The New Avengers #45

The "Big Event" has a death-grip on the throat of the world of comics. There's nothing you can do about it except ignore it or buy it. Sorry.

Depending on the event, it can be a good thing or a bad thing. The Secret Invasion has (so far) been very entertaining - though admittedly there's still time to wreck this train. The backstory behind the event has been the focus of the two Avengers books, and this issue shows us how the last two "Big Events" affected the plans of the Skulls.

This issue picks up where the last one left off, with the Scarlet Witch checking the Marvel Universe into the House of M. We begin with the trademarks big whiteout page. (I wonder - does the artist get full pay for that?) The next page is a great example of really poor planning, as an ad for the "Next Avengers" DVD fills page 3 and completely takes the reader out of the moment. Kudos to the sales department.

In the original House of M, the Scarlet Witch altered reality, but a handful of heroes figured out the deception and set out to fix the problem. In this story we see what effect that had on the Skrull duplicates. We also see how the Annihilation Wave also affected the plans - but since I didn't read that series, I'm a little vague on the specifics - although I'm not sure it's necessary to enjoy the story.

Whether you like his writing style or not, you really have to admire the audacity of Brian Bendis. Here he squeezes three major, galaxy-spanning events into a single comic and somehow makes it work. In the hands of a less skillful writer, it would have been a mess - but he keeps the focus on one or two characters and gives us a fascinating look at a side story that we weren't even aware of.

I really like the art by Jim Cheung, with inks by John Dell and Jay Leisten. The art is detailed without being cramped, and they manage to shift between huge panoramas (such as the incredible double splash of the SHIELD Helicarrier flying over New York City) to tight, emotional shots (see the Queen's breakdown on page 6). A strong effort, and I look forward to seeing more work from them.

Like this month's Mighty Avengers, I'm not sure this issue was crucial to the Secret Invasion story, but it does give us a few more pieces of the puzzle. Here's hoping that this "Big Event" continues to stay on the tracks.

Grade: B-