This was everything I wanted out of a comic. Big action,
good characters, real problems and an ending that made me want to read the next
issue at that very moment.

            Now that
all the gushing is out of the way here’s the deal. I love Luke Cage. Right
behind Spider-Man is Luke Cage on my top 5 heroes list. He was always a cool
character and I remember I would always pick up an issue or two of Power Man
and Iron Fist in the quarter bin at the local shop. But not until Alias did I really
see the potential for Cage to be anything more than Ben Grimm without rocks all
over him.

            Bendis
changed all that. He made Luke a little older and wiser. He made him the kind
of guy you would be proud to have on your side if things went down. Up until
now I was firmly convinced that no one but Bendis could write this kind of Luke
Cage. I’m happy to report that I was dead wrong. John Arcudi you can write Luke
anytime you want. I will buy the hell out of it.

            And the art
was nothing to sneeze at either (did I just say that?). Eric Canete brings a
weight to his art that I haven’t seen in quite sometime. It’s kinetic and heavy
which is perfect for a book about a bruiser with a heart of gold. But where Canete really shines is the last few pages in the hospital. Luke is at a loss of
what to do to help his friend and the weight of that moment hangs heavy in the
pencils.

            On the show
last week the guys talked about a Luke Cage book and how they couldn’t grasp
what it would be like. Well it would be like this boys, and it would be
awesome.