful than ever. There's some good character work here as Remender catches new readers up on all that's happened by having Havok talk about his disfigured and burned face and having Wolverine meet with Scarlet Witch and Rogue to talk about his part and his guilt in the whole last arc and to say how proud he is that the two of them are working together and have put the past behind them. It's perhaps a little too eager to chew some scenery, but it gets the point across and doesn't feel nearly as expository as it could. Running into Magneto helps the issue too as more characters are developed and as the plot advances nicely. Strong stuff, looking forward to AXIS. It's nice to have events every so often that seem like they stem from current events in the books (not like certain other events, particularly ORIGINAL SIN, AGE OF ULTRON, FEAR ITSELF, and BATTLE OF THE ATOM, which all spawned from nothingness and meant fairly little).

Total Score: 4/5


Avengers World 13

As the Hand, Gorgon, and the ancient dragon on whose back Madripoor sits fight against the newly revealed SPEAR, we get an introduction to the Ascendant, the superteam SPEAR has put together or, more appropriately, the superteam Weather Witch (formerly of The Dynasty) put together and leads with the go-ahead and support of SPEAR and the Chinese government. Included on the team are Saber, another former Dynasty member, Devastator, a Skrull loyal to the Chinese government and wearing the former Russian Devastator armor, Vector, a rebellious protestor with Darkforce powers similar to Cloak's, and Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. They hold their own in battle but it won't be enough to fully stop the dragon and SPEAR's Director Zheng calls up Maria Hill in the hopes for some aid, specifically in the hopes of technological aid, SPECIFICALLY in the hopes of getting some Pym particles, which Hill gives but only under the condition it be given to one of her team. Enter Shang-Chi, giant master of Kung Fu.

Spencer, interestingly, has gone back-to-back AVENGERS WORLD issues introducing a new team from another part of the world. It's a real WORLD style move, showing perhaps the inspiration of a team like the Avengers on the other parts of the world and allowing us to see how the world has reacted to the presence of superheroes all over. It's a pretty strong issue and gives us a sense of this Ascendant team and of SPEAR, which separates itself from SHIELD in a number of ways in this book. Also not going to act like I'm not excited about the idea of a giant Shang-Chi fighting a dragon. That feels like maybe it was the pitch of this entire book. "Giant Shang-Chi fights a dragon," said Spencer, and the rest was history.

Total Score: 5/5

Original Sins 1, New Avengers 19

Original Sins 1
Deathlok: Edmondson (w) and Perkins (a) and Troy (c) and Cowles (l)
Young Avengers: North (w) and Villalobos (a) and Gibson (c) and Cowles (l)
Lockjaw: S. Moore (w) and Geary (a) and Svorcina (c) and Cowles (l)

Three stories to kick off our ORIGINAL SIN tie-in book which here is two-thirds ORIGINAL SIN tie-in and one third promotional. The first third is the promotional, with a short story by Nathan Edmondson (BLACK WIDOW, PUNISHER) and Mike Perkins (CAPTAIN AMERICA, UNION JACK) featuring Henry Hayes, a new Deathlok, unbeknownst to Hayes. Seemingly leaping right out of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, Hayes is war vet with bionic parts and who is, on occasion, mind controlled to execute missions at the behest of his handlers, whereafter he is dumped back where he started with no memory of the mission. He has just such a mission when a SHIELD agent approaches him in a train station and tells him that he's Deathlok, as was revealed to him by the Watcher's truth-bomb. As the SHIELD agent leaves, Hayes' handlers send Deathlok to execute the man. Though there is a clear tie-in to ORIGINAL SIN, the key of this book is building excitement for October's DEATHLOK, also written by Edmondson and illustrated by Perkins. It's not an awful test-run and it's certainly an easy enough premise to kick things off. Right now, Edmondson can do no wrong by me so let's hope that even a series spawned by (though with no connection to) a show I find almost entirely boring will separate itself the way BLACK WIDOW and PUNISHER have.

The second story finds three members of the Young Avengers, Hulkling, Noh-Varr, and Prodigy, teaming up to investigate what's happening in Manhattan. When Hulkling sees footage from the fight and recognizes Exterminatrix in the middle of it, he gets Prodigy to hijack Noh-Varr's shuttle so it will pick them up and bring them to their friend (who isn't leaving his space station home and also isn't picking up his phone). They convince him to come along and, in the course of their investigation, they run into a somehow un-evacuated woman being held hostage by the Hood, who needs the help of these three Young Avengers. Ryan North, who writes MIDAS FLESH and ADVENTURE TIME for BOOM! Studios and has countless other adventures in comics and other text (like his great Dinosaur Comics or like the choose-your-own-adventure Hamlet or his upcoming choose-your-own-adventure Romeo and Juliet), brings his usual playfulness and fun, natural, conversational style of writing to this project and it really works for the Young Avengers. Looking forward to where this goes.

Finally, Stuart Moore and Rick Geary bring us a short tale of Lockjaw uncovering a secret from the Watcher's truth treasure trove and, after trying a number of other heroes, conveying the importance of said secret to Iron Man, who accompanies him to the moon where he digs up a bone he'd left there. Fun little story which must have given a slight break from all those gorgeous painted THOR interiors to Eisner-nominated colorist Ive Svorcina.

