The New Avengers Vol. 1

This volume collects the first ten issues of the first New Avengers series which started the Avengers revolution at Marvel. For a little over two decades the big team book at Marvel was the X-Men. Once Brian Michael Bendis came on board he retooled the Avengers in a way that no other writer has done since the days of Stan Lee. This is the first Avengers story to be told after Avengers Disassembled however I would recommend reading the Secret War mini-series in between the latter & this new book because it is heavily referenced. This first story arc goes off with a bang its called Breakout. Just imagine what it would be like if someone broke several super criminals out all at the same time. Yeah Captain America is here so is Iron Man hell it would not be the Avengers if some of the founders were not there but that's were the similarities end with previous Avengers runs everybody else on the team is new to the team. Characters like Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Wolverine & Spider-Woman just to name a few. These are characters that normally would not work on as team players or they have other commitments. The second story arc titled The Sentry focuses on a character that had himself locked up because he felt he was a danger to others. The Sentry is a character has strong ties to Superman but is less stable of a character in this story seemed a little out of Marvel's field in terms of concept. It reads more like a DC comics story about a hero who has himself institutionalized because of something he thinks he did. Overall I loved the first story about how these characters came together but the second one was a real drag. There are a few notable things to mention in this first volume. First off someone on the team is not who they say they are, also what is this group of heroes that Iron Man is constantly meeting up with & why are they meeting.

A Song of Ice & Fire: A Game of Thrones

First off this is a whole hell of a lot better than the show can ever hope to be.  This is the title that started it all back in 1996.  I love this series I picked it up after my sister got me hooked on some other epic fantasy series; Sword of Truth & Wheel of Time.  Everything that made the first season of the show so good is here & so much more.  The show is like a series of cliff notes for this series & this is one that keeps you on the edge of your seat, turning the pages to see what happens next.  The first book introduces us to the land of Westeros.  Eddard Stark is essentially the main character of this particular book but each chapter has its own point of view character.  Tyrion Lannister steals the show with every chapter he has in this book.  There are so many point of view characters in this series that everyone will undoubtedly have their own favorites.  I really like all of the speculative back story in this book I hope that once George R.R. Martin is done writing the last two books in this series.  That he will do three prequel books  First a book about the Aegon the Conqueror coming & conquering Westeros.  The second book should be a detailed account of Robert's Rebelion; I want to know who John Snow's parents really are.  I think that John Snow is really Lyanna Stark's bastard son with Rhaegar Targaryen instead of Ned Stark's bastard & that she died giving birth to him, so in reality he is Daenerys Targaryen's half brother. The third book should be a collection of the stories that Old Nan told the Stark children growing up, the legends of Westeros.  But knowing how long it takes Martin to crank out one of these masterpieces those three books will probably never happen.  This first one however is one of the greatest works of literature of the last quarter of a century & will stand the test of time like The Lord of the Rings.  If you are a fan of the show you owe it to yourself to read not just this book but the whole series.

Archer & Armstrong Vol. 3: Far Faraway

Valiant is simply doing an amazing job, this third volume of Archer & Armstrong doesn't disappoint it goes into the history of the Boon.  Armstrong tells the true story that surrounds the tale of Gilgamesh.  Mary Maria is on a mission for her parents which coincides with Archer's quest to find out who he truly is.  All of this leads to the three of them getting sucked through a portal to the Faraway.  The Faraway is essentially a garden nightmare the three of them band together to take on this crazy general.  Along the way they make several discoveries of people lost or trapped in the Faraway.  This book leaves the reader on such a cliff hanger that you can't help but wonder what is going to happen next.

Bloodshot Vol. 2: The Rise & The Fall

Project Rising Spirit just got their collective asses handed to them in this collection by Bloodshot & company.  Bloohdshot is every action star put together in one man he's Captain America, Cable & the Punisher at the same time.  Bloodshot is looking for answers about his past which take him to this super secret facility.  It is only at the end of this volume that you realize that he is still a puppet having his strings pulled to set events in motion.  Up next is the first big crossover for Valiant Comics in the form of Harbinger Wars.

Sword of Sorcery Vol. 1: Amethyst

Of the New 52 titles that I have picked up so far this was one of the better ones a little ahead of its time by about a year.  Now while the main to comics companies in the industry are going through a renaissance of characters & a female revolution this is one title that could easily find a home now days.  The story of Amaya & the realm of Nilaa is quite intriguing, it has a Song of Ice & Fire similarity to its set up.  Ancient houses with leaders having power from certain gems, coming together battling a great foe in Eclipso.  This was a nice introduction to the character I really hope DC gets their collective act together & utilize her now that they have officially brought back the multiverse.  I would really like to see a book come out in the near future that showcases here entire realm not just the ruling houses but the lesser houses as well.  There were two short stories in this collection as well one about a character named Stalker who is tricked by Lucifer int o giving up his soul this was kind of downer.  The other story was great it was an updated telling of Beowulf in which he is a super-soldier of the future created to be a champion of man after the time of super-heroes.  I really liked how this tied in with the future of the DC Universe.  I haven't read Future's End yet but I hope Beowulf appears in that tale.  I feel that the only reason DC is doing some of these books is so they can retain the rights to some of these characters that they don't use but with the success of Marvel's current summer event Secret Wars this type of medieval story has a fan base already behind it.

Amazing Spider-Man Ultimate Collection Book 1

For anybody who is interested in reading about Spider-Man but is daunted by the decision of where to start this is a great starting point.  The Clone Saga is a couple of years behind us at this point plus this is the first in a series of collections that showcase J. Michael Straczynski's run on the character.  I have to say this volume was quite well done it takes the Spider-Man mythos that you think you know & adds to it in a unique way.  The introduction of Morlun is interesting I wish there had been more of a backstory to his character.  This collection also features the 9/11 issue that came out in November of 2001 to showcase how the Marvel Universe was effected by the World Trade Center tragedy.  Overall I like where J.M.S's Spider-Man run is headed, I already know the ending so that may make me a little biased but more on that when we get there.

Sheltered Vol. 3

The finale of Sheltered is here, I don't know maybe its the fact that there was so much time between reading the first two volumes & this one but something was missing from this one.  Maybe it was the fact that I knew this was the final act but this volume played out in a very predictable way.  I am not going to spoil anything on here this is a short enough series that you should be able to read it in one sitting.  If you are a fan of Lord of the Flies or any pre-apocalyptic future type tale involving children this story is for you.  The question in the end who was right?

Copperhead Vol. 1

Copperhead is a new comic out from Image Comics its basically a western set in space after a war.  Think Firefly with a female lead character the main character of this title is the new sheriff in town.  This sleepy little mining town is rife with problems that are floating just beneath the surface.  This first story arc is essentially a murder mystery to recover a sacred stone by the end of this book there are still a lot of unanswered questions but I am super excited to see where this series is going.