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

Leftovers 9-24-14

Okay. I apologize both for my busy week this week and for the upcoming post. Got a lot of apologies to make. ANYWAY, let's get right into and out of it.

All-New Ghost Rider 7

Robbie is still having trouble making his personal life and Eli come to some sort of understanding and he ends up killing a guy to take the money he was owed before another Ghost Rider shows up to complicate things further. Still strong stuff with Smith spending just the right amount of time characterizing Robbie and the neighborhood, though I'm still wary of Hyde's role in all of this. Total Score: 4/5












All-New Invaders 10
Mars attacks? I don't know, man, this book is pretty terrible. They're helped by the daughter of the original Iron Cross who is an Inhuman now and then Torch goes crazy and she promises to help while Mars attacks London and Roger Aubrey, the Mighty Destroyer, literally has a line of dialogue that goes "I'm an incredibly dashing, older gay gentleman, by virtue of which means I'm incredibly vain" directly after he says to Union Jack and Spitfire "A speedster, a young man with a pistol and a vintage motor bike, and a "flamboyant" octogenarian." DOES ANYONE THINK ANYTHING IN THIS BOOK THEY DON'T SAY? Perhaps James Robinson would like to sit beside us as we read his books and explain bit-by-bit what's happening in case we don't understand? Total Score: 1/5

Amazing Spider-Man 1.5

Spider-Man finally beats Clash and we're all relieved because Clash is not interesting nor likable and looking back to this point in Spidey history means Spidey also isn't terribly interesting and isn't really likable so now we can all move on with our lives. Total Score: 2/5














Amazing X-Men 11
Wendigos! They're everywhere! Wolverine is one! The X-Men travel to the realm of monsters where monster Tanaraq is getting supercharged by the Wendigo presence on Earth and where he plans his attack on Earth, even expanding the Wendigo curse to mean Wendigos can exist outside of Canada! Where goes the Wendigo? EVERYWHERE. Pretty good stuff, drags a little bit despite all of the action, but still a compelling story and Yost brings to this book his uncanny ability to nail the voice of everyone he touches. Total Score: 4/5

Cyclops 5
Cyclops and Corsair have fixed the tracking beacon bounty hunters placed on their ship and therefore successfully lure a group to them, managing to outwit them and steal their ships, though Cyclops overrides his dad's plans a few times to show compassion for the bounty hunters. Good characterization of a young and optimistic Scott and now we can continue our journeys with the interesting father-son duo. Total Score: 4/5











Deadpool 35
MAYBE, just MAYBE, there will some day be a week where nary a single DEADPOOL book will be released. But that's not this week so, onwards. Deadpool spends some quality time with Ellie and has to fight a Spider-Slayer Dracula has put his consciousness into, which he defeats handily. He also brings the refugees from Butler's camps to the Jean Grey School and has Beast run medical tests on them, which could complicate things as Hank quickly calls Deadpool back, needing his liver for a vital operation. Bit of a break from the action here as even the Dracula fight has very little stakes (HA) and mostly plays for laughs, which are certainly there if not enough to carry the issue. Total Score: 3/5

Edge of Spider-Verse 3

Dustin Weaver introduces us to Aaron Aikman, the only Spider-Man who has sought out the Spider, injecting himself with a serum that gave him his powers and using advanced machinery to vigilânt around the city. There's a full story here about his laboratory and the woman he loved risking everything to save her daughter but the real story is the twist ending when Morlun shows up and kills Aikman, meaning that just because we're seeing these dudes on the EDGE of SPIDER-VERSE, they won't necessarily make it to the main showing. Pretty good stuff, drags like any of these have when they've had to really give a lot of backstory for one issue, but it holds together somewhat nicely. Total Score: 3/5






Guardians of the Galaxy 19
Quill continues to tell his story to Gamora and explains that they couldn't die in the Cancerverse so their sacrifice had kind of been for nothing, now they had to play eternal keep-away from Thanos with the Cosmic Cube, made more troublesome by the appearance of the Cancerverse Avengers who are all evil and who want the Cube themselves and, sadly, eventually get it. The issue is all from the memory of Quill so it's basically a big ol' flashback where we don't know the full ending but we kind of know maybe half of it (Drax, Quill, and Thanos, in the very least, survive to return to the 616) so kind of low stakes here for a story that's going to last at LEAST three issues. Total Score: 2/5

Inhuman 6

Dante and his new friends Jason (rock-based powers) and Naja (weird-based powers) find their way back to Attilan, now run by The Unspoken, and manage to, with the help of Vinatos, the medical regent of New Attilan, infiltrate The Unspoken's throne room. He still has the Terrigen crystals he found so he's still insanely powerful but Dante attacks him all the same, getting horribly wounded in the fight for his troubles. While Naja continues the distraction, Jason uses his rock powers to destroy the crystals, effectively ending The Unspoken's new reign and restoring Medusa to the throne. Good issue for the NuHumans as everything is set right once again, though Lineage seems ready to strike a deal with the imprisoned Unspoken. Total Score: 4/5






Loki: Agent of Asgard 6
Thanks to some time-and-space trickery, Doctor Doom finds himself face to face at the end of the universe with the original Loki, who derides and denounces him, causing Doom to go back to his own time and search out the young Loki, pulling him into battle at his castle. He ends up trapping Loki, who doesn't want any part of this fight, and announcing that he's captured a god, effectively weakening him by destroying his story. Though things seem lost for young Loki, he secretly brought Verity Willis (eye roll!) with him and now she's prepared to help her friend. I literally have no idea what's going on and what the point of any of this is. Total Score: 2/5

Magneto 10
Magneto has been captured by the Red Skull and is being tortured by Xavier's brain in the hopes that Skull can break him. Magneto tries to hide in all his worst memories, giving us a full tour of many of them, but finds eventually that he cannot keep Skull at bay. Before he breaks, he's rescued by the similarly captured Havok, Rogue, and Scarlet Witch. Pretty sad issue for Magneto, you guys, as we see the worst of the worst, but it follows the theme Bunn has set up for this series, which often goes back to why Magneto fights. Total Score: 4/5

New Warriors 10
The Celestials are coming! The New Warriors strike again at the High Evolutionary and his Evolutionaries. Speedball makes a great Ghostbusters reference! The Eternals show up! Action, hijinks, comedy, drama, and more! Check out NEW WARRIORS 10! Total Score: 5/5














Savage Wolverine 23
A story from Wolverine's past where someone drugs him, slowing his healing factor and tries to hunt him through the woods of his animal-times. He's protected by the runt of a wolf pack but eventually the wolf sacrifices himself to save Wolverine, drawing Wolverine out to murder everyone in sight. Typical Wolverine-in-the-woods story done with maybe a little less flare and heart and with even more hand-holding than some of the others I've seen. Total Score: 2/5

Storm 3
Storm is called to Kenya by a mysterious benefactor saying that he needs her help to bring rain and water to the people there. Though she's wary it's a trap, it's a cause that matters enough to her to send her there anyway. It's not entirely a trap, but it was Forge, with whom she has a rocky relationship, who sent the letter. He swears he can do it and she chooses to trust him, though one of the Kenyans doesn't and his interference sort of sabotages everything, though Storm does her part to sabotage the machinery, demanding that Forge first spend a year in Kenya working on the tech and working with the people so that they can all have a mutual trust and to ensure that the tech will work and not just be an experiment. It's another good issue to characterize Storm, who wants to trust Forge but knows things aren't that black and white. Instead, she comes up with an interesting plan that roots itself in trust and hope. That's what we want to see out of Storm. Total Score: 4/5

