Leftovers 11-5-14

To say that I meant to do more reviews this week would not be inaccurate. However, it would be typical. So let's stay away from that and just do these reviews literally as quickly as I am capable.

All-New X-Factor 16
X-Factor needs to fight off Sentinels to protect the nuclear football containing the launch codes. They succeed but tensions within the team (and within Serval) run a bit high. Still too quippy at key tense parts for my liking. Total Score: 3/5


Deadpool's Art of War 2

Deadpool's tips lead Loki to total victory over Asgard then inspire him to attack Earth before locking Deadpool up in the dungeon with Thor, only to have 'Pool free himself and Thor. I'm not sure why a Marvel-Universe practical adaptation of Sun Tzu is worth making. I like that cover though. Total Score: 2/5














Death of Wolverine: Life After Logan 1
Jeff Loveness writes a good story about Cyclops' reaction to Wolverine's death, Josh Fialkov writes a fine story about Nightcrawler and Colossus delivering Logan's sword to Mariko's grave, and Rex Ogle writes a perfectly sufficient story about Armor fighting in the Danger Room. You know these books, they happen after every comic book death. Total Score: 3/5


Death of Wolverine: The Weapon X Program 1

As the new Weapon X facility crumbles, a couple of experimented-on soldiers with various powers make their escape from the debris. With the leadership of one of the soldiers whose face is concealed until the last page, they manage to make it to the roof and take Cornelius' helicopter, wherein we learn that the concealed soldier's face looks an awful lot like Logan's. The genuinely surprising twist makes this issue somewhat worth reading, unless it was spoiled by some reviewer. Total Score: 4/5











Hulk 8
Doc Green is heading for Red She-Hulk, AKA Betty Ross, next. To make matters more personal, he knows now that Betty and her new organization, the Order of the Shield (from the last days of RED SHE-HULK), arranged for Dr. Leucenstern to shoot Banner in the back of the head at the end of INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK, believing that Hulk was to be responsible for an impending Extinction Level event. Doc Green actually harbors no ill will toward either and uses Rick Jones, who is actually loving his newfound lease on a regular life, to trick Betty into using the serum before Doc Green has to. Still some interesting stuff happening (even if it's been the same interesting stuff the last couple issues and even if it de-powers my probably favorite Hulk right now) but it continues to be hard to enjoy watching Doc Green. Total Score: 3/5


Legendary Star-Lord 5
Star-Lord has a lead on a bad guy group heading for the Black Vortex and lulls one into a false sense of security to get more information before unleashing Drax on him. Peter and Kitty continue to have a bad and boring relationship. Said relationship drags the book down at least as much as the story and as the villainous Mr. Knife. Total Score: 3/5


Rocket Raccoon 5

Rocket and Groot tell a story to a couple of camping alien kids. Well, Groot tells it. The results are rather predictable but astonishingly fun and still very clever. Excellent book. Guest artist Jake Parker draws all of Groot's story while Skottie Young provides the frame art. Parker steps in admirably and uses a style that is similar but obviously different to Young. Both work excellently. Total Score: 5/5













X-Men 21
Manifold Tyger put both Storm and Cecelia Reyes in critical condition before the other heroes catch up with him. They also learn that Tyger was working with the villains trying to gene-splice a baby out of Deathbird. Meanwhile, this story is somehow still going. It hasn't been bad, exactly, just slow and and getting more and more bogged down with each issue. Total Score: 3/5

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

New Avengers 25

New Avengers 25

After the first two issues of EIGHT MONTHS LATER (I keep writing and/or wanting to write TIME RUNS OUT but I think that's AFTER all this business?) in NEW AVENGERS 24 and AVENGERS 35 (and 36, but that doesn't apply here), we've seen what some of the Illuminati and their new associates are up to, with Amadeus Cho getting captured by the Avengers and SHIELD trying to salvage Stark files, and Black Panther forced to watch as Wakanda falls to the Cabal. Now we see what Beast, Reed Richards, Hulk (DOC GREEN), and Captain Britain are doing these days. Mostly they're trying to figure out what the Avengers are doing and what the Cabal is doing and how the planets are doing and so on and so forth. Things aren't going great. The book ends after the team checks in on the captured and interrogated (by Sue Storm) Amadeus Cho and Black Panther returns, proclaiming that Wakanda has fallen.

There's still a good deal of useful information here but it's on a backdrop of events we've seen already, so most of this issue is soft science and reactions to the things we've seen. Again, that's not to say this isn't still a useful and/or important issue, but it almost serves more to catch readers up on what's been happening since this new event started. Hickman tends to take opportunities like this to give us a sense of the current tone and a little bit more on the characters and I think he does that well here, letting us see Reed's reaction to Sue's pursuit of his team and him specifically and building up the characters of people like Amadeus Cho and Captain Britain. Hickman also does a good job of highlighting while not hitting us over the head with the absences of some major characters in this future. I've had some issues with Kev Walker on some of the NEW AVENGERS art that he's done prior to this but I think he handles this issue admirably. If you're looking to save a bit of money this month and you've read the first couple issues of this mini-event so far, you can probably skip this one without missing too much.

Total Score: 3/5

Leftovers 10-8-14

All-New Ultimates 9

Scourge is being transferred to federal prison and the Ultimates want to watch over the transfer, which proves to be the right thing to do as a white-supremacist group, believing Scourge to be one of them, breaks him out. The Ultimates stop the racists but Scourge, who doesn't want to be associated with the white-supremacist group, gets away. Dagger is wounded in the fight and she and Cloak leave to get medical assistance, only to be sniped by a mysterious assailant, thus showcasing the one exciting moment this series has ever had, though also distracting from it by dealing with more relationship crap just beforehand. Total Score: 3/5

Amazing Spider-Man 7

The first half of this issue is a team-up between Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel, written by Christos Gage, which is delightful. The second half is an EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE tie-in by Dan Slott that finds Billy Braddock, Spider-UK of the Captain Britain Corps observing the family of Spider-Killers doing some work on the multiverse's spiders. The Ms. Marvel team-up, which will be continuing next time, is great and the EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE tie-ins are starting to drag a bit, though it is still interesting. Things are much nicer in this book when we don't see crazy Black Cat. Total Score: 4/5

Hawkeye vs. Deadpool 1

Hawkeye and Deadpool have been forced into something of a team-up as someone who ran into both of them on one night has been killed. Also on the case (perhaps more effectively) is Kate Bishop. Deadpool and Hawkeye's investigation leads them to more brainwashed super soldiers and to Black Cat, the one seemingly behind all of this, while Kate's leads her to the place where Ellsden shot his video, where she runs into Agent Adsit. When Hawkeye returns home, though, someone else is waiting for him looking for help. It's a relatively fun little book but we'll have to see where the plot is going before we can make too many judgements. Total Score: 3/5

