This week's picks

Geez, I usually use this space to talk about how hard it was to narrow things down on a week full of comics. Not so, this week. Pretty easy and I had it pretty well in hand from the get-go. Apologies to IRON MAN and MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN which were pretty much the closest ones to making it but weren't close enough to warrant further discussion.

Avengers World 1

AVENGERS WORLD feels like Avengers back-to-basics, giving us a look at smaller teams dealing with smaller problems. Don't get me wrong, they're still pretty big problems, big enough to warrant the Avengers' involvement, but it's smaller than what Hickman's done throughout the AVENGERS series. It also breaks the team up into more manageable parts, so hopefully we'll get to see a little more personality out of the team as a whole. Interested to see where this one goes and I think it made the right steps in issue one.

Black Widow 1

Truly gorgeous book on its first time out and one that has the plot power to deliver interesting stories throughout its hopefully long run. I talked a little bit about how BLACK WIDOW books don't tend to last long for one reason or another but I hope that the distinguishing art and the full spy-feel of this book hold reader interest long enough to put this one on the map. With a slew of woman-led books coming out this year (though very few of them still created by women, sadly), it would be a real shame if a couple didn't catch on. High hopes for this one.




Young Avengers 15

One of the best comics of 2013 has, horribly depressing as it is, officially come to a close in the first comics week of 2014 and, while I'm sad to see it go, I'm happy that it got to finish the way it wanted to finish. YOUNG AVENGERS 15 is an homage to the rest of the series, a love note to the title at large that gives a final look at our characters as individuals dealing with their new lives and lets us see them as a team one last time. More gorgeous art out of Becky Cloonan (whose art may be the most impressive in the issue), Ming Doyle, Joe Quinones, Jordie Bellaire, Maris Wicks, Matt Wilson, and, of course, Jamie McKelvie and some top-notch character writing from Kieron Gillen to send this series to archives. Sad time but at least we got more than we could have ever asked from this series.

Young Avengers 15, Avengers World 1, Avengers AI 8

Young Avengers 15
Gillen (w) and McKelvie, Cloonan, Doyle, and Quinones (a) and Bellaire, Wicks, and Wilson (c)

The final issue of YOUNG AVENGERS, again, brings a multi-part story in the same general structure as YOUNG AVENGERS 14. This one starts with Noh-Varr lamenting his place in this world in a nice little look at his DJ abilities (and Broo's, in a slightly different way) drawn by Becky Cloonan with Jordie Bellaire colors. Story two shows David following Loki outside of the party to learn that Loki had paid for all of this and that he's leaving before they have a chance to forgive him, as they would because they're nice people. He makes a possibly-joking pass at David and sets out on his new journey, playing the role he's built for himself even if he doesn't really want to any more, in pages drawn by Ming Doyle with Maris Wicks colors. The story (and Maris Wicks) easily then moves into Joe Quinones-drawn David being joined by the Patri-not out on the lawn and trying to figure out who he is. Though the Patri-not doesn't give many answers, David reasons that he's someone from the future created by whatever it is Billy does down the road sent back to ensure that whatever it is that needs to happen to create that future happens. Furthermore, David speculates that he's one of the Young Avengers, who sacrificed him or herself to make sure the world was okay. David also believes that it's him. He doesn't totally care about any of this, though, he just wants to know where Tommy is. In a bit of a strange turn, he kisses the Patri-not who disappears and is replaced by Tommy, who isn't as into the kissing bit and, sensing a party, rushes off to join it. All the storylines from the past two issues converge as the team leaves the party in the new year and decides to go to breakfast.

Another very sweet issue and one that so nicely wraps this incredible series up. A series that was built on mystery and interdimensional drama and feelings ends in much the same sort of portmanteau. This series really couldn't have ended any other way, which is so odd in this day and age. The team didn't fight a big bad or stop any world-ending evils (today), they just went to a party and celebrated a big year. There's no better way for this book to end. I don't have a lot more to say on the subject because I think the book speaks for itself and my previously-formed opinions all hold true. Go read this book. I think it changes the game for comics. Also make sure to check out this last issue and read the various blurbs from everyone who had a hand on the book. Very sweet and nice to see everyone so genuinely care about the book. Really sad to see this one go but an extremely fitting ending for one of the best series of 2013.

Avengers World 1
Hickman and Spencer (w) and Caselli (a) and F. Martin (c)

It's a new day for the Avengers as they've made themselves more accessible to SHIELD. They still don't, per se, answer to SHIELD or, you know, necessarily like SHIELD, but an Avengers team this big allows them to kind of splinter and go after not-quite-Avengers-level threats but also fairly big threats. So AVENGERS WORLD is like having three or four tie-in Avengers titles all in one. This issue finds Captain America and Bruce Banner meeting with Maria Hill on the helicarrier and monitoring the smaller teams on the ground, including Hyperion, Thor, and Captain Marvel investigating suspicious happenings in Canada, Black Widow, Wolverine, Falcon, and Shang Chi trying to find the root of an uprising and riots in Madripoor, Hawkeye, Spider-Woman, Starbrand, and Nightmask searching for answers after the residents of an Italian town straight-up disappear, and Smasher, Cannonball, and Sunspot looking to find out why AIM Island is physically growing. Are all of these events linked? Can the Avengers stop them all?

I'm very onboard with the idea of this series and this first issue is living up to the expectations. There's a lot to like here as we learn the foundation of this book (through the nice little dialogue between Banner and Cap), see our players (it's a big Avengers team but it's extremely manageable in these small pieces), and get a feel for the way this book will go. My biggest complaint about AVENGERS, as it stands, is that we don't really get enough of a look at the personalities of our core team because there are simply too many of them and too big of a plot to deal with to get up close and personal with any specific characters. This book may change that and I have to think that any people who are lamenting the current AVENGERS title (I don't know any, but I could see people being mad about the main book's scale) would find themselves enjoying this book a bit more. Good characters, good writing, good art, fun first issue.

Avengers AI 8
Humphries (w) and Araújo (a) and D'Armata (c)

Dimitrios' quest to destroy the human race continues from the Diamond as he explains to Alexis that he's doing it to try to find the creator of humanity. Elsewhere, Victor and his new friend Gibson flee from those hunting them in the Diamond. Back in the real world, Cap meets with Pym to try to figure out the length of Dimitrios' reach and to ask Pym if he really has this under control, given his recent erratic behavior. It also seems as if Cap was coming in to take the reins on the AI business (which is leading to official laws that would make artificial intelligence property) when Cannonball phones up to say that riots are breaking out all over the world. Vision, Pym, and Doombot trace the source of the riots to a smartphone app that seemingly everyone has that finds the cheapest available gas, particularly useful since Dimitrios destroyed an oil refinery and caused gas prices to skyrocket. The app has been controlling people in very low doses but now that everyone has it, it's leading to widespread riots and the AI Avengers link the app's servers to the Diamond's server map that Vision won from Dimitrios in their last encounter. The only way to stop this is to go inside the Diamond.

