Leftovers 10-15-14

As I said on Tuesday, there were a whole bunch of comics out this week so let's dive right into it with these much shorter, much quicker reviews. Let's also hope that they're much shorter and much quicker than I tend to be, even in these.


Avengers World 14

The Next Avengers help Sunspot, Cannonball, and Hyperion bring down Barbuda and free Smasher from their control as Shang-Chi gets his revenge on Gorgon, replacing Madripoor in the process, and Druid, who was killed while in the land of the dead, giving him the ability to stay with them and now giving him access to the language he needs, successfully brings the dead back and closes the portals while the Avengers and Euroforce beat up Le Fay. Success all around! These three sweeping stories come to a close in a pretty clean way, but one that follows well enough from the rest of the series. Strong writing and wonderful art anchor this one. Total Score: 5/5








Deadpool's Art of War 1
Deadpan gets hired in some strange chrono-bending way to kill Sun Tzu, author of Art of War and he gets real interested in the work, deciding to re-write it and publish it, claiming it as his own. His would-be publisher demands he find a new way to write the story as many have already done just that and he decides it should take the angle of a survivor's guide. He decides to start a massive war so that he can test his theories out surviving just such a war and pits Loki and Thor against each other, trolls and frost giants against Asgardians. However, his advice to Loki gives Loki the upper hand and Loki actually wins the inciting fight. There is maybe an interesting story in here but I've yet to really see it. It's also not nearly as fun as you'd want a Deadpool story to be with only really a handful of fun moments even attempted and almost all of them missing the mark. With Loki standing over a beaten Thor on the last page, Deadpool asks us "Isn't this fun?" Nope, but thanks for asking such a specific question. Total Score: 2/5


Edge of Spider-Verse 5
The final EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE shows us little Peni Parker, someone who I will not be talking about in the possessive sense, set to replace her father as SP//dr, a premiere crimefighter of her world who relies on a genetically keyed spider-suit to fight crime, which she does well, even despite her youth. After a run-in with Mysterio and some gangs (and a team-up with that universe's Daredevil), she's accosted on the train by two other Spiders from different universes, who warn her of the coming Morlun and other Spider-Killers. She agrees to go with them to help strengthen the Spiders. It's a pretty strong book (though I tend to have a distaste for books wherein some song plays and the lyrics show up as text in the book, particularly when the book is written by the frontman of My Chemical Romance, a band whose music I do not care for, but this is getting real nitpicky now and very nearly petty so let's close up this parenthetical) and the art is particularly strong. Overall, with a couple of missteps, the EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE precursor mini-series has created some interesting characters and should get readers pretty interested for the main course, starting in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 9. Total Score: 4/5


Fantastic Four 11
She-Hulk meets with Wyatt Wingfoot and they discuss how Johnny's in trouble and how everything else seems to have broken the wrong way for Marvel's first family. The duo agree to team-up and try to figure out who is behind all of this before whoever it is can figure out they're on his or her trail. On his way home from the meet-up, though, Wyatt is attacked by a mysterious archer, saved only when Spider-Man pops in, also called by She-Hulk to give a hand. Oh, and Thing keeps getting beaten up in prison with a pseudo ally in Sandman and Reed is doing stuff and Sue is still crying. Really continue to not like this book but I do think this might have been a stronger issue than the last few, almost because the F4 weren't in it as much. That, uh, that still didn't make the book good, I should specify. Still way too narrative heavy and hand-holding and painted with such a broad stroke to be dark and menacing to actually feel that way. Total Score: 2/5


Hulk 7
Doc Green, fresh on his de-gamma-ing of Rick Jones, meets with Hulkling, who promises him that his powers are based on mixed alien heritage, not gamma in a fun little scene. Green's next real target is Skaar, son of Hulk (who Green claims not to be any more), so he travels to the Savage Land. After a vicious fight, Green manages to inject Skaar with the serum and watches him revert to something more resembling human (though with Skaar's strange background, no one really knows what he is now). His next targets seem to be the Red Hulks, both he and she, but first he has to deal with what's going on inside him, which seems to be a rebellion from Banner and even Hulk, still locked away in his mind. Some interesting things afoot here. I still don't like and/or care about Doc Green, which is the only thing the book is slipping on but I have a feeling now that it's intentionally slipping on that point. With the reveal that Banner and even Hulk may be still in Doc Green's mind, showing that the Hulk and Doc Green might really be separate entities, it's probable that Doc Green isn't the one we're really meant to be pulling for. Some interesting stuff and I'm surprised by how excited I've become to see the other Hulks in this series. Apparently I like those guys. Total Score: 4/5


Loki: Agent of Asgard 7
Doom has trapped current Loki in time stasis after the villainous Loki showed Doom that he would destroy the world in the future. With Doom distracted, though, by Red Onslaught's hate-wave affecting Latveria, Verity reveals herself to Valeria and explains that Loki should be freed, the logic of which hits Valeria pretty quickly. They go and break down the time cube then, with Loki and his truth-sword released, they construct a way to broadcast the sword's inherent truth to Latveria, freeing the civilians from the perceived hatred they'd been feeling. As Doom and Loki debate what to do next, Magneto shows up and tells them they're needed to fight the Red Onslaught or else watch the world burn. Though I still can't help but eye-roll at Verity Willis (that name! What a specifically correct name PRE-DISCOVERY of her powers! Which are still undefined!), this is a pretty strong issue. There are an appropriate amount of funny moments and clever twists and turns. Valeria in particular gets a solid performance, with Ewing nicely toeing the line between naive child and brilliant wunderkind well (a line that so few others manage to hit). Best part is when Verity asks what makes hate easy and Val mutters "Mommy and daddy." Aww, poor angry kid. Also, great art from Jorge Coelho. Total Score: 4/5


Magneto 11

Hey, we just talked about this guy! Anyway, we see a bit of the last issue of AXIS as Magneto flees the fight with Iron Man on the verge of being crushed. He returns to his base with Briar Raleigh, wondering if maybe he isn't the massive villain the world thinks him to be, after unleashing Onslaught a second time and causing so much destruction once more, all while never actually helping his chosen people. Briar plays him a video she made of all of his greatest hits, which are mostly violent and despicable from the outside, but ends with a clip of a civilian mutant saying that, though Magneto was angry in all of this, he saved her life and she's happy, if a bit scared, that someone like him is on her side. Rejuvenated, Magneto travels to the ends of the Earth to gather a number of villains including Mystique, Sabertooth, Carnage, Doom, Loki, Absorbing Man, Hobgoblin, and Deadpool (who actually comes to him), to take on the hero-killing Sentinels Red Onslaught has at his command. Though this certainly wouldn't be required reading to understand what's happening in AXIS (we know by the end of issue two that Magneto left and got some villains and came back, which is pretty much all we need to know to continue), this one actually really does add a lot of depth to the stories, both the story of AXIS and the story of Magneto. It's extremely well-done and fits nicely with what Bunn has been establishing all along for Magneto. Great work. Total Score: 5/5


Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man 6
While the Green Goblin recovers from his gunshot-to-the-head wounds and promptly kills J. Jonah Jameson for them, Miles and Maria Hill talk to Peter and MJ, trying to ensure that he's the real deal. As they keep questioning him and he keeps basically saying that he is Peter but he doesn't know how he's alive, probably something to do with science or whatever, Gwen and Aunt May also show up, suddenly aware that he's still alive. Unfortunately, the reunion is cut short when Goblin turns up on the front lawn. Miles demands Peter get his family and friends to safety while he takes on Goblin. With a series of attacks revolving around his venom blasts, Miles takes down Osborn with ease. Hill calls for backup to restrain Osborn while the powered-down Norman pleads with Miles to help him, promising that he'll tell him the truth about Miles' own powers and DUN DUN DUN his real father. EYE-ROLL. I actually enjoyed this issue (though it came with a lot of the sort of back-and-forth dialogue that seems to only serve to extend the pages...now we're getting into different styles of Bendis writing) right up until that last page, where Norman promises to tell him about his REAL FATHER. I suppose there has to be more drama to the return of the Green Goblin than just "oh, Miles' venom works absolutely GREAT on that guy" but I really don't need more daddy issues in comics or, you know, anywhere else, thanks. It's possible this will be some sort of fake-out or won't have the desired effect on Miles, but I'm reviewing this issue for this issue, not for the future, and GEEZ, trope alert. Total Score: 4/5


Original Sin Annual 1

We get a look back at the days when Fury took the job to be the new Man on the Wall in the stead of Woodrow McCord. Fury, eager to know more about McCord, is shown around the moonbase by Howard Stark, who shows him McCord's diary. In it, McCord explains what happened between himself and the man he replaced, a man named Stafford, and what the job has done to him in turn. I went into this book with a lot of skepticism because I don't tend to love Annuals and I really don't tend to love Annuals for events or for one-year only comics and I already didn't love ORIGINAL SIN. To say, then, that this issue is absolutely the best thing to come out of ORIGINAL SIN feels a little like the truth and a bit misleading at the same time. It's the truth because this book really does feel, to me, like it outstrips anything in ORIGINAL SIN, thanks to the quality of ORIGINAL SIN, and it's a bit misleading because this book really is genuinely very good. It's an extremely well-written character piece about Woody McCord and, on the outsides of that story, about Nick Fury. There's a lot here and Latour does a great job to really make the Man on the Wall stuff compelling and interesting. I couldn't help remembering that Latour was the last person to write a WINTER SOLDIER series before this newest incarnation and that I'd absolutely have loved to see him as the writer on this current one, as a guy who clearly has a compelling take on the Man on the Wall thing and who knows Bucky well. Great stuff here. Really worth checking out for a single issue sort of thing. Total Score: 5/5


Spider-Man 2099 5
Miguel insists that Alchemax no longer do things like hire criminals straight out of prison and suggests that they instead work on building supervillain prisons, an idea that Liz Allan is onboard with. However, Miguel is bothered by searing pains in his head as Miguel O'Hara's from different worlds are killed by Morlun. He escapes to the roof and switches to his costume right as the Miguel O'Hara who linked all of his fellow Miguel's heads together in a misguided attempt to team them up opens a portal to 616. Before he manages to enter it, though, Morlun catches up with him and kills him, dropping the body to the 616 but shies away from entering himself, remembering that world as the one in which he died. Miguel takes the body and realizes he has to find Spider-Man. Interesting issue all around. There's maybe an attempt at a little too much backstory from the other universe's Miguels especially considering it's quite clear they're going to die before they have a huge impact on the story, but our Miguel does well here and it seems like he'll be our messenger for the SPIDER-VERSE entry point coming very soon. Total Score: 4/5


Storm 4

Storm, hurt by the loss of Wolverine, expresses her grief out a safe distance from Earth before settling down and moving forward. She finds Wolverine's phone on his desk, which instantly gets a text from Yukio, asking for him to come down to help. She instead travels to Las Vegas where she tells Yukio what happened to Wolverine and promises to accompany her to whatever she needs help with. Believing this could be a bad idea as Storm is bound to not like what's coming, Yukio leads her to an underground meeting with the heads of a few clans of the world. The four bosses talk and try to figure out land issues with two clans clashing over one AIM base drifting between their territories. To solve the dispute, the four bosses and Storm go into an arena where two champions for the sparring clans face off. Disgusted by the fight-to-the-death mentality, Storm intercedes, with Yukio pleading her not to, saying that these fights keep the civilian casualties down from these gangs. Storm can't abide it, though, and the head of the third clan challenges Yukio for supremacy after her champion broke the rules. The pain of the loss of Wolverine is handled nicely in this issue, with Pak and Ibañez dedicating about five pages to her overwhelming grief before having her refocus and continue forth. It's pretty much what you want from Storm. The fighting clans are a little confusing to write about in an attempted brief summary but work alright in the book (though the areas they're claiming are a little vague). It's also a nice example of the differences between Wolverine and Storm, with Wolverine abiding these fights because he understands that it could keep civilian casualties down and Storm unable to abide these fights for any reason. Total Score: 4/5


Superior Foes of Spider-Man 16
The penultimate issue of SUPERIOR FOES finds the Sinister Six ready to step up as the heads of the Maggia with the head of Silvermane in tow. Unfortunately for them, Overdrive, Beetle, and Speed Demon all made deals with various other mobs and now the pier is a war zone about to get even crazier as Punisher, Mach VII, and Shocker head that way for their own reasons. Boomerang, though, got everything he wanted as he had stolen Chameleon's shape-shifting serum from his vault and poses as a Mets rookie pitcher to get to pitch once more for his team. As ever, really fun, really engaging issue. Great stuff from Speed Demon and Boomerang and a couple of twists that work really well for the issue. It's been a really fun ride for this team and I'm sad to know it's coming to an end in the next issue, but glad that we managed to get 17 out of it. Guys, 17 issues for a funny book that stars a supervillain C-team is kind of a massive win. Total Score: 4/5

Comics this week

Tons of books out this week. How much is there to love? I mean, not as much of a ton. But certainly some! Let's talk about it.

