Daredevil 31, Thor: God of Thunder 13

Daredevil 31
Waid (w) and Samnee (a) and Rodriguez (c)

Current events mix with the Marvel Universe as a case very similar to 2012's Trayvon Martin case (the trial was this year, I know you guys, I keep up with current events too) has cropped up in New York City. The details are extremely similar and, like in that case, the defendant walked free. However, that's where things change in the 616. In the 616, prosecutor James Priest, who has been hailed as a civil rights leader, leaves the courthouse, upset with the verdict, and produces a page with names, addresses, and pictures of everyone on the jury, should people want to exact revenge for their blowing the trial. The city is instantly whipped into a frenzy and only Daredevil knows that someone interrupted the live feed with an excellent impression of Priest and flashed those names. It's confirmed when everyone physically near Priest as he made his speech shows confusion at what they've been told happened on the television broadcast. That doesn't matter to Daredevil, though, as he needs to concern himself with protecting the jurors and finding out who did this. The Serpent Society is clearly behind it, considering their recent infiltration of the legal system and the case being one with such connections to race, but it's the Jester who actually did the impression of Priest and interrupted the feeds. Daredevil discovers that Jester left a trail; his name and address are on the lineup of the jurors though he wasn't one of them. Matt goes to Jester's house to find someone in a Daredevil t-shirt, distributed by Foggy at the hospital, hanging in the house.

You guys, it might be Foggy. I'm not sure I can objectively analyze this issue if that's Foggy so I'm going to pretend, for the moment, that it's not or that it's a ruse or something. Maybe even that he's not dead but even if he's not dead, the dude is still a cancer patient and he was brought there by Jester as part of this whole game and WHAT IS HAPPENING TO FOGGY LATELY? Crap, AND Matt and Foggy's last conversation ended with Matt angry because he found out it was Foggy who hired Kirsten in his place. You guys, that better not be Foggy Nelson. Everything about this issue is really intense and pretty good. There's another DD-Hank Pym team-up as DD gets Pym to use his ants to create rain throughout the city, pretty good at dispersing the riots that have started. Really interesting story rooted in a sad sort of realism with great art and solid writing. It's not Foggy though, right?

Thor: God of Thunder 13
Aaron (w) and Garney (a) and Svorcina (c)

A very small troop of Dark Elves (from the realm of Svartalfheim) have journeyed to Niffleheim to free their imprisoned king Malekith the Accursed. It's not an easy trek and most of the group die, leaving only one alive when Malekith is freed. Together, the elf Scumtongue and Malekith leave Niffleheim for Svartalfheim, where Malekith assumes he will be welcomed back to the throne. Meanwhile, in Asgardia, our Asgardian heroes are enjoying a feast to celebrate Volstagg's election to the congress of worlds. One of the Dark Elves living in Asgardia suddenly feels Svartalfheim's pain and alerts Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three to the issue. They journey immediately to Svartalfheim and find Malekith standing over the bodies of a village of slaughtered Dark Elves. He tells them of the civil war brewing (Svartalfheim, it turns out, was not exactly eager for Malekith to take over the throne again) and disappears before Thor and company can stop him. Malekith, for his part, swears to kill every single Dark Elf who goes against him, no matter where they hide.

This may be the most spell-check has ever disagreed with my posts. And I write a comic book blog. Anyway, solid issue and story, happy to give readers a look at Malekith before he stars as the main villain in Thor: The Dark World. Or cash in on that connection, LOOK, IT DOESN'T MATTER. It's still a good story and it seems it will be a nice reintroduction to the nine realms as this arc continues. With Dark Elves spread out across the nine realms, it seems we'll spend a bit of time in each and maybe give people a chance to, with relative ease, learn a little bit more about Thor's history. There's even a nifty map of the nine realms (drawn by Haemi Jang) at the back of this issue, which will certainly be good for spelling reference in the future for anyone who may have a comic blog. Always a little wary of books that aren't quite movie tie-ins but are clearly movie tie-ins, but this one seems like a story worth telling so far. This five-issue arc will be in full swing by the time Thor: The Dark World premieres, giving movie fans a quick book to jump into (they need only pick up the two to three issues prior to the newest one by the time they wander into a comic shop) and will give comic fans a nice introduction or re-introduction to Malekith before his big screen debut. Nice little mix. Well-respected comic veteran Ron Garney hops onboard for this arc as the new artist and his art is pretty stellar.

This week's picks

Ton of books out this week seems like a justifiable excuse for why I'm having so much trouble picking my top three. Look guys, I have one locked down and one almost locked down. It's tricky because most of the books didn't blow me away this week, even the typical standouts. They were good, they weren't the best. In some cases that affected my decision more (I really liked the Cap arc finale but it didn't totally blow me away, which it seemed like it should have), in some cases it didn't (one or two of the books that made this list are in that category). One of the books in consideration was Deadpool which I thought was a good issue, surprisingly so because I haven't liked the series, but it still wasn't an amazing issue (it almost made the cut because it was such a far cry from how I've felt about the rest of the series). Okay, I'm stalling. Here we go.

Journey into Mystery 655

I tend to give more consideration to a book on its final issue. That still won't get it on this list if it's a bad issue, but I tend to bump it up a little for time served. This week, Journey into Mystery didn't even need that boost. It was a really good issue, a solid end to a solid arc with beautiful art and fun writing which served to enhance the plot and to characterize people involved. Just a really good issue and, sadly, the last time I'll get to choose this book for a top pick. The book that spawned Kid Loki and Kieron Gillen's defining run at Marvel has now reached its end after a great Kathryn Immonen run. She better find a new book quickly at Marvel. Marvel's made a few good moves in terms of trying to highlight women characters and women writers and it's clear they want to make that something of a priority (slowly but surely). It would be ridiculous to have such a talented and proven female writer at your disposal and not put her on a book immediately. Buy this issue. The art alone will make it worth it.