Things are starting to heat up a bit for AVENGERS AI and it's coming at the right time. The book has certainly spent a lot of time treading somewhat familiar ground (artificial intelligence taking over Earth, is artificial intelligence sentient and does it therefore deserve its own rights, robot-hunting, etc) but this new wrinkle is pretty interesting as we get a little more modernized with Dimitrios' engineered attack on the oil refinery leading to people's reliance on a smartphone app that he's able to use to manipulate their fear and panic and cause riots. By itself it's a pretty interesting idea and it's helped by Alexis plot line, which has its own appeal already. Pretty good stuff working together and the art is really working for the tone of the book. I will say that the book occasionally drags and gets a little hung up on all of the explaining that it has to do but it's balanced nicely by the artwork and an inherent desire to make these characters human (even the AI). Sometimes that adds a little much to the wordiness of the book but I think it's necessary in keeping the book from getting dry. Should be fun going forward.

Best Marvel comics of 2013 (part five of five): 1-5

HERE WE ARE, the best of the best of 2013. A quick note to, again, say thank you to everyone who checked in on the blog even once this year and happy new year to everyone out there. Let's count down.

5. Captain America

This is really pretty much the only book really in this top twenty that I wonder about, wonder if maybe I gave too much credit to because of my fondness for the character. However, when it's all said and done, I think that this is a book that, had it been anything less than exemplary, I wouldn't have been onboard for so the fact it's considered in the top ten, less the top five, means it deserves to be there. Captain America has been around for over 70 years so when I say this is him at his lowest point, know that it's a pretty low point to have to reach to be there. Rick Remender threw Steve into another dimension run by one of his archenemies and kept him there for a decade, re-writing the book on how sad it is to be Steve Rogers. Now, after ten years in Dimension Z, he's just returned to present-day Earth where, according to Marvel time, he's spent less time since being thawed from the ice than he had in Dimension Z and he has the added weight that he's lost the fiancee he just saw for the first time since he was trapped there and the adopted son he raised the entire time he was there. The only person who has any real sense of what it was like there is the daughter of the archenemy they killed and left behind and who is having enough trouble adjusting herself to the new world. On top of it all, Remender has done a phenomenal job showing an injured Cap, making sure that the super soldier is constantly working his way through severe injuries and convincing himself to get back up and keep fighting. It's a great new look at Steve (with a nice, never-before-seen look into his pre-super soldier days) while simultaneously being one of the hardest things to watch him go through. Very interested to see where the coming days take him and glad that Falcon is back in his life as a support and that, presumably, Bucky will be popping up sooner or later (he should be involved in the Iron Nail storyline and he'll have his own mini-series WINTER SOLDIER: BITTER MARCH coming soon not to mention ALL-NEW INVADERS next year). Should be fun.

4. New Avengers

NEW AVENGERS was a book that was gunning for number one right from the word go and only really slipped out of it as it had to dedicate too much time to tie-in. Don't get me wrong, the NEW AVENGERS link to INFINITY was very strong and still told a good story, one that was necessary to the event while still focusing on the characters we needed to see in NEW AVENGERS, but ultimately it slowed down a series that was moving at a ridiculous and very exciting pace. Regardless, the combination of this team and story was always going to ensure that NEW AVENGERS landed pretty high up on the best-of list and now HERE IT IS. Every character is extraordinarily interesting and comes off with what feels like the exact amount of weight that's appropriate for their situations. On top of dealing with the book's main threat, incurring worlds that regularly threaten to destroy our own via crashing together (okay, written out it sounds a little stupid but all the more reason for it to be up here because, in practice, it is amazing), we have some of the top egos in the world clashing, particularly as T'Challa and Namor continue to meet and try to figure out ways to stop the incursions while their countries fight a bitter war against one another. As the first year closes out, everything has come to a head with Black Bolt weakened and, if I was reading correctly, thought dead, T'Challa cast out of Wakanda, and everyone still coping with how they're going to stop incursions and how they're going to live with themselves afterwards. There's a ton happening here and this is one of those books that clearly has plenty more to say so I don't anticipate it losing any steam in the months ahead (in fact, a new issue comes out THIS VERY DAY and I'll get around to reviewing it AT SOME POINT).

3. Hawkeye

I think that HAWKEYE has unquestionably changed the way that mainstream comics can run. I'm not saying every mainstream comic has taken up its unique storytelling methods or its run-down and deeply flawed protagonist but there are certainly a number that have (I still look at SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN as something that, in the very least, started out being something of a HAWKEYE clone). On top of that, HAWKEYE has earned itself well-deserved huge critical acclaim and has brushed up against the mainstream with reviews and praise from all over various media. For all the books it's inspired and all of the lenses on it, HAWKEYE has never once backed down and continues to do its brand of character and story and storytelling best of all its competitors. It's an amazing book with an amazing core and a perfectly established cast consisting almost entirely of Clint and Kate. The writing is continually sharp and balanced, the art is always among the best in the business (even now as it oscillates between David Aja's proven style and Annie Wu's newcomer talent), and the characters are Venture Brothers-level depressing (fun fact: Annie Wu also works on The Venture Brothers). The only real reason this book didn't go even higher on this list is a delay in the publishing that meant that we didn't get it for a couple of months in the late summer, early fall. Still, an overall amazing book that's really set a precedent in the Marvel Universe and that's doing it better than anyone else, the only time Hawkeye has ever been able to say that.

2. Young Avengers

Guys, I legitimately had to walk away from the computer for a bit so that I could decide which book belonged in which spot up in the top two and it ended up meaning that I actually walked away from the computer for like, four hours and, frankly, I still haven't really come to a decision. YOUNG AVENGERS did some things that I've never seen done in mainstream books (actually, each of the top three picks here read unlike any other mainstream book I think I've ever read) and brought Kieron Gillen's signature writing excellence and Jamie McKelvie's signature absolutely outstanding artwork to the project. As a book, I think that this one probably merits being number one. There were times that I finished an issue and my mind was just absolutely blown. There were times where I would turn a page and lose my mind because something so gorgeous or so striking or so very different had happened. I came into this book with rather high expectations, given that Gillen was pretty fresh off the amazing JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY and that Jamie McKelvie was Jamie McKelvie. Despite raised expectations and a certain amount of attachment to the characters, this book never once disappointed. Brilliant every step of the way and had a cast that rivaled any in comics in likability with a story and artwork to challenge anything I'd ever seen before from Marvel. Simply put, this book was next-level in every single aspect. If you believe it was better than the number one pick and deserved to be there, well, I don't disagree necessarily and please feel free to read these two in any order. So so sad to see this one go next week.

