Comics: Uncanny Avengers #1 + #2

Professor Xavier is dead. Cyclops killed him. The mutant community is fairly shaken up. New mutants are emerging after the events of Avengers Vs X-men. Captain America has decided to form a team of Avengers with the goal of helping mutant kind, led by Cyclops' brother Havok. He assembles the most recognisable X-man Wolverine, unpredictable Rogue, Magneto's daughter The Scarlet Witch (who nearly annihilated the mutant race single handedly) and Thor. A villain is hiding in the shadows hoping to inspire humans to wipe mutants out once and for all.

Issue 1
Opening with a disturbing image of a mutant undergoing lobotomy, this issue establishes itself right from the start. It then moves on to the funeral of Professor Xavier, which is very well handled. Wolverine's grief and feeling of failure feels genuine. This is well played against scenes of Cyclops being visited by his brother Havok, who confronts him about how he has betrayed Xavier's mission of peaceful coexistence between man and mutant; almost going down the Magneto route of villainy. The scenes between Rogue and Scarlet Witch are the best of the issue, following a similar theme of how they each have failed mutant kind. Rick Remender handles the character's voices well, keeping them true to form. Rogue comes across as a bit harsh but this is understandable considering Scarlet Witch's past and her grief.

The series feels an X-men book with the Avengers name stamped on the front, with the majority of the team being mutants and it dealing with wholly mutant issues. The inclusion of Thor feels rather random, him serving no real purpose as of yet. Hopefully it will be established soon why he is a member of the team. Captain America at least sits as the representative for the Avengers but it doesn't make much sense why he is actually on the roster.

John Cassaday has been my favourite artist since he was involved with Astonishing X-men during Joss Whedon's run; which you should totally check out by the way. He brings the same level of realism and epic scale here. The one action scene of the issue is rather short but well handled, the focus being more on the various conversations about the state of mutantkind. Cassaday has redesigned most of the character's costumes, attempting to give them a more modern look. Captain America's new outfit looks a little too ornate for battle. Havok's costume was one in need of a new look so its unfortunate that it has been mostly unchanged. The only costume I dislike at the moment is Rogue's finding it a bit strange looking and ill fitting.

 The issue ends with as horrific an image as it began, setting the course for the series to come.

Issue 2
"You attack the X-men's home, decimate Charles Xavier's mausoleum, and stab the daughter of Magneto - what's the encore? You diggin' up Jean Grey?"

This issue begins by dealing with the fallout of the first. Red Skull now has the powers of Professor Xavier and plans to use them to wipe out all mutants. His plot is well handled, even if how quickly people start wiping out their friends and lovers is a bit unbelievable. Wolverine doesn't sound quite like himself in the first few pages, being a little too wordy and frankly intelligent. Who knows, maybe that school is rubbing off on him.

The majority of the issue is based around Rogue and Scarlet Witch discovering the Red Skull's plot, these scenes once again being my favourite. Also featured is one of the most inventive uses of Rogue's powers I've ever seen. The scene of the two women discovering Xavier's body is fantastic, capturing the right level of sadness and horror; helped by Cassaday's artwork. The flashback to Rogue joining the X-men is incredibly well used, establishing just how tightly Xavier stuck to his dream.

The artwork is again incredible although it does falter a little with some characters looking a bit off form. The fight scene with Rogue in particular looks fantastic, even if it is rather short.

This series continues to delight, the only problem I have so far is with its shipping schedule; so far only releasing an issue every 6 weeks! Here's hoping this will soon be solved.