Rate the Avengers Comics

[John Ossie]

Avengers. I feel that it's really picked up lately.

[Marvel_Is]

New Avengers. It's Hickman's favorite Avengers book to write and it shows.

A great cast, larger-than-life events, cool art, dense, what isn't there to like?

Avengers World is second for me. Bland-ish like Avengers, but it has Nick Spencer scripting which I prefer moreover.

[Dabrikishaw]

Avengers and New Avengers are my top priority. What both are doing right now just grips me and feel very enjoyable to read, I try very hard not to miss them when I can.

Everything else I don't pay any attention too. Mighty Avengers because I don't care to look at Greg Land's art. Avengers World because it's not what I'm looking for that I already get in Avengers and New Avengers. Secret Avengers mainly because I never felt a desire to look at it. Avengers Undercover because it's the sequel to Avengers Arena, a story I found aggressively mediocre a best and illogically plotted at worst. Uncanny Avengers I read for 5 issues, then dropped because I didn't like what it had done and where it was going.

[Young Avenger]

I'm not going to rank Avengers World because I haven't read more than an issue of it.

From best to worst, IMO:

Avengers Undercover - (Taking Arena into account as well) Uses obscure characters, is not afraid to shake up the status quo, great art, consistent characterizations, always a good read that keeps me on the edge of my seat
Secret Avengers - It's funny, smart, but also has a deep plotline. I liked it both pre- and post- relaunch, although I am sad some of the pre-relaunch stuff won't come into play now. Fun art.
New Avengers - Full of twists and turns, morally complicated, but can drag on from time to time. Always top-notch art.
Mighty Avengers - I really really really want to love this series. Every idea I hear from Ewing sounds fun, I love the characters, but it loses me somewhere in the execution. I want to see the promise of a street-level team that is proactive and helps people actually followed up on in the series. The characters keep saying it, Ewing keeps saying it, but it's not reflected in their missions, just in their TV ads in the background of their issues. ... Greg Land ...
Avengers - Same as Mighty Avengers, I really want to love this. Some issues I do love. Others lose me. The Omega Flight issues were top notch. The last two issues have been great, but a lot of time Hickman spends too much time away from the characters, and tells us about character development without showing it. Hopefully this picks up soon. Typically good art.
Uncanny Avengers - Awful characterization, inconsistent scheduling, tells but doesn't show character development, although it is saved by great art and a great cast. I just wish this series was better in the writing because everything else it has going for it is perfect. Too much narrator talking.

[sax]

Mighty tops my list.
New is good but it ain't an Avengers title, as far as I'm concerned, it's an Illuminati one.
I dropped Avengers once Infinity ended. It had some elements that interested me, and more that didn't.
Uncanny - may pick this up in trade.
Haven't tried the rest yet.

[Geralt of Rivia]

I only read Hickman's and Remender's books, and out of those New is my favorite, the writing and cast are top notch but most importantly the scale of the story is just the type of stuff that I enjoy; all that makes it hold its top spot for me even if the art featured hasnt been anywhere near my favorite after Infinity.

Uncanny has been on a highly enjoyable non stop rollercoaster of a SciFi/superhero story since issue #5 and the artwork is impressive to say the least. Character portrayal could be better in certain cases but I dont mind as much as some folks.

Plain Avengers would be third, a couple arcs have been slower than Id like, but they always end on a high note. The cast is huge which makes it kinda unmanageable but the big concept behind Hickman's run makes that a necessary evil. Some of the art has been passable, some good and abit has been awesome - inconsistent but never bad would best describe my opinion of it.

[UltimateTy]

Avengers. I feel that it's really picked up lately.

The last two issues have been 5/5 IMO.

[ElGuitaristMagnifico]

Uncanny for me. With New and adjectiveless a close second and third.

Uncanny - I suppose I'm biased, because Uncanny X-Force by Remender is still one of my favourite books in recent publication. And Uncanny Avengers picks up where xforce left off; apocalypse twins and all that. Secondly, it's had a few memorable moments for me - moments that remind me why I read comics. From the discovery of what Wolverine's done in xforce, the thor/apocalypse issue, the death of a celestial, thor's "I care not" sequence ... great stuff (can I just take the time to say how amazing Thor has been lately? Godbomb, fighting galactus, Infinity #4, and here in UA). It's one of a handful of comics I most look forward to each month.

New - again, the kind of stories that makes me read comics. Complete multiversal system collapse, Illuminati, and perversions of morality? Gripping stuff imo. I like the grand scope of the conflict, I like the tensions and conflicts between the characters. Again, memorable moments that I will remember (BlackBolt's whisper in an argument that cracks the concrete table, Reed's "everything dies" speech vs. Sungod's "everything lives," Doom fighting Mapmakers, Dr. Strange sacrificing his soul "I am the doctor", etc.) Basically, a series about characters I care about in a conflict that justifies their teaming up, and with great character work.

Avengers - mostly because it ties so closely to New.


TL;DR: These books are about characters I care about, in interesting conflicts, telling the kind of sci-fi stories I'm personally into, good character work, and moments I'll remember for a long time. They're fun. For me.

[klinton]

Uncanny Avengers is far and away my favorite Avengers title right now. It's everything I'd want from an Avengers book, and then some. Even the overly grim Remender touches don't seem out of sorts for me.

Avengers and Avengers World are tied for second. A month ago, Mighty Avengers would have held this spot, but these two books have amped it up this month!

Mighty Avengers comes next, and will probably make me rethink it's placing here when the new issue drops on Wednesday. It's consistently fantastic, with a cast I love.

New Avengers is touch and go for me. It tends to piss me off more than anything, and features a cast I find almost entirely uninteresting. The current story where they're about to take on the Justice League is quite good!