1. X-Men Legacy

Had you asked me at the start of this year, or even several issues into this run, if this book was going to hang around and be such an important book in 2013, I'd've probably shrugged and said "well it's pretty good. Surprisingly good. But I don't know about best of the year good." Still, here it is, December 31st and that's precisely what I'm saying. Like HAWKEYE and YOUNG AVENGERS, this book has done things I've never seen done in books before and given us a character in David Haller who is so challenging to read and so perfectly formed that it feels impossible to read this book and not love every second of it, not get so invested in it that each week it's not released feels like a let down. Just a really impressive title and one that, from the outset, had no right being so impressive. David Haller is not a massive character in the Marvel Universe, despite his power set and despite his lineage. He's had big storylines here and there throughout the X-Wing of the Universe but he's never really reached beyond that. So I can only imagine what it was like to Si Spurrier to jump onto a book where David would be the main character and have to work backwards from the crazed and ultra-powerful being that was Legion and try to make him relatable. I don't know if this was a book Marvel wanted written and pegged Spurrier for it or if it was a pitch that Spurrier made to Marvel but I have to imagine it was the latter because the sheer weight of Spurrier's run and the intricacies with which he plays with David makes me believe that Spurrier was born to write this book. This book may not have been the knockout every issue that YOUNG AVENGERS or HAWKEYE was but its slow-burn and its gutsiness really catapulted it up the chart. This is a book that is entirely unique for Marvel and that works so incredibly well. Every piece of it: the not-entirely likable main character and his extremely human problems despite all of his massive powers, the girl troubles (and the trouble that stems from the idea that she's the only one who has the ability to stop him if things get to their worst inside of him), the prison inside David's head for all of his powers, the amazing idea to have the narration play in loudspeakers inside of David's head whenever we peek in there, the villain of the series, the character interactions, the story itself, the X-Force feel of the lone character, everything, felt so perfectly placed and so well-executed that this series has staying power well beyond its years. This deserves to be in every top ten list and deserves to be the sort of book that's revisited years and years down the line. I wasn't sold on the art it first but it slow-burned just as well and now I can't imagine this book with any other art. Tan Eng Huat and Koi Pham alternated on some issues and both brought such a perfect design to every character and such a sharpness to each situation while also staying appropriately psychedelic when need be. A near perfect full series. Guys, how sad is it that the two top books of this year are both ending in the next couple of months?




So that's that. Enjoy your New Year's Eve everyone and tune in tomorrow for the top ten books to look for THIS COMING YEAR.

This week's picks

Slight departure from last week, where I couldn't narrow down to three picks so I cheated and stuck everything in. This week had far more books that I didn't really care for or that I downright didn't like. There were still a good handful that I really liked but it wasn't enough to make me cheat again. That door is closed. Until the next time there are too many good picks.

Longshot Saves the Marvel Universe 3

This is kind of my wild card pick this week. In truth, I think that both AVENGERS ANNUAL and INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK ANNUAL were better books, maybe along with IRON MAN and INHUMANITY. Still, it's hard for me to pick a different book than LONGSHOT because this book stuck with me most this week, which is saying a lot. I can't really even explain why it stuck with me except that it was fun. Sometimes comics trying to go whole-heartedly fun and funny can falter and feel so forced (point in case, this week's DEADPOOL). This one didn't. It flowed well, it was funny, it's hitting all of its marks, and it's a really pretty book, overall, with solid art from Camagni. Good stuff all around.

X-Men Legacy 21

Well obviously this book and obviously the next one. X-MEN LEGACY, through Spurrier's Marvel NOW! run has been such a wonderful character study for David Haller. Others have had nice little examinations throughout but the defining factor is David's personality and his very troubled struggles. I don't think there's anyone out there right now writing better, more complete single characters in any comic I'm reading. Between this one and Spurrier's ongoing weekly web-based comic CROSSED: WISH YOU WERE HERE, Spurrier has so tightly developed characters that the comic might as well run itself at this point. What's, perhaps, more impressive is that he's not content to sit on his created character; he's constantly changing David and putting him through new challenges. It's a tremendous series and this issue is no different.

Young Avengers 13

This post is taking me longer than I thought it would and mostly because I keep going back into YOUNG AVENGERS just to look at the art. It's a lot to go through and frankly, the art would be enough to put this book firmly on the pull list even if the story or writing was garbage but GOOD NEWS, this is a fantastic series with an interesting story, awesome writing, and great characters. Just overall phenomenal stuff. Like with X-MEN LEGACY, this is a perfect example of a complete journey, a book that's developed its characters throughout the course of the series to the point where their actions make sense here even as they do things we haven't seen in the series (David revealing his jealousy for Teddy and Billy in his inspiration talk to Teddy, America showing her sentimentality and her care for her teammates, something that's been building for a while, and the Kate and Noh-Varr fight, all perfect, not to even get into the main stories between Billy and Teddy and Loki). Really amazing series and an amazing conclusion to this series-long arc.

This week's picks

Lot of good picks this week and not too many truly bad ones, which is pretty exciting as someone who makes himself read them all. Let's get right into it without any more unnecessary notes from me.

Thunderbolts 18

Another fun issue of THUNDERBOLTS that continues to help build a new feel for this series. This arc probably overall could have been condensed an issue or so but I don't think the extra length really hurts it in any big way. If anything, it gives us a more complete look at the characters and a better feel for the tone. Everything in this first arc from Charles Soule comes to a head as the Thunderbolts succeed in all of their goals (plus a few bonus ones) but not without tensions rising and a bit of a competitive bent shining through (there's a great moment where Deadpool brags about killing the Paguros and doing it without following Punisher's complex plan and then gets to rub it in to Punisher that, since he was helping after all, Punisher's going to be in for a doozy when Deadpool's name comes out of that hat). There's still a romantic thing going on with Elektra and Punisher (that culminates IN THE BATTLE VAN) and there are still plenty of tensions borne from that. And Mercy, this doesn't even mention Mercy! There's so much happening and the book still manages to be fresh and fun. Pretty neat.

X-Men Legacy 20

Speaking of culmination, Si Spurrier's final arc on the book is approaching and he's going into it guns fully blazing, it seems. After an entire series spent with David going back and forth in his power-set and in his own confidence, everything seems to be pretty well sorted as David goes up against his biggest foe yet (and he's been up against the Red Skull, you guys). One of the best and most impressive parts of it all is that it's not coming as a heavy-handed "FINALLY David overcomes all of his issues" sort of story because David has fluctuated so often in the series. He's gone from being among the most powerful to de-powered to looking to be de-powered to being confident to being doubtful to everything in between and, frankly, he's won out in just about every venture he's undertaken, even if it's not the cleanest win. Because of that, it's hard to say that he's needed outwardly to overcome his issues since, without overcoming it, he's been so successful. This is a very emotional and exciting win for David and it's perfectly executed. The art really stands out here and it works perfectly for the tone of the book. Great stuff, really excited for the next arc to start.

Young Avengers 12

Guys, YOUNG AVENGERS is likely to remain on my top picks for the last few issues, just as it's been here for the first 12 or so. This book is reliably among the best of any given week, no matter what happens. For starters, the writing is always top of the game and the characterization is always incredibly intricate and multi-faceted. It's a book that feels fully in sync with itself; the art perfectly represents the writing, the characters will say something and then look amazingly expressive of that thought. Often, they don't even really need to say anything, the look conveys it, and Gillen is a skilled enough writer and trusts McKelvie enough to know that upfront. Gillen said in an interview that one of his biggest goals for the book was to get McKelvie into the spotlight by getting him to draw a fairly big ongoing series with Marvel. He's pretty clearly accomplished that by getting the immensely talented Jamie McKelvie into the comic-reader lexicon and, as anyone who knew him before this or who has seen him since can tell you, it's one hundred percent deserved. This is, hands-down, the best drawn book in a slew of absolutely amazingly drawn books right now. Amazing stuff. Hoping to hear soon that Gillen and McKelvie are picking up another Marvel book.

Young Avengers 12, Avengers AI 6

Young Avengers 12
Gillen (w) and McKelvie and Norton (a) and Wilson (c)

The Young Avengers are preparing for an unprecedented attack on 616's Earth without the aid of any of the adult superheroes as they continue to be unaware of the problem, thanks to Mother's interference. In response, the YA have assembled a legion of young superheroes to fight off the invading hordes while they press into Mother's home dimension to battle her and their assorted specific enemies. The biggest and most consequential fight of all of this is Billy fighting against Mother, using all of his not inconsiderable power to try to hold her back while the others do what they can to save Teddy. In the midst of all of this, Loki finds out that he's fallen victim to the same sort of mind games he put into Teddy's head early in this series that rather set off this chain of events; the reality warper (in this case, Loki) created his biggest fantasy (Leah) and made it his worst enemy (imbuing her with his missing power).

