The Avengers' B-Team battle extra-dimensional demons in Central Park whose origins have horrible ramifications for the Sorcerer Supreme.
The Good
Immonen and Von Grawbadger have been working together for a long time, but I've never seen their art look this good. Martin's colors just give their work a real majesty. I especially loved the spiral patterns they used for the demons. While I had some issues with patches of dialogue, Bendis makes these characters feel like they're living in a fully-fleshed out world like nobody else can. His "Oral History of the Avengers" is actually a real stand-out for the title. It feels real, like an actual non-fiction article. Also, I was genuinely surprised by this cliffhanger and intrigued to see what it means for Dr. Strange.
The Bad
The middle portion of this is a little off for making almost every character a smart ass without any straight men. This sticks out even more considering how diverse and distinct Bendis makes all the characters' voices in the "Oral History of the Avengers" back-up feature, where the humor's more germane to the individual personalities. As for the main feature, it just didn't fit for Iron Fist to be cracking wise like he did or for the Avenegers to be having a pages-long conversation about Ghostbusters while they're fighting.
The Verdict - 3.5/5
One thing I've always enjoyed about Bendis' writing is his knack for putting superheroes in real-feeling scenarios you rarely get in titles like this. It can be something of a double-edged sword though, because sometimes you get heroes talking like a bunch of buddies watching TV on the couch when they're supposed to be in the middle of an Earth-threatening crisis,and it honestly gets distracting. But the art's stellar, the plot's surprising and the back-up feature's a stand-out.
