A+X 17, Night of the Living Deadpool 3, Marvel Knights Hulk 3

A+X 17
Iron Man and Broo: Loveness (w) and P. Diaz (a) and Mossa (c)
Captain America and Cyclops: Duggan (w) and Yardin, C. Smith, and Pallot (a) and Mossa (c)

Story one of this somehow still going series finds Iron Man unwillingly taking on Broo for a day, having allegedly agreed with Beast to some sort of job-for-a-day intern program. Tony is, of course, not thrilled to find Broo tagging along with him but Broo grows on him as he helps him solve a couple of science problems before going on to help him defeat the Chessmen, old enemies who have a chess-theme to their get-ups and quips and who shouldn't be a match for Tony but manage to interfere with his suit. When Broo comes in to save him and help him save himself, Tony takes to the alien and decides to give him the day he wants, showing him all around his labs, space, other heroes, etc. It's a sweet little story, one whose highlight is certainly in the banter with the chessmen, and one that altogether probably won't be remembered much past this very day, as is the theme of A+X.

Story two, of course, continues the Captain America/Cyclops team-up, though the two aren't together for most of this issue. They still work together, though, as they attempt to save the Skrulls from Cadre K from Doctor Doom, who has more experiments to run and more Skrulls to probably kill. They fool him momentarily as he comes in, as Cap sticks him with a micro-EMP and the psychic Skrull implants dreams of him beating the Avengers, but Doom figures it out and comes to, though he's still unable to move. Cap informs him, for some reason, that Cyclops and the other Skrulls and Avengers and X-Men previously gathered there are trashing Doom's lab and Doom teleports himself back to his craft from out of his armor, leaving the armor to self-destruct next to Cap and the other Skrull. Before they can head off after him, SHIELD shows up, possibly Agent Adsit, to take the Skrull away. When Cap defends the Skrull, Adsit(?) attacks him, thinking him to be a Skrull. Another piece of the long ongoing story that very nearly makes you care about the Skrulls but can't quite, just from size limitation and the fact that this is a story about Cap and Cyclops, so this story has very little stakes.

Night of the Living Deadpool 3
Bunn (w) and Rosanas (a and c)

Deadpool quickly kills the would-be invaders of the small community and goes to join up with them himself. He discovers that there's a former AIM scientist living among them and interrogates him to make sure he's not trying something evil, only to learn that this scientist's division of AIM, called AIR for Advanced Ideas in Regeneration, inadvertently created this apocalypse. As Deadpool begins to fit into the community, he wonders why his healing factor hasn't erased the scar on his arm from when one of his old fellow-survivors-turned-zombie bit him, even though it clearly flushed out the zombie bit. It turns out, of course, that it simply hadn't flushed out the zombie bit and he wakes in the middle of the night as a walker and turns nearly the entire community before his healing factor does kick in and reverts him back to Deadpool so he can see what he's done.

There's a neat little guilt-based story that's fairly original in here about a man who was a zombie killing his fellow survivors before turning back and realizing what's happened. It's particularly efficient with this type of zombie, which has some semblance of consciousness and doesn't want to be doing what it's doing. Of course, it's coming in the midst of a DEADPOOL book so it can be a little bit harder to see the deeper story through the lighter tone. It's still a decent story and it's stopped being so concerned with making every other zombie reference, giving it room to actually tell its own story. The coloring, black and white for everything except Deadpool and what Deadpool's dealing with, continues to be aesthetically pleasing but it does start to get a little hard to follow the theme of it when Deadpool turns and goes black and white, eventually returning to color when he changes back. Still an interesting book and it's giving Deadpool a few nice little introspective moments.

Marvel Knights Hulk 3
Keatinge (w) and Kowalski (a) and Filardi (c)

A little bit of Nikoleta Harrow's history as we learn that AIM had created (or at least imbued with powers) Nikoleta and she had broken out to ensure that she wasn't held back or destroyed by AIM. Now she's figured out how to successfully separate Banner from Hulk and how, in turn, to control Hulk. As a result of this separation, history has changed and Banner survived the gamma bomb as just himself, getting into the bunker with Rick Jones, though it led to a life with Betty Ross kept under quarantine while the army monitored his home and his health. Eventually Betty dies of exposure to gamma radiation and Bruce tries to run out from his quarantine only to be shot by the army, returning him to this timeline and putting him back in the Hulk's body, reverting down to Banner form and talking with Nikoleta, who is flying their rig right to where the gamma bomb first went off.

This is an incredibly weird story, and not in the sort of good way you'd want it to be. It seems like a whole lot of somewhat interesting ideas stuck together into a narrative that doesn't totally work for it. I'm reading a nonfiction collection by author and one-time comic writer Jonathan Lethem right now and he prefaces one of his essays by saying it's not one of his favorites, that it's included only because he liked the slice of life and character it builds, but that it's not favorite of his because it's a lot of journey with no destination. That's what this feels like. Granted, MARVEL KNIGHTS HULK still has one more issue to go so maybe everything will be wrapped up in a beautiful and thoughtful bow in the fourth issue but it's hard to imagine. It's harder because comic books and comic fans all really tend to like alternate-history things and "what if" ideas (hence why Marvel has their "what if" line) so seeing this alternate-Hulk story not only isn't the first time it's been done, it's not the best it's been done out there. Personally I'm still a sucker for the change we saw in Jeff Parker's RED SHE-HULK last year but there are definitely others and better ones out there. Whether it's fair or not, bringing up these sorts of ideas puts MK HULK in competition with all of these other stories and it comes up on the losing end, particularly sad since MK SPIDER-MAN and MK X-MEN have at least given us something new worth seeing.

Best Marvel comics of 2013 (part three of five): 11-15

Let's keep it rolling with picks 11-15.

15. Scarlet Spider

One of the real surprises on the list even though it probably shouldn't have been. Writer Chris Yost has an impressive resumé and 2013 saw issues 13-25 of SCARLET SPIDER so it's not like we hadn't had a year's worth of comics to deem this one "good" already. Even still, I think there's a part of me that still believes this book had no right being good. An evil clone version of Peter Parker flees New York to start a new life in Mexico and gets held up doing good in Houston with a whole new cast of characters doesn't really sounds like the best pitch. Yost never gave it up, though, and showed us what a well-written and well-established Kaine can do. The character was great, the writing was fun, the story was engaging, the fights were impressive and unique, and the ending was appropriately brutal for Kaine. After establishing himself as a reluctant hero in Houston, a city that apparently desperately needed one, and finding himself a slew of new friends in the city, Kaine's life was turned upside down by none other than Kraven the Hunter, the man who most recently killed Kaine, and things spiraled out of control quickly from there, culminating in an unhappy ending as Kaine finally reaches Mexico after all. Sad to see the series go, glad that Yost will pick up Kaine's reins again on NEW WARRIORS in the coming year.

14. Venom

This is another one of those books that lasted far longer than I would have predicted going in. This book kicked off a few years ago with Rick Remender at the helm of a Flash-Thompson-is-Venom story where the high school bully of Peter Parker turned war hero turned paraplegic alcoholic is called back into duty as a newly weaponized military-controlled Venom. Solid start to the series back then and Cullen Bunn this year managed to take the helm and still tell a worthwhile story with some worthwhile characters. As everything starts to crash down around Venom from his new home in Philadelphia, Flash is put up against challenges in the form of Toxin, Carnage, and his own demons. That's not a metaphor, he really did get his own personal demon fighting for control of the Venom symbiote somewhere along the line. On top of that, he lost longtime girlfriend Betty Brant and he gained new pseudo-sidekick Mania after he tossed some symbiote to her to protect her from the attack of his kind-of archnemesis Jack O'Lantern. A more angry and wild new symbiote-wielding character, Mania had the demon transferred to her and began fighting like the dickens (if that's what the dickens does) to avenge her father's death while Flash struggled with the morality of allowing this girl to be a symbiote and a killer. Nice book all the way around and one that allowed Cullen Bunn to play around a little in the Spider-Man world and come out of it with a successful book after all was said and done.

