- SECRET AVENGERS #1 – Normally, when so much happens is so short a span, like in the All-New Secret Avengers, it can be a headache. Not so. This was a fun ride. Alex (Zero) Kot‘s writing is funny and Michael (Archer & Armstrong) Walsh‘s art is funny. The work is not taking itself so seriously. The thing about Marvel is that there is rarely some deeper theme at work. Superheroes doing superhero things. Here’s some quick hits: Black Widow and Spiderwoman get massages in a Russian spa and then shoot-off bazookas as a way to relax; Hawkeye jumps across rooftops while being chased by AIM agents, then ducks into the same Russian spa to hide from them (Hilarity ensues). Nick Fury Jr. and Phil Coulson get sucked out into space. This is the perfect book for escapism. It requires an intense amount of disbelief suspension and the ride is better for it. 4/5.
- AVENGERS UNDERCOVER #1 – Dennis Hopeless and Kev Walker continue the adventure started in their original series Avengers Arena — to the praise of many. Now, we find our teenage survivors suffering from a bad case of PTSD and a false sense of celebrity status. Through the tribulation of Arcade our surviving young marvel heroes have seen real terror, have faced deaths and loss that most heroes spend a lifetime avoiding. Is this individual comic epic? No, but it is one that continues an overall epic tale. Undercover is merely a continuation of awesomeness from one of last season’s most criminally overlooked books. Do not sleep on the kids again. 3.75/5.