Another great issue and another fantastic twist all while being a solid lead-in to our arc finale, which will certainly need the cool down two issues we'll get to (still sadly) end the series. I read and re-read the end of this issue a few times to make sure I was getting it all and to yell at myself for missing it all again. I talked about things like this a little while ago when we learned in X-MEN LEGACY that Legion's battle against Cyclops was all a ploy to lure Luca out and was, in fact, still totally in line with the mission he'd set for himself to start the series. The hints are there throughout the series and of course Loki created this Leah just like Hela created that Leah and of course that's where his missing power is and of course it's all spawned from his guilty conscience and of course it's genius and wonderful and thought-provoking. So much here and there still feels like there's so much to cover in this series and so very few issues to get to it all. Even here, the complicated Kate-Noh-Varr/Noh-Varr-all other lovers dynamic still get a nod, David's complicated feelings towards this team, towards being in control, towards Billy and Teddy, and everything else come out a little, Miss America's shady past has a very small light shined on it, and so on and so forth and yet we didn't even talk about that because Loki created Leah and inspired their own downfall while powering her up to defeat him and the team. Geez, this is a good book.

Avengers AI 6
Humphries (w) and Schiti (a) and D'Armata (c)

The war with AI is growing more certain by the moment and Maria Hill sits down with Monica Chang to put her on a new team, one built to take down potential robotic threats. Meanwhile, Vision aims to out-duel Dimitrios in a new game, one based around Pym's video game. The art gets decidedly more video game-esque as Vision defeats Dimitrios by showing him something Pym and Vision worked up together, hoping to prove that the world is in better shape if humans and machines work together as opposed to fighting for dominance. It doesn't convince Dimitrios, but it allows Vision to leave and to gain strategic advantage over the AI. Back in Pym's lab, Pym and Doombot find the source of a buzzing that's been bothering Hank and Hank is able to decode it and realize it's a secret message from Victor, meaning that he's still alive. Finally, Alexis pays a visit to Dimitrios and it's revealed that he's one of the First Six and is the brother of the mysterious Alexis.

The story here isn't necessarily a bad one, though it continues to be a little convoluted for my liking, both over-explained and under-explained. We're still not totally sure of the history of the Diamond or of Dimitrios (things that will likely be explained soon) but we're also getting a lot of motivation, which isn't that hard to understand yet it sometimes comes across as really watered down. Anyway, Humphries really emphasizes the idea of the team here while also separating them; everyone gets at least a few pages in this issue but only a maximum of two of them appear together at any time. It's a team that is working towards the same goals but doing what they do best to achieve those goals and being able to split up the time effectively is both important for Humphries and pretty well executed. Vision gets the most time, both in a fun little section with he and Hank and in his fight against Dimitrios, which has to take a little bit longer and strays a little too far into the cutesy for my liking (there's a huge emphasis on creating it like a video game with art to match which is both entertaining and a little grating). Valerio Schiti, stepping in for series regular Andre Araujo, provides good art and Frank D'Armata's colors continue to be impressive. Not a bad book but one that does tend to drone a little as motivations get rehashed.

This week's picks

Lots of solid comics to choose from this week. Eagle-eyed readers, though, will note that I said in my pre-game that there were 18 books to be reviewed this week and even eagler-eyed readers will note that I only ended up reviewing 17. What tomfoolery is this? I didn't review Marvel NOW What?, the kind of self-mocking issue with joke stories from all sorts of people. I read it but didn't really review it because it doesn't totally strike a chord with me but I'm pretty sure it'll be fine for others. That's my review. Not for me. ANYWAY, on to this week's picks!

Uncanny Avengers 13

This nearly didn't make the cut over Superior Carnage and a couple of other books but, the truth is, I'm a sucker for a well-done hearing-damage joke. In this issue, Captain America has extensive hearing damage from a direct blast from Banshee and it plays throughout the entire issue. Guys, it's pretty hilarious. On top of that, there's other far more serious things happening and Remender does a fantastic job balancing out the funny with the dramatic, pulling us back in after kicking the issue off with Cap's shouting and moving to Wolverine's extreme pain. There's a lot to really like in this issue and, as has been true so far in this series, one of the most impressive things about the book is that it feels like everyone on the team gets pretty equal screen-time, certainly enough to give us a sense of the characters and their personality while not depriving us (or them) of their story. Good book all around.

Venom 42

Honorary final issue pick. This has been a really phenomenal series all around and one that I think didn't really see a huge downgrade or upswing from Cullen Bunn's replacement of Rick Remender. That may sound like something of a slight but I don't think it is. I think Remender was doing a fantastic job on a hard book and Bunn came in and really kept it running smoothly. I don't think it saw the biggest of upswings because Remender had done a solid job with the character and Bunn felt that. Why change a good thing? I do think Bunn took his own spin on the character and the story so it's not like a Roy Thomas-Stan Lee thing but the book's quality never really changed. Just a really solid, pretty long-lasting book, especially for one that could have flopped out of the gate. Sad to see this one go.

Young Avengers 11

This book is just really good, you guys. It's very sharp, it's very clever, it's very fun, it's very tense. Everything about it is pretty much the mark of a good comic. The pacing is good, the writing is smart, the story is interesting, the characters are well-developed and deep, the art is amazing, everything. And, like the best books, there are wheels within wheels and stories within stories here that are all, each one of them, worth telling. This issue sees the transformation of Loki from the more innocent and, at one point, more trust-worthy Kid Loki to the new, more Tom-Hiddleston teen-early 20s Loki. Really neat character design, really neat story to prompt the change, just a very smooth transformation, which you can't always say about comics. Really fun book. Excited for the next couple issues as we're bound to start seeing massive cameos from other young heroes in the universe and the resolution of the Mother story, probably. Though, admittedly, sad to see Kid Loki go.

This week's picks

Plenty of books to choose from this week with a whole slew of them out there. A lot of books, kind of like last week, where I feel like we got some set-up for bigger issues down the road. I think I've got it pretty locked down in my head though so let's knock these down before I second-guess myself.

Nova 8

I've really liked Zeb Wells' run on this book and I am sad it's coming to a close soon. I think this was a book that was written by someone who wanted to write a teenager in the same way typical older people write teenagers, which is a little hard to quantify but not that hard to recognize. Wells has done a great job of late to make sure that Nova feels real. He makes real mistakes that a new and young hero would make, not just ones that are meant to drive the plot and weigh on him for the rest of his life (Peter Parker letting a villain escape when he could have stopped him). He takes his helmet off in the atmosphere because he's a dumb teenager who doesn't realize that he was wearing his sunglasses because the sun was really bright. On top of it, Wells has a humor and a characterization inherent in his writing that shines through in just about every character. Speedball and Justice have appeared in two issues and only really had significant dialogue in this one and they both feel pretty fully defined. It's really great writing and the book has an effortlessly fun feel to it. Good stuff happening here. Hopefully Duggan will slide into the role well after Wells' final issue next time out.

