This is a stunning crossroads where every last plot thread the authors have laid down in this volume ties together. The result is stylized and stylish, clear and bittersweet.

Groot's fate by itself wouldn't make for a great comic. But when combined with achingly earnest insights into each of his teammates (and some excellent symbolic art), it rises to greatness.

I have extra kudos for the authors because they make a surprising number of continuity links to other Guardians stories--even Dan Abnett's recent Groot retro-series.
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I had a blast reading this. The story's clear and intriguing, the art's dynamic and sharp, and the dialogue is simply bursting with wit and cleverness.

Still, I rate it a little shy of greatness. Mainly because I know a large part of my love for the script is my subjective simpatico-ness with Si Spurrier. And also I think that though they're earnest, Nightcrawler's psychological woes aren't all that novel.
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I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly this moved without feeling rushed. I was afraid the clone hunt would get dragged out. The art is gory and gorgeous, and the dialogue is suitably peppered with tough-guy insights.

This is an elegant conclusion to a story that ultimately feels a little inessential. Al Ewing is obviously about to take Loki in a different direction, so this serves as a sort of "transitional" characterization.

The insights are thoughtful, the prose is solid, and the art is nice. Though I wouldn't call this series truly essential, it's a very satisfying read.

To be frank, it's stiff and slow in both words and art. But that's about the limit of the issue's defects; the material is clear and enticing. The creators have launched solid stories in both the present and the past, and the antagonist building up to oppose Steve is intriguing.

This isn't a knock-your-socks-off great comic. But it is a thoroughly enjoyable read, and it's a good start for a new volume.
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It's slow and there's a LOT of exposition going on. Beyond that, though, there's nothing wrong with this story. In fact, you can frame those potential negatives as positives: This is scrupulously clear--more so than many contemporary Marvel comics. The art makes a good match for the script; "clarity" is the watchword when it comes to the visuals, too.

An intricate plot seems to be this title's main motive force. Usually, I'm not a fan of that, but there are enough interesting mysteries presented here to hook me. (Very important: these are SEQUENTIAL mysteries, where answering questions leads to new questions. Piling up questions without answers is a different, much less enjoyable thing.)

The characters get just enough attention to make their relationships engaging (Maggot can shut the hell up about Archangel already, though).

I'm a fan of the heavily-shadowed art. Although it's not very detailed, it never fails to enhance conversations with sharp facial expressions.
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I admire how far the author wants to push Spidey into villainy, and how fast he goes. The script's structure is complicated, and the way the endings twist together is great. The art is solid, if not world-class.

This story is walking a tightrope, though. How bad can Spidey get before he becomes irredeemable? I know some anti-fans of this volume will say he's already crossed the line.
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The plot develops briskly, helped along by solid (if exaggerated) art.

The storytelling here just clears the "good comics" bar. But the author has still wrapped himself in the comforting simplicity of bland, omniscient, past-tense narration. And subjectively, the art rubs me the wrong way.

Also, I think Gerry Duggan and Benjamin Percy need to have a Deadpool custody hearing. Granted, this title and X-Force aren't happening at the exact same time. But the character is just too different depending on who's writing him right now.
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A single consistent artist amps up the visual quality of the story. The plot develops briskly, with decent twists along the way. Sadly, though, this installment isn't as funny as the first one, and the character voices are less distinct.

There are a few splashes of fun here. The art has some joyful manga-esque moments, and the dialogue has some witty snark. The narration and setting are arbitrary, though--and of course, it's all growing from the poisoned ground of a singularly dumb event.

The story wraps up messy, with virtually every character getting a big "to be continued" sign.

In this final issue, and throughout the miniseries, there was never anything critically wrong with the storytelling. But to me, there wasn't anything exceptional about the words or art, either.

Combine that with a wide-ranging plot and a too-big cast and you've got a recipe for five issues that never really got me engaged. It's a lot of little sips out of a lot of different cups, and that never satisfied my thirst for a deep chugalug.
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There's the germ of an interesting story idea here, but it's not well-developed. And the words and art that convey it are the very definition of "acquired taste."

The artist sure seems to be enjoying himself, at least.

It's a bit long-winded and though they're all excellent, the artists have the usual collaborative "too many cooks" problem.

Those nitpicks aside, it's a healthy double serving of great work. Whether you're in it for the relentlessly awesome Doom characterization or the clever and significant twists in Eddie's story, you won't be disappointed. And if you like it all… *mwah*

Continuity nerdery: The mention of Dr. Doom trying to recruit Spider-Man indicates the relevant scene takes place shortly before ASM #5 (1963).
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#1 made me cautiously optimistic. #2 plants a hook deep in my interest and hauls me firmly on board. This was a perfect "fall in love" reading experience.

How did the creators do it?

Luca Maresca's artistic talents can't be ignored. He keeps the action scrupulously clear while layering the story with his own ideas, little visual-only moments that deepen and enhance the experience.

But I have to be most impressed with Deniz Camp's script. It's still wordy and stuffed with challenging concepts. This issue benefits from laser-like focus, though. It's all about revealing WHAT the Children are doing and WHY--and, through those revelations, showing WHO they are.

The final, most impressive trick (which the creators achieve together) is taking all of the Children's big, brain-cracking sci-fi ideas and balancing them against Bishop and Cable's fun, fast, action-movie opposition. It's a damned impressive juggling act.

Also impressive: That infiltration scene that FINALLY helps me appreciate Bishop's powers as more than just "get zapped, zap back." That was a treat.
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I appreciate that this volume accepts the whole status quo left by the last one. Though I was hoping for a slower journey back to Matt in costume, I appreciate the way it's done here. The art is excellent, and the script shapes up into a strong performance by the end (those priests cuss a little too much at the start for my taste).

