The Hulk's ongoing story kicks into high gear as Jackie McGee and Walter "Sasquatch" Langkowski come together as the nucleus of a supporting cast. Walt's expository flashbacks slow the plot a little, but the odds of any of the information he shares being wasted are slim. This issue's stellar cliffhanger marks the end of the title's introductory "one-shots" phase. The whole art team is burning the midnight oil, and the results are magnificent. more

Fulfilling his mandate to go as big and crazy as possible, Cosmic Ghost Rider seeks parenting advice by looking up Galactus. The question of whether or not baby Thanos can be nurtured into a non-villain remains very open, and it looks like Frank's gonna have to fight for the right to answer it. This issue has fine art and a gleeful sense of the absurd, but there seems to be a strong wall hemming this story in. I can't shake the feeling that the creators were strongly warned to keep this story frivolous and inconsequential. That still gives plenty of opportunities for entertaining fun, and the comic certainly doesn't disappoint on that score.
more

Years ago, a young Kitty Pryde takes a break from X-Manning to go back to summer camp. It's a charmingly direct "you can't go home again" story with real heart. The visuals cap it at good rather than great; I've seen this artist deliver much more polished work. "Less than the best" still translates into "pretty darn good," and the character work woven into the simple plot comes across loud and clear. more

Spidey shuts down the Vulture with plenty of Black Panther help, but he's a few steps behind figuring out his antagonists. Peter is also a few steps behind on figuring out his Stark Camp project. How will it all wrap up? This installment is a little bit simplistic, but passionate art and very sincere characterization keep it very fun.

Cap fights another pack of Nuke terrorists, Sharon booty calls him (go Sharon!), and the surprise twist ending is Black Panther. Throughout it, Cap's narration makes the point, "Funny how so many of my baddies share my 'I wanna be a strong guy' backstory, huh?" It sounds purdier coming out of Cap, but my version's faster. This issue does more rock-solid character work, but the repetition (not so much the additional Nuke fighting but following it up AGAIN with an inconclusive Cap/Ross spat) and the visuals are holding it back for me. Even though I KNOW it takes talent and effort to do art like this, the finished product leaves me cold. more

Scott and Nadia technobabble their way to what looks like but of course is not their home. They realize the too-good-to-be-trueness just in time and keep on adventuring. The visuals here hit a very high standard, but the overall effect is undercut by a pair of splash pages that are blatant conservation of artistic effort.

This was really close to good, but I'm still too prickled by the ongoing treatment of Nadia as a second-class protagonist due to her age and sex. Of course she's got a REASON not to be on point - the fakeout Earth offers up the father figure she desperately wants - but that's exactly how marginalization works: How compelling the reasons are is less important than the fact that the reasons are always there. Somehow, even though he's an amorphous blob of teeth, Burr reads as male and therefore gets to contribute ahead of Nadia. And Scott leaping to paternal nicknames for Nadia ("sweetheart" and "honey") is kinda gross. more

The heroes and readers are subjected to an exhausting gauntlet of video game material. Meanwhile, Ember pivots from villain to victim and the real antagonist steps out of the shadows with a fanfare of sad trombone sounds. Quality picks up as the issue goes on - the back half is better-written and much better-drawn - but overall, it becomes a bit of a patience-tester.

Deadpool saves the day and the first story arc unspools at the end like Return of the Kings: Nekkid Merc Edition. There's still a fair serving of quality humor and sick (good sick) art, but the portion's gotten smaller. This issue is leaning too hard too fast into running gag territory; Deadpool's ridiculous stuffed animal underpants have definitely worn out their welcome.

Ominous plot stormclouds build over Ororo's old village, and Rachel handles the b-story by facing a tumultuous aftermath to her possession. The plot developments are promising, but the characterization leaves an awful lot to be desired. The art has very strong foundations but the finish is challenging the limits of "cleanliness" as a positive trait.

The detective squad pulls out an 11th-hour win, securing some useful info on Soteira and its relationship to Wolverine. Quality character work and nice revelations, but I have some problems with the way the plot is structured and presented. "Misty's magic arm-tech saves the day" is used three times, i.e. twice too often, and Daredevil narrating the whole thing in the past tense makes it feel like telling instead of showing. And sadly, Frank McGee's flying motorcycle makes one last appearance to demonstrate that the artist still doesn't know how to make it look cool/real. more

Ben and Kaine get Touched By An Angel™. There's really no other way to describe it. The art is on an upswing and the dialogue is solid, but the subject matter is so exceptionally bizarre (not necessarily in a good way) that the issue becomes a puzzlement.

