Secret Avengers: Illiad TPB

To put it simply, this is one of the most disorganized, confusing comics I have ever read. 

I’m reading it on Marvel Unlimited, so perhaps my confusion is due to the digital format and waiting for the next issue, but I don’t’ think so. Instead of me actually missing issues and somehow skipping them, it seems the plot is actually just shifting every few issues, with little to no connection between the plot threads. Every 2 or 3 issues, the focus shifts radically, whether the previous story was concluded or not.

Issue 6&7 are relatively straight forward, continuing Nick Spencer’s tale of a covert Avengers team invading AIM island. Spencer is still wasting the potential in his top-notch team of villains, but at least I understand what is happening. And for the most part, everyone is acting in character.

Issue 8 starts the weirdness. Mockingbird is in the body of a man. Nic Klein’s artwork is solid, and we actually get some time with Mentallo, Graviton, Black Widow II, and other villains. Things are coming together, and while I find the Mockingbird story very, very odd, I’m certainly interested to find out what happens next. This is the most interested I’ve been in the series so far!

Unfortunately, the next issues have literally nothing to do with the series so far. Issue 9 is a flashback to the personality conflicts between Daisy Johnson and Maria Hill. While I am not really interested in this, it feels like an old-school fill-in issue. Switching to a different artists makes this feel like even more of a disconnect. Something that needed to be dumped out of the editor’s drawer. I’m losing interest, but still hopeful.

Then things go further off the rails. Issues 10& 11 put the focus on Nick Fury Jr., Agent Coulson, and a new Inhuman character as they fight off the Infinity crossover. New writer. New artist. Old storyline totally dropped and abandoned. What the heck is going on here? It isn’t that this is BAD. While not the most interesting thing in the world, it isn’t necessarily bad. But I am now totally confused as to the purpose of this comic and the story it is trying to tell. It honestly feels like a book where Marvel is simply inserting approved stories in a cover and publishing it. What the heck is happening here?

Maybe things will go back to normal next month? I’ll keep reading (as part of my Marvel Unlimited subscription) but it is no secret how this title died. I’m not sure how you can start a story then just take a 3 month break to do other random things and expect people to sit around and wait. Simply put, this is a mess.

I stopped buying this EVIL series after issue 2, and it is looking like that was a good choice.