Daredevil 9
As anyone who's read this blog knows, I'm pretty into this DAREDEVIL run by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee. The last issue set up the newest arc for this team (now joined by colorist extraordinaire Matt Wilson), an arc that will pit Daredevil against the evil children of the recently hit-by-a-bus Purple Man. Creepy, creepy stuff almost definitely coming.

Death of Wolverine 4
As I've intimated the last couple reviews that have connected to DEATH OF WOLVERINE, this series has suffered a couple of delays that have made the tie-ins a little less effective. The upside is that this series has been a fairly strong (and, perhaps more excitingly, quick) little event. It's clearly a big shift for the Marvel Universe as key character since his inception Wolverine will, if the title is to be believed, die. So goodnight, sweet prince. Hopefully your death will at least settle out some of these tie-ins.

Ms. Marvel 9
Just a fantastic book. I really can't stop raving about it in my every day life. I wish someone would help me because it's starting to really impact my relationships negatively. But I don't want this book to be less good, so I suppose it's a push.

New Avengers 25
We're eight months in the future and Black Panther is having a tough time. It's never easy to watch Black Panther having a tough time. We're lucky because he so rarely is. That dude knows what's up, like, all the time. But now eight months have passed and NONE of us really know what's up. All we know is that the Cabal is BAD NEWS BEARS and it's going to be quite the fight to stop them. That fight isn't made easier by the fact that the regular type Avengers are none too pleased with the Illuminati. So much happening in this series that has been so reliably good since it started.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man 16
It came down, at the end, to voting for SUPERIOR FOES or voting for AXIS as the final book to recommend this week and AXIS left a bad taste in my mouth last week whereas SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN has not disappointed me yet. Or at least since the start of the series. That was like, a year ago, I can't be expected to remember that far back. Anyway, check out this series before it leaves us.

Leftovers 9-3-14

There are still too many books left.

All-New Doop 5

Doop has learned that his mother is also his father and it's shaken him a bit. Still, with the help of Wolverine, he's able to settle himself down and restore the story to its rightful place, even wiping the memories of everyone involved so they can get back to the main narrative and he can return to his place in the margins. It's a nice conclusion for Doop and there's a nice moment between him and Kitty but still the limited series remains baffling to me, even insofar as why it exists. It's not helped by how much I disliked BATTLE OF THE ATOM. Total Score: 2/5









All-New X-Factor 13
Quicksilver's press conference has shaken things up a bit for X-Factor as Polaris stands up for her half-brother to Harrison Snow and then helps him stand up to Gorgon of the Inhumans, who attacks Quicksilver as he takes Luna and Georgia on a trip to Pennsylvania. Gorgon is furious that Quicksilver betrayed the Inhumans and "stole" Luna away, though Luna stands up for her father. Though Quicksilver is prepared to accept his punishment, ex-wife Crystal shows up to calm the situation a bit, taking Gorgon home to Attilan and allowing Luna to stay with Pietro a little longer. Still some good heart in this series as the team begins to stand up for one another and as Quicksilver gets some more development to bring him back to a more respectable place in the Marvel Universe. Total Score: 4/5


Avengers World 12

The Avengers and the new Euroforce work together to try to battle Morgan Le Fay in her new City of the Dead. After a quick bit of origin for each of the new Euroforce characters, Druid shows up to aid the team. Unfortunately, Le Fay quickly kills him. Bit of a surprise there. Anyway, another pretty strong showing here as Spencer does some quick work to create a bit of intrigue for Euroforce, begging us to ask where they've come from. I continue to quite like Checchetto's art. Total Score: 4/5










Deadpool vs. X-Force 4
Deadpool has inauspiciously teamed with Hitler to help Talbot control the world in the present. At Deadpool's disposal is a special gun that will erase its target from all of existence. After some attempts to set the past right, Cable shows up to have a final battle with Deadpool and Talbot. As Deadpool turns the gun on Cable, Cable uses his as-yet unrevealed telekinesis to redirect the blast to hit Talbot, erasing him from all of time and creating something of a paradox but fixing all of the past as Talbot never hired Deadpool in the first place. Not a bad ending but not necessarily a series that I believe needed to exist. Total Score: 3/5


Hawkeye vs. Deadpool 0

A hacker has been targeted after stealing the HR records of every active SHIELD agent. On Halloween, he attempts to get help from Hawkeye, who mistakes him for another ungrateful trick-or-treater and turns him away. He runs into Deadpool on his way out and slips his flash drive into the merc's candy basket. The hacker ends up murdered by a pair of goons dressed up like Punisher and Daredevil and quoting patriotic aphorisms. Deadpool and Hawkeye don't want to team up to solve this murder and protect SHIELD but it looks like they may be forced to, particularly as it seems like they may be going up against Black Cat sooner or later. Pretty fun first issue here as Duggan and Lolli play with Deadpool's typical writing and with homages to Hawkeye's current series that mostly hit the mark. Could be a fun team-up. Total Score: 4/5




Legendary Star-Lord 3
Star-Lord has been captured by the Badoon and wakes up in a Badoon jail along with a young Badoon child and a spy. With some help from Kitty Pryde in the form of a hologram, the trio break out of their cell and head for safety. Despite a hatred for the Badoon, Star-Lord is won over by the young Badoon child who leads Quill to a nice new ship, which he uses to bring the child to the orphanage he robbed in the first issue. Next stop: Earth for a confrontation with Thanos. I continue to believe that this series isn't living up to its potential, which I think could be a pretty high ceiling. Instead, it feels like, as I said last issue, the opposite of ROCKET RACCOON, seemingly trapped in the Marvel Universe and too attached to the new mythos of Guardians of the Galaxy (complete with a terrible "OOGA CHAKA" reference). Give me something fun and crazy, not something that feels tied down. Total Score: 2/5


Punisher 10

Punisher is in prison after his last run-in with Black Widow but prisons mean very little Frank Castle, who quickly enrages the right people and causes a prison riot, allowing him time to go talk to an older man in the prison named Hector Ruiz. Meanwhile, LA has exploded in crime rates and the police officers find themselves becoming more violent in response, with many getting suspended as a result of their actions even as the Dos Sols prepare for another strike. Edmondson keeps the tension up here though this one is still rather a break issue, giving us a chance to settle back into the LA storyline after a bit of time removed. Strong work and I really like that cover right over there. Total Score: 4/5







She-Hulk 8
An elderly Captain America has gone to She-Hulk for help after a deathbed confession from a ninety year-old man questions whether or not Cap killed a man decades and decades ago. As She-Hulk attempts to take the California-based case, she runs into a handful of problems and concerns, only to have them reach their breaking point when she learns she's going up against friend and fellow hero Matt Murdock in court. This book continues to be rather unlike any other book out there right now as it acts as half procedural and half superhero book. The case gets more and more complicated but it's happening on a backdrop of excellent character work and really strong Javier Pulido art. Total Score: 5/5


