ALL OF LAST WEEK 11-12-14

Ugggh. Alright guys, I gave you a heads-up on this. Did I definitely know I wouldn't get any reviews done? No, I had some amount of optimism. Did I suspect I wouldn't get any reviews done? No comment.
So this blog is getting a little bit lax lately. I built up this thing on reliability and long and rambling reviews. Unfortunately, lately I've both been unreliable and I've tried to cut off the rambling. One of those changes, I believe, has been a good thing. The other? Wellllllllllllll, maybe less so. There's a good chance this blog starts taking a different format soon or at least stops proudly toting that it reviews every single major Marvel comic every single week. But, as we are still that (at least in my head), here's as quick a review as I can do for every comic this week.


All-New Captain America 1

Sam Wilson is officially the new Captain America and he's certainly capable of walking the walk, talking the talk, and wielding the shield. In a bit of a challenge, his new pseudo-partner is the new Nomad, Steve's son Ian. Together they storm an enemy base but find themselves at odds when Nomad throws Batroc the Leaper to his death (WHAT) and the pair suddenly find themselves faced with a number of classic Cap villains led by Baron Zemo. Remender's wasting no time getting Sam acquainted to the role and to the Cap villains he already knows. There are some great uses of Redwing in this issue and, while it's a pretty good issue and certainly a monumental achievement, it's hard for me to give this a 5 out of 5 when it's possible Batroc is dead. Total Score: 4/5







All-New Ultimates 10
Taskmaster is hunting Ultimates and just about finishes his collection with little resistance, though now he has to contend with an angry Bombshell. Still don't like this book but at least some plot and action happened. Total Score: 3/5


Avengers and X-Men: Axis 5

All the Avengers who were on Genosha are still inverted (though, and I wanted to talk about this above but I forgot and there's no possible way to go back, ALL-NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA mentioned off-handedly in its opening salvo that a bunch of heroes got inverted but came back around, so great work schedule?) and they capture the other Avengers after calling a meeting, leaving only Spider-Man, Nova, and a few others free. And the X-Men attack them. And everyone's mad. And this is still such a stupid and reverse-engineered premise. I don't really care if you can milk stories from it for months, it doesn't make it a worthwhile event. Total Score: 2/5








Axis: Hobgoblin 2
Phil Urich, the new Goblin King, attacks original Hobgoblin Roderick Kingsley only to discover that Roderick, profiting on his newfound success as a hero, has an amnesiac Lily Hollister in his sway. There are some fun and interesting things happening here but it all relies on characters I personally practically refuse to care about. Total Score: 3/5


Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier 2
Bucky was shot in the back just after learning that Loki was the middleman for the drug running operation underseas. The bullet he was shot with turns out to be filled with the drug they're chasing, a dosage of hallucinogenic Illum which wreaks a bit of havoc with Bucky as he tracks down and confronts Loki. Loki plays some games with him and makes him see all manner of strange, identity-plaguing thing. Still, by the time Bucky gets through it all, he's learned the location of the planet he needs to visit next. QUESTION: is this really the threat-level Nick Fury had to contend with as man on the wall? I'm still not at all sold on Ales Kot but he's working a bit better already with Marco Rudy, whose art is well worth the price of admission. Really gorgeous but the story and the dialogue leave a lot to be desired. Total Score: 3/5






Captain America and the Mighty Avengers 2
The Inversion is still happening over here and the Mighty Avengers are starting to think maybe they can run the world with an iron fist (though Iron Fist himself is not affected by the inversion) and finally bring peace. However, that doesn't mean inverted Luke Cage is going to forgive Spider-Man for that whole superior thing. Again, I didn't enjoy this book but I think it comes as a result of a weak premise that I cannot get behind. I mean, I don't regret buying it at all because Skottie Young cover, so duh. Total Score: 2/5


Captain Marvel 9

Captain Marvel and Tic find themselves summoned by mutant intergalactic pop-star Lila Cheney to help her get out of an arranged marriage with a prince of a different planet that she certainly never arranged. The planet the space-adventurers find themselves on is one where everyone speaks in rhyme and it gets a little bit old throughout the issue but props to DeConnick for almost entirely making it work. Anyway, Captain Marvel finds a solution, helped by her beating up a vile, power-hungry woman who would marry the prince herself to gain power, and Tic marries the prince instead, though is promised that it's a marriage in name only and that she's able to go wherever and do whatever she likes anyway. Ambitious issue that falls a little flat for me because I still don't like the Captain Marvel supporting cast and the change of scenery. I loved Carol when she was relatable and tough on Earth. Pulling her into places where explaining the plot (or rhyming) has to take most of the dialogue instead of character building hurts this book. Total Score: 3/5


Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy 4
Lady Deathstrike has a lot to think about with Logan dead. She does her thinking while thwarting a slave trade and deciding to run Logan's old underground. Certainly not a bad issue and it mostly moves fast. The art style of Juan Doe works really well with Lady Deathstrike. Total Score: 4/5


Guardians 3000 2

The Guardians continually face their own death but finally break out of their cycle with the advance knowledge provided by Geena Drake. They manage to flee from an overwhelming amount of Badoon with the assistance and probable sacrifice of Gladiator and others, hoping to end this war once and for all, though they're being followed by what is purportedly a big ol' Badoon weapon. Still finding it a little hard to get invested in these characters or this future. Total Score: 2/5











Hawkeye vs. Deadpool 2
Hawkeye and Deadpool are trying to figure out how the pieces of this puzzle fit together but continue to come upon dead ends. When Deadpool and Kate finally start getting somewhere with a hidden flashdrive, though, Hawkeye reveals himself to be apparently some sort of double agent, stabbing Deadpool and knocking Kate out while he takes the flashdrive for himself with much the same gusto as the fake heroes Black Cat had in her employ. Still some fun here but the issue drags a good deal. Total Score: 3/5


Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man 7

Osborn reveals to Miles that he, the Spiders, and Miles' dad are all connected in some way but refuses to give any more evidence than that, eventually leading to Miles and Peter knocking him senseless and potentially re-killing him. Peter gives Miles his blessing and his web-shooters and leaves with MJ to try to figure some things in his life out. Soon, Miles is faced with seeing his father again. Oh, and Kate Bishop's parents are Hydra so she's Hydra and she knows who Miles is. The issue moves pretty well and there's only a little bit of forced banter thrown into a long fight scene. It's very similar to the last issue in a number of ways but it still moves well and adds a bit of texture to the story, so little to complain about. Total Score: 4/5







Nightcrawler 8
Nightcrawler and the X-Men are returning to normal life after the passing of Wolverine when Nightcrawler is pulled back into the lives of the Crimson Pirates thanks to a distress call from Pirate Bloody Bess, who asks for Nightcrawler's help in defeating her teammates, possessed by the villain the Shadow King. He agrees to help her but they quickly find themselves on the run hoping for more backup from the X-Men, who similarly get possessed, and possibly Scorpion Boy and Ziggy Karst. Claremont's love of story again wins out here, though he's quietly doing a good job with Nightcrawler's character. Still, pacing and excessive dialogue really drag this book back down. Total Score: 3/5


Nova 23

After discovering that Kluh is attacking Arizona, Nova rushes away from Spider-Man and Steve Rogers to take on an even stronger and more vicious Hulk. He manages to do some damage but ultimate finds himself launched unconscious to France by Kluh, where he wakes in a hospital room with his broken helmet beside him. Still don't like Kluh but it's a pretty strong Nova-issue. Seriously though, every tie-in to AXIS is marred by how bad AXIS is. Total Score: 3/5











Savage Hulk 6
Dr. Strange and his SHIELD escort learn (god, FINALLY) that this race of strange intergalactic crustaceans ages at an insanely fast rate and that Hulk started off feeding on their non-sentient ancestors but has laid off of the sentient lineage, only to be cast as a villain by certain members of the society who would ruin themselves waging an unwinnable war on the monster. Strange defeats the most vocal of the anti-Hulk shrimp and deposits the Hulk back at the Crossroads while saving the society. Solid art props up this issue, which otherwise falls a little flat for me. Total Score: 3/5


