Disappointing news out of Marvel

Hey everyone. Some of the bits of news that have come out this week, on the heels of February solicits, include the ending of Waid and Samnee's run on DAREDEVIL, the cancellation of ELEKTRA (slated to end with issue 11 in February), and several more books that seem to be wrapping (though I don't have links for those), including X-FORCE (brutal) and STORM (though I'm not hearing that that one's actually being cancelled, just that the numbers are much lower than they'd like). DAREDEVIL, it sounds like, is ending based on Waid and Samnee wanting to move on, but the others all seem to be numbers-based. One of those sad days where really good books aren't getting enough eyes on them and are being dropped, undoubtedly, for more events.

Bit of internal news, I doubt there will be many more reviews this week. I've read just about every book this week and many are very good (DAREDEVIL, BLACK WIDOW, ELEKTRA, AVENGERS, NEW AVENGERS, MOON KNIGHT, SPIDER-WOMAN, and several more) but, as you all know, it's getting harder and harder to get these reviews out on time. We'll see what the start of this week brings.

Comics this week

It's new release day which means this post is, SURPRISE, late. But that doesn't mean we can't still get into it. First and foremost, though, big ups to short-titled books this week. With a slew of books like BLACK WIDOW, ELEKTRA, DAREDEVIL, MAGNETO, INHUMAN, PUNISHER, and more, this is one of the few weeks where I'd guess the average title length is only about two words (thrown off, of course, by the extraordinarily clunky AVENGERS AND X-MEN: AXIS and DEATH OF WOLVERINE: THE WEAPON X PROGRAM). Also, I don't usually talk about reprints or anything like that because they serve only to confuse me on the comic list but I want to shine a light on the fact that we'll get a SEVENTH printing of MS. MARVEL 1 this week. How crazy is that? Pretty fantastic though. Okay, so what am I excited about? Well, a good deal, as a matter of fact, but it is tempered by how dumb the current event is (not to mention that said event has a release this week and two books that directly tie-in to it plus several others, I'm sure). ANYWAY, on to the good'uns.


Black Widow 12
I love this book and it's quickly become one of those titles that washes over me with a cool wave of relief right after seeing books like AXIS: REVOLUTIONS or ALL-NEW ULTIMATES or something like that alphabetically. I was feeling down and then BOOM, B-Widz. Knocking it out of the park.


Daredevil 10
Geez, those Purple Kids are freaky. Even still, they're an interesting villain beyond just the fact that they're kids and DD probably shouldn't make a habit of beating up kids. They've all been directly and indirectly created by the Purple Man: directly because he's their biological father and he bestowed his powers unto them and indirectly because the impact he left on their lives and the havoc he wreaked on their upbringing by not being there left them emotionally fragile, even more so than regular children. Also, as I've been saying for three years now, we've got to be seeing the fallout from SHADOWLAND here. Huge credit to Mark Waid for holding off and patiently waiting to deliver greater results.


Moon Knight 9
Brian Wood and Greg Smallwood have already shown the chops for creating this book that Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey built so effectively and so efficiently (they're all helped by the phenomenal Jordie Bellaire on colors) but I'm more interested than excited to see this book for another week. Still trying to see what mark Wood and Smallwood will leave on the characters.


Spider-Woman 1
I'm leery of books kicking off during events (great work, CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE MIGHTY AVENGERS) and, frankly, I'm still leery of Spider-Woman as a character. I've never really loved her but I certainly came to like her more the more that Kelly Sue DeConnick used her in CAPTAIN MARVEL and AVENGERS ASSEMBLE. I also am a fan of Dennis Hopeless so here's hoping that it's the perfect storm of wary optimism that will actually pay off.


X-Force 12
So the team is probably a little more aware of Fantomex's sinister motives now that he's attacked all of them and sworn to kill them only to have Domino reveal herself and save the team. So much happening here and it's all been great through and through. Geez, good slate of books this week, huh guys?

Leftovers 10-22-14

All-New Ghost Rider 8

Johnny Blaze has tracked Robbie Reyes and spirit Eli Morrow down, determined to learn more about this all-new Ghost Rider. Eli convinces Robbie to let him take the reins to fight Blaze as Johnny looks into his soul and discovers Eli is a murdering Satanist, news which shouldn't surprise Robbie but rather does. Eli is overpowered by Blaze but manages to escape, continuing to wrestle Robbie for control and eventually winning it, throwing Robbie's life into chaos and attacking an old contact of his. Still not a bad series though it occasionally gets a bit heavy-handed in this one. It's an interesting idea but it's not one that's particularly a shock at this point as anyone with a brain can see Eli's not a good dude. The art is occasionally confusing this issue, particularly as the two Ghost Riders fight, but it still looks compelling visually overall. Total Score: 4/5





All-New Invaders 11
The Invaders are trying to find Human Torch and settle him down. They suspect he's going crazy because the energy burst that he and Namor were hit with affected him differently. The exact line, and I'm not making this up, from Namor is "It stunned me but, I assume due to his synthetic makeup, drove Jim insane." That's it. End of diagnosis. Everyone essentially nods and says "Mhm, that sounds likely, great work Namor. Or should I say 'Dr. Namor?' You seem to be a pretty solid scientist now." So they find Jim and he freaks out about how he needs to be killed because all the bad energy in him and they all say no but they also kinda say yes (great friends, these dudes) and Namor steps up and talks about how Jim has always been the conscience of the team (sure, a team with constant do-gooder Captain America and the guy struggling with humanity is the conscience, whatever) and he's always made Namor a better guy and then true love's kiss from an unexpected source (Namor) saves the over-powerful and fearful Human Torch, whereupon he learns that he can control his powers and flies into the atmosphere to burn off the bad energy. Look. It's pretty much Frozen. But, and I can't stress this enough, with worse writing. I'm not even a big ol' Frozen fan and GEEZ I'd rather watch the hour and a half of that rather than read this comic again. Total Score: 1/5


All-New X-Factor 15

X-Factor is trying to keep World War Hate at bay in DC as Polaris and Gambit attempt to quell rioters, Cypher, Luna, and Georgia try to quell different rioters, Danger and Warlock provide a shield between the Pentagon and the people, and Quicksilver swaps out the nuclear launch codes the president is bringing to a remote location to use on Russia with a briefcase full of comics. Some complications ensue but they're all overcome and X-Factor stays above the hate (mostly) thanks to Danger and Warlock. However, as they regroup back at Serval, they learn that the briefcase Quicksilver stole has a tracking device on it and some Sentinels make their way over to Serval. Some interesting stuff here. The issue manages to drag somehow, despite the immense amount of action it hinges on. There's a lot of dialogue but it doesn't all advance the plot or build character, some of it just seems meant to drag, which is an odd use of dialogue. Dynamic art works in the book's favor, though, as it's a very kinetic book to flip through. Total Score: 3/5


Amazing Spider-Man 8
Ms. Marvel and Spider-Man team up successfully to bring down Dr. Minerva, who claims to be working on behalf of the Kree to procure the cocoon. When a baby pops out of the cocoon, even one of Minerva's henchman recognizes how wrong what they're doing is and turns on the others, modifying their sonic scanner into a weapon and using it on his fellow henchmen. As Kamala and the henchman watch over the baby, Spider-Man sends Dr. Minerva scurrying away, calling her bluff about her affiliation with the Kree army. He then correctly identifies the henchman as none other than Clayton Cole and tells him to call up Peter Parker at Parker Industries if he's looking for a job. He also gives Kamala a killer pep talk. Meanwhile, Silk gets a new costume and, in the second half of the issue, Spider-Girl barely escapes Daemos, one of the Inheritors (that's apparently what they're called!), though her father and mother, Peter Parker and MJ Parker, aren't so lucky. Along with her baby brother Ben, Spider-Girl follows a couple other spiders out of her world and into the rebellion. The Kamala-Peter stuff is pretty great and is a crossover worth checking in to, if just to show how much Kamala's story mirrors Peter (though obviously there are some differences). We're also officially at the very edge of SPIDER-VERSE now as the true event is meant to kick off in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 9. The table's set, now it's time to actually serve up this next event. Total Score: 4/5


