No. Absolutely no. I'm not a JrJr fan, but this is the first time his "art" (I use the term loosely) was SO distractingly awful (or is it "awfully distracting"?) that I had to force myself to read the text balloons - and I still kept skipping bits. I'll try again tomorrow. Well, maybe.

I kept waiting for something interesting or essential to happen. Nope, not here, not here either, oops, it's the end already. One of the worst comics I've read in a long time... and the art was nothing to write home about either.

...must... ignore... tilted... panels... Nope, can't do it, again a completely unreadable issue (I forgot what I had read as soon as I closed the book), for 100% caused by the Terrible Tilted Layouts. I _did_ ask you to stop doing that, didn't I? ;-P

In photography, tilting a picture is the equivalent of turning your head to look behind you (Try it! Everything goes tilty!) and looking at too many tilted pictures can even cause a real literal pain in your neck. The constantly tilted pages, frames & texts in this series have become, by now, SUCH a pain in the neck that it's nearly impossible to follow the story anymore. So here's my Sturgeon Generic Ale Warming: don't read this book. Your neck muscles will love you for it. (My rating is strictly for the coloring and the lettering. And -as Stan Lee might have said- the staples of the printed version. But the rest is a headache. Stop it.)

You know, I _really_ wanted to like this book. I really did. But half of the writing is choppy and/or rushed and clearly intended for people who are already familiar with the subject(s), and the other half is downright condescending and made me feel talked down to, as if the authors wanted to say "Now you know how Black people must have felt in those days". Same goes for the art, which varies from OK to downright _bad_ (I mean, just look at page 7 of "Black Russians"... was the editor pressed for time, so they just snuck it in?) and if you want to do a piece on an important Black musician, GET HELP from someone who can draw guitars, keyboards[1] & drums, or at least use reference photos. (The Internet has millions of those.) If mr Prince really started out on a guitar like that, it's a bl**dy miracle he progressed anywhere beyond the C major chord. You had the chance to do something beautiful here. And then you blew it. :'( . [1] This is the easiest one, so pay attention! Any ordinary keyboard is divided into groups of 7 white keys, called C D E F G A B + repeat until you run out of keys (or, if you're into the Sound of Music, which I must have seen 7 times when I was a child: doe, ray, me, far, sew, la, tea & back to doe), with the C on the left of the 2 black keys. (To complicate matters: not all keyboards start with a C, so you need to know where to find one!) In between those 7 white keys are 5 (FIVE!) black keys, grouped as 3, skip 1, 2, skip 1, so the order becomes: W B W B W B W + W B W B W (& repeat). End of lesson! ;)

Up to now, this was a pretty OK book. But the blood & gore & torture stuff in this issue was _really_ too much. In fact, it was _so_ much too much, I've completely lost any interested to see how it will play out. Bye, guys.

And *poof* ...my review disappeared. So I'll just do the rating and repeat: very pretty pictures, very old school, but the story was nigh incomprehensible. Oh well, this way I've at least spared you the "Starlin Sock" story. :P

A fitting place for Jae Lee's art - but didn't the writers know that muslims recognize Jesus as the penultimate prophet and therefore would never call him "false"? I hope this will be explained later on, because it makes the book sound a lot like anti-islam propaganda & not something I'd recommend. Yes, I know it's supposed to be satire, but it just doesn't _read_ as such. Also, most characters are wafer-thin - not something I'd expect after a Second Coming (including various -probably real- miracles). Finally, when comparing this title to "that other Second Coming" book, it _does_ fall hopelessly short, and already forgetting most of it 15 minutes after reading just won't do, guys!

Rather underwhelming. Readers deserved a lot more - except the ones who loooove 2,000-page slugfests, cuz it totally reads like one. The art is nice, though. :P (Bytheway, the whole "Space Ship Hulk" thing still fails to grab me. Maybe a 2 or 3 year Hulk-Hiatus is in order to give poor Bruce some R&R time after everything he had to go through in the "Immortal Hulk" run?)

Still rather underwhelming, just like the first two installments. What happened to "...but then, he/she/it/they picked B instead of A... with DIRE consequences!" You know, like what other What If's are supposed to be about. The art is nice, though.

Looks nice, but also very familiar - a bit *too* familiar even. What imho still could save it, is that proves to be a true new corner of the Valiant Universe & part of the official Valiant timeline, and not just something that easily could have been presented to us by a completely different company, and have a Wolverine appearance around #7 or #8. (Or maybe a new "The Speed" / OA apprentice?) Just make it a REAL Valiant book please, because, right now, it's really NOT. And "The Pure"?? Now, REALLY!

