Hulk 1, Wolverine 4

Hulk 1
Waid (w) and Bagley (p) and Hennessy (i) and Keith (c) and Petit (l)

Bruce Banner has been shot by a mysterious marksman who had been hired to land a perfect shot in the back of Banner's head so it would shut his brain down before Hulk could come out. With Banner down, he's been delivered to the secret organization that hired the marksman in the first place. They've also recruited the world's foremost brain surgeon, a contemporary of Banner's, to remove the bullet from his brain and save the man. The doctor manages to do it but refuses to implant the device the organization wants him to implant, which would allow them to trigger a Hulk-out. When he refuses, he considers killing Banner to spare him from this but doesn't have to worry about the moral implications long since his anesthesiologist, a woman who was, as a child, was saved by the Hulk, revives him in time for Hulk to appear and get out of the area. With Banner out in the world somewhere, Coulson and Maria Hill set out to find him. They eventually do, only to find that Banner is badly brain damaged and, according to his doctor, will never be smart again.

Story
Waid's previous INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK run found the genius Banner using the weapon Hulk as a means to work in a lab and deliver amazing scientific advancements while creating a legacy for himself. Now the roles are drastically changed as Hulk rescues Banner from probable death but not before Banner's brain is severely damaged. No one can argue that this changes things pretty radically. We still have plenty left to understand about the new situation but we're off to an interesting start. 5/5

Character
It's a little hard to get a big read on "character" in an issue where the main character is only conscious and present for a couple of pages. There's still some interesting character work insofar as the brain surgeon goes and insofar as that brain surgeon knows Banner and how he views Banner. It's a sort of third hand look at Banner where we see the surgeon's opinion of Banner from back when they were in school together and from newspaper articles he's read since. Not a ton to be gained with a character like Hulk, who has been around for so long. This is just kind of an interesting way to re-establish our character and his place in the world at the start of a new series. 4/5

Writing
We're still a little too much in the story for a lot to have been explained so far but the writing works pretty well for what it needs to do here. It catches the reader and draws him or her in while still not giving too much information to put the reader off. As I said, it rehashes a little bit about Banner that we don't necessarily need if we're longtime Hulk readers but it at least presents it differently to keep things a little new while still welcoming new readers onboard without much problem. 5/5

Art
Bagley's art works here as he draws lots of characters who will likely never appear again. It gets the point across; there are plenty of people around. Interested to see how the series continues as his Hulk looks pretty great. 5/5

Miscellaneous
It's a bold new direction for the book and one that I think we'll have to wait a little longer on to really make a judgement about it. I liked Waid's last direction and the focus it put on Banner so I'm wary of this new approach but I'm willing to follow Waid as he continues.

Total score: 4/5


Wolverine 4
Cornell (w) and Stegman w/ Baldeon (p) and Morales, Stegman, and Hanna (i) and Curiel (c) and Petit (l)

Before Wolverine set off to join Offer's gang, he cut his ties with the X-Men, angry that they're all over him while he tries to figure himself out, and even goes to Kitty Pryde with Scott's team (the location of which he apparently knows) so he can threaten her for some weird reason. He then meets up with SHIELD Agent Monkton to discuss going undercover in Offer's group. Monkton will go in, as an LMD, to allow Wolverine to kill him in front of Offer to establish his loyalty, hence why Wolverine killed the reporter in the first issue. Now he's firmly established himself as an ally to Offer, who is trying to get into Sabretooth's good books.

Story
Wolverine is a spy for Maria Hill but there is always the worry that he'll grow to like his new teammates (as Monkton warns him) enough to not want to harm them if the time should come. Still, it's a better story than "Wolverine has joined up with a crime boss because he's having a midlife crisis." 4/5

Character
I've found some of the character decisions strange so far but I'd written it off as some sort of unknown plot point to that point. I was right and now I do like what's happening a bit more, though I cannot get past the threatening Kitty business. I just don't follow it. Maybe he's trying to burn his bridges to make his alibi more believable but I'm just not sure who would have checked? This way, he just comes off like a crazy old man. In a way, these sort of freak outs make more sense because you put them in context of a wounded man who has been severely shaken but it almost doesn't go big enough to give that. Instead, he almost comes off as petty and strange. 3/5

Writing
There is still a little over-explanation here, even as the series needs over-explanation to say what's going on. That's not the sort of over-explanation I'm talking about. There's over-explanation in people explaining Wolverine's current behavior. I don't need to hear five different people talking about why Wolverine is so defensive right now. Still, happy to see now that the story is going somewhere rather than just trying to be gritty and different. 4/5

Art
I like Stegman's work a good deal and I like the way he draws action particularly, an important aspect for a Wolverine title. I was a little put off at how ugly Wolverine tended to be in this book but then thought about it more and actually almost preferred it. Wolverine was never meant to be a poster boy sort of good looking guy. Bob Hoskins was nearly cast to play him in a movie, you guys. Like everyone, his look changes frequently, but it has certainly erred more towards good-looking and gruff or animalistic in recent days. Making him kind of ugly doesn't hurt this book. I still, though, hate the new design of Sabretooth and don't understand why every would-be crime boss has to be a GIANT. 4/5

Miscellaneous
Still a little bit slower than I'd like this book to be moving but I am happy that it's moving in some sort of direction. It's hard to get past the somewhat slower tone of the book still but knowing that it's not trying too hard to reinvent the wheel certainly helps things.

Total score: 3/5

Hawkeye 18, Indestructible Hulk 20

Hawkeye 18
Fraction (w) and Wu (a) and Hollingsworth (c)

Kate's mysterious friend from the cat food aisle is on his way out of LA, despite Kate's objections. Before he goes, he gives her his demon cat, which she immediately wants to return. Hoping against hope that he hasn't left yet, she and her neighbors Marcus and Finch go to the address on the cat's carrier to return it, finding an unexpected mansion of a home. Inside, they find Kate's friend, Harold H. Harold (the H. also stands for Harold) bleeding on the couch, muttering that he's going to die in LA. They take care of him and hear his story, which explains just a whole bunch about him. He was a crime writer out in LA to search all the weird crime beats and to uncover crazy stories. When he sold one of his stories to Hollywood, he got wrapped into all new intrigue and inadvertently ended up on the radar of Count Nefaria and his daughter Madam Masque. He accidentally discovered that they've been involved in murder and re-creation, Frankensteining people together from their Hollywood features. With the secret revealed to Harold, he's never been able to leave LA. Every time he tries, he gets run off the road or beat up or something. This time was no exception. Kate buys a ticket in his name out of the city and accompanies him to LAX in the hopes that she will see him on the plane personally, or at least gets a sense of the people after him. While trying to watch over him, none other than Flynt Ward the weed lord (from way back in HAWKEYE 14) turns up and escorts him out with his jackbooted thugs. Kate, Marcus, and Finch try to follow but eventually lose sight of him. Kate, who had learned that her police "contact" had actually been friends with Harold from Harold's crime writer experience, goes to see Officer Caudle about Harold's story and his subsequent disappearance. She tells him everything she knows and he tells her to disentangle herself from it before she winds up hurt. Madam Masque sends a threatening note along to Kate as well as a serious message when Harold winds up dead, arrowed to the Hollywood sign, and Kate's trailer ends up ablaze (Lucky and the cat are okay).

Another phenomenal issue of HAWKEYE and it's hard not to point out here just how impressive this series continues to be. Beyond all the things we already know about how great this series is, one of the things that I haven't talked about too much is just how different the Clint and Kate issues are. Not just that they are in different places with different casts and different artists, it's a wholly different writing style. Kate, of course, is more loquacious and more outgoing than Clint but even beyond that; there's a greater focus on the story and the backstory. There's just so much happening and Fraction so clearly understands his characters and is able to shift almost effortlessly between them, developing completely different voices for each one and building stories that suit each character and that very clearly change depending on which character is leading the book. Wonderful and well-done. The decision to swap between Aja and Wu for the art, while almost startling at first considering how great David Aja is and how great he's been for this book, has been nothing but the most amazing decision as Annie Wu absolutely kills it each and every time out.