Uncanny Avengers 12

Another solid Uncanny Avengers issue, one that feels like it kind of rights the ship again. I don't think the book has a bad issue yet, or even really a weak issue yet, but I think it's hard for the pace not to have slowed with the bang-bang start it had and even with the introduction of the Apocalypse Twins. Anytime Apocalypse comes back around it's something to keep an eye on, doubly so when it's Remender in charge. But this issue had lots of everything. The plot was good and kind of cleaned up a little of the confusing bits we've had over the last several issues while steering us nicely ahead as well. The characterization was really strong from the characters we had featuring in this issue. One of the weaknesses of a big team like this is that we don't usually get a ton of characterization because we simply don't have the time to see everyone in such a short time. Over a long run we'll have gotten a taste but it usually takes a while with lots of character moments spread evenly throughout. I think Remender has done well overall with this book, giving us good moments from just about every character. This issue is no exception; in fact, I'd say that limiting the issue to five of our main teammates meant that he could really get in to those guys' relationships. Solid work, excited to see where it's all going.

Young Avengers 10

I talked in my Nova review about older people writing teenagers and making it sound a little too "LOL this is what teenagers say, RIGHT GUYS? OMG LOL." This book has never had that problem and, in fact, sometimes goes out of its way to show that it's never had that problem. Sometimes, whether it's in the splash page or in little pieces somewhere or other (the Instagram page back a few issues ago stands out), we'll see a hint of that but it always feels tongue-in-cheek. It's just always a very cleverly written book and one that doesn't talk down to its characters or to its audience. And all of this gushing praise and the inclusion of this book on this list comes on an issue that I would deem weaker than some of the others so far. That's how reliably great this book is. In an issue that's a little weaker, we learn Loki's plan, we see the start of Leah's plan, we get a little more out of Mother, we see the way Teddy's dealing with things, and we see the re-emergence of Mother as a serious villain, as well as seeing the re-emergence of the thought-dead older Loki consciousness as a villain (well, readers didn't think he was dead, but young Loki did a great job convincing the public that the older Loki was gone before the older Loki elbowed his way back in). There's a ton happening here, as ever. The story is great, the writing is great, the art is perfect (just LOOK at Loki's grin over there!), just a near flawless comic series through and through.


Best Cover
Deadpool 17 - Shalvey and Bellaire

I'm just always so happy with Shalvey/Bellaire covers. They're consistently so good, with such a great purpose and a brilliant tone. Fun fact to people who don't know, Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire are also dating! It's...it's kind of adorable? And they make reliably wonderful covers. This one's only real flaws, in my eyes, are the face of Captain America (which looks just a tad goofy) and the excessive amount of writing on the cover but that's not really their fault, is it (except for Cap's face)? Really wonderful symmetry in the Cap/Wolverine/Deadpool poses as they leap into battle and wonderful colors to match. Really great cover that edges out a cool Jorge Molina Avengers Assemble cover, a good Paolo Rivera Superior Spider-Man Team-Up cover, and a very nice Dave Marquez Ultimate Spider-Man cover (and a pretty neat Mateus Santolouco Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cover but that wasn't really in the running because this is a MARVEL comics blog, you guys, pay some attention).

Comics this week

Fewer comics this week but not by too many. The risk here is that I kind of want to pick all four Avengers related books this week but I also kind of don't? I'm still on the fence about it. While cross that bridge when we get to it. Not too too many standouts for pre-game but plenty of could-be-hits coming through. Also, Infinity surges on as we get another three or so tie-ins. So does Battle of the Atom and Jason Aaron has a chance to show his side of this story. Rumor has it this is all his brainchild so he has an awful lot to answer for in my book. FUN FACT: that one will not make this list.

Avengers 20
This is the biggest Infinity book this week as it's not merely a tie-in, it's billed as a full-fledged part of the event, as each Avengers and New Avengers title has been. This event has, as I've remarked time and again already and will no doubt continue to remark, really surprised me with the true scale of it and the tension and characterization it's brought. I'd love to see more of that characterization, particularly in books like Avengers where they may have more space to do it, but the event is still mostly holding its own. This will be the first Avengers issue since Carol and team were rescued, meaning that soon everyone's bound to know of J-Son's betrayal. Should make for some good reading. Also, bad news non-Avengers/non-Infinity fans, I've decided I'm going to end up choosing four Avengers books in this top five. Don't blame me, they're just putting out really good Avengers books right now (and not so great X-Men books right now).

Avengers Assemble 19
I've talked recently about how Kelly Sue DeConnick has, for all intents and purposes, turned me around on Spider-Woman. I always saw her in the worst light, someone underpowered and typically underprepared and angsty for angst's sake, who managed to get on Avengers teams the entire Bendis era. Now, between this book and DeConnick's Captain Marvel series, she's become someone whose powers are a bit more meaningful (she can control Hulk, guys) and who has more of a real personality, both stronger than we'd seen before and seemingly entirely her own in this big Marvel Universe. It's with that in mind that I chose Avengers Assemble 19, another issue that will follow Spider-Woman in Infinity as she fights alongside her team to rescue Carol's, a team she's not so sure about but which she should be really sure about. I'm even looking forward to this book despite the fact caught-up readers will know what's going to happen. Weird, right? No, just a good book.

FF 12
This just now got the call to be on this list. It was between this, Nova 8 (which I'm not necessarily super excited about but which I think has a chance to solidify itself a little better under Zeb Wells, although I think the plan is for a third writer to hop on soon), Scarlet Spider 22 (Grim Hunts abound!), and Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 3 (I just like it, okay). FF wins out partly because Fraction is leaving the book so abruptly, due to his schedule, and because the series as a whole has been a lot of fun, maybe even a little unexpectedly. I'm hoping it will continue to stay fun but this is kind of a choice to say "just in case this is our last fling." Also, the story should hold up on its own, as we have a squabbling replacement-F4 mixed with some children who may be hanging out a little too much with Maximus the Mad for their own good. Fun stuff.

Uncanny Avengers 12
I feel like it's been so long since we've gotten one of these and it's been a reliably good book. I'm happy to have it out this week, and am thus including it on this list, because I can't help but think fondly on it. I think it's slowed a bit since it's incredibly powerful and moving first couple of issues but it's maintained a fairly high level of quality and it still has a big old plot going on right now. Plus I think Wolverine is technically dead right now and that merits a check-in. No one seems to like to beat up Wolverine more than Rick Remender, who constantly put him in the absolute worst position in X-Force (usually charred to a crisp or ridden with every disease all at once) to open the door for the other X-Force members to shine. Anyway, big stuff happening, plus the potential return of Kang and the Red Skull, as I think this issue might be more of an origin story for the Apocalypse Twins. I kind of hope it's not just that, though, as there's really too much happening right now to not want to see it all.

Young Avengers 10
Because of course Young Avengers 10. Do I even have to write this post? I love this book. Wholeheartedly. It has really not made a mistake in my mind. You guys know what I'm talking about, right? If not, go pick up the issues or the first trade, at least ("Style>Substance"), or just search for Young Avengers on this blog, okay? It's great and you should just be reading it or listening to me gush about it. I really didn't need to write this. OH MAN, and Leah's going to be back and the cover for this one has a burning Loki costume and WHAT.

