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

Avengers and X-Men: Axis 2

Avengers and X-Men: Axis 2

Red Onslaught has waged an impressive war on the heroes of the world while kicking off what they've quickly dubbed World War Hate. His biggest asset are two Sentinels designed by Tony Stark during Civil War to capture or kill the heroes of the world he was then fighting against. Now, the Sentinels are staving off the heroes while Red Onslaught breaks down their telepathic barriers and disappears them one by one. The Sentinels handle the heroes, even defeating a good if very soft science (or soft magic, as it were) plan from Scarlet Witch and Dr. Strange (THANKS NOVA, SCREWING EVERYTHING UP), leaving it up to Iron Man and Magneto (who is, understandably, not so happy that Iron Man built some straight-up Sentinels, even if they're not focused on mutants today). As Iron Man gets crushed by one of his own Sentinels, he sees Magneto looking on. Nightcrawler bamfs in to save Tony at the last moment. He wakes up the next morning to learn that the resistance is only him and a handful of others, who all get disappeared themselves in that day's fight, leaving Red Onslaught bragging to Iron Man about how he's the last one standing thanks to his own devices when Magneto and a cadre of villains show up to keep fighting.

After a disappointing first issue, Remender tilts the focus a bit, putting the spotlight on Iron Man's inner monologue, which goes into depth about his penchant, as a child, of discovering and recording the weaknesses and fears of his fellow classmates in order to exploit them later, a trait he attempted to repent for after he became sober, but something he never really stopped, as he explains. It's a deeply personal issue for Iron Man and one that really redeems a lot of what I didn't like about the first issue (not hurt, of course, by the reduction of double-page spreads and AXIS banners, which only appear on a couple of pages). It's a good story in the way that I liked the ORIGINAL SIN: HULK VS. IRON MAN tie-in before the end changed the story, a story that unquestionably vilifies Tony but also does what it little it can to explain it through his own problems. It's a good tact for the book to take. The book still does drag a bit as we see a lot of characters who have to develop their own voice here. Hard to really fault the pacing for that, I suppose. Certainly a more positive issue than the last one, and one that indicates things might be going somewhere.

Total Score: 4/5

Avengers and X-Men: Axis 1

Avengers and X-Men: Axis 1

Magneto killing the Red Skull at the end of the last UNCANNY AVENGERS backfired as it, for reasons unknown, turned him into the Red Onslaught, the Nazi version of X-Men villain Onslaught. With his already impressive power now made more immense, Red Onslaught is able to start broadcasting his hate across the globe, causing rioting and hate crimes everywhere. Iron Man, who has already built in precautions against telepathy into his own suit, manages to block out the Red Onslaught's telepathy to his team, stopping their inherited hatred before things get too disastrous, and leads the Avengers to aid Havok, Rogue, and Scarlet Witch. Scarlet Witch, though, has been taken over by the Red Onslaught and is nearly ready to convert the world to one where the Nazis won. Rogue, fortunately, whacks her out of it and then talks her out of it (being crazy, that is). Unfortunately, with Iron Man now onsite, Red Onslaught is able to access his contingency plans to defeat all of his friends if the need should arise.

Holy double-page-spread, you guys. This event officially kicks off (still with an extraordinarily clunky name, instead of the much easier name "Axis") with an oversized issue and I mean that in every sense. It's longer than a typical issue, it's bigger than a typical issue (thanks to all the DPS), and it probably should have been reined in a bit more. A good chunk of the first half of this issue finds the Avengers fighting some other foe and quipping and generally having a pretty good time. It doesn't really read so well, though, so it's rather a slog to get through it. Sadly, that trend kind of continues as Remender seems intent on getting out as much information as he can in this first issue, meaning this oversized issue drags quite a bit throughout, something you don't want happening in what should be the action-packed start of a new event. The story is compelling, though it smacks of a story of convenience, one created by people going "geez, wouldn't it be cool if we could do X or Y, let's find a reason for X or Y to happen." As a result, this first issue holds together only marginally well and the rampant dialogue and over-explanation drag everything down with it.

Total Score: 2/5

Uncanny Avengers 25, Death of Wolverine 3

Uncanny Avengers 25

Magneto manages to attack Red Skull, freeing Scarlet Witch, Rogue, and Havok from his mind. They all fight with Skull's S-Men for a bit while Magneto, helmet on, attacks Skull. Magneto forces Skull to the ground, beating him with all of his might, using his fists instead of his powers. After restraining Wanda so she couldn't stop him, he picks up a slab of concrete and slams it on Skull's head, horrifying the Unity Squad and bringing the fighting to halt. As Magneto explains his actions and shows no remorse for them, Skull emerges as the Red Onslaught.

There's obviously a lot happening here, between Remender exploring Magneto's youth and his understandable hatred for Skull, who is a Nazi, a mutant-hater, and who stole the brain of his dead best friend, and showing us the mutant contingent of the team he's spent the last 25 issues building. The way to connect the stories, of course, is through Wanda, so she's our narrator here, explaining the best she can the complicated relationship with her birth father. She also lets us in on the secret that she has to really restrain herself to not act like him, to not revel in his rage and allow him to do what he's doing, particularly against the Skull, for whom such rage is warranted. As a result, there are a lot of interesting things happening but it happens on a backdrop that is so chaotic and so necessary that it's easy to get lost in the jumble of things. We're still trying to get acquainted with the S-Men (especially since we haven't seen them in twenty or so issues now) and there are many moving parts here and yet they're not meant to be our focus. Remender, understandably, wants to get a lot done here in the preparation for next week's AXIS launch. However, the rush sets this one back a little bit.

