New Warriors 11, She-Hulk 9

New Warriors 11

The Eternals have picked up the fight against the New Warriors on behalf of the High Evolutionary, making things infinitely more difficult for the young team. Justice gets dragged away to the Arctic Circle, trying desperately to explain to his captor that they just want to save everyone while Jake Waffles mourns the loss of Mr. Whiskers and the rest of the New Warriors gets pummeled or otherwise captured. Only Zuras of the Eternals, though, seems complicit in the actual plan, the rest of the Eternals clearly think something else is happening, with Zuras keeping them from the truth. Meanwhile, Justice comes to in the Arctic Circle, ready to rush back to the High Evolutionary's ship and get his team back.

It's a huge loss for the New Warriors here but the pieces sure are in place for an outstanding comeback. Yost and Burnham work together here to build our characters up while also developing the plot into something familiar but exciting. The key to making a familiar story worth reading is developing characters that the reader cares about and Yost has spent this whole series making sure that's true. Even the least developed character (probably Water Snake) matters and you care about what happens to her. In the spotlight in this one is Speedball, whose inner monologue keeps fighting but wonders if maybe this isn't for the best, as he recognizes that this is the second massive tragedy he's been at the start of. Poor guy. There's something for everyone and the book is doing a great job of keeping the stakes raised even as the end nears.

Total Score: 5/5


She-Hulk 9

The day in court goes rather badly as prosecutor Matt Murdock plays his cards the right way and keeps She-Hulk off-balance. We hear the charges lodged against Steve Rogers, part of a deathbed confession that accuses Steve of getting the recently deceased man's brother killed back before Steve was Captain America. The plaintiff, Harold Fogler, said that he had gotten in with some bad guys out on the West Coast while his smarter, more gifted brother studied to be a doctor back in Brooklyn. When his brother caught wind of the things Harold was getting up to, he made his way west with his friend Steve to try to get Harold home, only to get the two of them captured by the bad guys. Steve, of course, refuses to be silenced and his insistence on demanding the bad guys do the right thing leads to said bad guys shooting Harold's brother. Harold had kept his mouth shut even after Steve became Cap because he recognized that Cap was good, but he always believed Steve to be the reason his family had suffered for so long. As the day in court ends, She-Hulk isn't feeling great about the whole case and tries to train Steve for the stand, though Steve is prepared to go up and tell the truth without concern. Daredevil comes to visit She-Hulk at night, asking her to take a run with him. They run through the city as Matt tells Jen that he had declined the case, basically laughing in the face of the plaintiff, but that he warned Steve a case might be coming, whereupon Steve asked Matt to take the case and argue it to the best of his ability. Annoyed, She-Hulk heads back home and, the next day, calls Steve on to the stand, only to have him immediately say that everything Fogler said was true, to the frustration of his lawyer.

Rounding out this week's "soon-to-end" books, SHE-HULK once more brings forward a story and several characters that we can immediately care about and that we can be entertained by. I talked in this week's AVENGERS review about how I'm having trouble with the take on Steve, not because I think it's impossible and a terrible character change, but just because it takes his good qualities and pushes them too far, making them stubborn, bad qualities. Here his good qualities are on full display and they're pushed to, for She-Hulk, a frustrating place but still a ridiculously good one. It's the idea that his goodness will get him in trouble versus the idea that his goodness could turn into bitterness and obsession. While I think both ideas are potentially valid (when placed in the right stories), I much prefer reading this one, which also hinges on the humor of She-Hulk rolling her eyes and continually being taken aback by the way Steve does things. Soule and Pulido put in the perfect ending to this issue as Steve takes the stand and ignores She-Hulk's urging to tell his side of the story, instead saying that everything in Fogler's account is accurate, eliciting a gritted teeth "COME ON" from She-Hulk. Great moment, really excellent and fun book.

Total Score: 5/5

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?

Leftovers 9-24-14

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

All-New Ghost Rider 7

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












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

Amazing Spider-Man 1.5

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














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

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











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

Edge of Spider-Verse 3

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






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

Inhuman 6

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






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

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

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














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

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

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

Comics this week

Hey dudes, solid 18 books out this week and it shouldn't really be a struggle to pick out five I want to highlight but it sure was looking that way on the top half of the alphabetical list. Also, I'm watching that new Gotham TV show right now and it kicked off pretty dark, you guys! This married couple got murdered in the first like, two minutes! Weird way to start things, I bet nothing comes of it.

Edge of Spider-Verse 3
There's a lot of fun stuff happening in EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE so far, though this certainly makes it to the list thanks to a slow release week. It's been strong, though I expect it's hit-or-miss with how interesting these new spiders are.

