She-Hulk #7 – Review

By: Charles Soule (story), Javier Pulido (art), Muntsa Vicente (colors)

The Story: Ant-Man and Hellcat cut She-Hulk down to size.

The Review: I’m sure Soule had his reasons, but it was still kind of bizarre for him to break off the one ongoing mystery of this series, just as it was really starting to take off. For one thing, his choice required all the characters involved to suddenly decide the case they had dedicated themselves to investigating wasn’t worth the effort anymore, going against all of their usual tenacity. That inconsistency would nearly be a plot hole if Soule hadn’t suggested a touch of the supernatural might be involved.

Still, shelving the Blue File for the time being allows Soule to take another stab at that delicate genre balance between superhero and legal drama, and he succeeds this issue. Past premises have been heavy on the law, light/repetitive with the vigilantism, but this one reverses that trend: Rufus, an inventor working out of Jen’s office building, wants her to negotiate a contract for the purchase of his and his partner Reza’s shrink-ray technology, but he needs her to find Reza first. Here’s the wrinkle: Reza, in a fit of proprietary rage, may have shrunken himself into hiding.

Daredevil #5 – Review

By: Mark Waid (story), Chris Samnee (art), Javier Rodriguez (colors)

The Story: When Daredevil isn’t enough to save the day, we need Foggy Nelson!

The Review: In the superhero world, much as in real life, it’s the lot of the supporting characters to be overshadowed, overlooked, marginalized by the heroes they support. The heroes can’t get along without them; how often do you see our costumed protagonists triumph thanks to the timely save or quick thinking of their faithful companions? Yet these brave men and women are rarely gratified by public admiration, even though they take relatively greater risks in involving themselves.

No one exemplifies this hapless lot better than Foggy, the very definition of everyman: average looks, flabby, intelligent, prone to fear and bravery in equal measure. As if he hasn’t already suffered enough as Matt’s best friend, now he faces the prospect of having to completely abandon his normal life for one as a hidden invalid. That’s a raw deal, any way you look at it.

Indestructible Hulk #18 – Review

by Mark Waid (Writer), Jheremy Raapack, Miguel Sepulveda, Tom Grummett (Artists), Val Staples (Colorist)

The Story: With the effect of the bomb Banner had built now understood, it would be a shame of something horrible were to happen to someone…

The Review: There are always some creators that we care more about than others. It’s a sad fact, but one that is especially true for everyone. Some prefer Jonathan Hickman over Matt Fraction, some prefer Grant Morrison over Alan Moore and other have preferences over some unpopular creators. Subjectivity and personal tastes being the key here, there are simply some creators in which we have quite a lot of faith in.

Mark Waid is one of those for me. Even though not all of his work is especially amazing, the man did produce a superb run on Fantastic Four, wrote some terrific JLA stories, made Kingdom Come and a good lot of other really great things even nowadays. With such a notable amount of work of quality under his name, I have a lot of faith in him as a writer, which can act as a curse sometimes when reading some of the materials of lesser quality even he can produce.

His tenure on Hulk and his stories, while backed by a genuinely good concept and with a really great first batch of issues, hasn’t been nearly as good as some of the previous stuff he did, to be overtly frank. While filled with some very nice ideas, the execution isn’t as good as the very concepts behind them most of the time, which doesn’t make the book the best thing he is writing right now.

This issue, however, does provide some rather interesting ideas and some potent character work from the writer. The way he present Hank Pym and how other scientists and their reaction to the discovery of just what Banner was planning with his bomb makes for some rather good moments, playing quite a bit with super-science as well as the bond between man delving into the subjects all the time. The relationship between those people as well as the quest of Bruce Banner for their respect makes for a rather enjoyable aspect of this issue.

Revisiting Avengers Forever

by Kurt Busiek, Roger Stern (Writers), Carlos Pacheco, Jesus Merino (Artists), Steve Oliff, Olyoptics.com, Graphic Color Works (Colorists)

There are several stories that are hold with high regard in the industry. Marvels, Kingdom Come, Watchmen and many others are such stories that people are still talking about to this very day, leaving an impact that can be debated for hours amongst fans. Most of them are cherished for their unique stories or with their presentation, which is the stuff that comic fans are living for. Still, amongst all of those critical darlings, there are some stories that represent either a specific character or concept at its best, like Batman: Year One or Daredevil: Born Again, which can be used as the summary and explanation of why this specific character is great.