Total Score: 4/5


Death of Wolverine 3

Kitty Pryde saves Wolverine from Lady Deathstrike, forcing Deathstrike to flee as Kitty injects a fading Wolverine with a quick regen serum, something that will heal him temporarily but certainly won't substitute for or replace his healing factor. She insists he allows her to come with him to help him fight off the assassins after him and get to the bottom of things. Unfortunately, Wolverine quickly discovers that her mind has been taken over by ninja master Ogun, who has a long history with these two and who is ready to deliver Wolverine to the one asking for him. Wolverine fights him and Kitty, who is somewhat used to having Ogun take over her mind at this point, fights back against him as well, forcing him out into a nearby innocent's mind. Wolverine follows him while Kitty comes back to her senses, though she reveals that the one orchestrating everything is a guy named Abraham Cornelius. Wolverine catches up to Ogun, who shows him the body of the killer Cyber, another one on Cornelius' list, which seems to at least have some tie-in to adamantium-enhanced individuals. Ogun just wants Logan to leave Japan and tells him so, saying that he'll spare the innocent man he's inhabiting of Logan just leaves. Logan agrees to, but tells him to warn Cornelius that he's coming.

I was legitimately surprised when I got to the end of this issue and found that there was only one issue left in DEATH OF WOLVERINE. It's really refreshing to see a major event like this start and finish in four issues (though I'll believe it when I see it, and when I'm satisfied with the aftermath stuff that's already been announced, THE LOGAN LEGACY, maybe it's called?). It's the first time in a long while that something with this magnitude has wrapped up so quickly and I'm one hundred percent onboard with it. I'm also really enjoying this book. There is a bit of a complicated note to make here too; I was reading this issue and had quickly decided this was the best Kitty Pryde I'd seen in literally years, someone who was strong and self-assured and loyal and smart and not some weird caricature of herself. Of course, then Ogun happened to be in her mind. Was it really Kitty steering the ship up until Ogun revealed himself or was Ogun the one who I thought was the best Kitty I'd seen in a while? I prefer to think it's the former, that Ogun just piggybacked on Kitty until it was time to make his move, because that way I can still credit Soule with the best recent Kitty. ANYWAY, it's been a really interesting series so far and it's moved extremely well, aided now by the revelation (that isn't so much a revelation as it is a known and expected fact) that the next issue is the last.

Total Score: 5/5

Leftovers 9-24-14

Okay. I apologize both for my busy week this week and for the upcoming post. Got a lot of apologies to make. ANYWAY, let's get right into and out of it.

All-New Ghost Rider 7

Robbie is still having trouble making his personal life and Eli come to some sort of understanding and he ends up killing a guy to take the money he was owed before another Ghost Rider shows up to complicate things further. Still strong stuff with Smith spending just the right amount of time characterizing Robbie and the neighborhood, though I'm still wary of Hyde's role in all of this. Total Score: 4/5












All-New Invaders 10
Mars attacks? I don't know, man, this book is pretty terrible. They're helped by the daughter of the original Iron Cross who is an Inhuman now and then Torch goes crazy and she promises to help while Mars attacks London and Roger Aubrey, the Mighty Destroyer, literally has a line of dialogue that goes "I'm an incredibly dashing, older gay gentleman, by virtue of which means I'm incredibly vain" directly after he says to Union Jack and Spitfire "A speedster, a young man with a pistol and a vintage motor bike, and a "flamboyant" octogenarian." DOES ANYONE THINK ANYTHING IN THIS BOOK THEY DON'T SAY? Perhaps James Robinson would like to sit beside us as we read his books and explain bit-by-bit what's happening in case we don't understand? Total Score: 1/5

Amazing Spider-Man 1.5

Spider-Man finally beats Clash and we're all relieved because Clash is not interesting nor likable and looking back to this point in Spidey history means Spidey also isn't terribly interesting and isn't really likable so now we can all move on with our lives. Total Score: 2/5














Amazing X-Men 11
Wendigos! They're everywhere! Wolverine is one! The X-Men travel to the realm of monsters where monster Tanaraq is getting supercharged by the Wendigo presence on Earth and where he plans his attack on Earth, even expanding the Wendigo curse to mean Wendigos can exist outside of Canada! Where goes the Wendigo? EVERYWHERE. Pretty good stuff, drags a little bit despite all of the action, but still a compelling story and Yost brings to this book his uncanny ability to nail the voice of everyone he touches. Total Score: 4/5

Cyclops 5
Cyclops and Corsair have fixed the tracking beacon bounty hunters placed on their ship and therefore successfully lure a group to them, managing to outwit them and steal their ships, though Cyclops overrides his dad's plans a few times to show compassion for the bounty hunters. Good characterization of a young and optimistic Scott and now we can continue our journeys with the interesting father-son duo. Total Score: 4/5











Deadpool 35
MAYBE, just MAYBE, there will some day be a week where nary a single DEADPOOL book will be released. But that's not this week so, onwards. Deadpool spends some quality time with Ellie and has to fight a Spider-Slayer Dracula has put his consciousness into, which he defeats handily. He also brings the refugees from Butler's camps to the Jean Grey School and has Beast run medical tests on them, which could complicate things as Hank quickly calls Deadpool back, needing his liver for a vital operation. Bit of a break from the action here as even the Dracula fight has very little stakes (HA) and mostly plays for laughs, which are certainly there if not enough to carry the issue. Total Score: 3/5

