Dear Mr. Bendis:

When we complained about Secret Invasion going on too long, it was a valid criticism.  It did go on too long, and there was a great amount of padding, filler, and stretching.  However, we did not mean for you to go the absolute opposite direction for your next event story and make it very truncated.  This is the payoff for seven years of ongoing storytelling, and you’re going to wrap it up in four issues, the first of which seems to be filled with an excess of non-storytelling pages?  It is very rushed; a lot of things happen here very fast, and all of the sudden we jump from point A to B to C in a matter of a few panels.  Instead of Joe Q’s sales pitch for trades (which, let’s face facts, most of us reading this already own what he’s hawking here), a “briefing transcript” which really adds no more detail than what’s already in the story (though the pictures were nice in a fantasy geek-out way), and a long preview for a Hulk story, couldn’t those pages have been used for more story development?  I realize some of this isn’t your decision, but still, it’s annoying and if you really do carry clout at Marvel you should be able to get the book format you want.  I don’t see Didio clogging up issues of “Blackest Night” with previews and in-house ads.

Sorry, went on a non-relevant rant there.  Back to the content.  We go from months of the government trusting Osborne, to realizing he’s a wackjob in a matter of panels.  This should be developed more, and the fact that it isn’t either is a testament to your writing on this story or a condemnation of the storyline as a whole.  Then, here we are, Osborne’s forces are attacking Asgard.  Bing, bang, boom – done.  Isn’t it also a problem that we don’t know who half the characters in Osborne’s army are?  Example: who are all the characters that attack Volstagg at the beginning?  Couldn’t say, but they sure are powerful to be able to cause Soldier Field to blow up (you know, the one where they worked on the A-Bomb).  The only thing interesting is the game that Loki’s playing.  Obviously he’s causing mischief, but he has some purpose here and that’s what I’m waiting to see work out.  And yes, I can’t wait to see the band get back together again.  I’m as sentimental as the next comic book fan, can’t help it.

Mr. Coipel, I am a fan of your art.  But there are some issues with your work here.  The crowd scene where Ares is giving everyone the rousing speech – can we see some faces rather than just big blobs of brown out in the distance?  I realize you’re trying to convey a sense of size here, but the emotion of the moment gets lost in the process.  Also, please make Moonstone look like an adult woman and not a student at Peter Parker’s high school in “Ultimate Spider Man.”  Finally, the fight scene at the end should have been a close-up.  I understand you’re trying to convey things through the eyes of the news team, but sometimes it’s appropriate to get creative and sometimes you should just show us a good beat down. 

There are three more issues, not to mention side stories (as the oh-so convenient checklist lets us know), so maybe you will redeem yourself.  Unfortunately, while your teasing of the Avenging Trio reuniting has its tendrils wrapped around my fanboy soul, I fear that I may desire each issue more but love it less.  Please don’t let this ultimate event end your narrative with a whimper rather than a bang.  Sincerely, BC1, #1 Avengers fan.