Inhuman 2, Ms. Marvel 4

Inhuman 2
Soule (w) and Madureira (a) and Gracia (c) and Cowles (l)

With new Inhuman, or Nuhuman, Dante and sister Gabby successfully in the fold (though they're certainly hesitant about this new life), Medusa moves on to other business, such as securing more of fallen Attilan and staking a claim in the new world. With the help of Captain America, she defends a piece of Atillan from AIM attackers and then broadcasts and announcement to the world, saying that over the Hudson is their place now and that Nuhumans are welcome to join. As her day winds down, one more person comes to meet with her, a possible Inhuman named Lineage, who claims he knows why Black Bolt did what he did and that she's messing things up.

This is something of a tough book to write, and not just because of the production problems it suffered early on. Soule is tasked with getting readers up to speed on the Inhumans as a whole and all these new threats and new challenges. Still, he has to try to develop characters like Medusa, Gorgon, the doctor Vinatos, Dante, and Gabby, not to mention Lash (from last issue) and now Lineage. There are a lot of balls in the air right now and Soule is doing what he can to keep them there or catch them. There are certainly some bumps in this book but by and large it's a worthwhile read. Joe Mad's art is pretty spectacular and his fight art is stunning. Hopefully the book will be a little more engaging when all our players are in place.

Total Score: 4/5


Ms. Marvel 4
G.W. Wilson (w) and Alphona (a) and Herring (c) and Caramagna (l)

Bruno's younger brother Vick fled after accidentally shooting Kamala, still shifted to look like Captain Marvel. Bruno calls an ambulance but Kamala reverts to her regular self which, on top of showing Bruno who she is, heals her. It's not a perfect heal, as if she switches back to Captain Marvel she's still wounded, but she's able to safely stay Kamala. She and Bruno talk about the trouble Vick is in and Kamala vows to help him. She goes home and assembles a costume then she and Bruno meet at the shady house that Vick has been going to, home of, perhaps, new villain the Inventor. A newly outfitted Kamala busts in calling herself Ms. Marvel and takes out, with some difficulty, the robots guarding the place before finding Vick and finding herself face-to-face with the Inventor.

One of the things that has made this book so compelling from the start (and it's something that I think NOVA has hit on a few time in its run) is that it's fresh. You can feel the youth in this book, regardless if the book is actually created by younger people or not. What I mean to say is that this book (and at times in NOVA, mostly during Wells' and Duggan's runs) does a pretty good job putting a realistic kid in these situations. Kamala is fresh and fun and, though she's clearly smart and good, she's undoubtedly still a teenager. It doesn't feel like "this person is writing a teenager!" for the majority of the book. Instead, it feels like simply a compelling young woman. Adrian Alphona's art can't be left out of this. Though G. Willow Wilson is writing a solid Kamala, Alphona's art grounds this series in a way, to such a degree, that very few artists can do. Overall just a really fun and interesting book that feels like it has places to go.

Total Score: 5/5

Comics this week

Another fairly busy week this week with 17 new releases scheduled to hit and some fairly big ones to boot. Still, five stand out, as they ever seem to, from the rest of the pack.

Avengers 30
AVENGERS had slipped somewhat out of my top titles to look for lists but the last couple issues, detailing Banner and Captain America finding out about the reformed Illuminati (or finding out again, as the case may have been), have brought an incredible tension to the book and have kept me on the edge of my seat (does that cliche work when you're reading? I don't really need to lean forward to get a closer look). With AVENGERS 30, I'm looking for more of that.

Inhuman 2
I'm not so sure what to make of this series still but Charles Soule has been good to us since he made his way to Marvel and I don't expect that to change. The biggest flaws in the series thus far have been on the business end; problems launching and shipping have led to a somewhat stagnant feeling behind the main message. Still, hopefully Soule will be able to pull us in with this series as it's clear Marvel has some big plans for the Inhumans.

Ms. Marvel 4
If you're not reading this book yet, it's time to get on board. It's drawing comparisons to books like ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN, which is one that people still reference as one of their favorite books all time. Get into this one before you've missed the rush of it and while it's still retailing, miraculously, for $2.99. Also, if the characters, writing, and interior art weren't enough (note: they are), Jamie McKelvie is doing the covers for this series at current and they are amazing.

Uncanny Avengers 20
While the Marvel Universe shifts into ORIGINAL SIN, UNCANNY AVENGERS stays its course, continuing to tell the story it's been telling for a solid 15 issues or so at this point. It's a true epic of a tale, something that's almost impossible to see in Marvel these days. More impressively, it remains good and compelling. Time to head back to Planet X while we push towards the end.

Winter Soldier: Bitter March 4
I've really been enjoying this book so far, an extremely interesting story in its own right but clearly a story that's working to a greater end (it continues to be a story both about the Winter Soldier, always worth reading, and about Ran Shen, current villain of CAPTAIN AMERICA, well before he was a villain and back when he was a high-ranking SHIELD officer). The gorgeous covers and the fantastic interior art have set a tone for this limited series that is rarely seen from Marvel.

She-Hulk 4, Loki: Agent of Asgard 4

She-Hulk 4
Soule (w) and Pulido (a) and Vicente (c) and Cowles (l)

She-Hulk pays a visit to San Francisco to get some advice from fellow lawyer-superhero Matt Murdock about her recent case involving Kristoff Vernard, son of Dr. Doom. With his counsel, she flies to Latveria in the hopes of finishing her case. She manages to sneak into the country and launches a small attack on Castle Doom before a giant Doombot controlled by Doom himself stops her. She talks with him, telling him that it would serve Doom well to let Kristoff live a life since all he's doing now is teaching the future ruler of Latveria to bow and that letting him go out on his own, whether in Latveria or abroad, will let him become a stronger person. Doom consents reluctantly and Kristoff brings She-Hulk home, where she begins to look into the facts of her mysterious blue file.