Avengers Forever is sometimes referred to as one of the very pinnacle of the Avengers franchise, namely the pre-Bendis era of the title. Written by Kurt Busiek of Marvels and Astro City fame, it tries to hold the very essence of what makes the Avengers what they are while telling a story of cataclysmic proportions. Still, with the present era of Avengers being definitely different than the previous one written by such like Roy Thomas or Kurt Busiek himself. With such a big disparity between styles, can this book actually provide entertainment with a more modern outlook on it?

Indestructible Hulk #17 – Review

by Mark Waid (Writer), Clay Mann, Seth Mann, Miguel Sepulveda (Artists), Val Staples (Colorist)

The Story: The top scientists of the world are trying to solve the terrigenesis problem. It’s a pity that Bruce Banner does not want to play ball…

The Review: I have a lot of respect for Mark Waid. As a writer, he has done and participated in many books I have enjoyed, some that I even love. Kingdom Come, Superman: Birthright, 52 and many other of his work are stuff I re-read even to this day and his modern stuff, like his Daredevil run, are definitely very enjoyable. However, his run on Indestructible Hulk has been somewhat inconsistent. Very enjoyable at times and merely decent at times, it seems that this title fits the titular character quite well in term of mood swings. However, with the new arc dealing with Inhumanity properly starting, does Mark Waid provide readers with an issue more associated with quality than missed opportunities?

It’s a mixed result, for the most part, as some of the very best elements of the book are showcased, while some of the weaker one are present as well. Mark Waid has a particular style that can adapt itself to many heroes and concepts, but it does seem like he is struggling a bit on this particular title.

Avengers A.I #4 – Review

by Sam Humphries (Writer) André Lima Araujo (Artist), Frank D’Armata (Colorist)

The Story: Vision tries to calm the people of the Diamond from Dimitrios while the rest of the team try their best to pick up this A.I. city.

The Review: Better be ambitious than be dull. From my perspective, it’s always more entertaining to see an author try to infuse some newer or expansive elements rather than play it safe. It’s not always the safest way to write a solid issue in terms of plot and characterization, but comics have a particular potential for craziness, especially cape comics.

It is why it’s especially disappointing to read this issue of Avengers A.I., as Sam Humphries barely use many of the interesting additions he created for his series. While he does try to add some twists to the conflicts of the book and to some characters, it either doesn’t go far enough or simply never connect in a relevant way to the issue as a whole.

The first place where Humphries seems to go astray is with the Diamond, the strongest concept of the series so far. Full of potential and with some of the better concepts already in place thanks to the previous issue, the advancements and some of the good ideas seems to be dropped in favour of the plot, with Dimitrios and Vision being put to the forefront instead of any development of this decidedly great idea. It’s a shame that the Diamond is delegated to the background, both literally and figuratively to put super heroics to the forefront, diminishing in the process what could have separated this title from the more regular cape fare.

Captain America #11 – Review

Rick Remender (Writer) Carlos Pacheco, Klaus Janson (Artists), Dean White (Colorist)

The Story: Returning to present-day America, both Steve and Jet needs to adjust themselves a bit after all these crazy sci-fi adventures.

The Review: ”Bold new direction” are words that many readers are used to hear in the past few years. Whenever a new creative team, or at least a new writer comes in for the ride, those words, or at least synonyms, are pronounced, but aren’t always exactly respected in ways that actually live up to the ”bold” part of the statement.

Rick Remender, however, really went there as he picked up the title from Ed Brubaker, moving away from the espionage corner to something more akin to Jack Kirby: crazy sci-fi. The adventure of Steve Rogers in Dimension Z were a far cry to the political and world-war II inspired stories that preceded them, which did cement the fact that this was an actual new take on the character. However, now that the first mega-arc has concluded, where will Remender go with the character?

This issue do try to answer that question, giving a slower pace with more character moments in order to counteract the high-octane action and ideas that permeated the previous chapter. Remender takes a lot more time with Steve and Rogers, showing how they react to both old and new encounters with Steve being healed by Bruce Banner and Hank Pym, while Jet Black gets interrogated by Marcus Johnson. The weariness of Steve and the impetuous attitude of Jet comes off as natural to their characters, considering what they went through.

Avengers A.I #3 – Review

Sam Humphries (Writer) André Lima Araujo (Artist), Frank D’Armata (Colorist)

The Story: Vision learns about a whole society of A.I living in a place called the Diamond as the rest of the team discovers how humanity resents robots now that Dimitrios just did his thing with their bank accounts.

