Three-Month-Old Comics: The June 29 Edition - Part One (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Captain America:  Symbol of Truth #2:  This issue is a mixed bag.  

It's pretty clear that someone (presumably White Wolf, though maybe not) injected the super-soldier serum (or "Triple S," as Deadpool later make Sam call it) into Falcon's cousin and her fellow migrants.  When Luísa is the "unidentified substance" that sets off an alarm at the lab where they're "housing" the migrants, Falcon wisely extricates her.  Meanwhile, White Wolf has two agents pose as guards and assassinate the mercenary who survived his team's attack on the train.

Unfortunately, the Falcon sequence makes less sense.  He arrives in Latveria in his hunt for the mastermind of the attack on the train, though we're never told how he followed the trail there.  He finds Deadpool there, because Deadpool is hunting a white supremacist.  I think the creative team wants us to believe that both the mastermind and white supremacist is White Wolf, though that isn't super clear.  I think that White Wolf hired Deadpool to set up this situation (of Sam encountering him), though I don't know why he would do so.  After all, he had the mercenary killed to make sure he wasn't leaving loose ends. Moreover, we border on pet peeve #3 here.  As Doom says, Sam should know better than to think that Doom would let him just run an op in Latveria.

I think this issue's split focus might be a little too much for the creative team.  If they're going to keep it going, I think they need to connect the dots a little better as we continue with the story.

Sins of the Black Flamingo #1:  Come for the thirsty gayness, stay for the intriguing plot!  

Sebastian Harlow is the Black Flamingo, a "gentleman thief" who "steal[s] magic artifacts from idiots and debutantes and [puts] them where they belong."  

The issue begins when a Jewish man hires Sebastian to find a token (for lack of a better word) that his Holocaust-survivor grandfather kept with him his entire life.  His grandfather was a gay mystic rabbi (love it) and was clearly building a golem of his former lover as the token contained his lover's soul.  It became lost after his grandfather's death and eventually passed from collector to collector of Holocaust memorabilia.  (That's as gross as that sounds.)  

Sebastian tracks it down in a hidden room of Nazi memorabilia at the white-supremacist "Museum of American Heritage and Culture" in Key West.  (It's like that great "Difficult People" episode!)  While there, he discovers a diagram of some sort of magical collar that he finds too dangerous to leave in the Museum's hands and takes it with him.  Returning to the grandson's house, Sebastian inserts the token into the golem, activating it to the grandson's surprise.

Later, Sebastian's friend/handler Ofelia examines the diagram and discovers that it's a collar to contain a demon or other spirit.  Apparently, it was in possession of a Thorndike Scar at the time of the document's writing 200 years earlier.   Ofelia just so happens to be going to Scar's descendant's party that evening, so Sebastian goes with her to case the joint with a plan to return later to liberate the collar.  ("God knows what those idiots would do if they captured a demon. Elect him, probably.")

At the party, Scar recognizes Sebastian as the "fucker" who won't sell the Devil's Tooth, which we see in an aside panel is in fact in Sebastian's safe.  Sebastian denies that he dabbles in "hocus pocus" but suddenly gets a vision.  While he sees everyone else in some form of decay, Scar's blood shines.  Sebastian senses something else, so he has Ofelia us her powers to create a distraction.  (She casts a spell to make two people "open [their] mind's eye to the horrible futility of [their] existence" as well as "suggest" they act in a certain way.)  As Ofelia makes a woman throw a couch and another one set a fire, Sebastian goes upstairs and breaks into a room to find a collared, scarred angel begging for death.  (I'm guessing Scar isn't actually the descendant...)

As I said, this issue goes beyond the thirsty presentation to a great premise.  I mean, a gay thief of supernatural artifacts with a day job as an antiquities dealer in Miami?  You wonder how someone hasn't thought of it previously.

Star Wars:  Darth Vader #24:  The issue begins with ZED discovering that the governor isn't on her flagship:  she's on a shuttle en route to an abandoned science colony.  When Vader and Sabé arrive at the site, the governor sends for help from Crimson Dawn ("send for the Dawn") and orders an attack.

While Sabé goes to free the Tatooine refugees who the governor has conscripted into service, Vader takes on the governor, only for her to reveal that she's working on a weapon capable of stunning him.  Ochi arrives in time to save Vader from the now-arrived Dawn agents and the governor's troops.  

After the governor escapes, Sabé interviews a conscript who explains that the governor's weapon can drain power from living things, even entire planets.  The conscript is devastated to learn that she used it on Karolia, a densely forested planet.  As he grieves, Vader recalls Tarkin's destruction of Alderaan and his final moments with Padmé where he refused her entreaties to return to the light side.  (I'll be honest that I didn't see the connection between the two memories.)

While Sabé stays to destroy the weapon, Vader leaves in hot pursuit of the governor, whose future is pretty short, clearly.

Star Wars:  Han Solo and Chewbacca #3:  This issue is a deep cut.  

Han manages to exfiltrate himself, Greedo, and Ovan from Graves' apartment by playing the various security teams against each other.  Before they leave, though, Han hacks into Graves' security system to learn that he sold the urn to someone on Antillion.  

After ditching Greedo (since he's no longer necessary to find the urn), Chewie, Han, and Ovan arrive on Antillion only for us to discover that Graves sold the urn to the Archivist.  Qi'ra arrives to spirt away the Archivist, as seen in "Star Wars:  Crimson Dawn" #3.  Ovan finds the urn in her back room, but, before they can flee, Krrsantan from "Star Wars:  Doctor Aphra" arrives!  I'm sure that'll turn out well.  

The most interesting part of this story is that the Archivist clearly couldn't afford to pay Graves for the urn (given its value), which means she had something of similar value that she traded to him.  I'm sure Han isn't going to forget that.

Three-Month-Old Comics: The June 22 Edition - Part Two (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Newburn #8:  To save Emily, Newburn has Sumire's boyfriend (i.e, the Yakuza head's actual murderer) take the fall for the Albano nephew's murder and turns over Sydney (i.e., Emily's academy classmate involved in the death of said nephew) to the Albanos to satisfy their need for revenge.

To be honest, I'm not sure I buy either outcome.  The Yakuza head's (i.e., Sumire's husband's) murder remains unsolved, and it seems weird the Yakuza would be OK with the other criminal elements believing that they just let their head's murder go unavenged.  Moreover, the Albano head seemed pretty bound and determined in both this issue and last issue to get both Sydney and Emily.  The Albano family even sent guys to kill Emily outside the police station, which, as I said last issue, was reckless at best (and ridiculous at worst).  Newburn watches the Albanos torture and presumably murder Sydney, so maybe he struck some sort of a deal with them.  But we're never told why they would accept it.  For that matter, we're never actually told how Emily and Sydney were involved in the nephew's death.  Emily claims that it was an accident, but we have no further details.  [Update:  I eventually realized that I somehow missed issue #6, which shows us how Emily accidentally kills the Albano nephew to protect Syd.]

Along the way, Newburn loses his shit on McGinty when she balks at the deal he strikes with Sumire's boyfriend.  With Newburn telling her that he runs the town, Zdarksy definitely seems to imply that Newburn may have officially gotten too big for his britches.  I don't see the upcoming next volume as going well for Newburn.

New Mutants #26:  Now this issue I love.

Following Rahne as she hears combat sounds, the team (such as they are) comes across an aged Illyana wielding a Warlock arm.  As the team watches, she takes out a horde of demons infected with the techno-organic virus and then invites the team into her fortress.  

Inside, aged Illyana reveals that she's from a future where S'ym breaking the Soulsword left her and her teammates indefinitely trapped in Limbo.  Her versions of Dani, Madelyne, and Rahne have all died, though she's survived because Warlock arrived from Earth after Krakoa fell.  She discovered that Warlock's essence wounded the demons who attack her fortress every few weeks, so she crafted a spell around that.  Both she and Warlock are weakening, though.  She hopes to take out the horde's mysterious leader and return to Earth, but she doubts she can do that given the current state of their powers.

