Not-Very-Deep Thoughts: The May 31 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Captain America:  Sam Wilson #22:  The best line in this issue is when Sam tells Scott Lang that there's no point trying to save America because America never wanted them in the first place.  Again, Spencer gets right to the heart of the current state of affairs in America politics.  From the pro-HYDRA guys in the diner telling Sam they're fine with HYDRA so long as they get manufacturing jobs to the mobs harassing Inhumans, Spencer paints a picture using colors we see every day in the newspapers.  It gives this issue an energy missing from the main series (and I think the main series is still pretty solid).  Sam's decision to avoid the other heroes' attempts to save the day and instead focus on the little people feels right.  He's still smarting from the lessons he learned as Captain America, but he can't turn his back on people in need.  Characterization is hard to do in an event this big, but you can tell Spencer's been with Sam a long time reading this issue.

Moon Knight #14:  The devastating part about this issue is the revelation it won't continue.  The creative team has provided a definitive take on Moon Knight, one that seems impossible to imagine another creative team changing.  But, it is possible.  We've seen Jason Aaron back off the amazing work Al Ewing did with Loki on "Loki:  Agent of Asgard," turning him again into the God of Lies instead of the God of Stories.  I hold out hope Aaron is only portraying other Asgardians' unchanged view of Loki, and the Loki Ewing delivered to us in "Loki:  Agent of Asgard" #13 will one day appear.  But, it's a reminder that a 14-issue series isn't enough to cement a changed narrative.  Lemire so brilliantly brings Mark to a conclusion here, as he embraces his other personalities, referring to himself in the royal "we" as he dismisses Khonshu and finds peace with his illness.  I was never a huge Moon Knight fan before this series, but now Marc Spector is pretty much my everything, a feeling I remember from the end of "Loki:  Agent of Asgard."  I worry anyone else will lead him astray, resurrecting previous incarnations for him because it fits with whatever event is currently destroying the Marvel Universe.  That apprehension and fear is the perfect sign of how amazing of a story the creative team told and how grateful I am that I got to experience it as it unfolded.

Spider-Gwen #20:  It's difficult to follow all the people coming after Harry and, by extension, Gwen in this issue.  Wolverine wants the bounty on his head, even though I'm not sure who put out the bounty.  S.H.I.E.L.D.?  Why would S.H.I.E.L.D. want Harry?  I thought he went rogue from Silk, not S.H.I.E.L.D.?  But, S.H.I.E.L.D. sent Shadowcat to capture Harry, so, if Logan is working off a S.H.I.E.L.D. bounty, why would they double up their agents?  Or, are they freelance bounty hunters?  That would make more sense.  It can't be the Hand, since Matt already had Gwen going after Harry.  Maybe we don't know yet?  In a way, this confusion helps sell Gwen's decision here to turn her back on Murdoch  and stand with Harry.  Too many people are asking her to trust them, so she sticks with the one person she can trust.  The only problem, as she herself reminds Harry, is that she and her father have a lot riding on that deal with Murdoch.  Latour hasn't portrayed Murdoch as someone easily outfoxed, which means I don't think this one is going to turn out well for Gwen.

