New Avengers - Volume 3: Secrets & Lies

I have to admit, Frank Cho's pencils on Spider-Woman in this graphic novel are absolutely eye-popping. No one has ever drawn a sexier looking superhero. Spider-Woman just glistens with menace. Brian Michael Bendis outdoes himself with subterfuge in this one. Is Spider-Woman a double agent? A triple agent? Or something so complex readers may never know? One thing for sure, she's being totally victimized. Bendis obviously has a lot of fun writing this one. And I'll bet he's had it planned since the beginning. Spider-Woman is a favorite hero of his, one of those fractured and broken types he seems especially fond of. Borrowing a lot from his run on Daredevil, Bendis brings in Matt Murdock and all the problems that hero is currently having in his own comics. Bendis also provides a new hero, Ronin, that also comes from the pages of Daredevil. That's another mystery that lies within the pages of this graphic novel. There's little doubt from the onset why this volume is called Secrets & Lies. Not only are the characters lying to each other, but Bendis conceals a lot of information from the reader, although much of it is there on the page if you go back and look through the issues after reading them. I couldn't figure it out, but when I went back and looked through the pages, the clues are all there. He played that mystery fairly. The artists provide a lot of action in this story arc. We have ninjas galore, which constitutes a lot of Spider-Man's one-liners and humorous exchanges with Luke Cage. The attack on the penthouse in Tokyo is awesome. Of course, having all of the comedy going on at the time between the characters would have been impossible. The bit with Luke Cage returning on the elevator after being knocked off the building and falling 20 floors is amazing. Even more humorous, the elevator music from the 1980s reflects Cage's dark mood and the impending violence he's about to unleash. Then we get to the betrayal part with Spider-Woman and Bendis kicks his readers in the teeth with unexpected surprise after unexpected surprise. The arrival of the Silver Samurai immediately suspends the readers' curiosity about Spider-Woman, though. Aboard the Quinjet, Spider-Woman's duplicity surfaces yet again, and this time she almost manages to kill Captain America. Not surprisingly, Captain America is highly suspicious about the prisoner's escape. The segue into a backup feature from an issue of Spider-Woman shoehorns neatly into the overall arc in this graphic novel. Then Frank Cho steps in to do the penciling the last two parts. He showcases Spider-Woman and Ms. Marvel, two of his favorite heroines to draw. Bendis keeps the story coming fast and furious, and when he wraps the arc up, it's hard to tell exactly how Spider-Woman is going to come out of everything. Yeah, this is just another reason I'm going to keep reading The New Avengers graphic novels.

This third installment in the Brian Michael Bendis-penned "New Avengers" features a story arc centered on Spider-Woman, who unfortunately seems to be under the sway of the evil hordes of Hydra, who once again have reared their many evil heads. Recruited as a double-triple-quadruple agent, Spider-Woman gets busted by Captain America, and has to confess about her divided loyalties... It's a character development I don't entirely buy, but the book whizzes along at a fair clip, regardless. Personally, I'd go for more of a group focus -- the banter between Spider-Man and Luke Cage is consistently the most entertaining part of the book (and this time they even get the straight-laced Captain America in on the act!) Anyway, this is a decent super-team book, and I'm looking forward to it gaining momentum. I'd give this volume a 3.5 if I could. (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain book reviews)

Tight plotting and witty as usual dialogue pack these pages. Overall, the story progresses more in volume 3 than it did in volume 2 which was more of a character study. Similarly to volume 2 which shined a spotlight on 'The Sentry' this volume focuses on 'Spider-Woman' but directly ties into volume 1 and the whole over-reaching arc of 'New Avengers.'

Pretty cool ninja fight in the first couple of issues, with some hints about the upcoming Skrull invasion of the Marvel Universe (look really close...). Who's working for who? Does it even matter once the shurikens start flying? The ninja action continues in New Avengers Vol. 6: Revolution! This is the Avengers like you've never seen them before, and that's going to turn some fans off of the series.

bendis is always a reliable writer, and he does a good job with these stories that w/ another writer would've just been filler. the first three issues (#11-13) bring the team to japan where hydra and the hand are trying to use the silver samurai to join forces, but the ending is too abrupt and clearly leaves the situation open to future story arcs. we do have the plus of some great fight scenes, attention given to spider-woman, and the reappearance of a character that fans of the daredevil series will enjoy seeing back in action. the 8-page story from giant-size spider-woman #1 and issues #14 and 15 are more interesting, w/ the full story about how spider-woman got her powers back and who she's working for, the public debut of the new avengers, as well as some insight into where ms. marvel's headed. david finch's art is as good as ever, and frank cho's is worthwhile as well. not one for the ages, but a good read and it'll have you looking forward to vol. 4.