Not-Very-New Comics: The December 19 and 26 Everyone-but-X Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Given how many events and series wrapped up December 19, this review might as well be called, "EVERYTHING ENDS!"

Batman #61:  This issue is much more gripping than King’s previous work, though it does still have King's trademark of a literary quote that advances the plot not at all.  Unfortunately, the issue has nothing to do with Batman, focusing instead on the kid who murdered his parents because he wanted to be like Bruce Wayne.  But, wait, you might ask?  Didn’t we end last issue on a cliffhanger, with Batman discovering his father, Thomas Wayne from the “Flashpoint” Universe, was colluding with Bane?  Yes, fellow reader, yes, we did.  But, I guess we have to take a good issue from Tom King when we get one.

Captain America #6:  Reading this issue, it’s easy to forget Alexa Lukin isn’t actually a person, but a character.  Coates is that good at showing the fire within her.  Alexa understands that symbols matter.  It’s why she resurrected her husband:  she knows Russia needs a leader who can inspire them while she pulls the strings from the shadows.  On the flipside, she also understands that she doesn’t need to kill Steve Rogers the man:  she just has to kill Captain America the symbol.  As such, she has someone murder Thunderbolt Ross and make it look like Steve did it.  Hydra damaged Captain America the symbol almost beyond repair:  with Alexa, we may be able to drop the “almost.”  But, Coates also makes it clear that it's not a slam dunk that she's going to win.  That warning comes from her mentor, Rasputin.  He makes two observations;  first, that she doesn’t understand the price of her “endeavor” and, second, that Lukin may not return the same man as he was.  Coates makes it clear Rasputin understands that reality from first-hand experience, and it makes his warning all the more chilling.  Coates also uses the conversation between the two of them to explain that Selene didn’t drain the lifeforce from Sharon to resurrect Lukin; she just needed a drop of his blood, as she was his killer.  Alexa then used her magic to do the rest.  I can’t wait to see where we go next.  This series now enters, like, its 14th year of awesome, after the amazing runs by Brubaker, Remember, and Spencer.  Cap fans, we are spoiled.

Darth Vader #25:  Whoa.  This issue does not disappoint.  Soule pulls out all the stops here as Vader is forced to walk through his past — as child, adolescent, and man — to get to Padmé.  (Camuncoli really seemed to enjoy the battle with the Jedi, in particular Vader spearing Yoda!)  It all leads to the moment we knew was coming, but not before the Emperor and Obi-Wan battle to see who Vader’s father (spiritually, at least) really is.  When the Emperor wins, it seems clear where the story is going.  Vader makes his way to Padmé and resumes his Anakin form.  But, Padmé tells him what we all now know:  Anakin Skywalker is dead.  (She then promptly falls off the balcony and disintegrates, to underline the point.)  Vader grieves and then he’s expelled from Forceland.  He awakens in his fortress on Mustafar, and he destroys the rock that allowed him to enter Forceland.  He then uses his communicator to tell the Emperor he’s returning, having learned the lesson he needed to learn.  Ouch.  Soule doesn’t pull any punches here, and it’s great to see.  As I’ve previously said, I read the first issue of the original series hoping we’d see an exploration of the remnants of Anakin in Vader.  Soule delivered on that hope, and he also delivers a now fully formed Vader.  Anakin Skywalker is dead.  Long live Darth Vader.

Infinity Wars #6:  This issue makes not a lick of sense.  I get the sense if I read it again it might -- maybe -- make a lick of sense.  In fact, maybe if I read all the issues together the event would make a few licks of sense.  But, I also kind of doubt it.  As far as I can tell, the Celestials show Loki his future, and he no longer needs the Infinity Stones.  As such, he returns them to Adam Warlock and the Infinity Watch, who in turn use the Stones to create a new planet and a new Universe.  The planet serves as the new home for the Warps, and the Universe is where the Infinity Watch copies all the souls of the existing Universe.  That way, when Devondra finally devours the Soul Gem and this Universe, everyone survives in the shiny new Universe.  But, there's a wrinkle:  Drax and his original self have to stay behind to keep open the portal.  Drax's original self happily survives on Warpworld, but Drax's fate isn't clear.  Once the transfer to the new Universe is complete, Moondragon and Phyla-Vell from the other Universe want Gamora dead.  But,Adam Warlock asks the Infinity Stones to send her where she's most needed (apparently in the Soul Gem to raise a child-like Magus).  He then imbues the Stones with their own souls, which makes, again, not a lick of sense, but it is what it is.  This entire event made no sense, and I regret every dollar I spent on it.  A curse on the House of Marvel!

Nightwing #55:  To be honest, this whole Ric Grayson arc is going much better than I expected.  But, I did have a moment here where I was reminded of the plot we had before this arc started, where Vicki Vale and that guy were kidnapped by some sort of artificial intelligence come to life.  I hope Vicki’s not waiting for Dick to save her.  Maybe she can spend time with Thomas Wayne while we wait for this series and "Batman" to return to their previously scheduled programming.

Old Man Hawkeye #12:  Sacks does a great job wrapping up this story.  I'll admit the fire burning through the first few issues has seemed dimmer these last few issues, but Sacks at least manages to stick the landing.  Perhaps the best moment is Kate using a sonic arrow to allow a now-blind Clint to "see" Bullseye.  He fires an arrow that not only slices in half the card Bullseye was throwing at him but also lands in Bullseye's eye.  Well done, Clint.  Bullseye dies with the word "glorious" on his lips.  (It's good for him that he doesn't survive to hear Clint confess to Kate he was aiming for his heart.)  Clint excitedly tells Kate about the scientist giving him the 99 vials of Super-Soldier Serum.  Kate realizes he's a lost cause; she had hoped killing the Thunderbolts would satiate his need for revenge, but she realizes it didn't.  She tearfully deposits him at Logan's doorstep before driving into the sunset.  My only complain is the last page seemed rushed to me, with too many panels on the page.  I didn't even realize Kate was crying at first, reducing the impact of what we realize is her final good-bye to Clint.  But, overall, Sacks delivers on the promise of the series, leaving Clint in no better place than where he began, a testament to the Wastelands if ever there was one.