Our Illyana sees the flaw in her plan.  She has aged Illyana challenge S'ym (the horde's "mysterious" leader) and use Warlock to take control of his techno-organic virus when he touches her.  She destroys S'ym and de-viruses the horde.  Our Illyana uses S'ym's core to create a Soulsword temporarily, and she and the team decimate the de-virused horde.  

In the epilogue, aged Illyana declines to go with the team so she can address her own losses.  The team goes to find a way to fix what's preventing Illyana from summoning the Soulsword permanently.

In addition to the excellent plot, which finally does something with Illyana as a person for the first time in a long time, the art is excellent.  This arc is really righting this series' footing after it's spent so much time adrift lately.

Star Wars:  Crimson Reign #5:  Soule is smart enough to make clear that Qi'ra didn't think that she was going to defeat the Emperor in a fair fight.  

As Qi'ra knew he eventually would, the Emperor puts two and two together and realizes that Crimson Dawn is responsible for his and Vader's recent setbacks:  the Hutt Council's attack on Vader's flagship, the Syndicate War, Zahra's failure to take out the Rebel Fleet (a stretch), his Royal Guards' assassination.  The Emperor brings in Director Barsha, the head of the Imperial Security Bureau division focused on the criminal gangs, to confirm that Crimson Dawn is behind these moves.  (It's clear Barsha will play an important role in the next event because his face is covered in shadows.)  The Emperor then launches his counterattack.

Knowing said attack was coming, Qi'ra puts into action her next plan.  She sends the Knights of Ren with the Archivist to use the Screaming Key they took from Vader's citadel to activate some sort of creature, which I'm guessing will provide Qi'ra with a connection to the Force, either directly or indirectly.  (Based on the Emperor and Vader's conversation, Maul told Qi'ra about the creature.  The Archivist herself didn't believe it was real.)  Qi'ra then activates her network to create chaos for the Empire, announcing it as her Hidden Empire.

I'll be honest, I'm not sure this story need a third arc.  Sure, it was interesting to see what Qi'ra had planned after "Star Wars:  War of the Bounty Hunters."  It seems difficult to believe, though, that she's going to accomplish anything more than annoying the Emperor with guerrilla-war tactics now that he's focused on her.  I guess we'll see.

X-Men #12:  This issue is pretty great.  

I love the possibility that Dr. Stasis isn't Mr. Sinister but Nathaniel Essex, who despises Mr. Sinister for taking Thunderbird's DNA and polluting himself with mutant genes.  (Did we know that he took Thunderbird's DNA?)  Of course, as Cyclops says, I use "the possibility" here because it's anyone guess whether this guy really is Essex.  That said, it doesn't really matter; he thinks that he is.  To be fair, he does seem significantly less crazy than Sinister.  He apparently also has a secret mission to save a boy, but he'll get to that after he destroys the X-Men, natch.  

Later, Cyclops and Synch meet with Ben Ulrich to give him back his notebook and confirm that mutants are immortal.  As Scott said, if the X-Men don't stand for the truth, they're just another Council "and the world has enough of those."  Heh.  Cyclops is anticipating his actions may cost him a spot on the roster, which prompts a discussion about who'll stand for re-election at the upcoming Gala.  At this point, it's Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Synch, and maybe Wolverine.  Meanwhile, Essex has his own plans for the "fall of the mutants" at the Gala, which involves a woman. 

Oh, also, the ladies defeated Cordyceps Jones and saved trillions of lives in the process.  Lorna may have found a handsome man to kiss and/or slap.  You should really read the issue to see why that line is so fucking funny.

Man, it's a good time to be a X-Men fan.

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

Spider-Man 2099:  Exodus #2:  Oof.  This issue isn't terrible, exactly, but it isn't all that interesting either.  It's basically a long flashback where a new Valkyrie describes the fall and rebirth of Asgard.

After its initial Aesir program (i.e, "Fall of the Hammer," I think) failed, Alchemax used mysterium to create a Midgard Serpent that destroyed the real Asgard for reasons that aren't 100% clear to me.  (Valkyrie was part of the assault with other Aesir-program members, though I'm also not clear why Alchemax needed them if it had the Midgard Serpent.)  Seeing the writing on the wall, Loki fled (because of course he did).  Valkyrie meets him after he arrives at the Celestial Gardens to collect enough raw Celestial DNA to recreate Asgard.  

Unfortunately, the Midgard Serpent's mysterium remains ambient in Asgard's ruins, preventing Loki (again, for unclear reasons) from resurrecting Asgard.  Instead, he sacrifices himself to purge Asgard of said mysterium.  By mixing his blood with the Celestial DNA, Valkyrie is able to turn herself into a god and create more gods from Earth's undesirables, per Loki's wishes.

What does it have to do with the story at hand?  I have no idea.  It makes even less sense when you consider that Valkyrie is telling Miguel this story as she refuses to help him take down the Cabal.  According to her, the New Asgardians have suffered at rich people's hands enough.  Assuming I buy this idea that Loki really cared about the undesirables in the first place, wouldn't they want to take on the Cabal now that they have the power to do so?  I guess not.  Valkyrie simply tells Miguel that the best way to destroy gods is to make them mortal, which isn't exactly novel assistance.

At least next issue it looks like we're getting the story about the Cabal killing the Avengers, so I guess that's something?

Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #24:  This issue is solid, though you can tell that Sacks is struggling to find a way to keep Valance in this series.  The panels dedicated to his failure to save an Imperial general from a Crimson Dawn assassination feels like an unnecessary distraction from the main story.  

Speaking of said story, Dengar predictably betrays T'onga and her crew.  First, he convinces T'onga to allow him to interrogate Vukorah; he cuts the video feed and hands Vukorah a knife.  (You would've thought T'onga would've questioned why he needed to cut the video feed, but you would've gussed wrong.)  At any rate, Vukorah is gunning for Losha, who's furious that T'onga left her on the ship while she and the guys invade the Vermillion.  That said, they're not in a great place as they come face-to-face with the Knights of Ren.  

Meanwhile, Dengar thinks he can successfully play both sides against each other so that he can make enough money to extricate himself permanently from the bounty-hunting game, though I don't have high hopes that he's going to outsmart Qi'ra. 

X-Men Red #3:  I feel like I missed an issue here.  

First, I don't recall Thunderbird's altercation with Cable at the Red Lagoon, a score that Thunderbird intends to settle when he arrives at Arbor Magna immediately after the Five resurrect Cable.  It turns out it's all a ruse so they can get some alone time to discuss Brand with Manifold.  Even if I did remember the original altercation, I don't get why they couldn't just have met somewhere to talk.  Why the elaborate ruse?  Is Krakoa a surveillance state where they have to convince Council members that it isn't worth spying on them?

Second, I didn't realize that Tarn was some sort of enemy of the Arakkii?  I searched my blog and only found one reference to him.  Given that I'm supposed to understand that all the Arakki hate Tarn, it probably would've been helpful for Ewing to remind me why a little more.  "X of Swords" was a while ago, and we're still juggling a lot of new characters here.

At any rate, the Cable and Thunderbird discussion is obviously coming to relevance at another time as this issue is dedicated to Vulcan challenging Tarn for the Seat of Loss.  Ororo is suspicious that Brand set up Vulcan:  the Seat of Loss is apparently the Great Ring's least influential seat, and Ororo figures that Vulcan on his own would go a more important one (like hers).  It's interesting that the Great Ring's seats have different values, even though they all have the same voting power.  Meanwhile, working for Brand, Mentallo discovers Vulcan's mental barriers, which he figures are fading if he can see them though Xavier initially didn't.

It all leads to Tarn making quick work of Vulcan after they both use their powers to shut off each other's mutant powers.  Magneto eventually steps into the ring after initially declining Ororo's invitation to do so.  He uses his helmet to block Tarn's powers (which are apparently psycho-kinetic in nature) and then crushes his skull with the helmet.  