Total Score: 4/5


New Avengers 19
Hickman (w) and Schiti (a) and F. Martin (c) and Caramagna (l)

The Illuminati travel to Earth-4,290,001, the home of the Great Society (Boundless, Dr. Spectrum, Sun God, The Rider, The Jovian, and The Norn) to discuss what's coming. They reveal that they have a doomsday device, something capable of destroying a world, but would much rather not have to use it. While they argue about how they would use such a device (in the case they can't figure something out, one world has to be destroyed to save the other world and to save both universes; the incursion going off as planned would mean the end of both worlds and both universes), Maximus runs some experiments on the frozen Corvus Glaive, locked away with his master Thanos. Back on Earth-4,290,001, the Illuminati try to justify their actions to the Great Society and continue to ask for help coming up with a way to save both worlds before they have to move on to worst-case scenarios but Namor, tired of the indecision, attacks The Rider, prepared to be what the incursion will make them all and provoking a fight between the two once-heroic groups.

One of the things I'd been saying since the start of this series was that NEW AVENGERS feels like a movie or a television show (its presentation, particularly at the beginning, felt more like gorgeous cinema but its episodic nature makes it more like a television show) and it seems to be sticking with that feeling. Hickman knows how to write scenes and how to present them and the artists attached to this book (including series colorist Frank Martin) really know how to make everything feel big and grand. In this issue (as in the last several) we get a number of recent flashbacks that add context and weight to the actions of the present while also allowing us to move on with the story in a way that maybe isn't so dry or straightforward. Some of those flashbacks involve Bruce and Hank talking about morality and the choices they face, Reed talking with Black Swan about the things they can do to help push forward, and Tony telling Reed that Cap knows and soon the most powerful Avengers team ever assembled will be coming for them. It's a strong story and the flashbacks allow the book an opportunity to remind you just how many threads are still out there and how intricate this situation is. I've also been looking for a way to plug this some more and so, while it's only tangentially related, it feels as big and grand, at times (though not always so gripping), as Hickman's EAST OF WEST, which is an absolutely phenomenal book I can't recommend enough. Val Schiti does the art on this issue and really brings great emotion to the characters, from hubris to fear to arrogance to sadness to resignation (guys, most of those descriptions are just for Namor).

Total Score: 5/5

Avengers 28, New Avengers 17

Avengers 28
Hickman (w) and Larroca (a) and F. Martin w/Mossa (c) and Petit (l)

AIM has taken back the Avengers from another world, hoping to send them away because they seriously do not need two Avengers teams out there. However, the Banner that seemed to be the other world's Banner asks the Scientist Supreme why worlds are dying. With nothing to lose from this conversation, Forson admits that they believe the multiverse is dying and that Earth is the center point. It turns out that this Banner is actually our Banner, though, and he escapes AIM, doing a bunch of damage on the way out, before making his way to Avengers Tower. He interrogates Tony and, with a smart line of questioning, realizes what's been happening and realizes that Tony has re-formed the Illuminati, the same Illuminati that launched Hulk into space so long ago. Banner pumps himself full of tranquilizers to keep from hulking out while Tony explains and while Tony invites him to join the team, which he reluctantly does, understanding how big the threat is. Tony hands off the other universe's Banner to SHIELD and the Avengers, who are looking to dole out punishment for attacking the Avengers and Avengers Tower, and the Illuminati meets its newest member. OH, and also the Adapoids that went out to explore the multiverse meet up with the Mapmakers and it turns out that they're all one and the same.

Story
Really great story here as Hickman preps for ORIGINAL SIN and props up his amazing NEW AVENGERS work with a new and crucial addition to the team. It's a wonderful idea, putting the worldbreaker Hulk and the genius scientist Banner into this situation wherein worlds may need to be broken if science can't answer these questions. On top of that, it's executed perfectly; there's plenty of time at the beginning where you don't know if Banner is our Banner or the other universe's and we figure out definitively that it's ours just as the other drama of the plot, the idea that Banner has figured everything out, is coming to the head of the story. It's extremely well done and it's a huge step for this series and for NEW AVENGERS. Plus, as if Cap wasn't going to be mad ENOUGH at Tony and crew for wiping his memories when he finds out in ORIGINAL SIN, he's now had an innocent(ish) Bruce Banner handed to him in lieu of the real deal. 5/5

Character
AVENGERS hasn't had a ton of room for character because the plots have been so sweeping and the team has been so big. It's nice to have an issue that pulls back to just two major characters to give us a better look at those two guys and BOY what a great look it is. It's Banner at his most tense, a perfect portrait of someone right on the brink of hulking out with one false step, and it's Tony at his most duplicitous and covert, the weapons maker returned. It's incredibly tense and it's incredibly well-crafted, two could-be/have-been allies in a conversation that could turn them into quick enemies, another thing they have been. It's a dynamic built on decades of discontent and it's perfect. 5/5