Havok assembles a ragtag misfit team while also winning a pair of simple fights. He's got a babysitter (Warpath) and two broken toys (zombie Banshee and jilted drunk Colossus). He also gets a pair of better-judgment-defying mutants who both reach the strange conclusion that "Alex Summers bringing a fight to my doorstep means I better team up with him": Beast and Dazzler.

I could give this a "thoroughly average" 6.0 rating, but Greg Land is still terrible (An animatronic Mojo robot? It's too hard to trace, so we don't get to see it.) and this sort of snarky Teeth-Clenched Teamwork is Matthew Rosenberg's Signature Shtick. This is a cruise-control effort for the creators all around. more

Dr. Strange's sad Infinity Watch is assembled. (Ugh, Bullseye. Really?) Towards the end, plot developments develop dramatically and the forward progress is blissfully welcome. Requiem's identity is revealed and that's just the first of the climax's double-barreled surprises.

The script drops signals suggesting that this ridiculous plot was once supposed to be EVEN MORE labyrinthine: When did Thor meet "King Thor"? When did Iron Lad sub in for Kang? What's the Kree trouble Carol is supposedly dealing with? Life of Captain Marvel, which just started?

I feel again like the kid pointing out the naked emperor when it comes to the art. From the first scene inexplicably taking place in an Old West saloon to the last scene relying on random doll heads to try (unsuccessfully) to portray an emotional Gamora, I hate these visuals. And the script for this issue is busy enough to expose a brand-new fault in the "fractal" panel layouts: While the smaller boxes are usually just arbitrary divisions of a bigger scene, SOMETIMES they're separate, all-new panels. There's no way to tell the difference, and it makes the story that much harder to follow.
more

Black Bolt strikes back against Vox and the Kree before things inevitably take a turn for the even worse. The storytelling, visual and narrative, comes close to basic satisfaction, but the plot it serves remains punishingly stupid. The Boss Kree lays out notably problematic reasoning for this series. It's a classic "1) Murder a bunch of Inhumans 2) ???? 3) Kree Empire is strong again" plan and this issue is flagrant in its refusal to fill in step 2. Add on Vox chewing through scenery like a runaway buzzsaw and you've got another thoroughly unenjoyable comic. more

The heroes resolve their business in Russia AND NOTHING ELSE. Is Warpath quitting or not? What's up with OML? Who knows?! At least the visuals are painfully ugly. This title has been always been hit or miss, but this combination of inconsequential plotting and unattractive art sets a record for missing by a mile.

Kamala's class, supervised by mild-mannered Comp Sci student Doreen Green, runs into AIM goons, followed shortly by Squirrel Girl and Ms. Marvel. This little taste basically demonstrates that these two heroes are in good hands with these creators, and also briefly introduces Ember as the sullen newbie protagonist.

Rogue and Gambit's impromptu wedding is examined in great - and greatly entertaining - detail before their outer-space honeymoon is hijacked by "X-Men in space" nonsense. Capable art, dialogue that's both nimble and clever, and some of Marvel's finest characterization combine into a blissfully satisfying read. I rate it a half-point shy of perfection because although I can't zero in on specifics, I do get the feeling that the storytelling could still be improved a little. more

Laura follows a step behind as the Cuckoos dive into villainy. There's a quality plot deployed with great subtlety here. The way the background visuals contribute strongly to the storytelling - hinting, joking, supporting everything that's happening - is truly exceptional.

It was enough of A Thing for me to get nerdy and notational; by my count, there are at least 10 cool ideas conveyed solely through the art. These range from splendid jokes (the Marvel version of the FitBit is called "Fit Fat Foom") to character-revealing symbolism (the Cuckoos have a constant visual motif - the circled X - all through the issue.)

The dialogue and narration also do excellent characterization, though the words don't stick around in your memory quite as long as they might. They do more than enough as it is; this is definitely a great comic.
more

This issue takes the team from the introduction of the international members up through the Dark Phoenix saga. As with Ed Piskor's first Grand Design comic, this one benefits tremendously from a central character and plot - the Phoenix is the spine that holds this issue up and makes it great. The sheer density of plot points otherwise threatens to overwhelm. The painstaking chronological introduction of the triple-onion-layer conspiracies arranged against the X-Men at the start of the 80s, for instance, tends toward the absurd. Potentially-contentious retcons are handled with firm clarity; this telling is very explicit about the split between Jean Grey and the Phoenix and it works quite well. The story is still jam-packed with appreciated detail, including stuff like the X-Men's first baseball game and the Big Deal revelation that Wolverine's claws aren't part of his costume. more