Spider-geddon #5:  This issue just sort of dissolves into chaos as Gage uses a series of dei ex machina to limit the impact of the series on continuity.  To paraphrase Dickens, you're only going to like this issue if you buy the idea that Otto has found a way to use the cloning technology not only to resurrect people but also to reconfigure them.  For example, Ben sacrifices himself to Jennix so his multiple lives drive Jennix insane.  (Here, you have to accept that devouring Ben would drive Jennix insane and that Otto and Ben knew it would.)  While the rest of the team fights the Inheritors, Otto resurrects Ben, apparently restoring him to his “factory settings.”  (Remember how Peter David wrote an entire series about how Ben’s soul would be irreparably lost if he died again...and then he died again...but somehow it wasn’t lost?  But then he died again again here, but somehow he’s actually better?  I’d rather watch Ben work his way to redemption the hard way, as David planned, but Marvel couldn’t seem to make that work, so this way is the quick way I guess.  Otto can alter souls with his machines.  Got it.)  Anyway, Otto then uses the technology to reset Solus’ children to actual childhood, for Spider-Ma’am to raise.  How did Otto manage to do that?  No one really says.  Again, we're just supposed to accept Otto is a genius and found a way not only to clone them but also to de-age them.  Gage tries to explain the positive outcome by saying Solus was the one who turned his children into monsters, torturing them and instilling the Hunger in them.  Also, I didn’t read the “Spider-Girls” series, but apparently Annie from “Renew Your Vows” is the Patternweaver and she can remake the Web of Life and Destiny.  She implies her knowledge of the Inheritors’ past means this revision will stick, but we’ll see.  At any rate, Gage also ties up a loose end by seemingly having Gwen off-panel use her Web-Warriors watch to rescue Ashley, Charlie, and Kaine from the world where the Inheritors were trapped.  He also has Spider-Girl’s father became The Other.  Is it all sort of ridiculous and overly convenient, like Marvel had a list of ret-cons they thrust on Gage at the last minute?  Yes, yes, it is.  But, I like the outcomes of those ret-cons, so I guess I’m OK with them.  Can we have a “Scarlet Spiders” series now, please?

West Coast Avengers #6:  I don't know about you guys, but I wanted nothing more than to read a "West Coast Avengers" issue featuring the team stuck in a good ol' fashioned murder carnival.  This issue is my everything:  the (pec-tacular) smirk on Hawkeye's face when he hits the shark with a bolt from a slingshot he fashioned from his shirt, America showing actual emotions by cheering him when he did so, Quentin blowing up the shark-infested pool, Johnny pushing himself to turn into water, Kate telling her "mother" to go stuff it because obviously she's not leaving her team, NOH-FREAKING-VARR!  I could just read this issue over and over again and be happy.  WEST COAST, BEST COAST!

Also Read:  Amazing Spider-Man #12; Fantastic Four #5; Infinity Wars:  Fallen Guardian #1; Thor #8

Not-Very-New Comics: The November 21 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Astonishing X-Men #17:  This issue is a mess.  But, I appreciated what Rosenberg was trying to do here, as he explained it in his concluding letter.  He wanted to tell a story about the heroes who don’t always get it right.  It's a good goal, the type of story we don't see told enough.  I'd say that he largely accomplished that goal, messy though the road to that goal was.  After all, the characterization was...dodgy.  Alex seemed like a combination of Bobby Drake with the bad jokes, Quentin Quire with his easy disillusionment, and Tony Stark with the weary drinking.  Allison made weird comments about the Beast’s weight.  But, Rosenberg was getting Alex to a place where I liked him.  It was a more interesting iteration of him.  I mean, it's been a while since we had a consistent characterization of him, so I was really just happy for Rosenberg to have a specific vision of him.  But, the progress Rosenberg was making ends here with the advent of “Uncanny X-Men.”  After all, I’m still not really sure what the Reavers were doing or planning, but I guess it doesn’t matter at this point.  Unfortunately, this series appears to be part of the trend over the last few years of all the X-books being disposable.  Just when the authors seem to get somewhere interesting, the series is canceled due to yet another line-wide “relaunch” and the team is disassembled.  [Sigh.]  It’s bad when you’re pining for a series you didn’t even like all that much, just because you want some stability.

Batman #59:  This story would be great if it weren’t a “Batman” story.  I’m fine believing Bane is only pretending to be semi-comatose while actually running Arkham and, by extension, Gotham.  (I mean, that connection is kind of a stretch, but whatever.)  I’m also fine with Penguin confessing this information to Batman as part of his revenge against Bane for killing his Penny.  King has Penguin make it clear the strikes against Bruce — Dick, Alfred, etc. — came from Bane.  But, I don’t buy Bruce’s actions.  King seems to subscribe to Snyder’s belief that Bruce is incompetent.  After all, Bruce doesn’t really figure out anything here.  Sure, he realizes Penguin was the one actually to kill the women who Freeze allegedly killed, but it also seems like Penguin wasn’t really hiding his tracks all that well.  But, King goes ones step further as Bruce isn’t just incompetent but also psychotic.  Rather than tricking Bane into revealing the truth, he just simply beats him to a pulp, as if Bane — the man whose “powers” come essentially from surviving Santa Prisca — would crack under the torment.  Gordon tries to get him to stop and he punches Gordon.  Gordon dismisses him, saying he’s sick of him, and I couldn’t agree with him more.  A Red Hood story?  That makes sense.  A Batman story?  Nope.

