The Creators – David Pepose – Writer, Carlos Magno – Artist, Espen Grundetjern – Colours, Travis Lanham – Letters

The Players – Conan, Elektra, Anti-Venom, Deathlok, Weapon H, Cloak, Dagger, Black Knight

The Story – Some misguided fools have decided to bring forth Set into the modern age. Also on deck is a Deathlok who is looking to put down a timestream criminal by the name of Conan. Conan along with a few friends aims to stop them both.

The Take – It is a whole new era for the Savage Avengers as Daved Pepose and Carlos Magno take over the title with a new number one and they start it off on a bang with a first issue that delivers on all fronts. The writing is tight and introduces every member of what this new team will consist of and it is a fairly eclectic mix of fan favourites and cast-offs that simply do not currently have a home in the Marvel Universe of late. Even the bad idea that is Weapon H gets a chance to shine for a bit and it seems like if anyone can redeem the character, it just might be Pepose and a team setting. Aside from that, the villains are not exactly the most intimidating to be found on the block though if they can successfully set off their stolen Madbomb and bring Set to Earth, they will have definitely earned their street cred so to speak. Conan has his hands full though trying to stop the Deathlok that has come back in time to end his life so it is a good thing that through a series of events that are shown throughout, other heroes arrive to give him a hand and they come together almost like they have done this sort of thing before. All of it of course ends on a cliff-hanger as the various members are split up and separated which should make for a very interesting story going forward. As Pepose tells his tale, he manages to pepper it with small character moments that will familiarize newer readers with the current situations some might find them in while rewarding long-time fans by moving their stories forward. One of those is the Black Knight whose mention of his daughter is a nice nod to his recent adventures while Cloak and Dagger have a great scene between the two which looks to finally bring the two together in a more romantic manner until forces conspire against them once again. There is a lot within these pages to love and topping it all off is the incredible artwork from Magno who has come leaps and bounds from his days drawing BOOM!’s Planet of the Apes comics. Altogether a strong start and a great book though one does have to wonder how they will write Conan out now that Marvel no longer has the licence to use him in the new year.

Worth It? – Yes.