Avengers Arena 14, Young Avengers 9

Avengers Arena 14
Hopeless (w) and K. Walker and Gorder (a) and Beaulieu (c)

We're approaching, far too quickly for my liking, the planned end of this series. This is an ongoing series but it does have a conclusion in mind (just as it always must have, given the nature of this story) and we'll reach that conclusion with issue 18. For now, though, we have to ask who's going to make it that long. Apex and Death Locket are still underground at a laboratory/morgue somewhere on the island. The rest of the survivors, minus Nico and Chase, have been wandering the island for seven days hoping to find their way to Arcade or off the island. Anyone who's separated from the group has disappeared; Reptil first, going to scout ahead only to vanish, then Hazmat and X-23, chasing after something Hazmat saw and hoped was Mettle. Now Cullen Bloodstone, Anachronism, Nara, and Cammi are at breaking point with only a couple days left before Arcade's deadline. Cullen shares his story with Cammi after he and Anachronism had a bit of a row (they're British, they say things like "row") but the story is interrupted when a trigger scent is released by a Mettle skeleton walking around the island (so at least Hazmat's not going crazy! She might be dead though, she was with X-23 when the trigger scent activated). The concoction is flooding the island and a feral X-23 is attacking anything that moves, including, presumably, a newly spawned monster from deep within Cullen (activated when he took off his Bloodstone Ring).

You can see how we might be winding down to the end of the series as Arcade floods the island with kill hormones for X-23. Even without that, though, the attitude of those who remain is markedly down, even if it was never particularly up. They've plotted, they've planned, they've strategized, they've learned about the island, and it's all for nothing because, at the end of the day, they're still totally stuck and exactly where they started. People have disappeared the last couple days, leading to even lower spirits, and the end is nigh. The book has always been really good at tone and really good at, in a natural way, giving us backstories for its main characters. We haven't really had a good one in a few issues (most people have been explained by this point, particularly the ones we don't really know in the main Marvel Universe) but Cullen's is disseminated intelligently and at the right moment. Sure, it's not in the form of flashbacks, like so many of these ones have been; instead, it's Cullen flat out telling his backstory, but it fits well here and Cammi's the right person to bring it out of him. The reason she's been alive so long is that she knows when and how things need to be done and now is when this story needs to come out, both for them and for us. I also really like the use of the trigger scent here. Well, I hate it for Laura but I like it for story and motivation. One of X-23's biggest problems she's had to try and overcome is being used by people as a weapon and that's exactly what's happening here. Tough stuff to try to come back from. This series continues to impress and I'm sad to see it go with 18, even if I wouldn't have said that at the start of the book and if they've promised us something cool after (I feel like I've read that somewhere).

Young Avengers 9
Gillen (w) and McKelvie w/ Norton (a) and M. Wilson (c)

Last issue ended with a load of cliffhangers so we have to get through those little by little as this issue progresses. First and foremost: the kiss. David explains to Hulkling that he realized, when he lost his mutant power but his brain was still fully opened to him, that he was bisexual, though it hasn't come up in recent days because he hasn't been looking to start a relationship. He's still not, really, but he admits that he would have regretted dying without kissing Teddy the once because he views Teddy as the remarkably strong one in what looks like a rather strong relationship. Teddy admits his fears to David who suggests he try to take some time off, if he can, to get his head together. Of course, that can only happen when they're not stuck in Mother's dimension running from her. Working on that is the rest of the team, who are still facing down Leah in the barren place Loki had sent her. She talks to them briefly and with much vitriol before America leads them out. Loki tells what is mostly the truth to his teammates: she is sort of his ex and he sent her to this dimension because he couldn't hurt her here. Kid Loki, trapped in Loki's mind, taunts him for the reveal of the truth (being the best lie) but he doesn't have time to deal with that. He concocts a plan to rescue David and Teddy which involves running through a bunch of their evil dimensions to gather a horde of villains to dump on Mother as they make their escape with their teammates. It, improbably, works, and Mother is left to clean up her dimension while they make it back to their Earth. They discuss their next plans, which are basically to stay the course of Loki teaching Billy magic (Billy could be the most important person in the universe so it's probably good that he learn how to use his tools). Teddy approaches Billy at the end and tells him that they need to take a break. He departs to go meet with a therapist in the form of a support group for people who, weirdly enough, have been left feeling abandoned and confused by their partner. His therapist? A seemingly more grown-up Leah (Teddy didn't meet her when they all ran into her).

Oh man, too much to say about this issue. Guys, that's a really long summary and frankly I don't think I covered enough. There are weird bits and pieces that deserve their own analysis (Mother asking Kate when her birthday is and threatening that she's about to join Mother's side) but THAT'S HOW MUCH THERE IS HERE. This series remains as complicated and beautiful as ever, with McKelvie's art really shining through as there are plenty of long panels meant to illustrate a single character's features and emotions. There are a pair, on back-to-back pages, that show Leah and Loki in separate wide-angle panels that focus on their eyes that are just stunning. I've long praised, on this blog and in life, the art of Jamie McKelvie but the emotion he brings to characters continues to blow me away. The first real look at his art was in a Secret Avengers issue written by Warren Ellis (16, I think, of the last volume of Secret Avengers) wherein McK drew this amazing underground city with insane architecture and had Moon Knight soaring around it. It was absolutely gorgeous and that still tends to be what I think of when I think of him. Though I've seen plenty more of his work by now, this series is really changing my perception of him, going from that guy who draws these beautiful and fluid set pieces with really strong characters to being one of the best in the business at drawing people and their various emotions and tics. It's truly wonderful to see. Aw geez, I've spent all my analysis time talking about the art. Maybe you guys should just check this book out. No wait, you definitely should. One of Marvel's top books for sure. And I mean, just look at that cover! Teddy has long been probably my least favorite member of this team (I don't dislike him, I've just never particularly been drawn to him by anything he's done or said or whatever) and this cover still makes me want to die a little inside. Beautiful.

This week's picks! (a day late)

Sorry about the delay for this post. Ended up having a bit of a busy day yesterday and a bit of sleep deprivation to boot so Sunday was a bit of a day sans comics. So let's just jump into this, which may, in fact, be a slightly shorter post than is typical for a pull list post anyway. Or maybe it won't (hint, it's not written yet). With that said, it's really hard to pick this week. There were a slew of books that had very good issues and only a couple that had really outstanding issues. Is that because the series as a whole has been outstanding so we're seeing the ones that are still better than other issues but maybe weaker than the strongest of those series? Look, I don't know. All I'm saying is that it's exceptionally hard to be me and maybe you guys should cut me some slack.

Astonishing X-Men 64

This one, even as I write this, is the most suspect of this group. I thought it was a pretty good issue but it wasn't without its flaws. It beat out other potential choices in Avengers Arena, Daredevil, Indestructible Hulk, and Superior Spider-Man, but only by an intangible fancy. Maybe I'm bummed that the series is supposedly cancelled (though there's further rumor that it's going to get a makeover for Marvel NOW 2) but let's not make this out to seem like it was a bad issue. It was fine and the story itself continues to be very interesting. We're getting a lot out of Bobby that, I think, will prove even more interesting after this arc concludes and we're able to pick up the pieces. Still, it was a fun issue by itself as we get a little bit of everyone and, it can't be ignored, a nice moment where Wolverine gives his thoughts about Thor (at left).