Thunderbolts 31
It's Punisher vs. Red Hulk in the final battle of the T-Bolts. It's a huge fight and the momentum swings back and forth until Hawkeye and the Avengers (though the lesser known ones, like Cannonball, Sunspot, and Shang-Chi) show up to break up the fighting. Red Hulk doesn't believe they're the Avengers but Punisher stands down, unwilling to harm the good guys. Elektra turns up to calm Red Hulk, dropping the Leader's body in between them and showing them that he was an LMD and that, in fact, it was the Leader behind all of this the whole time. Ross announces the Thunderbolts are done, leaving the Red Leader victorious for next time. Plenty of fun in this issue as the fight gets more and more elevated. Also fun to see Hawkeye lead his team of lesser known Avengers into battle and to see the Punisher and Red Hulk struggle to understand that they are, in fact, Avengers. Total Score: 4/5

Comics this week

Okay, we're going to switch it up because I'm not super-duper thrilled about the books out this week. I don't love going negative buuuuuuuuuuut, after some ridiculous amount of these posts, I'm going to mention the five books I'm least excited about because I think I can reach five without stretching, which I'm not sure I could do going the normal way. Sorry pals who don't like when I get negative. Just know, as is the nature of comics, any one of these could be great this week. I'm just not thrilled with them ahead.

All-New Invaders 9
Have I mentioned that I really love the Invaders and I'm really sad by how much I don't like this book? Because that certainly is the case. We'll see as they enter their third arc if things have changed any for this book.

All-New Ultimates 7
I had to read one of these last week! Why is there another one so soon? Maybe releasing them back to back means they won't have to spend most of the issue recapping who all these meaningless and uninteresting characters are.

All-New X-Men 31
Geez, we're three-fifths of the way into this post and we're STILL stuck in the ALL-NEW section. I've been against this book from its very premise so maybe some people have already written off my opinion (teamed also with my typical dislike for series writer Brian Michael Bendis) but if that's true, why do you keep coming back? Look, now I'm not just negative, I'm openly confrontational and argumentative. Feh. What did I hope to accomplish with this post?

Savage Hulk 3
Are we still in the first arc or did we get past that? I honestly can't remember. I certainly have not enjoyed this series as it's started, though I think there's still hope for a book like this one. I've just been real bored to this point, am I right?

Wolverine 12
Perhaps a controversial pick as Paul Cornell's second WOLVERINE series comes to a close and we prepare to move forward to the DEATH OF WOLVERINE mini-series but that doesn't mean I'm willing to forgive this last issue. Maybe my point for this post was just to include books that will likely never make it on to a typical pre-game post. Hey all you books, you can all try to be a DEADPOOL and turn around enough to at least be in consideration.

Leftovers 7-23-14

100th Anniversary Special Avengers 1
Stokoe

In the future, America has been sent to the Negative Zone in the aftermath of a fight with the Badoon and it's left only Avengers Rogue, Doctor Strange, and Beta Ray Bill (as well as brain-in-a-jar Iron Man) behind. It had left Captain America too but he set off on his own to find his country again. As the remaining Avengers head to their Malaysian base, they're attacked by the Moloids and Mole Man the Third, who blames them for destroying Subterranea. A fight ensues but Doctor Strange focuses all of his energies on creating New Subterranea in the space that used to hold America. The Avengers set off on their new adventures with a new ally in Mole Man. As ever, this 100TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL comes with a lot of backstory and exposition, as well as some choppy dialogue ("ROGUE, you've gotten a special gift from LOGAN that puts you outside of time's regular path and I, DOCTOR STRANGE, have reincarnated so many times that I look the way I do now and am still around, not to mention BETA RAY BILL, who remains a horse!") that is only for the audience, not for the story. Still, writer/artist James Stokoe's style is certainly unique in Marvel (it reminds me of something but I frustratingly can't put a finger on it) so it's worth checking out to see if you like what he brings to the table. It's, uh, not really for me, so... Total Score: 2/5


All-New Doop 4
Milligan (w) and Santagati and Lafuente (a) and L. Allred (c) and Cowles (l)

There's a good deal of Doop backstory as he and his mother argue, with Doop recalling his single mother and her abuse of him in the wake of her husband's departure. He remembers his believed origin, created by filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, and his growth as a documentary filmmaker and eventual cameraman for X-Statix. Finally, though, his mother reveals their deep secret, the one Raze threatened to exploit: he wasn't actually created by Ingmar Bergman. Now, with Doop panicking and exploding through the margins with reverberations felt in the real world, Wolverine goes to talk to Doop's mother himself. I'm beginning to get the feeling that this book isn't for me, you guys. Total Score: 2/5


All-New Invaders 8
J. Robinson (w) and Pugh (a) and Guru eFX (c) and Petit (l)

Human Torch is mad with SHIELD for the perceived slight of having a robot psychiatrist evaluate him and then attack him only to have Coulson explain that it wasn't them, that Malloy was some sort of half-tech, half-alien combo not under their employ. Satisfied, Hammond moves on to his next mission, to rescue the kidnapped Toro, whose powers weren't mutant after all, but latent Inhuman powers so he actually cocooned and was kidnapped during INHUMANITY. The report comes in from an informant who turns out to be Winter Soldier and Torch and Namor meet up with him outside a German base. They create a distraction while Bucky goes in quiet to try to find Toro. However, the distraction starts to go poorly when it turns out the base is protected by an army of Deathloks. There's something like an interesting story here but it's still handcuffed by stilted writing that over explains EVERYTHING (except how you could have Inhuman powers, particularly to the extent Toro has had them, without ever being exposed to the Terrigen Mists, am I right, guys?) and switches tone so rapidly ("I'm annoyed about the robot thing and NOW I'M MAD ABOUT THE ROBOT THING and now I'm calm because it was just a giant security breach for the world's biggest defense agency and not an insult"). Still hate to say that I do not like this book. Total Score: 2/5


All-New Ultimates 5
Fiffe (w) and Pinna (a) and Woodard (c) and Cowles (l)

Bombshell, under the control of Diamondback, lures the Ultimates back to their base where they're attacked by Diamondback's gang again. Again the Ultimates seem to be well-matched enough against Diamondback's lieutenants but the tables turn when Crossbones enters the fray. Before anything too serious can become of our heroes, though, Bombshell snaps out of her mind-control and pretty much blows the place up, determined to finish the people who killed her boyfriend and controlled her. I typically end up giving the benefit of a doubt to a story, believing there are ways that a mediocre book could turn around and that the story itself could be interesting if the writing could get out of its way, but I honestly can't separate the writing from the story here. It's all acting so tough and it seems Fiffe wants to take the classic street-level heroes trope in Marvel and really embroil it in a sort of gritty super-powered gang war. It's not coming off as gritty though, it's coming off as a bunch of kids from the '80s trying to act tough and it's not working for me on any level. We'll continue this week's leftovers and tough scores with a Total Score: 1/5


