Joking aside, New Avengers: The Reunion was a fantastic miniseries, which I would describe as “True Lies meets Mr. & Mrs Smith in the Marvel Universe”. Despite being quite early in his writing career, Jim McCann has turned out some great comics in the past, and David Lopez does some of the best straight-up superheroics you’ll see outside an issue of Power Girl. Regardless of how big a fan you are of the characters, this series has all the necessary ingredients for a brilliant and quirky take on superheroes. And a fairly rubbish title, which we’ll forgive.

In any case, with the series looking like a guaranteed critical success, the campaign to save Hawkeye & Mockingbird from cancellation begins now! After all, if we’ve learnt anything from the whole S.W.O.R.D. debacle, it’s that a proven creative pedigree and familiar characters is no way to launch a series. I want to see this on EVERYONE’S pull list, y’hear? And if you need more convincing, check out my increasingly positive reviews of New Avengers: The Reunion #1, #2 and #4 (on CBR). Or better yet, buy the trade of the miniseries and see for yourself.

So to issue #2, then, and a clear indication that the hook that holds the series together is a looser one than previously appeared. It was my understanding that each issue dealt with a different individual in possession of supernatural powers of some kind – and while it’s just about true of this one, it’s not really what you’d call a “power”. If anything, it’s the opposite of a “superpower” – it’s a superdeficit. Or a “subpower”. However you want to linguistically flip it. But the thing is, you could take away any hint of supernaturality from the story, and it would be exactly the same – the literal reading of it is that it’s a physical characteristic, but it could just as easily (and this is, perhaps, the scary part) be a psychological one instead.

Either way (and since the latter view changes the overall interpretation somewhat, I’m choosing to look at the issue from the more supernatural perspective implied by the series as a whole), while the topic in question is hardly untouched in fiction (heck, there’s another comic out there – Chew – covering broadly similar territory, albeit in a wildly different fashion), Wood brings to the table an examination that’s thoughtful at the same time as shocking. This is a stark, bleak little comic – and yet it’s hard to truly argue with the way it sympathises with its lead character. This isn’t about a twisted desire, it’s about something more unstoppable: a hunger that the (unnamed) protagonist can’t, for whatever reason, otherwise sate. In other words, it’s taking to an extreme – yet logical – conclusion an aspect of living that we all experience; it’s just that in this case, pushing this particular biological impulse past society’s usual boundaries makes it immediately grotesque to us. And while we and he know his murders to be reprehensible, there’s a punishment – of sorts – in the alternative action he later forces himself to take. You’re left never really knowing whether this is someone truly sinister, or a victim that we could in some way be empathising with.

This ambiguity is only enhanced by the work of Becky Cloonan – someone I’ve never fully clicked with, but reading this shows me that her true strength lies in stark black-and-whites rather than the coloured work I’ve seen in things like American Virgin. She makes the protagonist a terrifyingly thin and haunted figure – thus immediately casting him as an obvious-looking “villain” – yet something about him softens towards the end, even as he’s making himself frailer and thinner. She also somehow manages to emphasise the pure body horror of the story even when working in two colours and heavy shadow, and almost entirely with implication – indeed, you suspect it’d be rather less creepy if we were seeing everything in full-colour splat-o-vision.

I’m not sure, though, that Demo – in this second volume, at least, as I can’t comment on the first – quite takes on the role of being the deep and surprising examination of the human psyche I might have expected. This is certainly interesting – and really quite well-crafted in the way it makes one shiver to read it – but much like the earlier Wood work with which I’m familiar (Local) it intrigues rather than full-on captivates. Not that that intrigue isn’t enough to keep me interested in trying the next issue, or indeed catching up on the much-lauded first volume – but it’s not made it to New Favourite Comic status just yet.

Anyone who has ever read Iron Man knows that the briefcase armour is Proper Comics. Something just crazy enough that it shouldn’t work. The fact that someone spent millions of pounds making sure that it did is reason enough to love superhero movies. Note: other things that are Proper Comics include Wolverine’s bone claws, Galactus’ skirt and Ghost Rider. As you can see, we should be grateful that someone’s making the effort to do the source material justice for a change.

Listen, Mr. Samsonite, about the briefcase...

Anyway. What does that armor look like once it’s on? Why, it’s a version of the “Silver Centurion” suit! Many people actually prefer this colour scheme to the traditional red and gold. I’m not sure if I’d count myself among that group, but I can’t deny that it is awesome to see it on screen.

Coming in Iron Man 3, because you demanded it and because there are now no other major designs left to depict: the infamous "nose" armour.

