Avengers and X-Men: Axis 6

Avengers and X-Men: Axis 6
Remender (w) and T. Dodson (p) and R. Dodson (i) and Delgado and Aburtov (c) and Eliopoulos (l)

The X-Men have taken over Manhattan and have started to expel humans from the city, promising that soon, attempts at taking back the city would be met with violence, all while secretly building a gene-bomb that will soon kill everyone without the X-gene. Sabretooth and Mystique have learned of the bomb's existence and have joined with other inverted villains like Loki, Enchantress, and Carnage in a group assembled by Steve Rogers to set things right. Also, Scarlet Witch attacks a repentant Doom in Latveria.

Let me make one thing clear: there are some interesting dynamics here. I've talked in the past (though probably not for a year and a half now, since DARK AVENGERS) about a soft spot I have in my heart for alternate dimension stories. Because I'm a nerd, like you, and we like these possibilities. I think we like them even more in long-running comics because we so intimately know these characters that twisting them allows us to wonder, if I may, "what if...?" That's 100% what this feels like. So, you say, perhaps I've come around on AXIS? Nope. It feels like that but I don't want my mainstream universe to feel, at any point, like an alternate universe. That's why it's my mainstream and that's the appeal of an alternate. However, it does leave me in a weird position with this event where I'm able to recognize that maybe occasionally we need a big shift like this, even if it's only going to be righted a couple months down the road. However, this continues to feel very much like a shoe-horned "let's write heroes as villains and villains as heroes!" sort of pitch. I cannot respect that. Even if this wasn't billed as a major event and was instead advertised and sold as a WHAT IF...? or a separate alt-universe story or something like that (which, I understand, wouldn't sell at a fraction of an event), I'd be rolling my eyes at it. The complications are that some sort of marginally interesting plot is developing amidst this terrible premise and the tie-ins (which we'll, I'm assured, get to at some point this week) are a little more compelling than the main series (which occasionally happens, at least in my view, because it gives us a sense of how things are affecting our characters at a more personal level). At the end of the day though, my rating has to be based on whether this is worth reading? And guys, obviously it's not.

Total Score: 2/5

ALL OF LAST WEEK 11-12-14

Ugggh. Alright guys, I gave you a heads-up on this. Did I definitely know I wouldn't get any reviews done? No, I had some amount of optimism. Did I suspect I wouldn't get any reviews done? No comment.
So this blog is getting a little bit lax lately. I built up this thing on reliability and long and rambling reviews. Unfortunately, lately I've both been unreliable and I've tried to cut off the rambling. One of those changes, I believe, has been a good thing. The other? Wellllllllllllll, maybe less so. There's a good chance this blog starts taking a different format soon or at least stops proudly toting that it reviews every single major Marvel comic every single week. But, as we are still that (at least in my head), here's as quick a review as I can do for every comic this week.


All-New Captain America 1

Sam Wilson is officially the new Captain America and he's certainly capable of walking the walk, talking the talk, and wielding the shield. In a bit of a challenge, his new pseudo-partner is the new Nomad, Steve's son Ian. Together they storm an enemy base but find themselves at odds when Nomad throws Batroc the Leaper to his death (WHAT) and the pair suddenly find themselves faced with a number of classic Cap villains led by Baron Zemo. Remender's wasting no time getting Sam acquainted to the role and to the Cap villains he already knows. There are some great uses of Redwing in this issue and, while it's a pretty good issue and certainly a monumental achievement, it's hard for me to give this a 5 out of 5 when it's possible Batroc is dead. Total Score: 4/5







All-New Ultimates 10
Taskmaster is hunting Ultimates and just about finishes his collection with little resistance, though now he has to contend with an angry Bombshell. Still don't like this book but at least some plot and action happened. Total Score: 3/5