Hawkeye 12

This is one of those books where you have to be careful when you're making your pull list picks. I think this was a slightly weaker issue of Hawkeye than we've come to expect but the thing is that Hawkeye has been a phenomenal book so far. If you go in expecting Hawkeye to always be the level of Hawkeye that you've come to expect, you're setting the bar almost impossibly high for the series. When you pull back and look at this issue, it's still a pretty great story that's definitely worth recommendation. The characters of both Barney and Clint (who only gets some flashback and a very short scene at the end) get boosts out of this issue even if their current relationship still remains a bit up in the air. The beauty of this issue is that whatever Fraction chooses to do next will fit within the context of their relationship thanks to this look into their lives. Will the two forgive and forget? They could; after all, they're brothers and they were raised looking out for one another. Will their naturally aggressive personalities, in addition to their shaky history, lead them to fight with one another? Very possible. Whatever it is, though, Fraction has set it up for us here. Add to that Francisco Francavilla's very capable and personal style filling in for Aja on a story that fills in for our main characters and you have a worthwhile issue.

Young Avengers 7

Okay, well some books were never at risk of missing this list. There's plenty of plot happening here but it almost seems like it's in the background of what is truly a marvelous book. Gillen and McKelvie so masterfully explain away three months and, with it, a much more formed relationship between the characters that the book feels completely natural, even knowing that these guys haven't spent a lot of on-panel time together. Off-panel, they've grown and become something resembling a team. There are still self-aware jokes as Loki points out the similarities between a group of shapeshifters posing as their idols (more impressive shapeshifters) and their little crew and as Instagram makes an appearance in the lives of teenagers but they fit perfectly in with the characters and the story and the overall feel of the book. There are several books Marvel's putting out right now that seem to have the absolute best people for the job working on them. They include New Avengers, with Hickman and Epting, Hawkeye, with Fraction and Aja, and particularly this one, which has jumped so eagerly into a look and a mood that it feels no one else could have established. It's a wonderful thing. Even if you haven't ever liked the characters or the conceit of the book, you should check in with it. There's something truly beautiful when you feel the book is the best it could possibly be and that's certainly the case here.

Avengers Arena 12, Secret Avengers 6, Young Avengers 7

Avengers Arena 12
Hopeless (w) and Walker and Gorder (a) and Beaulieu (c)

Katy is seemingly in charge of Murder World at this point and she's building to become better. She still has the Sentinel she stole from Juston, as well as complete control over Death Locket and Chase's Darkhawk. She debates internally whether or not she's the villain here but recognizes that it doesn't matter. Games don't have villains; they have winners and losers and she's winning. Unfortunately for her, not everyone is ready to lose. Nico Minoru, killed two issues ago, is going through something of a transformation out in the snow. Her hand, cut off by Chasehawk, is grafting back on to her body, her wounds are sealing, and the Staff of One is returned to her. In addition to returning to full health, she seems to have powered up enormously. Arcade watches and deduces that the loss of blood is responsible for her rebirth. To summon the Staff of One, Nico has to shed blood, usually done with a little cut or something else minor. This time, she's lost her hand and lost so much blood that the Staff recognizes her great sacrifice by upping her power and, as she called with her dying breath, helping her. She flies out to Katy and co and shows off her new power. She absorbs the forest fire that Katy has started to keep people away and instantly blows up the Sentinel. Katy, surprised by all of this, begins to fight back but is quickly running out of weapons. After Nico destroys the Sentinel, she disables Death Locket and delivers a couple of lighter blows to Chasehawk. Katy tells Nico that the only way to stop her is to kill Chase, which Nico won't do. Instead, Katy continues to use Chasehawk to attack Nico and Nico begins to lose her stamina again. Finally she deals a couple of blows to Chasehawk that take him out of the fight enough for her to focus on Katy and Death Locket. She uses a spell that pulls them underground, successfully ending the fight. Chase, free of Katy's influence, immediately begins apologizing to Nico, telling her that he's back in control now, and asking if she's in control. She hasn't said anything but spells since this whole thing started and Arcade speculated that her mind wasn't entirely there. Nico, though, assures Chase she's in control and okay and would rather fight with him later, if it's okay. Meanwhile, Katy and Death Locket have arrived underground, seemingly in Arcade's base. Death Locket is up and about but Katy has yet to move. Looking through a door's window into a room, Death Locket finds what appears to be Murder World's morgue.

Wow, big issue. For such a big issue, though, there's not a lot to add that you didn't see in the plot description. That doesn't make this a bad issue or anything along those lines, it just means it was a fight scene issue. Super important to plot, little bits about character here and there and maybe about story overall, but not huge character developments (aside from Nico being not dead, of course). There's still plenty to like about this issue and fight issues are a big part of superhero books so it's not like it's anything unexpected and jarring. Still, we get a good look at Nico's true potential with the new knowledge that a major blood sacrifice means bigger power for her. The plot advances a lot here and the art and colors are pretty huge so it's a certainly a book worth reading. Next issue we'll get the one that I made vague reference to in my pre-game this week about Hank Pym noticing that some of his Academy kids have gone missing and trying to piece together where they are in a guest book by Christos Gage and Karl Moline.

Secret Avengers 6
Spencer (w) and Guice and Magyar (a) and M. Wilson (c)

Last issue showed the team, led by Nick Fury, killing AIM's Scientist Supreme before revealing that AIM's Scientist Supreme is alive and well and representing AIM Island at the UN. So the question, the review page asks, is what really happened on AIM Island? Look, I'm still not sure. What I am sure of is what actually happened in this issue. Okay, I'm not that sure on that but I'm more sure on that than on what happened on AIM Island. The issue takes place before and during the events of last issue. We see former MI13 official Charles Dalton becoming the new UN Security Council liaison to SHIELD and telling Maria Hill that they want to install her as the official director of SHIELD, replacing Daisy Johnson. There is a good moment for Maria here, few and far between, where she does throw some support Daisy's way before apparently accepting Dalton's support. Meanwhile, Coulson has brought in James Rhodes to talk to be patched in and linked with the AIM created Iron Patriots. To do that, though, they need Mockingbird and Taskmaster to patch them through the communications hub of AIM Island. Mockingbird arrives on Barbuda only to find that Taskmaster has seemingly no recollection of their mission (hearkening back to recent days where we've learned Taskmaster's abilities have pretty much overridden his memories). Daisy, back in the SHIELD helicarrier Iliad, is working with Agent Ellis Love of the Psy-Ops department to try to reestablish a link with Taskmaster to try to unearth those memories of his assistance to this cause. She manages to do it as Mockingbird is about to put him down (after putting down his little team). He remembers what he needs to remember and they go off to the comm hub to link Rhodey in. Rhodey berates the Iron Patriots and manages to convince them to install him as their new leader, which they do, sending a new suit to him. Finally, Maria and Dalton learn that Daisy has an operation running on AIM Island (to catch up with the start of last issue) and deem that it's enough for the Security Council to remove Daisy as head of SHIELD

It's hard to keep up with this book if just because it bounces around so often between so many different plots. I've seen some books do that and work (Captain Marvel and Avengers Assemble in the Enemy Within storyline are the most recent I can think of) but here it's a little jarring because we've also jumped back in time, forcing the reader to remember what's come before and to work with what's happening now. I would say that maybe this will feel firmer when it's collected in a trade but I'm not sure that it will, particularly with the time jumping. In a trade, it will just feel a little out of place. That's kind of how this book feels at the worst of times: out of place. Something isn't quite working for this book. There have been times where it's been solid and it's done a good job explaining its purpose and giving us an interesting story but it gets too muddled down by its own premises to really stick to its strengths. Instead, it highlights its weaknesses more and more. Butch Guice has some solid art and I do tend to like his work but overall this book remains a little too obsessed with trying to build a secret, covert feel. It should maybe try to stick to a single narrative or maybe two next time, putting fewer quick jumps between scenes and letting the reader get comfortable with a series that is still trying to establish itself.

