Unfortunately I have. It was one of the worst final issues of an "event" I have ever read.

Simon | December 05, 23:02 CET

That must've been the "secret" part :).

zeitgeist | December 05, 23:04 CET

It was just plain awful. If there's one issue that would put me off reading mainstream comic books Secret Invasion 8 would be it. The only saving grace is that Jonathan Hickman is coming on board for Marvel. He is a genius as far as I am concerned and should be writing for Dollhouse and Buffy season 8 as well.

Simon | December 05, 23:17 CET

I thought America handing off a ton of political power at the end to a supervillain stretched credibility, but then I remembered the last 8 years...

Civil War (the last big Marvel "event") got a lot of flack for the way it ended, too - and I believe Joss got the blame for that one.

TeddyKGB | December 05, 23:31 CET

Thanks for the heads-up, Simon - I hadn't heard about Hickman writing for Marvel. I used to pick up *anything* that had the name Bendis or Whedon on the cover, now that distinction belongs solely to Hickman. He is fantastic, and will be doing fantastic things, for sure.

TeddyKGB | December 05, 23:35 CET

I hated the ending too and not just because its like every other event recnetly by setting up another event. It was a huge anticlimax. I guess because I was actually swept up in the possibilities and it just ended with a plod.

theMidnighter | December 06, 00:49 CET

It wasn't awful. The art was superb. It was competently written. There are some nice moments in there (the page with the Young Avengers talking to the Skrull prisoners, for example). But none of the important things really sparkled. It was very by-the-numbers - the big death was depicted too obscurely (unless you count narration as plot exposition) and a certain revelation I'd been anticipating for a year and a half (what happened to all the missing heroes) just fell flat - I was like, is that it? I expected more. Didn't help that the "shock" ending was basically leaked ages ago.

However I suspect that as part of a whole, rather than standing all on its own, it would stand up pretty well.

daylight | December 06, 01:45 CET

OMG that line-up is AMAZING

Buffy the Slayer Layer | December 06, 02:52 CET

"The Avengers lost one of their founders," yikes! Who?

DaddyCatALSO | December 06, 18:35 CET

"yikes! Who?"

Haven't read this issue yet but I've been told it was Wasp.

The Highlander | December 06, 18:38 CET

Was there much backlash against Whedon for the ending to Civil War? As far as I knew, the story is that Whedon just pitched it randomly, and they went with it. I mean, it's the actual writers' fault if they follow JW's advice, isn't it?

WilliamTheB | December 07, 11:19 CET

My understanding is that Joss didn't even pitch it, he just told them that the ending they were planning on using would be anticlimatic.

daylight | December 08, 18:48 CET

So from I understand, the ending to Civil War "wasn't" anticlimactic?

That's not what I got from it. More of a fizz than a bang.

John Darc | December 09, 01:42 CET

But it could have been even MORE anticlimatic :)

daylight | December 10, 02:40 CET