Review # 173: "Avengers Assemble by Kurt Busiek Vol. 5"

"The Kang Dynasty" may be the most refreshing Kang story out there. After decades of complicated schemes where he tries to trap the Avengers in android bodies or marry Mantis or kill his counterparts from other universes, the Conquerer finally says "F*** it," blows up the United Nations building because he can, and sets all these armies he's always talking about on Earth in a global war.

Review # 172: "X-Men - 'Muertas' and 'Bloodline'"

Sometimes ideas that shouldn't miss end up doing just that. Brian Wood's all-female X-Men team is one of these examples. Maybe in a different world where Wood wrote more than just 17 issues, things would have turned out better. The work is good, only it's disappointing. "X-Men" comes off as a truncated, wasted opportunity.

Review # 171: "Wolverine Epic Collection Vol. 1 - Madripoor Nights"

Great writers fuel great characters, and Wolverine has had quite a few. Larry Hama, Joss Whedon and Jason Aaron are among the many who have given Logan a great voice, but there is no one better than the man who gave Wolverine a great mind, Chris Claremont.

Review # 170: "Elektra Lives Again"

And here I was thinking I had every Frank Miller "Daredevil" story. "Elektra Lives Again" is an overlooked piece, taking years to move from concept to print. While details are scarce, it's believed that it was put together before the 1987 publishing of Miller's best story "Born Again." Daredevil's housing depiction seems to point in that direction. However, the story was not released until 1990.

Giant Size Review # 5: X-Men by Bendis

Brian Michael Bendis' X-Men run is starting to show promise on the other side of "Battle of the Atom." Moving the All-New X-Men to the Cyclops camp allows the time-displaced original team to confront some of its issues without ongoing distractions, while Scott's newly-discovered charges are beginning to come into their own as characters. But there are still some bumps in the road, including one of the most befuddling crossovers in recent memory.

Review # 169: "X-Factor Visionaries by Peter David"

You could make a case for Peter David's original time on "X-Factor" as the best X-family creative run of the entire 1990s. Its peaks likely weren't as high as the best the main "X-Men" line had to offer at points, but it makes up for it by being of consistent good quality.

Review # 168: "X-Men - Inferno Prologue"

Interesting technique being employed by Marvel with this omnibus, as "X-Men: Inferno Prologue" collects all material from "Uncanny X-Men," "New Mutants" and "X-Factor" between the crossovers "Fall of the Mutants" and "Inferno." If this is their model going forward - collecting the "big three" of the 80s in single collections - then I am all for it. Better to keep all of the setpieces in one place, even if it does create some unevenness in terms of quality.