I don't know what the hell I just read... but I love it! Shaolin Cowboy is back, with all the insanity that thought entails. Cruel to be Kin picks up where Who'll Stop the Reign left off - the Cowboy (who will always be Clint Mifune to me from now on) standing outside the Chick Inn, clutching his chest, possibly dying. The issue is largely flashback, as one of the talking monitor lizards that has a deal with the city to keep the streets clear of carrion relates the story of his childhood wandering the desert with the Cowboy. There's a kung fu fight with a giant lizard,and an encounter with Stuey-Hitler riding a flying jellyfish. Pure insanity, and yet I was able to buy in instantly. Not enough can be said about Geoff Darrow's artwork. The talent and craft on display in every panel is sublime. Dave Stewart's colors are understated, but perfectly suited to make Darrow's hyper-detailed artwork pop off the page. Truly a feast for the eyes. The story is thin, little more than an excuse for Darrow to draw whatever the Hell he wants, but the storytelling is fantastic. Page layout and panel composition are second-to-none. Everything just flows so beautifully. I will be checking out the next issue. AMITOFU!

Great followup to a strong first issue. Waid and Mora have captured lightning in a bottle. The art is on point, and the story is well plotted. The script is great, capturing the iconic personalities of these characters. Kudos to all. A few comments: I would dearly like to see a Mark Waid Doom Patrol series, based on the portrayal in this series. I'm not sure exactly when this takes place. It's tough to tell which Robin this is. It's doesn't appear to be Damian, based on personality. The best fit would be Dick, given the back and forth with Supergirl. The thing is, I don't much care. This comic was enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to what happens next.

Ghost Machine #! delivers value for the money. This is an oversized anthology that introduces the firest few comics from the Ghost Machine imprint. The production quality on this issue is top notch, the stories are short, more of a a sample than a complete tale, and there's a supplemental information about the various series. It's purpose is to whet your appetite, and it is highly successful. If you want a taste of what's to come to help make up your mind if you want to check these out, this will be helpful. If you're looking for a complete story expierence, you will likely be diappointed.

I'm really enjoying this series. Thorne and Co. have done a great job balancing the action and intrigue. The split format, with half taking place with John and the lanterns in the lost sector, and half following Jo and the lanterns on Oa keeps the story moving. The art is really working for me, particularly Tom Raney's art on the lost sector storyline.

...and they stick the landing! This issue was a satisfying end to a great series. Though I'm disappointed the series is ending after only 12 issues, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. The creative team successfully wrapped up the plots and sub-plots that were developed, reset the table for the next creative team, and planted some seeds for future stories. The art was solid, a bit more consistent than usual, actually. The cinematic shots of Oa and the lanterns were well executed and powerful. I enjoyed the nod to Jack Kirby, you could call it a stunt, but it made me smile. Kudos and best of luck to Thorne and Raney. I'm looking forward to more of their work in the future.

I really like John Stewart (best human Lantern, after Guy) so I was looking forward to this series. Phillip Johnson has been putting in work on Action Comics and The Hulk. He's a writer who seems to make an effort to understand the characters he's writing, so I was cautiously optimistic . I was not disappointed. My cover was the John Giang variant, and it looks fantastic. The interior art, by Montos, has a lot to recommend it. The art style is detailed and gritty, and fits the story being told. The horror elements depicted worked well and were chilling. The storytelling was good, with page layouts being clean and easy to read, and a relatively high panel count. There is only one splash page in this comic, and it's a good one. The colors are fine, if a bit dull. I have a single gripe, and that's that the credits were dropped as a 2 page spread over a green background. The script is very good, with natural dialogue and almost no exposition. Johnson lets the art tell the story, for the most part. Not much actually happens in this comic, but you won't mind, because what happens is good. We get a look at John's new status quo. The bad guys are introduced. A bit of a mystery is set up. We are reminded that John is not to be messed with. Solid beginning to a promising series.

This was great. They nailed the voice of the character, and the look - well, it's Denys Cowan. What more needs saying. Of all the Milestone books, this was the one I was most looking forward to. I was not disappointed. Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

This was s solid horror comic from a great storyteller. Piskor's affection for old EC Horror stories was evident, and his obsessive attention to detail is on full display. The style is a bit cartoony - which works for me, but mileage may vary. If you're familiar with horror comics, you can see the swerves coming, but that doesn't make them any less enjoyable.

I don't know if it's X-Men, but it's really good. I've never read anything from Peach Momoko before, and based on this issue, the loss is mine. The art is the obvious selling point for this comic, but ths story was suprisingly good. This doen't feel like a typical x-book, and that's a good thing. My complaints about the other Ultimate books (Spider-man and Black Panther) stem from them feeling like too much fan-service, and too much like stuff I've seen before. Ultimate X-men provides something that's been lacking, in my opinon, something different, and unexpected. It's also nice to see another comic that's set outside of the US. In a world without Professor X, there's no reason not to explore other options. The story is a slow-burn, with horror overtones. Reminds me of Rumiko Takahashi and Junji Ito. My only concers are 1) this may be too different for X-fans, and may not get the chance to become all it has the potential to become, and 2) that Momoko will only be around for the first arc or so, and subsequent creative teams will take the comic in a more mainstream direction. Hope I'm wrong. Either way, I'm along for the ride.

This may be my favorite issue so far. The art team continues to do a great job, and McKay continues to exceed expectations. I can see how leaning into the weird/mystical side of Moonkight may be a turn-off for some, but I'm enjoying it. Playing up MK's role as "protector of those who travel by night" is good take on the character, and another way of differentiating him from Batman (always hated that comparison). Including the house of shadows as a character is brilliant idea. Way to pick up a thread from Marvel history and bring it back into the weave. So far, so good. Keep it up.

This was a very good issue. The creative team continues to deliver a compelling story with dynamic and engaging art. The pacing was great, with transitions between flashback scenes and the present flowing well. There are some great visual flourishes, like when the Mission joins the fight, or the villain is revealed. I feel like MacKay and Cappuccio do a great job of making each issue a compete scene in a larger narrative. When I'm done with an issue of Moon Knight, I feel like I got a complete story.

Pretty solid issue. Knowing MK is going to die takes the suspense, and enjoyment out of it. Sabatini's art is enjoyable, and Rachelle Rosenberg deserves some praise for making this comic look great. It's on the dark side, but the mix of greens, blues, and yellows she blends in keep the black from being oppressive, and help Sabatini's figures stand out on the page. The story continues MK's assault on Black Spectre's HQ. Lots of action. Each member of the supporting cast gets a moment to shine, with the exception of Tigra, who stands around on a landmine, and needs to be rescued by Soldier (who, apparently, is a bomb tech, now). It's OK. Just OK. A lot of the suspense, and thus the enjoyement and excitment of this book is drained off by the knowledge that Marc dies next issue, and the series is ending. This has killed off most of my enthusiasm for this title, which I had been enjoying until "Last Days of Moon Knight" was announced. Since then, it's kinda hard to see the point. I was wondering if killing the main character off and replacing him was just MacKay's new schtick, like Ewing's "Immortal ______", or Cates' "God of ___________ ". Should I be expecting the wholesale slaughter and replacement of the Avengers? Guess we'll know in about 18 months. The fact that the same thing is happening in Ghost Rider, around the same time, has me leaning toward it beng an editorial mandate. I can only assume that sales are sliding. Since MK and GR are both relaunching, the very next month, with the same creative teams in place makes the obvious cash grab from a new #1 hard to ignore. I'll finish out the series. I may check out Vengeance of Moon Knight. There's not much mystery there either. The telegraphed the identity of the "new" Moon Knight at the bottom of page 7 in this very issue. I wonder, what's his sign?