Spider-Man 2099 3
Miguel O'Hara worries what his reveal to Liz Allan will bring him at work and learns quickly that it will bring him something just short of blackmail, as she requires he accompany Tiberius Stone as Stone goes to a war-torn nation to sell Spider Slayers to the government, despite his objections. Sure enough, as soon as the two arrive, Stone is kidnapped by the rebelling forces. Unfortunately for those forces, Spider-Man 2099 isn't the only protection Stone has, as the corporation had already sent Scorpion to help against the uprising and that the Spider Slayers are already active in the country. There are some interesting ideas here but it's so far a little hard to stay invested in these characters, as David insists we care to some extent about what Liz Allan has to say about things and about Tiberius Stone, whose survival O'Hara counts on for his own life. Certainly not all bad but also not compelling enough to differentiate itself. Total Score: 3/5


Superior Foes of Spider-Man 15

Shocker yells at his old team for betraying him but ends up, of course, betrayed again as the new Sinister Six suddenly finds themselves winning all over the place after a successful raid of Owl's compound and now sitting on the head of Silvermane that could make them heads of the Maggia. After a successful fight against some of their hired help, angry to be cut out of the deal, things seem to be looking up for the villain team...until Owl teams up with Chameleon to find Boomerang, Overdrive makes a deal with Mr. Negative to give him the head of Silvermane, Beetle gives Tombstone the info about the head of Silvermane, and Speed Demon offers the head of Silvermane to Madam Masque because she's hot. Still plenty of fun with a lot of laughs and some great moments, particularly as the issue winds down and we start to see, juxtaposed with Boomerang's pride in the team, the many betrayals upcoming. Total Score: 4/5



Uncanny X-Men 25
The will of Charles Xavier includes, as we learned last time, the fact he married Mystique but it also includes the revelation that there is an extraordinarily powerful mutant out there named Matthew Malloy who Xavier met when Malloy was a child and who he realized was too powerful to allow to continue his regular life. Xavier installed a series of mental blocks to dampen the child's power and visited him yearly in the guise of another child until Malloy caught on to Xavier's trickery and asked him what was really happening. When he learned, he wanted all of his memories removed and the mental blocks reinforced. Now, with Xavier dead, the responsibility of checking in on Malloy falls to his X-Men, a task that may be trouble as Malloy's mental blocks have been removed and the young man finds himself burdened with immense power. There's an interesting story here but it's absolutely buried under narration, dialogue, petty fights, and banter. Also, the story isn't that interesting, let's calm down, okay? Total Score: 2/5


X-Men 19
Jubilee, with some consultation help from Beast, manages to reboot the Peak's systems and repair the shielding while the psychics on the team take out the attacking Sidrian Hunters. Monet, Psylocke, and Rachel Grey take a shuttle out to the last place Deathbird had shown them in her memory, meeting up with a few Shi'ar on the way. Meanwhile, Storm tries to repair the Peak but runs into complications as she's already exhausted from the last battle and is asked to generate electricity herself (not the way her powers work) and power up the ship. She may be in trouble as the suspicious Manifold Tyger attempts to "aid" her while the psychics discover that Deathbird had been brought by the Brood to a place where she and other creatures were experimented on. Some of the experiments, sadly, are still there and ready to attack. Like the last issue, some of the ideas are pretty strong and the dialogue and characters are particularly well done here. It's a good story that's utilizing every member of the team pretty well. Total Score: 4/5

Comics this week

Happy September, friends! Lots of big comics out this week so let's dive right into it with the top 5 most anticipated/most exciting picks of the pre-week.

Black Widow 10
Excited by the tease of Hawkeye in this phenomenal BLACK WIDOW series just a few short issues ago? Well wait no longer for the team-up that introduced these two to the Marvel Universe and to villaining/eventual heroing as Natasha teams with Clint in a somewhat rarely seen team-up between just the two of them (they're always together but I feel like, without looking into it WHATSOEVER, they don't really hang out by themselves too often because, you know, Natasha would probably kill him).

Captain America 24
Interested by the reveal that Sam Wilson is set to become the new Captain America? Wondering what will become of Steve Rogers in this new world? Surprised to find that both Cap's son Ian and fiancee Sharon have both been alive since Steve left Dimension Z? Looking to see the origins of the upcoming AXIS event? Well this book has all that and PROBABLY more! Though I can't confirm as I've not read the book yet. I honestly can't confirm it has everything I said, just feels like PROBABLY they'll touch on most if not all of it.

Death of Wolverine 1
Say what you will about the death and resurrection of superheroes, a well-written death story can still shake the universe to its core. Charles Soule has impressed me with his runs on THUNDERBOLTS, SHE-HULK, and INHUMAN so far (and I've heard his work at DC has been stellar as well) so let's see just how he plans to kill the world's most popular X-Man, assuming this isn't a big ol' fake-out.

Original Sin 8
FINE, I'm not that excited about this one. Maybe it will surprise me but I've not found myself totally enthralled by this series at any point, be it with the main series or the tie-ins. Of course, this pre-game primer tends to mix the books I personally am excited to see (BLACK WIDOW, CAP) with books that are maybe a little more important to the Universe as a whole (DEATH OF WOLVERINE, ORIGINAL SIN) so here is ORIGINAL SIN, highlighted for you so you don't forget it will exist this week, closing out the 2014 summer event. You know OS, it's books like you that make it so I can't highlight SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN, which is on to its last legs and really a fun book, or PUNISHER, which I'm sure will be really good this week, or MOON KNIGHT, which gets a new creative team after a stellar first six issues. Too bad there's no way to get the word out about those books.

Rocket Raccoon 3
Hard not to recommend this one. It always ends up in tough competition weeks, needing to scrap it out with really good books or really intriguing books or simply books that never let me down. Then it pulls ahead because this book is already so much fun and Skottie Young's art on the interiors of a major Marvel ongoing is just a delightful thing. Check this one out if you haven't already. If it's not your thing, it's not your thing - but I can't imagine how it's not your thing. I guess if the only comic writer you've ever liked is Frank Miller or something you're probably not going to come back around to the medium from this book?

