AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #29: Another consistently solid issue of this title. There are some cheese-ball moments throughout, and the cliffhanger is paced far too quickly for it to have any sort of resonance (unless I’m forgetting things from previous issues). But those quibbles aside, A:TI continues to shine the light in the forgotten corners of the Marvel Universe, while still staying squarely in the middle. I’m going to be a little bummed if it gets canceled at the end of Dark Reign, but if the rumored Avengers Academy takes its place, and stays consistent to the tone presented here, I’m definitely on board.

DARK AVENGERS: ARES #1: Kieron Gillen continues to prove why he was made to write about gods and mortals, perfectly capturing Ares character here, as well as creating some indelible military images. Which is why its such a bummer that this suggests, at least, its going to tie into other comics at the end of the issue. It may not, who knows, but the first 20 or so pages are filled with brilliant menace. I hope the next issue is as good as this one, and doesn’t exactly follow up on the promise of the cliffhanger here.

DARK REIGN: THE LIST – PUNISHER: Now this is what the “List” books should have been all along. This is easily the biggest issue of the week, Marvel-wise, and if you ignore that the ending has been effectively spoiled for months now by Marvel itself, and take the book on its own merits, it kicks an ass and a half. My main problem with the List books so far is this: they purport to be Normie taking Dark Reign to the next level, attacking the heroes where they live. But they come off as attempts hampered by continuity, lack of change, and perhaps editorial decree (oh no! editors! run!). So you get lame things like sending Bullseye after Daredevil with Norman’s over-arching plan being, “Make Daredevil feel bad.” Or Norman’s plan to take down Clint Barton is to wait until he comes into Avengers Tower, and then arrest him. Or, my personal favorite, taking care of Namor once and for all by killing a character we haven’t seen in more than a decade (though I will admit that got to me). I think the key term there is “once and for all…” The endings of these one shots have felt very much like Norman going in loops (standing in for the authors), explaining how the result of the book was a big victory for him. The other problem I’ve had is that these plans have consistently had a reverse Acts of Vengeance feel to them. Rather than mixing things up, Norman sends the same villains who have previously gotten their butts handed to them multiple times by the hero, and expects they’ll be victorious this time. They’re not.

All of this, and I still haven’t talked about this issue, so here we go… And there are spoilers here: Norman decides to take care of the Punisher once and for all. Does he resurrect Jigsaw and send him after Frank? Heck no. He blows up everything in a five block radius around him. And when that doesn’t work, he sends hundreds of H.A.M.M.E.R. agents to kill him. And when that starts to work, he sends in Daken, who slices Frank Castle into tiny little pieces. And if you’re not sure that worked, the issue ends with tiny little pieces of Frank lying in a pile in a alleyway. The end.

Now, that is what I’m talking about. Plus, you’ve got John Romita Jr. drawing at the top of his game, Klaus Janson writing, and insane, over the top action courtesy of Rick Remender. If there’s one fault with this issue, it’s that we also get a preview of the next issue of Punisher (by Tony Moore and Rick Remender, hells yeah), and we know he’s not gone for long.

But like I said, on its own merits? This is a classic comic, and worth every penny.

DARK REIGN: THE LIST – WOLVERINE: Yeah, and then there’s this. Totally fine writing and art, Jason Aaron writing a fun, over the top story as usual, but read above for all my previous criticisms of the List books, and apply that here, too.

DARK REIGN: YOUNG AVENGERS #5: The resolution of this series is hampered a bit by the idea that I don’t think we’ll ever see these characters again, so its a little hard to get into their struggle. Also, though Paul Cornell’s scripting is reliably good, most of the last few issues of this mini have taken place in one warehouse, with the characters just talking. Kinda boring, honestly. I think there was potential here to have a new, Young Masters of Evil to counter the Young Avengers, but it was squandered on yet another recruitment drive story. Ah well.