Writing
This is one of those issues whose writing score is based on the perfect execution of story and character more than any one thing in the dialogue. That's not to say the dialogue isn't sharp. In fact, the dialogue is extremely well-balanced as the audience knows Tony is hiding something and Banner is pretty sure Tony is hiding something all while we're not sure if Banner is Banner and as we and Tony try to figure out what's in the case. There's so much happening here and it's all done in service to the tone, which, in turn, builds our story and our character. It's all a circle and it all feeds itself. 5/5

Art
I often have issues with Salvador Larroca's art but he does solid work here. Larroca uses a mix of close-ups and wide shots to help establish the tone as two people snipe back and forth trying to outwit one another. I don't know that it's the best possible art for this book but that way madness lies so we're not going to worry about that. In this case, it works perfectly well. 5/5

Miscellaneous
I've been back and forth on this AVENGERS series for a while. It's largely good but sometimes the long con style game Hickman and company tend to play makes it a little harder to get into as a whole series. When it's said and done, though, I think this series will read extremely well as one long volume. Solid work here and BOY was this issue good.

Total score: 5/5


New Avengers 17
Hickman (w) and Morales (a) and F. Martin (c) and Caramagna (l)

Namor and T'Challa continue to watch Earth-4290001 to learn how they deal with their incursion. With the help of the Norn, they've defeated the incurring world but not before four Mapmakers land on their planet. Their hero Boundless manages to destroy the AI of one but is stopped before she can damage the rest but their leader Sun God, warning everyone to take cover under Dr. Spectrum's shielding, unleashes his full power and destroys the others. T'Challa and Namor watch as the heroes, all surviving the fight recover a bit until they realize that another incursion is already underway. Namor steps away from the screen to have a drink, complaining that it seems an unwinnable scenario; they're up against not just incurring planets but the Mapmakers, the Black Priests, and the Ivory Kings. He jokes darkly about their chances and he and T'Challa have some real talk about hope and honor and nobility and share a laugh about their survival before T'Challa is pulled back to the screen to find that, in two hours time (thanks to the window's strange effect on time), the world incurring on Earth-4290001 is their own Earth.

Story
Hickman's created an interesting batch of characters from this alternate Earth and, though we can't care about them in the same way we care about characters we've known for decades, it's hard not to root for them. They're pointedly the opposite of our heroes; they're still fighting the incursions and they still hope to see their Earth win but they refuse to give up hope that this is unwinnable. Sun God himself kicked off their mission by saying "Everything lives" in the same way that Reed Richards continues to say "Everything dies." So it's hope against despair as the theme here, even as T'Challa and Namor discuss it as two kings with no kingdoms. Solid story and quite a cliffhanger. 5/5

Character
The Namor-Black Panther dynamic has been one of the more interesting stories in this book all the way around. From the time this series kicked off, Atlantis and Wakanda have been at war with one another, putting their champions at odds even as they're forced to work together for the survival of the world. It's also worth pointing out that we are rather rooting for Earth-4290001's champions despite their relative obscurity, to the credit of Hickman. 5/5

Writing
The hope/despair theme prevails and plays well as Hickman particularly focuses us on Namor, a character for whom the difference between himself and everyone else is hope. It's a great tool and it's explored really well here as Namor keeps up his personality even against T'Challa, his equal in power but someone who fights because he has hope, among other reasons. It's smart writing. 5/5

Art
Rags Morales has some really incredible art and the expressiveness and the emotion of these characters really stands out in these particularly emotional times. An artist who wasn't as capable of showing the minute emotional turns of these two pretty calculated characters, even if they did better action or something (which is just an example, by the way, I think Morales' action has been pretty cool so far), wouldn't be nearly as successful. 5/5

Miscellaneous
I should have seen the twist at the end coming and I didn't and it still made me go "ohhhhhhhhhhhh wowwwwwwwww."

Total score: 5/5

New Avengers 15, Avengers World 4

New Avengers 15
Hickman (w) and Bianchi w/ Pieruccini (a) and Dall'Alpi (c)

The team has been using the bridge that Black Swan advised them to create in order to look into other worlds and see how they've combatted the incursions or, in many more cases, who they failed to combat incursions. However, that's not all they've been able to do with the bridge. They've realized that they can actually use the bridge to see through time, like looking at a star in the sky that's millennia old. It doesn't work great on the future but it's pretty good at looking at the past so they've decided to try to learn a few things about the threats they face, including looking into Black Swan's past, which reveals a glimpse at some of the people she's misled and betrayed (including alternate versions of Reed and Tony) to get where she is. They promptly go and fight her, managing to get her caged again in what they believe to be an unbreakable cage, though it still leaves her a chance to speak with Terrax, who tells her that he believes there are no constants and that these men will fall.