Thor: God of Thunder 12

As good as the heavy-hitting action and revealing characterization of a really great comic book can be, occasionally the change in pace can be as meaningful as anything else. We rarely see Thor in a capacity as an emotional hero; his role has very much become the strong character role (it really always was) so they bring him out in the biggest situations because he's too powerful to use on, say, street-level villains. It's really gratifying to see him take a little time off from punching Kang to travel around and do equally important but more one-on-one heroic things. It's very neat and it was really well done. Nic Klein's art is very impressive as well. It's no easy feat following up Esad Ribic or even leading in comic veteran Ron Garney (who I think is on at least the next issue). Really solid issue.







Young Avengers 9

Young Avengers is a phenomenal book. Every issue has been wonderful and had little hidden wonders to it, on top of the very blatant wonders. It's got stunning art, great characterization, interesting plot, and fantastic writing. All of that said, I did think this was a very slightly weaker issue than we've had from this book. However, slightly weaker from this book is still scores above most other books so it's impossible to not put it on this list (and it would be silly not to). Even with it being slightly weaker (it just felt a little slower than the ones we've had already, and not in a "this needs to be slowed down" kind of way), it still had a ton to love (including, as ever, the art). Also, an adult-ish Leah looking both super cool and oh my god she's going to wreak some serious havoc, you guys. Look, this book is great and always worth your time. Check-check it.


I don't want it to go

This is a new segment, to be used probably just this once, to award the book I least want to be over following this most recent issue. This week's winner is, you guessed it, Journey into Mystery. GUYS, I'M JUST REALLY SAD ABOUT THIS, OKAY?

Journey into Mystery 655, FF 11

Journey into Mystery 655
K. Immonen (w) and Schiti (a) and Bellaire (c)

Whatever is in this space station is infecting Gaea and Skuttlebutt/Ti Asha Ra and Sif is pretty sure at this point, especially as she looks upon the new and monstrous form of Gaea, that this is not all for the best. They manage to rescue Ti Asha Ra, who tells them that the ship is insistent on finding new lifeforms and it's accepted Ti Asha Ra now that she is melded with Skuttlebutt because that makes her something new and different, maybe better. Now the ship has its hands on Gaea and boy, looking for a new lifeform and you find that and it's pretty exciting. However, it's also a little more than the ship can handle and it's losing a little bit of control, now zooming at Earth in the hopes to find more new and pure lifeforms. Sif and Beta Ray Bill get to the front of the ship to try to stop it from getting to Earth and are somewhat quickly restrained by the new Gaea. Sif manages to break through and communicate with Gaea and the ship and explain the everything in the universe is the way it is and there's no changing that. Plenty of things simply are and there is no way of fixing that; it's not a problem to be solved, just a puzzle which can't be perfected, only nurtured. Her talk is good enough to stop the ship and release Gaea and Ti Asha Ra who, along with Sif and Bill, crash-land in Asgard. The book (and the series) ends with another nice moment from Sif who, in talking with Gaea, confesses that she truly hated the experience of being the source of the now burgeoning garden in Asgard.

Really sad to see this series go. I've been a supporter of it for some time and I think Immonen's really found the voice for Sif, both as it pertains to this series and as it pertains to the character as a whole. It's been an entirely lovely ride with absolutely gorgeous art and color (this issue really outdoes itself) and I'm sad that such a reliable and different series has to fall by the wayside. It's been such a fun and fresh experience with plenty of stellar moments and drama laced with natural and flowing humor. There are laughs in nearly every issue, genuine ones, that don't come from a place that feels like they needed to add laughs and so stuffed a few jokes in. Instead, they're natural and everything fits every character. There are really great bits to this book and every new issue I came out happy with the outcome. You can't ask for more than that. I hope to see Sif (and particularly this Sif) again soon. But guys, really, buy this book. I don't care if you don't know what's happening with the series or the arc, the art and the writing will be more than enough to get you through the single issue. Sad to see this one go. It's bee a great run.

FF 11
Fraction (w) and M. Allred (a) and L. Allred (c)

So I was wrong in my pre-game and this is actually the second to last, I believe, issue of FF helmed by Fraction. Anyway, let's push on. Maximus the Mad is free and roaming the halls of the Baxter Building (kept badly under wraps by Ahura and company), Julius Caesar is now a teacher of the Future Foundation, and the new Fantastic Four are trying to use Caesar's time machine to return to the moment the old Fantastic Four left (that's a weird sentence, that is). The new F4 are yanked out of the timestream, though, by the Impossible Man, a character from the '60s who has always been more of a jokester than a villain. He does mess with them a bit but ultimately tells them he'll help them find the old F4 if they take his son, Adolf Impossible, back to the FF with them. They agree but find it a little hard coaxing Adolf to come with them. Eventually he consents (thanks in no small part to Medusa) and the Impossible Man tells the F4 that the other F4 are on the verge of being lost into a parallel dimension. Meanwhile, Caesar meets and introduces himself to Maximus and the two form an easy alliance.

Speaking of books that are fun, this is definitely one of them. Every issue, like with JiM, has several easy laughs and pretty natural writing (JiM's writing is both natural and Asgardian-unnatural, which is a super interesting thing to come across). Even after 11 issues, it's a little hard to get a read on this team as a team, which I think is a really smart idea. Maybe I would be against it if these people were all good friends and we weren't getting the team-vibe out of them after this long but these guys are mostly acquaintances (with the exception of Darla who didn't know any of these guys beforehand) and it shows. Not only are they acquaintances, they're acquaintances who were only supposed to be needed to band together for four seconds. Now they find themselves in the tough position of needing to be a full fledged superhero team and work together with no desire or ideas on how to actually do that. It's shining through particularly well right now as She-Hulk snipes sarcastically at everyone and Darla does what she can (as something of a newbie to this world) to band everyone together. Medusa is likely the most fit to lead the team as the long-time queen of Attilan but no one trusts her after the Wizard's manipulation. Scott, who seems to be the actual leader (after taking Reed's spot on the team specifically), is still coping (poorly) with the death of his daughter not long ago and Ant-Mans don't tend to make the best leaders. So it's an immensely interesting team dynamic, and one that seems to be coming to a head right now as tempers flare. Oh, and the Impossible Man is pretty funny here. Good stuff, you guys.

