I was underwhelmed by the Hellfire Gala issue. Turns out, all of my subjective whelming was waiting for this follow-up that establishes the new status quo.

Maybe I should average my ratings for the two together? Nah, I'm a "take each issue on its own merits" guy.

This issue has some formidable damn merits. The writing's pretty good, the art is spectacular, and it's positively stuffed with intriguing plot and character developments. It does right by Ms. Marvel (except for her bangs situation) and successfully establishes Shadowkat as a force to be reckoned with.

Gerry Duggan and his artist partners have a real talent for dialing up the quality exactly when my enthusiasm for the title is flagging.
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This is far better than a one-off "breather" issue has any right to be. It helps that there are great depths to explore in Hunter's Moon, and this digs deep and strong.

The structure is elegant, the pace is smooth, and there are some epically good lines in the dialogue. Even on the art front, where I'm usually underwhelmed by this title's low-detail style, I can't find a fault. Movements and expressions come through with perfect clarity, and the settings maintain a dark, dangerous mood.

This is simply a great comic, both by itself and as part of an ongoing story.
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It looks great and it reads smoothly. The plot unfolds slowly, but that's okay given how much world-building needs to be done.

Besides, I consider plot development to be a distant third priority in this issue. It's more important to organically integrate Kamala into the X-Men. I think that goal is achieved.

Most important of all, though: This issue assures me that Kamala is in good creative hands. There are tons of continuity links to her past experiences. What's even better is that she SOUNDS right and she has the right feelings and concerns.

I think I'm going to enjoy this series a lot.
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This issue spins gold out of straw. The Oz idea is cute but thin, and the explanation for the appearance of "Magneto" is inherently frustrating.

The creators gloss over these weaknesses with fast, smart, charming storytelling. The dialogue is distinctive and appealing, and the subject matter aligns perfectly with Lorenzo Tammetta's art style.

The introduction of an "Ideaverse" is one of those things I'd normally rake Steve Orlando over the coals for. It's a giant concept that's foreign to the Marvel Universe, but not original or compelling enough to hook my attention. ("Not original" in this case meaning it's been done A LOT. It was a particular favorite of Warren Ellis, if I remember right.)

But Scarlet Witch is the one title where Mr. Orlando keeps a tight rein on these left-field ideas, and I still love the results.

Digression about Jonathan Hickman's stupid GODS teasers: I read my comics through Marvel Unlimited, and I tend to work through a given week in alphabetical order. It's crazy that this randomly produced a chain of teasers--Fantastic Four>Moon Knight>Scarlet Witch--that seem to have logical plot progression.
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Wow, and I said LAST month's issue felt like Doctor Who!

But I also said last month that that Whovian feeling was not, subjectively, a bad thing, and I stand by that.

The art's decent and the writing is strong. There's plenty of great, weird world-building to make the war feel appropriately magical. There's an unrelenting insight into Stephen's character, showing the step-by-step process that broke him down into the General.

It's all very tragic. But it's not that surprising. If this issue has a fault, it's that you know exactly where it's going from the first few pages. Thus, I won't call it great. But it's still a good chapter in the ongoing story.
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This one-shot has a ton of great ideas going for it, but when they come together the result just barely squeaks into "good comics" territory for me.

The issue's greatest strength might be that it remains tense and engaging even though the plot is a simple high-concept jaunt without any big twists. In that respect, the storytelling is strong.

But on the flip side, the narrative never stays with any of the alien caretakers long enough to flesh them out or (in the case of the FF) deliver real insights. The art does good, clear storytelling (with some exceptions), but when the Four finally show up, they look mighty weird. For all the attention the author and artist lavish on the alien protagonists, they don't get particularly memorable.

This issue maintains the adventurous mood of the volume, but it's not going on my shortlist for the best of the run.
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My expectations are at rock bottom when I start reading one of these gimmicky crossover miniseries. But this one's a pleasantly surprising gem.

An interesting plot gets well underway, complicated by a few good twists. Mr. Hernandez delivers a compelling take on the Strange Academy kids. He has new ideas about them that he deploys without contradicting their earlier appearances. And he brings a heady dose of nerdy humor to the proceedings--provided you're not too self-conscious to appreciate it.

Unfortunately, the art is the Achilles' heel that holds my rating down. The various styles don't match, and the big visual change that happens in the last act is jarring. The issue starts off looking great, though.
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I was no great fan of Cullen Bunn's past multiversal events, so I opened this up with the lowest of expectations. I was fully prepared for off-putting "smash the action figures together" nonsense.

I was pleasantly surprised by the focus and polish this issue delivered. It's definitely an adrenaline-fueled action story, but it's a well-constructed and well-illustrated one.

What bumped it into "good comics" territory for me was coming across some real character work. Flash Thompson's relationship with Andi Benton/Mania plays a big role.

It turns out, having even ONE character with a better motivation than "he's evil and we're good so we must fight" makes all the difference for me.
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These are both pretty fun strips, although they're certainly lightweight and inconsequential (unless maybe Madelyne's magic spells come back to bite Janine and Pete?). The art might be the best feature. David López's work is always a treat, but I happen to like Julian Shaw's dynamic, cartoony style too.