Nightcrawler 7

Wolverine has died (because the release schedule is all messed up) and Nightcrawler has to deal with it. This one's a bit weird because the story credit is given to Marguerite Bennett with Claremont scripting but the story pretty much amounts to "Nightcrawler misses Wolverine, here's some flashbacks and some weird coping mechanisms." The problems start with the troubled release schedule and end with "this book is boring." Total Score: 2/5

Savage Hulk 5

Years ago, Dr. Strange sent Hulk to a mystical crossroads where he could access a number of other planets, ones where he couldn't do harm. While on trial for his unilateral decision on Earth, a representative from one of the planets Hulk could visit appears and accuses Strange of genocide, sending Hulk to his planet. Strange, accompanied by a SHIELD agent, heads to the other world to find that Hulk has destroyed weapon after weapon the citizens have sent after him and that he has a cave full of dead citizens. This one's certainly a more interesting storyline than the last and Strange is proving to be compelling all on his own. Pretty strong work, though I'd like to see a little more before I make a judgment on it. Total Score: 4/5

Leftovers 9-17-14

Alright, as you may have surmised from the two other full posts on a Sunday, pretty busy day over here at Marvels HQ. I prepare, then, to ASTOUND critics (read: me) with the speed of these reviews. TO WORK.


All-New X-Factor 14

Scarlet Witch pays a visit to Polaris hoping to spend a day out with her half-sister, which Lorna does not want to do and invites Danger in the hopes that it won't be entirely uncomfortable. They go to a Renaissance Faire and drink and be merry before saving a girl from her creepy and possessive online stalker before heading out to a bar and drinking some more, where Wanda reveals that Havok had Quicksilver monitoring Lorna and reporting back to him. Peter David clearly had fun writing this book but it varies for the reader between fun and heavy-handed/somewhat inexplicable. Also, Lorna brings up her (and apparently every other mutant's) resentment of Wanda for M-Day yet encourages one of the world's most powerful and unpredictable mutants to drink despite her original wishes. Wanda also acts kind of like a child with some of this stuff, which could be an interesting character decision but doesn't really pay off or get explanation as such. Look, I meant to be going faster with these reviews then I kicked off with a book I had some real problems with. Seriously, I was aiming for like, three sentences. Total Score: 2/5


Deadpool Bi-Annual 1
Deadpool is hired by Sea World (it's a fake Sea World but it's pretty much Sea World, whatever, you get it, you're smart, I'm continuing) to stop Brute Force, a team of powerful, super-intelligent animals who have the ability to turn into vehicles, from continuing to attack their attractions. Deadpool agrees and at first has a relatively easy time against Brute Force (except for heavy Bear, who scares him off). His next attack on the team is postponed, though, when he realizes Sea World is evil and he teams with Brute Force to take down his own employers. It's a special bi-annual issue (as the title would tell you) that gives an extra ten pages to the story and is at least ten pages too long. There are bits and pieces of the issue that are genuinely funny but it reverts to fourth-wall breaking too often (I have my issues with that and I think they're probably documented but, in short, it's hard to make breaking the fourth-wall sound like it's not just a self-congratulatory writer winking too hard at the audience for approval) and it occasionally goes for lowest-common-denominator humor and now THIS self-congratulatory writer should probably get off his high horse and just rate the issue. Total Score: 2/5


Hulk 6

Doc Green (really don't like that name or the weird mohawk, you guys) attacks A-Bomb, eventually injecting him with his created serum and learning, indeed, that it's worked as A-Bomb shrinks down to Rick Jones and finds himself unable to transform again. Jones is real mad at Green but agrees to go with him to take out the next target. Green also attacks SHIELD and threatens MODOK to make sure he never toys with gamma radiation again. Meanwhile, Red Hulk gets a whiff of Doc Green's plans early and vows that he won't stand for it. I'm kind of interested in the story developing here but I'm finding Doc Green's appearance and attitude off-putting, which I believe is supposed to be the case, so I suppose points for that, but you also don't really want to read a book where you have nothing to like about the protagonist. Shaving the mohawk thing would be a good way to start. Total Score: 3/5




Hulk Annual 1
Patty Wolman, Banner's former scientist who wanted to commit suicide by Hulk, has been working with a mix of old and new research to create a sustainable forest but, as her health worsened, saw some setbacks. Now, with her mind going, she experiments on herself for the new VISTA project which would control whole sustainable systems with biochips and sentient plants and so on. It works a bit too well and she's enveloped into the Vancouver greenery, which begins to grow rapidly and envelop the whole city and its people. Doc Green fights back against it and eventually shuts it down with a chemical of his own design, though a Patty-like being, now Vista, survives and flees. Like the DEADPOOL BI-ANNUAL, this special length issue goes on about ten pages too long and drags like crazy, a result of Nero's attempts to characterize Wolman more and to show what she's been studying. It's possible everything he said was necessary to do as much as he wanted, but that doesn't make it an enjoyable or interesting read. Total Score: 2/5


Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man 5

Miles and Peter Parker have been surrounded by the cops in front of Peter's old house in the wake of the Green Goblin's reappearance. They manage to escape, though Miles is wounded leaving and picked up by detective Maria Hill, who vows to help him. Miles tracks Peter to MJ's house and Peter agrees to talk to the new Spider-Man there. Meanwhile, the spider-twins that have wreaked havoc on the city use the Green Goblin/Spider-Man distraction to heist some more specific materials and Green Goblin shows up to J. Jonah Jameson's apartment and gives him a full interview as a "reborn" Norman Osborn and Jameson shoots him. Plenty happening and aside from a couple of back-and-forth moments, it's setting up what could prove to be an interesting story for Miles. Total Score: 4/5






Nova 21
Nova finishes moving his family to their new apartment and sets off into space to follow up a lead on his father. He attacks the Chitauri planet where his father was last known to be a gladiator and finds that his father led a rebellion out of the prisons, stealing a ship with his fellow gladiators and setting off into the universe. Happy that his father escaped but now lacking any fresh leads, Sam returns home just in time to be expelled by Principal Philbin for his absences and tardiness. It's a tradition for teen superheroes to have trouble balancing their superhero life and their personal life, which always comes back to balancing school with their superhero schedule, but it's almost harder to get invested in this school problem with Nova being as powerful as he is. This isn't a cry about "school isn't important, why is Sam still there," it's more a note that most teen superheroes who struggle with this are heroes like Spider-Man or Ms. Marvel, who certainly have impressive powers and a lot with which to contend, but can't readily travel into space or leave their city on a whim (this isn't always the case, of course, but it seems more true). The reason I bring it up is that it seems to take some of the weight out of the expulsion, which isn't necessarily a slam on Duggan or his predecessors, since they all took time to focus on his troubles at school, but rather the logic of the whole thing. I read the last bit and kind of ended up going "so?" That's not a great cliffhanger. Total Score: 3/5