She-Hulk 10

Steve tells his side of the story, revealing that his pal's brother, the one who blames Steve for getting his brother killed, was working under Nazis and Steve took a stand against them in a situation where the Nazis were very clearly going to kill all three of them. Steve is found innocent and chats with his lawyer pals for a bit before She-Hulk heads back for NYC, hoping to relax a little but finding Titania, whose name is also in the blue file, waiting for her. Another strong issue. Soule writes a really fun She-Hulk and a strong Steve Rogers on top of being just a strong writer all around. Pulido's art is absolutely perfect for the series. Total Score: 5/5









Silver Surfer 7
Dawn Greenwood and Silver Surfer have been traveling for a while now and run into their fair share of adventures and excitement, but Surfer finds himself as excited as ever to end up at the end of the universe, where even the light from the stars doesn't reach. As he and Dawn sail further and further into the depths, they find some sort of way station lighthouse and approach, only for it to grab Dawn and pull her into the nothingness. Though Norrin had sworn recently that he'd never silver down again after a particularly bad experience while he and Dawn let their guard down, he looses the power cosmic and the depths take him too, only for him to silver up again and rescue Dawn. He gave her a ring that's part of himself so he can always find her and she asks if it means they're dating. Slott's joy for writing the series, as with AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, shines through here, though the tone is still a little hard to always nail down. The art of Michael and Laura Allred is, as ever, pretty astonishing and remains exactly what the book needs. Total Score: 4/5


Spider-Verse 1

Cute little introduction to a handful of alternate dimension Spiders like Spider-Man of the Spider-Clan of Earth-2301, the steampunk Lady Spider from Earth-803, the cartoonish 11-year-old Penelope Parker, Spider-Girl, of Earth-11, and a couple of other Peters who die or are ignored by Morlun. They're nice vignettes from talented writers and artists, which makes the book worth reading as long as you know what you're getting into. Total Score: 4/5












Superior Iron Man 1
Tony Stark has started drinking again, as well as mass producing Extremis and giving it to everyone in San Francisco with a smart phone. Of course, he's a despicable human being now, though he still helps out on the hero front in New York with remote Iron Men. As Pepper begins to worry about what he's doing, he shows how profitable it'll become by removing the Extremis from all of his test subjects in SF and offers it to them once more for a hundred dollars a day. What a jerk. Surprise, I still don't like AXIS. Total Score: 2/5


Thor 2

The new Thor (who is sounding more and more like SHIELD agent Roz Solomon, to my chagrin) has traveled down to Midgard with Mjolnir and finds herself beating up Frost Giants and helping the Minotaur, Dario Agger, by rescuing him from other Frost Giants attempting to find the head of King Laufey. There are some interesting bits here and there, particularly as Thor continues to speak like the old Thor but her thoughts come out sounding (and looking, thanks to the regular typesetting of her inner monologue, as opposed to the typical Thor word bubbles of her dialogue) human. Other interesting tidbits include the idea that Mjolnir is sentient and responding to Thor. Still, I'm going to be really bummed if this does just end up being Roz Solomon, who is both predictable (still a big deal that Thor's a woman but I would have liked, for story purposes, a more surprising pick) and a SHIELD agent, which practically guarantees she's not really worthy. SHIELD is terrible. All around. Total Score: 3/5

Huge Marvel Cinematic Universe announcements!

GUYS. Hot on the heels of the Benedict-Cumberbatch-as-Doctor-Strange maybe-news yesterday (which was, ironically, the only bit of news Kevin Feige did NOT confirm, if just to make my blog look wrong), Marvel held a press conference to announce the slate of upcoming movies for phase three of the MCU. There are, you guys, some really huge, if not suspected, announcements here.

Captain America 3 gets new title!
After the news that Robert Downey Jr. would join the cast of Cap 3, the next installment of the fantastic Captain America movies will officially be called Captain America: Civil War. This is a huge deal and is likely something that will have seeds planted all over the coming Marvel movies. I talked a lot about the implications of Civil War in my post about RDJ in Cap 3 so I won't spend too much time here, except to note that when I went to IMDb for this news, they said it would be called Captain America: Serpent Society, which is...interesting? Whatever. Mark May 6th, 2016 on your calendars now.

Doctor Strange gets a release date!
No new news here (and, as I mentioned, no confirmation of now day-old news) except to say that the new Doctor Strange will land on November 4th, 2016.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2 gets bumped up!
After a wildly successful and unexpected opening for the first film, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 will now open May 5th, 2017.

Thor 3 ALSO gets new title!
Things are decidedly about to go bad for Thor as the latest in his franchise has officially taken the name Thor: Ragnarok. It has also slid into the release spot vacated by Guardians 2, set to release July 28th, 2017.

Black Panther officially confirmed for 2017, star announced
Ahhhhh, this one is huge! One of Marvel's best and most underrated heroes, Black Panther, will officially get his solo movie. Black Panther is set to be released November 3rd, 2017 and will star 42 and Get On Up star Chadwick Boseman, who is decidedly great. Very, very cool.

Captain Marvel!
Guys! Captain Marvel! Carol Danvers Captain Marvel, no less! Coming July 6th, 2018, everyone's favorite pilot-turned-Captain Marvel will take to the skies in Captain Marvel, which will purportedly find Carol trapped between Earth and outer space. Feige said there's no other news yet, but that a director and writer will be announced soon, though casting, obviously, is still a ways off.

Inhumans coming in 2018
With 2018 shaping up to be a big year for space experiment heroes, Marvel has also confirmed that Inhumans will release November 2nd, 2018 and will at least tie to the hitherto unseen in the MCU Kree-Skrull War.

Avengers: Infinity War to be two parts, spread apart one year
With the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron on the horizon, the third and fourth installments of the landmark Marvel franchise have been given name and tentative dates, with Avengers: Infinity War Part One set to land May 4th, 2018, and Infinity War Part Two coming almost exactly a year later, May 3rd, 2019.




Again, it's confirmation of a ton of news that has been speculated at for some time, with Marvel finally making the splash it needs to with movies like Black Panther and Captain Marvel and other major characters and events coming soon. Really exciting stuff, tucked away on a slow Tuesday. Special thanks to the security guard who wandered over to ask me who Dr. Strange was and kicked all of this off.

Captain Marvel 8, Rocket Raccoon 4

Captain Marvel 8

Chewie has had a number of Flerken babies and Captain Marvel's ship is being attacked by some aliens who want them all dead. Rocket Raccoon, feeling a kinship with Chewie upon learning that she's the last of her kind, helps defend Chewie on the ship from one such alien who has made its way onboard while Tic takes the shuttle off the ship full of Flerken younglings and Carol attacks the invading ship from the outside. Together, they all manage to ward off the aliens and Rocket learns that Chewie is actually pretty alright. They drop the Flerken kittens off at a refugee planet but Tic and Chewie refuse to leave Carol, preferring to stay on as part of her team.

It's not a bad issue and it moves pretty well. Marcio Takara does a pretty great job on the art duties of this one (as does Lee Loughridge on colors). I'm feeling less of an attraction to this series than I did with its predecessor. I'm still not convinced Captain Marvel's place is in space. We've spent so much time with new characters lately that it's taken Carol sort of out of the spotlight and swapped in a handful of characters I don't care so much about. It's a delicate line to walk with a solo book, leaving the focus on your protagonist and building up her support characters. One of the best parts of DeConnick's first volume on CAPTAIN MARVEL was that she seemingly easily navigated that line, creating a whole world in which Carol could comfortably live all while never forgetting that she was the focus of the book. One of the problems, too, with space books at current are that most books have to spend so much time establishing who the threats are that we have less time for the heroes we're ostensibly there to see. DeConnick has certainly built up more than enough good will that I'm still looking forward to seeing where everything is going to go next.

Total Score: 3/5


Rocket Raccoon 4

The other mysterious raccoon has captured Groot and sends away Rocket's backup with a bigger payoff offering than Rocket had. Finally alone, the other raccoon pokes and prods at Rocket, berating him for being alone in the universe before revealing that he himself is not similar to Rocket at all, unzipping his costume and revealing himself to be mercenary Blackjack O'Hare. He tells Rocket that this has been a plan years in the making, concocted after Rocket ruined his chance at assassinating Princess Amalya and making enough money to happily retire on. Rocket's two storylines intersect at just the right moment, though, as Amalya bursts in with her cadre of Rocket's ex-girlfriends to exact their revenge on Rocket, who had a habit of seducing them and stealing their goods. The ensuing fight leaves Rocket the last one standing, though certainly exhausting and worse for wear, before the Guardians show up to pick him up. He celebrates with them but goes to bed early, depressed still that he's the only one out there. HOWEVER, that still may not be true, as we see a raccoon-esque captain leading her ship to find the book Rocket was so desperate to hear more about.