This is cheese all the way through, but it's pretty tasty cheese at the start and the finish. The High Evolutionary's biblical/Frankenstein allusions and the way the narrative recenters on Genis-Vell's daddy issues at the end--the writing is good in those parts.

The art is powerful throughout if a bit dated. It really helped haul me through the fight scenes, where the dialogue dipped into the kind of cheese I don't like.

After two of these retro series, I'm finally coming to grips with Ron Marz. I can enjoy (or at least tolerate) his writing in most situations. Superhero combat is the big exception. His characters just zappy zap and scream cliches at each other while my eyes glaze over. But now that I appreciate his non-fight storytelling more, I can endure the fight scenes better.
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So there's this comic writing technique that I like to call "Divergent Narration." It's when a character or narrator talks in caption boxes over action playing out in the art, and the two threads aren't directly related.

This issue is stuffed absolutely full of Divergent Narration, and it shows a lot of the potential pitfalls. Magneto's endless inner monologue is the meat of the comic, but it frequently distracts from the actual plot developing in the panels. The problem is at its worst in the fight scenes.

The good news is, once you grit your teeth and commit to reading a lot of scenes twice, you find a decent flashback story developing here (albeit slowly).

I've always been a fan of Todd Nauck's art, and his skills seem to have sharpened since I saw him last. His characters have vivid, cartoony bones, but his panels are finished with top-shelf polish.

Finally, snarkily: Maybe this series will shut up some of you grognards who moan and whine every time the label "New Mutants" is applied to anyone except the original 80s Claremont kids. They don't get much spotlight yet, but these are definitely the OG NMs.
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"Ben Grimm is ashamed of his monstrous appearance" is a pretty played-out vein. Creators have been mining it for 60 years. Still, this issue tackled it with enough storytelling skill in the words and art that I was initially on board. It continued to look and sound good all the way through.

But the proposition that Ben Grimm is a weak man; the trite, Nietzschean theme at the end; and the gratuitous killings curdled my enthusiasm.

(Also, the absence of Johnny Storm--the team member BUILT out of anti-symbiote powers--was awfully conspicuous.)

I can't deny it's a story told fairly well. But I question if it should have been told at all.
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I wonder what Romeo thinks about Bobby smooching cute guys while he's out heroing?

Unfortunately, there's no time to dig into substantive questions like that, because this issue is wholly taken up with laboriously expositing Iceman's new status quo. It doesn't help that Steve Orlando's preferred method of exposition--introduce something mysterious, then slowly circle back to explain it later--eats up a lot of page space.

What little characterization does appear is also bulky, using lots of words elliptically in an attempt to sound realistic. It's a pale (and annoying) imitation of early Joss Whedon dialogue.

The art does a better job of building the world without slowing down the story. And it looks pretty snazzy as it does it.

I think there are intriguing ideas here. I just wish they were conveyed in a smoother, faster narrative style.
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Almost everything from the previous issues comes together to create a thoroughly satisfying finale. (Chekhov's Bulkhuster, anyone?) The day is saved, Jen gets the right guy, and there's an ample serving of humor salted all the way through. A solid supporting role for a well-written Ben Grimm is the icing on the cake.

The visuals make for another formidable lesson in the potential of minimalism. I particularly like the command of character size--Jen is always clearly the biggest hero in the room.
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I'm not a big Hulk scholar, but surely this isn't the first time he's gone up against zombies? No matter. The story at hand is told with confidence and intrigue.

Without slowing down the arc, we also get some good character work. We learn more about Bruce's status quo, and we watch Charlie shape up into a compelling sidekick.

This title remains poised on the brink of greatness. The way the creators build such dreadful tension in this issue makes me hope that greatness is where we're headed.
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It's a tense, bustling climax. The cast is big and fun, the action is fast and furious, and the art is pretty damn gorgeous. Benjamin Percy loads in some of his finest tough-guy dialogue in the early scenes.

Unfortunately, it unravels a bit at the end. The resolution resolves very little, and it arrives too suddenly.

The final scenes are why I think it's not quite great. Everything that comes before tells me it's very good, though.
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The words and art are next door to greatness, and the reading experience is fun. No, there's not a lot of plot progression. We get lots of villain introduction and stage-setting, instead, which is nearly as good.

I quibble over the range of interest I have in the Ashen Combine characters. Some are just more intriguing than others, both visually and conceptually. But the same could be said of the Black Order--of whom they remind me (maybe a little too much).
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The murder mystery is resolved with sound logic and powerful thematic ties to Patsy's past. It unfolds slowly and painfully, relayed with emotional art and strong words.

But it's not surprising, and it's not as profound as the creators hope it to be.

It's leagues away from bad, but its full potential relies on a big reader buy-in. And even if you're wholly on board with the creators' approach, the reward is a bittersweet, ambiguous ending.