13. Red She-Hulk
For as much as I said I couldn't really believe SCARLET SPIDER worked, RED SHE-HULK certainly shouldn't have worked, at least for me. I was never the biggest Hulk fan (though my top-ten books to watch list early this year will describe my turnaround on the character) and I didn't know these characters very well. Jeff Parker, though, did a phenomenal job creating and developing a wonderful friendship between the rather new character Red She-Hulk and the older but not particularly used X-51. The two had really distinct personalities and their team-up came about incredibly naturally as X-51 was tasked with keeping tabs on Red She-Hulk and bringing her down when the Avengers decided she was a hazard. X-51 analyzed his own findings and decided there was something more to her than what the Avengers had seen and chose to intervene on her behalf, eventually siding with her in the fight against the sketchier branches of SHIELD and General Fortean. Really good characterization supported by an intriguing story that took the pair all over the world and eventually into an alternate reality where Betty Ross became the Hulk back at the test site when Banner should have. This series certainly would have ranked higher if it had continued past the summer but what we did get was a really great book that was able to very clearly do what it set out to do and tell a story worth telling with characters that mattered. Very fun book.

12. Superior Spider-Man

The way I went about constructing this list was to first list off every book I thought worthy of consideration for the top (then) ten. When the list got too long, I adjusted it to the top twenty. Then I looked a little deeper into it and started to arrange by "top ten" and "bottom ten," finally beginning after that to sort more directly within those lists. As we near the top ten, only two books have really switched sides, one jumping out of the bottom ten and into the top ten (to be revealed TOMORROW) and the other sinking down to number 11, only to eventually fall to number 12. That was THIS VERY BOOK. I really love the way that SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN started this year, giving us a look at the brand-new Superior Spider-Man, Doc Ock with the powers and (kind of) the responsibilities of Peter Parker. It was a real separation from the Peter Parker Amazing Spider-Man, someone who leapt headfirst into danger to help and save those who needed helping and saving, no matter if he was playing into a villain's hands. The Superior Spider-Man, meanwhile, plotted and planned, rapidly developing his own methods for protecting the city and doing it with such aplomb and vigor that...well, that he was put on probation from the Avengers. Regardless, it was a great new look at a new type of Spider-Man and one that Dan Slott really stuck with despite plenty of hate tweets and death threats (still illegal, you guys). It slipped out of the top ten with the last few months of 2013 as it started to get into weaker arcs (notably one that stranded Spider-Man 2099 in the present) and started to present more of Doc's personality than I think we really needed at this point. Still, the series never became a bad read, necessarily (okay, it got a little tedious in the late months there) and it seems to be coming out of its spin a bit but the first half of this year with the new Spider-Man really solidified its place somewhere in this list; then it just became where it would land.

11. Avengers

Jonathan Hickman has taken over the major part of the Avengers wing of the Marvel Universe and has really done absolutely phenomenal things with it. I said in that very same top ten list at the start of this year that I wasn't really onboard with what Bendis had been doing in Avengers the last few years (as I'm suddenly even more vehemently against the happenings over in the majority of the X-books now) and that I was hoping for a solid change out of Hickman. Well I got it and I couldn't really be happier about it. All three of Hickman's AVENGERS related titles (INFINITY, AVENGERS, and, spoilers, NEW AVENGERS) will have made this list when it's all said and done and everything about that part of the universe seems to be on the upswing. AVENGERS has been a really interesting book, one that hoped you'd be following along but wasn't ultimately too concerned if you missed a beat or two. There were a lot of really cool single issues at the start of the series to establish some of our newer characters (like Smasher and Hyperion) and eventually the whole series got wrapped into INFINITY and told the tale of the story with a focus on the fight against the Builders. It was a pretty masterfully executed event and all of the groundwork was laid here, in AVENGERS. Looking forward to the next movements by Hickman as the Avengers celebrate one of their biggest victories with no doubt larger foes on the horizon.

Daredevil 29, Indestructible Hulk 11

Daredevil 29
Waid (w) and J. Rodriguez and A. Lopez (a) and J. Rodriguez (c)

Daredevil's newest client Nate Hackett has been shot by a judge loyal to the Serpent Society and no on in the courtroom besides Matt Murdock seems surprised or worried. Police rush in and are told that the shooter fled the scene, ignoring Matt's pleas for help. Matt realizes that the Serpent Society has somehow infiltrated pretty deep into the justice system he's dedicated his life to supporting. Not knowing who he can trust and unable to prove the judge and his cronies are guilty, Daredevil takes to the scene and discovers why they wanted Nate dead and how they plan to get away with it. Will Daredevil be able to expose the Serpent Society, rescue the innocent people inside, and save Nate's quickly fading life?

The story here is pretty fantastic, leading Matt to a whole new sense of paranoia. It worked really well for Waid and company throughout the Ikari arc, this idea that he can't trust anyone, and it's looking to work well again here. It's certainly a different sort of paranoia as this one enrages Matt more than worries him but it's a perfectly structured story in that respect. After having his actual loved ones in jeopardy (as well as his own life) last arc, he now has the institution he's always trusted at stake. The writing for Daredevil continues to be amazing and the art continues to be among Marvel's best. Even with Javier Rodriguez taking the reins from Chris Samnee for a bit, the art style fits exactly with the style Samnee's given this book. On top of that, Rodriguez's colors remain consistent with his work on the rest of the series, grounding any difference in art style between he and Samnee and making the book feel exactly the way it's always felt. This issue's not necessarily as emotionally stirring as some of the other work we've seen in Daredevil or in something like Hawkeye or Young Avengers but it's a near-perfect book anyway, one with a great plot and a great examination of Daredevil int he window we see him in. We get the cleverness of Daredevil, the nice problem-solving skill set he brings to the table, as well as his concern for innocent people and his hatred of corruption. Great plot, great character, great writing, great art, great book.

Indestructible Hulk 11
Waid (w) and Scalera (a) and Staples (c)

Time and space are broken in the Marvel Universe and it's slowly beginning to impact multiple books. We saw it a little in Guardians of the Galaxy this week and it seems to be the hinge of the upcoming Infinity event but we get a slightly more personal look at it in Indestructible Hulk as Banner is contracted by SHIELD to enter the broken timestream itself to see what he can do about a series of strange and dangerous (strangerous) chrono-happenings as reported by SHIELD prisoner Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man. Zarrko has apparently been warning Maria Hill about the threat the superhero community has posed to the timestream and, when he wasn't immediately right about his predictions, Hill ignored him. However, now he's proving to be spot-on and he claims to only want to help repair the timestream. His idea is to send Hulk directly into it with a suit he himself constructed (and has proven too dangerous for normal men, hence why Hulk needs to go in) and sic him on the time-hopping Chronarchists, who are using the breaks in time to commit atrocities and change the world in different ways more befitting them. The catch? Other than that they're sending the Hulk into an already broken timestream or, as Banner calls it, operating on the timestream with a chain saw instead of a scalpel? If Hulk reverts back to Banner, he likely won't survive the transformation.

Another really interesting book from Waid as this is the first time that the breaks in the timestream have seemed worthwhile as opposed to a bit of a reach in the hopes it will provide a great event. Also, why are the original X-Men still in the present? Wait, back to this book. On top of sending Hulk into the timestream to try to stop the Chronarcists (which, even at the end of this issue showing a dinosaur attacking in the 1800s, will certainly lead to some neat bits), we have some of the ramifications of a broken timestream. When Banner puts his foot down to letting the Hulk go into this situation, he recommends they use Red She-Hulk, as she has similar power/durability, more intelligence in Hulk state, and would love the job. However, Red She-Hulk seems to be one of the first casualties (or causalities. Get it? Timestream, causalities? Ah, whatever) of the Chronarchists plot and she's slowly fading from the timestream, causing Maria Hill to be unaware of her existence as she fades from Bruce's mind. There are a lot of really interesting ideas, which culminates in the neat idea of teaming Banner (in the form of a robot with Banner's knowledge and personality infused) with Hulk for the mission. There's a lot of good stuff coming from this issue and it'll be neat to see how it all plays out.

