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."

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 # 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 # 129: "Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol. 2"

On the one hand, the second "Uncanny X-Men" omnibus by Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Dave Cockrum isn't as fascinating as the first one.

Review # 122: "Avengers Assemble by Kurt Busiek Vol. 3"

These days if a comic book writer wants to explore a character in a team book, it seems like most of the time they get added to a team without subtractions. It raises the question of what the point is of having some characters around if they're no longer serving any purpose.

Review # 108: "Avengers Assemble by Kurt Busiek Vol. 2"

Is it fair to call a robot crazy?

Review # 99: "Avengers: The Enemy Within"

Rant time:

Review # 88: "Avengers Assemble by Kurt Busiek Vol. 1"

Marvel was in a funk in the late 90s after the collector market bottomed out and the company narrowly avoided bankruptcy. They had just shipped many of their flagship titles to Image for a reboot to get a new audience on board. Unfortunately, it was a creative and commercial flop and left Marvel at square one.

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 # 22: "Captain Marvel - 'In Pursuit of Flight' and 'Down'"

Marvel's use of the "Captain Marvel" name has been hilarious at times. Seizing the trademark after DC lost it, they've had to sporadically produce a Captain Marvel comic every year or two in order to keep it. This became a problem when - in the early 80's - Jim Starlin had the company's first Captain Marvel (the Kree "Mar-Vell") die of cancer. So they created the light-powered Monica Rambeau, calling her the new Captain Marvel. As an Avenger, she didn't always have her own series, so they reprinted old Mar-Vell issues. Then Rambeau would have a one-shot every couple of years. From there it led to several sons, a Skrull Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell being plucked from a different point in time, Mar-Vell being cloned, Noh-Varr being called "Captain Marvel" on the Dark Avengers team, etc., etc.