On the one hand, this is a relatively straightforward "foil a heist" story. It's a little rushed by the space available; the pieces jigsaw together with suspicious speed and simplicity.

On the other hand, the storytelling on display is virtually faultless. And there's ample character material lurking just beneath the surface to satisfy any desire for greater depth.

And on a subjective note, this issue is almost ideally focused according to my taste. The big-picture story involving Ant-Man is present, but on the back burner. The main stage is occupied by a straight, self-contained crime story. I like it a hell of a lot.
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The author and artist haven't lost a single step as they launch into this delightful new volume. Jen's life remains as enthralling, sweet, and troubled as ever. Things are going great with Jack, the words assure us--while the art hints that the words are overly optimistic. And there's plenty of activity and comedy to distract Jen and the readers.

I found Travel Foreman's art underwhelming in the last issue. Now the pendulum swings the other way, and I am delightfully overwhelmed. Mr. Foreman's Hulk is magnificent and distinctive. His blocking and layouts are imaginative, and his action scenes are full of passion.

It helps that Mr. Johnson has given him a great script to work with, full of wild ideas and psychological horror and fiery conflict. The prose isn't flowery, but every word is picked for maximum impact.

Even the back-up strip is pretty good. It's short on plot, like most strips of this length, but it slots tightly into the title's status quo, scores some good character insights, and hints at a promising road ahead of Victor Alvarez--if he ever gets the spotlight to walk it.
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The plot continues to thrum like a well-tuned engine. The author enhances the story with a few nicely-tuned phrases, and the guest art is pretty gorgeous.

This title has its ups and downs (in my opinion, at least), but at its best, it's thoroughly engrossing.

It's elegant, it's stylish, and it's dramatic. It's a gripping build toward a climax, particularly if you're invested in the characters. These factors make it, indisputably, a good comic.

Subjectively, though, it's very predictable (the Hollywood landmine? Really?), which is why I'm not rating it a great comic.

The Peter Parker characterization is solid, and the first hints of plot development are appropriately mysterious. The pace is a little slow, but that's forgivable, especially as it makes room for a heaping helping of incredibly creepy art. This first issue is all about tone and mood, and it succeeds wildly in throwing Pete into a bona fide horror story.

The non-stop onslaught of Cable and Bishop is the engine driving this war story, and it has ample twists of its own. However, the conflict is further complicated by the web of inventive sci-fi ideas woven around it, little sparkles of ingenuity that make the whole thing shine.

It's another incredibly dense script, and the artist deserves credit for keeping pace with the torrent of novelties.

I recognize that the density may not be to everyone's taste, but it is to mine. I can even imagine a distant future where some next-generation Al Ewing spins whole sagas out of the imaginative ideas off-handedly dropped here.

I also admire the boldness of taking the "Fall of X" status quo and spinning it out into a unique story of global upheaval, regardless of how well it does or doesn't mesh with other contemporary titles.
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The prose is fine, and the art is gorgeous, but I'm not yet fully engaged with the plot or character development going on here. There's nothing wrong with it; it's a compelling Daredevil story, and Matt sounds like Matt.

But I'm old and cynical. Maybe this quotidian build-up is leading to something great.

The storytelling (words and art) is good, and the material is solid. Blade and Brielle make for compelling guest stars.

It doesn't quite capture my full enthusiasm. It labors a bit too much explaining what is really a rather simple plot. But then, I am a cynical geezer, a few decades past the target age bracket.

I think there's plenty of potential here. This could be both a good, creepy Ghost Rider story in general and a powerful moment for Talia's character development. I feel let down by the words and especially the art, though. The storytelling could do a lot more to spook and engage me.

Just like last year, we get a Halloween anthology hosted by Victor Strange. This time around, Al Ewing's frame story does a better job of threading thematic ties through each story and using them to illuminate Vic's character. Still, while there's decent storytelling on display, with just six measly pages apiece, none of the strips get a real story going.

Strong art, feeble content (so much character shilling!), and uninspiring prose.

Lord knows I have a subjective antipathy to most of Steve Orlando's work, but there's some objective weakness to this script, right? Stan Lee-style exposition, repetitiveness, and both the humor and the new ideas are labored.

I have to give a heap of credit to Chad Bowers for hauling both the big-picture villain scheme and the blow-by-blow combat up to some minimum level of comprehensibility. The art would be hopeless without the words. Some of the humor is even funny.

It’s gotten to the point where every issue in this series feels forced and repetitive. I feel like I’m reading the same dialogue each month with different names and locations sprinkled throughout. Romeo is concerned with Bobby pushing himself too hard. Bobby pushes himself even harder while delivering one-liners that fall flat. Random Orchis villain plans an attack and tries to draw Bobby ouy. Bobby saves the day. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. I see no vision for what Orlando is building towards other than having fun writing a queer mutant. There’s nothing wrong with that, but Orlando’s execution is failing his main character. What saves the day is Vincenzo Carratù’s captivating artwork which captures Iceman’s powers in some of the most vivid and imaginative ways in recent memory. more

The only thing that really limits this climax is that it's a half-dozen great climaxes all smooshed together. It's like an all-dessert meal: rich and tasty, but a little overwhelming.

But there's good art and outstanding hoo-rah dialogue, and a fascinating new status quo at the end.

I'm eager to see where these Avengers go next…hopefully as more of an ensemble.

