Jean Grey focuses her freshly-resurrected thoughts on the latest signs of anti-mutant hate and resolves to do something very high-level about them. A lovely diplomatic plan is poleaxed at the last minute by shockingly dangerous opposition. The 20 pages after the title page are essentially perfect; the pre-title teaser feels rushed in both words and art. Teaser aside, this #1 delivers the same "brave new world" feeling of impending greatness I got from Grant Morrison's first X-Men book.
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The Hawkeyes and their antagonists break contact and strengthen their positions before meeting up for a final showdown. It's an awesomely busy plot carried out with continuous sass of the highest quality. The art maintains a solid story flow through two very busy fight scenes. In its penultimate issue, this title is glorifying in the smarts and heart that made it great. Even if the next one ends up disappointing (not that I think that's likely), this issue is a treasure - and a tremendously fun and funny read. more

Lash makes his play against Black Bolt. He's trying so hard but he is SO NOT going to secure this title's nemesis position. Who is? Well howdy, gigantic surprise ending! The twist, the nice character work on Blackagar and Titania (and even Lash) and the excellent plot all suggest perfection. So too does Stephanie Hans's quietly awesome guest art that nails the midpoint between Christian Ward and Mike Del Mundo. Christian Ward's fight visuals and colors are just a bit rushed. I can see the balance of the book is color-muted to maximize the impact of Medusa in the middle, but what's the excuse for the sketchy stiffness of the fight scenes? Not that this art isn't delightful; it just feels like less than Mr. Ward's best. more

A formidable first confrontation between T'Challa and Namor. The Panther is significantly cannier than a standard hero doing a standard "punch punch now we are friends forever" misunderstanding brawl/team-up. I respect the statecraft and royal demeanor the Black Panther shows. The art is superb. About the only failing is an overload of realpolitik dialogue wedged into the final fight. It's a clumsy but I suppose necessary way to apprise the reader of Wakanda's regional rivals. Killmonger is foreshadowed in a much simpler, more satisfying way. more

Danny drops back into the fight for K'un-Lun and saves the day. He arrives exactly when I was expecting; his backup was a huge surprise but also hugely welcome. A perfect pace and heaps of action-movie-style "hell yeah" moments made this climax delectable for me. Though I had many issues with how the creators executed the story as a whole, the payoff is thoroughly satisfying.

Rogue and Gambit break into the restricted areas of the Paraiso resort while also reviewing their shared history. Rogue regrets the fact that their first meeting was tainted by Shadow King mind control. The sinister purpose behind the resort gets some very creepy developments and a new antagonist, but the whole picture is still indistinct. This is close to greatness. All I want to see in future issues is the baddy situation fleshed out with a level of care and inventiveness close to that lavished on the Rogue & Gambit relationship.
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Muse takes aim at Mayor Fisk in a serial killer artist vein as Matt Murdock & Daredevil pursue more superhero-y solutions. This is a stylish chapter with a scalpel-clever script. The pacing is a little iffy, though, with Muse's scene at the end (his NYPD fight in particular) getting shortchanged in the rush to squeeze so much into this issue. It does a good job of ratcheting up the stakes and pushing the plot forward, but this issue isn't a payoff in its own right. more

Poor Venom gets just a tiny breather between crossovers, and he spends this one getting sideways with Jess "Spider-Woman" Drew. It's a very nice story and it features superb art. If Javier Garron is auditioning for a long-term role as Venom's artist, he's got my vote. Mike Costa has been sadly flattened beneath a too-aggressive crossover schedule, and he's just not getting enough space to tell the Eddie/Venom story he wants to. Glimpses like this lovely one-shot suggest that that's a real shame. more

The team reunites and takes a willing Molly from her evil grandma. It is definitely a good comic, but I was hoping for greatness. It feels like a premature victory lap: "Here you go, Runaways reunited! Address your congratulatory love-letters to mheroes@marvel.com!" "What about Dr. Grandma? Are they turning her over to the Avengers or what? And what exactly did Karolina's big fight-winning zap do?" "Enh."

Nitpicks in the aftermath of a "good not great" conclusion:

* Starting the issue by calling Chase stupid, lame, and useless is nasty. Though he goes on to play the emotional anchor in an obviously-important way, it feels like the criticism is shouted and the rebuttal is whispered.

* The colors scrupulously replicate the dim, dull, indistinct haze of pre-dawn. It's done with deliberation and skill and I think the end result is ugly.

