Russ Bickerstaff Comic Reviews

For all its flaws, its still nice to see Bond on the comics page. The story is simple and breezy. Bond appears suitably Bond-like on the page. Everything seems more or less as it should. One would hope for more of a flashy stylishness in a contemporary Bond comic, though. Aside from a smartphone, theres very little on the page that would have felt out of place during any other era in the history of the franchise. This should feel timeless. In the hands of the creative team assembled for the issue...it just feels a bit old.

The series hits its stride in an issue that mixes in a bit more dramatic intrigue than the prior issue did. Johnsons skill at bringing together dramatic dynamics in the foreground serves as a solid foundation for action, even if everything going on in the background is really quite silly. Its an attempt to weld a super soldier-style story into a 007 tux. There might be some way of doing it well, but its at odds with Johnsons style.

Abnett and Bettins Azimuth should be a fun series to follow. The density of Abnetts writing feels that much more electric than anything else in the anthology right now. This is not to say that there isnt a hell of a lot going on in the issue besides. And some of it is QUITE good, but Azimuth feels like a breath of fresh air next to the rest of it. 

Suzi Nine is fun in a second round in 2000 A.D. Writer Dan Abnett has like...three different things going on with three different indie publishers that are all DRASTICALLY different. Azimuth is strikingly different from Abnetts Vampirella for Dynamite, which is completely different from the Wilds End hes doing for BOOM! Studios. As for 2000 A.D.--this week, its another mix of action and weirdness that leans a little too heavily into familiar territory with a couple of notable exceptions. Azimuth alone is well worth picking up this weeks issue.

One of the oldest running sci-fi comics anthologies continues to look good as it pushes into the second half of its fifth decade in existence. Abnett is a major talent working on a number of different series for a number of different companies, but his work in 2000 A.D. continues to be some of his best. Dredd might seem a bit tired even in his current series, but he maintains a solid presence as a second mascot behind its fictional editor Tharg the Mighty. 

Writer David Barnett also delivers a fun opening for a story of a guy named Herne who is looking to save a young girl from the cult that is on her trail. The contemporary fantasy makes for a nice addition to the rest of this weeks offerings in one of the most reliably good sci-fi anthology comics in history. There I.S. some dead weight to this issue, but there is more than enough to carry the momentum from one cover to the other.

The anthology takes a quick break from the usual next week for what appears to be an issue of one-shots aimed at more of an all-ages crowd, which should be a weird experiment for the anthology. As it is right now, the series is weighted heavily in a classic cyberpunk format. A brief escape from that might be fun.

Schwartz and Burrows are off to a promising start with a whole new angle on the Iron Man concept in an issue that exhibits a very together heroine who exhibits all of the strength, power, and poise of an Avenger. The art pulls together a fascinating script with dynamic action and nuanced portrayal of drama. The story itself may be cast in a mold that goes back to the dawn of the original Iron Man character, but Schwartz and company make it feel fresh.

Though there ARE some really interesting ideas crawling up out of the intricate history that Camp is working with, the story has a long way to go before it can really define itself as being a truly novel look at the 20th century as seen through the lens of superhero myth. The three heroes of opposing nations prepare for a serious clash in a very sophisticated political world. It will be interesting to see where Camp and Morian point the upcoming pages. Camps initial glance at the Cold War is compelling enough to warrant serious consideration of the second issue. It will remain to be seen where the series goes from there.

Lovecraft was prolific. Messina has a huge playground to move around in for a series with his work as a foundation. Three women dont know each other, and theyre all descendants of the same guy...AND they all have great cats that (evidently) only they can see as spirit guides. Its such an appealing contemporary horror fantasy. Messina and company really have something here, and it feels so cleverly formed even in the first panel.

Its very rare that the art does this good a job of covering for a story. The story doesnt really worry itself too much about whether or not it is making any sense to the readers. And it doesnt really have to. It matches the mood of a Lovecraftian vibe so perfectly in this respect. So often it is the case that authors working in Lovecrafts realm slip and think of the deities as being actively evil. Its nice to read something that moves in circles big enough to be truly apathetic to the concerns of mortals. Theres big stuff going on. Mortals dont matter in the scope of 3 Keys. 

One gets the impression that Messina is only barely scratching the surface of what could theoretically be a very long-running series. Messina is working with such a small canvas in an issue that largely concerns itself with what appears to be the first half of a combat conflict that starts off in a comic shop. There are so many possibilities that come in a pop fusion of Lovecraft and contemporary horror action with clean lines and sharp colors. With any luck, Messina can keep it up for a while longer. This is fun stuff.

Messina has worked on a profoundly big canvas for the duration of the series. Lovecrafts writing is real and dangerous for a group of young women living in New York. While it IS huge, Messina limited the five issues of the series to a relatively small cast of characters. Theres so much more that could be done in the world of 3 Keys that could be great fun to explore if Messina was given the opportunity to do so. It would be interesting to see what he might do with the style in future issues if he ever decides to explore the concept more fully. 

This is an accomplished celebration of an 80-year-old character who still has a great deal of potential slinking around the edges of every panel. Chen and Mearas arguably do a better job with this particular 100-page anniversary issue than a similar team attempted with Wonder Womans 750th issue. Catwoman is seen from a variety of different compelling angles that all cast the thief in a way that maximizes her mystery and appeal. Given how much ground is covered here, its actually kind of surprising that the volume is only 100 pages long. This collection feels big enough to be a year in the life of Selena Kyle.

The composition of the 100-page celebration has been carefully thought out. The first two stories establish new directions for ongoing titles. At the same time, the rest of the book moves through Wonder Womans history in chronological order from the Golden Age to the Silver Age to the Copper Age and beyond. Not every story is totally brilliant, but the anthology works remarkably well as a whole, giving the reader a somewhat breathtaking look at the history of one of comics greatest heroes.

There isn't quite enough story delivered in the first issue to truly get into what the series is ultimately going to be about. There's a real danger in ambiguity on this level to open a series. Readers might not feel interested enough in what's going on to care about a second issue. Thenit might seem potentially good but then fall apart as the mystery begins to reveal itself to be something less appealing than the shadow and mystery that dominates the pages of early issues. As for now, it's one to watchmaybe out of the corner of the eye to see if it might turn into something worth watching a bit more closely.

And so the Joker is physically a monster in the Absolute Universe. It is not exactly being subtle with it. One of the more dark and senator aspects of the original character was the fact that he was a human who was clearly human, but there was something deeply twisted about him. There's a kind of clever horror about that that works on a whole bunch of different levels that the Absolute Universe version of the character just doesn't have a chance to engage in. And that's really too bad. Because so much of this world is shown to be so amplified on so many levels that it would be nice to see something that would be at least a little bit more nuanced.

Its going to be a huge crossover. Waid and company have clearly staked out the specifics of their territory in a crossover thats meant to be the culmination of a few other crossover evernts that have happened in the recent past. Theres no way its going to live-up to its intended intensity, but judging from the opening chapter, its going to be fun to watch everything develop anyway. DC is clearly moving around the talent quite well in terms of opening issue. 

It is so very, very difficult to keep everything running smoothly in a huge and sprawling crossover event. Thus far Absolute Power has managed to feel reasonably well-integrated. The crossover reaches into mid-summer with a bit of an awkward posture that doesnt set-up the second half of the summer all that well. The series should improve as the crossover continues. The narrative just needs time to catch-up with everything thats happened so far and provide some sense of perspective on it all. As it is FAR too much has gone on and so very, very little of it seems to have been framed properly in page and panel.

It is remarkably difficult to keep things moving on a weekly series without having the whole thing feel rushed. There's quite a lot that has to happen in a very short span of time if everything's going to wrap up at the beginning of October for Absolute Power to usher-in the All-In Initiative and the coming Absolute Universe that DC rolled-out around the San Diego Comic Con. It's a hell of a lot to coordinate and they're actually doing a pretty good job of it. It's nice to know that, in and amidst all of the confusion and chaos  every now and again there's going to be a chapter like this that's actually written pretty well.

Thompson is taking her tie with the amount of story covered in the first issue of the series. It would have been all too easy to rush through some of the basics of Dianas origin and then dive straight into the fish-out-of-water story of a warrior from Hell in Southern California. Thompson clearly wants to ensure that shes giving the idea room to breathe before it completely dives into the adventure that is going to be consuming Dianas life. Very cool stuff.

The sacrifices that Diana has made in and around the edges of the main action become a bit clearer in the couirse of a nonlinear narrative that manages to find a remarkably clever and utterly horrifying giant monster. The Tetracide is a really impressive antagonistic force with which to explore some of the more sinister Lovecraftian darkenss that must surely populate every corner and crevice of a world that is as devastatingly dark as the Absolute Universe. With any luck, Thompson will be able to maintain the momentum shes built-up over the course of the first three issues of the series.

So often a new reboot or revision of an old character hits the page in a way that feels so much like previous incarnations that it scarcely feels relevant. (This has pretty much been the case with most of DCs Absolute Universe so far actually...) Thompson, Sherman and Bellaire are doing a brilliant job of doing something new with Wonder Woman that feels like a love letter to Diana while still being something new, refreshing and captivating on a whole bunch of different levels.

The first major plot arc of the series draws to a close with a cliffhanger ending that finds Diana being pulled straight into hell. So...yknow...no rest for the hero. Its cool that theres no breather between one climax and the introduction of the next big conflict, but it would be nice to allow Wonder Woman a bit of time to get acclimated to a world that she hasnt quite found herself able to adjust to quite yet. Every previous incarnation of Wonder Woman has allowed for that on some level. The constant peril is another clever stylistic Thompson addition to Dianas narrative rendering.

And the issue ends with a couple of one-page comics that Thompson wrote involving a young Diana that feel...they almost feel pulled out of a parallel dimension where lil Diana might have been on the comic strip page next to Dennis the Menace. Its sharply clever stuff that hits all of the right beats to be a single-joke strip in an era long after that sort of thing has become fashionable. Its a fun ending to a very fun issue.

Its remarkable that the series has already burned through seven issues. Theres so much thats being explored with such a strong delivery of such a fresh perspective...the first year of the series is passing by like a bit of a dream. Though it is quite distinctly unlike any previous incarnation of Wonder Woman, it draws on a reality that feels like its been there since the beginning. Thompson opened the series with a fresh perspective on Diana on Earth. She continues a thoroughly satisfying opening year with a fresh perspective on Diana in the realm of the gods themselves. Its going to be fun seeing where she takes Diana next.

Thompson and company advance-in on a decided earthbound threat for Diana as her second major storyline. The mutation of the familiar in an alternate universe has a tendency to be a bit tedious at times. Thompson and company make it fun to discover an alternate perspective on the familiar. Absolute Wonder Woman continues to find a fascinating corner of a new universe in which to explore nightmare visions of the DC that readres have come to know and love over the years. Its also nice to see Thompson taking her time with it. When introducing elseworld, theres also the tendency to want to throw everything at the page right away. Its nice to see Thopson take her time to introduce the first major villain in the eighth issue.

Sherman and Bellaire are doing something with the visuals that seems every bit as distinctive as what Thompson is doing with the scripting. Diana has met minotaurs before. Shes been in a labyrinth on more than one occasion as well. Shes been in search of lost Amazons. Theres nothing new about basic components of the story that Thompson and company are conjuring. Theyre putting it all together in a way that makes it feel like a totally new story, though.

Thompson, Sherman and Bellaire are coming alarmingly close to a more or less flawless first year on the series. Its all passed by so swiftly. The dreamlike power of the title continues unabated. Thompson and company have developed a great deal of momentum that should serve the series well as it approaches the end of its first year. As steady as the series has been in revealing bits of Diana of the Wild Isle and her past...theres still so much about her that remains a gorgeous mystery. Its going to be great fun to see that mystery continue.

Thompsons series serves as a sharp and brilliant counter-balance to Tom Kings Wonder Woman series that focusses more on the current geopolitical climate. The two series fit together in a way that match each other quite well. This is one of the more strikingly pure contrasts between two series in recent years. Two of the better writers in the genre are both working on one of the most fascinating characters in the history of superhero comics.

The basic elements of an extremely clever standalone story are clearly visible in this issue. Its a really impressive creative team. Without a more inspired theme at the heart of it all, this annual is only capable of appealing on a very superficial level. Is it a displaced heroine mistaken for someone else by a theme park gone wrong? A premise like that deserves something deeper than Ayala was able to conjure here.

The 2019 annual preserves the unique blend of comedy and weird action which made She-Hulk so endearing a few decades ago and I periodic flashes over the years since then. The story may seem a bit derivative of early adventures with Jen, but as it isnt a flavor of narrative that makes it go the comics rack with any great frequency. Its great to see a return of She-Hulk under her own cover. Too bad its just a one-shot.

The pulpy retro-adventure genre is a great deal of fun to work with. Intrepid explorers go to weird and exotic places. Its fun stuff. Fraction and the Dodsons do a good job of marrying the genre with a big, extended ensemble that has a lot of different moving parts and lots of interesting, little elements. Its a style of storytelling that tends to work exceedingly well in long-running serials. Its cool to see that theyre moving as efficiently as they are around the world for the sake of the adventure. One more series draws to a close as the next is teased in the closing splash page. Adventure awaits.

There may be questions about the possibility of her longevity, but Aero comes across as an admirably badass hero in her first outing under her own title

A back-up story of Aeros earlier years is written by Greg Pak with art by Pop Mahn. The story featuring an escaped government super-agent is an interesting twist on an old superhero trope. Its a nice supplement to the larger action of the main feature, but Liefen and Kengs work has such a large and sweeping feel about it that the story from Aeros past comes across as a dreamy afterthought on the dynamic action that opens the issues.

Aero continues to look really, really good in her third issue. The lack of in-depth characterization in the main feature maintains a sense of mystery about Lei. But the background on the heroine and her daily life will be missed if things dont slow down for her in issues to come. The action has been great, but there needs to be more of a personal angle on the heroine to balance-out a closer walk with the new character. The international feel of the comic is amplified at issues end with the creators notes by Liefen and Keng that appear in both Chinese and English translation. 

As quickly as things play-out in the back-up story, the focus on dynamic action in the main story eats-up a lot of pages. Its a very tight close-up on a hero that doesnt allow her a whole lot of room to breathe. This isnt a bad thing, but it IS a bit difficult to relate to a hero who really ISNT given a whole lot of downtime between action sequences. Its a very engrossing sense of action. Its just too bad that there hasnt been more time outside the action to get to know Aero better thus far.

By now, Aero has established a really nice rhythm about it that could quickly start to feel repetitious if things arent broken-up a bit more. It might be nice to see Keng given an opportunity for a non-action-based issue to provide the character with a bit more of a personal grounding for the action in issues to come.

Liefens decision to finally allow readers a glimpse of Lings professional life pays-off in a fun issue. Lei Ling sees the effect of her influence as a superhero as the mysterious crystalline spires continue to rise in a very well-balanced, even-tempered breather between action issues. The sudden collision of lives for Aero/Lei Ling at the end of the issue does an excellent job of launching the series into the complexity of impending action for next issue.

Its cool to get a look at traditional super-heroism done in a more classical golden-age sort of a milieu. As refreshing as it is to return to that in a more of a modern style of storytelling, its still very firmly rooted in a version of the superhero concept thats pretty much-been played-out over the decades. The blend of US and Asian styles of super-heroic storytelling is going to need to be more of a focus on future issues if Aero is to remain aloft for months and the year to come. 

Aero looks beautiful. It moves quite well. Theres a general feeling of Marvel-ness about it, but without firmer grounding in the rest of the Marvel Universe, it feels a bit distant from the rest of the world. This isnt a bad thing, but it DOES keep it from benefitting from the volume of the rest of everything that so many others have created for Marvel over the course of the past half-century or more. 

Theres very little here that is inherently original. Superheroes have always had to deal with juggling romance and duty. Theyve always had to deal with maintaining a secret identity and giant monsters and things. Liefen and Keng handle the standard superhero tropes with a class and poise that makes it all feel new. It will be interesting to see what distinctive style the creative team will add to the Iron Man crossover coming next issue. 

The opening of Aero's first major crossover continues to show the unique mix of superhero tropes that make Aero its unique voice. The blending of golden-aged heroism with silver-aged plot construction and a slow and steady pacing contrast boldly against the quick clustering of action that typically shoots through a standard superhero comic. With the tenth issue's connection to the main Marvel Universe, Aero begins to feel a bit more like a part of a larger tapestry. 

The crossover continues into a third issue next month as Aero closes out her first year's worth of story. With the tandem action finished, there's hope yet that the crossover can turn into something more equal with issue twelve. As written by Liefen, the rapport between Stark and Ling IS fun. A third issue's interaction should wrap-up the current story arc quite well.