Indestructible Hulk 20
Waid (w) and J. Bennett and R. Jose w/ Hanna (a) and Staples (c)

As the kidnapped Jessup is told about the operation that his kidnapper, Ted Goodrich, is running, the rest of Banner's team is forced to work with Hulk to try to get him back. Jessup immediately understands that Goodrich's setup, based on the work of underground experimental scientists who failed badly, is incredibly dangerous and tries to plot a way to stop it. Meanwhile, Hulk's team manages to breach Goodrich's hideaway while Jessup sacrifices himself to his new Inhuman so that he and Hulk can attack the biggest concern, a massive and unstable power source. Eventually Jessup drains all of Hulk's strength, powering himself up incredibly, and takes the brunt of the explosion. It reverts him back down to his human self and Banner commands they stay in Goodrich's lab (Goodrich and his assistant died trying to rip open a cocoon they had stolen) to help Jessup instead of returning to SHIELD only to draw the ire of Maria Hill. Banner returns and explains what happened to Hill but tells her that the team was lost and that he had no idea what happened at the end. She doesn't believe him and is sick of dealing with him. He returns to his lab and is promptly shot in the back of the head.

Geez, pretty abrupt ending to that one, huh? Anyway, the story of Jessup and Banner's lab team as a whole comes to an end here as Banner releases them into the wild. Banner also has made some revelations here, realizing that maybe his "Hulk destroys, Banner builds" mantra isn't as applicable as he thought it was; throughout the series, for all the good Banner has tried to do, he's done just as much destroying as Hulk thanks to his ego and his desperation. It's a real "Who Shot Mr. Burns" ending to this one as we're likely to rejoin this story at the start of its new "season," a rebooted Hulk series coming with the rest of the ALL-NEW MARVEL NOW! relaunches. This one continues to baffle me a bit as Hulk seemed to start in the midst of the ALL-NEW relaunches, or certainly close enough and, while the change seems pretty obvious, it doesn't sound like it's a change the size of, say, Daredevil moving to San Francisco or Captain Marvel moving to space. We'll just have to see. Still, if this is the wrap-up to this series, it's certainly been a worthwhile one. There have been ups and downs but a pretty good core throughout, one that shined the spotlight on Banner and only used Hulk in a more limited capacity. Interesting idea and Mark Waid certainly did a solid job getting his point across.

Superior Spider-Man 28, Indestructible Hulk 19

Superior Spider-Man 28
Slott (w) and Camuncoli and Dell (a) and Fabela (c)

Spider-Island has been bombed and Spider-Man takes what equipment he can with Robot and flees, leaving his Spiderlings to try to fight off the Goblins. Spidey heads to Parker Industries to try to concoct a plan, where he's set upon by both Sajani, mad that he's been gone for so long, and Wraith, who believes he may have a hand in Carlie's disappearance. Speaking of Carlie, she joins all of them in her new Goblin costume and deformations and chases Peter and Sajani through the building. Eventually Peter pushes Sajani into a separate room, assuring her that Monster will follow him, which she does, and it gives Carlie a chance to talk to Peter without spectators. She needs Doc Ock to fix her brain in only the way he can so that she can be saved and so she can tell him of what's coming next. Meanwhile, MJ has been gathering up friends and family of Peter's, having realized it's Goblin attacking the city and Spider-Man, to keep them safe. Unfortunately, she misses Anna Maria and Lily Hollister, the Goblin known as Menace, gets to her first.

Plenty happening as GOBLIN NATION continues. Slott's created a pretty good tone, and one that he's usually pretty good at maintaining and controlling, a tone of war and destruction. Spider-Man has the best-known and biggest supporting cast of any of the Marvel heroes so when a war is waged on Peter Parker, there are a lot of moving parts. On top of that, Spider-Man never has just one issue to deal with so, on top of Goblin's attack, J. Jonah Jameson has launched "Goblin Slayers" into the city, though MJ recognizes them as Spider Slayers. Slott's always been good at threading multiple storylines and multiple antagonists through a story and it making the story read pretty quickly in the midst of it all. Of course, he tends to have more words per issue than some of the best at it (looking at you, Kirkman) so the over-explanation can sometimes slow one of these fast-paced, high-energy issues down, but he always manages to tell a compelling story and build the characters up through it. Even with three or four concurrent plotlines all led by different characters, Slott's going to make sure we see enough of everyone to get the full feel for it. Should continue to be a good event moving forward.

Indestructible Hulk 19
Waid (w) and Raapack, J. Bennett, R. Jose and Grummett w/ Kesel and Hennessy (a) and Staples (c)

Banner has been thrown out of a moving jet by the newly Terrigenesis'd Randall Jessup, whose new form seems to feed on anger, making it stronger and calming down the other person. Like most Inhuman powers, it's a reflection on the person, as Jessup was always the one to try to stop fights and smooth situations. Unfortunately now, it means that Banner is falling from the plane and can't Hulk out. He resorts to breaking his own finger to surge Hulk back out. He leaps into the air to battle Jessup's new form while his other assistants parachute out of the plane. Hulk realizes that the monster's eyes are the key to his absorption and keeps Jessup from looking at him. Able at last to keep his anger, he defeats the monster and reverts Jessup back to human form. They try to find a cure for him only to find, right as Banner thinks he's done it, Jessup being kidnapped away by one of the numerous evil organizations out there intent on experimenting on new Inhumans. Hulk tries to stop the kidnappers but fails, making it look like, to all Banner's assistants, Hulk killed Jessup or something.

One of the cool things about the Inhuman mutations, as it's been explained during this REALLY prolonged event, is that they tend to reflect the person as much as they're just a cool power. Thanos' son Thane held the power of life and death (well, really death and worse death), the new Inhuman in IRON MAN is a giant jerk, and now Jessup absorbs anger. It's a particularly neat idea because that mutation does reflect Jessup but it also acts as a perfect foil to Hulk. This is pointed out fairly often in the issue, even going so far as to compare the fact that Jessup was at the bomb site when Banner's Terrigen bomb went off to Hulk's origin. When I first realized what Jessup's monster form was, it felt very much like it could have been a situation where it was just a writer saying "this is a cool foil to Hulk and I can do anything so here he is!" There's a new Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon coming out (guys, shut up, I'm pretty well-connected) and the teaser for it shows a scene where Robotnik has created a robot named "Burn-Bot" that Sonic quickly figures out doesn't actually burn anything and blames Robotnik for "false advertising." It's played as a laugh moment, a moment where you're siding with the cool and funny Sonic for pointing this out but behind it, you know the writers named it Burn-Bot just to have that joke and it's not a worthwhile joke to introduce such a stupid concept. I should really get back to talking about Hulk but ANOTHER EXAMPLE is something comedian Kumail Nanjiani brought up about Casino Royale. The stakes at the poker game aren't as high for the audience because it's writers writing a poker game so the incredible fact that Le Chiffre has four of a kind but is beaten by Bond's royal flush isn't as incredible. ANYWAY, this monster could have been that sort of situation but instead, thanks to Inhuman/Marvel canon, Jessup's transformation makes sense and acts as a perfect foil to Hulk. Pretty cool stuff, you guys.

Hawkeye 16, Iron Man 20, Indestructible Hulk 18

Hawkeye 16
Fraction (w) and Wu (a) and Hollingsworth (c)

Kate is still out in LA and still short on cash and most everything else. She finds a seemingly kindred spirit wandering the highway as she rides her bike down it and agrees to help him get back something he claims was stolen from him. She soon finds out that the old hobo is actually '60s musical sensation Will Bryson and that he's not actually an old hobo at all. Will claims that his brother Grey, his one time recording partner, stole the masters of Will's long-awaited masterpiece album Wishes and that he released them bit by bit to the public. Kate is quickly embroiled in this little family feud despite the urgings of her extremely reluctant police contact and vows to help Will get his recordings back and figure out who is, in fact, behind it. Kate's investigation leads her into a fight with Bryson nurses/bodyguards and eventually she talks with Grey and realizes he did steal it but that there's not much she can do about it, nor, perhaps, that she should do about it. Will holds a concert to play bits of Wishes and Kate attends with her new LA friends and, for a moment, feels like she's going to be okay. Then Madame Masque pops up behind her, whispers "found you" and disappears again.

