Marvel; $3.99  

Morgan Le Fay has gone to the year 1776 to help British forces defeat the Continental Army and quash the American revolution. Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, and Clea have traveled back in time to stop her and set history back on course. Spidey and Cap jumped into the fray, and Peter was shot saving a member of the Continental Army. Hulk has engaged a pair of monsters that Morgan conjured, Clea is taking her on one-on-one, and Iron Man is trying to convince the Continental Congress that they need to leave Philadelphia.  

The action continues at a fast pace in issue 4 with Cap seeking help to save Peter from the musket ball wound. Hulk’s fight becomes even harder when he engages a powerful foe in battle, and Morgan fortifies the British with her magic. Though things are looking bleak, Tony has a meaningful conversation with Benjamin Franklin about his hope for the burgeoning country. 

This book by J. Michael Straczynski, and the art team of Sean Damien Hill, Jay Leisten, and Alex Sinclair is really good. It’s hitting notes of patriotism – independence, self-government – and mixing a little bit of history with Avengers style super-heroics. In each issue, Straczynski writes a few panels or pages that contain real historical context to give the book a little intellectual depth. Then the art team kill it with the juxtaposition of Captain America’s impressive suit standing shoulder to shoulder with soldiers in their plain garb. 

–Amanda Sheriff