Liefen and Keng have worked through whole issues weighted so heavily in one part of Aeros life or the other. Its nice to see an issue that spends a little bit of time in a few different corners of Aeros life. Aeros first big crossover comes to a close in an issue that conjures a tastefully shifted look at a traditional superhero story. Hero. Student. Professional. Its all so familiar and all so fresh and new at the same time.

This is the opening of a 32-page epic thatll play out over the course of five months. Anything as huge and overwhelming as that is bound to have some flaws here and there. This opening issue sets a pretty high bar for the rest of the event. If most of the rest of The Age of X-Man can live-up to the quality of this issue, it should be one hell of a journey.

On the whole, a project the size of The Age of X-Man is an excellent idea. Projects SHOULD be this ambitious.  For all its faults, The Age of X-Man DID dazzle with its possibility. This conclusion casts glances at what might have been. The opening monologue has the title character lamenting how something so ambitious as a whole new world quickly grew too big for him to be able to handle. Thompson and Nadler might have been talking about the Age of X-Man event with that opening monologue as well. Reach for a huge achievement, and you might fall victim to it.

As an introduction, the first issue of Apocalypse and the X-Tracts is a fun introduction to the fringe of The Age of X-Man. As a standalone narrative, it felt too flat and scattered to make much of an impact on its own.

Seeley does an excellent job of pasting together an issue out of odd corners of plot that needed to come together in this issue, but it seems to lack enough cohesion to really feel like it has any place on its own outside of the massive machine that is The Age of X-Man. Its doubtless that this series wasnt placed where it was to be filler for the event, but any specific reason for the series to exist has yet to present itself.

As usual, an issue featuring a disparate group of characters can feel more than a bit scattered as a whole. Dramatic and aggressively percussive moments are held quite well in an issue that quite nearly finds the perfect grounding. Its not perfect, but it feels like Apocalypse and the X-Tracts is finally getting into a really good rhythm right before the mini-series comes to a close.

Any one of the threads in this issue would have been much more satisfying if it had been allowed to develop in its own chapter. Eye-Boy, Kitty Pryde and the Son of Apocalypse are each interesting enough to carry their own title. The Age of X-Man begins to draw to a close, and it becomes all too apparent that the scope of the event was made WAY too big to be totally enjoyable. Had the multi-title event been allowed to occupy a slightly smaller space, it could have been brilliant. All that Seeley can manage with an issue like this is a fun and breezy, little dance with elements that have been echoing through Marvels Mutant titles for decades. Given the right scope, The Age of X-Man could have been so much more.

All things considered, the penultimate issue of the Age of X-Man could have been far worse. Themes of intention and exploitation by well-meaning messiahs might hit the page in awkward angles, but at least theyre being addressed.  Theres a lot of exciting potential in the overall premise being explored in the event. Its too bad that it hasnt been given very much room to develop. Its possible that next weeks Age of X-Man: Omega #1 will breathtakingly wrap-up everything seen in this and all of the other series in the event, but given the awkward composition of the story, it seems doubtful.

The Age of X-Man is now in its third week. One of the big challenges moving forward is going to lie in keeping each of the titles distinct and integral to the overall structure of the event. If anything feels at all like its not totally necessary for the development of the world as a whole, the integrity of the whole 32-part event might start to falter. With the first issue of NextGen, Brisson cleverly lays the foundations for a coming-of-age in a world of mutant social integration.

A solidly entertaining issue for the second month in a row lends Next Gen the distinction of being one of the better (and possibly the best) of the Age of X-Man mini-series. Exciting characters are going through exciting things.  The danger is right around the corner from everybody, and there isnt a character in this issue which isnt in over his or her head in ways that arent totally apparent to them just yet. Hopefully, Brisson and To can maintain this quality through the end of the series.

Though it doesnt meet the potential of characters searching for truth in a world fabricated by authority, the drama in the third issue of Next Gen is engaging enough to keep the pages turning in another oddly enjoyable trip to the Age of X-Man.

Though it doesn't quite manage to hit the true potential of its premise, NextGen is making a simple drama fit remarkably well onto the comic book page. Like so much of the rest of the best of the Age of X-Man event, the fourth issue of NextGen is bringing a distinctively moody kind of mutant drama to a mainstream comics page much more accustomed to far more aggressive physical action. It's been a fascinating experiment thus far. NextGen continues to find some success with the venture.

NextGen would have worked quite a bit better on its own outside of the confines of a rigid multi-title event. There are a lot of subtle moments in and within the student body of a totalitarian state run by superhumans that could have carried tremendous impact with this particular group of characters. Too bad it wasnt given a longer timeline.

Drama and atmosphere are satisfying in the first of five issues that are likely to take place entirely in prison for superhuman mutants. The introduction to the series isnt quite as amusing as it could have been.

The first issue ended with a note. The second issue ends with something much more devastating. The mystery ramps-up pretty heavily in this issue. Theres a steady increase in intensity over the course of the issue that gets kind of crazy at the end. Its a fun trip, but itll be interesting to see if Ayala and company are able to maintain the kind of tight, clean rhythm for the remainder of the mini-series.

Its a smart issue. Ayala and Peralta manage to keep Bishops presence at the center of the book even though he doesnt physically appear in the comic book until the penultimate page. Hes only seen for two whole panels, but the reader sees everything through his conceptual perspective. Its a very deft narrative construction. Quite an accomplishment.

The big climax of tension at issues end brings-up a rather strange problem for the final issue of the series. Its starting on something that really feels like its the end of the series, but theres still a whole issue to crunch through before the story reaches its conclusion. Prisoner X #4 feels like the culmination of everything. Ayala and company do an excellent job of delivering on that climax. Itll be interesting to see where they take it for another 20 pages as the series ends next month.

The big finale to the series feels a bit abrupt when it all comes to rest in the final panel, but it IS leading to the significant conclusion in the last issue in a very compelling way. Taken as a part of the larger run of the Age of X-Man, Prisoner X might emerge as the most satisfying corner of the event, but on its own, it feels more than a little lacking. With Prisoner X Ayala, Peralta and Horak do an excellent job of telling a solid story that almost has an ending. Too bad the story isnt over at issues end. It feels too modular to be 100% satisfying.

Every other title in the Age of X-Man event seems to be focussing on people dealing with various problems. With this title we have someone seemingly having the time of his life. Its a sharp place to start and a smartly-framed contrast to the rest of what is shaping-up to be an interesting journey into a parallel Marvel universe.

Between troubles on the set and troubles of the heart, McGuire and Frigeri are giving Nightcrawler some fun obstacles to roll through, but without his flashy personal stylishness, the character feels a little flat on the page. No one wants to see a stoic Nightcrawler. His passion is part of what makes him Nightcrawler. If McGuire and Frigeri can start to bring that to the page a little bit more, Nightcrawler will feel a bit more himself as the series continues into its second half.

With only a couple of issues left to go in the mini-series, McGuire and company appear to be right on track to really get this series going right before it has to end. With the sheer number of titles that comprise the Age of X-Man mega-event, it was bound to happen that one of them might end up frustratingly reaching its most satisfying moments uncomfortably close to the end of the event. For now, its okay, though. The Amazing Nightcrawlers third issue is one of the few genuinely good issues in the Age of X-Man thus far.

The trend in The Age of X-Man seems to be reaching a state of fully realized potential at the end of the mini-series that make-up the event. The ending might be satisfying enough to be truly frustrating for The Amazing Nightcrawler really feels like its becoming interesting one month before it ends.

McGuires work here feels a bit stifled by the massive superstructure of the Age of X-Man event. In Spider-Gwen: Ghost Spider shes got much more leeway to do whatever the hell she wants...a situation which allows her to develop nuanced humor and drama in very clever ways. Shes easily one of the best writers working for Marvel right now. Its too bad that she had to be hampered by the event that this series is a part of. McGuire could be great with Nightcrawler if she was given just a bit more room to develop her own story.

With this first issue of the first full series in the Age of X-Man event, Thompson and Nadler have lowered another foundational chapter into place that feels fresh and clever. As a whole, the event is hugely ambitious. This one chapter feels appealingly modular. There IS a conflict that gets resolved in dramatic fashion at the beginning of the issue, but theres A LOT of world-building going on here that shows careful thought toward the narrative mega-structure of a series with weekly chapters coming out through the middle of the year.

Theres a hell of a lot going on in the multi-mini-series Age of X-Man event. Its a sizable finite story playing out in a micro-verse with so many moving parts. Chapters like this are going to inevitably crop-up here and there as the overall story shifts from one major event to the next. Necessarily there is going to be the occasional issue that is doing more work going over what has already been expressed in other chapters. Hopefully, there arent too many issues like this, though.

A lot is going on in this issue, but not enough of it feels consequential enough to have any real impact. The aerial conflict between Magneto and Storm and X-Man really should have had an explosive intensity about it as it is one of the few scenes in the series thus far that really speak to the central themes of the Age of X-Man. Too bad it feels so uninspired.

With everything beginning to end the way that it is, the Marvelous X-Men had a chance to be the central anchor for the Age of X-Man event. It has proven to be a bit too much story to cram into a single title, which is a disappointment. Writers in the past have managed to juggle disparate characters in the ever-evolving roster of X-Men characters. In the space of a world created to live for only half a year, Thompson and Nadler appear to have a bit too much to try to tackle.

Its easy to be critical of Thompson and Nadler for the end of this series, but this issue isnt really the end. The final conclusion of the events which flowed through this series will happen in The Age of X-Man: Omega which will come out when all of the rest of the series comes to a close this summer. Its difficult to imagine the chapter which would make the five issues of this series feel at all satisfying as a contiguous whole, but there is every possibility that everything will wrap-up with some level of satisfaction once everything is lowered into place in that final issue of the event. This issue, though? This issue isnt terribly good.

The cheesiness of a dystopia that outlaws love is muted here in a very dramatic story that trudges through the drudgery of establishing another collection of familiar heroes in another parallel universe. Given the animalistic emotional nature of the people our heroes are going out to deal with, the issue is not without its impact as the opening round of the Age of X-Man titles begins to draw to a close.

Williams does well to focus the story on a romance between Psylocke and Blob. The specifics of that relationship add a delightful sense of sophisticated emotional connection that is so often missing from mainstream superhero comics.

It's strange pacing that sees a group of people sullenly dragging themselves through the ongoing frustration of perpetuating a false world. The significant shift at the end of the issue has been foreshadowed ever since the first issue, but the sudden change at issue's end still manages to hold an emotional impact leading up to the end of the Age of X-Man.

Once again, another Age of X-Man title draws to a close with ample power that suggests that it might have become much better if it had been allowed more than five issues room to breathe. Williams has had some very compelling moments scattered around the fast-moving deterioration of a grim dystopia. Given even twice the length of time, it has been allowed, the Age of X-Man could have developed into something with admirable complexity. In X-Tremists as with every other title its clear that this multi-mini series event has been a bit rushed.

Silent issues can be very, very tricky to manage. When an entire chapter of a story needs to play-out entirely without words, it can feel more than a bit disjointed...especially if theres a lot of characterization that needs to take place as is the case with this issue. Theres a point, though...a point in depression where the verbal end of thought is just...totally vacant and vacuous and all thats left is the cold reality of whats going on. Young and Corona do a strikingly brilliant job of bringing the full reality of that non-verbal aspect of depression to the page in a haunting issue.

Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross came-up with the five stages of grief. Then she said that not everyone goes through them in order. And not everyone goes through all of them necessarily. And...well...its really just a vague model that people can take comfort in, but its not a bad outline for a cleverly non-traditional cowboy western horror-fantasy. Theres been real poetry in the series as it has made its way to its own inevitable conclusion. Its a very sharp sort of an allegory that looks at the deeper horror at the heart of every good-guy cowboy story. 

With the story reaching its ending, there's a fundamental problem with the series: it needs a fresh perspective. What made the franchise's original films so appealing was that it was a progression of different sub-genres. The first was sci-fi horror. The second was sci-fi action. The third was sci-fi drama. The fourth was franchise sci-fi legacy. Johnson's series needs something significantly new to offer the franchise aside from the comic book format that's been a part of the franchise for a long time. And though the overall design of the series fits the film's production design perfectly, it all feels superficial. 

In order to properly fuse the two properties together, Tieri and company work with a premise that deals somewhere between the second and fourth movies in the series. This makes perfect sense as Captain America is essentially an action hero and James Cameron's action based treatment of the premise is a good match. The legacy science fiction of the fourth film is mirrored in a clever execution of the light cycle of the xenomorph as it engages with the World War II era of the Titanic book. It's very potentially calculated. And now that the basic introduction is set, it should be interesting to see how the creative team manages to navigate through the rest of the series without making it feel painfully obvious. The joy of introducing the premise is a lot of fun. It will remain to be seen if it can maintain that appeal as the story works its way out to its inevitable resolution.

One might imagine that theres going to be a big plot twist at the end of the series thats going to allow it to all make sense. And one hopes that doesnt happen. Some horror is just inexplicable. Theres so little to the basic premise of the story that its easy to feel like Foxe and company are going to lower some kind of a trick ending on things at some point next issue. Theres really no reason to think that this is going to happen, though. Foxe hasnt given any indication of a big plot twist coming at the end of the series.

Llovet mentions a bit of the background on the story at issues end. She really wants to make this thing work. The hitman and the jewel thief could end up a really clever combo if Llovet had the good fortune to be able to follow them further on other adventures. Theres a stylishness to the idea that could work in a variety of different settings without ever getting dull. And while that may never happen, All the Things We Didnt Do Last Night is a very, very fun, little dream in comic book form.

The cameo by Silk makes for a fun addition to the series. Phillips is a really good writer. It would be really cool to see her feature silk as a major supporting character who eventually got her own title. It might be getting ahead of things to look that far into the future, but it would be really cool to have a very well rendered female slinger and of the Marvel universe regularly appearing on the comics rack. As it is, Gwen has achieved a kind of equilibrium that seems to be working quite well on the pages of a whole new series.

Phillips is a solidly respectable writer. She's been doing a really good job with the character. It just feels like the current direction is an echo of an echo of an echo of things that I've been going on for far too long to be very interesting. The central action and the current issue is very appealing. It's no questioning that. It's just a matter of it feeling like so much of what we've seen before. But with Philip, it's only a matter of time before she finds the right direction in which to make things starting to feel fresh again.

There's a bit of a leap forward at the end of the issue. Clearly, Phillips wanted to get Gwen into a specific spot with respect to the story and it does feel as though the ending is kind of out of place with much of what takes place over much of the rest of the issue. Perhaps the pacing would've been served a little bit better by a little bit more time spent delivering the drama at Ryker. It's nice to get a full look at Gwen and her life, though. It's really important to have that balance in and out of a mask in any given issue of a series like this.

Phillips is making Gwen seem surprisingly...coherent with respect to the overall progression of her personality. Shes managed to embrace the characters continuity in a way that makes her feel more or less consistent with all of the adventures that shes had over the course of the past few years. This is a bigger accomplishment when one considers how little overall continuity seems to come into play in the modern superhero comic. Philips is taking Gwen and making her truly feel like a fully integrated person. Its a lot of fun to hang out with her for about a half hour a month every month.

There are eight characters. And then theres one major villain. Its a big ensemble for a story with no introduction that drops right in the middle of the climax. Its all juggled with great finesse by the entire team. The fact that the story involves quantum teleportation is a pretty cool thematic synchronicity. The next issue finds a similar group of Avengers who have been captured by mega-villain Doctor Doom. Somehow Doom has gotten ahold of Captain Americas shield on the cover. That cant be good.

Landy is beginning to develop a larger plot around the edges of the series thats playing with the format. Specific memories of how they came to be where they are...simply arent there for everyone. Its a clever way to draw the overarching plot into the form of a series that launches readers and characters alike directly into the middle of the action. It may have an awful title, but two issues in, All-Out Avengers is beginning to look like something special. 

Its difficult to tell how long Landy could keep the current format going before it starts to feel boring and repetitive. The action sequences playing out in the first three issues of the series maintain great momentum and gain a great deal of momentum simply by staging compelling action sequences. The plot that Landy has tying them all together is just extra. 

Landys focus on three anonymous AIM agents feels intriguing. They may not be granted a whole lot of time on the page, but they make a fun deviation from the usual in a superhero comic. Given the right momentum, it would be interesting to see three or four anonymous identical AIM agents in their own series. It would be fun to see Landy and company play around with faceless gold scientists a little more closely. 

The final twist is the big set-up for the next mini-series. Given the villain involved in the next series, its difficult to imagine it being nearly as much fun as All-Out Avengers has been. The villain in question has been kind of a problem ever since he debuted back in 1984. With the right direction, it could really turn into something. Landys done a good job with this series. Hopefully, he can do something similar with the next one. 

