Comics this week

Back down to 12 major releases from Marvel this week which means that my week is a little bit lighter but no less meaningful. We have a couple of books at or hurtling towards their finales and a couple of events continuing this week. So let's pick the five most anticipated then, shall we?

Infinity 2
The really big Marvel summer event is pushing on even as summer is winding down. I thought the first issue was interesting enough and big enough to justify an event and I'll be curious to see if that holds true in issue two. Also, we've now had a number of tie-ins to book one (including Avengers Assemble, Avengers, Captain Marvel, and New Avengers) so I feel like we've covered most of that ground by now, leaving us ready to start issue two. I liked the books that tied in with issue one well enough but I worry that this format, if it continues to be like this (which at least Avengers and New Avengers will certainly do), will burn the event out faster than just the six main event books. We'll have to see.

Iron Man 15
I've really enjoyed Gillen's run on Iron Man and particularly this arc and the 451 storyline. I believe that's winding down so I'll be very anxious to see where it goes and where it goes after the conclusion. As an individual issue I'm very excited to see where this one will take us as we left the last one on the big cliffhanger of Tony not being able to control the suit and 451, unaware of his attempt to do so, destroying a planet then pointing the computer at Earth. Lots going on and just a brilliant series as it's been. Happy to have this one come out.

X-Factor 262
The final book of X-Factor, sadly. There has been talk, though nothing official that I know of, of a new X-Factor series taking the place of this one but I'd imagine that spells the end of Peter David's time on this book (which is not inconsiderable). It's been a solid book from start to finish, providing plenty of fun and some great characterization of a lot of mutants who normally wouldn't get that kind of focus anywhere else in the Universe. Hopefully most of these guys find a home, whether in the new X-Factor series or elsewhere in the Universe. Regardless, sad to see this one go. They better wrap up Madrox's goat head killer thing because I really love Madrox and the fact he hasn't been able to talk the last however many issues now is devastating for the book.

X-Men Battle of the Atom 1
It's hard not to be a little burned out on events right now but my feeling continues to be that events can't be ruled out simply because they're events; if the story and characterization is good, it was worth having an event for. Granted, this one (like Infinity) crosses over between several books in the coming couple of months, which is a format I rather hate (suddenly consumers are paying loads to follow a single story), but the idea of events can't rule out the possibility of a meaningful story. ALSO, still optimistic we could be getting Nightcrawler back here, so I'm hopeful.

X-Men Legacy 16
It's not often that I have this many X-books on my pre-game post but it's also not often that a really long-running X-book ends, an X-event kicks off, and a fantastic X-book release an issue all in one week. I can't get enough of this series. It is, in my mind, the pinnacle of X-books right now, including any solo mutant book (which this pretty much is, despite the "X-Men" tag in the name). There are other solid books out there (though I'd say the majority of the best ones are ending soon) but this one is consistently amazing and one of the best books at Marvel, let alone in the X-wing of the Universe. This issue should see David going after Cyclops and his X-Men with his renewed power going up against Cyclops' team's out-of-control powers. Legacy will not tie in with Battle of the Atom and I think we'll end up better for it.