Gambit 15, Journey into Mystery 654

Gambit 15
Asmus (w) and C. Mann and S. Mann (a) and Rosenberg (c)

After weeks of impressive thievery, Gambit finds himself at a bit of a crossroads. Is the thievery fulfilling enough to return to full time? Should he go teach at the Jean Grey School again? Would he make an awful Avenger if he took up Rogue's offer of joining the Unity Avengers? Could he and Pete Wisdom get along together if he went to work for him, taking up an offer that I'm not sure was ever extended? To add to it, he's brought more than a little attention to himself in the thieving community with his recent exploits and now someone is trying to get to him by stealing the NYSE bell, which signifies the start of the day for the stock market and which was always a goal of Gambit's, and leaving clues that he's sure to respond to. He and Fence investigate but it's likely Gambit won't like where the investigation leads.

This probably final arc of Gambit (not sure how long the arc is planning to go but the book isn't far from its final issue) will see Gambit pitted against his past, among probably other things and it's off to an interesting start as Remy has to start piecing things together here to try to get a jump on someone who clearly has a significant jump on him. This isn't like Joelle or Cich, who he had to get involved with before they knew who he was; this is someone who is targeting Gambit for one reason or another who Gambit has to work backwards to match. The writing of this book, as it has for a while, alternates between fluidity and somewhat clunky dialogue with Gambit throwing in a few somewhat forced jokes to keep up his "wisecracking Cajun" persona. There are a couple of vague references to distaste with the 1% and wealth and everything but none of it really adds to his character as none of it is said with any sort of passion beyond "ah well, I'd like ta steal from more people and they have a lotta money and Robin Hood, ya know?" (Perfect Gambit, nailed it) That's been kind of an issue with this series throughout; for everything we've seen from Gambit I'm not sure we've actually learned anything new about the character or anything even particularly compelling. Sure he had a love interest in Joelle mixed against his love for Rogue but the things we knew about Gambit prior to this, the things that were set in stone for his character, were essentially "thief," "Cajun," "womanizer," and "wisecracking." I don't know that anything in this series has characterized him beyond that in any way, leaving the series still readable and enjoyable, but somewhat forgettable. Can every issue bring some revelatory truth about a character? I don't know, probably not. But some should. I can't honestly say that any have, to this point, in this series.

Journey into Mystery 654
K. Immonen (w) and Schiti (a) and Bellaire (c)

Sif and Bill are dealing with their problems in their various manners, with Sif trying to track Gaea and Bill agonizing over the loss of Skuttlebutt. Sif manages to find Gaea in the garden Bill had been rejected from and discovers that the garden has worked wonders on the All-Mother, leaving her rejuvenated and fresh. Sif doesn't feel comfortable with how quickly it's happened and wants to return Gaea to Asgardia but Gaea is wary of that, as she feels her sickness was brought on by all of the Stark Technology used to build Asgardia leaving her with little real plant life to keep her happy. Meanwhile, Bill has been found by Skuttlebutt, now inhabiting the thought-dead body of Ti Asha Ra, pulled out of the ship by the entity that's driving this whole story and put into the new body. Something sinister is afoot and Sif needs to get to the bottom of it before it corrupts everything.

Unlike Gambit, there's less that's been explored in Sif's character over the years so there's more for Immonen to really introduce for her. That said, I don't think it's been an easy task for Immonen to take a great warrior of Asgard(ia) and cast her in this new light, one that really gives her a full-fledged personality and one that, at times, has the ability to be something silly and fun. Frankly, this book has been astoundingly good each issue and it's almost entirely on the back of Sif, who does exactly what's needed of her for the plot but does it with a character that's wholly entertaining. This story is certainly an interesting one with some sinister machinations behind it and a solid mystery for Bill and Sif to get to the bottom of but the driving force is certainly the writing and the characters themselves. Like I said with Gambit, there are times where certain writers know that the dialogue should be fun but don't seem to have anything particularly fun to say, so they strong arm some predictable joke in to take advantage of the timing. Here, as with just about every issue of Immonen's JiM, the writing flows pretty naturally and the quick and fun writing catches you off-guard. Sometimes the humor comes from the situation, sometimes it comes from the snappy dialogue, sometimes it comes from the tried-and-true Asgardians talk funny method but it almost all always works. Schiti's art perfectly compliments it, giving exactly the right feel to every situation and Bellaire's colors continue to be among the best in the industry. Letterer Clayton Cowles gets in on the fun too, setting up word bubbles nicely to give a sense of flow to the conversation, directing your eyes to read the dialogue the way its meant to be read (I don't highlight letterers enough but they do some pretty astounding work. The general rule of thumb is that if you're pointing out a letterer, it's never because they've done something well, just because they've screwed something up. They're kind of the referees of comics). Solid book throughout and another particularly good issue. Here's a panel from this issue because I found it especially funny (not sure it is out of context but whatever, my blog my rules) and I don't think I'm going to highlight it at any other time this week.

Gambit 14, Journey Into Mystery 653, Nova 5

Gambit 14
Asmus (w) and Pham (a) and Roseberg (c)

Following the long story all connected to Joelle, Gambit gets a different case sent his way. Or rather, he's sent its way, I suppose, by Pete Wisdom of England's MI13. Wisdom, who we last saw being very annoyed with Gambit way back in Gambit's first arc, has made a bit of a huge mistake and needs Gambit to, on the down low, rectify it. A powerful book of fairy magic meant to harness some of the creatures in the fairy realm (England is full of that kind of stuff in Marvel). The book is the Faerie Grimoire and it was meant as a peace offering to those in the fairy realm and a girl stole it right out from Wisdom's nose. He needs Gambit to help get it back. The two snipe each other a bit (well, in truth, Wisdom snipes at Gambit a bit and Gambit enjoys himself altogether too much) and they put their plan in action, which involves Gambit posing as a magic store clerk (yes, they have magic stores in England) and sleight of handing the book away from her when she's distracted. It doesn't go particularly well as she recognizes Gambit and reveals herself to be a Death Reaper, which is some sort of scantily clad black magic practicer, from the looks of it. Gambit breaks free from her by kinetically charging some piercings on her face but it gives her enough time to start summoning from the book. Gambit tackles her and they both fall through a portal into the fairy world, where a bunch of fairies have already professed their love for Gambit and attack the Death Reaper, saving him and ending the book, save for one page that shows his return to Earth as a knight to the fairy people, infuriating Wisdom.