Bullseye hunts the characters left over from his miniseries. That doesn't quite jibe with the last issue and it makes OML feel like a guest star in his own title. Aside from that focus drift, this is an outstanding caper story. Nice pacing, solid tough-guy dialogue, and the art is simply magnificent. The plot actually gets stronger on a second read; nothing written or drawn here is accidental. I can't wait for the next issue. more

Knull delivers the origin of his symbiotes. It's Epic with a capital "E." It makes a glorious connection to Thor and slots the Beowulf scene from #1 firmly into place as fulfilled foreshadowing. Some very slight storytelling faults - the occasional clumsy word choice, visual details turning into background noise - are more than countered by the powerful, mythological force of expert world-building. more

A society of world-class sadists meets up to share their passion and Moon Knight invites himself along. The slightly sophomoric stories of the sadists are livened up considerably by strong structure, excellent art, and a beezer of a cliffhanger. It's a pretty transparent "homage" to de Sade's 120 Days, but I like the modern touches like throwing a Terry Richardson analog into the mix.

This issue eventually gets around to pushing the "Curt Connors wants Peter as a student" plot through a couple of promising developments, including an excellent last-page surprise. The first scenes are still going a little heavy on the "I am Spider-Man! Look at me Spider-Man-ing all over the place!" characterization. MJ name-checking "fresh start" was pretty cringe-y, too. The art is growing more impressive, using smart conservation of detail to make things look clear and bold without getting simplistic or flat. more

Princess Fisk's story continues with some ambiguity and Lunella decides it's time to solve the brain-switching problem. Results are, of course, unexpected. The issue rolls along with the title's usual high standards of storytelling skill, particularly in the art. On the script side, I begin to suspect that scenes petering out inconclusively is a chronic problem for this creative team. It probably bugs grownup readers more than kids. The brain-switching does tend to make it more notable.
more

After some more fighting, manly soldier-talk from Rhodey convinces Frank to surrender himself. It's a satisfactory end of one chapter - feels like we got full value out of the Punisher War Machine premise - and the final pages promise we're headed straight into another adventure. The manly talk was excellent and the art was pretty solid. One exception was the portrayal of Ghost's powers; I found that part a bit underwhelming. more

The O5 X-Men fight Magneto to keep him from killing Emma Frost. The script is mainly concerned with didactic character work - there's a bit too much "shouting how I feel." The art is something special, with a strong command of bold, simple character work. Unfortunately, the script just doesn't invest enough creativity in the mechanics of the big fight. We're stuck mainly with exquisitely talented renderings of mutants flexing through bog-standard combat poses. This is definitely a good comic, but it could definitely have done more.

On a strategic note, I dislike the way this author is foreshadowing Extermination. He's stuffing the O5 full of "we won't be here much longer" sentiment, and their sense of impending doom reads as though they've gotten a sneak peek at the scripts to come.
more

Bob's story rapidly grows more complicated as his "parole" arrangement breaks down and the Sentry gets loose. This issue was a big leap forward for me; I like it when the divide between Bob and the Sentry is emphasized. The characterization is good and grim, the plot is twisting in an interesting way, and the art is stronger. The visuals could use an even bigger separation between Sentry World and the real world, though. more

Johnny and Ben have suffered through de-powered life for two months, and now Ben's masquerade breaks down. Johnny confronts the fact that their family is dead. Powerful character work and excellent dialogue pull this up out of the ordinary, but the rough visuals rob the script of its full potential. The art feels like a watching a pair of random Steinbeckian "ordinary joe" characters reciting lines; there are very few points where I actually believed these joes were Johnny and Ben. The words coming out of these strangers are awfully powerful, though. more

Deadpool collects his supporting cast and tries to recruit the Hellhouse into fighting the Assassins' Guild with him. Finally, the purpose of this series becomes clear: to merge some OG 90s Deadpool threads into his current continuity. That's a mighty modest goal for so many pages, and this issue gives a perfect demonstration of the indulgent way the creators go about it. Wade does an action montage of merc jobs with Threnody. It takes 7 pages to show 12 gigs - very stylish, but also very definitely filler. For other readers, this might easily be a good comic. It fails a subjective but vital test for me, though: I have absolutely zero interest in ever re-reading this. more

Madrox's future selves blip him into a cheap "Days of Future Past" dystopia where one of his dupes is the Evil Emperor. There's a resistance movement carved out of his backstory, the characters snark a bunch at each other, and the timey-wimey plot begins to swallow itself. I disliked this issue pretty thoroughly, but I think my unfamiliarity with the character is as much to blame as anything. It's something that stronger writing or better art could surely get me past, though. more