Deadpool 32
Posehn and Duggan (w) and Lucas (a) and Staples (c) and Sabino (l)

Deadpool arrives in Chicago, quickly ascertains the whereabouts of Utler and Ellie, and heads for them. He's stopped by ULTIMATUM henchmen, who shoot him in the head to put him down, and move on their way to capture Ellie. When they corner Utler and Ellie in an alleyway, Ulter has a heart attack, which proves an ample distraction for Deadpool to re-emerge from ULTIMATUM's van and rescue Ellie. He takes her into a nearby building, hoping it's more easily defensible than outside, and waits. There's a lot going on in this issue (and some that still needs to be explained, like the re-emergence of ULTIMATUM and how they got their info) not to mention that Adsit is having some trouble dealing with what he saw in the truth bomb, which was Deadpool's gruesome murder of his own parents, and Posehn and Duggan just keep pushing along. There's a nice desperation and determination to Deadpool in this issue as he does whatever it takes to save his daughter and it's an interesting look at a character who doesn't usually get those adjectives added to him. Total Score: 4/5


Deadpool vs. X-Force 2
Swierczynski (w) and Larraz (a) and Woodard (c) and Sabino (l)

Deadpool's gathered some Confederate troops to fire on the oncoming X-Force and he hints that maybe Talbot, the man who hired him and subsequently hired Cable to track him, had some darker motives behind this whole quest. The whole fight is made tricker when the Union forces appear replete with battle suits and all manner of other tech to help their side win. Cable, recognizing how unbalanced history has become because of Deadpool's interference, pops back to their last stop where Cannonball and Boom Boom are waiting and tells them they must ensure that the Americans lose the battle starting outside to the British to maintain history. Neither want to but they seem to understand the implications. While Domino and Warpath try to stall history's changes in the Civil War by fighting against both sides, Cable and Deadpool jump through another portal to 1900 China and Deadpool slaps a mind control sort of choker on Cable. I like the way Cable's presented in this, constantly calculating what needs to happen to keep the future safe and multitasking to get word to his group all while still battling Deadpool. It's a strong look at the character and the story is interesting enough to keep things moving. The bounces through time and between people make for a pretty quick read too. Total Score: 4/5


Mighty Avengers 12
Ewing (w) and Land (p) and Leisten (i) and Milla (c) and Petit (l)

Luke's father finishes his story, talking about Deathwalkers and sacrifices to empower them and human/animal hybrids (which The Bear and the Bat-Man they faced last issue are) meant for more powerful sacrifice and how Cage's father was scared in the face of such supernatural and super-powered beings and pushed his son away when he began to embrace that lifestyle. The explanation works for Luke, who forgives his father pretty quickly and welcomes him back into his life. Meanwhile, Kaluu and Constance Molina hire the Mighty Avengers to find the Talisman of Kamar-Taj, which is being used by the Deathwalkers in their sacrifice of half-human/half-vampire Blade to end the world. Reading and writing that summary made me like this issue better than I had, which sometimes happens when I'm confused by a plot and work it out for the blog but also happens when an issue's story is more interesting than the issue. The latter is the case here, as the issue gets really dragged down in its own mythology and buries the more interesting story behind explanations and character diagrams. Total Score: 3/5


Original Sins 4
Doctor Doom: J. Robinson (w) and Maleev (a) and C. Peter (c) and Cowles (l)
Young Avengers: North (w) and Villalobos (a) and J. Gibson (c) and Cowles and Winecoor (l)
Captain America: Abadta and Durá (w) and E. Henderson (a) and Cowles (l)

A villainous businessman learns some secrets that could compromise Doctor Doom and attempts to blackmail him, sending the data out to some loved ones first but, as he waits for a meeting with Doom, everyone who could possibly have the data dies and he's ushered into his meeting. Hood finally shows his betrayal of the Young Avengers as Marvel Boy realizes he's uploaded all the information to the internet with an encryption only Hood can use, putting immense amounts of possible world-changing data at his and only his fingertips. A grown man at a superhero parade remembers that, as a boy in the Arctic, he unwittingly peed on the ice Captain America was frozen into. Pretty decent issue all around. The villainous businessman is so over-the-top villainous that it almost undermines the deviousness of Doctor Doom but the story isn't bad and Alex Maleev's art stands out as it typically does. The Young Avengers story is starting to clear up bit-by-bit and North shows us texts sent out by Noh-Varr and Hulkling to the other Young Avengers that explains their absence and are good for a laugh. The final story, as ever, is a bit of a throwaway but Erica Henderson's art is decidedly different from most Marvel art and works for the story. Probably the best one of these we've seen so far. Total Score: 4/5


Wolverine and the X-Men 6
Latour (w) and Asrar, Larraz, Messina, and Veltri w/Deering (a) and Silva (c) and Cowles (l)

So the future Phoenix (the future Quentin Quire) sent Edan Younge and Faithful John back in time to convince present Quire and to kill present Evan, respectively, to ensure a future where the Phoenix reigns and future Quire ends up with Idie. From what I can gather. Meanwhile, future Logan and present Idie and Quire slay future Quire, who admits that everything is more or less to protect his own ego, which cuts to the core of present Quire. With the threat receded and the cleanup underway, Faithful John is held in a prison in The World and present Quire inherits the Phoenix Corporation, quickly making him a billionaire. I'm not sure there's been a book where I've appreciated the recap page more. This arc has been rather confusing with hints of an interesting story from time to time but altogether buried under the weight of its own plot. It's certainly readable and there are some interesting ideas in its conclusion but it's lacking overall. Total Score: 3/5

Leftovers 7/9/14

100th Anniversary Special: Amazing Spider-Man 1
S. Ryan (w) and I. Lee (a and c) and Cowles (l)

Another glimpse into the future as we see where Peter Parker might be in another few decades, battling Kingpin over a techno-symbiote, a Venom that grants him access to the world's electrical data. In a city where even the cars are connected to a giant grid, it gives him unparalleled control and the ability to hunt Peter at any turn. Peter manages to escape into the technology-less Central Park and make himself a torch, which he wields as Venom approaches. He dives at Kingpin with it and manages to burn off the suit, taking Kingpin down. He returns home and we learn that he's recently lost Aunt May (hard to feel too bad, she lived to maybe 700 years old, given the way she looks in early SPIDER-MAN) but he's ready to keep fighting. It's not a bad in medias res book (though it claims to be 8 of 8 and it's the first time Kingpin is revealed as the villain, so it's indicative of a pacing problem in the arc) and Sean Ryan's writing doesn't over-explain too much (as would be the temptation as you jump into a whole new world and the end of an arc) while In-Hyuk Lee's art is very impressive. Strong stuff, certainly entertaining enough to read, though it seems a little heavy-handed about the role of electronics and the pace of technology and so forth. 4/5

All-New Invaders 7
J. Robinson (w) and Laming (a) and Guru eFX (c) and Petit (l)

