Avengers Prime #1 (of 5)

Brian Michael Bendis & Alan Davis

First of all, I've always been a huge Alan Davis fan, since his days on Excalibur, and that was really the reason why I picked this up.  I didn't need to read yet another Avengers title.  But I'm glad I did.  Davis beautifully renders these events that take place immediately following Asgard's fall, focusing on the three big Avengers: Captain America, Thor and Iron Man.  It's a really cool story actually.  Now that Asgard has fallen, what has become of the rainbow bridge?  The rest of the nine realms?  Well, this book answers those questions, pulling the three big guys through a portal to be scattered over the nine realms, where they each encounter some adversity.  And now that Asgard, Odin AND Loki are all down for the count, another foe seizes the opportunity of ruling over the vast kingdoms of gods and fantasy creatures, someone I was very pleased to see.  I think the three characters focused on here have a really nice dynamic, especially the tension between Cap and Iron Man, who were on opposing sides of Civil War.  We get to see the beginnings of a major argument/blow-out between the two former friends.  But that's all put aside for the moment in wake of recent tragedies as they try to aid Thor in his time of need.  Effortlessly, Bendis and Davis capture what is so cool about these characters, especially when they are cut off from one another and have to fend for themselves.  There are some great panel sequences here and the beginnings of a great epic story.  I had a great time reading it.