Not-Very-New Comics: The March 13 Non-X Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Amazing Spider-Man #17:  I initially decided not to pin this issue with the Women in Refrigerator tag, given that Felicia threatens to gut Kraven herself if he somehow defeats Spider-Man.  (Note to self:  send Nick Spencer a muffin basket for returning Felicia to us.)  But, then we had the Mary-Jane-as-Barbara-Gordon moment, and I decided it was appropriate after all.  Beyond that, though, it's a solid start to what could really be a great event.  Spencer leans heavily into characterization here, from Felicia's struggle to comfort Billy when they awaken as captives in the Plaza Hotel to Kraven's melancholy reflections on how this new world doesn't value his ethos.  Spencer is also clearly having a great time; the twist that Kraven has everyone stashed at the Plaza is pretty great.  But, Spencer is using enough foreshadowing to let us know that it isn't all fun and games.  I applaud his decision to make Peter fight Kraven with the flu, because I feel like "Amazing Spider-Man" has always done the best job among comic-book series of showing how Peter's need to act as Spider-Man doesn't always happen at the most convenient times for Peter himself.  (If I remember correctly, he also had the flu in "Kraven's Last Hunt.")  Spencer doesn't just use the Mary-Jane-meet-coffee-table moment to show us how high the stakes are:  Ramos does a spectacular (heh) job of really showing how Kraven's son beat Peter's ass something fierce.  Then, he puts him in the black costume in a dome filled with his enemies, and you're like, "OK, game on, Spencer."  Then, he introduces Kraven robots trying to kill everyone, and you're like "OK, maybe I can look past the Mary Jane problem..."

Spider-Gwen:  Ghost Spider #6:  Jackal working with Man-Wolf!  McGuire does a good job here of introducing Gwen's new status quo, where she has to deal with the ramifications of outing herself.  For reasons that aren't yet clear, we learn that Jackal and Man-Wolf are working together to take her down, sending a group of thugs to attack her so that they can learn her fighting style.  But, they're not Gwen's only problem, as she suffers a series of headaches in the issue and is unaware that she appears to be shedding spiders.  Are they going to form the real Venom eventually?  I guess we'll see.  Meanwhile, she's hiring out her services, and we know that's going to end well.

Star Wars:  Han Solo - Imperial Cadet #5:  This story's conclusion is pitch perfect.  Han and his fellow cadets find Valance, only to discover a group of slaves seeking to escape the planet in the chaos of the Empire's attack.  The cadets learn that the slaves mine farium, and Kanina is shaken to her core, as her boyfriend Weegee is a farium miner on her home planet in the Huru system.  She realizes that the battalion heading to the Huru system means the Empire is going to enslave her people.  Han convinces her to let the cadets and he fake her death so she can save her planet.  If Marvel is looking for a good sequel to this story, Kanina leading a rebellion against the Empire on her home planet gets my vote.  I've always liked Robbie Thompson, but he's been particularly impressive here, infusing Han's four fellow cadets with solid backstories and clear personalities in just five issues.  Unfortunately, the emotional denouement -- Kanina arriving on her planet to fall into Weegee's arms as Han spends time in the stockade -- is ruined in part because of the art choices.  Weegee looks identical to Han, and Prianto's use of a sepia tone makes it seem like Kanina is happy to see Han years later, after he leaves the Empire.  I'm surprised the editors didn't catch that, particularly given how many editors the Star Wars line has at this point.  But, overall, this mini-series was one of the strongest ones that we've had so far.

Transformers #1:  As a child of the '80s, I was very excited about this comic.  As often as I complain about reboots, I'll admit Dark Horse's universe of Transformers-related comics made it difficult to figure out where I could engage.  In other words, I'm loathe to admit it, but this reboot was exactly for people like me; I apologize to long-time fans who just saw their continuity swept into the dustbin for us.  But, I also think Ruckley does a great job of offering something for everyone, as this issue starts us at the time before the Autobots and Decepticons go to war.

