August 27, 2007 - Comic books are expensive. It's becoming more and more difficult to just grab anything shiny off of store shelves. That's why we try to review as many books as possible each week. We typically publish our initial batch Wednesday night, and add more throughout Thursday when we're able.

Our rating system is a little different than most. Rather than giving stars or grades, we're providing two-word descriptions that give a sense of a book's overall merit.

Ratings Scale

• Must Have - An incredible story that can't be missed.
• Must Read - A great tale that most will enjoy.
• Check It - Good to average, but not a necessity.
• Pass It - Significant problems; Save your cash for better books.
• Burn It - A dubious honor, reserved for the very worst books.

The Review Crew: While it's important to understand a rating system, it's equally critical to know who's reviewing a title. To help our readers, we've created biographies for our weekly review staff. We'll return to update these from time to time and add new members as they join our ranks. To check out the crew, click here. Now you understand the insanity.

Avengers: The Initiative #5 Written by Dan Slott Art by Stefano Caselli

Rating: Must Read Jesse's Review: Avengers: The Initiative is the best World War Hulk tie-in in spite of its connection to the storyline, rather than because of it. Dan Slott has managed to piggyback onto the event and use it to further the events and character arcs of his own book. Last issue saw the rookie heroes get drawn in over their heads. This month, the Shadow Initiative must rescue them. The Initiative has enough PR problems without a gaggle of underage heroes being found at the scene of battle. Presumably this black ops team would have made its introduction about now even if Hulk had never brought war to Earth, but it makes for a good opening mission. I'm sure many readers are wondering about the identity of the Scarlet Spiders or the mysterious Mutant Zero. Don't get your hopes up as to receiving any answers. Slott goes so far as to tease his readers about the reveal, but we won't be learning anything for another issue or two at least. If you can live with that harsh truth, this issue is a lot of fun. After three solid months of seeing Hulk and his allies throttle any and all foes into submission, it's refreshing to see the Warbound on the defensive for once. As always, Stefano Caselli lends this series the perfect blend of gritty action and cartoony expressionism. If this hasn't become your favorite ongoing Avengers series by now, you must not be reading it in the first place.