&^#$@ it, they got me! This comic is great! Excellent art by Cappucio and Rosenberg. Mackay's story is well paced and packs an emotional punch. This was a very satisfying end to this series. I say that as someone who was highly skeptical, since LDOMK was announced, that this story line would be anyting more than a cheap cash grab, and an excuse to pump out another number one, next month. Marc's death, if dead in fact he is, was handled well. If you liked the end of No Time to Die, you will like this. My enthusiam for this series has been waning since Marcs death was announced. I nearly dropped the series with #26. I am exceedingly glad I didn't. Far from being disinterested in what comes next, I am enthusiastic for Vengeance of Moon Knight and will definitely be picking up the next series. I'd bet a signifcant amount of money the new Moon Knight is Zodiac, and I can't wait to find out.

This series continues to impress. Daniel Warren Johnson is an excellent storyteller, and this issue is gold. His page layouts are creative and interesting. The action flows so smoothly from panel to panel, it is a pleasure to read. There are 2 double page spreads in this issue, and they are fantastic. Mike Spicer's colors are great, too. The story doesn't move much in this issue, but we get some good character moments with Sparky and Carly - both are given a chance to shine. Skywarp is actually chilling as the main villain in this issue. We get to see Prime in action, and it is cinematic and spectacular. This issue is great. Highly recommend it.

This comic is awesome, and this series is fantastic. IF someone told me a few months ago that Transformers would be my most anticipated comic of each month, I'd have laughed at them. Looks like DWJ is getting the last laugh, though. The storytelling on display in this issue is top-notch. The art is great. Combining DWJ's sketchy style with throw-back transformer designs shouldn't work, but it does. The charaterization is excellent. The action is wonderful. Each scene has weight and emotional impact. Mike Spicer is killing it on the colors. The characters pop; everything looks great. The only comic reading experience I can compare it to is reading One Piece. Seriously.

I haven't been this excited about a Batman comic since Norm Breyfoggle was a regular penciler on Detetcive. This comic was really good - had a Dark Knight vibe that cannot be coincidental. The visual storytelling was top notch. I'm not familiar with Nick Dragotta, but this was impressive. The colors were a bit dull, but overall the art was just fine. The story was also fine. Well paced, good world building, decent dialogue, characterization was fine. I genuinely hope they do something different and new. Change everything, don't just rehash the greatest hits. The one disappointment was the introduction of the "Joker" - henceforth to be known as "The Joker Who Doesn't Laugh". Too soon. You can't drop The Joker in the first issue. You gotta earn The Joker. Curious to see where this goes.

This was strong finish to a series I really enjoyed. Sergio Davaila's art is much appreciated, and Spurrier's story and script were well paced and exciting. I'm always happy for an Elsa Bloodstone appearance, and I like Jacks as an addition to the Black Knight cannon. I liked the way Spurrier portrayed Dane, and I can understand why some people do not. The idea that his flaws are the source of the blade's power is a good twist, that's definitely a curse. Great ending page,too. Marvel should just bite the bullet and give Dane a regular series. I think this take, and this creative team, has some legs.

An almost perfect first issue. The creative team did a great job establishing the setting, setting up the main conflict, and seeding a few subplots. Tech-9, Wise Son, Fade, Flashback, and Holocaust are introduced, with the much of the focus being put on Tech-9. I would have liked to know more about these characters by the end of the issue (I"m an old Milestone fan, so I'm familiar with the characters, but new readers might need more information). The issue ends in a way that left me wishing it was 10 pages longer. It felt like part 1 of 2, and, as a rule, I think first issues should be complete stories, in and of themselves. It didn't end on a cliffhanger, exactly. I was left wanting more and will definitely check out the next issue. The art is flawless. Chriscross is seasoned pro, who's no stranger to Dakota. He has a distinct style that's immediately recognizable, and extremely relatable. This comic is some of his best work. He is able to communicate a lot using just facial expressions and body language. His action scenes are explosive and kinetic - no static poses or boring panels. He knows how to use splash pages to good effect, and his page layouts are always interesting. There's a splash of a graffiti drawing of Icon that gave me chills. Geoffrey Thorne's script is tight. I think he writes dialogue well, and he keeps exposition to a minimum, usually pairing words with action in classic show-don't-tell style. The pace is a bit slow, but there's a lot of work put into world building. Thorne captured the voices of the characters well. After reading this comic, I'm excited about this series, and looking forward to seeing what happens next. This comic gave me the same thrill I go reading the original Milestone comics, and I recommend it.

This looks like another strong addition to the Energon Universe. The art was on point - Andrei Bressan is an excellent artist, and his work on this issue was no exception. I'm less familiar with Dan Watters, but the pace of the story was good, and the dialogue was very well done - particularly the interactions between Destro and Cobra Commander.

This is a great stand-alone story that fits well within the context of the regular Moonknight series.The story is relatively simple, but has some flourishes, and some memorable panels - particularly the fogged glass. McKay has been consistently above-par with Moonknight. He brings back another character from Marvel history - Man Mountain Marko, and gives him his just deserts. The art team was adequate, a bit better than what you'd expect for an event-tie in. The characters were sketchy, but the story telling and composition were strong. I enjoyed this comic, and recommend it

Spurrier and Garbett stuck the landing. This comic is good. The story and art are above average. This issue provides a satisfying conclusion (at least for now) to Spurrier's "run" on Nightcrawler. Baddies vanquished. The Vulture's victims freed. We get a hopeful finale. Most important - we find out what that invisible Bamf in Kurt's head is- and it's pretty cool. Hat's off to the creative team for bringing it home. I hope Spurrier gets to do more with Nightcrawler. I like his take on the character. I think it's a shame his "run" has been so disjointed. He's been telling a continuous story, but to get it all you need Way of X 1-5, X-men: The Onlsaught Revelation, Legion of X 1-10, Nightcrawlers 1-3, X-men: Before the Fall - Sons of X, Uncanny Spiderman 1-5, and X-men: Blue Origins. That's a total of 26 issues.

Will the real Stephen Strange please stand up? Overall, this was a pretty solid issue. For all that it made use of 9 splash pages, the storytelling was strong (I mention this because splash pages are generally what lazy writers use to make you think you got value for your money). Pasqual Ferry's art has never looked better. His lines are clean, characters look good, he's great at using body language and facial expression to convey emotion. And the man draws backgrounds! Ok, the backgrounds disappear when the action starts,but I'll let that pass. Ferry makes good use of the page turns to reveal story elements and build tension, His page layouts are somewhat basic, but get the job done.The colors are beautiful. Heather Moore did a great job making this issue pop. The cover is by Alex Ross, normally, that's all that need be said, but it also reflects the actual story in the comic, and isn't just a pinup (looking at you, Thor #1). Jed MacKay continues to deliver a strong story with decent dialogue (Side bar: Dr. Strange and Thor are tough on dialogue, with a "By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth!" here, and an "I say thee, nay!" there, it can be easy for writers to get lost in the verbiage.). The exposition is delivered smoothly, and MacKay gives the reader credit for being able to keep up. A high point of the issue is Clea demonstrating that killer instinct we've heard so much about, but haven't really seen ("The Punisher in panty hose", indeed). Now it's time to talk about General Strange. From MacKay's frist foray into the world of Marvel's master magician, we have been getting one Strange after another. In "The Death of Dr Strange" a younger Stephen Strange magically excerpted from the past as a failsafe solves the murder of Dr Strange. In "Strange", we got "The Harvester", a dead version of Stephen Strange. Now we have General Strange, the ruthless wizard, hardened by millennia of war that is a future version of Stephen Strange excised from reality by the Vishanti. I"m starting to feel like this comic is about that other "Doctor", who's constantly running into past and future selves, and has a ruthless version of himself that's been hardened by millennia of war. While I have enjoyed these stories quite a bit, this is becoming a running gag, and it needs to not. This comic is quite good. If you like Dr. Strange, magical characters in general, or The Doctor, you'll probably enjoy this issue.