The Review: New series have a hard time. They have to sell you their concepts, their characters, their themes and make sure they can hold on the reader’s attention for the long game. Whether they are independent titles or capes, they have much of the same trouble, though of varying degrees if they try something that hasn’t been tried before.

Such is the woe of Avengers A.I, a title that try to incorporate the idea of sentient artificial intelligences trying to be accepted as peoples by the regular populace. While the idea of a whole slew of beings having trouble being recognized isn’t anything new (cue X-Men joke), there were some decidedly interesting ideas that could be developed from such a premise. However, the previous issues never really did take advantage of the setting and the themes, which was definitely disappointing. Still, does Sam Humphries manage to make the most of it this time around?

Surprisingly, yes, as he brings a very interesting idea that truly does relate to the theme of artificial intelligence in a scene focusing between Dimitrios and Vision. Introducing the Diamond, a whole digital city full of various artificial persons and programs living in a society that is unique to them. It is a wonderful concept that gets explored in a small dose in this issue, as some of the rules, their roles and how they perceives themselves is touched upon a bit while Vision and Dimitrios share some small dialogue between each other. It’s almost a shame that the humanity versus A.I debate is one of the bigger focus of this issue, as this concept has so many potential, it demands to have more focus put on it.

Avengers A.I. #2 – Review

By: Sam Humphries (Writer), André Lima Araujo (Artist), Frank D’Armata (Colorist)

The Story: As the team deals with a Sentinel, Dimitrios appears on stage to preach his message.

The Review: Pacing is important. It may seem like an obvious and bland statement, yet it is also true. If a comic goes on too fast or does not allow enough space for its plot and character to properly develop and become interesting, it makes for a mess of a comic that turn out to be rather unsatisfying for the readers.

In an unfortunate matter of fact, this is exactly what plagues this issue of Avengers A.I. as Sam Humphries storm through a lot of concepts, ideas and scenes in order to bring it to a point that could have been explored further down the line. While the idea of a quantum hyperactive being, a sentinel gaining sentience and the arrival of Dimitrios could make for some potentially good action and plot, everything seems rushed in order to arrive to a certain point, leaving these elements as vague or simply laid out in inconclusive terms.

One of those elements that could have benefited the most from a slower pace would be Alexis, a new character that had been introduced as the big reveal in the final page of the latest issue. Instead of revealing to us who she is or how the character reacts to what she is, she is simply thrown in, moving her from point A to B without us readers seeing how and why she got there. The introduction of the character is not helped as she is barely explained, without motivations or true showcase of her ability beyond origami. Mystery characters can become interesting, yet there is a need for a basis for the readers to care, something that Humphries does not provide.

Avengers A.I #1 – Review

By: Sam Humphries (Writer), André Lima Araujo (Colorist) Frank D’Armata (Colorist)

The Story: The self-replicating virus that killed Ultron is kind of becoming a problem. Thankfully, Hank Pym has a solution.

The Review: Sam Humphries is a strange beast. No, I do not think that he is a rather weird creature rather that he kind of baffles me as a writer. He seems to be able to bring new ideas to the table, to be willing to shake up the status quo in the books that he is writing, yet not all of these qualities managed to give us a book that I can truly say satisfied me. I’ve read his Uncanny X-Force a bit and I am kind of sorry to say that I was less than impressed by his tenure on Ultimate Comics: Ultimates, which made me drop the title. Why am I actually giving him a chance then when he has disappointed me a number of times?

Simply enough, it is because I like robots and Hank Pym, which made me willing to give him a chance on this title featuring both these elements. However, does he succeed in giving us an issue that is compelling enough for us readers to warrant coming back for another issue?

Age of Ultron #9 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Brandon Peterson (Artist), Carlos Pacheco (Penciler), Roger Bonet (Inker), Paul Mounts, Jose Villarrubia (Color Artists), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: I’ll say this: Wolverine’s lucky that Doc Brown ain’t an Avenger. He’d have a few harsh words for the hairy canuck right about now, least of which would be “Great Scott!” Then again, perhaps it’s for the best. All Marty ever gave back was a “Gee, Doc!” as he gurned a weary frown; Wolverine would probably have gutted him from top to bottom with a “Stick that in your Flux Capacitor!” Either way, the Space-Time Continuum would still be stretched to breaking point…as may be your levels of patience and willing sense of disbelief at this point.

