Leftovers 10-22-14

All-New Ghost Rider 8

Johnny Blaze has tracked Robbie Reyes and spirit Eli Morrow down, determined to learn more about this all-new Ghost Rider. Eli convinces Robbie to let him take the reins to fight Blaze as Johnny looks into his soul and discovers Eli is a murdering Satanist, news which shouldn't surprise Robbie but rather does. Eli is overpowered by Blaze but manages to escape, continuing to wrestle Robbie for control and eventually winning it, throwing Robbie's life into chaos and attacking an old contact of his. Still not a bad series though it occasionally gets a bit heavy-handed in this one. It's an interesting idea but it's not one that's particularly a shock at this point as anyone with a brain can see Eli's not a good dude. The art is occasionally confusing this issue, particularly as the two Ghost Riders fight, but it still looks compelling visually overall. Total Score: 4/5





All-New Invaders 11
The Invaders are trying to find Human Torch and settle him down. They suspect he's going crazy because the energy burst that he and Namor were hit with affected him differently. The exact line, and I'm not making this up, from Namor is "It stunned me but, I assume due to his synthetic makeup, drove Jim insane." That's it. End of diagnosis. Everyone essentially nods and says "Mhm, that sounds likely, great work Namor. Or should I say 'Dr. Namor?' You seem to be a pretty solid scientist now." So they find Jim and he freaks out about how he needs to be killed because all the bad energy in him and they all say no but they also kinda say yes (great friends, these dudes) and Namor steps up and talks about how Jim has always been the conscience of the team (sure, a team with constant do-gooder Captain America and the guy struggling with humanity is the conscience, whatever) and he's always made Namor a better guy and then true love's kiss from an unexpected source (Namor) saves the over-powerful and fearful Human Torch, whereupon he learns that he can control his powers and flies into the atmosphere to burn off the bad energy. Look. It's pretty much Frozen. But, and I can't stress this enough, with worse writing. I'm not even a big ol' Frozen fan and GEEZ I'd rather watch the hour and a half of that rather than read this comic again. Total Score: 1/5


All-New X-Factor 15

X-Factor is trying to keep World War Hate at bay in DC as Polaris and Gambit attempt to quell rioters, Cypher, Luna, and Georgia try to quell different rioters, Danger and Warlock provide a shield between the Pentagon and the people, and Quicksilver swaps out the nuclear launch codes the president is bringing to a remote location to use on Russia with a briefcase full of comics. Some complications ensue but they're all overcome and X-Factor stays above the hate (mostly) thanks to Danger and Warlock. However, as they regroup back at Serval, they learn that the briefcase Quicksilver stole has a tracking device on it and some Sentinels make their way over to Serval. Some interesting stuff here. The issue manages to drag somehow, despite the immense amount of action it hinges on. There's a lot of dialogue but it doesn't all advance the plot or build character, some of it just seems meant to drag, which is an odd use of dialogue. Dynamic art works in the book's favor, though, as it's a very kinetic book to flip through. Total Score: 3/5


Amazing Spider-Man 8
Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man team up successfully to bring down Dr. Minerva, who claims to be working on behalf of the Kree to procure the cocoon. When a baby pops out of the cocoon, even one of Minerva's henchman recognizes how wrong what they're doing is and turns on the others, modifying their sonic scanner into a weapon and using it on his fellow henchmen. As Kamala and the henchman watch over the baby, Spider-Man sends Dr. Minerva scurrying away, calling her bluff about her affiliation with the Kree army. He then correctly identifies the henchman as none other than Clayton Cole and tells him to call up Peter Parker at Parker Industries if he's looking for a job. He also gives Kamala a killer pep talk. Meanwhile, Silk gets a new costume and, in the second half of the issue, Spider-Girl barely escapes Daemos, one of the Inheritors (that's apparently what they're called!), though her father and mother, Peter Parker and MJ Parker, aren't so lucky. Along with her baby brother Ben, Spider-Girl follows a couple other spiders out of her world and into the rebellion. The Kamala-Peter stuff is pretty great and is a crossover worth checking in to, if just to show how much Kamala's story mirrors Peter (though obviously there are some differences). We're also officially at the very edge of SPIDER-VERSE now as the true event is meant to kick off in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 9. The table's set, now it's time to actually serve up this next event. Total Score: 4/5


Amazing X-Men 12
Everyone is falling to the Wendigos and Tanaraq is nearing the breach between his world and the real world, prepared to conquer the world with his army of Wendigos. Storm convinces the other gods, beaten and corralled by Tanaraq, to give the X-Men their powers. With those powers combined, they manage to pull Tanaraq back from the portal and, along with the previously eaten Guardian, burst that guy up, ending the Wendigo Curse everywhere and reverting all those changed back to their regular forms. Altogether a pretty good first arc for the new creative team on this series. Yost and Kyle managed to make sure everyone they brought on this first story had some sort of an impact on the plot, which is easier said than done on a big team book like this. Better yet, the story itself was interesting enough alone. This ending is a little abrupt, as Storm basically says "hey you gods, give us your powers" and the gods go "well, okay, that's something we can evidently do." Still, strong work all around. Total Score: 4/5


Axis: Hobgoblin 1
Roderick Kingsley, the original Hobgoblin who has taken to selling criminal identities to up-and-comers, has changed his method and now sells hero identities to up-and-comers, rebranding himself has a motivational speaker of sorts and making crazy money in the process. The Goblin King, though, isn't so thrilled with the arrangement and wants Menace, Lily Holister, on his side to take down Kingsley. Menace has lost her goblin powers since Spider-Man injected her with the antidote but Goblin King believes that blowing up her car and forcing her into the river will probably do the trick to remind her she needs him (specious logic). Unfortunately, it wipes her mind a bit and sends her crawling to Roderick Kingsley in the hopes that he'll give her an identity. Kind of an interesting premise here but it relies on caring about a lot of Goblins, so if you don't you'll probably end up a little uninterested in this tie-in limited series. There are some fun bits but overall it's hard to nail a tone down on this one, which occasionally goes full joke but often also backs off and tries to go darker, weakening both. Total Score: 3/5


Cyclops 6
Cyclops and Corsair have been reunited with Corsair's team but, thanks in no small part to Scott not knowing what he's doing in space, they get captured by Starjammer enemy Malafect (I'm calling all space enemies Babbleblop Spaceman from now on because that's what most space baddies might as well be named). Corsair pretends to be furious with Scott to influence Spaceman, who decides to take Scott on as his own crew member after Cyclops, playing along, blasts Corsair with eyebeams. Babbleblop is into it and adopts Cyclops as his own (crew member). This issue, with a new creative team than the original (not a hundred percent sure if that's permanent or not, but Rucka and Dauterman are definitely both busy, so it, you know, still could be either), has lost a little bit of the spark of the first arc, which focused so much on building characters and bonding. This one gets more into the action and the typical sort of plot. It's still interesting enough to keep reading, but that's something to keep an eye on moving forward. Also, these sorts of space enemies tend to be interchangeable and uninteresting to me (hence: Babbleblop). Total Score: 3/5


Deadpool 36
Deadpool teams with Magneto and his crew to take down the Red Onslaught and his hero-killing Sentinels, which kind of draws the ire of his wife, who believes he needs to spend more time at home and helping her with her kingdom. As the Inversion Wave hits, things change quite a bit for Deadpool. Most of the heroes get surlier with him and oust his refugee friends from the X-Mansion. For Deadpool himself, though, the inversion has turned him peaceful and forgiving, giving way to an all-new Deadpool. It's a pretty neat idea and it's the first real mention of the effects of the inversion, proving that there could be interesting things ahead for AXIS. Since an initial terrible arc, DEADPOOL has turned itself into something really respectable (with a couple of road bumps) and a series that really knows its way around a crossover. Total Score: 4/5


Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy 2

X-23 freaked out a bit after Wolverine's death and left the Xavier School, angrily storming out on Kitty. She goes and parties in some weird and skimpy outfit and then gets involved in a strange gang fight and teams up with and talks with The Chinook, ex-mutant formerly known as Windshear, who teaches her some things about mourning and healing and whatever else. She's all better by the end and heads back home, proud of her clone-dad. Really distracting that there's this story about a teenager who is dressed so ridiculously. I think a lot of people are having trouble with X-23, not knowing how to write her as she starts to evolve a bit, and this is no different. I think there's a compelling story (KIND OF, not really) but it's so weirdly handled and overshadowed by everything else that it gets drowned out. Total Score: 2/5





Secret Avengers 9
We are so close to done this and yet WE'RE NOT DONE YET, what's the deal? I've been writing this for altogether too long. Okay. What happened in this book? There was probably some more condescension as Kot references purportedly more high-culture literature and art. This book is rather a hipster and guys, I hate hipsters. Anyway, Tlon is coming and Deadpool is done distracting Hawkeye and MODOK escaped and is hanging out with a shaman. I still don't care about this book. The Deadpool-Hawkeye team-up is pretty alright though. Total Score: 2/5


X-Force 11

MeMe has been dumped by Fantomex and, after a lifetime of never being dumped and not really understanding how relationships work, Hope is dedicated to finding out why. In the middle of invading Volga's campus, Hope sneaks into Fantomex's mind, suddenly believing him to be scared of Cable, which is why he broke things off with her. Of course, Fantomex knows she's there and snaps at her, screaming about how he doesn't fear anyone and how he's sick of this team belittling him and underestimating him. He has Eva expel Hope from his mind and makes his next move. With Volga's team dispatched, Fantomex turns on his teammates, incapacitating them before explaining that he must kill them all to prove how much better he is than all of them. Before he can do it, though, Volga's mysterious assistant, who had been wreaking some havoc on them earlier, shoots him in the head, revealing herself to be Domino. Really great twists and turns here and Spurrier continues to do excellent work with Fantomex and the rest of the team. I think Hope is a little weakly developed here but I think he has more to say about her and to explore with her. Spurrier did CBR's X-Position this past week and gave, as ever, a really interesting interview that I've been wanting to show to you guys all week. Check it out here and learn more about his really interesting take on these guys. Anyway, continues to be great, this book. Total Score: 4/5

New Avengers 24, Mighty Avengers 14, Secret Avengers 8

New Avengers 24

We're eight months in the future and Namor comes to Doom for help getting rid of his cabal, who he has realized are maybe a little too violent and bloodthirsty for his liking, and for help with the incursions. Doom provides neither, resentful that he is Namor's second choice. Meanwhile, Black Panther and Shuri use the distraction of another incursion to attempt to steal back all the anti-matter bombs housed in Wakanda, currently occupied by the Cabal, but find themselves facing Maximus and Proxima Midnight, left behind to guard. They barely escape and Black Panther teleports back to the Illuminati but Shuri chooses to stay behind and fight for Wakanda. Back in Latveria, Doom explains to Kristoff that he didn't accept Namor's offer because it's clear he understands more of what's going on than Namor does, so he wouldn't benefit from an alliance. Instead, the Mad Thinker has been working for Doom to study the piece of a world the Mapmakers left behind and finally Thinker has used it to map out all of the marked worlds and to trace it back to its originator, the person behind all this. Doom intends to turn the tables on this person, hoping to use the Molecule Man to strike back at the incursions.

As with AVENGERS, this book has leapt eight months into the future and now has 30+ pages to get us somewhat caught up on the state of the world. Also like AVENGERS, it does a pretty good job of it. Hickman delicately balances things we need to know now with things that can wait, meaning that we largely get good explanation without over-exposition. We also get a glimpse at what the Cabal is doing to other worlds, annihilating their people and relishing the opportunity to destroy their incurring worlds. Where everything seemed slightly askew and mildly threatening in AVENGERS, everything in this book seems horrible, like every plan ever devised has gone wrong,w which seems to be Hickman's intent. Valerio Schiti does an excellent job on the art front and overall it's an engaging and exciting finished project. NEW AVENGERS brings the last two years of stories to a head masterfully, never hand-holding and never over-explaining, illustrating a world that came about naturally well down the line.

Total Score: 5/5


Mighty Avengers 14

The Deathwalker Prime begins to transmit nightmares to every living being on the planet, causing everyone to kneel to it, but Luke Cage stands against the nightmares, fighting back and ultimately securing the ceremonial goblet in which the blood was combined and passing it on to a similarly breaking-free Kaluu, who manages to use the goblet himself to create the Avenger Prime, a mighty being with the combined strengths of the entire Mighty Avengers (except for Cage, who remains out of it) and which manages to defeat the Deathwalker Prime, freeing everyone on Earth. Cage destroys the goblet and the team decides to take a little vacation, primed to return in CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE MIGHTY AVENGERS.

It's a pretty strong ending to a book I mostly found middling. Most of my problems with the book have been tonal dissonance or inside jokes or whatever you'd call the captions strewn about the book and that sort of thing kind of continues here but mostly reins it in to let the story and the characters do the talking. When the book got out of its own way, I liked it more. As with my feelings toward SECRET AVENGERS (we'll get to that), it's entirely possible those captions and other little bits strewn here and there appealed to a great number of people. They weren't my thing and they got int he way of the book for me, taking what could have been a personal and strong tone and muddying it with a need for forced laughs. Still, that's more a critique of the series and less a critique of this issue, which remains rather strong, though I have little connection to the main villain so it's a little difficult to feel the weight of the story. Ewing does what he can by showing that the entire planet is affected by the attack but it's a global threat that feels like it came out of nowhere, so its actual threat-level is hard to take seriously (okay, it's comics, seriously is CLEARLY "comics seriously" here). Kind of nitpicky but you have to believe the villains just as much as you believe the heroes. Still a good book.

Total Score: 4/5


Secret Avengers 8

Maria Hill believes that MODOK is behind everything and explains, bit by bit, why to Spider-Woman, who has more questions than answers. We also flash back to various points in the last eight months or so to see MODOK working with head scientist Snapper to plan their allegiance switch to SHIELD and to quickly rise through the ranks and take it over from Hill, a plan that is slightly stalled as he reveals by issue's end that he's, in fact, in love with Maria Hill.

Nope, still don't get and/or like this one. It's not helped that one of the key contributors to the series is Maria Hill, who I cannot come around to. Right now, we're talking about a personal, intimate battle of wits between Maria Hill and MODOK and I don't understand who that sentence appeals to.

Total Score: 1/5

New Avengers 23, Mighty Avengers 12, Secret Avengers 7

New Avengers 23
Hickman (w) and K. Walker (a) and F. Martin (c) and Caramagna (l)

The next incursion is coming and the Illuminati agree that they can't go through with destroying another world so they resign themselves to their fate instead. As each member of the team consoles themselves as best they can, spending their final moments with loved ones, letting off steam, or pondering, the clock ticks down. Finally the moment of incursion comes...and goes. They reconvene to ask what happened, happy that the universe isn't destroyed but worried they may have gotten some calculation wrong and subsequently have already destroyed a world for nothing. Black Bolt realizes, though, that Namor didn't show up for their meeting and the truth dawns on them, though maybe not the extent of their troubles. Namor has formed the Cabal, consisting of him, Maximus, Black Swan, Thanos, Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, and Terrax, to do what the Illuminati cannot.