The main story involves Bumblebee leading a newly sparked Transformer named Rubble to a transmission station to learn the wonders of "energon engineering" from a fellow Transformer named Brainstorm.  In their journey they meet with a Transformer named Windblade.  She works for Security Operations, and she asks to accompany Bumblebee and Rubble because she's also heading to the station after Brainstorm reported some "anomalies with the monitoring equipment."  She hypothesizes that it's sabotage, leading Bumblebee to wonder if "the Rise" could be out this far.  Along their journey to the station, we learn that Rubble is in a period of exploration that all newly sparked Transformers experience, as they journey to choose their alternate form.  We also learn that they can later change their choice, as Bumblebee "left" Security Operations (where he met Windblade) to become a Search and Rescue worker.  (Windblade implies that he didn't leave Security Operations so voluntarily.)  Arriving at the station, Windblade senses something is wrong.  While she and Bumblebee scout around a bit, Rubble stumbles upon a murdered Brainstorm.

The second story gives us context to this scene.  We learn Megatron is the leader of a group called the Ascenticons.  They're marching on a place called Tarm, which seems to have some sort of religious connotation to the Ascenticons.  Concerned about safety, Orion Pax calls for a meeting with Megatron, as a fellow Senator and old friend.  Ruckley doesn't give us much information here on the substance of Megatron's dissent.  We only learn that his last rally left dozens injured, and he paints the Autobots as fascists seeking to restrict Transformers' freedoms.  Moreover, Ruckley makes it clear that Orion uses "friend" a little too loosely here; Ruckley even mentions in his interview at the end of the issue that they aren't exactly "friends.'

In other words, Ruckley manages to make the comic feel familiar yet fresh at the same time.  One of the most interesting developments is his introduction of an organic race of ape-like creatures called the Voin.  Windblade dismisses them as scavengers, though it's unclear what they would be scavenging as Cybertron does seem entirely inorganic.  Moreover, some of the Voin are connected to a floating aquarium containing a squid-like creature that speaks for the apes.  In other words, we have a lot to explore.

Winter Soldier #4-#5:  Issue #4 was so gripping that I just went ahead and read issue #5.  Jesus fucking Christ.  I've been following Higgins for a long time now, and he really takes his work on "Nightwing" to the next level here.  He's gotten the tone of each issue exactly right.  After all, RJ's cautious hope about his father, Richie, makes it clear that it's all going to end in tears, because it's a Bucky Barnes story and not a Steve Rogers story.

In both these issues, Higgins perfectly uses RJ as a mirror to Bucky's own feelings of doubt and mistrust.  RJ desperately wants to believe Richie is trying to start a new life after he was released from prison.  But, RJ is who HYDRA made him, so he's also suspicious.  For example, he doesn't believe Richie's story that he recognized RJ on television, because RJ was only a year old when Richie went to jail.  But, Richie shows him a picture that RJ's mother (allegedly) sent him, and he tells a moving story about how all he did for the time he was in prison was stare at that picture and imagine who his son was.  It's enough for RJ.  

But, it's not enough for Bucky.  Higgins makes it clear that Bucky needs RJ.  He needs to believe that he (and he alone) can save RJ from himself, because Bucky needs to believe that he can save himself.  He learns that lesson hard in issue #5, but in issue #4 he still hasn't fully come to grips with his own motivations.  The problem is that he's obviously not wrong in his suspicion of Richie.  When RJ beats away some goons who came after Richie for money that he borrowed from them, it's the proof that Bucky needs that, at best, Richie is a small-time hood who can't go straight.  After all, what kind of guy looking to go straight borrows money from a loan shark on his first day on the outside?  But, RJ has faith in him, and he convinces Bucky to do for Richie what Bucky does for other people looking to leave "the life."

The problem is, Bucky is right.  Sharon gets video of Colt paying Richie a visit, and it seems clear that Colt arranged his coincidental release to bring back in RJ.  But, it's even worse than Bucky thought, as Richie is also using his old contacts to put together a job to rob a high-stakes poker game, figuring RJ's particular skill set would come in handy.  But, Higgins goes one step further, in the other direction.  When Bucky confronts Richie, telling him to leave town, Higgins has Richie full of fury over Bucky's sense of entitlement over RJ.  Richie's right in this way:  Bucky has decided he's better for RJ, and he's impatient to be rid of Richie.  When Richie dies accidentally in their fight, Bucky struggles once again to come to grips with his lack of control.

