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

Amazing Spider-Man #11:  This issue is solid, as JJJ, Jr. -- desperately seeking acceptance once again from New York's high society -- agrees to Wilson Fisk's invitation to present him with an award at an exclusive private club.  The catch is that Fisk wants Spider-Man there, too, as part of his campaign to make it seem like Spider-Man supports him.  Spencer has a good read on JJJ, Jr., particularly when it comes to the lenses through which other characters, like Robbie Robertson, see him.  That said, I still feel like this series is missing something.  It's not terrible by any means, but Spencer doesn't seem to be hitting his steps as neatly as he did when he was writing "Captain America."

Mr. and Mrs X #6:  I really enjoyed this issue.  We don't really see enough issues focused on the X-Men spending time with each other anymore, and Thompson delivers.  Surprisingly, she's possibly at her best in depicting Bobby and Laura, to the point where I really think we could use a Thompson-penned "Iceman/X-23" road-trip series, something I didn't know I needed until this issue.  But, she also does a great job of showing Remy and Rogue confront their pasts.  Remy has to face down Bella Donna and a Thieves' Guild furious at him for marrying a goody-two-shoes like Rogue.  For her part, Rogue has to encounter Magneto, but it's a much more helpful reunion.  He tells her to talk to Remy about her concerns over her fluctuating powers but also something else she needs to hear, that Remy isn't going anywhere.  Magneto, apparently ever the romantic.

Peter Parker:  The Spectacular Spider-Man #313:  This arc ends more strongly than I expected as Peter successfully outfoxes Morlun, drugging him into submission with tranquilizers he found at the zoo.  It feels inspired by the "Marvel's Spider-Man" videogame, as we don't usually see Peter interact with New York as specifically as he does here (and as he does throughout the videogame).  Peter makes a speech at the end of the issue that summarizes Ryan's assertion on why he defeats Morlun so often, namely that Morlun assumes he's going to win because he's faster and stronger and thus never has a plan.  I more or less buy that logic, and it does at least partly address my criticism of issue #312.  It's not perfect, but I'll take it.  Frigeri is also on fire here; he can draw half-naked Spidey whenever he wants in my book.

Spider-Force #3:  I read the words, but, honestly, I barely understand what they were saying.  I think Priest was telling a story about no one trusting each other, so they made bad decisions.  The problem with that premise is he also repeatedly mentioned they were all bonded to each other after Jameson linked their minds.  But, apparently Kaine lied about his Web-Warrior watch being broken, though I have no idea why he did so?  It doesn't help that understanding this issue requires you to remember what happened in issue #1, since we reach that moment here.  I'm sure if you're reading this series as part of a TPB it might make sense but I don't at all remember the details Priest wants me to remember two months later.  Plus, "Spider-geddon" #4 already spoiled the ending, showing Jessica arriving on Earth-616 with the Solus crystal.  This series had great potential, but it's really just a mess at the end.

Spider-Gwen:  Ghost Spider #3:  I'll admit I don't totally buy the resolution here.  Gwen realizes  the Green Goblin is spending time at the warehouse where she and the Mary Janes practiced in her reality, and she brings Mary Jane with her to try to reason with other Gwen.  The Green Goblin sees Mary Jane and almost instantly remembers who she is, which is...weird.  After all, Mary Jane talks about how the Green Goblin had previously seen her:  every time she threw a pumpkin bomb at Mary Jane, she missed.  If so, why didn't she remember who she was all those times that she saw Mary Jane?  The only thing our Gwen does here to help is remove the Green Goblin's mask, but that seems pretty...basic.  At any rate, I have to say I'm overall happy with the way this arc went because the characterization was really strong.  I wouldn't mind returning to this Earth in a future anthology, just to see how everyone is doing.  (That said, Peter doesn't share that hope.  He remarks here that he hopes they don't see Gwen again because he's pretty sure she hates him.)  Now, let's get back to our Mary Jane, shall we?  (I loved when she mentioned Mary Jane is terrifying in any reality.)  It's time to see what Gwen's life is like with "Spider-geddon" in the rear-view mirror.

Star Wars:  Doctor Aphra #27:  I'm making the somewhat difficult decision to stop getting this book with this issue.  It's difficult because I've actually enjoyed this arc more than previous ones.  Aphra is almost human here, and Triple-Zero is a thrill as always.  But, I feel like this series has definitely lost its way.  It just seems to recycle the same scenarios and antagonists, setting up yet another situation where Aphra betrays her companions but not so badly that she's irredeemable.  I could hang in there another four issues to see how the arc ends, but I feel like I already know how it will go.  I've been following Aphra for almost four years, after her debut in "Darth Vader," so it's sad to let her go.  But, why delay the inevitable?  Bye, Aphra.  I hope you survive Triple-Zero to betray another day.

