REVIEW: Uncanny Avengers, Volume One: The Red Shadow

PLOT: The Marvel Universe's greatest era starts NOW!, as the all-new, all-different Avengers assemble! Captain America creates a sanctioned Avengers unit comprised of Avengers and X-Men, humans and mutants working together...so why is Professor Xavier's dream more at risk than ever? The Red Skull has returned - straight out of the 1940s and full of hatred - and his rebirth will alter the Marvel Universe forever! What are the Skull's new powers? Can Havok and Thor defeat the spreading influence of Honest John, The Living Propaganda? As Rogue and Scarlet Witch find themselves trapped on the Isle of the Red Skull's S-Men, Wolverine and Captain America investigate the worldwide mutant assassination epidemic! Uncanny Avengers Assemble! Plus: from the ashes of AvX, the funeral of one of Marvel's greatest heroes! 

REVIEW: I have yet to read the Avengers vs. X-Men event in Marvel comics because I own it and can take my time, but apparently this volume deals heavily with those events. I was able to get into the story for the most part though. I'm starting to sort of get sick of these Marvel NOW! titles claiming to be something new and bold in the Marvel universe, but most of it strikes me as the same old stuff. This volume of Uncanny Avengers focuses on the return of Red Skull in modern times, and he has taken control of Charles Xavier's brain after his death. He is using it to control the population and even minds of the mutants to do his bidding, but also is blackmailing hero teams to do the very same. I like the Red Skull as a villain, and I think he is very terrifying but at the same time. However, this book does little to nothing to differentiate itself from the multiple Avengers and X-Men books that are out right now. What Marvel NOW! has failed to do with their titles is create a clear and concise story for each character or character group, and suck the reader in to the new Marvel NOW! titles. Uncanny Avengers definitely wasn't the worst that I've read from the reboot series, but it definitely did little to impress me. It does leave off with a good scene that will hopefully carry into the next volume and propel it to higher levels. Unfortunately though, I find myself hoping for this with a lot of the current Marvel NOW! titles. I got a great kick out of the Deadpool variant at the end of the book.

WRITING : ( 8 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 7 / 10 )

STORY : ( 6 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 8 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 5 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 6 / 10 )

REVIEW: Captain America, Volume One: Castaway in Dimension Z

PLOT: Thrust into a bizarre, inhospitable world far from home, the all-new, high-adventure, mind-melting, tough-as-nails, sci-fi, pulp-fantasy era of Captain America is NOW! Arnim Zola's ambitions leave Captain America stranded in the upside-down territory known as Dimension Z. With no country and no allies, what's left for the Sentinel of Liberty to protect? Just the one thing that his foe values most...Zola's son! Steve has saved the boy's life, but can he keep him alive against the savage barbarians of Phrox - with the fate of a world hinging on his victory? Plus: introducing Jet Black...the woman who's waited her whole life for the chance to destroy Captain America! Meanwhile, Zola's plans continue to move forward - and threaten to curse Steve Rogers for years to come.

REVIEW: This is my first journey with a Captain America comic, but I have a feeling that this is okay with this Marvel NOW! series. I have to say that this is the boldest entry yet, as the story seems very atypical of Captain America but also fitting. He gets stuck in an alternate dimension and befriends a young child who he claims as his own, and as time passes they both struggle to live in this new world. I like how ambitious Captain America is not only with the story, but also with the art. The artwork is pretty great, and it really helps to paint the portrait of a normal man in a strange world. This story doesn't seem like a typical story for this Avengers hero, though I could be wrong, but it takes place over a course of years and sees the Captain from confidence to losing hope. What I liked most about this comic was the fact that it was dark, and unforgivably dark at that. Captain America is a pretty light-hearted hero though he deals with large threats usually to the country or the world, like most heroes anyways. I like the attempts at trying for a darker audience though, because that is something Marvel NOW! has yet to successfully do.

WRITING : ( 8 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 9 / 10 )

STORY : ( 9 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 8 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 8 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 8 / 10 )