STORY: Brian Michael Bendis
ART: Billy Tan/Michael Gaydos

It’s another Secret Invasion side-story in New Avengers 47 this month, and the stars of this issue are the the Cage Family. Papa Luke, Mama Jessica, and baby Danielle. We start a couple months in the past with Jessica supportively talking Luke through changing a diaper and offering some other parenting tips. Luke starts telling baby Danielle the story of when he fell in love with Jessica. For this little story we shift pencillers, going from Tan to Gaydos, a nice change of style. Luke hired Jessica to find his father, who has looked down on Luke’s superhero ways and avoided contact for years. Jessica ends up in Atlanta and we gain a little insight on the relationship between Luke and his father. This moment of family tenderness is immediately contrasted by jumping to a current day setting towards the end of the Secret Invasion battle where Jessica is a mess after finding that evil Skrull Jarvis has absconded with baby Danielle. All I can say is the Skrulls better watch out, chances of Luke Cage doing some major alien ass-kicking have just gone through the roof.

I tend be torn with these “slice-of-life” stories that Bendis seems to prefer. At first it feels like there’s not much to the story, but the emotional and character nuggets we get here add up when reading the main story running in Secret Invasion. I tip my hat Mr. Bendis.

PRICE: 2.99
IN STORES: December 4, 2008