Wolverine and the X-Men 41, Marvel Knights X-Men 4

Wolverine and the X-Men 41
Aaron (w) and Larraz and Nauck (a) and Milla (c)

After his switch from X-School janitor to Hellfire Academy janitor and given his shady past, the teachers at the Jean Grey school decide it's best to part with Toad. He regrets his involvement with the Hellfire Academy as he's come to like his job with the Jean Grey School but he ultimately accepts his fate. As he leaves, Husk apologizes for not remembering him and for going crazy recently but asks to meet him after work for coffee to try to understand what she felt for him. Instead, he intercedes in a breakout by the Hellfire Academy kids currently studying at the Jean Grey School. He's not out to stop them, though, he's out for a second chance. Max Frankenstein wants him to prove it and he pounces on Manuel Enduque and the two leave him for the X-Men to find, with Toad claiming he has to leave while he still remembers what it's like not to be a toad. He and Frankenstein leave on jetpacks.

An almost interesting end to Toad's story with the Jean Grey School but the ultimate problem remains that Toad was something of a joke to start the book and was slowly to become a big part of the mythos but I don't think he ever really got there. In that way, his heartfelt departure from the school and his impassioned plea to Manuel explaining why he needs to leave (while he beats him up) kind of fall a little flat. It's hard when a big emotional issue doesn't have enough of a background on it. Aaron's done a lot to try to make Toad a worthwhile character for his part in this book, particularly seen in retrospect after this issue, but, at the end of the day, it's still just Toad and the audience still doesn't really have a connection to him so this issue, instead of feeling bittersweet, feels somewhat unnecessary and distracting. As ever, I can't speak for everyone but I honestly feel like this series could have ended (as it will next issue before its reboot with Jason Latour at the helm) without addressing Toad and I'd not have been surprised when he just wasn't there next time.

Marvel Knights X-Men 4
Revel (w and a) and C. Peter (c)

After fighting some of their demons, with Wolverine facing down the slew of his enemies borne out of Rogue's memories and Rogue fighting Carol Danvers back in the days when Rogue was busy stealing her memories and powers borne out of Wolverine's memories, everyone starts to get things settled. Kitty starts to learn from Krystal about the history of this town, which mostly revolved around her corrupt sheriff-uncle using her powers to cut his way into the horrible cult at the top of the hill, profiting on drug sales and torturing a mutant. When Krystal tried to break the mutant out, the cult shot him in the ensuing chase. She (accidentally) used her persuasive powers to convince them that mutants were better than them and that that cult's days were numbered. So the cult rededicated itself to worshipping mutants and trying to appease mutants before the last days of mankind. Now everything is going crazy and Darla has teamed up with the cult and they've come across a reconciled Rogue and Wolverine, who Darla wants dead.

Things start to clear up a bit with this town and some of the history comes out. More importantly, we get to see a little bit of where everyone's loyalties lie, which has been a mystery throughout and now it's pretty well revealed. The twists are reasonably good ones and it's a neat little portrait of a small and horrible town dealing with mutants. It can also kind of serve to highlight just how tortured the X-Men are, what with their memories floating into reality, and raining chaos on the town. Brahm Revel's art continues to really drive the book and it works perfectly in tandem with Cris Peter's colors to look unlike anything else on the shelves right now. I think the story probably holds up alright as a limited series even without the impressive art, which is a nice little bonus for this series and one that I'm not totally sure can be applied as much to MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN, but the art really sets this one a step above. In truth, I think I still like MK SPIDER-MAN more because Marco Rudy's art real appealed to me and struck me but I think this one may be a more complete series.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man 8, Marvel Knights Spider-Man 5, Superior Carnage Annual 1

Superior Foes of Spider-Man 8
Spencer (w) and Lieber (a) and Rosenberg (c)

Boomerang isn't having the best day. Between two dream sequences caused by concussions, we learn that Chameleon has come calling for the head of Silvio Silvermane, hearing that Boomerang successfully pulled off a heist. Of course, he doesn't know that Boomerang doesn't have the head of Silvermane but he vows to rip Boomerang's apartment to pieces to find whatever he's hiding. With Fred unconscious a second time, Chameleon finds the priceless work of art he'd stolen (and cleverly hid behind a movie poster) and leaves a note for Boomerang saying that that will suffice. Things only get worse for Fred as his old crew makes it out of the Owl's hideout and vows to find Boomerang and whatever it is he's stolen and as the head of Silvermane (which does exist) begins to cause trouble for Shocker. Boomerang, though, is blissfully ignorant of all this, believing his entire team to be dead and the head of Silvermane to be non-existent, and decides to come clean to his kind-of girlfriend about who he really is. She hears him out and isn't entirely disgusted with him by the end of their little date but is unimpressed by the fact that he had something he was trying so hard to get and simply allowed it to be taken. She inspires him to fight for the painting, though he may have limited time to do so considering the whole exchange is viewed by Bullseye through the scope of a sniper rifle.