There are things to like about this issue but not a ton. The dialogue between Pete and Gambit is the highlight but there are times that even that borders on over-the-top. There's a story in here that might have been worth telling but it's very bogged down by a need to have everyone in the world kiss Gambit. The end of the issue, a severe deus ex, almost makes it feel like Asmus started it when he had more time to work with the story, then had to shut it down quickly to give enough time to write a final arc before the series ends after Marvel cancelled the book. That might be me making excuses for the book but, even if that's not what happened, it's the way that it felt.

Journey Into Mystery 653
K. Immonen (w) and Schiti (a) and Bellaire (c)

After Beta Ray Bill and Scuttlebutt (his ship) crash into the Avengers Jupiter base, where Sif is trying to help Gaea rest, Bill and Sif have a chance to catch up a bit. He tells her about the ship that's crashed and they argue a bit about how best to proceed. Bill and Sif set out to try to find both Gaea and Bill's girlfriend amidst the wreckage. Sif manages to find Bill's girlfriend and tries to transport her, wounded, to healing tech that Tony has in the base. She gets her there but she fears she was too late, as she dies in the tech. Bill finds them and is somewhat cold about her death. Sif asks for answers and he's unable to give many, explaining that something like a haze fell over him, blocking his memories a bit. That fits with whatever's been happening here too, as we saw Sif at the start of the issue confused about her predicament and unsure what she remembers. At first, the audience thinks it's just grogginess from the crash but it seems deeper than that now, with this new reveal. It also explains why people keep forgetting about Gaea. When Sif remembers, she takes off back into the base. Gaea is missing from her chamber and the audience sees her descending somewhere into the planet, into a place where Bill had stumbled searching for his girlfriend and which had rejected him, nearly killing him.

There's a lot happening here and it's pretty masterfully executed as pieces of the story make themselves evident to us when they need to be made evident and not a moment sooner. There's a lot of strange tension between Sif and Bill but it's written well and it often gives way to arguing or jokes of a sort. The story itself is an interesting one but we're a bit too early into it to tell how interesting it will remain. Let's assume pretty interesting. The saddest part about this series is its impending cancellation. This story feels like it could go on a bit longer and it's the sort of series that you feel deserves a sort of wrap-up issue but, with only two issues left, it's hard to imagine that there will be time for that. Depressing times as another good book winds down. Ugh, you guys, Red She-Hulk only has one more issue. WHAT IS THIS WORLD?

Nova 5
Loeb (w) and McGuinness and Vines (w) and Delgado (c)

Sam gets his helmet back out of the hands of Titus and uses it to rocket Titus away from his home for a moment while he runs and grabs the Ultimate Nullifier. His mom sees him in the Nova gear right as he's about to take off, a problem he decides he'll have to deal with later. Nova follows Titus to the spot he was blasted, which happens to be in front of a couple of the cool kids from school (including Sam's love interest). He protects them easily from Titus before grabbing him and space-jumping him back to the point in space where the Chitauri fleet is waiting. Titus is astounded by the decision, laughing at how stupid it is. Nova, separating himself a bit from Titus, pulls out the Ultimate Nullifier, prepared to use it on the whole fleet if he needs to. Titus tries to grab the Nullifier from him and ends up activating it, creating a sort of black hole in Chitauri space that everything gets pulled into, including, despite Sam's attempt to save him, Titus himself. The black hole closes and Gamora and Rocket Raccoon appear behind Sam to congratulate him and to take the Ultimate Nullifier for safe-keeping. He refuses and brings the Nullifier to the Watcher instead, who seems pleased with his actions. Then he returns home to talk with his mom, who is not upset with what he's doing as she always knew he would. He vows to find and save his father, who is still out there somewhere.

Everything wraps up with a nice little bow at the end of Nova's first arc. It wasn't a bad ending just like this isn't a bad book, per se, but every step seemed a little predictable. The introduction of this new Nova Corps is an interesting decision and could lead to pretty neat things but, by and large, this first arc was fairly cookie-cutter stuff. You can kind of read every beat as it's happening and it leads to asking what audience this book is aiming to grab. I would say this, more than something like Wolverine and the X-Men (which I have similar questions about), is an all-ages book that is meant to get kids more into comics. There are things here for adults to enjoy but not that many. If that's the intent, I think this book is probably doing fine. If it's not the intent and this is meant to be a serious addition to the Marvel Universe, I don't think it can last at this rate. However, the change in Novas from Richard Rider to Sam Alexander tells me that I am right. I'm so smart, guys.

Marvel cancels Journey into Mystery - Comics this week

First, a moment of silence for another cancellation. Marvel has decided to end Journey into Mystery with issue 655. This is a depressing one all around. The book, which split from Thor in 2011 during Fear Itself and was, for my money, the best part of Fear Itself, featured an amazing run by Kieron Gillen focused on Kid Loki in a sort of novel-like approach to comics. That run ended with issue 645 and Kathryn Immonen has done a great job on the title since, shifting the focus to Asgard's premiere warrior, the lady Sif. On top of the fact it's been a solid run with some great moments, it means we lose the only female led book written by a woman other than Kelly Sue DeConnick's Captain Marvel (which is, of course fantastic, and appears later in this post, in fact). I think Marvel has been taking the right steps with promoting its female characters but it's a gradual process, and not one that people seem overly willing to speed up. Watching this book falter is upsetting on a couple of levels; it raises questions about the readership and about gender in comics as a whole. Of course, these are easy questions to put to the side because, in truth, Sif isn't a huge character in the Marvel Universe (not on the level, at least, of Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Spider-Man, etc.) and she's Asgardian. Both of those things could just as easily have contributed to the book's sales as much or more than the female-led aspect. My hope is that that's true (though it's still always depressing to see a bold choice in lead characters go uncredited) and that we have more female-led books and more women writers at Marvel in spite of this cancellation. As is, though, check out all of Journey into Mystery, from Gillen's masterpiece on Loki to Immonen's examination of what it means to be the greatest warrior of Asgard with Sif. On to the next section (I had been planning to write this top half for Monday since news of the cancellation broke late last week and promptly forgot about my plans entirely by the time Monday rolled around).