Teen Titans Annual #1:  Time-travel stories are the worst under the best circumstances, but this one joins the mile-long list of ones that make no sense whatsoever.  The resolution of this story comes when the Teen Titans and the Titans travel into the past to try to stop Deathstroke from saving Grant.  (They're worried doing so will change the present, lest you think they're just mean.)  They unexpectedly find themselves face-to-face with the Teen Titans of that era.  Damian decides to kill past Wally (for reals), cutting off Deathstroke's connection to the Speed Force at the source.  That would make some sense, I guess, except for the fact it doesn't make any sense in the context of previous events.  After all, even if Deathstroke doesn't have Wally's access to the Speed Force, he still has Kid Flash's.  (Speaking of this conundrum, Wally somehow managed to keep his access to the Speed Force despite Deathstroke using it to charge his battery, but Kid Flash lost his access for the same reason.  Maybe the writing team explained that at some point, but I've got bigger fish to fry.)  At any rate, to make matters more confusing, Deathstroke apparently doesn't need their powers, because he's learned how to connect to the Speed Force on his own.  As such, I'm not sure why Damian's action does anything at all.  All it seems to do is restore Kid Flash's access to the Speed Force, though Priest never explains why it would do so.  At any rate, Kid Flash rushes into the Speed Force to save Deathstroke lest he get loss in there.  But, he doesn't know what he's doing, so Wally has to go save him from getting lost in the Speed Force.  (Yes, by the end of this issue, I was just desperately hoping no one said "Speed Force" again.)  Then, everyone hugs (for reals) to give Wally a connection to the present, and everyone lives happily ever after.  I mean, other than Wally, who apparently now has a pacemaker after Damian killed him in the past, and Deathstroke, who quits the mercenary business because he has all the sads.  Everyone else is totes happy.  The only real winner seems to be Dick, because no one ever learned about his Lazarus contract with Deathstroke, a contract that still doesn't make sense to me and seems completing incidental to the events of this arc.  In other words, this event might have started off well, but it quickly disintegrating into the usual nonsense we get from time-travel stories.

Also Read:  Generation X #2; Occupy Avengers #7; Secret Empire #3; Star Wars:  Doctor Aphra #7

Not-Very Deep Thoughts: The March 1 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

The Clone Conspiracy Omega #1:  First, unless you're really, really invested in Rita Clarkson, the doctor who helped Ben at New U, you can skip this issue entirely.  In the aftermath of last issue, Ben tips off some angry family members to Rita's location so he can be on hand to save her life when they attack her.  In return, Rita goes all damsel-in-distress and hands Ben her IRA since he doesn't have any cash.  (Rita doesn't believe him when he admits he arranged for the guys to attack her.  Apparently doctors can be idiots.)  Shouldn't she be in jail?  Everyone is pretty clear as they're cleaning up the scene of the crime that she's in trouble.  Shouldn't they prevent her from going to her "favorite watering hole?"  At the very least, wouldn't you want to be able to prevent her from withdrawing her life savings, given she's likely a flight risk?  I guess not.  Beyond Rita's story, Slott uses the same shtick he did in the "Amazing Spider-Man" tie-in issues, filling in moments between the scenes in the main series.  The problem is these scenes still make no sense.  Peter is irate with Kaine for not telling him sooner that everyone was going to become Carrion zombies...even though I'm fairly certain he did tell him.  (Is he mad Kaine didn't tell him the clones would dissolve?  Isn't that what clones do?)  Moreover, Ben still suffers from a lack of consistent characterization, even under Peter David.  As you can see in his manipulation of Rita, he's still in full Bond-villain mode here, and I struggle to see why any of us would want to read his new title.  He isn't a nuanced villain, like Dr. Doom or Magneto.  He's as crazy as the original Jackal, and I can only tolerate him every fifty issues or so.  [Sigh.]  Meanwhile, the Rhino has all the sads, the Lizard's family turns into lizards like him, Jerry's wife is suing Peter, the Kingpin gives Peter Norman Osborn's whereabouts, yadda yadda yadda.  Who the fuck cares at this point?

Avengers #5:  I still have no idea what Waid is doing here, but it's fun to look at del Mundo's art so I guess I'll have to live with that.  People seem to love what Waid is doing.  I admit it's super-cool to see the present Avengers interact with the former teams, chosen for how they can help implement Sam's plan to take down Kang.  But, the story still makes no sense to me.  At one point, future Vision claims Sam inspired the Avengers' rallying cry when he said it in front of the original members.  If that's true, why wouldn't they themselves remember that?  Present Wasp never said to Sam, "Hey, did I ever tell you you're the guy who coined 'Avengers Assemble?'  By the way, you become Captain America at some point."  I could also talk about how it makes no sense Kang's minions can "mine" time or how it's unclear how the Avengers identified which links in Kang's billion-year long supply chain were the most essential.  But, I guess I'm just supposed to go with it.  It's like Xena said in that episode of "The Simpsons:"  if something happens that doesn't make sense, a wizard did it!  (Only, this time, the wizard is a synthezoid named Vision, at least in the latter case.)

