The New Avengers Complete Collection: Volume 1 TPB

Brian Michael Bendis (w), Various (a)

Marvel Comics

Liz says: Spanning eight years over multiple titles, Brian Michael Bendis’ Avengers run is the longest by any one writer, and the most formative in recent times. His trademark Mamet-influenced, dialogue-heavy style brought a lot of humanity to his team-books, in a setting where superheroes fight over the coffee maker and walk around the Avengers mansion in their sweatpants before running off on a mission together. During his tenure, Bendis expanded the franchise from one Avengers book to numerous spinoffs and miniseries’ and event-books with a lasting impact. He created new characters that have endured (Maria Hill & Jessica Jones, to name a few) and others that haven’t, but were great all the same. He breathed new life into heroes that had largely been left to sit on the shelf, and reinvented classic villains (most notably his fantastic take on Norman Osborn). For the first time ever, he turned both Spider-man and Wolverine into full-fledged Avengers team members, and he reshaped the entire Marvel universe in one fell swoop with House of M. The list of ways he reinvigorated this franchise goes on and on, with innovations continuing to echo throughout the comics and reaching as far as the films and TV series. Bendis’ New Avengers is the definitive modern team-book and my recommended entry point to the Avengers. Starts here!