Also Read:  Avengers #11; Fantastic Four:  Wedding Special #1; Infinity Wars:  Sleepwalker #4; Uncanny X-Men #5; X-Men:  Red #11

Not-Very-New Comics: The October 31 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Batman Secret Files #1:  I don't exactly understand why we got this one-shot, but I can't say I'm disappointed, because it's really quite good.  Every story here is a solid one that goes somewhere unexpected.  Given how many comics I've read in my day, even one story going somewhere I didn't expect is saying a lot.  In fact, each story left me wanting more, because each author leaves Bruce stumped at the end.  He's unsure if he needs superpowers, he can't cure one of the Scarecrow's victims of his fear, he doesn't know how to prevent Wayne Enterprises' technology from falling into the wrong hands, he panics when he's on his own:  the Batman we see across these stories is one not entirely sure how to engage with the world around him.  I particularly wanted more time with Yeselle and Detective Chimp as they both force Bruce to confront his flaws in a way he normally doesn't.  All in all, it's a really solid outing.

Extermination #4:  Brisson really cranks up the pressure here.  We learn Ahab is in his past (our present) because he wants to kill one of the younger X-Men so s/he can’t safely return to his/her past, thus destroying their timeline.  We also learn young Nate killed Cable because his older self's sentimentality meant he allowed the kids to stay in the present, when he should’ve been doing everything he could to send them back to the past.  Young Nate (it's like he's a rapper) has taken on that burden himself, undoing the changes to the X-Men — like Angel’s cosmic wings — so they can return as Hank originally found them.  (Yes, it's super Nateus ex machina, but I actually didn't mind too much.)  But, Ahab surprisingly succeeds here, killing young Scott and making me legitimately wonder where we go from here.  The fact the timeline still exists implies Scott somehow survives and returns, but I’m intrigued how Brisson pulls that rabbit from his hat.  After all, Scott takes a spear to the chest here.  It's hard to write around that.

Marvel 2-in-One #11:  My problem with the Fantastic Four has always been that Reed is an arrogant asshole and I can't understand why anyone would love and trust him.  Although I don't think he intended to do so, Zdarsky proves that in this issue.  Reed brings Ben with him to retrieve the Thinker from the planet where they left him, and Ben confronts Reed about letting him and Johnny think they were dead.  At first, Reed claims he did so because he thought Ben and Johnny would be bored of all the science-ing, because he's apparently such a fucking idiot that he thought traversing the Universe as explorers wouldn't put him and his family in danger.  Ben doesn't buy it, particularly given the fact Reed could've just told them they were go exploring and wanted to do so on their own.  Dodging the issue, Reed then introduces Ben to an alternate Universe Doom who Reed befriended in their travels.  In this Universe, Reed is dead, and Doom is a mostly good guy.  Reed now says he let Ben and Johnny think he was dead because he thought that it would somehow enable them to save our Doom.  But, Reed is forced to admit even this "good" Doom is "Doom-y."  Ben chastises him for his belief he could fix everything and encourages him to trust his friends and family.  But, the whispered conversation Reed has with Doom at the end makes it clear he's not listening.  I'm pretty happy with my decision to stay with this title and the main title just through the wedding, but I'm also glad Zdarsky isn't letting Reed off the hook here.

Multiple Man #5:  This issue makes a certain amount of sense if you don’t think about it too hard.  Like, I’m pretty sure Rosenberg established one of the dupes sent into the future never returned, as we see at the end of this issue, but maybe he didn't.  It also makes a certain amount of sense that “our” Jamie becomes Emperor Jamie, that they're not two separate people.  But, it also doesn’t matter.  At some point, you just have to meet Rosenberg on his own terms and accept he’s telling a crazy Madrox story.  As other people have said, it wasn’t the Madrox story I wanted, but it’s the one we deserved.

The Realm #10:  Haun and Peck do a spectacular job evoking the ambiance of a good ol' fashioned dungeon crawl.  In the tension-driven plot, the goblins' master is surprised Will is able to hold even the fraction of the mysterious creature's power that he possesses.  He brings forth an amulet that severs Will's link to said creature and plans to dissect Will to learn more.  But, the issue's best parts are with Molly and the crew slowly but surely making their way through the dungeon.  For example, the room they entered at the end of last issue wasn't the room where Will was being held; it was a wizard's laboratory.  The team takes advantage of the moment and swipes all sorts of books, magical items, and scrolls for David to use later.  In perhaps the best sequence, given its nod to something from the original "Monster Manual," they stumble across a skeleton suspended -- along with his coins and sword -- in green slime.  Eli announces he previously encountered green slime in a subway, telling the group they'll be fine so long as they keep moving, as the slime is "slow and persistent."  It's all just so evocative of the red-boxed "Dungeon & Dragons" set, but as if running into green slime were a legitimate threat you could experience in your day-to-day life.  Meanwhile, the Queen reminds Johnny Eldritch that their master sent her after Will and his team, informing him she knows about the team he dispatched.  He's not particularly inclined to care.  Back in the dungeon, Molly and the team arrive just in time to save Will from the master's knife.  As the goblins start to combine into a gestalt, Zach knocks the amulet from the master's hands.  Eli grabs it and, before the master can kill him, Will cuts him in half.  Good times.  The team departs the dungeon to find dragons in the sky, but not before David picks up the amulet...