Savage Hulk 4
The story with the X-Men is still going and some of the X-Men work out of their binds while Hulk develops crazy strong telekinetic powers and ruins Leader (Leader only sent a drone to deal with this, so he's still out there and fine, though unsuccessful here). When the telekinetic energy in his head drains, Hulk leaps at the X-Men but Xavier manages to telepathic him down enough to leave without incident, leaving Xavier saddened that he wasn't able to help Banner but essentially restoring the status quo. The conclusion of this all-too-long arc drags just as much and pays off just as little as the rest of the arc. First arc of this new team-up book ends up not exactly delivering optimism for the rest of the series. Total Score: 1/5

ALL OF THEM

Okay.



Okay.



Okay, so we're back. Apologies for the little break (I may some day take a bigger break but one that's scheduled and doesn't revolve around my axle breaking and my car needing more assistance than my blog). For some dumb reason, I still feel determined to review every book but we're all busy people, we don't need big reviews, particularly the Sunday after the comics have come out. Most of you may already know what books you want! So let's blast through this, super super super condensed version. I may not even mention creators...hold on, I'm getting a thought - start of the week, maybe I'll post all the creators on the side like how I post the new release comics. I gotta update the look of this site anyway. Any suggestions/comments/criticisms? Okay, we're wildly off-topic now. TO THE COMICS, wherein I shall strive to give the SHORTEST REVIEWS I CAN POSSIBLY GIVE.


All-New Invaders 9

The Invaders have been caught off-guard by a bunch of Deathloks and their master, thanks to some sort of AI controlling device, is revealed to be a Martian. The book continues to be horribly slow, to over-explain everything, and to, presumably as an effect of the previous two clauses, seeming have no tension to it. Total Score: 2/5


All-New Ultimates 7
The Ultimates follow Crossbones into the sewers where they run across deformed fellow experiments of Roxxon who have been left there along with a pile of bodies. Geez, now they have to deal with Roxxon and a protracted and uninteresting gang war? This continues to be protracted and uninteresting, though at least something happened this time. Total Score: 2/5


All-New X-Men 31
While the adult X-Men are out of town to figure out Xavier's will, the ANXM find a new mutant named Carmen who can open portals to other dimensions and, in their attempt to help her understand, she sends them off to different universes, namely, it seems, the Ultimate Universe. Wasn't AGE OF ULTRON supposed to knock off this cross-universe business? Didn't BENDIS write that? How many loopholes can we create WITHIN TWO YEARS? What is HAPPENING? Total Score: 2/5


Amazing Spider-Man 1.4
Clash has made something of a name for himself but he's only doing so in comparison to Spider-Man, which enrages him. Finally Spidey invents something that should negate Clash a bit and uses it when Clash attacks the Daily Bugle (they all come there eventually) but Clash breaks it, leading Jonah to call him a real threat and Spider-Man the knock-off, to Clash's delight. Getting a little sick of all of Spider-Man's villains being crazy and wanting attention, is anyone else feeling that way? Total Score: 2/5


Avengers 34

How are we still not out of the As yet? Okay. Captain America gets brought by Iron Lad to the end of time where Iron Lad, Immortus, and Kang tell Cap he has to remain there so he doesn't interfere with events on current Earth that could lead to the end of days. Cap, of course, doesn't take that well and gets the time gem once more, going back to the present and preparing the Avengers for an assault on the Illuminati. Really interesting point to have reached and there's a great classic Cap speech in the middle of all this. Total Score: 4/5


Avengers Undercover 9
The Avengers and other gathered heroes descend on The Pit to attack Zemo and free the former students only to be trapped in The Pit while Zemo and his army attacks the rest of Earth, starting with SHIELD. The bait-and-switch worked pretty well, but it didn't account for Cammi, who broke out of her prison and has the drop on Zemo and his lieutenants. More strong stuff from this series which has reached its sadly penultimate issue. Total Score: 4/5


Cyclops 4
Cyclops and Corsair are running short on Corsair's life-saving medicine, a fate to which Corsair is resigned but about which Cyclops is angry. Corsair has set about trying to teach Cyclops to fight and to live off the land while awaiting rescue but Cyclops has already started to give up hope. Corsair tells him that hope is the difference between the Scott he knew and the Scott on Earth now, that the current Cyclops lost all hope. Not wanting to be that guy, young Cyclops sets about trying to fix the tracking unit the bounty hunters attached to Corsair's ship, which will provide rescue but in the form of bounty hunters. Some solid character work here from Rucka and a nice quiet issue before guns presumably start blazing again. Cyclops and Corsair's relationship is the driving force of this young book and it's well done here. Total Score: 4/5


Fantastic Four 9
Reed has started work with John Eden (ugh) while Johnny is depressed in the Manhattan upper class, Sue frets about the kids, and Thing finds out that She-Thing runs the prison and has an axe to grind with him. I don't know much about Fantastic Four history because I largely don't care about the F4 but She-Thing? Is that what we've chosen to dig up as Thing's greatest foe? There's finally hint of a greater scheme at work behind everything happening but I still refuse to buy plenty of what's happened so I'm unimpressed by a clear hand steering things. Total Score: 2/5


Guardians of the Galaxy 18
Gamora kidnaps Peter Quill and brings him to an interrogation chamber unbeknownst to the rest of the team, where she asks him about what happened in the Cancerverse that allowed he, Thanos, and a living Drax to return. Part one of the story involves Star-Lord and Nova attempting to nobly sacrifice themselves to see Thanos forever trapped but Thanos making a solid argument to Star-Lord about why he should hand over the cosmic cube he's holding. Not much substance, as yet, to this story that should explain some things. McGuinness' art is strong, though, so it's certainly readable. It would be more readable if there wasn't so much quipping in the CANCERVERSE. Total Score: 3/5