Torch continues to explain to SHIELD agent Malloy what happened with Radiance, which leads to a story within a story within a story and ALL OF THEM ARE BORING. The original Invaders were set to cause a tsunami in Japan that would likely end the war but Golden Girl, Radiance's grandmother, could not abide the loss of innocent lives the tsunami would cause. She and the Kid Commandoes fight against the Invaders and eventually cause them to see the innocent people and they all refuse to go through with the plan, prompting the army to drop the bombs. Radiance backs off, ashamed that she took such steps to nearly really hurt some people, and Torch takes the fall for her and he explains it to Malloy and Malloy is apparently an alien AI and I DO NOT CARE. This book has SO MUCH over-exposition, kicking off with Malloy literally saying "let me list what you've said" at one point and it's just stuff like that that make this one of the most poorly written and therefore boring books I've seen. 1/5

Amazing Spider-Man 1.3
Slott (w) and R. Pérez (a) and Herring (c) and Caramagna (l)

As the science fair approaches, Peter decides to enter a magnetic device he used against the Vulture. It fails to impress but it works well when Clayton Cole shows up at the fair in his Clash get-up and Peter assumes the worst, changing to Spider-Man and attacking before Clash can hurt anyone. Of course, it makes matters worse and Clash is more powerful than he was before. Spider-Man forces him to flee with the magnetic device but has earned the ire of everyone around and his turned Clash even more against Spider-Man. This is a fairly slow issue with equal time given to the new storyline as to the old ones (like the Vulture fight) so you already know a lot of the stuff that's happening. More than that, though, it reverts Spidey to his original personality maybe a little too well, making him far less likable and more reactionary. He is rather the cause of all of these troubles (with a generous helping of Clayton Cole's insanity). 2/5

Avengers Undercover 7
Hopeless (w) and Walker (p) and Gorder (i) and Beaulieu (c) and Caramagna (l)

Chase is in neurosurgery even after Nico uses her power to heal his chest and it rather sends her off the deep end. She's been training with Alex, her evil, one-time, thought dead boyfriend, who has determined that her power is legendary but her willingness to use it is holding her back. When Chase returns near death, she flips and decides to give up, letting in to her more wrong desires and kissing Alex. Meanwhile, Maria Hill, Hank Pym, and Steve Rogers lament the loss of AIM's prisoner, a SHIELD agent named Crenshaw who pretty much built their entire communications security and who is now in Zemo's grasp and Cammi, kept quietly in a cell, creates a peephole to see where she's being kept only to find out that it's right above Zemo's living room. She sees them celebrating, Zemo's hand around the waist of a woman with her back to the cell, and can't figure out what the celebration is for, leading her cellmate, the still alive Arcade, to offer some theories. Really interesting book as these kids only get more interesting and as their situation seems to get more dire. Lot of fun with a couple of good twists and turns and the promise of the next issue zooming us three months into the future. 5/5

Deadly Hands of Kung Fu 3
M. Benson (w) and Huat (p) and Yeung (i) and Aburtov (c) and Sabino (l)

Shang-Chi, with the help of the Daughters of the Dragon and MI6, follows after White Dragon and a mysterious friend, learning that they've taken hold of a book of powerful dark magic. Shang is joined by sometimes adversary Skull Crusher, also believing White Dragon is up to something too sinister to continue. They sneak into the White Dragon's lair and come upon him, managing to subdue him but ultimately succumbing to the magic in the room. Then Dragon's friend appears, revealing himself to be Midnight Sun, brother to Shang-Chi, who is set on taking his father's place and running the crime world of England. They've already killed most of the Triads' leaders, using their heads for their enchantments, and White Dragon offers up his own to Midnight Sun, who takes it and then proceeds to take Skull Crusher's. Things look as bad as they have for Shang-Chi, who is facing quite an adversary in his own brother. The book moves well and doesn't over-explain, though still gives enough of a sense of things for unfamiliar readers to get a foothold in the story. I'm also particularly partial to Huat's art after X-MEN LEGACY so this book is doing pretty well in my book, though it does get a little too deep into Shang-Chi's story for the casual reader. 4/5


Deadpool 31
Posehn and Duggan (w) and J. Lucas (a) and Staples (c) and Sabino (l)

While Deadpool and Dazzler keep pulling apart the vampire nests, Preston meets with Butler's brother in Chicago. She meets Ellie, who has something of a fondness for violence and gore, but she's asked to leave by Utler before anything really happens. However, a separate task force appears to capture Ellie and Preston manages to all but fight them off. When she's shot and taken out in the process, though, she manages to spend a text to Deadpool to tell him what's happening, which sends him looking for any help to get him to Chicago quickly. After exhausting all his likely allies, he happens upon Thor at Avenger's Mansion, who allows him to hang on to Mjolnir while he throws it for Chicago. The book moves pretty well and advances the plot nicely, though the vampire hunt seems to be taking something of a backseat to the Ellie situation, which feels a little strange. The art is maybe a little more disconcerting than I'd like but otherwise, pretty strong showing. 4/5

Fantastic Four 7
J. Robinson (w) and Kirk and Haspiel (p) and Haspiel and Kesel w/Magyar (i) and Aburtov and Woodard (c)

Johnny ruined Reed's chance to help Ben in the past and now Thing remembers it all and demands Johnny not speak to him again. He leaves Johnny's apartment and heads to the bar, where he gets a call from Alicia saying she's been kidnapped by her step-father, the Puppet Master. He rushes to her, calling Reed to come help on the way. When Reed arrives, he finds Thing standing over the body of Puppet Master, swearing that he didn't do it. Much of the first half of the issue is dedicated to the ORIGINAL SIN flashback, which is rather unnecessary as we pretty much got the gist of it last time. There's still plenty going on with Puppet Master and it feels like this is the sort of crime/trial/mystery that could go on for a while and maybe have an easy wrap-up. Still, the book reads alright, though a little over expository, and the differing art styles (Haspiel for the OS flashback and Kirk for the rest) work for their parts. 3/5

Nightcrawler 4
Claremont (w) and Nauck (a) and Rosenberg (c) and Sabino (l)

The Trimegas attack the school and Wolverine and Nightcrawler find that Margali has escaped after dismantling Storm and Beast to just their memories. Amanda sets to work repairing them but finds that they have memories missing, specifically the ones about Kurt's return. Her plan seems to be to go to Heaven and conquer that world with her Trimegas and her magic but Kurt and Amanda find and stop her out on the lawn, though not before she opens a portal between the two. Amanda dives into it to help close it from that side but Kurt is barred access, already having chosen to leave Heaven. She refuses to let him try, fearing he'll erase himself from eternity of he tries (??) but promises she'll be waiting for him and the portal closes. The adventure is a fairly strong one and it intends in classic Claremont fashion but the issue is bogged down a little by unnecessary dialogue and explanation, such as Nightcrawler's inner monologue that runs through his list of everyone fighting, something that has come up in just about every issue so far and which wasn't even necessary the first time. There are things here that are interesting but they'll have to get past the bogged down presentation to really unleash them. 3/5

Original Sins 3
Inhuman: Soule (w) and Browne (a) and Delgado (c) and Cowles (l)
Young Avengers: North (w) and Villalobos (a) and Gibson (c) and Cowles (l)
J. Jonah Jameson: Slott (w) and Bagley (p) and Rubinstein (i) and Mounts (c) and Cowles (l)