Age of Ultron #5 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Bryan Hitch (Penciler), Paul Neary (Inker), Paul Mounts (Colorist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

Review: By issue count Age of Ultron #5 represents the halfway point of Marvel’s latest event story, even though it feels like it’s only just wrapped up the introduction. By the end of this chapter some of our heroes are winging their way to the future while some are headed to the past. Both share the same goal – the ultimate destruction of Ultron. You could argue (and many have) that Bendis has taken too long to get to this point, squandering the impact of a great idea in deference to a protracted bout of decompression, but I have to respectfully disagree. Without the punishingly grim nature and methodical plotting of this extended intro I don’t think the final page of this issue would have carried half the resonance that it does – and that final page is a doozy.

Daredevil #24 – Review

By: Mark Waid (story), Chris Samnee (art), Javier Rodriguez (colors)

The Story: And this is why you never see Daredevil with a seeing-eye dog.

The Review: If you read superhero comics, it is absolutely crucial that you have the ability to stamp down uncomfortable questions before you even ask them.  Reading these things requires a major suspension of disbelief and even one seemingly innocuous question can throw the whole thing out of whack.  The one that comes most naturally, of course, is: if these people have that kind of power, why don’t they use it to help people beyond beating down costumed villains?

Whenever I read Marvel comics in particular, that question pops up a lot.  Between Reed Richards, Hank Pym, and Tony Stark, you’ve got some of the most brilliant minds in their known universe at work, and yet none of them seem to devote much time to, say, curing cancer.  As if to apologize for this strange disconnect, Hank remarks in this issue, “Some things are beyond all our powers, aren’t they?”

Secret Avengers #37 – Review

By Rick Remender (Writer), Matteo Scalera (Artist), Matthew Wilson (Colorist)

The Story: The Secret Avengers tells Captain America how their latest mission ended and how everything ended and who were the heroes and villains of this story.

The Review: Secret Avengers always had a tough time as a title, ever since its inception. When Ed Brubaker launched the title, we all had huge expectations about just what we’d find in the book, only for us to find that he was not as great at writing team books as he was writing about crime or espionage. Then after came Nick Spencer for the Fear Itself tie-ins, giving us some small stories about some of the more neglected team-members during the first twelve issues. Right after came Warren Ellis with a number of delightful one-shots for six issues, only to leave right after to let Rick Remender on the title.

The expectations were huge on the title. Not only was this the writer of Uncanny X-Force, the smash hit of the time, but he had Gabriel Hardman and some new team members. Taking some of the established points from Uncanny X-Force, most notably Father, Remender tried his best to continue the plot points inserted by other writers before him while making his own story along the way. While it is true it was nowhere near as good as the title that made Rick Remender reputation at Marvel, it is still noteworthy to say that Secret Avengers was still a good book worthy to follow months after months and this final issue is a testament to all of that.

Finishing Father’s story with the nano-mist infection and the rise of the Descendants, Rick Remender does so with panache, giving us plenty of actions with some of the more highlighted characters from his series, like Captain Britain, Hawkeye and Venom. Unfortunately, other characters like Black Widow, Beast and Valkyrie are close to inexistent here, which is a shame considering the fact that the three were part of the title from the very start. Still, what we do get here is fantastic action, with Captain Britain kicking all sort of mechanical gears, Venom resuming his fight with Black Ant and Hawkeye coming to grip with the hard decision of destroying the Descendants.

All of these scenes contribute to the tension, even though we do know they make out of it okay considering the very first scene of the comic. There are some very nervous scenes in the comics, especially with Hawkeye and his view of the critical decision he has to do. The way it is written and presented, it makes for a great scene, cementing it with the dialogue and the way the panels are zooming on the key elements. It seems that Rick Remender always has key elements in his mind, be it characters, specific actions or concepts, it makes his work seem very continuous and seamless. Right in this finale, he has placed at least three plot points that could be exploited in further series of his or in the entire Marvel universe. It makes me hope that his contributions will be seen in other titles or at least continued by other writers.

Secret Avengers #36 – Review

By: Rick Remender (Writer), Matteo Scalera (Artist), Matthew Wilson (Colorist)

The Story: The Secret Avengers manages to get on the scene to fight Father and his plan for massive robotic evolution.

