This week's picks

Some real good comics came out this week. Sometimes it's hard to pick just three, even in a week when that's nearly a quarter of the comics that came out. So what made the cut this week? FIND OUT, BELOW.

Captain America 12

This was a pretty powerful issue for Cap as a character. Character matters an awful lot to comics and it matters an awful lot to me as a reader. I've said plenty of times before that Captain America is my favorite character, which could make this something of a biased pick, but really I'm in favor of seeing a somewhat new side of any character, as long as it fits within their established character. Remender has done that well throughout the series, giving Cap a full history that changes what we know about the character but doesn't change the perception of the character. In fact, it strengthens it. This issue beautifully shows the aftermath of Dimension Z for Steve and shows us just how hard the stoic Cap is taking everything. Tough issue as a Cap fan because he's in a real pain, one that it feels like we haven't seen from him since he figured out Bucky was the Winter Soldier. The Nuke storyline is still establishing itself and stays in the background of this one again, almost to the issue's detriment, but it will surely help the arc in the long run.

Deadpool 18

Deadpool cracks the top picks after its writing team earned my ire way, way back in the very first issues. They've turned things around, changing the tone of the book particularly for this arc, but even for arcs before it, and changing the humor from something that was almost entirely stupid reference driven into something that fits a little better. Like with Cap this week, we see a new side of Deadpool, one that realizes the consequences to his actions and one who is clearly in emotional pain, something we don't see out of the wild card Deadpool very often. The book is quick, it's smart, and it's well-written, for Deadpool and for supporting characters Wolverine and Captain America. Solid stuff. Deadpool this week beats out Avengers Arena, Ultimate X-Men, and even the final issue of Astonishing X-Men.

Infinity 4

Another impressive showing from this year's major event (good god, Age of Ultron happened this year, didn't it? It feels like that was years ago and also terrible. One of those statements is correct). The resistance comes up with a plan to hurt the Builders while, on Earth (and just above it), Black Bolt seemingly sacrifices himself to protect the rest of the Inhumans and to create many, many more. It feels like this event, unlike some in the recent past, will have long-lasting effects, perhaps even ones that are interesting as we push forward. I'll be real sad if Black Bolt is dead but, you know, this is comics so don't count on it. If he is, though, it certainly creates some interesting plot points going forward, both within the Inhumans and within the superhero community. Also, guys, Thor threw Mjolnir so far it crashed into a star and came back and burst through one of the creators of the universe. That was, you know, pretty gratifying.

Infinity 4

Infinity 4
Hickman (w) and Opeña and Weaver (a) and Ponsor (c)

Cap and the resistance have decided to come to the Builders to surrender while, on Earth, Thanos fights Black Bolt to find his son. Let's deal with Earth first, though the stories are mingled in the book. On Earth, the machine Maximus the Mad has built has been activated by Black Bolt's scream. The machine's purpose is to convert the incredibly powerful sound to light which then carries the power of the Terrigen crystals, which activate Terrigenesis, the process by which Inhumans develop their powers, all over the world. Anyone on the planet, then, who has Inhuman DNA in their line somewhere (and there is a great number of people to whom that applies) is transformed, including Thanos' son, who lives with a sect of Inhumans who do not have access to a full Terrigen crystal. Thane, the son of Thanos, had been a healer for his people. As his powers manifest, he accidentally kills seemingly everyone in the village. Meanwhile, Thanos not-so-accidentally seemingly kills Black Bolt. :(  Back in space, the Builders have agreed to meet with a sole representative to accept surrender from the resistance, an act which the Builders will broadcast throughout Hala, where the surrender will take place, and to all the other worlds. Cap sends his best representative, Thor, who is told to disarm himself, which he does with a quick prayer to Mjolnir and an awfully impressive throw into the atmosphere. When Thor is met by the Builder controlling Hala, he explains that they are planning to surrender but that he demands certain assurances. The Builder slaps him and demands he kneel instead. Thor does kneel and we get a little Avengers as the Builder gives him the Loki speech of "is this not your rightful place?" As Thor is reprimanded by the Builder and told of humanity's fate, Mjolnir zooms through the cosmos, going so far as to charge itself through a sun before turning back. Clever readers may see where this is going. The villain keeps soliloquizing and we get a few more shots of Mjolnir (seriously, I'm laying this out for you) before finally, Thor responds saying to the Builder's threat that mankind is done by saying that he is not a man before Mjolnir hurtles back to his hand, crashing through the Builder and killing him. It is telegraphed. It is not a secret. And it is amazing.

Man, I really did intend to write a shorter review here but an awful lot happened and then we got into that whole Terrigenesis explanation and Mjolnir and speeches and geez, here we are. Really solid issue. The decision to split the issue up explicitly with white title pages separating chapters continues to be a really great decision, as it gives the reader more than enough time to settle between each story and reset a bit, which is pretty necessary in a weighty book like this. Black Bolt's heroics are meaningful and well-executed and gee I hope he's not dead. If he is dead, though, he died the way you'd expect him to, which certainly counts for a lot in an event. Meanwhile, the space plot keeps building steam and the seeds planted by Hala's surrender bear wonderful fruit as we get to see Thor and the resistance's mighty answer. Like I said above, there's nothing about this, particularly when Thor is shown as the representative and when he tosses Mjolnir into the sky with a quick prayer, that wasn't foreseeable but it still really pays off in a big way, both physically (with the great artwork and fantastic layout) and emotionally (with the idea of the triumphant freeing of a conquered land and its people). Really excellent issue with as strong an ending as any event of recent. I'm genuinely excited to see what comes next.


Single review today for a few reasons. I meant to team this with Avengers Arena and AI but I couldn't get my hands on Arena. I considered teaming it with Cap and Thor but I already have those set for later in the week and splitting Avengers Arena and AI didn't work for me. Also, it's already pretty late and I'm real tired so the rest will come in the coming days. Isn't this one long enough for you guys? Let's pretend I had planned this so you could marvel (Marvel) over this book. Love you guys, see you tomorrow.