Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Leinil Yu
Colorist: Dave McCaig
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $2.99

Dear Joe Quesada:

I know you're not the only member of the Marvel brass, but you're definitely the jovially honest public face of the House of Ideas, so this letter is just for you.

The death of Captain America (the event itself and its aftermath) has been a very well orchestrated event for Marvel. Ed Brubaker turned in a classic issue that respects the character and intelligence of the reader by delivering a story that's emotional, relevant and, ultimately, classic. The successful way that Marvel has handled this major event has now been extended to the first of your one-shot stories that'll examine the heavy hitters in the MU responding to the death.

First, you got JMS to plant the story seed, then you got Jeph Loeb (who knows a thing about tragedy and grief) to write the book. An inspired choice, which makes the story feel graver than simply being a curious second helping or easy cash-in. It's dead serious from the get-go, but it's also not lacking in humor. Loeb has hit a stride in his time swimming around in Wolverine's psyche, and here Loeb and Logan sort of become one in the same. I won't compare the death of a fictitious hero to the death of a son, but I imagine Loeb is able to reach further personal catharsis through this series.

Wolverine doesn't believe that Steve Rogers is really dead. Who does? (Most readers probably don't.) This issue must but the final nail in the coffin, right? Glad to see the way Loeb puts more than just Wolverine into the issue: Bucky, Daredevil, Dr. Strange, the villain Crossbones, and the obligatory Iron Man appearance. The mystery behind the assassination is brought a bit more from the shadows, but not enough to be the final answer.

This book proves, more than anything else I've read recently, that comics can both be seriously earnest and a serious good time. Leinil Yu's artwork is gravely and gritty-just fantastic. The multitude of sketch lines and sharp edges give the book the immediacy that Cap's death (and aftermath) demands.

I'm not usually one for tossing about the compliments, but you and the creative team earned it on this one. The death of Captain America, as tough as it was to witness, has come at the right time in our political and social climate. And rather than being a sensationalistic grab at publisher supremacy, the event is having ripple effects that are intriguing, exciting, and-here's that overused word again-fun.

Thanks, Joe. Keep ‘em coming.

PS: I gave the book a rating:

RATING: 5/5

Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Stefano Caselli
Colorist: Daniele Rudoni
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $2.99

I've often been chided, not in the least by the often overly critical editor here at the Fanboy Comics bird cage liner, for my cynic outlook toward the Big Two and their marketing efforts permeating too far into the storytelling (especially as related to these major crossover events like Infinite Crisis and Civil War).

I'm going to say here that I'll drop that beef and say that the best thing to come out of Civil War is here, and it's called Avengers: The Initiative. One of my concerns with Civil War is that it was too civil and not a terribly large amount of fun. The Initiative is a whole lot of good time between the covers, and goes to show that Dan Slott is the writer everybody should be reading. Removed from the ghetto of niche titles like She-Hulk, Slott delivers a fun, globe-trotting adventure.

Obligatory back-story: after Civil War, Iron Man's new plan is to place a superhero team in each of our 50 states. (Should we not include U.S. territories? I've love to see the team placed in the Northern Mariana Islands.) This book reveals the Initiative program is quite literally taking its position as the "New Stamford," placing the headquarters and training for the program on the site of tragedy that set off this whole thing. Young, unregistered super beings are searched for throughout the country, located, and brought to Initiative HQ for licensing and training. That's where we're left by the end of the issue.

Slott dissects the aftermath of Civil War, removes much of the over-hyped seriousness, and replaces it with a focus on fast story pacing and relatively light characters. The book opens with Marvel C-lister the Gauntlet, serving in Iraq and using his super-powered glove to take down IEDs (created by Hydra-an unexpectedly light moment). He's recruited back to lead the training effort at Initiative HQ, where he'll be training newly introduced heroes like Cloud 9, possible Steve Rogers replacement MVP, Armory, Trauma and more. Their characters and powers are fully fleshed-out, and their Runaways-ish dynamic is established. Familiar heroes like War Machine, Yellowjacket and former New Warrior Justice all play major roles. They plan, recruit and deliberate, but at all times, Slott keeps it fun.