Amazing X-Men 12
Everyone is falling to the Wendigos and Tanaraq is nearing the breach between his world and the real world, prepared to conquer the world with his army of Wendigos. Storm convinces the other gods, beaten and corralled by Tanaraq, to give the X-Men their powers. With those powers combined, they manage to pull Tanaraq back from the portal and, along with the previously eaten Guardian, burst that guy up, ending the Wendigo Curse everywhere and reverting all those changed back to their regular forms. Altogether a pretty good first arc for the new creative team on this series. Yost and Kyle managed to make sure everyone they brought on this first story had some sort of an impact on the plot, which is easier said than done on a big team book like this. Better yet, the story itself was interesting enough alone. This ending is a little abrupt, as Storm basically says "hey you gods, give us your powers" and the gods go "well, okay, that's something we can evidently do." Still, strong work all around. Total Score: 4/5


Axis: Hobgoblin 1
Roderick Kingsley, the original Hobgoblin who has taken to selling criminal identities to up-and-comers, has changed his method and now sells hero identities to up-and-comers, rebranding himself has a motivational speaker of sorts and making crazy money in the process. The Goblin King, though, isn't so thrilled with the arrangement and wants Menace, Lily Holister, on his side to take down Kingsley. Menace has lost her goblin powers since Spider-Man injected her with the antidote but Goblin King believes that blowing up her car and forcing her into the river will probably do the trick to remind her she needs him (specious logic). Unfortunately, it wipes her mind a bit and sends her crawling to Roderick Kingsley in the hopes that he'll give her an identity. Kind of an interesting premise here but it relies on caring about a lot of Goblins, so if you don't you'll probably end up a little uninterested in this tie-in limited series. There are some fun bits but overall it's hard to nail a tone down on this one, which occasionally goes full joke but often also backs off and tries to go darker, weakening both. Total Score: 3/5


Cyclops 6
Cyclops and Corsair have been reunited with Corsair's team but, thanks in no small part to Scott not knowing what he's doing in space, they get captured by Starjammer enemy Malafect (I'm calling all space enemies Babbleblop Spaceman from now on because that's what most space baddies might as well be named). Corsair pretends to be furious with Scott to influence Spaceman, who decides to take Scott on as his own crew member after Cyclops, playing along, blasts Corsair with eyebeams. Babbleblop is into it and adopts Cyclops as his own (crew member). This issue, with a new creative team than the original (not a hundred percent sure if that's permanent or not, but Rucka and Dauterman are definitely both busy, so it, you know, still could be either), has lost a little bit of the spark of the first arc, which focused so much on building characters and bonding. This one gets more into the action and the typical sort of plot. It's still interesting enough to keep reading, but that's something to keep an eye on moving forward. Also, these sorts of space enemies tend to be interchangeable and uninteresting to me (hence: Babbleblop). Total Score: 3/5


Deadpool 36
Deadpool teams with Magneto and his crew to take down the Red Onslaught and his hero-killing Sentinels, which kind of draws the ire of his wife, who believes he needs to spend more time at home and helping her with her kingdom. As the Inversion Wave hits, things change quite a bit for Deadpool. Most of the heroes get surlier with him and oust his refugee friends from the X-Mansion. For Deadpool himself, though, the inversion has turned him peaceful and forgiving, giving way to an all-new Deadpool. It's a pretty neat idea and it's the first real mention of the effects of the inversion, proving that there could be interesting things ahead for AXIS. Since an initial terrible arc, DEADPOOL has turned itself into something really respectable (with a couple of road bumps) and a series that really knows its way around a crossover. Total Score: 4/5


Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy 2

X-23 freaked out a bit after Wolverine's death and left the Xavier School, angrily storming out on Kitty. She goes and parties in some weird and skimpy outfit and then gets involved in a strange gang fight and teams up with and talks with The Chinook, ex-mutant formerly known as Windshear, who teaches her some things about mourning and healing and whatever else. She's all better by the end and heads back home, proud of her clone-dad. Really distracting that there's this story about a teenager who is dressed so ridiculously. I think a lot of people are having trouble with X-23, not knowing how to write her as she starts to evolve a bit, and this is no different. I think there's a compelling story (KIND OF, not really) but it's so weirdly handled and overshadowed by everything else that it gets drowned out. Total Score: 2/5





Secret Avengers 9
We are so close to done this and yet WE'RE NOT DONE YET, what's the deal? I've been writing this for altogether too long. Okay. What happened in this book? There was probably some more condescension as Kot references purportedly more high-culture literature and art. This book is rather a hipster and guys, I hate hipsters. Anyway, Tlon is coming and Deadpool is done distracting Hawkeye and MODOK escaped and is hanging out with a shaman. I still don't care about this book. The Deadpool-Hawkeye team-up is pretty alright though. Total Score: 2/5


X-Force 11

MeMe has been dumped by Fantomex and, after a lifetime of never being dumped and not really understanding how relationships work, Hope is dedicated to finding out why. In the middle of invading Volga's campus, Hope sneaks into Fantomex's mind, suddenly believing him to be scared of Cable, which is why he broke things off with her. Of course, Fantomex knows she's there and snaps at her, screaming about how he doesn't fear anyone and how he's sick of this team belittling him and underestimating him. He has Eva expel Hope from his mind and makes his next move. With Volga's team dispatched, Fantomex turns on his teammates, incapacitating them before explaining that he must kill them all to prove how much better he is than all of them. Before he can do it, though, Volga's mysterious assistant, who had been wreaking some havoc on them earlier, shoots him in the head, revealing herself to be Domino. Really great twists and turns here and Spurrier continues to do excellent work with Fantomex and the rest of the team. I think Hope is a little weakly developed here but I think he has more to say about her and to explore with her. Spurrier did CBR's X-Position this past week and gave, as ever, a really interesting interview that I've been wanting to show to you guys all week. Check it out here and learn more about his really interesting take on these guys. Anyway, continues to be great, this book. Total Score: 4/5

Comics this week

Shorter week than last on new releases, which is pretty neat, but I'm not altogether too excited by the slate of releases, which is less neat. Should I maybe keep that to myself in the future? Feels like it gives away some personal biases that you all surely already know.

Amazing X-Men 12
I dunno, this one's been pretty neat since the inimitable Chris Yost took over. Probably one of the biggest Wendigo events I've ever seen. Anyway, it's been pretty cool and it's a short week and I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to send in the ringers on this one (HINT: I rarely plan these out. This is what two years of this blog does to me).

Avengers 37
Do I remember what's happening in this series? No. Of course I don't. I bet it's related to AXIS? WAIT. I do remember, it's eight months later, Sunspot is pulling the strings on the Avengers and on AIM, which are both, suddenly, under the same umbrella. Despite that first sentiment above, I have been enjoying these issues. I just have a bad memory and it's late.

New Warriors 11
Beating out AXIS despite a strong last issue, NEW WARRIORS has been knocking it out of the park since its start and it's time (read: too late) to shine a bigger light on it. Know how I mentioned I like Chris Yost above? I really like Chris Yost and I don't understand how his books don't survive. They're constantly really well-written and a lot of fun. Also, the good will this guy built up from Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes might make him untouchable in my mind.

She-Hulk 9
This too is beating out AXIS since I remembered the last issue ended with She-Hulk preparing to defend Steve Rogers on the stand against none other than Matt Murdock as the prosecutor. Twists and turns abound. This is another book that's regularly been good but hasn't outshined a lot of its competition. Wrong time, wrong place, I suppose. But it's here now!

X-Force 11
I reread X-FORCE 10 a couple days ago and it was still great. This book has been one that I regularly reread and find myself enjoying even more, which should come as a surprise to my readers if only because I won't shut up about this series even on the first read-through. Maybe it won't be a surprise, though, because I also won't shut up about that X-MEN LEGACY book by Si Spurrier so, shocker, I love this one too. This one I predicted I'd love and features one of my favorite writers from the last year and a handful of great characters. Spoilers?