Story
The conclusion of the Doom storyline works out nicely as Jen manages to get into Latveria and makes another compelling argument (her first came when she won her actual trial to grant Kristoff asylum) on behalf of her client. It paints a picture of a good lawyer at work and, as she and Matt discuss, the role of a lawyer who has the ability to do far more for a client than most. On top of it, we start to get a sense of what's in the blue file as she reveals to Hellcat and Angie Huang that she and several other in the superhero/villain community are being sued by someone in North Dakota for something she cannot recall. Interesting stuff ahead. 5/5

Character
There are plenty of strong character moments here from just about everyone who appears. She-Hulk gets plenty of her own moments in the way that she speaks and in the way she acts; her tone and her demeanor give us as much a sense of her character as her willingness to visit San Francisco for advice and her willingness to travel to Latveria for a client she doesn't even like. Kristoff and Doom get some decent characterization (a well-written Doom continues to be just an absolute pleasure to read), as do Hellcat and Angie Huang in their much smaller roles. 5/5

Writing
Soule's writing continues to be very strong, giving great dialogue and compelling story beats as the series continues. I've covered most of that in the above two sections but it feels more and more each issue like Soule is building his world in some really strong ways. Hopefully the book hangs on long enough to let us see it (I've no idea how sales on this or any other new book are doing but I fear that the cuts have to come somewhere). 5/5

Art
Pulido's art continues to impress, though I get the sense that his work continues to be very polarizing. Matt Murdock is characterized some by his dialogue in this one but even more by his inability to sit still as he and She-Hulk hang out on the Golden Gate Bridge. He's constantly doing handstands and jumping from wire to wire and all sorts of different things in the course of his regular conversation. It's pretty fun and it adds a lot to the book, which is about all you can ask from any artist on any book. Muntsa Vicente does a solid job too on the colors for this extremely specific art style. 5/5

Miscellaneous
Just another in a line of Soule books that's proven to be a lot of fun to read while also being an engaging superhero comic.

Total score: 5/5


Loki: Agent of Asgard 4
Ewing (w) and Garbett (a) and Woodard (c) and Cowles (l)

Loki needs to send Sigurd home to Asgardia on behalf of the All-Mothers but Sigurd has other plans. Sigurd wants to remain on Earth but also to change his religion to one of resurrection upon death, hoping to avoid the fate that's been promised to him when he dies (consumed by the ex-Disir Valkyries, as happened a few years ago in NEW MUTANTS). For his plan, he needs his sword Gram, which Loki happens to have. The two fight for it and it seems Sigurd was the winner, though the conclusion of the fight happens out of sight. Sigurd visits Tibet and finds dark sorcerer Kaluu, hoping that he can change his religion. Sigurd explains what happened between himself and Loki while Kaluu listens and, at the end, agrees to aid Sigurd. They both shed blood on the wheel of karma to agree to terms and to get the ball rolling only for Kaluu to transform into Mephisto and show Sigurd that the karma wheel was, in fact, a contract and that his soul now belongs to Hell. Unfortunately for Mephisto, Loki had been on the mountaintop all along, courtesy of a number of invisibility charms and spells, and swapped out the wheel/contract for a contract of his own that banishes Mephisto and sends Sigurd back to Asgardia. Though the All-Mothers are pleased with Loki, he's not so thrilled with them and enlists the help of Verity Willis, Lorelai, and Thor to try to open up the dungeons of Asgardia to release the gods who have been imprisoned there recently.

Story
Every issue of this book has ended so far (with the exception of issue one, but even that had this problem, I just thought the story was more interesting) with me going "geez, that was awfully convoluted." I do believe, to Ewing's credit, that "convoluted" is rather the book's intent. Loki's the god of mischief, not the god of straightforward cause and effect. Were there probably easier, more generic ways for Loki to send Sigurd back to Asgardia? Probably. Maybe fighting? Who knows, it's all moot at this point. I think Ewing's not wrong to want to take the roundabout way to get it done, since people picking up this book want to see Loki being mischievous and outsmarting people. Still, at some point, convoluted for convoluted's sake wears a little thin and the story has to be exciting and compelling enough to warrant it. It didn't feel like this one ever really hit that point. 3/5

Character
Though we get some character beats in dialogue, the strongest sense of character comes from the aforementioned Rube Goldberg-ness of Loki's plots. It's strong characterization in that sense but the dialogue doesn't always support it. One of the most impressive things that Kieron Gillen did in JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY (and no, it's not fair to keep comparing this series to that one but I'm going to keep doing it) was to make Loki continually outsmart his foes even when it looked like he wasn't doing it or wasn't doing it intentionally because every once in a while you'd get a dark or foreboding line from Kid Loki that showed that maybe his young and excitable exterior was maybe a little deeper than it seemed. I haven't seen a lot of that from this Loki so his dialogue feels incongruous with his plots. Suddenly he just appears and goes "AHA, I had it planned this way from the start!" which, while true, doesn't feel particularly rewarding. 3/5

Writing
I think I pretty much said all I wanted to say about the writing above. The only other thing I'd mention is that I still tend not to like the faintly gimmicky asides that feel more at place in a SCOTT PILGRIM than in a book whose tone hasn't really been firmly established yet (for example, there's a cutaway sequence outlining what Sigurd's wearing and another establishing what Verity is eating in longer detail - it's not necessarily a dumb idea as it's stuff that needs to be explained and an aside is perhaps more useful than clunky dialogue but it really breaks the tone and rather makes me roll my eyes, which is not the last time I'll discuss eye-rolling this time out). 3/5

Art
Lee Garbett's art is pretty strong throughout this one, switching back and forth between realism and fantasy pretty effortlessly. He keeps up with a lot of the tone changes pretty well and really manages to hold the book together when it starts to come undone. Woodard's colors don't hurt either. 5/5

Miscellaneous
Still rolling my eyes continuously at Verity Willis. I understand there's quite possibly a longer game going on with her, but it would have to be a pretty darn convincing and exciting reveal to make me not roll my eyes at her.