FANTASTIC FOUR #572: People are really loving this run a lot, and… I’m not totally sold. Love Jonathan Hickman, LOVE Dale Eaglesham, and the inventiveness on display here is surprising and fun in all the right ways. But the situation with the Council of Reeds and the Celestials is resolved a little too quickly and easily, without using all the tools on display (hey, what about that room full of Dooms, huh?), and Reed’s emotional resolution with Sue, while nice, also feels a little quick. Plus, Hickman separates Johnny and Ben from the group before Reed even gets back. So we’re not gonna get a full group story for a while, which is a bummer. It’s possible Hickman is holding certain ideas and arcs in reserve, so we haven’t seen how this all plays out yet, but I’m not quite falling in love with this as hard as other people are. I’m still keeping with it, though, because its a well made comic, and I expect it’ll get even better, even if it isn’t grabbing me right now.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #19: Well, that situation was resolved way more quickly than I thought it would be. GotG is solid month after month, and its a thrill to see Kang, one of the most integral characters in the history of the Marvel U, back in the spotlight, however briefly.

HULK #16: Who is the Red She-Hulk? Who cares? And I mean that in a good sense, actually, because Loeb is finally remembering that comics are about characters, not just blow-em-ups and super-secrets. I could actually care less about the whole conspiracy angle, but like the attempt to give the Red Hulk some sort of character, and how more is revealed through the new Red She-Hulk. This is not high art by any means, but its been fun, and a step up for two issues in a row.

INCREDIBLE HERCULES #137: There’s nothing I don’t like about this book. Tying up the Amadeus Cho half of this particular arc, we get good emotion, great ideas, and lots of myths, just the way we like it. This book is great.

MS. MARVEL #46: Brian Reed made a pretty bold choice with this arc, to make Karla Sofen (Moonstone) the focus, and “hero” of the arc, while Carol Danvers is most decidedly the villain. And it works, while keeping them both on their sides of the fence anyway. I do think this fizzled a bit, starting far stronger than it ended, but we’re probably (hopefully) getting some follow up on this arc as we switch perspectives back to Danvers. Definitely one of the more underrated titles Marvel is publishing right now, and worth jumping on for next issue at least to check it out.

NEW AVENGERS #58: Bendis has really gotten his groove back on this arc. Its based in the characters, good action, and fun beats throughout. Hope it keeps up, ’cause this is a lot of fun.

NEW MUTANTS #6: The moment we have all been waiting for has finally come: Doug Ramsey is back. Okay, maybe only I was waiting for it, and herein lies the crux of this review: I can’t divorce myself from my feelings for Doug enough to properly review this issue. Everybody has that character, that one character they unequivocally love, and for me it was always Cypher. So… Yeah. Good issue, but I couldn’t read it without feeling kind of uncomfortable, because this isn’t even close to the Doug I know. Amping up his powers to treat combat as a “language” is cool in theory, but it does just come off as “Doug’s powers are lame, let’s figure out a way to make ‘em interesting.” Also, this is probably the 56th time he’s come back as a techno-organic being, so its lost its power a bit. Take this all with a very large grain of salt, by the way. If you haven’t already.

PUNISHER #10: Read this before The List. I would say that this has one of the most insane moments in Punisher history; so much so, it made me angry. And you wouldn’t like me when I’m… Can’t think of a word to finish that statement. Oh well!

SECRET WARRIORS #9: I keep going back and forth about this title. If it focuses on one character (say, Nick Fury or Phobos), I like it quite a bit. If it’s a team story, like this issue, I honestly can’t remember who all the Secret Warriors are, so it’s a little difficult to follow. Does that make me racist towards Secret Warriors? Probably.

ULTIMATE COMICS ARMOR WARS #2: Did Bryan Hitch ghost-pencil this? I swear to god, I didn’t realize this was Steve Kurth and not Hitch until I went back to check the title page. This is silly, the kind of “remixing old stories” that the Ultimate U was supposed to have left behind. I honestly don’t know if any of it would make any sense to someone who hasn’t read the main Marvel U. For someone who has, like myself, it’s a lark, but a negligible one.

ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS #3: Same thing here, with remixing Marvel U ideas… Except it kind of works, because Millar is drawing on his run on Ultimates, and skipping right over the Loeb stuff. Great art, big over the top globe trotting story, huge action… Just the way we like it.

X NECROSHA: Blackest Night begins here! Its actually unfortunate that this is coming so close to the heels of BN, though to the writer’s credit, it zips through the “Oh my god! Look who’s back alive!” thing much more quickly and efficiently. I’m not sold on this yet, but if you want the tapestry of the X-Men part of the universe for the next few months, you have to start here. Actually, read X-Force first, then this, then New Mutants. But yeah, start here. In the middle.