Infinity Wars:  Sleepwalker #3:  I mean, this issue and series are just the effing worst.  Nothing makes sense.  Like, I couldn’t even pretend to tell you what story Bowers and Sims are actually trying to tell here.  I can’t believe I got suckered into buying it because Darkhawk was in it.

Mr. and Mrs. X #5:  Honestly, y'all, I just fucking love this series so much.  It's romantic, it's suspenseful, it's funny.  Thompson gets these characters in an intuitive way, and it shows in every panel.  Also, Bazaldua and D'Armata are an excellent team.  "Astonishing X-Men" and "Uncanny X-Men" suffered from such consistently disappointing art, the great art here just really underscores what a wonderful book this series is.  Also, cats!

The New World #5:  Kot ends this series by leaning into the idea of the wall as a metaphor.  Thanks to Stella’s A.I. successfully hacking into border security’s systems, Kirby and Stella reveal to the country that the wall is merely a hologram, a prison of their own making due to their faith in, and fear of, their institutions.  Kot could’ve left it there and scored a point against our Trumpian reality.  But, he goes one step further.  Kirby knows the revelation will result in chaos, so he wants to stay and make the United States a better place.  But, Stella has done enough, and they part.  By adding this exchange, Kot exposes the sort of disagreements many people opposed to any agenda have in this era.  Stella is exhausted and just wants living her life with her love serving as the best revenge, whereas Kirby wants a more direct approach to right the wrongs he sees.  They’re both valid options, and they may not be as incompatible as they seem in this moment.  To that point, as Stella summons up her courage to take that step through the wall, Kirby is there with her.  Kot leaves us there:  we don’t know what they ultimately do; we just know they’re in love, hand in hand, for right now.  It’s a great ending to this trippy series, a reminder how much Kot and Moore really accomplished with just five issues.

Spider-geddon #4:  Gage does a solid job of keeping all the plates spinning at this point.  This series has had some problems with tie-in coordination, like we see here with Jessica Drew arriving after the events of the so-far unpublished "Spider-Force" #3.  But, it's not too much of an issue.  Gage cleverly ups the stakes by having the Web-Warriors expel an unhelpful Norma Osborn.  As revenge, he destroys the Web of Life and Destiny, severing the Web-Warriors' ability to travel between dimensions and thus stranding everyone else on Earth-616 with the Inheritors.  I'd say that sets up the final conflict pretty nicely.  This series lacks the overarching brilliance of "Spider-Verse," but as a sequel to a previous event it's doing really well.

Uncanny X-Men #2:  This issue is marginally better than the first one, in that at least it makes sense on the face of it.  Storm leads a team to Kansas when a veritable horde of Madri suddenly appears and Jean decides (for reasons that remain unclear) that Storm is best suited to handle it.  Meanwhile, Jean leads a team to Montana to stop a group of rampaging dinosaurs, part of a worldwide phenomenon of long extinct animals suddenly coming to life.  Hank posits all these events — including the mysterious development of a lake in Africa that he and Storm investigated last issue as well as the disappearances of Senator Ashton and Kitty — are all connected.  But, instead of doing more research on that connection, he goes to recover the mutant “vaccine” from the pharmaceutical factory the X-Men destroyed when they accidentally crashed a Blackbird into it last issue.  Just when I had hope it was going to start getting better, Legion appears on the last page to “save the day,” which means it’s all going to get worse.

Also Read:  Nightwing #53; Spider-Force #2; Star Wars #57; West Coast Avengers #4

Not-Very-New Comics: The November 7 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batman #58:  I admit I skipped the lengthy poem King uses to build suspense here as Penguin’s hitman allegedly prepares to assassinate Alfred on Bane’s orders.  I’m glad Penguin ultimately pulled the punch, so to speak, because it would be beyond ridiculous for Alfred and Dick to get shot in the same way in such quick succession.  But, it’s exactly that ridiculousness that robs this issue of any suspense, poem or no poem.  Either Alfred isn’t going to be shot (as we expect if we’re paying attention) or he’s going to be shot (and we’ll roll our eyes).  Either outcome feels tired.  It’s much more interesting that Bane and Penguin seems to be behind the murders they apparently tried to pin on Mr. Freeze.  I’m not sure where King is going on this front, but that’s the interesting part of this issue.

Infinity Wars #5:  I’ll admit, I lost the plot here long ago.  As Gamora herself says, I can’t quite remember how Loki managed to break out his version of the Infinity Watch from the Soul Gem.  I also don’t understand how Gamora “accidentally” created new lifeforms when she folded the Universe in half.  I thought the whole point was to send the existing lifeforms (if merged beings created from two previous lifeforms) to the Soul Gem so Devondra could devour them.  Right?  Or is Loki referring to other new lifeforms beyond the merged beings. maybe ones we've yet to see?  It’s unclear.  At this point, the entire point of this series seems to be Loki using these new Infinity Stones to storm the God Quarry, with its seemingly infinite number of Infinity Stones and, importantly, brooding Celestials.  Do the Celestials live in the God Quarry?  Is that why it seems to be a one-way street?  I guess all will be revealed next issue.  That said, I wonder if anyone is reading this "event" other than me.