Friends, I'm going to level with you here. I haven't been sleeping particularly well lately and last night was no exception. I woke up several hours before I intended this morning after falling asleep several hours after I intended. And now, here I am reviewing this comic just about as quickly as I can. after its release. Any person reading this book can probably tell you that it is not best read when weary and sleep-deprived. I had to read the various parts of this one a few times over and, were I closer to my copies of the rest of the series (and were I not afraid that retrieving them would just land me in my bed from which I would not move again the rest of the day), I'd likely be referring back to them to try to straighten some things out. I really like this book and I think it's doing a lot of really interesting things. I will say that at this point I think that reading this by trades isn't a bad idea. It's a lot to keep in your head from moment to moment and week to week. That said, I'm still enjoying the way that the characters interact with one another and I'm looking forward to seeing where this whole story goes, particularly as it's been revealed of late that Captain America will have his memories of the Illuminati and the incursions restored in the upcoming ORIGINAL SIN event. Should be a good time. Well, not really good, per se, but certainly interesting. Should be a time, anyway.

Avengers World 4
Hickman and Spencer (w) and Caselli (a) and Mossa (c)

The team of Hawkeye, Spider-Woman, Nightmask, and Starbrand have accidentally found their way into the City of the Dead under Velletri, Italy. Well, one of the cities of the dead, as Sebastian Druid explains to Captain America and Bruce Banner back at the Iliad. Under Velletri, Starbrand is called away from the rest of the team by voices only he can hear beckoning to him while his team fights some spirits emerging from the rivers. Kevin finds that the voices are all the souls of the people he killed back when he first got his powers in AVENGERS and that they're not particularly thrilled with him. He's overcome with fear and guilt and the spirits take him to their leader, who Sebastian explains would have to be someone pretty powerful to hold sway in the city of the dead. "Powerful" doesn't seem to be an issue for the ruler of this city of the dead, as Morgan Le Fay returns to the Marvel Universe.

Another pretty interesting turn as Hickman and Spencer continue to break in this new title that is living up to its promise of shining a light on the Avengers in smaller groups and as individuals. It's also another nice little reunion for Hickman as former Secret Warrior Druid returns to shed some light on the City of the Dead and to get involved with the Avengers right as Banner points out to Cap that, with all of their new hires, they're sorely lacking people who represent the magical element of the Marvel Universe. His concerns, it seems are totally warranted and it's nice to see another Secret Warrior back in the fold, raising the total up from Manifold in Hickman's AVENGERS and Quake in Spencer's SECRET AVENGERS. Also can't help but like Stefano Caselli's work with one of the old Secret Warriors and his work in general on this issue. It's a very compelling idea and one that had to come to a head at some point; regardless of how little Kevin may have interacted with the students at his school, regardless of how ignored he may have been, he still killed hundreds, if not thousands, of people when he got his powers. As one of the souls he recognizes points out, it's not the kind of superhero origin that makes you Captain America. Should be interesting when this one picks up again, likely after we've revisited the other AVENGERS WORLD stories.

New Avengers 13, Guardians of the Galaxy 10

Hey all, sorry for the wait for these reviews. Some important issues here (okay, one, in NEW AVENGERS) so I didn't want to skip this week or anything but I took last week off after the remarkably long year-in-review and year-ahead posts. Sorry!


New Avengers 13
Hickman (w) and Bianchi (a) and Dell'Alpi (c)

It's a tale of two universes as we get a look at our Illuminati juxtaposed with a look at Earth-23099 which has come up with a similar team to solve the problem of these incursions. Also similarly, Earth-23099 has had a recent influx of Inhumans as Maximus the Mad, king of their Inhumans, set off a Terrigen bomb on their planet. Back on the 616, Black Swan warns the Illuminati that they need to be prepared for the other enemies they'll face, on top of the incursions, and advises them to focus on the Black Priests, who jump from world to world via what she and they call a mirror, allowing them to see between dimensions with relative ease. Reed realizes he's already built one in the Bridge (back from Hickman's run with the FANTASTIC FOUR and FF books) and they use it to look in on 23099, who have just run up against the Black Priests and find themselves severely outgunned. The Black Priests kill them with very little effort and, sensing an open mirror nearby, shoot a quick threat at those watching.

"No rest for the wicked" seems to be the mantra of this series and it takes every word of that mantra seriously. The series has been among the most interesting since its start and it's interesting because of the layers it has. We already have a compelling story about other Earths incurring on our universe and destroying worlds but the cast of characters that Hickman's chosen has made the difference for this one. Granted, these characters already existed in this team (with the notable exceptions of Beast, replacing Charles, and Panther, who refused to join the first iteration) but Hickman has brought them together on this to underscore the ethical choices of what's happening and what's yet to happen. The Illuminati are a team that, by their very existence, is morally questionable (big brains making covert decisions for the rest of the world) and throwing them up against a problem that now regularly threatens the Earth continues to be such a cool idea. Presumably it will only continue to get more confusing from here as the cast of adversaries grows (we already know about the Mapmakers, who may be on Earth already and now we have the Black Priests and the promise of more) but it feels like it will all be worthwhile.

Guardians of the Galaxy 10
Bendis (w) and Maguire (a) and Ponsor (c)

Gamora and Angela set out on a secret mission of their own to lay waste to a Badoon slave-trade world that Gamora suspects may know the whereabouts of the now-missing Thanos. They attack, they chat, they stop a piece of the slave-trade, etc. One of the Badoon mentions having some sort of deal with Angela's people, which flusters her, but Quill, when he and Rocket arrive on the scene, waves it off as just a lying Badoon, deciding that his point has been underscored when the Badoon also claim that Thanos is on Earth. Next up: the Trial of Jean Grey.