I liked this issue. I like Bats as a character, but somethng's missing. The art's fine. Fill in artist Danilo Beyruth does a capable job, and the last page is actually a little chilling. The story was more of a subplot that I don't think needed a whole issue. It's fine, don't get me wrong, but if it had been broken up into 2-3 page sections across another story arc, the same effect would have been achieved, and spreading it out would give the impression of time passing and built some suspense. The point was to introduce the next bad guy, and it does, but it just fealt rushed.

It's dumb, but I actually love this. This issue had the feeling of being a story that's here to kill time until Blood Hunt kicks off. but I really enjoyed it. The idea of a living RPG that must be confronted by following it's rules was interesting. It gave MacKay the opportunity to play with characters from his other series. Pasqual Ferry's artwork was excellent, as always. Heather Moore's colors contintue to compliment the art. The cover by Alex Ross was one of the better covers from this series.

This is pretty good. The only critique I have is that, by presenting Carnage's side of the narrative already presented in Venom 31, I felt like the story didn't cover much ground. Gronbekk has a clear grasp of the characters, and I think she captures their voices well. The art is fine. Perez does a good job. I guess the real question is, what is this supposed to be? i'm still not sure what they're going for with this series. Are they trying to turn Carnage into an anti-hero? Seems unlikely. Is this going to be a straight up villain book? Don't see how. Every arc will have to end with him being defeated. For now, I AM curious, and I will be picking up the next few issues.

I really liked this comic, and this run. Shame it's ending with this issue. I think Gronbekk really captured Cletus Cassidy's voice, and did a great job showing his motivation. Perez was good to really good, in places, on art.There were some innovative, if grizzly visuals. I liked Flash Thompson / Anti-Venom as a foil for Cassidsy. I feel like this run could have been better if it wasn't messed up in the second half by a crossover with Venom that had very little to do with what had been happening in the story. I felt like the comic was co-opted to bolster Ewing's timey-whimey nonsense. More's the pity.

I really liked this one. I was irritated that the latest Blade series ended after only 10 issues, so when I saw that Bryan Hill was writing this Blood Hunt tie in, I figured I'd give it a chance. Glad I did. Solid story. Better than average art. Lots of action and intrigue. Do I wonder why Danny Ketch is sitting on an underground arsenal in the middle of the desert? Sure do. But I'm not gonna overthink it. I'll be picking up the rest of this series. I now need a Bryan Hill Ghost Rider book.

Wrapping up the 3rd story arc with a bang. This is as series that continues to impress me. Abel's art work has been nothing less than excellent. This issue was action packed, but managed to squeeze in character beats that keep the cast fresh and interesting. Looking forward to the next arc.

This was surprisingly good. I initially gave it a pass after giving the book a cursory glance. It seemed like the story was too derivative of the original first issue from the 90's - more a swipe than an homage. I'm glad I went back for another look. I feel like the team captured Virgil's voice and look form the old series, while giving the book their own spin. A good adaptation leaves you feeling like "I know that's not the way it happened in the other book, but it COULD have." They nailed it.

A very good fist issue. But not Great. Spurrier has a solid body of comics to his credit, and an ability to blend genres in ways that seem to work. I was cautiously optomistic when I heard he was on this book and I was not disappointed. A lot happens in the first issue, but not a lot gets resolved. The scene is set for the new status quo, and a mystery involving the speed force is introduced. There were some issues with characterization. Wally seemed a bit hapless and indecisive - not at all what you'd expect from a character that's been a superhero for his entire adult life. We're clearly headed for a "the speed force isn't what we thought it was" storyline, and I'm intrigued. Hopefully, Spurrier can keep the focus on Wally, and avoid him becoming a supporting character in his own book. Let's talk about the art. Deodato is in top form. His lines are clean and everything looks great.The page layouts are intense, with a massive panel count per page. Coloring is excellent as well. If you liked Immortal Hulk, Cates' Venom run, or Johnson's Action comics, you will probably enjoy this comic.

This may be the most beautiful book on the stands this month, but the story is falling behind the art. This comic is gorgeous. Deodato is doing the best work of his career; no inker listed, so it's all him. The layouts, the page turns, the panel composition - all way above par. The colors are excellent as well, Mulvihill makes the figures pop on the page. 5 of the 7 stars are for these guys. Bravo. The story is losing steam. There's a lot of talking. A lot of exposition, without much movement on the plot. Wally is almost completely passive, with Mr. Terrific and Max Mercury carrying the issue. This has been a complaint of mine throught out this run; barring a brief dust-up with Grodd in an earlier issue , Wally has been swept along by events, rather than trying to get ahead of them. Some of his choices are incomprehensible for someone who's spent his entire adult life as a superhero; concealing the problem with his powers,for example.He's obviously out of depth with what's happening, and dependent on "smarter" characters to figure it out for him. This is not a good look for your title character. That said, I do like the weirdness that Spurrier has injected into the series, particularly as visualized by Deodato. But I wish he'd get to to the point.

This was surprisingly good! I picked it up on impulse, based the strength of the cover, by Luciano Veccio, and the interior art by Jose Holder. Fallen is a gritty street level vigilante who's origin will be familar to Batman fans. A special night out. A gunshot. An orphaned child filled with rage and pain. This comic tells the story of Fallen's climactic battle with his arch-nemesis, and along the way we get his origin. At the center of the story are the choices we make, whether we've done more good than bad, how we weigh that, and how far we'll go to protect the good we've done. There's a swerve at the end. Even if you see it coming (I did), it's still a punch in the guts. As a one-shot, this was satisfying. The characters feel familiar. The action is well paced.It's a bit narration heavy, and the art, while very good, feels a bit stiff, but on the whole, this is a really good comic that you won't blow through in 5 minutes, and I feel like I got my 5 bucks worth. I don't know if CEX has any future plans for Fallen, but I'd be interested to see where this goes.

Cautiously optomistic. Immortal Thor #1 was pretty goood. There were sections of this comic that were similar to Walt Simonson's first issue, which was much appreciated. The story was fine, with several standout elements, such as Loki's narration, and the reveal of the antagonists. Other parts didn't land as well, such as "The Utgard-Thor", having an evil version of the hero as an opener was not impressive. Overall, the story was fine, but felt like a lot of things we've seen before. Given Ewing's track record with Immortal Hulk (except for that ending. Yeesh!), Defenders, and Venom, I'm intersted in seeing where the story goes. At least, if this series ends with Thor yelling at God, it will be thematically appropriate. The art was good, nothing special, Coccolo's an Asgard veteran and he gets the job done. Decent panel count per page, no over-reliance on splash pages, good page turns. Solid storytelling. Matt Wilson's colors were kinda washed out. It's a personal taste thing, but I like a more vibrant palette for Thor comics. Muted colors are for Daredevil or Punisher. Solid cover by Alex Ross, but, and this is a nitpick, it's a pinup, and doesn't tell me much about the comic. All that said, for 3.99 it was find, for 6.00, it could have been better.

