Avengers Assemble #17

Kelly Sue DeConnick // Matteo Buffagni with Pepe Larraz
September 2013
***

The Avs fail to stop a superbaddie from focusing energy on NYC using Kirbybots. The art’s fine (a ‘clean’ style that I think of as late ’00s Superman) & so’s the plot. But see how often the minor characters are women, like a guest turn by Sersi? It’s just that easy to write feminist comics, boys!

continued from Captain Marvel #13
continued in Captain Marvel #14

also indexed for Sept. ’13
Captain Marvel #14
Hawkeye #12
Hawkeye Annual #1

Captain Marvel #13

Kelly Sue DeConnick // Scott Hepburn with Gerardo Sandoval
August 2013
***

Marvel & her avenging friends fight a squadron of reactivated Kirbybots while deducing her attacker’s ID. The pacing’s a little slow (maybe this crossover didn’t need the opening one-shot) but otherwise the writing is tight—wonder how long DeCon will stay in comics before genre TV tempts her away?

continued from Avengers Assemble #16
continued from Avengers Assemble #18
last issue: Captain Marvel #12
next issue: Captain Marvel #14

also indexed for Aug. ’13
Avengers Assemble #16
Hawkeye #11

Avengers Assemble #16

Kelly Sue DeConnick // Matteo Buffagni
August 2013
***

Now that the dark days of Bendis are done, quality Avengers comics are everywhere! This crossover with CM sets up a solid threat in a resurrected Kree warrior: the original Cap’s first nemesis, merged with the Kirbytech engine that empowered our heroine. Love how the Kree Empire hangs up on him!

continued from Avengers: The Enemy Within #1 of 1
continued in Captain Marvel #13
last issue: Avengers Assemble #15AU
next issue: Avengers Assemble #17

also indexed for Aug. ’13
Captain Marvel #13
Hawkeye #11

Avengers: The Enemy Within #1 of 1

Kelly Sue DeConnick // Scott Hepburn
July 2013
***

Marvel holds a crossover to cash in on DeConnick. The focus is, natch, is on her marquee hero, Captain Marvel, who’s the target of a plot; Spider-Woman is in sidekick role. The big peril, a brain lesion, sits oddly next to the hijinx of the gals fighting female super-wrestlers in Wash Square Park.

continued from Captain Marvel #12
continued in Avengers Assemble #16

also indexed for Jul. ’13
Hawkeye #10

Captain Marvel #12

Kelly Sue DeConnick with Christopher Sebela // Filipe Andrade
June 2013
***

While Carol spends her time fighting a winged goon, her doctors learn that her powers will fry her memories. The drama’s in her flaw, a telling trait: she’s too willful not to fly & fight, and damns the consequences. Also note the only male this arc is its villain, the Kree Cap’s original nemesis.

continued in Avengers: The Enemy Within #1 of 1
last issue: Captain Marvel #10
next issue: Captain Marvel #12

also indexed for Jun. ’13
Hawkeye #9

Captain Marvel #11

Kelly Sue DeConnick with Christopher Sebela // Filipe Andrade
May 2013
****

The script’s in that breezy contempo mode, but closer to S&tC than Buffy. It helps that she stocks her cast with women while delivering pure superhero comics. How pure? Carol’s always had the classic Superman power set, but now unable to fly, she’s leaping tall buildings instead!

last issue: Captain Marvel #10
next issue: Captain Marvel #12

also indexed for May ’13
Avengers Assemble #13

Captain Marvel #6

Kelly Sue DeConnick // Emma Rios
late December 2012
****

Danvers, time-tossed, finally ends up at her Secret Origin, where she must compete with a rival for her superpowers. The challenger is her idol, the late pilot from #1, but the arc doesn’t actually deal with Carol’s grief. Instead, the theme is female camaraderie, in life & in work.

last issue: Captain Marvel #5
next issue: Captain Marvel #7

also indexed for Dec. ’12
Captain America #18
Captain America #19
Captain Marvel #5
The Fantastic Four #611
FF #23
Hawkeye #3
Winter Soldier #11

Captain Marvel #5

Kelly Sue DeConnick // Emma Rios
early December 2012
****

Carol’s cross-time caper places her in an all-women NASA program back in the Mad Men era. This 6-issue arc gets its fourth artist, but it’s Emma Rios, who complements DeConnick perfectly. Her languid line balances her urgent pacing & layout, and her style adds indie cred to a straight super-comic.

last issue: Captain Marvel #4
next issue: Captain Marvel #6

also indexed for Dec. ’12
Captain America #18
Captain America #19
Captain Marvel #6
The Fantastic Four #611
FF #23
Hawkeye #3
Winter Soldier #11