It’s finally February, and I’ve been waiting for this for awhile now. There are some big events coming up this month and I’ve got the all the information you need to know about them right here.

This month, DC launches Wave Four of “The New 52” with a promising batch of new titles. Technically, Wave Four started when “Threshold” launched last month, but the majority of the titles are coming out in February. Titles include “Katana,” “Justice League of America’s Vibe” and “Justice League of America,” which features “The world’s most dangerous heroes.” In addition, Green Arrow gets a new creative team, with Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino.

DC also wraps up some of their big crossover events, like “Death of the Family” and “Throne of Atlantis” (event reviews will follow). In addition a majority of the “Before Watchmen” series ends, with the exception of “Before Watchmen: Comedian.”

Marvel also adds more series to its NOW! Event, with the biggest two being (or at least the two I’ll be watching) “Nova” and “Secret Avengers.”

I like to keep these sections short since I could go on for a while, but I know reviews take up the bulk of my post each week. To avoid too much rambling, I’ll start with my reviews.

REVIEWS

“Avengers” #5 Jonathan Hickman (W)/Adam Kubert (A)

It happened with “Justice League,” and it’s happening with “Avengers.” These few issues aren’t are good as the first. However, it’s not a bad issue. Smasher is an interesting character and definitely something unexpected, but feels out of place at the moment. Just as in “New Avengers” this week, there are hints as to what’s coming and how the two series are connected. Unfortunately until that day, it looks like “Avengers” is sticking to character highlights. While it may be slow, it isn’t an awful thing. Fortunately, Adam Kubert’s art remains top notch and definitely one of the reasons to keep picking up “Avengers.” FINAL GRADE: B-

“Avengers Assemble Annual” #1 Christos Gage (W)/Tomm Coker

“Avengers Assemble” is definitely one of the surprises to come out of “Marvel NOW!.” It has a vibe similar to the movies that the normal “Avengers” series lacks. For the annual, however, it feels different. Vision’s story here is really good, but it seems a bit too serious for an issue of “Avengers Assemble,” but it does have similar team interactions from other issues. I also really like the team selection for this issue. It’s nice to see Giant-Man, Quicksilver and Vision get some use, since they’ve been absent since the launch of “Marvel NOW!.” The art here is a bit different from the last arc of the series, but the jaggedness of it fits well with the story and especially with the character of Vision. FINAL GRADE: B-

“Earth 2” #9 James Robinson (W)/Nicola Scott, Trevor Scott (A)

This month’s issue of Earth 2 doesn’t disappoint. After the recent events involving Grundy in Washington D.C., we never really found out what happened to Jay Garrick, this Earth’s Flash. This issue answers this question in addition to introducing the next arc that deals with Magic. It’s definitely worth checking out. In addition the art from Nicola and Trevor Scott is fantastic and always one of the highlights of the book. However, there are still a few loose ends that the book usually suffers since it’s only so many pages with a few characters, despite its large ensemble. Overall, “Earth 2” remains solid. FINAL GRADE: A-

“Green Arrow” #17 Jeff Lemire (W)/Andrea Sorrentino (A)

For the first year or so of “The New 52,” “Green Arrow” was struggling. However after two other creative team changes, Green Arrow hits the target. Jeff Lemire has started his reinvention of Oliver Queen, aka Green Arrow, in a stunning manner. In this issue, Queen’s world gets turned upside down in an event that will change his destiny. It’s hard not to say too much without giving away too many spoilers, but the villain, Komodo, provides an excellent foil to Green Arrow. In addition, Andrea Sorrentino’s art here is spectacular. It isn’t too detailed, but not lacking and adds a sense of grittiness to the book. Overall, this one is on eyou won’t want to miss out on. FINAL GRADE: A

“Iron Man” #6 Kieron Gillen (W)/Greg Land (A)

Kieron Gillen’s first arc on his new “Iron Man” series was incredibly repetitive. Now, he’s taking a new approach that put Tony Stark in space. Overall, this was a very enjoyable issue. It’s something that seems fresh compared to the last two or three issues. My biggest complaint here is that a casual reader that didn’t read “Avengers vs. X-Men” might be confused at what the ending could be hinting at. In addition, I’m not the biggest fan on Greg Land’s art. It’s a nice style but the faces of characters can blend together. Fortunately that is not the case in this issue. Overall, “Iron Man” #6 is a solid issue and for once I look forward to seeing what comes next. FINAL GRADE: B

“New Avengers” #3 Jonathan Hickman (W)/Steve Epting (A)

“New Avengers” is really the wild card in the Avengers titles since it isn’t necessarily an Avengers team. It deals with Marvel’s Illuminati and other than a few members in common, it had nothing to do with the other Avengers books. However, that changes today, even if it’s just a one panel connection. While it isn’t necessarily a bad book, it can drag on, since in the first three issues, it’s been more talk than anything, and it can take away from the book at times. However the relationships here are strong and the way the characters interact remains the key component of the book. In addition, the threat still isn’t completely established and that’s a good thing here. While The Black Swan may not say much, it certainly seems that there’s more to her than we know. In addition Steve Epting’s art remains great. Overall, I feel this series could easily be overlooked, but it’s definitely worth checking out. FINAL GRADE: B

“Phantom Stranger” #5 Dan Didio, J.M. DeMatteis (W)/Brent Anderson (A)

“Phantom Stranger” was one of those books that struggled to hit its stride after the first few issues. Thankfully, last month’s issue featuring John Constantine and Justice League Dark finally made the series something worth buying on release day. Fortunately, it finally seems to do so. The story of this issue has been brewing since issue #0 when the Spectre was created. Now, we finally get the confrontation between the two and it doesn’t disappoint. Plus the official reveal of another big character happens in the pages of this issue. In addition the artwork from Brent Anderson is superb and finally completely compliments the issue. In previous issues it seemed a bit off, but here with the focus on some of the magic users in DC’s universe, it shines. FINAL GRADE: A