Good start, now go somewhere with it. Marco Locati's art is moody, and atmospheric. There's a sketchy quality to it that reminds me a bit of Daniel Warren Johnson. He's great at using expression and body language to convery emotion. The coloring is excellent too. If the art has a weakness, it's when the action starts. I've read the book a few times, and I'm still not sure what happened at the protest. Not a deal breaker. The story is just beginning, so what we mainly get is character work - and it's good. I'm here for at least the next few issues. Show me something I haven't seen before. If you liked Invincible, Radiant Black, or the current Fantastic Four, you'll probably like this.

I was pleasantly surprised by this comic. Yes, it's clearly derivative of the David/Stroman and Milligan.Allred runs. Yes, Mark Brooks is a hack who has a distorted sense of his ability to write political satire. Except...This comic is pretty good. The story was well paced. The characters were well written. Any satirical aspects were played straight, instead of the usual wink-wink, nudge-nudge. The plot twist caught me by surprise. No complaints. The art was some of the best I've see from Bob Quinn. My first exposure to his work was on Way of X (which I enjoyed), and he seems to have improved since then. He inks his own pencil on this issue, so it's all him. Colorist Jesus Aburtov put in some good work as well. As it stands, X-Factor joins X-Force as being the most readable titles of the From the Ashes era. Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

This was good. Better than expected, even. The story was well paced and the the characters well written. I was surprised to find I wasn't enjoying Hitch's art as much as I usually do. It's...fine? Ok? But not what I'm used to from him. I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes.

The team is keeping the book in the sweet spot. Plenty of action and character development. Leaves me wanting more. So far so good. Hope they keep it up.

"You're weak against stretchy guys!" Are you $%#ing kidding me? What do you get when you buy an oversize 25th issue of Venom in which Venom doesn't appear? To say this issue was disappointing would be an understatement. Whole lot of pages to accomplish very little. Story-wise, this issue barely moved the chains. I was expecting to see the culmination of an arc Ewing has been building (slowly... so slowly) since issue 18. Did that happen? Nope. Just a masturbatory slug-fest that accomplished nothing and ended with a... I cant even call it a cliffhanger... call back to a panel of Doom and Flexo that we've seen in a previous issue. The goal: Eddie wants a time machine to beat up his evil future self. I'm sure there's no way that could go wrong. Ultimaely, said evil future self is dispactched with barely an inconvenience by a means that should have barely inconvenienced him.There's 2 pages of expository dialogue from Doom and Kang explaining why everyting Eddie is doing is futile - Kang literally draws a diagram on a white board to explain it to Doom, who already knows. We get a bit of fan-service as a time traveling Eddie pours his heart out to a teenage Peter Parker. Honestly this scene didn't work at all, and would have been better left out. Al Ewing is a pretty good writer, but this is not his best work. The art team for this issue had 5 different artists. While I won't say any of the art was bad, I can't say that any of it was particularly good. It was... ok. They were all competent storytellers, but they're styles were different enought that the transitions were jarring. The failure of this issue lies soley at Ewing's feet. This Venom series has been a bit of a mess from the start. The shifts between Dylan's and Eddie's storylines have been weird. They interrupt each other's arcs, leaving everything feeling unresolved and incomplete. Multiple writers and inconsistent art teams are big red flag that something's going wrong.

This comic is very good. Starting with the art, Julius Ohta did some great work. No inker listed, so it's all on him, and he nailed it. The characters look good, and are drawn consisntently. His interpretation of symbiot effects, particulaly transformations leaned into horror, which I enjoyed. His story telling is very good - pages layed out cleanly, and easy to read, 4-5 panels per page. A single real splash page, and it's done right, taking advantage of the a page turn. The colors look really good, the generally dark pages broke up with blues and reds rather than gray-scale. This comic looks great. This story, by Torunn Gronbekk, was rather good. It's a revenge story. It's a corporate greed story. It's a sinister secret organization story. Gronbekk has blended these elements into something really dark and interesting. I want to see where this goes. Frankly, it's more interesting to me than whatever "timey-whimey" shenanigans Ewing is up to (God, #25 was mediocre). There are narration boxes, but they're used sparingly, and to good effect. Overall, I really enjoyed this comic

"State of Grace Part 2" is a solid followup to issue 26, and a very good comic. Multiple artists on this comic, and, unforutunaltely, it shows. The art is not as consistent as last issue. That doesn't mean it's bad, by any stretch. The team leaned into the body horror aspect of the symbiotes - the pages with Venom slurping up a wounded Toxin to protect him, and Sleeper surprising a guard are particularly good. Colors by D'armata were strong, an made the pages pop. That said, the tounges are getting a bit out of control. You can have a character with a 6 foot, prehinsile tounge, or one with giant, razor-sharp teeth. A character with both is a Darwin Award waiting to happen. The story got darker. I'm interested to see where this goes. I like the idea of Noname. I have a impression of them as being this nebulous group that will go to mosterous lenghts to right what they perceive to be irredeemable wrongs, recruiting people who've suffered loss at the hands of unacountable powers. I can see this group up there beside AIM or Hydra, if handled well. I also liked the portrayal of the symbiotes as having their own priorities. What happened to the guard was a bit chilling, and reminded me thta they are alien. Some folks may be dissatisfied because this story departs from what Ewing's doing with Eddie Brock. I couldn't be happier. I'm not enjoying... whatever that is, at all. I think Eddie Brock is a character that's been broken pretty much beyond repair, and I think the focus of the book should be on Dylan and Venom. Very good comic, looking foward to the next issue.

A great wrap-up to a solid story arc. Gronbekk and Ohta stuck the landing. They conclued the NoName arc, and planted a few seeds for future conflicts. The art was very good, characters looked great, and the action flowed smoothly from panel to panel. Ohta does a great job convey the horror and alien nature of the symbiots. Frank D'Armata's colors were excellent, enhancing the dark tone of the story without mireing it in heavy blacks. The story moves quickly, the dialogue was, largely, very good (none of this "You're weak against stretch guys! %$#&). Gronbekk uses narration boxes to good effect to communicate needed information, without littering the page, Claremont style. The charaterization of Dylan, and Bren are very good. The Widow is, perhaps, too deferential to Venom, considering their relative experience as superheroes, but I appreciated not having the lead character overshadowed in his own book. Overall, I really enjoyed this arc, and I'm looking forward to more from this team. Sadly, it seems I'll have to endure more of Ewing's issues before they return.

Ewing phones in another issue, and this time he's calling collect. Getting it out of the way, the art is fine. Cafu is actually really good, and I have no notes. The story, however, is a mess. Somehow, Ewing has found a way to make a cosmic time taveling identity crisis boring as $#!%. I get the distinct impression he's lost the plot and is hacking this out until someting more interesting comes along. It's telling that I look forward to the issues by Ewing's co-writers, and dread his return. The shocking twist at the end, the one symbiote that won't listen to Eddie? Who could it be? ...It's Carnage. &%$#ing Duh! Of course it's Carnage. I cant' wait for this to be done, and we can get back to Dylan and Venom.