Some decent action and not too bad to see Gamora and Angela in action, even if it requires turning more of a blind-eye to the Angela costume. I do get that she's a character imported from another series, SPAWN, and that this costume is her costume from that and it therefore makes her recognizable and it's her legacy and so on and so forth but SPAWN also isn't particularly well known for its progressivism. It's tricky to be attempting to develop her as this strong female character but then have a double-page spread where you can see an absurd amount of skin. There's an argument to be made, probably, about her being a strong woman and having a strong sense of sexuality but she doesn't really have that, at least not at the moment. It's not like she's some sexual being and the way she's being written is showing her as someone who is equally comfortable on the battlefield and expressing her sexuality, unafraid to show her body; instead, she has something of a blank personality right now and fights a bunch. I don't think Gamora's at her strongest either. If the cover is any indication (or if a lot of the way he's writing this and, you know, his history), boy am I not excited for the inevitable Bendis love triangle. And, again, somewhat shorter than normal book out of Bendis (another series that seems to be hitting at about 18 pages an issue, which is striking since I see so many comic book writers cutting scenes they don't want to cut to limit the book to the average 21-22 pages) with altogether too many words. Speaking of words, words cannot begin to describe just how uninterested I am in the upcoming Trial of Jean Grey.

Infinity 5, Avengers 22

Infinity 5
Hickman (w) and Opeña and Weaver (a) and Ponsor (c)

Thor and the Avengers have shown that the Builders can be broken and that message has resonated through the universe, giving the conquered worlds the inspiration they need to fight again. Though there are casualties throughout the universe, the resistance is overwhelmingly a success and many worlds realize the Avengers are to thank and, as a result, become "Avengers worlds." Cap and co are heartened by this but soon receive news from Gladiator that Earth is besieged by Thanos, so their celebration is cut short. Back on Earth, everything is coming up Thanos. His Black Order has secured Wakanda's Necropolis and the world-ending weapon therein, which they're able to activate by scouring the memories of the totally-still-alive Black Bolt (score! Except for the activation codes, that's a bummer). Meanwhile, the Ebony Maw has found Thane, son of Thanos, and immobilized him, delivering him unto Thanos. The Illuminati return to their world to find Wakanda in flames and the Necropolis invaded. Help is on the way, but will it come too late?

I really can't say enough about the pacing of this series. Every issue has felt like it's been worthwhile. You can't say that about too many events these days, yet every one of these seemed to have a structure to them and a piece of the story that was necessary for the whole event. Even insofar as it spanned to Avengers and New Avengers. Perhaps the scale of the story helped that; a story this big was bound to need this many parts, as it really is kind of two events wrapped into one (the Builders in the universe and Thanos on Earth). Still, I don't see that as a coincidence or a fault of the series by any means. It feels instead like really great planning and great execution. It's been a story worth telling and it's been told right. Every issue of Infinity, I've gone into the next wary that there won't be enough story to sustain. Now we enter the last issue with almost too much to tell. Of course, there are two Avengers issues between now and then (one reviewed NEXT) to help push the story along which will certainly help alleviate the burden on Infinity 6 (not to mention a post-Infinty New Avengers issue to wrap up the whole event for good, presumably). Really looking forward to seeing how this goes. There are plenty of events (one ending this week, in fact) that I cannot say that about.

Avengers 22
Hickman (w) and Yu and Alanguilan (a) and Gho w/ Curiel (c)

The Avengers have beaten the Builders back and earned the respect and admiration of the universe in the process, putting them in a rather unfamiliar place as they head back home. It's a good place to be in, though, especially as they'll need help when they get back home in defeating Thanos and his army. We see a little bit of what's going on within the Avengers' ranks as we discover a relationship between Cannonball and Smasher, met with confusion by Sunspot. We also see Manifold, who has played a huge role and is undoubtedly the unsung hero of this whole event, trying to come to terms with what's happened recently. It's easily the biggest event he's been involved in and he's having some trouble making sense of it. The Captains America and Marvel try to downplay it a bit, attempting to remove any sense of fate or faith or destiny attached to it, though Thor comes in and does exactly the opposite, which seems to calm Manifold a bit. Meanwhile, a strike team hits Titan to knock out any reserve troop Thanos might have. There's not too much waiting in the wings but it serves to let Thanos know that they're coming, a message they're not afraid to send.