Age of Ultron 10
I haven't been overly thrilled by this series but things are bound to happen that impact the larger Universe with the conclusion of this event. It's easier to judge an event knowing all parts so we'll have a better feel for how this one rates after it ends, though it won't change some things about the series. This issue is also set to feature a slew of artists including Joe Quesada, Alex Maleev, and Butch Guice, among series regulars Carlos Pacheco and Brandon Peterson. Should have something to like in there and it's worth at least checking in after the conclusion to see the shape of the Universe going forward.

Captain Marvel 13
Carol's Enemy Within storyline continues here as we bounce quickly from last week's Avengers Assemble. We know our enemy, we know our heroes, and we know a bit about our problems. How will all of this slot together when it's all said and done? It's an interesting story and DeConnick's reinvented Captain Marvel remains one of the best characters in one of the best books Marvel has right now. Keep reading this one, as I keep recommending it.

New Avengers 7
One of the easier things to do on a week that features a handful of Avengers books is to pick what books I'm most excited for. Yes, I am an Avengers fan in general but really, it comes down to the fact that Marvel NOW has brought the best Avengers stories I've read in a long time. New Avengers continues to impress me every issue with the story, the weight of the story, the characters, and the phenomenal art (which, along with the colors, mimic the weight of the story). I don't envision a time when I won't be excited for this book. I never want to envision that time.

Uncanny Avengers 9
This is another in the line of solid new Avengers titles launched with Marvel NOW (the main Avengers book is too, and also comes out this week, but it's been bumped to keep things very nearly almost fresh in this post). This is the only Avengers team that was brought together for a purpose beyond "stop bad guys/things." The Avengers were hand-chosen by Cap and Iron Man to be the best of the best and to form little teams to dispatch everywhere. The New Avengers were brought together by their past and by the weight of the problem. This team was delicately selected to represent a bond between Avengers and X-Men. That, by itself, creates a tone for the book that Remender has made sure to capitalize on. This book may be the strongest at creating its tone that Marvel has and it's worth reading for everything it can do.

X-Men Legacy 12
I have been blown away by the quality of this book time and again. Adding to how happy with the book and the character of David Haller I am already, last issue was breathtaking. David's conviction and Spurrier's dedication to breaking out of certain superhero tropes floored me and the most incredible part was that it was EASY TO DO. All David had to do was continue saying what he'd been saying all through the last couple issues: he wants to get rid of his powers. I can't wait to see more this week of how David interacts with the Red Skull, who will no doubt be caught somewhat off-guard by this approach (don't forget, Red Skull's greatest enemy is Captain America, who would never give the Red Skull any sort of upper hand).

Journey into Mystery 652, Iron Man 258.3

Journey into Mystery 652
K. Immonen (w) and Schiti (a) and Bellaire (c)

For whatever reason, I tend not to clump this book among my favorites. Part of that I would have to attribute to the fact that I have so many books I'm a bit in love with right now. The other part might be that it hasn't really blown me away in any issue so far. It could still have something to do with the fact that my mind tends to seize up a little around Asgard stuff; there's a lot of history there and I don't know huge swaths of it, even considering how much I do know and that frustrates me. However, when we get right down to it, I love this book because of the way Immonen treats Sif. Immonen clearly has a perfect picture of the way she wants her main character to be presented and the way that Sif deserves to be presented. She's still undeniably Asgardian but she is her own Asgardian. She still has all the same warrior tendencies and the same bafflement at Earth qualities but she has such a clearly defined voice aside from all of those rather defined traits. If you're looking for a book with an interesting character and a good place to read character, you could do far worse than this one. As that is something I'm usually looking for, I tend to enjoy this book throughout then forget about it when I'm choosing favorites. So it goes.

Gaea, one of the Asgardia all-mothers, has taken ill and no one knows what to do about it. She's, as you might assume, the all-mother tied to nature so the Asgardians are particularly nervous about what this could mean. They also have no idea how to heal her. Sif goes to Broxton to talk to Jane Foster and see if humans have any sort of thoughts on this and Jane recommends quarantining and observing Gaea and her garden. Tony Stark offers an asteroid that he has marked as a place where they could quarantine her. Sif volunteers to take care of it and watch her out there but, when they get there, they get a call from Beta Ray Bill asking them to quickly evacuate the base because he and his ship Skuttlebutt are in pursuit of a ship that's set to crash on the asteroid, a ship that is being driven by Bill's ex-girlfriend. There's a lot of fun dialogue throughout the issue and Sif and Bill's relationship is already looking like a fun one, so it'll be good to see their interplay throughout the arc. Just a really fun book with a very strong central character.

Iron Man 258.3
Michelinie (w) and Ross and Layton (a) and Sotomayor (c)

Entity is planning to kill both Iron Man and Justin Hammer, as Tony figured out last issue, so Iron Man goes to warn and protect Hammer of the impending attack. He gets there and is attacked by Hammer's defenses before being able to relay the message. As Hammer disengages his own attack, Entity sends in a squad of SHIELD Mandroids that he's hacked and a squad of Dreadnoughts to kill the pair. Iron Man is able to hold them all off long enough for Hammer to use his emergency escape ship to launch off to his space satellite. With Hammer clear of his island, Tony blows the whole place up to disable the Mandroids and Dreadnoughts. As they regroup, Tony heads for the satellite. His suit, though, isn't particularly made for space travel and he finds himself running low on oxygen as he reaches Hammer, who decides not to open the door for him, preferring to rid the world of Iron Man while he has the chance. Meanwhile, Rhodey has been trapped in Stark's underground computer base by the Entity and looks for a way out. He finds a new suit that looks like the War Machine suit (I don't know where exactly this series falls in continuity as it pertains to Rhodey and War Machine) which he determines isn't connected to the computer system, so it's free of Entity's influence. However, the last time Rhodey was in a suit was a pretty traumatic experience so he has to will himself into the suit, which he does to escape and try to help Tony.