The Review: Rick Remender, much like Jonathan Hickman, is a man with a plan. With each arc and characters he gets to write, he builds a plan that leads inevitably to a great confrontation, a crux if you will. He did so in Uncanny X-Force, in Fear Agent, and he does so right now in Secret Avengers.

Many of his characters are now set in place, for a grand finale involving all the major players. Be it with some grand choices they have to make or confrontations they had to face, most of the characters are now going against the massive threat that had been built from the very moment Rick Remender had begun writing this series and Father in Uncanny X-Force. There is a lot of action in this issue and a lot of very big and decisive moments, most of which are a joy to read.

Avengers #34 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (story), Brandon Peterson,  Mike Mayhew, Jim Cheung, Leinil Yu, Mark Morales, Mike Deodato, Olivier Coipel, Terry Dodson & Walter Simonson (art), Scott Hanna & Rachel Dodson (inks), Jason Keith, Laura Martin & Paul Mounts (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story:  The Avengers work to escape the microverse after one more big fight with centaur kingpin Lord Gouzar.

The Review:  I’m a big fan of Bendis and, as such, I’ve stuck with his Avengers books for a long, long time now.  Suffice it to say, it’s been a rocky road with highs and lows.  With that said, he’s done a lot for the franchise and so I really do wish I could give a glowing review for this giant-sized farewell issue.  I mean, the sheer amount of heart he puts into his lengthy farewell letter at the end of the issue makes me really want this issue to be a great one.  But it isn’t.

Quite honestly, it’s been pretty clear for a while now that Bendis perhaps overstayed his welcome on Avengers; ideas were being recycled, certain issues felt phoned in, and this issue really only evidences that fact.  Everything just feels so derivative and phoned in that it’s hard to believe much passion and effort went into its creation from Bendis.  Given how sincere his farewell letter was, you’d figure that he’d really try to blow us away with this issue, but perhaps he just doesn’t have it in him anymore.

Avengers #33 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (story), Terry Dodson (pencils), Rachel Dodson (inks), Jason Keith (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story:  The Avengers try to save the Wasp from Lord Gouzar and leave behind the Microverse once and for all.

The Review:  Comics like this are really frustrating, particularly when it comes to reviewing, let alone grading them.  What the hell do you do with a comic that is so perfectly inoffensive?  Bendis and the Dodsons give us that this month, providing us with an issue that is completely passable on every front but not a whole lot more than that.  There’s not a lot to praise, but there’s also nothing to really gripe about either.

That being said, in giving us a by the numbers “fun” Avengers story, it can definitely be argued that this issue feels a bit like comfort food.  It’s archetypal “big” superhero comics and everything is adequately and professionally done.  As such, it’s a nice, easy read and a fun way to pass the time, without causing any real irritation or frustration.

At the very least, Bendis gives us a nicely balanced comic here – there’s a good amount of action, plot progression, snappy dialogue, and humour, as well as genuine emotion in the reunion of the Pyms.  Overall, it’s a fairly rounded experience that never drags.

Dark Avengers #182 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (story), Neil Edwards (pencils), Terry Pallot (inks), Chris Sotomayor (colors)

The Story: Thunderbolts versus the Dark Avengers = Michael Jackson versus Justin Bieber.

The Review: Much as we claim to prefer surprises and spontaneity in our lives, I’m guessing that in reality, we’d hate it if the real world was that unpredictable.  The random weekend trip or birthday party at work aside, I think most of us would be perfectly content if more things went the way we expect them to.  The one place where we will never enjoy predictability is in our fiction.  Lord forgive the story where you can guess what’ll happen next, without much effort.

Unfortunately, Dark Avengers doesn’t have a prayer left.  Last month, probably like most of you, I saw Boss Cage’s turnaround coming from a mile away, and once that happened, I knew the Thunderbolts coming back to the present day to kick their replacements’ butts and save the world from a semi-hypothetical dystopian future was guaranteed.  It’s one of those situations where I’m actually a little sad to be proven correct (and believe me, I love being right).

Daredevil #19 – Review

by Mark Waid (writer), Chris Samnee (artist), Javier Rodriguez (colorist), and Joe Caramagna (letterer)

The Story:  As Matt’s mind falls apart, he finally figures out who’s behind all the insanity.

