Fraction continues to play with form and function, as the bottom of page messages (designed to reference the 1970′s Marvel comics) interact with the narrative in a very meta way, providing call-backs and answers, while the character balance of our heroes is once again fun, with Strange as leader, Surfer as heavy hitter, Iron Fist as lancer and Red She-Hulk performing the important service of being the cabbage-head, allowing the other heroes to naturally deliver the expository dialogue. Whether the Black Cat sticks around (I honestly hope she doesn't, but not because I don't dig her), Defenders #8 does the trick for me, doing interesting things with some lovely art (Here's hoping McKelvie is the new regular artist) and earning 4 out of 5 stars overall. This book is really hitting a nice stride, and I hope that the Next Big Thing doesn't destroy it's peculiar charm with too much Marvel NOW! Read Full Review

"Defenders" has not been the most consistent book for these first eight issues, with a variety of different artists piloting in and a sometimes strange take on plotting, but Fraction is a good writer and he's clearly having a fun, which comes across in the pages. The book has also benefited from some really great artists "- if you're going to have rotating artists, these are good ones to have! Still, I hope in upcoming issues Fraction can anchor things a bit more so we have a little more consistency to go with our rollicking good times. Read Full Review