I very nearly didn't include this book as one of the ones I did a longer review for (reverse-spoiler: I'm running really late on reviews this week so this many long ones certainly seems counter-intuitive) because, though the issue was excellent, I wasn't sure I'd have more to say than I've been saying. For those who haven't been paying attention, I've been saying that this book is the most fun book Marvel is putting out right now, with Young really knocking it out of the park in the tone, the story, the art (my god, the art), the dialogue, and really, everything. I'm not sure I have more to add to that but I decided to still shine a light on this book because not having much to add doesn't mean I shouldn't still do a little more to recommend it. For real, it's a great book, you guys. It's the perfect marriage between art and writing, between character and tone. This one even shows that the book can go further than just wild and crazy hijinks, delving here into Rocket's sadness and loneliness. Excellent stuff.

Total Score: 5/5

Hawkeye 20, Captain Marvel 7

Hopefully there aren't many but please forgive any spelling or grammatical errors, particularly today. I wrote a slew of reviews (today's and tomorrow's) on my phone away from the comics and autocorrect REALLY hates comics, I tell you what. Nearly as much as I hate proofreading. So we're all to blame.

Hawkeye 20

Harold H. Harold has been killed and one of Kate's arrows is responsible. She's brought in for questioning but talks her way out of it with Caudle, who still doesn't like her but realizes she couldn't have done it. With the help of her LA friends, the flower shop owner who she helped in her first solo adventure, and the suddenly not-dead Harold, she sneaks into Masque's complex, finding herself suddenly on the losing end of a battle with her henchmen, though not before she manages to steal some really important client files of Masque's, including her father's. She escapes but returns to torch Masque's home as payback for her own torched trailer, which puts her back in the grasp of some more LMD henchmen (for, of course, that is what Masque's business dealing in bodies is and explains the lives of the rich that Harold stumbled on so long ago and Harold's own death and reappearance) and of Masque herself. She manages to walk away from the fight thanks to a timely rescue by SHIELD, who interrogates her but has no ground on which to stand in their interrogation, particularly when Kate questions their involvement, given the LMDs. She settles things up, borrows money from Marcus and Finch (who she refers to as "the best family a girl could have," d'awwwww), and heads home, calling her father and vowing to stop him.

The series is ready to merge into one story once more with Kate headed back east and it leaves me torn. I really love this book and obviously the first 15 or so issues with both Hawkeyes together were excellent but it's a testament to the strength of this series and the strength of Annie Wu that I don't want this to end just as much as I want Kate and Clint reunited. Fraction's Kate, in her first solo arc, has definitely proven she has the ability to stand on her own, showcasing skills and charisma at every turn. It's been tons of fun; credit to Marvel for trusting Fraction with this and for bringing in relative unknown Annie Wu to absolutely kill with a big spotlight on her. This book doesn't land nearly as well, even despite Fraction's writing, with any other artist. As far as this issue goes, fantastic work all around, Kate continues to be one of the most fun characters to read out there and her energy and excitement bursts off the page. There are great long-jokes, great quick-jokes, great references snuck in (the old cranky Hallmark card lady gets referenced! There's a "It's Chinatown" reference too but the cranky old Hallmark card lady is that funny that I'm not even going to mention the Chinatown one), and overall an excellent book.

Total Score: 5/5


Captain Marvel 20

Captain Marvel has returned from her first arc successful, but it hasn't stopped the nightmares she's plagued by, namely a nightmare wherein she cannot protect the people she loves and fails them when they need her most. In perhaps happier news, she's found herself traveling with Tic, who stowed away after their first adventure, and the pair of them return to Carol's ship, currently being grudgingly watched by Rocket Raccoon, who immediately begins fighting with Carol again about the possible alien nature of her cat. Their fight is interrupted by a spaceship latching on to and breaching Carol's. Matters are made worse when Tic finds Chewie the cat sitting on a host of apparent offspring, perhaps confirming Rocket's assessment that a very dangerous Flerkin has made its way onboard.

Despite the nightmare to kick this one off and the tension by the end of the issue, this one is certainly more light-hearted than any of the first arc of this CAPTAIN MARVEL volume. Just about everything both Tic and Rocket say is played for laughs, some hitting well and some missing the mark a bit. It also feels a bit like we're missing a scene here as Carol sees Rocket and IMMEDIATELY tears into him for...watching over her ship and cat for her. Granted, Rocket changes some things on her ship and hates the cat, but there's nothing wrong with Chewie as Carol returns and the changes to the ship aren't cited as problems, which makes Carol just come off as aggressive and ungrateful. As I said, I think there are grounds for a fight present but those grounds never feel like the reason she attacks. It's not an awful issue and certainly guest artist Takara does a very good job filling in, but it never feels fully together the way DeConnick has made us accustomed. Such is the price of repeated success.

Total Score: 3/5

Comics this week

Hello my pals! I have a sneaking suspicion I didn't copy down the names of every new release this week so we may be surprised to find some more added on Wednesday but for right now, my count for new books is a surprisingly slim (and welcome) 16. On top of that, the top five jump out pretty easily so this should be an easy if predictable post! Also, why is ALL-NEW ULTIMATES coming out so often? Is anyone asking for it to come out that often? If you are, feel free to stop asking for it to come out that often.

Avengers Undercover 10
Dennis Hopeless' newest look at the survivors of AVENGERS ARENA comes to a close this week after a pretty exciting and similarly well-crafted run. I'm admittedly a little bummed to see it go as it provided a welcome return to that world and an interesting story to boot, though I think I've enjoyed it less than I enjoyed AVENGERS ARENA (though ARENA certainly had more time and more characters to build, which tends to be my favorite part of a comic). Still, tune in (do you tune in to a comic? Look, I'm not going to act like you do) for the undoubtedly exciting conclusion of AVENGERS UNDERCOVER.

Edge of Spider-Verse 1
How long has it been since Peter Parker has seen a spider-centric event again? I mean, his death was almost a full TWO YEARS AGO now. Well, hop back into the saddle Tiger (ugh, changed my mind, never saying that again) because you just hit the jackpot (I'm so sorry, look, I'm just as mad about it as you are). What will this event bring? How will all of the Spider-Mans from all the universes work together? Will the event be any good? This and more in EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE 1.

Hawkeye 20
On the heels of the extraordinary HAWKEYE 19, we take a look back over at the LA-based Hawkeye, the amazing and ineffable wonder of Kate Bishop as drawn by Annie Wu. I believe that Katie-Kate's time in California is coming to a close, which also means, sadly, that Annie Wu's time on the series is winding down as well, so check this one out while it's still here and fresh. Always great stuff from HAWKEYE and Annie Wu has made a name for herself with her phenomenal expression work and solid action. Great stuff.

Ms. Marvel 8
Ahhhhh, sorry NEW WARRIORS (and CAPTAIN MARVEL for that matter, I note with some surprise), you've been edged out once more by the increasingly enjoyable adventures of Kamala Khan who this week teams up with everyone's favorite field-goal-head dog Lockjaw. If you think I'm not giddy with anticipation for the wisdom Lockjaw will impart on the ever-growing hero (PUN) then you don't read enough of my friendly fanfic (just kidding you guys, I'd never write fanfic. You guys can do it to your hearts' content and you won't get a judgment from me but that's not my bag. My bag, instead, is writing for TOO LONG about why I like or didn't like a book or why, perhaps, I'm excited about it. Also: writing to stress just how clever I am).

