The biggest problem with this book is how dense the story is. At this point there isn't much room for new readers if you've not been following it from the start and that's despite there recently being a new official jumping on point with Marvel Now Phase Two. If you're in then you are likely already in for the long haul. If you're not reading New Avengers there are so many other Avengers titles that are so much more immediately accessible that I'd struggle to recommend this book over them. The story being told is superb though; it's weird, it's suspenseful, it's serious to a fault, and the stakes are as high as they could possibly be. Hickman is playing a long game here, one that I expected to pay off in Infinity but still continues on. Perhaps the "Time Runs Out" event will be when this story reaches its conclusion. Until then there seems to be no end in sight. Read Full Review

The Illuminati aren't bad guys. They're good guys put in an impossible situation, but a situation that perfectly captures the grandeur and sci-fi insanity of superhero comics. Yes, we'd love it if our favorite heroes could find a way to triumph over everything and save the day in the end. And maybe they still will. But watching them pushed to the breaking point, making choices they never thought they'd have to make, and seeing them stumble and fall like real human beings, is a much more compelling read. And it's further proof that comic books can be just as good, if not better, at storytelling than any other medium. Read Full Review

New Avengers #19 is a heavy release from a striking creative team that presents mature subject matter born from an insane situation to a very modern audience. For that reason it easily comes recommended. Read Full Review

The net story progress in this issue might be pretty small, but the methodical build-up and strong character dynamics more than make up for it. All the same, let's hope there's more punching and smashing and spearing in issue #20. Read Full Review

Out of all the Marvel books out this week, i'd say New Avengers #19 hits the top 3 in terms of all around quality. I'll keep reading for now, Hickman. Read Full Review

"New Avengers" has always been sort of slow but this issue's pace was a smooth slow burn, not twenty pages of plodding around. Read Full Review

“New Avengers #19″ is a transitional issue, and theres admittedly a lot of exposition and set-up. Weve been working our way to the epic throwdown with The Great Society for months now, and it appears that “New Avengers #20″ will finally deliver. Nonetheless, New Avengers has never been all about the action, instead driving the pace with thought-provoking and piercing ethical conundrums. Somewhere theres a wonderful Ethics 101 professor adding Maximus the Mad to their lectures, and lets face it, that alone makes New Avengers well worth a read. Read Full Review

Schiti continues to be an asset to this title. His pencils are clean and composed, his strong sense of storytelling evident in his intelligent panel compositions and attention to detail. His skill for hair is especially impressive, in that every character, from Black Swan to Namor, Hank McCoy to Reed Richards, has very distinctive hair with varying textures and weight. Its a detail that I rarelysee, as many artists have fairly bland and routine styles for hair that they use character to character. Its such a small and seemingly unimportant detail, which is why its lovely to see Black Swans soft and voluminous tresses on the same page with Maximus and his stringy, oily-looking hair. It serves to further develop these characters on the page, grounding their lofty characterizations in such tiny and often overlooked minutiae. Read Full Review

The New Avengers/Illuminati have gone down a dark path with no end in sight. Can they remain heroes, or must they do horrible things in order to save our world? Do they really have it in them to destroy another world? And what happens now that Captain America and the Avengers know of their scheming? Read Full Review

Jonathan Hickman has created an interesting story that has brought together arguably the most diverse group of Avengers ever assembled (except for the lack of female characters). The series is currently exploring a good premise that is worthy of an Avengers story, which seems as if it should be a story told in the flagship Avengers title, but Hickman has adapted it well to this current team. The overall quality of the issue was good but was a little slow and felt more like the story in between the story, but with a climactic conclusion next month's issue should get a lot more exciting. Read Full Review

Tony's last line of "Oh God... This is it." hits very hard.

One more incursion issue...