Mike Deodato Jr.Reseñas

Really wanted to like this, as I've liked Hickman's work on FF; instead of getting Avengers, I got people who looked like characters I've loved for decades acting like well-written stories from Super-Villain Team-Up. Sigh. Just not clicking for me.

I don't seem to like Bendis' writing very much. Some interesting flashback scenes to a retconning of Nick Fury creating The Avengers in the late 50s with (largely) super villains, drawn by Howard Chaykin.

Barely got 5 pages into this before deciding it was not worth finishing. Too esoteric and unfathomable.

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Felt like this got dragged down too much by the Infinity story line, which was surprisingly worse than the movie (usually the source material is better than the adaption for superhero movies). Thanos is way less dangerous as a character and interesting as a villain, so even though Hickman wrote both this and the Infinity event it just feels like a lackluster tie-in. After the Infinity stuff though, it gets a lot better again.

Also, someone needs to make better summary recap pages for the issues, There was one that happened after Thanos was defeated, and they straight up just don't mention that in the summary, another one where Dr. Strange was revealed to have a mind spy in his brain and there was basically no reaction to that in the next issue. I can't tell if that's bad writing or because it was covered in another tie-in book, but I won't know thanks to these poor summary pages

I am really digging this impending sense of doom. The idea that if Earth is to have any chance the Avengers need to get "bigger". The "Builders" are coming to destroy Earth, but, hey look, there's Thanos (again). Maybe he's just jealous that the Builders are going to be the ones to finally destroy Earth and everyone on it. We'll find out.

On to Infinity!

Not really the ending I was looking for, the main problem in the New Avengers has been resolved by the infinity crossover at all and is still ongoing.

This is deep and serious and cool, but the comics each seem really short. If I read 2 of them in a row I feel like I read a single comic. Not sure if they're making them shorter or maybe it's because I was just reading Preacher before this and those are lot longer and more dense. I like the way this is building up to "something big".

The story of the New Avengers during AvX is Luke Cage deciding that he is going to have to choose between being a superhero and being a father. The other story is that Hope is somehow the Iron Fist, but not as in taking it from Danny Rand, but some other part, the actual dragon. Good stuff with Spidey "training" her, giving her the ole "with great power". Some great art in here too.

I'm getting a little bored with the heroes get beaten down and out-maneuvered really badly and then have an ace up their sleeve and everything wraps up in one issue, it wasn't awful, just hope they change it up a bit in the future.

I think you can take basically everything I said about Avengers v 4 and apply it here as well - Hickman did a good job with Infinity, and the Illuminati scrambling for control as Thanos wreaks havoc is great stuff. Again, I was skeptical of Infinity, but it seems logical for what's to come looking back now.

Just kind of okay, and clearly run-up for Infinity. I feel like the art dropped off slightly as well here.

Two steps forward, one step back, I guess. Hickman is doing his best but sidelining the main cast in favor of Nightmask and Starbrand for the lions share of this and what you've got isn't very interesting. There's still little intimations of better things here though (the AIM stuff for one) so I'm going to forge onwards.

This is part of the Infinity event and it is worth the read, especially if you are reading the whole event. Which you should, because it's great. I don't think this issue will make much sense, if you don't understand what is going on in Avengers and Avengers World.

Sword and sorcery and superheroes.

Conan the barbarian and one of his old foes have been brought to the present day MCU, and the villain lures in a group of Marvel's most bloodthirsty antiheroes to bring about an apocalypse by way of a giant bowl of blood sacrifices. Many, many henchmen are killed by Wolverine, Elektra, Conan, Punisher, and Venom. And for some reason Doctor Voodoo is there too.

It all feels like a 1980s action movie, dumb but with a couple of chuckles.

I read this in the individual issues, as opposed to in the trade.