X-FACTOR #50: I would love to say this is a triumphant end of this title’s biggest arc, but… Well, X-Factor is always solid, and always fun, but this is a little too texty. And plotty. And wraps up a bunch of stuff that I didn’t really care about, so unfortunately the stuff I do care about, like Layla Miller’s secret origin, and what’s going on with Evil Madrox kind of get short shrift. That’s too bad, but at least we’re clearing the deck for a new start next issue, and hopefully more people will start picking it up.

X-FORCE #20: Basically a continuation of the X-23 series, this is hardcore, sad, and everything that is good about this comic on a regular basis.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #606: The Black Cat returns! This isn’t a spoiler, because it’s in an ad in every Marvel comic. And, you know, the cover. Anywho. I’m kind of getting repetitious with beating the “Spider-Man is as fun as it has ever been” drum, so here’s one particular aspect of this issue I found surprising in a negative way: it felt like a big step backwards for the Black Cat. Not that I don’t love the her and Spidey romance issues (creepy roof-sex aside), but she’s grown a LOT as a character in the intervening years, and doesn’t really deserve to find herself back with Spidey, yet again. Yeah, weird, I know. Other than that, relatively fun issue, but also a slight step down from the creepiness of Van Lente’s excellent Chameleon arc, and the gang-busters over-sized #605.

ANITA BLAKE, THE LAUGHING CORPSE – NECROMANCER #5: This preview had, without a doubt, the longest file name I’ve ever seen.

AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #28: Though this series continues to be good, it’s suffering from what a lot of books get after the main purpose, and the main creative team move on… This used to be the backbone of the Marvel U, and I used to recommend it to anyone who wanted to know what was going on in Marvel comics. It was a great refresher, good character stories, and great art, issue after issue. It still has most of that, but it’s no longer the backbone, it’s more of a, I don’t know, what’s an unimportant bone? The skull? Well, anyway, the series is still reflective of what’s happening in the Universe at large, but it no longer seems to be effecting it. I’m curious to see whether this title will stick around in the long run.

DARK REIGN: THE LIST – X-MEN ONE-SHOT: As a gigantic fan of John Byrne’s work on Alpha Flight and the Fantastic Four, there’s a page in here that absolutely killed me and ripped my heart out like nothing else I’ve read this week. Beyond that, Matt Fraction turns in a reliably solid story directly following off the Utopia cross-over, and though I usually swoon over Alan Davis’ work, this was not my favorite issue he’s ever done. And in the larger view, I’m finding that this List event, while a solid series of comics, is not really delivering the lasting change that was promised. Like most of Norman Osborn’s projects, its all spin.

DARK X-MEN: THE CONFESSION ONE-SHOT: I would contend that this issue goes in the exact opposite direction of what you’d expect to happen. I’d also contend that maybe this is a good thing. And for those of you expecting big action, well… It’s called the Confession, not the Explosion. Nice one, Zalben.

ENDER’S SHADOW: COMMAND SCHOOL #1: All of these series so far are very, very good, but the books about Bean are a step above. I wouldn’t say this issue is necessarily a good jumping on point, but both of the Command School books are far more focused than the Battle School books. Makes me want to read the actual novels, and that’s a compliment.

FANTASTIC FORCE #4: Two points about this: 1) I wonder if, in Hickman’s book, when Ben and Johnny visit Nu-Earth, this series will be referenced at all, and 2) Last page has the most ridiculous, over the top thing Wolverine has ever done in the entire history of published Wolverine comics. This is not hyperbole.

FANTASTIC FOUR #571: The promise of last issue’s final page is fulfilled, if not in full, then at least in satisfying fashion. Plus! Though we’re pretty much focused on Reed(s), everybody else’s dialogue reads far more smoothly than it did last issue. Also! I’m really starting to think this series is not taking place in our main universe. Not going to say why, just my pet theory. Prove me wrong, Hickman. Prove me wrong. Or prove me right, either way is fine.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #18: Every single time I get sent an issue of this, I think Marvel has started publishing Gargamel comics, but that’s probably only weird to me (they abbreviate its title as “GARGAL”). And I know you’re all interested in file names, but on to the review of the issue: this series is darn good and fun. This issue, in particular, reminds me of a certain Bill Murray movie (if you said “Operation: Dumbo Drop,” you would be wrong), and is much lighter than the last issue in tone and execution. And I’m curious, more than anything, to see what the long game here is, and how it will play out. That’s enough to keep me on for the long haul.

