What has been delivered so far is that it's not just murdering of young adult heroes. There is a story and a reason for everything occurring which as we can tell will be unravel as time progresses. Read Full Review

Kev Walker's art continues to be one of the best things about this book. The facial expressions are excellent specifically. Walker manages to convey exactly how every character is feeling at any particular moment. Read Full Review

As these teens devolve further into savagery, I have to admit that this series is overcoming the weaknesses inherent in the premise (or, to be fair, the weaknesses inherent in the MARKETING of the premise) and delivering some interesting character work. That said, it's slow going, and the pacing this issue isn't the best, focusing a lot on the flashback to make the climax carry enough emotional weight, but it's at least an interesting flashback, with a character whose decisions, however unpleasant, make sense in context. In short, Avengers Arena #9 was better than I expected, with art that works hard to show the characters' descent, and some really nice writing that conveys the volatile and contradictory teenage mind, earning a slightly surprised 3.5 out of 5 stars overall. Read Full Review

Watching the kids try and decide what to do with Tim is the biggest source of drama for the issue. A few of the characters gave interesting arguments, but at least one acted out of character, which was the start of some odd behavior. For instance, Katy killed Juston but left Nico alive. This seems in direct opposition to her crazy murderous ways. Although, maybe it's a good thing she acted out of character for some soon-to-be-revealed reason, otherwise she'd have gone all Rambo on everyone and this series would be over. Read Full Review

For the crowd who hates this book based on the premise: I understand why, but if you don't like what Dennis Hopeless is doing to the characters you love, please speak with your wallet. Ranting about it on the internet will accomplish nothing if you're still shelling out $2.99 for each issue. To Marvel, that says you're enjoying this concept and that completely negates what you're trying to accomplish, doesn't it? So please, if you loathe it, don't spend a penny on it. You of course have every right to complain on the internet, too... just make sure you're not financially supporting what you hate. It's that simple, folks. Read Full Review

"Avengers Arena" #9 is odd, because it seems to read better than it's objectively written. It's tough to say whether that's because of the book's strong premise, its fantastic art or Hopeless' convincing character work, but it's enough to make me think that yet again, it's worth sticking with. Read Full Review

Though the dialogue wasn't great throughout, the ending delivered another big twist that I loved. I can always count on Arena to keep me entertained even if it's not the best written title out there.