Avengers Annual #1

A snowy, chaotic tableau kicks off this 2014 annual in charming style — the Avengers logo sits snow-dusted in the foreground while a whole crowd of heroes, including Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and the Hulk, tumbles through a wintry storm amid flying debris and an explosive burst of light in the background. David Lafuente's cover art gives the assembled team an energetic, almost cartoonishly kinetic quality that perfectly suits the story's playfully melancholy title, "It's the Most Loneliest Time of the Year." At $4.99 this oversized annual brings together Kathryn Immonen, Lafuente, and colorists Rain Beredo and Lee Loughridge for what promises to be a memorable seasonal Avengers adventure.