Rather a nice issue as Hickman has the team take a step back and analyze what's important to each of them. We see Black Panther returning to Storm (they have a tryst but she calls it a mistake, even as he admits that his only thoughts as the world is about to die were of her), Banner drinking to the thought of his final moments with Hulk, Tony pouring but ultimately turning down a row of shots, and Reed visiting his entire, spread-out family, among other moments. It's a simplistic but very nice idea, watching the heroes resign themselves to going out with a whimper and not a bang, as most superheroes tend to do. The introduction of the Cabal, too, is very interesting and certainly worthy of a gasp as we get the reveal. I think Walker's art is better here than the last one, which relied so much on serious fighting and screaming, but I still think it's wrong for this book, though Martin's colors help ease it on its way.

Total Score: 4/5


Mighty Avengers 12
Ewing (w) and Larroca (a) and Milla (c) and Petit (l)

The Deathwalkers have drained enough out of Blade to start their ritual, though they're interrupted when he breaks free and comes after them. His breaking free also allows Power Man to find Blade's chi in the city, with help from a powerful speech by Cage's father, and direct the Mighty Avengers plus Kaluu and Constance Molina to his side. They fight a bunch of Ani-Men and try to attack the four Deathwalkers destined to divvy up the Earth but aren't able to get to them before they can finish their ritual, which bonds the four into one who is surely destined to take over the world. I mean, nothing can probably stop something that powerful, right?

Man, leave it to a regular, unpowered human to lecture about the difference a regular person can make and then to be left behind by the superpowers because he's old and would probably just die anyway. But we can agree, he'd probably die, right? Anyway, that's what happens to Cage's dad here but he does get to meet little Danielle while the adults go attack. Also interesting: Spitfire and Blade are apparently together. Did not know that, but I'm a Spitfire fan and I guess I can see that, though I'm sad she doesn't seem to be rushing to the rescue on this occasion. STILL, not an awful issue, though I still think the tone could use a bit of regulation here, choosing whether it should be fun or tough or maybe if the heroes should just focus on the potential world-ending fight instead of idle chit-chat at times. Not bad, though.

Total Score: 4/5


Secret Avengers 7
Kot (w) and Walsh (a) and Wilson (c) and Cowles (l)

Black Widow has traveled through a black hole, Fury is still in a coma, Maria Hill admits to Spider-Woman, who is having something of a bad day herself, that MODOK is on the team, Coulson is tracking mysterious leads, and Hawkeye has been brought in by Deadpool and a pair of AIM agents and Deadpool has revealed to his new Avenging pal that they're in a comic book. Lots of fourth wall breaking here and very explicit about it. The issue ends as Hill reveals to Spider-Woman about MODOK and reveals that she has reasons.

Little inside baseball here: I read and reviewed NEW AVENGERS pretty immediately, then read MIGHTY AVENGERS, SECRET AVENGERS, and a handful of other books (the ones most likely to get extended reviews this week), then I reviewed MIGHTY AVENGERS, then I showered and praised myself for my ability to keep the above two reviews pretty tight and decided if I could do that with SECRET AVENGERS, I really ought to be proud. Fortunately, I reasoned, that wouldn't be too hard since I have no idea what's happening in this book and the Deadpool explicit fourth wall breaking really tends to take me out of it. I don't mind slight nods to it here and again in this day and age or full-on reference to it in strange side-books (like the DEADPOOL KILLS- series), but I don't think it really fits into current Marvel continuity and I think, therefore, it's very strange here just as I think the overall tone of this book is very strange. BUT HERE'S THE THING, MY FRIENDS: I'm accepting it really well today. Can't promise next time won't be worse (though I've gotten better with this book each issue, I think), but it's hard not to think that maybe, just MAYBE, every book shouldn't be for me. Presumably if every book were for me I'd be incredibly happy but plenty of people (probably people I wouldn't get along with but PEOPLE NONETHELESS) wouldn't be reading comics. So this issue, and probably this series, isn't for me. And that's fine.

Total Score: 2/5*

*But, as with most other scores, that's just what I think and...actually, there's no way to finish this thought without implicitly recommending you stop reading this blog so NEVER MIND, WHAT I THINK IS BEST.

Leftovers 7-30-14

Alright all my buddies, here's the deal. I am committed to telling you about every Marvel book EVEN WHEN I have no motivation to do so. So let's play a game wherein I blaze through the last ten books I have to review (TEN, WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THAT?) in thirty minutes or less. CAN WE MAKE IT HAPPEN? Only time will tell. Worth noting that secretly I'm pushing to knock out ten in ten minutes but that seems improbable, particularly given my propensity for expounding.

100th Anniversary Special Guardians of the Galaxy 1
Lanning and Marz (w) and Duarte (a) and Delgado (c) and Sabino (l)

The ragtag group of Guardians decades from now battle a Silver-Surfer-extra cosmic-power-imbued Galactus dead-set on consuming Knowhere to gain the knowledge and power of the Celestial whose head Knowhere is. The Guardians fight back alongside Galactus' saboteur herald Vance Astro, who is actually Peter Quill in disguise. The universe is saved and check out Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, in theaters now. Total Score: 2/5











All-New Ghost Rider 5
F. Smith (w) and T. Moore (a) and Staples w/Sanz (c) and Caramagna (l)

Robbie Reyes has to decide if he wants to use the spirit of vengeance within him to, as his teacher wants, change his community through positive action or, as the spirit Eli wants, burn it all to the ground. As a gang fight between Zabo and his men and Grumpy and his men breaks out, Robbie is forced into action to save his brother and the other innocents around. Mr. Hyde rips Grumpy in half and begins to beat on Ghost Rider but overdoses on drugs in an attempt to keep Ghost Rider down. Robbie decides to try to be a hero for the community instead of a monster. More good stuff from this book. Total Score: 4/5

Avengers World 10
Spencer (w) and Checchetto (a) and Mossa (c) and Caramagna (l)

All of the storylines we've seen in this book so far converge to begin to feel like some greater force is driving them. China's newly revealed SPEAR helps SHIELD and the Avengers in the fight against the dragon carrying Madripoor while Iron Man tries to "debate" Andrew Forson on live TV to poor results while Morgana Le Fey's army of the dead begins to march on Earth and while Cannonball and Sunspot bring the children of the Avengers back to the present. So much happening, so much still to come. Lots of fun writing and fun moments here and I AM TAKING TOO LONG. Total Score: 4/5

Cyclops 3
Rucka (w) and Dauterman (a) and Sotomayor (c) and Caramagna (l)

Cyclops and his dad end up stranded on a desolate planet as a result of a ship failure and Cyclops accuses his dad of being a drug addict. Corsair reveals that he's not addicted to drugs, per se, he's kept alive by the drugs he's been taking and the amount he has will only last him through 27 or so days so it's either they get off the planet, which seems unlikely, or they spend a nice final month together. Not a bad story and this certainly gets to the heart of the series quickly. Total Score: 4/5










Guardians of the Galaxy 17
Bendis (w) and Bradshaw and Oeming (a) w/Wong (i) and Ponsor (c) and Petit (l)

Captain Marvel has saved Peter Quill and he calls his ship back to him, sending it crashing out of its lock-up, before he takes it to fly straight at his dad in the city, pulling off at the last second. He and Carol need to find the other Guardians. Gamora and Angela call in quickly enough to just be picked up and they fly to a point in space where Drax is getting beaten by Gladiator, rescuing him easily enough. With J-Son's crimes revealed, the Supreme Intelligence wants nothing to do with him and returns Rocket peaceably, also giving their best known location for Groot. With the team re-assembled (except for newbie Venom, who intentionally avoids them on Knowhere), they're ready to enter ORIGINAL SIN. This arc screams of an ad for the movie: some stakes but ultimately a way to introduce each character without too much actual characterization. Total Score: 2/5

Iron Man Special 1
S. Ryan (w) and Handoko (p) and Poggi, Yeung, Livesay, and N. Lee (i) and Redmond (c) and Cowles (l)

