Avengers #9 takes greater steps towards the story that Hickman is telling. Not just the physical story itself, but also the overall hypothesis of this series. This is not only a grand sci-fi epic, but it is also a study in superheroes and the glory of the Silver Age of comics. Read Full Review

Avengers #9 was another great read for Marvels flagship title. Jonathan Hickman further develops his grand vision for the series by developing a strong cast of villains for the Avengers to fight. Ex Nihlo is has quickly proven himself to be one of the greatest new additions to Avengers Rogue Gallery in a long time. The integration of New Universe plotlines such as White Event and Starbrand have only further added to the larger-than-life scope of the series. The addition of Dustin Weaver and Mike Deodato on art duties helps to elevate the grandeur of the story with truly stunning visuals from beginning to end. I highly recommend Marvel fans to give Hickmans Avengers series a try. If you dont you would be missing out on a truly spectacular comic. Read Full Review

Beyond that, the writing works for me, and these hindrances are made up for with Weaver and Deodatos artwork. The action sequences are nothing short of spectacular, and very setting of the evolutionary change is uniquely rendered with such gorgeous detail as to really individualize the processes at work. Despite a few setbacks, this is a solid and interesting issue with great visuals. Read Full Review

So the next several issues will feature the Avengers hitting hot spots like Hong Kong, Canada, The Savage Land, and more as we gear towards Infinity, and we see the Gardeners plan possibly coming to fruition. It'll be an interesting next several months, to say the least. Oh, and for a reference to New Avengers in this book, look out for Sol's Hammer. Read Full Review

Things have been moving very gradually, and in this case I think that is a good thing. Hickman is clearly setting up a bigger story and he is taking his time: that's half the beauty of this series. This issue definitely felt like the prelude to something much bigger, especially the last three pages of the issue. I am definitely excited to see what happens next. Read Full Review

I mean, it's not really a huge issue in terms of this story. This story has been more than pretty great, but this one thing might affect continuity slightly and keeping in line with continuity is a very important part of storytelling. Considering what's happened in past stories that came before this one and how much characters have evolved, I just question that particular decision by Hickman. I still consider his work to be extremely well done and I'll definitely still be sticking around, but the ending is going to bother me for a little bit. I really hope this matter gets addressed somewhere down the line, and after seeing what has unfolded in these nine issues already, I think that it will. Read Full Review

All in all, Avengers #9 comprises a strong middle chapter of an ongoing story, and works both in terms of the art and the story, making for an above-average reading experience and earning 3.5 out of 5 stars overall. Once the whole arc is done, I can see readers going back and tearing these issues apart looking for the clues, hints and interactions that built to the final reveal. Read Full Review

"Avengers" #9 is an odd duck. I want to love it as much as I have some past issues, but once again this is a comic where it doesn't work as a single issue. Add in that this is also an issue of "Avengers" where the Avengers themselves do almost nothing, and you end up with a book where the stars appear to be the supporting cast, not the heroes themselves. Like before, I'm sure that the next issue will come down the pike and instantly suck me back in to being a full-speed cheerleader of the title. But for now, this installment feels like a bit of a letdown. A lot of the winning components are there, but it's missing a few vital pieces to jump into the realm of great. Read Full Review

I am not entirely sure that I have any idea what's happening in this series. Whatever grand ideas Hickman had about repurposing the New Universe have been swallowed up by his larger, mind-boggling idea about Ex Nihilo, shapers, gardeners, life seeds, sentient planets and whatever the heck else he's cooking up. This isn't so much an Avengers comic as it is Jonathan Hickman's crazy ideas notebook! Read Full Review

The one thing this series has not be short of has been nice art. Dustin Weaver's stuff has been fantastic in this arc. For this particular issue, he's getting an assist from Mike Deodato and together they do some very wonderful things. However, all this lovely art, while keeping the reader excited and engaged on a more visual level, can't always carry every issue. I'm not asking for a less complicated story, but to have at least a little clearer focus would be what this series needs most. Read Full Review

On the art side of things, Dustin Weaver makes a strong showing by delivering some excellent storytelling. His pages have a nice flow to them, and he knows when to go in for a detailed shot and pull back to showcase the action of the scene. It's a tad jarring when Mike Deodato steps in to deliver just a handful of pages -- his overly muscular builds and almost three-dimensional shading are hard to miss -- but overall the visuals hold up nicely. Read Full Review

The art on this comic though is perfectly fine and looks decent. There's nothing particularly memorable or exciting about it outside of one panel, but everything is fine. The one exception that I can think of is that these gods, Ex Nihilo and Abyss, are not as threatening as they used to look in the first arc. They look rather silly at points with how the artist drew them. Read Full Review

Better than last issue, certainly.