New Avengers, Volume 5 (2010-2013)

  

Luke Cage's tenure as leader of the New Avengers comes to an end. For the safety of his wife and baby girl, Power Man has agreed to leave the team and the Avengers Mansion. But before Luke and family can pack up the u-haul, the team's headquarters has become a crime scene. Things go from bad to worse when the bodies begin to stack up literally at the New Avengers doorstep. Now everyone on the team has moved from being a person of interest to suspect. The New Avengers better act fast as the feds and the Captain America led Avengers are moving in quick to take the team down before even more dead bodies turn up.

   The final volume of the New Avengers was a page turner. It had that comedic chemistry that many Avengers squads are missing. It had incredible moments of action and exciting adventures galore. Another thing this volume had was lots and lots of occult magic.

   Speaking of occult magic, the star of the story isn't Luke Cage. Though his impending dismissal from the team plays a large part of the plot, it's Doctor Strange whose the main focus of the story. At the beginning of this series, Strange was stripped of the title Sorceror Supreme. These final 5 issues tie up some loose ends from the series' first volume. Plus, by series end, all becomes right with the Marvel Universe by having Strange regain his cosmic destiny.

   You may think I revealed a major spoiler, but there were tons of twists and turns that I didn't even mention that I think are more shocking that Stephen Strange regaining the title of Sorcerer Supreme. Besides, I think by the middle of this series, it becomes apparent that he's going to wield the Eye of Agamatto again. It's the journey he make take that I didn't see coming.

(BTW- I'm not really a fan of Marvel's occult comics. It just a matter of personal taste. Though this volume is full of things arcane, it's not handled in an evil or menacing way. I do love a good horror comic and this book evokes those 70s Marvel horror classics. So, this was actually a fun read.)
   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.