I said last week that THUNDERBOLTS might just be the most fun book that Marvel is putting out these days. While I stand by the sentiment that it is certainly fun, it's hard not to read this book and hand the title right on over. If THUNDERBOLTS is the book that's trying to be the most fun (and pretty much succeeding), Kate might still be the most fun character, so I have to say that HAWKEYE might just win out. I think THUNDERBOLTS is going for a lighter feel in general than HAWKEYE (which might be harder to say right now considering we haven't seen a Clint-centered issue in a while) but geez, this book is a non-stop fun ride. Kate's voice is absolutely unique and delightful and the book manages to be chock-full of references without ever feeling bogged down. That's a really important and specific type of writing to hit and it's the difference between, say, the amazing Venture Brothers and the deplorable other reference-centric comedy like Family Guy or The Big Bang Theory. This is a lovely little issue and it again highlights the beautiful differences between David Aja and Annie Wu. Fraction answered a question on his tumblr that pretty perfectly encapsulated what makes this little switch-off so great, saying that if he was only going to be allowed access to Aja for the Kate stories he wanted to tell, he probably wouldn't have sent her to LA. Obviously Aja's art is amazing but it's incredibly different from Annie Wu's, though Matt Hollingsworth's colors also deserve mention for still linking the stories so well. Wonderful book, nice story, great character, and amazing art. Can't ever go wrong with this book.

Iron Man 20
Gillen (w) and Padilla and Hanna (a) and Guru eFX (c)

IRON MAN jumps into INHUMANITY as Tony and Arno continue searching for the Mandarin rings only to find one, the Nightbringer, alighting on a human with a whole flight of issues already. This human, Victor Kohl, has had plenty of personal problems and his most recent one, a distrust of his father and brothers and a suspicion that he's not really his father's son, is exacerbated when the Terrigen mists hit and his family all cocoon and he doesn't. The government comes to take the cocoons away and Victor watches the news, discovering that the Inhuman DNA is passed through bloodline so it appears he was right and he wasn't part of their bloodline. He drinks himself into a stupor and goes to attack the Inhuman Nativity Center his family was brought to. The Nightbringer finds him there and rests on him, happy with his desire for vengeance and his anger. As soon as the Nightbringer goes active, Tony and Arno spot it on their equipment and Tony goes to recover it. He and Kohl fight and Kohl damages the cocoons before Iron Man gets a clean shot off on him. Nightbringer recognizes that they're incapacitated and teleport away before Tony can get his hands on him. Transported underground, Kohl is surprised to find himself suddenly cocooning. When he breaks free in his new Inhuman form, Medusa arrives to show him the remains of his father's cocoon, destroyed by Kohl. She also informs him that his family was living in the same place when the Terrigen bomb was detonated and so had the same level of exposure and therefore all changed at once but he lived elsewhere at the time and so changed later but he's still of their blood. However, she admonishes him for killing an Inhuman and exiles him from Inhuman society. The Nightbringer convinces Kohl that it's really Iron Man's fault (not a hard sell for Kohl) and he swears revenge, taking the new name The Exile.

Pretty cool little tie-in here and one that manages to show us the Marvel Universe at large but still keeps the story rather contained to Iron Man's world. It's a nice play by Gillen as he constructs an issue that works to achieve both ends well. The sentient rings continue to be a really cool idea and the idea of Tony and Arno searching them out but only able to find them when they go active adds a layer of depth and intrigue that's worth acknowledging and that keeps the reader on his toes. There's also a nice talk between Tony and Arno about INHUMANITY which feels like something of an admission on Marvel's part that GEEZ it feels like this has been going on a while already and it has barely even started. There's also talk about Bruce Banner trying to find a cure (as we'll see below) and Tony wondering if it's really necessary to worry about. Lot of good bigger universe stuff in here, which is the sort of thing that Gillen's IRON MAN has avoided diligently and it's yielded good results, yet here we are with a solid tie-in that really works. Can't complain.

Indestructible Hulk 18
Waid (w) and Raapack and Sepulveda w/ Grummett (a) and Staples (c)

Banner's bomb goes off too low over Tulsa and things immediately descend into chaos. Hank Pym would have been caught in the explosion but managed to shrink down to microscopic size and actually avoid the particles as they flew by. It's a good thing he did since he starts to figure out what's happening before anyone else. The bomb itself integrated tech that Banner recovered from the Chronarchists int he hope that he could create time fields that would accelerate the Terrigen particles so they were spent almost instantly, keeping them from everyone else. It's a good idea and one that Pym particularly is impressed by but he finds a cocoon amidst the chaotic time fields and realizes it must not have worked. After everything is set straight again in the town below the bomb's detonation, the super scientists determine that there were too many variables with the Terrigen particles that no one could have foreseen. It doesn't make Banner feel any better. He plans to hitch a ride back with his team, who broke out of the lab despite Hill's orders, only to see them nearly go down before reaching him as Randall Jessup cocoons and turns into some sort of monster, which seems to emit some sort of almost sedative rays, to the point that he calms the raging Hulk back into Banner and throws him from the jet.

The bomb storyline was only a two piece arc but it worked for me. I think that I enjoyed the first part more, which really delves into what's happening with Banner and what's at stake for him pride-wise. Waid did a really good job (as he's done all series) characterizing Banner and giving us a sense of what these kinds of things mean to him (it seems like there are big changes coming for the series as it moves into its new ALL-NEW MARVEL NOW launch and I think Waid's done an excellent job facilitating the shift). This issue was a little more dedicated to the action and the science of it, which maybe slowed down the character-driven bits a little, though it does shine a bit of a light on Hank Pym's character for anyone looking for that. The transformation of Jessup is something that Waid's been working to but we'll have to wait until next issue to really see what it means. Entertaining and engaging book all the same.

Best Marvel comics of 2013 (part one of five): Not quite the best

It's that time of year again, the time when everyone starts pulling up the year-in-review lists and begins to wave away the year with little blurbs about bits of it. Hm. That wasn't exactly poetic. Whatever, moving on. LAST YEAR, I wrote this year-in-review list about five days into this new blog with nothing but a shoddy memory and a love of comics. This year I'm coming at it with much of the same in my arsenal but ALSO, fortunately, armed with a YEAR'S WORTH OF BLOG POSTS ON THIS VERY SUBJECT so suddenly I remember far more comics deserving of this list.

Marvel put out an awful lot of books this year and I reviewed just about every single one of them (this is my way of patting myself on the back, obviously). What's particularly impressive about that is that I genuinely liked PROBABLY the majority of them. There were still a distinct number of books that did not really move me or did not carry a lot of weight with me or that I fully did not like (the X-Wing of the Marvel Universe will be not-so-mysteriously absent in this countdown) but by and large, I really enjoyed this year at Marvel comics. Considering that, I decided to stretch this review to the top TWENTY books released by Marvel this year. I figured I would just end up with a section of "these books only didn't make it because there wasn't room" that was as long or longer than the top ten so why not just expand? Guys, I have the authority to make that call. That said, let's start with the "these books only didn't make it because..." section (even this ended up being long enough that I wanted to separate the 16-20 picks into a different post...geez guys).

Books not appearing in this list for, you know, reasons

Avengers Assemble
Really fun book, the most fun of the AVENGERS titles but one that ultimately couldn't crack the top twenty in a stacked competition

Cable and X-Force
You guys, this one was really close after a really strong opening. I felt that it kind of stumbled in the middle and I don't think, in retrospect, that Salvador Larroca's art really fit the book well enough to give it that last little push. Still a fun book, for sure, and one I'm sad to see end but one that was ultimately just a hair too weak.

Dark Avengers
I can see this making the top twenty with very little effort if it had continued a bit longer. Really fun spin by Jeff Parker with an intriguing cast and an ever-interesting story behind it.