This week's picks

Tough picks to make this week with two sure bets and one that could go a couple different ways. On the plus side, it's pretty much just those four or five that I'm debating, everything else is significantly behind.

Avengers AI 1

It was between this and Iron Man (and a little bit Venom but not that much) and I'm still not sure which was the right one to choose. I think Iron Man may have been the actual better comic but this one's worth checking into for the feel of the comic and the nice way it's set itself up. Iron Man continued its great pace and its stellar story and writing but my recommendation, I think, goes to Avengers AI because I think it may fill a role in the Marvel Universe that isn't filled yet so I think people should be keeping an eye on it. No guarantee that it will all pan out but there seem to be places to go with this story and these characters and the book was fun overall. Read it, enjoy it, maybe pick up the Skottie Young variant if you can find it.

Red She-Hulk 67

I would be lying if I said that this wasn't always going to make my final pick. Bear with me, though, it's my last chance to be able to pick it. On top of that, it delivered an end to a good story and gave us some nice character resolution bits, including Red She-Hulk figuring out both worlds were real and choosing her world and X-51 learning that, although he's a machine with specific coding, he can still be an individual in the way he manipulates that coding. I'm particularly sad to see the main duo of Red She-Hulk and X-51 disappear for at least a bit because their relationship proved to be one of the most enjoyable in the Marvel Universe at current. It developed very naturally and improved along the way and became an incredibly fun and dynamic friendship. It's not easy to do that and it's especially not easy to do that in as little time as Parker had to set it up and build. A satisfying ending to a regularly pretty great title.

X-Men Legacy 13

Very interesting to see Spurrier switch narrator from our main character over to Pete Wisdom. It's rare to see a solo book (especially one as decidedly solo as this) take the focus off of that character and place it on another, particularly another established one in the Universe. I feel like most books that switch narrators for an issue or two will put it on someone who hasn't been developed enough to give the audience a sense of who they are. Wisdom is more developed though certainly I'd say he still fits that bill. Even more interesting is how defined David's voice has been, meaning that the decision to switch narrators isn't so simple. David's voice very much drives this book. Taking that away is a risky play but it worked out very nicely here and keeps us in the dark about whatever David's plans are, be they righteous or nefarious. More so, as I think we can fairly safely believe his motives are righteous at this point, we don't get his opinion on whether what he's doing, which is pretty clearly nefarious, is worth the righteous ending. Lot of questions opened up here and really should push this arc and this book as a whole to another new interesting place.


Best Cover

As I said in my review this week, Daredevil Dark Nights' art felt a little like cheating because anything set on snow is going to be pretty gorgeous (unless it's crazy hectic snow, like we've seen in Astonishing X-Men; interesting question, why does this, which is set up to be a huge and impenetrable storm, seem so much calmer in the images? Oh well, not what I'm getting at here). However, I also said that the art is pretty great in this book overall and this cover is no difference. It's maybe a little heavy-handed but that doesn't mean it's not still pretty great looking. don't miss the forest for the trees and all that. If that applies. I'm going to say that it does and I run this blog so no one is editing me out. Fantastic work again, Tim.

Iron Man 12, Red She-Hulk 67, X-Men Legacy 13

Iron Man 12
Gillen (w) and Eaglesham (a) and Guru eFX (c)

The secret origin of Tony Stark has almost been completely revealed but there's still the matter of how his father managed to steal 451 from some violent aliens and live. That part of the story involves Howard calling his little team back together, which includes Dum Dum Dugan, Jimmy Woo, Thunderbolt Ross, the Bear, and Nessa the Kitten, and forcing the Greys to give up their search for the alien while also making sure they don't inform anyone else in the universe about the creation of Tony. Howard's team takes out the leadership of the Greys with everyone playing their roles (though the Bear loses her two dogs). 451 tells Howard that it was the only way and that they can just leave the underlings alive, as they won't have any loyalty to anyone now that their boss is dead and that they probably don't know much anyway. Despite this comfort talk, 451 secretly blows up the Greys' ship as it breaks orbit, leaving a recorded message for them that insists he's sorry and that this was a necessity. Howard returns home to find that Maria is having the baby. Back in the present, Tony now needs to understand why all of this has been revealed. 451 relates a war that was held between Celestials and "those who would oppose them" which led to the creation of certain weapons that 451 feels could serve as a universal nuclear deterrent for Earth. For the completion of these weapons, he needed the Heart of the Voldi and a pilot, which he found in Tony. He deems it a happy accident that the creation of Tony ended up leaving him with a penchant for exoskeletons as that's what this new weapon is. He shows the plans to Tony and reveals that this weapon is an exoskeleton five miles tall.

There's a lot of interesting stuff here and a bit of fun stuff seeing Howard's crew again and with Tony talking about Thor as a nuclear deterrent. More importantly, there are a lot of shady details now as 451 approaches his actual goal (having Tony pilot the Godkiller, as it's referred). 451 has revealed all sorts of different new facts to Tony throughout this story, possibly concealing things but never really concealing anything major (unless, of course, he's lying about it all). Suddenly, though, he's not telling who rose up against the Celestials and he's calling it "neat" that Tony has a drive to work with exoskeletons and not "hey I planned that because I found this weapon hundreds of years ago and I created you 30-40 years ago." I'm not saying that's definitely what's happening but I'm not going to not that either. Very fun book.

Red She-Hulk 67
Parker (w) and Pagulayan, Olliffe, and Alves (a) and Major (c)

The phenomenal book that is Red She-Hulk finishes this issue as X-51 and She-Hulk try to convince Betty that their world is real and that she's not dreaming up all of the things she's felt recently, still stuck in the parallel world (deemed 616.1) where she was the only Hulk. General Fortean and his troops have followed the She-Hulks and X-51 through the portal to try to apprehend Betty and have brought all the Hulk dampeners and other toys they've come up with. When She-Hulk gets in the way, they revert her back to Jennifer Walters, who is far less useful in this fight. X-51 saves her, able to justify it through his 616.1 programming by viewing her as a human now. He's able to override his programming again (which dictates that Thor is the biggest superhuman target in this fight) and attack Betty, allowing her to punch him back through the portal, where he breaks through the new programming. Neither he nor She-Hulk (nor Swamp Thing, for that matter) can re-enter the portal, though X-51 is able to shoot through it and they're all able to be viewed in the portal and heard from the other side. X-51 saves Betty by shooting out one of Fortean's men's bot but isn't able to stop them all as Fortean himself descends on Betty. In the 616.1 timeline, though, Fortean and Bruce Banner have an arrangement that this Fortean is inadvertently going against, angering Bruce and making him realize that he's upset with the way things have worked out with Betty. He saves her by shutting down Fortean's armor. Betty sees X-51 and She-Hulk through the portal and realizes that maybe there's more to the dreams she's been having than meets the eye. Bruce tries to convince her to stay but she makes it through the portal, gaining back all of her memories. She turns back to grab Fortean and bring him back into 616 prime, preferring not to pawn him off on that world. Tesla, who had previously networked with X-51 and had been hiding out in his AI, appears to reveal that Eleanor is perfectly fine and leads them to her (a little reluctantly) before offering Betsy a job with his people, which X-51 decides would be nice for her as it's good at hiding wanted people and supplying new adventures and missions at an unhealthy rate. The last panel, a half-page spread, shows the two She-Hulks, X-51, Swamp Thing, and Tesla together as Red promises to build a new team to prepare for the future. The end...?

