Six-Month-Old Comics: The August 31 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Knights of X #5:  Overall, I liked the story that Howard tells here, as Betsy and company resurrect Gambit and, in so doing, somehow connect the Siege Perilous with Krakoa.   But the execution was terrible.  She spends the entire issue telling, and not showing, us the story.  For example, the climactic battle - where the entirety of Krakoa takes on King Arthur's army - is reduced to a splash page.  Overall, it's sufficiently anticlimactic to make it hard for me to recommend this miniseries unless you're really committed to Betsy's story.

Moon Knight:  Black, White & Blood #4:  Man, this series was terrible.

Star Wars:  Obi-Wan Kenobi #4:  Cantwell continues to use this series as a way of exploring the darker sides of the galaxy far, far away.  It's exactly the type of stories that I wish we'd see more often.

The issue begins with Obi-Wan recalling the final days of the war, where "victories" like the one he describes on Atraken still resulting in millions of dead and the planet left uninhabitable.  He recalls that he and Anakin were the closest during this period, perhaps due to the need to help each other "purge the shrouds of shadow that threatened to fall across [them]."  Hello, foreshadowing.

Anakin and Obi-Wan arrive for a briefing from Admiral Yularen who asks if Obi-Wan remembers Commander Mekedrix from the Battle of Abrion Bridge.  (He does.)  Mekedrix apparently continued serving the Republic after Abrion Bridge, including at the Battles of Ryloth, of Saleucami, and at the Temple of Eedit (battles from the first, second, and third seasons of "Star Wars:  Clone Wars," respectively).  Yularen informs the pair that Mekedrix went rogue after the Temple of Eedit and formed an execution squad called the Death Wind.  

The Death Wind apparently has no allegiance, striking both Clone Trooper detachments as well as Commerce Guild and Confederacy of Independent Systems high-ranking officials.  Yularen and the Republic's military leadership worry Mekedrix is irrevocably broken given the lack of coherence to the Death Wind's targets, and Yularen essentially orders Anakin and Obi-Wan to assassinate him.  Despite the earlier foreshadowing, Anakin is outraged in a way that Obi-Wan isn't.  Cantwell does a great job here, showing how Obi-Wan and Yularen's lack of shock of the Republic getting into the assassination business is only a few steps from Mekedrix's brokenness.

As Anakin and Obi-Wan's journey through Ando's swamps, Cantwell is clearly miming "Apocalypse Now," particularly when they discover Clone Trooper effigies before arriving at the Sith temple Mekedrix has taken as his own.  When they find Mekedrix bearing a sword made from a Clone Trooper's bones, it isn't exactly a surprise.  Mekedrix believes he "freed" his victims by showing them the truth, that annihilation is our existence's goal.  Obi-Wan tries to get him to see that life exists outside death, but it's too late:  he attacks Obi-Wan with the sword, resulting in Anakin impaling him with his light saber.  With his dying words, Mekedrix admits he used Anakin as "suicide by Jedi," if you will.

Cantwell's use of Anakin is the most interesting here, and I'd love to see Marvel put him on a series that explored Anakin's fall.  Anakin is the most morally grounded character in this issue, and Cantwell hints that it's because he's the one still struggling with his demons.  Mekedrix, Obi-Wan, and Yularen have all resigned themselves to the war that dominates their lives, though obviously with different outcomes.  Anakin's struggle with the violence and how it fits his moral code is unresolved, opening the door to the Emperor's manipulation later.

I feel like this series is a must for any fan of the "Star Wars:  Clone Wars."  I can't recommend it enough.

X-Men #14:  This issue is weird for a tie-in issue, since the X-Men basically treat the Eternals' invasion of Krakoa as an inconvenience.  In a way, they're not wrong, as some gamblers who don't know Gameworld isn't in business anymore dump a flare torpedo in the Sun to take out Earth.  It doesn't help the mutants if they survive the Eternals only to die with Earth.

Bobby creates an ice shield around the planet, and the rest of the X-Men take care of the falling ice after the shield holds.  Unfortunately, Duggan decides to use Bobby's heroism as a way to have Bobby come out publicly in the media.  His speech is shunted to one of this era's beloved interstitial pages, which makes it feel awkward and obligatory.  The subsequent Norma Rae speech the journalist delivers to her editor at the end after he tries to take out the gay part is particularly cringe.  

