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: Thor: God of Thunder, Volume One: The God Butcher

PLOT: Throughout the ages, gods have been vanishing, their mortal worshippers left in chaos. Now, Thor follows a trail of blood that threatens to consume his past, present and future. The only hope for these ravaged worlds is for Thor to unravel the gruesome mystery of the God Butcher! In the distant past, Thor follows the bloody wake of murdered gods across the depths of space. In the present, the Thunder God discovers a forgotten cave that echoes with the cries of tortured gods...and is shocked to find himself among them! And thousands of years from now, the last god-king of a ruined Asgard makes his final stand against the God Butcher's beserker legions. As three Thors from three eras race to stop the God Butcher, the full extent of his vicious scheme takes terrifying shape!

REVIEW: I wouldn't go as far as considering myself a big fan of Thor, but I did really like the film Thor that came out as part of Marvel's Phase One. I wasn't extremely excited to see the film even though I knew that it had to be good because Marvel has done an extraordinary job with re-branding themselves in terms of film, and it was even better than good and may be my favorite other than Iron Man. This book, is the first book of the Marvel NOW! series now called Thor: God of Thunder and I have to say I was extremely surprised with how great it was. It opens with a spectacular first issue showing the many sides of Thor. An avenger, and a man of the people, the godliness of this character is shown in many different lights. I loved the way that the author is so easily able to blend the darkness and haunting story of Thor and The God Butcher, with Thor's recently unraveled sense of humor. The film showcased Thor's immense misunderstanding of the different world around him, where this book shows his simplest desires in the places he calls home. There are quite a few good jokes about Thor's habitual drinking, and I think it humanizes an otherwise unrelatable character. The God Butcher is a great villain, and flashes of Voldemort from the Harry Potter series shows in his look and his words. The writing is also phenomenal in telling three separate stories of Thor but keeping them entangled together to tell an even grander story of one of Thor's most dangerous enemies. I have to say that this may easily be the best Marvel NOW! title I've read, and again I'm shocked at the titles that this NOW! initiative has gotten right, over the ones that they've completely butchered, in my opinion. This is a must read for Marvel fans, Thor fans, and fans of the film.

WRITING : ( 8 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 9 / 10 )

STORY : ( 9 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 7 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 8 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 9 / 10 )

REVIEW: Avengers, Volume One: Avengers World

PLOT: The greatest heroes in comics together on one unbeatable team! The Avengers "go large," expanding their roster and their sphere of influence to a global and even interplanetary level. When Captain America puts out his call - who will answer? Big threats, big ideas, big idealism - these are the Avengers NOW!

REVIEW: Well it's about time I stumbled across a Marvel NOW! title that didn't completely suck. In the Avengers, a clear and complex enough storyline presents itself on the first pages. Ex Nihilo, creator of change and good in the universe has captured the Avengers and plans to recreate everything in his vision. It's a plot of grand scope, and it completely incapacitates the Avengers which to do at the beginning of a story is pretty bold. It ends up resulting in a much greater resolve of conflict though at the end of the book, and seeing the whole team of Avengers together and rescuing each other is awesome. I really like in this volume that before each issue there is an Avengers crest like thing on the page, along with all of the names of those in the group, and then the ones that are in bold and not faded out are the characters that will be in the issue. It's something small but I thought it was neat to see and keep track of who you'd be looking for in the action in each issue. Other than that, it's a fairly normal comic. The artwork doesn't stand out in any way, but the story does because it's surrounded by a lot of garbage in the rest of the Marvel NOW! catalog currently. Let's hope that Avengers isn't the only title that is of a little quality in Marvel's Phase NOW!

WRITING : ( 6 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 6 / 10 )

STORY : ( 7 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 6 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 6 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 6 / 10 )