KittyNone's Profile

Yeah, I hated this finale. I feel like it's such a betrayal of what that first issue promised, and how it resonated with so many readers. The first issue resonated with me because it spoke to this collective sense that our lives are not our own, that there are forces outside of our control that have directly or indirectly changed the course of all our lives for the worse. In the years since, this feeling has only manifested more as the tyrants at the top continue to make it impossible for us to live our lives how we wish to live them.

This comic is fluff. It has very little to say, it is overflowing with aesthetics. It wants to appear to be a title about family. It wants to appear to be about anti-fascism. It is about neither. Nothing is given time to be reflected on. Harry at one point asks Peter why he's been so passive, and we get a flashback that doesn't really answer the question. He's passive because... he has MJ and the kids? Isn't that in direct conflict with the idea of power and responsibility, even in the butchered, meaningless, mangled version presented in this issue? But you know, Peter seems to be fine with his family being in danger, since we never see any consequences for it or him. Hell, even in this finale, there are zero stakes. Richard must save the world and die in these impossible odds, except actually he's fine.

And to get into the politics of it all, which I will grant colors me extra annoyed here, Hickman is not a stupid writer. He writes things with intent. I don't know what his intent was here, but everything about this issue is repugnant. While you have the Ultimates comic actually deconstructing fascism and showing how people overcome it, this comic insists that passivity is the best course of action. Peter has all these morals on the surface that never get directly challenged, and the comic even subverts them. Peter is anti-killing and anti-torture, on the surface. But he can only defeat Kingpin with biotech Harry and Otto tortured out of a Bullsesye, and so he does, and the day is saved. Except the day isn't saved. With Kingpin dying, he's been replaced by Mysterio, another tyrant at the top. One that gives the people the mercy of ignoring them. And the cast seems fine with it, and why wouldn't they? They get to ignore the problems because the powerful aren't targeting THEM, plus they have millions and millions of dollars now off the back of crime, so they're now unburdened by socioeconomic factors. Everything is fine as long as THEY are okay. The Maker is still in charge, the elite still rule over us, but it's really about family. Peter wasn't missing anything, he just didn't know that he should've been happy with his station in life, the fool.

This title was so many unfulfilled promises, so much fluff, and the joke is on us as the readers for buying it and expecting consequence.more

For the first time since the inaugural storyline, Diana seems to be up against a villain that is truly her ultimate match. Great character work as always is mixed with drama, suspense and action as the subplot with Cale enters a new, more dire phase. Between this issue and this week's Absolute Batman 16 featuring Diana, it's a fantastic week to be an Absolute Wonder Woman fan!

Eliza's FACE in that one panel. Holy FUCK.

This book was promising and beautiful. DC editorial can go eat worms for cancelling it. Transphobes stay angry, bitter and isolated. You are creatures of hate and cannot win.

Really enjoying the ambivalent line Orlando & Chang tread here between "Wanda is a confident sorceress at the apex of her power doing what's necessary even when the powers that be disapprove" and "Wanda is a loose cannon swollen with hubris and failing to understand that the guardrails she's leaping over serve a purpose". I'd drifted away from Orlando's Scarlet Witch for a bit, but this solidly ha s my attention once againmore

What a way to end Kelly's first year on ASM. Writing for both JJJ and Norman was stellar and I liked all the developments here. Especially the final pages, I did not expect this direction. JRJR's art also worked really well, even if slower paced issues are not his strength as much as more action-focused are.

One could think why I praise this comic, while also dissing USM so often. Even if the problems are the same: "no focus on Peter, no development on his side and overall plot moves slowly".

Difference is: we see Peter again in the next issue and have seen his growth. There are also isn't a month long timeskip to the next issue, where everything this issue focuses on is ignored. And the two major character in this book talk about themselves and how Peter (you know, the guy who *SHOULD* be the main focus of a Spider-Man book) has affected them and how they have treated him.

Amazing stuff. Keep cooking Kelly.more

Hilarious and big-hearted, just like a Spider-Man story should be. In my dream world, Rainbow Rowell writes a more intimate, small-scale secondary Spider-Man series that's reliably superior to the main one

Everything Rainbow Rowell touches turns to gold.

I loved this issue. So so much. What a blast. Thank you Joe and Pepe. I needed this.

And also, if you had told me one year ago that I would sing praises of ASM while being disappointed by USM issue after issue, I would've asked what you are smoking and if I could have some.

I wasn't sure if I was going to pick this one up since Imperial was a big disappointment for me and I've found MacKay counfoundingly unreliable - sometimes one of the best writers working today, sometimes underpowered and forgettable.

But with this I think I've finally got him figured out: what MacKay is best at is writing weird little C-listers that nobody much cares about. Give him X -Men and this tendency stumbles into fanservice targeted at the specific interests of just one fan with the major characters nothing but pale imitations of other writers, but let him just tell a story about an underappreciated character and he can work magic.

The first issue of Nova has me optimistic that this is going to be more Moon Knight than Avengers. Mackay's script speedruns through the setup of a strong central concept without feeling rushed and then jumps deftly into the actual plot, the sci-fi equivalent of a noir detective story where the space gumshoe reluctantly agrees to solve a mystery for the worst people in town. And Alvaro Lopez's art is gorgeous, evoking the clean elegance of Javier Rodriguez (if not Rodriguez's extraordinary creative ambition).

A strong start for a book I almost passed over! I'm properly excited to see where this one goesmore

After seven issues that never quite rose above the level of "fine", at long last we get an issue firing on all cylinders, right from that slap-in-the-face first panel. Even Lindsay, whose art hasn't quite been up to the high standards set by the other Absolute titles, finds things to sink his teeth into here

So so wholesome and fun. What makes holidays worth it is the company we choose to surround ourselves with.

Strongest issue so far. Mixing and melding old and new history while creating something new wholesome and beautiful.

this is what a "filler" or slice of life issue should be like. It should still be written well and made me care about the characters. This is my definitive supergirl series

Never have I rooted for the villains, but Greg Rucka's expert writing makes me want to root for the villains to rob the Justice League

Please Marvel, let this be longer!

The conclusion feels emotional if not ever so slightly rushed, but still hits all the right beats and leaves a tiny bit open-ended for when Rainbow Rowell (hopefully) writes her next Runaways series. These characters deserve at least one more series.