Say what you like about Mark Millar, but him and Bryan Hitch are pretty much the only reason that anyone cares about this shot:

Will Iron Man help get those motherfucking snakes off the motherfucking helicarrier? I haven't checked, but I'm fairly sure no-one has made that joke before.

Personally, I’m disappointed they didn’t go with the original Black Widow costume, but I’m not sure even Scarlett Johansson could have pulled that one off. Plus, this way they probably don’t have to pay the estate of Don Heck any additional royalties:

"Originally I was a ballerina, but at the news of my husband's death, I became a spy for the KGB." (dialogue from Marvel: Ultimate Alliance)

There is currently no word as to whether they’ll be using the “violence-loving nutcase” version of War Machine from his most recent series, but from Cheadle’s generally quite tentative portrayal of the character, I’m guessing not.

James Rhodes sports the "Variable Threat Response Suit", later renamed "War Machine" by someone with no apparent sense of irony.

Now, rule #1 of Internet Criticism is not to judge a film before you’ve seen it, lest you end up looking like one of those foaming lunatics on the AICN forums. However, it is my judgement that this film will be awesome. Between this, Kick Ass and Scott Pilgrim, I’m fairly confident that this year’s wave of comics films is going to more than compensate for last year’s Wolverine/Watchmen debacle.

Yes, for those who haven’t caught all the fuss, it seems that earlier today (this morning UK time, presumably middle of the night for our cousins), lots of big expensive hardcover books (mostly Marvel, but then spreading to other publishers – although notably, nothing of DC’s) became stupidly cheap on Amazon US due to a system glitch. Even with shipping costs to the UK, anyone lucky enough to get an order in will have been well up on the deal. And we eagerly await word from Amazon, assuming it’s in any way forthcoming, on just how much this little slip-up will have cost them.

Sadly, due to having Pretty Much No Money, despite catching discussion of it on Twitter in its early stages, I wasn’t able to take advantage. Not that a load of Marvel hardcovers would have been that much use to me (was Alias cheap, though? That might have been nice. And I wouldn’t say no to a big Ultimates omnibus on my shelf), but by gum, had I the spare dosh, I’d have been all over those EC archives like a rash. Ah well. Next time, Gadget.

As a result, I am unusually entertained by the idea that even Tony Stark doesn’t bother keeping an up-to-date copy of HIS OWN BRAIN, despite the fact that he’s both a genius and a futurist. Surely, he should have seen this coming? Or at the very least, worked out some kind of incremental backup system?

On the other hand, given that he’s spent the last 5 years being a complete dick to those around him, perhaps it was an intentional gamble. And hey, let’s face it, as a former alcoholic he’s going to be well-accustomed to blackouts. This one’s just a little longer than usual.

PARKER WHEN I ASK IF YOU TOOK PHOTOS OF THAT THING WITH THE GOBLIN AND SPIDER-MAN AT THE BRIDGE, BREAKING DOWN AND SOBBING IS NOT AN ANSWER.

http://twitpic.com/16rjhp – MISS BRANT, TELL ROBBIE WE HAVE A NEW FRONT PAGE.

GUESS WHO I CAUGHT TRYING TO SNEAK OUT OF THE OFFICE EARLY? MISS BRANT, YOUR SCHEDULE SAYS 6:30—6:30 AND THAT IS WHAT YOU WORK.

HELLO TWITTER THIS IS ME, J JONAH JAMESON, TELLING YOU WHAT I AM HAVING FOR LUNCH BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT YOU DO WITH TWITTER: SOUP.

THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN A FOUR O’CLOCK EDITORIAL MEETING IS ONE WITH THAT SAD SACK BEN URICH. YES WE KNOW ABOUT DAREDEVIL BLAH BLAH BLAH

FORTUNE: “YOUR DEAREST WISH WILL COME TRUE.” I DON’T REALLY BELIEVE THAT A PACK OF HYENAS WILL ACTUALLY EAT SPIDER-MAN, BUT THANK YOU.

YOU KNOW WHAT I MISS? “SPIDER-SLAYERS.” THAT’S WHAT I MISS.

ATTENTION FRANK CASTLE AKA “THE PUNISHER.” SPIDER-MAN IS A CRIMINAL. YOU KILL THOSE. TAKE THE HINT.

It seems to be inspired by Chris Sims’ really rather wonderful Superhero Facebook Status Updates, and isn’t quite as good, but is still well worth a look.

We’ll still be posting at least one update to the site every weekday (and probably more than that) and we’ll still do reviews – though not quite as often, since we’ll also be turning out some more blog-like content. You know – opinions, observations, speculation. Hopefully, this frees us to write more about the things we want to, which is good for us; and by extension, good for our readers.