Avengers and X-Men: Axis 5

All the Avengers who were on Genosha are still inverted (though, and I wanted to talk about this above but I forgot and there's no possible way to go back, ALL-NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA mentioned off-handedly in its opening salvo that a bunch of heroes got inverted but came back around, so great work schedule?) and they capture the other Avengers after calling a meeting, leaving only Spider-Man, Nova, and a few others free. And the X-Men attack them. And everyone's mad. And this is still such a stupid and reverse-engineered premise. I don't really care if you can milk stories from it for months, it doesn't make it a worthwhile event. Total Score: 2/5








Axis: Hobgoblin 2
Phil Urich, the new Goblin King, attacks original Hobgoblin Roderick Kingsley only to discover that Roderick, profiting on his newfound success as a hero, has an amnesiac Lily Hollister in his sway. There are some fun and interesting things happening here but it all relies on characters I personally practically refuse to care about. Total Score: 3/5


Bucky Barnes: The Winter Soldier 2
Bucky was shot in the back just after learning that Loki was the middleman for the drug running operation underseas. The bullet he was shot with turns out to be filled with the drug they're chasing, a dosage of hallucinogenic Illum which wreaks a bit of havoc with Bucky as he tracks down and confronts Loki. Loki plays some games with him and makes him see all manner of strange, identity-plaguing thing. Still, by the time Bucky gets through it all, he's learned the location of the planet he needs to visit next. QUESTION: is this really the threat-level Nick Fury had to contend with as man on the wall? I'm still not at all sold on Ales Kot but he's working a bit better already with Marco Rudy, whose art is well worth the price of admission. Really gorgeous but the story and the dialogue leave a lot to be desired. Total Score: 3/5






Captain America and the Mighty Avengers 2
The Inversion is still happening over here and the Mighty Avengers are starting to think maybe they can run the world with an iron fist (though Iron Fist himself is not affected by the inversion) and finally bring peace. However, that doesn't mean inverted Luke Cage is going to forgive Spider-Man for that whole superior thing. Again, I didn't enjoy this book but I think it comes as a result of a weak premise that I cannot get behind. I mean, I don't regret buying it at all because Skottie Young cover, so duh. Total Score: 2/5


Captain Marvel 9

Captain Marvel and Tic find themselves summoned by mutant intergalactic pop-star Lila Cheney to help her get out of an arranged marriage with a prince of a different planet that she certainly never arranged. The planet the space-adventurers find themselves on is one where everyone speaks in rhyme and it gets a little bit old throughout the issue but props to DeConnick for almost entirely making it work. Anyway, Captain Marvel finds a solution, helped by her beating up a vile, power-hungry woman who would marry the prince herself to gain power, and Tic marries the prince instead, though is promised that it's a marriage in name only and that she's able to go wherever and do whatever she likes anyway. Ambitious issue that falls a little flat for me because I still don't like the Captain Marvel supporting cast and the change of scenery. I loved Carol when she was relatable and tough on Earth. Pulling her into places where explaining the plot (or rhyming) has to take most of the dialogue instead of character building hurts this book. Total Score: 3/5


Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy 4
Lady Deathstrike has a lot to think about with Logan dead. She does her thinking while thwarting a slave trade and deciding to run Logan's old underground. Certainly not a bad issue and it mostly moves fast. The art style of Juan Doe works really well with Lady Deathstrike. Total Score: 4/5


Guardians 3000 2

The Guardians continually face their own death but finally break out of their cycle with the advance knowledge provided by Geena Drake. They manage to flee from an overwhelming amount of Badoon with the assistance and probable sacrifice of Gladiator and others, hoping to end this war once and for all, though they're being followed by what is purportedly a big ol' Badoon weapon. Still finding it a little hard to get invested in these characters or this future. Total Score: 2/5











Hawkeye vs. Deadpool 2
Hawkeye and Deadpool are trying to figure out how the pieces of this puzzle fit together but continue to come upon dead ends. When Deadpool and Kate finally start getting somewhere with a hidden flashdrive, though, Hawkeye reveals himself to be apparently some sort of double agent, stabbing Deadpool and knocking Kate out while he takes the flashdrive for himself with much the same gusto as the fake heroes Black Cat had in her employ. Still some fun here but the issue drags a good deal. Total Score: 3/5


Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man 7

Osborn reveals to Miles that he, the Spiders, and Miles' dad are all connected in some way but refuses to give any more evidence than that, eventually leading to Miles and Peter knocking him senseless and potentially re-killing him. Peter gives Miles his blessing and his web-shooters and leaves with MJ to try to figure some things in his life out. Soon, Miles is faced with seeing his father again. Oh, and Kate Bishop's parents are Hydra so she's Hydra and she knows who Miles is. The issue moves pretty well and there's only a little bit of forced banter thrown into a long fight scene. It's very similar to the last issue in a number of ways but it still moves well and adds a bit of texture to the story, so little to complain about. Total Score: 4/5







Nightcrawler 8
Nightcrawler and the X-Men are returning to normal life after the passing of Wolverine when Nightcrawler is pulled back into the lives of the Crimson Pirates thanks to a distress call from Pirate Bloody Bess, who asks for Nightcrawler's help in defeating her teammates, possessed by the villain the Shadow King. He agrees to help her but they quickly find themselves on the run hoping for more backup from the X-Men, who similarly get possessed, and possibly Scorpion Boy and Ziggy Karst. Claremont's love of story again wins out here, though he's quietly doing a good job with Nightcrawler's character. Still, pacing and excessive dialogue really drag this book back down. Total Score: 3/5


Nova 23

After discovering that Kluh is attacking Arizona, Nova rushes away from Spider-Man and Steve Rogers to take on an even stronger and more vicious Hulk. He manages to do some damage but ultimate finds himself launched unconscious to France by Kluh, where he wakes in a hospital room with his broken helmet beside him. Still don't like Kluh but it's a pretty strong Nova-issue. Seriously though, every tie-in to AXIS is marred by how bad AXIS is. Total Score: 3/5











Savage Hulk 6
Dr. Strange and his SHIELD escort learn (god, FINALLY) that this race of strange intergalactic crustaceans ages at an insanely fast rate and that Hulk started off feeding on their non-sentient ancestors but has laid off of the sentient lineage, only to be cast as a villain by certain members of the society who would ruin themselves waging an unwinnable war on the monster. Strange defeats the most vocal of the anti-Hulk shrimp and deposits the Hulk back at the Crossroads while saving the society. Solid art props up this issue, which otherwise falls a little flat for me. Total Score: 3/5


She-Hulk 10

Steve tells his side of the story, revealing that his pal's brother, the one who blames Steve for getting his brother killed, was working under Nazis and Steve took a stand against them in a situation where the Nazis were very clearly going to kill all three of them. Steve is found innocent and chats with his lawyer pals for a bit before She-Hulk heads back for NYC, hoping to relax a little but finding Titania, whose name is also in the blue file, waiting for her. Another strong issue. Soule writes a really fun She-Hulk and a strong Steve Rogers on top of being just a strong writer all around. Pulido's art is absolutely perfect for the series. Total Score: 5/5









Silver Surfer 7
Dawn Greenwood and Silver Surfer have been traveling for a while now and run into their fair share of adventures and excitement, but Surfer finds himself as excited as ever to end up at the end of the universe, where even the light from the stars doesn't reach. As he and Dawn sail further and further into the depths, they find some sort of way station lighthouse and approach, only for it to grab Dawn and pull her into the nothingness. Though Norrin had sworn recently that he'd never silver down again after a particularly bad experience while he and Dawn let their guard down, he looses the power cosmic and the depths take him too, only for him to silver up again and rescue Dawn. He gave her a ring that's part of himself so he can always find her and she asks if it means they're dating. Slott's joy for writing the series, as with AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, shines through here, though the tone is still a little hard to always nail down. The art of Michael and Laura Allred is, as ever, pretty astonishing and remains exactly what the book needs. Total Score: 4/5