Another fun issue with pretty tight writing and a compelling story gives way to a neat little twist in the form of Bullseye (or someone claiming to be Bullseye). Bullseye's a favorite villain of mine and I will, admittedly, be a little excited if he's back. However, the last time we saw him was in Waid's DAREDEVIL as the mastermind behind Ikari and the paranoia enveloping Daredevil at the time, a time when Bullseye was barely alive and incapable of any sort of life outside of his iron holding. Then a roof collapsed on him. Tricky situation to come back from BUT Boomerang certainly has made a few enemies in high places capable of, if they wished it, reviving Bullseye to work for them (in comics, severe injuries like Bullseye's have a dollar amount tied to their recovery). It could, of course, also always be a fake Bullseye. Regardless, the story continues to move well enough and the humor and sharpness of the writing, tied to the emotiveness of the art, really carry this book well.

Marvel Knights Spider-Man 5
Kindt (w) and Rudy (a) and Staples (c)

An exhausted and now non-fatally shot Spider-Man fights his way through Malta to try to survive and to find his way to the man he knows to be behind this, the only person who hates him enough and who has the resources to pull this all together, Kingpin. While he fights, he remembers his Uncle Ben talking about how much he had hated his job when he was young and how he made sure just to go and do it every day and he saved up all his money and eventually was able to use that money to buy May a ring, immediately forgetting everything bad about the job and replacing it with the happiness on May's face. With this in mind, Spider-Man keeps fighting, hoping to have some sort of similar light at the end of this tunnel. He finally reaches Kingpin at the top of Fisk Tower with his son Richard and Spider-Man unloads on Kingpin, beating him savagely. As Kingpin finds his footing and starts to get back into the fight, Richard calls for it all to cease, reminding his father that he had promised to let Spider-Man walk free if he survived this far. Richard reveals that he was behind all of this, behind hiring all the villains and organizing them, but claims he did it for Spider-Man, knowing that Spidey would be able to win and knowing that this battle would create a paper trail leading back to all of these villains and that it's enough to put them all back in prison. Spider-Man is angry and leaves where MJ greets him and he remembers Ben's story again and the two kiss and head home.

This is a bit of a tricky one to really get into. The art remains gorgeous and wholly worth checking out. The story has the trademark Peter Parker beat of remembering a story and a moral that his uncle instilled in him and using that moral to overcome his adversity. It's just, you know, kind of a weak ending. There are a lot of inexplicables here, like the new Fisk Tower in Malta (more believable, considering his wealth) and MJ's sudden appearance in Malta (I'm pretty sure it never mentions Peter hopping on a plane and heading home amidst all this; if it does, it's strange he doesn't change first), and Richard's line of "all of these guys had gotten out of jail time" inferring that somehow every single one of these villains is out at the same time based on some sort of massive court failure or something. There's plenty to pick at but it's also hard because you either enjoy a series or you don't. I did enjoy this one and it's hard for me to say what it was I was expecting. If I'm being honest, I wasn't expecting anything; I put it out of my head that there would be an interesting solution because how could there be? We just saw Spider-Man fight an absurd amount of his villains, did we need a story to justify this little limited series? Probably not, and particularly not given how great the art was. I'm not sure there even had to be words at all. Ultimately not a great series if you're looking for story or canon or anything but definitely worth peeking at if the lack of a story doesn't bother you and you want to see some solid and very interesting art.

Superior Carnage Annual 1
Bunn (w) and Jacinto and M. Henderson (a) and J.D. Ramos (c)

The Carnage symbiote has been taken by Spider-Man for further examination after the events of SUPERIOR CARNAGE but Cletus Kasady's appearance at the end of that series awoke both of them a little bit. One of the psychologists at the prison talks to Kasady, hoping to separate him emotionally from the symbiote. Later, Kasady is stabbed by one of the other inmates and brought to the infirmary. Carnage, feeling the pain of its other, begins to lash out but ultimately cannot break its restraints and appears to die. However, Spider-Man had taken pieces of the symbiote and chemically neutered them to send to other facilities as a show of good will and one of those thought-safer symbiote pieces awakens and infects the scientist working on it, prompting her to kill her abusive husband. The symbiote jumps from person to person leaving a trail of bodies in its wake until finally it arrives at the prison housing Kasady, only to find Kasady dead on the table. The psychologist opens his arms to Carnage, wanting to become as powerful as Carnage is but Carnage spurns him, instead opting for the seemingly dead Kasady and managing to revive him. Together, they kill the psychologist and kill most of the inmates in the prison before heading out to the world.