New Avengers 24
It's another 4.99 book in another extra-sized issue (like AVENGERS last week) as Hickman moves NEW AVENGERS into TIME RUNS OUT, starting our story eight months after the events of the last issue. Though I'm wary of $4.99 books, I can't say I'm not interested in seeing this one. AVENGERS was solid last week and this book should give us the other side of the story. Looking forward to it.

New Warriors 10
Have I told you guys I'm really enjoying this book (though it's just about over at this point)? Just kidding, you guys, I know I have. Check it out while you still can.

Storm 3
I liked the first issue a good deal and the second issue had some positives to it. I think that Greg Pak's a strong writer and he very clearly has some thoughts about Storm as a character. Still, this book certainly gets the benefit of a slow release week to make this list.

Thunderbolts 31
I really need to keep a running list of when books are set to end. I THINK this book runs through issue 32 (or is it 33?). Either way, we're closing in on the end of the series and I'm sad to see it go. I also just caught up on a string of really good "Thrilling Adventure Hours" so I'm even more sad that Acker and Blacker will be Marvel homeless at the conclusion of this book (hopefully they'll find something soon).

Leftovers 9-10-14

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

All-New Ultimates 8

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




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


Fantastic Four 10

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





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


New Warriors 9

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


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

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

Marvel cancels SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN, NEW WARRIORS

News broke with last week's solicits that both SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN and NEW WARRIORS will end in November at issue 17 and issue 12, respectively. This is really sad news for both books, quite frankly, as both represent great examples of comics not really otherwise available at Marvel. NEW WARRIORS has more of a standard format to it but still has a really unique viewpoint and fantastic dialogue with great characters. Very sad to see it go as Marvel ends another spectacular Chris Yost book, though ultimately sales of the book was always going to dictate what happened with the book and even the initial lineup left me skeptical for it. SUPERIOR FOES has really come into its own as Marvel's sort of premiere humor-based book and it's actually way funnier than that statement would lead you to believe (I'm very tired and there's still a Simpsons marathon in the early seasons, you guys). I was hoping this one would hang on based on how unique it was and how I'm sure it's landed with fans who have tried it. Very sad to see both unique books go. Also, sorry for the late news, I had heard about SUPERIOR FOES earlier but was never close enough to a computer when I was thinking about it to report/research it. Found out about NEW WARRIORS tonight so figured I'd mention it.

Leftovers 8-6-14

Hey guys, not that you're not used to a more sporadic schedule of late but I'd like to note I very nearly have an excuse for not posting yesterday (ignoring totally not posting Friday when I was just tired). I was at Boston Comic-Con, a con that started just nine years ago and has really exploded into something huge. It's not so big as some of your more established cons (your SDCC, your NYCC, your Chicago one whose name currently escapes me), but even the difference between this year and when Amanda and I went two years ago is CRAZY. It was at a bigger venue and the lines wrapped around the building all day long. Tons of cosplayers, tons of retailers, several cool celebrity guests (like John Barrowman, Sean Astin, and Jewel Staite, listing the people I was pretty pumped to be near), and, most importantly great artists like Neal Adams, Joe Quinones, Ming Doyle, Maris Wicks, Norman Lee, Jorge Molina, Greg Capullo, Kate Leth, Shelli Paroline, Braden Lamb, and oodles more (first half of that list is people from whom I bought stuff, +Neal Adams, the second half is just people I like but I didn't even get around to really seeing), and writers like Mark Waid and Scott Snyder. Lots of great people, lots of great art, pretty solid experience. LOOK, HAVE I SUCCESSFULLY DISTRACTED YOU FROM NOTICING THERE WAS NO POST YESTERDAY? Great, mission accomplished. I'll probably post pictures of the stuff I bought at some point. You know, low quality images of images. Don't let that dissuade you, though, everyone from whom I bought was awesome and all the stuff I bought was equally awesome. Okay, now that THAT'S through, let's get to the eight or so books we need to cover today. Yipes.

Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man 4
Bendis (w) and Marquez (a) and Ponsor (c) and Petit (l)

Kate's upset that Miles is Spider-Man, revealing it IMMEDIATELY to her sister, who says they have to break up because their parents will kill him and possibly Kate for her involvement with him (INTRIGUE, RIGHT?) but Miles has his own problems as he fights the ultra-powerful and somehow resurrected Green Goblin in front of Peter Parker's old home only to have Peter Parker, decked in full Spider-Man gear again, intercede and team up with Miles to drive Goblin away. The highly publicized fight is seen by everyone in their little worlds and suddenly Peter Parker's alive again. The book, when it gets to the fight, moves pretty well. The Kate stuff is a bit slow and I still feel the relationship is a little sudden and tortured. The fight is good but this seems like one of those stories that can only be judged when we have all the information. REGARDLESS, here I am judging it: Total Score: 4/5



Miracleman 9
A. Moore (w) and Veitch w/R. Bryant (a) and Oliff (c) and Caramagna (l)

Miracleman returns just in time to find Liz having very sudden contractions. Not wanting to give birth on Gargunza's facility, MM straps Liz into a truck, telling her to blast the heat in the cold air, and flies her to a nicer place. Meanwhile, a couple of spooks visit young Johnny Bates, still comatose, in the hospital. They go into his mind and can't find traces of Kid Miracleman there, so they leave, allowing him to come out from hiding and question their appearance. Back with Liz, an incredibly graphic birth scene happens and a baby is born, to the delight of Miracleman and Liz, replaced by surprise when the baby says "ma-ma." Plenty happening here, nice bit of Miracleman pondering life and death and birth and so on as we see full-on graphic birth. Sorry, limited vocabulary here, I have nothing to say but "graphic." Pretty weird, guys. I'd have bought it if you just showed me the baby born, probably just would have assume there was a graphic scene off-panel. Total Score: 3/5


New Warriors 8
Yost (w) and To (a) and Redmond (c) and Caramagna (l)

Haechi and Sun Girl are trapped in the presence of Lash and two of his ambassadors, one who controls the "puppets" (read: humans) outside to hold off the New Warriors and one who is pretty much made of knives. Lash offers Haechi a place with them and he considers it, remembering the humans who beat him when he first gained his new powers, but rejects it, remembering the man who saved him from the punks that day. Outside, Water Snake and Scarlet Spider get annoyed with Justice as he's unwilling to use much force against the mind-controlled humans attacking them. Fortunately, Hummingbird is able to eject the Inhuman Nocculus from their minds so they can pass. Facing the might of the New Warriors, Lash and the two other Inhumans leave, swearing to meet Haechi again. Meanwhile, Nova arrives at Mount Wundagore to learn from Jake Waffles that the team has already completed a couple of their missions without him and, according to Speedball, he sucks. Tons of fun spread throughout the issue but well-balanced by seriousness and action. Chris Yost has written some of the most enjoyable Marvel stuff over the last four or five years, from my much-mentioned and much-beloved Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes to AVENGING SPIDER-MAN/SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TEAM-UP to SCARLET SPIDER to this. Such a great energy in this book and some real, genuine laugh lines to boot. Total Score: 5/5


Original Sin 3.4 - Hulk vs. Iron Man
Waid and Gillen (s) and Gillen (w) and L. Ross (a) and Guru eFX (c) and Caramagna (l)

Iron Man escapes below Troy to find a new suit and turns up in a Hulkbuster to bust Hulk, who, in fact, busts him, knocking him out and drugging him before taking him, trapped in his own ruined suit,  out to the gamma testing site where Hulk was born. While Hulk derides Tony, ready to punish him further, Tony shows him one last piece of information, including Banner's original plans for the bombs and Tony's updates. As it happens, Tony was hired to power-up the bomb behind Banner's back but he actually discovered when he examined it closer that Banner's excessive shielding would have ended up doing far more harm than good, likely killing Banner and tons of innocents in surrounding cities as a result of Banner's "safety precautions." The updates Tony made, though still potentially responsible for the Hulk (never quite cleared up), saved lives, including Banner's. Banner apologizes, going on to thank Tony, but Tony keeps some information to himself, including an email he sent to Banner after looking at the bomb (which Banner deleted) that may have set Banner on the track of adjusting the bomb himself to keep it from Hulkifying him and also would have paved the way for plenty of Earth-friendly technologies Banner could have discovered, sparing Banner from knowledge that may legitimately have caused him to commit suicide (or try, you know that Hulk guy). Pretty strong stuff and a nice little ending for the science bros but I can't help but be a little disappointed that Tony is apparently arguably a bigger hero than he was going in and not just a little bit of a villain. I know you don't want necessarily to taint your cash cow but I liked knowing that his hubris had such a huge ramification on the Marvel Universe (not the first time, certainly, that would have been true, but still a pretty poignant one). Total Score: 3/5


Original Sin 5.3 - Thor and Loki
Aaron and Ewing (s) and Ewing (w) and Garbett and Bianchi (a) and Woodard, Dall'Alpi, and Peruzzi (c) and Sabino (l)