Shatterstar #2:  This issue is great, though Seeley is very talky here.  The series' omniscient narrator gives us livestream commentary of the events occurring in Shatterstar’s life, though we're not privy to his actual thoughts.  Like, we learn he fell in love with Gringlave (sp?) when they fought in Mojo's arena together and she taught him not to love anyone since it could be used against him.  It’s why he’s struggling with his relationship with Rictor, as we see when Seeley uses their vacations to a cabin in Michigan to show just how much he does love him.  But, this narration doesn’t really give us too much insight into what Shatterstar himself is thinking.  That said, Seeley is achieving his seeming goal of given us a sense of Shatterstar as a coherent and integrated character, as the narrator does a good job of laying out his feelings and motivations.  But, I find myself wishing he accomplished that same goal through show not tell.  Instead, it seems clear he’s rushing to hit the points he needs to hit before he gets to the fifth issue, which feels like a shame.  For example, we’re only quickly shown Star falling in love with Gringlave (sp?), whereas Seeley could’ve definitely used more pages of flashbacks to make that love unfold more fully before our eyes.  Does he love her just because she’s there and he’s never loved anyone before, never felt anything for anyone before?  Or, is there something about her in particular he loves?  Seeley never actually takes us there, and it’s what’s keeping this series from being as revelatory in terms of characterization as something like “Edge of Spider-Verse” #2.  He still has time, though, so I'm hoping for more show and less tell soon.  If he does that, Shatterstar is really his character, more so than Liefeld's or David's.

X-Men:  Red #10:  Taylor continues to do a great job of showing Jean as a tactician.  Every time Cassandra puts a piece in play, Jean has a counterattack that leaves her (Cassandra) in worse place.  In this issue, Cassandra hijacks several planes and a Korean helicarrier to build an army she telepathically controls.  So, Jean brings in Atlantis and the Avengers.  But Cassandra might use her powers to take control of them!  So, Jean has Tony Stark makes hundreds of duplicates of Magneto’s helmet to cut off Cassandra's advantage.  (She had some help on the inspiration front:  Honey Badger asks her what would work against her.)  But, something still feels missing in this series.  I think it's that Jean never really faces a challenge she can’t master.  She’s got Trinary, she’s got Atlantis, she’s got the Avengers:  she’s always able to overpower Cassandra.  She also doesn’t seem all that emotionally invested.  We never really see her face any doubt; she’s always just convinced she’s going to do the right thing and the public will see through Cassandra's manipulations.  It’s not a fatal flaw, but I feel like this series is going to be a missed opportunity, a low-stakes enterprise where the X-Men easily save the day with the help of their friends.  It could've been more.

Also Read:  Death Orb #2; Iceman #3; Nightwing #52; Spider-geddon #3; Star Wars #56

Not-Very-New Comics: The October 3 Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Infinity Wars:  Sleepwalker #1:  I picked up this series -- the only "Infinity Wars" tie-in miniseries I'm getting -- because it promised Darkhawk.  But, he doesn't appear here.  Instead, I had to make my way through Marvel's attempt to make Sleepwalker happen again.  The only upside to this issue is that I now understand a little better what Gamora did in the main title.  At first I thought Marvel was saying we always existed inside the Soul Gem, but now I realize Gamora's "first order of business was to combine and transplant the essence of every life on Earth into the Soul Gem."  The Sleepwalker Council for some reason finds this move less horrible than when Thanos did it, because for some reason it didn't inspire the same level of "unease and panic."  I'm not quite sure how it's true, but it is what it is.

Shatterstar #1:  Given how popular Shatterstar has been as a character over the last 27 (gulp) years, it seems hard to believe this miniseries is our first real look at him.  Peter David on "X-Factor" is really the only author that gave him a personality, with most other authors just treating him as a somewhat unhinged (or, at least, unremorseful) killer.  Seeley wisely decides to start at the beginning, focusing on Shatterstar's roots in the Mojoverse.  But, the good news is that he does so without undoing what David's excellent characterization.  Here, "Ben Gaveedra" is landlord of a building that provides refuge to other time-displaced persons.  It's a brilliant device, creating a motley crew of supporting characters and a solid motivation for a driftless "Ben" all in one fell swoop. We get a better sense of how the Mojoverse still frames Ben's outlook, as he sees the world through the lens of entertainment:  everyone around him is a character with his or her own plot.  For example, we learn Rictor tearfully ended their relationship because Ben had lost interest in him since they didn't fight enough.  We don't hear directly from Ben here, so we can only guess whether he believes that characterization is fair.  But, it definitely fits with the idea that he was a warrior bred and he misses the drama.  He gets enough of it here, when a former lover from his gladiator days kidnaps his tenants in some sort of revenge plot.  This device allows us to see Ben fully embrace his Shatterstar persona in what promises to be a Liam Neeson-esque spree of fury.  Obviously, I'd like him to be with Julio when this miniseries ends; if Shatterstar's ex-lover had swiped Rictor, I feel like we would've gotten to the heart of their relationship more quickly.  But I'm also happy to wait to get there.  Seeley is giving us the sort of street-level view of superheroes' lives that I loved in "Batgirl" and the too-short "New Mutants" reboot from a few years ago.  If Marvel were smart, they'd move all the New Mutants to Brooklyn and give us a show.  For now, I'm happy to see where Seeley goes from here. 