X-Force 9
Did you guys know I like this book and I like Si Spurrier's other work? No? Well that seems improbable since I won't shut up about it. Guess you're new here! Welcome! Follow this blog and leave a comment and do whatever you would do on other sites, I'm sure you've been to the internet before, you can't fool me crafty new reader. Maybe follow me on Twitter (@starboy23) to be redirected back to this blog or follow me on Tumblr (timodactyl.tumblr.com) to see VERY LITTLE ACTION but a SOLID list of favorited posts or maybe see how my fantasy football teams are doing at Kalos4Eva (I'm Fletchling) or at Yahoo Public 1426278 (I'm Havok) or on my blog Marvels (readmarvel.blogspot.com) where you can

Captain America 23, Captain Marvel 6

Captain America 23
Remender (w) and Pacheco (p) and Taibo (i) and White (c) and Caramagna (l)

The mysterious armored figure who emerged from Dimension Z sets out for Avengers Mansion and quickly makes his way in, hacking and evading security before managing to dodge Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk on his way to the elderly Cap, who manages to pin the figure despite his sudden age. Of course, the figure removes his helmet to reveal that he is, in fact, Steve's adopted son Ian, returned from the dead (he fell into the same biomass in which he was created so, you know, no harm done) and a couple decades older and wiser. Steve is beyond happy to see him and embraces his son while Ian tells the Avengers how dire the situation is already getting. Meanwhile, Falcon and Jet attempt to break into the main tower of Dimension Z while the Avengers provide a distraction, though it seems bound to fail as Zola already seems aware of their presence. However, not all is lost as Falcon and Jet happen to stumble upon an older and long-imprisoned Sharon Carter.

There's a ton happening here as we march towards the upcoming event AXIS and the emergence of a new Captain America. Dimension Z has put down roots and both Ian and Sharon have re-appeared alive, to the chagrin, undoubtedly, of all those people shouting that Remender had fridged a character who has been around for more decades than most of those readers have been alive (LOOK, I am still a bit peeved about ANXM, even a day later). Even despite the sheer amount of ground Remender has to cover, the issue moves pretty well and manages to keep the pace and the tension up, crucial to the developing storyline. Also, it's really nice to see, after twenty-two extremely tough issues for him, Steve having a nice day. Sure one of his arch-nemeses is invading the Earth looking to unleash his consciousness on the people, but Steve's son is alive and soon he'll likely find out his girlfriend is too. Nice to see him so happy.

Total Score: 5/5


Captain Marvel 6
DeConnick (w) and D. Lopez (a) and Loughridge (c) and Caramagna (l)

Refusing to leave the peaceful Torfans to their almost assured death at the hands of the brutal J-Son, Captain Marvel becomes a one-woman army to defend the refugees, taking down ships one-by-one while not allowing any to reach the planet. Meanwhile, the Torfans enact a peaceful protest, seating themselves and refusing to move at the hands of the attacking Spartoi. The leader of the Torfans sends Jackie and Gil to take Carol's place holding off the ships and sends Carol to destroy the vibranium mines, which she does with ease. J-Son is furious and promises revenge but, as seems to be his defining characteristic of late, he swears revenge on a peaceful people he admits to having poisoned all on a live broadcast to plenty of people, courtesy of Tic aboard a Haffensye ship. J-Son has no recourse but to leave, which he does swearing revenge and just swearing while Captain Marvel intimidates and Jackie and Gil taunt. With her ship repaired and the gratitude of the Torfans, Carol sets off again for a new adventure.

I like this issue and I like a lot of single moments in it, but overall it's hard for the issue not to feel a little preachy and a little like it's trying too hard to find those single moments. CAPTAIN MARVEL, both this new volume and the last, has defined itself by big and wonderful speeches and lines (like the oft-quoted/printed/tattooed/whatever else'd "We will be the stars we were always meant to be") and it's hard not to see a couple times in this issue where dramatic lines not dissimilar to the tone and weight of that keep coming up. That's probably just the cynic in me. It's also hard to point specifically to the peaceful protest as "a little preachy" because I tend to agree with peaceful protests and it's hard PARTICULARLY RIGHT NOW to wonder about the efficiency of them or chastise them or whatever it was I hoped to accomplish when I started this paragraph (WHO KNOWS). Look, let's not get into it here. It just occasionally felt that way to me and it might be equal parts because I was reading too much into it and because I don't super love the supporting cast of this arc. WHATEVER. It's still a good issue, as evidenced by the following strong score and ALSO I'm sorry if I just made it sound like it's not a very good issue because, you guys, it still really is. OH, final point, I don't like J-Son as a villain, I find him very boring.

Total Score: 4/5

Comics this week

Who releases 22 comics in a week??


Captain America 23
The countdown is on for a number of things happening, including Steve seeing Ian again and Falcon becoming Captain America.

Captain Marvel 6
Space war!

Original Sin 7
Is this thing really still going? I'm going quick here today (but really YESTERDAY, thanks to the magic of the internet) but I saw a poll on CBR asking which OS revelation has been the most interesting and literally NONE OF THEM WERE. The series isn't falling as flat as some others in the recent past (FEAR ITSELF comes to mind, as does AVX) but it's certainly not hitting me in any meaningful way. A NOTE: Cap finding out about the Illuminati was on the list and that one's interesting but I'm going to say I think that all happens with or WITHOUT OS so NO DICE.

Thunderbolts 29
I just like this book, okay? Edges out AVENGERS UNDERCOVER and AVENGERS WORLD in that respect. Also, ending soon, sad face.

X-Force 8
This book is great, expect some big plot movement this time out and GET ON BOARD THIS BOOK.

Captain Marvel 5, Daredevil 5

Captain Marvel 5
DeConnick (w) and D. Lopez (a) and Loughridge (c) and Caramagna (l)

Captain Marvel realizes that the Haffensye aren't intercepting goods coming to Torfa, they're covertly mining the planet for natural resources, in this case vibranium. This also explains the recent sickness that's washed over the community, a reaction to the vibranium and easily treated now that they know with what they're dealing (like so much House). Carol and her team (sans Tic, who has been captured) explain everything to the people and Carol goes on to deduce that some of the once-friendly Sentimault, still living amongst them, are helping the Haffensye mine the vibranium and that said vibranium is to be delivered to J-Son to give the Spartax an impregnable army. The Haffensye and J-Son are quibbling over the vibranium themselves and Spartax is prepared to come to the planet and take it on their own, only to be met by a war-ready Captain Marvel.

With the mystery solved, Carol returns to form as she makes herself heard and refuses to leave a struggling people even as their leader tells her that she should not get involved. The final pages of the issue, giving the audience another emotional speech, not unlike the the first issue of the last volume (wherein Carol received advice and strength in a letter from her childhood hero), that has been something of a driving force for DeConnick's run. Following that is a pretty gorgeous double page spread that shows Captain Marvel hovering in space, staring down a fleet of Spartax ships. It's a powerful moment and one that sticks with the ongoing feeling of the book and the strength of Carol's character through this run. It's a solid way to end the issue.

Total Score: 5/5


Daredevil 5
Waid (w) and Samnee (a) and J. Rodriguez (c) and Caramagna (l)

We flash back a few months to Foggy's last minutes "alive" to Matt explaining to his friend that faking his death is the best way to proceed, that it's the only way to get him out of the spotlight and to ensure that his treatment isn't tampered with. As they run through the park together, Ant-Man in Foggy's blood to keep trying an experimental method to deal with some of the cancer, Foggy complains to Daredevil about how hard it will be to pick back up when they reveal he's not dead after all, that he's not a superhero and normal people don't just return from death. At that moment, "supervillain" Leapfrog emerges from a pond in new battle armor, picking up Foggy and scrambling away with him, proving Matt's fears about leaving him in the open. DD pursues and eventually catches up with Leapfrog, managing to snare him. Leapfrog tries to escape, hoping that Daredevil will focus on his friend rather than the villain, but DD catches him, believing Foggy can handle himself. However, everything changes when Matt realizes that Leapfrog was desperate to escape because his abandoned suit is actually a bomb. Matt makes a big show to yell to foggy that the suit is a bomb and he needs to get it out of the city, that he's the only one who can enter it in time and leap high above the civilians. Foggy doesn't hesitate, climbing in and preparing to sacrifice himself. As the suit explodes in midair, Ant-Man returns to the ground with Foggy. Everyone believes Foggy's dead after a very public and extremely heroic sacrifice.

It's a nice Foggy-centric issue here (always like those) and it answers a couple of questions hanging over the series and over Daredevil's decision to reveal himself to the world. It's, admittedly, maybe a little convenient as Leapfrog makes his perfectly timed appearance, seemingly not orchestrated by Daredevil, and there's no way to make the ending anything but predictable for the audience, who should remember Ant-Man is with Foggy and who, of course, knows that Foggy survives, but Waid and Samnee do a good job to keep the action and the fun up anyway, giving something of a laugh as Daredevil very obviously lets the entire street know what's happening as he yells to Foggy while still making it a poignant and feel-good story as Foggy, not realizing that he'll be saved, immediately makes the choice to save everyone else. Solid issue with more great Samnee art and Rodriguez colors.