Inhuman 4

Medusa has set up New Attilan on the ground near New York and opened it to the public. Thor comes to hang out with her as she explains her reasons for doing so, which are mostly to build relationships and alliances while showing the Inhumans are nothing to fear. However, assassins try to kill her, wounding her handmaiden Elejea in the process. Thor delivers the assassins to Medusa, who learns they are Nuhumans (the convenient term for new Inhumans) angry that they're now different. She offers them a place in her kingdom or the opportunity to leave unharmed and without resistance, showing the people how peaceful and reasonable she can be. Meanwhile, a new and mysterious character named The Reader saves a Nuhuman in China. Plenty happening in this book and Soule is doing a solid job to really make this start feeling like its own culture and own big world, which is very important. Stegman also does really impressive work on these pages. Total Score: 5/5


Original Sin 5.4 - Thor and Loki
As Loki leads the Angels to attack Asgard, Thor summons the storm to him and annihilates his prison, breaking out and immediately wreaking havoc on Heven. Loki does indeed bring the Angels to Asgard but neglects to mention that all the Asgardians live now in Asgardia and that only Odin and The Serpent are in Asgard, finally rousing Odin back to action. Not a terrible little issue though it does drag a little at parts and sometimes the often flowery Asgardian English confuses where it should just push forward. Mostly strong work. Total Score: 4/5


Savage Hulk 3
Jean has the power of the Hulk and seemingly Hulk-strength telepathy now but...wait, it's just a dream of Xavier's as his mind has been manipulated by...wait, it's all happening in Banner's head and the Leader is there with bombs strapped to everyone suddenly and he's ready to detonate Xavier's if he even tries to get into his own mind and...look, I'm not sure what's happening here but I am sure that I'm almost entirely disinterested in it and it still moves slowly, even with a plot that's clearly ramping up. Total Score: 2/5


Silver Surfer 5
It turns out that the barrier around Earth isn't actually real, it's in Surfer's head courtesy of a nearby slumbering Lord of Nightmares. Everyone on Earth has fallen asleep except for Dawn Greenwood, who is drifting off, and it's given the Lord of Nightmares the power, thanks to a rare alignment of the planets, to essentially keep everyone asleep and in nightmares forever if Dawn, Surfer, Hulk, and Dr. Strange don't stop him, which they eventually manage. There's a lot of interesting art and ideas but this one feels a little bogged down by how much Slott wants to do and by this strange mythology. Dawn eventually, I should mention, realizes that she wants to see more of the universe and goes with Surfer. Total Score: 3/5


Thunderbolts 30
Punisher and Elektra fight while the two reminisce, both in their heads and out loud, about their times together. Elektra is a far better fighter than Punisher and doesn't really let him get a moment to rest, but even when he finally does get her pinned, he can't bring himself to kill her and the two separate less than amicably but also with neither dead. As Hawkeye relates everything he's figured out to Iron Man, particularly about the terribleness of the new Thunderbolts team, Punisher calls Red Hulk and tells him that he's next. A pretty good fight scene carries this rather nice break-up issue as the weird relationship that was Elektra and Punisher comes to an end. Total Score: 3/5


Uncanny Avengers 23
The Unity Squad needed a bit of time to recover from everything that's happened, so Janet and Scarlet Witch return finally to everyday life from Janet's family's secluded vacation home to try to put their lives back in order again. Anyone that needed healing or examination was placed in a healing chamber for Hank McCoy to study or heal, though Sunfire remains imbued with tremendous power, Havok's face will never heal again, and Rogue still has Wonder Man in her brain (no one really came out of this alright). Rogue goes a little crazy as the voices and memories she thought she expelled from her brain take over again and she runs rampant through New York until Scarlet Witch catches up to her and swears she'll help her. Meanwhile, Red Skull prepares his next major strike along with Kang's recent right-hand man Ahab. Lots of set-up for the upcoming AXIS and some good closer from the last very long arc make this one a worthwhile read, but not one that feels totally necessary to continue the story. Total Score: 4/5


Wolverine 12

It's another fight in a mall and Wolverine decries Sabretooth's hypocrisy while Sabretooth decries Wolverine's use of armor and they fight and eventually Wolverine powers through his crappy dialogue and narration to defeat Sabretooth and they get the orb back and Death is like "hey Wolvy, see ya soon, like in September's DEATH OF WOLVERINE mini-series!" and I'm just glad another heavy-handed but ultimately ineffective WOLVERINE volume has come to a close and I'm looking forward to Charles Soule's spin. Total Score: 2/5


Wolverine and the X-Men 8
Wolverine and Storm have a date in The World, where time moves differently. They end up staying there a while longer, spending a great deal of time building a life, overthrowing a warlord born of the old Weapon Plus program, and stabilizing the region. They leave after a year with Storm leaving as the queen and Logan as the inspiration for a school and so forth, their love for each other deepened but still unable to overcome their responsibilities with the X-Men. It's not a bad issue and the time jumps make it move quickly enough and stay interesting. It's also the first time in the few years that they've had this on-and-off relationship between Wolverine and Storm where I've felt like maybe it wasn't just something the writers wanted to make work, maybe it is something that can happen in this world. Nicely done, Latour. Total Score: 4/5


GUYS, I DID IT. Why isn't everyone praising me ALREADY?

New Avengers 23, Mighty Avengers 12, Secret Avengers 7

New Avengers 23
Hickman (w) and K. Walker (a) and F. Martin (c) and Caramagna (l)

The next incursion is coming and the Illuminati agree that they can't go through with destroying another world so they resign themselves to their fate instead. As each member of the team consoles themselves as best they can, spending their final moments with loved ones, letting off steam, or pondering, the clock ticks down. Finally the moment of incursion comes...and goes. They reconvene to ask what happened, happy that the universe isn't destroyed but worried they may have gotten some calculation wrong and subsequently have already destroyed a world for nothing. Black Bolt realizes, though, that Namor didn't show up for their meeting and the truth dawns on them, though maybe not the extent of their troubles. Namor has formed the Cabal, consisting of him, Maximus, Black Swan, Thanos, Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, and Terrax, to do what the Illuminati cannot.

Rather a nice issue as Hickman has the team take a step back and analyze what's important to each of them. We see Black Panther returning to Storm (they have a tryst but she calls it a mistake, even as he admits that his only thoughts as the world is about to die were of her), Banner drinking to the thought of his final moments with Hulk, Tony pouring but ultimately turning down a row of shots, and Reed visiting his entire, spread-out family, among other moments. It's a simplistic but very nice idea, watching the heroes resign themselves to going out with a whimper and not a bang, as most superheroes tend to do. The introduction of the Cabal, too, is very interesting and certainly worthy of a gasp as we get the reveal. I think Walker's art is better here than the last one, which relied so much on serious fighting and screaming, but I still think it's wrong for this book, though Martin's colors help ease it on its way.