IMMORTAL WEAPONS #3: The best thing about this series is that each issue has its own look and feel to it, as each one focuses on a different Immortal Weapon (hence, you know, the title). While this is my least favorite of the three so far, that still means its heads and tails above most comics, and Iron Fist fans should be picking this for Duane Swierczynski’s back-ups alone.

INCREDIBLE HERCULES #135: Every issue of this series is a fabulous adventure that deserves to be collected and read over and over. When people ask what the best comics of the first decade of the century were, they’ll fondly recall Pak and Van Lente’s classic run on Incredible Hercules. If you’re not reading it, you might as well give up reading comics. This is also not hyperbole.

INCREDIBLE HULK #602: People have been saying my critical faculties towards Hulk comics have been compromised since I wrote Hulk Team-Up (still on sale at comic book stores everywhere!). But if that were true, would I say that Incredible Hulk is back, and as good as it’s ever been? That the pairing of a de-powered Banner, and a finally starting to have fun Skaar is enjoyable, high action, smart comics? I mean yeah, I guess I would. But that doesn’t make it any less true.

MS. MARVEL #45: This arc may have gone on about one issue too long (it’s starting to feel a leeeeetle flabby), but damn if Brian Reed hasn’t taken Ms. Marvel to a new level, breaking the character down and making her completely unique and worthwhile.

NEW AVENGERS #57: Okay, remember earlier when I was complaining about things not mattering in Avengers books? This matters, for one character in particular, and the Marvel U at large. One of Bendis’ tightest, punchiest arcs on the book so far, full of fun moments, danger, and great character work.

NOVA #29: This issue is an ever-so-slight comedown from the great War of Kings tie-ins, but if you’re looking for old school comics at their best, look no further. I’ve never been a fan of the cosmic stuff, but I’m a fan of good comics, and Abnett and Lanning have made a believer out of me.

SPIDER-WOMAN #1: That’s weird… This motion comic barely moved at all.

UNCANNY X-MEN #515: A great character issue for Cyclops fans, showing probably the most realistic reaction to a big event I’ve ever read in a comic in a while. Also, a killer last page, but then, we all knew it was coming. Right?

WOLVERINE FIRST CLASS #19: “Wah, wah, wah. Comics are expensive. Wah, wah, wah. I can’t buy comics without having to buy a thousand other comics to understand what’s going on, so I won’t buy comics. Sniff, sniff. Everything is so dark, why aren’t comics fun anymore?” Hey crybaby: Wolverine First Class is an easily accessible, super fun comic book series for readers of comics new or old. This one comes with a fabulous Skottie Young cover, and only cost $2.99. Peter David writes (you like him, right?), and Dennis Calero draws (you DEFINITELY like him, right?). Game, set, and match, a-hole.

WOLVERINE ORIGINS #40: I really, really hope that this Romulus stuff pays off by revealing the mastermind behind everything is Remus, King of the Bird-People. But then, that’s only one of the many reasons I’m not writing Wolverine Origins.

WOLVERINE: OLD MAN LOGAN GIANT-SIZE #1: Goatse cover aside, this is a fun, big action conclusion to Millar and McNiven’s run on the title. And I’m going to reiterate what I’ve been saying all along: this is going to be a fabulous collection. Each individual issue, this one included, is like a light snack, with pretty much one major action beat per comic. But read as a trade, it’ll be a full, satisfying meal. McNiven’s pencils are cinematic, as always, and Millar writes cheeky action scenes like no one else. There’s one totally unnecessary Millar perversion in this issue, which must have seemed very funny at the time, but plays as just plain crass; though that shouldn’t stop you from picking this up. What might stop you is the back half of the issue, which is just a bunch of covers from the series, that, presumably, you already purchased. At $5 for an (albeit, over-sized) story, to throw in 20 pages of bonus material that will most likely appear in the upcoming trade collection is just a wee bit unfortunate.