Young Avengers 7
Gillen (w) and McKelvie (a) and M. Wilson (c)

The Young Avengers have been out and about for three months now, with their time out and about wonderfully broken down by Instagram-ish posts from Loki detailing some of their escapades in the time since we saw them last. Mostly, they've been on the trail of a handful of Skrulls who have been wreaking some amount of havoc ever since they attacked Kate and Noh-Varr in issue one. Finally, after three months, they've caught up with these Skrulls and taken them down only to find that they're not Skrulls at all. They're a different race of shapeshifters who have decided to live like Skrulls because they hero-worship Skrulls. After the six Skifflefuffles are picked up by galactic police, Loki can't help pointing out the similarities between the YA hero-worshipping the Avengers and acting as them. Meanwhile, Teddy and Noh-Varr have a rather lovely talk about Teddy's fear (thanks to Loki) that maybe Billy is accidentally reality-warping Teddy into loving him. Noh-Varr doesn't buy into it and comforts Teddy as the group makes their way back to Earth for breakfast. At their regular diner, they run into Prodigy who has been waiting for them to return. He tells them how he's been tracking them and why and they go with him to the warehouse where Speed was taken by the weird force. Loki manages to trace the entity that took Speed but determines that he's skipped dimensions, which would require lots of time to prepare and to teach Billy the proper spells (he's been helping Billy master his magic in the three months since last issue), unless, he says, there's someone who can speed the process of dimension hopping up. America steps up and opens their way into the multiverse with her mysterious multiverse-hopping powers which had hitherto been unknown to the team (aside from, apparently, Loki). They fall through the hole into the multiverse America has created and find the not-Patriot waiting for them there, Speed still trapped behind his eyes. He beckons to them and runs into another portal that seems to enter into another universe(s).

This book is pretty phenomenal all around. I know I've said that consistently since issue one but it holds true every issue. One of the best things about this book is that the characters don't come off as fake nor as caricatures of themselves or of what a teenager is constantly shown as in mediums written by non-teenagers. There is a real honesty to them and it's an honesty that keeps them both beholden to their several years of established character and to what it is to be that age. Every decision this issue made is a pretty perfect one, from a Skifflefuffle narrating the open in a Young Avengers sort of fashion (it's no mistake that there are six Skifflefuffles) and being quietly extremely similar in their makeup to the YA, to the Instagram breakdown of the last three months (complete with comments on the pictures from every member of the team except America, who doesn't have an account), to their seemingly constant decision to go to breakfast together, to the reveal that, though the team has grown relatively close off-camera, no one really knows America even after these three months together, to the subtle inclusion of Prodigy to the story. It all works beautifully and it all comes together perfectly. The Instagram page-spread had me wary on the look of it but it works amazingly well. It ties back to Gillen's decision in Journey into Mystery to make Kid Loki someone who loves the internet and to make everyone else (except, decidedly, America) act their age in the comments but not in a condescending sort of way. More than that, it's an easy and effective way to show that three months have passed, which is particularly good to see because we can jump right back into the book, knowing that these people have spent three months with one another and gotten over the sort of "how will this team work together" building phase of the typical team-book. No wasted space seems to be the theory of this book and it's working out wonderfully. Every character gets at least one or two moments to really shine here. If you're not reading this book, you're missing out on one of the best constructed books the Marvel Universe has to offer. Amazing.

This week's picks

There are five or six books I'm trying to narrow down to three for this week's picks and it seems like, at any moment, any three books could take the spots. It can be frustrating trying to whittle that many books down to three, but the upside, of course, is that I got to read a bunch of really good comics this week. Never going to be upset about that.

Daredevil 26

Daredevil has long been billed "the man without fear" and he almost always lives up to that title. Even if he's losing a fight, he tends to appear unafraid, just angry or depressed. His lack of fear often pushes him to keep fighting. However, here, in Daredevil 26, he is flat out terrified of what's going to happen next. After being soundly defeated by Ikari last issue and told that he'll be killed at some point, Daredevil is seeing threats everywhere. The really great thing, though, is that he's not necessarily wrong. Yes the people he's accusing could be completely innocent and appear to be after he attacks them, but each time something additional happens to show that he wasn't wrong. The issue culminates in a nice Matt/Foggy scene and in the reveal that Bullseye is behind everything. Daredevil gets back on track and finds Bullseye, taking out Lady Bullseye in the process. It's a great examination of everything Matt tries to be and what it takes to make him break. Great issue for comic fans and extra great for Daredevil fans.

X-Men Legacy 11

Like seeing Matt's resolve weaken under all his pressure and strengthen again after Foggy's pep talk, we get a chance to watch David tested over and over, by his own father's brain, by his own feelings about himself, and by the Red Skull. Instead of Matt, whose strength makes him aim to take down the villains he's facing, David's strength means giving up against Red Skull and sacrificing himself to save the world from the future he causes. The writing continues to be tight and David continues to be a perfectly broken protagonist. One of the great things about this issue is that it turns the expectations about comics on its head. As David keeps getting opportunities to turn tail or to discover that the facility he wants to use is, in fact, evil, his resolve continues not to break and he continues to want the chance to take his powers out. In every other comic that Marvel puts out, the hero MIGHT have made it this far, but then would have fought Red Skull and tried to think of another way or something. In this case, everything that piles up makes David say "I don't care, someone will deal with you eventually, the pill works, I want it." It's really brilliant and such a twist if simply because it's what he had wanted all along and he stuck to it. It's a twist without a twist. Fantastic.

Young Avengers 5

I like everything that happened in this issue. There's a lot of really fun stuff and anything that could be construed as cheesy is pointed out to be cheesy right away, before the reader can do it himself. What really boosts this book over other books this week like Avengers or Fantastic Four or Journey into Mystery or Superior Spider-Man is the Loki discussion that it generates. Loki finally reveals himself to the audience to be the original Loki posing as the much more lovable and kind of trustworthy kid Loki but there's a twist; kid Loki is still there as Loki's conscience of sorts (he points out that he's not real, of course, but he's still in there). For anyone who loved Gillen's run on Journey into Mystery (if you didn't, maybe go read all of it this instant), there's tons to be excited about going forward. There are lots of directions to go with this series and with these kids and with Loki. The book jumped right in and clearly intends to keep at this level even as the first arc winds down. This is a near perfect book for anyone. I would recommend this title to any comic reader and to a whole lot of non-comic readers.


Best Cover

Again, a lot of good ones out there. Superior Spider-Man had a weirdly haunting cover, Daredevil's cover is more beautiful Samnee art and Young Avengers is a really neat concept well executed by McKelvie. However, this run of X-Men Legacy covers have kind of blown me away one after another and manages to continue to do so here. It's a great image of David sliding on a bunch of pills, a bit out of control, as the pills form up to make the Red Skull. It highlights everything that needs to be highlighted that will come in the story and that the character is going through without giving the whole book away. Also, the art is solid on it and the very basic color scheme makes the image stand out even more.