This book has been faltering for quite some time now. Ed Brubaker gave us a fun, if not flawed, twelve issues and Nick Spencer just….well let’s just forget about Nick Spencer. So with no direction in sight it feels like the Avengers book I only really liked is gonna end soon. But we have salvation my friends! First we have Warren Ellis come back to the Marvel Universe. While he may not enjoy writing mainstream comics anymore, his last few have been pretty good. Also we have a cornucopia of artists for the next six issues starting with Jamie McKelvie on this issue. That should be more then enough to pique anyone’s interest right?

This is a no brainier for me: This book rocks. Everything about this comic works for me from the story to the art. First we have Ellis writing a pretty good cast of characters. Black Widow reminds me of Elsa Bloodstone, who is prim and snobby but it’s entertaining with Ellis’s writing. Then you have a good ‘mad scientist’ with Beast, and finally a stoic Captain America who is always to the point. Moon Knight is involved with the book as well but to be honest he doesn’t do much for him other then to point the story forward. Overall though the plot is entertaining with the Secret Avengers trying to stop the Shadow Council from razing Cincinnati with a time machine. What really makes this issue work for me though is the incredible artwork by McKelvie. Everything is so sharp and colorful to look at, even in a grey-ish abandoned city. That two page spread of that said city is the best sequence in the entire book. The scope of it from how tiny Moon Knight is in comparison is amazing. There are some times where I think McKelvie draws Rogers or Natasha to be smug when they shouldn’t be. (Roger’s “looks” more British if that makes sense). But it’s 99.9% perfection for me in this case.

This is the best issue of the title in a very long time. Whether Warren Ellis likes it or not he is great at writing superheroes. Almost everyone in this book has the voice of Ellis but just enough of their own characterization without making them feel like strangers. Plus he has some amazing ideas in what is only a one-and-done issue (for now). Add in some of the best work I’ve seen from Jamie McKelvie and you got yourself one grade ‘A’ comic. It’s a shame we don’t have McKelvie doing the whole run but I’ll be saying that for the next five months. Bring on Kev Walker!