Thor and Angela fight with Angela gaining the upper hand thanks to her speed and brutality while Loki learns about some Heaven history from the queen, who reveals that she once had a deal with Odin that had her and her angels watching over Midgard to protect it from jerk Asgardians. When she betrayed Odin and joined up with the Frost Giants and other enemies to Asgard, war was declared and the battle that "killed" Odin's daughter started. Loki, though, is just as much an outsider to Asgardians and a villain to these honor-bound people as the money-craving angels are, she points out. Back outside, Angela is stopped from killing Thor as the queen and new "Mistress of Strategies" decide that he's more useful alive than dead. That Mistress of Strategies? A transformed woman Loki, of course. This is probably the first issue of this tie-in that starts to give a little more new information and contextualizing, though it does drag a bit when that happens. Still, it seems like a classic Thor/Loki story as Loki has gone ahead and seemingly betrayed his brother and his people for whatever quick gain or long con he could be playing at. Strong enough to pass, slow enough to overstay. Total Score: 3/5


She-Hulk 7
Soule (w) and Pulido (a) and Vicente (c) and Cowles (l)

She-Hulk and Hellcat have been hired by a scientist/inventor duo to work out the terms of a contract that would sell their new revolutionary shrink ray, the Shrinko (more affordable than Pym Particles), to an outside buyer. One member of the team, Rufus (the marketer), wants to sell while the other, Reza (the brains behind the Shrinko tech), wants to keep it out of the buyer's hands. Their partnership is 50/50 so Rufus would need Reza's approval to sell but Reza, in a fit of anger over the way the proceedings are going, has shrunk himself down and disappeared. She-Hulk calls in resident shrinking expert Dr. Pym for a hand and she, Pym, and Hellcat shrink themselves with Pym Particles to find Reza. Pym isn't optimistic and actually knows Reza's work, saying that Shrinko tech isn't ready for human testing and that people tend to explode with some great force when using the tech on themselves. After a couple scares and some in-fighting between She-Hulk and Hellcat, they find Reza and rescue him from some cats nearby. It turns out that the buyer interested in the Shrinko patent is Pym himself (Pymself), wanting to help them perfect their tech in exchange for a small percentage of the profits. Reza doesn't believe his exploding claims but quickly learns that he might have a point when his own severed finger, left behind in a coke can in which he hid himself from the cats, explodes, safely out of range thanks to a She-Hulk toss. Reza and Rufus agree to sell to Pym but She-Hulk already has a new case waiting with an elderly Captain America waiting in the lobby. Another fun issue and we've already seen this neat little formula, wherein a story runs kind of underneath but really quietly while individual episodes involving the superhero community in legal battles takes the spotlight, work really well and this one is no exception. Plenty of fun, a good deal of heart, and some fun art ideas. Total Score: 5/5


Superior Foes of Spider-Man 14
Spencer (w) and Lieber w/R. Ellis (a) and Rosenberg (c) and Cowles (l)

Very slight break in the action as the team regroups at Boomerang's secret safe-house. We learn why Overdrive joined this gang (trying to fight Spider-Man so he can eventually be recognized by the hero and, in turn, become a hero himself, like your Hawkeyes or Black Widows or so forth) and stole that bus that time (a very brief affair with Beetle after evading Mr. Negative's henchmen trying to collect debts from Overdrive exhausted him and they escaped their car on-foot, needing to power up the bus in a pinch when they needed new wheels). We also learn that Speed Demon's beloved corgi was actually a missing dog he adopted and he was missing for most of this while he did the right thing and returned the dog to its owners. After the stories and repartee pass, Boomerang mocks Shocker one too many times and he emerges from the bathroom and blasts them all. As I mentioned with ROCKET RACCOON this week, this book continues to be just a lot of fun and great humorous moments, grounded a little (as far as Marvel grounds anything) by its perpendicularity to the rest of the universe. Spencer's got something really fun here and he's doing just what he needs to with it. Total Score: 5/5


Superior Spider-Man 32
Slott and Gage (s) and Gage (w) and Camuncoli (p) and Dell (i) and Fabela (c) and Eliopoulos (l)
Spider-Sanction: Gage (w) and Kubert (a) and Beredo (c) and Eliopoulos (l)

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN returns as, during the events of SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN 19 (the exploding temporal portal, or temportal, that brought Spidey 2099 to the present and set of Spider-Man's exit from Horizon Labs), Superior Spidey is sent to 2099 in Miguel's place (universe course-correction). He manages to swipe some tech from Alchemax and create a computer for himself based on Anna Maria (little weird) and starts to jump in time and into other universes accidentally. However, each universe he hits on his way home has dead Spider-Men in it, hunted by the same adversary. Eventually he realizes how dangerous this adversary is and begins to assemble a team of Spider-Men from the universes he visits, eventually hoping to amass an army (he already has six including himself by issue's end). SPIDER-VERSE is coming and this is our prelude to it. It's an interesting story and one that allows the story to take place and commence, thanks to time jumping, with Superior Spider-Man getting his hands dirty too. Follow-up story SPIDER-SANCTION gives us a tease of one of our new Spiders, a colder, more withdrawn, and more brutal Peter Parker who has been driven to kill by the events in his life and who joins Doc Ock's army only when assured they'll be looking to kill the assassin. Some pretty cool stuff as the Spider-Man event of the year bears down on us (funny that this is the event in the year when Peter Parker came back from the dead). Total Score: 4/5