Secret Avengers is just complete rubbish. It doesn't even belong on that list.

[xMatt]

Uncanny Avengers is far and away my favorite Avengers title right now. It's everything I'd want from an Avengers book, and then some. Even the overly grim Remender touches don't seem out of sorts for me.

Avengers and Avengers World are tied for second. A month ago, Mighty Avengers would have held this spot, but these two books have amped it up this month!

Mighty Avengers comes next, and will probably make me rethink it's placing here when the new issue drops on Wednesday. It's consistently fantastic, with a cast I love.

New Avengers is touch and go for me. It tends to piss me off more than anything, and features a cast I find almost entirely uninteresting. The current story where they're about to take on the Justice League is quite good!

Secret Avengers is just complete rubbish. It doesn't even belong on that list.

I apologise. I should've conferred with you first. But I think it's nice to have it as a title - it serves that more espionage purpose. Admittedly, the quality isn't the best and it could do with a boost. But Ales Kot is a great writer and I'm sure he's got some great "Secret Avengers" stories in him. What don't you like about "Secret"?

[klinton]

I apologise. I should've conferred with you first. But I think it's nice to have it as a title - it serves that more espionage purpose. Admittedly, the quality isn't the best and it could do with a boost. But Ales Kot is a great writer and I'm sure he's got some great "Secret Avengers" stories in him. What don't you like about "Secret"?

I've actually enjoyed Secret Avengers since it's inception, through it's various incarnations (well, Spencer's last run was a little iffy...). This latest run has full jumped the shark though. That last issue was my last issue until it gets a new writer.

I was willing to cut it a lot of slack and enjoy the silly stories. I can't tollerate complete ignorance of the cast though. The idea that Jessica - a SHIELD agent before Hill ever set foot on a helicarrier, not to mention a PI, an agent of Hydra and an agent of SWORD - is 'new to the whole secret ops thing' full rubbed me the wrong way. She has more experience at secret ops than everyone else in that room combined, save for Natasha.

I can deal with all sorts of minor discrepencies, but that was a little much.

If this was some sort of stand alone alternate universe thing, I might not have a problem at all. As an 'Avengers' book, it's a total write off.

...thus my insistence that it doesn't belong on the list, hahaha.

[Tiamatty]

I've actually enjoyed Secret Avengers since it's inception, through it's various incarnations (well, Spencer's last run was a little iffy...). This latest run has full jumped the shark though. That last issue was my last issue until it gets a new writer.

I was willing to cut it a lot of slack and enjoy the silly stories. I can't tollerate complete ignorance of the cast though. The idea that Jessica - a SHIELD agent before Hill ever set foot on a helicarrier, not to mention a PI, an agent of Hydra and an agent of SWORD - is 'new to the whole secret ops thing' full rubbed me the wrong way. She has more experience at secret ops than everyone else in that room combined, save for Natasha.

Like I said in the thread for that book, in fairness, she is new to secret team ops. She was a solo agent. And even then, the last time she did it was with SWORD, where - let's be honest - she did a pretty poor job of it, since her head was in a terrible place. And being a private investigator is vastly different from being a spy. She also only did a single mission for Hydra, which she abandoned. And she didn't really do many missions for SHIELD, from what I can recall of her original series. I remember her spending more time as an independent bounty hunter than doing SHIELD work.

But my point is that she is pretty new to secret team ops, so the caption does make some sense.

I would also note that we don't actually know how long Hill has been with SHIELD, but given she was apparently viewed as experienced enough to run SHIELD, I would assume she's been there for a while and has a lot of experience at it, probably more than Jessica, whose career has mostly been split between PI and superhero rather than spy. Jessica was created before Maria, but that doesn't mean she became associated with SHIELD before her. Let's say they're the same age - both 30. (According to the Marvel Wikia, Jessica is 30 years old.) It was 1977 when Jessica debuted; if we assume the FF appeared 13 years ago, that means roughly 4 years of real time for every year of comic time. So that would put Jessica's debut just over 9 years ago, so she would've been 20. Hill could've joined SHIELD right out of high school, at 18 or 19. So assuming she's the same age as Jessica - which would make sense - she very well could have joined SHIELD before Jessica even heard of them.

[xMatt]

I've actually enjoyed Secret Avengers since it's inception, through it's various incarnations (well, Spencer's last run was a little iffy...). This latest run has full jumped the shark though. That last issue was my last issue until it gets a new writer.

I was willing to cut it a lot of slack and enjoy the silly stories. I can't tollerate complete ignorance of the cast though. The idea that Jessica - a SHIELD agent before Hill ever set foot on a helicarrier, not to mention a PI, an agent of Hydra and an agent of SWORD - is 'new to the whole secret ops thing' full rubbed me the wrong way. She has more experience at secret ops than everyone else in that room combined, save for Natasha.

I can deal with all sorts of minor discrepencies, but that was a little much.

If this was some sort of stand alone alternate universe thing, I might not have a problem at all. As an 'Avengers' book, it's a total write off.

...thus my insistence that it doesn't belong on the list, hahaha.

I can see why that might be jarring for the reading experience. But I suppose for that clarification shouldn't have to be made in the forum, but rather, in the comic.

[RobinFan4880]

New is the best, followed by Mighty, Uncanny and Adjective-less. The rest just sort of exist.

[klinton]

I can see why that might be jarring for the reading experience. But I suppose for that clarification shouldn't have to be made in the forum, but rather, in the comic.

Hahaha. Oh, of course. I was being more than a bit dramatic when I said it shouldn't even be on the list.

It is still an official Avengers title, no matter how poor I feel it is. It totally belongs on your list.