It's hard not to assign action-adventure tropes to stories like these and a couple, in particular, shine through that make me a little worried about the fate of some of these characters. The Avengers, for their part, have not really lost much of anyone in their time in space, a tremendous outcome considering how total the threat was. Now they return home and will all be very clearly on the front lines. There are no more guerrilla style attacks, no more plotting and quick strikes. This is going to be a straight assault (though, admittedly, with a sneak-attack part of the plan) and it could very well cost the Avengers. It seems events don't happen without some death being attached to them so be prepared. The tropes I was hinting at, by the by, were the idea of the relationship that's developed here, the idea of the two best pals (I've been predicting a Sunspot or Cannonball death since the start of this event and the relationship between Cannonball and Smasher seems only to strengthen that argument), and the idea of the young, tired secret weapon who questions the meaning of it all. Okay, that one's a little more specific. I guess my fear for Eden is that he had so many lines this issue. It's like watching Lost or the The Walking Dead; the moment someone has above average lines, you know they're about to go down. Of all of those mentioned, Eden's the one I want to lose least so this one strikes a particular fear-chord (that's a thing, right? Fear-chords?). Nice to see a little bit more character from the smaller characters here (though I'm still constantly surprised to see Shang-Chi there, maybe we should highlight him some more?) but it comes with the distinct fear that at least one or two of them (or maybe more) are being built up to be killed next time out.

Avengers 21, New Avengers 11

Avengers 21
Hickman (w) and Yu and Alanguilan (a) and Gho (c)

The Avengers and the resistance have landed a couple blows in a row against the Builders but ultimately, it could still all mean nothing. Though it inspired some of the conquered worlds as well as reigniting the resistance, at the end of the day they're still horribly outnumbered and outgunned. That fact is made more obvious by the defeats those fighting for the rebellion have suffered. There have been little victories from battle to battle but they're still losing the war a little too quickly. On the brink of what seems to be absolute defeat, Ex Nihilo and Abyss direct Captain America to Captain Universe, saying that the universe's dying has caused this war, not vice versa. Captain Universe, once made well again, can help them defeat the Builders. The Ex Nihili manage, as a unit, to save Captain Universe, who promptly finds the Builders. They don't believe in her any more and tell her that the universe is dying and they want to destroy the axis that seems most ill to try to save the whole. She recognizes their ends but won't allow their means and defeats them handily when they engage her. The last surviving Builder, scurrying to another universe, leaves his universe-spread alephs behind to "destroy everything."

There's still a ton happening here as we inch towards the end of Infinity. The next books in this event (aside from this week's New Avengers, reviewed below if I've done my job, and the tie-in books that don't actually advance the plot) are Infinity 5, followed by Avengers 22 and 23, then Infinity 6, followed by New Avengers 12. We're right on the brink of finishing this event off and there's still plenty happening to see it to the end. Captain Universe hints at her own impending doom (possibly as a result of the universe dying, possibly to erase such a powerful being out of existence, like so much Sentry) before wiping the floor with the Builders. It's an important hint and it's an important action as it very much turns the tides, now pitting the resistance against the alephs (which are numerous but perhaps easier to defeat) and a dying universe (which they were already facing but only in the background of a more immediate threat). Also worth noting that the resistance, in their most desperate moment, called on the Annihilation Wave to help them, worrying that it would win out and turn on them, only to watch as the Builders easily turned them inwards on themselves, potentially destroying the Annihilation Wave. It serves as a final blow to the resistance here but, in the grand scheme of the universe, it could mean more. Guys, the Annihilation Wave imploded and it's a backdrop in this event. That's how much is happening. Good stuff. Now let's see what's happening with Thanos.

New Avengers 11
Hickman (w) and Deodato (a) and F. Martin (c)

The Illuminati (minus Black Bolt) have arrived at another incursion point in the middle of the Earth's war against Thanos. When they arrive at the point and just as they realize they have to use the horrible antimatter weapon they've created, an Aleph falls from the other world into theirs and beckons them to meet its master. They go, with the promise of a way to destroy worlds. The Aleph's master, of course, is a Builder, though a Builder from the universe that had contained the now incurring world. These Builders side with the Builders of the 616 who have decided that destroying Earth(s) could save the universes as a whole and know that the 616 has defeated its Builders, as the Builder who escaped to another universe in Avengers (above) escaped to the world that's now incurring. Complicated, though the Builder waves away any thought of coincidence by saying that a wounded swimmer swims to the nearest island and this incurring world is certainly the nearest universe. The Builders explain to the Illuminati that the Earths need to be destroyed and release them back to their own world before using their world-killer to destroy the incurring world. They ask why the Illuminati, possessing a power that can destroy worlds, has not destroyed its own to save the universe. Meanwhile, Thanos' army is devastating Wakanda. As a backdrop.

Guys, this event has just so much going on. In typical New Avengers fashion, this issue is certainly very complicated and forces you to realize a few extra things about Builders if you didn't already know. For example, every universe seems to have them and they're all pretty attuned to what the others are thinking, though some may have different ideas. Once you kind of get that, the rest of the issue falls pretty neatly into place. As if that weren't enough, though, for the first time in its long history (barring immense and sudden Phoenix-powered tidal waves), Wakanda's walls have been breached and Thanos' army, led strategically by Corvus Glaive and physically by Proxima Midnight, is in the Golden City. Shuri is forced to pull her troops back to regroup, allowing Thanos, Corvus, and Proxima to the Necropolis, where they don't find the gem they're looking for but manage to find the world-destroying weapon (which Thanos describes as "delightfully unexpected") and the imprisoned Terrax and Black Swan. He does not free them but he certainly takes note. You guys. There's so much going on. The next New Avengers, as I pointed out above, won't come out until after the Infinity main event has finished. Very curious to see how that plays out.