Comics this week

Lot of intriguing books out there this week. On the other hand, I'm probably just going to mostly pick books you're expecting me to pick? So, not so much intriguing here as "predictable." Look, these things happen. Maybe Marvel should release its intriguing books on weeks where fewer sure-thing books are coming out?

Black Widow 9
Great book all the time and it got an added boost of heart last time with Winter Soldier's inclusion. This one will crossover with this week's PUNISHER 9 as well. Expect a pretty fun one, particularly as both books are helmed by writer Nathan Edmondson, who has added life to both series.

Iron Fist: The Living Weapon 5
Guys, do I have to cover why I like this book even more? There's a lot to like here and it's certainly worth a look if you somehow haven't looked yet, if just to see how the book plays. Lots of neat things, though maybe not quite as neat and predictably great as...

Moon Knight 6
Very sadly, this is the final issue for Warren Ellis and Declan Shalvey, who have really killed it on this book, completely redefining Moon Knight and blowing away readers at every turn. They've made this series, in just five issues, one of this best Marvel has in a lineup replete with good books. I don't want to write off the series when Ellis and Shalvey leave as Brian Wood will take over as series writer and I quite like Wood's work, not to mention that colorist Jordie Bellaire will stay on, which is certainly a win. Still, this will be the final issue for Ellis and Shalvey (who, excitingly, will team together again on Image's INJECTION, along with Bellaire) and I insist you read this book.

New Avengers 22
Back-to-back release weeks for NEW AVENGERS and I can't help but choose this book, which I've loved overall and whose last issue I particularly loved. Excellent work last week as we see a depth of character to Black Panther that Hickman had kind of danced around, particularly because Panther is someone who tends to play things close to the vest. How will the Illuminati react to Namor's ability to do what they could not?

Rocket Raccoon 2
Look, this is why having five books on this pre-game list is sometimes tough. SPIDER-VERSE starts this week with the return of SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN, the compelling SHE-HULK is out this week, and the very fun NEW WARRIORS returns this week as well, recently revoking their own Avengers status (well, Justice, as the only Avengers member) to stand for the New Warriors. Instead, though, the pick goes to Skottie Young's already incredibly fun ROCKET RACCOON, which will hopefully get a few more pick-ups in stores this week on the heels of the immensely successful and delightful Guardians of the Galaxy. Not that, if the pre-order numbers were any indication, this book needs a huge pick-up.

And the rest

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

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

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






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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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






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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And the rest

Sorry for all of those days off this week. Sadly, I think it's probably set to be more the norm than the exception here. I'm likely going to change from a "Reviews all major Marvel releases" to a "Reads all major Marvel releases and tells you which ones to read" sort of thing.  So here's where the rest of this week's books landed themselves. Search out the pictures for the quick hits of the (admittedly predictable) top-rated in this group!

All-New Doop 3
Milligan (w) and Lafuente and Camagni (a) and L. Allred (c) and Cowles (l)

Doop keeps trying to help out in the Battle of the Atom but things aren't working so well. He can't out future Kitty as Raze because he fears Raze knows something about Doop's mother, who Doop fears. His only real help is temporarily taking Kitty and Bobby out of the fight so they can break up in peace. He then confronts his mother with the help of a couple X-Statix members. It continues to be hard to rate this book because I continue to not know exactly what it's hoping to accomplish so I can't rightly say if it's done so or not. 3/5


All-New Ghost Rider 4
F. Smith (w) and T. Moore (a) and Staples (c) and Caramagna (l)

Robbie, the new Ghost Rider, encounters and fights a Hyde-serum boosted Grumpy but has to flee the fight, promising to get stronger. Meanwhile, Dr. Zabu has decided Grumpy needs to be dealt with and, with a new and more powerful pill, begins recruiting an army, including Robbie's daytime nemesis Guero. This book continues to have a pretty strong through line and Tradd Moore's art continues to really fit the tone and action. Strong stuff. 5/5