The promotional copy for the fifth issue suggests that this is the end of the first volume of the series. Laroche provides some sense of conflict that could be carried into a second series, but he would have to find a way to conjure some depth out of all the awkward, exhausted, post-apocalyptic surface tension if hes going to conjure much more than a restless insomniac vision of life after the fall of civilization. There needs to be more in and within the panels if Almighty is going to bring a bit more weight to the comics rack.

Alpha Flight has been a tricky team to get right. Its not often that the teams delicate balance between politics, emotion, and action has been placed on the page in a way that makes any kind of sense. John Byrne did a brilliant job with the first run on the first series back in the early 1980s. The series has been hit-or-miss since. Thankfully, Brisson and Godlewski are doing a good job of bringing it all to the page. 

Tori becomes Puratori thanks to the mislaid ambitions of a few people and a series of murders. Its simple stuff, but it definitely makes a powerful impact as the blood flows. No one on the page seems perfectly awware of how jarring everything is. Theres a mixture of listlessness, frustration and blind ambition that keeps everyone from being perfectly aware of the horror surrounding them. The real genius here is that no one involved seems to be reaching for too much. Everyone involved knows exactly what theyre trying to achieve with the stroy and they know exactly how to bind it to the page.

Mary Jane is an actress. Mysterio is a filmmaker. They have a mutual acquaintance. It makes sense that they would work together...kind of surprising that it hadnt happened earlier actually. Its a delicious set-up for a slightly off-center superhero comic. Given the right momentum, Williams and Gomez could really turn Mary Jane into a major leading lady.

Williams and Gomez are playing with a really unique series that might have a charming opportunity for success in the current era. With entertainment news traveling as quickly as it does, the average movie fan knows a lot more about filmmaking now than ever before. Superhero films are some of the most successful movies there are. A comic book about a super-villain movie inside the Marvel Universe just might be interesting enough to gather readers as the story gains momentum.

Williams has settled-in to the milieu of Mary Jane with this issue in a way that feels both smart and sophisticated. She manages this without compromising action and pacing. The series is beginning to reach some of its potential with this issue. A slightly more detailed look at Hollywood in the Marvel Universe in the course of production, these first few issues could go a long way towards making this series something original AND accomplished. Various elements of cast, tone, and mood need to lower into place a bit more, but this is a striking move in the right direction for the young series.

Williams manages a balance between the Hollywood drama and the more traditional superhero-style action that feels more or less appealing. Theres clearly more than enough going on in Williams story to hold interest together for many, many issues to come. The problem is going to lie in keeping the action consistent without compromising the fact that at its heart, this IS a series about a Hollywood actress in a world of superheroes.

Shooting the Mysterio biopic only took a little less than half of a year on this side of the comic page. In the months to come, Mary Jane will return to New York for a little bit of time with her boyfriend and begin to promote the movie. Itll be interesting to see Williams distinct mutation of the rest of an actresss work on a big Hollywood motion picture.

The series has spent nearly its entire first half year trying to find the right rhythm. A nearly issue-length talk show is rarely attempted. There WAS that oddly memorable time back in 1984 when the Avengers appeared on Late Night with David Letterman for almost the full-length of issue #239, but it wasnt handled nearly as cleverly as it is here. Leah Williams shows a considerable talent for constructing a solidly entertaining story in an issue that is smartly rendered for the page.

Peters bruised and beaten. He wasnt expecting whats happened, and hes going to have a hell of a time rolling into his next issue, but this one continues a time-honored tradition of keeping Spidey spinning through the danger without allowing him much of a chance to rest. It would be exhausting if it werent for someone like Wells handling it as well as he does and someone like Romita Jr. bringing it to the page with such a breadth of style. Things arent going to get any easier for Spidey next month but then...when have they ever been easy for him?

Honestly, the sudden turn towards a somewhat cliche murder-mystery with a large ensemble was kind of a surprise. The classic Agatha Christie sort of feel to the issue would be tedious were it not...yknow...Spider-Man and a whole bunch of classic Spidey villains as the ensemble in question. Dodsons visual wit matches Kellys sense of humor almost perfectly beat-for-beat. The pair makes a really good team for a pleasant little excursion from the work that Zeb Wells and John Romita Jr. have been rolling through lately.

Peter Parker casually runs into issues with half of the Fantastic Four and Captain America. Theres a sense of desperation as Parker rushes to try to do what he needs to do. Wells and company put together a remarkably sharp issue that doesnt require a whole lot of familiarity with Spideys recent past. A general familiarity with the Marvel Universe is all thats absolutely necessary. Issue #23 is a perfect example of how a long-running series can keep going indefinitely: keep established readers entertained while steering clear of the kind of muddled plot that would be boring to new readers.

There are going to be those who complain that Kamala deserved to die in her own series. Its worth noting that...well in advance of the release of this issue, it was well-known that she was going to die. The Amazing Spider-Man #26 may be a Spider-Man comic, and he may be in it A LOT, but he and his life and his concerns DO fade out into the background of his own title for at least one month. THAT doesnt happen very often to a major character like Spider-Man. Kamala DOES deserve better, but Amazing Spider-Man #26 might as well be a Ms. Marvel comic. 

Wells works with all of the standard Spidey tropes in slightly new ways. Its not terribly insightful or groundbreaking, but it DOES take a certain amount of vision and talent to put together all of those familiar elements that Spidey has been dealing with over the decades in a way that doesnt feel excessively repetitious. The overall feel of the new Doc Ock is interesting...but lacks anything beyond the physical that would make him seem any more interesting than he has been in the past.

Wells is mixing comedy and serious drama in a way that makes it kind of difficult to interface with the center of the story. A few pages before the end of the issue, its just...silly. It all kind of falls apart by the end, but there ARE some really good moments splattered throughout the issue that almost reach a kind of brilliance with some very witty dialogue by Wells. 

It might start a little slow, but Campbell's story draws together several elements that should be fun as the story continues. The fundamental grounding of the current "Amazons Attack" story might feel a bit silly. Still, Campbell is building something interesting in what should be a fun adventure drama that should deliver an interesting new dynamic to the world of Wonder Woman and the rest of the Amazons if all goes well. 

Panosian and Ignazzi burn through the first 20% of a five-issue mini-series on the first day of a new school year. The subtly immersive world theyre putting together will be wrapping itself-up long before the end of the school year on this side of the comics page. A thoughtful, measured introduction like the first issue of An Unkindness of Ravens deserves something that might at least fill a bit more of a single school year. 

The begins with the ending of Wilmas first day in school and ends early on in the afternoon of her second day. The first day she met with the outcasts. The second day she meets with the popular girl. Theres a very steady balance being executed in the first couple of issues of the series that will be fun to follow so long as Panosian and Ignazzi maintain the same moody, dramatic pacing that theyve established in the first couple of issues.

Theres really no specific reason why this particular teen horror drama should work in a comic book format. Panosian and Ignazzi conjure it for the page with its own distinct fingerprint. An Unkindness of Ravens part of a long, distinguished tradition for the sub-genre. It manages to settle quite cozily into its own corner of the genre with a smart sense of poise. 

The mystery of the series reaches a kind of an intense turning point this issue. The path that the series takes from here could fall in a direction that might feel quite silly. Depending on how Panosian and Ignazzi handle the next couple of issues, the seriess strengths could really land in the panel center. Wilmas reaction to whats going on and the worlds response to her reaction could guide things in a really appealing direction moving forward. An Unkindness of Ravens #4 does a really outstanding delivering that dramatic turning point in the series plot. 

Ambiguity in and of itself isnt necessarily scary or intriguing. Still, Panosian and Ignazzi play with a shadowy lack of definition that allows the comics page to feel a bit more like deep paragraphs of a long and winding young adult novel in an enjoyable fifth issue. Theres still a great deal of potential in the series as Wilma explores the deeper aspects of local culture and her connection to it. Still, the real danger in a story like this is keeping it interesting without plunging the narrative into a hopelessly convoluted narrative in the issues to come. 

 Silver Age-style heroism still works in Larsens hands, but itll be interesting to see where Larsen takes it this time. Its kind of weird seeing something done in the format of an old comic that wouldnt have looked out of place decades ago that has the occasional flash of a modern comic. (The stars in the night sky in the first couple of pages are kind of disorienting. As is the rich sheen that Larsen has managed to render on the surface of the heros costume.) The ground that hes covering here with Ant has been so heavily covered in the course of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. An origin story is all well and good, but its going to be challenging to keep moving with it if he doesnt find some way to inject new life into an old superhero format. 

The restlessness of the opening issue of the series really could have been cut entirely. So much of the introduction to Hannah and her life leading into her trip to Antarctica could have appeared as flashbacks. That sort of set-up might have resulted in a little more immediacy in the first issue, but its difficult to find any real fault with starting Hannahs story a bit earlier until it becomes apparent exactly where Birks is taking it in the issues to come. 

Theres nothing specifically in the first issue of the new series that couldnt have been in an issue of Aquaman at any other point since the dawn of the silver age. And yet...Adams and company manage to make it all feel quite fresh and new with impressively heroic proportions and a visually stunning series of events that all seem to be just a little bigger than anything Aquaman has any business trying to deal with. So its a fun opening to a whole new series that could end up being an accomplished addition to the many, many Aquaman series that have come before it.

It can be remarkably difficult for a character as established as Aquaman to come across as anything other than old. And repetitious. The stories can feel like they're constantly tackling each other. The current series is managing something that feels distinctly new without betraying where the characters been before in the past. This is quite an accomplishment. It should be interesting to see where they're going from here.

There's enough going on in this one issue that could suggest a whole family of Aquaman titles that might be every bit of satisfying as Superman or Batman families of titles. Adams does a really good job of keeping everything balanced in and within a single issue. But any one of the different characters involved in this particular issue could probably have their own title. Adams makes it seem also appealing.

Burnetts sci-fi mutation of the traditional late 1990s video arcade makes for a fun milieu for the nomadic hero trope. There may not be anything terribly original about the story, but Joe seems like kind of a cool guy, and Burnetts art swiftly slides the story through page and panel in a way that allows for a very distinct narrative fingerprint. Burnett lowers a few different subplots into place in the first issue that could be interesting in subsequent chapters. It will remain to be seen if the nomadic hero trope will hold up over the course of the next few issues of the series. Burnett might have something special here.

Burnetts big accomplishment with the series thus far has been the ease with which hes given everyone very simple and instantly recognizable motivation for their actions. Arcade Kings isnt a world of simplistic notions of good and evil. So often, this type of story uses that dichotomy as a crutch to launch the action. Burnett is telling a simple action story without resorting to good and evil. Very cool. 

Burnett is allowing the world to expand a little more as he introduces a new character on the other side of the narrative. As cool as the itinerant hero is in the first couple of issues, it's cooler to see a contrasting hero who is every bit as valorous while being much more firmly anchored in a single location. 

Its already a quarter of the way over. Hudson only just walked-in and already shes one quarter of the way out the door. Its...disconcerting. Shes so much fun on the comics page that its really too bad that shes only got three issues left. Of course....this is only the impression after the first issue. Things could theoretically fall into some rough terrain in the course of the last three chapters, but the first issue feel fairly brilliant.

The ninth issue in the series might nor quite be living up to its potential, but  that doesnt mean that its not fun. Fleecs and Mhan have a very firm grasp of Ramis sense of visual movement and continue to do a really good job of bringing it to the page. Its a very clean and smartly-delivered action package. The series is nine issues in and theres still so much that could be done with the premise. Fleecs and company have found some interesting elements to add into the mix. The robot, the baby demon and the multiple Necronomicons alll feel like a very natural progression from the early 1990s action feature. 

Ash is really the heart of the whole Evil Dead franchse. Its difficult to get a feel for an Army of Darkness series that doesnt place him pretty solidly in the center of everything. And though he DOES appear in nearly every scene in the issue, the story doesnt dive to heavily into the psyche on the single most appealing of The Army of Darkness--its hero. The family drama that Sheila is involved in is interesting enough, but it doesnt feel like something that has its heart rooted in the Evil Dead..

Given the kind of momentum Fleecs is giving the series, theres really no reason that it couldnt keep going for years. In order for it to run with the kind of longevity its capable of, Fleecs is really going to need to slow the pacing and allow the weirdness to emerge with a bit more class and substance. This would also allow new readers and people not already as familiar with the franchise to get into it on a panel-by-panel basis that could expand the reach of both the property AND the comic book.

It shoudl be noted that this IS still a very early moment in the series. Theres plenty of room for coplexity that may begin to reveal itself over the course of the remaining three issues of the series, but its going to be difficult to truly bring it out without completely outpacing the slow and gradual build-up of the first issue. Things are going to have to start moving much more quickly if the series is going tobe any more than it has appeared to be in the first issue. Clara DOES seem like a relatable character. Thats a very good foundation.

The danger inherent in the android IS brought to the page with a degree of menace. Lovets challenge moving forward is going to lie in the tricky nuances of romance-vs-horror as things get gradually more and more complex between Lila, boyfriend and android. Its kind of a strange conflict that could easily turn into inadvertent comedy of Llovet isnt careful. It DOES seem like Llovet has a solid grasp of nuanced characterization, though. Theres a good chance that its going to turn-out quite well.

Above all, the stark simplicity of Llovets story is the central appeal of the whole thing.The lack of narrative flourishes around the edges of the central story keeps the focus on the love triangle in a way that keeps it all moving from beginning to end and adds to the resonance of its central conflict. The simplicity of the story is almost minimalist in its execution, which is substantially refreshing in an information-based era of popular culture in which everything has to be so totally loaded-down with detail in every way. Llovetts work in Artificial feels romantic in form as well as fashion.

Theres a real sense of collision at issues end. Had Llovett been able to sell the horror of that moment with a bit more intensity, she might have really had something overwhelming with Artificial. There are brief moments throughout the series that feel truly interesting. Clara calling an AI customer service bot to try to cancel her artificial relationship with her android lover? Genius. The big physical altercation at the end of the series? Something less than that. The darkness of the series would have needed to be there in greater intensity for the tenderness of the series to feel like the triumph that it could have been.

As this is only the opening pray for this series, it's difficult to tell exactly what direction that they're going to take it. Honestly, they could just keep expanding the ensemble and looking at this situation and this parade of crises from multiple different people within the contact. However, it would be really tragic if. Camp and company didnt focus more on Ashley. Shes just a really, really cool character.

And then theres the drip of the blood in the background as the story continues. The gutter between the panels is progressively more and more saturated with the dripping of the blood as Jesus is lost further and further into the life that he must lead. Its powerful stuff from beginning to end...and the dizzy nonlinearity of it all only s eves to amplify the tension as the story jumps around A LOT. Its fascinating stuff that really embraces the dramatic potential of the comic book page in a way that doesnt happen very often.

This sort of thing hasn't really been explored in a great detail on the comics page. A single life. Roughly 20 minutes of time if that. And it all plays out with such speed. And every major point in this person's life hits the page with such brilliant concision. And it really wouldn't work in any other format. Theoretically, you could do this on the stage or on the screen. But it wouldn't have the same impact. Because everything that's presented in a static image. And you can see so much of it playing out and you can go back effortlessly simply by flipping back a few pages. It's an entire life on a linear timeframe with a whole bunch of images. It's an entire life between two covers.

Above all, Anna comes across as a very profoundly well defined person. Mrs. Quintin accomplishment given the fact that this is the first time she's ever made appearance. She's the center of the issue. But she takes the center of the in so many ways so well. It is really a very striking single issue story that feeds into Camps larger narrative beautifully.

Once again, Camp and company do a really good job of delivering everything in a way that feels fresh and distinct. And it does show without feeling particularly heavy-handed or over exaggerated. There is a very striking intensity about all of it that hit the page in just the right way. It's going to be hard for.Camp to t op this i future issues.

Camp and company are going to have a very tricky time trying to top the seventh issue in the series. Its remarkably well-executed seventh issue. The full reality of the anthology series hasnt quite been revealed yet, but the seventh issue really manages to find the perfect space in the perfect place for a new format on everything as it all moves forward into the next issue. Tom Doublay is SUCH an interesting character in so many different ways. There are so many different ways of executing everything. Its remarkably good work.

And then there were aspects of the issue that feel almost incredibly cheesy. There's an element of it that feels very much like a weirdly mutated version of Jon Stones The Monster at the End of This Book. Aspects of the interaction between reader and character and creator feel kind of forced in places. This isn't a bad thing as it does speak to the overall state of mind of the narrator and main character. He's just trying to make sense of it all in at times he's going to be incredibly quaint. And silly. And awkward and cringy. But those aspects of this issue only serve to make Wally and his story that much stronger.

