CrazyforRAMU's Profile

This is a thoroughly satisfying end to the arc. The art maintains its frantic, scruffy dynamism, still as clear and evocative as ever. The character interactions deliver endless delights, portraying the heroes with both humor and heart.

Jed MacKay is an all-around great writer, but this arc demonstrates that he's a particular treasure when he gets a little silly.

When you stand back, this issue doesn't evolve the plot too much. Matt butts heads with Fisk again, making no great progress. At least Bullseye makes a move and faces a mystery.

But even though the game pieces are familiar and the author doesn't move them very far, stellar storytelling brings this issue to the edge of greatness.

The scenes are fast and sharp. Some dialogue ra ises tension; other lines beautifully illuminate the characters and their relationships. The edge of frustration painted on Elektra's feelings (in ways both subtle and explicit) is especially nice.

"Beautiful illumination" is an apt description when it comes to the art, too. The blocking is clear and dynamic, framing actions and reactions perfectly. The artist provides detail with economy and confidence, enhancing their work without cluttering the panels.
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This is a welcome return to form! An ongoing story, intriguing mysteries, and excellent art. The jokes and the plot developments are a little simplistic due to their ongoing accessibility for younger readers. In contrast to #8, though, the total package once again has crossover appeal for grown-ups, even jaded geezers like me.

Plus, that sinister first scene creates the potential for so me serious drama.

Sass: Araña is the designated magic spider-variant, and this issue isn't the first that shows she's really not great at it. Shouldn't she intern with Doctor Strange or something?
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It's a quiet, atmospheric horror story with a lot of room for contemplation. But that's balanced by some shocking, gory art when the vampire-fightin' finally kicks off. While this is thoroughly non-essential to both the event and the ongoing Hulk title, its tone nicely suits them both.

This was a solid Silver Surfer yarn, if not a monumental one. I like that it displays and even calls out one of the Surfer's key faults: For all his heroism and honor, he is a VERY vain and proud cosmic being. Add in some solid art and a few good jokes, and you've got a thoroughly enjoyable story.

The reprint is good in its own right, and it makes a more organic match with the new strip than many of the selections in this Giant-Size series. Plus, it's nice to highlight the Debut of Ganymede, given that she's had a little resurgence in the Scarlet Witch and She-Hulk lately.
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This is packed with great stuff. The art is always satisfactory and often brilliant. There are some stellar lines and exchanges in the dialogue. Characters are quickly and sharply defined, and while the plot is mainly in the foreshadowing stage, it's there.

But all the greatness feels widely--and maybe too thinly--spread. I'm missing a pole to hold the tent up, a hook to really engage m e, a character worth falling in love with (Beast comes close, though!). And the art is so frantic that I don't get to appreciate the design work as much as I'd like. That new Marauder ship seems like it's worth a glamour shot or two, for example.

And I have problems with the mysterious new antagonists. They're redolent of the U-Men, which the characters themselves lampshade. They also remind me more than I'd like of the Outer Circle from Lanzing & Kelly's Captain America run. (And on a silly subjective note, my geezer brain is incapable of seeing "3K" without automatically sticking "MST" in front of it.)
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There's a whole lot of good stuff. Too much, in fact. The reason I'm delivering a comparatively low rating is that it's unfocused. I think the same fault appears in both the script and the art.

The individual panels are fantastic, but the visuals aren't a great tool for narrative storytelling. And the script bends much more towards philosophical debate than precise explanation of plot developments.

The alternate history is painted with the broadest of strokes. The satire of late-stage capitalism is wide and repetitive instead of incisive and novel. The grand twist is pretty trite for a joke that takes a whole issue to set up.

Of course, there are personal, subjective factors at play, too. I'm probably salty because I guessed wrong about the identity of the prisoner (I was thinking Captain Marvel. Foolish, in hindsight, with the star imagery coming on so early and so strong). And because I didn't read this until 2026, there was an uncomfortable "life imitates art" irony going on with this "fantastic, implausible" story of an amoral megalomaniac taking over the White House and gilding every inch of it.
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Carried along by a reliable wave of solid art, the author finishes his story with a satisfying resolution. I appreciate the way it's deeply rooted in Miguel's character, and it blends heroic nobility with human ego in an intriguing way.

It's still a slender serving of content. I'm probably juicing my rating a bit because I believe this is Peter David's very last Marvel comic. This isn' t the highest possible note to go out on, but it's hardly a bad one. It shows a veteran writer expertly using well-honed storytelling talents.
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I wouldn't go so far as to say this series is winning me over, but I'm making peace with the modest scope of its intentions.

This is about Wolverine and Nightguard dicing up vampires. The artist does a great job of making it look clear and gory. The author is…adequate at explaining it, keeping the pace brisk, and trying some action movie one-liners.

I respect the fact that th ere are two good twists (one heroic, one villainous) to make the conflict a little more interesting than non-stop dicing would be.

But after #1 did such a conscientious job re-introducing Nightguard, I was hoping that the antagonists (who are all d-listers from 2010's "Curse of the Mutants" event) would get a little more texture than "THIS set of murderous vampire mooks looks like THIS, and THAT one looks like THAT." C'est la vie.
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It's an average comic for me. But though the art strikes me as dated, the plotting as pedestrian, and the characterization as uninspired, I can't point to any serious, objective faults. I think big fans of the storytelling style and/or Apocalypse will be delighted by it, and that's a good thing.