I will, admittedly, be very excited if this leads to another new series about Red She-Hulk and X-51 working with Tesla though I'd be a little bit nervous that Jeff Parker wouldn't be the writer on it, which would be a shame since he's constructed this book so well and defined the relationship between the two leads so wonderfully. Speaking of Jeff Parker, there are a number of sketches at the back of the issue that he drew for reference for his artists, as an artist himself. It's pretty interesting and it's very cool to see how his vision of the scene changed when in the artist's hands. I'm very sad that the book is over but it ended well, giving us more of what we've come to expect and a nice little final arc for both of our heroes as Red She-Hulk breaks away from the other world and is able to find Eleanor and put Fortean behind her and as X-51 uses the flaws in his programming to his advantage. It's a satisfying ending to a great series that had no right being as fun as it was.

X-Men Legacy 13
Spurrier (w) and Huat and Yeung (a) and Villarrubia (c)

This issue breaks from the normal Legacy format by taking the narrator reins from David and handing them over to MI13's Pete Wisdom. Wisdom has his hands full with a visiting nation's leader (who is racist, homophobic, anti-mutant, etc.) and protests spawned from all of that and more. He also has found that David is visiting London, which has him more anxious than ever. He's been trailing David through the city to try to keep tabs on him. He's kept abreast of David's exploits and has determined that David is only more dangerous right now, as he's gotten the use of his powers back but seems unsure of what he should be doing with them. To boot, he also seems like he's lonely lately, edging closer and closer to team-ups. This makes it even more worrying for Wisdom when he enters a bar he's spotted David going into and stumbles across Chamber, Pixie, Psylocke, Alchemy, Liam Connaughton, and Lila Cheney with David. However, he's assured by them that they have no intent to help David; in fact, they've all come simply to tell him they want no part in a team-up. David is shaken by this, feeling like he's doing the right thing and that he's proved himself and, more importantly, knowing that he needs help for what's to come. Pete goes back out to the streets and runs across a slew of English villains including Warwolves, Dolph, and Plotka. He also susses out Blindfold lurking around and helping him to fight and he starts accusing her of helping David to start all of this. She denies and promises that he isn't doing this, that it's far beyond anything he would do. As more attacks start, she gets less and less confident and Wisdom eventually doubles back to the bar to check in on David, where he finds he is behind everything and, more heinously, is controlling all the people Wisdom found before. David continually says it's not what it seems and that it's all for the best and so on and so forth but Wisdom cannot believe him, choosing instead to blow fire through David's face.

It's a very interesting issue as we've pulled the narration away from David to conceal whatever his true motives are. He claims that he needs everyone to help him and that this really will help everyone so much but he's lonely and doesn't quite understand team-ups so it's hard to view this in a manner that's entirely wholesome, which is pretty true whenever anyone is being mind-controlled, really. We've come to love and trust David throughout the course of the series but it's hard to view this without suspicion and worry about our protagonist. Again, it's a very interesting choice to have Wisdom narrate and to keep David from revealing whatever his plan is and what is happening in his head right now. Wisdom's narration is solid and plays equal parts bitter Brit and dedicated MI13 worker, as he oscillates between his own cynicism and a vast knowledge of the super-powered community and their recent exploits. It works perfectly for the character and gives a good sense of who he is and what matters to him, even as he's acting a little bit less responsible and more goofy over in Gambit, a less responsible and more goofy book. Another great issue for the series.

Comics this week

Considerably fewer comics this week and a handful of them are weird ones (AvX What If and Guardians of the Galaxy: Tomorrow's Avengers among them). Downside of a small week is that about half the comics coming out are on this list so there are a few I'm decidedly less excited about than, say, Red She-Hulk. Actually, strike that, there are definitely enough to be excited about. I like comics, you guys.

Avengers 15
I feel like Avengers has gotten a little lost in the shuffle here for me. I've really enjoyed Hickman's run and I've relished the way it doesn't talk down to its readers but, by and large, I like the other Avengers titles more. New Avengers and Uncanny Avengers have both jumped up to the top of my reading list, as has Young Avengers. Avengers Assemble and Arena are both delightful every time they come out and Secret Avengers...well, Secret Avengers so far is a bit weaker but also has ten fewer issues. But that's kind of kept me off of praising Avengers as much as I should. Solid book and it continues to show that Marvel is dedicated to keeping their biggest brand at this point complex enough to challenge readers.

Avengers AI 1
This actually kind of snuck up on me. Did you guys know it's July already? Because it was actually seeing this book on the list of new comics this week that made me realize how late into the year it is. Anyway, a new series always deserves a look and this one has a few interesting things going for it. As the Marvel Universe has gotten older, the AI in it has gotten more complex, both physically and, if I could be so bold, emotionally. Over the last couple years, we've gotten a few storylines that have revolved around robots or cyborgs or androids or what-have-you feeling threatened by humanity. We also had the interesting Age of Ultron 10AI last week that focused on Hank Pym, making him a bit more interesting as a team leader, which he will serve as here. Also this will be Monica Chang's introduction to the 616 (she's a regular over in the Ultimate universe) and I'm happy to report I'm pretty well caught up on the exploits of Victor Mancha after his Age of Ultron off-shoot issue went so poorly on this blog. There are possibilities here and Sam Humphries will take the reins to show us what those are.

Iron Man 12
Iron Man tends to slip my mind a little as a book because I've read years of Iron Man stories that have been pretty boring and it kind of slowed me on the character as a whole. Sure, I've mostly liked the movies and the last few years with the character have added a lot more depth but I still have a weird bias in my head against Iron Man books. But when I actually let my conscious brain make the decision, I remember that Kieron Gillen is writing an astounding Iron Man book right now and that I can't wait to read the next one. Last issue was absolutely brilliant and I'm encouraged by that and by the fact that Gillen doesn't really slow down. Exciting time to be an Iron Man fan.

Red She-Hulk 67
This is it, guys. Red She-Hulk has been cancelled by Marvel and this is the last issue for fans of the book. I know the fans are out there, I've seen them around the internet here and there. We all knew this book wasn't going to last purely for the subject matter. Red She-Hulk isn't a popular enough character yet to sustain a book but boy did Jeff Parker try. This has been one of the most fun books of the last year and it's sad to see it go. I'm excited to see what the issue holds in store for us after a chaotic and exciting story last issue that showed a world where Red She-Hulk was the only Hulk in the world. Solid storytelling, great characters, and wonderful development throughout. Hard to see it go.

X-Men Legacy 13
Is David on the right track after last issue's thorough win over the Red Skull, Darwin's Martyrs, AND Legion? David has let us know that he's not going to give up his powers, he never was, and that if there's a future that he's put in jeopardy, he'll solve it the way he is. From the start, his mantra has been "I rule me" and, after a handful of issues hiding from his various internal and external foes, he's living up to it again. This has been a phenomenal book and has really established the character David can be to the Marvel Universe. Si Spurrier is a heck of a writer and he seems to always know what he wants to say and how he wants it said. This is a rare book in that it's accomplished so much that it feels like we're years into the comic and, at the same time, it feels like there are so many places to still to go and that he hasn't even scratched the surface. Good time to be a David Haller fan, if you happened to be one before this (I have my doubts).

This week's picks!

Man, really good week for comics. There were some weaker entries out there but the strong entries were really strong. As soon as I read them, I knew pretty much all three that I wanted on my pull-list but that left one particularly strong book out, with four books vying for three spots. Good news though, it turns out I govern this blog as well as write it so HERE IT IS, a very special FOUR BOOK PULL-LIST.

