Review # 91: "Avengers Forever"

To borrow a phrase I read somewhere, picking up a copy of "Avengers Forever" is the closest you will ever get to taking a university course in Avengers appreciation. It's a monumental celebration of 35+ years of history, takes major cues from the likes of "The Kree-Skrull War" and "Celestial Madonna," and eclipses them both. It's my pick for the greatest Avengers story ever made, and I'm willing to give Kurt Busiek, Carlos Pacheco and Roger Stern that honour on ambition alone.

Review # 11: "Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis - Volumes One and Two"

After his New Avengers dealt with new threats, his Mighty Avengers operated as a half-facade and his Dark Avengers operated as a FULL facade, Brian Michael Bendis' adjective-free "Avengers" relaunch is like a throwback to the time before he took over the title and made it Marvel's biggest-selling franchise. It's a sensible move as after the events of "Siege," the company launched the new "Heroic Age" with a back-to-basics line being drawn between heroes and villains. Political infighting ("Civil War,") espionage ("Secret Invasion") and hidden malice ("Dark Reign") had made everything blurry.