Spider-Verse 1

Cute little introduction to a handful of alternate dimension Spiders like Spider-Man of the Spider-Clan of Earth-2301, the steampunk Lady Spider from Earth-803, the cartoonish 11-year-old Penelope Parker, Spider-Girl, of Earth-11, and a couple of other Peters who die or are ignored by Morlun. They're nice vignettes from talented writers and artists, which makes the book worth reading as long as you know what you're getting into. Total Score: 4/5












Superior Iron Man 1
Tony Stark has started drinking again, as well as mass producing Extremis and giving it to everyone in San Francisco with a smart phone. Of course, he's a despicable human being now, though he still helps out on the hero front in New York with remote Iron Men. As Pepper begins to worry about what he's doing, he shows how profitable it'll become by removing the Extremis from all of his test subjects in SF and offers it to them once more for a hundred dollars a day. What a jerk. Surprise, I still don't like AXIS. Total Score: 2/5


Thor 2

The new Thor (who is sounding more and more like SHIELD agent Roz Solomon, to my chagrin) has traveled down to Midgard with Mjolnir and finds herself beating up Frost Giants and helping the Minotaur, Dario Agger, by rescuing him from other Frost Giants attempting to find the head of King Laufey. There are some interesting bits here and there, particularly as Thor continues to speak like the old Thor but her thoughts come out sounding (and looking, thanks to the regular typesetting of her inner monologue, as opposed to the typical Thor word bubbles of her dialogue) human. Other interesting tidbits include the idea that Mjolnir is sentient and responding to Thor. Still, I'm going to be really bummed if this does just end up being Roz Solomon, who is both predictable (still a big deal that Thor's a woman but I would have liked, for story purposes, a more surprising pick) and a SHIELD agent, which practically guarantees she's not really worthy. SHIELD is terrible. All around. Total Score: 3/5

Avengers and X-Men: Axis 4

Avengers and X-Men: Axis 4

SHIELD wants the Red Skull but Captain America refuses to hand him over, not trusting that SHIELD is capable of holding the criminal. That's the only sane thing done in this book, as then the X-Men, still led by Storm, Havok, and Cyclops, become decidedly more militant and turn to a grown Apocalypse for help, Tony Stark introduces an Extremis app that will allow people to experience their better selves, and a portion of the Avengers (Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Wasp, Thor, Hulk, Luke Cage, and, for some reason, Medusa) decide they need to kill Red Skull to stop this kind of thing from happening again. Jarvis tries to stop them but is thrown out of the way quickly, prompting a doubtful Hulk to intercede and try to stop the others. Though he fails, the sadness it causes him turns him into Kluh, the inverted Hulk who is, apparently, even worse. He runs off and the rest discover Red Skull is missing.

This is so stupid. I'm not even going to put on airs about it any more. I talked in my review of AXIS: CARNAGE 1 last week about where this event was going and how it feels way more manufactured than most events in that it's such an insane premise with such a twisted, unbelievable, soft-sciencey solution that it's impossible to see it as anything but someone at a Marvel summit going "what if...some of the heroes were jerks? And some of the villains were good?" and everyone high-fifing one another and leaving Remender to write the whole thing (though I'm blatantly calling this stupid, I'm still not willing to force the blame entirely on Remender, though each issue seems to make it harder). But they're in the place they want to be, with clear factions and rivalries set up, from SHIELD up against the Avengers, to the Avengers keeping this on the down-low from other Avengers, to the X-Men and the Avengers, to Kluh and the Avengers (pretty Avengers heavy, huh?), to Iron Man making his big Extremis app announcement in San Francisco in front of Daredevil. None of it works for me. It screams of a WHAT IF... book or an alternate universe book but here it is, an all-enveloping event. I'm already sick of events (I'll reiterate, HALF OUR BOOKS THIS WEEK ARE EVENT-BASED) and here's this one, a terrible premise posing as an event. I didn't even want to write a review tonight. I was tired and I said "you know what, I'll give myself another one of those millions of nights off I've been giving myself lately. I'll update the comic list (on the right, you guys, chock-full of creator names!) and maybe I'll read a couple books but I don't feel like reviewing. So I read this one first, knowing it would eventually be the first one to get reviewed. I couldn't even take the night off, this comic was so bad. Ugh. I guess, in fairness, the art is Leinel Yu and he's pretty good. Though there was one really distracting shot of Medusa that literally focuses itself to only get her butt in frame. So you're certainly not winning points, guys.