Total Score: 4/5


Mighty Avengers 12
Ewing (w) and Larroca (a) and Milla (c) and Petit (l)

The Deathwalkers have drained enough out of Blade to start their ritual, though they're interrupted when he breaks free and comes after them. His breaking free also allows Power Man to find Blade's chi in the city, with help from a powerful speech by Cage's father, and direct the Mighty Avengers plus Kaluu and Constance Molina to his side. They fight a bunch of Ani-Men and try to attack the four Deathwalkers destined to divvy up the Earth but aren't able to get to them before they can finish their ritual, which bonds the four into one who is surely destined to take over the world. I mean, nothing can probably stop something that powerful, right?

Man, leave it to a regular, unpowered human to lecture about the difference a regular person can make and then to be left behind by the superpowers because he's old and would probably just die anyway. But we can agree, he'd probably die, right? Anyway, that's what happens to Cage's dad here but he does get to meet little Danielle while the adults go attack. Also interesting: Spitfire and Blade are apparently together. Did not know that, but I'm a Spitfire fan and I guess I can see that, though I'm sad she doesn't seem to be rushing to the rescue on this occasion. STILL, not an awful issue, though I still think the tone could use a bit of regulation here, choosing whether it should be fun or tough or maybe if the heroes should just focus on the potential world-ending fight instead of idle chit-chat at times. Not bad, though.

Total Score: 4/5


Secret Avengers 7
Kot (w) and Walsh (a) and Wilson (c) and Cowles (l)

Black Widow has traveled through a black hole, Fury is still in a coma, Maria Hill admits to Spider-Woman, who is having something of a bad day herself, that MODOK is on the team, Coulson is tracking mysterious leads, and Hawkeye has been brought in by Deadpool and a pair of AIM agents and Deadpool has revealed to his new Avenging pal that they're in a comic book. Lots of fourth wall breaking here and very explicit about it. The issue ends as Hill reveals to Spider-Woman about MODOK and reveals that she has reasons.

Little inside baseball here: I read and reviewed NEW AVENGERS pretty immediately, then read MIGHTY AVENGERS, SECRET AVENGERS, and a handful of other books (the ones most likely to get extended reviews this week), then I reviewed MIGHTY AVENGERS, then I showered and praised myself for my ability to keep the above two reviews pretty tight and decided if I could do that with SECRET AVENGERS, I really ought to be proud. Fortunately, I reasoned, that wouldn't be too hard since I have no idea what's happening in this book and the Deadpool explicit fourth wall breaking really tends to take me out of it. I don't mind slight nods to it here and again in this day and age or full-on reference to it in strange side-books (like the DEADPOOL KILLS- series), but I don't think it really fits into current Marvel continuity and I think, therefore, it's very strange here just as I think the overall tone of this book is very strange. BUT HERE'S THE THING, MY FRIENDS: I'm accepting it really well today. Can't promise next time won't be worse (though I've gotten better with this book each issue, I think), but it's hard not to think that maybe, just MAYBE, every book shouldn't be for me. Presumably if every book were for me I'd be incredibly happy but plenty of people (probably people I wouldn't get along with but PEOPLE NONETHELESS) wouldn't be reading comics. So this issue, and probably this series, isn't for me. And that's fine.

Total Score: 2/5*

*But, as with most other scores, that's just what I think and...actually, there's no way to finish this thought without implicitly recommending you stop reading this blog so NEVER MIND, WHAT I THINK IS BEST.

Leftovers 8-13-14

Hey all my buddies, we've reached the end of another long week and I've reached the end of another string of longer reviews. You know what that means: focusing up to whip out this review dump in under an hour (tricky business, that, considering how many I left for myself. Did you guys realize I hadn't actually reviewed AMAZING SPIDER-MAN or SPIDER-MAN 2099 yet? Because I sure didn't). LET'S HIT IT.

Amazing Spider-Man 5
Slott (w) and Ramos (p) and Olazaba (i) and Delgado (c) and Eliopoulos (l)

Spider-Man and Silk make out for a while until she reveals that she knows he's Peter Parker, which jolts him back into his regular state of mind. Disturbed by both of their actions, he brings her home to try to figure out what should happen next, but they quickly end up making out again until Anna Maria comes home. She tells him that Sajani hasn't appeared to any press events as scheduled and he must do it himself, so he goes on J. Jonah Jameson's new talking heads show and begins to talk about his desire to capture and cure Electro and other villains only to be interrupted by Black Cat and Electro busting on to the set to hold Peter hostage. Silk emerges and fights the pair while Peter changes but Electro manages a hit on Peter that renders him immobile while Cat prepares to unmask him on live television. I still really don't like this Black Cat-Electro team-up and I really hate the crazed Black Cat that's emerged from it. Also, her luck powers seem to be working overtime, as do her luck-based mantras and BOY that never gets annoying. Total Score: 2/5


Avengers Undercover 8
Hopeless (w) and T. Walker (a) and Beaulieu (c) and Caramagna (l)

It's been three months since the kids joined up with the villains and some are ready to join up officially while the others are on the cusp of being in deep enough to turn the tables on their "allies." When the now-together Hazmat and Anachronism decide they've gained enough trust, they escape momentarily to contact Hank Pym and tell him what's been happening. He's not thrilled but he agrees to help them when the moment comes. Unfortunately, Zemo seems wise to their game and brings down each one of the kids not already under his sway (Death Locket seems pretty entrenched already and Cullen is being controlled by Daimon Hellstrom). It's a really nice bit of sleight of hand by Hopeless as he keeps the reader focused on the changes that have occurred over the last three months and on which of the kids will follow through on their original plan before revealing that Zemo already has the drop on them because, you know, in retrospect, of course he does, he's Zemo and this plan isn't foolproof, let alone Zemo-proof. Good issue. Total Score: 5/5


Avengers World 11
Spencer (w) and Ienco (a) and Mossa (c) and Caramagna (l)

The Avengers kids are on hand and they prove themselves by taking down a flock of SHIELD agents before Maria agrees to their help. They go to AIM Island and, with the help of Manifold, take down plenty of AIM agents and use a device to gather the intelligence AIM has gathered and block its transmission. They manage to stick it to one of the bio-networked AIM agents and then distract Forson long enough to escape while the present Avengers head to the White House to defend it from AIM, who have more or less declared war on America after Iron Man's "attack" on Forson on live TV. Mostly interesting stuff here though the re-emergence of the Next Avengers mostly just serves to confuse me as to why they're back and, you know, timeline stuff and the like. Whatever, still doing alright. Total Score: 4/5


Deadpool 33
Posehn and Duggan (w) and Lucas (a) and Staples (c) and Sabino (l)