I am really enjoying Gronbekk's issues in this Venom series. I wish they weren't constantly being interrupted by Ewing's random contributions. This looks like it's going to be good crossover. Lashly's art is very good, and the colors wer well done as well.

I did not like this at all. The art was fine. Nothing special. Above average , perhaps. The story was a hot mess, as most of Ewing's contributions to this series have been. I had a hard time following what was going on, and thought the whole concept of zombie Venom was just dumb. Dylan is, apparently, in his mid 20s now, going by the art. Him being "half symbiote" is still head-scratching. The fact that he smoked a vampire by hitting it over the head with a chair, then staking it with a broken chair leg like he's been doing it all his life was also odd. I'm tired of the nonsense, I really am. Can we get Torrun Gronbekk back, please. Really enjoyed her issues.

It wasn't Amazing, but it was pretty good. Wells and Romita delivered a relatively solid "first issue" that established Peter's new status quo, set up the main conflict for the opening arc, seeded some subplots for future development, and ended on a cliff hanger. The script was fine. Wells captured the characters voices well, particularly Peter, May, and Tombstone. Expository dialogue was kept to a minimum, which is always appreciated. Show me, don't tell me. Peter's a bit edgy, but still within tolerance. The art is good. Romita is one of the best storytellers in comics, and his composition is nearly flawless. The guy was born to draw Spider-man. To people who feel like his art has declined, I say this: go back an look at his work on Daredevil, ASM, and Thor and compare it to what he's doing today. It's the same level. Zero drop-off. He's been delivering the goods for so long his style has become classic. Same thing happened to Byrne, Buscema, Ditko, and Kirby. I will say this; I'm tired of Peter being constantly kicked around. I'm over it. It's not something I'm interested in reading anymore. "Parker Luck" used to mean "3 steps forward, 2 steps back". There was always just enough progress to keep hope alive. Lately, that light at the end of the tunnel is just the A train. The MJ reveal is no cause for alarm. The time skip is 6 months. Those kids are clearly like 5 years old. Unless there's another Sins Past situation, it's clickbait. I'll check out the next few issues to see what's up, but unless something dramatic happens, I don't see me sticking around for much more than that.

Not bad, but could have been better. I'll get this out of the way upfront: There is no excuse for having 11 pages of your first issue be a flashback about eating dinner. None. That said, this issue wasn't bad. I'm unfamiliar with the writer, Tochi Oneybuchi, but I felt they captured Sam and Joaquin's voices very well. The script was fine. It established the conflict, identified the players, and seeded some subplots. The bulk of the story focused on an attempt to stop smugglers on a train, with all the fisticuffs and explosions you'd expect. It was fine, though Joaquin's cousin being on the train was too much of a coincidence to swallow.I appreciated the use of the White Wolf. He's a great character that hasn't been used properly since the 90's. I am, however, over Crossbones. The art is really good for the most part, but kinda stiff. Many of the panels feel like pin-ups instead of pieces of sequential art. The page layouts mostly use 2 or 4 large panels which can result in some panels feeling crowded by word balloons, or sometimes feeling like the actions depicted are unrelated to the previous panel. R. B. Silva's character work is outstanding. The lines are clean and precise. He makes excellent use of facial expressions, and body language to convey character and emotion. He also uses silhouette to good advantage. Unlike many comics I've seen lately, almost every panel has a detailed background. This looks like a good, if slow, start to the series. I'm interested in seeing what comes next.

I like Bailey Briggs, he's a good kid. He's got a horrific backstory, nobody remembers him, but he's making the best of it. This comic is fine. It's geared towards younger readers, which is good, has some decent action, and is a bit goofy. The character design is great, actually. and courtesy of Paco Medina, Bailey's got some moves. The story is fine. Dan Slott's a competent writer, and he seems to have a sense of direction for the series. Remains to be seen if this has some legs, or if it's just another limited series that Marvel didn't tell us was a limited series. My only concern is that there's a team-up in the first issue. I get it, he's a side-kick, but he's going to sustain a series, he needs to stand on his own. There's pleny of other spider books to feature him as the side-kick. It's a red flag.

2 issues, 2 team-ups. It's not looking good for our boy. This comic is fine. The art is above average. Paco Medina's slightly cartoon style works well with Spider-Boy. The cover by Humberto Ramos is great (except for Cap's jaw). The story is a bit thin. Again, we see Bailey teaming up with an experience hero- this time Captain America, rather than having his own adventures. The one and done format can be more accessible, and offers the chance to tell complete stories, but the comic is Spider-Boy, not Marvel Two In One. Leaning on guest stars to prop up the title is maybe not the right move.

A mediocre finale to a series that shouldn't have existed in the first place. While I did enjoy VoMK 9, it was predictable, and a bit of a let down. The art was actually quite good. The splash page of the fight between Moon Knight and the Shroud remind me of the Grendel / Argent fight from Matt Wagner's Devil by the Deed. The story looked promising, Moon Knight is ordered by the newly freed Konshu to kill the man who usurped his mantle. It was fairly clear he wasn't going to do it. The bait and switch was telegraphed, and it just wasn't satisfying. I have a hard time conceiving that the god would take the betrayal lying down. If there aren't repercussions down the road, I'll be even more disappointed. Climbing on my soap box for a minute, Why did this series need to exist? It had the same creative team and the previous series. The very first storyline was interrupted by the Shroud exploding at the start of Blood Hunt. The Shroud as Moon Knight went nowhere . The did nothing with it. Marc was dead for about a week, in universe, then he was brought back. The series didn't need a new run, especially one as short as this. They should have just continued the previous series. I am going to read the new Fist of Konshu book, but that shouldn't exist either. The constant rebooting is annoying.

"HUlk...(yawn)...zzzzzzz" I give the creative team credit, this comic had the potential to be terrible, but instead it was marginally above average. I'm not sure why (aside from extracting the price of another comic from the readers) Marvel decided to kick off this crossover with an Alpha issue, as though it were a major event, and not something that will be forgotten in 2 years. But, here we are. The story is wafer-thin. Hulk and Thor hit each other. That's it. Nothing more to see here. Move along. This comic expends 2 double-page spreads, each packed with tiny panels, to catch the reader up on events in the Thor and Hulk series that led to the present moment. Mileage may vary, but to me, it reads like a highlights reel of Cates' worst ideas. I have not enjoyed Cates' Thor, and I find his Hulk unreadable, so I was a bit surprised that I didn't hate this comic, but I'd be hard-pressed to give a good reason for why it exists. The art is pretty good. We start with a Gary Frank cover that is downright excellent. Anyone following that has their work cut out for them. Martin Coccolo gives it the old college try. His page layout is very good, but his panel composition could be better. He does a great job on facial expressions, and his close-ups are very effective. His art style feels a bit loose, and panoramic shots that should feel cinematic fall a little short. Many of the panels have minimal or no backgrounds, making the comic feel slightly unfinished. There's not story here. Cates is just bashing action figures together in the bathtub. This comic is full of odd sight-gags; the watcher eating popcorn, the arena splash imitating a fighting game, etc. There's weird stuff too, like "Betty" being back in Bruce's head after clearly being expelled in Hulk #6. If I had to guess, I'd say this was written before the end of the first hulk arc was completed. Hulk and Thor both talking to voices in their head. I think this was supposed to be deep or funny, but I feel like it just demonstrates that Cates is out of ideas, and simply repeating himself. Perhaps it's intended to be self-deprecating humor, but it fails even at that. A cardinal sin of comics is explaining plot elements from a main series in a tie-in. This comic does just that, explaining that Banner is thought to be responsible for 17 deaths in El Passo. Why this should bother Thor, who's thousands of years old and has a personal body count in triple digits, is not explained. If watching someone else play Mortal Kombat is your idea of a good time, this comic is for you, I can't recommend it for anyone else.

