It's fun, but it's too much like Civil War. Cap is in Iron Man's Civil War role, Cyke is in Cap's Civil War role and Wolverine is in Spider-Man's... I mean, does anyone really think he'll go against the X-Men for 12 issues? The Joe Quesada era at marvel has been about the Big Events, from House of M to this, but they're starting to repeat themselves. I give JR JR a B. He's what he's always been, good but not great.

Posted by: Licensedhero on 4/24/2012 11:08:57 AM

@ John G

Someone dosen't see the difference. (rolls eyes)

Posted by: Dr. Silly on 4/23/2012 10:47:53 AM

I look forward to reading this as a Trade eventually. It looks like a good story, curious where concurrent X/AV members will fall... and I just like watching Iron Man get punched...

I did buy Contest of Champions last year and enjoyed it, perfect for the era (including great stuff like Secret Wars). Both just excuses for slugfests but I love reading them.

Posted by: tylerdrake on 4/11/2012 3:42:27 PM

Short version of my rant below: I like Marvel comics because their stories are excuses for the characters to punch each other to see who is better, like HeroClix. But AvX is drawn worse than even the most irrelevant New 52 comic right now. So I recommend going on eBay or to a comic-con and getting Contest of Champions instead, especially since we are getting Grandmaster and Mistress Death.

Posted by: Kragnorak on 4/11/2012 11:05:10 AM

I was angry at that page where the Avengers appear. Why? Because JRJR's priorities are all wrong. The helicarrier is perfectly symmetrical, lovingly detailed, and takes up most of the two-page spread. The Avengers are hastily dashed off characters, with a pin-headed Hawkeye, unimpressive Thing and Red Hulk, etc. Only Iron Man looks good. Because he is tech.

So if Romita doesn't want to draw characters any more, why give him a flagship event to draw? I am even more angry at John Romita Jr's lazy artwork today. Due to my penchant for gaming through Grandmaster scenarios, I picked up issue 1 of Marvel's Contest of Champions from 1982, penciled by JRJR!

In this Contest, Marvel wanted to show every hero in their stable in one building, while Grandmaster and Death chose teams. This event was 2 years in the making, according to the editors. And it shows in the artwork, because Romita pulled it off and not in a stylized manner. He packed every page with a bunch of panels, and in the feature spread he packed in ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE characters (I counted them for HeroClix purposes), about TWENTY of which were drawn in far more detail than the Avengers that made their big appearance in the feature spread from Avengers vs. X-Men 1!

So, if that event was 2 years in the making, how long was AvX in the pipes? Why does JRJR's work look so dashed off? I don't know much about the guy - does he have Frank Miller syndrome? I normally give kudos to Marvel for allowing their artists to draw in "their own style" but sometimes artists should sublimate those urges and get the job done properly, especially on something that is supposed to be a flagship event.

Posted by: Kragnorak on 4/11/2012 11:02:07 AM

So after Cap went to "Civil War" against the rest of the Avengers to protect an individual's right to not be persecuted for who they are, he's going to forcibly take into custody a little girl for what she might one day become? Really, a man who fought against the Nazis, liberated concentration camps, and witnessed the Holocasut is going to do that? This is believable how?

Posted by: John G. on 4/11/2012 10:00:27 AM

I was a little disappointed in the first issue due to the fact that with all the spoilers that we had been getting in other comics, that their wasnt anything really suprising in the book. The only thing that I hadn't seen coming was the last panel where after Cyclops attacks Cap he yells and has the rest of the Avengers start moving to attack from the ship they had floating in the sky. You also would have thought that at least one of those X-Men down there would have seen it.

I had the impression that Cap either came by himself or in a quinjet with one other member.

Hopefully for the rest of the series they step up the bar or else this will probably go down as another mediocre mini series that Marvel seems to have been making the last 4-5 years and I will be frustrated for wasting my money getting it.

Posted by: Nigthwing-fan on 4/11/2012 5:27:17 AM