So this story is still going then, hm? Total Score: 2/5

Iron Patriot 5
Kot (w) and G. Brown (a) and Charalampidis (c) and Cowles (l)

With Terrence Rhodes in the Iron Patriot suit punching at the villain, Rhodey has to stand around and hope that his dad hits the manual release on the other guy's suit. He finally does, launching Rhodey out of his inert suit and into the fight himself. He punches and punches at the villain, breaking plenty of his own body parts in the fight against metal, but eventually subdues him, though it comes too late to save his father, who took quite a beating in his own fight. Someone was pulling the strings on the villain but Rhodey never did figure out who and the villain himself gets smothered in his hospital bed by another mysterious character. Is this a win for America's new defender? Who knows? Still, pretty fast read and this continues to be easily my favorite book from Kot, who doesn't have the time to get into his writing patterns that tend to annoy me elsewhere. Total Score: 4/5



Original Sin 3.3 - Hulk vs. Iron Man
Gillen and Waid (s) and Waid (w) and Bagley (p) and Hennessy (i) and Keith (c) and Petit (l)

As Extremis-powered Hulk destroys Iron Man's labs in the hopes that the hero will come rushing home, Iron Man continues to investigate his own memories, praying that something is wrong. Iron Man hopes to lay low while he tries to figure things out, heading for Troy in the thought that Hulk won't realize to go there, even if Banner would have. However, he's not accounting for smart-Hulk and he's met by massive resistance when he touches down. The city, though, is built to be defensible and takes the fight to Hulk long enough that Iron Man can sneak away to his armory. On his way he realizes even more about that night that will make him look EVEN MORE VILLAINOUS. Still some interesting stuff, though I'm not a huge fan of Bagley's art here and I'm already a little tired of the "OH NO, I ALSO DID WHAT" endings of these issues. Total Score: 3/5

Secret Avengers 6
Kot (w) and Walsh (a) and Wilson (c) and Cowles (l)

Lady Bullseye is still alive and wants a meeting with Black Widow, enough that she's taken over a bullet train with a dirty bomb on it. Hill sends Widow and Spider-Woman to deal with it but they quickly learn that it's a trap (well, more than the trap they expected) as someone set another sentient bomb like their own new teammate Vladimir on the tracks and it opens a portal out of the world, sending Black Widow and Lady Bullseye through it. Meanwhile, MODOK announces that something had sex with the Fury to cause its pregnancy and Hawkeye tries to find Coulson only to be led to Deadpool hanging out with AIM. Some weird stuff here. I think the tone is starting to settle in on this book, which is an upside, but it still feels weird to have a book that's trying to go almost full-bore humor play with such big pieces of the Marvel Universe, pieces that have distinct personalities already and don't necessarily fit this way (I always dislike the Black Widow-as-bloodthirsty-killer design you occasionally see in books). Still, climbing out from under me really hating this book. Total Score: 3/5


Personal Total Score: 35 minutes or so. SO VERY CLOSE. I had to ramble on and on, didn't I? I just had to give extra summary when no one asked for it.

Secret Avengers 5, Avengers World 9

Secret Avengers 5
Kot (w) and Walsh (a) and Wilson (c) and Cowles (l)

It's sort of a day off for the Secret Avengers with all of their recent missions end it and the team spends it in their own ways. Spider-Woman talks to the living bomb and learns from it that she is an empath, Coulson demands a vacation and takes it even after it's denied, Fury is sent into Coulson's locker only to have acid sprayed in his good eye for his troubles, Black Widow helps Maria Hill interrogate the terrible poet and reveals that she knows about MODOK, Hawkeye eats lunch and shoots some arrows, and Maria Hill and MODOK discuss whether MODOK can be trusted. Though MODOK swears he can and swears that he wants to make the world better, Hill secretly believes that everything that's happened recently, from the hitman to the recently discovered pregnancy of the Fury to the poet and the living bomb, has MODOK's fingerprints all over it.

There are directions in which this book can go that I think would make it an interesting book and I think that Kot has wisely kept many of those directions open. One of the benefits of an occasional rest issue is that it allows a reader to reset and the writer to nod at different potential plot lines. You need to fill space in a rest issue and you don't want it to be wasted space so the best thing you can do is keep some balls in the air. Kot is doing that nicely here, but there is a little bit of a flaw here in that Kot's biggest ball still in the air is that MODOK maybe can't be trusted. I wasn't particularly onboard at any point with MODOK joining up with SHIELD because I don't think it tracks at any point in MODOK's existence (it tracks in SHIELD's existence because SHIELD is the worst) but neither sincerely wanting to help SHIELD nor subterfuge and subtlety in trying to take SHIELD apart from the outside has ever been a strong suit for MODOK, so to find that this book's drama is currently hinging on whether or not we trust MODOK left me feeling a little letdown. Still, I enjoyed this issue more than the previous ones because it felt a little more down-to-Earth (I don't think the book should be forced to keep to sort of generic comic book standards, but I do think it needs to choose a real tone and stick with it) and didn't get too caught up in its own perception.

Total Score: 4/5


Avengers World 9
Spencer (w) and Caselli (a) and Mossa (c) and Caramagna (l)

Cannonball and Sunspot are being treated pretty well by AIM and it's throwing them off a bit. They're not able to leave but they're treated to fine dining and first-run movies (with as blatant a nod to Marvel's upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy as you're about to see in comics, even including the movie tie-in books). Still, their rescue team didn't pan out but Maria Hill was able to establish contact. With the help of a future Jocasta unit recovered back in Spencer's SECRET AVENGERS, Hill has learned that AIM Island has blossomed because the AIM of the future is sending back tech and info to the past. She knows how they're doing it and sends Cannonball and Sunspot to go shut it down at the source, traveling to the future to stop the flow of information to the past. A future Jocasta meets them there and brings them to see the kidnapped children of the Avengers.

I talked in my pre-game about how much I'm enjoying this series as a whole, with smaller teams and somewhat more personal quarters and missions. It's been a really strong book altogether and I think this issue is no different. This one is a little more light-hearted as Cannonball and Sunspot, particularly together, are more light-hearted characters, but it works here as the situation still feels big but they, with all of their powers and bravado, don't quite fit into it, leading to the humor and the slightly-off tone. It works. Also, there's a major Back to the Future reference which is then called back very nicely and a good Back to the Future reference will typically get me on your side (I'm calling it Back to the Future because the line in question, "it's your kids, Marty, something has got to be done about your kids!," is at the end of the first movie and is repeated at the start of the second movie but we're NOT GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE SECOND MOVIE. Whole stupid thing hinges on Marty not being able to walk away from someone calling him chicken. So dumb, you guys! But that first one is gold).

Total Score: 5/5
Back to the Future Total Score: 1.21 GW

Mighty Avengers 11, Secret Avengers 4, Avengers Undercover 5

Mighty Avengers 11
Ewing (w) and Land (p) and Leisten (i) and D'Armata (c) and Petit (l)

Luke Cage (formerly Carl Lucas) has just found out from the Watcher that his dad, James Geary (formerly James Lucas), was part of some sort of super team back in 1972, a team he'd never told his son about, even going so far as to completely excuse himself from Luke's new life because he didn't want to be involved in anything super heroic. Cage interrogates his dad about the team and what they did. James tells his son about a time when a bat-man (but not that one) was found dead on the streets of his homicide beat and, in trying to learn more about it, James ended up working alongside reporter Constance Molina, dark sorcerer Kaluu, Blade, Blue Marvel, and the Bear (from Howard Stark's little super team back in Gillen's SECRET ORIGIN OF TONY STARK storyline for IRON MAN), who reveals that the bat-man is actually a Deathwalker. His dad is reluctant to tell the whole story but Luke informs him that Blade is part of their team now but is missing, seemingly taken by Deathwalkers, and now Constance Molina and Kaluu are apparently prepared to go up against the current Mighty Avengers.