X-Force 10, Punisher 11

X-Force 10


With Pete Wisdom's advice to watch out for the bugs, Cable's X-Force team recognizes that they're being watched. They're intent to make the surveillance work for them, though, and Dr. Nemesis has a plan to do it. Thanks to Psylocke's keen noticing skills, she has recognized that something has been going on at the X-Mansion, that there's been some unseen entity there, and MeMe has learned which toilet the entity uses, allowing them to teleport the mutant, who Nemesis suspects can only be remembered when seen, to their base. The mutant is ForgetMeNot, from Si Spurrier's (among others') X-MEN LEGACY 300. Nemesis intends to use a power suppressor to make ForgetMeNot, who doesn't have a bug watching him because Volga doesn't know/remember he exists, appear to Volga's systems, at which point Volga will send a bug after him and Nemesis will put a tracker on that bug before removing ForgetMeNot's suppressor and making the bug and Volga forget he was there, sending the bug back to Volga's base. After a long time trying to catch ForgetMeNot (and many viewings of a video Nemesis recorded to fill the team in on ForgetMeNot's presence, which of course is forgotten every time they lose sight of him), Nemesis is finally able to talk to him and reveal the plan, which ForgetMeNot, who absolutely hates these guys after spending some time in their presence, agrees to help with. Unfortunately, when the bug is dispatched, it doesn't forget him when the suppressor is removed. Fantomex knocks Nemesis out, reveals to ForgetMeNot that he knew the whole time he was there (the benefit of his advanced brain) and promptly kills the mutant, causing everyone to forget he was there and sending the bug back to Volga.

Boy, this book is something else. It's often so smart and so self-aware and so much fun, all at the same time. This is a perfect example of that as the ultimate plot and plan is extremely compelling and fun, as is the inclusion of Spurrier creation ForgetMeNot, and as we get a great characterization of everyone here. I wrote a summary that was altogether much longer than I wanted it to be and still couldn't convey everything I wanted to say about this book. There are so many great things happening in this issue between great looks at the viciousness of X-Force and of the broken people who have been chosen by Cable. This is a book that uses its space remarkably well, dragging very little while getting so much across. Excellent stuff. And it's great to see Tan Eng Huat and Craig Yeung once more teamed up with Si Spurrier (as well as the great X-MEN LEGACY homage cover by Rock-He Kim).

Total Score: 5/5


Punisher 11

Punisher gets out of the prison after learning what he wanted to learn for both himself and for Black Widow, who worked out a deal with him on the way to the prison to try to learn information from one of the inmates. After breaking out, Frank calls on former partner Rachel Cole-Alves to pick him up. As they talk on the ride back, he admits that he's thinking about hanging it up, feeling too old and broken for everything that's happening. She tells him how bad things have gotten in LA, even indicating that the Dos Soles are stronger than ever and looking for political sway (which they are). She convinces him by asking if maybe the Dos Soles and the American commandos trying to kill him are connected. Meanwhile, Officer Stone has taken the Punisher route to exact justice on the thugs who put Lou in a coma.

Edmondson, who has really been getting back to Punisher's roots, goes a little deeper into Frank's personality as he shows a rare moment of "maybe I'm done" from Frank. He also does a lot to show the effect Punisher has had in the last few years, obviously showing what Officer Stone has been inspired to do but also revisiting Rachel Cole-Alves, who last was investigated for killing a cop as Punisher's partner and for whom he took the fall, drawing the ire of the Avengers in last year's (I think, I was definitely doing the blog at that point) PUNISHER WAR ZONE. Edmondson is doing a lot of world-building here as we're seeing so much of what's happening in LA and with the Dos Soles looking to extend their reach. Another strong issue with some really good Mitch Gerads art.

Total Score: 4/5

Comics this week

Hey all my buddies, get ready for a deceptively short list of comics (it's deceptive because the site I use to look them up lists all variants and TPBs and everything else you could think of and THAT LIST, my friends, is a long list). Also, get ready for a couple of the clunkiest names a massive comic event and a hitherto unknown limited series might ever have.

Avengers 36
We've seen a little of what this eight-months-later future looks like on both sides of the ball now so diving back in with AVENGERS 36 could reveal a little bit more of what's happened lately and could build towards the future of this one. I've heard mostly good things about the eight-months-later business and I think we can all say Hickman is one of those guys we trust to handle something like this so read on to see where we are and/or will be at.

Avengers and X-Men: Axis 1
Do I put the colon in there? Do I not? No one will ever know. Is the thinking behind this name change from the short-and-sweet AXIS to the unbelievably unwieldy AVENGERS AND X-MEN: AXIS driven by the thought that maybe people weren't buying books like FEAR ITSELF and SIEGE because they weren't sure who was going to be in those books? Because, and remember this comic-makers out there, this is a uniquely visual medium to go along with your words, it's entirely possible for a cover to convey answers to such questions as "who will be in this book?" and "what sort of things can I expect from this book?" That is, unless there are so many unwieldy words and, undoubtedly, different type-faces that no one could possibly see the picture underneath. ANYWAY, new event starting up, Rick Remender's in charge of this one so I'm already interested.

Rocket Raccoon 4
Want to buy a book that's just really fun and spectacular to look at? I have to say, in all of comics (and let's not pretend I'm reading every comic released every week but I am reading every Marvel comic and a good bunch of Image comics and casually glancing at some others), this might be your best option for just that. Skottie Young is doing some wonderful things over here and I hope you're all checking it out.

Thanos: A God Up There Listening 1
Okay. Let me say up front: I am not remotely interested in this book. I don't even know what it is. I'd say it's the first time I'm hearing about it but I have a terrible memory and it's entirely possible that it is, in fact, not. Thanos tends to bore me and the fact that he's been thrust back into the light via several extremely lucrative movies and comics isn't exactly my favorite thing. Fortunately, this is a short-list week and I'm willing to cast aside, for the time being, genuine recommendations for CAPTAIN MARVEL and PUNISHER in order to shine a light on this god-awful title. I legitimately don't know if this is the title (furthermore, don't know if the colon should be there but I've made my decision) or if the comic site I use is simply making fun of me now, but this is, in fact, an anti-recommendation. Don't buy this book. I hope it's great because I much prefer reading great books. Given the description (something about Thane, with the Ebony Maw, learning things about his own future from his father's past), it's entirely possible this is some weird retrospective on Thanos' history. My reason for asking you not to buy the book is to stand with me in telling Marvel to tighten up their naming. I understand that there are certain trends and fads to differentiate the constant renumbering and rebranding and that things like that seem genius to some marketing guys out there (ALL-NEW is the bane of my existence and I don't CARE who knows), but this is just words thrown up on a cover in the thought that we'll probably just buy it anyway. DON'T DO IT, MY FRIENDS. I...I can't ask you the same about AXIS, though I really wish they'd just stuck with AXIS.

X-Force 10
Ah, who cares any more? It'll probably be great. Look at that blunt, direct name. Work of art.

Amazing Spider-Man 6, X-Force 9

Amazing Spider-Man 6

Black Cat unmasks Spider-Man on live TV but Jameson inadvertently blocks the shot the entire time in a swing and a miss at humor. Silk manages to bust Peter out of the fight before any lasting harm can come of it but they know now to be prepared for Electro and Black Cat at every turn, which is good because the villains, on the sort-of coerced advice of Sajani, plan an attack on Parker Industries' big reveal of their new Electro-depowering tech. Everything at the press conference goes crazy but the ultimate result is a massive explosion that falls on Parker Industries and Spider-Man's rep, though it does indeed manage to depower Electro. Black Cat escapes and finds herself back in the good graces of a slew of underling supervillains, pledging to become the queen of the thieves, while Silk gets an internship with a news station in hopes of finding more about her family, and Peter feels rejuvenated by the success of the Electro device and believes he's in a good place with his work and his friends Sajani and Anna Maria, who are whispering even now about undermining some of his work.