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

It's beach day for the girls of the All-New Ultimates and they play in the arcade, tan, and gossip while Cloak works on his powers and Spider-Man asks Ganke about what his kiss with a villain means for his relationship with Kate Bishop. Also, Jessica Drew comes out as a lesbian and Bombshell's boyfriend is killed by Diamondback and her crew, luring Bombshell back to his place, where she's captured and drugged into subservience. It's too bad the reveal of a possibly strong gay character is buried by a book that's so boring and eye-rollingly uninteresting. 2/5


Amazing Spider-Man 3
Slott (w) and Ramos (p) and Olazaba (i) and Delgado (c) and Eliopoulos (l)

Peter is trying to get his workers to like him, now that he's removed from Doc Ock, but it doesn't quite work out. Still, his new aim to safely capture Electro and bid for a new prison contract is met with lukewarm response at best, even when he takes a few of his key scientists out to view a fire started by Electro. As Spider-Man has to scurry away to help deal with the fire, he determines that MJ's new boyfriend is a pretty good guy and runs afoul of a very angry Black Cat, who he confuses and evades for the moment by pretending he's still Doc Ock. She flees and finds Electro, with whom she teams. It's not a bad issue, per se, but if you read the entirety of the extra-long AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 1, you probably could skip this one. It's good for building more on these characters but it's not really enough to separate from the bones of that first issue. 3/5


Avengers Undercover 6
Hopeless (w) and Green II (p) and Gorder (i) and Beaulieu (c) and Caramagna (l)

It's time, after a few weeks settling in, for a couple of the Murderworld Bunch (I'll come up with a better name eventually) to go on an actual mission and earn their keep. Chase and Death Locket, accompanied by Death Locket's new romantic interest Excavator and others, jump into a battle on AIM Island in an attempt to steal some tech only to suddenly see Captain America entering the scene. Excavator encourages Death Locket to take the shot on Cap and to take him out, which she very slowly comes around to doing but Chase tackles her as she's shooting, sending the shot elsewhere. He tells her their plan of blending in for now while they find a way to restore hero creed, which leaves her confused when Excavator attacks Chase and the two fight, leaving Death Locket with a choice. She shoots Chase. Strong issue, plenty happening and a nice jump forward in time to let us see what's been going on. Good development for Death Locket too, who was too much a naive pawn in the last series to get a ton of characterization. 5/5


Deadpool vs. Carnage 4
Bunn (w) and Espin (a) and Gandini (c) and Sabino (l)

A newly en-symbioted Deadpool attacks Carnage, still trying to convince him that he's predictable, at least to Deadpool. The two fight and fight with Carnage refusing to believe Deadpool's claims, still believing himself to be his own man. However, when Deadpool tricks him into killing Shriek by understanding the way he thinks, Carnage has to reassess. He delivers himself to the police office in the hopes that his imprisonment will give him a chance to think some things over. Deadpool wins another one though this one really felt like it had lost its focus from the start. But maybe, given these two characters, that was the aim. 3/5


Fantastic Four 6
J. Robinson (w) and Kirk and Haspiel (p) and Kesel and Haspiel (i) and Aburtov, Gandini, and Woodard (c) and Cowles (l)

The kids have been taken away from the F4 and they return home to find that the courts have also refused them access to the Baxter Building. The Avengers are onsite to keep them out because this book just keeps getting more ridiculous. The kids have learned from a SHIELD agent that Dragon Man is to be deactivated and they appeal to fellow android Human Torch to help their friend. Meanwhile, as ORIGINAL SIN hits, Ben learns that Johnny may be responsible for sabotaging a device that would have reverted Thing back into human form for good. This book has shown again and again that it has a goal and it's willing to walk all over any logic that might stop it from getting to said goal. On top of the insane court case that the F4 and Jen Walters somehow lost, now the Avengers are hired security to ensure a smooth transition because apparently the whole hero community would INSTANTLY turn on the F4 (though, you know, they are pretty boring). 1/5


Guardians of the Galaxy 16
Bendis (w) and Bradshaw, Marquez, and Masters (a) and Ponsor, Delgado, and Villarrubia (c) and Petit (l)

Angela swoops in to save Gamora from the Badoon as Captain Marvel swoops in to save Star-Lord from leaping out of a building to his death. J-Son and Star-Lord have a verbal fight in front of all the cameras J-Son insisted on having to show his son's punishment and it turns many against J-Son as Star-Lord gives an impassioned speech about the role of the Guardians. It even convinces the Supreme Intelligence to release Rocket. Meanwhile, Skrulls try to use the Venom symbiote and fail, which results in their deaths as it reattaches to Flash and Drax is sentenced to death by Gladiator and given the chance to choose his means. He chooses a battle to the death with Gladiator, who accepts. Plenty still happening but I think that the slow issue 15 hurts this one a bit as this one feels very much like the last one but, you know, the opposite? It's kind of hard to explain, but it's a situation where everything is happening so exactly the way they'd want it to happen that it kind of negates any drama from last issue. 3/5


