Secret Avengers, Volume 2: The Labyrinth

Secret Avengers (2014)

by Aleš Kot (Contributor), Michael Walsh (Writer)

It's Deadpool! Deadpool Deadpool Deadpool Deadpool! We heard that Deadpool raises sales so we're doing this early on. Just kidding, it's all about the art. Really. Anyway, as Coulson's investigation takes him to Peru, Black Widow, Spider-Woman and Hawkeye go after Lady Bullseye and Artaud Derrida. The noose tightens as Maria Hill starts to put the pieces together, and the Secret Avengers find themselves becoming the hunted! What does S.H.I.E.L.D. want with the Fury? M.O.D.O.K. explains it all - and that includes his own amazing origin! You thought you knew all there was about how George Tarleton became the huge-headed menace you love to hate? Think again! And as Hawkeye and Deadpool take on a deranged mullet-wearing ex-wrestler (yup), secrets are revealed - and they might cost Black Widow her life!

Collecting: Secret Avengers 6-10

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

112 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2015

About the author

Aleš Kot is a post-Chernobyl, pre-revolution, Czech-born, California-based writer/producer who started in graphic novels and now makes films, television, and an occasional novella.

A. believe in art and community.
A. doesn't believe in borders nor cops.
A. believes in love, which they know is a very Libra answer. And what about it?

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a fantastic comic, and I give all the credit to Ales Kot. I haven't read a ton of stuff by him, but everything I have read, I've loved.
He even managed to make a volume of Suicide Squad not suck. So, it goes to figure that if you hand him an actual cool team, he could make it rock. And he does.

And Michael Walsh's art is just the perfect compliment to this story. It's that kind of trippy, blurry, scratchy stuff that I didn't always enjoy, but it's really grown on me over the past few years.



The highlight for me was the stuff with Deadpool and Hawkeye. Deadpool's self-aware banter breaks the 4th wall constantly during this one. He has some of the hands-down best lines in this thing!



So this time around the Secret Avengers are all scattered across the globe. Coulson (maybe) has PTSD and has wandered off, Hawkeye is tracking Coulson, Jessica is being introduced to some of Maria's secrets, Fury is in a coma, and Black Widow is...in another dimension? And how does Deapool fit into all of this? Well, you'd have to ask M.O.D.O.K..



Ok, the plot is just...wacky. There's no need for me to go into any details, because it won't make a bit of difference. The real fun is in the way Kot writes the dialogue between characters.
Now, I will say the the last couple of issues seemed to run off the rails a tad, and the (already) nutty storyline got a bit too screwy for my taste. It's the only reason this didn't make it into 5 star territory for me. Even so, I'd recommend this title to friends in a heartbeat.
Especially if they were looking for something a little different.



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[Lono · Rating 4 out of 5]

GIRL FIGHT!!! This book opens with a shirt tearin’, bra strippin’, throw down for the ages…Ok, so maybe there are no bras getting pulled off, but boy do Black Widow and Lady Bullseye have at it. There’s enough fish-hooks, eye-gouges, and hair pullin’ to put a smile on this old man’s face anyway. MODOK likey.



Hawkeye goes lookin’ for an M.I.A. Agent Coulson and runs into a super-fan by the name of Wade Wilson. Some of my favorite moments in this one are Kot’s take on Deadpool. Ales doesn’t just do a good job with the Merc with a mouth, he crushes it. Over the top redonkulous 4th wall smashin' fun and absolutely perfect.



That’s not all….MORE MODOK!! He’s almost as funny as Wade and his evil plan is finally starting to take shape. Love him.



Spider-woman goes on special assignment, Maria Hill does her best Nick Fury impression, and the real villain finally steps out of the shadows and into the light.



Kot’s weirdo writing sensibilities and oddness really come through in this book. But not in the overly obscure manner that it does in some of his lesser known work. Definitely much easier to digest than his image title Zero.



Michael Walsh’s art remains as amazing as it was in Volume 1. Scratch that, it’s even better. Mike manages to communicate so much emotion with his simple style. NO ONE has ever drawn the Ultimate Warrior so good. Mix in Matthew Wilson’s colors and BLAM!, great stuff. Tradd Moore’s covers rock too.



Kot’s unusual storytelling won’t work for everyone, but for me, it’s spot on. Plenty of action as well. Throw in Walsh’s artwork and this book’s a lock for one of my all-time favorite Avenger titles. Read it!

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[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man...this series is freaking nuts...and I'm digging it!

So Fury is pregnet with some type of monsters. Hawkeye gets kidnapped by Deadpool. Spider-Woman is figuring out what to do. Black Widow is gone into some negative zone or some shit. Hill is...well she's a bitch but that's nothing new. All of these stories began to bounce back and forth and by the end you find out Modor's true intention. HE LOVES SOMEONE!

Good: This series is wacky and insane. I really love the dialog as it's easy and a breeze to get through but packs some good punches. I was actually able to keep up with the plot in this one which was nice compared to the first and the ending is kind of heating up. I wonder if volume 3 will finish strong.