Its strange to see Auntie Agathas world so fully realized after only three chapters. Since issue one, its felt like a series that has been running for years, complete with the interpersonal dynamics between a girl, her rabbits, and her elderly auntie. Giffen and Roman have created something that is quite enticingly unlike anything else. Its a sitcomic book and wouldnt feel quite right in any other format. Hopefully this is the halfway point of something that will have a long and healthy life, even after the mini-series reaches its conclusion. 

Given the slow, refreshingly relaxed pace of the comic book, Giffen and Roman are establishing something that could continue for years without ever feeling anywhere near as tired or fatigued as Sawyer is throughout this issue. Theres a vivid freshness about the whole thing even though the hipster funny animal genre has been more or less dead for decades. The cast of characters feels immense. Theres so much that can happen on a tiny, little property with so many strange rabbits.

Giffen and Roman end the issue on quite a little cliffhanger. They do so in a way that is suitably stagnant for a series which has become so defined by idle moments in the lives of those living in impending doom of losing their homes and ultimately their lives. Once again, Giffen and Roman brilliantly develop a very unique blend of satire and serious drama.

Theres a lot going on here beyond the surface. Its difficult not to see a deeply flawed contemporary society reflected in the strange collection of psychologically challenged bunnies living on a rural farm that has been targeted for demolition. On some level, were all Sawyer trying desperately to save our homes from the utter destruction of sinister forces. Were all dealing with the dysfunctional dynamic of so many others who are far too wrapped up in their own infinite gallery of psychoses to be able to tackle the challenges of continued survival. Its just a funny animal comedy, but theres a very deep allegory going on here. Hopefully Giffen and Roman will be able to continue their exploration with the rabbits for a long time to come.

The pairing of Aaron and Marquez has achieved pleasant alchemy with this issue. The Avengers have tried to go in the direction of the demonic and supernatural in the past without quite managing anything anywhere near as impressive as theyve accomplished on a more cosmic level, but with Aaron and Marquez crafting the story, they fit right into the action horror superheroing. If they can string together a few more issues like this, the Avengers might finally have a satisfying brush with the supernatural.

Blade is hanging out with a mini-Man-Thing. Jen literally blows-up. Blade performs a decapitation and Captain Marvel shoots a blast right through the head of a vampire. There's witty dialogue and brisk pacing. Its a fun conclusion to the story for Aaron and Marquez. Next month, Ed McGuinness takes over the art as the War of the Realms crossover event. Aaron has an opportunity to take the team in new directions as the Squadron Supreme re-enters the picture once more like the United States latest superhero team.  

The idea of super-powered heroes being brainwashed by the government was kind of disturbing when Moore tackled it in Marvelman back in 81, but in an age as truly messed-up as the one we have come to live in, the idea needs to be ratcheted-up in order for it to have the kind of impact it needs to have. In the current political climate, the darkness of a fictional manipulative government needs to be that much more sinister in order to have any impact at all. Aarons going to need to get darker if this Squadron Supreme is going to make an impact.

Last issue the Avengers title cast its focus on a few characters that have largely been forgotten. Here its focussed on a character who is far more interesting than how hes been treated in the past. Its a clever approach to a mega-crossover: invite the readers to take a closer look at minor side characters caught-up in the rush of events rather than the standard ensemble so often found filling the pages of the book. Sometimes when things get really stressful, you just need to hang out with a gorilla.

So much of what Aaron has been doing with his end of War of the Realms in the Avengers seems to have been a process of testing various characters for future projects. The Squadron Supreme issue felt a bit off, but this issue and the one before it (featuring Gorilla-Man) show a willingness to further explore aspects of the Marvel Universe that have faded out of the center of the frame in recent months. This closer look at She-Hulk turns out to have been one of the best issues in the whole War of the Realms event thus far. 

The issue pulls things forward for all of the characters with a degree of wit but without much flair. Ghost Rider granting a watercraft Speedboat From Hell qualities aside, a bunch of characters lounging around isnt a terribly engaging way to frame the inner lives of the characters. The conflict between Black Panther, Coulson and a matching set of Nick Fury L.M.D.s would be interesting if it were allowed to cover more of the issue, which seems to be trying to cram too much into a single installment without finding a way to bring it across dynamically.

Somewhere in the midst of everything, theres also a moment between Thor and Iron Man in a Turkish desert. Theyve been called in to investigate the strange appearance of what appears to be a fossilized Iron Man helmet in a cave. The addition of that scene amid Reyes problems, helps to keep the issue running on a few different tracks. In a way that recalls the kind of deft traffic control, Chris Claremont had in The Uncanny X-Men when his run on that series was firing on all cylinders. Aarons Avengers seems to have found firm footing now that the smoke has finally cleared on the War of the Realms crossover event.

Aaron and Casselli do an admirable job of keeping everything together in an issue that could have easily disintegrated into a lot of disjointed scenes between different groupings of Avengers. The magical milieu could start to get a bit tired if it carries on for too much longer, but the series seems to be in quite capable hands with Aaron and Casselli.

Specific details with the background aside, this issue is the Avengers fending-off a threat against...themselves. A cool as the combat is, its not the sort of triumphant defense of the earth, the universe and more. That has made for some of the better stories history of the team. Hopefully, with this issue behind them, the team can start to focus on the actual business of protecting the earth. 

And then theres the fact that Black Cat is fashionably late for her guest appearance in the issue. Shes right there on the cover--the ONLY character on the cover who appears in person and she doesnt even show-up until right around the end of the issue. So its a bit of a disappointment that shes not playing a bigger part in the outset of the multi-issue story. Its too bad that she couldnt have been brought-in a little bit earlier. 

Its too bad MacKay couldnt have kept rolling with the Black Cat in her own title. This storyline with her against the Avengers feels like a relatively weak echo back to something that had a bit more of a fresh feel about it that was substantially more interstig on a few different levels. That being said, it IS cool to mix Kang and Felicia into the same side of the stage.

With the initial background of the story well and fully established, Landy can focus on what he seems to be best at: telling a solidly entertaining action story featuring some really powerful characters. All of the silliness of the cosmology of the Marvel Universe has been dealt with. Now, the mini-series can get down to the business of developing some serious and seriously witty action moments. Landy and the art team are at their best when everything is gliding smoothly forward.

The larger story that is being presented has yet to completely resolve into anything that would be terribly compelling. That doesn't mean that a bigger payoff isn't coming. It just seems like Landy hasnt quite found a way to frame this part of the larger serial in a way that is terribly interesting. In the larger run of things, Landy set himself up with kind of a challenge for this particular issue. It DOES deliver information important to the story, but it's difficult to bring it to the page in a way that feels like it's catapulting the action forward.

From the All-Out Avengers title that Landy and Land had done last year to the current Avengers Beyond series, the creative team has been doing a good job of maintaining an enjoyable level of quality. There hasnt been the kind of versatility in theme and tone that one might hope for in the better superhero team comics, but action and intensity have been maintained for Landy and Land throughout.

As had been the case with Landys All-Out Avengers, the writer is clearly planning things in a way that could really turn into something later on. There are clearly plans that involve bigger themes and a more extensive plot. The fourth issue in the current series doesnt feel like it has the kind of momentum it would need to turn out as satisfying as All-Out Avengers. With Landys preceding Avengers mini-series, there was an intriguing plot construction that seemed to be leading somewhere. With Beyond, Landy seems to be a bit more directionless than he was with the previous series.

All the cosmic energy burns off of Marvel Manhattan one more time. Everybody gets back to all of those things that they were doing before. Theres kind of a lot of other activity in Marvel Manhattan...and all over the world, for that matter. Theres an impossible city in orbit around the Earth. Interdimensional cityslayers from that city are attacking Manila, Helsinki, Toronto, Sydney, and Vatican City. The Avengers have to go to work on that in their OWN title.

In another era, Marvel might have tried a whole line of comics set in the world of the Upper Paleolithic. Given the right angle, it could have turned into a very primal look at the heart of the conflicts that have come to define the heroes on pages, panels, and screens of various sizes over the past eighty years or so. A single issue telling the story of Thors birth just seems kind of...weird. Theres so much more they could do with the era.

The A-Team/B-Team approach to the large ensemble substantially aids the third issue of No Road Home. Theres almost enough here between the two different groups to warrant a pair of satisfyingly interlocked mini-series, but expanding the action too much might make the series feel that much more padded-out and cumbersome. The creative team behind the book seems to have found just the right amount of action to fill the book.

Nyx is actually a really cool villain with a profoundly resonant background, so the issue feels satisfying as it leads-in to the halfway point of the twelve segment No Road Home mini-series. The story of Nyx and her kids almost feel drawn from some end of Neil Gaimans Sandman and into a more aggressively brutal Marvel iteration of godliness. This issues pacing sets things up quite well for rising action that will doubtlessly rush through the fifth issue.

The introduction of one more hero at issues end is meant to have a bit more impact than it probably does. This may be a mega-popular legendary hero who first appeared at the dawn of the twentieth century, but Marvel has a decades long history with the character and his appearance here just isnt nearly as impressive as it needs to be. . . And given that the introduction at issues end is kind of a jarring smash-cut of a thing, its difficult to say quite precisely where the series is going from here, but a major conflict has ended, and further adventure awaits next issue.

Its nice to see more Conan for Marvel. With this crossover and titles like Conan and Blit, it almost feels like the barbarian was never really gone. That being said, this crossover doesnt REALLY feel like a crossover. Its just...Scarlet Witch hanging out with a barbarian. It wont really start to feel dynamic until the second half of the ten-part mini-series really sets in next issue with greater integration between the realm of Marvel and the realm of Robert E. Howard.

Nyx and Rambeau are a fun match supported by a lot of drama around the edges of an issue that advances the series to its final three chapters. Conan feels like a bit of an afterthought in an issue that might have been better served with some greater integration. The Avengers/Conan meeting could have had more impact had Zub, Waid and Ewing been a bit more focussed on it, but they really ARE juggling a lot here.

The series enters its penultimate chapter next issue. Its been kind of a hit-or-miss proposition with every issue in the series so far. Fusing Conan with the Avengers in a huge dual-setting mini-series has been a very ambitious exercise. With any luck, the final two issues can close the story with a well-balanced finale.

The series begins to draw to a close in one corner of the Marvel Universe as the big War of the Realms crossover picks-up elsewhere. The intensity of this particular mini-series owes a lot to the deep emotional characterization that has been thoughtfully brought to the page, and thats what really matters as the series draws to a close

The ten-issue No Road Home mini-series had been a relentlessly sketchy patchwork of a narrative, so its fitting that the end would be as scattered as it is with Vision confronting Nyx in Long Island and an extended epilogue. While its far from a perfect story, clever art and earnestness in the story make the series very difficult to dismiss as a purely commercial exercise. Theres real love thats been poured into this thing. And like any love thats worth anything, its flawed and inconsistent.

It can be difficult to find a new ground for sword and sorcery spoofery how many decades it's been running for. Just as it's difficult to tell a truly new sword and sorcery story every bit is difficult to do something fresh and original for a spoof of the genre. Ennis and company seem to be doing a pretty good job of finding some new ground and a reasonably novel voice for a whole new character who is an identity all her own. It might not make much impact beyond so many other entries in its genre, but it is a lot of fun.

Of course, addressing the fourth wall, the way this comic book is always kind of dangerous. It runs the risk of moving into incredibly cheesy territory from a variety of different directions. A story like this is really easy to do and it's really difficult to do very well. There are so many opportunities for the narrative to move in a direction that takes it to the fact that it doesn't. As weird and paradoxical as that is, it's not nearly as fun as it should be when this sort of multi-layered story is attempted. Hopefully Northcott and company can live-up to the potential of what theyre attempting.

There have been a few different attempts at exploring Barbarella on the comics page since she was inteiduced over half a century ago. While the current series isnt exactly inspired, it is definitely enjoyable for a number of different reasons they dont seem to be expiring towards that kind of depth. Its nice to see them maintaining the appeal of an old and spacefaring venture hero. It would be nice to see them move off into more thoughtfully rendered a satire. All of the basic elements are there. Its just a matter of finding the right balance of comedy and drama, to make it work. Theyre not quite there yet.

The current Barbarella series seems to have a really firm grasp of what works on the page in this particular world in this particular genre for this particular character. It all feeels quite pleasantly put together from premise to dialogue to drama to the way the art frames the action and the way that the colors enhance a potentially immersive depth. It all feels like its more or less perfectly poised as Northcott and company advance to the second major story arc in the series.

And then theres the whole Mojo thing. Anne Nocenti and Chis Claremont had done stories involving an intergalactic villain who made dangerous movies involving superheroes in deathtraps and such and...those stories didnt really live-up to the genius of Nocentis ideas either, which is really too bad. The basic idea really IS a lot of fun. Barbarella would be a fun character to send through murderous action films set-up by some crazy lunatic with a bottomless budget, but it would take a much more savvy script to be able to embrace the potential.

Even with the knowledge gained from the Unnamable, Barbarella still has quite a lot to deal with. Theres still the threat of the Architects on the horizon. Thanks to her adventure in the third issue of the series, shes got a better idea of how shes going to handle the fourth. Shes learned something, and she didnt have to resort to any kind of negative energy to gain that knowledge. 

Hoyt, Bogani, and Sanchez call the fantastic grandma to a close with a great deal of style and flair. It's all drama, and there could be a better deal of action. However, that doesn't matter. Because it all looks so good while everyone is discussing dramatic matters pertaining to a distinctly non-human culture. Once again, the title character manages to keep herself totally on track the entire issue, and everything feels more emotionally engaging than one might typically expect from a light space opera. It's precisely the type of thing that makes for an outstanding Barbarella story.

There’s a great sense of rhythm rolling through the issue that continues to build on the momentum from the first issue of the current series. Moreci continues to tell a solidly entertaining story featuring a. reasonably relatable sword and sorcery fantasy lead. The general emotional frictions and frustrations of Owen the Barbarian feel quite cleverly earthbound in another satisfying trip to a rather strangely skewed fantasy adventure story. There may not be a whole lot of depth beyond the surface of the story, but there’s more than enough in the issue to keep the pages moving swiftly.

Barbara Gordon is a fun character to follow into shadows, whether or not they are rendered in great detail. Shes not some old, rich guy with a vendetta; shes risking a lot more than some multi-millionaire avenging his parents. If Scott could pair her up with a villian that had a bit more depth, this could be a very clever evolution beyond the traditional Batman formula, but Scott falls just a bit short of the well-balanced brilliance that could make her truly unique.

Scott guides the story through the penultimate chapter with a somewhat stilted rhythm. It's an awkward collection of moments to try to frame inside a single issue.

Scott Explores divisions between father and daughter in the first part of a story in which shadows of the past loom into the present. Its a promising opening to a new chapter for Barbara. Shes gaining some level of independence having been recovering from serious injury in the recent past. With the opening of the story established, this new chapter in the life of Batgirl should find some interesting new momentum.

Scott and company arent reaching for something revolutionary with this story. Its a solidly-produced earthbound crimefighter fiction with a badass heroine trying to aid in a fair election, which is admirable in the current political climate. Just enough of a mix of topical action and intrigue to make for an entertaining read.

Batgirls shaken at issues end. Scott has put her through some really intense action over the course of the issue and theres a definite tension leading to the upcoming chapters. (The next one comes in the form of a crossover tie-in to The Batman Who Laughs miniseries.) This issue works remarkably well on its own, though. Scott has been doing a good job of delivering individual issues that feel self-contained while building ongoing tension in a larger story arc.

Though the issue fits into a more massive crossover event, Scott and Casagrande put together a story that stands quite well on its own. There are more profound implications of the overall psyche of Barbara Gordon that carry plot lines from previous issues, thus making this a chapter in the life of a crime fighter that works well both on its own AND as a part of a long-running saga.

The latest issue of Batgirl is the opening of a three-part story Scott is calling Terrible. The three-part story is off to an engaging beginning featuring a compelling combination of decent writing, decent art and a very precisely-balanced amount of stylish weirdness. The quality of Babs adventures appears to be looking up for the next couple of issues.

Batgirls defiance in the face of nearly insurmountable odds has a profound impact. Her names on the book, so we know shes going to be alright, but Scotts tumbling her through the kind of hell that makes Batgirl all the more impressive. Shes going to survive this AND the third part of the story next month, but things are about to get worse for her...and just like seeing her escape that tube, itll be fun to see Batgirl escape all of the strife Scott has planned for her in issues to come.

Given how many moving parts there are in a story like this, its challenging to get everything to come together ideally under deadline. The great thing about Scott, Pelletier, and Rapmund is that they work well enough as a team to overcome anything that might be dragging from month to month. Here the action is given its place in the art while the emotion is given its place in the dialogue. Next month it might be different. The important thing is that Batgirl can crawl through the hell and make it onto the splash page of the next issue. Shes good at that.