There's a lot of exposition to get through here as Ewing has limited time to explain James Lucas' history in a book not about James Lucas. Of course, it ties to some of the prior events already in MIGHTY AVENGERS and seems like it will drive the series further, which is a benefit not always seen in tie-in books, but it's also hard to feel like this isn't a little bit slow. There's a lot of exposition and rather a lack of subtext in favor of simply text in the hopes of pushing the story forward. Still, it's a very nearly engaging story but I think the true story lies in the story of why the Bear's dogs are so big here and not, as I believe they originally were, corgis. Boy, that's a weird word and somehow looks weirder pluralized.

Total Score: 3/5


Secret Avengers 4
Kot (w) and Walsh (a) and Wilson (c) and Cowles (l)

While Coulson, Black Widow, and Spider-Woman are off disabling a poetry bomb, Fury and Hawkeye have been sent to Kowloon Walled City in China to capture The Fury, although the Kowloon Walled City no longer exists. MODOK speculates that the city was brought back in to China from another dimension, possibly as a place to trap The Fury. It's a bit of a crazy story but it's the best they can come up with for why a thought-gone city has reappeared and, frankly, it doesn't really matter because they just need to capture The Fury. Thanks to the help of a MODOK-made gun and a little theory about the way The Fury's brains work, Hawkeye and Fury are able to take the alien down and SHIELD is able to extract him. Meanwhile, though, MODOK starts to get under Hill's skin and the assassin who had tried to kill Hill winds up dead in his containment.

With a little less happening and a little less quipping and bantering, this issue leaps out as probably my favorite so far of the new series. It's not without its issues (most of which are convoluted-plot based) but it's certainly a step in the right direction as far as I'm concerned. The characters acted in a way that felt more within themselves and some of the interesting layout choices and unconventional pages worked in a way that I thought some of the attempts in previous issues hadn't (namely the weird text-adventure game that ran through Natasha's head at one point, which was kind of fun as an idea but didn't work for me because there's little doubt in my head that Natasha has never played nor thought about a text-adventure game so framing her thoughts as such seems like it's only there as a fun idea and not anything more substantial). Still, this issue largely works (though I still can't get a great read from a couple of characters, but that may be thanks to the nature of this team) and I think toning it down works to the advantage of the book (though, in this case, toning it down is a secret strike team capturing a deadly space alien in a city that shouldn't exist).

Total Score: 4/5


Avengers Undercover 5
Hopeless (w) and Walker (p) and Gorder (i) and Beaulieu (c) and Caramagna (l)

The group of kids (they really need a better collective name) are given the night to think over Zemo's offer of a place in his organization (which is pretty much the whole of Bagalia) or to return to their homes and likely go to jail for killing Arcade. Their split into three groups to tour the area with Nico and Cullen going with Daimon Hellstrom to see the magic part of town, Constrictor showing Chase and Death Locket the more group-themed entertainment (basketball court!), and Madam Masque quickly leaving the perceived remaining leaders of the group, Hazmat, Cammi, and Anachronism, behind as she goes to her own business, saying that she's told them they can have the world on a platter and that there's nothing more she can do to convince them than that. There are surprises all around as Hellstrom continues to sympathize with and help teach Nico before revealing none other than her thought-dead ex Alex Wilder (of RUNAWAYS fame), as Death Locket continues to hit it off with Excavator, and as Hazmat forms the idea of infiltrating Zemo's group to gain leverage in eventually becoming heroes again. When the group reconvenes, she and Anachronism reveal the plan and give everyone the chance to join, telling them they don't know where it will lead or when they'll back out, but it's a chance to eventually return to being heroes and to disconnecting themselves from Murder World. The next morning, everyone but Cammi tells Zemo they'll join with him while Cammi, flying away from the city to return home, is dragged out of the sky by Constrictor.

My official mantra should be "there's plenty happening in this book" and probably something to do with the word "interesting" but it's hard not to say here again, as overused as it is on this blog, that there's plenty happening in this book and it's already, even before we start moving towards the bulk of the plot, plenty interesting. Of course, Hopeless was lucky enough to take hold of all of these compelling characters with mostly rich personalities and backgrounds before he absolutely helped himself by writing a spectacular book in the form of AVENGERS ARENA and really helping to cement where those characters are at. Now he gets to take that experience and those well-developed characters and drop them into an all-new story with plenty of exciting roads to go down. For as great a character piece as AVENGERS ARENA was, it was a decidedly contained story, one that literally couldn't go outside the bounds of the island on which Arcade had trapped everyone. Here Hopeless expands the playground with even more fleshed out characters. It's exciting to see and I'm really looking forward to where it's going.

Total Score: 5/5

Avengers 29, New Avengers 18, Secret Avengers 3

Avengers 29
Hickman (w) and Yu (p) and Alanguilan (i) and Gho (c) and Petit (l)

Steve Rogers has been having bad dreams but they've gotten clearer. Suddenly he remembers his time with the Illuminati and the way in which they parted. Furious, he grabs Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Thor, who subsequently grabs Starbrand and Hyperion, and the team of core Avengers and muscle confront Tony in his lab. Steve accuses him of all of his sins and it pretty quickly comes to blows as Tony regrets nothing about fighting to save the world through whatever means necessary and has a whole ton of suits with him. It's a bitter and brutal fight but it's ended abruptly (for now) when the time gem, the only one of the Infinity gems that didn't shatter right away (BECAUSE IT'S TIME, GUYS), appears and shatters in Cap's hand, sending the story to 48 years in the future.

Story
This is the one we've been waiting for since Tony ordered Steve's memories wiped way back in NEW AVENGERS 3 and everything's fallen nicely into place for Hickman and company. The story is appropriately dark and tense and it's impossible not to be impressed by how well Hickman has crafted his Tony Stark. Stark has never been above doing whatever it takes to do what he thinks is right but it's all come into focus here as the last two issues of AVENGERS (coming nearly thirty issues into a book that started by casting Steve as life and Tony as death) have found longtime associates of Tony accusing him of unthinkable crimes only to discover that they're entirely correct. Tony manages to convince one but not the other and, unfortunately for him, the other rather commands respect from just about everyone, including Thor, Hyperion, and Starbrand. Not really the best guy to go up against. 5/5

Character
This is very much meant to be a turning point moment for AVENGERS as it will fundamentally shake the two real leaders of Hickman's team. As such, it rather has to be a big moment for character and it certainly works out that way as we see the rage building in Steve and his swift decisiveness, immediately calling on Black Widow and Hawkeye as well as Thor. It's also worth noting that character is often built just as much on how other characters perceive someone and the fact that he can turn to this set of core Avengers and immediately have them trust him enough to storm their friend and fellow hero's home speaks volumes about both Cap and Tony. It's really brilliantly executed and enormously important. 5/5

Writing
I've pretty much covered this already, though I'll add that the tone of this book, as with the tone of the last issue, is that perfect blend of darkness and increasing hostility that this story absolutely needs. This will also tie to Yu and Gho's art and colors in the book but it comes first and foremost from the writing. 5/5

Art
Pretty much already said it all above but Yu, Alanguilan, and Gho capture the dark tone and the anger as well as anything Hickman wrote. Really strong work to tie everything nicely here. 5/5

Miscellaneous
The first ten pages of this issue or so are taken directly from NEW AVENGERS and serve as a really good point to get into this issue. On top of that, the book is an extra ten pages long to make up for the summary. Still, I continue to question Marvel's pricing as this one jumps up a dollar to $4.99, a disturbing trend recently. I understand that a bigger book means more cost to Marvel but I steadfastly maintain that keeping the price $3.99 does far more to gain readers/keep readers and to keep readers from getting skeptical and cynical about your prices while still not, I would think, bankrupting your company. Also, you're now forcing people who already know what's going on to pay an extra dollar to get recap they already have. This book itself is really good (and will get the score it merits on that alone) but it's another example in a worrying trend from Marvel.

