Not-Very-New Comics: The August 22 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Amazing Spider-Man #4:  I like Nick Spencer, and I appreciate him trying to bring back the fun to Spider-Man.  But, this story is just a mess.  I get why Spider-Man is acting weirdly, given Dr. Connors' explanation that his symptoms are side effects of the splitting process.  But, everyone else is acting weird as well.  For example, Spider-Man's lack of a sense of responsibility means his increasingly reckless battles have destroyed several city blocks.  But, by all accounts, he's more of a hero than he was before.  It doesn't matter he destroyed a dog park implied to be full of dogs at the time:  he's a guest on "The View," he's getting endorsement deals, he's awesomesauce!  (I was particularly mad when he was part of "Uber Hero."  Peter's inability to cash paychecks as Spider-Man for lack of a "Spider-Man" bank account has been a plot point for decades.)  It's all just bizarre and rushed.  I'm honestly surprised no one in the editorial team stopped it.  I get the idea of freeing oneself from continuity, but it doesn't mean you get to free yourself from making sense.

Avengers #6:  This arc was OK, I guess.  I know I'm supposed to be all, "ZOMG, giant-sized Avengers, Unimind, Dark Celestials, ZOMG!"  But, I have to be honest:  it all just felt a little meh.  This entire arc had little tension, as we all knew the Avengers were going to win.  In those situations, it's even more incumbent than usual for the author to use the extreme circumstances to tease out some previously hidden part of the characters'...well, characters.  But, Aaron doesn't do that here:  everyone just gets big!  To make matters worse, I don't entirely get their win.  Tony realizes the Celestials who declined to save Zgreb did so in the hope that humanity would eventually evolve to become the cure for the Horde.  Conveniently, he then remembers Ikaris told him the Unimind was the key to defeating the Horde.  Aaron never quite explains the details, but Ghost Rider somehow unites the Avengers' consciousnesses into the Unimind and the Horde apparently disperses.  Then, the Celestials and the Avengers make short work of the Final Host.  It's all pretty convenient how everyone magically knows what they're supposed to do.  It's like if someone had thrown Bruce Wayne's father a machine gun at the right moment.

Old Man Hawkeye #8:  Sacks wisely returns to telling a smaller, more character-focused story than the one he told last issue.  He shows Clint and Kate as still a study in opposites, with Kate insisting on paying for gas that Clint would've just as happily stole (from a mob boss, it should be noted).  Kate is also confused why she’s risking so much in helping Clint achieve revenge, when she should be at the orphanage helping the kids.  This moral dilemma is heightened when she refuses to follow Clint into the convent to kill Melissa, a former friend.  However, perhaps the most poignant moment is when Bullseye kills Bucky.  He’d been reduced to a mindless robot controlled by some guys in a room, and he thanks Bullseye for killing him.  However, Bullseye didn’t do it for Bucky; he did it to have the guys controlling Bucky perform some sort of brain surgery on him.  I'm assuming it's to remove his tracking chip so the Skull can't find him?  I’m sure we’ll see.  At any rate, this issue is a nice return to form as we start to get to the end.

West Coast Avengers #1:  Every time I read Kelly Thompson, I feel better about the state of comic books.  She crafts an excellent team book here, using her great sense of characterization to make us totally engaged with this group right from the start.  We’ve got Kate’s adorableness with Fuse, Gwen’s hatred of Quentin, Clint’s support of Kate:  this issue has it all.  Plus, using a documentary as the funding source for the team is a stroke of genius that I’m pretty sure we haven’t seen since “X-Statix.”  My sidekick obsession meant I was always a huge fan of “West Coast Avengers,” and I can’t imagine someone paying better homage to it than Thompson does here.  I mean, a 40-foot Tigra attacking Santa Monica in the first issue?  It’s just perfect.

X-Men:  Gold #34:  This Storm arc is turning into one of Guggenheim’s stronger stories.  It still feels like he’s rushing from plot point to plot point, but at least this time the progression makes sense.  Storm is rattled when she realizes her parents really do seem to be alive, but she’s too experienced to accept that on face value.  Instead, she goes searching and discovers a set of catacombs with the bodies of all the deceased villagers.  When she confronts Uovo, he informs her the “Reaping” is coming, and he converts all the bodies — and Storm’s parents — into zombies.  It’s obviously a legitimate conundrum for Storm, as she doesn’t want to destroy the bodies of her former worshipers (and parents).  She’s also disturbed to discover Stormcatcher is no longer answering her call, even though she could use the extra power as she faces down a zombie horde.  It’s nice to see Guggenheim ending on a strong note.

X-Men:  Red #7:  This issue is pretty clever.  I wasn’t sure how they were going to prove Jean didn’t kill the British Ambassador, but Taylor happily surprises me here.  The X-Men manage to retrieve the Ambassador’s phone from the plane upon which her possessions are being transported.  Trinary is able to pull the recording of Cassandra Nova whispering her plans (as she did in the first issue) off the phone, and Jean broadcasts it throughout the world.  (I don't remember how Jean knows the phone has any sort of recording that could be useful, but it's clear why she does when you read the story.)  Along the way, we get a pretty amazing battle on board the plane as Nova’s nano-sentinels hijack the new Ambassador.  He grabs one of the security guards' guns and opens fire on the X-Men in the cargo hold.  It’s a really sold mix of excitement and plot.  Taylor is also doing a great job with the characterization; I particularly enjoyed Gambit and Honey Badger’s interaction here.  Given the state of “X-Men Blue” and “X-Men Gold,” I feel like this series is really stabilizing the X-books at this point.

Also Read:  Detective Comics #987; Darth Vader #20; Mr. and Mrs. X #2; Star Wars:  Doctor Aphra #23