Maybe it just took 3 issues to get used to one another (including me), but this time I somehow got into the "feel" rather easily - although another trick might've been not to read this book as a Marvel comic, but mix it up with a few non-Marvel/non-DC books. Anymoo, this time I think I got it, and I've actually become curious what will happen next! in short: carefully recommended, just don't put it in your Marvel stack ;)

Nobody's reading this? Even when you can decide for yourself how much you want to pay for it? C'mon, give it a chance! It's different, it's fun, and I really like it, so there must be at least one other person who likes it too! Hello? Anybody?

Judging by the cover I had expected something *much* worse, but the first pages seemed quite readable, so frak it, I'll have one! As I'd hoped, it was much better than expected, not as childish-over-the-top as I'd feared, just normal-over-the-top, and fitting rather well between the other parts of the "Day of Blood" mini-saga. Just a bit of a breather & in the only spot where it would have fitted. IDW took a bit of a risk here, but it worked!

What an extremely weird book! But it's the good kind of weird, and if they keep this up, they might last as long as the original Defenders series (152 issues). And I love, love, LOVE Taaia, so keep her around! Only... no Dollar Bill this time... please no Dollar Bill! :D

TAAIA IS BACK! Yay! (I had hoped for this 'cuz she was totally cool in the last Defenders' iteration.) Loki never had a very well caught insaner (is that a word?) & Frightening (to the readers) look in his/hers/its/thines/thoues eyes, and even Tigra unexpectedly made me LOL. (Since we don't have spoiler tags, it's in her second panel.) Art & story went together seamlessly, although the pacing was a bit uneven in places (which is not unusual in first issues, so thou areth forgiventh) & which made the story feel kind of a bit too short... four or five extra pages would've been ideal imho. Anymoo, it immediately made me fly over to rant about it, and that's usually a good thing. ;) In short: very promising start, if you liked the previous Defenders, you'll like these too, TAAIA IS BACK (yay!), recommended! . ...now if only someone could inject a bit of the "Steve & Steve" -Englehart & Gerber- madness of yore, which was my fave Defenders period before other writers killed it totally dead (and don't even START about D.A.K.'s Dollar Bill), it would be perfect - but you're close! P.S. TAAIA IS BACK (yay!) :D

Whoa!! From one shock to another in this new addition (I hope!) to the Milestone Universe. And I've got absolutely not even _one_ percent of a snippet of an idea where this story will take us! So yes, color me surprised. Most definitely. [10 minutes later] according to the other reviews (which I never read _before_ doing a review), it seems nearly everybody has been made as curious as I am! :D

After four installments that, for me, definitely fell into the category "well, erm, yes, OK, but, anyway", we finally get an issue that fully was worth the time spent reading it, and completely made sense from start to finish. Recommended.

To be completely truthful, this book contains issues 3-7 of the 5(!)-piece 2020(!) miniseries, of which only the first 2 were published; #3 was never released. It's distinctly possible that #5-7 were going to be put together to make an extra-large #5. It's also a quite enjoyable read, and it's nice that all the work having been done, finally found its way to us, readers & us, Gwen-fans. The only thing I disliked were the period-discrepancies, like the back-then-unthinkable computer stuff, which is supposed to make younger readers relate better. (No, I don't believe it either.)

What totally jumped into my face was how _readable_ this book was. The story smoothly flowed from panel to panel from start to finish and I never had to crank up my concentration or revisit earlier panels, like: huh what? who was that again? (Which regularly happens with, for instance, most of Marvel's X-books) The only point of criticism was that everything could've been just a _mite_ more intense, but, since this is an "Alpha" book, where stuff needs to be put into place first (also, it wouldn't do if the pacing starts to sag in the next installment), you guys are forgiven. ;-)

IDW's recent Star Trek books have all been a pleasant surprise, and this one isn't an exception. Loved the mini-fights between all couples (romantically or otherwise), and yes, I'll admit it, I'm still having this mini crush on Lily, who, while occupying the same spot as a certain Wesley C., is very busy being absolutely everything that W.C. was not, AND in an integral & important part of the story in a "really smart & valued crew member" sort of way. (Also, she's cute. Erm... I'm not rambling, am I?)

Didn't really expect much... I'm not into horror, and there was that typical scratchy newfangled ho-hum artwork again, but hey, let's give it a chance! At 2/3 I was hooked! It became really exciting & suspenseful (is that a word?), and I had to keep myself from turning the pages faster and faster (you probably know the feeling, even with digital versions). And, oh no, the closet monster is _real_ and it's going to... [sorry, spoilers!] In short: very well written (still no fan of this kind of art tho'), very believable 3-dimensional characters, great suspense, recommended!

