RPGs and Comic Books

I'm one of those people who's rarely satisfied by my gaming experiences.  I've always loved gaming more in theory than in actual practice.  Waxing nostalgic yet again, I remember being 13 and looking forward to D&D marathons much more than the experience warranted.  I was never happy with our DM - he knew he loved power even at that age - and he was always better at arguing over the rules than me.  But even on the best of days, I never felt transported to that world that lurked right behind the doors and the DM on the cover of the DM's guide.

On the other hand, I love comic books.  A lot.  The tales we created when we gamed never came close to those of good comic books.  I think I still feel this way, and it makes me sad.  Comic books are so good these days.  Gaming...well, let's just say that the mainstream games are too mechanical and the indie games still have far to go if they want to consistently produce scenes of strong characterization.  Or maybe it's just us - we may just be much worse much players than my favorite comic book creators are comic book creators.

Speaking of which, I wish Bendis would just get off the Avengers et al. already.  These massive crossovers and plot threads that unfold over years are fine, and certainly a forceful display of supreme organizational writing skill.  But I miss my old Avengers.  How good would it be to see Brubaker write a classic lineup of Cap, Iron Man, Thor, Vision, and Hawkeye?  If anyone out there actually reads this, who do you think would be a good artist for this?