Original Sin

This fast-paced adventure collects the Original Sin limited series along with ancillary material, in which a cosmic entity called the Watcher is murdered on the moon. Superheroes well known to a general audience, such as Captain America, Spider-Man, and Rocket Raccoon, team up with more obscure characters, such as Nova and the Orb, to solve the mystery. Aaron’s (Thor, Ghost Rider) dialogue can be wordy, but the plot moves quickly, and a complicated backstory involving secrets from the characters’ pasts is incorporated seamlessly. There are some confusing layouts from Deodato (New Avengers), and occasionally words or artwork run into the binding of the book, but overall the colors are crisp and the action is fun and easy to follow. The ancillary material, which includes several spin-off series, doesn’t add to the main story and clashes in look and tone, but the main narrative is packed with enough superheroics to make the book feel complete. The large cast of characters is introduced with one-sentence bios (“Bruce Banner: not to be made angry”) that assume a familiarity with the Marvel universe, but movie fans who want to dive into the comics can easily start here. (Nov.)