Ah, finally! If you've seen my previous "What if Miles Morales..." reviews, you might remember I thought the first 3 installments were rather underwhelming. And Miles as Thor sounded like an attempt to make things even worse. Now while this issue probably isn't everybody's cup of Warriors Beverage (prune juice?) it was so for me. While still being a completely ridiculous concept, it didn't shy away from that, but totally embraced it in a really fun way. In short: not for everyone, truly ridiculous, great fun, recommended! (And an unexpected plot twist to boot!)

Ginormous "Awwww!" content! I actually *felt* for those two, can you believe it? :D Also, one of the very few times I'm wishing with extreme loudness that the 2nd arc should start, like, RIGHT NOW? Pleeeeease? ;) But why not a 10, you ask? Well, there was a spot where the timing sagged a bit - a book that literally races from scene to scene to scene (yes, they made me hold my breath in places!) isn't the bestest spot for lengthy monologues... I subconsciously skipped a few bits during the first read, so subtract 1 point here - but add an extra half-point for Mag *not* saying anywhere "I'm the Doctor, run for your life!" but boy, did I hear her *think* it! OK, I'm weird, sue me. :P

What would happen if all humans suddenly got one genie each, able to fulfill one single wish? Yep, you got it, UTTER CHAOS! :D In short: what a concept! what a book! what a grueling wait for the next issue! Definitely recommended!

Very very very nice art & goes seamlessly with the story. More please!

Loki #4 is a prime example how well art can fit a story, and how a story should fit the art. Especially the art (after all, this *is* a visual medium) is "just right"... not a single panel is overdone or underdone, and all images keep a clear distance from the popular "itchy scratchy" style that always makes comics look like there's an urgent deadline lurking in the shadows, waiting to pounce upon the artists, the writers and Us The Readers. (And buyers.) It's sad that "just right" has become a bit of a rarity, but I'm truly happy it still can be done, even making the story appear a couple of pages longer than it actually was in the process. (Happens when one gets "drawn in" a bit :D ) In short: Great conclusion to the miniseries, BUY, BUY, BUY THIS BOOK! (And the ones before that if you haven't done so yet - which accidentally rhymes.) And, oh yes, NEXT VOLUME PLEASE, if possible with the same team!

Lying Cat is back! And yes, he/she/it made me grin loudly again! When great series return to the fold, they're more often then not somewhat disenchanting... but no, not Saga! After the shock ending in #54, I was very afraid B.K.V. had written himself into a corner (after all, most of us LIKED Marko!) But instead, three years later, life had positively carried on as life often does, with Hazel having loads of fun with her new si--- (oops, almost spoilered something here!), and the little shocks we've grown used to might have been a tiny bit toned down, but after an hiatus that's really not a bad thing... they still were unexpected as ever, and the tiny dose of muting actually made them better and ...shockier? (is that a word?) Hey, it was SO good, it even made me do this little review! (Um... did I mention yet that Lying Cat is back? And I still want one more than ever! :D :P ) Conclusion: Great goin' guys & gals! It shone brightly again, and as well as we all hoped for!

Powerhouse Clea! Yeah! :D Anymoo, it's good to see Clea again for a couple of continuing issues. (Yes, I know she's the main character, so she's supposed to.) Writing & art flow seamlessly together in a story about... criminal empires! OK, who would have guessed that? ;) Definitely recommended. Also, try to get NEVER on Clea's bad side. Ye gods, the (extremely well) visual & textual portraited (is that a word?) _anger_ of that woman! :O

Help me out here... I just _know_ I've seen something like this in comic book form before, but even the most logical search terms on Google ring no bells. Anybody? Other than that: great book, exciting story, great art, can't wait until #2 comes out, definitely recommended!

I'll admit, I was a bit afraid that the creators wouldn't be able keep the quality of the 1st issue as extremely high as it did, but _they_ did - the only difference is that this issue went for depth instead of surprise. In short: recommended to the 2nd power! (And KEEP! YHE! QUALITY! COMING! PLZ! :D ) ...OMG, this book is really SO darn good!... :D :D :D

I'm amazed, flabbergasted... how on Arakko do they manage to keep the quality level THIS high? Also, the build-up from 8 seconds to 8 hours, to 8 days really helps to build suspense like crazy, you just _can't_ stop thinking how things will unravel even further after 8 genie-infested _weeks_! (Only... #5 will probably be about the first 8 months, then 8 years, then 8 centuries, then... ...then what? 8 Big Bangs? :D ) In short: YES!! Recommended!! (Loudly even!) :D