It's not often that a character who doesn't actually have an ongoing series gets an annual but here we are. Of course, it's easy to argue that Carnage more or less has an ongoing considering how many limited series he gets but this seems really to serve more as a prelude to the upcoming CARNAGE VS. DEADPOOL limited series, even instilling Cullen Bunn, not a typical Carnage books writer but certainly the typical Deadpool limited series writer, as writer on this annual. It's an okay book. There are a lot of strange questions that kind of get glossed over (why would Spider-Man ever deign to build good will by sending a piece of the Carnage symbiote out? How did he even attempt to chemically neuter it and why did he think it had worked? These questions can KIND of be waved away by saying "oh, his ego" but I also firmly believe his ego would make him think he's the only one who can possibly try to tamper with the symbiote) but in terms of serving as a way to team Carnage and Kasady again, it works well enough. Always a scary character, though you do start to wonder if maybe seeing him so often might make him a little less legitimate as a terrifying threat.

Deadpool 22, Marvel Knights Spider-Man 4, Daredevil Dark Nights 8

Deadpool 22
Posehn and Duggan (w) and Hawthorne (a) and Bellaire (c)

Deadpool and Preston are still on the run from mercenaries hoping to claim corrupt SHIELD agent Gorman's generous bounty. Among those mercenaries is Gorman's own Preston-bot, which he's been using for illicit activities for some time now. Deadpool battles it and wins out, giving the head to Agent Adsit when he arrives on the scene to let Deadpool know what's happening on the helicarrier. They fight their way through mercenaries and are eventually picked up by Coulson, who informs them that Gorman has apparently figured out that something is up and has high-tailed it to rising SHIELD enemy Ultimatum. They follow the trace on Gorman and it leads them to what is apparently another helicarrier, somehow built in secret off of plans Gorman fed Ultimatum. Deadpool agrees to board the ship and disable its cloaking device so the SHIELD helicarrier can bring it down.

The plot thickens as it starts to invoke a new enemy for SHIELD (though, presumably, a rather short-lived new enemy) and the pieces start to slide into place. The dialogue in this one starts to stagnate a bit as both Deadpool and Preston are relegated to interjections and other sorts of quips and comments with Coulson and Adsit delivering plot. Not to say that the occasional interjection or quip is bad, just that such an abundance of them and the fact that it's coming from two separate characters this time out makes it rather annoying. One of the problems I've had with Preston through the series has been that she's played that role throughout, which has made me like Deadpool more (as he wasn't really doing that) but made me dislike her. There's also the continued weird hero-worship of Agent Coulson who, I get it, is a big deal for Marvel right now but this love is really kind of jarring. Still, not bad, the arc should culminate in a big ol' Deadpool fight and hopefully that will play better, as it will put Deadpool in the driver's seat of dialogue and not as the annoying child in the back.

Marvel Knights Spider-Man 4
Kindt (w) and Rudy (a) and Staples (c)

Spider-Man escaped the exploding Nitro on the sub, but only just. He wakes to find himself, inexplicably, in a comfortable bed and rather refreshed. He discovers that he's in a nice hotel and comes downstairs to find that, of course, it's being run by Kraven. The island he's been left on now has all sorts of his villains there, including some of his biggest villains who have so far been missing, including Kraven, Rhino, Vulture, Jackal, and Scorpion. Spidey fights each of these villains in the hotel before realizing that Kraven, krazy as ever, is hunting everyone there. He escapes and uses the last of his web fluid to get into a tree for the night. He's joined later in the night by the Owl, who admits that he doesn't want to be part of this game any more and so offers to fly him off the island. Without other options, Spider-Man agrees and the two begin flying away towards Malta, where Owl expects they'll be able to pick up the trail of the person responsible for this. Before they get off the island, Kraven shoots Owl down. Spider-Man is able to distract Kraven long enough to escape by boat to Malta, which he mistakes for Morocco, not remembering what Owl said, and gets himself shot by a hiding Spy-Master.

There are bits and pieces of the dialogue and the narration that are a little weird and maybe a little out of place but you kind of have to step back to appreciate this issue. We're looking at a mini-series where Spider-Man fights pretty much every single one of his villains (and Spider-Man's rogue gallery is the most impressive gallery in the Marvel Universe) and no one steps in to help. This book is crazy on the outside so the fact that we're going along with it at all seems like a huge get for Kindt and Rudy. THE GAUNTLET was an AMAZING SPIDER-MAN arc a few years ago that pitted Spidey against a handful of his biggest villains all in a row and that separated them and put him up against them one after the other. This book has more villains in general and for Spidey to fight at once and REALLY back-to-back. So go along with it and you'll have fun. Also, getting back to the first point, I don't think we're really here for the writing. I think the writing is absolutely serviceable for the book. There have been some really interesting bits about the villains here and there but, again, we're not here for the writing so minor issues like not following dialogue or narration is acceptable. We're here for the scale of the story and for the continuously amazing art. Seriously, this book, as I'd probably say for MARVEL KNIGHTS X-MEN as well, is worth checking out just to see the art. This one is certainly more experimental and more of an experience but both bring a unique style that's worth examining. Excited to see how this one ends.