This outcome is essentially a foregone conclusion after Roberto bets Isca the Unbeaten that Tarn wins.  Since her side of the bet would be Magneto winning, Ewing implies that Isca's power ensures Magneto's victory, as Roberto knew all along.  I'm glad that Ewing isn't putting Roberto in a kiddie role, as his deception here proves how remarkably clever he is.  That said, it took me several readings to understand the stakes.  I also don't know if I buy them.  Isca never accepted the bet, so I don't get how her powers were activated.  Couldn't everyone just make a one-sided challenge to her?  Roberto says that he's found a way to make her lose without losing, which I guess means that she supported (and lost) Tarn.  After all, she mentiones that she fought alongside him for 1,000 years.  But Ewing doesn't make it clear if she did so because she supported him or if she had to do so?

At any rate, the Seat of Loss is relevant to Magneto, as he previously said that he refused to fight over his ongoing devastation that his daughter Anya wasn't a mutant and thus the Five can't resurrect her.  I wonder where we're going with that idea.

Three-Month-Old Comics: The June 8 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Amazing Spider-Man #3:  Jesus fucking Christ.  I was pretty close to terrified by the end of this issue, so I can only imagine how Peter felt.

The issue begins calmly enough, with MJ's boyfriend heading to Peter's apartment to get him to stop calling MJ.  We hear his side of a phone conversation with MC, in which we learn that he once punched Peter.  This time, he only wants to talk.  Outside Peter's building, he runs into the guy who's been hassling Peter the last few issues to pay his medical bills.  He's surprised to learn that Peter was hospitalized for a few months.  He pays off some of Peter's debt to give him some breathing space, clearly Wells' way of letting us know that he's a good guy.  That said, it's easy to forget that after the next sequence.  

Spidey awakens in an abandoned subway tunnel with his hands chained to his ankles.  Tombstone proceeds to beat him to a pulp.  He asks Spidey why he busted up his deal with the Rose, and Spidey responds that it's simple:  he's a good guy and tries to stop bad guys.

This response sets Tombstone on a long, winding discourse about lions.  When a lion kills a man, scientists try to figure out why he did it.  When a man kills another man, they just throw him in a cage.  I'd argue Tombstone is gliding over some nuances here, but Spidey does what Tombstone wants and asks Tombstone what made him "bad."

With absentee parents, he was constantly bullied, unable to eat because his bullies stole his lunch tickets.  Learning the language of the streets, he filed down his teeth and adopted his whisper, getting his bully to lean into him to hear him, allowing him to attack and bite off the kid's ear.  Tombstone then justifies his descent into crime as making sure he could always eat.  At the start, he's talking about needing to eat in a literal sense.  Later, he's filling his larger appetites.  Again, it's kind of hard to argue that living in the penthouse that we've previously seen is the same as not going hungry as a child. But I'm not chained in an abandoned subway tunnel with at least a probably broken rib, so it's easy for me to say.

Tombstone then reveals his plan.  He has his men dressed as the Rose's men, and they're going to shoot up 125th St.  As such, some good guy will emerge to stop the Rose.  Tombstone adds that he's got Robbie Robertson inbound (as we've seen) because he's going to teach him a lesson about his son taking his daughter.  (I guess he hasn't mellowed after all.)  

In a twist I really didn't expect, Tombstone orders one of his men to kill Spidey.  Wells does an amazing job conveying Spidey's terror as he screams, "Lonnie, stop!  I've learned my lesson!"  It's...a lot.  Lonnie disappears as we see the guy lift the gun in the last panel.

As Nick Lowe said in his page last issue, Spidey's totally dead, right?  Like, I know he isn't going to die, but, man, Wells really sells you on the idea that he may.  In other words, it's a great fucking issue.

Astronaut Down #1:  This series' premise is interesting, though the execution is a little clunky.  

Earth is suffering from a "quantum cancer" that's killed 90 percent of the population.  The remaining humans exist in 22 "barrier cities" that hold off the plague.  We witness one of those cities - "Ohio City"- collapse in this issue, killing two million people in 17 minutes.  

In an attempt to prevent the cancer from happening in the first place, the "NSA" has been trying to send "astronaut's" consciousnesses to other realities.  Of the three astronauts we see selected in this issue, only Douglas manages to arrive in the body of an alternate version of himself.  Based on comments some of the characters make, I think it's the first time that they've successfully done so.  

My only complaint here is that Patrick gets a little preachy when it comes to the "Don't Look Up" overtones.  Craven politicians and religious fanatics opposed addressing the cancer when it first appears in Russia, wasting valuable time that could've produced options to prevent the cancer from spreading.  I'm not saying that it isn't realistic but maybe too soon?  At any rate, the speechifying slows down the story that's already pretty dense with scientific jargon.

That said, I'm hoping that now that we've established the premise we'll get to focus more clearly on Douglas' mission.

Dark Beach #3:  This issue is pretty straight-forward if uninspiring.  

In a flashback, we watch Gordo as he quits college after his mother died.  Gordo believes that she was murdered, and Duke unsuccessfully tries to convince Gordo to help him investigate her death, which Gordo dismisses as naive, that they could get to the bottom of a story the cops don't want told.

In the present, Gordo cajoles Duke into giving him the name of his Ghost Choker dealer so he can get high and try to figure out the old Sun mystery.  Lily finds him in his apartment the next morning and discovers the note that Gordo originally found in Ket's apartment that sent him to her.  (It was on Mayflower stationery.)  She tells him "Bermuda" (which is written on the note) is a ship she and Eve used to visit at the habor.  Before she can say more, Julyus the assassin arrives, so Gordo sends her to the Bermuda.  Gordo manages to trap Julyus in his house and makes for the Bermuda, where he comes face-to-face with a taser-wielding Eve.  

In the epilogue, the scientist from last issue stumbles upon a tentacled creature submerged in some sort of tank.  Dr. Stanley arrives and informs her that it hasn't moved in 300 hundred years.  It's interesting that Ruiz-Unger has added such an explicitly extraterrestrial hook to this series.  I'm really unclear, the best possible way, on where we're going with it.

I'm still curious about the geography of this world. For example, Gordo goes to New St. Louis to get the Ghost Choker.  He clearly doesn't go all the way from Reykjavik to St. Louis though.  As such, we're obviously dealing with some sort of compressed area.  But it's also clearly part of the story so I'm figuring Ruiz-Unger will reveal the truth at some point.

Marauders #3:  OMG, this issue is almost incomprehensible you guys.

At some point in the past, the Kin Crimson tried to assassinate Xavier while Cassandra was in control of him.  I don't recall knowing that Cassandra controlled Xavier during the period he was residing with Lilandra or the Kin Crimson tried to assassinate him.  But, I have bigger fish to fry.  During the attempt, Cassandra conveniently learned of the Shi'ar's Ten Shames as well as the Kin Crimson's Chronicle.  

With the mysterious book that Kate received confirming Cassandra's stories, Xandra declares that she's going to read the Chronicle.  Delphos objects, and Xandra attacks her.  Telling Gladiator to imprison Delphos as a traitor, Xandra announces that she pulled the location of the Chronicle from Delphos' mind:  a "pan-dimensional prison" named the Krag.  But Delphos already warned the other Kin Crimson members, so the Krag guards open fire on Xandra when she and the Marauders arrive.

It sounds straight-forward, but it isn't.  It's a confusing mess of mumbo-jumbo.  I like where Orlando is going plot-wise, particularly with the revelation that the criminally underused Fraternity of Raptors' leadership has remained in the prison for generations. But I'd really like to see this narrative flow more easily than it does here.  Moreover, the Marauders are essentially tertiary characters, which isn't great for a book in theory about them.

Past the Last Mountain #4:  As expected, this issue is brutal.

Kate awakens in the Dragon Lake Medical Center and, once released, finds Simon and Willa, who's seething that Dragon Lake isn't human-free as promised.  Even Kate is surprised at Willa's attitude, noting the magical creatures walking freely among the humans.  Their case worker, Sue, arrives and starts processing their refugee paperwork.  When Sue mentions off-hand that she can help them get jobs, Kate expresses shock that magical creatures live and work side-by-side with humans. When Willa says that they don't want to live with humans, Sue informs them that they don't have to do so:  they can head for the Rockies with the other free magical creatures.  When Simon expresses fear of Goblins in the mountains, Sue tells him not to worry:  they killed all the Goblins.

