Captain Marvel, the Marvel Comics version. A Kree warrior — Mar-Vell – who came to feel the Earth out and ended up loving the people and becoming their champion.

For those not in the know, the Kree and the Skrull races are embroiled in an ongoing war that’s lasted since time immemorial. It’s always been there in the background — except when the Avengers brought it to the foreground a long long time ago in a storyarc entitled “The Kree-Skrull War,” strangely enough.

So there’s actually a reason behind the pointless bringing back of Mar-Vell in Civil War (and that was pointless. A one-shot issue devoted to him, and then only a one-panel appearance after that? C’mon Millar!) — the forces of Earth have someone that is most definitely not a Skrull (as much as anyone can be) and who knows their ways intimately.

Captain Marvel’s miniseries is on issue 3 of 5. It ends just about the time Secret Invasion gets up to speed; so maybe this Secret Invasion won’t be shit after all.

Nova, the Human Rocket. A B-Lister, some would say, but he was a hero that I kind of got in on the ground floor with. I didn’t have to read 15 years of stories to get the gist of where Richard Rider was coming from; and what’s more is that Rider was an average kid. Wasn’t a brain like Reed Richards or Peter Parker, wasn’t a jock like The Thing was before the accident — was strictly normal.

Then he got his powers, and before you could say “Blue Blazes!” Richard Rider became a Centurion in the Nova Corps.

Yes, it’s a thinly-veiled version of the Green Lantern Corps, and yes the Novas aren’t as high-profile as the Lanterns; but they are still cool.  Or were.

Now Nova is the last of the Corps; the original Annihilation wiped out his companions, leaving him the sole inheritor of the Nova Force and the snarky Worldmind computer is in his head. Of course, this makes things interesting since he got infected with the Techno Virus in Annihilation: Conquest.  (Seriously, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning? Time to wrap up that bit of the storyline. Let’s get to rebuilding the Corps and busting out some much-ignored Marvel Cosmic storylines.)

This is Nova’s first annual since the title got a relaunch after Annihilation, and it recaps Nova’s origin, as well as shows an internal battle between Rider and the Virus. It’s handled very well; the team of Abnett and Lanning have a good handle on Nova, and it shows that they actually care for the character.

If you liked Annihilation and are digging Conquest; check it out. If you’ve been reading Nova’s solo book all along, then this will not disappoint. Pick it up.

Seriously. We have to talk. When I buy a comic book that has the word “Avengers” in the title, I want some Avenging. I want some action.

The picture above, right there? That is the most action in the book. Seriously. Luke Cage getting pissed that his wife registered and took their baby to the Republican Avengers Tower.

The rest of the book? Talking heads. Not the awesome band from the 80’s. No, the talking heads that would have been two pages’ worth of wordy art 20-30 years ago now takes up 22 pages that costs four bucks.

Yes, Mr. Bendis, I know you’re building up to this awesome Secret Invasion thing where everyone is a Skrull and it’s going to be up to Slapstick and Henry Hellrung from The Order to save the world (maybe with an assist from Mass Master from Power Pack and Son of Satan), but c’mon. An Avengers issue without one punch thrown in anger? An issue without a major reveal?

This. This right here is why people are starting to really really hate decompression. This is a waste of four dollars. New Avengers #38. Avoid.

It seems like every writer other than Matt Fraction is trying to emulate Garth Ennis’ MAX formula for Frank Castle. In it, the Punisher is almost an afterthought — a malignant force moving through the criminal’s lives before snuffing them out.

Duane Swierczynski has written a One-Shot MAX issue that follows this to the letter — there’s very little overt Punisher action going on, instead Castle sets up the criminals and deals with the outcome.

The setup is good, but the best thing about this book is the Castle-as-Ahab cover. It works on many levels, and Frank is as close to the mariner as any character in modern media, I think.

If you like the Punisher, pick this up. This issue won’t make you a fan if you aren’t already, though.

Jason Aaron takes over on Ghost Rider this week, and comes in with a bang. I still remain skeptical about the Blaze = Angel bit, but I give Aaron a lot of slack because his Vertigo title, Scalped, is amazing. And he comes through with this issue.

Johnny Blaze has always been a bit of a tortured soul (well, obviously) — not that bright and saddled with a demanding Spirit of Vengeance. Since the reveal that it’s a Heavenly Spirit and not necessarily a Hellish one . . . well, Blaze doesn’t really see the difference.

