“You saved the world one time, kid, congratulations! I bet even Spider-Man has saved the world more than you.”

“You wanna be excellent? Really excellent at what you do? Then be excellent every day, in every part of your life. That’s how the great ones do it.”

“You think Captain America ever complained about homework?”

Jason Aaron, “Captain Marvel”, Avengers #11

Started rereading old comics I bought before the pandemic hit. There was a comics shop we used to live by, All About Comics, that was great. Nice positive energy, friendly staff, well-lit environment, and I had been wanting to get back into reading monthly comics for a while. Just needed the disposable income. I finally did, and I wasn’t disappointed withe current product.

Well, current product from *checks notes* 4 years ago, which is actually how long my monthly comics break was from 2014-2018 so, you know, time is fleeting, none of us are getting out of here alive, so read what you like.

Jason Aaron, the current writer of Avengers, has been a favorite of mine since his early days on Thor. While some comic writers attempt to be prose novelists, doing their best to bring elegance and grandeur to their work, Aaron is through and through a comics guy. His books are fun, in the same way art on the side of a heavy metal van is fun. Big, loud, without losing sight of the heart of each of the members.

His first volume on the team book, The Final Host, is one of my favorite Avengers stories ever, with stakes stretching back to the dawn of time, a Megazord-sized Iron Man armor, and Ghost Rider taking over the deceased carcass of a giant space god. Comics!

This, though, is really about the quote above. New member, Ghost Rider, is concerned he doesn’t need to do the homework Captain America has assigned him, in regards to studying the villains they might end up facing one day. Captain Marvel, on the other hand, is quick to remind him that saving the world one day doesn’t mean it’s going to be saved the next day. The work comes in doing it every day, learning every day, because that’s “how the great ones do it.”

The artists on this book are stellar, from Ed McGuinness’ imposing He-Man figures to David Marquez’s refined precision, everyone is on their A-game in this volume and it shows.

I know I don’t write about every book I read (there’s a link to my GoodReads at the bottom of the home page), but I like to think I write about the books I’m really getting something out of.

Thanks for reading,

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