Defenders #8. Avengers/Defenders War; Part 2. I know there's a war going on but all I can see are the Valkyrie's breasts.

Call me easily distracted but while I know the cover of The Defenders #8's meant to make us fearful for the Defenders' latest predicament, the truth is it makes me more fearful of  the Valkyrie's hub caps. I just hope she's in the habit of handing out protective goggles to everyone she meets because frankly she's in danger off having everyone's eyes out with those things.

But The Defenders issue #8's clearly the place for eye concerns because, inside the mag, once we get past the main story, we get the epilogue that kicks off the Evil Eye Saga from the point of view of the Defenders.

Understandably concerned that the Black Knight's been turned into a statue, Dr Strange sends a message into the void to contact the Knight's disembodied spirit but the Knight's reply's intercepted by Dormammu who, in conjunction with Loki, alters it in order to drag the Defenders into their scheme.

I can't deny I like the look of the Defenders' intro to this tale more than I did that of the Avengers. I didn't mind Bob Brown's work on Daredevil #115 but, in the Avengers segment, Mike Esposito's inks don't work anything like as well with Brown's pencils as those of the much-maligned Vince Colletta did on that tale. In this segment we get the work of Sal Buscema and Frank McLaughlin, a combination that works much more happily.

The contrast between the Avengers and Defenders is perhaps clear in even the mere four pages we're given here, as we get an insight into the Hulk's thoughts, which are that he's contemplating smashing the other Defenders, an insight into the Valkyrie's thoughts, which are that she's unhappy about possibly being in love with the Black Knight when she doesn't want to feel love for anyone, and an insight into Hawkeye's thoughts, which are that he views the Avengers as a bunch of back-stabbers. In other words, the Defenders isn't necessarily a group for those who're at ease with the world.

The Defenders have one thing in common with the Avengers though - and that's the fact they rarely turn down the chance for a good punch-up. And so, by the end of the four pages, they're all revved up and ready for a fight to the death, despite having been given no indication whatsoever that they'll have to fight anyone for anything.

Super-heroes, you do wonder what they'd do if they didn't have anyone to hit.