Marvel cancels SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN, NEW WARRIORS

News broke with last week's solicits that both SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN and NEW WARRIORS will end in November at issue 17 and issue 12, respectively. This is really sad news for both books, quite frankly, as both represent great examples of comics not really otherwise available at Marvel. NEW WARRIORS has more of a standard format to it but still has a really unique viewpoint and fantastic dialogue with great characters. Very sad to see it go as Marvel ends another spectacular Chris Yost book, though ultimately sales of the book was always going to dictate what happened with the book and even the initial lineup left me skeptical for it. SUPERIOR FOES has really come into its own as Marvel's sort of premiere humor-based book and it's actually way funnier than that statement would lead you to believe (I'm very tired and there's still a Simpsons marathon in the early seasons, you guys). I was hoping this one would hang on based on how unique it was and how I'm sure it's landed with fans who have tried it. Very sad to see both unique books go. Also, sorry for the late news, I had heard about SUPERIOR FOES earlier but was never close enough to a computer when I was thinking about it to report/research it. Found out about NEW WARRIORS tonight so figured I'd mention it.

Leftovers 8-6-14

Hey guys, not that you're not used to a more sporadic schedule of late but I'd like to note I very nearly have an excuse for not posting yesterday (ignoring totally not posting Friday when I was just tired). I was at Boston Comic-Con, a con that started just nine years ago and has really exploded into something huge. It's not so big as some of your more established cons (your SDCC, your NYCC, your Chicago one whose name currently escapes me), but even the difference between this year and when Amanda and I went two years ago is CRAZY. It was at a bigger venue and the lines wrapped around the building all day long. Tons of cosplayers, tons of retailers, several cool celebrity guests (like John Barrowman, Sean Astin, and Jewel Staite, listing the people I was pretty pumped to be near), and, most importantly great artists like Neal Adams, Joe Quinones, Ming Doyle, Maris Wicks, Norman Lee, Jorge Molina, Greg Capullo, Kate Leth, Shelli Paroline, Braden Lamb, and oodles more (first half of that list is people from whom I bought stuff, +Neal Adams, the second half is just people I like but I didn't even get around to really seeing), and writers like Mark Waid and Scott Snyder. Lots of great people, lots of great art, pretty solid experience. LOOK, HAVE I SUCCESSFULLY DISTRACTED YOU FROM NOTICING THERE WAS NO POST YESTERDAY? Great, mission accomplished. I'll probably post pictures of the stuff I bought at some point. You know, low quality images of images. Don't let that dissuade you, though, everyone from whom I bought was awesome and all the stuff I bought was equally awesome. Okay, now that THAT'S through, let's get to the eight or so books we need to cover today. Yipes.

Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man 4
Bendis (w) and Marquez (a) and Ponsor (c) and Petit (l)

Kate's upset that Miles is Spider-Man, revealing it IMMEDIATELY to her sister, who says they have to break up because their parents will kill him and possibly Kate for her involvement with him (INTRIGUE, RIGHT?) but Miles has his own problems as he fights the ultra-powerful and somehow resurrected Green Goblin in front of Peter Parker's old home only to have Peter Parker, decked in full Spider-Man gear again, intercede and team up with Miles to drive Goblin away. The highly publicized fight is seen by everyone in their little worlds and suddenly Peter Parker's alive again. The book, when it gets to the fight, moves pretty well. The Kate stuff is a bit slow and I still feel the relationship is a little sudden and tortured. The fight is good but this seems like one of those stories that can only be judged when we have all the information. REGARDLESS, here I am judging it: Total Score: 4/5



Miracleman 9
A. Moore (w) and Veitch w/R. Bryant (a) and Oliff (c) and Caramagna (l)

Miracleman returns just in time to find Liz having very sudden contractions. Not wanting to give birth on Gargunza's facility, MM straps Liz into a truck, telling her to blast the heat in the cold air, and flies her to a nicer place. Meanwhile, a couple of spooks visit young Johnny Bates, still comatose, in the hospital. They go into his mind and can't find traces of Kid Miracleman there, so they leave, allowing him to come out from hiding and question their appearance. Back with Liz, an incredibly graphic birth scene happens and a baby is born, to the delight of Miracleman and Liz, replaced by surprise when the baby says "ma-ma." Plenty happening here, nice bit of Miracleman pondering life and death and birth and so on as we see full-on graphic birth. Sorry, limited vocabulary here, I have nothing to say but "graphic." Pretty weird, guys. I'd have bought it if you just showed me the baby born, probably just would have assume there was a graphic scene off-panel. Total Score: 3/5


New Warriors 8
Yost (w) and To (a) and Redmond (c) and Caramagna (l)

Haechi and Sun Girl are trapped in the presence of Lash and two of his ambassadors, one who controls the "puppets" (read: humans) outside to hold off the New Warriors and one who is pretty much made of knives. Lash offers Haechi a place with them and he considers it, remembering the humans who beat him when he first gained his new powers, but rejects it, remembering the man who saved him from the punks that day. Outside, Water Snake and Scarlet Spider get annoyed with Justice as he's unwilling to use much force against the mind-controlled humans attacking them. Fortunately, Hummingbird is able to eject the Inhuman Nocculus from their minds so they can pass. Facing the might of the New Warriors, Lash and the two other Inhumans leave, swearing to meet Haechi again. Meanwhile, Nova arrives at Mount Wundagore to learn from Jake Waffles that the team has already completed a couple of their missions without him and, according to Speedball, he sucks. Tons of fun spread throughout the issue but well-balanced by seriousness and action. Chris Yost has written some of the most enjoyable Marvel stuff over the last four or five years, from my much-mentioned and much-beloved Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes to AVENGING SPIDER-MAN/SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TEAM-UP to SCARLET SPIDER to this. Such a great energy in this book and some real, genuine laugh lines to boot. Total Score: 5/5


Original Sin 3.4 - Hulk vs. Iron Man
Waid and Gillen (s) and Gillen (w) and L. Ross (a) and Guru eFX (c) and Caramagna (l)

Iron Man escapes below Troy to find a new suit and turns up in a Hulkbuster to bust Hulk, who, in fact, busts him, knocking him out and drugging him before taking him, trapped in his own ruined suit,  out to the gamma testing site where Hulk was born. While Hulk derides Tony, ready to punish him further, Tony shows him one last piece of information, including Banner's original plans for the bombs and Tony's updates. As it happens, Tony was hired to power-up the bomb behind Banner's back but he actually discovered when he examined it closer that Banner's excessive shielding would have ended up doing far more harm than good, likely killing Banner and tons of innocents in surrounding cities as a result of Banner's "safety precautions." The updates Tony made, though still potentially responsible for the Hulk (never quite cleared up), saved lives, including Banner's. Banner apologizes, going on to thank Tony, but Tony keeps some information to himself, including an email he sent to Banner after looking at the bomb (which Banner deleted) that may have set Banner on the track of adjusting the bomb himself to keep it from Hulkifying him and also would have paved the way for plenty of Earth-friendly technologies Banner could have discovered, sparing Banner from knowledge that may legitimately have caused him to commit suicide (or try, you know that Hulk guy). Pretty strong stuff and a nice little ending for the science bros but I can't help but be a little disappointed that Tony is apparently arguably a bigger hero than he was going in and not just a little bit of a villain. I know you don't want necessarily to taint your cash cow but I liked knowing that his hubris had such a huge ramification on the Marvel Universe (not the first time, certainly, that would have been true, but still a pretty poignant one). Total Score: 3/5


