2.9 (374) Avengers vol 3 #4 ... Marvel ...

Every now and then, a team as large as this with so many back up members, a team that has such a good reputation ... needs to reconsider who their new members will be ... and basically that sums up this very issue

At the end of the first arc, there are many, many Avengers gathered. And the Earth hasn't seen Avengers in a while thanks to Heroes Reborn. This means that the slate is clean for them to gather members to relaunch the Avengers franchise

It's quite fun to see how each of them react. Naturally there are the founding members who sit in deliberation and there are those who really want to be selected (Hawkeye) and those who are open but don't give a toss and finally those who prefer not to be as they have their own lives to get back to and will come only when there is an emergency

What's an added fun is we get to see when minor villains go to their villainy and there are all these massive number of good guys getting into each other's way to fight the villain ... it's quite fun and funny!

So who gets selected?

Read and find out

Ratings: 8/10

2.8 (373) Avengers vol 3 #3 ... Marvel ...

From volume 2 we move on to volume 3 and basically for me, volume 3 is the final definitive Avengers storyline that is easy to follow. After this, there are multiple titles and multiple relaunches with some lasting less than a dozen issues or so ... well, I have spoken about relaunches a lot in past few months ... so I will not bore you here

For those who read 1 and 2 SPOILER ALERT ... it is only to be expected that after such a monumental opening saga, things have to quieten down a bit and that's what this issue is all about. The quiet issue where we see all the various Avengers that fought against Morgana coming to terms with each other once more

And as the cover indicates, once more, Simon William aka Wonder Man has made his return from the dead. Wonder Man is no longer human as he is composed of ionic energy and this time, he reconstituted because of the Scarlet Witch's desperate need for help ... this is actually a good point to see how the Witch is so powerful yet have minimal control over her abilities ... sort of a foreshadowing of what is to come in Avengers Disassembled, eh?

But basically that's what this whole book is about ... finishing the Morgana incident and the Avengers regrouping ... and coupled with Perez art, this book is just awesome!

Ratings: 8/10

295. Crisis on Infinite Earths #1 ... DC ...

Well, well, well we were going to save this particular review for our 300th but seeing things as it is, we thought after the success of Fear Agent, how do we follow it up with something that is NOT Marvel but equally huge? And this is it!

First up, while Marvel had its Secret Wars, DC decided at that time that its loooooong history with alternate histories make for a very convoluted universe or universes. And thus they decided to dream up a very very very detailed and huge storyline to sort of clean up their entire multiverse. Did they succeed? Well you read it and decide for yourself

On the art front, all we have to say is that Perez did some of his best work here. There is not a single panel that read as if it is disjointed or felt rushed. Every little detail and emotional nuance is in place and when there is a need for action or some energy signature, it is magnificent. Mind you, this is before the advent of computer colouring and when there is light or energy or glistening ... well ...

Next up, in this first issue, while it has many pages, all we get is a wee bit of the overarching plot. Yet, it is so engaging that it makes you want to read more. Basically we are introduced to a few main players that appear up front. First chap is the crying man who appears as a witness from one dying universe to another as a ... witness. He cannot be seen and he cannot affect anything or anyone ...

And how does each universe dies? A disappearance as if a big eraser is erasing them. So on each Earth, there abounds heroes and villains who will band together in desperation

And amidst all these chaos, we are given witness to a beautiful lady who is transformed and sent to seek out those they believed may assist in stopping the villainy that is afoot. However, all is not right with this lady nor with the one who sent her nor even with ... a shadowy villain ... who is not the shadow beings that attacked the first gathering of heroes ...

Is that enough? Is that confusing? If you answer yes, then please get it and read it

Ratings: 9/10