Daredevil Dark Nights 8
Palmiotti (w) and Silas, Decastro, Pallot, Wong, and Cariello (a) and Mossa (c)

Meanwhile, I'm just excited that this one has ended. Misty is in the grasp of ex-boyfriend and current drug kingpin King (ugh, the kingpin's nickname is King, gross) and not thrilled to see him. Matt has to fight his way into King's palace (so mad that I just wrote that) and find Misty and his witness, Nestor, before they're both killed. Before long, Misty has been chained up (and changed back into her uniform from the dress King had put her in, which is extremely weird) and Daredevil has to fight through the hordes of guards, which he does with much kicking and robotic dialogue. Misty wakes up from her drug-induced slumber and breaks out of her chains in time to help Daredevil against King's number one henchman. They grab Nestor and leave, catching up with King as he tries to leave in a boat (a revolution has taken place on the ground to overthrow King). Everything works out in the end. Matt and Misty make out for a while (what).

Seriously, this arc was ugly from start to finish. From Misty dating a drug kingpin and not knowing it back in the day (Colleen Wing digs up info on him just in time for Misty to nearly be blown up) to Daredevil running into the sister of the maid King shot just days ago to the gratuitous Misty's-costume-ripping to the robotic dialogue to the weird sex-starved Matt and Misty relationship to just every single piece of this arc, things were ugly. Some of the art was okay but then it would suddenly get centered on a woman's body and boom, there goes the upside of the art. Also, because it's REALLY needling at me, Palmiotti seems to want to make Misty into a strong character but then is like "hey, check it out, back in 2000, she dated this drug kingpin and somehow didn't know he was a drug kingpin despite being a bang-up policeman and also it's never been mentioned and it happened sometime when she was actually probably dating Iron Fist but we're going to ignore any bit of history because I have a really sucky story to tell." Well, mission accomplished Jimmy. Sad this series had to end like this.

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 7, Marvel Knights Spider-Man 3

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 7
Yost (w) and Checchetto and Diaz (a) and Rosenberg (c)

Spider-Man's control over the Sinister Six has been removed and now he's indeed improved the Sinister Six by filling them with rage and unifying them against an enemy: him. While Sandman holds Spider-Man, Electro decides to try to use his own powers to power the quantum particle engine, which Spider-Man warns will destroy the city. As he starts to power it up, Sun Girl, thought dead, emerges and rescues her father, who had been thrown off the roof of the Empire State Building by Vulture, before attacking the rest of the Six to free Spider-Man. One-by-one the Six fall but the QPE is still detonating and primed to take the city down with it. Spider-Man can't get close enough to stop it but he is able to tell Sun Girl to destroy the device in time to stop everything. She does and everything is barely saved, but everyone knows this was all Spider-Man's fault.

There's a lot of introspection here for Spider-Man, particularly as he faces a foe he cannot defeat himself. Pinned down by Sandman and suddenly realizing the damage of getting the Sinister Six to unite like this, Ock has the time to think about the way his hubris caused all of this and to evaluate what he's done. Of course, it's not necessarily likely that this will change things for Ock as a person, but it is likely to change the way the world views him even further, given that the next arc is advertised as "The Worst Person in the World." It's nice to see Ock a little deeper here than his normal egotistical and angry self over in SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN. Now he can't help a new wash of emotions, from a mild shame to a mild surprise to a mild regret to what might be disappointment that NOW the Sinister Six are actually doing something with themselves. It's only categorized as "mild" in each point because Ock isn't exactly brimming with emotions at any point but mild means that he's capable of feeling some. Should be interesting going forward as we see the way the world turns on him now.

Marvel Knights Spider-Man 3
Kindt (w) and Rudy (a) and Staples (c)

The plot to pit Spider-Man against 99 of his enemies continues as Spidey falls through the water from the plane to a submarine, where he's brought in and taunted by the Spider-Queen, Ana Soria, which creeps Spidey out more than a little. He makes his way through the sub and passes a number of his villains, including a despondent Scarecrow and Tombstone, neither of whom seem thrilled to be there or particularly willing to fight, with which Spider-Man is satisfied. Of course, that's not the case with Venom and Carnage, who seem more feral than ever. As they tear into him, Spidey notices a subwoofer set in their presence emitting a constant low pulse which is setting them more on edge. He destroys it and they start to control themselves a little bit more, enough for Spidey to move forward to Scarecrow and Tombstone. Once past those two, he enters the last room of the sub, where he finds Nitro strapped up to a bomb. Nitro, like Scarecrow and Tombstone, regrets his involvement and is sadder and more discouraged than ever. He talks a little about his past and his motivations in the past, as well as his seeming inability to die despite his wishes, but also makes it clear that he's not able to stop what comes next, which appears to be Nitro exploding.

