Summary: The mystery of the Invisible Mafia continues as the Guardian learns a little too much.
Plot: As disappointed as I have been with Bendis' writing on the main Superman book his work on Action Comics has continued to be solid. I love how he's slowly building up these Mafia goons, giving us a little at a time to establish who they are, how they feel about Superman and bit by bit how they plan to deal with him. With each new tid bit reveal you get pulled in a little further and at this point I'm fully locked in! I will say Bendis did stumble a bit here with the Guardian's inclusion, as soon as he showed up I instantly knew he was just going to be fodder for the mystery villain Red Cloud and although Guardian didn't end up dead he did follow the pattern of underused D-List hero getting thrashed by new villain to illustrate power to a T. That kind of predicability is just lazy, I mean, I know you want to show off the new villain's menace but you need to come up with a better way. On a side note, I loved the little in jokes on the post-it-notes on Clark's desk on the title page: Call Byrne, what does he know? Jim Lee called. Miller+Romita= Is KGBeast tied to election hacking? They're all just very fun.
Art: Gleason really continues to shine here, from that glorious cover above to the very last page he's really firing on all cylinders and turning in some of his best work. I think my favorite image though was the look of exhaustion conveyed solely by posture in that lone panel after Superman stopped the meteor. The subtle way his shoulders sagged as he hung in space back lit by the sun was just beautiful. Gleason is always a feast for the eyes and that shows no sign of stopping now.
Grade: 8/10

Summary: Something wicked has come to the hills around Burden Hill as strange runes appear behind a series of Eldritch attacks. 
Plot: Like a lot of Dark Horse books Beasts of Burden doesn't feature a standard model of publication meaning that there is no set date each month for readers to anticipate the next adventure; instead Dorkin's tale comes out in sporadically either as a few one shots here and there or a new miniseries a year but rather than being frustrating it makes each entry a treat and this newest issue certainly fits the bill. The action here hits us right away and through out the issue the pacing is fun, brisk, and intriguing with just the right amount of darkness and danger thrown in. It would be easy for what is essentially an animal book to come off as too cutesy but Dorkin always knows how to walk that line between whimsical and seriousness in the way he crafts his world. And man can he really craft a world, and better yet it's one that's immediately accessible  to new readers. While their are nuggets connecting this new mini to past stories through Miranda and her dream inserted specifically for returning readers this issue really does stand on its own in terms of setting up the cast of characters and their role as a group of supernatural defenders; so although the world is lush and dense with its own rules and quirks its not one where you have to start at the beginning in order to enjoy which is fantastic.
Art: What originally drew me into the world of Beasts of Burden however wasn't the plot bu rather it was the art of Jill Thompson so when it was announced that she was being replaced in this book for Benjamin Dewey I was a little thrown but after this issue I have no worries as the art is as excellent as ever. Just as the plot is a balancing act so too is the art in this world but Dewey showed he was up to the task right from the get go as his depictions of the natural world are every bit as stunning as the supernatural world. The book opens on a panel of the forest in the Poconos mountains catching fire, creating a splash page in which a single burning ember and rising plume of smoke remove all serenity from beautifully constructed trees in the foreground and background in the panel before...and then we see a mythical salamander all aflame caught in a bear trap! It's just a fantastic mix that matches the style of the plot perfectly which really makes the artistic transition a seamless one.
Grade:10/10

Summary: With a trip to the tower of Fate the team learns that things are worse than they feared.
Plot: Tynion's tale of the end of magic on Earth continues it's slow unfolding as we learn more of what the threat is and how it got set free. In a lot of ways the pacing of this book is like a good horror tale with a slow set up with the monster lurking just out of sight is fitting with the supernatural focus of the comic, while that seems a given it's easy to turn it into just another generic super hero team book so it's promising that Tynion is keeping to form. 
Art: I still think Bueno's greatest contribution to the book is his take on Swamp Thing; his take is just stunning. In the review for the last issue I mentioned how enthralled I was with the way Bueno added a beard and long hair to Swampy with vines and moss but what I loved here is just how skull like the face is under that green muck. Swamp Thing's visage is truly grotesque in the close ups here and that's as it should be.
Grade:7/10

Summary: When the brute force of the Giant Sized Avengers fails the heroes learn the power of team work.
Plot: Okay, we'll get this out of the way first, yes, beating the Final Host with the "power of teamwork" through the uni-mind was a corny conclusion. That kind of saved by the power of love ending is never really satisfying...but the action and banter were all kinds of awesome so despite the ending I'm still loving the over the top Saturday Morning cartoon feel that Aaron has brought to the Avengers. The bombastic action isn't taking itself seriously and I'm okay with that so long as the pacing is quick and the character moments continue to work. Will I ever look back and say, "These were the best comics ever!" ? probably not, there's nothing meaty enough here to warrant return visits but it's a fun read while it's in your hands.
Art: What can I say? If you're going to do over the top fun call Ed. His style is probably the only way you could make this story work, it's just chalk full of everything your inner child yearns for.
Grade:7/10