Edge of Spider-Verse 3

Dustin Weaver introduces us to Aaron Aikman, the only Spider-Man who has sought out the Spider, injecting himself with a serum that gave him his powers and using advanced machinery to vigilânt around the city. There's a full story here about his laboratory and the woman he loved risking everything to save her daughter but the real story is the twist ending when Morlun shows up and kills Aikman, meaning that just because we're seeing these dudes on the EDGE of SPIDER-VERSE, they won't necessarily make it to the main showing. Pretty good stuff, drags like any of these have when they've had to really give a lot of backstory for one issue, but it holds together somewhat nicely. Total Score: 3/5






Guardians of the Galaxy 19
Quill continues to tell his story to Gamora and explains that they couldn't die in the Cancerverse so their sacrifice had kind of been for nothing, now they had to play eternal keep-away from Thanos with the Cosmic Cube, made more troublesome by the appearance of the Cancerverse Avengers who are all evil and who want the Cube themselves and, sadly, eventually get it. The issue is all from the memory of Quill so it's basically a big ol' flashback where we don't know the full ending but we kind of know maybe half of it (Drax, Quill, and Thanos, in the very least, survive to return to the 616) so kind of low stakes here for a story that's going to last at LEAST three issues. Total Score: 2/5

Inhuman 6

Dante and his new friends Jason (rock-based powers) and Naja (weird-based powers) find their way back to Attilan, now run by The Unspoken, and manage to, with the help of Vinatos, the medical regent of New Attilan, infiltrate The Unspoken's throne room. He still has the Terrigen crystals he found so he's still insanely powerful but Dante attacks him all the same, getting horribly wounded in the fight for his troubles. While Naja continues the distraction, Jason uses his rock powers to destroy the crystals, effectively ending The Unspoken's new reign and restoring Medusa to the throne. Good issue for the NuHumans as everything is set right once again, though Lineage seems ready to strike a deal with the imprisoned Unspoken. Total Score: 4/5






Loki: Agent of Asgard 6
Thanks to some time-and-space trickery, Doctor Doom finds himself face to face at the end of the universe with the original Loki, who derides and denounces him, causing Doom to go back to his own time and search out the young Loki, pulling him into battle at his castle. He ends up trapping Loki, who doesn't want any part of this fight, and announcing that he's captured a god, effectively weakening him by destroying his story. Though things seem lost for young Loki, he secretly brought Verity Willis (eye roll!) with him and now she's prepared to help her friend. I literally have no idea what's going on and what the point of any of this is. Total Score: 2/5

Magneto 10
Magneto has been captured by the Red Skull and is being tortured by Xavier's brain in the hopes that Skull can break him. Magneto tries to hide in all his worst memories, giving us a full tour of many of them, but finds eventually that he cannot keep Skull at bay. Before he breaks, he's rescued by the similarly captured Havok, Rogue, and Scarlet Witch. Pretty sad issue for Magneto, you guys, as we see the worst of the worst, but it follows the theme Bunn has set up for this series, which often goes back to why Magneto fights. Total Score: 4/5

New Warriors 10
The Celestials are coming! The New Warriors strike again at the High Evolutionary and his Evolutionaries. Speedball makes a great Ghostbusters reference! The Eternals show up! Action, hijinks, comedy, drama, and more! Check out NEW WARRIORS 10! Total Score: 5/5














Savage Wolverine 23
A story from Wolverine's past where someone drugs him, slowing his healing factor and tries to hunt him through the woods of his animal-times. He's protected by the runt of a wolf pack but eventually the wolf sacrifices himself to save Wolverine, drawing Wolverine out to murder everyone in sight. Typical Wolverine-in-the-woods story done with maybe a little less flare and heart and with even more hand-holding than some of the others I've seen. Total Score: 2/5

Storm 3
Storm is called to Kenya by a mysterious benefactor saying that he needs her help to bring rain and water to the people there. Though she's wary it's a trap, it's a cause that matters enough to her to send her there anyway. It's not entirely a trap, but it was Forge, with whom she has a rocky relationship, who sent the letter. He swears he can do it and she chooses to trust him, though one of the Kenyans doesn't and his interference sort of sabotages everything, though Storm does her part to sabotage the machinery, demanding that Forge first spend a year in Kenya working on the tech and working with the people so that they can all have a mutual trust and to ensure that the tech will work and not just be an experiment. It's another good issue to characterize Storm, who wants to trust Forge but knows things aren't that black and white. Instead, she comes up with an interesting plan that roots itself in trust and hope. That's what we want to see out of Storm. Total Score: 4/5

Thunderbolts 31
It's Punisher vs. Red Hulk in the final battle of the T-Bolts. It's a huge fight and the momentum swings back and forth until Hawkeye and the Avengers (though the lesser known ones, like Cannonball, Sunspot, and Shang-Chi) show up to break up the fighting. Red Hulk doesn't believe they're the Avengers but Punisher stands down, unwilling to harm the good guys. Elektra turns up to calm Red Hulk, dropping the Leader's body in between them and showing them that he was an LMD and that, in fact, it was the Leader behind all of this the whole time. Ross announces the Thunderbolts are done, leaving the Red Leader victorious for next time. Plenty of fun in this issue as the fight gets more and more elevated. Also fun to see Hawkeye lead his team of lesser known Avengers into battle and to see the Punisher and Red Hulk struggle to understand that they are, in fact, Avengers. Total Score: 4/5

Avengers 35, Uncanny Avengers 24, Avengers World 13

Avengers 35

We're eight months into the future and the entire world is completely different. Cannonball lives off world with Izzy and their newborn baby, though Sunspot, the new leader of AIM after he managed to hostile-takeover their business (one of the drawbacks, he says, of running your evil scientist group like a corporation), needs them to come back to Earth for what's coming. Hyperion has been working with his children in the Savage Land to build a device for...reasons, which he and Thor, now Mjolnir-less, will use to cross over somewhere. Likely it has to do with incursions. SPEAKING OF INCURSIONS, the Illuminati, comprised of the original members plus a bunch of other super scientist types like Amadeus Cho, Brian Braddock, and Hank Pym, is on the run from SHIELD and the now-SHIELD sanctioned Avengers. These Avengers catch up with Cho as he breaks into the old Avengers Tower trying to salvage some of on-the-run Tony Stark's data but the Avengers, led by Sue Storm, capture him, though he has no information for them.

