Black Widow tries to stop a news site from printing lies about the death of Bucky. The reporters and Black Widow talk about death and super-heroes.
The Good
It's not a Fear Itself tie-in, technically. Yes, Fear Itself is plastered on the cover, but this issue deals more with Black Widow dealing with the death of Bucky. We start off with a scummy internet news site reporting news with no backing evidence, and they have no reason to print it other than it will bring more people to their site. Sadly, these sites exist, and I hate them, so this made me a bit giddy.
The other major discussion in this issue, which blew me away because it's talked about fans all the time, but not talked about in the comic, is death and super-heroes. Thank you Nick Spencer. You are awesome and hit the nail right on the head. I don't want to give too much away, but he discusses the fact that regular folk in comics die and stay dead, and heroes and villains come back and how that affects loved ones, and you know what? It changed my opinion on how I thought loved ones should feel in these books when their family/friends/lovers die.
The dialogue in this issue is so natural, and while I was bummed Brubaker left the book, so far, I like it more with Nick Spencer as the writer, which I never thought I'd say. It may be a dense read, but it's so fluid and the transitions between panels is flawless because I was sucked in from page one. I was pretty skeptical about the book because I don't like tie ins and frankly, I've lost all interest in Fear Itself, but Spencer did an amazing job. Sorry if I don't mention the fantastic artwork of Scot Eaton, but for me, it was all about the writing in the issue. Eaton's art is seriously great in this issue, for real.
The Bad
This really isn't a Secret Avengers book. It feels more like a one-shot; however, if it was a Fear Itself one-shot, I would have never read it.
There was an ad for Marvel trading cards. I felt like it was 1994 all over again.
The Verdict
What's the best tie-in for Fear Itself? Easy: Secret Avengers #15. There is no action in the book, and it all takes place in a single room, but Nick Spencer did an amazing job on this issue, so much so that it is my favorite one of the series so far. There's a lot of discussion about death in comics that we've all had at one point or another, but Spencer really hits it on the head in this issue and how characters feel about it, hero or not. I highly HIGHLY recommend this issue for any comic fan because we've all talked about death in comics one time or another.
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