It's predictable filler, but so is peanut butter. And I happen to enjoy small-scale superhero rumbles that don't drag on and on for multiple issues, so I enjoyed this. I do wish Rosenberg had taken advantage of the plot's predictability and spent additional time fleshing out character details that would get lost in a more complicated story. The art ranges from energetic in some places (particularly the early panels with Allegra Madden) to a little stiff in others, and the young girl at the center of the plot looks downright maniacal. (Although I'm still not sure that wasn't on purpose!) On the other hand, after a long arc with high stakes, I enjoyed the reminder of what Black Canary normally deals with. This issue could have done more, but it's not bad. And as a bonus, I could easily lend it to a younger relative and not worry that either they or the issue would be irreparably damaged.

Some funny banter at the start, but overall this issue didn't congeal for me. tThe mini-stories felt like cheap lipgloss tastes; yeah, the strawberry flavor is unequivocally strawberry-flavored, but that's not the same taste as real strawberries. They felt generic and not particularly adroit at revealing elements of Dick Grayson's character that weren't made overt in earlier issues.

Goofy, gory, surprisingly charming. Better than actually watching Sharknado, anyway.

Although it's an understandable comparison to make, I don't feel as if Robinson's Scarlet Witch and Jason Aaron's Dr Strange are covering exactly the same ground. Del Rey's moody art style and the obvious regrets hinted at in Wanda's dialogue combined for a much more noir vibe than Dr Strange. Wanda, unlike Stephen Strange, begins her series struggling to moor herself after a long period of detachment from the world's concerns. Her quest to cure witchcraft is part of her attempt to reconnect with the world, and something that continues to distance her from the mundane. Her banter with Agatha appealled to me, even though pretty much all of the references to previous adventures flew over my head (as I have not read a title with either character before this). The mystery of What Ails Witchcraft feels a little nebulous to me, but connecting it to a totally gross and tragic series of murders provides a good motivation for Wanda to get to the bottom of it. Del Rey's art was a major reason I picked up the next issue, but sadly that appears to be a temporary state, as it issue 2 is drawn by Marco Rudy & subsequent issues drawn by yet more artists. I really liked the illustration of sound effects during the exorcism/demon fight. Bellaire's coloring in this scene is especially vivid, compared to the grayness present in scenes of mundane life.

Rudy's art is beautiful, but his layouts do not seem to be designed with readability in mind. Rudy's pages feel very fluid, but the path the eye is lead on rarely seemed related to the order in which things should be read. This was a big problem for me during the long, banal conversation between Wanda and Hekate. Rudy's reluctance to use gutters led to a number of places where elements from one page nearly aligned with elements on the opposite page, which meant my eye kept being drawn onto the next page prematurely. Or worse, abruptly dead-ending in the fold, because something looked as if it should carry over onto the facing page, but clearly didn't. I spent way too long trying to figure out I was missing half of a double page spread or not. I understand the intention might have been to invoke a labyrinthine feel, but none of this effectively did that, nor did it serve the (pretty straightforward) story. As for the story, time would have been better spent on the Minotaur/Man-Bull instead of listening to Hekate say she doesn't really do witchcraft any more for the third time in as many pages. That was boring, and her state at the end of the episode simply shows how pointless it all was. The mostly one-sided conversation during the fight scene and the absence of small, fiddly reaction panels meant Man-Bull featured in the least confusing page layouts in the issue.

The switch to more conventional comic book art is a little jarring, but it's frankly a relief to get sensible page layouts again. That doesn't mean I'm thrilled to see a few panels of unrealistically low cleavage after two issues which didn't need boring shorthand for "sexy pretty lady" in order to signal that Wanda is stylish and charismatic. But it's not egregiously salacious or disproportionate, so YMMV. The less emotional art and colors set off a good contrast between mundane Ireland and magical happenings, especially when compared to the final two pages depicting the Witches' Road (Chris Visions' work). On the writing side, it's a little goofy to see dialect written down like this, especially since the Emerald Warlock can't possibly have retained his accent through the years. (Also because people don't normally transcribe accents to this extent anymore!) Still, I found the Warlock much more effectively chilling here than I did when he showed up at the end of last issue to kill a character who'd just spent the issue being very boring and not justifying her appearance therein. He may not be the world's biggest threat (or look like much of a threat at all) but dude will murder babies over a centuries-long grudge & that's still pretty damn evil IMO.

Dead Wife plot, uninterrupted by anything of interest. Sauvage gets 2 stars for having a style I enjoy, even when nothing that happens here is particularly memorable. 1 star to Robinson for at least creating a story which is easy to follow-- even if the subject matter is hopelessly cliche and predictable.

I'd be happy just to see Annie Wu's art (especially w/Vicente's colors), but now I'm sold on picking up anything else Detective Alice Gulliver appears in.

Good art, lots of interesting stuff packed into the first issue, but it's still a little awkward. There's a lot of exposition; and even though it isn't delivered in a dry & lifeless fashion, there is enough of it that this particular issue doesn't work as a satisfying stand-alone. Although I have high hopes, I'm inclined to wait and see how Coates handles an issue with less set-up and more action before giving this series a higher grade. OTOH, Coates certainly picked the right cliffhanger to bring me back for issue 2, as I am a total sucker for stories about siblings (when they don't get all Borgias about it, anyway).

I picked this up because She-Hulk was in it, and I enjoyed her and Daredevil lawyering at one another. I knew this book was funny from the Squirrel Girl crossover, & this issue confirmed for me that Howard the Duck deserves its place on rec lists everywhere. Sadly for me, bank accounts. But I'm glad I had the exra cash this month!

