Hickman further expands the threat of the incursions by creating the villainous mapmakers, who are like Galactus but smaller as they consume entire worlds and leave them to explode. This threat has thus far been faceless, so it's nice to get a corporeal bad guy. This chapter has a lot of setup, but it's all done in an exciting way while maintaining the book's dark tone and core theme of, essentially, how far can these men go to save their world and still be able to call themselves heroes? Read Full Review

There is a great sense of discovery to Jonathan Hickman's Marvel work and New Avengers #6 is no different. It's incredible how Hickman gets all the little things right in order to enhance the grander vision he has for this group of Avengers. Small story beats with how each member of the Illuminati speak to individual teammates differently to the bigger stuff such as Doctor Doom's appearance and a whole world blowing up is incredible to see play out. Black Swan's continued presence adds a wild card to the entire story as you can see the wheels turning inside her head with each word that she speaks. While this issue's exposition story may turn off fans looking for non-stop action it works for what Hickman is doing on this series. It helps that Steve Epting continues to impress with how the small and big moments are drawn to have an equal epic importance. Read Full Review

New Avengers is not afraid to get philosophical, asking questions of cosmic morality, and is all the better for it. Read Full Review

The last couple of pages will absolutely leave you excited about the future of this series. Although it would have been nice to see Hickman address the moral conflict in the plot (does eliminating an entire world make these heroes villains?), and Reed did display a moment of weakness when he underestimated Black Swan, this did leave a window for things to get really interesting in the future. Artist Steve Epting does a fantastic job illustrating this issue and the story will definitely leave you wanting more and excited about what is to come. Read Full Review

Even though Hickman’s Avengers may not be best suited for every reader of mainstream comics, at its height fans should expect nothing short of greatness. Such as the bold decisions made by the team in issue three. The event known as Infinity is coming, and with it should reveal some of the cards that the writer is keeping so close to his chest. Read Full Review

Beyond that, the issue is once again very good. I love the scope of the story. It's clear in almost every panel that the Illuminati, the smartest, possibly greatest heroes in the Marvel Universe, are truly in over their heads. I love the inner conflict present on all of their faces as they struggle to compromise their morality in the name of saving the planet. And I loved Reed Richards' general annoyance at Dr. Doom getting involved in this whole mess. Here Reed is, just trying to save the world the best he can, and now forces outside his control stick his life's biggest annoyance in his way. Sadly, Doom doesn't actually interact with the Illuminati, but it's clear by the end that he's going to get involved. I can't wait. Read Full Review

New Avengers #6 is a pretty well written issue. While the Maker stuff is a bit confusing, the dialogue flows well and the art is still consistent. We even get a small call back to Hickman's Avengers series which is warranted as the series will eventually collide due to Marvel's upcoming Infinity event. Read Full Review

While the conclusion of this arc could have been much stronger, It cannot be denied that the continuous world and situation building Hickman does is nothing short of great and it is doubly so thanks to Epting and D'Armata providing the art and colors to suit the scope and tone. Read Full Review

As always Epting carries the narrative with great cinematic scope and poise, his pencils well-complemented by DArmatas cool color palettes. It stands in an interesting contrast to the overbearing red palettes that weve seen so much of in previous issues. The somber blue tones of the artwork comes together nicely here in a haunting effect; the sense of hopelessness from the earlier chapters is now giving way to a light at the end of the tunnel, this issues change in color choices making that shift apparent. Overall this was another curious addition in an engrossing series. Read Full Review

Even despite the hiccup of the vagueness with which Hickman introduces the concepts of this issue, it's still an enjoyable read thanks to his grip on the characters and their moral struggle with their situation. It's still early days for this series, but to see how Hickaman and Epting are setting up the storylines it seems that this is going to be a fun ride. Read Full Review

This title has been my least favorite of the Avengers lineup in Marvel NOW! as it is all doom (not always Victor Von) and gloom. With the tendrils from this story starting to reach out into other titles and wrap around non-Illuminati characters, however, I'm willing to stick around a little longer. Hickman is known for playing the long game and there is definitely a set of long-range plans in place as "New Avengers" #6 begins to show Hickman's hand, just a little bit. Read Full Review

And just like that, the series is back in an upswing. This issue was great. We learn about the mapmakers, the Illuminati takes one more step towards damnation and Doom gets involved. Really cool shit.