I've already voiced some disapproval and concern about this book as it has focused on a pair of villains who just come off as crazy and well out of their own character, particularly Black Cat (I think Electro has been slightly better and a little more interesting). Cat has oscillated between petty criminal and vigilante for some time now so this full U-turn to hardcore crime boss because she's been wronged continues to seem really far-fetched. It may seem overkill to keep harping on that but right now that's what the entire story hinges itself on so it's impossible to overlook or to overstate its significance. What's more, the writing has been exposition heavy and the repeated attempts at jokes and humor have come off forced and mostly weak. I think there are interesting nuggets here and there (Sajani's sort-of betrayal, Anna Maria as sort-of sidekick to Spider-Man, Peter's determination to "heal" supervillains, etc.) but they're hard to find right now beneath the problems of the book.

Total Score: 2/5


X-Force 9

X-Force has been revealed in the desert and, despite Dr. Nemesis' hopes for a dialogue, a fight breaks out between X-Force and Pete Wisdom's team. Meanwhile, Agent Mel, the leader of the soldiers, is taken right from under their noses by the guerrilla Quaddees they were chasing in the first place, which, along with the insane power the seemingly least powerful soldier has, serves to end the fight and open a dialogue, to Nemesis' satisfaction. The soldiers in this unit have volunteered for superpowers, essentially, that will kill them all within a year but that will aid Volga until then. Now aware of their situation and the stakes, they agree to accompany X-Force to find their missing commander. When the team finds her, they're overwhelmed by powered-up Quaddees. Psylocke and Meme manage to bust through and read the captured Mel's mind, learning about the experiments and the power of the soldiers. Unfortunately, there seems to be no reasonable way out of this scenario so X-Force is x-forced to stick to Mel's plan, which involves her own team self-destructing, more or less, to take out the Quaddees and to stop their own powers from getting out into the work. Wisdom leads his team back home, though he warns Cable first about the bugs around them as Volga's spies (which we saw just two issues or so ago).

Things remain a little confusing this issue, as they were last issue, but Spurrier's managed to clear up enough and to keep a lot of the banter entertaining enough to allow us to proceed with the story. It's a true in media res story overall as we only get bits and pieces of the soldiers' mission, only the parts we need to know as they pertain to X-Force, which makes for a bit of a confusing issue but still allows us to come out the other side with a slightly better sense of our team and of Volga's capabilities, not hurt by Wisdom's reveal. It's a particularly strong Dr. Nemesis issue (a character Spurrier unabashedly loves, and rightfully so) as his unending disdain for superheroes finds a real home with this team. Some strong writing and fun character moments (one of the constant joys of this series is watching Fantomex repeatedly assert he is the best as whatever he's doing only to be proven wrong immediately, a joke that never seems to get old) carry this one.

Total Score: 4/5

Comics this week

Hello my pals! I have a sneaking suspicion I didn't copy down the names of every new release this week so we may be surprised to find some more added on Wednesday but for right now, my count for new books is a surprisingly slim (and welcome) 16. On top of that, the top five jump out pretty easily so this should be an easy if predictable post! Also, why is ALL-NEW ULTIMATES coming out so often? Is anyone asking for it to come out that often? If you are, feel free to stop asking for it to come out that often.

Avengers Undercover 10
Dennis Hopeless' newest look at the survivors of AVENGERS ARENA comes to a close this week after a pretty exciting and similarly well-crafted run. I'm admittedly a little bummed to see it go as it provided a welcome return to that world and an interesting story to boot, though I think I've enjoyed it less than I enjoyed AVENGERS ARENA (though ARENA certainly had more time and more characters to build, which tends to be my favorite part of a comic). Still, tune in (do you tune in to a comic? Look, I'm not going to act like you do) for the undoubtedly exciting conclusion of AVENGERS UNDERCOVER.

Edge of Spider-Verse 1
How long has it been since Peter Parker has seen a spider-centric event again? I mean, his death was almost a full TWO YEARS AGO now. Well, hop back into the saddle Tiger (ugh, changed my mind, never saying that again) because you just hit the jackpot (I'm so sorry, look, I'm just as mad about it as you are). What will this event bring? How will all of the Spider-Mans from all the universes work together? Will the event be any good? This and more in EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE 1.

Hawkeye 20
On the heels of the extraordinary HAWKEYE 19, we take a look back over at the LA-based Hawkeye, the amazing and ineffable wonder of Kate Bishop as drawn by Annie Wu. I believe that Katie-Kate's time in California is coming to a close, which also means, sadly, that Annie Wu's time on the series is winding down as well, so check this one out while it's still here and fresh. Always great stuff from HAWKEYE and Annie Wu has made a name for herself with her phenomenal expression work and solid action. Great stuff.

Ms. Marvel 8
Ahhhhh, sorry NEW WARRIORS (and CAPTAIN MARVEL for that matter, I note with some surprise), you've been edged out once more by the increasingly enjoyable adventures of Kamala Khan who this week teams up with everyone's favorite field-goal-head dog Lockjaw. If you think I'm not giddy with anticipation for the wisdom Lockjaw will impart on the ever-growing hero (PUN) then you don't read enough of my friendly fanfic (just kidding you guys, I'd never write fanfic. You guys can do it to your hearts' content and you won't get a judgment from me but that's not my bag. My bag, instead, is writing for TOO LONG about why I like or didn't like a book or why, perhaps, I'm excited about it. Also: writing to stress just how clever I am).

X-Force 9
Did you guys know I like this book and I like Si Spurrier's other work? No? Well that seems improbable since I won't shut up about it. Guess you're new here! Welcome! Follow this blog and leave a comment and do whatever you would do on other sites, I'm sure you've been to the internet before, you can't fool me crafty new reader. Maybe follow me on Twitter (@starboy23) to be redirected back to this blog or follow me on Tumblr (timodactyl.tumblr.com) to see VERY LITTLE ACTION but a SOLID list of favorited posts or maybe see how my fantasy football teams are doing at Kalos4Eva (I'm Fletchling) or at Yahoo Public 1426278 (I'm Havok) or on my blog Marvels (readmarvel.blogspot.com) where you can

Leftovers 8-13-14 PART TWO

Alright, let's try this again and hope this is the conclusion of this two part arc on the blog. I can DO IT.

Nightcrawler 5
Claremont (w) and Nauck (a) and Rosenberg (c) and Sabino (l)

Total Score: 2/5

Nightcrawler is sad about Amanda and sad that the X-Men appear to be in such disarray but sometimes you just gotta grit your teeth and move on, so Kurt accepts a job at the Jean Grey school teaching whatever he can. For his first teaching assignment, he leads a handful of students in Danger Room exercises. Later that night, he takes the Blackbird out for a spin along with bug-like student Rico, who bonds with Nightcrawler over scary physical mutations. While out, Storm sends them to find a new potential student, a genius girl named Ziggy Kurst (??) but, unbeknownst to the X-Men, Ziggy has already been targeted by a group of aliens looking to profit off the girl's potential. Claremont's strength was always in building characters even in the midst of big, sweeping stories. Let's hope that strength comes to bear here as he's re-energizing the reborn Nightcrawler but the plots and the ancillary characters have left me less than interested.

Brief detour here just to note that if all goes well, I'll be finishing up this post today but I'm hoping to go even faster as I'm only able to keep working on this today because I'm out sick from work but ALSO I'm sick so lucidity might be right out the window and staring at a small computer screen almost certainly is.

