This week's picks

Sorry about the somewhat erratic posting schedule this week (that may only concern me). I've just started a new job that I will, in theory, get paid for as opposed to this one which I only pretend to get paid for (unless someone wants to start doing that, right, literally anyone?). That could mean more erratic posts in the future. My thought is that either things will get much better with scheduling posts or much worse. We'll talk about it later, you guys. Anyway, this week's a little bit tricky because there weren't many standouts and, in fact, the non-standouts weren't all that good anyway. Let's talk about it ANYWAY.

Avengers Arena 15

This one never really has a non-standout issue and this week's was no exception. Some more character-building, even this late in the game and even with the character we're building dying in this issue. I think we're in for some really stellar finale books coming up. There's still so much to do in this book, so many plots that need wrapping and so many characters who need arcs resolved. The main villain of the piece hasn't come close to even being touched pretty much since issue one. Now Apex and Death Locket might be in the best position for that but god knows what way they'll go when we get down to it (mostly what way Apex will go and which way Death Locket will have to go as a result). That's not even to talk about what's going to happen with Anachronism as his girlfriend, with whom it seemed to be getting rather serious fairly quickly, has been killed by a monster his best friend, who not so secretly has a bit of a crush on him, turned into. Guys. That's a real sentence I just wrote about this series. Why aren't you reading this series?

Captain America 11

Another nice entry into what has been a pretty reliably solid new series for Cap. There's decidedly less action in this than in the first ten issues, giving Cap and the audience a chance to kind of catch their breath (though Nuke is still all action all the time). Emotionally, though, taking a breath isn't necessarily what Cap wants to do. He's still reeling from the loss of both Ian and Sharon and now he's being asked to reacquaint himself with a time period he left more than a decade ago. That's not easy for anyone, let alone someone who has so much loss in his past. The way to hopefully get through it? Forget the past, focus on the future. As good as separating from the past might be for Cap, who has always been anchored there in some way or another, it's still a bit of a gut-wrenching moment as he piles all of his memorabilia on the roof and sets it aflame. Tough stuff. Really interested to see what next issue brings.

Ultimates 30

This one came as a bit of a surprise to me. Not the quality of the book, that's been pretty solid for a good time now. It wasn't really on my radar for the last pick though until as I was doing my last check over the list of new comics this week. This beats out primarily Avengers and Deadpool (Mighty Avengers is somewhere not far behind but far enough out that it was only going to make it if every other book got injured this week). Avengers had, I think, just as good of a plot and solid writing but really, the male gaze thing I talked about in my review of it lingers for me as a big negative. Deadpool makes a surprise pull but I think Preston and the middle of the issue in general slowed the book down a bit too much to make the final leap. Ultimates, though, was a great lesson in tone and momentum swings, which are huge in a book like this. The plot has remained interesting and the characters have been key as every Ultimate gets a chance to shine at one point or another in this one. There's a lot to like here, even if it got a little muddled in the middle and maybe a little too "don't peak behind the curtains" at certain points. Solid stuff.


Best Cover
Avengers 19
Yu and L. Martin

Well, I mean, this one. Sure the issue lost some points for male gaze but boy if this cover isn't beautiful. Great characterization of Carol. Great, kind of haunting image. Fantastic colors. If I was in the comic shop and not concerned with reading every single issue of every single week, I'd look into buying this one to find more out about this character who resembles Captain Marvel but maybe in this reality I don't know her history so like, why's she on fire? The last issue of Captain Marvel featured Carol going Binary too but it wasn't quite as dramatic nor impressive as this (also I think it kind of ruined the surprise at the end of the issue, frankly). Really nice cover here.