Avengers Arena 10

This book just keeps getting better and better. The stakes have been upped, Hopeless has introduced a villain on the island in one of the combatants and made her a real force, and he continues to be unafraid of killing off big characters. Every piece of this book has been interesting and compelling and has made it just as worthwhile to pick up as the last one. Obviously I'm still suspicious, seeing how this is comics, that everyone who has died could just come back later, which would make their deaths a little weaker in a way, but I think this book will still hold up even if that is revealed to be true. Everyone here legitimately believes they're on the brink of death or dying and that makes it hard to watch them die, as if it wouldn't have been anyway. For added intrigue, Nico has dumped our ever-shrinking anti-Apex force somewhere on the island and, in her dying breath, called for help (but all magic-like). Great art all through this issue, really showcasing Nico's struggle. Really exceptional issue.

Iron Man 11

I can't stop thinking about the implications of this book. I've never seen a book so effortlessly turn the entire Marvel Universe to view it from a new angle. Does it actually change anything except in Tony Stark's life? No, not really. And that's what's so remarkable about it. It's a shift of massive proportions, with the conceit that Tony is the reason the world still exists and that Tony was designed specifically to save the world, without actually rewriting a single moment of Marvel history, only the way Tony perceives it. That makes it a big deal to the Marvel Universe in that there's a new way to view all of the events and attacks and everything on Earth and it's a big deal to Tony in how he processes and reacts to this news (will he become even more full of himself, knowing he alone could have ever saved the Earth? Or will this put the typical superhero angst on him? No one knows for sure). Iron Man 11 is a near perfect book in that it changes the game ever so slightly for the Marvel Universe as a whole while really and truly impacting Iron Man without needing a big event for it or anything. Everything and nothing has changed.


Red She-Hulk 66

I'm a sucker for this book and, especially after this last issue, I can't believe it's ending after the next issue. Its leads in Red She-Hulk and Machine Man have become such strong characters and have been developed so nicely throughout this shortened run (for those just tuning in, Red She-Hulk hasn't been the feature for all 67 issues; she took the book over in issue 58, I believe, so we'll only really have had ten issues with her when this is all sad and done). Every bit of dialogue has been important in explaining plot or in building these characters or both. Whether it's the relationship that's built up between Betty and Aaron or the flaws in both of them or the plot that's driven this whole thing, everything has seemed really well-constructed. This issue focuses on an alternate dimension where Red She-Hulk is, in fact, the only Hulk and Bruce Banner is just a scientist and it's executed wonderfully. It's not easy to do alternate universe books but Jeff Parker really knocks them out of the park and makes them meaningful and logical. In the end, it ties back to X-51's (yes, I like to use all his names in every review I write) "just a machine" background that he's always had to deal with and that he has had to deal with more recently with the Yologarch specifically. It's a really wonderful and thought-provoking book with good art and fresh writing. Pick this book up then come back next month for 67.

Winter Soldier 19

It would be impossible to leave this book off the list. It's the conclusion of the Winter Soldier series that has been so good. From his humble beginnings as a brainwashed Soviet killing machine way back in Captain America volume five, issue one to this conclusion of his very first solo series as a recovering brainwashed Soviet killing machine, Winter Soldier has seen it it all. He really is a wonderful character and hopefully the movie will inspire new media with him (and also be absolutely great because if it's not I might have to quit everything forever). This final issue ties in very nicely to the roots of Winter Soldier and the emotions that he's had to cope with while giving him permission to abandon those roots or use them to move on as a fully-formed person. Bucky is coming to terms with his life and his past and it'll only strengthen the character going forward. Great art by Klein and Latour's compelling story and understanding of Bucky drive this final arc but the series as a whole is really worth catching up on. Don't be surprised if you see Bucky again soon, even in this very review.


Best cover

These covers have been wonderful throughout. Declan Shalvey is a really talented artist, as his work on Venom and those covers, as well as these ones, have proven time and time again. Jordie Bellaire's colors are perfect on this "explosive final issue" cover. The explosion is mighty impressive, the projectile Bucky and the chaotic "Winter Soldier" title add to the turmoil of this, the final issue. You see this book on the shelf and you're interested because none of us can look away from an explosion (except Bucky but that's really only because he's been propelled from it forcibly for trying to look too closely).

Winter Soldier 19, Red She-Hulk 66, X-Factor 257

Winter Soldier 19
Latour (w) and Klein (a and c)

The final issue of Winter Soldier finds Tesla having created a cosmic cube of some sort, the Tesla Tesseract. Her plan is to create chaos by going back in time with it to kill the people who have brought her pain. She advises Bucky to take the opportunity to go back and finish Novokov before he can hurt Natasha or wipe her memories. He refuses, knowing that time shouldn't be broken this way. He watches helplessly as she jumps them to various points in her life where she was hurt and kills whoever was torturing her. All the while, Bucky pleads with her to return and live the life she has. Finally, she brings him back to the day he killed her father and tells him that now he has the chance to make all of this go away by not killing her father. He explains that he understands what he was and who he is and how everything feeds into his life and how he can't just go back in time and change things, as much as he wants to erase his Winter Soldier past. No good can come from altering the past. Tesla attacks him, using the body of Father Hammer, who was evidently watching Bucky even at this point to see his skills. As Bucky gives up the fight, he shows Tesla her reflection on his knife. When she could have gone to see her father in this time, she chose instead to look like Father Hammer. Mortified by this, she brings them back to the present and admits her mistakes, fighting a war on soldiers. Unfortunately, it's too late to save them as the cosmic energy is expanding too quickly. Bucky uses his arm, rigged with a homing beacon, to send them back to Earth while she keeps them intangible so they don't crash into anything. They land in the ocean and she sinks away, disappearing, while he emerges at the top. There's a nice wrap-up for Joe Robards where he acknowledges without acknowledging that he knows Bucky killed his wife but he understands the weight of having a mission. Bucky returns to the cube despite himself and goes back in time to kiss Natasha at a time when she knew him before leaving again.

It's a wonderful and fitting wrap-up for the Winter Soldier, whose biggest demon since his return, and rightfully so, has been his past as the Winter Soldier. This issue gives him an out, a way to try to erase the things he's done and the person he was in that time, or even small parts of it. He could erase the horrible acts he's committed, he could erase Novokov and get back Natasha, he could do just about anything. Instead, he comes to terms with what the past means. Will he ever be over it? No, probably not. He probably shouldn't ever be. But maybe he can move past it with this feeling. Latour and Klein inherited an almost impossible job (replacing a beloved writer who created this character on a near-failing book) and did very nice work anyway. Klein's art really stands out here as there's a great piece at the beginning that shows the Winter Soldier's beginning as Bucky falls into the water from the drone he couldn't stop which calls back to early Avengers style art and uses great colors. The issue is solid and their run was well-executed. Still very sad to see this book go. Well at least the other two books in this review are still going strong and will never-oh.

Red She-Hulk 66
Parker (w) and Pagulayan, Olliffe, Bennett, and Jose (a) and Staples (c)

Red She-Hulk and X-51 arrive in the Florida Everglades, the Nexus of Realities, according to the Terranometer. Time is different here and Aaron is hopeful that they'll have the best shot of changing a fixed point in time by going to where time is least fixed. As they arrive, Red She-Hulk instantly spots and attacks Man-Thing, home after his journey with the old Thunderbolts some months ago. He teleports her into a different reality, one where she goes out and saves Bruce Banner on the gamma testing site where he saved Rick Jones and became the Hulk. As a result, she becomes the Hulk (still red and a she, but now the only Hulk) and he's just a great scientist. In this reality, Banner is able to help Betty keep Hulk in check and maintainable, leading to her eventual transformation into a form far more like the Red She-Hulk we know. As a result, she's more accepted in society and is a valued Avenger (who makes out with Thor at least once in her lifetime), all of which makes Banner jealous. Banner teams with Dr. Stack and creates the Machine Men, used to attack super-powered individuals. This whole time, Aaron has been trying to contact Betty in this world to get her to remember who she really is and bring her back to their universe. He can only effectively communicate with her through dreams and she shakes them off in the morning, fully embracing her new life when awake. When Banner and Stack create the Machine Men, Aaron is finally able to enter the world as more than just a spectator, as he enters his own alternate body. Man-Thing continues to watch from the sidelines, unsure of what exactly is happening and unable to teleport them back in any useful way. On the plus side for them, though, She-Hulk has tracked Red She-Hulk with the help of Echelon before leaving them in the dust to reach Betty and Aaron first. She arrives as Aaron, who, in this world, is programmed to hunt superheroes, is trying to tell Betty that this world isn't hers and she needs to go back with them. Unfortunately, Aaron is just a machine and must continue attacking her while trying to give her advice so it comes off pretty misleading. Man-Thing is able to open Betty's eyes to her past, but now she has both histories running through her mind so she's not in great shape. Man-Thing and Aaron try to get She-Hulk to help but Betty goes full Hulk right as General Fortean arrives so everything is going completely wrong and crazy as the series ends next issue.