Nova Special 1
Ryan (w) and Timms (p) and Poggi (i) and Redmond (c) and Cowles (l)

So this story continues as the bounty hunter Monark Starstalker has kidnapped Cyclops, who turns out to be the wrong Summers brother, and asks Nova's help to smooth things over with the man for whom Scott was kidnapped. Meanwhile, Scott's students try to track their teacher and Iron Man tries to track the kids who tricked and evaded him. The story ends up being better and more fun than I had expected though I can't help but still feel like it's a bit of a strange choice as some weird characters get teamed up here. Still decent fun and solid writing and art propel this one high enough that it's worth a read if you're interested in any or all of these characters. Total Score: 4/5


Spider-Man 2099 2
David (w) and Sliney (a) and Fabela (c) and Caramagna (l)

Miguel has been trying his hand at the heroing business in the present and finds the same sort of ease with street criminals and the same sort of anger with cops as the modern Spider-Man. He also deduces that his building's super is sick and boss Liz Allan deduces that he's the Spider-Man who "broke into" Alchemax, though he convinces her he's just a man from the future hoping to investigate Alchemax at its roots. She kisses him and leaves. There are bits and pieces of this issue and, so far, of this series that are interesting but there are plenty that are predictable and uninspired. I like Peter David and I think his strengths tend to be in dialogue, though his habit of tongue-in-cheek winks to the audience about the comic format (referencing how often people die and come back, pop culture references, and mentions of superhero tropes in casual conversation) do tend to wear a little thin, particularly, for some reason, here. Total Score: 3/5



Thunderbolts 29
Acker and Blacker (w) and Jacinto (a) and Silva (c) and Sabino (l)

Punisher is still pretty mad about the assassination attempt on him (here we learn that everything in his safehouses is bomb- and bullet-proof so the mini-fridge in which the bomb was placed softened the blow) and takes it out on the team by tracking and destroying each member. First is Deadpool, who he cuts up and places in jars despite Deadpool's protests that he quit the team. He also has a long and impressive battle with Ghost Rider that ends a little differently than Frank would like as he frees Ketch of the Spirit of Vengeance, but it works well enough as the threat is removed. Finally, Elektra tries to talk to him but it seems Punisher isn't in the mood to talk. MEANWHILE, Hawkeye keeps his search up. This is really an extreme Punisher story as we learn that Frank has long been planning, as you would assume, the ways to kill his teammates and now starts to enact his plots. Some cool stuff and a fun twist on the Ghost Rider fight but the end of the series looms large over this one. Total Score: 4/5


Ultimate FF 6
Fialkov and S. Moore (s) and S. Moore (w) and Araujo (a) and Rosenberg (c) and Sabino (l)

Sue is having baby as a portal to a dangerous world opens outside her hospital room. The thought is that it's the baby of Sue and Reed, as recommended by Miles Morhames to save their universe, but Sue reveals once the little girl is born that it is, in fact, boyfriend Ben's child, which Reed helped to obtain and artificially Sue with. Not a way to make that sentence sound good. Anyway, they fight off the aliens and then the series ends. I feel bad for Fialkov, who I think has largely done well in his time with Marvel, that the series ended so abruptly here before he could really get into the crazy designs he seemed to have. Still, not a particularly strong series. Total Score: 2/5


Wolverine 11
Cornell (w) and Woods (a) and Curiel (c) and Petit (l)

Wolverine strikes Sabretooth's compound with SHIELD's help as Sabretooth prepares to start his new world with the help of the orb. Wolverine breaks out Lost Boy and Pinch and together they catch and interrogate Mystique before knocking her unconscious. In pursuit of Sabretooth, Lost Boy and Pinch get trapped behind a forcefield as Wolverine moves on to his final test, another friggin mall. I think there's stuff in this series and in the last that could work if it wasn't so incredibly full of itself. This one is complete with, as the mall is revealed, a sudden and inexplicable narrator announcing dramatically the "zen joke" of the mall. I also really hate this Sabretooth, which negates pretty much this entire series for me. Could he use an update after decades of pretty much being a one-note act? Sure. Is it weird businessman with a sense of irony/humor? Nope. Total Score: 2/5




Wolverine and the X-Men 7
Latour (w) and Veltri, Deering, and Messina (a) and Silva and B. Smith (c) and Cowles (l)

Wolverine's ex-girlfriend Melita Garner wants to write a book about her old boyfriend, hoping to show a human element to him as opposed to just some cartoon monster and is undeterred even when she's given a cease and desist by Wolverine's lawyer Daredevil. She explains what she wants to do and he goes to present the case to Wolverine, also telling him that he can't live in fear. The speech at least works to the extent that Logan calls Storm to ask her on a date. Meanwhile, Idie sulks about what she's seen and Fantomex wonders who the Jean Grey School's enemies will fear with a powerless Wolverine. Plenty going on here and lots of places for the book to go as it focuses on Wolverine and his story but certainly keeps a light on the rest of the school. The art changes with just about each scene change and sometimes it works well and sometimes it falls a little flat. Not a bad book but certainly not a great one either. Total Score: 3/5


X-Force 8
Spurrier (w) and Kim (a and c) and Sabino (l)

With Volga thought defeated, we follow a British army troop as they, with mega top secret clearance, try to show themselves capable in the Middle East to win a contract to take over superhuman affairs back home. Embedded with them is an American journalist, from whom we get all the narration. The team itself seems to have powers, though they attempt to keep them hidden but they also keep getting guerrilla attacked by X-Force out in the desert, eventually provoking them to use their powers and signaling to current British superhuman affairs contract-holder Pete Wisdom and MI13 to come check the situation. They had been monitoring it for a bit and the only discrepancy they found was dodgy paperwork allowing the journalist, who Wisdom quickly attacks, revealing MeMe controlling a robotic body and forcing X-Force to reveal themselves. Certainly one of those issue where I can't really judge the content because it's clearly so tied to the coming issue(s) and this is just a set-up for that. It's a confusing issue for sure and one that merits reading over a couple times, though it drags a little more than this series usually does, undoubtedly a drawback of such a new story with so many new characters. Still some fun parts and more than enough happening (and enough leeway) to rep going with this series. Total Score: 4/5

Comics this week

Who releases 22 comics in a week??


Captain America 23
The countdown is on for a number of things happening, including Steve seeing Ian again and Falcon becoming Captain America.

Captain Marvel 6
Space war!

Original Sin 7
Is this thing really still going? I'm going quick here today (but really YESTERDAY, thanks to the magic of the internet) but I saw a poll on CBR asking which OS revelation has been the most interesting and literally NONE OF THEM WERE. The series isn't falling as flat as some others in the recent past (FEAR ITSELF comes to mind, as does AVX) but it's certainly not hitting me in any meaningful way. A NOTE: Cap finding out about the Illuminati was on the list and that one's interesting but I'm going to say I think that all happens with or WITHOUT OS so NO DICE.

Thunderbolts 29
I just like this book, okay? Edges out AVENGERS UNDERCOVER and AVENGERS WORLD in that respect. Also, ending soon, sad face.

X-Force 8
This book is great, expect some big plot movement this time out and GET ON BOARD THIS BOOK.

All-New X-Men 29, Amazing X-Men 9, X-Force 7

All-New X-Men 29
Bendis (w) and Immonen (p) and Von Grawbadger (i) and Gracia w/Keith (c) and Petit (l)

X-23 hits Xavier Jr. from behind, breaking his grip on the Stepford Cuckoos and releasing everyone, including his own Brotherhood, from his hold. As he attempts to regain control or to get the X-Men to kill one another, Jean Grey and the Stepfords team to keep him at bay while Laura keeps Raze busy. Eventually, after much banter, the X-Men capture Xavier and Raze, sending them to SHIELD with the explicit direction that they keep strong power dampeners and sedatives on the pair, while the innocent "members" of the Brotherhood are sent back to their own time. STILL, somehow, worst-character Maria Hill allows Xavier to write a message to himself in the future, warning them that this plan didn't work either (presumably she didn't know that's what he'd write, but come on). Also, Warren takes X-23 out on something of a date.

The cyclical and continuous nature of comics means that you almost never see a door explicitly closed. Even when, say, Si Spurrier erases David Haller from the Marvel Universe entire, there's almost always some sort of backdoor. Spurrier didn't really leave one but he acknowledged that someone could certainly come along and change things back anyhow. Still, this "enemies of the future can't be defeated until their dead" sort of backdoor is a dangerous and cynical one, one that allows a seemingly infinite amount of second chances. What might be more dangerous (and perhaps more cynical from me) is that I'm already totally sick of Xavier Jr. and his story. I was sick of it in BATTLE OF THE ATOM. Also Maria Hill continues to be terrible simply to move the story forward and now X-23 and Warren are a thing, apparently. I feel like this is all a new coat of paint on an obviously old story (guys, it's not even THAT old).