Total Score: 5/5

Comics this week

Plenty of comics this week but I'm not sure anyone will be surprised by the ones I'm highlighting here. Doesn't make them the wrong ones to highlight.

Avengers Undercover 7
Fairly certain that I've read recently that this series is actually more of a miniseries, one that I want to say is ending with issue ten. It's a shame as this series already is showing that it has some legs. By the same token, it's a shame that I'm so tired and don't feel like looking up if that's true or not. I mean, I'm pretty sure. Ah well. Let's take it issue-by-issue and enjoy it while we can because, even if number ten isn't the final issue, we're all dying, Melissa.

Captain Marvel 5
We're creeping towards the end of the first arc of this new series, one that has found Carol Danvers in space and making new friends and some new enemies, as well as new people (aliens) who regard her with indifference. So a little of everything. That said, I think one of the strengths of the last series was DeConnick's insistence on shining a light on Carol's life outside of her work so that she was a fully fleshed out person and her allies were fully fleshed out people. I think she's doing a rush job with that here and I don't think it will have the weight when the time does finally come. Still, it beats out AVENGERS 32 because they're still time-traveling, which is more interesting out of Hickman but still is only so interesting.

Daredevil 5
After somewhat middling praise for the first two books on this list that seem to highlight perhaps a slower release week this week, our last three books come with full and unwavering recommendation. DAREDEVIL continues to be fun and fresh and to feel new, even though it was the same creative team who took the man without fear out of New York and brought him to California to start a new book. Go take a look, pals.

Winter Soldier: Bitter March 5
The conclusion of the pretty fantastic WINTER SOLDIER: BITTER MARCH limited series from Rick Remender comes out on a week when Remender himself is facing some controversy for a scene in the most recent CAPTAIN AMERICA, one that I didn't even realize was a controversy and the controversy of which seems largely to stem out of unhappy fans annoyed with the breadth of Remender's run. The controversy seems to come from Jet and Falcon's newfound affair with some (wrong) people calling it "statutory rape," which seems ignorant at best and offensive and hateful at worst. Talking about the reaction, not the scene, because, as you may have gathered, I don't buy it. It feels very much like looking for problems and drama and spewing hate and un-researched opinions (complete with its own Fire Rick Remender hashtag on social media). Instead of listening to me, listen to Marvel editor Tom Brennan and writer Kieron Gillen, both of whom are better at this sort of thing than me and who aren't supposed to be writing about WINTER SOLDIER: BITTER MARCH right this very instant. Look, just read this one, okay? And support Rick Remender. He's done great work the last few years at Marvel.

X-Force 7
Geez, that last post went on SO LONG and didn't even talk about WINTER SOLDIER! Let's do half of the opposite here and write a post that's SO SHORT while still not talking about the book at hand. Go buy it Wednesday, this series is great.

This week's picks* and apologies

Hey everyone, sorry the last few days have been a little busy and found me far from a computer or from some new comic releases. Though it's rare that this is the case, I actually couldn't get my hands on a few new books in time for my release schedule (SHE-HULK, DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU, and ALL-NEW ULTIMATES) so I ended up not reviewing them (or ALL-NEW INVADERS, because I didn't want to just have a standalone review for that one because I'm a little OCD). I'll get to them in the coming days. Therefore, this week's "this week's picks" is a little lackluster because we may have some additions once I've actually read them all and, you know, also because it's a gorgeous day outside and you should all go celebrate Father's Day or simply gorgeous days. Hopefully it's gorgeous where you are and you weren't banking on this being a giant post to really gorge yourself on (though it's certainly shaping up that way despite my intentions). ALSO, what's the deal with the page boost spike yesterday? I didn't post anything yesterday, you guys! I'm *this* close to being a little hurt by that.


Avengers Undercover 5

There are some GOOD Madam Masque's
being written these days.

I'm really liking the vibe of this book right now and I think Hopeless is setting it up well to really kill as we move forward.


















New Avengers 19

Why does my shortest post have full
page screen grabs? Because I'm GREAT

Just another classic NEW AVENGERS hard-to-read-because-who-is-really-in-the-right-in-this-book kind of issue. My love for this book has slowed somewhat from its crazy and cinematic start but it's still certainly a consistently fantastic book.
















Hawkeye 1-18

From my own collection!

AH HA, GOTCHA, in lieu of a third book (it probably would have just been CAPTAIN MARVEL anyway) I'm fully recommending you go out and read or re-read all of the current HAWKEYE series again. I did it over the last day and BOY it's well worth it. All of the praise you've read for this book is well-deserved.

Captain Marvel 4, Hulk 4

Captain Marvel 4
DeConnick (w) and D. Lopez (a) and Loughridge (c) and Caramagna (l)

With no easy solution in sight to the plight of the new Torfans, Captain Marvel tries to think up ways to transport everyone off the planet, as opposed to J-Son's offer of relocating the thousand strongest and leaving the others behind. While she bounces ideas off of Tic, Gil, a Sentimault named B-Bop, and chief engineer/defense minister Ja Kyee Lrurt (nicknamed Jackie), the Haffensye attack again. Captain Marvel and her new band set off after them to pillage them back, succeeding in at least one sector and hoping to salvage some more parts to make more ships.

Captain Marvel as a space pirate for righteousness? I'm not going to turn this idea down, you guys. My pre-game this week and my analysis last time out said that part of the fun of this new arc would be seeing Carol up against a problem she can't punch away. That problem and therefore that tension still remains in large part, particularly as she's got the shadowy dealings of J-Son to contend with, but this is, after all, still a superhero comic book and punching is rather the norm so DeConnick has found a way that allows Carol to punch and to problem solve. Still, for all the excitement of this book, if you're coming into this issue looking for some serious pirate action, there's not a lot to be had, with the book revolving mostly along dialogue and explanations and arguments. A times that slows things down but it's also a little necessary at this point as we get to know an entirely new cast of characters. Still solid stuff overall and certainly enough to get this series rolling.

Total Score: 4/5


Hulk 4
Waid (w) and Bagley (p) and Hennessy (i) and Keith (c) and Petit (l)

Maria Hill explains to the onsite Avengers what's happening with Banner and Hulk and they attempt to aid him in his fight against Abomination while Iron Man reconfigures a teleportation device Maria got off one of the crew sent to take her out. With some luck and plenty of skill, they manage to teleport Abomination pretty well away (Tony estimates Jupiter) and have time to deal with the situation. Stark takes Banner and brings him to Troy, where he and Arno plan to put a little extremis in him to help heal his brain. Meanwhile, Maria Hill is forced to tell Daredevil about Banner's condition, possibly compromising the information Banner had given to his lawyer in case he should ever wind up harmed at SHIELD's request.

There are plenty of plots swirling around (particularly interesting as I believe this is one of the books soon to go on a little break while ORIGINAL SIN mixes things up a bit, though I could be wrong) but sometimes it feels like they're not held together terribly well. The teleportation device feels like a deus ex machina, particularly when Tony is able to rejigger it to teleport on contact and they attach it to Cap's shield which Hulk is convinced to throw and still the shield doesn't teleport (as does, for that matter, the fact that it just so happened to be Sunspot and Captain Marvel, capable of absorbing Abomination's radioactivity, that Iron Man and Captain America brought with them on this mission). Still, as abruptly as the end of the fight came and as maybe conveniently as it came, there are plenty of good and interesting plot movements out there, ready to be expanded on. And guys, Hulk has an improved version of extremis? Who thought that was a good plan?

Total Score: 3/5

Comics this week 6-11-14

Where last week was one of the weeks I categorized as an embarrassment of riches, something that could snap someone out of a comic-reading funk, this may go somewhat the opposite direction. Here's hoping it's not. Even if it is, though, here are my picks for what to look for to pull you back out again.

Avengers Undercover 5
We seem primed to get into the meat of the story as our heroes, fresh off an annihilation of Arcade, have been brought back to Baron Zemo and his new Masters of Evil (relative term, he swears). Who will embrace this new life? Who will turn away? How will each of those parties do such a thing? We're ready to find out.

Captain Marvel 4
Things are starting to come together in this new volume as Carol goes up against a problem she can't punch away, a problem she'll have to solve with her mind and her diplomacy and her patience (something she maybe doesn't have enough of). Should be an interesting look at a superhero trying to be heroic without a clear villain to smite.