GUYS, I can't believe this series is ending. I've loved this book since it switched over to Betty as the primary character and this issue illustrates again how perfect it is. First and foremost, this is an alternate timeline done right. Parker did it very well in Dark Avengers but this is a different animal, as it's one change that has meaningful implications and that logically moves from one step to another. I could name other books where, for example, Hank Pym is killed and then everything changes to such a ridiculous degree that you might mistake Hank Pym for God. Instead, one switch changes the whole Hulk dynamic of the Marvel Universe and everything naturally follows from that switch. On top of that, we have our characters acting in character (except occasionally Betty, who doesn't actually know what her character is) and doing what they can to solve this. One of the best parts, though, comes from Aaron who is fresh off his failure against the Yologarch because he couldn't escape the fact that he's just a robot following code. In this new universe, he is humbled again to find that he still can't break code so, as human as he is, he can't stop attacking Betty, his friend, while he's trying to save her. It's a brilliant extension of the ideas addressed with Aaron before this, and something that comes up occasionally with AIs but is still an engaging idea made far more engaging by the long game Parker has been playing to make us like Aaron so much and to give him so much personality over the course of this series. It's hard for me to understand why this book is ending, though Jeff Parker has assured me it's not my fault so I feel pretty good about that.

X-Factor 257
David (w) and Edwards and Carnero (a) and Milla (c)

"The End of X-Factor" six-part arc has officially started which should bring us right up to Peter David's final X-Factor issue and the final issue of this run on X-Factor (there is some speculation that it will be restarted as a part of Marvel NOW! or Marvel NOW! 2 which is apparently a thing that is happening that I'll probably have to look into more when I haven't written a few overly giant reviews already (stop writing and canceling great books and maybe I'll stop typing so much...but don't actually stop writing great books, okay? And look, in the interest of honesty, I probably won't stop typing so much). We jump right into it as Layla has tracked the demon goat-headed Madrox to Marrakesh, Morocco where he's being held by a boy named Aziz who hopes to use him to open a portal to the afterlife and bring his mother back from it. Yes, it's already kind of the saddest story. Layla, who knows things, has found her powers to be a bit off of late. This run-in with Aziz and his uncle (who has dabbled in dark arts and thinks he can use Jamie to open the portal successfully) was something she saw in her thoughts but it was supposed to be a quick detour as the portal never opened and Madrox was supposed to still be Madrox when it happened, not goat-head Madrox. Unlike her visions, though, they successfully open the portal and goat-head goes in and pulls the mother out. Unfortunately, the mother is a horrible demon thing now and kills Aziz almost instantly before approaching Layla. Layla's forcefield doesn't protect her from this otherworldly being and she's about to suffer the same fate as Aziz when goat-head Madrox pulls the demon back and throws her into the portal. Layla disguises Madrox and they leave, still unsure of what to do next and Layla unsettled by her inaccurate visions.

This is a certainly compelling storyline. I love Madrox, as readers of this blog should certainly know by now, and so I'm happy if this final arc focuses on trying to get him back. The idea that Layla's visions aren't predicting the correct events is an interesting one and how exactly she'll be able to translate those to help could lead to a great story. On top of that, this seemed to be the first time that we saw goat-head show some sort of semblance of an idea of what was happening, as he saves his wife and escapes with her pretty willingly. Whether that's more a survival instinct or part of Jamie's personality coming through is up for debate. Still, the issue was a very quick read and was over well before I was ready for it to end, which is always a good sign, if a little depressing. I'll be interested to see where this one takes us to trigger the ending.

Comics this week

Another somewhat short week with a bittersweet bent to it; somehow Dark Avengers is releasing its last issue this week without me realizing ahead of time. I'm somewhat depressed about it, but I suppose I'll get into that more when I choose it as one of my five to watch for this week. SPOILERS, Dark Avengers 190 is on there.

Captain America 7
I'm excited for this book whenever it comes out. Of course, Cap's my favorite hero out there so I know I'm likely to be excited for it for my own personal reasons but I can't stress enough how interesting I'm finding this series. From seeing new angles of Steve's life (including as a child and as a father) to leaving Cap in a place where the flag on his uniform doesn't really mean much and he can't hope for support to come, every part of this series is dedicated to exploring different facets of Steve Rogers and Captain America and it's all great.

Dark Avengers 190
I was rather sad when I checked the new comic list and saw that this was the final issue of Dark Avengers for a few reasons. First and foremost, this book has been interesting all the way across and has featured a team of villains who might be heroes in a place where heroes are villains. Very interesting in its conceit. Also, it follows a trail of other cancelled books like Winter Soldier, Age of Apocalypse, and Red She-Hulk which have all featured heroes who maybe aren't quite popular enough to sustain a solo book but also don't really fit into any team or take place somewhere on the outskirts of the Marvel Universe. There are books far more deserving of cancellation and there are corners of the MU that are over-saturated with books so we see too much of them. Dark Avengers was different and had already gone to different places. Also, it means (unless I'm forgetting something) Jeff Parker isn't writing a regular book for Marvel and that's a shame after fun runs on Dark Avengers and Red She-Hulk. Hurtful, guys.

New Avengers 6
I love this book. I don't know if there's more to say than that. I love everything this book has done and every place its been willing to go. It's a very dark story with appropriately dark characters delving into the darkest places they can go. They've been trying to keep the incursions on the down-low and have attempted to keep the information between only themselves, to the point of erasing Cap's memory of the disasters. However, it's going to be awfully hard to do that for this issue as the newest incursion is happening over Latveria. Adding Doctor Doom to this mix is very exciting for me. Doom fits so interestingly into this equation and I'm thrilled about where this could go.

Uncanny X-Force 5
This is going to be a very important issue for Sam Humphries' X-Force issue as it's the issue that will bridge the first two arcs. The first arc wasn't a bad arc but it certainly didn't blow me away either. This issue will help establish the team and its goals and the way that the team interacts with one another outside of an event. Not to say that an event won't start up in this issue (it probably will) but there's likely to be a bit of cool-down to establish the team a bit further. This issue will be crucial for setting up the rest of the series so here's hoping for a strong showing.

X-Men 1
Brian Wood and Olivier Coipel return into the Marvel Universe with a new X-Men title. The most notable thing about this series, though, is the decision to make the team an all-female one, featuring Storm, Kitty Pryde, Psylocke, Rogue, Jubilee, and Rachel Grey. There are some cases where this kind of team would feel like pandering (and make no mistake, Marvel comics should absolutely be pandering. Well, not pandering, but they should 100% be featuring more female driven-comics) but this team works on paper. It's a very powerful team with a lot of character but also it seems to have a reason for these women to come together. They don't feel just thrown together out of nowhere, they're all friends and they're fighting for the same causes, by and large. This is a big deal book because Marvel needs to see more female-led books survive and thrive. It's also a flat X-Men book, without any sort of bells or whistles on the name. This isn't X-Treme X-Men or All-New X-Men. This is X-Men, plain and simple. Calling this book "X-Men" shows a dedication to this team and the female-led principle, now the audience (and the writer and artist) need to make that pay off.