An Inhuman named Lineage learns that Black Bolt started a war with the Kree, the Young Avengers are convinced to make a mini-Cerebro for the Hood to learn everything they can from the drug addicts who took too many secrets, and J. Jonah Jameson fires a young reporter who digs a little too deep into Spider-Man's past only to learn that Jameson had once reviewed Spidey's one-man show positively. The INHUMAN story, written by INHUMAN writer Charles Soule, seems to indicate more coming, the YOUNG AVENGERS story continues to be well-written with a lot of fun moments but ultimately a little slow, and the Jameson story is a fast enough read that it's just a cute little one-off. Can't complain too much on this one. 4/5

Spider-Man 2099 1
David (w) and Sliney (a) and Fabela (c) and Caramagna (l)

Miguel O'Hara, posing as Mike O'Mara in the present, is the Spider-Man of 2099 but he's trapped in 2014 and trying to make ends meet. He works for Alchemax, the company that will go on to ruin the world by his time and he rents a pretty crappy apartment in the city. He's chased by something of a timecop, sent back to destroy him before he changes anything, but he manages to outmaneuver it, causing it to blow its own head off instead of his or Alchemax owner Liz Allan. As Spidey 2099 leaves her office, Liz has her assistant verify that no windows have been broken, believing that this Spider-Man is on her payroll somewhere. There are interesting things happening as this series kicks off, particularly with the added twist of an intelligent Liz Allan immediately taking steps that seemingly no one else has ever taken for Spider-Man, but the issue starts to get a little too cute as banter slows things down and makes the timecop (from future agency TOTEM) almost comical at times while being threatening and cold at others. Still, strong first entry and only a couple times with Miguel saying future-swear "shock." 4/5

Superior Foes of Spider-Man 13
Spencer (w) and Lieber (a) and Rosenberg (c) and Cowles (l)

Chameleon managed to get away from the crime scene as the cops and Mach VII showed up, but most of the other guys were taken away. Boomerang and his team, though, successfully snuck out with the portrait, planning to head to a safehouse. Meanwhile, Shocker and the head of Silvermane make it out of their predicament when Shocker realizes he can use his gauntlets to fly away from Hammerhead and his goons. He lands at the safehouse before Boomerang, setting Shocker and his old team for a reunion. The book drags a little bit when it focuses on Shocker and Silvermane but overall it's an incredibly fun book with a lot of truly funny moments. Many books that go for funny fall a little flat because they seem to come out of left field or the situation doesn't really call for funny or something like that but this book reliably manages to hit just the right tone and to keep the book fun. Strong showing for this one. 4/5


Wolverine 10
Cornell (w) and P. Woods (a) and Curiel (c) and Petit (l)

Sabretooth has access to the weapon now and is ready to transform New York entirely, making it truly Darwinian world, one where his strengths should set him up to be the ruler of all (which seems to work in counterpoint to his new CEO Sabretooth appearance). Meanwhile, Wolverine tracks him with help from the X-Men, to whom he apologizes, and prepares to attack with the help of his Guerica Bar pals, to whom he apologizes, Thor, to whom he apologizes, and SHIELD, to whom he apologizes. Wolverine has decided to accept help finally and now it'll be a matter of timing about whether Wolverine's forces can stop Sabretooth before he unleashes his weapon. Things are shaping up here for a big final showdown but it's still slowed by the stupid Guernica Bar stuff, the maudlin Wolverine, some weird art, and CEO Sabretooth. 3/5

SPEED ROUND: All-New Invaders 6, All-New Ultimates 3, Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu 2, She-Hulk 5

Sorry everyone, these should have come out last week (not helped by the fact that I only have busy weeks from here on out) but they didn't so here these reviews are, in all their glory. Except, in this case, "in all their glory" means "literally as short as I can make them."

All-New Invaders 6
J. Robinson (w) and Laming (a) and Guru eFX (c) and Petit (l)

Japanese-American superhero Radiance was in Manhattan for the ORIGINAL SIN truth bomb and learned that the Invaders had the power to stop the atom bomb in WWII but that they didn't. She demands a meeting with an Invader and gets Human Torch after taking some SHIELD agents hostage. He reveals it had to do with the second Golden Girl, Gwenny Lou Sabuki, grandmother to Radiance.

This book continues to move extraordinarily slowly as Robinson dispenses seemingly unending back-story, exposition, and clunky dialogue. I one hundred percent recommend this book if you're trying to find a comic that stumbles its way through 70 years of Human Torch history. But that's just about the only way that I would recommend this comic. I know, it breaks my heart too.

Total Score: 1/5


All-New Ultimates 3
Fiffe (w) and Pinna (a) and Woodard (c) and Cowles (l)

Jess is saved from her poisoning by her naturally produced antitoxins and some careful monitoring from doctors. Bombshell double-agents her way back into her drug dealer boyfriend's life to allow Spider-Man a chance to break up a powerful drug ring. Scourge appears on the scene and manages to evade all capture from the pursuing Spider-Woman, Kitty Pryde, Cloak, and Dagger.

If that summary made this book seem exciting or maybe even like it's on the right path after a shaky start, well, I'm sorry for misleading you. For all of the action of this issue that eventually comes, it's a crawl to get to just about anything meaningful. Meaningful's still kind of a stretch: there's a lot of cliche teenage emotion and hints that there's a bigger story that what our heroes have seen but there's not much more to it than that. And did i mention this story moves really slow for something that's trying so hard?

Total Score: 1/5


Deadly Hands of Kung Fu
Benson (w) and Huat (p) and Yeung (i) and Aburtov (c) and Sabino (l)

Shang-Chi has been asking around about the White Dragon, hoping to discover more about the death of his friend Leiko Wu but he's met at every turn by resistance. His digging brings out old enemy Skull Crusher, with whom he speaks about Leiko Wu and the changes in her over the years. He points Shang to a brothel owned by White Dragon where Shang subsequently is pointed to a nearby memorial where White Dragon sometimes hangs out where Shang meets up with Daughters of the Dragon Misty Knight and Colleen Wing, staking out the White Dragon themselves, before FINALLY being pointed to a nightclub White Dragon runs, where Shang comes face-to-face with White Dragon at last.

This story bounces from locale to locale as Shang-Chi traverses some seedy parts of London to try to find a lead on Leiko Wu, though it never feels particularly overloaded with new locations. There's more to the story of Leiko Wu than Shang wants to admit but still he proves an affable protagonist as he politely asks his questions and tries to remain above violence, though easily turns it on when he needs to. The addition of the Daughters of the Dragon is not unwelcome and I was glad to see Misty looking like regular Misty and not like she does on the cover, as I worried her two most recent appearances (here and in her inexplicable arc in DAREDEVIL: DARK NIGHTS) would both feature her in some sort of strange and underdressed love interest way. Nope, all good here and it's still good to see Huat and Yeung on art in this book. Nothing here that will blow readers away but still easily a readable book.