At this point, Willa loses her mind.  She asks when the humans will deem them enough of a "clear and present threat," like the Goblins, to commit genocide.  Sue somewhat understandably notes just how dangerous Goblins are/were.  But, it's too late.  Willa takes to the skies and attacks Calgary.  The Canadians try to take her in peacefully (because of course they do), but eventually the Defense Minister (a Griffin) orders her killed.  In the aftermath, we learn that Neil is facing federal charges of insubordination, and the Canadians drop off Kate and Simon at the Rockies.  

If the main story is brutal, the "Orc Girl" back-up story is even more so.  It expands on a seemingly throwaway comment Sue made in the main story, about an Orc who became an attorney in the 19th century.  

It turns out said Orc as a boy was swept down the river when trying to keep his more adventurous sister safe after she built a raft.  A group of humans pull him from the river on the other side.  Because humans and Orcs had an agreement to stay on their own sides of the river, the Orcs decline to go rescue him.  Devastated, his sister spends her childhood building a bridge across the river to get him.  She fails to complete the bridge, however, as life takes her along its path.  

Now a married woman, she discovers a token that reminds her of her brother, and she goes to find him.  Leaping from the bridge to the other bank, she makes her way through the human town, where she's stunned to see her brother dressed in a suit at happy hour with his colleagues.  She attacks him and flees, furious that he got the adventure that she wanted and that he never returned for her.  (The last part is pretty dickish, to be honest.)  The story ends with her destroying the bridge she built to get to him.

This series has really been a deep dive into hate and mistrust.  Allor didn't make it cut-and-dry:  not all humans hate magical creatures, and not all magical creatures hate humans.  He could've taken the easy road and told a story where difficult situations make people resort to their racial biases.  Willa is a great example of that, where her mistrust of humans dooms her.  When Canada couldn't promise a perfect world, she became the monster she claimed the humans were.  If you spend some time on Twitter, you know how accurately Allor nailed the current moment in which our society finds itself.  But Kate manages not to take this road, a remind that Willa (and people like her) make a choice to lose themselves in hate and mistrust.

Star Wars #24:  Zahra is too good a character to take off the table permanently, so Soule gives himself a secret door here, as Leia leaves Zahra for a creature to eat.  I usually roll my eyes at that sort of ending, but Soule makes the creature sufficiently fearsome that you can reasonably conclude Zahra died if she doesn't turn up somewhere else one day.  If so, Leia gets justice - not revenge, as she tells Zahra - by ensuring Zahra died forgotten and ignoble.  Zahra thought that she was going to kill Leia and demoralize the Rebellion.  Instead, Vader will only see her failure, stopping short of her goal of destroying the entire Rebel Fleet.  Soule makes sure to contrast the consequences of Zahra's insistence on hogging all the glory with Leia surviving because Chewie and Kes were there to help her.  With Zahra defeated, the Rebellion can now focus on resuming its war on the Empire.

Three-Month-Old Comics: The June 1 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Knights of X #2 (June 1):  One of my challenges with this series is that it's so dense that I can't tell if I'm missing something because I don't know the back story (since I didn't read Howard's "Excalibur" run) or because Howard didn't explain it well.

I get the overall story.  Betsy realizes that she has to go after the Siege Perilous to save Otherworld's mutants from Merlyn.  But, before she can do that, she receives a distress call from Mad Jim after Merlyn arrests him.  While Betsy, Mordred, Rictor, and Shatterstar bring Shogo to Roma for care and training, Gambit takes Bei, Kylun, Meggan, and Rachel to the Crooked Market to rescue Jim.  Once there, they learn what we've previously seen, that Merlyn is using Blightswill to strip Jim of his powers.  

When Rachel reports this information to Betsy, Roma tells her that no one's heard from Sheriff Whitechapel from Blightspoke in ages.  Betsy takes her team there and discovers the Vescora engaged in a coup.  Betsy frees Whitechapel and her crew, but Whitechapel has Betsy drop them into some sort of lava-filled pit since the Vescora are a hive mind so she wants them to think that they're dead.  She promises to meet Betsy at the Citadel though it's unclear to me (and Betsy) how she and her crew are going to survive the lava.

In the Crooked Market, Gambit and his team take on some Furies (which appear to be fey Sentinels) while Betsy and her team are now ready to cross the Sevalithi border to find the Siege.

As I said, I get the overall story, but the nuances are hard to follow.  For example, at one point we get an interstitial page comprised of an email from Doug to Rictor and Shatterstar.  He describes his translation of a document that Apocalypse wrote in a language pre-dating the Okarra split, which apparently calls into question whether Rictor really inherited everything when Apocalypse left Earth.  I have no idea how that even remotely connects with the story at hand.  My best hope for this series is that Howard has now gotten some of the necessary world-building behind her so that the story can flow more evenly.

Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #22 (April 6):  When I started issue #23 I realized that I missed this issue.  I'm glad I made that discovery because this issue is a rollicking good time.  It's essentially an extended fight scene as T'onga and the crew flee the Unbroken Clan's seemingly unending army as they try to leave Corellia with Vukorah.  The banter is top-notch, from Tasu exulting in the joy of battle to Losha telling Zuckuss how proud she is of him when he makes a successful quip.  Sacks really gets this series, as this issue is exactly the type of issue I hoped we'd get when this series launched.

Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #23 (June 1):  From a plot perspective, this issue is fine-ish.  

This issues centers around how people underestimate Dengar all the time.  Here, it allows Dengar to get close enough to Khamdek to assassinate him after he refuses to play ball with Crimson Dawn.  That said, I'm not entirely sure what Dengar was initially trying to accomplish with Khamdek.  At first, he was seemingly trying to extort Khamdek in exchange for Cadeliah's location not assassinate him.  But given he had Crimson Dawn operatives stash a gun for him, assassination was definitely on the table.  Was he just trying to make a quick buck while fulfilling Qi'ra's contract?

Meanwhile, with Khamdek's funds no longer available for her hunt for Cadeliah, T'onga has to ask Syphacc the Bounty Broker for help, though we know from issue #21 that he's in Dengar's pocket.  As such, Dengar joins T'onga's crew as Syphacc has identified him (not exactly incorrectly, as Bossk attests) as someone who can get around the Vermillion and, thus, get the crew to Cadeliah.

Again, it's fine-ish.  Throughout this series, authors have pretty reliable shown Dengar as an idiot, so I'm not sure I'm buying Sacks' attempt to make him into an idiot savant.  Most notably, though, the main problem with this issue is that the art is abysmal.  The characters are all almost virtually indistinguishable they have so few features.  Khamdek looks like he's a teenager despite the fact that we've previously seen him portrayed as the grandfather he is.  With a somewhat wobbly plot, the particularly terrible art hits this issue hard.

Star Wars:  Darth Vader #23 (June 1):  This issue is interesting as Pak raises the question whether Vader is evil or just obsessed with order at all costs.  

Sabé reveals to Vader that she knows that he's Anakin.  Vader asks what she wants, and she tells him that she wants him to help her rescue a group of refugees.  It turns out Sabé was so moved by Anakin's inability to free his mother that she's been freeing Tatooine slaves in Shmi's honor.  (I definitely rolled my eyes here.)  After freeing them, she's settled them on Gabredor III.  However, a corrupt Crimson Dawn-affiliated governor has stiffed them on the resources that they manufacture for him.  Sabé enrolls Vader in the quest to help them, since it will allow him to strike at Crimson Dawn and, to her mind, prove if Padmé was right that good still exists in him.  

Again, it's an interesting idea, whether Vader can act on the good that Padmé and Luke saw in a way that still furthers his goals.  That said, as smart as Sabé is, it's hard to believe that Vader won't still find a way to twist this outcome fully to his advantage.  Vader might not be fully evil, but he isn't good either.

One-Month-Old Comics: The May 4 (2022) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Marauders #2:  I have to say, I am here for the Marauders-Shi'ar war that we're clearly getting.