Its pretty rare when one creative team can take over for another this smoothly. Writer Mairghread Scott had done such a good job with her run aided as she was by artist Paul Pelletier. They had a very satisfying end to their run last issue. Castellucci and Di Giandomenico take over this issue and take over without the usual sort of awkward disappointment and stiff acclimation that has to occur with a new art team. Castellucci and Di Giandomenico  have hit the page ready to go right away on the first panel.

Castellucci and Carmine Di Giandomenico are dragging Batgirl through some really, really rough times to show relentless heroism. With any luck, the teams tenure with the character will last long enough to see her rise triumphant out of the disheveled mess of her life in the first couple of issues of their time with her. So far this has been a thoroughly engrossing walk with Barbara Gordon.

As closely as Batgirl is focussed-on with the new creative team, theres so much churning around in the narrative background that shes not given the moments to breathe. That would make for a really intimate 20 pages with her. This lends some power to a character who is so lost in trying to help other people that she doesnt time for herself. A lot is going on in her life. The new creative team is doing a remarkable job of bringing Barbaras life to the page.

Castellucci and DiGiandomenicos brilliant execution of Babs chronicles amid a big, oppressive multi-title crossover speaks to a very deft mastery of the street-level superhero genre that should be great fun to see develop further once the title wheels itself out from underneath the massive machinery of The Year of the Villain. 

Castellucci's time with Batgirl is only a few issues old, but already it's feeling like the writer has a very profound understanding of what makes the hero unique. The fusion between art and story is also very well-articulated. This is a fairly basic hero-villain interaction that echoes a story template that goes back to the dawn of the superhero. Castellucci and Di Giandomenico give the story enough distinct personality to make it feel new and refreshing in spite of this. With any luck, the two can continue on with the series for a long time to come. It'll be interesting to see where they can go with Babs.

Batgirl has liberated herself from the relentless discipline shes come to expect from herself. The change in her personality came about out of necessity. From here, her story could potentially cascade into several different directions now that shes free and clear of the year of the Villain crossover event. As good as Batgirl has looked throughout much of 2019, Castellucci and DiGiandomenico certainly seem to be casting her in a direction that appears to be a substantial improvement over last year. 

The act of thrusting a gritty, earthbound hero into a fantasy world is often used as a form of distance from the heavier aspects of the characters life. Here Castellucci is using the fantasy world to explore the deeper elements of Barbaras life into a fantasy world. It makes her inner struggle that much more visually appealing. 

The chapter comes to a close quite effectively. And though it's not terribly accomplished in its execution, Castellucci's story DOES focus on the inner emotional life of Batgirl in a way that makes her all the more endearing for fur or e issues. It's just too bad that there wasn't more of an appreciation for the weirdness of the issue amidst the action. Nana is battling some serious demons here in and out of her mind. It'll be interesting to see where Castellucci takes her next.

Castellucci tosses around details in the script that both render a story and provide some insight into the personality of Batgirl herself. The art team casts a lot of detail around the edges as well. The story itself might suffer from some lack of originality, but Castellucci and Di Giandomenico give Batgirls world such a distinct style and flavor. Theres a new villain. Theres a new threat to Gotham that goes beyond the immediate concerns of the hero. Castellucci is taking the Babs life in an interesting direction.

Its nice to see Batgirl and Batwoman hanging out together, but its not like they get a lot of time together. The messiness of the overall composition of the issue echoes the complexity of Babs life. It all comes along quite well. Its a satisfying chapter in the life of Batgirl. Theres an emotional connection from reader to character. 

A Batgirl tie-in to the Joker War tie-in could have been really tedious if it hadnt been handled correctly. The relationship between Batman and the Joker has been garishly over-rendered over the years. Batgirl could have been a pale reflection of that. An issue that pulls everything into a tight close-up in a run-down, little Gotham City apartment, transcends the crossover to become something far deeper and more satisfying than anything else in the Joker War crossover thus far. Anything else in the series is going to have a hell of a time topping the elegant minimalist appeal of this issues conflict.

Cecil Castellucci seems to be inadvertently borrowing Chris Claremonts beautiful red-headed doppelgnger element for Batgirls latest mystery. Though it clouds the triumph of Batgirls recovery a bit, the mystery DOES propel the issue in a new direction that should prove to be every bit as fun as what Babs has been tumbling through throughout the rest of Castelluccis run thus far.

Due out the week of Halloween, the next issue is the final issue of this series's run. It's arduous to imagine Castellucci ending on a more impressive note than the one she nails in this issue. The plot might merely be playing about with themes that have been explored in the superhero genre for decades. Still, Castellucci does a brilliant job of bringing it together in a powerful finale to a two-part series. 

The character has an enduring appeal. Theres no question that shell be back for a sixth series. Too bad Cecil Castellucci isnt able to spend more time with her right now, though. Castellucci had a compelling connection with the character that found her able to twist and turn with the editorial demands of all the godawful crossover events shes had to slog through. With any luck, Castellucci or someone else similarly in-tune with Babs and her personality is able to pick-up the character whenever she inevitably appears in the first issue of her sixth series. And with any luck at all, thats not going to be too long from now. 

The the heart of everything isn't necessarily all that interesting or anything terribly new. However, the way the creative team is tackling the story, gives it some fresh energy and some interesting perspective. Above all, the interpersonal complexity of everybody on the train and everyone else involved manages to maintain a really interesting and very cleverly tight execution from beginning to end. This is quite an accomplishment given how often this type of relationship has been explored in the comic books. This sort of relationship is quite an accomplishment.

Cassandra Cain IS an interesting person with quite a bit of potential that still feels more or less unrealized as things move forward. There would be so much more that could be done with the overall feel of things that simply isnt being explored at all. Brombal and company seem to be moving in a direction that might realize some of Cains potential, but its going to be kind f a long journey as there are many, many obstacles being placed in front of Cass.

Cass is really supposed to be totally emotionless and unflappable. This can be really difficult to bring to the page and the reader to connect with them emotionally. However, the whole creative team is doing a really good job. Cass needs to really connect with the reader without betraying the overall aloofness of her and her ability to move around on the page amidst all of the danger that she runs into. It's really delicate that they managed to maintain quite well throughout the entirety of the issue. They've been doing a pretty good job on the whole in the issues this well.

And with a major, extended plot arc in the rear view, Brombal is free to frame Cass story in a direction thats going to have the opportunity to be something much more interesting. It will remain to be seen if the series IS ble to harness those aspects of Cass that make her such an interesting character, though. As it is, he IS casting her in a light that continues to be really, really appealing. Its just a matter of throwing her into a confolcit that feels a bit more interesting than that which she might manage with her mother.

Theres still the possibility for Brombal and company to explore something truly interesting with the origins of Lady Shiva in the pages of Batgirl, but it really should have been more of a back-up feature than something that was going to dominate the entire issue. As it is, it just doesnt feel like theres enough Batgirl in Batgirl. Cassandra Cain is a really cool character. She definitely deserves the center of the panel in her own title.

It's going to be nice to have Cass back in the states in her own book. She's spent so much more of a compelling character in.Birds of Prey series that has recently come to a close. And she is a really interesting character. She's a lot of fun. It just takes the right kind of writer to be able to bring her to the page in the way that's truly compelling. Brombal simply isn't doing a very good job with it.

Conrad, Cloonan, and Corona put together a remarkably sharp first issue. Theres a good connection between what editorial seems to be looking for with the series, what the writers are putting together, and the visual style of Corona. The series would be served much better by a slightly tighter look with more of a solid definition, but that will likely come in time as the creative team becomes more familiar with the team adventuring around on-page and panel.

Cloonan, Conrad, Corona, and Stern definitely have something unique in Batgirls. Theres a great sense of momentum and combustion about the action that feels like it could be great fun if the visuals could only be honed just a little more to allow for more of a sense of modulated intensity. This may come in time as the creative team settles down into a deeper understanding of how everything comes together on a finished issue of the series. The Batgirls are really cool. Given the right rhythm, they could have quite a run together.

The subtle overlay of tiny elements of interaction between the three leads is cleverly placed over a larger story with its own emotional resonance. As the series settles into its third issue, the series has really found an enjoyable rhythm between action, drama, and something more. As sad as it is to see Babs out of the mask again, the new team feels like a perfect fit for her that should work quite well for a hopefully long run in the future.

With clever bits of personality emerging from very appealing characters in a very immersive and gritty world, Cloonan, Conrad, Corona, and Stern are developing something very endearing. Its a version of Gotham City that seems to have found its own voice just a few issues into the series.

Three women. A car. A motorcycle. A bat motif. It all works. Conrad and Cloonan have even managed to find a relatively novel group of villains for the trio to stare down in their opening story. It all fits together so well. Bat-based Gothamite heroes have been fighting crime and insanity on page and screen for the better part of a century, but Conrad and Cloonan seem to have found a new approach to the action that feels so pleasantly like starting all over again.

In the first six issues of the series, Cloonan and Conrad have firmly established a fresh perspective on Bat-based heroism that should have a nice, long run. Cloonan, Conrad, and Corona make for a really good team that makes a firm and appealing impression on Gotham City. Its been fun so far. If Cloonan, Conrad, and company can continue to allow the team to evolve in their own corner of Gotham, Batgirls has a good future.

In addition to delivering an appealingly fresh, new take on the Gotham bat crime-fighting trope, Cloonan, Conrad, and Corona Are developing an interesting new take on the nature of a rogues' gallery. The team has its own little corner of Gotham City to work with. It's a provocative microcosm with a lot of exciting potential that could filter around the central action's edges. The extended three-woman crime-fighting team is a very appealing mutation of the traditional Batman concept. It will be interesting to see where it goes in the coming months.

The second major plot arc of the series completes with another hugely satisfying conclusion. Theres a great sense of momentum being built and a genuine feeling of character development in and amidst the team as the series reaches the end of the second third of its first year. The clever swashbuckling mixes with the dark damage of one Batgirl and the cheerier humor of another (who happens to serve as series narrator.) Its a hugely appealing dynamic that Conrad and Cloonan have developed for a delightful action series. 

Nine issues in and the team finally gets something of an extended breather before barreling straight into the jaws of one of its darkest, most earthbound threats. Once again, Conrad, Cloonan, and company manage to balance an unsettling number of plot elements into a single, cohesive narrative that feels every bit as substantial as anything that any Gotham-based hero has managed in the past. The larger-than-normal bat ensemble adds a sense of community that embraces a much more satisfying bigger picture of Gotham City than what often finds its way into a single issue of ANY series.

The gradual development of ensemble conflict and setting makes Batgirls one of DCs better-balanced books. Conrad and Cloonan have found a compatible artist in Googe, who has a style so similar to the seriess original artist that the visual world of the series doesnt feel at all inconsistent across the first ten issues. It doesnt hurt that the seriess original artist (Jorge Corona) continues to do such a good job with the covers every month.

Cloonan and Conrad have been playing around the edges of the Gotham City milieu. Theres an intricate and nuanced understanding of the psyches of all three members of the team. With the eleventh issue, they dive directly into something far more central to Batman-related storytelling. They do so in a way that maintains the cleverly witty dynamic between Cass, Steph, and Babs. Conrad and Cloonan are expanding Gotham City much more than many of the other attempts that are currently on the comics rack.

Case continues next issue. With a bit more of a handle on things, itll be interesting to see how he manages with the first issue in his rearview. Its going to take some getting accustomed to a new artist, but Conrad and Cloonan have built up such impressive momentum so far that its hard to imagine the next few issues being anything other than a great deal of fun.

The fourteenth issue of the series feels like a perfect point for a silent issue. That being said, its difficult to imagine how its going to fit into the overall rhythm of the series. At first glance, its woven pretty cleverly into the ongoing composition of the story. When it shows up in the eventual trade paperback, it might feel like a bit of a sudden lurch in tone and style between the thirteenth and fifteenth issues. On its own, though, its a lot of fun. Conrad and Cloonan manage something thats almost clever enough in rendering a coherent story that it could serve as a good place for new readers to jump on. The best silent issue kind of needs to be able to do this.

There has been a very clear progression throughout Conrad and Cloonans series that has palpably brought Cass and Steph together. The tension feels as impressively well-rendered as the action. Everything feels quite fluid in a series that has proven itself to be one of the more reliably good titles in mainstream comics over the course of the past year or so. A little more time with all THREE Batgirls would serve the series well, but the relationship between Steph and Cass is deeply satisfying at the center of the book. 

The Batgirls have come a long way since they started. Conrad and Cloonan have taken Steph and Cass through a nice variety of different adventures in the first sixteen issues of the series. Next, the Batgirls leap into Spring in Aparo Park with a couple of completely new villains. Then theres the return of the Saints in May. The first year and a half with Steph and Cass hasnt exactly been flawless, but Batgirls has easily proven itself to be one of the most reliably satisfying comics in the mainstream superhero genre.  

Conrad and Cloonan are clearly setting up for a deeper look into the nature of crime in their new From Hells Heart storyline. The black market arms dealers who serve as this issues minor villains add some depth to the themes that the writers are going to be exploring. Its the sort of thing thats been done countless times before, but Conrad and Cloonan seem to be tackling the theme with an impressive sense of overall composition that should be interesting in the months to come.

Only one issue left. Conrad and Cloonan have accomplished quite a lot in less than two years with the series. Its just too bad it has to end at only 19. The creative team has done an exemplary job of taking a tired, old setting and breathing new life into it for a couple of years. With any luck, there will be a future for the three Batgirls somewhere down the line. As for now--theres one more issue in June.

Ideally, a series thats been as good as Batgirls doesnt have to end. If it DOES have to end, though, it really SHOULD end with an issue like Batgirls #19. The final chapter in the series pays homage to the characters and their struggles while providing a satisfying conclusion to central conflicts and holding open the possibility of more at some point in the future. Its all quite meticulously placed on the page while embracing everything that makes the Batgirls such a fun trio to hang out with every month.

The whole creative team has shown a great deal of progress over the course of its time together with Babs, Steph, and Cass. The annual shows the poise and nuance that come with an ample amount of experience together as a team. Its been fun to watch the team grow together on both sides of the comics. Its not very often that teams match up this well. With any luck, the three characters, the two writers, and the two artists will continue to haunt their own distinctive corner of Gotham for quite some time.

Its a fun experiment. Make Wayne the center of a story in familiar territory that couldnt be any more alien to him and see what happens. Zdarsky still hasnt found quite the right way to deliver it that would make it a distinctly Batman-like story. A big part of the problem lies in the fact that...so much of what makes Batman distinct is actually pretty superficial. Take away the distinct look and feel of things, and it doesnt feel like something distinctly Gotham. There IS a way to make this type of experiment work, though. There must be. Zdarsky just hasnt found it yet.

Zdarsky has a really interesting idea. Batman in the Gotham City of a parallel universe is too clever a concept to rush through this quickly. The idea of a seasoned Bruce Wayne having to start over completely in a world that never knew Batman would be a lot of fun for a multi-title crossover. Instead, Zdarsky has to rush through it as a multi-issue arc in a single title. It all feels a little too compressed to manage the full impact that it could have had if it were allowed more room to breathe.

It is difficult to imagine the story continuing for much longer the way it is. It certainly seems to be reaching its climax. Bruce is likely to return home at some point in the next couple of months. The Earth he is on is not without its charm. It would take a longer walk in and amidst the darkness to truly find something worth exploring, though. There have been far too many brushes with dystopian mutations of familiar worlds in comic books over the years. Zdarsky would need to spend more time in this world for it to provide a greater depth of insight.

As fun as it is to see everything tumble through at the end of the issue, Zdarsky and company take a hard turn when everything looks like it will resolve somewhere around Page 26. Really, they could have ended it there, and it would have been a solid glance into drama with Batman. Though the art in the final pages is impressive, it scarcely justifies ruining the ending of an otherwise interesting and reflective drama. 

It's not really often that there's a first issue of a Batman series. It happens more often for him than any other character. But it's always interesting to see what happens when someone tries to open up a new title for a character who has been around for as long as he has. Fractions doing a pretty good job. It's just really hard to come up with anything new for this guy.

Supergirl and Robin might make a really good team for Worlds Finest. Batman and Superman have had it together for so long that its nice to see a relatively untested pair in the center of the panel. An awkward date between superheroes is a nice outlet for that. As obvious a comic premise as it is, its not one that makes it between the covers all that often. Waid and Lupacchino have nailed a perfect little sitcom in a very fun one-shot story. 

Once things are really going, the novelty is going to wear off. Bruce Wayne has been accused of murder, and there is something uniquely interesting about that. Its not going to last too much longer, though. Things will begin to turn a corner as Waids story reaches its climax. If everything has been lined up right, it just might be some kind of satisfying end, but its difficult to tell, and it already feels as though the action in the foreground might overpower everything else once the story reaches its big conclusion.