Everything spirals into chaos in issue #5.  Colt lays in wait for RJ at Richie's place, knowing he'll come looking for his father when he doesn't show for breakfast.  He tells RJ the truth about what Bucky did, while Bucky calls Sharon for help as he plans on burying Richie's body in the woods.  Higgins uses this scene perfectly to show how much Bucky is struggling to make his own good decisions.  Sharon convinces him to tell RJ the truth, but his instinct not to do so calls into question his motivations.  Higgins once again shows us that Bucky's need to save RJ is more about him than RJ.  When RJ rejects his attempt to apologize, seeing how he heard from Colt first, Bucky is devastated.  Sharon pulls in favors to get Richie buried in a proper cemetery, but she warns Bucky she's depleting that store of favors.  Bucky tearfully admits to Sharon that he was trying to save RJ from the fate that he so clearly feels, from hating himself so much that he can't imagine someone not hating him.  Sharon comforts him, reminding him that helping someone and saving them are different paths.  She encourages him not to forget that, not to try for perfection.  His hotline rings, and despite his misgivings he answers.  Meanwhile, RJ takes out Colt dressed in his uniform and tearfully fades in to the night.

In other words, wow.  This mini-series has been spectacular from start to finish, but it ends so fucking strongly.  It's an amazing psychological study of Bucky, and I honestly don't understand why they aren't just handing Higgins the keys to this kingdom here.  We rarely get an author explore the savior complex that runs through superheroes, and Higgins does it so perfectly here.

Also Read:  Avengers:  No Road Home #5

Not-Very-New Comics: The March 13 X Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Age of X-Man:  The Marvelous X-Men #2:  Beyond the hilariousness of Apocalypse as a prophet of love, the most interesting part about this issue is that Thompson and Nadler make it very clear that Nate doesn't have as much control over this world as he may think he does.  It isn't just because of Apocalypse and his protest:  as Nate himself says, only 40 or so mutants came to the demonstration.  It's because everyone seems to have flashes of their previous lives pretty frequently:  Logan instructing Laura, Storm fighting Magneto, Colossus and Kitty exchanging a glance.  But, I'm still not sure that I understand who remembers what and why.  For example, Colossus had no memory of Kitty or his relationship with her, whereas Magneto remembers his time as a villain, even if he struggles with the fact that his memory of fighting Storm stokes the rage he used to feel as one.  Moreover, Magneto breaks a wall in his home and through it sees a fight that he had with Wanda in "Avengers & X-Men:  Axis" #7.  At first, I thought it was just the whisky that he was drinking making him see things, but we see Storm watching the scene from outside.  I'm assuming the authors are showing how thing the illusions are that Nate is using, and it seems to be these weaknesses that that will ultimately doom Nate's enterprise.

Uncanny X-Men:  Winter's End #1:  I desperately want to like how Grace writes Bobby, but I have to admit that I'm just glad that he'll be in someone else's hands at some point.  This issue is a mess from start to finish as Grace just has Bobby leaping from exposition-heavy moment to exposition-heavy moment.  (Pet peeve #3 applies here, as Bobby even mentions all the exposition.)  Each moment deserves to be explored:  Bobby dealing with the fact that he himself didn't get to fall in love with a beautiful boy like his younger self did, Bobby dealing with young Jean's outing his younger self, Bobby dealing with his time-displaced villainous older self, etc.  But, Grace rushes through these moments as he just keeps trying to hit every note of his two "Iceman" series, from Christian Frost to Michaela to his parents, while also introducing new stories, like Bobby helping a neighborhood in Delaware recovering from flooding.  (Flooding?  In Delaware?)  It really feels like Grace had about 30 minutes to write this script, so he just thew everything into it.  The two "Iceman" series were uneven, but they didn't reserve the poor send-off they get here.