Indestructible Hulk
This one's another one right on the cusp but I think it was really hurt by event tie-ins. I'll temper that by saying it had consistently interesting tie-ins but, in the end, it wasn't able to spend enough time telling its own story and had to waste too much telling everyone else's.

Thor: God of Thunder
I think the incredibly strong opening arc (led by Esad Ribic's great art and an interesting premise from Jason Aaron) overstayed its welcome just a bit and then led into a considerably weaker second arc. I would say that telling two stories in a little over twelve months was a downside to the book but there's a book that cracked the top ten that's pretty much on par with that so it's not really a valid excuse.

This week's picks

FOR THE HOLIDAYS, I GOT YOU GUYS AN EXTRA LONG POST WHERE I PICK THREE BOOKS BUT NOT-SO-SECRETLY ACTUALLY PICK SIX.

This was one of those weeks where it was exceedingly difficult to pick the top three for any number of reasons. Unlike most weeks where that's true, I had to actually break down my full list of comics into ones that could make the top three or at least could snag an honorable mention on here. That brought me down to six titles that were all worthy of some amount of higher praise.

The first one I eliminated from those six was INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK 17, which was a solid and fun book that really managed to tell a good story that ties in to current MU events while also giving us a great breakdown of characters.

The second one down, surprisingly, was UNCANNY AVENGERS 15. I honestly thought going into this post that UNCANNY AVENGERS was a lock as a top pick. It's a huge story that manages to actually ramp up tension after an issue where three major Marvel characters died but it still spends enough time with individual characters to show us their personal stakes, like Wolverine's belief that his violence had rubbed off on Rogue too much or like Cap's belief that his splitting up the Unity Squad led to the deaths of two of his friends and two heroes (he hasn't heard about Rogue yet) or like Thor realizing that the Earth might be executed in retribution for events kicked off by his enchanting Jarnbjorn way back when. Really, really good stuff in here but ultimately I pushed it aside to make room for things that may have been better in different ways.

Astute readers (and ones who are still reading this much-longer-than-average picks post - I felt behind on every single post this week except for this one so I'm relishing it and extending it, okay?) will notice that we've eliminated two contenders from the original six in an attempt to pare down to three, leaving ONE MORE on the chopping block. Unfortunately, this week's final cut went to the surprise "wow, that hung on for a while longer than I'd've predicted" book, SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TEAM-UP 8. Chris Yost has a way with looking at characters and getting right down to the most compelling parts of them. There has been something compelling about Doc Ock in Peter's body from the get-go, which is why the series is doing so well, but there's only so much you can do with "egomaniacal sociopathic genius learns value of responsibility and justice" before it starts to feel a bit stale. Yost took a different angle after the first full arc on SSMTU (don't think that acronym is going to catch on) and showed us an egomaniac whose pride has been bruised and who has to deal with the weight of a massive failure with this newfound sense of responsibility. On top of giving us a great look at that character, we get the character who perfectly represents an egomaniac who will almost undoubtedly never feel the weight of a massive failure like this one because he doesn't see himself as a failure in Namor. Really great issue but one that ultimately just barely falls short of my actual list which may seem inexplicable and judged by whimsy and caprice more than fact but SURPRISE, THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN DOING FOR A YEAR NOW.

Daredevil 34
What Mark Waid has done best with DAREDEVIL is hard to say. This is a book led by a character who, since Frank Miller took the reins on him, has been known as an exceedingly dark character. There have been moments of light and he's had a certain playfulness to him but, since Miller, it's been underlined by a distinct rage and violence which had only escalated in the years preceding Waid's run with Brian Michael Bendis and Ed Brubaker before culminating in Andy Diggle's finale, SHADOWLAND, which saw Daredevil snap and live out his darkest moment. Mark Waid then jumped onboard (following Diggle's follow-up DAREDEVIL: REBORN) and turned the character back to a far more light-hearted, happy to put down any connections to Daredevil as Matt Murdock (although everyone knew), happy to interact with others character. He still has his darkness and Waid has still put him through his paces but this is a far different character than the one Matt had evolved into while somehow staying entirely the same. If this series hadn't been so extremely good, it would have been a disaster. Instead, here we are, 34 issues later and Waid is still putting out gold for Matt Murdock. This issue adds to the fun and light-heartedness of the series while still showing Matt at a time that's particularly dark for him as he sees his legal system, the one thing that hasn't truly hurt him in the past, in the hands of horrible racists and corruption. Also, Waid has built Kirsten McDuffie into what is already the best Daredevil female supporting character since Echo (who only appeared in two DAREDEVIL arcs and those were separated by a sea of issues). Great book, great fun. Really long post today, huh?

Scarlet Spider 25

Okay, so SCARLET SPIDER has definitely benefitted this week from the bump I tend to give good books as the series closes but, in truth, that bump needed to do less work than you think it did. If anything, it skipped it over UNCANNY AVENGERS and SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TEAM-UP. Like with SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TEAM-UP, it's hard not to point to Christopher Yost's mastery of character as the driving point in all of his books. Yost took a character in Kaine who was only ever a bad guy; even when he worked for the right side, he was still something of a jerk about it. Here's the thing of it: after 25 issues of what turned out to be a really good series, I'm not sure I can definitely say that Kaine isn't still just a jerk. That's not to say that the book has been vague about it or his character hasn't gone deep enough; the opposite, in fact. Yost didn't want the audience to come out of this book saying "Kaine is the most morally upstanding citizen, a true hero, in the Marvel Universe." Yost wanted people to come out of this book saying "gee, how about that Kaine guy?" And I think he did it. The fact that this book doesn't wrap cleanly, that Kaine ends up fleeing Houston without the girl, without the friends, without the esteem, and winds up ignoring a street mugging in his new Mexico home is both such a wonderful choice and such a punch in the gut. Back in the Stan Lee days of comics, the idea was to leave every book the way you came into it; at the end of the month (or, as arcs started to grow, the end of every story) the team or the individual would be right back where he started. That's kind of happened with Kaine but now we have a wealth of knowledge about who he's been and who he's capable of being. It's solid work and truly defining for the character and it's the best promotional work I can imagine for Yost's NEW WARRIORS next year.

Young Avengers 14

I think I'm actually incapable of leaving this book off my recommendation lists. Throughout its 14-issue run (concluding in two weeks, as I will not stop reminding you) YOUNG AVENGERS has done thing that no other superhero comic has ever done, and that's coming in an age where you can say that about a handful of books so it's safe to say the medium is stretching out a bit. The story, the self-awareness, the art, the layouts, everything about this book has offered something new to its readers and I think this is the sort of book that will reverberate in the years to come. This issue even goes so far as to do something that isn't entirely uncommon in ending a series with a number of guest artists on a giant-sized issue (the finale is two issues but I have a feeling it'll read just as well as one) but still does it in what feels like a revolutionary way. This is a series of vignettes about our characters as individuals more than it is a closing chapter for a team book. That's not to say that the next issue out, our true finale, won't bring the team together again to let us look on them as one, but this one has skirted that by separating them into the pieces they were when the book started; Billy and Teddy are together, America is alone, Kate is alone, Noh-Varr is alone, David is alone and slinking off, and the book is a team book that featured a team that was, overall, hugely successful. Again, I'd be very surprised if the series doesn't end on a more team-centric feel (I would not be surprised, then, if it ended around a diner's breakfast options) but this issue has seen to it that we get some sense of our team as individuals first and foremost. In addition to great character work, the art of this book is tremendous. I will forever champion Jamie McKelvie but I can't even say I'm upset that this book isn't entirely made up of his art, which is something I can't say about many books he's not even attached to. Emma Vicielli, Christian Ward, and Annie Wu (good God that woman draws a great Kate, what a steal to have her on HAWKEYE too) supply some of the best art I've seen this year in little five page pieces. Amazing stuff.