In fact, the most interesting part of the issue is that Scott declares that Jean is his wife when he arrives at the Progenitor for judgment.  The Hickman era has never really address Jean and Scott's relationship, and I'm hoping this hint is a sign that we're going to get the back story soon.  Also, is everyone just wandering up the Progenitor's way?  Is that how it works?

In other words, Duggan makes the odd decision to use a tie-in issue as a way to address two pretty emotional and significant developments in Bobby, Jean, and Scott's lives.  It's a shame, in my book.  I wish Marvel would find a way to get back to some of the great character moments that Hickman managed to include during the early days of his era.

Also Read:  Amazing Fantasy #1,000

Six-Month-Old Comics: The July 20 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

A.X.E.:  Judgment Day #1:  This issue is solid. 

First things first, this latest iteration of the oversized event issue is almost unique - and seriously helped - by the fact that it has a single art team.  When that team is Schiti and Gracia, it makes for a great experience.  With Gillen providing an interesting story and sharp script, it all comes together nicely.  You feel like you're watching an action movie that actually makes sense.

The action gets going as Destiny realizes that the Eternals, and not Orchis, are coming after the mutants.  She and Mystique head to brief the Quiet Council as Kurt heads to Arakko to brief the Great Ring.  But they're too late.  Druig has successfully convinced the Uni-Mind that the mutants' ability to resurrect means that their deviation will continue forever, something that the Eternals can't allow, particularly as the mutants are now spreading beyond Earth.

With the Uni-Mind's approval, Druig launches two strikes.  As the Council begins to meet on Krakoa, half the Eternals' "committed forces" combine into the Uni-Mind and attack the Council telepathically.  While the Council's telepaths protect their colleagues, a separate group of Eternals launch a physical attack.  The X-Men arrive to help the Krakoans defend the island.  During the battle, Wolverine smells Egg's blood and tracks it to Jack of Knives, stopping her before she can kill Hope.  Realizing that the two attacks were cover for taking out the Five, Wolverine gets Jean to deploy all resources to protecting the Five.  Their mission spoiled, the Eternals retreat.

Since Egg made some extra eggs, the remaining Five are able to resurrect him.  As Wolverine is telling Jean to dispatch X-Force, Kurt arrives, telling the Five to resurrect "them" because Arakko will need leaders.  It turns out Druig's other strike was more effective:  in the hour Druig gave him, Uranos killed most of Arakko.  Gillen makes it clear that this near-genocide will further complicated the X-Men's public-relations problem, as Scott noted earlier that people are still killing mutants so the Five won't be getting to resurrecting humans anytime soon.

With his mixed score card, Druig uses Earthers' smartphones to announce that the Eternals are going after the X-Men.  We see joy in the streets, a sign that the "public-relations problem" means the X-Men are right back at "the hate and fear" stage (as Scott also noted earlier).  That said, humanity's relief might be tempered when they notice the "towering death machines," as Druig dubs them, known as the Hex rising off the western seaboard.

As the Avengers are assembling, Tony realizes that Eternals have entered the Celestial. He encounters Ajak and Makkari.  Ajak notes that they face only two outcomes.  The first, and least acceptable, one is the Eternals fighting the battle (thanks to their own ability to resurrect) until all mutants are dead, leaving Earth a barren wasteland.  The second one is Tony helping Ajak, Makarri, and a bound Sinister build a god who can rewrite the Scripture on which Druig is fighting his holy war.  Tony asks how they're going to make a god, and Ajak makes it clear that they're going to resurrect the Celestial.

Again, it's a great start to this event.  The stakes feel real, particularly since it's clear the Five don't have the capacity to resurrect the million or so mutants Uranos killed in this issue.  Also, humanity cheering on the Eternals probably isn't going to do much for human-mutant relations...

Knights of X #4:  Oof, this series is really going off the rails. 

Gambit's death serves as the sacrifice necessary to open the gate to Mercator, since it turns out Mercator itself is the Siege Perilous.  Rachel saves everyone from facing their fears and kisses Psylocke.  [Eye roll.]  Mercator informs the team that they're in the Siege Perilous but have to face Merlyn, who somehow also managed to enter Mercator in pursuit of Roma, Saturnyne, and Shogo.  

Beyond the ham-fisted kiss, my main complaint about this issue is that we seem to get a ret-conning of Rachel's powers via interstitial page, as Rachel is capable of "chronoskimming."  Maybe Rachel has always had this power, but Howard uses it in a nonsensical way, as she connects it to Rachel's ability to save everyone from their fears.  That seems more connected to Rachel's telepathic abilities, since it isn't like the Siege Perilous is a time-traveling device.

