Jason Aaron

Starting with positives, this is an action-packed comic series with loads of fun easter egss and alternate multiverse surprises, so if you just want loads of fights and perils and not-your-neighborhood supers, you're all set. Good stuff on that level.

Best part, for me, was the buildup of part 6, which gave us the Big Bad that is Multiversal Dr Doom. Until that point, I really didn't give a damn about whatever overarching plot Aaron was going for. If nothing else, seeing how he concludes that story will make me pick up the second volume of this.

All that said, Jason Aaron did some great stuff with Doctor Strange, but his Avengers (this and the regular title) doesn't work. To me, it feels like I'm being pinned in a corner and bombarded with every idea he's ever had, blasting them out one after another and not pausing to see what sticks to the walls or plots (if any). Honestly, it's like hearing stories from that overly excitable person who's got a story to top anyone else's EVER.

It'd bother me less if he weren't culling the BIGGEST and MOST POWERFUL Marvel conceits and concepts and putting them under his umbrella.

Ghost Riders on non-motorcycles, interesting; at this point, I'll expect him to make Hellfire Acanti (space whales from X-Men) for one to ride as Galactus' Herald…

Having Odin on a prehistoric Avengers team is a curiosity, but putting Phoenix AND Black Panther AND the Starbrand AND Ghost Rider….it really smacks of a kid's version of one-upmanship in storytelling, and it sets a bad precedent of the next writer doing the same…which makes Eternity shudder….

This gets 3 stars for being exciting with some intriguing character choices, but ultimately, it's as disconcerting and disruptive as every Avengers issue Aaron's done the past few years.

Could be I'm just too old to enjoy the ride….but I'd rather see a writer come up with a few new things and add to a team's history/continuity, not constantly up-end it for the sake of spectacle. He did that with Dr Strange; why does his Avengers have to try and out-do every other story ever?… (more)

This was a fast read. Story is about the aged assassin Ira Rath. Hired by local power-holders to take care of problems they face he does not care if he is killing men, women or children. He lives in a deep isolation and as a monk haunted by his family history, history of cold-blooded murderers that have nothing but mayhem in their blood since the ancient feud over sheep.

But when everyone hears that he is not so young anymore and when his son becomes the target of the local loan sharks everything changes. It is now man of (w)Rath family against the impossible odds.

Its a dark tale, all characters are deadly people with little or no scruples and ready for a an all-out war to the very annihilation of the other side. Ira's son and his fiancee are the the most positive characters but even the son shows predilection for crime and violence.

Its a tale of family trying to survive while being branded as eternally damned in very closed-off and religious part of US.

Art is good and what is most important consistent throughout the entire book.

If you are fan of straight up action story (say like "Banshee") you will enjoy this one.

Recommended.… (more)

Volume #2 concludes the story arc of Conan's life and death. We finally see the origins of the Crimson Witch and how she gave birth to her insidious twins. We also follow Conan on his adventures and witness how Crimson Witch and her cohorts were never too far away from him waiting for the right moment to use Conan to raise the monster from the deep.

I truly enjoyed the story and especially liked the portrayal of proud, stubborn Conan having his version of encounter-on-the-top-of-the-world. He is truly only one who could find his way back from anywhere through sheer will alone.

Art is great. Covers are again done by Esad Ribic and each story is drawn by a different artists. Styles are definitely different but complementary - for example first story (Conan leading the group of for all and purposes Amazons) is done in a style similar to Ribic's but then there is exquisitely drawn story of Conan's return to Cimmeria. Pure joy for the eyes.

Recommended to all fans of heroic fantasy.… (more)