The Review:  While it’s not always had the same amount of success, one thing I’ve loved and respected Waid for doing in this series is truly experimenting and expanding on the type of stories that can be told with Daredevil.  With guys like Miller, Bendis, and Brubaker defining the “Daredevil comic,” we got to a point where the “Daredevil comic” was by definition a gritty noir affair.  Throughout his run, Waid has tried to break free of that mold, throwing the Man Without Fear into different genres.

This month, he tosses Daredevil a bit more into the horror genre (right in time for Hallowe’en!).  It’s a subtle, toes in the water move at this point, but it’s definitely palpable, and it definitely works.  Having a main character who is just as unsure as the reader is about what is and what isn’t real makes for a turbulent read that keeps the reader engaged and just a little unsettled.  Matt’s lack of vision and his radar sense also become vulnerabilities in themselves and as things pop in and out of reality and the Spot’s power mess around with Matt’s surroundings, there is also something distinctly creepy about the way Samnee illustrations Matt’s radar-vision of the world.

Where the horror element really kicks in though his with returning villain, the Spot, now new and improved with a distinctly horror-movie appearance.  Waid and Samnee do a great job of emphasizing the creepier aspects of the villain’s powers, leading to some really great panels.  There’s just something naturally disturbing about scores of disembodied hands reaching out to grasp Matt from black portals.  I don’t know what it is, but it just gives me the heebie-jeebies.  The ending of the issue is also great – it’s completely ridiculous, visually, but is a classic sort of “muhuhaha” horror moment.

All this being said, I’ll admit: I have an axe to grind with this issue.  I thought Waid’s use of Foggy this month was nothing less than deplorable.  What Waid has Foggy do this month is complete and utter betrayal of Matt.  That, in itself, runs completely contrary to who Foggy Nelson is.  I don’t care that Foggy thought he was doing it for Matt’s own good or that he was drunk – it’s a massive betrayal and, as such, it cuts to the core of Foggy’s character and it, well, it just isn’t Foggy.  Frankly, we’ve seen Matt in direr straits than this during Bendis and Brubaker’s runs and never once did Foggy even think of betraying Matt in this manner.  Foggy’s actions this month are really out of the blue and make the character difficult to like and genuinely irritating, which is a very bad look for Foggy and one which he was never meant to have.  Given what he and Matt have been through and who Foggy is, it also makes little sense.

Dark Avengers #181 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (story), Neil Edwards (pencils), Terry Pallot (inks), Chris Sotomayor (colors)

The Story: We solved all our energy problems and the world’s still ending anyway.  Figures.

The Review: I just caught wind of the upcoming, new Thunderbolts series, which will feature an entirely different cast and set of creators.  While I certainly understand the promise of putting a major badass in charge of some of the most recognizable Marvel antiheroes, I simply think the idea has been tried and tested in Uncanny X-Force.  Besides, I seriously doubt the replacements will be nearly as much fun as the current crew.

Maybe I should amend that last bit and say, “nearly as much fun as the current crew used to be.”  Once upon a time, I looked forward to this series each month because I could depend on it to provide a solid, entertaining read.  Ever since it got rebranded, the energy and personality of the series has steadily declined until it has now become this bloated, overdone mass of inert chaos.

The Avengers #29 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Walter Simonson (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Jason Keith (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story:  The Avengers hunt down Rachel Summers in an attempt to neutralize the X-Men’s telepathic advantage.

The Review:  The main Avengers title has been frustrating me for a while now.  Despite being what should be Marvel’s flagship book and being helmed by a fantastic, generations-spanning creative team, the book has been flailing, seemingly without any meaningful direction.  This led to a frustrating arc where Bendis and Simonson did an inexplicable re-tread of a story that was already being told in Secret Avengers.  Sadly, this month continues that trend, this time with Jason Aaron’s Wolverine and the X-Men in its sights.  For reasons unknown, Marvel decided that it would be a good idea to have Bendis retcon a random issue of Wolverine and the X-Men, and not even  particularly good one at that, that came out June.

Dark Avengers #175 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (story), Declan Shalvey (art), Frank Martin Jr. (colors)

The Story: I can’t believe it’s not the Avengers!

The Review: Title changes do absolutely nothing for me, good or bad, unless they come with creative changes—or unless the new title is just plain heinous.  Dark Avengers may strike you as no less silly than Justice League Dark, but it’s no more silly either (and actually, it’s quite a bit less).  And since we have the exact same creative team as when the series was still Thunderbolts, what do I care if they change their name to Dark Avengers or The Kinda Evil, Kinda Not Squad?