Hawkeye #4:  OMG, Jessica Jones!  Mentor in awesomeness and private-eyeing!  Twist I did not see coming!  First things first:  frat-boy Greg was the looming figure at the end of last issue.  As suspected, he's been using the TBC stickers to prime hate, allowing him to absorb it and become, in Kate's words, a third-rate Hulk.  In possibly the best denouement of the year, Kate is able to lure him to an outdoor sing-along "Sound of Music" performance, and the positivity that comes with that causes him to de-Hulk.  (Seriously, that's just effing brilliant.  I've never seen that in comics before.  I love the idea of Thompson sitting around thinking, "OK, what's the most positive thing I can imagine?  Positive, positive, positive...")  You'd almost think everything worked out well, as Kate ends the issue happy and with her new crew in place.  Rivera even agrees she's getting a nickname!  But, then we go dark.  Greg asks to see Kate, and he mentions he should've recognized "the resemblance."  Kate believes this comment connects him to her father, and we learn she's in Los Angeles (and stalking surfer Brad) to find her father.  But, Greg blows up before he can say anything else.  (Suspicious.)  Thankfully, when Kate arrives at her apartment, Jessica is there with Brad.  Dun-dun-DUN!

Midnighter and Apollo #6:  I often struggle with violence in comic books.  Modern authors are aware of the challenge this violence presents in a way that, say, Stan Lee wasn't.  But, at some point probably every month, I have a moment where I think, "Why am I reading stories about super-powered beings beating on each other?"  But, Midnighter bottom lines it here rather nicely (and in his boxer-briefs to boot).  He tells Apollo he's going to keep on killing bad guys so people don't have to live without someone they love.  He can't imagine anything worse, after coming close to it in this adventure.  Honestly?  That's a pretty solid reason.  Moreover, we learn Apollo chose his name not because he thought of himself as a sun god, but because Apollo turned his lover Hyacinth into something better when he thought he was going to lose him.  Midnighter doesn't ask for redemption, and Apollo doesn't ask permission to give it to him.  They are who they are, and thank God they are the type of people to play sexy, half-naked chess in their apartment.  In other words?  I fucking love these two.  

Moon Knight #12:  This issue couldn't be more exciting.  Lemire and Smallwood's pacing is really spectacular.  First, we have Marc unexpectedly being joined by his alter egos in the Overvoid, who help him rescue Anput and escape with Crawley.  This entire sequence is amazing, from the smugly bemused look on handsome Steve's face to spaceman Marc facilitating their escape with his spaceship.  (Spaceship!)  It's like a great pulp film come to life.  But, it's Marc's adventures in Saudi Arabia as a mercenary that really leap off the page for their realism.  Lemire is giving us a ring-side seat to Marc's descent into darkness.  Frenchie advises him not to meet the crime lord giving them jobs, but Marc chases the money, wanting more.  When we meet the Bushman, it's clear why Frenchie was nervous.  I've always known Marc was a mercenary when he became Moon Knight, but it was always sort of a throw-away piece of information, like how Peter Parker won a science fair as a kid or something.  It was just part of the background.  But, Lemire is walking us through this period, and it's amazing to watch.  It's really a chance to get to know this character, and I feel like, in the end, I'll be able to call myself a legitimate Moon Knight fan.  That's exciting stuff right there.