Total score: 3/5

Punisher 4, She-Hulk 3

Punisher 4
Edmondson (w) and Gerads (a and c)

Captured by Dos Soles and Electro, Punisher is in a bit of a bind. Electro tortures him while the leader of the Dos Soles promises that he'll earn money loaning Punisher out to be tortured to other villains who have been hurt by his actions. Electro has no intention of letting Punisher live that long but doesn't mention that bit to the Dos Soles' leader. After the drug lord leaves the room, Electro continues to brag to Punisher before Punisher kicks out at the chest of Electro and propels himself, chair and all, through a window behind him. Freed from his chains on impact, he rushes to one of the bombs in the room, daring the Dos Soles who saw his escape to shoot him. He manages to get a gun from one of them and he works his way through the building before the Dos Soles' leader detonates the building, preferring not to leave anything behind. Punisher reunites with Tuggs and tells him that the Soles are planning a citywide strike on LA with Electro, who is also working with AIM and has come to work with the Dos Soles as part of an arrangement with AIM (though Frank doesn't know this part yet). While Frank sets out to shut them down, Tuggs is captured by the new Howling Commandoes closing in on Punisher. A new wrench is going to be thrown into everything, though, as AIM hires another mercenary to work for whatever their plan is: former X-Man/X-Force member Domino.

Like BLACK WIDOW, Edmondson is here writing another story about a strong protagonist who is good at what he does even if what he does is arguably "good." He also makes sure that the protagonist has a strong narrative running throughout, something important for both books that he's writing right now. With BLACK WIDOW, he has to ensure that she's not characterized as cold or heartless; Noto's art helps bunches with that because she's so very human in the art but having a running narrative of the way she thinks helps tremendously. In that same way, Punisher is brutal and efficient in his methods and he's very steadfast in what he believes, all of which has put him toe-to-toe with unambiguously "good" superheroes time and again. Giving him a strong narrative and putting his very human thoughts there (as writers sometimes use the "Punisher's War Journal" entries to do, though I think it's less effective than a straight shot into his mind) humanize him in a way that his actions never could. Strong issue here and plenty of story to follow as Punisher's new universe gets a bit bigger every issue.

She-Hulk 3
Soule (w) and Pulido (a) and Vicente (c)

She-Hulk has been approached by Kristoff Vernard, son of Dr. Doom, seeking asylum in the United States. As the two go out for coffee so she can hear his case, he says that he's being kept in Latveria and groomed to be the next ruler of the nation, which may be okay except that he knows he wouldn't be a ruler in his own right, he'd be the ruler holding all of Doom's positions and doing only what he wanted. He wants to be allowed to experience the world for himself and he knows Doom will never allow it. She agrees to help him but, since he's been in America for exactly a year at this point, they have to get the paperwork in that day. She calls in a favor with a judge and they get into Kristoff's car. His driver begins to take them to the airport, revealing himself to be a Doombot as they figure out where they're going. She-Hulk stops him and tracks down an old Fantasticar kept at JFK to get them back into the city. On the way in, they're besieged by legions of Doombots as they try to make their way into the courthouse in disguise. One catches what they assume is Kristoff only to find it's Hellcat posing as Kristoff to allow the actual man time to get into the courtroom. He does and She-Hulk rushes in behind him, rather beat up. Given the difficulty it took just getting past Doom and into the court that day, the judge approves his grant for asylum but no sooner does she pound the gavel than does Doom himself descend into the courtroom and drag Kristoff away, with She-Hulk vowing to get him back.

Bold move here as Soule puts She-Hulk right up against Dr. Doom to kick off her brand new series. There's a lot of legal work here as we understand why Kristoff wants asylum and the case in which it can be granted to him, not to mention some of the logistics of gaining asylum. The book kicks off with double page spreads galore as She-Hulk and Kristoff walk through the city with elongated panels stretching between the two pages. It's certainly an interesting layout and makes the story feel almost widescreen, in a way, though it's not a tactic I think I'd enjoy so much on repeated issues (I'm a bit conservative with my fondness for double page spreads, another thing I tend not to enjoy from Bendis). The book flows pretty well, though it's an interestingly paced book. There are long swaths of dialogue as procedure and history is explained but the double page spreads serve to make the book read faster; though there's a lot of dialogue, every page-worth of dialogue is spread across two pages. So the book flows but it's not in a regular sort of way. Still, it works and the book continues to be a pretty fun ride.

This week's picks

A lot of strong books out this week that landed probably somewhere in that above average to great line but a limited number of truly great books and a fair amount of "I'm finding it hard to get through this one" books. Good thing we don't highlight the latter here over at Marvels so LET'S FIND THOSE GOOD'UNS.

Daredevil 1

How much will change for everyone's favorite blind lawyer/superhero in the wake of his major identity reveal and subsequent move to San Francisco? Well probably a lot. We just don't have the time or the desire to see it all here because that would be crappy writing. What we do see is a clear shift in some of Daredevil's normal actions as he adjusts to his new life, including acting almost as more of a detective with the police, able to reveal how he knows as much as he does about certain situations, and his getting acclimated to a vastly different San Francisco skyline. There's a lot to like in this first issue and I think there's a lot to build on for Waid and Samnee as they move forward with this new new look for DAREDEVIL (their new look was already with the last DAREDEVIL launch so this is new new).

Thunderbolts 23

This one narrowly won out this week over other titles like IRON MAN, SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL, and AVENGERS WORLD, in part because I think this one was just about the most fun book to read this week, on top of giving a level of depth to our much loved team. Obviously it's a somewhat big issue on its own as Venom leaves the team but there are also revelations about how the team views one another (though we've seen a good amount of that already) and how the team works as a team (or, perhaps, specifically how it doesn't). It also continues to be one of the best books at infusing humor into whatever dark (or light) scene. It's not heavy-handed, it's not a joke for a joke's sake, it's just there, in the words or actions of characters from whom you believe the humor. THUNDERBOLTS continues to be both fun and exciting while altogether maintaining a complete comic book.