Ms. Marvel 5
G.W. Wilson (w) and Alphona (a) and Herring (c) and Caramagna (l)

Kamala is quickly overwhelmed by The Inventor's henchmen, led by punk scientist Doyle, and forced to flee. She manages it but gets in some trouble with her parents when she returns home less-than-stealthily. She enlists Bruno to help her up her game with training and a new costume. After a montage, she returns to Doyle's place and takes them apart, rescuing Bruno's brother Vick without too much trouble. However, now The Inventor and Doyle's gang are out for blood. Solid issue, complete with some good training for Kamala (and some training that makes a bit of sense, not just a leap to "I'm a superhero now!" status) and good characterization for everyone involved, including Bruno and Kamala's parents. Strong work continues and just look at that McKelvie cover. 5/5





New Warriors 6
Yost (w) and Roche and Baldeon (p) and Roche and Tarragona (i) and Redmond (c) and Caramagna (l)

Wundagore Mountain, thanks to a bit of confusion out of the dog and cat priests (Jake Waffles and Mr. Whiskers), has been transported right to the center of New York City. Fortunately, it's phased a bit out of place and therefore it doesn't actually affect anything around it, just confuses plenty of people, Avengers included. Captain America and Iron Man meet with Justice and Speedball while Thor sits in with the rest of the team (minus Nova, the only one with a connection to Thor, thanks to a previous engagement). While Justice argues with Cap over the meaning of the New Warriors, Water Snake starts to see more visions, eventually attacking Thor because of them. While a big fight breaks out in the middle of Wundagore Mountain, Hummingbird reveals the demon bothering Water Snake and settles everything down, the misunderstanding cleared up. Justice quits the Avengers and dedicates himself to the New Warriors in the face of scrutiny, mistrust, and condescension from Cap. Another strong issue for the young book as fun and energetic voices mix with dark memories and weighty issues. 5/5


Savage Hulk 1
A. Davis (w and p) and Farmer (i) and Hollingsworth (c) and Cowles (l)

In the midst of X-MEN 66, Bruce Banner and the X-Men try to find a way to help Xavier out of his coma. Though Banner's device helps them to do it, it opens up Xavier to realizing he needs to do what he can to help Hulk. He sends his team of X-Men to try and find Hulk and help him find a cure for his situation but Hulk has encountered problems of his own, as the army and the Leader descend on him and as Abomination descends on the X-Men. It's hard to know if a lack of familiarity with the source material is keeping this one confusing for me but it's hard to point to the source material for why this one is so slow. For all of the crossed paths and all the excitement this one feels it should have, it seems to actually carry none of that. It also may have to do with my own distaste for Davis' art. 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

The week that I earlier proclaimed to be "an embarrassment of riches" insofar as what books would be released ended up living up to its hype, providing plenty of really good issues to explore. It was one of those weeks that helps someone who might be a little burned out get excited about just sitting down and binge reading every issue. ANYWAY, it still wasn't as hard as I'd have thought to pick the top three but note that there aren't too many ways you can go wrong this week choosing a book or two to pick up.

Black Widow 7

In a week of great character moments and defining issues, BLACK WIDOW 7 stood out as one that I'll be thinking about for some time. This issue was the perfect juxtaposition of Natasha's role in today's world and exactly how the world sees her and the role she used to try to play when comics didn't want their heroes to kill at any cost. Now it's a bit murkier and Natasha knows her position and isn't afraid to take someone out. This whole series has shown her struggling with which jobs to take and how blind she should be to the jobs she takes and it's made the audience comfortable with everything she does, including the more minor or abrupt killings (like the guy from whom she took the computer virus in this issue, the messenger she would replace). Now, as Natasha thinks about the need for friends, we see her judged by a former extremely close friend and found to be untrustworthy. It's a tough blow to Natasha and it burns here. Nathan Edmondson is doing phenomenal work on this title (and on PUNISHER) and Phil Noto is absolutely destroying it on the art of this book. Just a really great series that you need to be reading.