Also Read:  X-Force #4

Not-Very-New Comics: The March 6 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Amazing Spider-Man #16.HU:  Of all the crimes that Dan Slott committed while writing "Amazing Spider-Man," turning Felicia Hardy into a villain was second on my list (after the Octo-Spider bullshit).  As Nick Spencer carefully undoes Slott's legacy, I was thrilled when Peter revealed his identity to Felicia.  He righted a great wrong by putting them back on good footing.  Spencer even goes further here, treating Felicia, of all things, as a person with feelings.  First, we now know that Felicia's heel turn was at least partly inspired by the sudden loss of her memories of Peter, a pretty unveiled swipe at how casually Marvel erased everyone's memories of Peter's secret identity.  Then, Spencer explores what it's like for someone to experience a decade of those memories suddenly rushing back at them.  Along the way, Spencer treats us to the greatest hits of Felicia and Peter's relationship, from Peter's wide-eyed amazement at how forward Felicia is to Felicia's ongoing surprise at how charming she finds Peter.  The story culminates in Peter giving her the Spider-Tracer that we saw last issue, presenting it in a jewelry box that she understandably mistakes for something else.  The fact that Felicia mistook it for an engagement ring tells us just how deeply she loved Peter, and it makes me mad all over again at how callously Slott treated that.  But, it also means that I couldn't be happier with how Spencer is handling her.  I highly recommend this issue for any Felicia fan.

Avengers #16:  This issue is another solid installment of Aaron's vampire civil-war arc.  First, the Shadow Colonel's motivations actually make sense.  The first phase of the war involved purging vampiredom of the bloated old guard.  The second phase is turning some of Russian's worst criminals into vampires to strengthen the ranks.  To accomplish this second task, the Colonel sends the Rat Bombers' rats into the prison where the Winter Guard is holding Dracula, and their blood bombs usher in the transformations.  Meanwhile, Red Widow shows her brutality by slaughtering Dracula's consorts into front of him, forcing him to give up his secrets.  (For his part, Dracula thought he'd extract his own dacha from her for his secrets.  I guess not.)  Meanwhile, Blade somehow uses his vampiric powers to suck the poison from Robbie, allowing him to regain control of himself.  He's incredibly shaken, crying on Cap's shoulder that he didn't meant to hurt them.  He doesn't tell them he's also shaken because he ran across Johnny Blaze in Hell.  Figuring he's an even worse monster than Blaze, Robbie isn't exactly optimistic about his future.  Carol then voices what I'm sure most everyone is thinking as she wonders why they're involved into this civil war in the first place.  Blade not incorrectly reminds her that they'll all come after the Avengers sooner or later, but you have to wonder if that isn't a bet worth taking, given the damage this fight has already done.

Batman #66:  In reading this issue, I think Tom King doesn't understand Batman or Bruce at all, but he understands Selina perfectly.  It's why the best issues of his run on "Batman" have involved her.  Here, her conversation with the Question as he seeks the answer (heh) to why she left Bruce at the altar is the only thing selling me on "Knightmares."  Bruce is unprepared for this assault, and he sends the Question to interview Selina.  Selina insists that she left Bruce to make him stronger, but the Question rightfully points out her plan has left him captured, so maybe her plan isn't working.  She then admits she lied.  I think the real question is if I still care at this point.  (Spoiler alert:  I don't.)

Die #4:  Gillen gives the party a rest as they arrive in Glass Town, the first town established in Die.  An impenetrable, d20-shaped translucent barrier exists around it, and it sits on the edge of Eternal Prussia and Little England.  The townspeople throw open the doors to the party, declaring them the Paragons that prophecy says will save them from the "Devil Boy."  Realizing the townspeople are on their side, the party members settle into a night of drinking.

Before she can join them, Isabella makes peace with one of her gods, the Mourner, so she can heal her.  As part of the deal, Isabelle is forced to read to the Mourner's followers from the diaries that she kept during their first time in Die, along the way discovering that they've become holy texts.  (Mistress Woe, one of her other gods, apparently told Isabelle that she'll "pay [her] back in [Isabelle's] own time."  Ruh-roh.)  

Later, Chuck and Isabelle both press Ash to talk about why he chose to become a woman in Die, something for which Isabelle notes they didn't have the words to discuss when they were there the first time.  Angela intervenes on Ash's behalf, but starts to bawl.  Like Matthew, she worries about what her absence means to her children.  She laments her terrible choice in partners, and here we learn that Chuck was her first boyfriend.  But, she later confesses that her tears are about the spell that she's dying to cast, because it means she'll need to find Fair gold every day lest "he" dies.  Conveniently, the dwarven drinking companion they've accumulated just happens to have Fair.  As the issue's cover shows, Angela uses it to cast the aforementioned spell and summons her dog, Case.  Her joy is clear, and Gillen does a good job of showing just how much Angela has to lose -- her arm, her dog -- in transiting to the real world again.  Sure, she'll see her children again, but Case's arrival on the scene in Die ups the stakes.