As for the B Strip…look, I'm posting this from Roswell, NM. I can't possibly be objective when Marvel gives me a decent little UFO story that moves a cool superhero to my hometown. And now, I'm off for an archive binge on Firebird. This might be the first time she's been tied to Roswell, but I already see she's been a Nuevamexicana since day one, and I like that a lot.
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Great words and excellent art make the absolute most out of powerful (but not 100% logical) plot developments. That finale is exciting as hell even if it doesn't make a ton of sense, is what I'm saying.

Sadly, the B strip is one of those clumsy, counter-productive efforts to shill for an otherwise quite likable character (and it doesn't even get the name of the endangered snake right).
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In contrast to #37's triple serving of action ideas, #38 concentrates on a single mission. It's a different structural style, but the creators carry it off with equal aplomb.

Cap is perfect, as are Logan's ruminations on their relationship.

The art's still formidable. While the characters are occasionally stiff (particularly in the face), they're surrounded by impeccable detail and polish. There are some daringly inventive layouts, too.
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It's another super-stylish action-heavy chapter, and there are plenty of those lovably sharp one-liners in the dialogue. The character designs are starting to look a little wonky, though, and basic cause-and-effect plot development is hard to follow in the final pages.

Smashing straight to the final showdown is confusing. I'd bet that the author originally planned this as a 5-6 issue arc.
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Wiccan and Hulkling guest-star as adorable audience surrogates as the Guardians drop some hints about how they've changed. They have a new mission and a new antagonist, but this issue is a trifle short on comprehensive explanations.

The hints we do get are intriguing, though, and there are plenty of thoughtful touches in how it's written and drawn.

The art is fun, but frantic. The plot is straightforward and not particularly memorable. But this is boosted well into "good comics" territory by the script's more noteworthy qualities. It has an outstanding grasp on Carol's character, it deftly weaves a lot of backstory into the action, and it's distinguished by some cracking good lines of dialogue.

It's a really unexpected direction for an "MCU synergy" one-shot. Is it essential? No. Is it a good comic? Is it fun to read? Very much yes.
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The pace is a bit slow, and the prose doesn't really sparkle, but those nitpicks are the full extent of the script's faults. The art is good-to-great, but I have my usual subjective reaction to an artist carousel, no matter how talented the riders are. The stylistic inconsistency is a negative that needs a LOT of artistic horsepower to overcome.

On the content front, this flashback did a good job convincing me that there are more Superior Spider-Man stories worth telling and whetting my appetite for them. Even though he's still a cartoonish scenery-chewer here, "Ock Classic" shows a lot more potential than he did the last time he showed up in ASM.
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The art's pretty fantastic, and I think the premise of the story is fundamentally workable.

I totally failed to connect with this script, though. It lays out the antagonist in the driest, most expository way. It also presents a thoroughly generic spy lady and insists it's Natasha Romanoff. I'm just not buying that yet. Maybe I can be convinced in the future.

While the prose isn't distinguished and the art could be clearer, this deep dive into Marc's mind and conscience trots along at an excellent pace. The insights and character developments along the way are engaging in themselves, and Layla's running battle keeps the tension up.

The art is uniformly solid. The amount of content and the pace are nicely matched, producing a smooth, easy read. There's a moment of clumsiness as the author struggles with the heroes debating their next steps, but that's balanced out by a surprisingly good Thanos scene. It's not a challenging comic, but it doesn't overstay its welcome.

As has been the norm throughout the series, the storytelling is far from perfect, and the ideas aren't particularly novel. You can't deny the creators and heroes have their hearts in the right spider-place, though. The community theme is carried through to the end, with Spidey's neighborhood becoming essential to his success.

The letters column hints that this book's audience skews young, which makes its relative simplicity less of a problem.
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This issue fills in the gaps in the last act of #2. Irae gets her backstory, and Magneto gets tempted back to villainy. The art is nice; the ideas and the language used to convey them are pretty average. Although the thematic consistency with the earlier issues is a good thing, it also makes this feel a bit repetitive.

And would it kill them to drop an editor's note confirming that Irae's origin happens in X-Men #4 (1964)?
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Between the flat prose and the disjointed art (polished poses, but no real sense of setting or interaction), I found it difficult to care about this finale half as much as the creators wanted me to.

If you buy into the elevator pitch, this is pretty satisfying.

If you don't--and especially if you know too much about WWII--this is mediocre.

The art is very detailed, which is not the same as being good.

The characterization of Cap is shallow and stereotypical; the characterization of the Howlers (Dum-Dum in particular) borders on slanderous.

I'll refrain from attaching my whole laundry list of Petty Military History Nerd Nitpicks.
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It's a very silly premise, but the creators embrace it with all the heart required to make it fun.

I'm afraid this is the issue that made up my mind: Iban Coello is my unfavorite regular FF artist. The expressions are too exaggerated, the action is too frantic, and WHERE DID BEN'S NECK GO? But I recognize this is mainly a subjective issue; Mr. Coello's work is impeccably polished.

I'm rating this next door to great, and that splendid final scene twist has given me high hopes for the rest of the arc.
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The pace feels a little decompressed. It's hardly a mortal sin when creators this talented work this hard to make every short step entertaining. And it won't even be noticeable if you're reading this volume in a trade; I bet this issue will go down like an oyster when it becomes a chapter in a larger work.

I might be a slow learner: I just now noticed that after developing the "Trinity of Ashes" as the big bads over years of Dr. Strange, Jed MacKay dropped the "Ashen Combine" on the Avengers as soon as he took over that title. I hope it's not just a coincidence or self-plagiarism; a link between the two groups would be terrific.
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