Despite occasionally confusing moments, Orlando does a solid job throwing a lot of information at us here without relying on too much exposition.  I mean, the conversation between Delphos and Betel, a fellow Noble of the Kin Crimson, pushes this boundary, as they list the Ten Shames in an IM exchange as if they're discussing them with at uninitiated person and not a fellow Noble.  But, it does what it needs to do.  We learn that only one person can speak about the Tenth Shame and Xandra only knows about the First Shame.  

Orlando does a great job with Xandra, as she both acknowledges to Gladiator that they have to keep the First Shame secret since it's so heinous but is also furious at him (and all Shi'ar) for essentially making her subordinate to the Kin Crimson.  Xandra's horror at just the First Shame makes it clear that the Shi'ar's treatment of the first mutants (I'm guessing involved making them lab rats) was far beyond the pale.  As such, it's hard to empathize with the Nobles' outrage at the mutants' "affront" in trying to discover what happened to the first mutants.  Orlando is setting up a story that involves some comeuppance for the Shi'ar, though I'm not quite sure how it's going to happen.

My only complaint here is that Orlando uses several deus ex machina in the Marauders' battle with Erik the Red.  For example, Somnus can essentially stop time given that his dreamscape exists at a slower pace and Bishop (I think) somehow creates energy helmets for everyone after the ship explodes.

In other words, I like where we're going, but I'm hoping Orlando tightens up some parts.

Spider-Man 2099:  Exodus - Alpha #1:  I'm fucking thrilled to say that this issue is spectacular.  This issue is Orlando's best work in comics.

Honestly, I'm so excited, I don't even know how to begin.  As anyone reading this blog for a while knows, I don't say the following part lightly, but I think Orlando wisely puts aside Miguel's continuity for the moment and keeps the focus on Miguel and Lyla here.  Miguel's (and 2099's) continuity is so confusing at this point that it does no good trying to explain it in a debut issue.  Orlando sticks to the basics, and it's a reminder how good the basics are.

We kick off this new chapter in Miguel's adventures with a man named Bruto Olafsen cutting off a man's arm.  When Public Eye officers try to arrest him, he shows them a black card with white concentric circles, and the officers realize that he's a Cabal pledge.  Bruto tells them that he's just trying to make his numbers when Miguel snatches him.  Bruto is shocked Spidey would take on the Cabal, but Miguel notes that he's just a pledge; Miguel tells Bruno the Cabal was testing him and, if he had passed the test, it would be there to help him.  Realizing Spidey speaks the truth, Bruto says that he's Nueva York's sixth richest man and can pay him.  (This part makes it clear we're not dealing with an organization recruiting from the lower classes.)  Miguel wants the Cabal's leader's name, but Bruto doesn't know it.  Instead, Bruto can only send him to the comms station where Bruto was supposed to transmit his zipgun's thrill counter.  (I love the "thrill counter" idea.)

As Miguel heads to the comms tower, Lyla and Miguel's conversation provides some background on where we are in 2099.  Lyla informs us that the Cabal is the world's only "real" superpower, and I love Orlando deciding to put the days of Alchemax serving as 2099's sole villain behind us.  We learn that the Cabal operates from "Heaven," which I'm guessing is a satellite, and brutally and publicly murdered the Avengers, which has left the world in a state of shock.

Arriving at the comms station, Miguel uses the key that he swiped off Bruto to hack into the system.  He discovers the Cabal has routed a "stellar mass" on a collision course with the Ontario Expanse.  He also learns that the station was going to explode with Bruto inside.  Miguel realizes that Bruto's initiation was a "cruel joke," and I'm intrigued why the Cabal singled out Bruto for such punishment.  Miguel also discovers that the Cabal is scanning the entire planet for some reason but notices some dead zones.  Lyla tells Miguel that the drive has more encrypted files, so Miguel grabs it before the station implodes.

Miguel then heads to one of the dead zones while Lyla scans the news.  The C.E.O. of Green Globe Partners, an activist fund, blames Alchemax for "R&D gone wrong, citing the crash's immediate mutagenic effects on the terrain."  At the dead zone, Miguel discover the Ghost Spire, a tower that Ghost Rider controls and where he protects a city of unhomed, unwanted people.  Zero informs Miguel the crater is birthing new elements and new conspiracies, worrying that the coming fear riots will hurt his people.  Zero agrees to crack the "mysterium datadrive" (a great Easter egg for X-Men fans) but demands Miguel leaves after he does so before the Cabal can track him to the Spire and hurt Zero's people.

In a truly genius moment, the drive is "quest encrypted," which means, to decrypt it, Miguel and Zero have to defeat a digital troll.  I mean, this part is just brilliant.  It wasn't necessary - Zero could've just decrypted it.  But, Orlando adding in this detail shows how carefully he's thinking about each part of this issue's plot.  After defeating the troll, Miguel learns that the "stellar mass" is a dying Celestial, Jovion the Enactor.  The Cabal used the bullet inside him (which they probably shot at him) to pull him to Earth, creating the "weird Eden" they clearly plan on harvesting.  

Before Miguel can learn more, Zero pulls him from the drive as the Cabal has sent a killcraft with shocktroops to the Spire.  As the Spire disintegrates, Zero takes out the killcraft and Miguel engages the shocktroops.  One of the shocktroops tells Miguel that he's a Manfredi (so, again, not a plebe), and Miguel demands to know who the Cabal's leader is.  Before Miguel and the residents can take out the troops, the Manfredi tells Miguel that the leader will reveal himself soon and then uses a "cellular cyanide" tooth to dissolve himself (as do the other shocktroops).

One of the residents demands Miguel helps them now that they've lost the Spire, and he agrees to ferry them to the Transverse City Spire.  Lyla informs Miguel that the Cabal has offered membership to anyone who can stake claim to the Celestial Garden, and Miguel understands that pretty much anyone alive now stands between him and the Garden.  More shockingly, Lyla tells him that the Cabal's leader has, in fact, revealed himself:  it's a very Norman Osborn-looking Green Goblin.

Again, I couldn't be happier with this issue.  I would love for Orlando to keep ignoring most of Miguel's past to create a new 2099 status quo that we could embrace.  I cannot wait for next issue.

Star Wars #23:  Although everything doesn't go exactly as she planned, Zahra reminds us why she's the Empire's best officer in this issue.  In fact, she only fails to take out the entire Rebel fleet -- three full divisions -- and a ground division because two Pathfinders sacrifice themselves to take out the Tarkin's Will's primary reactor.  When Kes and Shara arrive at Home One (the Rebel Fleet's command frigate), Leia mentions celebrating their win, but I think that's just Leia blowing smoke up everyone's ass.  Sure, Zahra lost Tarkin's Will, but the Rebels lost at least three ships by my count as well as most, if not all, of the ground division.  Given the Rebellion's already reduced capacities, they'll miss the ships a lot more than the Empire will miss Tarkin's Will.

Star Wars:  Obi-Wan Kenobi #1:  This series appears to consist of vignettes from Obi-Wan's life, timed to the debut of the Disney+ series.  This issue is fine, if a little lackluster.  

Obi-Wan recalls losing his time as a Padawan, when he lost his friend and protector, Gehren Rand.  After receiving a Force vision of her father in terrible pain, Gehren wants to leave Coruscant to go help him.  Yoda tries to explain to Gehren that the Force may (or may not) be showing her the future, but she decides that she has to leave.  As Gehren is the only person ever to care about Obi-Wan, he follows her.  

To me, I would've preferred to learn more about Obi-Wan as (seemingly) an orphan, since the other "Star Wars" titles have frequently mention how the Empire largely recruits orphans.  The parallel between the Empire and the Jedi would be interesting.

When a gangster Gehren paid to transport her off-world double-crosses her, Gehren and Obi-Wan using their fledgling powers to escape.  Obi-Wan decides against leaving Coruscant with Gehren, and, as he tells us in the present, he never saw her again.  This mini-adventure makes Obi-Wan realizes the dangers of acting from fear (as Gehren was), and, later that night, Yoda tells him that it's time for him to protect himself.

I can't say that the Young Obi-Wan Chronicles interest me all that much.  (Next issue focuses on an adventure with Qui-Gon.)  But, after watching the first episode of the Disney+ series, I'm thrilled to see that Eopie survives so I'll take it!