Over the next couple of days, you’ll probably see a few changes to the site, including a new design, so bear with us if things get a bit glitchy once or twice – it shouldn’t last long. In the mean time, if you want to leave comments and suggestions, feel free to do so on this post.

And what impresses, really, is that for someone who’s still written relatively little for Marvel (although it’s a volume that’s growing by the week), Gillen works with such confidence and sure-footed-ness. He slots comfortably into Marvel’s current setup as if he’s been doing it for ages (although it can’t hurt that he has existing ties with contemporaries of such importance as Fraction), and on a job that was so significantly redefined by a previous incumbent, it’s no mean feat to pick up the characters and setting and work with them so naturally. His trademark wit, though, is evident throughout – most notably whenever the Asgardians have cause to mention Volstagg (”only a serious threat to roasts”, apparently), although it’s also no mean feat to turn in a laugh-out-loud reference to Twibbons (not to mention using Youtube as a plot device) in a book so heavily based around characters and customs around a millennium old. Meanwhile, his aforementioned and distinctive flair for Godly dialogue continues, with the speech patterns of the assorted Asgardians flowing in a way that just feels right without ever lapsing into “TO BE CONTINUETHED”s and the like.

Plotting is strong, too, with the decision to centre the story around Volstagg a wise one – in Gillen’s hands, he’s a truly delightful character (if a slightly cliched likeable bumbler), and you feel genuinely sorry for him as he tries to deal with the mess he’s been unwittingly thrown into. Notably, too, a potential major slipup in Siege’s own plot is averted – just how can you surprise attack Asgard when Heimdal’s around? – and I don’t know if this is part of the overall plan or if it’s simply something that Gillen’s sought to address, but it’s deftly handled, with a cunning bit of scheming given to Loki. The countdown to “Ragnarok” (another neat juxtaposition of a very modern and film-esque storytelling device with a word so resonantly classical) also turns out to be a neat feint, even though it subsequently leads to an appearance of someone/thing that we’d all probably rather forget even exists.

All in all, though, this is strong work – not even hampered that much by employing two different artists, each quite different in style – as Billy Tan sticks to Volstagg’s scenes (and imbues him with appealing character expression), while Rich Elson gives a lusher, more classical feel to the Asgard pages. Speaking as someone who’s never had a huge interest in Thor as a title (I get my Norse mythology from Neil Gaiman, mostly), this is a surprisingly and immediately engaging read. And while I’m sure Matt Fraction’s got plenty of big ideas lined up for when he takes over, there is a slight disappointment that Gillen’s only around for such a short time.

This is no slight against the creative teams, to be fair – it’s purely about my interest in the subjects of the stories. When your book is built on character-led vignettes, this is the gamble you take.

The opening short has a fairly sane point to make, about Armor wanting to get revenge for Wing’s death at Danger’s hand, waaaaaaay back in Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men run. Although there’s very little room to criticise the fight-scene-as-conversational metaphor setup, there’s a sense that the point is being addressed rather too late to be of any interest. The art is its saving grace, though, with an almost Sienkiewicz-esque hint to the murkey, expressive pages.

The next short features Anole and Magik, both characters who don’t interest me in the least – since to me, the Junior X-Men will always be Generation X, one of these characters is a little before my time, and the other’s a little after. The story doesn’t seem to be sure whether it’s making a point about Anole or Magik, or both, and the inconsistent art, with its seasickness-inducing tendancy towards extreme angles doesn’t help matters. Only a brilliantly vivid colouring job by Emily Warren saves it from total mediocrity.

The third short is about Madison Jeffries, who you will not recognise as one of the less interesting members of Alpha Flight, though he is now part of the Science Club, at least. The story itself attempts to flesh out Diamond Lil a little, to give her death in a recent X-Force issue some extra context – but it only works if you really notice that, which I didn’t because Lil’s death was almost incidental to the plotline. With the additional knowledge about the short, it works a bit better, but as a standalone piece it feels grossly incomplete.

Corey Lewis’ contribution rounds out the book, and is, if nothing else, much more interesting than the rest. It’s an energetic, manga-ish piece of bombast, all action, yelling and primary colours. The story isn’t up to much, but you can’t argue with the entertainment value of its hyper-kinetic visuals. Unfortunately, placed alongside the plodding, formulaic and uninteresting stories that round out the rest of the book, there’s a distinct feeling that this is just a reward you get for making it to the end. It’s good, but it’s not really enough.