Bad: Deadpool is funny though by staying in more than one issue he was starting to get annoying. As he always does.

Overall this series is just a blast. You have to go into it not taking it seriously and you'll be laughing your way through. I need more series like this inbetween the serious ones to have a good time reading my millions of comics. A 3.5/4 out of 5.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so much fun to read. Just like the first volume, actually. Kot did a great job building on the story and characters he'd started with in the previous volume. And he did such an amazing job writing Deadpool that I'd be happy to see him get a shot at the actual Deadpool book. Deadpool, like Wolverine and Spider-Man, is often shoved into titles to try and boost sales because he's kind of a hot gimmick right now. But Kot gets the character and obviously had a great time writing him. And the entire book, for that matter. I haven't seen much from Kot so far, but I've greatly enjoyed everything of his that I have read. I think he's getting added to my list of creators to watch for.

[Sonic · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a blast. Fun stuff happening here.

[Anete · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 Ak, Deadpool... 😍

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do enjoy this series. It's very much a down-to-earth Avengers, even with the sentient bombs and pregnant androids running around, but it feels more 'real', especially compared to Hickman's current multiversal Avengers/New Avengers books. That said, this volume feels very much like the second act of a three act story, and without the third act to read just yet, it feels a little incomplete.

There's a lot of character transitions as they move around the chessboard that Ales Kot has set up, with Black Widow, Hawkeye, Coulson, and MODOK all going through major storylines, whilst Maria Hill looks around angrily and Spider-Woman looks confused. But the volume ends and we're no closer to working out exactly what's going on than we were before. I expect this will be a Morning Glories type case, with everything making a lot more sense in hindsight and on a re-read.

[Get X Serious · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is damn good.

If you want to read a comic that's, well, you know... comical, this is the one. It has the humor of Superior Foes of Spider-man, the character interactions of Hawkeye, and the tongue-in-cheek introspection of Deadpool, who, very intentionally, has made an appearance.

If nothing else, pick this up for the two page spread of Deadpool and Hawkeye on horseback in the foreground with various images of their "bonding time" going on in the background. There's even a suggested soundtrack that simultaneously made me lol and think to myself, "I think I'd get along with this Ales Kot guy". There's also a couple M.O.D.O.K. pages that, honestly, I'd like to blow up and get framed.

4 stars and then some for a funny af comic.

P.S. I apologize for the use of internet acronyms.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collects Secret Avengers (2014) issues #6-10

Ales Kot is a great writer, and Michael Walsh's art was perfect for this story. I loved this book. I'm a big fan of Nick Spencer, so I would have thought that I would have preferred his "Secret Avengers" run, but Kot's run is much more entertaining to me.

Laugh out loud funny mixed with good spy action. This book is a winner.

As the cover indicates, Deadpool plays a part in this particular volume. It took me a long time to get here, but I'm finally ready to read some Deadpool comics. I don't know what has kept me away for so long, but I think I had a negative view of the character in my mind. He has made appearances in some non-Deadpool-centric comics (including this one) that I've read, and he is often one of the highlights of those stories. That's the case here. His inclusion in "Secret Avengers" was so good that I'm hoping he becomes a regular cast member. Either way, I plan to pick up my first "Deadpool" trade soon.

The Secret Avengers team line-up is working for me. I really like the dynamics of this book.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know if anything could compete with the demented and inspired craziness of the first two issues of Kot's Secret Avengers. This one is still very clever and fourth-wall breaking and funny, but it doesn't achieve the same heights. That may in large part be because it starts to focus on plot, explaining how the wackiness of the first volume fits together. And, it's still quite enjoyable, with issue #8, the MODOK spotlight, being a particular standout (and that one issue is quite as good as much that came before it).

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was better than the first volume, as the story picks up speed and it becomes apparent that there actually is a plot. But I don't think I'm the right audience for Kot. His writing just comes across as trying too hard. Trying too hard to be funny. Trying too hard to be smart. He likes to show off, especially how smart and well-read he is, which doesn't work for me. Guess I'll have to see this through and read the third volume, too.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love it like many have, but the writing and the visual style take one step too many on the road to Zanytown for me, especially once Deadpool shows up and does his shtick.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deadpool makes a cameo to help sell comics! Or to distract Hawkeye while serious Secret Avengers business goes down. Perhaps both.

This book continues to be tongue in cheek, compelling, and funny. I highly recommend it.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars!

Still a fun series, I'm interested to see how it wraps up

[Gerry Sacco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deadpool, you just get me, again.

[Kris Ivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

They added 4th wall breaking Deadpool. So much fun.