Nightwing #16:  The good news is we don't get confirmation Shawn is dead here.  The bad news is the guy who seems to have kidnapped her calls himself Deathwing so her survival isn't looking so good.  The issue starts with Dick taking down a hilariously ridiculous group of criminals called the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  Lest you think they're all cool like the X-Men's version, they're a bunch of small-time hoods wearing horse-head masks.  (Seriously.)  Dick makes short work of them.  Then, Damian appears suddenly; he's traveled from San Francisco because he's bothered by people on Twitter claiming Dick is the true heir.  He tries to challenge Dick to some sort of duel, but Shawn calls at that moment to tell Dick she may be pregnant.  Dick doesn't have patience for Damian's antics and tackles him, dismissing him as a hormonal teenager.  He picks up a pregnancy test on his way to Shawn's apartment (I'd love to know how exactly he swung that in his costume) and discovers Shawn is missing.  He's distraught just as Damian arrives, having followed him.  This next part is amazing as Damian apologizes in his way:  he tells Dick he's sorry they fought and urges Dick to apologize for being terse.  Seeley gets Damian, y'all.  At any rate, Dick leaves Damian again, but Damian finds the pregnancy test and realizes Dick is in trouble.  He meets Dick with their old Batmobile, and Dick realizes he needs help:  as Damian said, he's emotional and he's going to get himself killed without Damian.  It's touching in the way it's always touching with these guys:  it's not like they ever hug, but the love is there.  Moreover, Seeley makes it clear why Dick is going to need Damian.  As I mentioned, the perpetrator of the kidnapping is a guy named Deathwing.  We meet him at the scene of the crime Dick stopped at the start of this issue.  He's now  killed the Horsemen and the cops Dick had someone call to arrest them.  This guy is definitely playing for keeps.

Spider-Man 2099 #21:  I'll admit we have a lot going on here.  Electro 2099 is after Sonny, probably on behalf of the Fist and probably because Sonny knows something he shouldn't know.  However, he has amnesia, though it's not clear to me the Fist knows that.  Miguel manages to save Sonny and capture Electro.  He plans on interrogating Electro into telling him when the Fist attacks Times Square, and we learn it's this attack that destroys New York and allows Nueva York to be built.  However, I'm still a little confused by this revelation.  First, if Miguel knows the Fist attack creates Nueva York, then it can't be the event that altered his future; it's the event that essentially created his future.  After all, the reason he's stuck in the present is because his 2099 was eliminated.  Maybe this attack creates Roberta's 2099 not Miguel's 2099?  If so, it makes sense she knows the Fist attack that created Nueva York in her 2099.  But, again, if Miguel knows about it, it doesn't seem to be relevant to his goal of re-engineering his 2099.  In fact, he has to let it happen.  If it is the event to create the alternate future (possibly Roberta's), then we still don't know how Miguel created the Fist in the past.  Since they already exist, it implies this action-forcing event has already taken place, but it's unclear what it is.  As I said, it's a lot.

Star Wars #29:  This story has been on a slow burn, but Aaron throws some kerosene on the fire in this issue.  The concept of "stonepower" as the syncretic version of the Force has been intriguing, mostly because its practitioners could obviously learn a thing or two from Yoda.  They do so here, but it's not the lesson Yoda wanted them to learn.  After he discovers the stone the Rockhawkers prize is part of a living mountain, he re-awakens the mountain.  We learn he's the last remaining giant who used to live on this world, before the power-hungry humans reduced them to rubble.  Yoda and Garro leave the mountain as its lava (i.e., blood) starts flowing, and Garro reveals its secret to his fellow Rockhawkers as a way of getting in good with them again.  A disappointed Yoda returns to the Muckwhackers to prepare them for war, correctly predicting the Rockhawkers will send the revived mountain after the Muckwhackers .  But, Aaron kicks up the story a notch when Luke arrives on the planet in the present to learn the fate of the mountain.  (No, he didn't finish the story first.  Is that a convenient device?  Yes, yes, it is.  But, is Luke also enough of an impatient idiot to make it believable?  Yes, yes,  he is.)  An older Garro -- the man we likely saw last issue talking to Ben on Tatooine -- greets him, telling Luke he's the last of the Rockhawkers and he's going to help him end the war.  Given the body of the giant is buried in the sand next to where they're standing, I'm intrigued to see exactly how Luke is going to do that.