Yes, that last one is a joke, but it does get to the essence of the team, no?  Only originally, it referred to the general, moral character of the members.  With the exception of Luke Cage, Songbird, and Mach-V (the fully reformed), the rest of the T-bolts all come with a funky mix of criminal tendencies and heroic aspirations.  This issue introduces a new set of ‘Bolts—and they are still called as such, so you have to question the point of renaming the book at all—and it turns out most of them are just plain villains.

Venom #17 – Review

By: Rick Remender & Cullen Bunn (writers), Kev Walker (pencils), Terry Pallot (inks), Chris Sotomayor (colors), and Joe Caramagna (letters)

The Story: Flash attempts to kill Crime-Master to extricate himself from his situation once and for all.

The Review:  The first thing to address with this issue are the two big additions to the creative team.  Honestly, co-writer Cullen  Bunn’s impact doesn’t at all change the issue and were it not for the credits page, this issue might as well have been written by Remender alone.  That’s a very good thing, as it means this issue follows the winning formula that’s fueled it for 16 issues or so and Bunn’s input only keeps that going, rather than changing anything up.  The desperate, gritty, and tragic narration by Flash, for instance, is still very much in play and as solid as ever.

The other big addition is Kev Walker on art.  Walker is a natural pick for a series like this, but he actually seems to tone down some of his idiosyncrasies.  For instance, his trademark blocky anatomy only shows up, slightly, in his take on Megatak (which ends up looking really cool).  Otherwise, Walker holds pretty true to the aesthetic and look established for the series by Tony Moore.  Much like Bunn, he doesn’t upset the formula.  As such, what we get is a comic that looks like one of those badass cartoons that played in the wee hours of the night on Cartoon Network (or Teletoon, for my fellow Canadians).  The highest praise I can give Walker’s art,  however, is that he is the only artist to draw an issue of Remender’s Venom that I truly felt did not fall short of Tony Moore’s work on the book.

Avengers vs. X-Men #3 – Review

By: Ed Brubaker (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Laura Martin (colors), and Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

The Story: Cap and Wolverine have a “discussion” regarding his actions on Utopia.

The Review: I figure a lot of readers are going to have a different interpretation of this issue, one that ends up being much more negative.  Why are the characters behaving so stupidly and resorting to violence so easily?  Why are they going directly against their clearly stated principles?  For more cynical readers, this will no doubt be ascribed to poor writing and “event storytelling.”

But I don’t think it’s that simple.  Rather, much like in the first issue of AvX, we’re finally being given an event that has heart and character moments and not just heroes smashing things.   I think the ease with which Cap and Wolverine resort to violence is a testament to their fraying at the edges under the pressure of this impending cataclysm, as well as the pandemonium of friends having become enemies.  That Cap behaves stupidly in so quickly throwing his fists isn’t poor writing at all – rather, it shows that he’s human.  He’s not some unassailable paragon.  Under tremendous stress, with the X-Men now enemies and the world turned upside down, Cap is slowly losing his cool, instead becoming more like….well, Tony Stark in his uglier days.  Stress is breaking these heroes and seeing events take their toll on their psyches is what makes this story feel meaningful and rife with significance and desperation.

New Avengers #60 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Stuart Immonen (pencils), Wade von Grawbadger (inks), Dave McCaig (colors), and Albert Deschesne (letters)

The Story: The Avengers try to remove the device attached to Luke Cage’s heart as Norman Osborn closes in.

What’s Good: The impending arrival of Osborn and the time limit that implies puts a heavy strain of tension on the entirety of this month’s issue, and Bendis does well in capturing the sense of desperation.  Everything feels properly “edge of your seat.”  More importantly, the pay-off of this cat and mouse game comes to a satisfying and humorous conclusion that will definitely make you smile, as the Avengers get one over the Iron Patriot.  The fact that they manage to seemingly pull off the impossible also continues the new trend of making the team look good after so many months underfoot.

The Hood’s presence was also solid this month.  With his new power boost, Parker reasserts himself in a big way, killing a character in a manner so simple and matter of fact that it’s hard not to be stunned.  But really, the best part of Bendis’ use of the character this month is that he actually makes Osborn sweat.  It was rather enjoyable seeing Osborn so genuinely frightened, even cowed, by the Hood.  With stones in hand, Parker of all people is becoming yet another factor that Osborn may have bitten off more than he can chew with.