By Paul Cornell (Writer), Ardian Syaf w/Leonard Kirk (Pencils), Craig Yeung w/Jay Leisten (Inks), and Brian Reber (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Paul Cornell’s Captain Britain and MI:13 series is crazy; crazy in a way that’s entertaining, fun, and downright satisfying. It’s easily one of the most underappreciated books Marvel puts out.

The Story: With the skull of Quincy Harker destroyed, Captain Britain and MI:13 scramble to figure out a way to counter Dracula’s plan. The stakes are high and, magically cut off from the rest of the world, Britain looks to be in serious trouble. Will it fall?

What’s Good: Paul Cornell definitely knows how to make the shit hit the fan! Dead heroes, nonstop action, vampire violence, a sense of hopelessness, and a scene of wooden vampire battleships flying through space… Yep, Captain Britain and MI:13 #13 jacks the insanity of the series up a few notches. And you know what? It makes for a fantastic, intense read that pulls no punches and really takes advantage of the fact that no “A” (or even “B”) list heroes star in the book.

It’s a creative success almost all around as Paul Cornell masterfully builds a sense of dread throughout the issue while the art team crafts some truly unforgettable scenes that simply couldn’t work in one of the bigger Marvel titles. I wish I could go into specifics more, but I don’t want to spoil the fun. So let me just say that, long story short, the latest Captain Britain is a must read in every way.

What’s Not So Good: I can’t help but wonder what a little more detail and polish might have done for the artwork in Captain Britain #13. The art team does a good job handling the challenging story and action, but a few scenes fall a little flat because of the lack of detail. It’s not a huge complaint, but, if anything, it definitely lessens the impact of the rather chilling final page.

Conclusion: “Vampire State” is quickly turning into one of my favorite arcs of all time. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Grade: A-

-Kyle Posluszny

By Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Khoi Pham (Pencils), and Danny Miki (Inks), Dean White (Colors)

Last night my wife asked me why I was buying so many comics lately. She thought it was a reaction to stress from my job. I tried to explain to her about the Skrulls and this plotline that had secretly been in the works for over three years and how cool it was. She looked at me with pity, as if I was a gambling addict who had just told her that blackjack was an important part of my retirement plan.

Anyway, since this issue of Mighty Avengers is another keystone in the Secret Invasion story, it goes without saying that it’s good. In fact, my only real beef is with the art. Pahm and Miki do a fine job for the most part, but the first first two pages of the book are a retelling of the Electro scene from New Avengers #1, the book that launched the whole Secret Invasion, though we didn’t know it at the time. It turns out it was the Skrull Elektra who hired Electro, but it’s a rocky start, since the art can only disappoint in comparison to David Finch’s gorgeous work.

After that, fortunately, we begin to cover new ground. Specifically, how Elektra got replaced by a Skrull. Elektra has never been a particularly subtle character, so there’s not a lot of dialogue, just an extended fight scene, beautifully choreographed by Bendis and Pham. The Skrulls, in their own sick way, respect Elektra. First they send a single soldier, who tries to defeat her honorably in hand to hand combat. But the Skrulls are simply not in her league, so they keep upping the ante, finally resorting to sheer numbers and brute force to subdue her.

In the next scene, Skrull Elektra meets with Skull Spider-Woman, Princess Veranke. As always, Bendis does an impressive job of conveying the Skrull point of view. They passionately believe in the rightness of their cause, and since they are in human form, their passion is expressed in human terms. We’re also given a hint that the death and exposure of the Skrull Elektra was a deliberate part of their plan. How this could help them is unclear, but to the religious extremist mindset, “how” is never as important as “why”, and that’s one of the big questions that has yet to be resolved. “Why do the Skrulls think Earth is rightfully theirs?” “Why are they attacking us this way?”

And, of course, the biggest question of all: “Can Earth survive?” (Grade: A)

- Andrew C. Murphy

A Second Opinion

I’m going to keep this short since I agree with just about everything Andrew had to say. The only thing I disagree with him here is the art. Khoi Pham’s storytelling and fight sequences are just brilliant. I love the unique style he brings to the book, and while I enjoy Dave Finch’s work as much as anyone, I don’t think he could have drawn a better fight sequence than the one we get of Elektra versus her doppleganger and the other Skrulls.

This is a brutal issue – probably the most hard-hitting issue of the entire Secret Invasion saga thus far. Elektra took a lot of abuse in the Mark Millar’s Wolverine run (3 or 4 years ago?) where she eventually disappeared into the Hand organization, but the endless battle she fights here is hopeless and we know it. Eventually, her body breaks down from the abuse of battle and, well, her demise ain’t pretty.

If you buy this book, you’ll blow through it in 5 minutes, but these are high quality minutes you’re paying for. Brian Bendis allows Khoi Pham to do the heavy lifting and the result is a strong, memorable issue. It doesn’t do much to push the Secret Invasion story forward, but it does serve as a nice reveal to the beginnings of New Avengers. (Grade: A-)

- J. Montes

A horribly busy week followed by a three-day weekend means that my post this week will short and sweet.  Plus, Sean (the comic book geek in training) is next to me and kicking me in the ribs while I type.  I’m currently awaiting the new Black Angels album to come in the mail, but Amazon.com’s shipping is slow.  I’m starting to think they hold up super saver shipping to encourage people to pay more.  Again I ask my readers to let me know if there are any quality indy record stores out there with a good web pressence. 

First, let’s start with comics. i thought it was going to be a light comics week but then my pile grew yet again with all kinds of good stuff. Some day I’ll be sharing my thoughts on comics’ arcs from a year earlier, confusing everyone. In the meantime some place to check out include:

• Local writer Zach Smith writes that Dark Horse is reprinting a very cool series called Gantz. The idea, the art, it all looks very cool and I’ll have to check it out when it’s released.
• LOTRKing writes about the latest Captain America, Mighty Avengers, and Fantastic Four. Watch out, he provides pretty good plot details so read this after you’ve read the issues.
• After some vacation and delays, the AVClub has posted its biweekly comics panel.

In music, a few things to note:

• Mudhoney of all bands is getting some love. Their early work is being reissued, and they have a new album, The Lucky Ones coming out. It’s nice to see the best band who never got noticed by the public finally get some notice.
• Tom Petty has gotten back together with Mudcrutch. I’ve heard some of it on Sirius and it’s not half bad.

In fiction, the New York Times remembered Ian Flemming, and One-Story has released issue #103.

Finally, who says that video games have no redeeming social value, suck up too much time and make kids fat?!? Now we have the Wii Fit.   Oh yeah, and I guess a few big movies have come out but something keeps stopping me from being able to go. Have a great weekend everyone!