War of the Realms

War of the Realms 1-6

On the plus side, this is super epic in scale.  Russell Dauterman’s art is suitably excellent to match the ambition.  And there are some truly hell yeah moments.

That said, it falls victim to my biggest crossover pet peeve: It depends on its tie-in issues to tell the full story.  Tie-ins should serve to fill in little gaps, tell side stories that enhance the main plot.  They shouldn’t be required reading.  And there are far too many dependencies in this series.  Each of the threads are begun here and concluded elsewhere, with only the endings shown.  It’s wholly unsatisfying, and no amount of entertaining quips and character moments can overcome that.  

Dauterman is a phenomenal artist, but his Daredevil looks like a baby.

I love Jane Foster as All-Mother...

...but there's no way she survives against the Minotaur.

The result is a series that feels super rushed.  This is a montage, not a story.  The need to squeeze this into six issues was its downfall.  I would have preferred Jason Aaron take his time with this in the main title, give the final battle on Midgard the same care he took in setting it up over seven years.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

New Agents of Atlas 1

Original review.  Everything there still stands.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine