This week's picks!

Not a bad week for comics, you guys! I will admit to not being particularly thrilled for the comics that were coming out this week; it feels like it had been long enough since some of my most anticipated books (INFINITY, NEW AVENGERS, HAWKEYE, YOUNG AVENGERS, etc) had last come out that we'd have a fuller slate for this week but instead we got a pretty barebones week which nonetheless managed to pull out some really good books.

Captain America Living Legend 3

I've liked this series a great deal but this one still only barely managed to edge out MARVEL KNIGHTS: X-MEN and AVENGERS ARENA for one of the top spots this week. That's right, there were five books (at least) worthy of this list this week. Cap makes the cut here because I'm a sucker for book with strong character moments and choices and for books that thematically plant seeds then bring them to harvest successfully. In this case, as I've said so many times, Andy Diggle has made it clear that the background characters, while sometimes still being less important to the plot, are real characters, people who would probably go home to their families at night if they survived the day (they tend not to). The level of care Diggle puts into that has been great and it reminds me of Kelly Sue DeConnick's CAPTAIN MARVEL, which spread little lines of dialogue to establish more minor characters in Carol's life throughout the early books to be picked up on later, confirming that Carol had a real connection to these people and that we'd care if they were threatened. Diggle's done fine work with this mini and it's heading to an interesting place.

Deadpool 19

Another time DEADPOOL has made the cut after starting this series on my absolute most hated list. I don't take back what I said about early DEADPOOL issues in this volume but I'm extremely happy to see that it's soared over all of that. This arc has had a nice emotional bent to it for Deadpool which could probably have felt extremely heavy-handed and weak but managed to pretty regularly stay away from that. On top of it, Posehn and Duggan again brought out other major characters from the Marvel Universe and wrote them well. Even when I wasn't liking the series, I did like a lot of the characterizations for other Marvel staples. Shalvey and Bellaire really complete this book and make it something definitely worth picking up, a nicely written and characterized book with truly gorgeous and fitting art. There's a lot of really cool stuff in here both on the writing end and on the art end and it's a pretty complete book for it.

Savage Wolverine 11

Jock's writing debut with Marvel is a success as his SAVAGE WOLVERINE arc comes to a close and gives us a nice, complete-enough story to really sink our teeth into. I talked in my review about how it doesn't really clear up who specifically it is that brought Wolverine here, how they captured him, where this place is, and who is trying so desperately to recreate him, but, in truth, I'm not sure that any of that would have improved this book. It's a complete story and it works particularly well for a character like Wolverine, who is so used to not knowing huge swaths of his own history and who is also pretty used to people trying to experiment on him and recreate him. So we find Wolverine landing on this planet and just kind of making do with what he knows and what he can do. On top of all that and on top of the classic Wolverine violence and rage we see at the forefront here, we get to see the somewhat softer side of Wolverine, the side that almost instantly takes to Kouen and who understands what's going to happen to him and understands the decision Kouen makes to destroy his test-tube brothers before they can suffer through what he's going to suffer through even when Wolverine himself couldn't bring himself to do it. Gorgeous art, nice story, good characterization, can't ask for anything more. Oh, and I just realized I picked a book by Jock and a book by Andy Diggle in the same week. So exciting!


Coolest art decision

I absolutely love this little sequence. In DEADPOOL 19, Deadpool and Wolverine attempt to enter Butler's little fortress while Captain America goes to stand guard topside and cover them from the should-be-advancing North Korean army. We haven't seen Cap since the first page or so of the issue but then, about ten pages in, a clearly-nervous Butler bursts out asking where the North Korean army is and why it hasn't stopped Deadpool's team yet. Smash cut to Cap standing in front of the collected army (obviously not at full force but full enough), viewed from the binoculars of an NK soldier, standing perfectly upright, shield behind his back. Not only is it a pretty great Cap, looking very much like the soldier we know and love, he's standing, waiting for an entire army, with his shield behind his back. Awesome, you guys.

This week's picks

Some real good comics came out this week. Sometimes it's hard to pick just three, even in a week when that's nearly a quarter of the comics that came out. So what made the cut this week? FIND OUT, BELOW.

Captain America 12

This was a pretty powerful issue for Cap as a character. Character matters an awful lot to comics and it matters an awful lot to me as a reader. I've said plenty of times before that Captain America is my favorite character, which could make this something of a biased pick, but really I'm in favor of seeing a somewhat new side of any character, as long as it fits within their established character. Remender has done that well throughout the series, giving Cap a full history that changes what we know about the character but doesn't change the perception of the character. In fact, it strengthens it. This issue beautifully shows the aftermath of Dimension Z for Steve and shows us just how hard the stoic Cap is taking everything. Tough issue as a Cap fan because he's in a real pain, one that it feels like we haven't seen from him since he figured out Bucky was the Winter Soldier. The Nuke storyline is still establishing itself and stays in the background of this one again, almost to the issue's detriment, but it will surely help the arc in the long run.

Deadpool 18

Deadpool cracks the top picks after its writing team earned my ire way, way back in the very first issues. They've turned things around, changing the tone of the book particularly for this arc, but even for arcs before it, and changing the humor from something that was almost entirely stupid reference driven into something that fits a little better. Like with Cap this week, we see a new side of Deadpool, one that realizes the consequences to his actions and one who is clearly in emotional pain, something we don't see out of the wild card Deadpool very often. The book is quick, it's smart, and it's well-written, for Deadpool and for supporting characters Wolverine and Captain America. Solid stuff. Deadpool this week beats out Avengers Arena, Ultimate X-Men, and even the final issue of Astonishing X-Men.

Infinity 4

Another impressive showing from this year's major event (good god, Age of Ultron happened this year, didn't it? It feels like that was years ago and also terrible. One of those statements is correct). The resistance comes up with a plan to hurt the Builders while, on Earth (and just above it), Black Bolt seemingly sacrifices himself to protect the rest of the Inhumans and to create many, many more. It feels like this event, unlike some in the recent past, will have long-lasting effects, perhaps even ones that are interesting as we push forward. I'll be real sad if Black Bolt is dead but, you know, this is comics so don't count on it. If he is, though, it certainly creates some interesting plot points going forward, both within the Inhumans and within the superhero community. Also, guys, Thor threw Mjolnir so far it crashed into a star and came back and burst through one of the creators of the universe. That was, you know, pretty gratifying.

Captain America 12, Deadpool 18, Wolverine 10

Captain America 18
Remender (w) and Pacheco and Janson (a) and White and Rosenberg (c)

Cap has burned all his souvenirs from bygone ages and is trying to step forward in his life. Of course, this isn't any sort of easy step. It's harder, even, then being frozen in ice and reawakened because now he's also just in the last day, practically, lost a son and a wife. One of Steve's closest friends, the Falcon, comes to talk with him about it, wanting to get him out of the house. The two move around the city talking until Steve finally cracks and breaks down as much as Steve Rogers can. Meanwhile, we find out that Nuke has been set loose on the world (in plenty of places where America has lost soldiers) by someone who apparently abhors America (unbeknownst to Nuke, though much is unbeknownst to Nuke) and  who seems to have mystical powers all his own.

The story for the arc is certainly still coming. The intrigue of Nuke and the former SHIELD agent who hates America and its capitalist ways and has powers borne from some mystical dragon is very present in this issue, if still rather unexplained, but that's, for the second straight issue, not our focus with Steve. And I don't blame the book for it. Steve went through 16 issues of just about the worst things that have ever happened to him. Of course, in those ten years in Dimension Z, some truly wonderful things happened to him, mostly to do with him and Ian, but he was fighting a horrible and seemingly impossible to defeat overlord and it culminated in the death of the two people closest to him and in returning to a world he no longer recognizes hot on the heels of those deaths. Let's give him a couple issues to let some of that emotion out. These are really difficult issues for Cap and this one perhaps even more so than the last. He's got a lot going on and it's, to Remender and Pacheco's credit, very evident and palpable here. It hurts to watch Cap go through what he's going through, the rock of the Marvel Universe so shaken to his core by what's happened. You may know Cap is the unflappable leader of the Avengers without even really realizing it. I've read plenty of Captain America and seen him at low points, needing to gather himself or needing to let the fear and doubt and tragedy out of him but this, right here and now, still resonates on a different level. It's a powerful issue for Cap, who is at his lowest right now, and (segue) he's not the only character feeling that way at the moment.

Deadpool 18
Posehn and Duggan (w) and Shalvey (a) and Bellaire (c)

Deadpool, Cap, and Wolverine are leading the North Korean experiment mutants out of the camp and are on pace to try to save their families from destruction at the hands of the North Koreans. It's not an easy task but they at least have the upper hand in terms of powers and, at least briefly, the element of surprise. They plan their strike and move and, surprisingly, it goes rather well. They manage, in no small part thanks to Deadpool, to decimate the army on-hand and rescue the surviving family members, though there are plenty who were killed even before this strike. Deadpool realizes, despite Wolverine's attempts to get him to stay back, that his baby's mother and, quite probably, his baby are among that number. It shatters Deadpool, who went into the fight more serious than, as Wolverine commented, we've seen him and who was perhaps more dedicated to the fight than ever before. The issue ends with Deadpool pronouncing this all his fault and crying over the loss of his family.

It's a tough issue for Deadpool and, as this arc continues to show, pretty strong writing and ideas. There are jokes that are well-timed, there are fun bits to the action that keep this firmly in the "This is a Deadpool book" camp, but it all cedes to an emotional core for the book. Gone are the non-stop terrible jokes and references, gone are the ineffectual crude jokes and baseline humor tactics, gone are the meaningless support and villainous characters this book has often found itself littered with (though Preston is still kicking around; more on that in a minute). In its place is a smart and thoughtful book that knows when to put in jokes and knows when to keep jokes out of the way. I think I may have talked about this before but I certainly can't be bothered to look that up to confirm so I'll say it again, Preston remains a weak point for the book. She's filling the same sort of role in Deadpool's mind that the loose Peter Parker consciousness filled in the first several issues of Superior Spider-Man; she's saying things we totally expect her to say when we don't need those things to be said. Peter would see Doc Ock doing something morally ambiguous in his body and would start saying over and over "oh come on, don't do that, I would never do that," a sentiment that the audience was well-aware of. This is much the same case, where Preston is saying things right along those lines only to be ignored by Deadpool or even for him to consent but in a way where I honestly believe he would have consented without her needing to say anything. I think her inclusion here slows down what is otherwise a truly very good issue though, in truth, this issue is strong enough and her role so limited that it still stands well in spite of her. Also some more great Declan Shalvey art.

Wolverine 10
Cornell (w) and A. Davis and M. Farmer (a) and Hollingsworth (c)

Wolverine is still on the trail of Sabretooth, which has led him to the place where he was born, now a strip mall, while Fury and SHIELD work with the Host to try to counteract the Virus' effects. One of Wolverine's unnecessary supporting characters (back from when we met them all at the bar way back when) has apparently created a sort of filter to keep the Virus out but it's a limited range and their too expensive and difficult to produce en masse and so they're only being used by the supporting characters, SHIELD, and heads of state. Fury, who is working with the Host to try to find some sort of way to stop the Virus, asks the Host if there's anything she can do to reverse what the Virus did to Wolverine. The Host admits there isn't but says that the Virus might be able to (bet that won't come up again) if it was so inclined. Meanwhile, Wolverine and Kitty have investigated the mall and, while trying to get the security guards to clear out, watch as Sabretooth's small branch of the Hand, Mystique, Lord Deathstrike, and the Silver Samurai enter the mall to close in around them. Up on the helicarrier, SHIELD has realized that the Virus is launching its full attack and that it's much more widespread than they thought, already beginning to infect the globe.

Hopefully this set up yields results as we have what will have to be a rather fast-paced and action-packed conclusion coming up on this arc (we're on part three of six so maybe it will be a little drawn out, rather like this series as a whole). Still, we find Wolverine still being awfully cautious for the first time in...ever, and we see the Virus putting its plans into motion. There are some books where a ten issue+ arc feels right (like in Captain America, Young Avengers, and, to perhaps a lesser extent, Thor), like the book has still moved extremely well and the story was ultimately worth telling. In this case, it feels like we've gotten maybe six issues combined of story out of ten physical issues. That's not even necessarily because of the ideas; there's a virus that's essentially possessing people inhabiting the Earth and which has made Wolverine susceptible to injury, which has spun off into its own story which, in all likelihood, will tie back into the virus story. That's plenty of story for ten books. Cap got more than ten really great issues out of one prolonged fight with Zola. Still, the pacing and the writing feels slow which makes the story feel lethargic. I feel like it's gotten a little better as we've introduced more compelling characters with more compelling reasons to be there (throwing Kitty in alongside Wolverine helps because we see the impact he's had on people and we get to see the little quirks of his being mortal from an outside perspective) but this book still feels like it's been around for a long time, and not in a good, it feels classic sort of way. It's more like "good god, this story is still going, isn't it?" kind of way. Not really where you want to be ten issues in.

This week's picks

Plenty of books to choose from this week with a whole slew of them out there. A lot of books, kind of like last week, where I feel like we got some set-up for bigger issues down the road. I think I've got it pretty locked down in my head though so let's knock these down before I second-guess myself.

Nova 8

I've really liked Zeb Wells' run on this book and I am sad it's coming to a close soon. I think this was a book that was written by someone who wanted to write a teenager in the same way typical older people write teenagers, which is a little hard to quantify but not that hard to recognize. Wells has done a great job of late to make sure that Nova feels real. He makes real mistakes that a new and young hero would make, not just ones that are meant to drive the plot and weigh on him for the rest of his life (Peter Parker letting a villain escape when he could have stopped him). He takes his helmet off in the atmosphere because he's a dumb teenager who doesn't realize that he was wearing his sunglasses because the sun was really bright. On top of it, Wells has a humor and a characterization inherent in his writing that shines through in just about every character. Speedball and Justice have appeared in two issues and only really had significant dialogue in this one and they both feel pretty fully defined. It's really great writing and the book has an effortlessly fun feel to it. Good stuff happening here. Hopefully Duggan will slide into the role well after Wells' final issue next time out.

Uncanny Avengers 12

Another solid Uncanny Avengers issue, one that feels like it kind of rights the ship again. I don't think the book has a bad issue yet, or even really a weak issue yet, but I think it's hard for the pace not to have slowed with the bang-bang start it had and even with the introduction of the Apocalypse Twins. Anytime Apocalypse comes back around it's something to keep an eye on, doubly so when it's Remender in charge. But this issue had lots of everything. The plot was good and kind of cleaned up a little of the confusing bits we've had over the last several issues while steering us nicely ahead as well. The characterization was really strong from the characters we had featuring in this issue. One of the weaknesses of a big team like this is that we don't usually get a ton of characterization because we simply don't have the time to see everyone in such a short time. Over a long run we'll have gotten a taste but it usually takes a while with lots of character moments spread evenly throughout. I think Remender has done well overall with this book, giving us good moments from just about every character. This issue is no exception; in fact, I'd say that limiting the issue to five of our main teammates meant that he could really get in to those guys' relationships. Solid work, excited to see where it's all going.

Young Avengers 10

I talked in my Nova review about older people writing teenagers and making it sound a little too "LOL this is what teenagers say, RIGHT GUYS? OMG LOL." This book has never had that problem and, in fact, sometimes goes out of its way to show that it's never had that problem. Sometimes, whether it's in the splash page or in little pieces somewhere or other (the Instagram page back a few issues ago stands out), we'll see a hint of that but it always feels tongue-in-cheek. It's just always a very cleverly written book and one that doesn't talk down to its characters or to its audience. And all of this gushing praise and the inclusion of this book on this list comes on an issue that I would deem weaker than some of the others so far. That's how reliably great this book is. In an issue that's a little weaker, we learn Loki's plan, we see the start of Leah's plan, we get a little more out of Mother, we see the way Teddy's dealing with things, and we see the re-emergence of Mother as a serious villain, as well as seeing the re-emergence of the thought-dead older Loki consciousness as a villain (well, readers didn't think he was dead, but young Loki did a great job convincing the public that the older Loki was gone before the older Loki elbowed his way back in). There's a ton happening here, as ever. The story is great, the writing is great, the art is perfect (just LOOK at Loki's grin over there!), just a near flawless comic series through and through.


Best Cover
Deadpool 17 - Shalvey and Bellaire

I'm just always so happy with Shalvey/Bellaire covers. They're consistently so good, with such a great purpose and a brilliant tone. Fun fact to people who don't know, Declan Shalvey and Jordie Bellaire are also dating! It's...it's kind of adorable? And they make reliably wonderful covers. This one's only real flaws, in my eyes, are the face of Captain America (which looks just a tad goofy) and the excessive amount of writing on the cover but that's not really their fault, is it (except for Cap's face)? Really wonderful symmetry in the Cap/Wolverine/Deadpool poses as they leap into battle and wonderful colors to match. Really great cover that edges out a cool Jorge Molina Avengers Assemble cover, a good Paolo Rivera Superior Spider-Man Team-Up cover, and a very nice Dave Marquez Ultimate Spider-Man cover (and a pretty neat Mateus Santolouco Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cover but that wasn't really in the running because this is a MARVEL comics blog, you guys, pay some attention).

This week's picks!

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

Avengers Arena 10

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

Iron Man 11

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


Red She-Hulk 66

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

Winter Soldier 19

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


Best cover

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

Another book cancelled

Winter Soldier cancelled with issue 19

After missing the memo last time around about X-Treme X-Men and Age of Apocalypse's cancellations, I created a Google alert to warn me when the term "Marvel cancels" appears. Already, one new cancellation in, it feels a bit like getting a call in the middle of the night from a family member and knowing it can't be good news. Of course, it didn't help that the first cancellation my new alert informed me about is one of my favorite ongoings. So yes, the news is out, Winter Soldier is officially cancelled, ending with issue 19 in June. Suspicions arose with the July solicits revealed this past week and no sign of Winter Soldier 20. So sadly, we couldn't even figure out what Bucky's been doing for 20 issues, we just get the 19. I'm sure we'll get more of what Bucky's up to as time goes on, but for the time being, we're going to be left with what last month's solicits showed, Bucky in space intertwined with someone who may or may not be the Electric Ghost. Presumably it will the arc he's on now, as well as the series.

Readers of this blog will know that Winter Soldier is both one of my favorite ongoing series and one of my favorite characters. I love the conceit behind Winter Soldier and the story of his origin enough to boost him there (let alone his tie with other favorite character Captain America), but through his time in the Marvel Universe his personality and the strength of his books have further cemented him in my heart. I'm extremely saddened to see this series go. It seems like Latour and Klein are both reaching a level of comfort with the character and with the story that would have brought Bucky to new places and new areas of his life. It's particularly sad because Bucky is entering a new point in his life, fresh off re-entering his own life after the brainwashing that created the Winter Soldier. After Brubaker's run ended, he's without Natasha and presumed dead by most of the world. His connections are as diminished as they've ever been and the start of Latour's run aimed itself at reintegrating him into missions from Nick Fury. On top of that, all the things I said about X-Treme X-Men and Age of Apocalypse being really solid and entertaining books that have been kind of pushed to the side for bigger events and titles and characters apply to the Winter Soldier title as well. I'm sad about this, though I think we all kind of knew from the get-go this was either going to kill or never survive. It's the kind of book that has probably more of a niche than most superhero books and those tend to have some trouble surviving (with obvious exceptions like Hawkeye leaping to mind).

As sad as I am about the cancellation, it's not entirely a surprise. Like I said, I think most fans of the book probably knew we were living on borrowed time with this one. In fact, we only got as far as 19 because of the announcement last Comic-Con that the new Captain America movie would have the title "Captain America: Winter Soldier." Brubaker revealed in some of his exit interviews that the book had been teetering on cancellation before that. He had said, after announcing his exit from Captain America, that he intended to remain on Winter Soldier for the foreseeable future, at the time expecting the foreseeable future to put him pretty much where he ended, given the book's cancellation. Instead, the title saw a bit of a sales boost after the movie reveal and Brubaker had to jump ship anyway. Latour and Klein both note in their blog posts dealing with the cancellation (below) that they knew they were fighting an uphill battle when they signed on but that it didn't change their desire to do the book. The problem with a character and a book like Winter Soldier is that, even though fans of the cinematic universe might leap on to the book to prepare for the upcoming movie, it requires the origin story to truly understand. Bucky is so woven into his own history that jumping into the series midway through probably didn't help a lot of new readers, eager to learn about the character who will feature in the motion picture. Also, the motion picture will cast him as a villain and suddenly he's a completely different character, one that audiences of the first Cap movie will recognize as dead, in the book.

I'm sad to see the book go and that's my primary view on this. Was it expected? Yeah, a little bit. Was I happy to have whatever time I got from this book? Sure was. Do I think that this is the end of Winter Soldier appearing in the Marvel Universe? Absolutely not. Marvel will certainly continue to throw Bucky into situations, likely starting with Secret Avengers where he was promoted even before the book launched, because he's a great character and he's well-liked. Hawkeye hadn't caught on in a solo series until Fraction's and he's still cited as plenty of people's favorite Avenger. With a movie coming out, Marvel isn't going to keep Bucky on the bench. So take some solace, then, that James Buchanon Barnes won't be on the sidelines long before we see him again. Will it be in his noir-ish solo series? Probably not. Is that super depressing? Sure is. Is there comfort in knowing good characters won't just fall by the wayside? Yes. So thank you Ed Brubaker and Butch Guice and Michael Lark and Bettie Breitweiser and Jordie Bellaire and Declan Shalvey and Jason Latour and Nic Klein and everyone else involved with this risky book from the start and from the middle and from the end. It was a great title that, yeah, deserved a bit better than it got but certainly gave it all. Pick up every issue from here on out for support and, you know what, go back and buy the rest too.



Writer Jason Latour's blog post about the cancellation can be found here. Artist Nic Klein's can be found here.

Superior Spider-Man 2, Hawkeye 7, Journey into Mystery 648

Superior Spider-Man 2
Slott (w) and Stegman (a) and Delgado (c)

I was not as sold on this issue as I was on the first one. HOWEVER, it did make me worry again about the issues I had with issue one. I think the story that's happening right now is pretty interesting. Despite all of the qualms comic readers naturally have with death and resurrection in comics, this is an interesting idea. You take probably the most moral character, the most human but still moral character, in the Marvel Universe, you yank him out of his body and you put in someone who is notably less moral. More than that (because they're already doing that in Scarlet Spider), you give him all the memories and the weight of those memories of the moral guy and you see what it does to the immoral guy. It's the nature vs. nurture argument dissected, but with the argument revolving around someone who is born of both nature and nurture. After 700 issues in the main series and tons more in other series and appearances, we kind of know how Peter's going to react in just about every situation. We also tend to know how Doc Ock will react in just about every situation (though he's more mysterious, as we don't typically have his inner monologue running constantly in front of us). So what happens when you cram the two together? That's far less predictable.

My worry is that it won't be, especially with the revelation last issue that Peter's consciousness is still in his body and able to fight some of Doc Ock's actions. Yes, Doc Ock will still surprise us from time to time, as he did this issue by telling Mary Jane that they can never be together after spending most of the issue trying to be with her, but Peter never really will. We'd never ask him to, either; we love him because he's so moral and so how we'd want to be with his powers. But it takes a little bit of the intrigue of "wait, what will Doc Ock do now?" if we know Peter's there to possibly stop it. Would it have been really disturbing to watch Peter Parker's Spider-Man beat in a guy's face? Yup. Would it at least change the dynamic that we were expecting? Most definitely. The other problem with the two of them inhabiting the same space is that now we get Doc Ock's need to hear himself talk and his complete lack of social skills tied with Peter's need to hear himself talk and his, now that he's not able to do anything about it, kind of whiny personality. Like, I love Peter and I do think Slott is probably writing his personality correctly (as I implicitly trust Dan Slott), but when Peter's not capable of Spider-Manning, especially after growing up with that ability, he's pretty whiny. So we get Doc's flourishes and rambles died to Peter constantly going "NO NO NO, DON'T DO THAT NO." Again, I don't think either character is acting a way they wouldn't, so I can't justifiably be upset about it, but I can still be annoyed.

As I said, we definitely can still be surprised by Doc's actions here, and Peter still sharing the body doesn't negate the fact that we're seeing the old Doc Ock with a new spin. There's still plenty of hope for this new Spider-Man, and I do still appreciate that he's the hero who solves problems with his brain first and his powers second, but I do worry if some of these problems will just expand as the series goes along. I don't know how you quiet down either character or how you have tension between them while they share the same body without having Peter stop Otto but then again, I'm not the one writing Spider-Man. If I knew how to solve these problems effectively, I'd be writing Spider-Man (SPOILER: no I probably wouldn't). Slott is writing Spider-Man, so I have to imagine he's ready for this and more.

Hawkeye 7
Fraction (w) and Lieber and Hamm (a) and Hollingsworth (c)

As I stated in yesterday's post, the profits of this issue of the fantastic Hawkeye series go to the Red Cross's efforts for Hurricane Sandy. It shows, but not in a bad way. Usually, when "it shows," it's heavy-handed or a throwaway issue with the focus being on the cause. This issue certainly focuses on the cause, Hurricane Sandy, but not in a really heavy-handed way or in a way that doesn't fit with the rest of the book. This book, so far, has largely been Hawkeye and Hawkeye, when she's around, doing heroic things (or mildly heroic things) that you don't equate to superheroes. Fraction has gone out of his way to not have the Hawkeyes do superheroic things. Only in a couple of issues have pre-established comic heroes or villains shown up. Not to say that Fraction hasn't created his own villains, they're just, as it stands, more floor-level villains. Mobsters, mostly. Spider-Man might fight mobsters occasionally, but you can bet that Mr. Negative or Hammerhead is backing them up. Daredevil gets through hordes of gangsters to find his way to Kingpin. Hawkeye, so far, has not found his way to any higher-powered villain, just an older one (it's possible more "powers" will come later, but whatever, we're not there yet and I'm writing this now, without future guidance). What I'm saying in my very long-winded way is that the Hawkeyes have fought bad guys. Not supervillains, not Hydra (okay, once they did but only a little bit. They mostly ran). Just bad dudes who were threatening normal people. So it's not out of place at all that what they're doing when Hurricane Sandy touches down is helping normal people.

Even the better books that have been spawned from tragedy or things along those lines tend to be a little hard to ground. The thing about comics is that they're escapism, at their core. We all want to be able to be these heroes, we want these heroes to exist. Sure, I'd argue they're far more than that. They're good fiction, they're amazing examples of a serialized fiction that changes hands endlessly allowing us to view all sorts of angles of all sorts of characters. But they're not real. Even if a tragedy happens in that world, it's removed from us so, as sad or alarming as it may be to read (if it's written well), there's a limit to the connection we can feel. We're in Captain America's head, or Spider-Man's head, or Wolverine's head, seeing this happen to their world. They are infinitely better prepared for this kind of thing. Even when they're at a loss for what to do, they can go out there and likely do more than I can so I sit in the passenger seat and watch them do it. When these kinds of inspired-by-reality books come along, it's a little jarring. We see Cap at the Twin Towers and we can't just be a spectator. We know that's our world and Captain America isn't really there watching. There are thousands of real heroes in our world and his demeanor serves to remind us of them. But those are real people, just as the people who died there were real people and we can never forget that. The same is true to this Hawkeye issue, but to a far lesser degree. It helps that the Hawkeyes aren't powered. They're just people. And it certainly helps that, in this issue, not a single arrow is fired. Kate threatens looters with them and gets knocked out for her troubles, only to awaken and find townspeople have stopped the looters and recovered her stolen weapons. Clint helps a man from his apartment building connect with his father while they work together to stay alive amidst terrible floods. It feels far more real than Thor aiding firemen while they lift debris. It's because Clint and Kate are people in this book, something Fraction's already done so well prior to this that it just slides right in here without question. When people are beset by tragedy, they don't pull out their armor and start helping in ways we can't fathom. They go and help in ways they can on an individual basis. So this book feels real and it's worth buying. It's worth buying because it's a good book and because it's a good cause. Just go buy it.

Journey into Mystery 648
Immonen (w) and Schiti (a) and Bellaire (c)

Sif's journey is very different than Loki's was previously in this title. Where Loki had been transformed into a child with no memory of his past self or his past crimes, but still an inclination for mischief, only to be reverted back to his true self with the last pages of his long arc, Sif transforms herself into something more powerful and deadly at the very start of her arc. Loki, who many would like to have cast away, was protected by his brother and attempted to earn everyone's trust. Sif, who has been cast away by her brother, seeks to earn everyone's respect as the greatest warrior. Where this story will go, I'm still not sure. We'll figure that out when we get there, I suppose. HOWEVER, this is a journey into mystery, so we might as well examine the trip Sif takes. In this particular issue, hot off being cast out by Heimdall to the place where all the other berserkers before her have been sent, Sif swiftly and violently kills a big monster before maiming the three remaining berserkers of Asgard. They stop her just before she kills them too and they all eat and have a chat. The berserkers have been here a long time and are a bit defeated. They would still fight, but time has worn them down and there are fewer enemies and less bloodlust. Sif has no problem with bloodlust and she asks for the biggest enemy around. Meanwhile, Heimdall in Asgardia visits Aerndis, who bestowed the gift of the berserker on Sif a couple issues back, who ominously tells Heimdall that his sending Sif to the foreign land has opened a tunnel, not a gate. We understand this a bit better when the issue closes with Sif and the three berserkers and their giant monster rival appearing on Earth and Spider-Man (Superior style, as the rest of the Universe appears to be catching up) promptly entering the fray.

I admit, I have some trouble getting into Asgard stuff. I've never been huge into fantasy and a lot of the fantasy tropes are bound to show up in Asgard. I largely still read it because I care about plenty of the Asgardians and I wouldn't drop this book because Gillen's run was great, Immonen is a good writer, and Sif is already interesting. It's hard not to compare this book to the last run of it (as shown above) and also not to compare her to Wolverine, what with the term "berserker" being tossed all around. The interesting bit, though, doesn't come from the direct comparison to Wolverine. It comes from the fact that Wolverine does everything in his power to keep the uncontrollable berserker down, while Sif embraces it and uses it to be the best warrior she can. She comes from a warrior race, no less one typically dominated by males. When you think of warriors of Asgard, you think of Thor and, perhaps appropriately given their name, the Warriors Three. Sif might be there too, maybe as an afterthought, but you might as well also think of Balder, Heimdall, Odin, Tyr, hell, even Bill. Even if Sif IS on that list, she's heavily outnumbered by males. So she has something to prove, whether it's fair or not. While she and Wolverine are both great warriors without the berserker part of them, she'll take the berserker to give her the edge, where Wolverine will try to dull it even if it slows him. It's a very interesting idea and it'll be fun to watch it expand as we go forward.

This week's picks

This might not come as a shock to anybody, but this week was pretty hard to choose. Marvel is putting forward a lot of good books right now and, especially with so many number ones coming out to build excitement, this whole first month of my blog has been hard to choose what three I eventually recommend. This week is really hard because there are two that I am absolutely choosing and several that could be in contention for the third spot. I'm lucky, really, to have this kind of a problem, but it's still a problem. FUN FACT: Deadpool 4 will not be on this list.

Uncanny Avengers 3

This was rather a no-brainer for me. It's largely a no-brainer because I've been thinking about it constantly since it came out. Whenever a book does that, it's hard not to pick it as a must-buy for the week. To my memory, this is just about the darkest arc I've seen Marvel do in a long time. The book feels like it's more deeply seated in the Marvel Universe than many I've seen in the past. There are consequences to this book that, barring major events and crossovers, feel more long-term than other books are usually willing to do. However, it isn't dark simply for the sake of dark. It is dark because dark is what the Marvel Universe should feel like right now. There's a lot of distrust of mutants out there, especially hot off the heels of the Phoenix, and suddenly their numbers are exploding again. Race riots are exactly what I'd expect to be happening, even if the Red Skull, of all villains, weren't stoking them. A lot of civilians have died in the midst of this, as I imagine they would. It feels real and it feels powerful and it's just a really stellar plot and book. Worth reading, even amidst all the darkness.

Winter Soldier 14

It's possible this one's on here more for me than for you. Like I said in my review, this is Brubaker's last issue on the book he created with the character he created and, likely, his last book at Marvel. It's certainly a sad day. It's also sad because I love Bucky and it's entirely true that no one knows Bucky better than Brubaker because he's the only one who's really written him. I worry a bit about that moving forward, though I think Marvel's done a good job transitioning to new writers by and large so far. Still some worrisome times for Winter Soldier fans ahead. Anyway, this issue is worth your reading for the final team up of Brubaker and Guice and Bellaire/Breitweiser (who have done such a fine job coloring in all of their own books and who you should pay ENORMOUS respect to, even though I don't pay nearly enough respect to colorists in these posts, something I aim to remedy in the coming days/weeks). It's also the end of the Black Widow Hunt storyline, which is both action-packed and heart-breaking. So many hyphenated feelings to go around. This book is one of Marvel's 2.99 books and it's absolutely worth the price of admission. Pick it up, for sure.

Punisher: Nightmare 4
I know, I can't believe he picked that one either. In a week that gave us fantastic and totally-worthy-of-this-list entries like Avengers, FF, and Young Avengers, not to mention a fairly strong showing from the first issue of the new X-Force, I'm going with the fourth and penultimate book in a Punisher mini-series. Who'd've guessed? OKAY, so I really liked Avengers for, of all things, its inaccessibility and I don't know if you should buy it based on that if you're looking to buy one this week. I like the sense of fun and old-school comic-ness of FF, and, frankly, I think Young Avengers will do just fine without my recommendation (though probably that would be on this list ANYWAY if not for Punisher). Punisher: Nightmare has rather blown away my expectations and this book is tying everything together really nicely. I don't think this book has missed a beat yet, particularly. Two wasn't my favorite issue and three got a little murky, but both were still necessary steps to the arc. I think four is possibly the best so far, though maybe with the least action. We see a lot of Frank understanding why he does what he does, perhaps especially interesting to see parallel to Punisher War Zone, wherein he's being forced to wonder about why he's still doing what he does. I might be turning around on Punisher, you guys. We'll have to see.



Anyway, just ABOUT on time, hopefully next week will be a little less hectic and a lot less anger-filled. We passed one month of my blog this week and I couldn't be happier with it so far. Well, okay, yes I could. But really, I'm pretty happy with it. I hope you all are too. Even if you just come here for the pictures.