Original Sin 5.3 - Thor and Loki
Aaron and Ewing (s) and Ewing (w) and Garbett and Bianchi (a) and Woodard, Dall'Alpi, and Peruzzi (c) and Sabino (l)

Thor and Angela fight with Angela gaining the upper hand thanks to her speed and brutality while Loki learns about some Heaven history from the queen, who reveals that she once had a deal with Odin that had her and her angels watching over Midgard to protect it from jerk Asgardians. When she betrayed Odin and joined up with the Frost Giants and other enemies to Asgard, war was declared and the battle that "killed" Odin's daughter started. Loki, though, is just as much an outsider to Asgardians and a villain to these honor-bound people as the money-craving angels are, she points out. Back outside, Angela is stopped from killing Thor as the queen and new "Mistress of Strategies" decide that he's more useful alive than dead. That Mistress of Strategies? A transformed woman Loki, of course. This is probably the first issue of this tie-in that starts to give a little more new information and contextualizing, though it does drag a bit when that happens. Still, it seems like a classic Thor/Loki story as Loki has gone ahead and seemingly betrayed his brother and his people for whatever quick gain or long con he could be playing at. Strong enough to pass, slow enough to overstay. Total Score: 3/5


She-Hulk 7
Soule (w) and Pulido (a) and Vicente (c) and Cowles (l)

She-Hulk and Hellcat have been hired by a scientist/inventor duo to work out the terms of a contract that would sell their new revolutionary shrink ray, the Shrinko (more affordable than Pym Particles), to an outside buyer. One member of the team, Rufus (the marketer), wants to sell while the other, Reza (the brains behind the Shrinko tech), wants to keep it out of the buyer's hands. Their partnership is 50/50 so Rufus would need Reza's approval to sell but Reza, in a fit of anger over the way the proceedings are going, has shrunk himself down and disappeared. She-Hulk calls in resident shrinking expert Dr. Pym for a hand and she, Pym, and Hellcat shrink themselves with Pym Particles to find Reza. Pym isn't optimistic and actually knows Reza's work, saying that Shrinko tech isn't ready for human testing and that people tend to explode with some great force when using the tech on themselves. After a couple scares and some in-fighting between She-Hulk and Hellcat, they find Reza and rescue him from some cats nearby. It turns out that the buyer interested in the Shrinko patent is Pym himself (Pymself), wanting to help them perfect their tech in exchange for a small percentage of the profits. Reza doesn't believe his exploding claims but quickly learns that he might have a point when his own severed finger, left behind in a coke can in which he hid himself from the cats, explodes, safely out of range thanks to a She-Hulk toss. Reza and Rufus agree to sell to Pym but She-Hulk already has a new case waiting with an elderly Captain America waiting in the lobby. Another fun issue and we've already seen this neat little formula, wherein a story runs kind of underneath but really quietly while individual episodes involving the superhero community in legal battles takes the spotlight, work really well and this one is no exception. Plenty of fun, a good deal of heart, and some fun art ideas. Total Score: 5/5


Superior Foes of Spider-Man 14
Spencer (w) and Lieber w/R. Ellis (a) and Rosenberg (c) and Cowles (l)

Very slight break in the action as the team regroups at Boomerang's secret safe-house. We learn why Overdrive joined this gang (trying to fight Spider-Man so he can eventually be recognized by the hero and, in turn, become a hero himself, like your Hawkeyes or Black Widows or so forth) and stole that bus that time (a very brief affair with Beetle after evading Mr. Negative's henchmen trying to collect debts from Overdrive exhausted him and they escaped their car on-foot, needing to power up the bus in a pinch when they needed new wheels). We also learn that Speed Demon's beloved corgi was actually a missing dog he adopted and he was missing for most of this while he did the right thing and returned the dog to its owners. After the stories and repartee pass, Boomerang mocks Shocker one too many times and he emerges from the bathroom and blasts them all. As I mentioned with ROCKET RACCOON this week, this book continues to be just a lot of fun and great humorous moments, grounded a little (as far as Marvel grounds anything) by its perpendicularity to the rest of the universe. Spencer's got something really fun here and he's doing just what he needs to with it. Total Score: 5/5


Superior Spider-Man 32
Slott and Gage (s) and Gage (w) and Camuncoli (p) and Dell (i) and Fabela (c) and Eliopoulos (l)
Spider-Sanction: Gage (w) and Kubert (a) and Beredo (c) and Eliopoulos (l)

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN returns as, during the events of SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN 19 (the exploding temporal portal, or temportal, that brought Spidey 2099 to the present and set of Spider-Man's exit from Horizon Labs), Superior Spidey is sent to 2099 in Miguel's place (universe course-correction). He manages to swipe some tech from Alchemax and create a computer for himself based on Anna Maria (little weird) and starts to jump in time and into other universes accidentally. However, each universe he hits on his way home has dead Spider-Men in it, hunted by the same adversary. Eventually he realizes how dangerous this adversary is and begins to assemble a team of Spider-Men from the universes he visits, eventually hoping to amass an army (he already has six including himself by issue's end). SPIDER-VERSE is coming and this is our prelude to it. It's an interesting story and one that allows the story to take place and commence, thanks to time jumping, with Superior Spider-Man getting his hands dirty too. Follow-up story SPIDER-SANCTION gives us a tease of one of our new Spiders, a colder, more withdrawn, and more brutal Peter Parker who has been driven to kill by the events in his life and who joins Doc Ock's army only when assured they'll be looking to kill the assassin. Some pretty cool stuff as the Spider-Man event of the year bears down on us (funny that this is the event in the year when Peter Parker came back from the dead). Total Score: 4/5

Leftovers 7/9/14

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

SPEED ROUND: Superior Foes of Spider-Man 12, Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man 2, Miracleman 7

Superior Foes of Spider-Man 12

Spencer (w) and Lieber (a) and Rosenberg (c) and Cowles (l)

Boomerang's team has found him and his feeble attempts to convince them that it was Chameleon who betrayed them doesn't go over as well with them as it did with Owl. However, Owl backs him up and hires the team to get the painting back. They agree and Owl gives them a few more hired hands to help with Chameleon's security. When Boomerang, Overdrive, and Beetle make it downstairs, Overdrive takes the painting (a forgery, according to Boomerang), he aims for another new prize. Meanwhile, Hydro-Man has revealed to Hammerhead that Shocker has the head of Silvermane.