Total Score: 3/5


She-Hulk 5
Soule (w) and Wimberly (a) and Renzi (c) and Cowles (l)

She-Hulk and her team have set about researching the blue file, sending Hellcat to find Tigra, Angie Huang to a North Dakota courthouse, and She-Hulk to Shocker's apartment. After some understood fear out of Shocker, She-Hulk has a decent conversation with him and learns he doesn't know about the file, doesn't remember much of anything  because, apparently, his prolonged exposure to the vibrations make him super susceptible to concussions. She gets what she can out of him and heads home. Hellcat, though, ended up somehow triggering a response in Tigra, causing her to attack Hellcat when she brought up the file and to nearly kill herself. Meanwhile, Angie finds the files she needs in the ND courthouse but also finds herself at gunpoint from the office clerk. Hellcat tries to warn She-Hulk that the blue file seems to have a trigger word problem that makes those involved ready to kill themselves but Shulk doesn't get the message as she's busy telling a rock climbing Wyatt Wingfoot about his involvement.

Plenty happening in this book as it's an interesting story on three different fronts. Even the least action-filled section, She-Hulk's talk with Shocker, leads to some fun moments and some good characterization out of both characters. It's another strong entry into this series from Soule, though the art style of Ron Wimberly is decidedly different than, say, series regular Javier Pulido's. It's more than a little distracting at times and, while it does the job, I'm not sure it's totally for me. Still, solid book, solid series, interesting story.

Total Score: 4/5

All-New Invaders 5, Fantastic Four 5

All-New Invaders 5
J. Robinson (w) and Pugh (a) and Guru eFX (c) and Petit (l)

Everything works out because Winter Soldier breaks out Aarkus and he and another Eternal find the God's Whisper while Torch knocks out the watching Kree soldiers and Steve uses a computer virus laced shield (??) to shut down the Supremor for a time while they make their way off-planet. Back on Earth, Namor returns to the deep, Bucky goes back to wherever it is Bucky goes, and Cap recruits Jim to SHIELD while they muse over what Aarkus could be doing with the Eternals (hint: controlling Galactus in the Negative Zone with the God's Whisper if they should ever need him).

That "everything works out" bit above is only there partly because I'm lazy. Moreover, though, it's there because that's the spirit of this issue. It's very much a book that revolves around the old school style "I only wanted you to THINK I'd missed when, in fact, I was aiming at that device above you that's currently toppling on you" or some such that I swear happened in every other issue of AVENGERS back near the start of its run. Here it's all meaningless misdirect as Bucky buys time, Cap has a computer virus on his shield (not how that works, for the record, don't care what kind of comic book technology you have), and Torch ups the radiation in the room with Cap waving it off by literally saying "I'm immune." If the solutions are ridiculous then the stakes are meaningless. It's like being in an imaginary shootout with a child who keeps saying "no, you didn't hit me! I have a forcefield and the shot bounced and hit you!" You can make up the rules all you want, that doesn't mean I'm going to be on board with it. Pugh's art is pretty good though.

Total Score: 2/5


Fantastic Four 5
J. Robinson (w) and Kirk (p) and Leisten and Magyar (i) and Aburtov (c) and Cowles (l)

The Fantastic Four are on trial and the prosecutor is dragging them through the mud about every major superhero thing they've played a role in and how many people it hurt and it ends with a ruling that we don't get the full sense of yet but means the kids of the FF are shipped off to Camp Hammond to be watched by new SHIELD agent Jim Hammond (very quickly making his first SHIELD appearance from above). Oh, and in other news on this book, it made me as angry as any other book I've read in the past year and a half and I can't believe Marvel decided to charge five dollars for a book with five extra pages in it (albeit with art from all sorts of different artists).

Seriously. The courtroom superhero drama hasn't been compelling since the first time it was done and, when it's done this poorly, it throws everything into question. There's a writing trick wherein a writer knows exactly how a sane character would get out of a problem but dutifully ignores that solution because there's no drama in it. That's what Robinson's doing but it's not just Robinson who knows how to get out of it, it's every single person reading this book ever. The prosecutor has the shakiest grasp on how to prosecute and his terribleness and the terribleness of the entire plot draws the lawyering abilities of She-Hulk, the F4's lawyer, into severe question. It's a rare book that can take a completely separate book that I really like (SHE-HULK) and call it into question by painting its protagonist so weak. It's choppy writing at best and it's a terrible and cliche story that's executed about as badly as it could be. It feels like it was an excuse to get a bunch of guest artists in (who all do admirable work, though it sometimes feels like it's Marvel trying to hard sell their other books as Samnee draws some Daredevil related business and the Allred's pop in to draw Galactus and the Silver Surfer) and to charge an extra dollar for five extra pages and the book is garbage. Literally within the first three pages I was angry at this book.

Total Score: 1/5

All-New Invaders 4, Fantastic Four 3

All-New Invaders 4
J. Robinson (w) and Pugh (a) and Guru eFX (c) and Petit (l)

The Invaders have been captured by Tanalth and the Kree with the help of Ikaris, the Eternal they control with the God's Whisper. The Supreme Intelligence wants to dissect the Vision (already off in another chamber for testing), Human Torch, and Captain America to try to make their own forces stronger but they have no plans for Bucky, who launches forth as if to try to escape. He is shot and pronounced dead by the Human Torch. Namor is brought back to them and Tanalth and the Supreme Intelligence demand they fight Ikaris for the amusement of all present. Cap, Torch, and Namor manage to hold off Ikaris long enough for Bucky, obviously not dead, to sneak away and break Vision out, which had been the plan all along.

Story
For the first time, all our players are generally in the same area and rather aware of the situation. The story right now is the fight against the Kree and against the God's Whisper which gives everything something of an old-fashioned feel, sending this team away from the perils of Earth for a minute to deal with a possible alien war before it can become one. Okay, that's not really what makes it feel so old-fashioned but we'll get to that. The twist of Bucky being alive isn't so much a twist as it is another sort of call-back to a simpler times in comics (specifically to the time when everyone would go "I only wanted you to THINK I'd missed!" before a shield/arrow/Mjolnir/avalanche hit its intended strategic target. The God's Whisper is certainly compelling but even that can only take us so far. 4/5

Character
Cap's the strategist, Torch is proud of being more human, and Bucky doesn't want to be made a mindless slave as he relates in an all-too-long tirade while he's trying to enact an "escape" that would cause his "death." You can very nearly give him a pass for that strange and sudden speech because maybe he's just overacting but it is still a jarring sort of speech. Namor shows real emotion as he admits that it was his pride that put them all in this position and killed Bucky (he was not aware of the plan). It's an okay moment to see him open up to the only people would who really call him a friend but it still seems rather out of place, even in the midst of all of this. Namor isn't really a character who apologizes or recognizes his own pride. Honestly maybe a little too easy to get a grip on these characters. 3/5

Writing
The old-fashionedness I was talking about above comes out most of all in the writing. There's a lot of over-explanation for a plot that I have to imagine everyone understood as soon as Bucky was pronounced dead. It's like in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when Voldemort (spoiler) thinks he kills Harry and has one person whose been grumpy with him all book check to confirm, then goes "WELL THAT OUGHTA DO IT." But even worse here for the brilliant strategist Kree, they let one of their ENEMIES check on their other ENEMY and totally believe him. It's the kind of basic suspension of disbelief that pulls you out of any sort of story. On top of that, the characters do feel so sort of cut-and-paste copies of themselves that it's hard to really be worried about any of them, which is particularly sad because I love the Invaders. This isn't me coming from a place of "oh, these characters are okay, I guess, I don't really know much about them or know why I should care." I love these characters through and through and I'm not invested in a single thing that happens to them in this book. Ugh. Whatever. 1/5

Art
Art's fine. Maybe a little too reliant on face lines for me but it gets the point across. I'm just depressed, okay? 4/5

Miscellaneous
Oh, who cares?

