AvX # 1 - The next big event from Marvel Comics is finally here! The wait is FINALLY over! The excitement! The pulse-pounding action! The...

Overall underwhelming first issue. The Avengers are doing Avengery stuff (which in the post-Bendis days means "Bickering with each other" apparently) when BAM! WOOM! STUFF HAPPENS! Stuff that you already knew would happen after the months of showing previews from this issue spoiled. A Nova crashes to Earth, saying "It's coming". The Avengers automatically know that that means it's the Phoenix, and despite never ever ever ever giving a flying crap about The Phoenix before (where were they when Rachel Summers was the Phoenix?) they decide it's time to go completely gung ho and take the potential Phoenix into custody.

Meanwhile, Cyclops is a raging asshole. Funny how any time someone who isn't Keiron Gillen writes Cyclops these days, he's a borderline psychotic borderline super-villain. Cap shows up and blah blah blah you know the rest.

John Romita Jr's artwork leaves quite a lot to be desired here. I don't know if it's him or his inker or what, but there's something... unsatisfying here. It doesn't work. Say what you will, but Jr. pales in comparison to his dad.

Good to see Marvel's sticking with their fine tradition of events that kinda suck. Still, it's just one issue. Maybe they'll turn it around. Maybe.

The Amazing Spider-Man # 683 - Meanwhile, on the other end of the Marvel Event scale, is "The Ends of the Earth" part 2. Dr. Octopus's plan swings into high gear - and he's apparently intent on saving the world!

Of course, Spider-Man smells a dirty rotten fish (calimari?) and assembles the Avengers to intervene. Will all of Spidey's planning work out? Will Dr. Octopus and the Sinister Six have the last laugh?

Either way, this is how you make an event. It's fast-paced, it's energetic, it's full of surprises, and it's beautifully penciled.

Step aside, AvX - "Ends of the Earth" is the event to read.

Avengers Academy # 28 - The Academy kids and the Runaways save the dinosaur Old Lace, clash over adoption rights, and... yawwwwwwn... learn something... *Streeeetch* very important... yawwwwn... about understanding other people's perspectives and oh my GOD THIS BOOK HAS GOTTEN SO FUCKING DULL.

Twenty four issues ago, Avengers Academy was THE book to read. It was clever, it was interesting, and it gave us new characters to love and care about. Now it's a preach-fest. Teaching its readers to be tolerant of other people's situations, to be open to other perspectives, to be open to the possibility that... uh... teenagers can be parental role models, I guess? I dunno.

Either way, I'm done. Christos Gage, you have officially lost me.

New Mutants # 40 - On the other hand, the New Mutants have gone from blah to pulse-pounding exciting. The Ani-Mator Virus has taken down the whole team more or less, with only Warlock left to be able to fight. So he and Doug merge, protecting Doug from the virus and allowing him to come up with a solution.

This book has gotten so good lately. Fernandez's artwork is appropriately creepy and macabre, and the exploration of the Doug/Warlock relationship is at the forefront. Things come to a nice and tidy conclusion, arguably a bit too tidy, but... an interesting development is revealed in regards to Cypher and it's really quite awesome. Awesome because it makes sense.

Up next - "The Exiled" with Journey Into Mystery! Well, with Academy off my list, maybe I'll add that one on.

Secret Avengers # 24 - Either I missed this last week or it simply didn't come into the store. Either way, better late than never.

This issue has some awesome stuff in it. Captain Britain vs. Lady Deathstrike. Magic vs. Technology. The Council of Robots squabbling amongst themselves. More deliberation from Flash Thompson.

With Avengers Academy now dethroned, this is the best Avengers book on the market. Rick Remender pens an incredibly interesting story, entertainingly mixing the black ops storytelling with immense bizarreness that is thoroughly fun to read.

Gabriel Hardman's pencils are perfect for this team, both dark and bizarre and believable all at once. And that cover by Art Adams - hell yes!

Daredevil # 10.1 - Ah, the .1 initiative - theoretically, the issues are designed to allow new readers a perfect jumping-on point for brand new readers, and if ever there was a book that deserved more readers, it's Mark Waid's "Daredevil". So let's see if this issue delivers, shall we?

Right off the bat, you learn the basics of Daredevil's origin in a brilliantly done splash page by Fred Van Lente and Marcos Martin. Then, on to the story. In one page - one single page, we get the public view on Matt Murdock. Everybody seems to know his secret. No matter how he tries to deny it, the public belief that Matt Murdock is Daredevil persists. In the next page, every single one of his sensory enhancements. That's efficiency, my friends.

And not only does this issue introduce you to what Daredevil can do, it introduces you to his major plotline - "The Omega Drive". Matt's got alot of data, the bad guys, from Hydra to Hellfire to AIM to everybody practically, wants it.

"The Omega Effect" will be the OTHER crossover story to read.

Avengers Prelude: Fury's Big Week # 3 - More behind the scenes magic from the Avengers films. What happened to the Destroyer after Thor... uh... destroyed it? What was Black Widow up to after she got done with Iron Man? And what about Dr. Sterns?!

All this is answered in this issue. Good stuff. Not particularly awesome reading, but it's fun to see the blanks filled in.

By the way, Iron Man 2 happens before The Incredible Hulk, fyi. So when you're setting up your marathons... watch Iron Man 2 before Incredible Hulk if you want to go chronologically.