New Avengers 19
Okay, the last one was maybe a bit of a fake out, even if it was pretty swell. THIS TIME OUT we should see their fight against another world, one that's just as virtuous if not more virtuous than they are, firmly casting these would-be heroes into a shady and dark role, one that Captain America envisioned back when he was sent off the team.

Original Sins 1
This limited run tie-in book to ORIGINAL SIN promises to be an of the anthology sort of book, one that will catalogue several stories, none really running throughout the series, aside from the Marvel debut of writer Ryan North telling a story with Ramon Villalobos about the Young Avengers which will run the course of the series in small chunks. I'm very interested in this story and almost more interested in how I'm going to review an anthology sort of book.

She-Hulk 5
Charles Soule and Javier Pulido have, in their short time together, crafted a really nice world for Jen Walters and have made this book feel fresh and fun, different from anything else out there. Now Ron Wemberly steps in on art as She-Hulk investigates the mysterious blue file that has something to do with her specifically, along with a few pals and enemies.

Guardians of the Galaxy 15, Thunderbolts 26

Guardians of the Galaxy 15
Bendis (w) and Bradshaw and C. Stewart (p) and Bradshaw, Stewart, and Wong (i) and Ponsor (c) and Petit (l)

The Guardians have been separated and captured with Rocket landing with the Kree (to be experimented on), Gamora left with the Badoon brotherhood (to be questioned about Thanos), Drax left to the Shi'ar (to be punished), newly acquired Venom attacked on Knowhere by the Skrulls, Groot left with the Brood, and Star-Lord being held on Spartax. They all seem to be failing at escaping except, as the issue ends, potentially Star-Lord. Despite the cover, no sign of Captain Marvel.

Unless you're a completionist and you're looking to obtain this whole series, it's worth missing this one. There are tiny little glimpses of character in the way each Guardian reacts to his or her capture (Rocket shows fear for the slightest moment, Gamora refuses to stop fighting, Drax threatens calmly but sighs to his deceased wife, etc.) and obviously we see where everyone is but that's pretty much all that happens in twenty pages of book. There are as many double page spreads in this issue as I've ever seen and it ends up just meaning that we get less story in fewer meaningful pages. There's no doubt in my mind that this could have been done just as effectively in ten pages and we could have had another half issue to move to the next step, maybe featuring, oh, I don't know, star of the cover Captain Marvel. Seriously. Look at that cover. Is that the cover of a book that doesn't see nor hear about Captain Marvel in the slightest? It's a low score for this one, then, not because it's a particularly bad book but just because it slows things down at a time when things don't really need to be slowed down and it means you're paying full price for half a book's worth of content (not to belittle Nick Bradshaw and Cameron Stewart's work, which is fine but didn't blow me away to the point where I'll ignore a stagnant story).

Total Score: 2/5


Thunderbolts 26
Soule (w) and Diaz (a) and Silva (c) and Sabino (l)

Ghost Rider's been eaten by a swamp monster thanks to Leader's treachery and Elektra and Punisher have been crushed by a cliche. Deadpool saves Leader from Cordoba and his men, enraged by what they've been through, but it doesn't stop Leader from trying to kill Deadpool as they go into the temple. Deadpool sees through the ruse and stabs Leader but leaves him alive enough to still enact his plan and send Deadpool into a pool of lava. Leader moves forward to find the artifact their after, the head of a long dead Celestial left here by the ancient Deviants, a race the Celestials created then deemed imperfect and unfit to inherit the world. The Deviants killed the young Celestial and left the head here, hoping it could transform their people into something more capable but then lost it to time and struggle. Now Red Hulk's former men have found it and Mancuso, the one who reached out to Red Hulk, explains (after Red Hulk kills his one-time lover scientist lady who turns out to be a Deviant looking for this exact thing) what's happened since he found it. Leader arrives, drinks some Celestial blood, and has his head explode from the power. With his whole team dead, Mancuso tells Red Hulk that he has two options: for Mancuso to kill him and give him the death he seeks or to work for the light. After a moment's hesitation, Red Hulk chooses the light and we're transported back to the very start of this mission, where Red Hulk tells the team that they're actually going to do something else now.

It's Charles Soule's last issue on THUNDERBOLTS, which is rather a shame because he took this book that I found somewhat middling, even if it featured a team that really intrigued me, and he immediately made it something fun and fresh, completely worthy of my one-time excitement. Still, he leaves the book on an up-swing, with the team all alive and perhaps destined for bigger and better things. It's definitely entertaining to see how the final deaths play out (Deadpool has a particularly nice moment as he sees through Leader's attempt to kill him, though it still leads to Leader killing him) and it leaves the book in an interesting place where we know what these characters would have gone through and how they would have acted in this adventure but now this adventure never happened so they don't necessarily know how it would have played out. Ben Acker and Ben Blacker have a really interesting job to take on and I'm excited to see what they produce. But let's not forget to laud Charles Soule for his fantastic take on this book and for, as I see it, righting the ship as soon as he jumped on to it.

Total Score: 5/5

Inhuman 2, Ms. Marvel 4

Inhuman 2
Soule (w) and Madureira (a) and Gracia (c) and Cowles (l)

With new Inhuman, or Nuhuman, Dante and sister Gabby successfully in the fold (though they're certainly hesitant about this new life), Medusa moves on to other business, such as securing more of fallen Attilan and staking a claim in the new world. With the help of Captain America, she defends a piece of Atillan from AIM attackers and then broadcasts and announcement to the world, saying that over the Hudson is their place now and that Nuhumans are welcome to join. As her day winds down, one more person comes to meet with her, a possible Inhuman named Lineage, who claims he knows why Black Bolt did what he did and that she's messing things up.

This is something of a tough book to write, and not just because of the production problems it suffered early on. Soule is tasked with getting readers up to speed on the Inhumans as a whole and all these new threats and new challenges. Still, he has to try to develop characters like Medusa, Gorgon, the doctor Vinatos, Dante, and Gabby, not to mention Lash (from last issue) and now Lineage. There are a lot of balls in the air right now and Soule is doing what he can to keep them there or catch them. There are certainly some bumps in this book but by and large it's a worthwhile read. Joe Mad's art is pretty spectacular and his fight art is stunning. Hopefully the book will be a little more engaging when all our players are in place.

Total Score: 4/5


Ms. Marvel 4
G.W. Wilson (w) and Alphona (a) and Herring (c) and Caramagna (l)

Bruno's younger brother Vick fled after accidentally shooting Kamala, still shifted to look like Captain Marvel. Bruno calls an ambulance but Kamala reverts to her regular self which, on top of showing Bruno who she is, heals her. It's not a perfect heal, as if she switches back to Captain Marvel she's still wounded, but she's able to safely stay Kamala. She and Bruno talk about the trouble Vick is in and Kamala vows to help him. She goes home and assembles a costume then she and Bruno meet at the shady house that Vick has been going to, home of, perhaps, new villain the Inventor. A newly outfitted Kamala busts in calling herself Ms. Marvel and takes out, with some difficulty, the robots guarding the place before finding Vick and finding herself face-to-face with the Inventor.

One of the things that has made this book so compelling from the start (and it's something that I think NOVA has hit on a few time in its run) is that it's fresh. You can feel the youth in this book, regardless if the book is actually created by younger people or not. What I mean to say is that this book (and at times in NOVA, mostly during Wells' and Duggan's runs) does a pretty good job putting a realistic kid in these situations. Kamala is fresh and fun and, though she's clearly smart and good, she's undoubtedly still a teenager. It doesn't feel like "this person is writing a teenager!" for the majority of the book. Instead, it feels like simply a compelling young woman. Adrian Alphona's art can't be left out of this. Though G. Willow Wilson is writing a solid Kamala, Alphona's art grounds this series in a way, to such a degree, that very few artists can do. Overall just a really fun and interesting book that feels like it has places to go.

Total Score: 5/5

SUPER QUICK REVIEWS: Thor: God of Thunder 22, Hulk 3

Thor: God of Thunder 22
Aaron (w) and Ribic (a) and Svorcina (c) and Sabino (l)

Dario Agger continues to pillage Broxton with his Roxxon factories and, to add to the problems, massive sinkholes have begun opening up in the small town. To make even those matters worse, Roz Solomon has discovered those sinkholes are full of trolls. Though Thor has been banned from the area (and gotten a stern talking to from Roz), he returns to beg Agger to stop, saying that his care and concern for the people of Broxton is greater than his pride. As he says all this, though, Agger opens more of the ground, killing even his lawyers, and he goes minotaur while some trolls hold Thor. Meanwhile, in the distant future, Thor's granddaughters fight a charged up (from eating the Earth) Galactus in the hopes of finding Thor, while Thor himself races to the black hole in which he tossed Gorr's weapon, the Necrosword.