Also Read:  Batman #18; Champions #6

Not-Very-Deep Thoughts: The February 1 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

All-New X-Men #1.MU:  Honestly, this issue is one of the best stand-alone issues I've ever read, let alone one connected to an event.  Whitley really has an excellent bead on the characters' personalities. But, he goes beyond that, shows us those personalities when they're pushed into uncomfortable or new places:  Warren adjusting to being the responsible one, Laura having to contemplate why she's part of a team, Idie reacquainting herself with her faith.  On top of that, their interactions with each other really sing:  you can really feel the warmth in Gambit and Laura's relationship, for example.  (In fact, Whitley's Gambit is probably the best version of him I've ever read, getting to the person behind the accent and charm.)  Plus, the action is legitimately fun, thanks to Barberi's great sense of motion.  Honestly, it's a good time had by all.  Laissez les bon temps rouler indeed.

Avengers #4:  Yup, you guessed it:  I still have no idea what the fuck is happening.  Kang narrates this issue and, as amazingly beautiful as it is, I still wrestle with all the usual problems with Kang.  As Waid walks us through Kang's "history," you just have to wonder how it's at all possible.  How does he live eternally?  Why does he live eternally?  What motivates him?  Why is conquering only one era not enough?  This issue makes it clear Waid has big ideas when it comes to Kang, but every author has to answer these questions about Kang if their story is going to make sense.  After the virtually nonsensical first arc, I have my doubts.  Why does everyone insist on starting their run on "Avengers" with a Kang story?  It's like learning to swim in the deep end.

Batman #16:  If you've been reading this blog for a long time, you know that I'm pretty much obsessed with the need for the Bat-family to have a big group hug.  I come as close as I'm ever going to get to that in this issue.  King has the four living Robins go to Bat-burger with Bruce, where Jason admits that he loves Jokerized fries despite "the crowbar and all."  We then see Damian and Jason engage in a food fight while Dick confirms to a bewildered Duke that, yes, Bruce, the man raised by the butler, eats his hamburger with a fork and knife.  Although Bruce proves to be the downer when he angrily notes Tim's absence, I don't care.  I would read an entire series devoted to the Robins having burgers with each other.  King eventually has to get to the point of this meeting:  Bruce asks the boys to vacate Gotham since Bane is on the way and he doesn't want any of them to die (again).  But, it's really all about the meal at Batburger.  Don't worry, Jason:  despite what Damian says about your hairline, I'll still love you.

Hawkeye #3:  I really love everything Thompson is doing here.  It's the L.A. Kate Fraction was trying to write but never quite got right.  Thompson has Kate's Scooby gang fully assembled here:  handsome Johnny, grumpy but game Ramone, hacker Watson, and, most importantly, inside-woman Detective Rivera.  My guess is the large dude looming over Kate at the end of this issue is nefarious surfer Brad, but we'll see.  At this stage, we still don't know why he would be so obsessed with Mikka, so it's possible it is creepy Larry.  On some level, it doesn't matter, because it's just fun to spend time inside Kate's head.  Thompson has her internal narrative down pat, making even searching a house (and finding a dude on the toilet) an exercise in fun.

Moon Knight #11:  This series has been all about Marc's past, but, in truth, we haven't seen much of it from a narrative perspective.  We know his friends and his personas pretty well, but, if you're a new reader like I am, you don't know anything about the details of his life.  Lemire remedies that problem here in a typically creative fashion, showing us flashes of Marc's past as he fights his way through the Overvoid.  (He's trying to find something Anubis lost so Anubis will give him back his friend's soul.)  We see Marc being released from the psychiatric ward where he seems to have spent years, a grown man at this point.  He is released only for a time, to attend his father's funeral.  Afterwards, he rebuffs his mother's assertion that his father would've been happy he came by reminding her how disappointed his father had been in him.  Later, we see him lying to recruiters about his mental illness to join the Marines, but his strange behavior (including a sexy naked walk through a mine field) leads him to being dishonorably discharged.  (That seems harsh, by the way.  They discover he lied about his mental illness, but don't get him help?)  Marc goes AWOL in Baghdad, and we eventually see him meeting Frenchie after he wins a bout at an underground fight club.  Throughout this narrative, we see hints of Khonshu speaking to him, observing Marc will do anything he needs to do to be cured.  (Lemire's Khonshu at this point is definitely the villain of the story, an opportunist looking to exploit Marc's weaknesses to be reborn.)  In the Overvoid, Marc finds Aput, Anubis' wife, but he'll have to survive being sacrificed to the Overvoid's gods if he's going to save her.  I still marvel (heh) after all these issues at Lemire's ability to tell so many stories on so many levels in so many time periods while still holding onto the threat of the narrative.  It's a wonder to behold, and Smallwood's art infuses it with an emotional depth that's hard to explain.  I don't think I've seen a better duo since Snyder/Jock on "Detective Comics."  I also agree with Kaylee in the letters page:  a great story plus the most handsome Mark ever?  What more could you want?