Okay, so there's rather a lot that's changed, hm? This isn't an alternate dimension, this isn't a WHAT IF... story, this is the main Marvel Universe just eight short months from now. It's a bit reminiscent of CIVIL WAR but with a very different schism at the center and with a very specific sort of hero going up against SHIELD and the Avengers. The story, of course, is very interesting and compelling to get into because, as you'd expect with a story like this and particularly with Hickman, we just into a fully formed world just the way it is, no real explanation given yet besides what you can surmise from the natural dialogue and your own assumptions about the situation based on what's been happening. It's a strong start to the ambitious TIME RUNS OUT storyline and it looks like Hickman, as ever, has this well in hand. Have I mentioned that I adore Hickman's EAST OF WEST? That it's one of the best comics I've ever read? Good.

Total Score: 5/5


Uncanny Avengers 24

As the Unity Squad gets back to Avengering, the greater mutant part of the team (Havok, Scarlet Witch, and Rogue) finds itself abducted by Red Skull's S-Men and brought to his new concentration camps on Genosha. While unconscious, Rogue sees Charles Xavier (seen here with Banshee) in her mind. Charles says that he's just the last psychic residue in his old brain, now in the Skull's head, and tells Rogue that she has to keep Scarlet Witch away from Skull, that he has some horrible plans for her. He also reveals that she's the secret weapon because Skull knows all their powers but doesn't know yet that she has Wonder Man in her head. She wakes up and tells the others, chained up next to her, and together they break out, running into and rescuing Magneto on their way. Magneto wants to save all of the mutants and is furious and derogatory when he learns that they want to go and get more help first. The fight is interrupted, though, when Skull and his S-Men confront them.

AXIS seems ready to burst forth (I know it's now called AXIS: AVENGERS AND X-MEN but that's a dumb name and AXIS is a solid name) as Skull's fight with the Unity Squad continues, now more hateful than ever. There's some good character work here as Remender catches new readers up on all that's happened by having Havok talk about his disfigured and burned face and having Wolverine meet with Scarlet Witch and Rogue to talk about his part and his guilt in the whole last arc and to say how proud he is that the two of them are working together and have put the past behind them. It's perhaps a little too eager to chew some scenery, but it gets the point across and doesn't feel nearly as expository as it could. Running into Magneto helps the issue too as more characters are developed and as the plot advances nicely. Strong stuff, looking forward to AXIS. It's nice to have events every so often that seem like they stem from current events in the books (not like certain other events, particularly ORIGINAL SIN, AGE OF ULTRON, FEAR ITSELF, and BATTLE OF THE ATOM, which all spawned from nothingness and meant fairly little).

Total Score: 4/5


Avengers World 13

As the Hand, Gorgon, and the ancient dragon on whose back Madripoor sits fight against the newly revealed SPEAR, we get an introduction to the Ascendant, the superteam SPEAR has put together or, more appropriately, the superteam Weather Witch (formerly of The Dynasty) put together and leads with the go-ahead and support of SPEAR and the Chinese government. Included on the team are Saber, another former Dynasty member, Devastator, a Skrull loyal to the Chinese government and wearing the former Russian Devastator armor, Vector, a rebellious protestor with Darkforce powers similar to Cloak's, and Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. They hold their own in battle but it won't be enough to fully stop the dragon and SPEAR's Director Zheng calls up Maria Hill in the hopes for some aid, specifically in the hopes of technological aid, SPECIFICALLY in the hopes of getting some Pym particles, which Hill gives but only under the condition it be given to one of her team. Enter Shang-Chi, giant master of Kung Fu.

Spencer, interestingly, has gone back-to-back AVENGERS WORLD issues introducing a new team from another part of the world. It's a real WORLD style move, showing perhaps the inspiration of a team like the Avengers on the other parts of the world and allowing us to see how the world has reacted to the presence of superheroes all over. It's a pretty strong issue and gives us a sense of this Ascendant team and of SPEAR, which separates itself from SHIELD in a number of ways in this book. Also not going to act like I'm not excited about the idea of a giant Shang-Chi fighting a dragon. That feels like maybe it was the pitch of this entire book. "Giant Shang-Chi fights a dragon," said Spencer, and the rest was history.

Total Score: 5/5

Leftovers 9-10-14

Wowwwwww, managed to knock out enough books that I only have SIX ISSUES to quick-review today. Not saying I'm super-duper proud of myself but it'd be okay if you were all super-duper proud of me.