Oh, and Nurses with guns.

And a zombie-ridden stretch of highway.

This is one way to start a run on a book that gets my attention.

Wolverine. X-23. Wolfsbane. Proudstar. Three of the four are the most vicious X-Men when crossed, and the other (Wolfsbane) is someone always struggling against her beastial nature.

With the events of Messiah CompleX over and done, Cyclops has a score to settle. The Purifiers are getting the band back together, as it were; rebuilding and activating Nimrod, which was one of the most deadly foes of the X-Men. (Although, to be honest, do the X-Men have any non-deadly foes? It’s not like they go up against someone like The Vulture or Rhino. Instead they get the Marauders, Magneto’s Evil Brotherhood and the Purifiers)

Cyclops gathers the four mutants mentioned above and sics them on the Purifiers. That’s pretty much the gist of the issue right there. There is some good character bits scattered throughout, as Wolverine attempts to stop them from joining: “You won’t be an X-Man any more,” he says. “You’ll be standing right next to them, but you won’t belong.”

And as the picture above insinuates, he’s unsuccessful and the wetwork ensues.

This is a book I’ll be watching for a while. The violent, bloody underworld of the X-Men’s world has always fascinated me; too many of the spandex set refuse to kill (admirable, but not very realistic, even within the warped logic of the Marvel Universe) and this group gathers together four very dangerous people.

So Hercules has taken away Hulk’s Incredible title and is now running around with Amadeus Cho. Hulk — at least the Bruce Banner version — is sitting in Ultimate-Style confinement under the desert and apparently going to help figure out what’s up with the new Red Hulk that offed Abomination.

Well, April 23 sees the two Titans battle it out again. Greg Pak, who along with Peter David is quite rightly seen as one of the best Hulk scribes, is going to be taking care of the scripting chores on this one.

Part of the story ties directly into Incredible Hercules #116 and sets up some themes and elements of the “Sacred Invasion” crossover which will follow in Incredible Hercules #117 to #120. And part of the story fits right into a classic Bill Mantlo “Incredible Hulk” tale from the 1980s. I’ll say no more, other than to plug the thrilling fact that you’ll see the Hulk as he hasn’t been seen for a long, long time, and it will be awesome.

JMS is writing the story of Captain America writ large.

Sure, it doesn’t have Steve Rogers (or Cap for that matter) between the covers, but it is a story of remarkable similarity.

Don’t get me wrong, though — I am thoroughly enjoying The Twelve. JMS is putting a lot of pathos in the story, and I proclaim it good. The heroes are lost in time, never able to return to the world they know, and some are having adjustment issues.

Take Dynamic Man, for instance. The guy was suspected of being homosexual by his compatriots in the 40’s, and it turns out the guy is a racist as well. From a totally different world, and although he wants to be a Hero, writ large with all the acclaim that gives, he is going to find out that the world of the 2000s is not as accepting of his views.

And I believe Rockman is going to be a very tragic figure. Very tragic.

If you haven’t read the first issue, do so. Pick this one up — it’s a 12-issue miniseries, and so far I like what I’m reading.

This book needs more Machine Man. Especially since it’s Nextwave-Era Machine Man.

Ms. Marvel is growing on me. Since the events of House of M, where she saw herself as the premiere hero on Earth in that alternate reality, Carol Danvers has been giving  her all to become just that.

Agent Sum, Machine Man, Arana and Sleepwalker are good additions to her team, just the right mix of weirdness and humor, with Sum keeping things under control.

This issue features a SURPRISE ENDING THAT WILL ROCK YOUR WORLD AND THE MARVEL UNIVERSE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!

Ok, it doesn’t. Just wanted to type that up once.

But the ending is a surprise. And it did come as quite the shock. Leads in perfectly to Secret Invasion. Pick it up, see if I’m wrong.

Annihilation: Conquest may not have the ‘oomph’ of the original Annihilation miniseries/event, but it’s still a rollicking good story.

This issue, what can go wrong does. Star-Lord is undergoing torture. Blastaar and the Spaceknight Daystar remind us what the Phalanx can do. Adam Warlock, the High Evolutionary and powerless Quasar show us how damned ineffectual great power can be when wielded by an amnesiac, a dick, or someone who just drained all of theirs. And Ultron shows us why he/she/it is a premiere villain in the Marvel Universe when not written by someone named Bendis.

This issue ends with every-damn-one of Our Heroes in deep shit.

I love it.