With Spencer and Lieber back and the main plot picked back up, the book immediately resumes its old tone and humor. It continues to be a sharp book, one of the funnier books on the stands from Marvel, and still manages to have a plot that's certainly compelling enough, which is all this one needs to be. I mentioned in the comments of Coby's Comics blog recently that it's possible my aversion to the new SECRET AVENGERS comes from the characters chosen to act the way they're acting because I don't buy it from those specific characters. This book feels very much like what that book is going for, something fun and exciting, while looking at characters from whom I can absolutely buy this sort of behavior. Really strong book right now.

Total Score: 5/5

Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man 2

Bendis (w) and Marquez (a) and Ponsor (c) and Petit (l)

Peter Parker is in Miles' room asking for his web-shooters back. He doesn't talk about how he returned from the dead, just citing that this sort of thing happens in their world, and he refuses to tell May about it because he doesn't want to give her a heart attack. After asking politely multiple times and being shocked by Miles' venom blast (accidentally), he knock Miles out and takes the shooters. Miles immediately believes it to be a clone and isn't sure how to handle the situation. Meanwhile, Spider-Man-like villains are robbing warehouses and Miles prepares to tell Kate his secret.

The book moves relatively well though it is absolutely loaded with back-and-forth dialogue. I have a number of complaints about that style of writing (all extremely well-documented, pretty sure that if you searched the phrase "back-and-forth" on this blog you'd get pages of responses) but here it works far better. It's not an action scene where such dialogue breaks flow and it's in a scene where a character would believably keep interjecting and the two characters may talk rapidly with one another. It starts to drag a little as it carries on but it works far better here than most of the other places I tend to point it out. More strong art from David Marquez here and we at least have a clear plot to talk about. Starting to feel like the name change to the much longer new MILES MORALES: THE ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN is in regards to the fact that Miles is set to join the 616 alongside, of course, the ALL-NEW X-MEN (WHY?)

Total Score: 4/5

Miracleman 7

Moore (w) and A. Davis and C. Austen (a) and Oliff (c) and Caramagna (l)

Dr. Gargunza explains to Liz about the situation in which they originally created Miracleman, Young Miracleman, and Kid Miracleman with alien-DNA and tech. They were meant to be the test subjects and Gargunza wanted to use it on himself, though he found that the process didn't work on people after a certain age that he had already passed. His new hope is to transfer his brain into the body of a baby already affected by the Miracleman process, AKA MM and Liz's baby. MM and Evelyn Cream turn up but Gargunza uses a trigger word he implanted to switch MM back to Michael Moran for an hour's time. He also sets an enhanced dog on the pair of them, which hunts and kills Cream before turning to Moran.

More excitement abound as Gargunza's inner-Doc-Ock comes out (YES, I'm well aware this all came out before the SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN switch but it's still a useful reference, OKAY, even if this one involves a baby and not a Spider-Man). Evelyn's demons finally catch up to him as the dog Pluto, changed by the trigger word Steppenwolf (pretty great), also catches up to him. Michael Moran's in something of a pinch as he faces Pluto with nothing but a revolver (which, you know, likely won't work) and the hope that maybe Miracleman will turn up again.

Total Score: 5/5

Nightcrawler 1, Superior Foes of Spider-Man 11, All-New Doop 1

Nightcrawler 1
Claremont (w) and Nauck (a and c)

Nightcrawler is back in the Marvel Universe and he's making the rounds meeting up with all his old friends at the Jean Grey School and elsewhere. After checking in with all of the X-Men around, he decides to head to Manhattan to meet up with foster sister turned girlfriend Amanda Sefton. She's excited to see him (though, frankly, not excited enough considering where he's been) and they rekindle their old relationship immediately until a robot sort of villain attacks, looking for Amanda (not sure what we're calling her; far as I know, her last name was Magik and that's kind of re-taken and I really don't want to get that all backwards. Daytripper maybe? Ugh). After a bit of a fight, Nightcrawler dispatches the would-be kidnapper and he and Amanda agree to go make sure other people in her family and in her life are safe.

It's really hard to judge any book (unless it totally blows you away) on the first issue. They have to establish their character, establish their world, establish their stories, establish their villains, establish their tone, etc. I find it doubly hard to judge this one on the first issue. If you've never read an X-MEN comic or, you know, a comic before, this one might not be so bad for you? What I'm trying to say is that Claremont, in his big return to the Marvel Universe, is really ready to explain who everyone is (though, weirdly, doesn't really explain Amanda Sefton, easily the least recognizable character in the pages of this book). Hopefully, as all the key players have been explained or are explained, this will die down a bit and let the story do the talking. I admit to being skeptical about this series. Claremont changed the Marvel Universe for the better in the '70s and '80s but the style of writing is very different these days and there's less of a need for over explanation to say what's happening in the panels. We'll see if that starts to tone down a bit as well. Nauck's art is strong and absolutely fits the more lighthearted tone of the issue. We'll see how this one presses forward.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man 11
A Grizzly Situation: Peyer (w) and Carnero and Pallot (a) and Sotomayor (c)
The Superior Looter: Kalan (w) and Plati (a) and Rauch (c)

SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN 11 is split into two different stories, both told by villains at a Super Villains Anonymous meeting. The first, by Tom Peyer and Carmen Carnero, features Grizzly, Maxwell Markham, telling a story about how depressing and sad he is. He gives a little bit of his history (he's a former wrestler who's also not a very good super villain) and talks about a recent mugging he perpetrated, wherein he took some money from a guy's wallet and then returned the wallet to him with the cards and everything else in it. He goes and buys a pizza and brings it back to share with the guy he mugged, still tied up, and the two talk because Grizzly is just lonely and depressed. A lot of the depression, it seems, is caused by the fact that Spider-Man is so scary now. Gone are the days of a simple fight and some traded quips, replaced by a horrifying potential encounter with a man who would sooner leave you paralyzed than webbed up for the police to find. After the mugging, Grizzly did run into Spider-Man and did get brutalized for it. Now he's at the meeting, sympathizing with other Spidey villains about how terrible life is now.