CHARACTER OF THE WEEK

I know, this post really should be over. The one time my post-game post actually takes longer than my everyday post and I'm LENGTHENING it, something I almost never do these days? Well I couldn't help it because how do you ignore the fact that Dr. Strange, a favorite character in his own right, appeared in FOUR SEPARATE BOOKS that he had almost NO connection to previously. We got to see Dr. Strange in LONGSHOT SAVES THE MARVEL UNIVERSE (which he did, in fact, have a connection to previously), DAREDEVIL (okay, again, he has some long-standing connections to Matt that make him something less than a series regular but something more than a strange appearance) (HA), DEADPOOL, and THUNDERBOLTS ANNUAL. Guys. Four Dr. Strange appearances despite no ongoing Dr. Strange book and no NEW AVENGERS, the only book he's regularly promised in. WHO'S COMPLAINING? I'm willing to speculate right here and now that we're in line for another attempt at a Dr. Strange ongoing in the near future. Between these four appearances and talk of an upcoming movie (nothing official yet but pretty much as official as unofficial can be) in the works for something like 2016 or something, time seems ripe to get someone on that. Hopefully it's Fraction or Gillen/McKelvie's next gig. Or, you know, someone else.

Daredevil 34, Indestructible Hulk 17, Thor: God of Thunder 16

Daredevil 34
Waid (w) and J. Rodriguez and A. Lopez (a) and J. Rodriguez (c)

Matt brings the piece of sacred text he took to Dr. Strange who admonishes him for stealing from Satana, swearing that will catch up to him. Strange also informs him that the text holds a secret word, a name that, when uttered, can have intense persuasive abilities but warns him that he'd have to research the word before saying if it had a harm on the user. Matt comes up with a plan to bring out the Serpents but he needs Kirsten McDuffie's help for it so he drops the not-Daredevil act and enlists her for her fearlessness. With the help of former Serpent Nate Hackett and favors called in (off-panel) to various Avengers, they put together a city-wide broadcast system for Matt to call out all of the Serpents. As he demands Jester be released to him alive, Kirsten reads the word out to prove they mean business. The Serpents comply but try to leave a trap for Daredevil, which he easily bests. However, Kirsten goes off book while Daredevil's roaming the streets and puts herself in harm's way while delivering an important message about the Serpents. The Serpents find her (tracking her from the wind behind her in the broadcast) and try to shoot her but Nate tackles her, saving them both long enough for Daredevil to bring the helicopter down. As they prepare to celebrate (seems like Matt and Kirsten may be getting back together), Kirsten gets a call from the office and tells Matt it has to do with Foggy.

Another really solid issue. Daredevil is on top of his game after a stretch of self-doubt and seemingly overwhelming odds. This one strikes again at the heart of Waid's run, showing Daredevil as resourceful, clever, fearless as ever, and just a ton of fun. The height of fun comes as Matt officially outs himself to Kirsten in the most show-off way ever, jogging backwards alongside her in the park, skipping over roots and obstacles, and, still as Matt Murdock, stopping a mugging under a bridge they cross. If Matt's going to reveal himself, this is how you want him to do it, particularly this iteration of Matt. Great story, solid cast, fun writing, and really incredible art. Even with Samnee off the book for a bit, it's been amazing to see Javier Rodriguez step so comfortably into the artist role and match the tone and pace of the book so perfectly. Also glad that Kirsten McDuffie doesn't even really mildly annoy me, which has been a downfall of Matt's typical love interest (other super-people very obviously excluded). Anxious about the word on Foggy but couldn't help laughing when the book ended with the worry about Foggy juxtaposed against the words "Next: Elektra." Oh boy, I'd love to see more Foggy-Elektra team-ups.

Indestructible Hulk 17
Waid (w) and C. Mann, S. Mann, and Sepulveda (a) and Staples (c)

INHUMANITY has struck and the big scientists of the Marvel Universe are out in force trying to learn more about the Terrigenesis and its effects. Banner demands Stark and Pym, who turn up in his lab, and the rest give him a 24-hour window to look into it alone, as the de facto expert on "monstrous physiological changes brought about by radiation." They give him his start but quickly take it back as things go south for Banner, who prepares to bring his team into the field only to find that they've been grounded by Maria Hill because at least one of them may undergo Terrigenesis. Pym and Stark return, now with Beast, before the window closes and see that Banner's project is in the form of a bomb, which immediately puts them on edge and they prepare to shut him down without listening to him. Banner can't stop himself and transforms, taking the bomb and leaping out of the lab. The other heroes chase him and fight valiantly to stop him before Beast and Pym point out that this is rather all Tony's fault for belittling Banner and Beast points out that maybe this bomb things will work. It's Tony's call, as the scientist who's known Banner longest, on whether they keep fighting or give up. After a moment's hesitation Tony shoots the bomb himself.

I really like this issue and it continues to play to the themes Waid has built up (something, judging solely by this issue and the above DAREDEVIL, that Waid is phenomenal at doing). Everything is here, making this a pretty solid jumping-on point if you're thinking about getting into this new HULK series. You can get a good sense of Banner's desire to impact the world with his science more, you get the way that the science and superhero community view Banner and the way he's been ostracized, you get a good quick look into his team, you get some solid action and some good writing, you get some good art, just a lot of really good things to this issue. I think, and this may sound like a weird sort of slight but isn't, that Waid might be the best at creating natural jumping-on points for readers. A lot of the would-be jumping-on points for books (which comics are constantly doing because it can be incredibly overwhelming to get new readers into a series that's had 50 years of history go into it) fall short because the writing is stunted, giving way too much exposition for new readers to follow or old readers to care about, or because it's such a basic introduction that it doesn't really tell anything about the character. Waid creates jumping-on points by rehashing themes of the book and establishing characters with little glances here and there, not with full-on stares. Great work overall, which is more than I can say about my attempts to quick-hit these things.

Thor: God of Thunder 16
Aaron (w) and Garney and Lupacchino (a) and Svorcina (c)

Malekith, having proven his point with the appearance of his new Frost Giant allies, disappears, leaving the League of Realms to sulk and stew and to point fingers. Everyone begins to believe there's a traitor in their midst, someone feeding information to Malekith. The most fingers start pointing at Lady Waziria and most of the League wants her burned alive. Thor, though, has his eyes set on the troll as their traitor and knocks him out before executing him. The League, somewhat in horror and not really believing he was the traitor (not to mention this won't please the troll community), disbands. Thor has a plan, though, and brings Waziria with him to Midgard to a hidden Dark Elf guard station. Shortly after their arrival, Malekith again strikes, leading Thor to assume that Waziria is indeed a traitor. However, Malekith reveals that Thor is the traitor by calling forth a horrible worm thing from his body.

The fight against Malekith rages on and it continues to be just a little bit boring. The actual fight stuff isn't that bad and some of the interactions aren't awful but the League of Realms stuff continues to feel a little too Lord of the Rings for me and it kind of cheapens the whole thing. I don't know if that's entirely fair to say since THOR: GOD OF THUNDER is a little too easily put into that fantasy camp, as the realms are populated almost entirely by fantasy tropes which kind of all spring from LOTR, meaning that any sort of team-up will have an LOTR feel to it regardless of its content. However, there is a cynical part of me viewing this arc as a cash in on November's Thor: The Dark World and a cash in on The Hobbit and the new one (with that dragon, you guys). I imagine the creative team was working on this book and then went to see the movie and was disappointed to learn that Malekith's role in the movie was less a cunning psychopath and more a set piece with maybe a total of five lines in two hours. Oh well, guess you should have put more Jane Foster and more...Kat Dennings character in this one. So I guess what I'm saying is "it could be worse."

Deadpool 20, Longshot Saves the Marvel Universe 3, Indestructible Hulk Annual 1

Deadpool 20
Posehn and Duggan (w) and Koblish (a) and Staples (c)

It's another flashback issue for DEADPOOL as this time we find Deadpool visiting Wakanda in the 1960s only to find himself embroiled in a search across the map for four cosmic puzzle pieces. His search starts in Wakanda, leads him to the Savage Land and then to the Negative Zone and finally to Tibet, showing Deadpool making jokes and enemies in each place. He completes the puzzle and it calls forth a baby Watcher, sort of, and Deadpool inadvertently blows up the moon before meeting with Odin and getting on his good side, inevitably leading Odin to restore everything. It's...it's not particularly well-explained, though you get the sense we're not here for the story of this one, which is truly too bad because I don't know what else you'd be here for.

