Fantastic Four #515

Mark Waid with Karl Kesel // Paco Medina
August 2004
**

A new iteration of the Frightful 4 now mirrors the FF’s family dynamic—a warped image, as the Wizard conscripts an Asian ex-wife & love child. Their powers & personalities get obscured by Medina’s style (’90s American super-manga), which he does w/o much range or subtlety of emotion.

last issue: Fantastic Four #514
next issue: Fantastic Four #516

also indexed for Aug. ’04
Astonishing X-Men #2
Daredevil #61
Thanos #11

The Avengers #6

Stan Lee // Jack Kirby
July 1964
****
W/ the Hulk gone, the mag finds a new center in Captain America. He leads the heroes against a superteam of their enemies, enlisted by a Nazi foe who’d hid in South America! Kirby brings his gadgets, a gang of kids, and a ranting megalomaniac; Lee adds his editorial passion for a shared universe.
[last issue: The Avengers #5]
[next issue: The Avengers #7]

Secret War #4 of 5

Brian Michael Bendis // Gabriele Dell’Otto
May 2005
***

Whoops, that was a long delay! The payoff isn’t quite worth the wait either, esp. since #3 was low on plot. A scarred woman (the deposed PM of Latveria) activates a bomb made of supervillain tech. Bendis aims to comment on 9/11—eg suicide bomber in NYC—but the chaotic, murky art obscures his point.

last issue: Secret War #3 of 5
next issue: Secret War #5 of 5

also indexed for May ’05
Astonishing X-Men #10
Daredevil #71
The Pulse #8
Young Avengers #2

Secret War #3 of 5

Brian Michael Bendis // Gabriele Dell’Otto
October 2004
**

If you’re writing a 5-part quarterly, you really need shouldn’t indulge in so much action & so little plot—you kill the momentum. Peter Parker’s unconscious mind begins to recall the cover op that last issue set up. But mostly, it’s Dell’Otto drawing glowy red-eyed tech in an homage to The Matrix.

last issue: Secret War #2 of 5
next issue: Secret War #4 of 5

also indexed for Oct. ’04
Astonishing X-Men #4
Daredevil #63
Fantastic Four #517