Each issue of MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN has brought something new to the forefront including, this time out, Spider-Man's discovery that his villains here aren't necessarily here because they want some sort of vengeance on Spider-Man but rather they're not sure why they're here. Maybe they want to die and maybe they knew this part of the plan could lead to that. Maybe they were crazy and kidnapped just like Spider-Man was tricked into coming. Still, while the plot has enough going on to keep it interesting, the draw continues to be the gorgeous art that really flows through the issue. This is definitely a series to check in on and to acknowledge the art on. There's definitely a chance, as with all art, that it won't appeal to you or that you think it's being too showy or something but it's certainly with going to your LCS and picking up a copy and at least leafing through it. If it's the kind of art that will draw you in, you'll probably know immediately and you'll want all of the issues available, no questions asked. If it's not your thing, the story probably isn't enough to trump the art. Personally, I think it's really interesting and very beautiful but I can see this being one that really divides people into "ehhhh, not for me" and "oh man, this is wonderful."

Mighty Avengers 3, Marvel Knights Spider-Man 2

Mighty Avengers 3
Ewing (w) and Land and Leisten (a) and D'Armata (c)

Shuma-Gorath continues its attack on the city, allowed some access through Thanos' attack and protected by Ebony Maw's manipulation of Dr. Strange, while Spider-Man tries to save a gravely injured Spectrum. Blue Marvel arrives on the scene just in time to stall Shuma-Gorath and begin the healing process on Spectrum, who he gives extra photons to in order to boost her weakened areas which previously non-existent anti-photons have attacked. The process is painful but it strengthens Spectrum and saves her life. Amidst all the terror, Power Man and White Tiger return to the scene to help. Under the direction of the mysterious Spider-Hero, Power Man summons chi from all over the city and focuses it on White Tiger, who unleashes the Tiger God on Shuma-Gorath, effectively weakening it enough for Blue Marvel and Spectrum to destroy its physical presence in New York. As the fight ends, a nearby reporter asks them about their team-up and Luke dubs them an official Avengers team.

I'm interested to see where this team is going more than I'm interested in these first few issues. Starting a team in the middle of an event is tricky business and allows for just about no relationship building which leaves this team feeling cobbled together and a bit slap-dash. I think there is a part of this book where that is supposed to be true; these aren't the heroes that went to space to fight the aliens or the ones who are gathered in Wakanda, these are the heroes who were left-over. Not to say they're not a formidable team, they're just not a team. As a result, it's hard to judge the book based on what we're seeing in these first few issues. On top of that, we have a character whose true identity has yet to be revealed, two young characters with little experience, a Spider-Man who isn't Peter Parker, and a hero of a bygone age starring alongside Avengers veterans Luke Cage and Monica Rambeau. It's a strange team and one that will require team-building if the series is to last, something that, as I said, wasn't particularly possible in these first few issues. If anything, kicking this off in an event gives Ewing a chance to showcase the physical strength and problem-solving skills of the team, leaving the team-nature to later. As I said, the team is formidable for sure, just not really team, as yet, which will have to be worked out as the series progresses.

Marvel Knights Spider-Man 2
Kindt (w) and Rudy (a) and Staples (c)

Spider-Man finds himself falling from the sky into water amidst the wreckage of a plane and needs to recount the events of the last fifteen minutes. Aboard the plane, he fought Sandman, Shocker, Hydro-Man, and Mysterio, fairly big name Spidey villains and ones who probably shouldn't be, on the best of days, fought in a constricted space. Spider-Man walks us through the fights, revealing that his spider-sense does more than just warn him of incoming danger, it helps him plot his attacks; a bad attack plan will cause his spider-sense to go off while a better plan will leave it silent. Pretty neat, huh? Anyway, he uses this to best his enemies before bursting out of the plane while it disappears (maybe? The art and the writing both get a little vague at this point) and he heads for the ocean as he wonders who it is behind all of this, who's rallying the troops here and as a word floats through his head: who is the kingpin of all this?

Another interesting story with really stunning art and some surprisingly good characterization. I say surprisingly because this doesn't feel like it's a book meant to be exploring too deep into Spider-Man's thoughts; it feels more like an intense fight-based book meant to really elevate the artist more than anything else and to put layout and comic design above story and character. That's not entirely the case, though, as we see an interesting introspective side of Spidey, one which can't help wondering about the repeated failures of his villains and about their mental states as he defeats them. He recognizes that, despite all of his hardships, he's never the one who ends up in prison or losing the majority of the fights so the look in the villains' eyes as he knocks them out is beyond anything he's aware of. It's an interesting side of Spider-Man, who is one of the more introspective and sympathetic heroes in the Marvel Universe already. Again, though, it's the art that really elevates this book to a new level. It's very cool and very unique, though sometimes it does get a little in the way of the storytelling. Sometimes it's a little hard to follow and to understand what exactly is happening but by and large, it's an easy enough story and enough of a well-known character that there's very little the art can do to hinder the writing. It's not like we're trying to guess Peter Parker's motives or we're trying to guess at the motives of his enemies. We get all that, we get this story (though it's still a little in the shadows) and so there's plenty of leeway for the art. Spectacular art.