Total score: 5/5


New Avengers 18
Hickman (w) and Schiti (a) and F. Martin (c) and Caramagna (l)

With a very short time before the Illuminati know they'll have to face another world, this one populated with innocents and heroes alike, it's time for some serious soul-searching. T'Challa seeks and receives counsel from the dead kings of Wakanda who allow him his moment of sadness and heavy-heartedness before reminding him that the very act of keeping Wakanda so secluded has cost many innocents in the outside world their lives, that the kings of Wakanda (or any place) have always been beyond these sorts of decisions, and that he needs to do what is best for Wakanda. Meanwhile, Beast shows Banner around their antimatter bombs, a powered-up and soulless Stephen Strange returns to the Illuminati, and Stark and Reed confront Black Swan in the hopes she has more information for them. By issue's end, though, it's time for the Illuminati to square off against heroes.

Story
It's fitting that this issue and this arc comes out alongside the current AVENGERS storyline (certainly, you guys, that's not by mistake) as it's the first time that the Illuminati are tested in exactly the sort of way Cap feared they would be when he "left" the team. Now, as Cap returns to dole out some justice on Tony over in AVENGERS, the Illuminati has to deal with a world populated by real people and real heroes alike in order to keep their own world alive. Will the most heroic among these men falter? The question is asked here and, though it puts off seeing the actual fight we're waiting for until next time, it's given the room linger for an issue, allowing the audience to understand just what everyone's going through. As this is a book driven by these consequences, it's important to give this fight the space it needs to really breathe. 5/5

Character
The characters are al highlighted by how troubled they are to enter into this fight. For T'Challa, that means his ongoing struggle to do what's right by his own moral code while also protecting and upholding Wakanda. Panther has always been a great character for seeing that sort of struggle and it's at a fever pitch right now. Tony Stark is the same way, though his feelings come out through anger and frustration where T'Challa's really border on abject sadness. Also worth seeing the characters who aren't seemingly struggling with this, including a somewhat-repowered Black Bolt, Namor, and Stephen Strange. Next issue should show us a lot. 5/5

Writing
Hickman's writing continues to be very strong and, as with AVENGERS, you can see the strengths of his long game all through these issues (long con). He has spent over a year building these stories and now it's all coming together wonderfully. He's also doing a solid job developing the tone really switching back and forth between all of the various emotions that the team is feeling. 5/5

Art
The talented Valerio Schiti steps in to provide the art for this issue and, while I quite like Schiti's art, I'm not sure it totally works here. It's at its strongest in this issue on the various emotions, particularly when we see Black Panther with his council, but it occasionally feels too clean for the dark things that are happening. Schiti is helped tremendously by Frank Martin's colors, which set up the tone really well, but it's hard not to feel like Schiti might have been a bit of a strange choice on this one. 4/5

Miscellaneous
Extra points here to Christian Ward's unbelievable variant cover (at right).

Total score: 5/5


Secret Avengers 3
Kot (w) and Walsh (a) and Wilson (c) and Cowles (l)

A deranged poet has built a superbomb and is planning to sell it on the island nation of Sokotra, possibly to Latverians. Hill sends Coulson, Black Widow, and Spider-Woman to the scene to try to capture the bomb and dispose of the poet while Fury and Hawkeye go on a different mission. Things start to break down in Sokotra as Coulson experiences a bit of PTSD from his recent mission and as Black Widow has to learn to trust her colleagues to do what they do. She covers Coulson while he snaps out of it and Spider-Woman attacks the poet, managing to subdue him and talk the superbomb out of committing suicide (yes, the superbomb talks and thinks). While Black Widow wonders if this isn't all a weird set-up (there appears to be no buyer for the bomb present after all), Lady Bullseye turns up and attacks before Coulson drives her off a cliff after hitting her with a jeep. They begin to return home as we learn that Fury and Hawkeye's mission is to go out and find and capture the Fury, who Fury and Coulson managed to dispatch in the last issue.

Story
Pretty standard story here as part of the team is sent to stop an arms deal that could put a devastating weapon in the hands of enemies (or of anyone, really) and part of the team, separated from the others, is sent to do something shady for SHIELD. Coulson's PTSD seems a bit forced as, although he only first appeared a few years ago in BATTLE SCARS, he's touted to be this big super agent who has had his hands in plenty of soups up to this point. Not to say his PTSD isn't warranted, it just kind of feels like it's here to develop Natasha more, who is forced to figure out what to do in this situation. Also, though the story is pretty standard, that doesn't mean it also doesn't feel a bit forced, particularly the criminal mastermind poet bit. 3/5

Character
The two biggest complaints I have about this issue's characters are that Kot is set on doing the somewhat standard Black Widow-team-writer thing of making her a cold and relentless killing machine, someone who revels in murder as much as any supervillain. I've always felt the best Natashas are the ones who don't get hung up on the killing but also aren't exactly licking their lips while they think of how best to kill someone. Here, she's absolutely flippant about murder and I think it weakens who she is. Kot is also set on making Hawkeye something of a twelve-year-old, which I think is a cue taken from Fraction's Hawkeye. The difference is that Fraction shows us all sides of Hawkeye; he's immature, sure, but he's also a guy with a dark past just trying to do what's right in whatever way seems best. Here, he's little more than comic relief and something of an audience stand-in, apparently needing explanation of what the team does because he's too dumb to understand it any other way, despite the fact that he recently ran his own Secret Avengers team so probably he's not too unfamiliar with it. It feels very much like it's trying way too hard on a lot of fronts, more of which we'll get into in the next section. 2/5

Writing
It's trying way too hard on a lot of fronts. I talked in the review of the first issue (and the second issue) about how Kot himself has called the tone of this book something akin to Breaking Bad, a Michael Bay movie, and Arrested Development. I think that all of those tones are coming at the expense of the overall quality of the book which feels like it's trying just so very hard to be different or to challenge common comic book conceptions. There's a poet screaming about Mailer and Plath as he prepares to detonate a reality ending bomb, there's a mention of Scarlett Johansson playing Black Widow in one of the inane introductory captions, and there's a page of the book dedicated to Natasha playing a weird text adventure sort of game in her mind as she decides how best to proceed, meaning that Natasha's mind is working in precisely the last way anyone would expect it to. I'm going to stop harping on this book trying too hard now because, in finding those links above, I looked at my last two reviews and saw that I'm just repeating myself OVER AND OVER AGAIN so I'm going to let you all assume what I'm saying. 1/5

Art
In case you missed it, I don't like the tone of this book and I don't like how hard this book is trying but I will say that the art is doing its job to keep up with whatever tone Kot wants to put forward. Though I'm not onboard with the book so far, I think the art is doing everything it can to make it palatable. Credit to Michael Walsh and Matt Wilson for doing some strong work to keep this book moving. 5/5

Miscellaneous
As with everything, this is all just based on my personal opinion as well as whatever technical knowledge I've gained throughout my life (that's why I tend to focus so much more on writing aspects than art aspects; I'm far more experienced with writing than with art). Maybe this book is working for you. For me, though, I tend to get super skeptical and cynical when you can smell a book trying too hard and this is nailing that (I thought FEARLESS DEFENDERS was doing it too but I was more willing to forgive that on some levels because it was at least doing it with C-list characters).