The key to this issue is seeing Broxton fall apart and, subsequently, both seeing how devastating and fast Agger can be while also seeing what Thor is willing to do to stop it. As Coulson points out to Solomon, this is the threat of the new age. It's not Nazi's and decoder rings any more, it's billionaire CEOs. It's a problem Thor can't so easily punch away. It's a problem Thor has to think his way out of which, as Loki would point out, is not particularly a strong suit. At the same time, Agger seems every issue to sink lower and lower into full-on psychopath, which makes it a little harder, in this case, to find him as compelling for me. The King Thor vs Old Galactus storyline is still engaging enough, watching the fight, but the stakes are still a bit strange as it's hard to feel connected to it. I think it's there to show how much Thor loves Earth but it's still hard to feel that seeing Earth as a cold, dead place. Still, it's engaging to read and I guess we can't ask for much more than that.

Total Score: 4/5


Hulk 3
Waid (w) and Bagley (p) and Hennessy (i) and Keith (c) and Petit (l)

The Abomination has been set loose in the small Colorado town Banner has been hidden in and Maria Hill wants answers. She gets them from a small attack force sent to grab her who find themselves outmatched. She learns that Abomination is nothing more than a zombie reanimated with brain tissue from the Hulk but before she can learn more, the force is teleported away. The Avengers (Captains America and Marvel, Iron Man, and Sunspot) show up on the case, having been looking for Hulk since he disappeared, and begin to drive Abomination back, though they can't hold him without Hulk's help. Out of the fight, Hulk reverts to Banner and we see that his brain has healed a little more. Hill warns that switching back and forth like this will do more harm than good though and that the brain needs time to adjust and to mend. However, Banner refuses to leave the Avengers on their own and takes the risk, hulking out to help.

There are still perhaps more questions than answers here as the explanation for the healing of Banner's brain helps but also feels more than a little like "hey, hang on, these are very clearly made-up rules." Okay, so OBVIOUSLY they're made up rules, Hulk doesn't exist in a place where we study brains, just as an accelerated healing factor doesn't exist in a place where we study brains. Still, typically you can allow for a bit of soft science and either have it hit you so hard that you go "ugh, shut up Reed, I believe you" or you go "hey, you know what, sure, that seems right." I'm not feeling either of those here and it's making it harder to buy into the storyline. On top of that, we still need to learn a little more about this villain with all his crazy resources and his absolute disregard for morals. Also, the Avengers really booked it to Colorado, huh? WHATEVER, it still reads fine and the art is fine.

Total Score: 3/5

Original Sin 2, Avengers World 6

Original Sin 2
Aaron (w) and Deodato (a) and F. Martin (c) and Eliopoulos (l)

The Avengers and other assorted New York heroes continue to come across Mindless Ones terrified by what they've seen. They capture one to try to trace their unique energy signatures to find if there are more in the city, eventually leading them to one building. Meanwhile, the shadowy B-team has split up and started to find other corpses, still hoping to trail the murderer through various dimensions. Back in New York, the heroes have surrounded the building housing a dozen more Mindless Ones and find that they're being run by Exterminatrix and the Orb, just about the weirdest villain pairing Aaron could have come up with. The Avengers and company quickly take down Exterminatrix and the Mindless Ones but the Orb finally manages to get the eye of the Watcher that he's been so closely monitoring to open, hoping to reveal the world's secrets.

Story
The murder investigation is open on two different fronts, with the Avengers tracking down the Mindless Ones because they had the Ultimate Nullifier, recently in the Watcher's possession, and the shadowy B-team searching a little more broadly for cosmic-scale murderers on another level. Jason Aaron promised that this series would be more a murder mystery book than anything else and that certainly seems to be the case here. It does feel as if the Orb and Exterminatrix are simply benefitting from the death of Watcher but didn't have anything to do with it (seems particularly true since, you know, it's the Orb) so the Avengers have to deal with that now as well as the explosion of the eyeball truth-bomb. Certainly on the right track here. 5/5

Character
Events are tricky because characters don't tend to get much of a spotlight. You'll see a handful of them playing a big role and then most character defining comes out of their dialogue or out of the tie-in books. There's a big cast of characters in this one so far and Aaron is doing some good work to keep everyone's voice relatively intact. Sometimes it's a little more of a generalized view on a voice, intent on keeping someone's voice separate from someone else's on the same page, but it gets the point across. There are particularly nice moments with the shadowy B-team as very random pairings (Emma Frost and Black Panther, Dr. Strange and Punisher) work together and their dialogue sort of clashes intentionally. 4/5

Writing
The tone is pretty good for a murder mystery sort of story though there's a little too much exposition necessary for the pacing to be what you'd like it to be. There's a lot of jumping back and forth as various crime scenes are checked which I think works really well for a mystery, the sort of chaotic bouncing that doesn't let anyone get particularly comfortable, but big blocks of expository text sort of slow things down. Not sure if the book would be helped by trimming that down or if it would just make things confusing, but it's worth mentioning here. 4/5

Art
Deodato was chosen for this book because he's very talented, can draw just about anyone in the Marvel Universe (and he's asked to here), and he works quickly. In that respect, it's very much a standard Deodato book. 5/5

Miscellaneous
It's hard sometimes to get a lot of personality into an event series because there's just too much happening. In that regard, there are a lot of sort-of action movie-esque jokes threaded through here, very simple one-liners or asides or what-have-you. I'd be fine if we didn't have those. Have to imagine that this is the only occasion I'll have to tag "the Orb" in one of my blog post labels.

Total score: 4/5


Avengers World 6
Spencer (w) and Checchetto (a) and Mossa (c) and Caramagna (l)

Captain Marvel, Thor, and Hyperion have been teleported into Barbuda by Manifold in the hopes of finding and rescuing Sunspot, Cannonball, and Smasher (now, unbeknownst to the team, Messenger for AIM). While Thor and Captain Marvel fight outside, Hyperion finds his way into the city and into one of Forson's main science buildings, the one that houses the Auger, the gateway between dimensions and the door from which Hyperion entered this universe after seeing his own destroyed. Forson does the typical sort of evil villain monologue, telling Hyperion that he realizes that he doesn't belong here, that he's fitting in for now but he knows how different he is and how he'll stand against them at some point, hoping that he'll join AIM's cause willingly. Hyperion, reflecting back to the time he's spent watching the children he's sworn to protect in the Savage Land and the time hanging out with Thor, refuses, destroying the Auger and preparing to attack Forson when Smasher appears and hurls him incredibly far out before grabbing both Captain Marvel and Thor and doing the same with them.

Story
The heavies of the Avengers all seem to be involved in this fight and it's pretty stunning to watch as Smasher handily defeats them all. It's tricky to gauge since her fellow Avengers clearly don't want to harm her but still, she really does a number on them. ANYWAY, it's your standard invade-AIM-Island story but, unlike most AIM invasions, the Avengers don't win this one. Moreover, it's a story of Hyperion, which will be detailed more in "character." 4/5

Character
It's a nice look at Hyperion, one of the newer members of the Avengers that we don't know so much about. It echoes a lot of what we've seen already from him, the strong warrior who lost his entire universe and who is doing what he can, fighting against time, to stop this universe from dying too. I don't know how much new information is in here for Hyperion that we haven't already seen glimpses of but it's useful to get another look on it and a bit of a refined angle on it (the last time we really checked in on Hyperion was just after taking the little children under his protection, now he's had a little more time to think on them). There's a real and palpable sadness to him that comes out pretty nicely in the narration and the art. 5/5

Writing
As I mentioned above, the narration comes from Hyperion and it does its work to characterize him, taking care to show his strength but also to show his sadness. The relationship between Thor and Hyperion continues to quietly be one of the best relationships the Avengers books have shown in some time and one of the most intricate looks at Thor I think we've seen in a while, maybe since his relationship with Loki in Gillen's JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY. You're in pretty good shape with me if I'm comparing any aspect of your book to that series. 5/5

Art
I really like Marco Checchetto's art and it holds up its high standard here. The key here is, even with all the fighting, showing Hyperion and his emotion, even as he tries to remain a little distant with this world that he fears will fall just like his did. It's strong work and it conveys everything it needs to and more. 5/5

Miscellaneous
This book is doing exactly what it promised, giving us a nice window into the personality and the character of some of our lesser-known Avengers. I'm not sure we should be excusing AVENGERS for needing that sort of window, but that's not really this book's fault.