Total score: 2/5


Fantastic Four
J. Robinson (w) and Kirk (p) and Kesel (i) and Aburtov (c) and Cowles (l)

Johnny's powers have been wiped out since science. Something about the Negative Zone and Johnny's time there and the antigens in the bomb Reed had to make on the fly. Either way, his powers are gone now and Reed will work on getting them back but, you know, no promises. Meanwhile, Fury has detained all of the inert monsters from that other zone and plans on disposing of them until Reed learns that, underneath their monstrous exteriors, they're all humans. While Sue takes the kids on a field trip through Atlantis, Johnny and Ben walk through Times Square talking about his power loss only to be attacked by the new Frightful Four, led by an apparently healed Wizard.

Story
There's something specific going on for each F4 member, meaning that they're all more or less on their own as this story starts to take shape. While all of this is happening at home, Valeria has left for Latveria to spend some time away from her family and to hang out with ol' Uncle Doom. The Fantastic Four has always been about unity and family so keeping them apart as the series starts to really move could lead to something more interesting. There are hints that we'll be examining the love life of everyone as the story progresses as Ben and Alicia rekindle a relationship, Johnny mentions the Skrull Lyja he once loved and explains that he searched the Negative Zone for her but couldn't find her, and Namor guides the field trip Sue sets up while also looking adoringly at her. While the rest of the story is starting to take some shape, I'm not a huge, huge fan of multi-faceted love stories? So I have some concerns about that. We'll air those when we get to it though. 4/5

Character
Like with the above ALL-NEW INVADERS, it feels almost like these characters are too easy to grasp. These ones are maybe a little less carbon copy of the normal F4 representation (mostly in that Ben seems quieter and Johnny is more wistful than powerful) than the ANI are of the Invaders so far, but it's still not making for an altogether engaging story. I just don't have a strong enough connection to these characters right now to make much of what they go through dramatic for me. Now, I admit that that may have more to do with these characters over the long haul (I've never been a huge F4 fan) than about Robinson's new run, which is still very young. Still, I'll need to see more out of these characters to get behind this series. 2/5

Writing
References to the rest of the F4 Universe seem to be the order of the day for FANTASTIC FOUR as Nick Fury drops in and everything from the FF's encounter with Doom at the end of the recently ended FF series to Wyatt Wingfoot, Darla Deering, Lyja, Doom, Namor, and the Negative Zone are all referenced. Certainly Robinson wants to establish the depth of this corner of the world but references like these seem often to  be there just for fan service and that ends up being tricky. Of course, a lot of it, I'm sure, is sowing seeds for the future of this book but there's no need to put it all here in issue three. Let the book find its footing before you start plotting out its future. 3/5

Art
The art sometimes looks a little too soft for me but i tend to project what I'm feeling about a book onto its art so maybe I'm not the best judge of this one. I think the book is moving a little slowly in its tone, even for one that's seen so much action and life-shifting in just three issues. There was an issue of HAWKEYE where Clint set up a DVR and it was more engaging than any of these three issues where there's been an invasion of Earth, powers lost, and shocking revelations. Tone means everything. The art helps too, I guess, since we're in the art section, right? Look, I'm maybe not on my game today. 3/5

Miscellaneous
This book feels very much like it wants to be darker than it's currently coming off. Right from the get-go this creative team has promised major changes to this world, including Johnny's lost powers and the possible arrests of Ben and Dragon Man, not to mention the harsher red costumes instead of the classic blue ones. Still, there's very nearly nothing dark about this tone through three issues. It's hard to tell a great story if you can't get your tone, writing, and story to match up.

Total score: 3/5

All-New Invaders 3, Winter Soldier: Bitter March 2

All-New Invaders 3
J. Robinson (w) and Pugh (a) and Guru eFX (c)

We start with a quick flashback to just three days before as Namor is captured by Tanalth, who uses his pride and arrogance against him before using a weapon that drains the moisture from him, effectively weakening him entirely before she brings him back to Hala. Jump to the present to find the Supreme Intelligence searching his mind for the location of the Gods' Whisper. Fortunately, or so the team thinks, Thor and the other Asgardians are immune to the Gods' Whisper these days, having already created protection to shield from it as soon as they heard of its existence. Thor tells Captain America and the Human Torch this as they prepare to embark from Avengers Mansion on the next step of their journey. That next step is meeting up with Bucky, who has tracked down Aarkus in what is addressed as a particularly hard job but is only a couple panels' worth of work in practice, in New Mexico so they can create a bunch of smoke on which they can all travel with Aarkus to Hala. When they arrive, they find Tanalth waiting for them and she surprises them with a god already under their control, Ikaris of the Eternals.

I think this series would be twice as good with half the words. Right now, it can't seem to get out of its way with exposition and unnecessary and clunky dialogue. The following is a generalization and likely not a fair one at that: sometimes, comic writers brought up in a different age won't easily break from that age. James Robinson comes from a time in comics where exposition and linking the universe were the orders of the day and so he clearly wants to keep every potential new reader in the know about the Marvel Universe. However, it's something comics have broken from more recently. Sure, Marvel wants every person with any disposable income to buy any or all of their books but there is a realism to it that they can't assume anyone is buying or reading every book and they certainly can't cater to the person that knows everything that's happening in the universe. Each book needs to work on its own because, as you can pretty clearly see in this issue and the preceding two issues (though not as much as here), it just doesn't work when you try to tell the reader everything. You have Cap explaining things to Torch that Torch clearly already knows, even going so far as to say "as you know" in his sentences. Therefore, that dialogue is ONLY there to help the audience but it's posing as actual natural dialogue between two characters. Things like that or references to other books in the Marvel Universe are everywhere in this issue. When things don't need explaining, they're over-explained. When things do need explaining, they're under-explained. It's just something of a mess, which is a shame because I do love these characters and this team and I think even the story has real potential (though it continues to be hard, as someone who does read every book, to understand why the Kree are so set on attacking Earth at this particular moment; sure they're a warring race and MAN is Earth annoying to anyone not on Earth but you'd think the Builders would have bought Earth a little bit of time). Overall, though, the writing comes off as completely unnatural and long-winded. Hopefully once the plot is mostly laid out, Robinson will settle in a little more and cut back on some of the exposition.

Winter Soldier: Bitter March 2
Remender (w) and Boschi (a) and Chuckry (c)

Ran Shen has managed to keep the scientists alive through three days in the forest with the Winter Soldier lurking around somewhere in pursuit of them. He makes his first appearance when Shen finds a town and uses a phone to get in touch with SHIELD. Shen arranges an extraction with Horace Littleton (he who would be Mindbubble) but Littleton tells him that he has to get out of the country and make it to West Berlin before they can safely pick him up. Unfortunately for Shen, this is where Winter Soldier finds them and forces them to flee from the town. They barely make it out when Shen uses one of his wrist arrows to detonate on Winter Soldier's arm, giving them a chance to escape. Shen and the two scientists find their way onto a train heading out of country but while Shen and Mila discuss politics and flirt, Peter makes a secret meeting with Hydra aboard the train. Everything comes to a head suddenly when Winter Soldier bursts into the train and attacks Shen just as Hydra shows up to take back the scientists and, presumably, kill the other two.