Star Wars #55:  This issue wraps up the "Hope Dies" story well, though I admit it's almost too well.  I would've preferred for Han, Leia, and Luke to have stayed stranded on this random moon a little while longer, to give them time to contemplate the events of "Hope Dies."  After all, Leia's overconfidence cost the Rebellion 90 percent of their ships and 50 percent of their just-built cruisers.  Gillen makes it clear her failures in this arc make her into the woman she becomes, but I think we could've spent a little more time seeing her actually process those emotions.  Moreover, Han almost single-handedly saved the Rebellion here.  His return to help Luke destroy the Death Star at the end of "A New Hope" is no longer a fluke; he's an honest-to-God hero of the Rebellion.  Leia dealing with her failure and Han dealing with his heroism while stranded on a moon together seems to me to be a story with some potential.  Instead, Gillen rushes us to the next phase.  Mon Mothma promotes the three of them because she has few options left, and they're all quickly on their way to locate the Falcon and Chewie, even though it's unclear how they're going to do so.  That said, I'm still more or less happy with the story as it ends.  In one of the better moments, Gillen uses the waning panels to reveal Meotri's name means "hope."  She plays a significant role here, as she's forced to pilot a ship to a cruiser to provide them with the codes Leia swiped.  It's a nice reminder of the supporting characters we saw throughout this arc sacrificing themselves for the greater good.  Gillen doesn't skip over the fact that the Rebellion's greatest losses from this debacle were its people, from General Draven last issue to General Dodonna in this one.  It reminds me of the end of "The Last Jedi," where we have to wonder how the Rebellion rebuilds after this incredible loss.

The Superior Octopus #1:  This issue is remarkably clever for how it sets up "Spider-geddon."  Otto is busy trying to establish himself as the protector of San Francisco, but finds himself increasingly frustrated as everyone associates him with HYDRA.  Underlining the point, he's surprised to find Arnim Zola in his HQ.  Zola views Otto as part of HYDRA and wants his help working on new cloning technology.  Otto refuses and Zola sics a LMD Gorgon on him.  Otto seems lost when Gorgon turns him to stone, but he reappears in a new body and defeats Gorgon.  Zola is stunned because mind-transference is exactly the sort of cloning problem he wanted Otto to help address; after all, the people Ben Reilly cloned only maintained their memories if they were cloned from the ashes of their previous body.  Otto defeats Arnim and reveals his secret:  he's using the Inheritors' cloning technology.  On Loomworld, the Web Warriors disband as they've returned all the loot the Inheritors stole.  But, Captain Britain and Karn are on hand to hear a beep that confirms the Inheritors' cloning technology is active.  Although they don't yet know it's Otto using it, Karn realizes the Inheritors can use the communications systems in the robots they've been sending to their location (as seen in "Spider-geddon" #0) to transfer their minds to new bodies in Otto's HQ.  Game on!  I love the fact that Otto's arrogance has once again blinded him to reality.  I wonder how he'll take it this time!

X-Men:  Black - Magneto #1:  As others have observed, the X-Men seem custom-made for our current era.  Claremont leans heavily into dialogue and narrative that initially seem overly political, except for the fact this story and these speeches happen every day in today's media.  Here, the immigrant children being taken from their parents are substituted with mutant children, with O.N.E. putting them in detention facilities "for their own safety."  Claremont has little work to do; he could've probably composed 95 percent of the issue's dialogue from comments talking heads have made.  But, it's a good sign of where Marvel (rightly) seems to be going with the X-Men.  It's been a long time since they faced the concerted efforts of the U.S. government to imprison them, and this era suits that story perfectly.  I'm excited to see where we go from here.

Not-Very-New Comics: The September Marvel 12 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Fantastic Four #2:  This issue is solid.  Slott makes the right call in aging Franklin and Valeria into teenagers, as they're much more interesting now than they were as children.  Valeria's attraction to a Namor-like prince and Franklin's snarky self-confidence make them both more human than they've ever been:  she's less arrogant, and he's less bland.  They're at the heart of this issue as the Griever at the End of All Things attempts to undo all Franklin's work as he finally hits the end of his ability to create new Universes.  She destroys the Molecule Man, and the team begins to flee to the Universe the most anchored to reality, where Reed feels they can save the next 1,000 Universes.  But, Valeria isn't buying it, as it would mean sacrificing her prince's Universe.  As such, she crash-lands them there to make a stand, where the Griever easily defeats them.  However, Reed has an ace up his sleeve.  As she crows about defeating the Fantastic Four, Reed reminds her she really just defeated the Future Foundation.  He tricks her into allowing him to call for the Fantastic Four, and she's surprised to confront everyone who's ever worn a Fantastic Four uniform.  When Slott's been at his best, it's been in these sorts of grand tales, and I'm excited to see where he goes from here.

Iceman #1:   As happy as I am for "Iceman" to be on the stands again, I feel like Grace still is struggling to find his voice.  In the previous iteration of this title, he had down Bobby's personality but the plots left something to be desired.  Here, the plotting is much better.  Bobby and Bishop manage to prevent the second Mutant Massacre when they foil Sinister's plan to purge mutantkind of mutants who don't look like Bobby.  In fact, Grace really explores both pretty and white privilege here as the anti-Morlock mutants exalt Bobby as the ideal mutant.  Who better than a handsome white guy to convince humans that mutants aren't all that bad?  Of course, after seeing what he's seen over the course of his lifetime, Bobby isn't buying it, and it sets him on a collision course with Sinister that promises to test his Omega-level powers.  But, it's hard not to find this Bobby obnoxious.  It's one thing to portray Bobby as a jokester, it's another thing to portray him as a man trying to be a teenager.  It plays into the stereotype of gay men as stuck in a perpetual adolescence, something Bobby is too experienced to be.  As much as I want to like this series, I also don't want to be party to Bobby becoming a caricature of gay men.