Nightwing #14:  Seeley has a pretty decent track record for wrapping up loose ends, and he does the same here.  Dick and Shawn track down Jimmy thanks to Shawn poking through his finances and discovering an odd investment:  his "quiet reflection project" that just so happens to be located in a toxic-waste site.  Svoboda gets credit for the collar as planned, and Nightwing and the Run-Offs are exonerated.  Dick even gets the girl, in a clever twist on a fantasy sequence, where Dick imagines telling Shawn who he is and she guesses anyway.  (They kiss in both fantasy and reality.)  Moreover, Dick's personal life doesn't get a boost just from his burgeoning romance with Shawn, but the fact he's taking over her position at the community center since she was fired given her connection to the murders.  (This part seemed a little unfair, since she was definitively proven innocent.)  I do wish Seeley spent a little more time on fleshing out Cherry and Jimmy's relationship, since we learn in this issue that Cherry was the one feeding Jimmy information about corruption.  Seeley doesn't really tell us how Cherry came to use Jimmy as her avenging angel or why she felt so strongly about corruption in the first place.  But, it seems possible we'll return to these characters at some point:  at the end of the issue, an accident causes Jimmy's face to bond with broken shards of a mirror.  Although Mirror-Face isn't a great name for a villain, it's clear that someone with that good of a shtick is going to return.  Other than this small complaint, this arc really does establish Dick in Blüdhaven.  Since Dick resumed being Nightwing in 2011, I don't think we've had firmer ground under our feet when it comes to Dick, and I'm excited to see where Seeley takes us.

Nova (2017) #3:  As expected, Rich starts doling out girl advice here, telling Sam that the thing he learned by dying is that he wish he would've talked to more girls when he was alive.  Sam is worried Lina -- (the girl whose name his brain screams, as Cosmo tells us) -- will reject him, and Rich tells him that he'll live if that happens.  After all, again, Rich died, so he's got a pretty solid perspective on that front.  But, Loveness and Pérez actually call into question here whether Rich "died" or "remains dead;" when he uses his powers here, he reverts to his Cancerverse self, even if no one else (or, at least, Sam) doesn't see him in that form.  The mystery continues.  At any rate, Loveness and Pérez really capture the Rich we all know and love, the caring and charming straight guy who feel responsibility for taking care of everyone around him.  Speaking of girls and love, enter Gamora next issue!

Spider-Man 2099 #20:  I enjoy Miguel having an archenemy in the present in the form of Man Mountain Marko.  It adds a nice touch.  Of course, his real archenemy, his father, is also at play here, so it does dim Marko's star a little.  David does a great job using Tyler to remind us just how much Tempest knows about Miguel.  I was worried he was going to spill the beans about Miguel being Spider-Man or being from the future, but Tempest already knows all that.  I think the most significant conversation is actually when Tempest threatens to kill Tyler if he's lying about his ability to cure her, because that feels like clear foreshadowing and not an idle threat.  Also, I haven't mentioned it for a while, but Sliney is really the perfect fit for this title.  His clean lines really imbue it with a futuristic vibe.  It's really smooth sailing over here.

Also Read:  Champions #5; Midnighter and Apollo #5