Marvel cancels Gambit, Red She-Hulk

Marvel cancels Gambit after issue 17

As I said in this week's review of Gambit, I do think that the book is finding its footing. The next few issues will still go on to prove or disprove that but sadly for fans of the most charismatic X-Man, it won't particularly matter at that point. By and large I don't think the book was doing anything far off from what's being done in other books, aside from focusing on Gambit, but that didn't make it a bad book by any means. Asmus had a feel for the character and Clay Mann had solid artwork and it's always sad to see a pretty good book go down. However, Gambit books never do seem to last and it seems harder and harder for solo books to gain traction these days. If anything was giving James Asmus and co. hope, it should probably have been Fraction's Hawkeye book, which was a solo title for a character that never can sustain a solo title but, instead of being cancelled, it's gotten huge critical acclaim and seems to sell really well. Hawkeye doesn't feel like a superhero comic, though. Clint also doesn't feel like a superhero or even much of a hero in it either. Gambit toed the line between heist book and thief book and all sorts of other things on that spectrum but, at the end of the day, it still felt like Gambit was a superhero and was doing things to be a hero. Even when he was stealing from people, it was stealing from the rich, clearly bad guys. Again, I don't want to infer that being a superhero book was a poor decision for this title because I don't think it was. I don't know where else you go with this character and I sure don't know enough Gambit history to tell anyone what to do with him. It is risky though, in this day and age where Marvel releases loads of books, to sustain one title about a less popular character (less popular than someone like Cap or Iron Man or Thor) and have it feel like another superhero book. Readers can lose interest in that and you're typically starting off with a smaller base anyway so reader loyalty is hugely important. Still, sad to see this one go, if only because I rather like Asmus. For other fans of Asmus, you should know he'll lead a book called "Quantum and Woody" for Valiant, starting in July. The little promotional poster I got from my local comic book store seems to feature a goat on it, so keep an eye on that title.

Marvel cancels Red She-Hulk after issue 67

Surprising no one whose read the blog except for me, this cancellation stings a bit more. Despite my feelings on Hulk books in general at the time (now I think Red Hulk ranks lowest for me by a pretty wide margin, and that's where this book kind of spawned from), I've found myself engrossed in the story and loving the main characters throughout this run. One of the upsides and also downfalls of Hulk throughout his history is that he's the ultimate Jekyll and Hyde but his change is so drastic that it rarely allows for breaks in the plot. What I'm trying to say is that Hulk is so clearly not Bruce Banner (unless we're talking about one of the several runs where Hulk gains intelligence or Banner gains access to Hulk while keeping his own mind) and they're either kept very separate (to the point of we only see Hulk or only see Banner ever) or they're fighting one another. It limits the amount of plots you can have and it limits how much you can connect with your main character if he's constantly afraid of a green monster coming out of him or if he's constantly a green monster. With the She-Hulks, though, they've both found a way to temper their Hulk state and keep it at a more human-like appearance and a more regular brain state. What I'm getting at in a very long-winded way is that I appreciate the fact that we can understand our main character and her motivations and that she's rather fun to be around. She's still enough different from the human Betty Ross that we know the transformation is more than purely physical, but there's still enough Betty left in her to drive the story and the character. We also got the revelation that the She-Hulks, at least Red, can hulk out even further than they have, which is an interesting turn. Add to all this character stuff that there's a compelling story with a somewhat mysterious villain in General Fortean, an upcoming appearance by She-Hulk, incredibly old machinations by SHIELD and Nicola Tesla himself, and one of the best support characters I've seen re-emerge in recent days in X-51 and this has been a monumentally fun and interesting book that felt different than most other books out there. Sadly, for all my talk above about how Gambit wasn't quite different enough to succeed, Red She-Hulk was a little too different to succeed. She's also a character who isn't popular enough to really sustain readership and the comic wasn't featuring huge guest stars and was featuring Nicola Tesla and a machine that can see the future and possibly make the world run. They were fighting an uphill battle all the way (most of the series that have been cancelled in recent days I've read while saying "geez, I can't believe this is still a series." Not to say they didn't deserve to be, just to say that they didn't quite fit the "successful series" bill). Still, I'm far more sad about this than I would have expected to be just a few months ago. Another solid book down, I suppose.

This week's picks

Tough week to pick a top three as there were a handful of top three-worthy releases. While that's good for comic readers, it's considerably worse for readers of this blog. As a result, I'm leaning on some old favorites here and few new entries to the list. By few, I really meant zero. But you could kind of guess that, couldn't you? You're very clever, reader.

Hawkeye 10

I've written an awful lot about Hawkeye lately so I'm not sure anyone needs me to write more. I will though. I liked this issue even if it was largely setting up the villain. Fraction keeps you entertained and the temporary artist switch to Francesco Francavilla totally works, given Francavilla's style mixed with the fire and darkness of the story. Francavilla's color palette also fits the story incredibly well so giving Matt Hollingsworth the day off works for the book too. There are some great lines for Kate and a particularly telling scene between the Hawkeyes (as well as a really nice insight into the way Kate feels about Clint when she's away from Clint). I'm going to tell you right now that the next issue, which has been teased already, is certainly going to make this list next release. It's Pizza Dog centric and billed as "Pizza Dog in 'Pizza is my Business.'" Sorry any other worthy books, that one might take all three spots.

Winter Soldier 18

Not to stop people from reading my pull list entry for the week of June 5th but it's already 2/3 decided and I haven't any idea what books are out for the entire week and CLEARLY I haven't read them yet. However, Hawkeye 11 (wherein Pizza Dog solves a murder) will be out that week and the final issue of Winter Soldier will be out. So yes, those two will almost certainly make the pull list then. So why is Winter Soldier on my pull list now? To be honest, while I was reading it I wasn't sure it would be. However, the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. That happens a fair amount, particularly while I'm blogging. I like the idea of Bucky being afraid that he can live with what he's done, not being afraid that he can't. It fits his character extremely well and makes the villain of this arc more interesting. Like with Hawkeye, this issue was largely focused on establishing the villain (though, unlike Hawkeye, it wasn't a little out of place considering the next one will be the last. Story timetables getting rushed are among the saddest sights) and it does a good job of it. She's smart, she's brutal, and she's not particularly predictable. She goes out of her way to establish for Bucky that she doesn't hate him for killing her parents, or hate him at all even. That's a pretty good villain. Interested to see how this series will wrap up.

X-Men Legacy 10

I told you it was going to be all old standbys. Not that any are undeserving. I think these are all great books and there were all solid issues of great books. Right off the bat we get David INSTANTLY agreeing to a deal with the extremely powerful Xavier personality in his brain so that he can try to see the future and the ways around how he destroys the mutant race. So there's plenty to look forward to storywise there. Then David takes active steps to try to stop himself from abusing his power. This issue also establishes a villain, like the other two picks this week. However, this villain isn't villainous in any way. He's extremely unfortunate and sympathetic but he doesn't even hate mutants. He's got a cure for powers but he's not forcing it on people. It's there, if it's needed he has it, if people want it they can have it. He's very straightforward about it, he doesn't seem to be hiding anything, and he's not doing it for personal gain or a vendetta or anything. He just knows well enough that there's a high probability mutants will do serious harm to the world on accident (or on purpose). It's hard to argue against that when we know our main hero is primed to do exactly that. Interesting ideas, well-executed. Solid book just keeps getting better.