Winter Soldier: Bitter March 2

I'm very impressed with the workmanship of this book. Remender is threading plot lines back and forth between this not-quite-prequel to the current events of CAPTAIN AMERICA and CAPTAIN AMERICA and he's making it look easy. We're getting a taste of everything here, between Ran Shen's history with SHIELD and his blossoming thoughts on how the world should work (thoughts that would eventually lead him to his new persona as the Iron Nail), Horace Littleton and his work (that would eventually lead him to his new persona as Dr. Mindbubble), and a taste of the hatred between SHIELD and Hydra/other factions of the world. It's doing all of that, which is neat enough on its own, but more than that it's a really interesting WINTER SOLDIER story by itself. I feel confident that if you weren't reading CAPTAIN AMERICA right now and you picked this up because you were like "oh hey, that Winter Soldier seems like a pretty cool cat and by golly he's the star of an upcoming movie I take it," you'd still be reading a book that you can completely understand and one that still holds your interest. Great stuff. And look at that cover. Just really cool.

This week's picks

Hey guys, I want all of YOU to know this is a cheat because I didn't actually get around to reviewing MIRACLEMAN and REVOLUTIONARY WAR: SUPERSOLDIERS. But here's the thing: MIRACLEMAN won't make this list because it was released thirty years ago originally and REVOLUTIONARY WAR: SUPERSOLDIERS won't make this list because it wasn't very good. So let's assume that's my review for them (here, look, I'm really cheating on these because both my MIRACLEMAN and REV WAR reviews would be nearly exactly the same as they've been, one talking about the revitalization of an old series and one talking about how tone doesn't match concept) and we'll move on to the TRUE PICKS OF THE WEEK.

Avengers Assemble 24

This week was particularly hard to choose the top books, to the point where I had to go back and read my own reviews to see if I liked books or not. AVENGERS ASSEMBLE was one this week that kind of caught me by surprise at how much I liked it. I've liked this book throughout its run and I believe it's made this list before and that should come as no surprise; they've had good stories, I really like Kelly Sue DeConnick's writing, they focus on pretty good characters and build them up well, etc. That said, this arc feels like it should never have been as good as it was. Young superhero gets trained by a handful of Avengers at various times as a pitch reeks of maudlin talks of responsibility and the meaning of being a superhero. Instead, this one comes with as much depth and in-fighting (albeit minor, mostly in terms of how heroing should work) as you'd expect from a book from DeConnick and Warren Ellis. There's been a lot of good stuff and now getting to see Tony Stark work with young Anya is a refreshing breather from the subterfuge and stealth and brutality we've seen the last few outings with the Spiders and Wolverine. Really good, really fun stuff. I'm surprised this book couldn't find a home, though I don't think it was advertised particularly well.

Hawkeye 15
Next up is Sir Always-On-This-List as HAWKEYE delivers another great issue. There have been times where I've thought about pulling books like HAWKEYE or NEW AVENGERS or YOUNG AVENGERS from this list because they make it so consistently that it feels like putting them on here is just taking up a spot you already knew. On the flipside, though, this is a really good book you guys. HAWKEYE is consistently one of the Marvel books that I'm thinking about well after I've read it, one of the plots I remember from issue to issue despite the amount of Marvel books I read in a month (I often have to glance at a review from the previous issue for other titles or have to start reading the new issue before I go "ooh, that's right"). It's just really good work and it's as deep as any Marvel book out there without feeling the need to talk down to the audience. Fraction and Marvel hit a home run with Aja, a proven commodity who has some really expressive and truly beyond belief work with HAWKEYE but they managed to hit ANOTHER ONE with Annie Wu (obviously this is now going beyond this issue) who does some of the best facial expression work in the business. It's all needed as this book relies as much on the art as any other book out there. It's a great symbiosis of the writing and the art telling a story in the best way possible.

Thunderbolts 22

I've had to think recently about why I dislike those quirky introduction captions, the ones like FEARLESS DEFENDERS had and MIGHTY AVENGERS has, that say things like "Luke Cage: Wishing he'd bought cellphones" or "Power Man: Just walked in the door." I think the issue, largely, is that they don't seem to serve any purpose whatsoever beyond shoehorning in a joke that's not necessary. It's creating humor where humor isn't necessary and where it may even break the tone. On top of it, it's the sort of old-fashioned thought of "we have to introduce every character every issue because how else would people know who this is?" This is a really long and roundabout way of saying it can be hard to write humor in books, particularly humor in books where you want the action to mean something. I think MIGHTY AVENGERS is doing a much better job now than it was at the start of the series and beginning to develop its own tone regardless of those captions. THUNDERBOLTS, though, is effortlessly creating really fun characters (doesn't hurt when you have Deadpool interacting with a team in any capacity, assuming the writer can handle Deadpool) and really fun situations and moments all while maintaining a really good tone and pace with some great action and meaningful consequences. Reliably fun, reliably good, reliably capable of making this list.

Best Marvel comics of 2013 (part two of five): 16-20

NOW, after that teaser first post, we're on to the actual top twenty. Let's not tarry any longer...ranked from 20 right down to 16 (I broke the top twenty into four separate posts to save you scrolling down too far to find out everything after I inevitably talked for TOO LONG), the list of my best 2013 Marvel books starts HERE.

20. Winter Soldier

This one BARELY squeaked by the not-quite-the-best list, where it would have landed only for the inconvenient timing it had for 2013. It only went from issue 14 to issue 19 in 2013 but they were, upon further inspection, very solid issues. We kicked the year off with Ed Brubaker's final issue with the character he created not so very long ago and it really rather changed the game, showing a depressed Bucky telling SHIELD to stop trying to restore Natasha's memory of him, as she's been through enough. One of the ways that I know this blog has made me a better comic reader in general is that, in going back to fetch a picture for this entry, I re-read the comic and it broke my heart in far more ways than it had the first time through. Beautiful work. Jason Latour did a fine job in his short time on the book but ended up stalling a little out of the gate and only picking up steam as the end was in sight. Very strong book showcasing one of the most popular new characters in his first (but undoubtedly not last) shot at a solo book. No one really gets it in one, Bucky, chin up.

