Comics Roundup for 1/26/11

Marvel's not doing a very good job of spacing out their Avengers books lately. I seem to recall the first month they came out that there was one every week. Now there are three in the same week. Oh well, what can you do?

The Avengers #9 - I really enjoyed this issue for a few reasons. For starters, it shows that there are still tensions left over from the whole Civil War and Initiative storylines, which shows that those stories mattered even though we have a new status quo. I also liked the fact that Steve Rogers (the original Captain America) is quick to agree with Spider-Man's assessment of the current threat. Those two characters represent the bright side of being a superhero, and it only makes sense that they would see it the same way - plus it's nice having Wolverine on the team to offer the counterpoint that wouldn't really work with another character. "Lofty principles are pretty useless if no one's around to see you live by 'em." I also prefer Scott Hannah's inks on John Romita, Jr.'s pencils over Klaus Janson - at least, for a title like this. Janson's a better fit for characters like The Punisher.

Secret Avengers #9 - Steve Rogers and Friends continues to be a good title, and I need to go through the whole series just to catch up on all the plot points that are building to a head here. I also should go back and re-read The Marvels Project, as there's stuff in this title that's building on what Ed Brubaker wrote in that series. All this, and I think that Shang-Chi is being used pretty effectively beyond "Asian guy who knows martial arts".

The New Avengers #8 - If Secret Avengers is basically Steve Rogers and Friends, then this series is Luke Cage and Friends. I don't have a problem with that, as Brian Michael Bendis has done a good job of making Cage into a cool character beyond some token black superhero. Speaking of Bendis, he gets a little too impressed with himself and his dialogue sometimes, but it really seemed to work in this issue. All this, and Daniel Acuna on art made for a nice read.

Captain America #614 - I don't have much to say other than this continues to be an enjoyable read. And can we just get rid of the "Nomad" backups already? How about backups with The Falcon? Black Widow? Crap, I'll take U.S.Agent by this point - and let's get a new artist for those backups.

Detective Comics #873 - Was this anything spectacular? No, but it was some solid superhero storytelling with the Dick Grayson Batman. There was also a really cool fake-out moment that really had me wondering, "Are they REALLY going to go through with this?" I hope this creative team sticks around. If they do, so will I.