Deadpool fights off wave after wave of Ultimatum soldiers before their boss Flag-Smasher appears and Deadpool gets incapacitated enough for Flag-Smasher to throw Ellie out the window. Deadpool struggles to his feet and begins his attacks anew, furious and sad, until Genesis shows up to help his ol' pal Deadpool with own pal Quentin Quire in tow. Evan caught Ellie going out the window and the girl is unharmed, which doesn't keep Deadpool from annihilating Flag-Smasher, ensuring he stays alive so no one else picks up the mantle and comes after him and threatening him with horrible consequences should he ever come near Deadpool or Ellie again. Deadpool convinces Preston to take Ellie in and he himself buys a house across the street from Preston to be in constant view of his daughter. Meanwhile, Adsit reveals to Preston that Deadpool killed his own family. Pretty good issue, plenty of fun and interesting stuff here. I don't love Lucas' art, which makes anyone unmasked look fairly grotesque and kind of distracts from the situation at hand. Not bad otherwise though. Total Score: 4/5


Fantastic Four 8
J. Robinson (w) and L. Kirk (p) and Hanna (i) and Aburtov (c) and Cowles (l)

Thing is accused of murder, Sue attacked the Avengers after losing her kids, and Johnny's been booted from his live tour in favor of Robinson's ALL-NEW INVADERS creation Radiance. Thing is moved to a high-power prison facility and Sue and Reed are brought to Eden, a community hovering above Lake Michigan led by a man named John Eden because creativity isn't worth anything, I suppose. This is a book I legitimately finished, planning to read a few more comics upon its completion, and I found I couldn't continue because sometimes books are just too bad. It seems telling that the blurb they took from a Newsarama article for the cover simply says "Marvel's premier dysfunctional family" and not anything lauding this actual series. It seems like something is pulling the strings here on the F4 and you can almost be assured that's true because Robinson basically has Reed say it a couple times without actually saying it because Reed apparently hasn't figured it out yet but is taking liberty to simply dance around it. Maybe they didn't have any space to say it outright because they had already used up all of their real estate on exposition. I really don't like this book. Total Score: 1/5


Hulk 5
Duggan (w) and Bagley (p) and Hennessy (i) and Keith (c) and Petit (l)

Hulk has been injected with Extremis and it's made him incredibly smart, though it made him also shave his hair into a mohawk and start calling himself "Doc Green" so maybe we're meant to question exactly how smart he really is. He's smart enough, though, to have formulated a way to cure gamma-enhanced beings, though the serum won't work on himself. He's realized that gamma-enhancements are too dangerous to have around and he's made enough of the serum and fashioned enough adamantium nanites for delivery to the other gamma-enhanced beings, starting with Rick Jones, who isn't so crazy about the idea. Very interesting new direction for the series as Gerry Duggan takes over the book (a little sad that it's not Mark Waid because I was going to talk about how I met Mark Waid last week and he was delightful and very kind but now I have no idea when I'll be able to mention it). I'm distracted, still, by the mohawk and the name Doc Green but I like a lot of the other stuff. Total Score: 4/5


Inhuman 3
Soule (w) and Madureira (a) and Gracia (c) and Cowles (l)

Lash has taken a few more Inhumans to Orollan, though no one really knows what to make of his cultish ways. Meanwhile, Lineage has sought council with Medusa to tell him what he knows about Black Bolt's plan, gleaned from the information he's received from the voices in his body. Allegedly, something worse is coming for the Inhumans and Black Bolt unleashed the Terrigen Mists because they'd need all the help they can get. Medusa brings a handful of combatants to Orollan to tell Lash about the threats and to warn him off killing any more Inhumans, which he very reluctantly agrees to. Lots of good stuff here and a lot of interesting new places to go but you do have to get through a lot of exposition in this issue to get to the meat of the series. Total Score: 4/5






GUYS, maybe there will be more later but I am burned out and APPARENTLY I really left a ton for myself for today/tomorrow so I'm takin' a break. Love you all, spoilers for the future post: THUNDERBOLTS and X-FORCE are both worth reading. Can't say much else.

Captain America 23, Captain Marvel 6

Captain America 23
Remender (w) and Pacheco (p) and Taibo (i) and White (c) and Caramagna (l)

The mysterious armored figure who emerged from Dimension Z sets out for Avengers Mansion and quickly makes his way in, hacking and evading security before managing to dodge Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk on his way to the elderly Cap, who manages to pin the figure despite his sudden age. Of course, the figure removes his helmet to reveal that he is, in fact, Steve's adopted son Ian, returned from the dead (he fell into the same biomass in which he was created so, you know, no harm done) and a couple decades older and wiser. Steve is beyond happy to see him and embraces his son while Ian tells the Avengers how dire the situation is already getting. Meanwhile, Falcon and Jet attempt to break into the main tower of Dimension Z while the Avengers provide a distraction, though it seems bound to fail as Zola already seems aware of their presence. However, not all is lost as Falcon and Jet happen to stumble upon an older and long-imprisoned Sharon Carter.

There's a ton happening here as we march towards the upcoming event AXIS and the emergence of a new Captain America. Dimension Z has put down roots and both Ian and Sharon have re-appeared alive, to the chagrin, undoubtedly, of all those people shouting that Remender had fridged a character who has been around for more decades than most of those readers have been alive (LOOK, I am still a bit peeved about ANXM, even a day later). Even despite the sheer amount of ground Remender has to cover, the issue moves pretty well and manages to keep the pace and the tension up, crucial to the developing storyline. Also, it's really nice to see, after twenty-two extremely tough issues for him, Steve having a nice day. Sure one of his arch-nemeses is invading the Earth looking to unleash his consciousness on the people, but Steve's son is alive and soon he'll likely find out his girlfriend is too. Nice to see him so happy.

Total Score: 5/5


Captain Marvel 6
DeConnick (w) and D. Lopez (a) and Loughridge (c) and Caramagna (l)

Refusing to leave the peaceful Torfans to their almost assured death at the hands of the brutal J-Son, Captain Marvel becomes a one-woman army to defend the refugees, taking down ships one-by-one while not allowing any to reach the planet. Meanwhile, the Torfans enact a peaceful protest, seating themselves and refusing to move at the hands of the attacking Spartoi. The leader of the Torfans sends Jackie and Gil to take Carol's place holding off the ships and sends Carol to destroy the vibranium mines, which she does with ease. J-Son is furious and promises revenge but, as seems to be his defining characteristic of late, he swears revenge on a peaceful people he admits to having poisoned all on a live broadcast to plenty of people, courtesy of Tic aboard a Haffensye ship. J-Son has no recourse but to leave, which he does swearing revenge and just swearing while Captain Marvel intimidates and Jackie and Gil taunt. With her ship repaired and the gratitude of the Torfans, Carol sets off again for a new adventure.