All-New Ultimates 8

The Ultimates meet to figure out their next plan, particularly where they're going to live and how they're going to operate now when Spider-Man tells them that J. Jonah Jameson offered them "whatever they need" to help and maybe he could help with this. Meanwhile, the Femme Fatales, a new villain group with some sort of puppeteer over them, attack Manhattan. The Ultimates dispatch them well enough but constant bickering between Cloak and Dagger comes to a head and the two remove themselves to break up. Oh, and the Future Foundation shows up for some plot device and someone is watching them/researching them on some monitors. You know how it goes. The series continues to drag with exposition and would-be playful dialogue hampering the pacing. The banter during the fight is as constant and as head-shakingly frustrating as it's ever been. Total Score: 2/5




Deadpool 34
In another throwback story, this one tied to ORIGINAL SIN, we learn that Deadpool used to work willingly (sort of) for Butler, giving him his blood and doing jobs for him. His personality is still there but there is an element of coercion to it. Things come to a head when Butler, testing the limits of Deadpool's subservience, sends Deadpool to kill his own parents. After a brief encounter with Alpha Flight, Deadpool burns his childhood home down with his parents sleeping inside. He returns home to find Carmelita on Butler's doorstep with little Ellie. Butler takes a blood sample from Ellie before Deadpool sends them away, shouting about how dangerous he is. He also leaves Butler's employ, leading to Butler to capture him covertly whenever he needs a new sample. Back in the present, Adsit has seen all of this courtesy of the truth bomb but Preston refuses to let Deadpool know about it. It's a pretty strong issue with the expected amounts of '90s comic-book references and homages which tend to be a lot of fun but can also carry on a little long. Instead, here, Duggan and Posehn front-load the issue with such references (making it a little bit of a drag but not giving it enough time to really slow things) and then really put some weight in the back half. Pretty strong stuff. Total Score: 4/5


Fantastic Four 10

Thing learns that She-Thing runs his Ryker's prison wing as dictated by someone higher up on the food chain, Sue steals one of the Fantastic Four transports from under SHIELD's nose, Johnny continues to party, and Reed finds himself alone in a fight in Chicago against the Wizard and the women of the Salem Seven, only surviving the fight with the appearance of Scarlet Witch. It's funny that this book should come after the '90s throwback DEADPOOL issue because that issue made fun of the '90s tradition of long-winded mid-fight exposition, among other things, then here all of that is in a real, non-tongue-in-cheek FANTASTIC FOUR book. Just further highlights why books aren't written that way any more. As ever, this book drags, the dialogue is terrible, and nobody has a thought they don't shout to the world. Total Score: 1/5





Magneto 9
Magneto sets off for Genosha, where he's learned more atrocities are being committed. He recalls times in the concentration camp as he finds mutants and Inhumans imprisoned at Genosha, held by the Red Skull, who Magneto soon learns has old friend Charles Xavier's brain. In his anger and his desire for justice, he goes alone to attack Skull and his S-Men only to be humiliated by the S-Men and captured. It's as dark an issue as that summary would make you expect, but it's a pretty good issue as Magneto fails for pretty much the first time in this series and as we get a little bit of a teaser of what we can expect out of the upcoming AXIS. More strong work out of Bunn, Walta, and Bellaire on this series. Total Score: 4/5


New Warriors 9

Scarlet Spider wants to quit the team and the mountain has brought him "home," which, to his chagrin, means Houston. He and Justice fight about the team and about Scarlet Spider's heroism but the two are interrupted by Choke the Bear, a giant former NBA mascot granted insane powers and size by a meteorite that once crashed through his court and landed on him. As Scarlet Spider tries to leave, hoping that Choke, who is set on fighting a villain in Houston, will follow him, he runs into old friend and police lieutenant Wally Layton who tells him that he was wrong when he blamed Kaine for Houston's problems, that Kaine really was a hero and saved the city and his own life multiple times. Kaine reluctantly goes back and, with the help of Justice, takes Choke down, even more reluctantly agreeing to stick with the team. Meanwhile, Aracely reveals to Speedball that Mictlan is coming and she will die soon. This issue is a lot of fun and Yost again shows off his prowess for taking any character, giving them a unique voice, and making you care about them. Everyone on the team gets at least one line this time out and there's not really a wasted line. Everything is meant to color a character or to advance the plot and it all works really well. Excellent work as ever and the book continues to be a really entertaining read. Really sad this one's ending. Total Score: 5/5


Nightcrawler 6
Nightcrawler and Scorpion-Boy team to fight their way through the Crimson Pirates in their attempt to save mutant genius Ziggy Karst. Together they plow through the pirates with seeming ease and Nightcrawler begins to believe there's more to it than the pirates just killing a bunch of people to get to Karst. Indeed, when they finally rescue Karst (who is immediately taken with Rico), they find that the pirates have been shooting everyone but the guns have been teleporting them to interdimensional slaver Tullamore Voge. Nightcrawler uses the gun on himself and rescues the civilians and Ziggy, returning home triumphant again. The book continues to be really start-and-stop with the dialogue and exposition stepping on the toes of the plot and the character-building. The plot twists, too, seem to come out of nowhere, which is kind of what you want a plot twist to do but a twist doesn't mean anything if there's absolutely no precedence for it, as in this case. This is a new mutant we know nothing about being attacked by pirates we haven't seen in decades for a slaver we haven't seen in decades and it's all over and done with in one issue. What a weird book. Total Score: 2/5

Leftovers 8-20-14

Okay, let's try this again, hm? Fortunately it was a more laid-back week for comics than we've had in a while so I have fewer to deal with here! And they're mostly pretty alright! Let's get it started.

