As someone who was familiar with Avengers Arena, this was a nice little preview of things to come in Avengers Undercover, a bridge between new readers and those of us who followed from the arena. This book is for sure worth getting into, but you might want to wait for the arc to really start before pulling it weekly. Hopeless took us on a great ride through Murder World and I expect he has bigger plans in this series. The art is all too enjoyable, and the mystery of things to come will make this a great addition to your pull list in a few weeks.

Color me frustrated. This issue of Iron Fist feels like it's story is only told in 2 panels. Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #4 is a Borrow at best.

Uncanny X-Men #18 tries to once again explore the broken man that is Cyclops! I have been down this road in several books now, and this issue loses a bit of it's impact because of that, serving more as a bridge into the Trial of Jean Grey than anything else. All you need to know is that they are headed to steal a S.H.I.E.L.D spacecraft, in an attempt to save Jean. Jump back in at #19 for Story. The reason to read this issue is the Art. Holy SH*T! It's good! Marvel finally captures the new-age storytelling panels that DC is currently famous for. Keep This Up!

Uncanny Avengers #17 is utterly well done, and will leave you awestruck! The issues wraps up the arc, makes a social commentary using your favorite heroes, and looks great in the process. Sure it ends on a rather jarring note and doesn't fit into current continuity anywhere, but f*** it, you'll enjoy it all the same. Go back to Issue #6 and spend an afternoon enjoying the build and payoff!

The art in Avengers is consistently some of the best in Marvel. Leinil Yu continues to astound with sweeping galactic vistas, appropriately portioned characters, and framing that would make a cinematographer weep. The only downside is some of the background faces are left blank, probably due to the pressures of time constraints. The sacrifice is forgivable; given the sheer size, and scope of the book.