At any rate, this series concludes next issue, and it just feels like one of those mini-series where the end is inevitable and the author is spinning their wheels trying to justify the number of issues needed to get there.

Moon Knight:  Black, White & Blood #3:  I don't know how many different ways I can say this series is awful.  The first two stories in this issue are fine if lackluster.  The third one makes not a lick of sense, once again.  Why am I still buying these issues?

Star Wars:  Han Solo and Chewbacca #4:  This issue moves pretty fast, as it focuses on Chewie storming Graves' villa on Mollo Tanka to rescue Han after Krrsantan captures him.  Along the way, we get some nice moments between Chewie and Han's dad, which makes it all the more depressing when Chewie frees Han only for them to discover Han's dad - and the Falcon - are missing.  Han told Graves that he dropped the urn when Krrsantan nabbed him, so I'm guessing that Han's dad has it.  I'm hoping he and Han had a plan for him to skedaddle with the urn?  Maybe?

Also Read:  Star Wars #25; Star Wars:  Darth Vader #25

Three-Month-Old Comics: The June 15 Edition - Part One (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Ben Reilly:  Spider-Man #5:  I liked this series, but this ending is awful.  

It's supposed to serve as Spidercide's redemption, as he sacrifices himself to save Ben before the convicts kill him.  (Of course, Spidercide released the convicts in the first place, so...)  But Spidercide saves Ben through the same endlessly new powers that he exhibited throughout this series.  In addition to producing his "duplicides" and activating Whelan's "dormant DNA" to turn him into Vermin, Spidercide saves Ben by his ability to fill him with his "life force" (heh).  Moreover, this change of heart comes at a particularly convenient time, drama-wise, given he dismissed Dr. Kafka's previous effort to get him to see his hatred of Ben as the other side of love.  

The only positive thing I have to say about Spidercide is that his new suit is awesome, but he's dead now so I guess it doesn't matter.  

I might have liked this issue more had it appeared before "Amazing Spider-Man" #93, when we still had hope that Ben Reilly was back for good.  Given Ben's conversion into Chasm, though, the hope that this issue is selling falls flat.

Captain America:  Sentinel of Liberty #1:  Kelly and Lanzing take us down the shadowy conspiracy route once again.  We've gone down that road plenty of times with Captain America, though they make a good show of it so far.

Steve is offended when someone dressed as Destroyer - previously, the identity of a former war buddy - plans on attacking New York's Fourth of July parade.  Steve and Bucky manage to defeat him, and his mysterious benefactor kills him remotely to punish him for his failure.  Before he dies, "Destroyer" tells Cap that the shield belongs to "them."  Feeling the truth behind the kid's words, Cap is intent on exploring his legacy.  

Meanwhile, Bucky takes the glowing crystal that he and Cap found in "Destroyer's" mask and announces that he has four enemies left.  I'm assuming that it has to do with "Devil's Reign:  Winter Solider" #1, where Bucky starts hunting down the men who used him outside the Winter Soldier program.  To this end, in the epilogue, a shadowy figure informs similarly shadowy figures that he's put Captain America on the board again for the "century game."  Declaring the last century a draw, the figure makes it clear that he plans on winning this "game."

Kelly and Lanzing make it clear that a central theme of this story will revolve around Cap needing to get past his age.  For example, he's taking art classes at a local community college and befriends some youngsters who make fun of his lack of tech savviness.  In addition, he finds out the Destroyer is going to attack the parade by following a series of numbers that he hears will chatting with his former war buddies over a two-way radio.  (They call themselves Radio Company.)  The Destroyer himself is a young man who derides him as a neofascist, which Cap hardly seems to understand.  

Cap has been due for this reckoning for some time, so I'm intrigued to see where the authors go with it.  So far, they've made the "century game" a believable villain to bring out this change, even with only a few panels dedicated to them.  They seem to exist outside ideology, which makes it more believable that they've been able to manipulate people with ideology behind the scenes.  A post-ideology villain seems very 21st century.

Hulkling & Wiccan #1:  If I have one complaint about this story, it's that everyone is too emotionally actualized.  Eidolon and Goebig exist only as perfect reflections of Billy and Teddy, making it no small wonder they both suspect something is wrong from the minute Billy unconsciously summons them.   

Although it wasn't like I was expecting Trujillo to undermine Billy and Teddy's relationship in a one-shot, the stakes might have felt more real if Eidolon and Goebig themselves felt more real.  