Moon Knight 4

This one takes a spot on this list without too much contention if just because it fits so nicely into the world Warren Ellis, Declan Shalvey, and Jordie Bellaire have created. There's an interesting story with a creepy but satisfying twist at the end and Ellis, as always, knows just when to pull back and let the art reign. I think I've mentioned here before that my first experience with now top-5 (for me, at least, but probably for EVERYONE, right?) artist Jamie McKelvie was Ellis' SECRET AVENGERS 16 (another book that centered on Moon Knight, in fact, though there were plenty of other great characters to be seen there). It was another standalone issue (like each of these MOON KNIGHT issues so far, though "standalone" is maybe too broad a term for this series) and it involved an entire city created beneath Cincinnati, one that was prepared to bomb the city above. Even amidst how heavy that plot obviously was, and how much it was to explain in just one issue, Ellis pulled back for pages at a time to let McKelvie's art carry the load and it worked incredibly. That's what this series has done in full. Declan Shalvey's art, which I've always liked a lot but never seen like this, carries this book in a lot of ways but it never feels like the writer is trying to overshadow that or speak unnecessarily to explain something we can see on the page. Really great book, one that (like the rest) you'll just fly through because you're so engrossed (and they read really quickly) but you'll catch yourself flipping through again and again to see the art.

New Warriors 5

I don't necessarily know that this is one of the three best books out there this week (I don't know though, it's definitely up there, competing against titles like IRON FIST: THE IMMORTAL WEAPON, CAPTAIN AMERICA, AVENGERS WORLD, PUNISHER, and even a couple others) but I wanted to shine a light on it here because I think, maybe along with SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN, it does the most this week to really affirm its tone and the feel of this book. In just five issues, Chris Yost and his artists (typically Marcus To but here Nick Roche) have established such a strong feel for this book and created such a unique tone to enforce that feeling. It's fun and it's exciting but that also doesn't trap them into going too light. Instead, there are a few dark moments in this issue that work perfectly amidst all of the fun and energy here, particularly as Speedball is stunned out of his re-found happy-go-lucky attitude by the mention of Stamford and his time as Penance. It's a jarring moment, one that's perfectly timed and excellently executed (particularly in this issue, as we watch Roche's very kinetic and almost cartoonish depiction of Speedball actually stopping). I can't guarantee that this book is for everyone but I'd encourage everyone to try it; like with Yost's SCARLET SPIDER before it, I think NEW WARRIORS is so sure of its characters and so sure of its place in the universe and its tone that it's going to continue to be a strong book for as long as it continues.

SPEED ROUND: Punisher 6, New Warriors 5

Quick note to start: having a pretty busy weekend (they're only going to get busier from here, it seems, but I'm going to do my best here) and so the last two sets of reviews this week, both set to drop today, will be done in SPEED ROUND fashion, where I tell very little about the comics (though especially these two deserve a little more) and just drop a rating in. Sorry for all of the format changes recently but such are the ways of a blogger on a limited schedule.


Punisher 6
Edmondson (w) and Gerads (a and c) and Petit (l)

Punisher nearly kills Electro but is stopped by a reluctant Domino, allowing both mercs to escape. He sets out to stop Guillermo Del Sol but finds himself caught in an explosion, seemingly killing Del Sol. He's caught in two more explosions and eventually shot through the back as he lands on a moving city bus by the Howling Commandos, still hot on his trail.

The book keeps its intensity up and manages to fit three nice explosions in (impressively, they all look really good too) without it going so over the top it loses itself. Instead, Punisher even points out how much he's getting blown up. It's smart and quick writing and it's easy to lose yourself in this book, as it's been pretty easy throughout its run so far. Very strong stuff coming from Edmondson on both this and BLACK WIDOW and equally strong stuff from Gerads on this title.

Total Score: 5/5


New Warriors 5
Yost (w) and Roche (a) and Redmond (c) and Caramagna (l)

Still examining things to do with the High Evolutionary, the New Warriors (minus Nova, home per his mom's request) have made their way to the Wundagore Mountains to investigate possible monsters in the mountain. While Justice, Scarlet Spider, and Water Snake search the mountain (complete with Water Snake seeing visions of the whole team dead), Speedball, Hummingbird, Sun Girl, and Haechi make sure the villagers are fine (they are) and chat together. In the mountain are an evolved dog and cat who agree to return the team home but plan to do it by teleporting the mountain to New York.

The book continues to be a lot of fun and Nick Roche's art here matches the tone of this issue, which is a little more humorous and light, brilliantly, right up to and including when Hummingbird questions Speedball's involvement in Stamford and his time as Penance, which silences Speedball for just about the only time we've seen so far. It's a deep, dark moment juxtaposed against the lightness and fun of the issue (minus, of course, the visions Water Snake's having). Definitely worth reading this title, which is something of a breath of fresh air in exactly the sort of way Yost's SCARLET SPIDER was.

Total Score 5/5



BOY I wish I had swapped CYCLOPS and LOKI with these two because I didn't say much about those books and I have more about these books but TOO LATE FOR WISHES NOW.