Big ol' fight scenes permeate through this issue but not a ton else. There's not a giant focus on advancing the plot behind the fact that now Hammer seems to know Entity is after him and Rhodey is in a suit and on his way to help Tony. By and large, though, the issue spends its time with explosions and Tony narrating how he's going to defeat his various foes. Makes it a little tricky to delve into the plot and the characters when there isn't much to say. Oh well. Next issue is prime for some plot to happen, I suppose.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Journey into Mystery 651, Fury MAX 11

Guardians of the Galaxy 2
Bendis (w) and McNiven, Pichelli, Dell, and Morales (a) and Ponsor (c)

The Guardians go into London to stop the Badoon attack. The Badoon have cut off all types of communication to and from the city, leaving the Guardians as the only ones available to fend off the invasion (aside from possibly Captain Britain, but Iron Man waves off the suggestion inexplicably). The team splits up and each hero, aside from Groot who is still regrowing, takes a Badoon ship to take out. They do pretty well, with Rocket perhaps doing the best. He storms through a ship, killing off anyone in his way, before setting the ship to self-destruct and crash into another ship. Drax is on that ship and only barely, with the aid of Gamora and Iron Man, escapes the explosion. When they land, they ask if he's okay and he waves them off angrily. Meanwhile, the Spartax King (Quill's father) holds a meeting with the Kree Supreme Intelligence, Young Annihilus, Gladiator of the Shi'ar, the queen of the Brood, Freyja the all-mother of Asgardia, and Y'Gaaar of the Badoon in the Negative Zone, which apparently can just be opened and closed at will. They meet to discuss Earth, which J-Son says is likely one generation from space travel and is a constant pain in everybody's butt just by staying where they are. He cites the numberous times they've rebuffed Galactus, the Phoenix, Thanos, the Kree, the Skrull, and so many others. He asks to hear if anyone is on his side and everyone except Freyja seems to be. Freyja says that declaring war on Earth is tantamount to declaring war on Asgard. J-Son and Y'Gaaar share a knowing glance. Back in London, the Spartax army descends on the Guardians and declares them prisoners of war for supporting and protecting Earth.
I'm still not totally sold on this premise as it all revolves around the many aliens in the Marvel Universe feeling as if Earth is such a threat it's worth destroying at this point. While the argument that Earth is a formidable enemy is a solid enough one, given how often they've stopped threats, it seems silly to not welcome them into space and assume they won't send many conquering forces. Sure you have to be ready for their abilities if you're J-Son, in case they're not so amenable, but it feels like the types of leaders these guys are (well, maybe not the evil ones like Annihilus and the Badoon) would at least offer a chance. That's what Freyja says too. I'm glad Freyja didn't agree with them because then I'd have some real issues with the premise feeling like everyone does it just to advance the story. Still, it's enough to push the story and the characters are compelling enough as it stands. I worry about Rocket, who has the most obviously funny lines, turning into something like Deadpool. I suppose he could pan out that way logically, but it worries me anyway. The dialogue works best in short bursts from characters and works worst, I would say, when it's snappy back and forth. That's the way it goes. It's largely bursts, which helps and helps differentiate the characters. We'll see where three takes us.

Journey into Mystery 651
Immonen (w) and Larraz (a) and Bellaire (c)

I admit to being a little confused but pleased with this one. I don't really know enough Asgardian lore to comment particularly much on Fenris, the great wolf who has troubled Asgard in the past, or on what the dwarves are doing. That's all on me, I accept that. However, the issue is certainly still paced well enough and is fun enough to cover any sort of confusion there might be. The issue revolves around Volstagg's daughter Hilde bringing Heimdall's dog (one of Loki's litter from his JiM run) out for a walk in the dead of night and running across the Fenris wolf, being brought by Asgardia by two dwarves. Hilde runs and gets Volstagg, who is awake having a midnight snack. Volstagg rushes to rouse the other two of the Warriors Three before they together get Thor and Sif. There's a lot of really fun dialogue between the characters, making them all feel close, closer than we usually get a chance to see them in the midst of battle in these Asgard books. The relationships feel effortless, simply like they've been happening behind the scenes for years and are coming out naturally. It's a lot of fun stuff, even as they have to battle against Fenris and try to get, essentially, his leash back on him. They eventually listen to his demands and allow, as he requests, Hilde to bring him a golden apple from Idunn's tree. Hilde, cleverer than anyone anticipated, apparently gets the leash on him via sleight of hand.
There's not a ton here if you're looking for plot or an extended story, as this seems like a one-off. Who knows, maybe I'm wrong and they're going to bring this issue back later, but it seems like a solo shot. Still, the characters are a lot of fun and the dialogue is delightful. I can't stress enough how nice it is to see the characters interacting like a family. Volstagg and Hilde have a great father-daughter relationship and everyone else has a great sibling-like relationship to one another (except Sif and Thor, who are definitely NOT acting like siblings in this issue). It's a lot of fun. Definitely worth reading if you're up for a fun issue of character relationships and dialogue.

Fury MAX 11
Ennis (w) and Parlov (a) and Loughridge (c)

Fury MAX has another pretty solid issue as Fury and Hatherly try to get to the bottom of America's involvement in the drug trade in Nicaragua. It turns out the officer who committed "suicide" left a note, which sounds way too forced and like it was written in honor of Fury far too much. Both Fury and Hatherly sniff it out but choose to act like they're buying it. Fury sends Hatherly to check on a fake lead from the note which he expects will lead to the things Barracuda will want them to see while Fury secretly goes after Barricuda. He throws the pilots of his helicopter off his scent before booby-trapping the chopper, giving them no way to communicate with the base. He tells the pilots to stick around the site while he tries to go find Barracuda and the rest. He stakes them out and hears what he needs to hear. Barracuda, though, hears from his man that they THINK Fury and Hatherly drove off, but that a later outpost wasn't sure if Fury was in the transport. Fury slinks off from the area and sees a nearby village Barracuda's crew already hit. He's disgusted to find that they've burned the town and mutilated all the people. Meanwhile, Pug and Shirley have a fight about infidelity and Pug talks about how helpless Shirley is without him.
Though the plot is still interesting and a real world sort of story is incredibly intriguing to watch. However, I do feel like this one went far further to earn its MAX designation than ones in the past have. Lots of swears, lots of dirty images and things. I'm not sure it really improves the issue. In terms of grounding it in realism, I'm not totally sure it works either. I'm not really sold on over-saturating work with swears because it feels too forced and, after a bit, tends to pull the audience out of the story. Otherwise, solid story with some really graphic imagery to get past.