Waid, Mora, and Bonvillain tell a solidly entertaining narrative in another fun issue of a popular series. Its too bad that there isnt a more balanced story being placed on the page. Heroes in peril help out other heroes in peril as AI looks to take over. Theres a lot of action moving around the page.

Intricate plots are fun. A war with AI could be maddeningly sophisticated given the right angles. Waid and Mora keep the complexity out of the way, allowing for a really fun action climax with well-directed aggression that seems to be moving across the page in the right way. It might be big, dumb action on one level, but its big, dumb action that is very smartly executed with a sharp sense of style. Waid and Mora ARE working with a large group of heroes in the book, and none of them seems to get enough time on the page or nearly enough credit for being as powerful as they are, but then...thats always the problem with a superhero party thats as big as the 17th issue of Batman / Superman: Worlds Finest.

There are clues in the script that suggest that Batman has only been operating for about a year as the story opens. Clark Kent is only starting in his career as a reporter. Waid envisions a contemporary first meeting between the two legends. It's the opening of a fun two-part story that serves as a surprisingly fresh team-up, given how often the two characters have appeared together over the past century. 

Waid and company continue to find a fun energy that keeps the energy rolling throughout the issue with style and poise. The story itself might not feature a whole lot of novel energy about it...and even the idea of teaming-up Batgirl with a lesser character in the presence of...pets isnt really all that new or original either...but iots all quite a bit of fun on the whole and it all moves from beginning to end in a fun rush of energy.

Waid is setting-up for something that COULD feel pretty fresh and new as things progress, but the opening frame of the multi-part story feels pretty familiar. Thats not actually a bad thing, though. The 38th issue of the series feels like a remarkably crisp multi-hero crossover thats a great deal of fun from cover to cover. The fact that its not terribly original doesnt come across as all that much of a loss considering how well-executed it is from beginning to end. Each personality in the ensemble feels strong and distinct in the opening of the story.

One of the more intense moments in the issue DOES involve some pretty tightly-woven dialogue as Lois flies off, rifling through a few matters to Clark that illustrate just how totally different everything is in the present. So often a writer might want to show contemporary heroes a weird and bizarre future in which strange things have happened. Its nice to see that switched-up as Batman, Superman and Robin are all quite suddenly shocked by everything thats happened in the recent decades as Lois Lane/Superwoman flies off on business. Its one of the more clever moments in a strikingly clever issue.

The writing is solid enough that one could certainly be forgiven for wanting a regular series featuring the two characters. The writing team has defined a really clever dynamic between the two of them. That seems to work quite well as a buddy action thing that could also lead to romance. Neither one of them is more capable or confident than the other. They're both characterized as being somewhat and experienced, but also very capable and very powerful in their own right. It's a fun dynamic that would work really well for a variety of different dynamics. All too often young superheroes aren't given enough room to grow. They're essentially just superheroes who happen to be a little younger. It's nice to see a situation where they still have a lot to learn and a lot to learn from and about each other. It's fun.

Cantwell and Waid have some fun with a 20th century version of Batman and Superman. Its nice to see the classic image of Wonder Woman making an appearance as well. McDaid might have met with a bit more success in conjuring the images if he would have followed the classic DC Stylebook rendering of Jos Luis Garca-Lpez. His style fits the overall mood and atmosphere of the script more or less perfectly.

Silvestris work makes good use of one of the more iconic cities in the DC Universe. It would be very, very cool to get a comprehensive tour of Gotham City between Batman and Bruce Wayne. The history of the subway system that Silvestri is managing in this issue is actually a lot of fun. The Gotham City of the DC Comics Universe has never had quite the grand tour that its really deserved, and a story spanning every major neighborhood would be captivating.

Jurgens delivers a solidly satisfying bit of storytelling here that fails to live-up to its potential.

Its nice to see Jurgens etching the echoes of the past into a future Batman, but it would be nice to see it develop into something new, which just might start to really assert itself once the action dies down and the drama ramps-up in the next issue. A new Robin lies in the hands of a very old Joker. Grayson isnt far away. Things could get interesting.

Its a suitable climax to a long-running conflict. Booth and company close-out a series with some level of satisfaction, but its totally clear that this is no final ending, but theres a somber moment at issues end that feels like a much-needed rest amidst the reflection on a lifelong conflict. Theres no real insight here, but there doesnt need to be. Aggression and retribution remain as meaningless as ever, but theres a pearl of moody wisdom about the ending that feels appropriately final even if it isnt the end.

Obviously, this isnt actually the end of an era. The Joker is worth too much money to ever get rid of the guy for good. So whats the point in killing him off here? It makes for a potentially good story. Its just too bad that the story in question isnt framed better. Heroes have been dying in comics for decades. The death of an iconic villain seems relatively rare in comparison. Theres a lot that could have been explored here. Jurgens and company have missed an opportunity with this issue.

Batman Beyond has great potential to go beyond the traditional concepts of a Batman story. Jurgens seems to be heading off in a direction that mixes the shadowy crimefighting with a technologically advanced future, but the title is still largely lost in the standard Bat-Formula action story.

Its really nice to know that there are still issues like Batman Beyond #32. Its the type of chapter that could have appeared in just about any similar Marvel or DC title going back to the dawn of the silver age. But without anything more to offer in the deliciously attractive potential of Gotham in the future, this is just another issue in the series that fails to live up to the possibilities of the premise.

A story of mystery and suspense pulls Batman Beyond into the very entertaining territory. Its nothing new to anyone who might have read Batman over the decades, but Jurgens and Leonardi navigate McGinnis and his colleagues through a really entertaining story with tension that holds together throughout the issue. With questions of identity, memory, and motivation sliding in around the edges of the story, Juergens could potentially lead this series in a captivating new direction that could possibly influence the story into some very fresh territory if everything lines up in the right way. Even if this new direction doesnt live up to its potential, the series continues to be fun thanks to the efforts of a couple of very experienced storytellers.

Batman Beyond has ventured into a potentially interesting territory in. A world featuring a villain of fluid identity. Theres a great deal of potential in the villain cast against an amnesiac hero in a story of the future. If Jurgens and Leonardi can find the right place to cast the story, this could turn into a very interesting narrative.

Jurgens has a long history writing superhero comics. Batman has been through a lot over the years. Jurgens and company may not be adding a whole lot of new elements to a traditional superhero story. But the entire creative team does a good enough job of distracting from the tired, old central themes of the story to make it FEEL fresh,

At its heart, there's nothing more revolutionary than a conflict between super-powered individuals. There's nothing particularly original being presented here, but with a story that delivers the standard superhero/supervillain action so well. It's as entertaining as ever with Jurgens and Leonardi at the top of their games, this is an enjoyable issue nonetheless. With any luck, the new direction hinted at the end of this issue could bring about chapters of this level of quality.

It appears as though the series is going to run through a very comprehensive look at this particular vision of the future. More than just a crime procedural, it is an adventure set in a world that is being presented to audiences in a slightly new and fresh perspective. With any luck, the creative team will do something that will involve a lot more of an intrepid adventure through this particularly dark city of the future as the series progresses.

Its an intriguing experiment, but Brisson has so many moving parts to the plot that its all more than a little disinteresting. The creative team holds moments together, but they keep getting smashed into the ether with the coming of the next scene. It would be a lot more fun if it was a lot less frustrating. Brisson and Timms have something here, but its not all that clear what they have.

Brisson and company direct the flow of traffic quite well in the course of the issue. The group of crime fighters all come across as being distinct and dynamic in the larger flow of action. No one moment feels too rushed or too heavy-handed, which is particularly impressive given the weird buffet of different personalities laid out between the covers of a very, very busy series of action scenes. 

The relatively limited scope of each combat aside, Waid and company do an excellent job of composing and executing an action-based drama with a rather large ensemble of characters. The scope of this one issue could have easily been expanded into a much more satisfying five-issue mini-series, but Waid has places to go and things to address in the series that wont wait for a more nuanced exploration of Batmans relations with various Robins. Its really too bad, as this feels like the most compelling point in the series thus far.

In the end, Batman gets his Spartacus moment. Waid does a pretty good job of drawing emotion to the page, but theres no escaping the fact that the ending to this series is breathtakingly silly. What Waid is attempting with the end of the series is admirable, but theres just NO WAY that the magical rite involved will be anything other than a very, very weak finale to a series that could have been so much more than it was.

Now that the team has been established, Diggle and company can settle-in and start to establish forward momentum for the plot. With all of the introductions out of the way, its only a matter of time before the specifics of the story begin to gain their own kind of gravity. The first issue WAS mucking about a bit in the tedium of establishing everything, but now that its moving forward, the series really has a chance to make a solid impression. Its kind of a big ensemble to work with, but Diggle and company are doing a pretty good job of establishing everything.

Theres real narrative power in the global vision of the story that Diggle is crafting. It keeps it from feeling too much like its falling into one subgenre or the other. Theres a cowboy feel to it. Theres a steampunk feel to it. Theres a Victorian feel to it. Theres an otherworldly Verne aesthetic going on. Theres even a little bit of a conspiratorial hottot King in Yellow sort of a thing going on that feels interesting. Diggle is reaching in interesting directions with the story even if they dont always feel all that original.

Its a video game tie-in. Its a good video game tie-in that seems to navigate pretty well under its own power. But its still a video game tie-in. The story is enjoyable, though. Narcisse and Abel bring a fun energy to the premise, but it will remain to be seen if it has much life beyond the fact that its promoting the big push for the new game. 

Wilson and McKelvies Catwoman is easily the single most satisfying entry in the One Bad Day series thus far. Clever and subtle characterization of Selina throughout the issue stands as one of the better treatments of Catwoman to have hit page and panel in recent years. Everything fits together so well from beginning to end. It might be interesting to see what Wilson and McKelvie might do together with a full series like this. Its such an emotionally engaging story. 60+ pages feel nice and cozy, but it would be SO nice to see this team work together again.

One Bad Day has been a fun close-up on some of Batmans antagonists. Each one has had its own fingerprint. Ridley is wise to give the Penguin some momentum throughout an extended spotlight. It really SHOULD have been a mini-series at least, though. Ridley makes a strong case for Penguin as the protagonist of his own series, starting from the bottom and working his way up, but hes already come quite a ways between two covers, and it would feel strange trying to lift him up from where he is now at the end of this issue.

A great deal more could be said about the dichotomy between killer and hero. A lot more has been said about it in the past, and a lot more has been said about it in the past with Batman and Two-Face. Tamaki and company find a very specific niche for the action that sheds just a bit more light on both Batman and Two-Face while allowing a bit more insight into a couple of the Batgirls as well. The stories have been evolving over the decades. Tamaki makes her impression on one of DCs most memorable villains.

The DC Animated Universe continues to grow and develop. Burnett and Dini have been working in it forever. Their consistency in writing continues to serve the comic book incarnation of a Batman animated series that has been around for over three decades. Its an impressive accomplishment that Burnett and Dini still manage to find new inspiration for fresh stories after all these years. Granted---it IS all variations on and echoes of what has come before, but its still a lot of fun.

Gotham City has been in so much peril over the many, many decades its been around. Its kind of hard to do that in a way that feels fresh, original, and genuinely dangerous. The author and company manage to do something that feels more or less precisely where it needs to be in order to bring across a genuine sense of danger. However, the tension seems to be moving just a little bit too quickly for it to really come across as anything more than a very quick and breezy fugue.

Not everything in the issue works perfectly. Though Rodrguezs art on the Superman story is undeniably cool, Cantwells story seems to need longer chapters to build up the narrative momentum that it needs to engage the reader. The mix of different stories within the anthology should bring forth a sense of experimentation. The best moments within the second issue of Brave and the Bold work really well on their own without having to connect up with a larger narrative structure. 

The sharp and stylish anthology series continues to find a variety of different appealing angles on action and drama in the DC Universe. Brissons Stormwatch series has been entertaining enough that it could easily fit under its own title with the current creative team. Not everythings brilliant, but it all fits together quite well in a package that feels like it could keep going and even potentially introduce entirely new features with marginal characters that could lead to something bigger down the road. 

Once again, the mix of stories feels pretty vast. Gotham City is a big and menacing place with lots of corners that are being explored under many covers every month for DC. Urban Legends manages one of the most diverse looks at the city in a single title. Theres a very natural flow of action from the Batman story at the beginning to the Batman story at the end. Not all of it is perfect, but its quite a journey from start to finish.

The White Knight concept advances certain elements of the Batman mythos in interesting ways. It may feel more than a little bit like a weirdly insubstantial fugue on many of the central figures in Gotham City, but its managed to find the right angle on everything to give it fresh depth. Honestly, though, that may be a little more than it deserves. Batman and his extended ensemble have been around for a long time. DC might be served a bit better by exploring new characters altogether.

As fun as the idea is, Generation Joker doesn't really have any right to be anywhere near as entertaining as it is. After all, this is just a few different elements that have been fused together into a road trip action comedy sort of situation. Andolfos art brings together a three-person writing team in a way that makes it all feel so vibrant and full of life. It's just too bad that the artist doesn't have more room to explore a more dynamic visual range. There's just way too much going on in every single page.

There's still time for the series to live up to the potential of the themes being explored. The writing team is certainly circling around at the deeper end of the premise. They just haven't zeroed in on it yet. And that's a little frustrating. Three issues in, and they were still playing around on the surface-level silliness of the premise. There is so much more that could be explored about a pair of kids dealing with the legacy that they were now forced to be a part of. There's a legacy of madness there, and they really could be doing more to integrate and interface with the legend of one of the more popular villains in the history of comic books.

Its taken a while for the story of Jackie and Bryce to pick up enough narrative momentum to build into something impressively engaging. By the fourth issue, all of the writers seem to have found a dynamic that works as the story progresses into some pretty poignant territory that explores certain inevitabilities inherent in the pantheon of heroes and villains inhabiting Gotham City.

Its a more or less seamless extension of the series that was abandoned two decades ago. Madureira and company are picking it up like the last 20 years didnt even happen. Theres an almost heroic level of integrity in that faithfulness to the original series. Its a quick, breezy jaunt from beginning to end. Monika and Garrison return in a thoroughly enjoyable adventure that will hopefully lead to a series that runs much longer than the original one. Madureira and company have firmly resurrected a series that didnt appear to have any chance of ever returning to the comics rack.

The only problem with Madureiras pacing is that it takes SO LONG for a plot to develop. A typical writer might have chosen to try to cram both #10 and #11 into a single normal-length issue. With Lullabi as the artist, it could have even worked that way, but Madureiras a lot more patient than that, and what results is gorgeous in places. (Red Monika continues to be fairly dazzling even in the presence of a giant monster.) Its kind of difficult to feel an emotional connection with much of whats going on on the page, though the series has been back for two months now and very little has happened. It looks really, really good, though.

Xaviers art can feel a little bit stiff in places, but the dialogue is crisp and occasionally quite witty. And theres a slaying scene involving a decapitation towards the end of the book that has got to be one of the more dramatic and graphic deaths on the comic book rack so far this year. The complex emotional dynamic that Xavier nails in that one panel is positively haunting. Belle might feel a bit generically superheroic on the surface, but Franchini and company make her engaging and relatable enough to hold her own regular series.

It might have been all too easy to really light-up the page with the last big moments of the current series. Horvath allows the generally calm and somber energy of the series to continue as the tragedy mounts. It's a clever approach that will continue to pay off as Sam approaches her next inevitable series. There has been some evolution of Sam's character over the course of the past 11 issues of the series. And now there's a sudden jolt in a completely different direction. It would be interesting to see what a third series might bring.

Betsys been through a lot. Shes been many different people since she debuted back in the 1980s. Braddocks latest incarnation as Captain Britain has proven to be an appealing one. Howards writing has moved Betsy into a remarkably satisfying place that balances drama with action, mystery, and magic. It really is the perfect mixture for a decent Captain Britain story. Georgievs art fits the overall presence of Howards writing quite well. 

Betsy is an appealing enough character that she really deserves a bit more of a central focus. Howard is trying to give her extended cast a bit too much of the plot. The inner struggles of Betsy should rest more or less at the center of the book, but shes not allowed nearly enough time on the page to develop into anything more than the leader of a team. Its cool to see her in charge, but there should be more of a focus on her and who she is in the center of her own book.

Andolfo establishes a cozy adventure for Bettie in the first issue of her fifth series with Dynamite Entertainment. The Queen of the Pinups continues to be a pleasant and engaging character to hang out with for 24 pages. From form to color to plot, its all so well-constructed that it scarcely seems to matter that there really isnt anything new being explored. The depth of the color aside, the story and its artistic rendering wouldnt seem entirely out of place in a mid-20th century issue of Millie the Model. Thats not a bad thing. The contemporary shading on a retro comic feels more or less perfect. 