Stefano Caselli's artwork keeps the proceedings light and blissful, while Daniele Rudoni's colors don't quite match that effort with brightness or energy (in contrast to the Mighty Avengers title). Caselli's effort is like Leinil Yu going Anime, and it works at all times. These young, overeager future heroes are shown wearing nascent logos for their super alter egos. Ah, the folly of youth.

The book isn't all light and fluffy fun; the elder heroes have no patience for their young charges, hoping to avoid the exuberance that leads to the devastation in Stamford. Marvel has done right by moving this book from limited to ongoing status, a decision that'll mean we'll see what super-teams get placed Tennessee and Idaho. And may Slott write it forever.

RATING: 4.5/5

Writer: Michael Allred
Artist: Michael Allred
Colorist: Laura Allred
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $2.99

"I love Chow Yun-Fat. I just don't see him playing Madman." So says writer and artist Mike Allred in a cameo from the opening scenes of Kevin Smith's film Chasing Amy. (FYI: Allred also did that film's artwork for the Bluntman and Chronic book.) After having read the first issue of Image Comics' relaunch of the Madman title, I agree. I can't see Mr. Yun-Fat in the role either. It's been more than 25 years since the character's first appearance in print, but for readers new and old, Madman is still fresh and gets refreshed in this new series.

For those who've followed the Madman adventures for years, this book is going to placate you with recap stories. For new readers, the entire background is provided for main and ancillary characters, although a wee bit of familiarity makes it all a little more enjoyable. So, here it goes:

Madman has a past, but it has all been fabricated. What is known is that he was a hitman in a former life, a blip of a memory that the hero barely recalls. A car accident kills him, but he's brought back to life by two scientists, who name their new Frankensteinian creation Frank Einstein (named after Sinatra and Albert, respectively). While much of his former life is a fuzzy memory, a stark white costume is what he recalls most vividly; it's the costume of a comic book hero, Mr. Excitement. With the help of his support team, namely love interest Josephine "Joe" Lombard, Frank Einstein dons the costume, takes the name Madman, and uses the powers realized after his first "death" to become this universes' only superhero.

There's a supremely weird rogues gallery for Madman to battle, and Allred (with wife/art cohort Laura Allred) give them all in these fast-paced pages, bringing new readers up to speed on the Mutant Street Beatniks, clone robots, a brief meeting with Superman, strange aliens, and everything in-between. It's an exciting start for this new ongoing series, once that should see lots of new readers coming on board for Madman's odd adventures. Allred's writing style is dreamy and tongue-in-cheek, and that art is completely in line with that. The art is clean and softened, classic and cartoony. Each panel is dive in the character's id and ego, as if the reader is psychoanalyzing Frank in a one-hour session.

This relaunched Madman series is successfully underway, and Image is soon releasing a mega 850-page Madman omnibus, all which means Madman deserves and demands attention, even if it's not from Chow Yun-Fat.

RATING: 4/5

Writer: Joss Whedon
Penciler: Michael Ryan
Inker: Rick Ketcham
Colorist: Christina Strain
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $2.99

I was going to kick off this review by cruelly taunting Cyrus because (as he's made abundantly clear) he doesn't care much for Joss Whedon, but does (or did) like Runaways. But instead, I'm going to take the high road for once in my life and just mock him in person the next time I see him. You may be asking yourself, “Why would somebody deliberately find pleasure in someone else's misfortune?” Because I'm a horrible, soulless person, that's why. What makes the sheer irony of this situation all the sweeter, is that this book is good. Really, really good.

Part of the beauty of this change in creative teams, is how accessible Marvel is trying to make it to new readers. Between the recently released one-shot, Runaways Saga (which recaps the first twenty-four issues in just forty-eight pages), and the short intro to this issue (which re-introduces the characters and the basis of the Runaways), this issue is a perfect starting point for anybody (Whedon-junkie or not).