Solid storytelling work helps carry me through the plot, which is serviceable but not too surprising. I don't think it takes a genius to predict what's next for Matt--say, his next six deadly opponents.
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The only things hedging my enthusiasm here are the limitations of the art (it doesn't do anything wrong, but it could do more right) and the fake-out of the entire premise.

By that I mean, this issue is an excellent setup for a medium-long ongoing where Janet Van Dyne solves hardboiled procedural mysteries in civvies instead of spandex. Call it a new Alias for a new decade.

Except this is also obviously a sequel to the author's recent Ant-Man and Wasp miniserieses, so it'll wrap after five issues of glorious time-traveling dimension-hopping weirdness.

As much as I'm gonna enjoy this chocolate-and-peanut-butter treat, I kinda wish I got the ingredients in separate, larger portions.
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There are plenty of nice developments in the war story, and they're all illustrated well. Still, the broad scope and the frankly too-big cast nearly strand this issue on the low side of good.

Fortunately, the REST of the issue reveals the Fisher King's backstory. It's crushingly cool/bleak stuff, showing him as a tragic figure and painting a grim portrait of life under Genesis/Annihilation. This insight elevates the issue almost all the way to greatness.
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My usual line on this volume is that it's speedy but simple. This issue definitely has its fast moments, but it packs an impressive amount of content. It's a whirlwind of new supporting characters, and Miles gets a memorable, distinct interaction with each of them.

Of course, it still looks frenetic and dynamic in the action moments. Partha Pratim slides into the art team smoothly, living up to the pace while putting his own spin on the characters. (Plus, it appears adding a little pigeon-to-the-face slapstick is what it takes to make me love this busy art.)
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Stylized art with a chromatic gimmick. A menacing but generic eldritch threat. Two narrative voices with dissonant tones. Appealing but ultimately fruitless romantic combat chemistry between the two leads.

No single part of this is truly great, but they're spun together and balanced with great talent. The result is a thoroughly satisfying read. It doesn't hurt that this eschews any pretense of pitching a follow-up series and concentrates on being an entirely self-contained story.
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This is a solid start to another short arc, though the individual scenes are so generously paced that we don't make a lot of plot progress. Those scenes are tastily written, minimizing any regret about the speed.

Sadly, on the visual front, I can't report a change over the many years I've encountered Travel Foreman's art. I KNOW he has talent, and it's very much in evidence here. He has a knack for going full blast on the key splash panels, and he capably holds up this title's rep for body horror. I still can't get past how EMPTY he leaves so many of the non-critical panels.
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There's a solid action scene and an appreciable bit of plot development. The art is generally impressive, though I see a few shortcuts taken in the details.

I think that short, beautiful scene with Domino and Black Tom and Sage locks it in as a good comic, though. It gives them the extra bit of depth and commitment that makes me care about the plot.

The title says "Venom" and it's part of this dumb Contest of Chaos, but what this actually is is an annual/epilogue for Deadpool's last charming volume.

Frigging comic books, right?

Anyway, I was a big fan of Deadpool (2022), so it's a treat to get one last serving of that tone. This violent romp also benefits from some excellent art and the slow reduction of pointless mysteriousness that comes with the "progression" of the event. (I use "progression" just in the sense of time passing, I don't mean to imply real plot development is going on.)
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I was the opposite of thrilled when I first met Talia Warroad; she seemed yanked straight off the "gothy young witch" cliche shelf at late-90s central casting. But she sank smoothly into the story and her generic qualities were overshadowed by her real contributions to plot development.

Now we get her backstory. And--in the abstract--it's another pile of cliches. But this exploration of them manages to make her compelling and sympathetic as she tackles standard "teen angst + witchcraft + devil-worship" tropes. Expressive art and terse, well-chosen words get beyond the simple chain of events and emphasize what Talia's felt.
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I'm still interested in how the story plays out, and this installment features some solid plot developments.

The art change threw me for a hard loop, though. Combined with some weak writing in the script's first half, I wound up much more distant from this story than I wanted to be.

Hypothetically, I could get used to these highly stylized visuals if I encountered them in a tabula rasa situation. Thrown into the middle of an arc, they just make everybody look WRONG.
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A nice clear fight with Orchis gives this issue a solid core narrative. It's illustrated with some shiny, dynamic art that makes the conflict easy and appealing to follow. On the script side, there are some great lines and great empathic beats where the characters express themselves engagingly.

Unfortunately, there's still the OTHER writing--the hyperbolic world-building and idea-spewing where everyone exposits at length in the same authorial voice.

I think it's ironic/tragic that Steve Orlando is quite good at soap operatics and quite bad at establishing the fantastical situations his characters have to deal with. The tragic side is that he seems to divide his attention in inverse proportion to his talents. He'll casually nail a heartbreaker of a mother-son reunion in two panels after wasting multiple pages failing to make his elemental murder-bots seem interesting.
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I think the most appropriate/ironic way to critique this comic is to demonstrate subtle contempt for the material by ignoring it and concentrating on a tangent that mainly serves to demonstrate my own smarts. Thus:

The author uses the term "feral" with scrupulous accuracy, as it technically applies to domesticated animals that have escaped into the wild.

This issue is pandering in a lot of ways, taking a lot of easy shots. It's a Thing-centric book. It teams him up with a cute animal.

But most importantly, it shows Ben REASONING his way out of a fix instead of just clobbering. He Sherlock Holmes-es the ☠☠☠☠ outta this!

And pandering isn't a problem when it's done with this much storytelling skill. The art is clear and dynamic, the pace maintains a consistent narrative journey, and the dialogue is packed full of charm, wit, and humor.

This is a great FF comic and a great Thing comic--judging by the standards of any era.
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