Infinity Wars #3:  This issue isn't bad per se, but Gamora's decision to fold the Universe in half seems motivated solely to generate tie-in issues.  She's allegedly doing it to distract the heroes so she has time to go the God Quarry and discover why she can't see beyond the Quarry.  But, it seems a somewhat extreme remedy to that problem.  After all, if she's omnipotent and omniscient, couldn't she find an easier way to distract them?  Moreover, I don't get what Duggan is trying to say about the Soul Gem.  Loki mentions the Soul Gem is merely a door, so I guess that means "our" Universe is behind it.  But, if "our" Universe is essentially in the Soul Gem, what exists outside it?  It sounds like Devondra's hunger will eventually be sated, at which point the Soul Gem will be healed (for reasons that aren't clear to me) and a new reality will emerge (for reasons that aren't clear to me).  Moreover, it's hard to understand Gamora's motivation here.  Last issue, her soul was made whole, but for some reason she now wants to rebalance the Soul Gem.  Couldn't she just call it a day?  Or is she trying to prevent Devondra from successfully eating our Universe?  Duggan implies it's because she's gone insane with power, but he never actually makes that clear.  It's why this event feels so hollow, like you can see behind the set at a musical.  At the very least, I didn't get sucked into all the tie-in issues for this one.

Peter Parker:  The Spectacular Spider-Man #309:  This issue concludes one of the best two-and-done arcs I've ever read.  Zdarsky seemed to be gearing for a significant arc, with all the mysterious time-travel allusions last issue.  But, he wraps up everything neatly here.  We learn a Sandman from an alternate Universe took advantage of Spidey opening up that multiversal door while fighting the Vedomi to travel to "our" reality.  He seizes control of "our" Sandman to avoid the end of his Universe.  (In the process, we learn our Sandman's consciousness resides in one grain of sand.)  Our Sandman discovers that he can somehow transfer his powers to another person, so he empowers Spidey to fight the other Sandman.  (I'll admit this part makes the least sense, even if it's cool.)  This fight is tailor made for Chris Bachalo; it's one of the best fight scenes I've ever seen.  Spidey calls on Ben and Johnny for help, and Johnny arrives with the Multisect just in time to save him from the alternate Sandman.  When the dust (heh) settles, Sandman thanks Spidey for the save.  He's understandably disturbed to learn that he's not really human anymore and that he may very well live forever.  Is there a Zdarsky-penned "Sandman" title in our future?  Because I'd buy it.  Otherwise, I just continue to love this series and everything Zdarsky and now Bachalo are doing with it.  It reminds me of the best parts of "Brand New Day."

X-Men:  Blue #35:  Bunn does a great job here articulating what I've been feeling over the last few issues.  I'll admit it feels weirdly anti-climatic that he presents the kids as having decided to return to the past, as I can't really put my finger on the moment when they made that decision.  Bunn seems to argue they accepted the inevitability of their return and it's as good of a time as any, but we never really see them get to that epiphany.  Maybe it was Magneto's defection to the Dark Side (again) that made them realize they're tired of fighting a fight that isn't their fight.  At any rate, Bunn does a great job of showing how Bobby and Scott will suffer the most from returning home.  Bobby, Sr. tells Bobby, Jr. at least he'll get to come out of the closet on his own terms, as opposed to Jean outing him.  But, that's not really true, given Bobby, Jr. essentially outed Bobby, Sr.  But, Bobby, Jr. hits the nose on the head when he says he feels awesome now; he's not comforted by the idea he'll eventually be awesome.  Plus, Scott has to accept the fact that it really is suicide for him; it feels that way for everyone else, but they at least have an adult counterpart.  He will die.  But, Bunn doesn't dwell on that too much.  In fact, he has Hank specifically say it's Bobby who suffers the worse fate, because they really are destroying the people they've become and he's gone the farthest (even if it came form Jean's intervention).  If anything, I'm disappointed it's Brisson and not Bunn who'll wrap up the kids' story, but it is what it is, I guess.

Also Read:  Amazing Spider-Man #5; Darth Vader #21; Detective Comics #988; The Weatherman #4; Ms. Marvel #34

Not-Very-New Comics: The August 1 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Astonishing X-Men #14:  OK, last issue might’ve been slow, but this issue is pretty great.  Rosenberg leaves you feeling like a fly on the wall as he focuses on the banter, conversation, and dynamics between the characters.  We get an incredibly sexy, bearded Colossus sounding like Colossus should sound in my head canon (as he rarely does in other authors' hands).  We get Dazzler desperate to leave her middling tour only to discover the “team” actually came for Forge because he was on the hit list that Beast found in one of the Reavers’ processing units.  We have Warpath joining the team under orders from Kitty.  Last but not least, we’ve got zombie Banshee, who...doesn’t seem to be doing so well.  Rosenberg makes it clear that they’re all there for redemption, even if they maybe wished for different teammates for that journey.  But, rather than just use overwrought dialogue to exposit that information, Rosenberg uses witty banter to get there, such as Dazzler criticizing Alex for putting together a sausage party after she learns that he’s not there for her or Alex constantly having to explain that they’re not technically X-Men.  It reminds me of Fraction’s run on “Uncanny X-Men,” which is high praise.

Batman #52:  OK, I’m willing to buy the idea that someone framed Freeze by freezing the women’s brains after the coroner examined them.  But, King will have to explain the coincidence of it being women exactly Freeze’s wife’s age who died at exactly the same time and of exactly the same problem.  (I assume if you buy that Freeze is being framed, that could work.)  I also guess that I can accept the idea of him preemptively preparing for a conflict with Batman, even if it violated his parole to do so.  But, like the difficult woman on the jury, I just don’t buy that he continued to confess to the GCPD for days because he was scared of Batman.  It’s here where Bruce is confusing “reasonable doubt” with any ol' doubt.  Like, yes, in theory, space aliens could’ve caused Mount Vesuvius to explode and wipe out Pompeii.  But, it's unlikely.  “Reasonable” doubt means a believable double, and Bruce’s failing to convince me of his “doubt.”

