There was a time when owning a copy of Avengers # 1 meant something. Following re-launches and new creative teams over and over, the ‘mighty’ Avengers lost their charm and mystique! This month, not only has Marvel re-launched The Avengers, but has also pushed out about a thousand new Avengers books. Prime, Academy, Secret, Happy, New, (I think I made some of those up) gave fans not only choices, but a drain on the comic budget.

The book I was most excited about was Secret Avengers. The Avengers have always been a high profile team, so the fact that there is a ‘secret ops’ version was very intriguing. Within the first few pages we see Valkyrie and Black Widow lurking in the shadows trying not to get caught. As the job goes wrong, Steve Rogers comes in guns-a-blazing and saves the day. On the other side of town Ant Man and Moon Knight are on their own mission. Throw in War Machine, Beast, Nova and Sharon Carter and you have an eclectic team that has some character and some serious legs!

At the helm is writer Ed Brubaker who needs no introduction or career retrospective. He can write any character and creates ‘no return’ situations that keep you guessing the whole time. The art by Mike Deodato is very un Avengers like, but in this book, works brilliantly. This is a creative team that if given time, can create a brilliant book, not just a strong Avengers comic. The use of Steve Rogers as the new Nick Fury is a brilliant idea, but what about the old Nick Fury? Sorry no spoilers!

If you need to be financially choosy during ‘The Heroic Age’, than I strongly recommend this book. It’s a departure from the super team books and contains characters that all have issues. Many are not team players and that could be interesting as the series progresses. Let the big team save the world from Kang, Ultron and (fill in your favorite Avengers bad guy), let the Secret Avengers do their business in the dark.