Elliott Kalan and Nuno Plati bring us the second story, focusing on Norman Fester, AKA the Looter. Tired of continually losing to Spider-Man and not taking a criminal empire like he wanted, Looter left New York for a while on something of a spiritual journey. Also a journey to beat up the lesser heroes spread out around the US and to improve himself on every level. When he finally decides to return to New York, he's stronger, faster, better in every way. Other criminals warn him that Spider-Man is different now but he's sure he's a match for the Spider. He, of course, is not and the two quickly meet only to find that people were not lying and is quickly put in a wheelchair with all manner of broken bones. Despite this, the scary thing Looter has taken away is that he still wants to rob and assault and do all these vicious things, that there's something darker in him than just committing crimes as means to an end, that everyone has a Superior Spider-Man in them. It's a fairly strong piece by Kalan of The Daily Show and the Flop House podcast fame and one that finds Kalan writing a pretty good Spider-Man. Bit of a different issue in general as we take a step back from our usual protagonists of this series (I mean, if you can call them protagonists). Nice little one-shot, good for a change of pace. The regular creators return to the series and presumably to the regular story next issue.

All-New Doop 1
Milligan (w) and Lafuente (a) and L. Allred (c)

Doop lives on the margins of the pages, navigating the Doopspace as he sees fit. Today, he sees fit to follow Kitty Pryde around at key moments over the last year. He writes and gives her a letter during a fight she and the ANXM and Scott's X-Men are having with some sentinels (back from some time ago). Later, during BATTLE OF THE ATOM, he encourages her to read the letter that she had since pocketed. The letter is a love letter, ultimately asking Kitty to marry him. She's very surprised, though touched, but she explains that it could never work between them. Citing a reason, she says that they can't even communicate. In response, Doop peels off his skin, revealing another version of himself (the same physically) who is able to sort of speak English.

Doop finally gets the limited series I'm not sure anyone was asking for. Regardless, there are some neat things happening here. Doop, not unlike the character Forget-Me-Not introduced in X-MEN LEGACY 300, is not only able to live on the outskirts of any situation, he often has some level of interference that helps the people though goes unnoticed. The way Lafuente presents this "living on the margins" and the way he makes his way through the world is very interesting, sometimes literally diving down across a page and over the panels. It's interesting to see, even if the book maybe goes a little too far out of the way to show it happening as Doop drops in on various moments over the last year (that might be entirely personal bias as I've been rather against most things happening in the X-world over the last year). Interesting book to see, I'm curious as to where it will go moving forward.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man 10, Superior Spider-Man Annual 2

Superior Foes of Spider-Man 10
Asmus (w) and Carmenero, Pallot, Plati, Oum, Larraz, and Mossa (a)

The Sinister Six, now down to three members with the disappearance of both Boomerang and Shocker and already lacking a sixth member, lay low while they try to work out their next score. They drop by a nearly empty bar for drinks and end up tying up the barkeeper and any errant patrons while they're there, deciding to get an impromptu score on the bar's safe. While they wait for the safe's timer to allow them entry, they each talk about their biggest professional victories. Overdrive cites a time that he "defeated" Hercules by confusing him mid-job and simply throwing him off the right course (like so much disguised Bugs Bunny). Beetle talks about defeating Matt Murdock in court as a defense attorney. Speed Demon talks about arranging an STD-ridden "mask-chaser" to sleep with Hercules. No sooner does he finish his story than who but Hercules should walk in looking for a place to drink. Speed Demon books it out while Hercules presumably clobbers the other two.

Not a lot to write home about on this one. James Asmus does a fine job filling in for regular scribe Nick Spencer while a slew of artists, a different one for each story and another set to do the frame story, bring their own unique styles to the book in place of Steve Lieber. It's not a bad book to be sure and the tone isn't too far off from the sort of casual tone that Spencer has brought to the book but there's not a lot of meat. The main joke of the issue seems to be that they're not very good villains, a joke that has not so much run its course as it has been presented in better ways. There's a little bit of personality added to the characters in the course of their casual time together but I would have thought this a perfect opportunity to build on those personalities maybe a little more meaningfully. Spencer and Lieber return for issue twelve so we'll see if the next one adds anything different to spice things up a bit more.

Superior Spider-Man Annual 2
Ben Urich: Gage (w) and J. Rodriguez and A. Lopez (a) and J. Rodriguez (c)
Wraith: Gage (w) and Briones (a) and Gandini (c)

The second SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL is split into two parts with story one about Ben Urich, shaken by the recent revelation that his nephew was a goblin for so long. Ben, angry with himself that he didn't see it after all he's been through and all the reporting he's done in the superhero community, tries to find Peter Parker with an incomplete formula for the goblin serum, pieced together from various interviews and tests he's researched. He goes to Parker Industries and tries to give the notes to Sajani but she explains that they have their own source of a test subject with Carlie Cooper, AKA Monster. She has an experimental formula ready but she's not prepared to test it on Carlie without knowing what it might do to her first. Ben says that he'll be able to use it on his nephew and get them the results they want. He manages to track Phil down and attempts to talk him into the possible cure but Phil refuses, enjoying the person he is now. Ben calls out to the Spider-Bots surrounding the neighborhood for Spider-Man's assistance and he arrives before Phil can hurt Ben, though he's already severely hurt a nearby Robbie Robertson. Spider-Man forces Phil to flee and then rushes Robbie to the hospital, leaving Ben to admit that the nephew he thought he had is dead. It's a really interesting story of an extremely interesting character (I've always liked Ben Urich) in a position I don't know I ever would have considered. As Ben points out, he's the guy that figured out Daredevil's identity and he's gone up against Osborn and Kingpin and Elektra and so many others but here he was with a goblin under his nose and no idea about it. Pretty neat story and it very much captures the Ben Urich character.

The second story is about Wraith, waking up at Parker Industries under the watchful eye of the Living Brain. She beats up a not-resisting Living Brain before tracking down Sajani and accidentally instigating Monster into a fight. Carlie has been trying to hold the Monster personality down but Wraith's anger encourages Monster to take hold, leaving Sajani with no choice but to use the formula she's created without testing it properly first. The cure seems to at least work on the outside, knocking Carlie out but reverting her back to a human again. Wraith realizes for the first time that Monster is Carlie and that she's had her facts somewhat backwards in this whole case. She pops out her malfunctioning eyepieces and goes out to join the fight against the Goblins. It's another story that certainly needed telling and it's interesting to me that these two crucial stories (the Wraith one is a little less interesting to me but far more crucial to the events of SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN) are tucked away in a book called SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL. I was a little on the fence about the release of this book if just because we very recently had SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL 1 and it certainly hadn't been another year since then; it felt like maybe a way to get in another Superior Spider-Man story before April finds AMAZING SPIDER-MAN out on the shelves once more. However, it's certainly a pair of stories worth telling and ones that don't have much to do with the Doc Ock Spidey, instead focusing on other characters in his life and on a story that matters a good deal right now. Certainly worth reading and I would call it unmissable for someone keeping up with the events of GOBLIN NATION.