One that's part of regular continuity even... it's been a long time since that happened. And it's been even longer since I bought one that I enjoyed as much as "Dead Avengers".

I swear this book was created for the posters at the Avengers Message Board 10+ years ago. I mean, this line-up... The (real) Vision? The (real) Captain Marvel? Rita DeMara? The original Swordsman? Deathcry? And let's not forget everyone's favorite, Dr. Druid (Who is perfectly summed up by Yellow Jacket):



Cripes, put jackets on 'em and throw in a cameo by that bazooka guy that Woderman beat to death and the old AMB would have posted itself into a coma.

In any event, I'm sad that's it such a short tie-in series. (I've not read a single bit of the Chaos War story it ties into, but that doesn't seem to be a problem for me.) I'd slap down the money for a subscription to this as an ongoing series right now... and not just for the character work (brief though it is...)




3 issues only means things have to move pretty quickly, but the creative team did a great job of slipping more meaningful panels and exchanges into things than I've seen in multiple issues of Bendis' decompressed work. Hell, they can say more than Bendis by not saying anything...




Ultimately, I just love the underlying concept behind this book... these deceased heroes protecting the spirits of the afterlife from being cast into total oblivion and non-existence. Hell, I'm all for making this a permanent idea in the Marvel Universe. If death is going to be a revolving door anyway, let's set up an on-going continuity of the afterlife. Somebody kicks the bucket on Marvel's Earth? Great... the dead universe gets a new cast member. Hell, maybe characters would actually stay dead if their fans could still read about them, and some actual progression would happen in the living world. Just don't let them interact with, see, or contact the people still alive, and you've still got the tragedy of separation that death causes... only with a whole new world to explore, new relationships to forge, and new adventures to read.

Even better, when someone gets a particularly shitty death, there's someplace where that can actually be dealt with. These characters mostly resent they way they went out, and are haunted by their lives as well as their deaths. So many deaths in comics are undone because they were such poor ends to the character's story. Fans have a sense of unfinished business with a character, and so they get resurrected. Well, I say let them stay ghosts and try and deal with it until they're at peace.

Ah well, this is only a 3 issue series, and while there are hints that some of these characters are going to be revived as a result of this, I doubt the concept as a whole will be continued. That's a shame, because it really is a chance to launch an alternate universe, like the "Ultimate" one, with all new situations but featuring the actual, 100% core continuity characters... and that would be fun to see.