All-New Ghost Rider 6
F. Smith (w) and D. Scott (p) and Campanella (i) and Staples and Sobreiro (c) and Caramagna (l)

Zabo's defeat has improved the community already and the locals are talking about the community's protector, though they know very little about the new Ghost Rider. Meanwhile, Robbie has stopped listening to Eli for the time being about vengeance and punishment and so on, to the chagrin of the spirit, and has instead focused on improving life for him and brother Gabe. It's working wonderfully as Robbie has been making good money winning street races and has been able to spend more time with Gabe, which has led to great strides in his education, but may be short-lived as Zabo prepares Guero for the next step. Bit of a rest issue here, which makes the change in art less jarring than it might be otherwise (strange that I'm calling something "less jarring" than Tradd Moore's kinetic and exciting style. It's another good issue and sets us up for a few big upcoming arcs, including things to do with Eli, a mysterious visitor, and Guero/Zabo. Plenty going on as this series continues. Total Score: 4/5


All-New Ultimates 6
Fiffe (w) and Pinna (a) and Woodard (c) and Cowles (l)

The war between the new Ultimates and the Skulls continue and they fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and then the police show up but it's too late for the church and everyone gets away. It's probably a sign that your book isn't so entertaining that you have to CONSTANTLY spend the first ten pages just identifying all the players. Maybe clear some things up? Or put in a recap page with the character names and pictures? So pretty much just a fight with stakes I'm not sure about and characters I certainly don't have any connection to. Total Score: 1/5


All-New X-Factor 12
David (w) and Di Giandomenico (a) and Loughridge (c) and Petit (l)

Quicksilver reports in to Havok, who decides that Lorna is doing just fine and Quicksilver can return to the Avengers again, an invitation which Quicksilver declines. Later, X-Factor is part of a press conference as Serval reveals the team and announces their intentions. Quicksilver again causes a bit of a stir when he's accused from the crowd of being a criminal. He admits to the charges and asks forgiveness for his many problems, saying that he'll await the decision of the rest of the world as to his fate. The only visitor he receives, though, is his estranged daughter Luna, who forgives him for his past and embraces him again, proud of his admission. It's a nice issue and it gives us a chance to see what the whole of the team is up to as we get a little bit of intrigue from each member. It's an issue that reminds us how good David can be at constructing a team and showing us how that team ticks. Total Score: 4/5



Deadly Hands of Kung Fu 4
M. Benson (w) and Huat (p) and Yeung (i) and Aburtov (c) and Sabino (l)

Midnight Sun's ritual ends up resurrecting Leiko as he screws things up pretty bad, overconfident about his power. Leiko, now emboldened with mystical powers, manages to beat up Midnight Sun, Razor Fist, and Black Ghost. And by beat up, I mostly mean "tries to kill all of them, though only succeeds at killing Black Ghost because Shang Chi stops her from killing the others." With Midnight Sun defeated, Shang Chi pays his final respects to Leiko and prepares to go home, though it seems possible he's not done with Leiko just yet. This is another one of those "tough to review" sorts of issues because it's certainly not unreadable but it's also not necessarily a story I'm super into. I like Huat's art, just as I came to love it in X-MEN LEGACY, so that helps this one. I can't really get too into this one though as it becomes difficult to understand the stakes of this whole arc. Total Score: 3/5


Deadpool vs. X-Force 3
Swierczyinski (w) and Larraz (a) and Woodard (c) and Sabino (l)

The inhibitor Deadpool placed on Cable controls his physical actions but Cable's telekinesis is still going strong, allowing him to at least stay a step ahead of Deadpool. He pretends to be under Deadpool's control a little longer as he learns what's really happening. Talbot didn't hire Deadpool to save his grandson, he hired him to change history so he can make America the greatest nation on Earth by annihilating at the start of each war and conquering nation after nation. Cable blasts Deadpool to pieces and sets about trying to restore the timeline, though Deadpool isn't done yet. Not a bad issue and there are some interesting ideas here, but ultimately the tone feels a little off balance, particularly as Deadpool's fourth-wall breaking clashes with Cable's seriousness. Total Score: 3/5


Magneto 8
Bunn (w) and J. Fernandez (a) and D. Brown (c) and Petit (l)

Magneto finds the lab producing the MGH he discovered last issue. The SHIELD team on his trail manages to find him there, gunning down the MGH-enhanced guards, though Magneto gets away with the MGH cook, to whom he offers a job. The issue works pretty well to keep the story moving forward and to give us more of a sense of where Magneto's at these days. It moves well and it reinforces Magneto's purpose. It gets a little preachy but preachiness is rather at the core of Magneto so, I suppose, great character work? In other news, Apu might get deported! How many more books are there to review? Total Score: 4/5








Original Sins 5
Dum Dum Dugan: Ewing (w) and Guice (p) and Hanna (i) and M. Wilson (c) and Cowles (l)
Young Avengers: North (w) and Villalobos (a) and Gibson (c) and Cowles (l)
The Rest: Zdarsky

Story one finds Dum Dum Dugan learning that he's been dead since the war and that Fury created the most lifelike LMD to replace him, even getting him to believe he's a real boy. Dum Dum shoots himself in the head and asks Fury not to rebuild him, which seems unlikely. The Young Avengers finish out their story as they turn the tables on Hood, though he does manage to escape so, kind of a loss. On the plus side, Prodigy reveals that the code he set up is a one-time pad code on the information, which makes it nearly impossible to access again. Except, as it happens, for Prodigy, a fact which he conceals from his team. Finally, Chip Zdarsky brings us a great two-page interrogation of the Marvel Universe wherein tons of characters reveal their darkest secrets to Nick Fury, who is actually an impostor, as discovered by the real Nick Fury by the end. Pretty good stuff all around, particularly in the ending to the Young Avengers story and the Zdarsky story. Total Score: 4/5


Savage Wolverine 22
Arcudi (w) and Quinones (a and c) and Petit (l)

Wolverine stops the German from radioing for artillery, though his shock at the appearance of the man from his dreams makes him paranoid and he lashes out at Link before channelling that rage into attacking the remaining Germans, who eventually surrender, managing to shake Wolverine out of his animal rage. He realizes that maybe the German he already attacked isn't quite dead and he rushes off to make sure no artillery is called in. He succeeds in stopping the German, but they manage to see each other as humans and not animals or enemies, sharing one peaceful moment before the German dies. It's a pretty strong conclusion to the little arc as it hits on one of the biggest Wolverine themes, the idea of his separate animal and human natures. It's strong work and the very talented Joe Quinones does some really impressive things in this issue (he's also a very nice guy that I met at Boston Comic-Con and from whom my girlfriend and I bought really great prints). Total Score: 4/5