Comics this week

Fewer comics out this week than it looked like when I was recording them. Still PLENTY to look forward to in what amounts to a very interesting week. I could have selected maybe 70% of these books for this list and it would have made total sense. Narrowing it down to just five is actually pretty tricky. Let's try though, shall we, with some QUICK HITS?

Amazing X-Men 1
Another new X-Men book in what feels like a race to compete with the number of Avengers books out there (man, good luck). This one will be helmed by WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN and THOR: GOD OF THUNDER scribe Jason Aaron. I really like half of those books and this one promises the return of Nightcrawler so keep your eyes peeled. Here's hoping for another solid 616 X-Men book, raising the total to two.

Captain Marvel 17
It was really hard to pick between Captains America and Marvel this week for this list but ultimately I went with this one because it's really going to be the first Carol book since her huge transformation during Enemy Within that will really focus on Carol's life. We had some good issues tied-in to Infinity but this will be the first with Carol returning to Carol's life since losing her memory. I think CAPTAIN AMERICA will be just as poignant as he continues to deal with his losses but this book feels more watch-worthy as that one's already in full swing and this one's just starting out.

Iron Man 18
After last issue's game-change reveal of Tony's secret secret origin, we get pretty quickly to see the kind of shape the new news will take. Obviously I'm not expecting the next several years of Iron Man to be laid out in front of us but it's the first issue since the reveal and it'll no doubt give us a much better sense of how things will work going forward.

Marvel Knights Spider-Man 2
I don't necessarily pick the books I'm looking forward to most for this pre-game post, though you could certainly make the case. I tend to look at the strength of an ongoing book or a creator, the importance of a given issue to the book or to the Marvel line (which is why number ones tend to make the cut fairly frequently), the events of the Marvel Universe as a whole and, yes, ultimately, books I'm looking forward to most. MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN kind of falls into all of those categories as Marvel looks to reignite their MARVEL KNIGHTS line and after a startling but pretty gorgeous and pretty neat first issue for this series in particular. I'd like to see MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN take another step forward this week and show exactly what to expect out of the series as the memories of the first issue are, perhaps, behind us.

X-Men Legacy 19
Okay, so SOMETIMES it's the books I'm looking forward to most. I have trouble getting a sense of where X-MEN LEGACY fits in the greater scheme of Marvel and how it ranks up in sales and what-not. I worry about it more than occasionally but the bottom line is that this book has been stunning throughout its run and it's certainly worthy of your time. This issue still certainly does fit the criteria of importance of a given issue as last issue saw the mind prison David had kept so rigidly intact the lats couple of months burst open into chaos and Luca teaming with the evil Xavier in David's head. Plenty going on, plenty to look forward to, plenty to read this book for. Exciting times abound, dear reader.

This week's picks

Kind of a short week for new books (I still feel like I missed one or two out there. Not counting the All-New X-Men special because I certainly didn't miss that one). Still, short week didn't mean there weren't standouts. LET'S GET TO IT, FRIENDS.

Captain America Living Legend 1

I like where this one is going and I'm excited to see it through. The first issue, with rather limited facetime for Cap, brought us solid characterization for the series antagonist and even a good amount for the series protagonist. On top of that, I mentioned in my review mostly seeing Adi Granov's work on covers and how nice it is to be seeing him on interiors. That one hundred percent still stands and, now that I've had a little bit of space from my review, may even be a stronger plus for this book than it was before. It's just really astounding art, very majestic. I've said before (during the first arc of Daredevil Dark Nights) that it's almost cheating putting this much snow on the ground in a comic because snow, when you're not standing in it, is really absurdly lovely. That happens a bit here but it's not as much the focal point here as it was in Dark Nights. It's just a lovely backdrop for truly phenomenal art. Good stuff, you guys.

