All New, All Different Avengers #3

Writer – Mark Waid
Artist – Adam Kubert
Colours – Sonia Oback
Letters – VC’s Cory Petit

The Avengers who are not yet Avengers, continue to track down Warbinger and put a stop to his maniacal plan.  Said plan involves the hunting down of three artifacts which combine to form one and will open a portal so that the Chitauri will be able to invade the Earth.  With Mark Waid at the helm and with a little help from Adam Kubert and Sonia Oback, they finish off the first story arc of the book better than they started it and finally make the reader want to see a little more of just where it is that this team is going.  To say the first couple of issues were underwhelming would be fairly accurate because after the excitement that Jonathan Hickman brought to the franchise, it would have been hard for anyone to follow.  That being said, it was not as if this first story was all that bad, it was not, it just feels as if it was written years ago instead of now – a throwback to a simpler Marvel Universe.  The best thing about Waid’s Avengers is that it is more accessible than Hickman’s ever was.  The previous run was for the fans, for those that had been following the Avengers for years and it was a real treat to be sure, while this run seems to be catered more towards newer readers and that is always a good thing.  So what it lacks for in excitement, it more than makes up for in other departments such as humour and fun, again, things never seen in the previous run on the book.  The mix of characters is quite intriguing and it will be exciting in that respect to see just how Waid plans to make it work with three of the heroes in question being in high school and not at all suited to facing some of the Avengers biggest foes.  It is sure to be more light-hearted than anything and it is a comic book and not meant to be taken seriously, but Nova, Ms. Marvel and Miles Morales just seem really out of place on the team with Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and the Vision.  You do end up wanting to see more of them, which is a credit to the ever-smart writing of Waid and he leaves the book off on a cliff-hanger which is definitely strange and mysterious which also beckons you back for more.  The only other fault is that it should not have taken three issues to become hooked, it should have happened from the start, but if you made it this far, it now looks like you might be in for the long haul.

3.5 out of 5

Black Knight #3

Writer – Frank Tieri
Artist – Luca Pizzari, Kev Walker
Colours – Antonio Fabela
Letters – VC’s Joe Sabino

Of late, Dane Whitman has found himself a resident of Weirdworld, the circumstances of which writer Frank Tieri reveals here.  We are privy to the aftermath of the moment where the Black Knight killed a man and seemingly made a run for it with the Uncanny Avengers in tow, looking to bring the former Avenger in to face the repercussions for his crime.  Whether it was luck or fate, ending up on Weirdworld saved Dane’s life and now his past is catching up to him as the Avengers have found him.  The latest issue of Black Knight is pretty rousing, with much of it due to Tieri who peppers the book with both excitement and comedy and seeing the back and forth between Dane, his forces and the Avengers makes you chuckle a couple of times. Also making you laugh is the moment when all of the clans who were supposedly loyal to Dane desert him because of a threat by Steve Rogers, especially after all the work it took to get them on his side.  Dane being Dane, he will not go down easy though and even if he must fight alone, fight he will and it makes for one of the best scenes in the entire book.  The artwork by Luca Pizzari and Kev Walker is not as polished as some of the other titles that Marvel puts out right now, but it helps to accentuate not only the mood and the strange creatures, found in the book, but the weird in Weirdworld.  Currently it looks like Dane could be in a lot of trouble and all we can do is wait and see what the creatures have in store for our hero which you know will be pretty good.  While it is only three issues in and just starting out, seeing a little more of the story between Dane and his sword would be great not to mention answering the question – where is Aragorn?

3.5 out of 5