Secret War #5 of 5

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

It went semi-annual, but at least this mini got finished. And there’s a compelling tale that doesn’t quite get told: a comment on 9/11 (made clumsily explicit in one ugly, painted splash) & American foreign policy, embodied by Nick Fury. Problem is, Bendis can’t quite handle the ambiguity required to turn Fury from a heroic superspy into a spook whose activites are a form of moral blindness.

last issue: Secret War #4 of 5

also indexed for Dec. ’05
Daredevil #78
Drax the Destroyer #2 of 4
Young Avengers #9

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

Secret War #2 of 5

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

Marvel’s spymaster recruits a dream-team of supers (& a wild card, played by Angie Jolie) to overthrow the Latvarian govt. The mag aims at fun cloak-&-dagger realism. But the glossy, dead art, facile dialogue, & a cast that’s way too A-list for the plot all imply a slick Hollywood emptiness.

last issue: Secret War #1 of 5
next issue: Secret War #3 of 5

also indexed for Jul. ’04
Astonishing X-Men #1
The Pulse #3
Thanos #10