Total Score: 2/5


Amazing X-Men 9
Yost and Kyle (w) and Barberi (p) and Wong, Meikis, and Barberi (i) and Rosenberg (c) and Caramagna (l)

The Wendigo curse is spreading, having already enveloped an entire town, and no one is quite sure how to handle it. The US military wants to keep it across the border, though they're eventually outvoted by Thor and Captain America. Meanwhile, officials are suggesting people move south, hopefully keeping the plague behind them. The X-Men, of course, are trying to find Wolverine in all of this. Eventually they manage it, tracking Wolverine and his newfound allies Talisman and Puck, but they're still heavily outmatched by the power and numbers of the Wendigo. Talisman thinks, given enough time to perform the spell, she can change the Wendigo back to their true human form. The X-Men circle her to give her the time but the fight has proven too much for Wolverine, who collapses, turning into a Wendigo himself, and attacks Talisman.

Yost and Kyle, in their second issue of this young series and of this arc, keep the action up here, showing a true Wendigo infestation and making sure to illustrate just how devastating it is. It's so big that two prime Avengers make an appearance in an X-Men book. There's a bit of characterization mixed in with all of the action and the tone, with each character getting a little bit of time in the spotlight, at least long enough to establish a bit about his or her personality. It's a strong issue though I think it suffers a little from a strange desire to jump around in time and to cast the scale of the disaster against a running news broadcast about it. It stretches the issue a bit longer than it needs to be, slowing things where you don't want anything to be slowed. Still a strong issue and another good look at the new creative team.

Total Score: 4/5


X-Force 7
Spurrier (w) and R. Kim (a and c) and Sabino (l)

X-Force has the closest thing they're likely to get to a day off and they're spending it at home, mostly hitting on one another. Psylocke flirts clumsily with the guaranteed one-night-stand Cable but retracts it later when he goes a little too fundamentalist for her liking, MeMe pulls Fantomex into her world, using the Nantes in his head to tell him that she's bored and maybe they could hook up at some time, and Marrow is convinced that Doc Nemesis wants to sleep with her, even as he explains to her all the ways she's broken. Meanwhile, a past Cable had sent Domino to follow a money trail that would point to Volga's investors which pits her directly against Volga in his new robotic body even as Cable forgets she's out there. The issue ends darkly as Volga (who has been spying on X-Force) captures Domino and as Fantomex reveals that he's been killing Cable the last few days to make himself feel more important.

I talk frequently about the occasional need for a series to take a slight break, something to reset the action and slow things down a bit. X-FORCE, unwilling to really take time off, keeps the pace and the darkness off by introducing frequent Cable collaborator Domino to the series and immediately having Cable's "die everyday" revelation have some serious repercussions. Cable going fundamentalist by promising that X-Force will not cease and will even spy on possible threats to make sure their goals are achieved is paralleled by Volga making a speech to Domino that says more or less the same things Cable is, even ending with a pair of panels that put Cable and Volga's faces side-by-side. METAPHOR.

Total Score: 5/5  

Comics this week

Plenty of comics this week but I'm not sure anyone will be surprised by the ones I'm highlighting here. Doesn't make them the wrong ones to highlight.

Avengers Undercover 7
Fairly certain that I've read recently that this series is actually more of a miniseries, one that I want to say is ending with issue ten. It's a shame as this series already is showing that it has some legs. By the same token, it's a shame that I'm so tired and don't feel like looking up if that's true or not. I mean, I'm pretty sure. Ah well. Let's take it issue-by-issue and enjoy it while we can because, even if number ten isn't the final issue, we're all dying, Melissa.

Captain Marvel 5
We're creeping towards the end of the first arc of this new series, one that has found Carol Danvers in space and making new friends and some new enemies, as well as new people (aliens) who regard her with indifference. So a little of everything. That said, I think one of the strengths of the last series was DeConnick's insistence on shining a light on Carol's life outside of her work so that she was a fully fleshed out person and her allies were fully fleshed out people. I think she's doing a rush job with that here and I don't think it will have the weight when the time does finally come. Still, it beats out AVENGERS 32 because they're still time-traveling, which is more interesting out of Hickman but still is only so interesting.

Daredevil 5
After somewhat middling praise for the first two books on this list that seem to highlight perhaps a slower release week this week, our last three books come with full and unwavering recommendation. DAREDEVIL continues to be fun and fresh and to feel new, even though it was the same creative team who took the man without fear out of New York and brought him to California to start a new book. Go take a look, pals.

Winter Soldier: Bitter March 5
The conclusion of the pretty fantastic WINTER SOLDIER: BITTER MARCH limited series from Rick Remender comes out on a week when Remender himself is facing some controversy for a scene in the most recent CAPTAIN AMERICA, one that I didn't even realize was a controversy and the controversy of which seems largely to stem out of unhappy fans annoyed with the breadth of Remender's run. The controversy seems to come from Jet and Falcon's newfound affair with some (wrong) people calling it "statutory rape," which seems ignorant at best and offensive and hateful at worst. Talking about the reaction, not the scene, because, as you may have gathered, I don't buy it. It feels very much like looking for problems and drama and spewing hate and un-researched opinions (complete with its own Fire Rick Remender hashtag on social media). Instead of listening to me, listen to Marvel editor Tom Brennan and writer Kieron Gillen, both of whom are better at this sort of thing than me and who aren't supposed to be writing about WINTER SOLDIER: BITTER MARCH right this very instant. Look, just read this one, okay? And support Rick Remender. He's done great work the last few years at Marvel.

X-Force 7
Geez, that last post went on SO LONG and didn't even talk about WINTER SOLDIER! Let's do half of the opposite here and write a post that's SO SHORT while still not talking about the book at hand. Go buy it Wednesday, this series is great.

X-Force 9, Wolverine 9

X-Force 6
Spurrier (w) and J. Molina (p) and Yeung (i) and Rosenberg (c) and Petit (l)

Volga's thrown Cable out the window and subsequently exploded him and now has the team trapped and even MeMe, our narrator in this issue, rather trapped in a computer. She seems to be taking Cable's death particularly hard but takes the time to give us a brief rundown on what happened in Alexandria. She had been there, working for Volga, and saw the bomb explode, aiming for mutants, and had seen Cable and Hope affected. Back with Volga in the present, the villain prepares to start experimenting on the surviving team just as Cable and Dr. Nemesis teleport into the room, revealing that Cable has been sending copies of himself into fights as the real Cable, poisoned during the bomb, is in stasis and continually sends his copies out to die while receiving the memories and information they gain in his headband. They escape Volga's grasp and Psylocke again tells MeMe that she has to reveal to Cable who she really is...Hope, piggybacking on the real but brain dead MeMe's powers.

What do I have to tell you people to get you to read this book? Or are you all doing it already? Let me know, okay? Because seriously, it's so great. I explained this whole series to someone today and, even with my babbling summarization (familiar with those?), the book sounded AWESOME. To me, at least. I think the audience I was telling it to was genuinely interested but, you know, babbling. Really great issue and how crazy is it that the reveal of the bomb's real impact and that Cable's been sending copies of himself out into the world while he slowly dies at home AREN'T the biggest reveals. Check this series out.

Total Score: 5/5


Wolverine 9
Cornell (w) and Anka (a) and Curiel (c) and Petit (l)

Wolverine continues to chat with Death while Iron Fist and Shang-Chi fight the Hand outside. Wolverine learns from Death that he's still rather afraid of dying but that he also still has honor and pride and whatever else. He also learns that Sabretooth has Pinch, her daughter, and Lost Boy and he's ready for a rematch.

THE DEATH OF WOLVERINE is looking more and more like a rebranding than an actual, literal death. There's talk in this issue about what a name means and what his name is and other things of that vein. Death also scoffs at the idea she told him he'd die in three months. ANYWAY, I still can't get behind this book. The talk with Death as an actual person continues to not be that compelling to me, particularly as Death just espouses super basic psychology kind of stuff that should absolutely blow no one's mind. Also Rose makes another appearance and his dumb rose tattoo does the same. Hoping his healing power comes back just to get rid of that.

Total Score: 2/5

Comics this week

Hey bros and ladybros, we have a pretty big slate of comics this week because the universe hates me! Let's call out this week's top recommended books in our weekly pre-game.