Best cover
This was a tricky one. There were two solid Francavilla covers out there, with Hawkeye being solidly in the vein of Aja's simplistic covers but still looking distinctly Francavillan. I liked the baby Iron Man of Iron Man 9 and X-Men Legacy covers are always pretty great. Superior Spider-Man was close, with the plot pretty much set up by the cover and as succinctly explained as anyone could have done. Ultimate X-Men was simultaneously technically good and haunting. I ended up choosing the other Francavilla cover largely for the great colors and the appeal of the cover itself. Even if I didn't read every Marvel book every week, if I saw this cover, I feel confident I'd pick up the book, no matter how interested I had been in it previously. That's exactly what you want a cover to do so mission accomplished. I don't think it's necessarily a cover that blows you away but it more than does it job. Can't ask for anything more than that out of a cover.

Indestructible Hulk 7, Red She-Hulk 65

Indestructible Hulk 7
Waid (w) and Simonson (a) and Mossa (c)

Fake out, you guys. Hulk didn't pick up Thor's hammer, Thor's hammer picked up Hulk. Apparently Thor called to Mjolnir right as Hulk attempted to pick it up, sending him along for the ride back to Thor. Fortunately, Thor doesn't seem bothered by Hulk's sudden appearance and finds it pretty hilarious that the monster rode the hammer back to Thor's side. They fight off a few more Frost Giants while a pair of the giants in another area discover the portal back to present day Midgard. They try to break in but are forced out by Maria Hill and Coulson as Hill blows the portal's control panel, sealing the Frost Giants (and the team) in Jotunheim for the time being. One of the Frost Giants, dismayed by being blocked from Midgard, casts an illusion over himself to appear as one of the team members and rejoins the group, set on returning with them. With the imminent danger subsiding, Hulk reverts back to Banner and he explains what's happening, including the fact that they've travelled in time, before they begin to speculate on why the portal is gone. Meanwhile, Leucenstern is back at the lab trying to restore the portal and get the team home under the watchful and threatening eye of Maria Hill. Banner reveals to team member Patricia that he knows she's depressed and he's trying to pull her out of the depression, though she reveals that she's terminally ill and is dedicated to suicide by Hulk.
So a bit of a fake out after the last issue's thrilling conclusion but I suppose it's for the best. I'm not sure any of us really want to see Hulk with the ability to wield Thor's unbelievably powerful hammer. Seems like bad news all around that. Still, can't say it wouldn't have been interesting. Regardless, we get a couple of nice interactions between Banner and Thor and we get a great picture of the young Thor, thrilled by the challenge of the Frost Giants and endlessly amused by the actions of humans. It's a neat little look into why Thor is so protective of Earth, even from the days before he really split time between Asgard and Midgard. On top of that we get another look at Banner as the scientific leader of the expedition and his methods as both a scientist and as a leader. As this book seems more interested in creating Banner as a character than it is in showing Hulk all the time, these interactions are important. The way that he views his team and the way he acts around them both give us a deeper look into his character. What suicide by Hulk could entail is worth checking in for again.

Red She-Hulk 65
Parker (w) and Pagulayan, Height, and Alves (a) and Staples (c)

Another sort of fake out, though this one is perhaps more on me. Despite all my hyping it up, Red She-Hulk and Machine Man have not been transported to another dimension with Mt. Rushmore replaced by the four carved heads of Dr. Doom, Loki, Red Skull, and Ultron. Instead, the Terranometer simply sent them to Mt. Rushmore in our dimension which houses another important piece of the Terranometer, one protected by a likeness of each of the four villains, who have all at some point attempted to enter and had an imprint of themselves taken and left to guard the place. Now the image of their heads on Mt. Rushmore may fluctuate on to the rockwall if someone knows what they're looking at. It's a little complicated, but it also gives a chance for our two heroes to fight copies of four of the biggest villains in the Marvel Universe (arguably the four biggest villains). Not one of them is nearly as strong as his real-life counterpart, though they contain the same knowledge and experience, as they have to dedicate part of their processing power to keeping their own personality separated from the machine. Red She-Hulk takes down Dr. Doom, Loki, and Red Skull with some difficulty while Machine Man outwits and outlasts Ultron in a battle that takes place in cyberspace. Finally they enter the Terranometer and discover how the four outside were created (Tesla's version of self-defense for the Terranometer). Machine Man plugs himself in and is quickly overwhelmed by the power and the feeling it leaves him with. He's unable to disconnect from they system, but Red She-Hulk is soon distracted by the four villains' return but now meshed together as one stronger villain, calling itself the Yologarch. She confuses it with some logic, telling it that it's still a slave to its creator, which it denies. However, to kill Red She-Hulk would be to serve the Terranometer still, so it decides not to do it and flies away, swearing revenge on her. Red She-Hulk pulls Aaron out of the Terranometer and passes out to be awakened five hours later, as Betty, as they drive away to the Florida Everglades, home to the nexus of all realities according to what Aaron saw. Meanwhile, She-Hulk has joined up with Fortean who has also accepted the Thinker's help in improving the Echelon forces. Next issue promises a showdown between Red She-Hulk and regular-type She-Hulk in the midst of Man-Thing. Lotta hyphens here.
So not exactly an alternate dimension which is alternately too bad and pretty swell with the addition and the freedom of this new and potentially very dangerous villain to the Marvel roster of villains. The secrets of the Terranometer are still mostly unrevealed but at least Machine Man seems to have a better sense than he did before of what the machine is used for. Also, She-Hulk's arrival finally seems imminent after having it teased for a couple of issues. Jen is a reasonable lady and She-Hulks are more reasonable by nature than their male counterparts so it's still up in the air whose side she'll land on when Echelon comes calling on Betty. Two Hulks and Machine Man teamed up would make a formidable enemy for anyone, even tailor-made Echelon super soldiers. Exciting things coming up.

Comics this week

For the first time in a few weeks, we have under 15 books to review! It's all contingent on how many Iron Man books are out this week, with Iron Man 9 a sure bet, Iron Man 258.1 a distinct possibility, and Iron Man: The Coming of the Melter a little more suspect, we have somewhere between 12 and 14 books. So what stands out from the rest when forced to choose a third of them?

Hawkeye 10
Boy did I end up talking about Hawkeye for a while during my Eisner Award post. It's all deserved but I certainly just kept on rolling with it. Now, after the Clown's first appearance last issue, we're heading into darker waters with Clint, who was inspired by Grills to go talk to Jessica before Grills was killed. So there are things happening and, frankly, even if there weren't I'd be recommending this book.

Indestructible Hulk 7
The Waid-Simonson team up continues, as does the Hulk-Thor one. As last issue set up, Banner has seemingly gone to the past, a time before Thor knew who he was, and has teamed up alongside Thor against Frost Giants. However, Thor didn't see Banner transform so will likely not know Hulk is Banner when he sees the green monster. To make matters more complicated, the last issue ended with Hulk able to pick up Mjolnir. That alone garners a recommendation this week. Interested to see where this goes.

Red She-Hulk 65
X-51 and Red She-Hulk have been transported to another dimension after X-51 diverted Tesla's plans to send them somewhere he wanted them to go. Now they've gone somewhere seemingly far worse, as they land in front of a version of Mt. Rushmore that has four major villains (Dr. Doom, Loki, Red Skull, and Ultron) carved into its face. Parker knows how to write scary and diabolical other dimensions, as evidenced by Dark Avengers, so I'm excited to see where these two have ended up.

Winter Soldier 18
Winter Soldier's penultimate issue, and the first since the announcement of its cancellation. Bucky has run afoul of the Electric Ghost at last and will have to confront her and his own past. He has to confront his past a lot, but it's not typically in the form of some sort of monster created because he killed a little girl's parents. How will Winter Soldier play this one while also starting to close down shop?

X-Men Legacy 10
This book is great and it's on the pull list because it's great. There's an ongoing plot only insofar as Legion's on a mission and he has to continue that mission. It's like a series of one-shots with a plot boiling down underneath but no sign of when it will come to the forefront. Still, each release it deserves to be on this list if just for the single stories and the characters Spurrier is creating.