Storm 2
Pak (w) and Ibanez (a) and Redmond (c) and Petit (l)

Storm, dedicated to helping make the world a better place whatever way she can, sees a lost-child poster and decides to find her. With Beast's help, she manages to find the girl through a burner cellphone she'd picked up along the way and it leads her to the subway, where she runs afoul of Callisto, formerly of the Morlocks. Storm attacks her old nemesis, though she eventually busts into Callisto's hideout, a simple but pleasant room in the tunnels where a number of runaways have gathered and seem to be having a good time, each and every one from homes worse than this one. Callisto swears she's not raising an army, that those days are behind her, and that she's just helping these kids have a place to go. Storm apologizes and sets Callisto up with a little more tech, swearing to stay out of her way but has Beast continue to keep an eye on her. So, okay, admittedly, Storm didn't really do much except attack someone apparently doing the right thing and eventually provide a water filtration system to same. Still, the writing is pretty strong (though I still don't really like Wolverine and Storm as a relationship) and the book moves well as Storm learns a valuable lesson. I hope. Total Score: 3/5


Wolverine Annual 1
Kalan (w) and Marks (a) and Villarrubia (c) and Petit (l)

Wolverine, Jubilee, and Shogo go camping, both to spend some time together and so Wolverine will feel better about Jubilee being without him if something should happen to him. It's constantly proved to him throughout the day as she gets along with the wolves that visit family member Wolverine and as she takes charge to recover Shogo from a camping army couple who misinterpret the situation badly and try to do the right thing. Wolverine is even more impressed when Jubilee manages to rein herself in enough not to kill the couple as things start to head that way. It's a pretty strong issue by Elliot Kalan with solid art and some well-developed characters, though, as with many annual issues, it ends up being thirty pages and feels like it's stretching a bit to reach the count. Still not bad. Except Kalan to do more with Marvel as things move forward. 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

And the rest

Another review dump. I'd expect this sort of thing to be the norm for a bit, you guys. Don't necessarily think that the books that are saved for Saturday aren't worthy of your time: still trust the little blurbs and the total scores. As with everything else on this blog, the decision that forces books on to a Saturday dump are practically arbitrary. Look, you get it, I don't know why I'm explaining it more except that, obviously, all I ever do is ramble. Let's just get to it.

All-New X-Factor 10
David (w) and Di Giandomenico (a) and Loughridge (c) and Petit (l)

Georgia has been taken by her supervillain father Memento Mori and the team is eager to get her back. Mori treats his daughter well, showing her his five-star hotel and giant mall, but also demands she use her powers in his service, which puts them at odds. With the team reassembled, they manage to get to Georgia. They teleport away with her with the help of a Serval Industries matter transporter which just so happens to leave Gambit, who inadvertently slept with Snow's wife, behind. Some strong parts in this that are maybe a little clouded by somewhat forced pop culture arguments (something David loves and I don't want to begrudge him but I will) and humor that occasionally hits but occasionally tries too hard. 4/5






Daredevil Road Warrior 0.1
Waid (w) and Krause (a) and Kalisz (c) and Sabino (l)

This is just the motion comic that came out not long ago that preceded Daredevil's move to San Francisco. Pretty sure I already reviewed it all (or at least parts of it!) but I had it on my list so here it is! Still alright, interesting to see a motion comic re-translated into a regular comic. I dunno, 4/5?

Deadpool vs. X-Force 1
Swierczynski (w) and Larraz (a) and Woodard (c) and Sabino (l)

After obsessed-with-time-travel millionaire Francis Talbot's grandson dies in a firefight in Desert Storm (this story is set pre-X-Force and all), he hires Deadpool, a hitherto unknown mercenary, to go back and save him. Cable, keeping tabs on Talbot, is disappointed that he would mess with the time stream so but agrees to go back with the new mutants (soon-to-be-X-Force) and retrieve Deadpool, who, of course, went off-mission to the American Revolution. After messing around in the 1700s for a bit and finding himself at odds with X-Force, Deadpool jumps to the Civil War. Kind of an interesting story developing here (that wreaks just a bit of havoc with the Marvel timeline) but perhaps a bit too much exposition here in the first issue to set everything up which, albeit, is a lot to set up. 3/5

Fantastic Four 100th Anniversary 1
Van Meter (w) and Estep (a and c) and Sabino (l)

The first in Marvel's new experimental line that asks what might be happening in decades to come for some key Marvel titles. First stop, FANTASTIC FOUR. The original F4 have been separated and/or lost in timespace for 15 years and Val leads the new F4 (including two of her own children and two other young heroes) from a control center. Visions reach out to her and she teams with her mother Sue to pull the other original members back into the real world. Hard to really summarize a standalone book of all-new made up things. Still, easy enough to get into, drags a little bit but that probably has more to do with not knowing what's happening and the exposition needed to establish all of that. Sort of interesting idea, best to just group this sort of thing with WHAT IFs though. 3/5

Guardians of the Galaxy: Galaxy's Most Wanted 1
Corona Pilgrim (w) and Di Vito (a) and Villari (c) and Cowles (l)