This week's picks

Let's assume that you do not have exorbitant wealth and thus don't want to but every comic that came out this past week. Let's also assume that you waited until Sunday to choose which books you wanted (BETTER HOPE THEY'RE NOT SOLD OUT). You've counted your pennies and now you're wondering which three books you should buy. DON'T WORRY, I'VE GOT THIS.

New Avengers 1

Honestly, buy this book. I'm hoping that the series maintains this pace and beauty and these characters (okay look, this issue was way more about Black Panther than the rest of the Illuminati and that would be OKAY BY ME, but I also like much of the Illuminati), but even if it peters off a little bit, it should still be a good series. That's how neat this first book was. I'm expecting it to stay good but this issue is very much a reason to spend your hard-earned money on COMIC BOOKS.






Daredevil: End of Days 4
This is going to depend on your feelings about Daredevil and on the rest of this series and on possible alternate futures so we're kind of banking on a lot here. But the art, by itself, is worth checking in on this book. The mystery is good, if a little dulled by now, and Ben Urich is a likable protagonist, as he's always been. We'll see how it moves, though I expect it'll be a reasonably good series that kind of drags on a bit as we see what's become of Daredevil's corner of the Marvel Universe before getting a jam-packed final issue or two.





Red She-Hulk 61

I know, I didn't think I was going to recommend this either. I was leaning towards Iron Man but Iron Man was the wrapping up of a good arc and the intro to what will probably be another good arc but it left this issue a little slowed down the middle. It's not bad and if you're an Iron Man fan it's probably more worth checking out than Red She-Hulk (and you probably will have already decided that), but Red She-Hulk surprises me with how much it has going on. I like the two separate Hulk personalities mixed with Betty's personality, I like the Tesla-as-guide-through-scientific-way-to-see-the-future (which I didn't really mention in this review as it happened a couple issues ago primarily but it's still all linked) and I like the SHIELD tie-in. I think big things are afoot, dear reader, and we'll see where they land us.



Overall kind of felt like a soft week. The stand-outs were pretty good but drop off a little after New Avengers. I have liked the Iron Man series so far, but this issue was a kind of in-between issue so I didn't necessarily find it as engaging as the ones I picked here. Still, comics are worth reading. Check these out if you're looking for somewhere to start.

My ten most anticipated books of 2013

RING IN THE NEW YEAR. I hope everyone is having a good 2013 so far, now that we're a solid 10 hours in. I'll be the first to say it: I'm proud of us. I'm proud of you, I'm proud of me, look how far we've come in such a short 10 hours. Why, just 11 hours ago, we were in that year when everyone thought we were going to die and look at us now! So advanced!

Right, here are ten of the reasons I was thrilled that 2012 wasn't the end of humanity.

Avengers

Also charts. I'm a sucker for charts.

I'm glad that, alphabetically speaking, Avengers is first on this list because, as you will soon see, it's a bit of a running theme of things I'm interested in for 2013. With Marvel NOW! comes a wave of new writers to books (not new writers, just new to this respective book, sorry for the vagueness, won't happen again until it does) and boy do I think this part of the Universe needs it. I have varied feelings for Brian Michael Bendis. I think he's done a great deal of good in the Marvel Universe. I am also almost entirely averse to his last few years on Avengers and New Avengers. New blood is good blood in this case and, after a strong first two issues, I'm excited to see where Avengers goes from here.


Captain America

Haha, no Cap. No good. But we appreciate your spirit

I said yesterday that Cap is my favorite character in the Marvel Universe. I also said that Brubaker's run did phenomenal things for him so I was terribly sad to see him go. However, even more hawkeyed readers will recognize that I had something of a love affair with Rick Remender's X-Force book, recently ended. So now he takes over Cap, sends him to what appears to be an alternate reality and/or planet and, by issue two, has stranded him there for a year. He also had longtime on-and-off girlfriend Sharon Carter propose to him off-panel and currently has Cap raising a pseudo-son in a Cable-Hope parallel. Well. We'll see, anyway, after issue three comes out, if I have to redact that. Look, I'm thrilled for this series to continue, is what I'm saying.


Hawkeye
Hawkeyed readers will note that I said the word "hawkeyed" in the last entry as well and spell-check is insisting that it's not a word. I also said "Hawkeye" in my favorite books of 2012 and, as such, it's the only book that will make both lists despite not changing appearances in Marvel NOW! Whatever, it's still a young book, I'm fully warranted in picking it for both favorite of 2012 and anticipated of 2013. LOOK, I'm really enjoying it. If you're not reading it, you should be. It's aiming bigger and better still, but layers have been added to Clint that we haven't seen before, layers that can't really come out when he's splitting time with a team in a book. Definitely worth reading the 2012 chronicles and definitely worth checking out the 2013 entries.