I like this issue and I like a lot of single moments in it, but overall it's hard for the issue not to feel a little preachy and a little like it's trying too hard to find those single moments. CAPTAIN MARVEL, both this new volume and the last, has defined itself by big and wonderful speeches and lines (like the oft-quoted/printed/tattooed/whatever else'd "We will be the stars we were always meant to be") and it's hard not to see a couple times in this issue where dramatic lines not dissimilar to the tone and weight of that keep coming up. That's probably just the cynic in me. It's also hard to point specifically to the peaceful protest as "a little preachy" because I tend to agree with peaceful protests and it's hard PARTICULARLY RIGHT NOW to wonder about the efficiency of them or chastise them or whatever it was I hoped to accomplish when I started this paragraph (WHO KNOWS). Look, let's not get into it here. It just occasionally felt that way to me and it might be equal parts because I was reading too much into it and because I don't super love the supporting cast of this arc. WHATEVER. It's still a good issue, as evidenced by the following strong score and ALSO I'm sorry if I just made it sound like it's not a very good issue because, you guys, it still really is. OH, final point, I don't like J-Son as a villain, I find him very boring.

Total Score: 4/5

Leftovers 7-16-14

100th Anniversary Special X-Men 1
Furth (w) and Masters (a) and Campbell and Gandini (c) and Petit (l)

Decades into the future in Marvel comics, Cyclops has been elected president. Hot on the heels of Cyclops and his team saving New York from disaster caused by tampering with a large Hadron collider, mutants have never been so appreciated. Of course, as ever with mutants, that doesn't mean there isn't still a whole ton of hate out there. As protestors push their way onto the White House lawn on inauguration night, Scott has bigger concerns, namely the sudden disappearance and apparent erasure of wife Emma Frost from the timeline. As others start to disappear and Cyclops inadvertently attacks the protestors, he himself is transported to the white hot room, where the Phoenix, in Jean's body, meets him to say that it's not time for him to be elected yet and sends him back in time to his first wedding day with Jean. There's a sort of interesting story here with mutants suddenly in the seat of power (though it seems ready immediately to disappear) but this one suffers from what some of the other 100th Anniversary books have suffered, namely the need to explain so much of what's happened in recent days because obviously the audience has such a limited grasp of it. Some choppy writing and over-exposition hurts the issue but it continues to be an exceedingly hard task. Total Score: 2/5


All-New X-Factor 11
David (w) and Di Giandomenico (a) and Loughridge (c) and Petit (l)

Gambit has been left behind by the teleporter, though Polaris is quick to notice and demand answers. When she gets none, at least none that are satisfactory, she becomes suspicious. However, her suspicion has to wait as Memento Mori's interrogation of Gambit yielded the word "Snow" and Mori figured out immediately where his daughter is being kept. He sends a warship to Serval, which manages to get its defenses (a forcefield powered by Layla Miller's glove tapped into the building's network) up just in time. X-Factor attacks, managing to slow Mori some and rescue Gambit. When the tide starts to turn towards Mori again, though, his ex-wife appears on the scene, revealing that she had been the power hungry one in the marriage and that she had practiced magic when they were together, enough to siphon the magic off of Mori and to activate the living bomb inside of him, killing both of them but saving everyone else. Certainly some interesting things happening here as Georgia Dakei ends up without parents almost immediately and as the Gambit-Snow problem instantly comes to a head, but the deus ex machina of Mori's ex-wife proves both confusing and very sudden, killing whatever tension had been created. Still, the writing is stronger here as the references take it down a notch and Di Giandomenico's art continues to impress in action. Total Score: 4/5


Magneto 7
Bunn (w) and Walta and J. Fernandez (a) and Bellaire and D. Brown (c) and Petit (l)

Raleigh's information has led Magneto to Hong Kong, where an underground group has been kidnapping mutants off the streets, never to be seen again. Magneto gets himself captured, taking care not to reveal who he truly is. He's kept in a cell to await whatever comes next. He's eventually retrieved and brought to an arena filled with spectators. As he surveys his surroundings, his adversaries release a Predator X into the ring with him. The fight against the man-made hunter-killer beast is a hard one but Magneto manages to win it, shouting a warning to everyone in the arena as he does and killing the guards who come to subdue him. He tracks the owner of the arena, demanding to know where such a small organization obtained Predators X and MGH, which he discovers upstairs. When the man refuses to tell, Magneto drags him to the holding area for the surviving Predators X and injects the man with MGH, enough for the beasts to recognize him as mutant, then tosses him in the pit. It's another very strong issue, one that finds Magneto's inner monologue talking a lot about power and the sorts of people who feel they wield it when, in fact, he can immediately recognize who actually has power (hint: no one in this place). The ending is brutal but rather what we've come to expect from this young series and it certainly resonates. Another strong issue. Total Score: 5/5


Nova 19
Duggan (w) and Baldeon (p) and Pallot (i) and Curiel (c) and Deschesne (l)

A shell-shocked Sam needs to learn more about his missing father, about whom the Watcher's eye revealed maybe a little more than Sam wanted. He flies into space as his mother sets up the move to a new apartment. Sam finds Rocket Raccoon and the two pair to track down Adomox, another Black Nova who appeared in the vision, and Rocket, remembering that Adomox owes him money, agrees to take Sam to him. They arrive at scum central Oblitus and work their way into Adomox's casino, eventually pushing up to his room, where Sam questions him while Rocket keeps guards at bay. Adomox tells Sam that the Black Nova were independent of the corps and that they were little more than mercenaries themselves, but ones who also believed that the Novas were squandering their powers, choosing instead to tap straight into the Nova Force and power themselves up more. Sam wants to know more but Adomox releases a poison into the room. After inoculating himself, Adomox demands that Sam and Rocket travel to an old Black Nova bunker that contains a machine that will reprogram Sam's helmet so Adomox can use it. Though the stakes are high here and the news Sam receives is devastating, the book manages to be very fun, showing Rocket at his absolute best and forging an unlikely friendship between the two. It moves pretty well and Rocket, who can easily turn sort of annoying, carries a lot of the book on his furry little shoulders. Very fun issue, plenty of places for the arc to go. Total Score: 5/5


Savage Hulk 2
A. Davis (w and p) and Farmer (i) and Hollingsworth (c) and Cowles (l)