19. Thunderbolts

THUNDERBOLTS absolutely made the list on the strength of newcomer Charles Soule when he took over the book with THUNDERBOLTS 12 and when he started his first full arc back in THUNDERBOLTS 14. Soule brought a new feel to the book and took a series that was promising but a bit forgettable and made it into something worth reading for various reasons each and every time out. The team was already extremely interesting on paper back when it kicked off but Daniel Way had taken it in a bit of a more gritty way than I think was necessary, which is weird to say about a book that consists of Flash-Venom, Elektra, and Punisher. Of course, the rest of the team is Deadpool, Red Hulk, and the Leader, so maybe the cold-blooded coup feel of the book wasn't ever going to work. Soule has done a great job revitalizing the book and making it a refreshing and fun read issue to issue or as a full arc. Looking forward to this one going forward and, even more surprisingly, looking forward to Soule's addition of the new Ghost Rider to the team next year.

18. Infinity

I'm as surprised as you are to find that a mini-series, no less an EVENT, has made the top twenty but here it is. In fact, the only reason Jonathan Hickman's INFINITY is so low in the top twenty is that I found it hard to divorce it entirely from the fundamental help it got from the titans that were AVENGERS and NEW AVENGERS, not to mention the various tie-ins throughout the universe. I wonder if this book stands up as strong if read by itself. I have a feeling it still stands up pretty well but the other books in the sort of required reading elevated the event as a whole. That was by design, sure, but I can't award this mini-series those points. INFINITY lands on the list for being an entirely engaging read and an event worthy of being an event. The other two major events (AGE OF ULTRON and BATTLE OF THE ATOM) this year were total busts for me and events in the last few years have really fallen flat even as they grow more popular than ever within the business. INFINITY was a breath of fresh air as we got an event big enough to really be called an event and to warrant the action with real implications that we'll be seeing through the coming year(s). Also, no one from our casts died, which was an exceedingly bold choice in this day and age (throughout, I was predicting the shock value deaths we'd get only to be disappointed and equally not disappointed when they did not come to pass). Hopefully Hickman helms any other major events in the near future.

17. Journey into Mystery

This is another book that landed this low only after a mid-year cancellation stopped it short of contending all year long. As someone who truly loved Kieron Gillen's run on the book that turned the ever-devious Loki into a lovable rapscallion only to see him destroyed and have his true nature take the credit, I was both looking forward to Kathryn Immonen's look at Lady Sif and a little wary of it replacing a book that was a long-form love story to the form. After it was all said and done, though, Immonen took us on one of the most fun and most thoroughly engaging treks through Asgard I think we've ever seen. Sif is a character who is typically explored through the eyes of Thor or Loki or someone bigger in that Marvel-style pantheon but we got a book here that viewed her as every bit the warrior we hope she'd be outside of the pages of THOR or any other Asgardian based book. Immonen gave a real character to Sif and stuck to it. The final art, featuring Valerio Schiti art, really solidified the greatness of this book, one of those rare occasions where the perfect people teamed with the perfect character for them and really made it shine. Solid stuff all the way through.

16. Ultimate X-Men

ULTIMATE X-MEN surprised me when it appeared on my own top-ten list last year so this year I was a bit more ready for it and it didn't disappoint. Things in the Ultimate Universe are almost unquestionably worse all the way around than they are in the 616 and it was never so obvious as it was with the ULTIMATE X-MEN this year (unless we're talking about book quality, am I right you guys? Ha, I am though, which is sad). Sure, things aren't great for mutants in the 616 but Brian Wood showed us a tremendously diminished mutant population being given practically desert land and not much else and being left to sort out their problems themselves. These problems included questioned leadership, limited resources, hate and paranoia from the country surrounding them (which was just full to the brim with the stuff), and secret infiltrators. Whenever things started to look up for the X-Men, something interfered and pushed them two steps back. They're given a new place to start over, free of US jurisdiction? An omega-level telepath hidden amongst them works in secret to overthrow their new leading party. They create the sentient seed? The US government claims ownership over mutants and their creations and nearly starts a war to get its property back. They begin to succeed as a little nation all their own? Tian, a jealous sister country, instigates war and pretends that Utopia started it. Tensions were CONSTANTLY up in Utopia and Brian Wood never once backed down. The pacing, the characters, the story, the art, it all added up to a superb book overall, and certainly the best that the Ultimate Universe had to offer this past year, and maybe ever.

This week's picks

Lot of good picks this week and not too many truly bad ones, which is pretty exciting as someone who makes himself read them all. Let's get right into it without any more unnecessary notes from me.

Thunderbolts 18

Another fun issue of THUNDERBOLTS that continues to help build a new feel for this series. This arc probably overall could have been condensed an issue or so but I don't think the extra length really hurts it in any big way. If anything, it gives us a more complete look at the characters and a better feel for the tone. Everything in this first arc from Charles Soule comes to a head as the Thunderbolts succeed in all of their goals (plus a few bonus ones) but not without tensions rising and a bit of a competitive bent shining through (there's a great moment where Deadpool brags about killing the Paguros and doing it without following Punisher's complex plan and then gets to rub it in to Punisher that, since he was helping after all, Punisher's going to be in for a doozy when Deadpool's name comes out of that hat). There's still a romantic thing going on with Elektra and Punisher (that culminates IN THE BATTLE VAN) and there are still plenty of tensions borne from that. And Mercy, this doesn't even mention Mercy! There's so much happening and the book still manages to be fresh and fun. Pretty neat.

X-Men Legacy 20

Speaking of culmination, Si Spurrier's final arc on the book is approaching and he's going into it guns fully blazing, it seems. After an entire series spent with David going back and forth in his power-set and in his own confidence, everything seems to be pretty well sorted as David goes up against his biggest foe yet (and he's been up against the Red Skull, you guys). One of the best and most impressive parts of it all is that it's not coming as a heavy-handed "FINALLY David overcomes all of his issues" sort of story because David has fluctuated so often in the series. He's gone from being among the most powerful to de-powered to looking to be de-powered to being confident to being doubtful to everything in between and, frankly, he's won out in just about every venture he's undertaken, even if it's not the cleanest win. Because of that, it's hard to say that he's needed outwardly to overcome his issues since, without overcoming it, he's been so successful. This is a very emotional and exciting win for David and it's perfectly executed. The art really stands out here and it works perfectly for the tone of the book. Great stuff, really excited for the next arc to start.