The following review is excerpted from Comic Book Revolution (click here to read CBR’s full review)

Art: 5/10
Story: 4/10
Overall: 4.5/10

The Good

Let’s see. What was enjoyable about this issue? Well, this is the last Secret Invasion tie-in issue that we will have to suffer through on New Avengers. That is most definitely a positive thing.

Also, New Avengers #47 does catch Luke at a seminal moment in his life where the fact of him becoming a father and having to take care of his own child makes him examine his relationship with his own father. This is actually an incredibly realistic and common reaction to becoming a parent. Bendis does succeed in properly conveying the heady mixture of excitement and fear of being a new parent . And naturally, new parents begin to gain a better understanding of their own parents.

This issue offers offer a candid look into Luke’s relationship (or lack thereof) with his father. And the flashback scene showed me a more appealing Luke Cage that had a bit more depth than the stereotype that Bendis usually gives us when writing Cage. As far as a Luke Cage story goes, this was a pretty solid little tale. However, I would still criticize it for being way too slow and dull.

The Bad

However, the fact is, and I confirmed it once again by looking at the cover, that this is New Avengers #47 and not Luke Cage Special #1. And since this is an issue of the New Avengers I do actually expect an Avengers related story that actually stars the Avengers. I know that may make me sound like a raving lunatic and a madman, but I stand by that statement.

And that is the biggest flaw with New Avengers #47 and it has been a reoccurring defect on this title. I cannot be the only person who honestly purchases an issue of the New Avengers with the expectation of reading an Avengers story starring all of the Avengers. Or at least a good portion of them.

Instead, Bendis gives the reader yet another in an extremely long line of spot-light issues where he focuses solely on one or two characters. And the real reason for that is because Bendis cannot write a team title. And deep down inside Bendis knows that. Bendis’ strengths lie in solo titles like Ultimate Spider-Man and Daredevil. That is where his writing style flourishes and produces wonderful reads.

However, on team titles, Bendis crumbles under the weight of having to deal with more than two characters. Bendis is simply not capable of juggling a large roster of characters. And Bendis is not able to properly plot short-term, mid-range and long-term plotlines that involve all the members of the team like writers like DnA are able to do over on Guardians of the Galaxy.

New Avengers #47 is rather boring and dull for long stretches at a time. There is absolutely no action at all. And that is fine as long as the story offers a dense plot with strong character work and dialogue. However, that is most certainly not the case with New Avengers #47. For the most part this is an extremely talky issue where most of the dialogue borders on mere rambling.

I continue to be summarily unimpressed with how Bendis writes Luke Cage. With the exception of a few moments in the flashback scene when Luke tries to see his father, I find Bendis’ Luke Cage unappealing. Ever since the events of Civil War, Bendis has written Cage as being dumb and a bit of a crud.

We have seen Luke kicking women in the vagina. We have seen Luke place his wife and baby daughter in danger over and over due to his pride of not wanting to be registered. We have seen Luke being verbally abusive and physically threatening toward his wife. And we have seen Luke cursing in front of his baby daughter. Bendis has succeeded in making Luke look like a classless guy.

And Bendis seemed to go a bit overboard with making Luke the stereotypical dumb and clueless new dad. Luke refers to his daughter as “it.” I have never heard a new dad do something that dumb. It gets tiring that men are almost always portrayed as the idiot new parents while the mother is somehow genetically predisposed to know everything about being a parent. The scene would have been funnier if it had been Luke, the big bad tough guy, correcting Jessica about how to hold the baby, soothe the baby, etc.

New Avengers #47 was an extremely boring and dull issue to look at. And much of that blame is placed on Bendis since he did nothing at all in this story with the artists in mind. It is incumbent upon the writer to try and think of some scenes that can showcase the artist’s talent or that would be fun for the artist to draw. That is not the case in this issue as it seems the majority of the pages are the standard 9 panels per page layout. For the most part, this issue was nothing but static talking heads.

Overall

New Avengers #47 was nothing more than pure filler. It was blatantly obvious that Bendis was just stalling and wasting panel space until Secret Invasion concluded so that the Dark Reign plotlines could be kicked off in full force. Unless you are a huge Luke Cage fan, there is absolutely no reason at all to waste your money on this issue.

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