The X-Men fight off Abomination and reconvene with Banner. Xavier thanks him for the cure to his own coma, the one that didn't work to treat Hulk, and says that they believe they've figured out a way to remove Hulk from Banner. After they set up (with Leader covertly keeping an eye on things), they begin their attempt. The Hulk does seem to leave Banner, but it enters Jean Grey, immediately turning her into a Hulk. It feels like not a lot happened in this book until right up to the end, aside from Abomination and the Leader's brief appearance, neither of which meant a whole lot to the current story and both of which feel out of place. With so much exposition and rather boring dialogue, the issue drags, not helped by my distaste for Davis and Farmer (though I quite like Hollingsworth and Cowles, so, I don't know, does that even things out?), and the end result seems almost non-sensical and like such an elaborate and deliberate ploy to set the Hulk on Jean that it's almost eye-rollingly frustrating. Total Score: 1/5


Savage Wolverine 21
Arcudi (w) and Quinones (a and c) and Petit (l)

Back in WWII, Logan's Canadian unit features both he and another possible mutant, a mind-reader named Lieutenant Bellamy. A large part of the German army has had their supply lines cut, leaving them desperate to maintain one last bridge, their last supply route. The Canadians want to take the bridge down but are forced to go in with a small troop in secret, lest the Germans blow the bridge themselves with the Canadians on it or radio for an artillery strike. With Bellamy's assistance from just off the front lines, Logan leads a team in and manages to destroy the radio shack. However, as things seem won, Bellamy realizes another officer is running for a second radio hidden in a tent. Logan chases him and the two end up with guns drawn at one another and Logan realizes the officer looks just like someone he's seen in his dreams recently. It's another look at Wolverine's past and one that finds him on a covert mission for the Canadian Army, something that hasn't been explored too, too much. Still, the story moves a little slowly and the Wolverine design here leaves a little to be desired, though I typically like Quinones' art and I quite like his colors here. I guess part of the issue is that the stakes seem a little vague. We're told that the quiet destruction of this bridge will cut off supply lines for the Germans entirely but it's kind of hard to get a real sense of that here. Still, kind of interesting in the end and the book reads quickly enough, though I think that some of the dialogue would have been better off cut from the book. Total Score: 3/5


She-Hulk 6
Soule (w) and Wimberly (a and c) and Cowles (l)

The phone cut out before She-Hulk could say the trigger word to Wyatt Wingfoot, saving him from any programmed suicidal thoughts. Still, with Pansy in the hospital and no more answers, only more questions and more danger, Jen decides to call off the investigation for the time being, to the dismay of Angie Huang, who nearly died in the fire in North Dakota but was saved mysteriously by Hei Hei, and who found out some incredible things on her trip, though Jen doesn't want to hear them just yet. Also on Jen's mind was a recent attack aimed at her in their own office place as tons of little demons swarmed the building shouting her name. With the assistance of the other tenants and friend Kevin Trench AKA Nightwatch, whose name also appeared on the blue file, She-Hulk fought them off but the attack did cause her rent to be raised. However, Trench, who has many wealthy contacts, sends plenty of work her way to help her out. There's a lot happening here and a lot of it, including the blue file and the demons, is interesting, just as the dialogue is pretty strong and the characters are starting to come into their own. This issue features, as the last one did, the art of Ron Wimberly, which perhaps follows in the tradition of the interesting choice of Javier Pulido as main series artist as both have very unique and probably polarizing styles. However, I've landed pretty firmly on the positive side with Pulido and I'm rather in the opposite camp with Wimberly, so that rather dulled my enjoyment of the book. Still some strong writing and plenty of places to go, but not my favorite issue. Total Score: 4/5


Silver Surfer 4
Slott (w) and M. Allred (a) and L. Allred (c) and Cowles (l)

Silver Surfer and Dawn Greenwood head for Earth, though they're stopped momentarily by the Guardians of the Galaxy, claiming to check every alien headed for Earth but secretly scanning the Surfer for any trace of Galactus, trying to be sure that the two truly have split up. Satisfied, they let him pass and he returns Dawn to Anchor Bay. Though he spent a lot of the trip nearing Earth complaining about his time trapped on the planet, stopped from escaping by an unseen barrier, he agrees to stay for lunch with Dawn's relieved family at their B&B. He silvers down at Dawn's behest to enjoy the meal and takes a nap in his non-silver form afterwards. Things are off in Anchor Bay though, with strange happenings occurring always just out of sight, though it's gained the attention of former Defenders Dr. Strange and Hulk, who head for the small town. Silver Surfer awakens from his nap and begins to set off again, only to discover that somehow the barrier around Earth has been restored. As the book begins its second arc, Slott continues to put an emphasis on the fun tone and the character relationships. There's still a darkness seeping in from the edges but it's relegated to the background as jokes and humor run the book from the front. It's mostly strong in that way and the upbeat tone with the sinister hints plays perfectly into the Allreds' style, which gives the book a sort of synergy that can be hard to hit so early. Strong stuff. Total Score: 5/5


Thunderbolts 28
Acker and Blacker (w) and Sandoval (a) and Silva (c) and Sabino (l)

Iron Man and Hawkeye examine the scene the Thunderbolts left, the one that Faustus' men had set up in to take down the Avengers, while the Thunderbolts examine their new guns, including the Hulk gun, which Deadpool refers to as Chekov's when Leader explains that its ammo would temporarily revert Hulk to Banner, certainly long enough to shoot him. As Red Hulk tells the team it's up to them to stay or leave in the wake of Punisher's exit and in the wake of the news that they'll be keeping their villains so that they might work for them, Hawkeye investigates the blown-up Punisher safehouse, convinced that he had something to do with the scene they had seen earlier and that said scene had something to do with the Avengers. He arrives there just as Elektra does, looking for Punisher but finding the exploded ruins and a charred body. The two briefly fight but Elektra leaves, though it seems Hawkeye may have tagged her with a tracer. She returns to the T-Bolts hideout and accuses Red Hulk of killing Punisher. As a fight begins to break out, they're distracted by gunshots elsewhere and hurry off to find Red Leader shot through the head, Faustus shot through the gut, and the Hulk gun missing. Another very strong issue in the wake of the announcement that, sadly, THUNDERBOLTS will end with issue 32. There's plenty happening here and new-ish comic book writers Acker and Blacker seem ambitious with their first and likely only arc on the series as they begin to pull elements from all around the Marvel Universe together to have the series go out with a bang. Strong writing, fun dialogue, and interesting choices prop up the issue, helped too by Sandoval's frantic and kinetic art. Lot of fun here. Total Score: 5/5