Uncanny Avengers, Vol. 1: The Red Shadow
When the dust cleared from Marvel’s Avengers vs. X-Men (2012) event, the best thing left standing was this dandy new title, which combines members of both teams to stand against bigotry and hatred. And there’s plenty of that, when Nazi anachronism the Red Skull comes calling, armed with telepathic powers harvested from the brain of the deceased Charles Xavier. Remender, currently giving Captain America an injection of sf energy, serves up a feast: dense, intelligent writing that asks significant questions; a battle not only of arms but of ideologies; and a cast of characters that gives movie stars like Captain America, Thor, and Wolverine their due without ignoring the rich personalities of lesser-known players. He couldn’t have better support than Cassaday’s art, the most purely gorgeous in contemporary superhero comics, so clean and clear the pages practically glow with life. Cassaday inserts action expertly to give the story maximum drama and, in between, has such mastery of body language and expression that the characters are as compelling as those on a movie screen. --Jesse Karp