On the plus side, the character art continues to be spectacular. Molly's expressions are downright phenomenal.
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Kang lays out the Infinity Ballgame for the freshly-resurrected Adam Warlock. I can see the huge challenge in front of the script: This needs to be newbie-accessible, but also satisfying to Warlock mavens. I'm not sure it's entirely successful, particularly on the 2nd point. The art fills in the gaps and elevates the tone, supplying the grandeur that this cosmic prologue desperately needs. We move forward into the event with the shocking news that Magus is just going to be the warm-up nemesis; the face of the Big Bad is still hidden. more

This week's surprise POV character is the Challenger, and his angry relationship with the Grandmaster gives us much-appreciated context for their Game. It satisfies my thirst for understanding while preserving plenty of mystery about the rules. The Avengers take five between rounds, mostly running a "who's sorrier" competition. Beast and Wasp deliver a shamefully stupid explanation for Jarvis's sickness. Handing the art reins off to Kim Jacinto goes fairly well. He works hard on polish here, and though he still has a weird phobia about drawing pupils, this performance is definitely suited to the top shelf. more

This arc is less an ongoing story than a series of one-shots linked by brief foreshadowing about the upcoming Carnage/Osborn fight. This one, in which Loki manipulates Spidey through some do-goodery, is quite satisfying on its own. Loki comes off well - definitely evil doing good for selfish reasons - and Peter's bearing up well under a harsh run of Parker Luck. The visuals are the ceiling on this issue, though. They do well with bug fighting and smirking Loki, but they don't bring enough emotional weight to the end of Peter's current romance. The script lets us down there as well; the "we discovered we have nothing in common" excuse doesn't satisfy at all in this case. more

Wade dodges many pages of Standard Bachalo Tentacle Monsters to steal pan-dimensional goodies from another abandoned SHIELD dungeon. He also pours his heart out to Spidey along the way - he thinks. I like Wade's voice; it feels authentic. I also appreciate the twistiness of the plot. This issue gives you plenty of knots to untangle. The art, I can take or leave. It took NINE people to produce Another Damn Chris Bachalo Monster Comic™? more

The Spirits, particularly Ghost Rider, save the day. It's a straightforward fight + noble sacrifice. Lots of space (too much) is reserved for scrupulous explanations of what happened and attaboys for the heroes, but they do manage to earn them. The art is still gloriously over-the-top, but the fire effects are a step too far. They conceal how exaggerated the Ghost Rider design has become and confuse the action at a few key points. more

Evil Pundit Lady's mutants (with Mesmero in the lead) bust out of prison to get revenge on her. The Gold team intercepts them and gets its collective ass handed to it. Kitty believes it's her fault because of special circumstances, which is damned bad characterization. Kitty SHOULD be a good enough leader to blame herself for her team's failure no matter WHAT the situation. The real blame for this pathetic combat showing lies with the writer, though. Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Storm have to be incapacitated off-panel, for God's sake. The plot might be disappointing, but the art is excellent. Diego Bernard and JP Mayer deliver impeccable top-shelf visuals. more

Miles has a momentous showdown with the Iron Spider, the Baumgartners have an *epically messed-up* mother-daughter relationship, half of the new Sinister Six are already scheming on backstabbing the other half, and Ganke's relationship with Spider-Fangirl inches forward. The script is a whole lot of nothing special and Oscar Bazaldua's art, while probably produced with an earnest desire to entertain, is definitely not good. There are a few nice attempts at expressive faces toward the front of the book, but it's way too little to make up for all the forgettable noodle-people in the back half.
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Key characters have key conversations, two generic Bendis Central Casting tough guys stand in for Red Hulk and Hobgoblin, and after what feels like two years of half-hearted development, Danika slides down into awfulness. While there's useful and important stuff going on here, it evolves very slowly. The art evolves as well; it attacks a wide range of emotional expressions. While the balance is tilted toward successful portrayals over unsuccessful ones, the ratio seems wrong for a title that could/should be in Marvel's A-list. This comic strives to be better than average but doesn't quite stick the landing; to me, this is the epitome of a 7/10 issue. more

Bobby drives Daken away and everybody realigns their status quos a bit as they pick up the pieces. This issue is mostly brawl, with solid art and deadly-serious scripting, but it really only manages to engage my interest in the implications of the aftermath. It's a definite improvement over the previous issue, but I'm suffering from a little "once bitten twice shy" hesitation after essentially writing this title off at #9. more

Jen's therapist doses her with some sort of metafiction-boosting drug, allowing her to enter her own subconscious and face her biggest fears: an uncontrollable Hulk, death at Thanos's hands, and outliving her cousin Bruce. It's not a total cure, but we get proper green She-Hulk out of the deal.

The script has tons of potential, but it's such a wildly imaginative and visual story that it could not succeed without strong art. That is the absolute opposite of what it gets. These visuals are incompetent.
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The Black Panther saves Dubai (mmm, political rumbles, mmm) from Klaw. It's a cash-in for the MCU film and clearly a book targeted at youngsters. These facts do not excuse its shabbiness. The decision to bundle it with the awesomer-in-every-way Fantastic Four #53 ends up being a mistake. Yes, you get a GOOD comic in the mix, but it's also the perfect comparison to show how hollow and dull the modern strip is. The modern story shamelessly cribs the original's ending, too. more

The Lizard leads the Spider-family to a mystery villain. After two issues of questionable work on Peter and MJ, Jody Houser suddenly reveals that she's AMAZING at writing Annie. Her voice is more engaging, her insights are fresher, her story is genuinely interesting. Based on the creative team's performance so far, I'm hoping that future stories de-emphasize the parents A LOT and focus on Annie. She even picks up a long-term nemesis here. This issue is exactly the burst of quality I needed to stay interested in this series. more