By and large, the DEADPOOL flashback issues have been interesting, whether for a story or an interaction or a change in the art style or whatever it might be. This one is an exception, which reverts DEADPOOL back to a mess of references and jokes without punchlines. It kind of reminds me of a recent article on Cracked.com (which is relatively more swear-filled and what not than I am here so, you know, if you're against that sort of thing, use your own judgment on clicking that link) that talked about the "comedy" of the new Grand Theft Auto game and pretty much summed up my thoughts on it. I'd say this is a step above that but it's not exactly a leap and it's the problem I have with humor that simply references things and expects you to laugh. In this case, I think it wasn't a bad idea to move to a flashback issue because Deadpool's in a pretty dark place and probably many readers aren't picking up DEADPOOL because they're looking for a brooding anti-hero. So we break up his story by looking back in something a little lighter but I think it went overly light for this. It's reminiscent of the first arc which I hate enormously so I'm hoping this spins back to where it was soon.

Longshot Saves the Marvel Universe 3
Hastings (w) and Camagni, Calderon-Zurita, and Pallot (a) and Milla w/ Campbell (c)

Chaos watches in delight as the helicarrier falls from the sky, though he's saddened to find that either Longshot's luck powers or Dazzler's competence stops it from all-out crashing. Bitter, he starts to pull chaotic beings from time and space, including an old Magneto, a werewolf Captain America, and two vampire lords in Dracula and vampire Wolverine. The real Captain America shows up to help Longshot and together they manage to take everyone down, only to have Chaos call more in. This back-and-forth continues until Order shows up and the two fight. Longshot realizes that his luck powers have also been having unintended consequences; for all the good luck it's provided him, it's been followed by equally bad luck for someone else where it normally just results in good luck if his aims are altruistic. Meanwhile, Superior Spider-Man brings the woman and girl Longshot had been protecting to Dr. Dipson, the scientist from the first issue! It's all coming together!

Really fun book now that Hastings has had some time to develop what he needed to develop and to explore the world he's created, one based around Longshot's interaction with the cosmic cube. The plot is certainly compelling enough to keep readers interested but the fun comes from all of the interesting ideas and the duel between Chaos and Order. Cap's appearance in here is great, pitting him against his werewolf self (from the past; he claims that he remembers a version of himself shooting himself as a werewolf with a single-use chronodisplacer gun and has been carrying it around ever since, ready to fill his role) and against a pair of vampires, among others. There's a shot of Venom-Punisher and Carnage-Silver Surfer and all sorts of fun tidbits like that but it's really the quick and fun writing that ties it all together. A series of ideas in a book is still just a series of ideas until someone ties them together effectively and Hastings has done that very well with fun dialogue and pretty good characterization. Looking forward to the next issue.

Indestructible Hulk Annual 1
J. Parker (w) and M. Asrar (a) and N. Daniel (c)

Annual season pushes on as INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK gets its first, giving us a little bit of time with the Science Bros, Banner and Stark, as they track down a former mentor of theirs on a secluded island where he's doing a bit of Dr. Moreau work, but on the island as a whole, not on the people or anything like that. So maybe Dr. Moreau isn't the best comparison but I'll not be changing it. Anyway, Hulk and Iron Man have to work together to stop Doctor Zadian, who has practically weaponized the entire island with his research and who has measures in place to stop both Iron Man (whose armor nearly entirely breaks down on him when he interacts with the sand) and Hulk (who cannot stay Hulk for any more than a few seconds at a time on the island). The two heroes talk and trek across the island to find Zadian and discuss their past and a little bit of their motivations while they search before ultimately finding Zadian's base and, with a bit of a fight (and Iron Man resorting to tormenting Banner enough to keep him Hulked), manage to bring him down.

I tend not to be the biggest fan of Annuals; I tend to think they're not great stories and that we don't get the best characterization out of them on the whole because there simply isn't much time to let a story develop these days when given just one issue. However, I've been really impressed by Marvel's batch this year, from (admittedly) Fraction's fantastic HAWKEYE ANNUAL tothe fun and chaos of DEADPOOL ANNUAL to this week's really high-spirited AVENGERS ANNUAL and now INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK ANNUAL, I think Marvel has really dedicated itself to providing a good story and good creative teams to work on their books. As I said, HAWKEYE was still helmed by Fraction so there was a guaranteed unified feel for that Annual compared to the series but the rest have featured teams that, each time out, have made me really excited for the book, starting with Acker and Blacker on DEADPOOL, moving to the much-missed Kathryn Immonen on AVENGERS and now Jeff Parker (from old favorites RED SHE-HULK and DARK AVENGERS, notably for this blog) on INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK. I couldn't be happier with the teams or the results. Parker here explores the trend we've seen with Banner as someone who can't quite keep his jealousy in check and who realizes how much of his life has been spent on Hulk whereas people like Tony got to spend so much of his life with science and bettering the world with what they do. There's also a lot of characterization for Tony, who is secretly just as envious of Banner's intelligence but refuses to let it show nearly as much as Banner does. Really sharp writing, lots of fun, and a really nice character study for the two of them. I've heard Parker's been killing it on BATMAN '66 for DC and he's just taken over, I believe, as writer on AQUAMAN but I haven't had the time to check either out. I'd love to at some point as Jeff Parker has yet to disappoint me in any capacity. This year has made me less reluctant to review Annuals and more willing to actually be excited for them. Thanks Marvel!

This week's picks

I...I can't. Look, there were too many books and too many good books and too many important books this week. How do you knock it down to three? Well hey, we're officially in the holiday season right now and, in America, this week marked the very worst ritual we have, Black Friday, so, in the spirit of excess, let's categorize what books you should get!

Best books ending this week:
Avengers Arena 18

Really sad to see the series go but glad to see it go on such a fitting last issue. The survivors have some serious darkness to them now, a darkness they'd rather not reveal to the world but one that might come out anyway. It will lead nicely into Hopeless' new AVENGERS UNDERCOVER.








Infinity 6

I have to call this the best major Marvel event in a long time, one that was both satisfying and epic enough without, for a change, pitting heroes vs. heroes. Don't get me wrong, CIVIL WAR is still my favorite event and it was the ultimate example of heroes vs. heroes but when you then have like, 50 straight events that do that, it loses some meaning. Here we had enemies and we had heroes and we had insurmountable odds being surmounted. This will lead nicely into both INHUMANITY and books like AVENGERS WORLD as the Avengers have really never been higher.


Best Avengers books this week:
New Avengers 12

Really phenomenal ending to INFINITY as we see the toll this has taken on the most troubled of the heroes right now. Where the Avengers have never been higher, the Illuminati have never been more out of their depth, facing Earth-shattering problem after Earth-shattering problem and finding themselves at the base of everything. Black Panther has been cast out of Wakanda, Black Bolt has been severely depowered and finds himself in hiding, Dr. Strange has turned to his darkest spells, and the others have to face the people they've teamed with, including Black Swan and, potentially, the frozen Thanos. So much happening, so many, as Namor said, kings without kingdoms.


Uncanny Avengers 14
Huge book for both this series and for the Marvel Universe as a whole as we see two major Marvel characters seemingly die (always have to add "seemingly" in there, though BOY does Rogue seem pretty dead) and one turn into ions, but he's done that before. On top of that, it's kind of all Rogue's fault, as she attacked Scarlet Witch not knowing her plan (and still not trusting her) and then wavered for a moment afterward, allowing Grim Reaper to strike. Whoops! Lots happening here and lots to be anxious about as we move to the next issue.