Guardians of the Galaxy 1, Journey into Mystery 650

Guardians of the Galaxy 1
Bendis (w) and McNiven and Dell (a) and Ponsor (c)

I find it interesting that the conceit of this book, at least in the early stages, is that the Guardians of the Galaxy are going to be tasked with protecting Earth from galactic threats. I don't think it's a particularly bad idea and space still gives an awful lot of room to play around, but I find it interesting that the plan is to take an integral part of Marvel Cosmic and bring it right around Earth. Again, I feel like this is coming off as a criticism and I don't intend it to be. I have some criticisms but we'll get to those and longtime readers can probably already guess what they are, given the little (w) tag up above. I legitimately do find it interesting that this galactic team which is set to get a movie in 2014 and has been around since the late 1960s in on-and-off books, most recently in 2008, is going to be dealing with galactic threats that could expand the Universe while sticking pretty close to Earth. The 2008 series had no problem keeping off of Earth. Occasionally someone would make reference to it but, by and large, it was inconsequential because this was a team fighting for far more. I see this as a way to kind of ease into the series. It depends on how long this story will go; if it's the conceit for the entire series (at least for the foreseeable), I think it will wear a bit thin, but if it's the conceit for the beginning of this series to ease readers in and make them feel comfortable with the team without feeling like they're removed from the rest of the Marvel Universe (hence the inclusion of Iron Man), I think it'll serve a good purpose. I do hope that doesn't limit the storytelling to stories that don't challenge regular comic readers in the hopes that all new fans can easily dive in (which is simultaneously both a super nerdy and a kind of snooty thing to say). Another thing that I found pretty cool about the 2008 series was that, I think because of its existence on the outside of the Marvel Universe, it wasn't afraid to challenge readers and to make things confusing. Confusion is good sometimes in comics. It's worked for Gillen in Journey into Mystery and it's working for Hickman in Avengers and Spurrier in X-Men Legacy and in countless other places. It's about keeping readers' heads enough above water to make them keep reading and eventually feel REALLY good when things start coming together. But anyway, it's an interesting idea.

I've loved all of Skottie Young's baby-
variant covers for Marvel NOW!, but
maybe none more so than this one

FOR CRITICISMS, then, I'd like to again point to my usual complaint with Bendis. The dialogue is TV-show back-and-forth with way too much talking and it really pulls the reader out as you can kind of get a headache with so much. Also, and this is nitpicky and probably a personal issue, I tend to hate fake swear words. Like, made up ones because of a new and, ahem, alien language. That's not entirely accurate. I thought it worked really well in Firefly and Serenity (I know, that was Chinese and not an alien language, but my point applies as everyone speaks English except in little bits of Chinese here and there). I don't like it when it's used excessively, seemingly only used to show that they ARE swearing and that they ARE clever little not-swears. In Firefly (and probably in other places I haven't really seen), they used it as appropriate, when a character would actually swear. As I write this, YES I know how nitpicky it is but it really was pretty obnoxious whenever anyone said "krutack," just as it would be obnoxious (and is obnoxious when it happens) if someone swears every few words. Look, most of my regular complaints about Bendis stand, is what I'm saying. I think the story is interesting and the setting is very interesting. We'll see where it goes next time.

Journey Into Mystery 650
Immonen (w) and Schiti (a) and Bellaire (c)

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, they got me. Wasn't Heimdall. It was some weird sand golem in the place of Heimdall that Sif correctly identified at the end of last issue as not-Heimdall and decapitated. Phew. Heimdall was just in Young Avengers. That would have been weird. Anyway. Sif and her little band of berserkers are in Asgardia and they all find it different than they remembered. Svip, the most brutal of the berserkers, finds it worse, far softer than what he remembered, which is what Sif had been feeling to start this arc. She disappears to go find Aerndis, the witch who gave her the berserker power and who apparently was responsible for opening the Bifrost to let her and her three men into Asgardia again. She is withered, dying from the power needed to open the Bifrost. Sif asks her what mad spell Aerndis had placed on her. Aerdnis tells her that it was all an act and that the berserker rage was in her all along; Sif had only come looking for an excuse to use it. Sif doesn't believe her. Heimdall appears to tell her that Svip has gone into Broxton and has unleashed the darkest monster from the lake. Sif and the two others follow her and fight the monster as Svip tries to convince Sif that she's wanted this all along, to fight more monsters and to harden herself where ever that might be. She finally admits to herself that Aerdnis had been right and that she, instead of finding a strength, had found a weakness in herself. She's not thrilled about it. She sends Svip back to the island and restores peace to Broxton. She's learned a valuable lesson in this five part arc and the two berserkers seem better for the journey as well.
If the end of that review (and maybe the rest of it) sounds a little after-school special, it's because it kind of is. Whenever that "the power was inside you all along!" reveal comes around, it's only logical to connect it to that sort of thing, even if the "power" that was inside all along is a berserker warrior toughness and bloodlust. Still, it was a fun episode and it reads pretty well. I think it got bogged down a little with Aerdnis and with Svip at the end, but by and large it was enjoyable and the whole arc was definitely worth telling and a worthy story for Sif. I think she comes out pretty cleanly as the fiercest warrior of Asgardia, so that's a plus. With Sif a little more developed going forward, I'm excited about the second arc of this post-Loki series.

Hawkeye 8, Journey into Mystery 649, Gambit 9

Hawkeye 8
Fraction (w) and Aja and Wu (a) and Hollingsworth (c)

Another really solid entry in this Hawkeye series. This one is a little tougher to follow than the standard Hawkeye (which may be tougher to follow than the standard Marvel production anyway) as it bounces around the story a bit and, this is largely where the confusion comes in, it focuses on Hawkeye's "bad penny," called Penny and Cherry at different times, as we don't know her real name. That is exactly why she makes it a little harder to follow; Penny/Cherry is the best example of an unreliable narrator. We don't know when she's telling the truth, we don't know IF she's told the truth and we don't know why we should believe her. Hawkeye certainly isn't sure at any point except that he's a hero and she's pretty attractive so probably he should help her.