Spider-Force #1:  This issue is OK, I guess.  Spider-Kid is pretty insufferable as a character, in no small part because Priest has to define the street slang he uses, because we're not hip to the lingo.  It’s always embarrassing when comics do that, like your great-grandfather saying “dope” or “sick.”  The idea that this team is the Spider-People’s version of X-Force is a great one, but Priest makes it unnecessarily confusing by starting in media res.  We start on the planet where the Web-Warriors initially trapped the Inheritors, with Kaine announcing everyone on Spider-Force is going to die of exposure after their radiation suits are opened.  I mean, we all know they're not going to die.  I think it would’ve been much cooler to see Kaine and Ashley talk about starting Spider-Force and deciding on recruiting Spider-Kid and Spider-Women.  At any rate, we’ll see where we go from here.  Hopefully Priest just sticks to the story at hand and stops trying to cram every possible comic-book trope into this series.

The Wild Storm #18:  The team is apparently going on hiatus for a few months to prepare for the last six issues.  I said last issue that I wasn't sure how Ellis was going to manage to address all the possible loose ends before issue #24.  But, after this issue, I think I'm a believer, as he successfully sends everyone after Miles at the same time. 

• Jackie puts two and two together and tells Miles that Cole and Adriana aren’t working for Skywatch:  they’re involved in a rogue C.A.T. (or a Wild C.A.T., if you will).  However, Miles still seems to lump them into the same category as Skywatch as he lists his woes over the last few weeks.  (He alludes to "visiting punishment" on Skywatch's Ground Division as costing him two C.A.T.s.  But, I initially read that as him talking about the C.A.T. or C.A.T.s he lost when they tried to grab Angie from the safehouse.  The Wild C.A.T.s were responsible for that, not Bendix.)  At any rate, Jackie is sick of it, and she tells Miles it’s time to go to war with Skywatch because they killed one of their own (Mitch).  She recalls the speech Miles gave when he took over IO, saying they were the secret angels working to save humanity -- but, sometimes angels destroyed cities and didn’t just save them.

• In space, Bendix talks to Dr. Helspont, one of the original Thunderbook researchers.  Helspont explains the slave triggers in the Wetworks members were developed in three phases. The original triggers create uncontrollable violence in the subjects, and the second generation only points the subjects in a direction.  Apparently only Helspont's triggers work in actually controlling the subjects.  Slayton seems to fall in the second category of triggers whereas, disturbingly, Apollo and Midnighter might be from the last phase.

• Speak of the devil, Slayton tracks down Lynch, but Lynch convinces him — or, more specifically, his alien — to go after Miles since he’s the bad guy.  (Maybe it's just his second-generation trigger pointing him in a direction.)  As Lynch explains, the only people who can stop Slayton are IO, and his advantage is IO doesn’t know about Thunderbook.  Meanwhile, Michael Cray is heading to New York to kill Miles, or at least we assume he is.  Also, he may really have burnt down his father’s house after he tells a woman on the train his father would’ve sold information about his destination to “corporate headhunters” ten minutes after he left.  At Skywatch, Bendix also declares he’s going to destroy IO, so it looks like Miles is going to have a bad week.

• Angie defects to the Doctor’s team, where she meets a cleaned-up Mayor who explains Skywatch experimented on him.  (I think, but am not sure, Helspont likely did it after moving to Skywatch from IO/Thunderbook.  Earlier, we learned he made the move after Lynch shutdown Thunderbook.)  Angie says she came to them because the Khera spoke highly of them as “the authority.”  (Heh.)  Meanwhile, Marlowe and the C.A.T.s discover she’s gone but deploy to swipe a cosmic particle IO has caught.

• We have a super weird interlude between two disguised Khera sitting at a bar in Los Angeles who explain Zealot broke with Marlowe after Emp said he didn’t want to turn Earth into a slave camp anymore. (Zealot is at said bar, but doesn’t recognize them.)  Does that mean Marlowe still does?

In other words, Ellis really continues a masterful level of storytelling.  Miles comments about Skywatch vice the Wild C.A.T.s are the only ones that left me vaguely confused, despite Ellis alluding to storylines he started 18 months ago in issue #1.  If going on hiatus means the last six issues will be even more awesome, I'm all for it!

Also Read:  Avengers Halloween Special #1; Old Man Hawkeye #10; Vault of Spiders #1; West Coast Avengers #3; X-Men:  Black - Emma Frost #1