Captain America #2: I’m really excited about where Coates is going here, as he seems ready to take on a lot of sacred cows.  Steve admits to himself that HYDRA took over the United States not just with a guy wearing his face but with a guy driven by his same need for people to see him as a man:  Coates recalls how Kobik told him to be strong again.  (We have echoes of "Avenging Spider-Man" #5 here.)  It’s what drove Steve to volunteer for the Super-Soldier Program because he was afraid that he was going to be the only boy to remain a boy in the wake of the war.  It’s a brilliant insight into Steve, giving him an honest-to-God weakness for possibly the first time. It’s also driving his need for redemption, as he’s unable to forgive himself as Sharon tells him that he needs to do.  (Don’t we all, Sharon?  Don’t we all?)  It's why he’s made a deal with the Black Panther to take on the Nuke soldiers, despite Thunderbolt Ross telling him that he had to stop his unauthorized missions.  But, Coates goes even one step further:  he shows Steve marinating in the FACT Channel’s conspiracy theories about him, that he and the Supreme Commander are the same person.  Ross alluded to the lack of trust that Washington now has in him, and Steve is obsessed with that absence.  He’s obsessed with it just like the rest of us get obsessed over how people see us, unable to disconnect when we know we should.  In other words, man, Coates is really on fire here.

Infinity Wars #1:  Blah blah blah.  Gamora hornswaggled Peter with a kiss and stole the Power Gem, somehow became Requiem in the day or so between that moment and the Infinity Watch meeting here, and demands the Soul Gem.  She also allegedly kills Peter after saying nothing ever dies.  Sure, OK.  But, it’s really the timeframe that bothers me here.  In “Infinity Countdown,” we saw Requiem force the dwarf to make her the sword, which we now know contains the Power Gem.  I guess that it could’ve happened in the short timeframe we see here, but I thought it actually happened a long time ago.  Also, in “Infinity Wars Prime” #1, Dr. Strange was still lying about possessing the Time Gem even though he called together the Infinity Watch at the end of “Infinity Countdown” #5.  I guess in theory that it could all work sequentially, if you just assume the events of “Infinity Wars Prime” #1 happened before the end of “Infinity Countdown” #5.  It just feels unnecessarily complicated, with Duggan skipping steps.  (We also don’t learn why Iron Lad, and not Kang, came with Adam Warlock to the Infinity Watch meeting.  But, that seems a minor concern at this point.)  Also, Loki meets a version of himself from another universe who wields Mjolnir and talks about the “original” universe.  Is he talking about the one before “Secret Wars?”  I guess we’ll see.

Nightwing #47: This arc doesn’t wrap up nicely, and I totally dig that.  Dick and Babs discover Cloke is really just Wyrm’s somewhat willing victim, as we learn that Wyrm approached him about getting revenge on the three men who shoved him in front of a subway train.  But, we still don’t really know Wyrm’s plans.  We know that he wants to ensnare Earth’s heroes in a “dark web" and that he thought that Dick was the perfect target given his extensive connections with other heroes.  But, we don't know what he wants to do once he was them all in his web.  Dick says that Wyrm is heading to Gotham next, though Percy doesn’t make it clear how Dick knows that.  That said, I’d do the same thing if I were Wyrm.  Making matters all the more confusing, Wyrm manages to pull Cloke through Babs’ phone before he can reveal much more information to the pair, making me wonder in what form we’re going to see him next.

Star Wars #52:  C-3PO, Action Hero!  I always love stories where Artoo and Threepio are the secret heroes of the Rebellion, and this one is no different.  Han realizes that he can’t outmaneuver Vader long enough to pass Luke the message that the hangar doors will open if the ship is broadcasting a Rebel frequency.  However, he notices that one of the cruisers is jettisoning loose escape pods, and it gives him the idea to fire Threepio in a pod at Luke's cruiser.  Han maneuvers through the fire and rubble of the destroyed cruiser to lose Vader for a moment, and Threepio makes it to the cruiser.  But, he’s forced to crawl his way to the airlock, where Luke finds him.  He mentions that it isn’t in his programming to do all that, and Gillen is really making a larger point here, about how Threepio has exceeded his programming.  He’s doing it for his friends, and, man, it made me cry, just as Luke naming his group of ships Rogue Squadron in honor of Jyn Erso did.  This series just gets better and better.

X-Men:  Gold #33:  This issue serves as a coda to my complaints about “Batman” #50 and “X-Men Gold” #30, as Rachel breaks off her relationship with Kurt in order to process the realization that she almost killed everyone.  She says she can’t do so as one-half a couple, again making it clear the editors and authors of Marvel Comics clearly break off relationships the minute anyone faces trouble.  I just don't know what to do with that anymore.

X-Men:  Gold Annual #2:  In this annual, McGuire uses a story about a 14-year-old Kitty Pryde’s time at camp to underline the scapegoating problem that mutants face.  Kitty returns to the camp to try to be normal, something she gets to feel when she reunites with her summer best friends.  Later, looking for her missing phone, Kitty discovers that the junior counselors have been stealing people’s stuff for years, and she uses her powers to return the items to everyone.  But, she goes one step further, scaring the counselors by pretending to be a ghost.  The counselors tell everyone that they saw a real, live mutant, and anti-mutant hysteria takes over the camp.  Kitty’s best friends out her as a “mutant sympathizer,” and she’s forced to meet Asher, one of the kids outside the popular clique to which she belonged.  He’s also a mutant, and when they kiss he’s horrified, saying that breeding for people like them should be a crime.  (Getting a little ahead of ourselves, aren't we, kiddo?)  Kitty’s friends eventually apologize, and she points out the junior counselors were humans and dangerous assholes (e.g., they pushed a girl in a wheelchair into the lake).  But, McGuire makes his point here, that hate is irrational:  her friends sort of agree, but it’s half-hearted.  Asher’s self-hatred shows how deep this hatred runs, and Kitty is left realizing that maybe she doesn’t want to be normal after all.