Marvel Knights Spider-Man 1

This book, I'd say, gets the benefit of a rather slow week. Even typical standout Iron Man had less of a showing this week as the hero/villain climax was mostly resolved last issue, putting Tony up against a ticking clock for half of the issue and putting him up against a birthday party for the second half. That's not to demean this book; it still earned its spot over Iron Man and Hunger and Mighty Avengers. However, this is definitely one that will need to stick the landing in the second issue to push this series from definitely interesting to definitely good. The worry with books that are more experimental is that they don't necessarily have anything hiding behind the surprising look and feel of the book. On the plus side, Rudy's art is phenomenal so even if this does end up thinning out with ideas, we'll have to look forward to. In truth (and with endless optimism), I'm not overly worried about it not pulling its weight. I think it's going into a good spot. Also really encouraging on Marvel's part that two of my top picks this week are the first issue of a new series. Constantly moving in the right direction (except in certain X-related fields, perhaps).

Superior Foes of Spider-Man 4

This one gets the call because of how strangely fun it is. This book has been moving for that tone throughout but I really felt like it hit here. The story is still advancing (albeit in its own time) but we're more concerned with the characters in this series than we are with the story. That's a risky move to pull in a new comic, especially one that focuses on a character we haven't really examined before. It's not Spider-Man, who we all know pretty inside and out and who can sell a book even if it's just about his personality (though don't be mistaken, the fact that "Spider-Man" is in the title is one hundred percent Marvel showing that they know what they're doing). Now that it's spent a few issues developing character and story, it can really delve into those characters and their relationships, a little more secure in their resolve. Really solid, really fun issue with an exciting little twist at the end. It steals the "fun" spotlight from Thunderbolts this week, which, as the last two T-Bolts issues have proven, is not an easy thing to do.

Daredevil Dark Nights 5, Marvel Knights Spider-Man 1, Superior Foes of Spider-Man 4

Daredevil Dark Nights 5
Lapham (w and a) and Loughridge (c)

Daredevil has caught up with the ten-inch tall Buggit as he finds Michael dead in the arms of his wife. Buggit takes off again after strapping a bomb to his tiny chest. Daredevil understands why Buggit's mad and what he's trying to do but also knows that Buggit is guilty of stealing the gun and takes off after him. He loses the trail, though, when he overhears cops talking about Shocker attacking a cop, perhaps killing him. Shocker was Daredevil's responsibility and he pauses in his chase of Buggit to stop Shocker from attacking more cops. He manages to take down Shocker and it makes him realize that Buggit isn't suicidal; he's going after mob boss Milo but Daredevil believes he'll try to leave the bomb for Milo, not go down with it. Daredevil shows up to save Milo, though he also insists on protecting Buggit from Milo's men. He manages to succeed and Michael's widow shows up to tell Buggit that Michael went straight to try to protect Buggit, which softens him enough to accept his arrest instead of murdering Milo. As Milo seems poised to walk away free, the monster the Avengers were busy with throughout the whole adventure falls and its arm crushes Milo inside his car.

Plenty to like in this issue with a solid core and very nice characterization for Daredevil (as well as for Spider-Man, who has a brief cameo in Peter Parker form). It certainly gets a little slow in the middle but  the issue more than makes up for it with great art and a nice showing for Daredevil. The art is fairly similar to Samnee's style and the coloring and lettering are very similar, which is simultaneous totally welcome and a little bit of a strange decision. Where Dark Nights is a separate series entirely, it feels almost like it's giving permission (and perhaps even urging this series) to try putting out its own art on the character and its own tone for the book. Again, the ongoing Daredevil series is absolutely phenomenal so making the tone so similar to that book isn't an error in judgment in anyway, it just rings as a little bit strange. Still, pretty good issue as the slightly ridiculous storyline (still hard to get over Buggit) wraps up on a nice note.

Marvel Knights Spider-Man 1
Kindt (w) and Rudy (a) and Staples (c)

The Marvel Knights line launches anew as Matt Kindt, Marco Ruby, and Val Staples give us a pretty crazy Spider-Man story. Spidey (Peter) finds himself facing off, in rapid succession, against a number of enemies who may or may not be hallucinations. Spider-Man gets through a handful of them before Arcade (a little more solidly than the enemies before him) pops up to explain what's going on; a number of villains have gotten together and planted a bomb somewhere innocents will gather and it's up to Spidey to save them, which he must do by taking a pill Arcade presents and sticking to their plan for him. The plan is to pit Spider-Man up against 99 of the toughest villains out there. If he doesn't take the pill or if he deviates after he takes the pill, the bomb will go off. Let the games begin.