Most fun books this week:
Hawkeye 14

Matt Fraction has really developed a character for Kate Bishop, who had ever really only appeared in YOUNG AVENGERS before, a book that was both a team book, thus typically taking some amount of individuality out, and a book that required her to step up and take the mature role amongst a bunch of younger people. She was sarcastic and clearly competent there but Fraction has turned that just a bit as she really gets to thrive by herself. She's fun, she's resourceful, she's caring, she's persistent, and she's a star now so she gets to shine here. Annie Wu does absolutely fantastic art for Kate, filled with complexities and emotion. Great issue.


Deadpool Annual 1

Not a ton by way of substance here but, well, honestly kind of more than I tend to expect out of annuals. Still a really fun issue that brings out the sort of Deadpool I tend to like most, one that is funny and probably insane but that is less absurd and less weird than the world he's entered into. The book itself had some nice little moments, including sound-effects and transitions like "TURN-AROUND," "CATCH," and "ATTACH." Also a couple of good Looney Tunes homages in there.

Scarlet Spider 24

This might seem a strange one to put in "most fun," as it mostly features a really fundamentally troubled Kaine and it ends with our hero and his friends being shot with a rocket launcher, but it did have a sense of fun to it. Part of that was in the pacing, which is very strong even as it leads to an extremely chaotic finish. Another part was in the individual moments and dialogue. The most fun part of the book, for me, was the homage to AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 50, the infamous "Spider-Man No More!" story, as Kaine throws his costume in a trash-can and lights it on fire, saying "Scarlet Spider no more!" only to find that the unstable molecules in the costume prevent it from catching fire. There are other fun bits with Aracely here and there and the ramping tone gives everything a frenzied but somewhat fun sense. Good issue.

Books I didn't mention but that, you know, were still pretty good:
Avengers Assemble 21
Spider-lady team!












Indestructible Hulk 16

D'aww, Randall Jessup.












Nova 10

Some neat little moments, including dream sequences and the Watcher!

Hawkeye 14, Indestructible Hulk 16, FF 14

Hawkeye 14
Fraction (w) and Wu (a) and Hollingsworth (c)


Kate Bishop is officially moved into LA (as we already know from the Annual) and just about out of money. Realizing that she has skills that are maybe a little harder to market, she starts to try to put herself out there as a hero for hire and gets her first case as she uses her neighbor's printer to print her flyers out. Her neighbors, a gay couple, are getting married and the florist shop set to handle the wedding has been most burned down, burning almost all of the flowers. Kate goes to investigate and the florist points her to Flynt Ward and tells her that Ward burned everything but the orchids he had for the wedding, which Ward took himself and which Kate's neighbors were most insistent about, as one of them saw orchids specifically in a vision of the wedding. Kate tries to get the police involved and then stakes out Ward herself, who immediately recognizes what she's doing and keeps her out of his way. She decides to stalk him and take pictures of his drug dealing ways but is quickly found out and Ward chases her down in his car, knocking her off her bike before driving away. She snaps a few more pictures and goes back to the police, who inform her that marijuana is legal and so he's not really a dealer but that the hit and run will land him in prison, as will illegal possession of a firearm they found in the car. She recovers the last of the orchids and brings them to the wedding, accomplishing her first mission though also getting into a bit of an antagonistic relationship with her police contact. Ward, meanwhile, makes his first call from prison to none other than Madam Masque, enemy of our hero.

Very solid first Kate-in-LA issue (not counting the Annual which was ALSO extremely good) and it sets a nice tone for the book. Fraction clearly has a very strong voice for Kate, one that's maybe a little less grown-up than the Kate we typically see in books like YOUNG AVENGERS where she's kind of forced to be mature one by the immaturity of her teammates. Here, she's a little more free and a little more stream of consciousness than we've seen her. Though the voice might not totally match the voice we've seen somewhat established for her (I would say previous voices for Kate aren't particularly well-established in and of themselves) but they certainly stay consistent and I think you can absolutely see that voice in any iteration of Kate. Annie Wu hops on the book on art and it's phenomenal. Her Kate is outstanding and it's especially emotive. Hollingsworth's colors are great again and incredibly varied from the darker and somewhat grittier colors we've seen throughout HAWKEYE, giving way to lighter and more vibrant colors for Kate. Really fun intro to our Kate issues arc, very excited to see it. Perhaps the best explanation of the art comes from Matt Fraction's Twitter:

@AnnieW gonna get super-esoteric in the scripts just to see how you draw her: "she just remembered something but is about to sneeze" etc
— BUTT STUFF WEREWOLF (@mattfraction) October 31, 2013

Indestructible Hulk 16
Waid (w) and Asrar (a) and Staples (c)

Hulk is back to Hulking and Banner is back to Bannering after the cross-time adventures of the last arc and after the events of INFINITY. Banner is upset at having fallen behind on his promise of a new world-changing invention or discovery each Friday and plans to recoup some time with a couple of pet projects he's been working on, only to find each one invented or discovered just hours before he would have by the other big brains of the Marvel Universe. His frustration forces Hulk out and he hopes to get a mission from Hill but finds out, with the help of team-member Randall Jessup, that Hill doesn't want him on her newest big mission exploring an Aztec ruin for a potential new renewable energy found there. Frustrated more, Banner starts to Hulk but Jessup manages to talk him down and sneak him into the mission anyway. The two of them go down to Mexico and infiltrate the pyramid, where Banner starts to give way to Hulk again. Jessup earns his stripes again as he controls Hulk enough to get him clear from bringing the whole pyramid down and points him at the thing he needs to fight. Jessup also gives Hulk a successful plan of action, which does result in bringing the whole pyramid down but allows the SHIELD team to get out in time and Jessup to smuggle out the source of the renewable energy, which he shows to Banner. The issue ends with a foreshadowing line explaining that Banner knew he could trust Jessup to his death...seven days later.

Really nice issue of this book. I mentioned in my INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK review last week that Banner's team was the only consistent supporting cast created for its book that I really found myself missing over the course of an arc (thinking especially about Wolverine's dumb science cadre in WOLVERINE). Here Waid brings them back in a big way, even though it only really highlights Jessup. It reminded me a little bit of Dennis Hopeless' early run on AVENGERS ARENA, which made sure to give flashbacks of individuals on Murder World juxtaposed with what was happening with the character currently. The same thing happens here as we see a bit of Jessup's past with a tough upbringing that eventually led to him leaving his family behind a bit only to later find that his father had apparently murder-suicided his mother. It's given Jessup a need to stay with the ones he cares about and resolve to never let them down, which comes out strong with Banner in this issue. Though it's not a bad cliffhanger, I'll be a bit disappointed if Jessup does die next issue. I'd also like more issues like this one, which teams Banner up with members of his think-tank to better get to know them as individuals, which was AVENGERS ARENA's true biggest strength and which paid such dividends as the series went on. Still, very good issue, nice solid core to it and it's setting us up to care about a character who will no doubt be in some danger next time out.

FF 14
Fraction and Lee Allred (s) and Lee Allred (w) and M. Allred (a) and Laura Allred (c)

The FF are regrouping after Doom's interference with Alex Power and their subsequent trip through the portal to the moon and Uatu's base. As they regroup, they plan their next attack, hoping to gain more allies in their fight against Doom, Immortus, and Annihilus. They manage to swipe a slew of bots to go up against Doom's army of Doombots, leaving the replacement F4, along with old John Storm and young Ahura and Alex to go after Doom himself. Scott also appeals to Uatu to do more than watch and it seems to get through on some level, but we'll likely have to see about that later. Scott also admits to Darla that he was forced to kill in prison and that he's worried that side of him, the killer who rather enjoyed the act (though it was clear self-defense), will come out against Doom. There's hijinx and tomfoolery and what-have-you as the team prepares to leave the kids on the moon while they strike. Meanwhile, Doom realizes Lang is about to strike but has more on his mind. As we saw in the last FANTASTIC FOUR, he has figured out that the Negative Zone is connected to every universe and he wishes to control that himself, knocking Annihilus out of his plans and eventually causing it to knock Immortus out of his plans, again as we saw in FANTASTIC FOUR.