I'll confess to not being much of a Star Wars fan prior to The Force Awakens, so when I bought this issue, it was primarily to share with my roommate. Despite being lukewarm about Star Wars generally, Waid's dynamic characterization of Leia and the conflict he sets up between her and Evaan regarding loyalty, royalty, and adversity (sorry that doesn't all rhyme) quickly sold me on buying the next issue. But DO make sure you've seen A New Hope at least once in your lifetime before reading this! Even though the first page "crawl" tells you all you need to know, it really helps to start off already emotional engaged with these characters. Most people need more than a summary paragraph to do that.

Leia and Evaan's trip to Naboo zips along without losing any momentum from the first issue. Although unavoidable considering the target audience is people who are already Star Wars fans, the callback to Queen Amidala doesn't add much other than a great illustration. At least it's a reminder that Naboo's governing system is probably worse than our own, although I might prefer a longer explanation of who Lord Junn is and how he knows Leia, since I've never heard of the character before. Leia's memories of Bail's parenting lectures are perhaps my favorite parts of the issue. If Bail is representative of Alderaan's ruling class, it's very easy to understand why Evaan is such a committed royalist.

Finally, some proof Princess Leia and her family were not universally beloved by her people. (Although Evaan is quick to argue that Preserver Jora Astane & her followers are hardly living up to Alderaanians values.) It's nice to see a range of Alderaanians presented, since a sci-fi universe of Star Wars size makes it difficult to show cultural similarities without stereotyping entire planet/species/etc, a la the Planet of Hats trope. As a bonus, Waid knows how to balance angry shouting about ideological differences (my jam) with sudden blaster fights and rock monsters (also my jam, but jam that's kind of like the comics equivalent of pop songs using 4-4 time). I feel like the art was a fraction less appealing than the previous two issues, but that may be because rock tunnels aren't especially aesthetically interesting most of the time.

A good penulimate issue, although I would have preferred more time spent with Evaan than on Pareece and Jora. Tula and Tace's story ultimately felt a little one-note, although it made for an elegant example of how Leia's ethical and political values interact. Also interesting to note how how similar Evaan and Luke Skywalker share a similar aesthetic. It makes for a familiar feeling, even though Luke and Evaan don't seem particularly similar. The art in this issue again seemed a little rushed in some places, although never to the point of being jarring or unappealling. I guess having seen the earlier issues, I'm just a little spoiled!

"I wish there was more of this" is rather weak tea criticism, but it's true. This ends in the right place, but I would have preferred more time to get to know Pareece, Evaan, Beon and so on, before wrapping up Leia's quest to collect and protect the remaining Alderaanians & their culture. Obviously any of the characters introduced here could make further appearances in other Star Wars comics, but I doubt they will get as much development outside of this miniseries-- particularly since its conclusion seems to imply Leia has resolved the conflict between her work for the Resistance and her responsibilties as Princess of Alderaan by delegating (or outright handing off) the latter. That's a rather unsatisfactory resolution to an interesting conflict, even if it explains why Leia can devote 100% of her time to the Resistance in the next two movies without having abandoned her fellow refugees from Alderaan. This is a solid miniseries, definitely a good place to start for fans of Princess Leia or Star Wars in general. At only 5 issues, it's also a manageable commitment for Star Wars fans who want to see more without drowning in a continuity-dense, ever-expanding universe of new canon.

Still gripping & exciting melodrama, decades after its original publication. Jean Thomas and Linda Fite successfully dramatize both the everyday and the extraordinary parts of their heroines lives. I was sorry when I got to the end of it. The Daredevil story at the end was an abrupt tonal shift, with seemingly no connection other than the Night Nurse name. I can't help but feel Night Nurse's appearance in Dr Strange: The Oath would've meshed better with the original work. All in all, I greatly enjoyed the original Night Nurse stories & would've happily read much more about these characters.

"Mole Ma'am" haha. Had to deduct .5 stars because the bubble depicting the "Brotastic Brad" has a coloring error in my copy and also the next issue didn't immediately appear in my hands when I finished this one, which was a serious disappointment.

Liu is a master at creating stories with real depth to them & Takeda's art has never been better. The first issue greatly benefits from getting 66 pages to hook you, since there are a lot of characters to introduce, mysteries to hint at, and expository details necessary to follow along. But it's worth it.

I have little to say about the main story beyond "yes, good, more", but adding the Professor Tam Tam section at the end was a good idea. It helps flesh out the world without bogging down the main story. Plus it's nice to see Tam Tam's adorable kitten students after many pages of horrific monster murders. But these pages aren't cute for cute's sake either: Knowing that there are beings in Maika's world who are not as involved in brutal violence as a way of life gives the reader a better understanding of Maika as well.

Relentlessly interesting.

Finally, we get to see more of what Arcanic society looks like, PLUS more monster. As an aside, I'm loving the way even background characters in this book tend to just coincidentally be female. Finally, a fantasy world where women seem to actually take up 50% or more of the population!

Everything I've ever wanted in a Wonder Woman comic since I was a little girl. My one quibble is that I'd prefer that the Amazons place the goddesses at the center of their Pantheon rather than follow the more familiar Zeus-led model; but it honestly feels churlish to complain when DeLiz is doing such a great job presenting us with a model of Amazonian civilization that feels both like Paradise and like a real place.

Am I still enthralled by this? Yup.

YUP, STILL A PERFECT TEN.

If I had read this when I was still 8 this would have been the most exciting comic I'd ever read and a not-insignificant part of me still feels this way.