2018.044 Avengers & Champions: Worlds Collide

Avengers & Champions: Worlds Collide
Written by: Mark Waid
Illustrated by: Jesus Saiz, Javier Pina, Paco Diaz, Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba
Marvel Comics

170 Avengers: Unleashed Vol 2: Secret Empire

Another instance of Marvel putting a hold on the regular series of a title while their big event of the month runs.  We're stuck with filler until TPTB let the creative team get back to telling stories.  Meh.

Avengers: Unleashed Vol 2: Secret Empire

Writer: Mark Waid, Jeremy Whitley

Artist: Phil Noto, Mike del Mundo

Marvel Comics

095 Avengers: Unleashed Vol 1: Kang War One

Mark Waid's Avengers book is the only Avengers book that actually feels like the Avengers to me.  It's not quite where I'd like it, but it's as close to a classic Avengers book as we're going to get.  With this volume, it looks like Marvel renamed and renumbered the book.  Again.  I really hate that, but there isn't anything I can do about it.  I'm sure after volume 2 of this book, the same thing will happen again.  I wish they'd just announce these books as mini-series and be done with it.

Anyway, this is the beginning of a year long Kang War.  It all started in the last iteration of Avengers when The Vision had finally had enough and decided to change time and history by removing Kang from it.  Things don't always go as planned and all hell breaks loose.  The Avengers try to undo what the Vision has done, but that just screws the pooch even more.  Lots of time travel, Avengers from different time periods and multiple versions of Kang.  You need to stay focused to keep on top of things.  This book ends on a cliffhanger setting the stage for working into the story the Avengers Four book I "reviewed" a bunch of posts back.

The book is drawn by Mike Del Mundo.  Now, while I think he's a magnificent artist, I didn't enjoy him in the context of a monthly comic book.  The art just wasn't quite right for me.

Avengers: Unleashed Vol 1: Kang War One

Writer: Mark Waid

Artist: Mike Del Mundo

Marvel Comics

084 Avengers Four

I don't know how he does it, but Mark Waid is producing some of the best stuff of his rather long career.  He's still coming up with stories that entertain highly.  This is (mostly) no exception.

This is a sort of retelling of the first Avengers line up change, but it's an all new story, too.  The original Avengers all step down and are replaced by this new line up.  Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver and Hawkeye join Captain America.  And the public see them as a joke.  This is quickly rectified when they meet a woman who uses her powers to help boost and amplify the powers of these four.  They become a powerhouse team.  They invite her to join the team as Avenger X.  But because of the nature of her powers, they keep her in the background for her own safety.

However, since joining the team, she actively tries pitting them against each other and tries to take them down.  Which is fine, but unless I missed something, there really isn't a sufficient reason for her to do this.  And that makes this story crumble for me.  It was pretty good up until that point.

And on a tangent, can I mention how much I hate how Marvel publishes monthly books?  This volume reprints Avengers 1.1 - 5.1.  What?  They couldn't make it a stand alone mini-series.  They made it issues 1.1 through 5.1 of the regular book?  Really?  What's the purpose?  It's stupid.  At least I only read Marvel in trade format, so it's less confusing that way, but still.

Avengers Four

Writer: Mark Waid

Artist: Barry Kitson, Mark Bagley, Sean Izaakse, Ro Stein, Mark Farmer, Rafael Fonteriz, Andrew Hennessy, Scott Hanna, Mike Perkins, Ted Brandt

Marvel Comics

042 All-New All-Different Avengers Vol 3: Civil War II

I used to be a huge Avengers fan.  Then the Avengers movie hit and was very successful.  Which drove Marvel to flood the market with Avengers books.  And they weren't all good.  I've pared down the Avengers books I'm reading now.  This is one I enjoy, though not a tremendous amount has happened.  Nothing really happened at all in this book.  It's the Civil War II crossover.  I didn't read the main Civil War series (no interest at all), but I'm guessing these guys all have a sizable role in it because this collection is basically quiet little solo tales.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.  I think there should be a done in one issue after most six part storylines.  But this whole collection is done in ones.  An entire trade paperback length interlude can get dull.  But a well-written dull.  

All-New All-Different Avengers Vol 3: Civil War II

Writer: Mark Waid, Jeremy Whitley, G. Willow Wilson, Natasha Allegri, Zac Gorman, Faith Erin Hicks, Scott Kurtz

Artist: Adam Kubert, Mahmuo Asaar, Chip Zorasky, Natasha Allegri, Jay Fosgitt, Faith Erin Hicks, Scott Kurtz

Marvel Comics