Plenty happening as the book heads towards it battle royale finale. Some interesting stuff and some nice character moments for a couple of our heroes but overall the book drags a bit in places that I don't think it needs to drag. This series has long wanted to have a different feel to it, one accomplished by charm and wit and fun as much as it is accomplished by Michael Allred's fresh art and Laura Allred's vibrant colors. I think it still has that but it's running into problems here as it wants to have it both ways, trading off fun and carefree with serious and sometimes dark. It's a very tricky line to balance on and I think Lee Allred is having a little more trouble walking it than Fraction, who has had plenty of experience in a lot of his books, had. I think it's because of that that the book turns extra wordy and starts to feel really off-track at certain points as Allred tries to sprinkle enough of everything in and ends up putting in a little too much of each. The funny thing was that I read maybe a little over half the book before needing to attend to other duties, saving the rest for later. When I came back to it and skimmed the first half to remember my place then continued reading the second half, I found it a better read. It felt a little less wordy in the second half and a lot of the fluff and the mixed tone was in the first half, it turned out. Not an awful book, just not one that I'd have as many recommendations for.

Daredevil 33, Fantastic Four 14, Indestructible Hulk 15

Daredevil 33
Waid and Samnee (s) and Copland (a) and J. Rodriguez (c)

Daredevil, slipping away from reality as he suffers from a severe gunshot wound, dreams of himself and Foggy (or his representation of Foggy, having never seen him before) at the ocean, talking about things, when Foggy walks into the sea with Matt helpless to stop him, unable to move. He awakens to find himself surrounded by the gang of monsters from last issue, wrapping him up tight with the mummy's bandages to stop the bleeding while Satana and Jack attempt to use their magic to close the wound. They manage it, despite Matt's misgivings, and he's quickly back on his feet asking Jack about the Darkhold. Jack reluctantly tells Matt about the book, which is in his possession, and about missing pages from the book, which he believes are in the possession of a man in town named Lucien Sinclair, who seems tied to the Sons of the Serpent. They've attempted in the past to get the pages back but found themselves driven nearly mad by the hallucinatory sights and sounds on the way to Sinclair's home. Daredevil takes off for it instantly and finds himself in a similar predicament, though he need not see what they've seen. The gauntlet he has to run through is one made up almost entirely of the suffering of other races (particularly African-Americans) and the message that whites and the Serpents are the true rulers of the world. It nearly breaks Matt but he's able to push through and, as he reaches a doorway, he begins to worry that more horrors that he won't be able to cope with lie ahead. He realizes, though, that this isn't a torture mechanism; it's a test. True Sons of the Serpent would have no problem traversing the hallucinations, they'd revel in it. Enraged, he bursts through the door and sets the entire house ablaze, grabbing the pages he needs (and keeping them hidden from the monsters) and tossing Sinclair to the others waiting outside.

Guys, this was my summary after I cut things OUT. Anyway, it's a really powerful issue and one that covers a lot of ground. The Sons of the Serpent are an oft-seen hate group in the Marvel Universe and I think it's easy to kind of push them aside; we've all seen hate in real life and we've all seen prejudice and the KKK and things like that, so sometimes it's easy enough to wave these guys away as just another sect of that, a villain group that is 100% villains with no subtext to them and one that should be and typically is dispatched by our stalwart and righteous heroes. The true extent of their hatred rarely really comes across with the vitriol and power that it does here. Pretty tough one to get through and Daredevil's pain is real, even if it's mental anguish over physical, which makes his rage palpable when he finally breaks into Sinclair's. Good book and solid fill-in art from Jason Copland with ever-perfect colors from Javier Rodriguez.

Fantastic Four 14
Fraction and Kesel (s) and Kesel (w) and Ienco (a) and Mounts (c)

Old John Storm isn't exactly Old John Storm, as it turns out, he's Alternate-Universe John Storm. He tells the F4 that he's afraid that his F4 was partly responsible for the degenerative disease afflicting the F4 now and that they can definitely cure it, though it will require going to his universe, one ruled by Doom, Kang, and Annihilus. With no other options available, they travel to the other universe and find themselves greeted by a barrage of missiles and a distinct inability to properly control their powers. Sue manages to protect them with forcefields for as long as she can but it drains her immensely. Other John Storm goes out to distract Doom and his team, leaving Johnny behind because  activating his powers will leave him stuck in flame form. An electromagnetic barrage hits the ship and knocks out all the mechanics, leaving them hurtling towards Earth and defenseless to the missiles coming at them. Sue pulls out her last trick, a whistle given to her by Medusa that brings Lockjaw to them, who transports them to the ground before taking Val and Franklin back home to their own dimension. All is not well, though, as Johnny was still hit by shrapnel from the exploding ship and needs to activate his flame powers to burn the metal out. He's bleeding and the team needs to stitch up the wound to save him, using the last of Sue's powers to create a needle and some thread from the unstable molecules in their uniforms. She manages it then passes out herself as Reed and Ben realize that Johnny will die of dehydration within a day if they don't get him help. Meanwhile, Kang betrays Doom (who was, of course, planning to betray him) and takes a device meant to control the Negative Zone, making him the ruler of time and space.

Geez, another long summary. This iteration of the series is winding down and the action is stepping up as a result. Things are clearing up as we see the alternate dimension Johnny is from with a little more clarity and we get to see the two F4 teams meeting up at the end of the issue. Big things in store for the next couple of issues. There's not a ton of room, though, for characterization in these last couple issues, which comes as both a bit of a surprise and a bit of a let-down. These are big things that are happening and they're somewhat unprecedented in F4 history. I'd like to see exactly how they're weighing on the team. Granted, this whole series has done an awful lot of character work and now feels like the time to focus on story, but the voices are starting to blend together a little bit. There's another argument to be made that the F4 is the oldest and most consistent team in the Marvel Universe and that they don't really need a ton more by way of characterization. However, I'd say that the start of this volume saw a lot of big character moments that changed the way I viewed these characters in a couple ways. It's a little sad that they'll have to shift over to plot to end the series. Also, did Doom really not see Kang betraying him coming?

Indestructible Hulk 15
Waid (w) and Jacinto (a) and Staples and Loughridge (c)

Banner is separated from Hulk who has just received a double dose of gamma making him Hulk-squared, an even stronger and more uncontrollable force. Banner is excited for a moment, realizing that he's suddenly separated from Hulk, everything he'd wished for, but quickly understands that he might be the only thing capable of stopping this Hulk, as they're in the time before the Avengers, the Defenders, Thor, whoever else. He's the best chance at righting history, and he's given extra motivation when he learns that all of this meddling as erased Betty Ross from time. He attacks the Chronarchist, who reveals to him that this is all Zarrko's doing, and manages to push them back just far enough in time to link him with Hulk again and to reach through time to stop Zarrko. It's...it's confusing and extremely timey-wimey. Everything is set mostly right and Betty herself, in Red She-Hulk form, reaches through to pull him back out and bring him back to the present. Everything is right again but Banner can't help feeling like there's something very slightly different in his past but he can't zero in on what it is, though it certainly seems big enough for someone to be curious about it, as we see a file stolen at the end of the issue with the test results for Project Gamma.

There was a fair amount of cool stuff through this Agent of TIME arc and it was a story that I would say was mostly worth telling. It harkens back to the Stan Lee days of "everything changes, everything stays the same," where all of the crazy convoluted soft-science and timeline crossing is ultimately pretty ignorable because everything returns to the way it was again at the end. Obviously it's setting up a bigger game here with something in Banner's history changed enough to make an impact somewhere down the line but BOY if this wasn't the windiest road we could have taken to get there. Not a bad arc overall and not a bad story to wind it up, with a couple of nice character moments sprinkled throughout (Banner gets to unabashedly yell at General Ross, Banner attempts to leave the Hulk to someone else, Banner expresses his love for Betty, etc.), but it's hard to feel as if this wasn't just a little bit unnecessary. A story that ends more or less the same as it started with a big twist likely planned somewhere in the future but ultimately distracting us a bit from the goings-on prior to this; Banner's science team is just about the only non-powered superhero assist team I've found myself wondering about when they're not appearing (sorry Deadpool and Wolverine's teams).