Total score: 2/5

Mighty Avengers 9, Secret Avengers 2

Mighty Avengers 9
Ewing (w) and Land and Leisten (a) and D'Armata w/ Delgado (c)

Blue Marvel tries to reason with his son Max while his other son Kevin, larger than life, begins to come out of the portal. Kevin is too unstable to bring back into this world and he's primed to explode if he's not sent back into the portal, taking the solar system with him. Max refuses to believe it and thinks that he can stabilize Kevin with just a little more time and so refuses to lower the forcefield. Spectrum becomes gamma radiation and enters She-Hulk to power her up more, giving her the strength to break through the forcefield and, when the two separate again, they manage to force Kevin back into the portal. Max is still furious with his father and Adam is more depressed than ever. Meanwhile, Ronin fights off one of some enemies looking to get their hands on the talisman he took and finally reveals himself to be Blade.

There's a lot of Brashear family backstory here as we see Adam's relationship with Kevin as the two fought off major threats on the down low and we see the circumstances of Kevin's disappearance right at the start of the Marvel Age. It's very clear that Adam loves his family and is full of regret for Kevin's loss, as well as his wife's death and the subsequent anger from Max that separated them. So like, it's easy to see how much he loves them but it's also not hard to extrapolate that maybe he's the problem? Anyway, it's a big moment for Blue Marvel in this issue and a tiny universe-threatening problem defeated but not a ton more to deal with on this front. Ronin is Blade, something probably pretty evident considering how often they kept saying Deathwalkers and, well, not hard to switch that on over to Daywalker. So that's that. Not an awful book and certainly it keeps with the tone of this series so far but there just kind of feels like there isn't a whole lot here this time out.

Secret Avengers 2
Kot (w) and Walsh (a) and Wilson (c)

Coulson and Fury are drifting through space as the Fury (not Fury) drifts into the sun. At the same time, Black Widow, Spider-Woman, and Hawkeye use the SHIELD car to drive to the space station to repair the console to stop more satellites from falling out of the sky and killing more people. All this while an assassin comes to kill Maria Hill for actions she's taken that led to deaths. So it's a busy day for the Secret Avengers as Black Widow, Spider-Woman, and Hawkeye make it to the space station and stop the satellites, MODOK sends a lab rat with a syringe on its back to take out the assassin from the vents, and the saved Maria Hill uses one of MODOK's designs, the nanobot blanket, to have her team rescue Fury and Coulson from impending doom.

Readers of my first review of this series will know that I was not so onboard with it. It felt like it was gratuitous and trying way too hard to be something it simply can't be. Kot himself compared the series to a Michael Bay movie, a Breaking Bad episode, and an Arrested Development episode. I said that in the first review too and I bring it up again here because it felt to me too much like it's trying to be too many things at once all the while trying to be different from other comics but trying to ape some similar styles. It's hard not to read any HAWKEYE influence into books like this one, ones that are maybe more chaotic with more personal risks than universal risks and that's probably not fair. However, it's also hard not to read those influences into THIS book particularly as the first issue took the Hawkeye-face-covers-exposed-genitals and and second issue finds Clint out of costume with bandages all over his face, a la HAWKEYE. I also talked in the first review about not writing this book off because it's so early and I'm going to continue to not write it off. I lodged some of these same complaints against SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN at the start of its series and I think that one has nicely carved out its own little niche. Here's hoping that Kot can do the same thing though I'm maybe secretly a little more skeptical. This one just seems so derivative to kick things off. LOOK, I'll stop talking about it now because I'M NOT WRITING ANYTHING OFF.

Hawkeye 17, Black Widow 4

Hawkeye 17
Fraction (w) and Eliopolous and Aja (a) and Bellaire (c)

Back in issue six of HAWKEYE, Clint was invited into Simone's apartment to watch some holiday specials with her kids. This issue brings us back to those heady days with a frame of Clint sitting on the couch with the kids before all the pages between the first and last show us that cartoon, entitled "Winter Friends." The Winter Friends are a superhero group consisting of animals representing various holidays (including Santalope, the Kwanzaagator, the llama Rama-in-Pajamas, and Menorable, a cat with a menorah on its head) and they're up against one of their biggest foes yet: Mister Sun, who is turning the winter into summer, meaning no one needs the feeling of warmth and kinship provided by the winter holidays. With all of the Winter Friends defeated, Steve, the dog with no powers that they hang out with for some reason, is called into action. Joined by his smaller sidekick dog Lil and his brudder dog Herman, they set off to find the Winter Friends. They're attacked by the Dingoes, a bunch of tough dogs who slow up the three dogs. Eventually, three friend dogs Birdie, Lady, and Spooky jump in the fight and help Steve and his friends, despite his continued insistence that he can do it all by himself. He sets off alone for the sun palace and attacks Mister Sun, though he can't really do much against him without any powers. Steve continues the fight, though, because he's not going to let people get away with things just because no one will fight them. Eventually his other dog friends show up and save the Winter Friends, who summon Mother Winter to help them defeat Mister Sun. Before she goes, she calls Steve a good dog. Later, at the multidenominational pantheistic all-inclusive seasonal festivities, Steve thanks Lil for her help and admits he couldn't have done it without her. This lesson, though, may be lost on Clint, who has fallen asleep on the couch.

OKAY, first things first, I was totally wrong in my pre-game this week when I said this was promised to be "the dog issue of sign language issues." BUT, IN MY DEFENSE, the site I use to see what comics are out in a given week lied to me first. Now, about this issue, it's absolutely great. HAWKEYE has found this incredible little niche where it's able to do just absolutely insane things seemingly at will and, guess what, they always pull it off. This is a series that wasn't expected to go past about six issues; according to Fraction himself on the recent LiveWire podcast, he was on his way out of comics in that people were starting to stop calling when HAWKEYE was set to kick off. On top of that, Hawkeye never lasts more than about six issues whenever someone starts up a new series about him. Instead, it took off and did really well, well enough to justify issues like the dog issue and the time-bending and the interesting storytelling and so on. So it does unheard of things (which I think has also inspired Marvel to allow others to try new things, sometimes working and sometimes not) and, most importantly, it always pulls them off and are always worth reading. This issue has series regular artist David Aja illustrating the first and last page, the frame with Clint, and series regular letterer and children's book artist and cartoonist Chris Eliopolous drawing all the pages in between to give it a real sense of a cartoon holiday special. It's incredibly well done and the beats are all funny and sweet as Steve attacks everyone who tries to help him. Perhaps the funniest part is when Birdie, Spooky, and Lady appear as the comic drops all pretenses of passing for a regular special (Birdie, Spooky, and Lady, who represent Mockingbird, Black Widow, and Spider-Woman respectively, all very obviously have explicit ties to their counterparts). Things start to get more and more obvious throughout the issue, presumably as Clint loses any grip on the show as he falls asleep. Really great stuff in here and very, very sweet. If you came here for the ongoing story of the HAWKEYE series, this one may disappoint you, as, you know, it's a children's holiday special set in a HAWKEYE issue that was over ten issues ago. However, if you're here because you've liked what the book has done so far, you'll love it.

Black Widow 4
Edmondson (w) and Noto (a and c)

Black Widow gets caught up in an assassination plot when she's sent to go plant bugs in a foreign embassy only to have the embassy blown up while she's outside. She spots the bomber and gives chase over the rooftops but, when she catches up to him, he mutters a Russian word and cracks a hole in the ceiling of the church they're standing on, sending them both to the ground. Natasha blacks out with a broken arm while her assailant escapes. Her next step, under the authority of Maria Hill, is to spy on a meeting in the Cabinet of Ministries in the Ukraine to find what they know. She finds that they haven't authorized this man, Molot Boga, but that his next target is the Croatian ambassador, who will soon be stopping off in South Africa. Sure enough, when the ambassador arrives, Molot Boga is standing in the middle of the street, giant machine guns blazing. Natasha tries to intercept but has some trouble with accuracy with her broken arm. Still, she gets a couple of shots on him, though it seems to do him no harm. He calls himself the Hammer of God and continues to rail bullets against her. When he runs out on his giant machine gun, he fires a grenade at her, knocking her back into a storefront and giving him the opportunity to assassinate his target. He's in the wind before she can recover. She vows to follow him and meets with Hill to procure what she needs. Meanwhile, Molot meets with his benefactor, the man Molot may believe is God, and tells him that his next target is hard to kill and recommends that he destroy the plane the man is coming in on, regardless of the casualties.