It's an exhausting comic. But I don't regret engaging with it.
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The story takes some excellent twists. Some are absurd, some are surprising, and all are fun. They're conveyed with clarity and realism, particularly in the dialogue. Wade and Valentine's relationship evolves engagingly.

I do love clear art, and this issue's visuals are very clear. But they've also passed that tipping point where there's just not enough detail to call them good. They're not bad, and they're a strong narrative tool--there's just not enough meat on the bone.
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The fights and conversations are pretty cool, but this isn't such a hot read in terms of world-building. The idea of Tony Stark having a clone backup system is somehow fundamentally off-putting, and it begs for a lot more than an isolated one-shot to explain it. SHIELD's horrible alien-clone weapon is another oversized idea--but at least that one gets tied thematically to Deola's feelings in the final scene.

The art contributes a lot to my "stylish" judgment, but it's also a double-edged sword. The wide-open blocking and minimalist designs sometimes impede visual clarity.
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Emma is Duggan's Mary Sue.

When I set aside my big-picture grumbles about this title turning into an appendix to the author's X-Men shenanigans, I find it pretty enjoyable. The art is powerful and visceral, and the writing is engaging (when Tony's not doing his stupid autobiography narration).

By reading ahead in other titles, I spoilered myself about the changes in the Emma Frost/Tony Stark relationship. I was dubious looking at it in hindsight, but now that I'm reading it from the start, I think it's a very interesting development.
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The plot barrels forward, but in an expository fashion. There's not a lot of room for character work.

On the plus side, Ig Guara is going happily bananas with the pirate and demon art. Combine that with the fast pace and rising tension, and you have an issue that stays on the high side of "good comic." It helps that the series is maintaining a consistent "what happens next" intrigue--for me, anyway.
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The style takes a big swerve in both words and art, but there's enough interesting stuff happening to keep me engaged. And the new styles certainly aren't bad.

Torunn Grønbekk is up to her usual tricks, layering multiple points of view together like a messy narrative lasagna. She's getting good at it, though; it takes a little added attention to keep it all straight, but it's rewarding.

The art is remarkably consistent considering it's a collaboration. There's a touch of manga style to the characters. Ample detail and wonderfully moody shadows complete the picture.

The new elements added to the plot are intriguing, even if their place in the bigger puzzle isn't clear yet.
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This is a good example of what "high concept" means: A neatly encapsulated storytelling gimmick. It also demonstrates that a high concept isn't inherently bad; this issue's absolute commitment to its gimmick makes it a fun, novel one-off.

The art could be a little stronger (particularly when it comes to character anatomy), but it gets the job done.

This totally upends the Krakoan status quo while doing a lot more probably important stuff (like resurrecting Ms. Marvel) besides. It's hugely significant and it's stuffed with intriguing ideas.

I wish its storytelling was a hell of a lot stronger.

Visually, it's at the mercy of an artist carousel. It works well in the first act, where the artists do a good job massaging the couture splashes into the story without breaking the flow. The carousel becomes a huge hindrance once the violence starts and this becomes a regular superhero comic. Each shift in art style is another speed bump jolting me away from the story.

There's undeniably some good writing in the script. But Gerry Duggan has been leaning harder and harder on third-person past-tense narration, which I think is one of the weakest options available. ANY way you can convince readers that your story is moving and meaningful is better than having an anonymous, omniscient voice directly tell them, "That was moving and meaningful."

Finally, this issue features annoyingly tight ties to an FCBD teaser released over three months ago. And then when you go back to re-read that, you realize none of the artists on this issue handled Destiny and Mystique's dresses as well as Joshua Cassara did back then--even though he's one of the artists on the carousel here.
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The story makes sense and the characters are realistic/authentic. The climax is full of tragic irony, fitting the "Dark" theme. But the storytelling--in both words and art--is workmanlike, middle-shelf stuff. It's slow, expository, and illustrated with functional but forgettable visuals.

None of which is to say it's a BAD comic. This premise could produce a good or great comic without any big changes in the content. It'd just need some more creative horsepower.
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Four "dolts" in five panels is three dolts too many.

The resolution of this round of Spidey-Ock conflict is, subjectively, unsatisfying. See my comment on the previous issue--they obviously need to do some sort of brain balance, but this no-score draw just prolongs the problem. We'll have to slog through more Saturday Morning Cartoon Octavius the next time we see him.

At least the art's cool. And Norman's eulogy for Kamala is decent, if late.
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I won't sugarcoat this opinion: This is a shockingly sloppy script by Jonathan Hickman's standards. The dialogue is stilted and the action is paced like the author gets a bonus for slapping down plot points as quickly as possible.

I think the writing even undercuts the art. The visuals are polished and detailed, but the story's moving so quickly that I'm not as invested in the action as I want to be.

The reading experience was by no means bad--but I was aware throughout that it could be far, far better than it is.
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Basic storytelling conveys a basic resolution: A good ol' street brawl. Everybody on the scene gets something to do, and the action is tweaked by the clever use of Janine's magic masks, but ultimately it's just a punch-punch-punch climax.

There's nothing wrong with that, but not a lot special about it, either. It makes for an underwhelming finale.