Also Read:  Ben Reilly:  Scarlet Spider #22

Not-Very-New Comics: The July 25 Marvel Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Infinity Wars Prime #1:  OK, here we go.  After the pretty crappy ending of "Infinity Countdown," I can't say I'm all that excited about this event, but I'm game for at least reading the main series.  We'll wait and see about the tie-in series.  At any rate, Duggan gives us three separate (and seemingly unconnected) stories here.  First, Loki discovers that he remembers the tales told in the books in the Asgardian library differently than they're recounted.  He complains he's never the hero of the story, and I wonder if we're going to get an explanation why everyone has seemingly turned their back on Loki as the God of Stories (as he was at the end of "Loki:  Agent of Asgard").  When Loki asks why the stories all involve the same people in different universes, the tomekeeper leads him to a book she remembers dealing with that subject.  But, they're both surprised when the ending has been torn from the book, so they go to the Quarry of Creation, which the tomekeeper remembers also has something to do with the tale.  Elsewhere, Adam Warlock consults with Dr. Strange about the disturbing changes within the Soul Gem.  When they use the Ropes of the Xiand Nomads to enter the Soul Gem (the ropes allow them to stay anchored to our realm), an enormous creature (presumably the one that entrapped Hank Pym in a dreamscape at the end of "Infinity Countdown") looms over the landscape and kills a surprised Adam Warlock.  Dr. Strange is forced to reveal his possession of the Time Gem to Adam in order to save him.  Finally, Requiem, as we seem to be calling the person who had the dwarf create a sword for her in "Infinity Countdown," kills Thanos and then the Chitauri warriors he ruled.  Standing over Thanos' body, she declares the past dead.  (It's some form of Gamora, right?  Maybe Nebula?)  All in all, it isn't a terrible issue, though I still feel like I'm missing something.  At the end of "Infinity Countdown," for example, Dr. Strange summoned the Infinity Watch.  Yet, here, he's lying to Adam Warlock about having the Time Gem.  Does this story take place before "Infinity Countdown" #5?  If not, this part doesn't seem to make much sense.  Whatever.  We'll see where we go from here.

Marvel 2-in-One #8:  Chip Zdarsky, STOP MAKING ME CRY.  After the most recent issue of "Peter Parker:  The Spectacular Spider-Man," it's just too many feels!  With their powers gone, Ben and Johnny are forced to live normal lives on this strange new world.  After Johnny learns Ben asked this Universe's Amadeus Cho to send out a signal to the Avengers and not just Reed and Sue, he realizes Ben has lied to him:  Reed, Sue, and the kids are dead.  Their subsequent fight is heartbreaking, as Ben confesses he lied because he was worried Johnny was falling to pieces and Johnny only half-heartedly insists he was pulling himself together.  The Fantastic Four returns shortly, but I'm going to miss this period of Ben and Johnny needing to find a way just to rely on each other.  But, I won't miss the crying, Chip!

Mr. and Mrs. X #1:  This issue is goddamn perfect in every way.  Thompson gives Remy and Rogue the wedding they deserved, not the afterthought ceremony we saw in "X-Men Gold" #30.  Moreover, her mastery of their banter is even better than it was during the "Rogue and Gambit" mini-series.  They're definitely in love, but it doesn't mean that they don't have issues or that they can't laugh at each other's expense.  In the letters page, Thompson explicitly mentions how comics can be hard on marriages.  In so doing, she addresses the elephant in the room, essentially promising at least a decent amount of time before we have to worry about them getting a divorce.  With that sort of commitment -- the commitment I think we all expected to get with Bruce and Selina and Kitty and Piotr -- our couple and this series are on solid footing.  It allows Thompson to jump into the deep end, as she does here as Remy and Rogue take a honeymoon in space and come face-to-face with a mysterious egg, Cerise and the Imperial Guard, and Deadpool!  Best start to a series EVER!

Multiple Man #2:  I mean, OK, it's not like I expected a mini-series about the Multiple Man that also involved time travel was going to make much sense.  Rosenberg even plays with that premise throughout this issue to great effect.  But, at some point, it has to make some sense.  As far as I can tell, the dupe we meet here somehow became evil and killed hundreds of thousands of people when he took over the world.  His recent jaunt to the future has already changed it, though seemingly making his repression even more brutal.  Moreover, his return to that future gives him the idea to create the super-powered dupes that save him last issue, completing the loop.  But, at this point, you just have to wonder why he doesn't go to the past and save the real Madrox the moment before Black Bolt releases the Terrigen Mist.  In fact, he could save everyone who died because of the Mist.  After all, altering the "future" isn't any better than altering the "past" since at some point they're the same thing.  [Sigh.]  Fucking time travel.  At any rate, Madrox's interactions with his son and Layla are the best, as the creative team makes Davey's hope and Layla's despair evident.  But, I'd like to follow what's happening at some point.

X-Men:  Blue #32:  Magneto has seen the future, as he mentions here, though I'll admit I can't remember when that happened.  At any rate, he seems to have seen disaster, including something happening to Bobby in particular.  But, he won't tell the kids, though they seem to draw the conclusion that their time in the "present" is growing short.  I'm still intrigued how Marvel is going to resolve their story, and it's increasingly clear we're getting there soon.

Also Read:  Amazing Spider-Man #2; Star Wars:  Doctor Aphra #22; Star Wars:  Lando - Double or Nothing #3