I didn't like it. But,It wasn't as bad as I had feared. The story sets up a bunch of questions that, hopefully get followed up. What happened to the dragon? How did Lin get the dragon's chi? What effects do the shards have on his powers? There's a decent action sequence at the start. A scene with Danny and Lin that establishes that their relationship is going to be rocky. Then the talking starts. I believe Lin's backstory is rehashed at least twice. The threat to Kun Lun is established. Ends on a cliffhanger. Dialog was fine. But there's a LOT of talking for the sake of exposition. The art was... okay. After a Jim Cheung cover, pretty much anything else is a let down. The art team was competent, but the style just didn't do it for me. Here's the thing: I believe this was created in good faith. This was not the character assassination that Heart of the Dragon was. Danny is treated with respect, and portrayed as competent, if cocky. This is important to me. I've followed Danny for over 30 years. There have been many Iron Fists, passing the baton is not an issue. Crapping on character I care about to build up a new one is an issue. That's not what happened here. Lin has potential. I like the costume. I like the attitude. I hope he's given the chance to earn the title. The current penchant with new characters is to tell us how awesome they are. Show me why I should keep reading. Give him thrilling adventures, terrifying villains, an interesting supporting cast. Don't blow it.

The cover by Leinil Yu was really good. Unfortunately, it was the artistic high point of this issue, with the interior pages being fairly uneven. Something weird was going on with the art - Sean Chen is credited as one of the pencilers, and I couldn't tell which pages were his. Everything seemed a bit off. The art wasn't bad, it just wasn't good. The story continues to be engaging, though it struggles in places. The opening fight scene, against generic demons was a bit jarring because the characters were chatting about social media during the fight. It's demonstrated that Lin Lie doesn't have full control over his powers, and that he doesn't have to rely on them in a fight. There's a wonky scene where Lin gets a boost from another character. I don't know if she has super strength or what, but she appears to throw him about 200 feet in the air. I appreciate that Lin Lie acknowledges that he hasn't earned the Iron Fist in the traditional way. This leads to some dialogue later in the comic about "different isn't bad, just new", which is a bit too on the nose. We have the obligatory jealous "it shoulda been me" bully who challenges Line Lie. It's been done, but the scene emphasized that Lin Lie hands are badly damaged, to the point where he has trouble doing everyday things, because of the embedded sword shards. This, to me, demonstrates that Lin Lie has the character to become a hero. He still hasn't earned it, but he's got the stuff. Danny Rand continues to be treated with respect. There's a scene that briefly talks about how he feels, physically, since losing the Iron Fist. So far, there's a lot to enjoy about this series. I'm hopeful the character of Lin Lie is allowed to continue his development, because he has potential.

Three steps forward, two steps back. Issue 3 suffers from sub-par art and scripting. After issue #2 I was optimistice about where this series was going. Alas. While the STORY issue #3 was trying to tell was good, the art and script were poorly exectuted. There are 2 pencilers, and 4 inkers on this issues, and it shows. The art is highly inconsistent; some panels are fine, others feature bizarre facial expression or physical distortions. Sean Chen is an excellent artist, but you wouldn't know it from these pages. Michael Yg, is new to me, and the only work of his I can find is on Iron Fist. I don't think it would be fair to judge him from this comic because it's obvious that multiple inkers have left their mark on the pages. Layout and composition are ok, but page-turn reveals and splash pages are utterly let down by the quality of the art. Check out the demon reveal, or when Lin Li mashes the remaining sword shards into is arms, or when Lin Li, Mei Min, and Ying Yi team up to takee on the demon. You'll see what I mean. Powerful scenes that fail in execution. While I still think the story is good, the script for issue #3 took a turn for the worse. The scene transitions work well, a flash back leading into a scene with the villian, which blended well into a scene with Lin Li. The dialogue is inconsistent, in some places capturing the characters' voices perfectly, in others, it's cliched. Lines like "You're not her real Dad!", and "This is my family's sword. My birthright. My Destiny", and several more landed like a fart in church. There was some good character work - Lin Li's rival Ying Yi joining the fight against the demon, revealing him as more than a one-note bully. I would like to have seen this comic with a single artist and inker, I think it would have made a huge difference. Still optomisitc about the series, but this issue was a stinker.

Yup, it's Planetary. This comic was a bit funky. The premise seems to be vehicle contrived to incoproate more Wildstorm properties into the DCU proper. The script was pretty good. Not being a Bat reader, I'm unfamiliar with these characters, so I can't tell if they're in character. As a first-time exposure it was fine. There were numerous callbacks to Ellis and Cassaday's Planetary series, as well as to The Authority. The art was inconsistent. Some pages were very good, others seemed rushed or unfinished. Robert Carey is ussually a very good artist. I dont' think this issue was one of his best. If you like Planetary, Challengers of the Unknown, or the Fantastic Four, you might like this comic.

This was the first comic in the Energon Universe that didn't excite me. The art was ok, nothing really wrong with it, but it just wasn't hitting for me. It definitely felt like a step down from Duke and Cobra Commander. The story was fine, decent spy plot and should have made for a great comic, but the dialogue fell flat in too many places. Some things were fine - I enjoyed the interaction between Shana and Stalker, for example. On the other hand, the bit where Shana takes out an army of ninjas, single handed landed like a fart in church. It was so cartoonishly over the top, I couldn't buy in. I remember thinking, "these are the worst ninjas ever". It reminded me of Jason Aaron's first issue of Punisher - which is not a positive association.Overall,I felt like I'd seen this before, and seen it done better. In the end, I didn't care about this story, I wasn't invested in the character, and I won't be buying the next issue. Hopefully Destro is better.

This comic was pointless. Which, for 6 bucks, is inexcusable. There were multiple pencilers/inkers on this which created some inconsistencies, but overall, the art was pretty good. There was the one page that was completely black, except for a white bampf-thing, which I hope will be explained at some point. Some of the splash pages were excellent and really evoked the emotion they were going for. For people who were pulling for the Mystiqe / Destiny origin, congratulations, it's a boy. I say this was pointless because the entire story relayed in this oversize comic could have been competently told in 12 panels, in the pages of Uncanny Spiderman. Most of it was filler (see the above mentioned bampf-thing). We didn't learn anything particulaly surprising -the reveal was telegraphed a long time ago - and the story doesn't go anywhere, or set up any new story seeds. I've enjoyed Spurrier's extended ( and serial) run with Nightcrawler. I was hoping for better.