The art is pretty great for a collaboration. The script has a good structure, delivering foreshadowing, revelations, and twists at a fast, tense pace. The dialogue and humor are decent, if not world-class.

But the bait on the twist-hooks doesn't tempt me. It all feels shallow, over-complicated, and repetitive--not to mention, it suffers from a wildly inconsistent tone.

This i ssue's big twist/revelation boils down to: "Remember that thing that's happened to Spidey twice in the last coupla months? It happens again, but WORSE." (With a side of: "Remember that incredibly controversial thing Dan Slott did to Spidey ten years ago? THAT happens again, too!")

Zeb Wells has once again staked everything on a plot development that isn't fatally flawed, but is far too weak to satisfy with his storytelling talents and his circular, redundant approach.

Stan update: I was delighted to see Kamala step up and try to be the hero of the hour. But I'm in full accord with her getting shoved aside after her spotlight moment; this is not and should not be her story.

Geezer grumbling: I just can't wait (/s) for the lettercol in #57 full of "Rek-Rap! Noooo! Say it ain't so!" histrionics. Of course he's not dead, you turnip-heads.
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The series races to its climax with maybe a little more speed than it should. The artist keeps up, delivering a gory finale loaded with terrifying bits of body horror. The author struggles to get past broad strokes, though, only providing glimpses of the psychological trauma the Jack and his civilian friends go through. The final plot developments are a little shaky as well, discarding clear, logi cal progression in favor of keeping the ending from getting too grim.
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The series continues on the path laid out in #1: Strong, appealing art and deep, imaginative world-building are the strengths. The weakness? The plots and conflicts are bland. They feel almost like afterthoughts.

Although there are hints of a bigger story starting to emerge--little connections between these new characters and ideas--they're not enough (yet) to foster the engagement the series needs.

The backup strip flounders. Why bother producing a single page if all it says is, "The thing that was going to happen happened"?
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Johnny and Parker finally reach their long-overdue confrontation. I was really hoping that Parker's comeuppance would deliver some dramatic irony, and I appreciate that the author tried for it. But I just wasn't feeling it.

There's nothing terribly wrong with the writing or the art. But there's not enough right to keep me from focusing on the finicky little nitpicks, which makes the ove rall reading experience disappointing.

Case in point: Johnny and Zeb wear sunglasses, not just at night, but *in a sewer*. That's not deal-breaking stupid. But it's the sort of stupid that wants to be a part of an audacious, over-the-top story, and I don't think this fits the bill at all.
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This left me confused, frustrated, and unengaged. Not good.

There are some gorgeous individual panels. The protagonist's world is fleshed out, and a solid plot is set in motion.

But the script and the art are both seriously disjointed, making the story hard to follow. The strokes used for world-building are very broad and very vague. None of the characters distinguish themsel ves, and Kintaro/Kintoki is terribly passive.

My main conclusion is that Taigami's no Peach Momoko.
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I don't think this is a bad issue, but I'm plagued with the knowledge that every creator involved here is capable of something better.

The art is almost painfully beautiful. Each character and setting reflects such obvious thought and craftsmanship!

Al Ewing seems to recognize exactly what's been bugging me about this convoluted saga, so he spends this issue clarifying motives and goals. I appreciate him extracting Meridius from the story like a rotten tooth--and he does it with a cheeky continuity nod, of course.

What holds my rating shy of "great" territory is the corniness of the last-page introduction. Al Ewing is talented enough that I'll call such an obvious imitation of an extant character an "homage" rather than a "ripoff." Though it's fun (and, again, cheeky), it shifts the tone toward the ridiculous. Which could be good…or bad.
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The plot comes to a nice resolution, and the whole idea of Bats and the God of Dogs is almost diabetes-inducingly sweet. But the overall amount of content is a little thin. Much as I love it, the art is still an acquired taste. l think this is a good comic, but it's too reliant on reader buy-in to be truly great.

The art is a little rushed and I think the author hasn't quite mastered the "tormented Spidey" voice. But the timey-wimey premise of this story is audacious and well-executed. Continuing the work of the Thanos Annual, this deepens and rounds out Overtime's character. My anticipation for the event as a whole is rising.

I really like this, though I won't pretend it's flawless. The dialogue sounds realistic, but it's also as forgettable as most real speech. The art is mostly strong and clear--until those panels where it isn't. The timeline is wonky; the creators can't decide whether to explain or conceal the fact that there's a time-jump all the way from BH #1 to BH #4.

But this comic has ambitious idea s and it explores them well. The initial scenes do a great job of making backstory exposition interesting instead of boring, weaving it together with an explanation of the setting. Jake's characterization is clear, consistent, and engaging. The resolution takes him to a surprisingly dark place, and I'm tempted to follow him.

While this introduction is good, it's not good enough to inspire me to cough up money for the follow-up Red Band series. I'm ride-or-die Marvel Unlimited, and the RB series is never going online. A pity.
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