After the ominous third-party introduction, we find our Runaways sitting at a table in an upscale New York restaurant. They're meeting Kingpin to discuss a deal in which he offers them protection from the likes of the Avengers and local authorities while in New York. In exchange, they have to heist some kind of valuable artifact from a maximum security vault. There are, of course, complications.

While the story itself may seem unimpressive by my account of it, you'll have to take my word that I really can't do this book justice just by describing it. Whedon's writing here is top notch. While my summary of the plot seems simplistic, the book itself is not. The Runaways may only be concerned with completing their current objective, but meanwhile in the background, there are several larger forces conspiring against them. The dialogue of this book is easily one of its greatest assets. True to his form, Whedon offers sharp, snappy, and realistic dialogue that's often funny, but doesn't hesitate to get serious when it's necessary. Just through their dialogue, Whedon illustrates each character's personality perfectly, to the point where they seem more humanized than you'd think to be possible in a comic book. Seriously, I feel more attached to these characters after reading one issue, than I feel towards characters who I've been following for years. Although none of this should come as a surprise to anyone who reads Astonishing X-Men.

That leads me to art. Micheal Ryan does a amazing job with the illustrations. There's a level of detail that borders on absurdity in almost every single picture in this book. Between their facial expressions and their surroundings, every page looks like it was meticulously slaved over for hours until everything was perfect. However, it's not fair to give all the credit to Michael Ryan, because these illustrations would be nothing without Christina Strain's beautiful coloring.

I could honestly go one for another 500 words about how awesome this book is, but frankly my psyche is regressing to that of a giddy school-girl, and I think my writing is starting to reflect that excitement. I seriously can't find a single flaw with this book. Everything about it just screams perfection. Forget Civil War and The Initiative, this is the Marvel book everyone should be reading. -Reviewer Tristan Hoagland is apparently a twelve-year-old girl. Who knew?

RATING: 5/5

Writer: Michael Avon Oeming
Penciler: Scott Kolins
Inker: Scott Kolins
Colorist: Brian Reber
Publisher: Marvel
Price: $2.99

I was really looking forward to Omega Flight, back when they first announced it. So, you can imagine how disappointed I was when I heard that it was downgraded from a continuous series to a mere five-issue miniseries. No matter, some of the best titles out there have been miniseries, so there's no reason not to have hopes for this one, right? Well, maybe.

For those of you who need a little background in the concept of Omega Flight: Omega Flight is (or is going to be) the premier superhero team in Canada, the “Canadian Avengers” if you will. Canada actually used to have such a team (Alpha Flight), until the Collective killed them all in the New Avengers #16. However, this didn't seem to be a huge problem in Canada, because apparently nothing happens in Canada unless the U.S. screws something up, as they've gone almost an entire year without a team. But, now thanks to the Civil War, many superheroes (and super-villains) have immigrated over the Canadian border and are causing some trouble. Therefore, the Canadian government calls upon Sasquatch (who apparently survived the slaughter of Alpha Flight) to head the new team, Omega Flight. Now you would think that, seeing as how this is only a five-issue miniseries about a completely new team, they would at least meet one another for the first time in the first issue. Well they don't. After Sasquatch (reluctantly) accepts the job, he tries to recruit Talisman to his new team. Meanwhile a group of super-villains (calling themselves the Wrecking Crew) from The States begins wrecking havoc on a small Canadian town. Sasquatch tries to stop them, but is helplessly outnumbered! Will his future teammates come to his rescue and band together to protect Canada from these new, foreign threats? Most likely, but let's at least pretend to be surprised.

Like I said before, my main grievance with this issue is that it expends literally a fifth of the series without even establishing the team (I guess the cover art pretty much shows everyone, but still). The dialogue is straightforward enough without seemed watered down, and the art, while a little cartoony in some places is pretty good. It's strange, but the vibrant use of colors stuck out the most, and I was honestly more impressed with the colorist's work than the penciler's. Overall, it's not a bad book. It's just a slow start to a series that had great potential. -Reviewer Tristan Hoagland's mastery of the martial arts is such that the can kill a man with his bare hands...from a hundred miles away!

RATING: 3.5/5