Book of the week 8/1/07 New Avengers: The Illuminati #4

Written by Brian Michael Bendis & Brian Reed
Art by Jim Cheung
Inks by John Dell, David Meikes & Mark Morales
Coloring by Justin Ponsor
Lettering by Cory Petit

This was actually a pretty hard week to pick a "best book" because everything was actually really good. A part of me didn't want to pick this book because it's so predictable but that's not really what this podcast and site is all about. The bottom line is that this is the best book that came out this week and as of right now I think that the only other book fighting against Illuminati for book of the year is the Sinestro Corps storyline.(Although that's not really a book.....but this is also a mini-series....ah never mind!)

Bendis and Reed really know what they're doing here and as a Marvel fanboy I am simply awestruck by their writing. This book basically starts off with a bunch of male super-heroes complaining and bickering about women and love and ends with a young boy that could have a huge impact of the Marvel U, positive or negative.

I must also say that Jim Cheung is my new favorite artist. I never saw any of his stuff until Young Avengers and I was instantly in love with his pencils. His art is both dynamic and soft and the way he is able to capture emotion in his art is simply amazing.

I do have a lot of questions about this book, just like the other Illuminati titles. We saw in the Young Avengers/Runaways mini that Marvel Boy has already broke out of the Cell, where is he now? We know Captain Marvel is indeed coming back and it's been said that is will be Mahr Vell, so how does Noh play into that? Is this really leading up to another Kree/Skrull war?

This series has raised a lot of questions and that was it's intent to a grand kudos to Bendis, Reed and Cheung for telling a grand story so far. I can't wait until the last issue comes out and we see how all of this is going to end.


What did you guys think of The New Avengers: Illuminati #4