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OK, so here we go with part 2 of R & R. I’ve got 5 more books and a couple of them really ticked me off so lets get to this week’s final beating!
First up is…Dark Reign: Hawkeye #5 of 5.
Publisher: Marvel
Writer (s):Andy Diggle & Antony Johnston
Artist:Andres Guinaldo (cover by Clint Langley)
All right well, first of all, why again did the world have to wait 6 months for this piece of crap? If this issue would have knocked it out of the park, then I could maybe deal with the release delay since the last issue but this was ridiculous. We saw Bullseye (Hawkeye) go after his father and kill him by flinging a Quinjet kamikaze style right into his fathers jet…Wow, that was shocking. Thanks for a half a year build up for nothing Mr. Quesada. 1/5

Next up is…Thor Giant Size Finale #1 (one-shot).
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Artist: Marko Djudjevic
Yeah, I know this came out months ago but I didn’t get it until Hawkeye shipped…don’t ask, long story. So right off the bat we see Kelda’s boyfriend Bill getting killed by some Asgardian turncoats who are helping Loki and Doom. Balder runs into this foul act and kills the traitors. Once Kelda finds out about her man, she goes berserk. She leaves her home and goes right after Loki whom she thinks is with Doom but he isn’t. Doom however is home and he gladly shows her why he is considered the biggest threat on Earth! She gets her heart ripped out by The Destroyer because Doom needs it to be able to operate the armor himself. There was also a back-up story of Thor’s origin (Journey into Mystery #83) in this issue to make it even better!  4/5

Thirdly I present…New Avengers #61.
Publisher: Marvel
Writer:Brian Michael Bendis
Artist(s):Stuart Immonen & Daniel Acuna
All I can say is wow! What a great issue even though the villains were all C-Lister’s that Bendis pulled out of the trash can. This issue shows two sets of Avengers being whooped on by some crappy villains that were “powered up” by the Hood’s Norn Stones. He sent these guys out to find where the Avengers are hiding and they run into Bucky-Cap and Steve on one rooftop, then Spider-Man and Spider Woman on another. Great dialogue with the Spidey’s and great action with Bucky and Steve. In the end it doesn’t look good for the Avengers but we will have to wait for next issue to see what happens. Siege is really starting to heat up in the main title and it seems that the supporting books are doing the same. 4/5

Next on the list is…Avengers The Initiative #32.
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Christos Gage
Artist:Mahmud Asrar (cover by David Yardin)
This issue was pretty good for the first time in awhile in my opinion. We see Taskmaster reflect on how easy his life has been because of his abilities. He then informs the Initiative that they are going to assault Asgard. Of course, everyone freaks out, but Taskmaster talks them down and then has a one on one conversation with Constrictor. Then they go to fight against the Asgardians! Now, this is where it gets a little too crazy for me though. Don’t get me wrong, I think Taskmaster is cool, but now he’s suddenly tough enough to whip Asgardians with little to no effort? I don’t think so, but hey whatever. Next we see the resistance Avengers (Tigra, Night Thrasher, Justice, etc) putting together a plan to cripple Osborn and his radical ideas of conquest. In the final pages we see Osborn using everything he’s got to stop Thor and he does just that. In the back drop though, Diamondback is trying to figure out how she can help Thor without getting herself killed by revealing her true allegiance.  3.5/5

Finally I present…Siege: Storming Asgard – Heroes & Villains.
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: John Rhett Thomas
Artist: Greg Land
This one-shot was only a review of what’s already happened and who the major players are in this event. Kind of a disappointment since it wasn’t solicited that way back when Previews came out but it was fun nonetheless. It was set-up like an e-mail from Victoria Hand to Norman, letting him know what he’s up against and whom he can trust on his own side. This book was well done and served its purpose, but $3.99?  C’mon Marvel, cut the buyer some slack on your B material at least.  3/5

That’s it for now and I’ll be on hiatus for a couple of weeks due to the fact that I won’t be getting my books for this week until I get next week’s shipment. Leave some comments about what you’ve read out of this pile!
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net