This comic isn't awful, but it really isn't good. The idea that John is going home after being dead for years is interesting, but barely got explored. The conflict was bizarre - someone sold the x-genes of the mutants on the reservation to the government? Like that's a thing? And the cops are rounding up the elders? I just couldn't buy into it. The script was uneven, so-so in places, and clunky and odd in others. Having John call one of the cops "brah", for example. Unless I'm missing something, it's verbal fad he would have been unaware of, being dead for so long. It's picky, but stuff like that pulls me out of the story. The comic was fast-paced. We go from arrival to trashing a police station, to fighting a werewolf in 10 seconds. It's a one-shot, there's no room for decompressed storytelling and they wanted to cover a lot of ground, so I appreciate them getting down to business. It's consistent with John Proudstar's impetuous personality. For the most part, the art didn't click with me. I thought the opening sequence with John arriving in town was quite good. Solid composition and interesting page layout. Once the action started, the figures seemed stiff, and the panels felt very static. The artist did well with facial expressions, particularly in close-up panels, like after John got shot "Bullets?", that was great. To me, it felt like he was out of his depth with the fight scenes. Not terrible, but it just didn't fit with what I look for in an X-book. I like the new costume design, but I have a question; why does John have a holster on his hip if he doesn't have a gun. It's obviously intended to be a holster, not just a random pouch. Why? It was nice to see John portrayed as more than the one-note bruiser he was in Uncanny X-men. Since he died on his second mission, we never got to see much of him. Back then he was angry, and easily manipulated by implying that he was scared. Treating Jimmy as the "little brother" was odd to me, since, Jimmy is older and more experienced now than John ever was. If anything those roles feel like they should be reversed. John would be a great character to do more solo stories with. He's not mired in 40 years of X continuity, and has a lot of potential. I really with this comic had been better.

It was better than the Alpha issue, at least. Cards on the table, I read this because it ties into the Hulk's comic. I'm not up on Thor, and I don't want to be. This issue committed one of the Cardinal Sins of Comics; it explained a key plot point for a series in a tie-in issue. We finally got an explanation of what happened in El Passo... in a Thor comic. Not a Hulk comic. There's no excuse for that. Otherwise it wasn't bad. The cover is great. Gary Frank has been killing it on covers for this crossover. Sure would be nice if Marvel'd pony up to have him do interiors. Speaking of which...yeah, not great. Martin Coccolo did a very uneven job on this issue, and there's no inker to lay the blame on. Some pages, like the final splash are impressive. My favorite panel from this issue is the one of Spider-man with Thor's ravens. But many others feel stiff, 2-dimensional, and, frankly, amateurish. Captain America looks insane, There's a panel where he looks like he's decided to bite Tony's nose off, and is about to do it. Matt Wilson's colors don't help. The whole issue feels flat, and dull. It's nice to see Cates doing more than bashing action figures together. The opening scene with the Avengers is pretty good. I got a chuckle out of Tony pulling Reed's leg. I thought Tony's personality was captured well, but Cap was a one-dimensional twit "I'm telling you, stand down". Seriously? Why do people feel the need to keep re-enacting Civil War? There's a good bit of interaction between Odin, who's ghost, and a hammer, for some reason, and Banner. Here's where we get the El Passo flashback. Which didn't make a whole lot of sense, honestly. It seemed to pick on a thread from Immortal Hulk, then took a left turn at Albaquerque. We also got a tiny preview of, what I assume, will be the new Knull character. Just a question? How many dead Celestials are just laying about? The Avengers headquarters is in one. Thor and Hulk are fighting in the severed hand of one. Tony has a new set of Hulk Buster armor that's, apparently, made of a Celestial. For a while, the Guardians of the Galaxy shacked up in a Celestial's severed head. These things seem kinda fragile for near-gods. There were a couple of back-up stories. I enjoyed the Defalco, Frenz, and Breeding collaboration on an Enchantress tale.

He destroyed the Bifrost by... holding on to the ground REALLY hard?! Sweet Christmas, this is bad. Full disclosure: I'm not following Thor. I read this as a Hulk tie-in, and will be reviewing it as such. The art is not great. There are almost no backgrounds, the figure work is sketchy, and Martin Coccolo's usual facility with facial expressions is noticeably absent. He appears to be doing an impersonation of Ryan Ottley, which is hilarious because Ottley is off the Hulk book now. The coloring is dull and muddy, Matt Wilson is doing nobody any favors. Both artists have done much better work. The book looks rushed, and incomplete. It reminds me of an early 90's issue of Brigade. Speaking of terrible stories... yeah, Donny's back to smashing action figures together in the sandbox. This comic has plumbed new depths of absurdity. To start with, Thor is now a hulk - which looks great on the cover (Thanks to Gary Frank for giving me something to be positive about.), but falls on its face in practice. Thor-Hulk and Hulk hit each other. A lot. Then Hulk becomes Thor, because... why not? Then Thor-Hulk breaks the Bifrost, the magical bridge that transports people to Asgard, by holding on to the ground REALLY, REALLY hard! Banner, somehow, Knows all about Titan (whatever that is) despite %$#$-all having been explained about it in either series. The comic ends with the Thor-Hulk and Hulk-Thor punching each other hard enough to make a planet explode. There is no character development. There is no plot. There's barely any setting, judging from the art. I'm thoroughly disappointed, and I can't wait for this to be over.

Where's the rest? I only have half a comic here. Following from issue 48, this comic is a major let down. The intention is to mimic a magazine article written by Mcgee, the effect was to produce a comic that is nothing but splash pages and text boxes. Perhaps we need to revisit the concept of sequential art. Speaking of the art, it's outstanding. Bennett, Brabo, and Jose continue to meet and exceed expectations. If you'd like to support them by purchasing orignal art from this series you can find it at jadegiantart.com. Yes, I'm shilling for them, shut up. The story, however is thin. Hulk and McGee walk across town, have a brief confrontation with the Avengers, then walk through a magic door. That's it. There are some interesting parts in the narrative - McGee describes the sounds Mr. Fantastic's body makes as it stretches, and it's chilling - but overall, I kind of feel robbed. Depicting a Hulk / Avengers fight in a few splash pages is criminal. This comic cost $5.00. Somebody owes me $2.50.

Epic disappointment. The best Hulk series in years ends with a muddled, self-indulgent mess. The art team of Joe Bennett, Belardino Brabo, and Ruy Jose is fantastic, and their work on this oversized book is a testament to their talent and skill. The comic LOOKS great... The story, however is terrible. The odd Banner-Sterns subplot set in the 1800's is unnecessary padding. It's purpose was to establish a link between the Banner and Sterns families that was, I guess, supposed to be a shocking reveal. But, it's meaningless because the characters are unaware of the connection, and it has no effect on the rest of the comic, or on the series. I fail to see why someone thought this was necessary. There is no need to create a connection between the Hulk and the Leader beyond "they have gamma powers". Are we going to find out, next, that Emile Blonski is Banner's half second-cousin? It was padding, and bad padding to boot. The trip through Hell to rescue Banner is a masturbatory interpretation of the Book of Job. There is much navel-gazing, much talking, and very little action. The Leader is dispatched with barely an inconvenience, and then we get to the meat of of the conflict... Yelling at God. The series ends with Hulk yelling at God, and getting no answers. Some might find this deep, or insightful. I found it dull and disappointing. Ewing failed to deliver on the expectations he had built for the last 49 issues. When I re-read this series, I will stop at 49, and just pretend this mess never happened.