Young Avengers 12

Guys, YOUNG AVENGERS is likely to remain on my top picks for the last few issues, just as it's been here for the first 12 or so. This book is reliably among the best of any given week, no matter what happens. For starters, the writing is always top of the game and the characterization is always incredibly intricate and multi-faceted. It's a book that feels fully in sync with itself; the art perfectly represents the writing, the characters will say something and then look amazingly expressive of that thought. Often, they don't even really need to say anything, the look conveys it, and Gillen is a skilled enough writer and trusts McKelvie enough to know that upfront. Gillen said in an interview that one of his biggest goals for the book was to get McKelvie into the spotlight by getting him to draw a fairly big ongoing series with Marvel. He's pretty clearly accomplished that by getting the immensely talented Jamie McKelvie into the comic-reader lexicon and, as anyone who knew him before this or who has seen him since can tell you, it's one hundred percent deserved. This is, hands-down, the best drawn book in a slew of absolutely amazingly drawn books right now. Amazing stuff. Hoping to hear soon that Gillen and McKelvie are picking up another Marvel book.

This week's picks

Thee were a lot of books that were good this week but not too many that really stood out as blowing me away. That's not a bad thing; I'll take a book that's reliably good over a book that hovers around a mediocre point with a few blow-away issues mixed in. It's incredibly rare for a series to blow you away with every issue (though there are a couple books I'm skipping over this week in picks that have kind of done that throughout their series). That said, I do think there were a good deal of good books and plenty that I think laid the groundwork for possible huge issues. Still, this post requires a few books that stood out beyond the rest so HERE THEY ARE, in alphabetical order yet still somehow starting with 's.'

Secret Avengers 9
I've been a bit put off by this series so far, which I think has a lot to do with the needed set-up for the series, which is fairly convoluted, and the focus on SHIELD as an organization. SHIELD is a tricky animal because it exists so prevalently in the Marvel Universe but kind of needs to be crappy so that our heroes can shine. This issue still focuses on SHIELD in a wide-angle sense but it's more personal, dealing with Johnson vs. Hill. It's a more intriguing story and it's pretty easy to follow, even with the persistent talk of mind-wipes and international incidents. As I said in my review this week, the Secret Warriors feel doesn't hurt the book either. I'm not going to lie, this also gets added points for the inclusion, though we knew it was coming, of Winter Soldier. This is a good role to put him in, squaring him up against SHIELD knowing that they're toying with Natasha's memories (even if she agreed to it). Should be fun going forward. Also nice to see Guice drawing Bucky again.


Thunderbolts 15

Speaking of fun, this book is absolutely full of it suddenly. There's a real characterization to this Thunderbolts team which is rather the characterization I was waiting for when the lineup was announced. It's a solid team that lends itself to both tension and a sense of fun, in the same sort of way an action movie can. Deadpool's a great character for that feel because his brand of fun can be both like an action movie and something else entirely, just regular type fun. For example, this issue finds him strolling the streets of New York, being called Spider-Man and kind of rolling with it. It's not like the our and sometimes obnoxious Deadpool who would proclaim himself Spider-Man and get a little too into character, shouting through the streets. Instead, it's a Deadpool who is called Spider-Man and kind of just goes "yup, sure. Web things are broken so I'm taking the subway." It's a really good Deadpool, you guys. Even with the fun sense in the book, there's a real underlying tension ready to burst, with the Leader quietly sabotaging Red Hulk and the extremely powerful Mercy just dying to get freed (dying, that's kind of a pun, you guys, keep up). Really solid book. Still really like the artwork here.

Ultimate X-Men 31

This book continues to be one of the best books out there for pacing and overall storytelling. That's not to say that characters are a weak point or anything, I'd still say they're fairly well-defined, even given how big the cast is. But the tension, which continually ramps up without feeling overwhelming, is a really impressive touch. That's been true arc after arc and it continues here, as Kitty and Jean both react to moves made by the other. There's a lot happening and it would be easy to get lost in subplots or minutiae here but Wood stays his path and keeps putting out a really reliably good book with strong characters. Also, for all the worry of a lack of strong female characters in comics, this one features a few really solid ones. Kitty leads the pack but there's also Storm, Rogue, Mach Two (even for her age), Jean (even for her crazy), and plenty of smaller characters we haven't seen much of but who haven't been weak, for sure. Really good book all around, continues to delight issue after issue. I'd have to say this is one of the most consistently worthwhile buys.


Best Cover - Ultimate X-Men 31
G. Hardman w/ E. Breitweiser
I've long been a fan of the Ultimate X-Men covers which tend to go more for symbolic or idea over a standard comic cover of a specific character or characters doing something rather extreme. This week is a change from that as we get three of our lead characters driving and riding in a jeep while attacking an unseen target just to the side of the camera. It's a well-drawn cover but really, this goes back to the coloring for me, which is superb. There was a nice comforting feeling about this cover when I first looked at it, like someone I hadn't seen for a while showed up again in my life. That's exactly what happened, in fact. These are, one hundred percent Bettie Breitweiser colors and guys, she is amazing. I said way back in my post about colorists that Breitweiser was the first real colorist I noticed and could pick out because her palette was so defined. Even these colors, which aren't really the colors I've seen her use too often in the past (her great work through a lot of Captain America and Winter Soldier stuff tends to stray darker than this), stick out as being part of that very specific palette. Really wonderful stuff. This one beats out another solid Shalvey/Bellaire Venom cover and a Samnee/Rodriguez Daredevil cover.

Comics this week

As I said in last week's picks post, I just started a new paying job so, look behind the curtain here, things might get a little more erratic around here. Hopefully everything keeps up the way it has but it could mean a number of things, including shorter posts or cutting books from my review slate. Longtime readers (or anyone who can search through a blog) know that I try to review every major Marvel release every week. I don't really want to cut that, necessarily, but, you know, I might. Don't worry, I'll keep you posted. So how do we kick off this testing ground? Why, with 17 new books of course!

