Review # 183: "Jessica Jones: The Pulse"

In my review of "Alias" I mentioned how a sanitized Jessica Jones isn't nearly as good as a vulgar Jessica Jones. Case in point: "Jessica Jones: The Pulse."

Review # 176: "New Avengers Omnibus - Vol. 1"

After a mediocre run by Geoff Johns, the usual crap from Chuck Austen, and Mark Millar's "The Ultimates" showing off how cool the Avengers could be, it was time for a change. Cue Brian Michael Bendis, who had been kicking ass on "Ultimate Spider-Man," "Daredevil" and "Alias." But could he handle a team book?

The answer - at the time - was an emphatic "yes."

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 # 164: "Alias"

Jessica Jones is going to go down in history as the greatest thing Brian Michael Bendis ever contributed to comics. It's tempting to call her the greatest female character in the history of superhero books.

Review # 152 - "Guardians of the Galaxy - 'Cosmic Avengers' and 'Angela'"

Who would have thought that "Guardians of the Galaxy" would become a new banner franchise for Marvel? Better yet, there isn't a comics series that stands to benefit from its newfound commercial success as much as this one.

Review # 133: "Age of Ultron"

"Age of Ultron" is a poorly-executed, confusing mess of an event comic with a misleading title that - for whatever reason - I found to be incredibly gripping from start to finish.

Giant Size Review # 2: The State of the X-Men ("Amazing X-Men," "No More Humans," and more)

Another Giant Size review! This time, the central topic is the current state of the X-Men where the question of the day is: Why does Brian Michael Bendis have to be in charge? Come to think of it: who is in charge at all?

Review # 118: "Daredevil - End of Days"

An unfortunate truth about superheroes is that their stories never end. They can't even die. With every passing comes the anticipation of resurrection. As long as popular heroes continue to sell, their return is necessary.

Review # 113: "Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 - Revolution"

I was disappointed when Kieron Gillen's "Uncanny X-Men" got the axe. I felt that his version of the team - centered around Cyclops' new "mutant force" - was only just getting started. I was glad to learn that Brian Michael Bendis - in addition to writing to "All-New X-Men" - would be relaunching "Uncanny" with key proponents of Gillen's cast. Namely: Cyke, Magneto, Emma Frost and Magik.

Review # 107: "X-Men - Battle of the Atom"

It's nice to see a franchise heading in a direction I like. What isn't nice is when it's kinda stumbling in that direction.

Review # 100: "All-New X-Men Vol. 1 - Yesterday's X-Men"

It was the best of Bendis, it was the worst of Bendis. By chance I read the current commercial king of Marvel's run on Daredevil at about the same time as his expanded run on the Avengers. While I found his time with Earth's Mightiest Heroes in the Heroic Age to be tired, his earlier work with The Man Without Fear blew me away. BMB made the Avengers profitable again with his prior launch of "New Avengers" but by the end he ran out of creative steam.

Review # 68: "'Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis Vol. 5' and 'New Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis Vol. 5'"

And so Brian Michael Bendis' time with the Avengers comes to an end. Not with a bang, but with a whimper.

Review # 55: "House of M"

A lot of people hate "House of M." It was a status quo shift that people were uncomfortable with and - unlike many other event comics - it stuck for a long time. The repercussions were felt for eight whole years and you could argue they still are.

Review # 52: "Avengers Assemble by Brian Michael Bendis"

Hoping to capitalize on the success of the film, "Avengers Assemble" was originally conceived as a series for younger readers but accessible to all. There's a greater emphasis on action, and less on character motivation. However, the result is a tale that is wonderfully old-school, and readers who enjoy classic material will likely find it to be the best Brian Michael Bendis Avengers story in years.

Review # 33: "Daredevil by Bendis and Maleev Ultimate Collection Vol. 3"

Brian Michael Bendis reached his peak in volume two of this set and is due for a comedown in volume three as his run concludes. Fortunately, the "Daredevil" narrative does not fall far.

Review # 32: "Daredevil by Bendis and Maleev Ultimate Collection Vol. 2"

Volume two represents the peak of Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev's run on this book, putting it on equal footing with Frank Miller and Klaus Janson. With Matt Murdock's life in danger of going to hell, this raises the stakes by giving him much more to lose.

Review # 31: "Daredevil by Bendis and Maleev Ultimate Collection Vol. 1"

It's somewhat mystifying to me that Daredevil isn't a bigger deal than he is in the mainstream eye. While what was perceived as a mediocre-to-bad film hurt his standing, Matt Murdock has had more than his fair share of incredible runs and benchmark stories. These days the mainstream media is all over Frank Miller for his work on Batman, 300, Sin City and Wolverine. But you could make an argument - hell, I'd make that argument - that his best writing came within the pages of Daredevil. Yet, it rarely gets mentioned by the press.

Review # 19: "New Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis Volumes 1, 2 and 3"

Many people jump on Brian Michael Bendis for focusing on character interaction more than character development. I think they need to wake up and realize what series they're reading.

Review # 14: "Avengers Vs. X-Men Companion"

At an unparallelled level, AvX DOMINATED the lines of Marvel's two largest team franchises, which are hot with collectors. In Marvel's wisdom, they included lots of bonus content with the hardcover release of the main story, then compiled the others into a companion piece. I'm going to go through them bit-by-bit (since the main line can be purchased without add-ons) and let you know if they're worth your time. I'll give a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle, then have an overall rating for the companion omnibus at the end. Cool? Cool.

Review # 12: "Fear Itself: Avengers and Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis Volume 3"

Now this is more like it.