This series has done something really interesting in its layout, something that comic books don't tend to do these days. BLACK WIDOW spent its first three issues creating this Natasha and showing her doing her work around the world. Some of it, of course, has seeds that will be harvested later, but the first three issues were more episodic than serial, in that you could follow the action and the character choices but, by the end of the issue, the story was over. Of course, the Iron Scorpion is someone likely to return but the story he first appeared in here ended with the issue, not a "to be continued" sort of thing. I think it served the series well. Natasha is a character, as I mentioned in my review for SECRET AVENGERS this week, who tends to flummox writers some, unsure if they should make her somewhat maniacal or somewhat unhinged or completely cold and efficient or, you know, more human. This series has a very clear view of Natasha, a very human view, and so sets about establishing that before it tries anything else. HAWKEYE, actually, was not too too different. Of course, there were even more seeds at the start of that series, with appearances by the tracksuit draculas and a slew of supervillains and so on, but every issue ended without an explicit "to be continued." Most books now immediately plunge into arcs within the first or second issue. Here, though, Edmondson and Noto have chosen to give the audience some time to get into the character and the style of storytelling before getting us into a full story. I think it's going to really pay off. Another wonderful issue with absolutely gorgeous art. Phil Noto's Natasha may be my favorite Natasha. Amazing stuff.

Mighty Avengers 8, Secret Avengers 1

Mighty Avengers 8
Ewing (w) and Schiti (a) and D'Armata (c)

The Mighty Avengers have managed to get away from Gideon Mace and his militantly conservative hate group but there is still talk of a lawsuit given White Tiger's attack on the headquarters. Now the team has brought Ava to Blue Marvel's undersea base Kadesh in the hopes that they can find some way to remove the Tiger God's influence on her. Before they're able to come up with anything or summon any magic specialists, Blue Marvel is called away by a threat from WESPE, a European sort of AIM style group with a focus on providing scientists with money and resources in exchange for deadly tech down the line. Blue Marvel, She-Hulk, and Spectrum go to find out what the alert in the Pacific is about. Blue Marvel is particularly worried as it seems to be occurring in an area that serves as a gateway to the Neutral Zone, a dimension he found long before and apparently where one of his sons, Kevin, is trapped. Dr. Max Brashear, Adam's other son, has teamed up with WESPE in the hopes that he can find a way to bring Kevin back. As you may imagine, he has some serious problems with his father. He traps Spectrum and She-Hulk in a forcefield strong enough even light can't get in or out and then he uses his volcano base to rupture the space between the world and the Neutral Zone, hoping to bring Kevin back. Meanwhile, the Tiger God has appeared to Ava and demanded answers for her interference in his hunt. She reams him out, explaining to him exactly how feared tigers aren't in this day and age and daring him to kill her, seeing where that would leave him. When he realizes he can't, she demands he give her all his power, which he seems to do. She wakes up again, apparently better than ever.

There are some interesting things going on in this book and with this team. I don't know a ton about Blue Marvel but he's got a pretty good story and an intriguing conceit. White Tiger, too, is showing a lot of promise in this book. The interactions between the team are compelling, at some points anyway, and sometimes interesting enough in and of themselves. Still there are a few too many jokey-jokes and tonal shifts in the writing that throw me off. I really cannot get past jokey introduction captions (this will come back in the next review too, guys. Look forward to it, if not to the next book). On top of that, Max, or Dr. Positron as he's calling himself, is a little more comical a villain than I think this book needs at its outset. I understand the appeal of writing him as somewhat childish; he is the child of Blue Marvel and his personality couldn't be more different than his father's. Regardless, he borders on silly and it makes him a little hard to take seriously. This book, too, is already more concerned with the rest of the Marvel Universe than almost any book in the modern era, making references to a handful in just one issue. Again, I understand the point of that and I get that Ewing found easy enough ways to reference books like Blue Marvel's initial series, YOUNG AVENGERS, and his own LOKI: AGENT OF ASGARD, just like I get that Marvel is a business and likes to get fans interested in those sorts of tie-ins, but sometimes it feels a little cynical and a little too hitting us over the head. In a way, it's either a book that's good in spite of itself or a book that's not quite good despite itself. Tricky, tricky book to get behind.

Secret Avengers 1
Kot (w) and M. Walsh (a) and M. Wilson (c)

The Secret Avengers are back up and running on Maria Hill's watch as her new and uneasy alliance with MODOK begins. For her team's first mission, she's sent Coulson and Fury Jr. (gotta start referring to him like that as Nick Fury Sr. is set to reappear in the upcoming ORIGINAL SIN) to space to investigate a SHIELD satellite having some troubles while Black Widow and Spider-Woman spend their day relaxing, something apparently important to Black Widow. They've gone to get massages and gelato and to test out some weaponry at a place Natasha knows well. Unfortunately for them, though, they're interrupted by a naked Hawkeye on the run from AIM (not a single person knows why he's naked except that Kot and the team wanted to parrot the Hawk-blocked bit from HAWKEYE which they do not once but twice in what might be the cheapest move in the entire...you know what, we'll get into it later). As they escape AIM in Natasha's car, Hawkeye naked and the two women covered with towels, they're called by Hill to assist Coulson and Fury Jr., who are dealing with the cybiote and Captain Britain foe the Fury in space.

Guys. I would have words with this book. I've been a little skeptical of this reboot of SECRET AVENGERS, coming, as we all know, very shortly after the end of the last volume. I didn't think the last volume was great and I think that the last arc of it was something of an unfulfilling mess. Ales Kot had a big hand in wrapping that volume and now kicks off this volume promising to take readers somewhere they've never gone before with something fresh and new. And yet, he also describes the book as a Michael Bay directed episode of Breaking Bad by way of Arrested Development, thereby referencing three things this book will be similar to instead of just being its own thing. This is just issue one so I'm trying not to be too judgmental about it but it's kind of hard. In most cases, I think I'd rather a first issue swing for the fences and miss because at least it tried something. The last thing you want is for your first issue to be boring. I think we've had a couple of those recently (sadly, I kind of have to point to ALL-NEW INVADERS and ALL-NEW X-FACTOR for those examples, though I have hopes for both books). However, eye-rollingly unimaginative and derivative isn't exactly a great swing either and that's rather what this was. Not only did we get a naked Hawkeye for literally no reason after he, trying to evade AIM, breaks into what happens to be the same exact Russian baths in New York that Natasha and Jessica are at. Then they do the now infamous "Hawkeye-face comic-code-style covering Hawkeye's genitals" to him and then, later on, they cover what would be a Spider-Woman exposed breast with a Spider-Woman face because apparently the joke that really only worked when it was new back in HAWKEYE was hilarious enough to work twice in this issue. It's all just ridiculous and derivative and that's not even getting INTO the fact that it often seems like there are maybe five people who I've seen write Natasha Romanoff and have managed to create a believable character for her backstory and this doesn't seem to be one of them. I'm cutting myself off here because, again, it's the first issue and I don't want to throw the series entirely away based on one issue but I will tell you that we're not far from it. OH, and Kot spent some time having Maria Hill and MODOK discuss Percy Shelley's "Ozymandias" and Shelley's contemporary Horace Smith because literature debates are the way we expect Hill and MODOK to talk and aren't condescending at all (Kot would go on to talk about Sylvia Plath in his opening letters-page column because UGH). OKAY, I'm seriously done now. Join me later for me being angry at ALL-NEW X-MEN because I don't know why I scheduled the books I'm most looking forward to for the Thursday through Saturday stretch.