There is an insane amount of stuff happening in this book and I'm going to go ahead and praise my own scheduling when I put this book alongside ALL-NEW INVADERS in the review circuit this week because it provides a pretty perfect counter. There's a lot happening over in CAPTAIN AMERICA and obviously this story, though a precursor in continuity, is driven very much by events over there. However, you can very easily read this story by itself and it reads well and it's interesting and exciting. The dialogue works and you can see all of the story threads here but it's not all over-explained. Granted, this is a prequel of sorts so Remender has to say all of this without saying anything specific, which could make it easier or harder than trying to load exposition about things that have happened into a book. But this book nails it on tone, on dialogue, and on laying out the sort of stuff it needs to lay out, even on top of creating a story that is perfectly readable as a Winter Soldier story in its own right. Well done all around.

Hawkeye 15, Fantastic Four 1

Hawkeye 15
Fraction (w) and Aja (a) and Hollingsworth (c)

The Barton boys are trying to piece together what the tracksuit draculas are up to with the help from Team Clint's Exes. Mockingbird drops by to tell Clint that she's followed the records of the strip club he busted up through several shell companies and eventually to its own, Ivan Banionis, the man Clint had deported before buying the building. She also has figured out that he and his companies own every building for three blocks except Hawkeye's, making him a big ol' target for them. Next up is Black Widow, who has dug up 18 murders in the tri-state area that seem to be a result of the tracksuits and their hitman, who Natasha warns Clint is practically a ghost, someone who can sign his work as loudly as he wants because no one knows anything about him. Meanwhile, a backroom meeting commences as the shady people above the tracksuits discuss the plans for the land, a three block by three block premiere luxury shopping center that would replace the medium and low income housing currently in the area. The only hold-up is Clint's building which the Clown, out of disguise (or into it, I suppose), says is still legally owned with the city by Ivan Banionis and that Clint's name appears as "interim superintendent and owner," a title the Clown doesn't think is terribly legal. He meets with the tracksuits next to tell them that Clint's stay there isn't exactly legal, which means that he can't call the cops on them so they don't really have to worry about the little games they've been playing; instead, they can go for a full attack. Clint and Barney beat up a bunch of the tracksuits in a van on the street but are rushed back inside when they hear Simone screaming. They run to her apartment and take out a few more tracksuits before Spider-Woman meets up with them in their apartment to tell Clint that he can't just "buy" the building, that things aren't that easy. Barney asks how the tracksuits got in and Clint realizes it must have been the roof and that they could still be inside. Clint runs downstairs and checks outside but the van is gone. As he comes back in, the Clown stabs him in the head with his own arrow and shoots an oncoming Barney in the gut before leaving both Barton boys on the ground.

Here's the thing about HAWKEYE that's been so rewarding for readers: that summary. Not, like, I did a really good job with it or anything like that (I'm fishing for compliments here, dear reader, take a hint, okay?), but the fact that it's so packed with things that happened. Every part of the issue was important and I STILL didn't cover everything in the book. Despite how jam-packed it is, the comic reads really well. It moves quickly, it keeps you exactly the right amount off-balance to keep you reading and entertained but not overly confused or lost, it has compelling characters with compelling relationships, and it's ultimately about the failures of Hawkeye more than the successes. Granted, it's a slightly different feel when Kate is our star because, simply put, Kate succeeds more. Hawkeye is a hero with the Avengers, he's someone who always shows up, usually does his part (which is sometimes actually helpful), and goes home. At home, though, he's a different person, trying to do his best with just about no sense of the actual world. This book was created by someone who understood Clint's life, who saw the bigger picture of Clint Barton. He was an orphan, he became a circus act, and he moved into a life of crime before being plucked from it and becoming an Avenger, which he's been ever since. That didn't leave a lot of time for studying or for understanding the way the real world worked, which is why Clint is where he is now. It's all summed up in an exchange with Jess where he says that he's just trying to do the right thing, that what the tracksuits were doing wasn't right and he wanted to fix it. When she tells him it's not that easy, he mutters "yeah, but it should be." Perfect Clint, perfect book, another good issue. AND GUYS, this analysis didn't even mention the fact that the Barton boys are seriously injured by issue's end.

Fantastic Four 1
J. Robinson (w) and Kirk and Kesel (a) and Aburtov (c)

The Fantastic Four are back, donning new red costumes and out to save the city again. The issue is framed by a letter from Sue to her kids which is very much the style of "how did things go wrong?" sort of storytelling, where we know something has happened to break this family up but we have to build our way there. She says that Reed is now a broken man, a shell of himself who she sometimes hates for everything that's happened, that Ben is in jail after Reed's testimony, and that Johnny is a wild card, a loose cannon, etc. BUT HOW? Well it apparently starts with them fighting Fin Fang Foom in downtown New York, which causes Reed to ask why he suddenly seems out of control, no longer the plotting and planning foe of theirs that he's used to. They defeat him pretty quickly and go their separate ways, with Reed and Sue watching over the house and the FF, missing Valeria who went to stay in Latveria after some anger at her parents, Ben going to see on-again-off-again girlfriend Alicia Masters, and Johnny going to see his rock-star manager. All seems to be back on track for the F4 until, late at night, some monsters burst out of Reed's lab and into New York.

James Robinson has been in comics for a couple of decades now but I'm only just getting around to hearing about him. He's spent much of his time over at DC with long stints with characters like Superman and Starman but, as you may have guessed, I don't have a whole lot of history with DC. Pretty much, I know Batman and even that is at a far lesser level than I know about the more minor Marvel characters. Robinson's written things for Marvel before but I can't safely say that I've read it (he did a few issues of HEROES REBORN: CAPTAIN AMERICA and I'd hazard a guess to say I've read them, as I've read some HEROES REBORN and I love Captain America, but I can't recall anything about them so here we are). Now he's the writer of the ongoing ALL-NEW INVADERS and FANTASTIC FOUR. This long intro to James Robinson is essentially just my way of talking for a while before I have to say that I'm getting a similar vibe out of both of these books and that vibe is the same sort of vibe, albeit less egregious, I get from Robinson's fellow countryman Paul Cornell, he of WOLVERINE. I have less patience with Cornell after the last WOLVERINE series because it just flat-out bored me, which Robinson has not yet done with either of these two books. However, there is a robotic kind of feeling to the writing that kind of shows there are characters here but makes it feel like, even this early into both series, we're not going to get anything new from these characters. New stories, new situations, sure, but the characters themselves seem like such boilerplate versions of the characters we already know. That said, we are EXTREMELY early into both FANTASTIC FOUR and ALL-NEW INVADERS so I'd be delighted and unsurprised if they turned me around (I'd also be surprised if I ever got to the point with these books that I have with WOLVERINE) and this may be nothing more than an incorrect gut feeling but it's worth noting that it's certainly what my gut is telling me right now.