The art is gorgeous. And there's not much more to say than I'm ready for Avengers Annual #1 and the inevitable moment of Steve Rogers looking at D-Man and saying, "Who's this nerd?" Read Full Review

If you're not happy with Simon Williams as the latest Marvel hero to go from villain to hero to villain again, you'll want to skip this while cussing out Bendis; if you're just pissed that you're only getting the first half of the story, you'll want to skip this while cussing out Buckley or Brevoort. But if you want to see Dell'Otto wreak gorgeous, gleeful havoc on spandex characters, it's the book for you. Read Full Review

Bendis brings the house down with this issue. There are a slew of characters on these pages, most are punching each other, and it's all just the start of something big. You could easily use this issue to jump into the whole Avengers affair to see what you think. The usual niggles of Bendis writing are apparent and so the haters will do their thing and the others will vote with their wallet and have a hell of a ride. This book is certainly a whole stack of fun and the last page certainly makes you want to then pick up "Avengers Annual" #1. This is an unabashed superhero comic. Enter for the spandex punching and one-liners, stay outside if you're looking for introspective navel gazing and erudite soliloquising. Let your inner kid out to play and slap this book in their hand, they'll run off smiling into the sunset. Read Full Review

This Annual could have offered readers a nice break from the ongoing Fear Itself hubbub, but the lack of a compelling villain or conflict derail the issue. The upcoming Avengers Annual will need to do far more as far as fleshing out Wonder Man and his team if this crossover is to be salvaged. Read Full Review

It's a disappointing issue all around, from the elevated cover price (32 pages of actual story for 5 bucks?) to the "One From Column A" school of team-building. Read Full Review

This jaded Wonder Man angle is an inspired one, but whatever verve the story may have had is diluted by rough, inarticulate visuals and a script that lacks the crispness of Bendis' best. It's also unclear as to how Simon's ire escalated to this point, though time will tell if the wanton destruction playing out in this storyline is inspired by a third party's possession of the fallen hero or Bendis truly believes Wonder Man could take things this far. Played for satire, the opening sequence might've made for genuinely subversive comedy, an introspective jab at Avengers history and the absurdity of fan criticism. As it is, it feels like misplaced anger and posturing without the necessary irony. Read Full Review