[Paperback · Rating 5 out of 5]

This second paperback installment of Kot’s Secret Avengers is ludicrous. And fantastic. Why? Because there’s a drunk Phil Coulson, broken fourth wall, Deadpool and Hawkeye working together again, alien robots finding love, Maria proving how to be a real Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., the captions…

These five issues collected are the reason I love comic books. Explosions are fun, and intrigue makes for a great plot, but sometimes Marvel takes itself too seriously. I know that many people in the Marvel fandom love Hinkman’s New Avengers and the grim Dark Reign series, and there’s nothing wrong with one-hundred watts of drama, but between infinite universes and cataclysmic irony, doesn’t anybody ever laugh at the situation? Seriously, the agents in Marvel’s universe—not just S.H.I.E.L.D., I include S.P.E.A.R., S.T.R.I.K.E., and S.W.O.R.D. in this—get daily doses of this craziness and never crack a joke? Here Kot changes the game: he amps up the drama, he amps up the humor; he creates an alien-dimensional character arc, he gets Fury pregnant with a baby; he makes a talking robot who can predict the apocalypse, he makes said robot play chess; he spotlights Spiderwoman and Black Widow’s budding friendship, he creates a rom-com montage between Deadpool and Hawkeye. Yes, in comics books there is death and mayhem on all floors, but for every step up the ladder Kot goes, he brings everything else along. Because a universe that contains black holes also contains a Deadpool that gets cussed out by his very own comic book writer.

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been my experience that comic books that reference the work of Jorge Luis Borges are relatively rare. Off the top of my head, there's Warren Ellis' Global Frequency and Grant Morrison's run on Doom Patrol, and that's it. So, Kudos to Ales Kot for not only referencing, "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius," but for having it figure into the story as well.

So Deadpool shows up in this volume, and the poor, shattered fourth wall may never be the same. Kot actually argues with Deadpool via captions (and compares himself to Matt Fraction, which I hadn't noticed until he pointed it out, but, yes, this does feel like a Matt Fraction book.) You never get the feeling that the funny bits are overwhelming the book though. Yes, silly things happen, but never at the expense of the story.

I loved the one alternate cover that pays homage to Jim Steranko's classic "Who Is Scorpio? " by the way.

Also, be warned: this volume ends on a cliffhanger.

All in all, I'm liking Secret Avengers, mainly because of Ales Kot's writing. Very fun!

[daniela (taylor's version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

deadpool and hawkeye are so great together what can i do to keep them like that

[Jason Ragle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book zigged when I thought it would zag. It's Ales Kot, so what can you do? Two volumes, same creative team. Bravo.

[Delaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

deadpool made this comic work. confused Clint a ton tho, poor guy

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Deadpool and Hawkeye together so much.

[Adam Stone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oof. The previous volume was fairly derivative of the Matt Fraction/David Aja Hawkeye run, down to lifting the visual humor. In this volume, Kot doubles down by adding Deadpool to the story and having him point out how derivative the run is because meta humor is funny. This would have been an interesting conceit maybe fifteen or twenty years before it came out, but for a book from 2015, it's just exhausting.

The art is good. It falls somewhere between the aforemntioned David Aja, and Sean Phillips, which is a wondeful style for this type of book. I just wish I enjoyed the story more.

If you really love Deadpool, this book might be right up your alley since, even before Deadpool's appearance, the book thrives on wackiness.

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aún siendo un volumen "de tránsito" con la trama y personajes totalmente dispersos... Sigue siendo endiabladamente divertido y ocurrente. Ales Kot es un todoterreno que logra no hacer tan gratuito la inclusión de Deadpool y sigue desarrollando conceptos marcianos para un comic book de superhéroes como la maternidad de "La Furia" o el total TEPT de Coulson. Todo apoyado nuevamente por el estilo de Michael Walsh quien se permite virguerías visuales como algún sentido de lectura inusual en su composición o convertir una página en unas pantallas de un videojuego de lucha Arcade.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spiderwoman and Black Widow get sent to take down Lady Bullseye, things don't go according to plan. Hawkeye is sent on a mission and runs into Deadpool. And has Maria finally worked out what Modok is up to.

I really enjoyed this volume. I love the sentient bomb, and his interactions with Spiderwoman. Modok again, is one of the highlights in this story. Deadpool could have been better, seemed like the writer just wanted to use him. A very good read.

[47Time · Rating 4 out of 5]

The volume begins with a roller coaster of events, each more hilarious than the one before it. The plot has plenty of serious stuff happening too.

Maria figures out that MODOK has a secret plan to get rid of her and SHIELD. Midway through it, he realizes he not only wants to stop himself, but that he loves Maria. The world is facing another alien invasion that may make all of this moot. First, the heroes have to reunite and, strangely, MODOK offers a solution for it.

[Wannia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a comedy. Every panel deserves an Emmy.

Clint and Deadpool's scenes are works of art. The story is twisting and doesn't make sense half the time but that's the whole point and I LOVE it. My only wish is that Nat and Jess had more scenes and Hill had less.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talking bombs, Jorge Luis Borges, mushroom guns, Monty Python quotes, ... someone who might be The Warrior?
This is a special kind of crazy and I enjoy it immensely.

[Jdetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This continues to be a crazy, fun book, and I wish Marvel did more comics like this.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember this tripped from awesome blend of magical realism and comicbook adventure to kind of wacky, deflating a lot of the stakes. It was good, but not as good as the first volume.