The key players behind the Incursions are revealed, but by now, drastic, irreversible choices have been made, and despite the cost, but whether it will be enough remains to be seen.

Party lines have also been drawn in the sand, as the Avengers are tossed into a Civil War-esque scenario at quite possibly the worst time.

Continuing the Secret Wars storyline, this is a particularly amazing run, as we see an unravelling of the Avengers struggling to come to terms with the choices they have made or have to make. And I think what Hickman does well is showing how the conflict emerges on many levels; there is a clashing of worlds, moralities, minds, and powers, where the real brilliance isn’t in the big set pieces, but the overwhelming dread that lingers in every scene. No one really knows how this will all end, and that makes this a hard one to put down.

Considering how tedious it would to be to rate and review every issue of the Avengers (2012) run into my reading list, this review also covers that.

Overall, the Avengers (2012) and New Avengers (2013) are well worth the read as a buildup to the nine issue comic book of Secret Wars (2015). I think it would be a disservice to read either one on their own, as their storylines complement each other extremely well. Avengers showcases the Avengers team in their day-to-day lives, expanding their roster as they come up across threats bigger than before. You could call it the public-facing side of the Avengers. Then there’s New Avengers (2013), which is basically the Avengers After-Dark edition, where we some of their greatest minds, known as the Illuminati, work in the shadows to stop the multiversal threat of the Incursions. But Hickman says that secrets can only be kept so long, and eventually these two storylines collide into one, bringing us Secret Wars (2015).

The only thing I would criticise is the handling of the timeskip, as Hickman does this thing where he feels like he needs to honour the continuity of character versions that were written by completely different people. As a result, it sort of adds more confusion to the mix, because all of a sudden you get references to events that were never explained in this story.

Multiple extinction events, the endless struggle about “accepting” the necessary evil, and the Illuminati starting to crack as they realise they may have bitten off more than they can chew.

An incredible series of issues from Hickman, and this is also the point where I started to realise the story of the Incursions cannot be captured fully just by reading the New Avengers story. Avengers (2012) has a lot of overlap with what happens in these issues, and is essential reading as is the New Avengers to understanding the buildup to Secret Wars.

Totally not scratching my head…totally

“In Latveria, Doom demands that children always get a good night's sleep.” (Issue 23)

Literally aura.

In the build up to Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, I thought it would be fun to actually dive into some of the stories that will provide the source material for the movies? Why is Doctor Doom such a big deal? What are incursions? Do the Avengers succeed in the end?

From what I gather, the Secret Wars reading orders I find online sort of has you jump across three or four different comics to get the whole picture of this sprawling epic that spans multiple universes. But it seems like such a daunting mission to do so, so I thought I'd start with New Avengers which gets to the crux of the matter: The Illuminati, a secret group made up of some of the finest minds in the Marvel universe, discover the incursions responsible for the collision of multiple worlds, including their own. Why they're keeping their work a secret from other superheroes, I don't know. But it feels like the setup for some karmic reckoning later on.

Why the incursions happen is a mystery for the likes of Doctor Strange, Iron Man, Reed Richards, Namor, Black Panther, Beast, Black Bolt and Captain America to investigate, and the story sets them up for some incredibly tough moral dilemmas as their world continues to face the risk of complete annihilation. On top of that are some interesting themes; the burden of a ruler navigating a volatile political climate as we see in Namor and Black Panther, and the struggle of self sacrifice that we see from other characters.

Given Jonathan Hickman's deliberate choice to have the Secret Wars storyline connect through multiple comics, it does at times feel like there are references and subplots happening in New Avengers that lack clarity without the context of reading other comics tied to the overarching storyline. That being said, there's enough done in New Avengers to present a cohesive story that is accessible to first-time readers without requiring them to read like a million other books just to understand what is going on.

Before watching Christopher Nolan's adaptation of The Odyssey, I thought I would read the book that inspired the film, given it has been on my TBR for a while and is one of the most famous classics of all time. It is a fun read, filled with adventure, heroic moments, and moral consequences. There's also an element of retribution to it that reminded me of Edmond Dante's vengeful path in The Count of Monte Cristo, so I imagine there's many themes here that later authors would carry through with pride in their works.

The only nitpicks I have is that there were many references to characters and events that I felt did not have enough room in the book to leave a lasting impression on me, and this was where I should have consulted the notes more often (I seem to have glossed over that part). I've found that in older classics with translations, notes are almost an essential feature for providing enough context to appreciate the full depth of the story, so this was a blunder on my part. I would also add that the story felt a little predictable, and the beginning parts took time to gain steam, but these shortcomings can be forgiven for a story that is almost 2,800 years old.

That being said, I do recommend this read. Emily Wilson's translation is also great if you want something that is accessible, clear, and easy to follow. Do go over the notes as you pass each book/chapter; don't make the same mistake as I did.

I was intrigued to know that these stories were written during the COVID-19 pandemic; long stories from Junji Ito are always a treat I feel, and in this collection we get four. That being said, I unfortunately did not find the concepts that memorable.

However, the last story, Slumber, did have a good twist, and despite Ito's admission that the ideas bank was kinda running low for this series, the artwork always delivers.

I'll definitely be checking out Volume 2 as well. Vol 1 isn't one of his stronger collections, but it's a decent read if you just want to read more Junji Ito.

The art and mind of Junji Ito is a sight to behold, and the Shiver collection delivers some of his most iconic concepts yet, and it's elevated by the addition of commentary from Ito himself about where he came up with the ideas for each of his story, showing and how humans sometimes draw their ideas from the strangest or most ordinary things. I wish the commentary made more of an appearance in his other books, as it makes the stories feel more alive.