As the New Avengers entered into the Heroic Age with a magical story, so the Secret Avengers started out with a Cosmic story, and a well written one. Brubaker is very good at writing Steve Rogers, and I was pleased with how well he handled Beast and Valkyrie as well (though it would have been nice if he'd gotten an "Oh my Stars" or two). I'd have preferred Scott Lang as Ant Man over Eric O'Grady, but he still works out well.

The first half is stronger than the first, but it was a real quick, addicting read. The reveal is not as satisfying as I would have hoped, but I enjoyed it overall.½

This was pretty good. Very curious to find out what the "super serum" does to Mockingbird. Was also cool seeing the 60's Nick Fury assemble a "dark avengers", the first Avengers Initiative. Didn't care for the art much though on that part. Also loved when Luke Cage said his spidersenses were tingling and Spider-Man told him that phrase had a copyright.

This collection is volume 56 in Hachette's "Ultimate Graphic Novels Collection" and collects the "Faith In Monsters" storyline by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato that ran in "Thunderbolts" issues 110 through to 115 (March – June 2007). The story follows on from the "Civil War" arc where costumed heroes were required to become registered, reveal their identities and sign up to a government programme under the "Superhero Registration Act". Renegade heroes who refused to register became fugitive, with a group of super-villains known as "The Thunderbolts"" under the leadership of Norman Osborn (the Green Goblin) tasked to hunt them down. The basic plot in "Faith In Monsters" sees The Thunderbolts (comprising of Venom, Bullseye, Songbird, Moonstone, Radioactive Man, Swordsman and Penance) hunting down a number of third division heroes – Jack Flag, American Eagle and Steel Spider. What makes the comic work, however, isn't the basic story but the characterisations and the carefully considered post 9/11 "War on Terror" motifs and criticisms of America and American policy that Ellis develops. In interviews Ellis has equated Norman Osborn to former American Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld. The "Faith in Monsters" title of the storyline is therefore as much about the Bush / Rumsfeld era of US politics and politicians as it is about The Thunderbolts. The book perfectly matches the time it was written and Ellis' portrayal of villains as the good guys is a proxy and metaphor the actions of the Bush administration whose actions became (in certain areas) almost indistinguishable from that of the terrorists they purportedly warred against. Ellis' satire is vicious, at one stage characterising an "ordinary American" citizen as follows: "You don't have a passport. You've never been outside the continental United States. You think Hollywood is liberal. You distrust anyone who isn't Christian. Your kids are making bombs in the basement while you watch reality on TV. You think there were WMD's in Iraq and you think North Korea could nuke Hoboken". Heady and inflammatory stuff. In addition to the political elements the story also thrives on the complex characterisations and interactions that Ellis develops for both the heroes and villains. All the characters, be they the good guys or the bad guys are mean, nasty and dangerous, with the dialogue rich and resonant. Brazilian artist Mike Deodato illustrates the story with a realistic style imbuing each of the characters with a distinctive personality. He also provides plenty of twisted and outrageous action sequences. The packaging is the typical of the series: hardcovers and 180 glossy full-colour pages. Bonus and special features this time around includes an eight-page strip, "Switching Sides" that originally appeared in the "Civil War: Choosing Sides" one-shot, a career retrospective on Mike Deodato and an overview of the origins of The Thunderbolts. Overall this is a great book, with a powerful story of post 9/11 angst looking at the actions of America (and their allies) in wake of the terrorist atrocity. It is both angry and thoughtful and written and drawn with a sharp and deeply satirical edge.

It’s really dumb, but also fun. It’s Conan fan-fiction crossed with “Bring On the Bad Guys.”

Conan of Cimmeria and Wolverine of Pabst — I had a chuckle at that.

I love huge, dark, universe-threatening story lines and this was one of those. The serpent crown reminds me of some old Avengers comics but I don't think there was a connection because Cap didn't say, "Hey that's the crown from ...." Anyway, Cap getting to wear Nova's helmet and having the power of the Worldmind was pretty sweet and also interesting to know there's a Nick Fury out there who's part robot but not just a life model decoy.½