 
Also Read:  Ben Reilly:  Spider-Man #4; Giant-Size X-Men:  Thunderbird #1; Quests Aside #1

One-Month-Old Comics: The April 27 (2022) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Amazing Spider-Man #1 (April 27):  [Sigh.]  I haven't posted in a while because I dreaded reading this issue.  "Beyond" was so great, and I was worried that Wells would need to do something to ruin that status quo just for dramatic impact.  Unfortunately, he does.

Obviously, I'm OK with Peter facing challenges.  In fact, I'm intrigued by Wells' idea that something happened to Spidey six months ago (as we see at the issue's opening) and, due to the trauma, he's on the outs with everyone.  Aunt May has moved into a smaller apartment after bankrupting herself paying Peter's medical bills, Peter stole something from the Fantastic Four that has them not speaking to him, Randy had to pay Peter's rent when he fell off the face of the Earth:  it isn't good.

Moreover, the Spider-Man part is interesting.  Tombstone is running New York's organized-crime syndicates, and the Rose wants a "product" from him as well as territory that Tombstone isn't willing to give.  (Tombstone refers to the "Kingpin" being gone, and I'm not sure if he means Kingpin himself or Butch.)  Later, it turns out the "product" is a Goblin Glider, and Spidey interrupts the deal.  When the Rose's seemingly gamma-powered enforcer named Digger (who everyone else seems to know but I don't recognize) attacks Spidey, the deal goes bad.  The Rose's men grab the glider and bolt.  

The problem is that Tombstone guaranteed the Rose's men's safety since they met in Harlem (his territory), so, as Hammerhead tells Tombstone, the Rome and Tombstone are now at war.  Clearly making a move, the Rose has his goons blow up Tombstone's apartment.  Tombstone later approaches Peter and tells him to tell Spider-Man that Tombstone is coming after him, since he has to take out Spider-Man to win back his reputation.  Peter's excited by the fact that he (i.e., Spidey) has something to do, which weirds out Tombstone.

Again, all this stuff is fine.  Great, even.  But, Wells crosses the line for me when, yet fucking again, he breaks up MJ and Peter.  To make matters worse, MJ tells Peter to stop calling her and has children (or at least step-children) with some guy named Paul.  Fuck that shit.  Seriously.  I've been reading Spider-Man for 40 years and I am so fucking over fake MJ drama.  I just can't.  I can't even finish this review.  I know that I'll just be gritting my teeth until the inevitable moment when they're reunited.  I need a drink.

Knights of X #1 (April 27):  I didn't read "Excalibur" and I haven't been too thrilled with Howard's previous work.  I'm mostly here for a reunited Rictor and Shatterstar.  But, this issue shows a lot of promise.  

Howard does a great job of laying out status quo without too much exposition.  We learn that Saturnyne has lost her title as Omniversal Majestrix to Merlin, who's using supersized Furies (who look like Sentinels) to hunt down "witchbreed" (i.e., mutants).  King Arthur serves as his general given Arthur's belief that mutantkind stole his son, Mordred, from him (since Mordred is witchbreed).  Betsy and the Captain Britain Corps are rescuing Otherworld's witchbreed (including Joshua) and bringing them to the Lavender Citadel, where Saturnyne stews over the loss of her throne.  As the portal to Krakoa is closed, Betsy seeks help from Roma, but she doesn't have troops to spare, as her fey were some of Merlin's first victims.  But, given the fey's powers come from stories, she tells Betsy that she can send her to Krakoa one time to gather knights for a quest.

On Krakoa, Betsy assembles a team of former Excalibur members who agree to help her.  She and Rictor work with the Five to resurrect Mordred, but, since they're using an Otherworld - and not Cerebro - recording of his personality, they're not sure who they'll get.  However, it doesn't seem to matter when Mordred's body disappears once he's resurrected.  To make matters worse, Jubilee doesn't appear on the other side of the gate when the team crosses it, as it seems that it's Shogo's, and not her, quest.

With only seven allies (Bei the Blood Moon, Gambit, Meggan, Prestige, Rictor, Shatterstar, and Shogo), Betsey and company go to find Kylun at Meggan and Prestige's suggestion.  When they find them, they enter an initial skirmish with Arthur's forces, only for a young Mordred to appear and help them.  With a full team, the quest reveals itself:  Betsy and company have to find the Siege Perilous.  But, Merlin has other plans for it, as he believes that they can de-mutant Mordred (I think) if they send him through the Siege.

It seems like a lot, but, as I said, Howard does a great job throwing all this information at us without it seeming like a slog.  Although I'm here for Rictor and 'Star lovin', I'm also totally down with this plot.

Past the Last Mountain #1 (April 27):  This series is the flipside of "The Realm:"  here, the humans won a war with magical creatures 50 years ago.  At this stage, it's unclear if the magical creatures invaded Earth (like in "The Realm") or if we're dealing with a different Earth where the races always coexisted.

In the present, a troll escapes from the Westfield Penal Preserve in Montana, where the U.S. government is keeping the creatures who survived the war as well as their descendants.  A troll named Abby escapes.  Neil, the Preserve's new director, and Trevor, one of the Preserve's zoologists, quickly realize she did so as a distraction.  From a nearby cliff, Abby's son Simon watches an agent kill her when Abby threatens Trevor.  His companions, Kate (a Faun) and Willa (a dragon), are escorting him to the mythical "Dragon Lake," which Simon (and apparently Abby) believes leads to freedom.  Kate doesn't believe so, but, for some reason, she's fulfilling Abby's wish to get Simon there.  Agents eventually discover the trio's camp only for Willa to reveal that she's fire-capable, despite Trevor previously telling the agents that they had removed her fire glands.

As good as the main story is, it's the series of short "war stories" at the end that make this book.  We watch as humans and creatures struggle with their relationships as the U.S. government suddenly declares creatures the enemy in 1972.  The authors hint that the government's declaration wasn't entirely unprovoked as the United States alone seemed to experience, as one character says, "griffin terrorism, the Centaur Liberation Army, the..."  Given the United States' isolation in the wake of its declaration, this series also has "Undiscovered Country" parallels.

In other words, it's a solid debut.  Allor and Joyce do a great job of presenting us with both an emotionally engaging story and a fully realized world.  I'm definitely coming back next issue.

Star Wars:  Crimson Reign #4 (April 27):  Like Sergeant Creel, I feel like it's almost criminal that Marvel hasn't given us more focus on Ren and his Knights.  My disappointment is particularly acute here, as both Qi'ra and Vader allude to the Knights' illustrious past and now faded glory.  Ren sees a chance to win back some of that honor by working for Qi'ra.  That said, the job involves breaking into Fortress Vader on Mustafar to steal the "Screaming Key," which opens a door whose whereabouts only Qi'ra (and notably not Palpatine or Vader) knows.  But, Qi'ra plan for Ochi's assassination of the Emperor's guards fails to keep Vader off Mustafar, and he appears at the end to take out the Knights.  They escape with the key, but they're now on the Emperor's hit list.  Given that Ren's impetus for taking this job was, in part, striking the Emperor before the Knights made their way up said list (for their shadow-using powers), I'm not sure the Knights are heading to the bright future Ren hoped to see.

One-Month-Old Comics: The April 13 and 20 (2022) Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Star Wars #22 (April 13):  This issue is like reading military history:  it should be exciting, but it's pretty dry.  That said, Soule manages to move the various parties into different positions than they were at the start of the issue, so hopefully that'll pay off next issue.

In exchange for the Alliance sourcing its supplies through Crimson Dawn, Qi'ra sets a trap for Zahra and her fleet.  She gives Zahra the Rebellion's Second Division's location and promises Leia that Zahra will be there.  (She also informs Leia that it's the last remaining Division, which stings, obviously.)  Qi'ra is definitely showing her cards more than she usually does, Zahra is too smart to believe that Qi'ra is trying to help.