Amazing Spider-Man 3
Slott has jumped right back into the swing of things (HA, how many times has that pun been used overall for Spider-Man or other superheroes, really, do we think? I'd put the over-under at 2,500) and this book feels rejuvenated for it. Been fun so far, looking for that fun to continue.

Ms. Marvel 5
If you're not reading this book yet, you should probably get on the bandwagon while there's still room. Seriously. Bandwagons aren't really known for their size, mostly for their propensity for heading towards things that people like. ANYWAY, it's been a fun book and, if Jamie McKelvie's covers are to be believed, young Kamala Khan is headed on a collision course with the rest of the Marvel Universe sooner rather than later.

New Warriors 6
This was VERY NEARLY replaced on this list by NEW AVENGERS 20 but I didn't want to have to write "SERIOUSLY, they're gonna fight those dudes at SOME POINT" a third time so instead, I'm choosing NEW WARRIORS, a book that deserves to have a little light shed on it. This book has had a really interesting mix of voices and I'm looking forward to seeing where these characters take us. So far, we have three choices that are a bit against the grain in that they're all what I'd describe as genuinely fun books. WILL THE TREND CONTINUE? NOPE.

Uncanny Avengers 21
Rick Remender's epic story continues as the remaining Unity Avengers prepare to "trust" Kang and travel back to the past to save the rest of their team. Can they manage it? What will become of the timeline they've grown to know and, perhaps most importantly, what will become of little Katie Summers? STORY ABOUND.

X-Force 6
If you even TRY to tell me you're not reading this book I'll be of a mind to slap you. Spurrier has brought his typical heady but extraordinarily fun style to this book about the world's covert mutant good guys and it's fired on every cylinder so far. Really enjoying this book. It's always refreshing to have a book for which you have high hopes actually meet or exceed those expectations. LOOK NO FURTHER, this book is GREAT.

This week's picks

Hey all my buddies! Sorry for all of those SUPER QUICK REVIEWS this week. GUYS, why did I say "sorry?" It was probably better for EVERYONE. I'm still planning to do full reviews for a number of books but, as I intimated earlier this week, I may do these more often (unless, and this is a pretty big unless potential investors, someone starts paying me for this blog). But THAT'S not what the Sunday post is for. The Sunday post is for BEST OF. So what was the best of this week? Well I'd certainly recommend the following.

Avengers 29

Am I still a little sore that this book was $4.99? And that this extra dollar came from an extra ten pages plenty of readers have already read or that could have been covered in maybe an extra page-long recap? Yes. Duh. I just mentioned it all, clearly I've been thinking about it. THAT SAID, I do really love this issue. Jonathan Hickman has two AVENGERS books in a row that feature key Avengers members (one of the original Avengers and one of the "IT ONLY TOOK ME FOUR ISSUES TO GET HERE TOO" Avengers) discovering something about other key member Tony Stark and wanting rip him apart for it. Unlike the last one, which sort of disperses as Banner agrees reluctantly to join up with the world-saving and not kill the Illuminati (yet), Cap won't be so easily swayed. It's wonderful and incredibly tense, somehow managing to be tense despite being a different version of AVENGERS 28. Lots of fun if you find remarkably tense moments between dudes who were friends but also have been pretty bitter enemies PERHAPS a bit more recently "fun." I do. Check it out.

Captain America 20

This one was a tough choice (and probably my Cap bias is out in full here) between, particularly, this one, CAPTAIN MARVEL, NEW AVENGERS, and AVENGERS UNDERCOVER. This one ultimately wins out because Rick Remender has made it his mission this whole series to break Steve Rogers in every way possible and BOY does it come out in force here. If you're looking around going "geez, I think superheroes at Marvel don't get beat up enough," you will love this book. I'm...I'm not sure anyone should be looking for that? But if the idea doesn't turn you off, you should check this book out. You should probably check it out anyway. Remender's doing astonishing stuff breaking down the most unbreakable character in this modern day Job-like story. But also with punching and superheroes and world-level threats.

X-Force 5

Si Spurrier is regularly putting out really thought-provoking, human books even as he puts people up against incredibly powerful or even ridiculous villains (Spurrier recognizes in the book that Volga is crazily over-the-top but he's not really who we care about). X-FORCE is just another in a line of phenomenal releases from Spurrier (even outside of his Marvel work) that make you really care about the characters and that keep you aware of who everyone is and what everyone's going through at all times. This is very heavily a Marrow-centric issue but it's impossible to not acknowledge what's happening with Cable and with Psylocke and with Fantomex. It's excellently done and it's, to this point, everything I want this series to be.

All-New X-Men 27, X-Force 5

All-New X-Men 27
Bendis (w) and Immonen (p) and Von Grawbadger (i) and Gracia (c) and Petit (l)

The Evil X-Men Brotherhood (the ones from the future who messed with everything in BATTLE OF THE ATOM and who need a better distinguishing name) have found the Xavier School and begun to attack, with Raze, the shapeshifting son of Mystique and Wolverine (it would seem), posing as a wounded X-23 and stabbing the healer first. Things get crazier as future Jean Grey and Charles, the psychic son of Mystique (posing, at the time, as Moira MacTaggert) and Xavier, launch a psychic attack on everyone at the school, even taking control of one of the Cuckoos to keep their power up. Only past Jean Grey, Emma Frost, and Cyclops remain hidden from the attack. When the evil brotherhood starts to get a location on young Jean, Emma knocks her out to keep them all protected, though it sends Jean into a state where Charles can talk to and threaten her.

Story
I'm doing everything I can to see this as a new story, something removed from BATTLE OF THE ATOM which I so loathed. It is extremely difficult to do that, though, as everything still seems to be linked to BOTA because that's the only time these characters have appeared. As such, the story right now is limited and we can only assume this group is here because they didn't like the way things turned out in the aftermath of BOTA and seek to rectify it (or to send the ANXM back to the past. There's more history given for Charles and Raze though not really enough yet to explain why they're both so mad, though that's surely coming. This issue then is dedicated mostly to the siege on the Xavier School and kind of makes you think "hey, maybe these kids aren't getting enough training in?" Okay, maybe that's not fair, they're facing two Mystique-mothered children with Wolverine and Xavier all mixed in there and another Jean Grey, on top of some others. Still, we'll have to wait a little longer before we can get a full sense of this story. 4/5

Character
The biggest character moments are for the enemies, as we do see a bit of flashback history for Charles and Raze. There's a bit here and there for other characters through the dialogue, but they seem to be our focus right now. Cyclops' team's healer, Christopher Muse (I had to look his name up because I do not have any sort of connection to these kids), gets a teeny bit of characterization and story as he freaks out over dying (understandable) and as we learn that he can heal himself, even if it's unconsciously. Still, not really an issue for characterization of our main team but it's kind of weird to me that this book has shifted so much into being a book about both the O5 team and Cyclops' team when it had originally been the O5 team and where Cyclops' team already has a book. 3/5

Writing
Still a bit of back-and-forth dialogue which, as ever, feels incredibly out of place in big and tense fight scenes. There are times to let off the gas with dialogue and a big fight scene always seems like one of them. There's also opportunity to keep everyone suspicious and paranoid and tense and Bendis touches on it a bit but I think the jokes and the quips kind of get in the way of that tone really establishing, which is a shame because the fight, for however forced it kinda feels, is still an interesting one as it develops (it's hard not to view the convenience of a team that has two sons of Mystique, one with Wolverine DNA and one with Xavier DNA, fairly cynically but that doesn't mean the fight still can't be interesting). 3/5

Art
I always like Stuart Immonen's art and I've come to really appreciate Marte Gracia's colors. I think the art really helps the book in a lot of ways and kind of draws the eye away from any problems in the story. 5/5

Miscellaneous
I don't know if you guys could tell but I'm having a lot of trouble separating this from BOTA.

