Okay, yes, the theology waxes on a bit, and it doesn't build to a clear, satisfying conclusion the way the main plot does. But … " 'Cause I love you, you stupid kid." If that page didn't hit you dead in the heart, I'd blame your anatomy long before I criticized the creators' aim.

Great art and great writing breathe passionate life into Matt's return to Daredevil-ing. Weighty philosophy, unfortunate circumstances, lingering injuries, and just all the Catholic guilt in the world - this volume sure doesn't present Matt with a shortage of challenges. Marco Checchetto's art is scrupulously great, balancing the cerebral script with believable, beautiful action.

This title's plot is simplistic, but I think to hold that too harshly against it, a la BNP's Oz Longworth, is to heave a pretty nice baby out with the bathwater. Killmonger is a "style over substance" story, like a good Luc Besson movie. Its mission is to orchestrate spectacular moments, and it does that with superlative skill, even if the plot & character work tying them together is a bit cut-n-paste generic.

I dearly love the "rising tide of blood" design premise in the last act.
more

An in-depth flashback reveals what happened in Dubai: Why Mephisto is chummy with Miles, why he's so bummed about it, and what Brawn knows. The individual plot beats are rather familiar, but they're assembled neatly into a strong picture at the larger scale. Some nice art really nails the look of a chaotic, tragic fight. The moral trap that Miles has fallen into is full of dreadful dramatic promise, too.

I think even though she gets quickly yoinked back, Kamala's part in this story qualifies as a fridging. She's a tragic prop for Miles to grieve over. I hope she has something to say about this when she figures out what's happened.
more

The agents learn more about the mystery of Logan and have a face-to-face meeting with the local cult leader. The plot is developing nicely, the art and words are wonderfully atmospheric, and the audio play origins still give the script a little added dose of shine over and above run-of-the-mill comics writing.

The forest fire premise isn't all that interesting by itself, but it illustrates a hefty flaw in the AU. This world is so perfect that these 8 X-Men are the only first responders on the whole continent? I'll assume that the flaws are in Nate's world-building rather than the authors'.

The addition of extra inkers gives me a retroactive appreciation for how insanely great Walden Wong did handling the last couple of issues on his own.

If it were one story, with one artist, and the scene order was switched up to make Cyclops and Wolverine's team-up the finale, I'd consider this all-time great.

Wrapping it all up as a one-shot obliges the story to squeeze in more exposition than it really should have.

Cap appreciates the quality of the frame hung on him for Ross's murder and turns himself in - but actually giving up is the furthest thing from his mind. The plot's building slowly, but that provides space for some truly excellent philosophizing, even by this title's sky-high standards. The art's impressive, too; I think Adam Kubert made a conscious (and really successful) attempt to match Leinil Francis Yu's style.

I admire the play between symbol and symbolized that Ta-Nehisi Coates weaves into the script. Steve recognizes at the start that his enemies are after his shield, symbolically, rather than himself. At the end, he turns himself over while ensuring that the literal shield remains out of their reach. They get the literal victory but Steve gets the symbolic one.

(I admit, though, if I was investigating a high-profile Marvel murder and the evidence said a thrown shield was responsible? I'd spend a minute or two checking Taskmaster before I arrested Captain America.)
more

Logan gets tore into the Avengers and the story focuses on how people react to him - the villains tormenting him, the X-Men, and more. It's a static role for the protagonist, but the creators do an exquisite job making the supporting cast dance around him. I'm especially enamored of the portrayal of the Avengers here. They sound at least as good here as they do in their own title, if not better.

Janet and GIRL take a hospital day after the attack. They overlook that Nadia's returned to the lab and dived into a manic episode in the meantime. There are some glitches in the visual and verbal storytelling, but showing Nadia's weakness in an unflinchingly realistic way is powerful and informative.

Water mains burst in Jersey City, producing a pocket catastrophe that serves mainly as an excuse to do cute development work on Kamala's supporting cast. It's a lovable last look at this volume's great setting-as-character, and there's plenty of heartwarming stuff spread throughout the issue. This is trying to split the difference between "Kamala as protagonist" and "Kamala as background character," though, and the seams between the two are distracting.

A key part of this comic is showing a community united through neighborly proximity and shared adventures rather than cultural or class identity. It's a town where a lost baby can pass safely and smoothly through a dozen compassionate hands before being reunited with his family. It's utterly prosaic. Yet in its own quiet way, it's just as magically heroic as a girl with stretchy superpowers.
more

Nate Grey leads the X-Men in defending a "utopia" with sinister goings-on bubbling just beneath the surface. I like the style; the peaceful life has a 1950s Leave-it-to-Beaver vibe while the dark side points to majorly messed-up social control a la 70s sci-fi movies. I find the world-building ideas intriguing and engaging; they provide just the boost that the storytelling chops need.

Strange finally meets the Magic Accountant and learns what sort of world-cracking debt he's racked up in his hubristic "magic doesn't have a cost" phase. It's a relief to finally have the Big Picture plot out on the table, though it doesn't look like the most inventive story now that it's clear. Formidable art does a lot to sell this as a good comic. The milestone backup strips (especially Nightmare's nightmare) help, too.
more

Deadpool gleefully randoms his way to a one-in-a-million win over the Black Panther, but T'Challa's got vengeance on his mind. After wandering a bit, the POV comes home to roost on Wade's shoulder in this issue. I enjoyed the overall absurdity of the plot, and Deadpool is definitely characterized right to excuse/explain it.

This series never really hooked into a bigger Big Idea than "let's have some Exiles running around saving the Multiverse again," and I think that shortcoming explains why it ended so soon.

When the only substantive argument offered in favor of "turning off the world" is that superheroes beget supervillains, not clarifying exactly how/why Doom and Fisk and their lackeys woke up is REALLY unsatisfying.