Speaking of Zahra, I love that Soule makes her brutally competent (as opposed to most of her Imperial colleagues).  Zahra realizes immediately that Starlight Squadron is trying to distract her so that the Pathfinders can break into Tarkin's Will to rescue Shara.  Soule also highlights how similar Poe is to Kes.  If he had just waited a little longer, Leia would've been able to incorporate his rescue attempt into her plans to take out Zahra.  As Leia says, he's going to get people killed (just like his son).  That outcome becomes more likely when the Tarkin's Will jumps the hyperspace, leaving behind Starlight Squadron and, thus, the Pathfinders' ride.

Despite being pretty dry, Soule has efficiently put everyone in the same place for what I imagine is going to be a pretty fun series of issues.

Star Wars:  Darth Vader #22 (April 13):  This issue is extremely difficult to follow.  We've got so many double- and triple-crossing actors that it's virtually impossible to tell why anyone is doing anything.  

As far as I can tell, Vader "joins" Crimson Dawn simply to get the Dawn to take out Romodi and vice versa.  That said, I still don't know why he'd want to take out Romodi, given that he seems to be the Empire's only competent officer other than Zahra.  Moreover, I don't get why Sabé would simply hand over her command to Vader.  I get that he makes a compelling case that he can get the monsters to kill each other.  But, he himself is the monster, particularly where both Crimson Dawn and Sabé are concerned.  Maybe Sabé isn't privy to Qi'ra's goal of taking out the Sith, but it still seems a stretch that she'd ever view Vader as trustworthy.  

I'm also over Ochi, honestly.  I get that Ochi is in it for the power, but what does Sabé think is going to happen after the Dawn and Romodi eliminate each other?  The Empire is really going to impose order?

Captain America #0 (April 20):  This issue is beautiful:  de Iulis is perfection here.  

The story is also great, as Sam and Steve rush to foil yet another Zola scheme.  Onyebuchi, Lanzing, and Kelly make it clear that the threat - Zola's rocket turning everyone into zolosauruses - is real (if ridiculous), but Sam and Steve's biggest challenge is listening to a ranting Zola.  I loved Sam simply responding, "Yup, that America" when Zola asks if he really wants to save an America that commits [a long list of crimes].  

I'm excited that Marvel has decided not to make us choose between Sam and Steve, giving us series for each one.  I'm all for it.

Dark Beach #1 (April 20):  Ruíz-Unger does a solid job hooking you into both the immediate and larger stories that he's telling.  

It's pretty clear that Gordo is more than just a guy taking surreptitious crime-scene photos for his journalist friend.  It's also clear that he's stumbled upon a crime that connects to the series' mythos, namely that for some reason Earth removed itself from the Sun's orbit because it was killing humanity.  

I'm not sure where Ruíz-Unger is going with that overarching story, but given the beatdown that Gordo gets for sticking his nose into the murder it's clear that someone is invested in keeping it a secret.

Also Read:  X-Men #10

New-ish Comics!: The Top-Shelf February March 23 and 30 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Star Wars:  Darth Vader #21 (March 23):  Oof, this issue is pretty hard to follow.  It has a number of moments where you think we've hit the climax only for us to move onto another scene.

Ochi's search for connections between the people on Sabé's list of Crimson Dawn collaborators leads him to General Romodi, who mourns the soldiers that he lost in Vader's purge.  Ochi realizes that they weren't Crimson Dawn but were all involved in the operation to wipe out the Amidalans.  (Smart, Sabe.  Have the Empire get your revenge for you.)  

The issue gets even more confusing when Vader and Valance hit the road with their crew, the "local heroes" and the professional assassins.  Chilla Zin, an insectoid assassin, laments that Baron Zanchal, who they killed last issue, wasn't a verified hit.  Tanka, the Trandoshan local hero, says that Zanchal had it coming.  Zin stresses that assassins follow rules, but no one is really listeningtohim.  Gee-Ninety enjoys camaraderie with Tanka and the heroes, though Loriach, another assassin, warns him not to get too close to them.  Unsurprisingly, this warning proves prophetic.  

The team arrives on Tranchar in their search for a Lieutenant Grapa, who was also part of the Amidalan mission.  Upon arriving at the Imperial base, an unexpectedly strong droid contingent opens fire on the crew.  Gee-Ninety is upset when Tanka is injured and takes out the droids.  Upon entering the base, Tanka is outraged that the Imperials are torturing people.  Gee-Ninety goes on a shooting spree to take out the Imps and win Tanka's favor, only for Vader to slice him in half.  A wounded Grapa expresses confusion when Vader asks her about the Admidalan mission, since they killed them all.  Tanka takes out Grapa for reasons that I don't fully understand, and, to make matters more confusing, Vader doesn't take out Tanka for killing her.

The only reason that I can see for Vader letting Tanka live is that he's distracted by the fact that Romodi seemed to know that Vader was coming (given the droid contingent).  He suspects Ochi, who panics and flees to Sabé.  Of course, despite Ochi's insistence that he wasn't followed, Vader arrives and tells Ochi that he knew that he was Crimson Dawn.  But he plans to use Ochi and Sabé in ways that aren't clear yet.

As I said, it's confusing.  I like that we pay attention to the minor characters here, but it's a lot of pieces moving on the board to follow.  I also can't believe that Vader would let Tanka survive, so I wonder how that's going to go.

Newburn #5 (March 30):  Newburn is beyond evil here.  He gets himself sent to jail to prove that Sal Russo, an Albano family capo, leaked information that got Sandro Albano killed.  Sal takes a liking to his new bunkmate (whom he recognizes) and calls in a favor to prevent the Black Council from killing Newburn.  Later, he reveals that the Council owes him because he gave them some low-level drop locations, part of his revenge on the Albanos for abandoning him.  Newburn tells Sal that one of those locations got Sandro killed and calls Emily to tell the Albanos.  The next day Newburn reads the paper as Albano thugs go to Sal's cell to kill him.  Phillips does a spectacular job showing Sal's regret for trusting Newburn as he lies on his bunk knowing what's coming.  Emily picks up Newburn after he's released, and, when she asks if he's OK, his role in Sal's death seems not to affect him at all.  It's chilling, and I find myself wondering all the more why he does what he does.

Also Read:  We Have Demons #1 (March 23); Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #21 (March 30)

New-ish Comics!: The Top-Shelf February 9 & 16 and March 2 & 9 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Star Wars:  Darth Vader #20 (February 9):  Vader's campaign to rid the Empire of Crimson Dawn collaborators goes badly-ish here.  He uses a list that Sabé planted for him to find, and only half the people on it actually were Crimson Dawn collaborators.  Then again, as the Emperor notes, it isn't terrible that people are afraid that Vader is going to come after them one day, collaborator or not.  Administrator Moore and Ochi discuss how lucky they were not to be on the list, but their luck may change when Sabé arrives and informs them that she's their new handler.

Dungeons & Dragons:  Mindbreaker #5 (February 16):  Zub almost had me here, as I really did think that Krydle was going to successfully ditch the group to figure out how to resolve his infernal contract.  (The team learned about it when Lord Bel's minion arrived to remove the illithid "squirmer" from Krydle's mind before it killed him.)  But, the team lives to ride another day, much to my joy.

Star Wars #21 (March 2):  This issue is great in no small part because the premise is great.  Soule makes it clear that he's been building this story since we were first introduced to Zahra and the Tarkin's Will.  

For example, we learn that the large portions of the ship that remain damaged from the Death Star explosion are obviously also off the scanner network, allowing Shara to move undetected.  Moreover, the Imperials left their dead colleagues' bodies where they fell (for "inspiration"), which allowed Shara to steal a Stormtrooper uniform.  But, Zahra is too good and suspects that the Starlight Squadron pilot that her men allegedly killed is alive.  She orders a sweep of the ship's damaged portions, and Shara realizes that she has to escape.  

Since she needs a hyperdrive-enabled ship, Shara disables a Lambda-class shuttle so that it gets moved to the maintenance hangar, from which it's apparently easier to escape.  But, Zahra is hiding in the shuttled, excited to capture her so that she can torture her.  When Kes realizes that Shara didn't escape on the timeframe that her message to him promised, he and the remaining Pathfinder and Starlight Squadron members pledge to get her, despite Mon Mothma's orders for them not to go after her.