Andolfo and Blengino have established a story that seems familiar enough without feeling tedious. Given the universal recognition of Bettie, there might be a tendency to want to take the character in a direction that would be more weird and abstract simply for the sake of contrasting against how iconic a figure she is. Andolfo and Blengino have found a perfect spot for Bettie in a surprisingly enjoyable shallow mystery. Theyre also managing to engage the reader in the peripheral characters. The charm of the current series might well run out in a few issues, but by then, the story will most assuredly have come to a close. Everything in the series is so well-balanced.

There was a time when Peter Parker could have been said to have been having a midlife crisis. It was back in the mid-1980s (back then, continuity could still be said to reach back to the character's origin in the early 1960s, which would have made him middle-aged at the time.) He just come back from another planet with an alien costume. Spider-Man he was hanging out with Black Cat. As Peter Parker, he was getting into severe emotional territory with Mary Jane. One woman represented one side of his wife. The other represented the other. Ultimately he got married to Mary Jane. MacKay Takes the traditional dynamic between the two of them and pears them beautifully in a really, really breezy action story that's got a little bit of emotional weight to it as well.

It's really difficult to see anyone else with the Phoenix force. Anyone other than Jean Grey or Rachel Summers. They really did define that power. And there have been attempts to show the power in others hands subsequent to Claremont. However, none of them quite have the intensity of Jean or Rachel. Phillips find a sharp fusion of power and personality in the first issue of a promising new story.

What Phillips and company are putting to the page isn't exactly going to be the easiest thing for most people to follow if they're not entirely familiar with the characters of Gene Gray, and Carol Danvers. Phillips has a pretty good job of. Speaking to the universals of the situation in a way that just about any reader could pick up, though. Wouldn't even necessarily need to be familiar with the first issue to be able to understand what's going on in this one. Phillips and Company have captured a very powerful dynamic. That has the page in a very clever way with a particularly powerful cliffhanger at issues end.

Thompson has done a good job of slowly adding layers to the first chapter of the story. She gives away just enough added depth and detail with each scene. The mystery of what it is that's going on is slowly revealed until the big final reveal at the end of the issue. At that stage, there are so many more questions that are brought up that make the second issue feel that much more impressive. It's going to be a fun ride with Thompson.

The really cool thing about the rhythm of this series is that Thompson and company have enough room to move through different bits of narrative momentum while maintaining a firm perspective on everything that needs to go on in the larger series. Each issue is really well placed in a larger context of what's going on. That's kind of a difficult thing to manage with an ensemble that is as large as this one. However, she is doing a great job of it. Characters seem to be making some progress and there seems to be a definite progression in their personality as well.

Thompson has done a really good job of creating a progression for the series that makes it truly feel as though the team and the team dynamic has evolved over the course of the past year and a half on the comic book page. This can be very difficult to manage. This can be very difficult to execute. But there are subtleties with respect to interactions between the characters that seem to be developing in around the edges of the panels. This is particularly impressive and one of the more satisfying elements of the series thus far.

Theres a grand sense of clean execution about the whole issue. On its surface, the overall premise of the issue isnt entirely unlke anything thats ever been done on the superhero genre before. Its the way that Thompson and company execute the action that ends up being the genius of the latest incarnation of the Birds of Prey. Action. Drama. Comedy. Everything fits so cleverly between two covers in the latest issue.

The opening frame of a whole new story even manages to end on a cliffhanger. Everyone is quite distinct and distinctly interesting in an issue that sows substantial emotional evolution for nearly everyone involved. Once again, Thompson is clearly doing very, very clever work with a smartly-assembled team of superheroes that are firmly grounded in the larger universe that they inhabit. On a surface-level, its just the opening of another tangle between good and evil, but Thompson and company continue to make it all feel like so much more than that on so many appealing levels.

Its kind of weird to think of all the different formats there have been for superhero team script formats over the years. What Thompson is doing with her run on Birds of Prey seems like a natural outgrowth of the evolution of the concept of characters in the field being aided by Barbara in a command center as everything goes to hell. Thompson has really increased the complexity with a variet of different characters rolling into an interesting, textured dynamic which feels like something completely new even though shes dealing with characters who have been around in one format or another for decades. 

The cliffhanger at the end of the issue is remarkable. Prior to this, theres a rather prominent moment in the central search for Barda that might not have quite the dramatic impact it could have managed with a slightly different approach, but its all a lot of fun from beginning to end and once again...Thompson is doing a very good job of delivering the increase in tensions as the story continues to run its course. Its another fun issue for Thompson and company.

Once again...its impressive stuff. Thompson has put together a Birds of Prey team that really doesnt seem like it should work at all on the page. Theres just enough between the members of the team to make it all work and bring it all together in a remarkably satisfying package that continues to feel remarkably well-executed on a whole bunch of different levels.

Thompson is doing a good job of showing that she's in the long haul with this series. Is a real sense of patience about delivering the story and all of its various elements. She is taking her time with the overall rhythm of it, which makes it feel like she's carving her own corner out of the DC universe. And that's really impressive. There's a strong sense of confidence in the entire creative team as they are moving forward with this particular serial. That confidence feels refreshing in the current state of things for the industry.

Exaggerated, though it may be, the latest issue of Birds of Prey has more than enough energy around the edges to really pull into the reader and maintain a clever dynamic throughout the issue. There's a lot going on that ends up being very interesting. And it ends up, making its mark with a great degree of efficiency. There's a lot going on that seems to be developing a great deal of intention and intensity. Things have gotten very complicated over the course of the two year timeframe that this series has been running. And it's really cool that someone like Thompson is writing something as well as she is with this particular series.

Brown, Walker and Greene are working on something of great complexity thats very difficult to judge as its emerging on the comics page. That being said, its also very, very difficult to feel all that drawn-in by it in any given issue because there IS so much going on in the course of it. Brown, Walker and Green rarely manage to summon a good establishing moment throughout the issue...and tto a certain extent throughout the series thus far. Its all so very dense that its difficult to find a way completely into the heart it.

The challenge with any cosmic-level conflict lies in making the power FEEL powerful as it all concludes. By the time the series hits its twelfth issue, theres already so much thats going on. Priest and Barrows do their best to wrap everything up. Theres some sense of finality about it, and there IS a real sense of heroism radiating off the page, but Priest has tried to build way too much in the course of the first 11 issues. It looks good, and it makes sense, but it isnt entirely satisfying.

The story in Black Cats first annual serves as the prequel carefully orchestrated serial that MacKay and Dowling are working on in the monthly series. Marvels work with Felicia Hardy has been smooth and reliably enjoyable for the first half of her first year with her own title. Its been a great launch for Felicia. The Annual feels like a celebration of the success of the series thus far. Complete with a satisfying guest appearance by the character who ushered her into the Marvel Universe back in 1979. After years of supporting appearances, Felicia is finally ready to move comfortably into her own title. The poise and polish of this annual make that perfectly clear. 

Mackay establishes the new ongoing series firmly on the right foot. Theres nothing terribly fresh about the story, but it IS a story well-told with art that delivers style and action to the page.

A few thieves enter the home of a sorcerer supreme to steal an artifact. One of them is a ticking time bomb. Anything could happen. Its a simple premise that MacKay and Foreman have a great deal of fun with. That fun easily transfers to the reader in another thoroughly enjoyable issue of the Black Cats new series. If MacKay and Foreman can maintain this level of quality and originality, this series is going to be a lot of fun.

The first issue of the series was Marvel's best-selling single-issue of the year thus far. It will remain to be seen if the series continues to be as wildly popular as that first issue, but MacKay's writing is so dizzyingly enjoyable that it certainly DESERVES to be Marvel's consistently highest-selling book.

MacKay and Foreman have done a really smart job of bringing Black Cat into the center of her own series throughout the first four issues of the series. The initial story arc continues in a really fun place that explores the Marvel Universe with a very unique perspective taken from a very, very alluring anti-heroine. Its a great team that will be fun to watch as Black Cats run continues into the final months of 2019. Even if theyre not in a completely novel territory with Black Cats adventures, its a very refreshing perspective on a universe thats been around or decades.

The series continues a thoroughly enjoyable pounce through its first major plot arc with clever work by MacKay and Foreman on an enjoyable climb around the edges of the familiar. Its a smarty unique look at the Marvel Universe fro the shadows with an appealing character who would appear right at home around the edges of almost any Marvel panel.

A lot is going on here. McKay is working on a story with many moving parts that never comes across as being too busy or cluttered with supporting details. It all feels very deftly paced as Black Cat concludes the first half of the first year of her own title. Its been an exciting journey across the shadows of the Marvel Universe thus far. Where McKay takes the series in the second half of his first year with Felicia shows every sign of being a really, really interesting place once everything has finally settled into place come next summer.

MacKay and Foreman launch themselves into the second half of Black Cats first year with the new series. Its been an enjoyable journey, but this transitional issue feels like its interrupting the energy that the creative team has been building up to this point. Its been interesting so far. MacKay and Foreman are going to be opening Felicia into a different world within the coming issues. This is rather a strange entry into it.

MacKay's time with Felicia reaches a bit of a crescendo here that feels like it might be heading somewhere. The little side elements of Felicia's personal and professional life provide opportunities to take her life in various different directions once this central arc finally plays its way through throughout the next several issues.

The first issue in a two-issue crossover with Logan will continue the next installment. In a chapter that is likely to explode into action. Which is certain to show once again that Logan IS the best he is at what he does. With MacKays appealing approach to Black Cat, it should make for one of the more memorable team-ups of the series.

MacKay and company shoot Felicia through a crazy amount of action this issue in a seamlessly energetic run as the series begins to wrap-up its first year. Once a marginal character, Hardy is beginning to feel like an indispensable part of the Marvel Universe.

The cleanly episodic nature of MacKays first year of Black Cat works well with the long pause for COVID. The overall tension looming in the background of Felicias life seems to have hung around in the shadows. As the character might well have been planning her heist with her accomplices while in lockdown. Many other titles hit the comics rack this month with a sudden jolt of a million, little subplots that shoot out of the page in mid-stride. Its nice to see Black Cat jumping out of the quarantined shadows with something fresh that continues to expand on everything thats happened in the past year without any graceless lurching at plot points. 

MacKay has been working steadily and diligently through the first eleven issues to reach this narrative point. Hardy has been a great deal of fun to hang out with throughout the year's worth of action that she's lived through thus far. This issue brings her craftiness to a crescendo that will be difficult to match in the issues to come. Thankfully, there's some breathing room coming as the series pivots its narrative a bit in the months to come.

Black Cat is fun in South Korea, but shes not the only one in the issue. The continuation of the cross-annual Infinite Destinies event continues to lumber its way through the summer in the third installment of a story that doesnt really have anything to do with Black Cat. The Infinity Gems havent really been interesting since Thanos Quest back in the early 1990s, so its nice that the crossover only hits like an afterthought in an otherwise enjoyable annual.

The issue ends with a text-based address from Black Cats associate Dr. Korpse. Its a nice wrap-up to the issue that gives it a solid foundation. One of the great challenges with a monthly comic in the modern era lies in maintaining its presence in the mind of the reader between issues. Dr. Korpses letter to the reader at the end of the issue allows the title to steal a nice, little corner of the readers consciousness until late January when Felicia returns again. Its a nice touch.

MacKays adventures with Felicia continue to be some of the best stuff Marvel is contributing to the comics rack. Theres so much potential with a character who delights in flitting from one end of the Marvel Universe to another, occasionally deciding to do something heroic like shes doing in the second issue of her new series. MacKay might not always be able to nail something quite this fun, but itll be interesting to see him try in the future.

Theres little question that Felicia is going to do what shes going to do. Its interesting to see the tipping point which points her in the inevitable direction that she ultimately takes. It reveals a tremendous amount about her as a person. More so than anything else in MacKays impressive run with the Black Cat, this is a very intimate interlude with the title character. In a way, the entire series to this point has been leading to this one issue. In its own way, this is an impressive climax. Itll be interesting to see where MacKay takes Felicia next. 

The pulse and pacing of this issue seem to be setting-up Black Cats next arc in a very thoughtful way. Black Cats willingness to work with a new hero is a powerful way to construct the latest adventures of a villain. MacKay and Vakueva are building something interesting around the edges of a prominent character. Itll be interesting to see where theyre going with this latest toy for Felicia Hardy to bat around the pages of her own book. 

Black Cat's big climax also seems to be setting things up for the next major plot arc as certain revelations are made about Black Fox that might be explored in greater detail once the whole mess beneath Manhattan draws to a close. It'll be interesting to see how MacKay and company finesse the transition away from the one central quest that Felicia has been dealing with since she started working with MacKay. The character has a really interesting relationship with the writer. Time will tell if that relationship continues to be fruitful. As it stands, Felicia is one of the more interesting characters in all of Marvel. Hopefully, MacKay can maintain that.

A few slip-ups aside, MacKays work on Black Cat has been delightful. The sixth issue in the series continues to show the writers gift for emotional intricacy. Felicia is one of the more interesting characters in the Marvel Universe right now, and a lot of her appeal seems to be coming directly from MacKay.

Once again, MacKay has managed a very well-orchestrated chapter in Felicias life that fits perfectly into the larger picture of a series he has been working on for quite some time. His sense of pacing with the overall series has been exquisite. The reader has been offered an opportunity to get to know Felicia quite well throughout MacKays run with her. It will be interesting to see where he goes with her in the issues to come.

Above and beyond all else, MacKay is doing an outstanding job of maintaining a solid character arc for Felicia. Shes gone through a great deal of development in the course of MacKays time with her. Given all that shes been through and where shes likely to go with her latest job, its going to be interesting to see where MacKay takes her from here. Shes already cycled through so many weird corners of the Marvel Universe, and now shes shooting right out into a heist with cosmic-level implications. MacKays going to have to tread deftly through his latest series with Black Cat. 

Two issues in, and the Infinity Score storyline is proving to be a lot of fun. MacKay has had enough time with Black Cat that hes able to play a little bit with the relationship hes developed with her. There seems to be an areal connection between artist and writer that allows for some really fun energy. Once again, it is becoming very apparent that Black Cat is one of the most appealing characters in the whole of the Marvel Universe, thanks to MacKay. The Spider-Mans girlfriend of the past is solidly in the rearview. Shes her own person, and that person is a hell of a lot of fun to hang out with for 20 minutes per month. 

The first in-issue acknowledgment of the end of the current run of the series comes in the form of a note at the issues end by Felicias accomplice Dr. Boris Korpse. Its a classy, stylish way of formally letting readers know whats coming in Giant-Size Black Cat: Infinity Score in November. Black Cat has had a series end before in the era of MacKay. Hardy and MacKay have had a perfect working relationship. Its sad to see it end.

Another series ends. This one is a bit more difficult to take than many of the series endings in the past couple of years. The team assembled for this book was one of the best. Everything was sharply balanced. Felicia slinks off into the darkness, and the Marvel Universe feels just a bit bigger, having been the central focus of the panels for a couple of years.

Wilson has done such a good job with DCs Poison Ivy over the years. Shes done such. compelling job showing Ivy gradually reforming into some kind of hero. Theres no question that shell be able to do something very similar with a Black Cat who turns hero. Whereas shes exploring the complexities of environmental justice in Poison Ivy, Wilson seems to be exploring a different kind of villainy-turned-good with Felicia. Writer Jed Mackay did a good job with Felicia as an action hero. Its really appealing to see a slightly more sophisticated version of the character in the hands of one of the better current mainstream comics writers.

The brash carelessness of Wilsons Felicia isnt totally at odds with the unflappably cool and confident Felicia brought to the page by McKay in her prior series. After the events that were chronicled by McKay, it's possible that she just became a little less clever and precise. Maybe she just started to get a little bit more careless and so now she's got a demeanor. That is a little bit more spontaneous. In any case, Melnikov it certainly drawing a Black Cat who looks younger and less experienced than the one McKay was working with. And so Wilsons script fits perfectly with Melnikovs art. And regardless of little particulars, Wilson's wit and cleverness in working with a female villain turned heroes feels every bit is entertaining here as it does with Poison Ivy over at DC.

Once again, after the latest issue of Black Cat, it's hard not to hope that Wilson has every intention of going in for the long haul with this particular title the way she has with Poison Ivy over at D.C. this is a perfect companion title to that. And it's nice to see Wilson spending some time in both universes. She is deeply enjoyable writer who has a firm grasp of the heart of both of DC and Marvel universes.

