Well... I wasn't expecting any of that!

The last two weeks provide a textbook illustration of the ways in which the two Avengers books work different muscles to provide something for everyone. For every malcontent who read New Avengers and said, "twenty pages of a domestic dispute between two married people? Why even bother to illustrate this?" Marvel can return a few days later and say, "Would you prefer eighty Doombots exploding in every color of the rainbow, page after page after page? How do you like those particular apples?" Some people like those apples very much.

But where does that leave those of us who liked the book-length argument?

I like the way that this book continues to live up to its mission statement. I also like the fact that not every story is in service to the crossover; the fact that I've scarcely picked up a Bendis book in months that didn't stop to ruminate on Skrulls, and now that the event is ramping up suddenly we're in the seventies with Doctor Doom, actually appeals to me quite a lot.

At the same time, I still don't feel like I'm getting to know these characters in the context of their new situation. They haven't taken a breath since #1, which I guess is the point, but... who is Wonder Man, really? What's in it for Ares? Don't get me started on the Black Widow. These characters need one of those "X-Men play softball" issues. For the only comic on the shelf with thought balloons, I don't feel like I know what's going on inside anyone's head yet. Maybe we will need to wait until after the Skrulls have shown themselves. Or maybe I have the wrong Avengers book.