Total score: 5/5

Iron Man 25, Captain America 20, Captain Marvel 3

Iron Man 25
Gillen (w) and Ross (a) and Guru eFX (c) and Caramagna (l)

Tony Stark is not happy. However, he's now not happy and also armed in actual iron, ready to tear through some dark elves. Though the elves put on quite a tough front, Tony slaughters them pretty ably. He manages to take back the Lightning ring (he's already taken Incandescence) and then gets to Malekith himself, eventually besting him and taking back the Remaker ring. Malekith flees but Tony isn't satisfied, following him back to his throne. However, there are surprises for everyone when the other Mandarins are revealed, all united to teach Mandarin a thing or two (they are Alec Eiffel, Thomas Wilkins, Colin Anderson Sixty, Unknown [he wields the liar ring], Victor Kohl, and, of course, Mole Man).

Story
Tony wastes no time in taking it to Malekith in a book that really shows off the sort of power that an enraged Tony Stark can have. Of course, Gillen's setting us up for the bigger fight, wherein Tony fights a more organized and more dangerous and less weak-to-iron force, so it's great to see him so strong in this issue, beating up pretty much every dark elf in the realm and taking back three of the four rings Mandarin has (Mandarin reclaims the Spectral ring when he returns to his throne but it needs full recharge time, don't think that we've seen the last of it). And now, perhaps most impressively, all the rings are in the same place for what promises to be an impressive final fight. 5/5

Character
The biggest character stuff comes out of Tony's anger and out of Shevaun's frustration with him as she tries to advise him at every turn to find his way back home and he declines at every turn. There's character in all of that and character in the way Tony fights and the fight intelligence he has even when he's been driven to anger (typically when strong characters are prone to mistakes). It's also a bit of a strange character issue for Malekith, who gets thoroughly beaten but turns to fear a little faster than I'd've expected (unless, of course, this is some weird situation where Malekith wanted to lure the other rings here in which case his plan is tenuous). 4/5

Writing
Gillen clearly relishes writing the dark elves, with their menacing and old-timey threats and their disregard for human emotion. The tone of the book works pretty well as it never really feels, once the fighting starts, like Tony's not in control. He very much dominates the fight, which is, I think, exactly what Gillen needs right now. Still, some of the writing feels a little cut down, which I think is partly done for humor (the abruptness of cutting down some of the Svatalfheimian dialogue) but some of it still comes off as choppy. 4/5

Art
Luke Ross continues to do impressive work with the art here and Guru's colors continue to really shape the tone and the feel of the book. Ross draws excellent people and elves and still manages to make a menacing Iron Man, which is always an impressive thing. 5/5

Miscellaneous
Another Del Mundo cover as Marvel clearly understands what they have in him.

Total Score: 4/5


Captain America 20
Remender (w) and Klein (a) and White (c) and Caramagna (l)

Cap's been mindbubbled and BOY is it depressing. He "wakes up" (guys, I could put quotation marks throughout this whole section and frankly, I'm not above doing that, but I WON'T) in a SHIELD hospital wondering whether or not his ongoing fight is worth it only to find his "family" all around him. This includes Fury and Hill but also Bucky, Falcon, and Jet. Banner and Pym also enter the room to say they went to Dimension Z to make sure there was nothing else that could trigger the virus in Cap and found instead that Ian alive and well and brought him out and that the Sharon who died had been an LMD while the real one went deep undercover. As a parade for Cap rages outside, Cap realizes what's happening and throws himself off the balcony, waking him from the Mindbubble (this was the suicide Jet told him he needed to break out) and putting him directly up against Iron Nail and Mindbubble himself. As Jet arrives and begins to fight Iron Nail,  bounces his shield into Mindbubble's dumb, jerk face and makes him freak out, sprinting off the helicarrier and presumably to his death. However, Steve soon learns he may be too late as Nail reveals that he's pinned the attack on SHIELD on Nrosvekistan and that now the world will watch in horror as SHIELD retaliates with the transformer-like Gungnir, a huge overreaction to any perceived attacks. The world will see SHIELD as the overstepping, incredibly dangerous and unregulated army it is.

Story
Guys, I'm not sure I can do this justice. Poor Steve has the absolute worst life. It's super depressing and you know it's happening the whole time and you can only watch as poor Steve slowly figures it out. Iron Nail's plan is an intriguing one as it involves just doing what SHIELD is already so good at doing: overreacting. Iron Nail continues to be an interesting villain as he more or less raises a lot of questions that Steve himself has had over the years but does it in such a way that obviously Steve can't help but fight him. It's a really compelling story and one that perfectly works to Captain America. 5/5

Character
Poor Steve. 5/5

Writing
I'm not sure why Remender enjoys being so mean to Captain America but it's pretty effective. As I said, everyone reading should know that Cap's in his mindbubble but that doesn't make it any less heartbreaking. I got a little nervous that maybe Remender would spend the whole time in the mindbubble and nothing else would happen in the issue until the last second reveal that he was there but Remender gave the audience the benefit of the doubt and let us get right back into the story after what seemed like the perfect amount of time. 5/5

Art
Really strong art from Nic Klein here and Dean White's colors are perfect, really relaxing in the mindbubble and then jarringly dark back on the Gungnir. Klein's art really highlights just how sad Steve is. 5/5

Miscellaneous
I DON'T LIKE SEEING STEVE SO SAD, OKAY? That sentiment, though, may perhaps be interpreted differently considering the overall score of this one.

Total Score: 5/5


Captain Marvel 3
DeConnick (w) and D. Lopez (a) and Loughridge (c) and Caramagna (l)

Tic has stolen Captain Marvel's ship (and her cat along with it) and Carol is now worried about where she'll go with it, concerned both for Tic's safety and for her ship's (and her cat's, inexplicably). Fortunately for her, Tic is really concerned with attacking the son of J-Son, so she comes right on back, dropping in and out of hyperdrive (which shows pretty good strategy) and attacking quickly. Carol's pretty sick of it though and stops her as she attacks one of the times. She gets back into the ship, using her helmet to override the ship's commands and let her back in. She and Star-Lord convince Tic that J-Son wouldn't care about the capture of his son and that, likely, the Spartax didn't try to poison her new home planet. Carol returns her to her people and offers her assistance, though quickly realizes that maybe she's out of her depth a bit.

Story
Carol's out in space and, though I worried last issue about her involvement with the Guardians of the Galaxy because I feared it would take the focus too much off of the amazing work DeConnick has done to establish Carol as a great character (particularly now that she's lost her memories), it's shaping up to be a fairly personal story. Obviously we'll get more of Tic and her people but there's a lot happening to let us see more about Carol. She's offered herself to Tic's people in the hopes that she'll be able to assist them but has quickly learned that she's a bit out of her element which will help to establish who she is and how she deals with the sorts of problems she can't punch away. 5/5

Character
Carol's concern for Tic, the girl she hadn't even spoken to until she stole her ship, says a lot about her character, as does her willingness to throw herself into a ship that keeps going in and out of hyperdrive to get her ship back and to help the girl. She also very quickly realizes that the leader of Tic's people sees her as more a hindrance than a help but she's determined to prove her worth and save these people, no matter what it takes. It's about proving worth but it's also very clearly just about wanting to help and that speaks volumes. 5/5

Writing
I think the move to get Carol away from the Guardians, despite the good fit for the team and for her, is a strong move for DeConnick and one she knew she had to make, just as Gillen knew he had to separate Tony from the Guardians in IRON MAN when they teamed up. There's a lot happening in this book and we're getting a sense of some interstellar politics and alien cultures but it never feels overwhelming, which is definitely to the book's credit. 5/5

Art
I still really like David Lopez's art on the interiors of this book and I think that it's particularly well-suited to the kind of calm in this issue after the initial action (the action was pretty strong too but he does emotions and stillness really well too, which is impressive for a comic book artist who knows he'll have to draw so much action. 5/5

Miscellaneous
After really disliking the last cover, I really love this one. What a turnaround!

Total Score: 5/5