Very interesting launch for the new Marvel Knights line (I said in my pre-game that I wasn't sure if it was real or not because I didn't know they were re-launching the Marvel Knights line, although it occurs to me that I definitely read about Marvel Knights X-Men somewhat recently). Marvel Knights, as A+ editor Tom Brennan explains at the end of the issue, was originally meant to be a place for cutting-edge ideas and creators and comics and this is intended to be a return to that. There's a real sense of that here as the fairly gorgeous art is certainly unique to Marvel comics right now. It reminds me a little of David Mack and Joe Quesada's run on Daredevil, though I'd say that one had a little more to it while also looking a tiny bit more cartoony with Quesada's art. That run, Daredevil: Parts of a Hole, remains one of my very favorite complete arcs so any comparison to that is certainly something that won't upset me. It's an exciting ride in this book and I'm definitely looking forward to where it goes next.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man 4
Spencer (w) and Lieber (a) and Rosenberg (c)

Boomerang has sic'd Luke Cage and Iron Fist on his gang now that they've kicked him out of it. Meanwhile, he's promised Chameleon that he'll get him the head of Silvermane in the next day. The next part of his plan, of course, is breaking his former gang out of the prison transit they're waiting in. As soon as he does this, they welcome him back with open arms, preferring his leadership that didn't put them in jail, even if it's a bit terrible, over Beetle's management that almost immediately got them beat up by the Heroes for Hire. Shocker reveals to Boomerang that he saw that the Punisher they faced down was really Chameleon. Boomerang covers for it and reveals to Shocker that, though they might not always have seen eye-to-eye in the past, he's glad they're on the same crew. Of course, that ends up feeling a little less true when we see that, by issue's end, Boomerang is shoving his car into a lake with Shocker trapped in the trunk.

The book really feels like it's found its own voice. I do think it mostly started off with a very similar voice but now that we're a few issues in, it's cemented and it feels unique to this book. The tone of the book is wholly its own and it fits it. It's also hard to say that this book is moving slowly though we still haven't started our heist of Silvermane's head. This one seems paced a little better too; there's still plenty of dialogue and narration, but it slows down where it needs to slow down and speeds back up as it needs to speed up. Pacing isn't all about cutting down words, it's about making sure the words are there when they're needed and gone when they're not. This issue is a really good example of that. Meanwhile, the tone continues to impress and feel proper for the story and the characters. Pretty solid book that's quietly developed into something altogether pretty impressive.

Comics this week

Very interesting week as I am bereft of any of my normal pre-game picks this week. That's right, no New/Young/Uncanny Avengers, no X-Men Legacy, no Captains Marvel nor America, no Hawkeye (still), no Daredevil, etc. So what do I pick on a week when the books are a little different? Well, still Iron Man, right?

Captain America Living Legend 1
Andy Diggle returns to the Marvel Universe for the first time since Shadowland and with him, he brings a top-secret Captain America mission. I like Diggle a lot and found Shadowland and the trek up to it pretty compelling (even if I found it dragging at points) and, of course, I love me some Captain America action. This is one I've known about for a while because Diggle has mentioned it on Twitter a fair amount and I'm interested to see what it's leading us to.

Fantomex MAX 1
Keen-eyed readers of this blog know that I love Fantomex. They may also know I go back and forth on MAX titles. Some are really good and are, perhaps, deserving of the MAX line. Fantomex seems like a character worthy of some MAX action (sex and violence are kind of both in his wheelhouse) and I'm looking forward to simply having a book, even if it's not set in the 616 as it is with so many of the MAX stories, dedicated to Fantomex. Should be a really good time.

Iron Man 16
Well okay, this is normally in my picks and it's coming out this week but really, it's still just one of five. I really love this series and I think each issue has managed to pull an even more emotional punch than the last. Of course, this storyline is winding to a close after a solid ten or so issues (more or less) dedicated to it. It's just as intriguing to see the finish as it was to get the beginning and, quite frankly, the middle. There's been a ton happening to the armored avengers and I'm excited to see what it all leads to, both in the immediate and in the grand scheme of things.

Marvel Knights Spider-Man 1
Unlike with Captain America Living Legend, I had no idea what this was until I looked over the new list of comics for the week. Real talk: I still am not 100% convinced it's a book I should be reviewing. For example, I don't review the "Marvel Universe" branded books that correlate to the cartoons or anything (as much as I loved Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes). I'm pretty sure this isn't going to be that but it's also been a long time since a true Marvel Knights book came out so I'm a little surprised if it's that idea again. Marvel Knights is kind of in the mid-range between the regular Marvel Universe and the MAX series, largely done away with because mainstream comics have gotten a bit edgier so there's less gap there. The teaser, though, calls Spidey "the Amazing Spider-Man" so I'm hoping we see a brief glimmer of Peter again.

Thunderbolts 16
I've really, really enjoyed this book since Charles Soule and Jeffte Palo took over on it. The tone has unquestionably changed and I think it's for the better. On top of that, the art and the writing seem in sync and the story for this Infinity tie-in has been both compelling and removed enough from Infinity, so far, that it doesn't feel like it's being forced on us. This issue is more likely to deal with the Infinity related stuff (just as last issue had a little more to do with it than the issue before that) but it's eased its way in just right so it feels like their true mission really is being interrupted by this, not that everything is ending and HEY, this is what the T-Bolts are doing. Really neat stuff so far, very much looking forward to this one.