Captain Marvel 16
This issue, like the last, is slated to tie-in to the Infinity event, which is actually pretty compelling for Captain Marvel right now. Last issue she went Binary to defeat foes and save her team after we learned that the events of The Enemy Within left her memory out of whack. In last week's Avengers, we saw her questioned by the Builders and learn of J-Son's betrayal. Plenty happening right now for Captain Marvel, it'll be interesting to see where the phenomenal Kelly Sue DeConnick takes this one. There are also some hints in the works about a change in the Captain Marvel format, as the book is missing from solicits not too long from now. There's been no word of cancellation and DeConnick herself has said not to worry about things. Some day we'll probably learn more.

Infinity 3
The event continues and it's set up both of the Marvel Universe's fronts, one fighting the Builders in space and one fighting Thanos on Earth. Plenty happening here and, as I've said since the start of the event, enough to justify making Infinity an event. Still, as we reach the halfway point of the main series (and presumably of the event as a whole), this is a crucial time for Infinity to show that it's not planning on slowing down. The events that have happened in the book and in the crossovers makes me feel like there's enough plot to keep pushing forward without losing momentum but this issue needs to prove it. Issues 3 and 4 will have to carry a fair amount of weight as events tend to lose steam in the middle before jumping to their thrilling conclusions. Hopefully this book won't lose any of its steam and will keep giving us a big story.

New Avengers 10
Even though I've liked this crossover a bit less than I've liked some of the others and less than I've liked the book when it's not busy crossing over, there's still a very interesting story here and one that's likely to get even more interesting as Namor has now betrayed Black Panther (if you can call it a betrayal) to Thanos' Black Order, saying that Wakanda is where the object Thanos seeks is hidden. There's been deserved tension between Panther and Namor since before the start of this series and it's all coming to a head now. It's a little hard for me to see this whole thing winding down without one of them dying. This is both exciting for fans (a Namor/Panther fight will be awfully impressive) and a little heartbreaking for me (I love both characters. Panther probably a hair more, but geez guys).

Thunderbolts 15
I really liked the last issue of Thunderbolts. It was fun and smart and quick and the art matched the tone extremely well. I'm looking forward to this issue, though perhaps a bit warily. I'm hoping that it keeps up the tone and the feel from the last one as our newest creative team continues its work on the book. The story itself could be interesting as a team of super mercenaries takes on a big crime family with the backing of every gang in New York. This issue, like the last one, is also marked as an Infinity tie-in. It only came up tangentially last time (with Venom noting that the Avengers were off-world and Frank adjusting his game plan accordingly) but I'd expect it to play a little bit of a bigger role here. Maybe not though. Something interesting to note about Infinity: though I'm still a little suspicious of it, four of my five most anticipated picks this week are directly related to it so I guess it's going pretty well after all.

X-Men Legacy 17
I assume we'll get the conclusion of David and Cyclops' fight this week, as I'd be surprised if it carries another issue. The tone of the last issue was pretty fun despite the seriousness of the situation for David. Though we've had a remarkable 16 issues so far, everything about David's character continues to be compelling and interesting, as well as fun to watch. I'm still not tired of going into David's head and seeing the powers there (and the still very smart concept of his monologues being broadcast inside his mind) nor am I tired of him using those powers. His personality is extremely well-defined and stands apart from just about every other character in the Marvel Universe. We're talking about a story about a very powerful but conflicted man whose somewhat absentee father, beloved by everyone he comes into contact with, was killed attacking his father's killer, who was like family to the father. This is pretty much Hamlet and, despite this, I still think he's a wonderfully original character and frankly I like this better.

Ultimates 29, Thunderbolts 14, Nova 7

Ultimates 29
Fialkov (w) and Di Giandomenico and Ruggiero (a) and Charalampidis (c)

Reed's team only needs the one remaining Infinity Gem to finish out the gauntlet and things really should be less complicated as Tony Stark is dead and his armor seemingly under Reed's control and the Ultimates are imprisoned. Unfortunately for Reed, Tony's smart enough to have uploaded his consciousness into his network, meaning that he can hack just about anything now. Bit of a buzzkill for Reed as it allows him to take his own armor offline, mostly, instead of allowing Reed to use it and it means he can hack Reed's systems and control a suit himself. The book moves incredibly fast as Tony works his way through all of Reed's plans, culminating in a rescue of the Ultimates and the serious delay of all of Reed's work, if not the ultimate end. Meanwhile, Quicksilver has used John Storm to drill to the Earth's core to retrieve the last Infinity Gem for Kang, who he believes is his sister Wanda. As he returns with the gem, he reads through Reed's math (Pietro admits he's not smart but he's great at math because the speed he can analyze it means that he knows math well purely through repetition) and realizes that Kang's plan isn't going to end the way he thought it would and it's not anything that Wanda would ever do. She's not Wanda. Kang realizes that Quicksilver's found out and quickly catches up with him, admitting it to him before taking the gem and ending his life, giving him 30 seconds in which he sprints to Wanda's grave to give a final speech to her, pouring his heart out before he dies by her side. It's that speech that serves as a sort of narrator for this book, starting right with the beginning of the comic and ending as Pietro actually reaches the grave before starting anew out of Pietro's actual mouth. So who is Kang? The Ultimates find out as they gang up on Reed that Kang is future Sue Storm and she'll kill every one of them if they get in her way.

There is a TON happening here. Really impressive the level of climax we had here. Guys, I know this is the Ultimate universe and people die here but Tony Stark is kind of dead and Quicksilver just died. I recounted this book to my girlfriend and the fact that Quicksilver died came up and was, honestly, kind of off-handed because Tony obviously is a bigger death and she had to stop me to be like, "wait, what? Don't they stay dead over there?" I know! That's not to say it's poorly done or something, the fact that it's more off-handedly mentioned. In fact, it's very well done. It's incredibly sweet (ignoring the weird Pietro-Wanda relationship in the Ultimate universe) and it justifies a lot of his actions. He's suddenly more understandable and more helpless than conniving and kind of pure evil, as he's been shown lately. But it still fits nicely and his sentiments are very sweet and very touching. The pace of the book is great as Tony consciousness runs circles around Reed, thwarting and mocking him at every turn. Everything is fast and smart and the Sue Storm end reveal (with present Sue Storm in the room working against future Sue) is pleasantly surprising and well hidden. Solid work here. I've had some skepticisms about this Ultimates Disassembled business but this issue really straightened some worries out, giving us plenty to look forward to next time. High fives all around.

