Avengers

Marvel... toilet paper? An Iron Man ... light-up fanny pack? Right

It's been a long, hard road for comic books in Russia. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, attempts to build a comics community consistently met with economic hardship, and failed. It's only over the last several years that Western comic books have become a popular medium in Russia, and in that very short time, there have already been three highly publicized incidences of comics censorship.

The 1989 Avengers West Coast Annual featured an unusual short story by Mark Waid and then-newcomer Amanda Conner called "Rate The Hunks," in which Wasp and She-Hulk offered their expert assessment on the sex appeal of their male Avengers colleagues. Almost thirty years later, we've assembled our own experts to repeat the exercise, with an updated twist.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from our years on the Internet, it’s that there’s no aspect of comics that can’t be broken down and quantified in a single definitive list, preferably in amounts of five or ten. And since there’s no more definitive authority than ComicsAlliance, we’re taking it upon ourselves to compile Top Five lists of everything you could ever want to know about comics. This week, we’re looking at five of Cap’s most memorable team-ups that don’t involve the people he hangs around all the time in the Avengers or his famous partnerships with characters like Bucky, Sharon Carter, and the Falcon.

It’s that blessed time of the year where we all try to take stock of what we’ve done with our lives and what other people have created that we enjoyed. That's right, it's time to start putting together our "Best of 2016" lists, and today we're going to take a look at the Best Marvel Covers of 2016.

The word of comics and the world of professional wrestling have one big thing in common: nothing is better than seeing two of your favorite characters duke it out in a highly anticipated battle royale. The MCU is no different: it’s exciting to think about our favorites finally getting the chance to team up, but what if they fight each other instead? Batman v. Superman was a little anticlimactic in that regard, but Captain America: Civil War really made it difficult to choose sides when half of the Avengers turned against the other half. Vin Diesel seems to think another battle between two very large team members might happen onscreen: Groot vs. Hulk.

The Marvel Universe is full of superhero teams, but when the United States of America is particularly threatened, there's one team dedicated to standing up for the nation: A.I.M. Yes, that's the same A.I.M. that made MODOK, but the super-science collective has already been revamped into a force for good in the pages of New Avengers, thanks to the efforts of Roberto DaCosta, aka Sunspot. And now Avengers Idea Mechanics (the New Avengers) is becoming American Intelligence Mechanics (the U.S.Avengers) for reasons that will only become clear in the series itself. Check out a preview of U.S.Avengers #1.

Dedicated fan, influential creator, esteemed editor, respected historian; the legendary Roy Thomas, born November 22, 1940, has assembled one of the comics medium's most diverse and wide-ranging resumes over the course of his six-decade-plus career. From helping to establish the groundwork for organized comic fandom in the early '60s, to his much-loved stints writing many of Marvel and DC's best-beloved characters, to his modern-day work as editor and author of numerous reference works, he's long been one of the most knowledgeable and passionate voices in the industry.

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from our years on the Internet, it’s that there’s no aspect of comics that can’t be broken down and quantified in a single definitive list, preferably in amounts of five or ten. And since there’s no more definitive authority than ComicsAlliance, we’re taking it upon ourselves to compile Top Five lists of everything you could ever want to know about comics. From the earliest days of comics, there have been characters who performed heroic deeds. Whether they use spells or sleight of hand, this week we're saluting five of the very best magic heroes.

Marvel's upcoming event Monsters Unleashed looks set to live up to its name as the publisher has announced it will be spinning out of the main miniseries and into specially branded one-shots that are all numbered #1.MU. Among the one-shots include special issues of Spider-Man/Deadpool and Avengers allowing creators to really run wild with some of the Marvel's most well-known franchises.