And then there’s the Siege Perilous. There’s so much of exotic interest lurking around the edges of the Marvel Universe. It’s unspeakably cool that an author as clever as Wilson can casually pick-up something that was created for Marvel on the other side of the ocean by the similarly brilliant Alan Moore and use it as a vehicle for her own adventure. This is the way that a shared universe SHOULD work. It’s fun. It’s enjoyable. And it’s always a pleasure to hang out with Felicia by way of G. Willow Wilson.

With the events of the first part of the story already finished, it'll be interesting to see which direction Thompson takes the arc in. It's pretty romantic stuff. And it has quite an emotional weight to it. There's no question that Thompson is working with effortless and broad strokes. That doesn't make what she's putting on the page any less powerful. Given what happened, the second arc could be drastically different from the first. It will be interesting to see which direction she pushes it in, given that things will be dramatically different after the end of the sixth issue. 

Black Cloak is shaping-up to be one of the more consistently impressive and original series to have come out in the past five years. There is SUCH a sense of invention about it that echoes through a very novel look at a very familiar kind of story. The narrative feels like it falls pretty tightly between Raymond Chandler and J.R.R. Tolkien. Its a fun and stylish walk between two covers.

What continues to be the most remarkable thing about Black Cloak is its immersiveness. It isnt just Thomspons sharply-realized urban fantasy world...it isnt just the fact that McClaren has a brilliant sense of design for fashion and architecture. Its also the fact that the color and the dialogue and the perspectives and the central emotionality of it all come together in a way that feels very real...even in a world of monsters and humanoids flying around the place with leathery wings. 

It could be really difficult to take the rhythms of the story in episodic format. The world is so very rich and richly realize that brief little exposures to it, and that feeling more disorienting then they will win the series is collected into a trade paperback later on. certainly things are moving in a direction where it will likely be quite satisfying once everything is finally committed to the page. As for right now, its fascinating to get a little glimpse into this other world that seems so very well rendered.

In retrospect is kind of weird to think that somebody had something like this before. Police procedurals in fantasy settings have been done before. But not quite like this. This has its own feel about it with so many fresh ideas that seem to hit the page at such interesting angles and so many different ways. It's just really a tremendous amount of fun from beginning to end.

Unconquered worked well enough that it wouldnt be all that difficult to imagine a series of one-shots being popular. Marvel has been quite successful over the years in exploring its own Manhattan. There are so many other places in the world that could be every bit as interesting...supporting multiple series and their own end of the Marvel Universe. Wakanda and the surrounding area would be a perfect stage for further exploration of the world. Hill and Duarte render an enjoyable action drama far from New York in a location that has had some really entertaining stories over the years, going back to McGregor and Bucklers Jungle Action comics of the 1970s and beyond.

The deeper themes of Ewings series will have a chance to expand and open up in the issues to come. The initial sketches of a nation in transition seem to hit page and panel a bit unevenly, but Ewing is doing a good job of establishing them with a degree of grace as Black Panther and Beisa get a bit closer in the second issue of the series.

The Spawn Universe has been one massive attempt to fuse traditional supernatural horror with a dark edge 1990s superhero genre. Its been a fun universe thats been echoing into itself for decades now. It can feeling disgustingly repetitious as the years pass, but every now and then theres something that sneaks through that feels delightfully ew in one way or another. Nyxs story mught just move itself in the right direction to make for some new element that might be added out of the margins of the Spawn Universe to develop into something remarkably new and fresh.

The Soskas and company have a really resonant dynamic that feels quite unlike anything else being brought to the racks so far this year. The Soskas vision for Black Widow feels uniquely fresh while remaining true to the type of story that works best for Marvels redheaded Russian spy. An opening as satisfying as this shows great potential for the remaining four issues in the series.

The Soska sisters bring on the brutality in a second issue that allows Black Widow to be extremely vicious to low-level villain who clearly deserve it in a surreal amplification of the street-level criminal darkness thats actually lurking out there in the real world. The villains have been revealed in this second issue. Now the Soskas have the rest of the series to navigate Black Widow through them in pursuit of justice for young victims like the one she encounters this issue.

Theres no question that the Soskas have a very definite plot for the series with a clear progression. Theres an end coming. Its undeniable. Too bad it cant keep going after the end of this story.  The Soskas have a very sophisticated grasp of what makes Black Widow such an interesting character.

Bolstered by Flavianos art, Jen and Sylvia Soska have sculpted a neat, little corner of the Marvel Universe that would be great fun to dive into again. Just as the story feels like its wrapping up, theres the full realization that the story is ending. Theres a kind of satisfaction in that, but theres a strong desire for more with Jen, Sylvia, Flaviano, and the badass red-headed Russian super-spy. With any luck, the Soskas will return to another mini-series at some point soon.

The disconnect between the first half and the second half of the first issue is potent. There's a real balance between Black Widow and Natasha's lives that makes for an interesting contrast. If Thompson and Casagrande can maintain that balance while keeping the mystery of the composite character solidly present, this could be a strikingly well-composed series. Arcade's addition as a villain could make this a very existentially trippy journey into espionage--particularly if the adventure somehow finds itself into the potentially surreal territory of Murderworld.  

The danger resting around the edges of Natashas life rests beneath the mystery of what happened to the Black Widow. And though this may be a very familiar premise for a story, Natasha seems to be navigating her way through it in a novel way in a distinctly Marvel application of the spy-with-amnesia sub-genre of cloak-and-dagger intrigue.

Theres an attempt at overall continuity being made her. Its admirable. Black Widow has been through so many things over the years and now shes finally got what a part of her has always wanted. Theres a two-page spread featuring art from many different artists that flit through her memory while shes unconscious. Its kind of breathtaking to see the work from so many different artists from so many different eras all coming together to fuse into a vertiginous perspective of the woman and what shes going through right now. The Marvel Universe has come to be so hopelessly convoluted over the decades. A true moment of perspective on continuity like the one near the end of this issue is rare.

The editorial team on Black Widow has done an excellent job of bringing together two different art teams on a single issue. The flow of moods across different artists seems remarkably well-orchestrated. DC had tried something similar in the pages of Catwoman not too long ago to lesser effect. Theres a powerful direction to the narrative that exists quite well in drama and action. Its a sharply-rendered issue. Natasha is given a challenge that is uniquely hers. So often, earthbound superhero stories can feel pretty interchangeable. Thompson has constructed a story that is so uniquely Natasha. Plot and character feel perfectly integrated with this issue. 

Thompson manages some really sharp moments in a very stylish issue, but there isnt a whole lot of mystery lurking around the edges of everything. Minor subplots can be a bit of a distraction, though. Thompson seems to know how to put exactly enough on the page to keep the story moving.

Adam Hughes adds quite a bit to Issue Seven with a highly kinetic cover. It's a stylish opening to an issue that's cleverly executed throughout. Not only is Thompson rendering a really fun action/suspense story... she's doing so while adding depth to Black Widow that expands cleverly on the story arc that opened the current series. With thoughtful construction opening the current plot arc, the series is in very good hands, moving forward into a summer that will see the character also slink out of the shadows into a very high-profile movie.

The team on Black Widow is remarkably well-modulated. Everyones work on the book seems to sharply support everyone elses work. A team rarely feels this in synch. Once again, Adam Hughes cover artwork serves as an appealing opening to the eighth chapter of what is rapidly asserting itself as one of the most reliably good monthly comics on the rack this year. 

Thompson and Casagrande are delivering a lot of story in this issue, but the balance between detail and action is a bit difficult to come to terms with. It's hard to feel much of what Natasha is fighting for as so little of her current life has really been brought to the page. Granted, it IS only starting to assert itself. Still, the breakneck pace of the action compromises the power of what's going on...and it's causing issues that might be serious further down the line if some level of stability isn't brought to the page.

With the first big adventure in San Francisco well and fully worked-out, Thompson and company can spend a little more time establishing Natashas world. Throwing action at her right away IS a good choice. Still, its challenging to get a solid focus on the conflict without having the extended ensemble of friends and associates established just a little bit more prior to the conclusion of the four-part story that ends in Black Widow #10.

Thompson/De Latorre and Bellaire form an outstanding team. That team is bringing an enjoyable team to page and panel in a dazzlingly composed quartet of heroes who find a relatively unexplored home in San Francisco. The whims of marketing, editorial, and sales have a tendency to tangle things up over time, but for the time being, Black Widow has definitely found a state of grace that seems to be working. Its fun. Its stylish. And with any luck, itll maintain its footing for at least another year or so.

Casagrande bows out of the next issue of the series. Guest Artist Rafael Pimentel takes over the visuals in a story with a new character out of Natashas past that should lend interesting friction to Natashas attempt to start fresh in a new city. Thompson continues to guide Natasha in intriguing directions as the series enters its second year.

It can be really, really difficult to make any mega-villain seem like a towering threat in advance of a multi-part series. The Marvel Universe is cluttered with vicious killing machines. They all seem more or less alike. Thompson gives The Living Blade just enough personality by issues end. Theres honor in The Living Blade that lends a nicely conspicuous kind of dramatic gravity to a storyline that should be a lot of fun in the course of the first half of 2022. 

The action at the auction reaches the second issue. Things explode at the end. It's a bottomless quagmire that the heroes find themselves in. Typically a single operation like this running for more than a couple of issues could tend to feel a bit sluggish. Thompson and Company keep it moving in a way that avoids any potential difficulties with pacing. And that stinger at the end is very provocative. Just when it looked like things were about to wrap up in a clean fashion, things get all the more complicated simply and brutally with a quick slice of action. It's very smart storytelling.

Natasha's adventures end for now in a bit of a rush. She's earned the rest at the end of the series, though. There might have been a bit more of a satisfying end to this issue of Thompson, and company would have had like...maybe twice as many issues as they did to tell the same amount of story. Natasha, Yelena, and company have developed a fun rapport that is beginning to develop into something respectably unique...just in time for the end of their series.

The tendency in modern comic books is to work on story arcs that take several issues to resolve. Theres a definite appeal in taking Black Widow into the realm of something more concise. The super-spy mission in the Marvel Universe holds so many different possibilities that it really COULD serve as the basis for a really appealing series of one-shots if Marvel was to invest some time in developing something like that for Natasha. 

A werewolf P.I., a half-djinn assistant, and a half-demon intern. Southern California seems more or less a perfect place for this sort of thing. Palicki modulates the rhythm of the contemporary urban fantasy in a way that feels perfectly well-suited to another pleasant fusion. Palicki and company are working with so many tropes that are so harrowingly close to cliche, but they have managed to more or less successfully avoid them all so far. 

There are ways to bring conversation to the page that serve even the black-and-white format of Blacks Myth. Dave Sim did remarkable things with intrigue and drama on the comic book page back in the 1980s. Its all a matter of fusing the sequential format of the drama to the mystery in a way thats both visually appealing and closely tied to a series of pictures. Cavalcanti hasnt quite worked it out yet, but theres some very powerful drama making it to the page, so its well worth a look.

A world of magic just ever so slightly out of step with everyone in LA has great potential. The urban fantasy genre has been covered by so many others so many times before, and in so many other ways, so the series DOES run the risk of potentially veering off into clichd territory. Nina comes across as a very subtly unique character with the potential to transcend the genre. If Humphries remain true to those narrative elements that make Nina unique, he might just have something special here.

Blackbird continues to coax magic and mystery out of a magical urban fantasy genre that has become overdone in the course of the past 20 years or so. This is quite an accomplishment. Theres something really appealing in the haunting brevity of the series thus far. The first two issues combined might only be a dozen minutes worth of reading, but Humphries and Bartel are building a world that lingers in the imagination well beyond the page.

The series may have missed an opportunity to do something truly original, but as pop urban fantasy Blackbird keeps it light, rolling into its fourth issue. Moments of clever originality between Nina and Sharpie continue to rest around the edges of a supernatural family drama that is beginning to pick up steam as relationships continue to get more and more complicated each month.

The big revelation at the end of the issue delivers quite an impact. In a way it feels as though the end of the fifth issue reaches a resolution on so much that it almost reaches its own kind of ending. Not everything is resolved, but the central mysteries set-up in the beginning of the series have all been revealed. Humphries and Bartel could take the series in an infinite array of different directions from here. It will remain to be seen if they can keep the satisfying balance that they had achieved in the first five issues.

With so much of the initial world-building out of the way, Humphries and Bartel can start to explore sophistications in the plot in issues to come. The two have yet to find the perfect balance between drama and magic that will fully realize Blackbirds potential, but this sixth issue is a rare instance of an urban fantasy series eschewing everything else, but the conflict between actions and intentions of people chance and circumstance have pitted against each other. The first arc ends in satisfying drama that is thoughtfully brought to the page.  

Its a promising opening to a new series. Rarely is a single issue this balanced between creative personnel. Everyone working on the project seems to have an equal impact on the story. Hill is delivering a script that really is a blueprint for action for someone with a very precise idea of how to deliver it to the page in a way that allows for the colorist to come in and bring it all to life. If every issue is going to be like this, the current incarnation of Blade should be a fun one.

Poke comes across as a sparkly compelling character. There's a lot of subtlety and nuance in his characterization both in his inner monologue and and the emotion written across his face. There is a great deal of intensity in it all.

The videotape and the glowing screens. Its really, really difficult to translate the low-res feel of surveillance camera-style horror into a comic book format, but the feeling of the darkness and the claustrophobia of it all is lovingly transferred to the page. Sebela, Sherman, and Filardi have something intriguing. Whether or not theres enough depth to go beyond the surface of the panel will remain to be seen, but the first issue of Blink feels like something truly new. And THAT doesnt make it to the comics rack very often.

Kirkman mentions that the title came from an interview hed read with Jack Kirby. Nice to see that hes still getting credit for things this long after hes passed away. The disagreement between the officer and her gun calls to mind an argument between a protagonist and his car at the beginning of a Philip K. Dick novel. (The protagonist was trying to convince the AI in the car that he WAS, in fact, sober enough to drive. Clever stuff.) Kirkmans premise lacks the wit of Dicks throwaway idea, but theres a LOT in the opening issue that feels derivative. The opening of the series may lack some level of originality, but Cereno makes Blood an appealing enough character to overcome the series general lack of originality.

The whole issue might not bee remarkably original, but the central relationship between Thunder and its owner feels fresh and intriguing enough to carry the series through some of its slower, more derivative moments. Its been a lot of interesting so far. Theres going to eventually need to be more introduced beyond the central appeal of the series if its going to be interesting after the basics of the relationship between the two main characters. For now, though, its a great deal of energy. So much of the overall energy of the rest of the series feels like a particularly uninspired Judge Dredd story. Thankfully, theres a girl and her gun that keep it all interesting.

Given the way, this series started, it didn't necessarily seem like it was going to be going in a direction that was going to be nearly as beautiful and deeply weird as it has. There's a lot of deeply interesting fanatic exploration going on in the course of the series that feels remarkably well articulated. It can be difficult to cover the themes that.Cereno and company are covering in a way that feels novel, but theyre doing a hell of a job with it.

Some of the finer principle of the satire that Cereno had been working with don't seem all that present in this particular issue. However, it does strike some major chords. It has the distinction of being a major returning point for the series as well. And so it will be interesting to see where the series moves from here. Akeldama it is moving further and further away from the society in which she lives. And as she moves further and further away from it, she is beginning to understand herself more and more. It's been an interesting journey.

Were the basic premise to be just a little bit more striking and clear, the series could actually be really impressive. As it is, it seems like kind of a mess. Kind of a difficult thing to wait into. There's a lot going on. And not necessarily all terribly interesting. And it's not necessarily all terribly well rendered. But there's enough going on here to make it well worth the read. It's just not all that cle where it's heading. Or whether or not it's going to be worth seeing where it's going.

As always: it's very difficult to judge a single chapter of a series like this. The plot has so much that's woven together from various angles and various elements that it's really difficult to judge a single issue. But a single issue you really is where this is sort of thing lives. The serialized nature of it all. And the need for each chapter to be very distinct and very compelling and give the reader a reason to pick up the next issue. So much of what's going on in this particular issue feels like it's losing the thread on keeping the casual reader interested.

Casey and Company have a long way to go before the series really starts to feel like its on the thing. Its echoing so many other series of so many other errors that it hasnt really managed to found a ton space yet. But its still relatively early on, and theres a lot of things that could happen as things progress into the future for a series which seems to have gained quite a bit of momentum. Its nice to see them, taking a moment for a standalone story involving some of the tensor aspects and implications of the superhero genre.

The truly genius bit about this whole project is that it couldnt quite be told in any other way. A narrative text-based rendering of the story would slow down the intensity of the action. Any kind of an attempt at bringing the thing alive in video or cinema would get too bogged-down in the scripting conventions of moving or streaming platforms that woud reuqite an entirely different kind of pacing that wouldnt serve Glass script at all. Blood Train is the very pulse of a modern horror comic book.