Thunderbolts 14
Soule (w) and Palo and Pallot (a) and Guru eFX (c)

Guys, I'm going to be honest and give some review-spoilers here: the three books reviewed today all get slightly surprised high fives. I could not be happier that this is true; I've had my troubles with each of these series that extended even as far as the most recent issues before these but I found myself genuinely enjoying each of these books and happy to be reading them. Let's talk about the specifics more, hm? Okay, so Thunderbolts. The change is official: Charles Soule is the new Thunderbolts writer with Daniel Way stepping aside to make way for him. I'm a Daniel Way fan; I thought his run on Deadpool was great and really helped the character along in the Marvel Universe (don't talk to me about the new one, whatever guys, I'm having fun right now) and he carried that solid Deadpool into this book. There was plenty to like about this Thunderbolts team but I wasn't falling in with the tone of the book, which wasn't particularly well-established, and the other characters didn't have too too much meat to them. Soule takes over along with artist Jeffte Palo and the tone is immediately changed. I've liked the last couple issues a bit but they were meant to tie up final plotlines. In 12, Soule's first issue, Punisher hunted down Elektra's brother. In 13, we learned about Mercy. Here, in 14, Soule is building his first set of issues. They're kind of tied-in to Infinity in that the Avengers are off-Earth here and Thanos is likely on his way, which might have an effect or might be a backdrop to our story. But Ross is keeping to his promise for the team; he built the team with the assurance to each member that they'd have resources and a team at their disposal to do things for themselves and that the team would alternate missions, one for Ross, one for another team member, one for Ross, one for another team member, and so on. So he's sticking to it. The first team member to get to choose a mission, after picking names from a ridiculous hat, is Punisher. He says that his mission is that he wants their help taking down a crime family in New York, which is followed by this nearly perfect beat (I don't often post panels in my summaries but this was too perfect to pass up. It might still make its way to panel of the week this week):

Great, right? Anyway, Punisher wants help taking out a dangerous crime family who has the support of every other crime family in New York. A success would mean crippling New York crime, potentially even by taking out tons of players, but the risk comes with the fact that every crime family in New York is willing to drop everything to defend the Paguro family. Risky business. There's another fun moment where Punisher starts to make a plan which dances around utilizing the whole team, knowing that attracting the attention of the Avengers isn't a great idea but, as soon as he learns the Avengers are off-world, he changes the plan to a full on assault.

Look, this is a really long post because I'm very happy with this change in tone and pace and even art. I liked Phil Noto's stuff but it was kind of as tone ambiguous as Way's writing. The book had funny moments but wasn't funny and it had serious moments but didn't feel that serious. This book has its own serious moments but the humor really shines. The art also gives it a lighter feel, with Jeffte Palo's more cartoony artwork giving us a really great match for the writing. Lots of great moments, genuinely fun beats and an exciting plot. I can't ask for more out of a team that I originally anticipated being incredibly fun and exciting. Full-on applause for this one.

Nova 7
Z. Wells (w) and Medina and Vlasco (a) and Curiel (c)

Nova has been given permission to keep Nova-ing but isn't yet ready to join the Avengers. Point of fact, he's not really ready to keep Nova-ing. He ignores the damage he did to the skate park in his hometown during his first arc and speeds to New York, only to be immediately accosted by angry NYPD and to crash into a more angry and more dangerous Spider-Man. Spidey curses him out for his inexperience and naivety before sending him on his way with the useful suggestions of getting a police scanner to identify real emergencies and maybe going to a city without superheroes to practice (which would be any other city on Earth, practically). Sam rushes off to do these things, using his helmet to identify some real world problems and zooming around after a failed attempt in Los Angeles (with a not-so-thinly-veiled and a bit eye-roll-worthy nod to Joss Whedon and a quick cameo by former New Warriors Justice and Speedball). He quickly learns that rushing into situations isn't the best approach (there are some neat bits where he admits to construction workers back at his skate park where he's reluctantly decided to help that firemen are better at fires than he is and that angry crowds aren't easy to talk to) and slows things down, returning to Carefree, Arizona to start small. However, Thanos is on the horizon, so don't expect him to stay small for too long.

I really enjoyed this issue. Nova sounds like the fifteen year-old he's supposed to sound like and the book wants to have a more fun feel to it, something that books that try to hard fail miserably at. Instead, it works very well here and the laughs are mostly genuine (the Joss Whedon does indeed get an eye-roll). This one's applause comes with rather a wary eye, though. I wasn't a huge fan of the Nova reboot here. First and foremost, he spins right out of the newish Ultimate Spider-Man TV show which is garbage. Still, comics don't necessarily follow TV or movies word for word so he was still jumping into an established universe. I liked the idea behind the Black Nova corps but I didn't love the story or the character particularly under Jeph Loeb. It felt strained and very cliché. Zeb Wells took over recently and got me a little more onboard, giving Nova a more genuine sounding voice and putting the character back on new ground on Earth. I've liked the work he's done and this issue is certainly no exception; in fact, I'd say it's the strongest of the series so far. But issue 10 will see another writer change on the book, replacing Wells with Gerry Duggan. Remember above, in my Thunderbolts post, when I mentioned not liking the new Deadpool book? Or every Deadpool review where I've said that? Duggan is one of the men behind that. Don't get me wrong, that certainly doesn't mean Nova is bound to cross borders I don't care for. Deadpool's a different character and Duggan's a pro, who is also, it should be mentioned, writing Deadpool alongside a stand-up comedian in Brian Posehn. Still, I'm wary of the new direction that could be coming, especially after I liked this issue so much. Hoping that Wells' stay, if nothing else, is memorable. Truly hoping for better beyond that, but I'd except a solid five issues.


Geez guys, sorry for the really long post today. I've tried to limit my number of three review posts but sometimes you have fourteen books and you can't help yourself in four days. Also, I was really impressed by these three books and really surprised at how impressed I was. Days like these make me love comics anew. Wonderful. Maybe not the best books this week (building suspense for THIS WEEK'S PICKS tomorrow) but good enough to make me excited.