The X-Men fall back to spectate as Jean Grey gives the Phoenix the mother of all breakup speeches. Matthew Rosenberg's words strike a good balance between philosophy and intimacy. Joe Bennett does an impressive job of aligning his art style to Leinil Francis Yu's, including a hash-shading technique that works so well he should pull it into his permanent toolbox. It's a satisfying resurrection - provided you don't want to put on your superfan pants and dictate how the Phoenix "should" work - but the ending confirms that this story never needed a cast o' thousands. Shoehorning in all the most marketable X-Men was a mistake that needlessly weakened and lengthened the story. more

Diamondback goes down in a guest-star-studded fightstravaganza. Brian Michael Bendis seems already to be taking a victory lap on his way out the Bullpen door; this script is stuffed full of his effortless characterization. "Effortless" is a double-edged word, of course; while it's easy to love these characters, it's hard to see much passion in their portrayal. David Marquez's ever-swank art is cut from finer cloth. The superb visuals shut the door to disappointment the script might have left open and render this an all-around solid issue. This series as a whole won't be remembered as a turning point in Marvel history, but it's always a blast to read. more

Clint and Bucky buddy up and manage to be both productive and hilarious. Matthew Rosenberg's script is close to flawless, albeit slanted toward the "lovable loser" Fraction style of Hawkeye. Travel Foreman's art is challenging in a mostly-positive way. I suspect he's extended the split between goofus Clint and gallant Bucky into the way he draws them. Clint's anatomy looks a little questionable in the first scene, though - he appears to dislocate all the joints in his arm when he's chucking that sandwich. Also, tiny coloring nitpick: Since when is the GWB red? more

Slate saves Cassandra, the Spiders and Slingers team up productively to defeat their demonic opponents, and a couple good hooks for future stories are deployed. Peter David's script is short on flaws and Will Sliney's more organic, engaged style continues to impress. I dunno if he got a paycheck bump or what, but the leaps and bounds his art has taken in the last few issues are truly amazing.

Teen Jean faces a cavalcade of past Phoenix hosts in the White Hot Room, then argues her way into a resurrection. It's a fun story and TJ is at maximum lovability throughout. With 30 pages to play with, failing to reserve 2-3 of them for the conversation the finale is BEGGING FOR is criminal, though. Teen Jean and Grownup Jean taking a hot minute to compare notes and say "grats on the 1UP" to each other? Psssh, who'd want to see that? EVERYONE, MARVEL, EVERYONE WANTED TO SEE THAT.

I'd probably be less disappointed if Teen Jean wasn't being turned over to the tender mercies of Cullen Bunn immediately after this. He's damn near the Bullpen's least-introspective scripter and Jean NEEDS a little psychological unpacking after this ordeal.
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Lunella takes the reins of the new Fantastic Three, piloting them through a perfect low-stakes mission (getting a cat out of a tree) before turning back to the ongoing universal destruction threat. The slowdown is vitally necessary, as is Lunella's reasoned acceptance of the value of teamwork. The return of Natacha Bustos's art is also highly welcome; she puts satisfying cartoony polish on a plot that leans heavily on slapstick. more

Rogue tries and fails to arrest Deadpool while also doing some basic psychoanalysis. Constructing the entire issue as one smooth fight scene makes it feel deceptively short, as do the visuals. Ruth Redmond lays some vibrant springtime colors over Matteo Lolli's art, and I inadvertently found myself speeding through the panels faster than the art deserved. On the other hand, there is something subtly disconcerting about Rogue's character design, and slowing down to scrutinize it doesn't help. This is fast but fun, and I think the frustration I feel with this title's pacing will disappear when it's all completed and available in one big beautiful chunk. more

Sam has to fight through an identity crisis to escape Hell. While it feels terribly goofy at first glance, the longer I look at it, the more impressed I am. Rodney Barnes's script does a great job of raising the stakes on Sam's "who am I" worries, using the threat of damnation to make them much more than self-indulgent angst-for-the-sake-of-angst. It also helps that Mr. Barnes ambitiously tackles older identity issues (like "Snap" Wilson, yowza) in addition to Sam's recent conflicts with Steve Rogers. Joshua Cassara's gritty art still works great at portraying a violence-torn Chicago and now it does equally good work conjuring up a memorable Hell. This issue really locks the arc down as a perceptive and transformative portrait of Sam Wilson. more

Killgrave takes the upper hand. For the first time in the series, Jessica drinks whiskey. I love how significant Mr. Bendis makes that. What I love a lot less is him poaching his big last-page twist out of the first season of the Netflix Jessica show. I was so happy to see this series take another direction last month; seeing it circle back is disappointing. There's still plenty of heft to the dialogue, characterization, and art leading up to the twist. This is a good comic. I just wish it could have been a novel one. more