I thought since it's a little slow I'd share a bit abouy what I've been reading lately. Well, what I read yesterday, anyway; I opened up the school gym for people to come down and use (give the kids something to do while they're not in school), and the combination of my shipment of 6 tradepaperbacks arriving and the complete lack of anyone showing up gave me about 4-5 hours of reading.

Anyway, here are my thoughts on "Avengers: The Initiative" (collecting #1-6). This is getting kind of lengthy so maybe I'll post thoughts on what else I read later.

I originally didn't get this title because nothing about it seemed to indicate that the Avengers were actually in the book, and I was trying to avoid adding new titles. However, from what I'd seen on-line the art looked good and the book wasn't bad, and since Dan Slott is the writer (by far one of my favourite writers) I figured I'd buy the hardcover since it was a good price.

Things I liked:
- Gauntlet. I don't think I've ever read anything with him in it, but I enjoyed him as a drill instructor here. Comments made by his wife showed he believe in tough love, but he cared for his recruits.

- Justice. Vance was given the absolute perfect role for him in this book as a sort of youth consellor to the trainees. Considering his stage fright in Avengers vol 3 I thought he was perfect for this role. He also tries to act as the Initiative's conscience; he remembers what it means to be a superhero, not a super-soldier.

- Slapstick. Simply the fact that Slott chose to include him (I have his original mini, I think it cost me $2 for all 4 issues) made me smile, even though he didn't really do anything until #6.

- Cloud 9. Of the new characters, she was by far my favourite. She illustrates perfectly the flaw in the Initiative; she simply wants to fly. She doesn't want to be a super-soldier, but the government simply doesn't care. They give her a pulse rifle and tell her to shoot people, simply because she can fly. If you have the power to change the colour of your fingernails at will, are they going to put you in the army against your will too?

- Gyrich. The perfect choice to run the "Superhuman Armed Forces". I particularly liked his scene with the Beast, and his comment to the Shadow Initiative that 7 members is the perfect number.

- Dani Moonstar and Trauma. I liked how Dani was brought in to train Trauma with his fear powers. I loved how she saw beyond the military application of his powers to another way he could help people. This, along with Cloud 9's situation, show how superpowers can be used for more than fighting, which the Initiative doesn't seem to see.

- New Warriors. I liked how the distinction was being made between a "New Warrior" and an "Avenger", mostly by Gauntlet. It added a spark to the series, especially with Rage and Justice being around. I should clarify I personally didn't like the way Gauntlet was using the name New Warriors, but from a story point of view it was well done.

Things I'm Unsure of:
Yellowjacket - Hank had a few good moments (insisting on an ethical line in their experiments, taking down the HYDRA ship), but they were outweighed in my mind by how he's completely bought into the government's stance on things. Spying on the recruits, constantly citing "Classified" and "Top Secret", Hank came off as kind of a jerk. I loved Hank during his "Dr. Pym" days in Avengers West Coast, and I liked how Kurt Busiek was trying to heal Hank as well, but it keeps getting undone and that trend continues here.

I suppose a question that could be asked would be "Would Hank be following Tony so blindly if Captain America was still alive?" Even though Hank joined the pro-Reg side right away, it could be argued that in the absence of a leader like Cap Hank has completely attached himself to the strongest leader around right now, Iron Man. If Cap was around, Hank might doubt what they're doing a lot more.

War Machine - For the most part I did like Rhodey as the head of Camp Hammond. What gets me is that Rhodey went after Spider-Man with the SPIN Tech. I understand why the Initiative would want him out of the way, seeing as he was their poster boy, but the fact that Rhodey would go along with it willingly and actively hunt him down bothered me.

Rage - Gauntlet told him he couldn't be a fully licensed superhero because he was unstable and whatnot, but they don't really take the time to consider that Rage is insulted by being forced into Initiative training. He was an Avenger, and has been a superhero for a few years (Marvel time) now. Do they consider that maybe he's not taking well to the training is the fact he doesn't feel he needs it? He had multiple disagreements with other Avengers who out-ranked him (Justice and Triathlon) when they tried to pull the fact they were "Avengers" on him, and really I can't say I blame him for getting upset. I guess the reason this is in the "Unsure" category is I felt that Rage in this situation was written correctly, I'm just not sure he should have been a trainee in the first place. He's been around longer than Triathlon, one of his field instructors.

Things I Disliked:
Armory - The way they handled her after one mishap. True, she did kill MVP, but really I'd say the responsibility lies with Gauntlet. They were still testing her abilities, and Trauma's. It should have been an instructor down there with Trauma, not a recruit. It appeared harmless to leave her with him, but in hindsight it never should have happened. Gauntlet should have been held accountable and Armory receive counselling, not the boot.

The Jump Gates - War Machine mentioned how the gates wear down the barrier between positive and negative space. You think they would have learned by now that's just asking for a Negative Zone invasion.

Hank and Tigra - Really I think my only gripe with this is Hank and Jan had patched things up in Avengers vol 3 and to me Hank and Jan are one of those timeless, meant for each other couples (like Scott and Jean, Green Arrow and Black Canary, etc). Chuck Austen quickly tore that apart and this is the result.

I'm sure I could go on with more, but I've probably bored you to tears already.

~Hat~