Total Score: 1/5

Avengers and X-Men: Axis 3

Avengers and X-Men: Axis 3

The villains Magneto assembled show up and, after a bit of a back and forth grappling against Red Onslaught and a great deal of quips, they manage to subdue the incredibly powerful villain and his hero-hunting Sentinels long enough to allow Scarlet Witch and Dr. Strange to cast their inversion spell and set things right again. How much effect did the inversion spell have? Well, that remains to be seen but BOY are the X-Men mad that the Avengers won't let them take the unconscious body of the Red Skull and suddenly young Evan is a full grown possible Apocalypse.

We're in the midst of an extraordinarily interesting World Series, one that pits the power of magic of the Royals against the power of "we win every even year" of the Giants. I'm beginning to wonder if maybe AXIS is following the Giants' path, albeit with a smaller sample size and presumably a worse catcher (I'm not sure who's catching in AXIS but boy that Buster Posey sure is good). I did not care for AXIS 1, I rather liked AXIS 2, and I'm back off-board with AXIS 3. I've had a lot of trouble over the last month or so with Remender quipping way too much and it happens again here. I buy it out of some of the villains, like Absorbing Man or Loki or Hobgoblin or even Sabretooth and Mystique (NOTE: my blog just tried to autocorrect "Sabretooth" to "Sabertooth" and now I'm TERRIFIED that it's done that every time I've written his name and I'm only just noticing it now. Geez, really bad couple years for that worry, given his prominence in this universe of late). The idea that Carnage even agreed to help was specious, let alone putting him out there and having him playfully (if threateningly) pal around with the other villains is crazy to me. Throw Enchantress and even Doom into that mix and I one hundred percent do not buy all this quipping. It might sound like a little thing but it's the first half of the padded-out issue and it takes you right out of it. Also, and this hasn't been a problem of Remender's before so I'm not sure who is to blame here, there's a lot of expositiony scenery chewing going on. Iron Man literally says to Deadpool at one point "you're an insane mercenary zombie married to a vampire" on the off-chance anyone reading this doesn't know who Deadpool is. That guy's not Beak, that's Deadpool, one of your very favorite characters to trot out into a book, maybe trust that he can sell his own appearance. It's harder to critique later in the book (though BOY do I have some problems there) because it's hard right now to say what is and what isn't an effect of the inversion spell, but the X-Men, across the board, freaking out that Cap won't let them take Red Skull's body on the off-chance Professor Xavier is back in control is actual insanity to me. Here's the deal: I'm a white, middle-class male, I have literally never needed a powerful figure to help change the world on my behalf. Mutants are, in this world, hated and hunted and Professor Xavier was often the shining beacon for mutant-human tolerance. I've never needed anything like that because the world bends to my whims, but I literally cannot understand this (keeping in mind, of course, that the inversion wave may be impacting things a bit). I can understand the X-Men wanting to find out if Xavier is back in charge of his own mind, even in a different body. But even the face of that current body is a Nazi monster who just MINUTES BEFORE tried to destroy the entire world and subjugate most of its people. Taking that body into custody until they find out who is who is maybe not so bad an idea. Also, Evan suddenly sprouting and becoming an Apocalypse-like figure baffles me. If I'm right and the inversion wave stuff is explained next issue (and explained satisfactorily), maybe I'll have my feelings about this event whip back around. But it'll take more than what issue two did to impress me a bunch.

Total Score: 2/5

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

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.