The story is framed around a series of comics Cherry has been discreetly sending Clint. The comics, illustrated wonderfully by Annie Wu, feature a protagonist who looks shockingly like Cherry and drives a car that looks shockingly like the one she sold Clint back in her first appearance. Clint can't help wondering if it is actually her that these comics are depicting but, given Cherry's level or reliability, we never get any sort of clear answer. Regardless, they certainly inform our opinions about her nonetheless. Each comic cover (there are four in total) looks exactly the way they're supposed to, like an older woman-centric kind of magazine (they even have the correct titles, like "Love Fugitive" and "A Girl Like You" which both play into what's happening in Hawkeye and look and sound exactly like the comics they're meant to represent). It's really a great framing device and I can't say enough how wonderful these comic covers look. The clear and detailed style reminds me of McKelvie's work and definitely make me want to look into Annie Wu, who I'm not sure I've seen before. They also represent a clear break from Aja's work while simultaneously fitting perfectly alongside it. It's a really gorgeous issue, maybe more than a regular Hawkeye issue. The story revolving around Cherry is similarly entertaining and has that extra layer of ambiguity given the subject matter.

As the issue winds down, we learn that things are heating up for Hawkeye, as the tracksuit Draculas are offering their services to the major crime players of New York and offering up Hawkeye's life. The crime lords seem pretty split on whether to take the Draculas on their deal but, led by Kingpin, they eventually consent, deciding that in the best case, Hawkeye dies, and in the worst case, the Draculas fail and all get arrested, leaving their new territory a little more open. Thrilling times ahead.

Journey into Mystery
Immonen (w) and Schiti (a) and Bellaire (c)

Uhhhhhhhh, so I think that (SPOILERS) Sif just decapitated Heimdall? So that's a thing that happened.  Huh.

Right, so, when we last saw them, Sif and her newfound trio of Asgardian berserkers slipped through a portal to Earth that happened to bring along various monsters. Sif's battle with a legion of near-spiders (they're only six-armed) ends in some spider-slaughter (assisted by Superior Spider-Man) and leaves us watching around the world (and the atmosphere) as various other heroes (including Monica Rambeau, Hellcat, and Namor) dispatch the remaining monsters with ease. The berserkers in New York bicker about where to go next for a minute before Sif puts her boot down and says that they're going to return to Asgardia to protect the realm. After some more discussion on logistics, Sif manages to place a call to Broxton that sets the wheels in motion for Heimdall to open the Bifrost for our heroes, who promptly pass it and slice off Heimdall's head. Nope, still sounds weird.

I do like the way this comic is executed. It doesn't feel the need to stick with Sif throughout its entirety and it doesn't feel like it has to trap Sif in a threat that doesn't fit with the Marvel Universe. Yes the monsters were real threats but, when this sort of thing happens in other books, that usually leads to the titular character trying to track down each one him or herself. In this case, Immonen rightly points out that, though the monsters are menacing, the other heroes of Earth are capable of taking care of themselves. It's a clever device that also frees Sif up to leave Midgard without spending too much time there and without leaving readers asking why she didn't clean up her own mess. She would have but others got to it first. It's also a nice way to showcase some heroes who have slid off the radar a bit, like Hellcat and Monica (which is not her hero name). Then we get the cliffhanger at the end and boy do we need to get to the next issue to clear up what is happening.

Gambit 9
Asmus (w) and C. Mann and S. Mann w/ Martinez (a) and Rosenberg (c)

I think the best thing that Asmus has done with this book so far (which has been a pretty good book overall) is simply in his feel for the character. Gambit's a tough character to get right and a really easy one to get wrong. You throw in a couple Cajun sounding things and make him pun a lot and boom, classic Gambit. Marvel recently, though, hasn't opted to take the easy way out at any turn. Gambit, like almost all other characters in their own single title or even in their team titles, is being portrayed as somewhat more complex, but not so complex that he gets away from the roots of his character, which is complex enough in its conceit. Okay, that was convoluted. The point is that Gambit, a lifelong thief and regular X-Man, is a complex character just in that description, but his personality seems pretty straightforward. It's not an easy line to walk and Asmus has it lined up pretty well.

This story takes Gambit back to Joelle, the femme fatale that got him into trouble in the first arc of this series. Now she's consorting with super-villains in New York's infamous "Bar With No Name" (the Marvel bar where all the villains hang out and occasionally where Punisher and Daredevil go to let off steam or follow leads) and trying to make deals with some of the bigger members, specifically Tombstone. It's a great little bar atmosphere which features a lot of risque dancers and what not, which would normally have me crying foul but it fits with the establishment. You don't expect the villain's bar to be full of dart boards and sadness. Anyway, it's a nice set-up because it also shows us how Gambit fits into this world. He's greeted courteously by some villains, who consider him a fine member of their ranks (including by Batroc the "oh man you guys I totally love Batroc" Leaper), and treated with suspicion by plenty of others. It just serves to again show the complexity of the character, though he keeps his normal personality throughout his time there. After trying to persuade Joelle to leave with no success, he plants incriminating evidence on her to turn the establishment against her, then gets her out of the bar. Tombstone swears revenge. Later, Gambit and Joelle have a talk wherein she reveals that she has a dying daughter, which is driving all of her actions. It's like the Hawkeye issue in that we're still not sure of her true motives or whether or not she's lying.

This has been a solid run so far. I'm looking forward to where this plays out but I also won't be too upset to eventually lose the Joelle story (if we do). I don't know why, I just haven't connected to the character well. I think she just sprang a little too much out of nowhere and it's left me a little surprised at how quickly Gambit fell head over heels in love with her. Maybe this arc will develop her more (or, quite probably, maybe it's my fault because I didn't pay enough attention to the first few issues) and this will go away, but for now I'm a little hesitant.