Movie tie-in that finds Rocket and Groot short-changed on a bounty when Groot realizes that Rocket has a bounty on his head. As a slew of bounty hunters turn on Rocket, Groot protects him (though his attempts at protection are first mistaken for betrayal by Rocket) and the pair manage to confront the rival hunter who placed the bounty, demanding he take it down. Predictable and rather cookie-cutter, which is often what you expect from a movie tie-in. It moves relatively well, but I think mostly it's because you can skip almost all of the dialogue and know what's happening. 2/5

Magneto 6
Bunn (w) and J. Fernandez (a) and D. Brown (c) and Petit (l)

Armed with his new information from Briar Raleigh, Magneto strikes and strikes and strikes at the Marauders, who, as it happens, are mostly clones of the key Marauders. He goes through legions of clones while the SHIELD agents on his tail try to piece together what they can from one of the Scalphunters he didn't fully kill, just horribly maim. Magneto, though, finds his way to one of the Marauder control centers and realizes he may just be able to reprogram the clones to work for a new master. Interesting stuff as Magneto may just be ready to build himself an army. Maybe a little less introspective than the rest of the series has been so far but still with the driving justice theme behind it holding the series up pretty well. 4/5






Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man 3
Bendis (w) and Marquez (a) and Ponsor (c) and Petit (l)

Miles reveals to Kate that he's Spider-Man and she runs off. Before he can chase her, homicide detective Maria Hill shows up to question him about the appearance of the other Spider-Men, who are now responsible for at least one death. Meanwhile, news gets out that Norman Osborn is alive and Monica Chang, ex-leader of SHIELD, leads a team to Oscorp to try to track him. He is there as they arrive and he decimates the team, including probably murdering Chang (certainly at least burning her face off). Miles hears that Goblin is alive and speeds off to Peter Parker's house, worried that Goblin will come for Aunt May. Of course, right as Miles realizes how unprepared he is for this fight (being a less-experienced Spidey than the original who died at Goblin's hands and now lacking his web shooters thanks to the somehow also alive Peter Parker), Goblin shows up. Pretty strong issue. I think that the dialogue once again bogs down what is an interesting and compelling story but there's enough happening right now and you can't help but care about Miles enough that it holds pretty well. 4/5

Miracleman 8
A. Moore (w) and Austen (a) and Oliff (c) and Caramagna (l)

Pluto has destroyed Cream and now leaps at Michael Moran, eating the gun out of his hand and taking two fingers with it. As he plays with his would-be victim, Moran comes enough to his senses to shout "Steppenwolf," the keyword that changes Pluto back to a regular dog, and bashes the dog's head in with a rock. After the hour passes, Moran changes back into Miracleman and hunts down Gargunza, grabbing him by the throat and bringing him to the edge of space before tossing him down to burn through the atmosphere. Dark ending, that, but a good look at what a full-powered and rage-filled Miracleman is capable of as he plows through trees and people alike, unyielding in his fury. 5/5

New Warriors 7
Yost (w) and To (a) and Redmond (c) and Cowles (l)

The new Inhumans who have taken Haechi's family hostage, waiting for his return, attack the New Warriors upon their entrance. They manage to capture Haechi and Sun Girl in their dark energy teleportation, leaving Justice behind to call the rest of the team, who are, in the case of Speedball and Jake Waffles, looking for traces of celestial energy and, in the case of Scarlet Spider, Aracely, and Mr. Whiskers, looking for demons surrounding them. With the help of old New Warrior Silhouette Chord, they trace the dark energy signature and find Haechi and Sun Girl. Haechi is tied up and unable to transform and the other Inhumans, disciples of Lash (from INHUMAN), are preparing to kill Sun Girl when she manages to shoot Haechi's chains off. They're safe for the moment but Lash himself finally appears and it's a whole different story. Meanwhile, the team's teleport is manipulated from an outside source and they land in a warehouse full of armed bad guys. Strong story, plenty going on but still enough time for the talented Yost to establish more about our characters. 5/5

Punisher 8
Maurer and Edmondson (w) and Carnero (p) and Pallot (i) and Fabela (c) and Petit (l)

With some amount of struggle and a fair amount of injury and losses (including Ortiz at the hands of an irritated Crossbones), Punisher manages to buy enough time for Special Forces Tom to get what remains of his troop out, sacrificing himself to be caught by Crossbones in the process. It's more a story about the Special Forces group and Frank's tangential relation to them (and the impact he would have on them in the time to come) than about Punisher himself, though it does put him firmly in Crossbones' grasp at the end. There's a little too much going on to make this a really clean read and a lot of the new soldiers look a little too much alike to separate particularly well, making the whole read somewhat chaotic and confusing. 2/5

Thor: God of Thunder 24
Aaron (w) and Alessio w/Ribic (a) and Alessio w/Svorcina (c) and Sabino (l)

Dario Agger managed to get away from the authorities to absolve himself of any blame and now, at a press conference, pins all of the blame on the fact that Asgardia stays in the sky above Broxton. The Congress of Worlds meets in Asgardia to decide if Asgard should move elsewhere on the World Tree and, of course, they decide that they should, despite Thor's protestations. Before they go, the gods do what they can to help Broxton clear out the rubble, leaving mounds of Asgardian gold and other gifts behind as well. Thor, disappointed with the way things turned out and mad that all he's done is destroy, just as he did when he was young, also delivers his own personal castle, his home on Asgardia, to Broxton so that the displaced people might live there while the town rebuilds. He also nominates Jane Foster to the Congress of Worlds to represent Midgard. Dario Agger, for his part, eyes the other realms for his own conquest. In the far future, King Thor and his daughters rebuild Earth but who knows for how long, as the All-Black merges with Galactus. The issue ends up being immensely powerful as Thor has plenty of time for introspection and finds himself depressed in the result. It's a very strong issue and a solid conclusion to an arc that could have gone either way. 5/5