Later, the town's leader (or, possibly, chief diviner) arrives, informing the party the road to Sol's fortress is blocked.  To enter it, they'll have to get three keys, found in the depths of three dungeons guarded by 12 "perils."  The party members are enraged, as it's clear that Sol is fucking with them with such an obvious quest.  Isabelle wonder if they could even successfully destroy him at Twenty, since masters are the most powerful in their homes.  However, Ash's idea for solving the problem shows how Sol might not be ready for the adult versions of his friends:  Ash suggests they destroy Glass Town, which Sol has molded in his image, to bring him to them.  That should go well.

Doomsday Clock #9:  OK, we've officially moved past the careful storytelling phase of this event and entered the ass-kicking phase.  The Justice League -- namely the Green Lanterns and Constantine -- examine the blast site in Moscow.  They realize that someone was trying to kill Superman and pin the blame on Firestorm.  They trace the energy to Mars and take virtually every hero on Earth with them to confront Dr. Manhattan.  Meanwhile, Bruce awakens from his coma and tries to send a message to the Justice League, saying they're being played.  Alfred reminds Bruce that he himself told Clark that Firestorm wasn't the culprit, but Bruce simply looks at Rorschach's journal and says he should've listened.  Clark remains in a coma, and Lois is surprised when Lex comes to "visit."  He tells her that he sent her the footage of the Justice Society heroes and that a "force" is undermining all existence.  He then cryptically asks her if she's ever heard of Wally West.  On Mars, Dr. Manhattan reveals to Firestorm that the Professor purposefully created the accident that merged them to examine metahumans from the inside.  (Later, we learn that the Professor was the head of the Department of Metahuman Affairs and likely the creator of the metahumans revealed as part of the Superman Theory.)  Wonder Woman addresses the United Nations, and President Trump renounces Superman (hilariously saying in his tweet that he'd done more for the world anyway).  It all comes to a head as Batman's message fails to arrive with the League in time and Dr. Manhattan destroys all the heroes on Mars.  Meanwhile, on Earth, Black Adam arrives with Giganta and the Creeper to break into the United Nations, announcing he's "making a move."  Indeed.

Star Wars #62:  "I hate to sound like your dad, kid, but what the hell are you doing hanging around with death cults?"  Ha ha ha.  Well played, Gillen, well played.  Other than that line, the best part of this issue is Leia having to deny that it's a revenge mission as she gathers former allies and colleagues to destroy Shu-Torun.

Uncanny X-Men #13:  I’m surprised to say it, but this series may be the most exciting one on the stands right now.  For the first time in a long time, Rosenberg gives the X-Men a purpose, as Scott puts together a target list of the X-Men’s greatest threats and thorniest problems.  (Logan calls it a kill list.  Magik calls it a suicide pack.  Probably most accurately, Alex calls it the invite list to the worst party ever.)  First on their list is Dark Beast, who they capture only after learning he’s been torturing Jamie Madrox in an underground bunker.  (My only complaint with this issue is this part.  Not only has Marvel still not told us how Jamie allegedly survived yet another brush with death in "Death of X," when everyone was clear that Jamie Prime was dead even in the "Multiple Man" miniseries, but we have yet another villain torturing him.  Can we please put this plotline to rest so we can get back the Jamie that we “X-Factor” fans know and love?)  Rosenberg is at his best when he focuses on the team’s dynamic.  Alex is the same disgruntled mess that we last saw in the promising “Astonishing X-Men.”  In fact, by making the team live in the back of Harry’s Bar, Rosenberg seems to be (wisely) treating this series as an extension of that one.  But, that said, Alex has pulled himself together a bit, as he threatens Scott here by telling him that he won’t let Scott become the man that he was (or the X-Men become the team that they were before they died).  Rosenberg is underlining Alex as the moral center of the team, which makes sense on a team where the only other members in full charge of their faculties are Scott, Logan, and Illyana.  Next issue, Rosenberg picks up where “X-Men Disassembled” ended, with the MLF hitting pharmacies that are distributing the mutant vaccine.  The X-Men hiding in the shadows while trying to make the world a better place is exactly where they should be.

Also Read:  Age of X-Man:  Prisoner X #1; Avengers:  No Road Home #4; Conan the Barbarian #4; Star Wars:  Vader - Dark Visions #1