I'm very excited to see where we go from here.  It's essentially going to replicate Leia's escape from the Death Star in "Star Wars" with a different team, and I'm here for it.

Star Wars: Crimson Reign #3 (March 9):  Soule somehow manages to make an exposition-heavy issue gripping as the Archivist searches for Yoda on Qi'ra's behalf.  

When she initially meets the Archivist, Qi'ra asks how the Jedi disappeared from the galaxy so completely.  Although the answer is obvious - fear - the Archivist's discussion of it really underlines what we've come to see in "Star Wars:  The Mandalorian," where the Force is essentially a myth.  Qi'ra asks the Archivist to recruit Yoda to help with her cause, to overthrow the Sith. The Archivist tracks down Bail Organa's former pilot, who's in Imperial custody after the Empire captured the Tantine IV.  She has to use mind-reading technology to get the information from him, and she eventually goes to Dagobah...and decides not to tell anyone, despite the power and wealth that either Palpatine or Qi'ra would give her for the information.  

Again, it's an exposition-heavy issue, but it's a fascinating tour through the galaxy far, far away.  This story is exactly the sort of one that I hoped we'd get when the "Star Wars" comics launched.

Star Wars:  Han Solo and Chewbacca #1 (March 9):  Holy shit.  I knew something was happening here when Han mentioned his father, which I don't think that I've ever seen him do.  After all, if Han remembered that his father built ships for the Corellian Engineering Corporation (CEC), why wasn't his father raising him?  Why was he a White Worms scumrat?  It seems like we're going to get the answer when the CEC employee Han is pumping for information says that he's Han's father!  Dun-dun-DUN!  Beyond that excitement, this issue is pretty much how I wanted it to be.  Jabba sends Chewie and Han on a mission to Corellia to steal an urn containing his nemesis' ashes, but the catch is that Greedo has to go with them.  That'll turn out well.  Moreover, it has a cool-looking "corpo lawman" named Buck Vanto, who's sent after Han after he helped pull a heist on the casino planet of Galator III (a heist that started the issue).  In other words, color me excited.

Also Read:  Newburn #4 (March 2)

Two-Month-Old and One-Month-Old Comics: The Top-Shelf January 12 and February 2 Edition (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

Undiscovered Country #18 (January 12):  Holy fucking shit.  I have so many thoughts about this issue that I don't know where to start.

[Deep breath.]

OK, I'll start with the end of the Possibility chapter.  Drumkit leads the team from the scene of battle as the team's doppelgängers (that Ace created last issue) fight Possibility's denizens.  Ace gives Drumkit the song that it wants from him (a lullaby that his mother used to sing him), and Drumkit lets them go.  Valentina calls her superheroic doppelgänger for help, and Captain Valentine takes the team and the Anything Engine to the Yearning.  Of course, it turns out Uncle Sam is one of the Crossroad Devil's minions and makes it clear that the team either helps the Devil or dies.  Chang notes that, in diplomacy, when you can't strengthen your position you remove the other side's leverage, so he destroys the Anything Engine.

At this point, I really had no idea where we were going.  A disheartened Devil leaves, his minions retreat, and the team is left alone on the boat.  The best part of this development is that everyone acknowledges that it was ridiculous to assume that they could create a masterpiece in the first place.  (Ace admits that he was just going to rip off "Hamilton.")  It's rare to see a comic acknowledge that a premise was flawed from the start without drifting into pet peeve #3 territory.  Here, the flaw was the plan, not the excuse.  Ace also acknowledges to Valentina that he was distracted while trying to write his masterpiece and kisses her.  Seconds later, the ocean opens and they fall into another interstitial place.

Before we worry that Snyder and Soule got sappy and love was the key, a new Uncle Sam explains that Aurora intentionally had no control over Possibility, since art needs freedom.  But, Aurora and he acknowledged that it all got too wild in there, so they rescued the team without the key.  (Or, Ace and Valentina's kiss was an American masterpiece, and, for some reason, Aurora is too afraid to admit that.)  At this point, I was worried that we were going to continue along our previous path, moving to another zone, la la la.  Instead, shit gets real.

A newly costumed Destiny Man arrives and murders Uncle Sam.  He explains that he saved the team from Aurora, and, given what they learned in Possibility about Aurora's machinations, it's hard to dismiss that possibility immediately.  But, Charlotte is emphatic in reminding everyone that Destiny Man is a monster, and he acknowledges as much, saying that destiny changes a man.  He then removes his helmet to reveal a handsome young man on one side of his face and a monster on the other one.  Charlotte and Daniel (who gets hotter and hotter the fuller his beard gets) are shocked to see that he looks like their father, and he reveals that he is their younger brother, Alexander Graves.  Dun-dun-DUN!

Alex makes it pretty clear that he's nuts ("And when two people love each other very much...") and claims that America is his birthright, that he was literally bred to rule it.  He's been trying to work with Aurora, but he's done with that now.  Before he can continue, a tornado arrives ("Just like 'The Wizard of Oz,'" Alex quips), and the party is split:  Charlotte and Valentina find themselves in History; Ace, Chang, and Janet are in Hegemony; and Alex and Daniel seem set for some quality bro time in an unrevealed place.

Honestly, this issue really helps to move us to where I hoped we were going.  We've spent too much time just traipsing through zones.  Splitting the party and introducing a new Graves sibling aren't just wise plot moves:  they're also symbolic of American storytelling tropes, from Dungeons & Dragons ("Don't split the party!") to Star Wars.  It also speeds up the series' timeframe, as we seem to be approaching some sort of denouement.  Snyder and Soule are getting us there organically, as it feels like the team's arrival has set off a series of events that Aurora increasingly can't control.  We still don't know whether she was the one who arranged for the team to come to America, but, if she did, she might be regretting that decision about now.

Star Wars:  Bounty Hunters #20 (January 12):  The plot involving the Mourner's Wail and the Unbroken Clan is getting almost ridiculously complicated.  In fact, it's getting hard to believe that T'onga is going through all this effort for no personal gain, as far as I can tell.  Unbeknownst to her, her job is even more difficult now that Vukorah has killed Cadeliah's grandfather and taken over the Unbroken Clan, aligning it fully with Crimson Dawn.  Vukorah's bodyguards inform her that the only people left in the Unbroken Clan's fortress as people loyal to her, so I'm not sure that Cadeliah is going to be able to just waltz into the place and unify the syndicates in the way that T'onga hopes.  All that said, the best part of this series is Bossk and Tasu Leech's interactions, particularly as Tasu's brutality shocks even Bossk.  ("You're starting to worry me, kid.")  I'd be fine if we ditched Losha, T'onga, and Zuckuss and focused on these two nutjobs for a while.  Speaking of Zuckuss, I'm relieved that he finally rescued 4-LOM.  Sure, he has to cut off 4-LOM's head to do so, and I'm not really sure how he reprogrammed 4-LOM not to kill him simply by doing so.  But, details, details.  4-LOM's response is great:  "May I assume from my condition that we did not collect on the Boba Fett bounty?"  It's nice that not every love story in Star Wars ends badly.

Star Wars:  Crimson Reign #2 (February 2):  Soule reveals Deathstick and Ochi's targets in this issue, and they're doozies.  Deathstick arranges for the Empire to storm the Rebel bas where Cadeliah is hiding and kidnaps her in the ensuing chaos.  Meanwhile, Ochi uses poison to take out all of Palapatine's Imperial Guard soldiers all at the same time.  I'll be honest that I've lost track of how and when everyone learned about Cadeliah's existence.  I think that Vukorah initially learned of Cadeliah because Nakano Lash tried to negotiate her surrender, but I can't remember if Lash informed her that Cadeliah was the Mourner's Wail and Unbroken Clan heir.  Also, assuming that Vukorah knew, I assume that Vukorah is the one who told Qi'ra.  Given all the crosses and double-crosses, I need some sort of chart at this point.  At any rate, I actually think Qi'ra's strike against the Emperor is the most interesting development, since I'm betting it's also what precipitates her fall.

Also Read:  Star Wars #20 (January 12); Dungeons & Dragons:  Mindbreaker #4 (January 19); Newburn #3 (February 2)