Total Score: 3/5


X-Force 5
Spurrier (w) and J. Molina (a+c) and Sabino (l)

X-Force is prepped for an attack on Volga after getting all the information they could out of the dead Aggasiz. It turns out Aggasiz, a mutant who could travel through other dimensions, had worked for Volga stealing all sorts of weapons-tech from other universes in exchange for his kidnapped family's safety. The most problematic tech he stole was a sort of enhanced super soldier serum, which gave people incredible powers but also faded after a certain amount of time, killing the soldiers who used it. For Volga, that's not so much a problem, as he realizes country's will still use the serum and just come back for more when their batch dies (because he's truly horrible). This is, it seems, also what happened to Marrow (though she, clearly, didn't die) and, as she attacks Volga's compound, she wonders why she remembers so little of her experience. However, as her narrative rattles on and she continues referencing whoever she's talking to as "baby," it dons on her that she was pregnant before Alexandria and that they killed her baby. Psylocke manages to figure out what's happening right as it happens and makes sure Fantomex and Cable are covered as Marrow lashes out, wrecking through Volga's troops. Volga himself finally comes out and talks to Marrow, revealing that she knew the risks going in but that she volunteered in the hopes of getting her powers back. With Marrow out of the fight (now paralyzed with countless emotions) Volga's men knock out Psylocke and Fantomex and take all three with them as Volga reveals that they injected Cable with the soldier serum at Alexandria too and wonders why he hasn't died yet. It's not so big a problem, though, since he has a way to expedite the process and affixes it to Cable before tossing him off his HQ, allowing him to explode below while Volga ends up with the three other mutants.

Story
Good god, there's a lot happening here. Spurrier's a master at seeding little bits here and there throughout an arc and then watching it all hit home in one big reveal. It's Marrow's turn for narrative again this time and we get to see the pieces all start unraveling as her narrative leads us right to the fight and X-Force's loss. There's so much happening as we learn about how Marrow and Cable have powers again and we learn a good deal more about Volga (who is, by his own admission, a "comedy Russian bad guy") and the story of our team propels to an entirely new place. It's a pretty dark book and it's a pretty deep story and it's rather a thrill to watch it all come together (or come apart, as the case may be). 5/5

Character
Plenty is explained about a couple of our characters, which would be probably enough to boost this character score up by itself, but X-FORCE goes further than that. Each of these guys have such a distinct personality and we get a chance to see them all in their distinct roles, as Cable commands and leads, Marrow fights until the shocking news and then fights even harder and then shuts down, and Psylocke does what she can to keep everything moving the right way. The team knew about Marrow's baby and knew that the memories hadn't been removed from her, she'd repressed them because she couldn't deal with them. Psylocke tries to calm Marrow down when she learns and then tries to keep Volga from revealing the full truth to Marrow because she knows the impact it will have. Lots happening with every character, even with the noticeably quieter Fantomex, who continues reeling from last issue's crushing defeat wherein he started to see that maybe he wasn't the best there ever was at everything. Here he stays quieter, claiming to have a headache, and finds himself even more miffed as his bullets fail to kill the soldiers. Volga gets tons of characterization and it's totally over the top but he recognizes how over the top it is so Spurrier gets his chance to combat that accusation before it can land. Solid stuff all around, just an incredible book and we're only five issues in. 5/5

Writing
I have to think that all the writing I've done on this post already has told enough about the writing of this issue. I'll just mention that the pacing is really great, starting a little slower as they wait to attack, then instantly getting into it but in the same sort of balanced way that traditional superhero fights go until the revelation about Marrow's baby, which brings everything to a halt before really escalating the pace and, again, dropping it when Volga makes his big reveal. Between that and the wonderful Marrow narrative, Spurrier's got us right in his pocket. 5/5

Art
Jorge Molina steps in to do the art on this one and I think the change works pretty well, though I've liked Rock-He Kim's art (which is, I think, probably exactly what I said last issue, which also featured Molina on art). His Marrow is a little softer, even prettier, so that when she bones out (there's got to be a better description than that for her power) it's more abrupt and more fearsome. It's particularly effective in this issue when she also withdraws back into herself and we can see how small and devastated she is. Really strong stuff. 5/5

Miscellaneous
Geez, what a book.

Total Score: 5/5

Comics this week

Hey there everybody, pretty standard release week this week as, by my possibly inaccurate count, fifteen new titles will be released. Let's get right into it.

Avengers Undercover 4
I think this series is headed for some interesting places considering the sorts of things Hopeless is setting up and the sorts of things he already did in AVENGERS ARENA. It's been exciting so far to come back to that little corner of the world with the memories of it not so faded and to see where our characters are primed to go next.

Captain Marvel 3
The new start to this series has given some opportunity for some really intriguing changes and to explore a whole different side of Carol (not to mention for her to explore a whole different side as she continues to work around her lost memories). I don't think the series has been at its strongest yet but we all know what it's capable of.

Iron Man 25
I've liked what Gillen has done on IRON MAN over the past two years and I think this Mandarin's rings storyline that has pitted him against Malekith, of all characters, is intriguing in its own right, let alone all of the surrounding story. I also feel I maybe haven't shined enough of a spotlight on this one for being just a really interesting and often fun book for a solid 24 issues. Also, I didn't want to pick AVENGERS because it's 4.99 this week and I'm getting more and more critical of that as it keeps happening.

New Avengers 18
The Illuminati, likely moving very soon into an ORIGINAL SIN tie-in, is currently set to face an incursion-defeating world as two teams with solid incursion records square off for the first time in this book. See, who says that sports and comics can't be simpatico?

X-Force 5
After last issue's crazy narrative and the whole series' real dedication to developing its extremely interesting characters, everyone should be interested to see where X-FORCE plans to go next. There's nothing stronger than a book where we have such a personal view of the characters yet don't know the story nor the actual decisions a character might make. We have a good sense of who these guys are and what they think about and what this team means to them (some more than others at this point) but that certainly doesn't mean we know what they're capable of. Really excited about this book.

Guys

We didn't even talk about how X-FORCE 4 started with Fantomex chasing a cat-related person who didn't want anything to do with him in an issue called "Le Pew." I was laughing out loud even before the name came, then it just got better.

This week's picks

Hey everyone, sorry for the no-post yesterday. I scheduled myself to have Saturday open so I could, if I chose, review the free comic book day books yesterday. Instead, I chose not to. Still, hopefully you guys all went and had a good time at your LCS. Now on to the top picks of the week!


Amazing Spider-Man 1

Dan Slott, Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba, and Edgar Delgado return to the world of Peter Parker and very quickly show us that they're ready to pick up right where they left off. With a solid lead story and a number of fun and interesting shorter stories to follow it, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 1 gives enough book and enough excitement to justify its $5.99 price tag but I couldn't help wondering this whole week about what I talked about at such length in my little miscellaneous section in the main review (linked to above). I still can't help but think that putting this book out for the regular $3.99, even if you sell it at a loss, encourages a ton more people to pick up this book and erases questions of "is the book worth the money?" and replaces it with "this book was well worth $3.99." ESPECIALLY for a big launch the week of FCBD. Get your new readers, dummies.

Avengers 28

I like it when things come to a head in a book in a way I don't expect. For all that I've loved the Illuminati and wondered about who would find out about the incursions next, I never jumped to Banner (though I very clearly should have, considering who comprises the Illuminati as is) and I never thought about all of the repercussions that would have. Hickman did something pretty clever by shell-gaming us with Captain America, kicked out of the Illuminati and memory erased while we sit and wonder when that's going to backfire on them. While we were looking at Cap, there was Hulk with the biggest of all axes to grind with this team. Hickman brings out the tension and the anger beautifully in this book before deflating it with a few well-placed Tony words. Really strong.

X-Force 4

I love Fantomex and I love what Spurrier had teased about Fantomex and I love issues that fundamentally change the way we look at a character but stay, somehow, in the realm of what we know of a character. That was a tough sentence to get through. ANYWAY, this issue has a bit of everything. Fantomex struggles with his programmed self-worth/self-assuredness as he can't help but recognize the skills of the people around him. Between that and the building sense of doubt around EVA and the explanation of the white hot room, Spurrier continues to bring out the very best (which is sometimes the very worst) in characters and really knows how to get them to a place where he can use them to tell the most effective stories. Great work all around.