Henry Davis Comic Reviews

Death Spiral continues to take shape in this week's The Amazing Spider-Man #23, continuing to layer its story at a slowed pace, giving room to every major plot line in this crossover to breathe. While this leaves some major events a tad under baked, the overall thrill of this issue is so classic and fun its easy to look past the expectations one has for the meeting between Peter & MJ.

The Amazing Spider-Man #24 is the first issue in this event that truly hit on the emotional potential this story innately has. With the previous Carnage team now involved and pulling their weight, this issue finally pulls off the mask and reveals it to be a sleeper hit for Eddie Brock lovers.

The Amazing Spider-Man #25 is another inch forward towards the conclusion of this crossover, filling its time with entertaining action and character writing that, more often than not, fails to grasp the potential depth this story has in its core. That being said, it is one of the more thoughtful symbiote slap fests we've had in the pages of Spider-Man in a hot minute, and continues to be fun no matter its short comings.

Black Cat #8 is focused on setting the table for its true conflict, holding the audience over with charming art and dialogue that, thankfully, builds up to something that is thematically richer than what readers were initially led to believe.

Captain America #8 is an uneven slip of the mask in a run that has otherwise been excellent thus far, but it doesn’t signal an overall decline for the title. It’s a misstep made with good intentions, and it still pushes the story forward with the same sense of thrilling momentum as before.

Daredevil #1 is the kind of slow, thoughtful relaunch to a character that we haven't gotten much of in the modern comics space. With a profound sense of melancholy and a brilliant new status quo, the future for this run is bright.

Iceman: Omega #1 is a fine release that suffers from poor communication of its nature as a collection of Marvel Infinite reprints. What's here is fine in the context of quick fix reading, but the weakness of its format really shines when given the direct market treatment.

What ultimately makes this issue land is how confident it is in slowing things down. By prioritizing character over spectacle, the team give this world room to breathe, allowing its emotional core to come into sharper focus before the inevitable chaos to come. This book is all about change, in about finding something to fight for beyond what we’ve been programmed to. If this is the foundation for the back half of Invincible Universe: Battle Beast, then the series isn’t just gearing up for bigger fights, it’s building toward something far more meaningful with its resolution.Battle Beast #7 is an excellent return to the series, showcasing where the first arc left our heroes as they move into the second half of this series changed for the better.

Iron Man #3 continues to nail its balancing act between the heart of Tony Stark and the espionage of A.I.M. with great humor and drama alike, its noticeably lighter take allowing the team to slowly build towards greater things whilst maintaining focus on its most immediate plots.

Marc Spector: Moon Knight #2 is an excellent issue driven by its visuals, the art elevating an issue all about high-octane action into an absolute work of art that continues to keep Jed MacKay's lengthy time with the character alive and fresh.

Narco #1 is an engaging first chapter in a story made so by its purposeful lack of expository information. With charming characters as its backbone and a simple, yet effective art style, this issue was surprisingly cozy read that I implore readers to check out while they can.

Find out more about the series, and pick up the first volume for yourself here!

Sirens: Love Hurts #2 keeps up the momentum of the last issue without any trouble at all, paving the way forward for itself with equal amounts of humor, heart, and horror.

With smart genre subversion and layered character writing, The Exorcism at Buckingham Palace #1 has hooked me in for a ride that is, in all aspects of its storytelling, rife with atmosphere and emotion that lead down a road only our closest demons are willing to travel.

New Titans #33 may not kickstart this new era with a bang, but its recognition of recent woes for the title and its promise to step beyond is exciting enough to give this opening arc a fair shake. The art is sublime, and the future of the Titans looks bright.