That said, Trujillo could do great stuff with Billy  characters if given a chance.  I think he made the right decision to frame their relationship in the sort of transitional phase that comes with marriage.  It extracts them from the"will they/won't they" cliché that these characters are well past.  But it doesn't mean that the road isn't going to have bumps (and not just sexy purple alien ones).  With less pressure to wrap up the story as neatly, I'd be intrigued where that discussion goes.

Also, it's always fun to see a handsome, shirtless Teddy.  Nishijima might go a little bit too kawaii at times for my liking, but I'm not complaining. 

Moon Knight:  Black, White & Blood #2:  I'm not really sure why I'm still reading this series, after I disliked the first issue so much.  This issue is only marginally better.  The last story is the best one, as Marc tracks down a mercenary who betrayed him years earlier.  It forces Marc not only to address his past amorality taking advantage of African civil wars for profit but also his present white-savior complex when his impulse is to stay in Africa to "help."  The first story is visually interesting though yet another story about whether Marc's mental illness or Khonshu's influence is driving the narrative.  Moreover, it seems to exist outside continuity, which is fine, I guess, but the low stakes makes an already clichéd story all the less interesting.  The middle story is the type of story that makes you roll your eyes at the abuse the hero suffers.  In other words, I'm still a pass on this one, even though I am still reading it.

Three-Weeks-Old Comics: The May 11 (2022) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Captain America:  Symbol of Truth #1:  Honestly, I prefer Sam Wilson stories to Steve Rogers ones at this point.  To make matters even better, Onyebuchi and Silva are a spectacular team.  Silva provides us action sequences that exude kinetic energy, and Onyebuchi finds the perfect combination of Sam Wilson falcon-eyed social commentary and, as Misty says, "typical Captain America #%$&."  I'm also thrilled to see Joaquín and Misty in the rotation.

In terms of the plot, Onyebuchi has a lot of pots on the stove.  First, we've got the mission at hand in this issue.  Mistry provides Sam intel that someone is smuggling Super-Soldier Serum on a train through the Southwest.  Sam and Joaquín arrive at the train at the same time as a group of unaffiliated mercenaries.  Sam and Joaquín eventually defeat the mercs, but Sam learns from the train's conductor that they hadn't even picked up their cargo yet.  Moreover, Joaquín discovers his cousin from Sonora with other immigrants in one of the cars. 

After the battle, Sam talks with a blond woman - who may or may not be Sharon Carter - who works for anti-immigration Senator Mansfield, who sent the Marines to help with arresting the defeated merc.  At Sam's suggestion, Joaquín accompanies his cousin and the other immigrants to the Mansfield-run, off-the-books immigration facility.  Meanwhile, Cap is left wondering why the mission was a bust, as they saw no sign of the Serum.

At the Cumberland Federal Correctional Institute, the White Wolf approaches a slim-seeming Crossbones to work for him.  He says that he's recently gotten into pharmaceuticals, so I assume that he's involved in the Serum debacle.  But, he also wants to overthrow a few countries and have Crossbones kill Sam, so he's a busy guy.

Again, it's a great start to this series, and I'm thrilled to see Sam back in action with the shield.

Moon Knight:  Black, White & Blood #1:  The saddest commentary on this issue is that the most easily understood story is the one told backwards.  The Hickman/Bachalo story is almost incomprehensible due to Bachalo's art, and the Ayodele/Akande story could've been fun if it didn't read like Ayodele wrote it in 15 minutes.  The Guggenheim/Fornés story is the best of the bunch, but it's not where good enough to justify the price.

X-Men #11:  This issue is pretty straight-forward.  

First, we learn that Cordyceps Jones used his powers to infect Mojo's shareholders, "convincing" them to sell him Gameworld lest he kill them.  Mojo orders his minion to make it seem like he's shorting Earth at Gameworld, thereby attracting Cordyceps to Earth and, to Mojo's mind, his downfall.  Jean, Polaris, Rogue, and Wolverine arrive on Gameworld, but everything doesn't go to plan when Cordyceps uses his powers to take over Wolverine and possibly Jean.  

Meanwhile, Synch uses Wolverine's power to follow Dr. Stasis' trail (after he killed Scott) through the sewers, and Cyclops discovers that Stasis is Mr. Sinister, though a version of him who doesn't recognize Cyclops.  

Duggan has a lot going on here, but he's doing a great job keeping them all clear and exciting.  Larraz is also on fire; the entire issue is a joy to behold.