Indestructible Hulk

After Jason Aaron's memorable run on Hulk in the wake of Fear Itself, not to mention his appearance in The Avengers and his character in Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, I'm pretty firmly on the Hulk bandwagon. Every time he appeared outside of his own book, it seemed to always follow the same formula: "Oh no, it's the Hulk! He has to be stopped! Wait, he seems to be helping! Maybe he's misunderstood! Goodbye Hulk, perhaps friend, perhaps enemy!" Marvel has wisely steered away from that in recent years, preferring to dissect why people react this way and play on it. I like the new turn and I'll trust Mark Waid after Daredevil made yesterday's list. Leinil Yu is also always to be trusted.

Journey into Mystery
I bemoaned the lack of female-driven books in Marvel yesterday while similarly moaning about how great Captain Marvel has been. Captain Marvel, like Hawkeye, has my interest in the coming year, though I still like Hawkeye a tad more. HOWEVER, Journey into Mystery is switching away from Kieron Gillen's kid Loki and into Kathryn Immonen's Lady Sif. We're three issues and several bodies in already and this promises to have all the action inherent to a book about warriors and all the character traits I associate with my admittedly limited knowledge of Sif. She's Heimdall's sister, she's a badass, she's got a great helmet, and she very much would like to be rightfully seen as the best warrior in Asgard. Pick it up before we dive too far into the plot and you get left behind.

New Avengers

SNAP, I also always forget Epting is drawing it.
THIS BOOK WILL BE RAD.

Like I said earlier, I wasn't thrilled by New Avengers over the last couple years. This upset me because I really adored most of the team. I'm not a big Luke Cage or Jessica Jones fan (which, sadly for me, happened to be the majority of the book) but I am big on Iron Fist, Doc Strange, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Ms./Captain Marvel, and Daredevil. My not feeling a particular affinity for the book was one of my bigger disappointments over the last year. You know who else I'm a big fan of, though? The Illuminati (stay out of this, REED). They'll highlight at least the start of this book and all of my affections for Black Panther, Namor, Black Bolt, Beast (he's in there now, okay, just deal with it), and Iron Man will likely come just gushing out of me. Guys. I really love Black Panther.

Secret Avengers

I really hope this book is good. This is the book, of all of these that I'm excited about in the coming year, that I can't help giggling about when I think of it. The team seems like it will have Hawkeye, Black Widow, Mockingbird, Taskmaster, a new Iron Patriot, Hulk, and occasionally Winter Soldier. I saved those two for last INTENTIONALLY (good writing, guys) because all I want to read, every day, is Hulk interacting with Bucky. LOOK, except for the new Iron Patriot (who I know nothing about but I wouldn't be surprised if it was Rhodey with a tie-in to the new Iron Man movie), I know and love everyone I just mentioned. The downside I see is that the team seems to be run by or at least involve Maria Hill and I hate Maria Hill. Sorry dudes. Also, it has to do with memory implant technology and we'll see how that goes. Whatever, I'm pumped, you should be too.

Superior Spider-Man

I think I proved that I was rather touched by Dan Slott's Amazing Spider-Man 700 in my first post in this blog. I'm a long-time Spider-Man/Peter Parker fan (as I think most Marvel fans can claim). I'm still a little shell-shocked by the events of that issue, but I am intrigued about what happens next. I don't know what to expect out of Superior Spider-Man. I don't know the challenges he'll face, the way he'll handle the challenges, the way others will react to them, the way he'll react to others reacting to him. I don't know anything about this book. This is uncharted waters, at least in my eyes, and I'm looking forward to seeing where we end up.




Thor: God of Thunder

I like grand, epic, sprawling stories, particularly if they're done right. I also like stories tied to religion. For necessary reasons (such as Asgard appearing on Earth), Marvel has strayed away from the "gods" association to Thor and the Asgardians for a while. I don't think that's a bad idea, per se, because you don't want to drive it into the ground and they're cast as not-really-but-sort-of gods anyway. Confusing, that. The first arc, however, of Thor: God of Thunder, has dealt with a story spanning hundreds or thousands of years, a story of a god-killer hunting down and eliminating gods. We know nothing about its motives or its background, only what we've seen as its pertained to Thor. We've seen three Thors; young and arrogant Thor, modern-day and heroic Thor, and Odin-esque and last-god-standing Thor. This story is something to watch. Also, Esad Ribic's art is, as always, phenomenal and surreal.

Uncanny Avengers

This book makes the cut for a couple reasons, edging out the surprise start to Avengers Arena, both upcoming X-Force books, and the Kieron Gillen-Jamie McKelvie led Young Avengers book. The first and most basic, as some readers will no doubt predict, is Rick Remender. I inherently trust him after X-Force. I also like when one writer has a chance to write two characters regularly in two different environments (it doesn't hurt if that writer is writing Captain America, no, but I also liked when Remender handled Venom in Venom and Secret Avengers, for example). I also find the base team that we already know to exist as pretty encouraging. I love Cap and Thor (and their relationship) and Wolverine, I like Havok and Scarlet Witch, and Rogue grows on me pretty regularly. Remender has also hinted that we'll soon see them come up against Red Skull, Kang, and Apocalypse, all at once. If that doesn't make you want to read this book, I don't know what will.


That's it for me today. We're quickly approaching a new Wednesday. My first full week of reviews is imminent. I'm sorry in advance.