So I bought New Avengers 1, and it’s not bad. It’s got about a third of the content I think a reader can reasonably expect in a single issue, but it’s a pretty good third of an issue.
As I’d hoped, Brian Bendis does a whole lot better with his own cast than he did with the traditional line-up and steers clear of any significant references to Disassembled beyond “the team broke up” level. (There’s a “previously” page at the front, but it’s easily ignored and it isn’t really needed.)
That said, there just isn’t enough material here to justify a monthly expenditure. I think I’m going to drop it from my reserve list and wait for the trade, provided the first arc gets decent word of mouth. If this issue is any indication, this story won’t be a satisfying read for me in an episodic format.
I had planned to throw in some “who the hell is Sentry?” Usenet links, but Google Groups has apparently decided that cluttered and baffling is better than orderly and accessible, so check here for more information. (Can anyone recommend a good newsgroup reader, because Google’s beta set-up is awful.)