Paperback in Action

Art by Ron Garney and Richard Isanove Before Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist united on the small screen, "Defenders" was the name given to an entirely different bunch of heroes. Formed by writer Roy Thomas in 1971, the original Defenders were a "non-team" comprised of the Hulk, Doctor Strange, Silver Surfer and Namor, the Sub-Mariner. These heroes, often known to prefer working alone, were brought together by coincidence on numerous occasions to foil supernatural plots - and now they've been reassembled to save the world once more in The Best Defense. Rather than a standard inter-series crossover or miniseries, The Best Defense is an anthology of one-shots with an overarching plot akin to DC Comics' Multiversity . What begins as a murder mystery story gradually evolves into a more complex tale as the connections between each chapter begin to surface, culminating in a team-up of cosmic proportions. Simone di Meo's imposing Hul...

Art by Ivan Reis "My friends are falling...my planet is in immediate danger...we are surrounded by unknown enemies...and it is right there that it hits me...I may never see my family again." Hold it right there! Phantom Earth might be the first volume of The Unity Saga , but it is very much the second instalment of Brian Michael Bendis' ongoing Superman story. You're going to want to read The Man of Steel   before you hear anything about Clark Kent's latest adventure, so only keep reading unless that book is already on your shelf! One thing I will spoil is that Bendis can indeed write Superman - but can he keep readers interested in the overall narrative? In The Man of Steel , Superman came face-to-face with the cosmic warmonger Rogol Zaar, who claimed to have destroyed Krypton and wants to finish the job. During this fight, Zaar decimated the iconic Fortress of Solitude, including Clark's only means of contact with his space-faring wife and son. Init...