Well... that was a snore. The most dramatic part of this comic was the cover. The art was fine, maybe a bit sketchy in places, but overall, pretty solid. The story was a color by numbers set up for the next Final-Dark-Infinite-Metal-Crisis event. Nothing much to see here that we haven't seen before. No thrills. No surprises. No heart. No twinge of the heartstrings as our greatest heroes are dispatched with barely an inconvenience. I do have a couple questions, though: 1) How do any of these characters remember Pariah, or the original Crisis? The only characters who should still have that knowledge are Alexander Luthor, the Original Superman, and Superboy Prime. 2) If Pariah can disintegrate Superman, and Wonder Woman with a wave of his hand, why bother with the whole "Dark Army" shtick? 3) Pariah is the bad guy? Really? The dude who spent 12 issues of the first Crisis whimpering in the background. He's the dude with the Master Plan? Why do I feel like this will be resolved with a Hostess Cupcake? A few final thoughts: This comic contains the worst characterization of John Stewart I've seen in a while. "I'm bringing the God Storm", "They can't handle my light", %$#@ all the way off. While I appreciate the Emerald Knight making an appearance, the writer could have made more of an effort. The absolute certainty that these characters will be back inside 5 months takes a lot of the wind out of this comic's sails (sales?).

The best I can say is, at least it's a black label book, and as such, can be ignored. Smallwood is an excellent artist,and his craft and talent are on full display. My low rating for this comic is no reflection on him. The story... is ok. Just ok. If you enjoy the way Tom King characterizes his heroes, then you'll probably be fine. Speaking for myself, I do not. It's wearying to read a series in which everyone is a terrible person. This issue's victim is Guy Gardner. He is portrayed as the worst kind of stalker ex-boyfriend, creep, and bully. He is killed in a way that is patently ridiculous, and our romantic leads have sex among the thawing pieces of his shattered corpse. I probably should have given a spoiler warning, but frankly, I wish someone had warned me. King is a fair writer, but it is evident with each new series, that he only has one story to tell. And I've read it, and wish I hadn't.

Donny Cates can rest easy, we finally have something worse than his Hulk series. This is not only bad, this is dumb. The art team is strong, and i encourage people to check out their work... on other books. Aaron's Punisher #1 was unreadable.The premise is uninteresting. The opening rehash of the Frank's origin was unnecessary. The main character is unrecognizable. You've been warned. Meanwhile, here's a list of other things you could do with 5.00 Starbucks venti caramel latte Rent 2 movies from Redbox Buy a scratch ticket Have a fill-up box from KFC Buy an issue of Moonknight.

Once again, Jason Aaron uses the Hand to give readers the Finger. The art is great. Lets get that out of the way. This is an skillful and talented team, and the book LOOKS beautiful. The 3 stars are for them. As for the script... God, where to start? The retcon is in. The Hand have been monitoring Frank since childhood. It's his destiny to be the Fist of... whatever. The zombie wife is riddled with bullet holes, and barely there, mentally. Naturally, Frank jumps right into bed with her. Sweet Christmas. It's like taking advantage of the disabled. There is a massive amount of expository dialog. The priestess lady has an internal monologue that would make 90's Batman roll his eyes. I did not enjoy this comic. I still think the premise is dumb, and issue #2 has further solidified that opinion. That's how I feel. If you're liking this new direction for Ra's al Castle drop a comment letting me know what you enjoy about the comic.

The artwork is top-notch, no problems there. The story is True Grit, and not as well executed as either of the movies, or the novel. I'm not sure why this is a Supergirl story at all, it would work better with Guy Gardner. Honestly, I'm scratching my head at Kara going to all that effort to go on a bender. Won't be continuing with this, so I guess it's moot anyway.

Well... now I know. This was a disappointment. I was never a G.I. Joe reader, but I picked this up on the strength of the other Energonverse books (Void Rivals / Transformers). It was not, as advertised, a fist issue, but the continuation of a story arc from a previous series. I had no idea what was going on, who most of the characters were, or what stakes were involved. I imagine any first time Joe reader would feel the same. I am not likley to pick up the next issue, which is a shame. Larry Hamma is a very good writer, and the art was decent (Ranger, in particular, looked great)... ...but that's only half the battle. And while we'er here, WTF is up with everyone being Snake-Eyes adjacent? What is this, a Bat book?

"He turned the Hulk into a starship." This is beyond dumb. Didn't Jason Aaron run the whole "Banner is the threat" thing into the ground not to long ago. There's a bunch of action with no context. Banner is torturing his child Hulk persona. For some reason, Hulk has cyborg parts. I was really hoping this would be good. Extremely disappointing.

The art is pretty. The story is beyond ridiculous. It's like Cates is combining his favorite bits of past Hulk storylines into a mashup fanfic. You get about 4 pages worth of story in the entire book. I can only assume the Authority stand-ins and Giant Wolverine were and attempt a humor. Honestly, Ottley's skill and talent deserve better.

The stars are for the art. As for the story... There's not much to see here. 4 issues, and $20.00 in and very little has happened. There have been many pretty splash pages but otherwise we haven't advanced much. It's like reading an early Youngblood comic, with decent art. I did win 5.00 from a friend; I bet her, when Alternate-Banner was introduced, that Alternate-Ross wouldn't be far behind. I keep lowering my expectations for this series, and, sadly, Cates keeps meeting them. Won't be long now before Bruce becomes the God of Gamma, or some such nonsense.

I went into this with low expectations, and somehow, the team managed to slide in beneath them. This comic is bad. The story is predictable, and therefore boring. Every swerve the plot serves up is one we've seen before. Evil alternate dimension characters, gamma mutates as bio weapons, an evil personality taking over the Hulk... I've seen it before, and seen it done better. #5 continues the trend of serving up a comic in which not much happens. It's over-reliant on splash pages to take up space (10 in all), and the plot moves barely at all. Honestly, in this whole series so far, we've only been given about 30 pages of actual story. Everything else is visual gimmicks. I'm usually able to say something positive about Ottley's art work, alas, not this time. It looks like he's behind schedule and rushing. The first issues were well drawn, if painful to read, but #5 looks more like Kevin O'neill on Marshall Law or Nemesis. Scratchy, stylized, and cartoonish. I am extremely disappointed by this series. With creators of this caliber, the comic should be much better than it is. I think it's dumb, and really not worth the 5.00.

This comic was pointless. I mean, it was, objectively, pointless. It never resolved any of the central questions presented in earlier issues. We never learned what happened to turn Banner into an abusive lunatic. We never learned what was up with "Betty" - though she did call him "son" last issue. We were posed the question of the ages, "Why can't the Hulk have a Hulk?". The answer is, because that would be dumb. The art was fair. Ottley's illustrations seem to have gone downhill since the early issues. He's still Ottley, but he seems bored. The story is irredeemable. This is hands-down the worst work I've read from Cates. There's no development, he just jumps from one sight-gag to the next. The narrative is thin, as it has been for every issue in this series so far. Not much happens to move the story forward. The various conflicts are dispensed with easily, with barely an inconvenience. In some cases the conflict is stupid - who tries to kill a Hulk with a gamma bomb? Seriously? Fortunately they were able to us multi-modal reflection sorting to suck the radiation into another dimension. I was struck by what appears to be a strange continuity gaff. "Betty" is dispatched when Hulk breaks out of the engine room, but when the dust settles, Banner and Hulk are back in the engine room, with the doors intact and closing. You can say it's all in Banner's mind, and he can make it what he wants, but that is not clear from the story, and it was still weird. We deserve better, people.