by Brian LeTendre
If I had to name my biggest disappointment in comics for 2013, it would be the cancellation of Fearless Defenders. It was hard not to think about what could have been as I read the final issue of the series the other day. Writer Cullen Bunn had really just established the world and the characters of the book, and now he won’t get to tell the rest of his story anytime soon, which is a real shame.
But that shouldn’t discourage anyone from picking up this issue, or going back and grabbing the previous eleven, because Fearless Defenders is one heck of a fun book. Valkyrie’s reluctance to embrace her mission to assemble a new group of Shield Maidens allowed Caroline LeFay to bring back the Doom Maidens, a group of former Shield Maidens gone bad.
Even after the Defenders deal with that initial threat, LeFay begins putting together a new group of Doom Maidens from some of the villainous females of the Marvel U. Misty and Valkyrie have to counter with their own group, which sets the stage for what amounts to an all-female version of Heroes for Hire. And if that sounds awesome, it’s because it is awesome.
From the first issue, Fearless Defenders has been filled with action, great characters and most importantly, fun--something missing from a lot of mainstream comics today. The book deserved better than a twelve-issue run, but at least we got that.
4.5 out of 5 Over to Soons
If I had to name my biggest disappointment in comics for 2013, it would be the cancellation of Fearless Defenders. It was hard not to think about what could have been as I read the final issue of the series the other day. Writer Cullen Bunn had really just established the world and the characters of the book, and now he won’t get to tell the rest of his story anytime soon, which is a real shame.
But that shouldn’t discourage anyone from picking up this issue, or going back and grabbing the previous eleven, because Fearless Defenders is one heck of a fun book. Valkyrie’s reluctance to embrace her mission to assemble a new group of Shield Maidens allowed Caroline LeFay to bring back the Doom Maidens, a group of former Shield Maidens gone bad.
Even after the Defenders deal with that initial threat, LeFay begins putting together a new group of Doom Maidens from some of the villainous females of the Marvel U. Misty and Valkyrie have to counter with their own group, which sets the stage for what amounts to an all-female version of Heroes for Hire. And if that sounds awesome, it’s because it is awesome.
From the first issue, Fearless Defenders has been filled with action, great characters and most importantly, fun--something missing from a lot of mainstream comics today. The book deserved better than a twelve-issue run, but at least we got that.
4.5 out of 5 Over to Soons
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