Captain America, New comics

New comic!

Magic Order 2 2

I had to read issue 1 over again since I’d completely forgotten what happened.  Turns out it had very little to do with this one.  In any case, one crazy shock value moment ensures that I’ll stick around:

So.  Messed.  Up.

Captain America 695-698

Mark Waid and Chris Samnee.  Once again, as with most Waid titles, this should be a slam dunk.  But this is the second time this pairing fails to deliver to expectations.  Cap wanders America for a few issues a la JM Straczynski’s Superman before fighting Kraven and then getting sent to a dystopian future.  Perfectly readable, perfectly forgettable.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

All-New All-Different Avengers,

All-New All-Different Avengers 9-15

Well thank goodness I stuck around, because this is where Mark Waid introduces Nadia Pym, the Unstoppable Wasp!  He sets things up nicely for her solo title, which absolutely sings.  

Everything else is the same level of mildly entertaining as the previous eight issues.

Nadia's going to be the best.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine.  (Pretty good for 9, 14)

All-New All-Different Avengers Annual 1

A bunch of short stories, ostensibly fanfics that Kamala’s reading on her forums.  Complete crap and a waste of time.  Just because they’re supposed to be fanfics doesn’t mean they have to suck.

Regret buying: Yes

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Disliked (Cutting)

Avengers 1

The followup to All-New All-Different after the kids split off to form the Champions.  Two things make this title suck: Kang, whom I’ve never really taken to, and artist Mike Del Mundo, who got me to quit Jason Aaron’s epic Thor run for a while.  I really can’t stand his style, even though he’s technically quite skilled.  Easy cut.

Bouncing it off the shield doesn't give it more energy!!!

Who shakes left hands???

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: No

Rating: Stupid (Cutting)

All-New All-Different Avengers

All-New All-Different Avengers 1-8

It’s not a good sign that I barely remembered the existence of this title.  (By the way, this box is basically Thor, but there’s some room in the box so I’m tossing in Marvel comics from the shelf to fill it out.  Turns out it’s pretty much all Avengers stuff.)

This incarnation of Avengers is comprised of Tony Stark Iron Man, Sam Wilson Captain America, Jane Foster Thor, Vision, Ms Marvel, Nova, and Miles Morales Spider-Man.  Not the worst mix of characters, and you’d think Mark Waid and Adam Kubert/Mahmud Asrar would be able to do more with it.  But it’s all very blah.  They fight Warbringer in the first arc, Kang in the second, and deal with the never-registered-on-my-radar Standoff crossover in the third.  The kids act starstruck and overwhelmed the whole time and the adults barely have personalities.  

Sweet Thor by Kubert.

Cute.

Alex Ross homage...

...of this classic John Byrne cover.

I expected more from Waid, and don’t know why past me stuck around for even more of this.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Fine

Ares, New comics

New comics!

Nightwing Annual 2021

A decent enough one-shot illustrating the bond between the first two Robins.  One great sequence:

Human Target 2

In which Christopher Chance spends a day with Ice of the JLI.  Ice is a nice twist on the femme fatale, as she’s portrayed as the good girl next door, perfectly drawn by Greg Smallwood.  

Great intro.  Cute dress.

Ares 1-5

How does one make a seemingly one note character like the God of War completely compelling and sympathetic?  Make him a devoted father.  In John Wick fashion, let him retire and find happiness for a while.  Then cruelly pull him back into the world he turned his back to, ten times more dangerous because now he has a reason to fight.  

In case you needed it spelled out for you.

What results is a story with stakes, since Ares’ son isn’t an established character, and anything can happen to him.  Travel Foreman has a great style for the gritty Ares and the epic battle scenes.  Ares and Alexander’s story later continues in Hickman’s great Secret Warriors.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Taskmaster, New comics

New comics!

Batman: The Detective 6

A total whiff by Tom Taylor.  The concept of the villain Equilibrium looking to kill everyone Batman’s ever saved is really neat, but nothing else about this series panned out.

Captain Marvel 34

There is zero about this arc (Last of the Marvels) that’s working for me.  I’m slogging through this and hoping that Kelly Thompson rounds back into form next time around.  Not to mention that this is a complete waste of time issue - Carol escapes, then gets captured again, putting her back right where she started.  I suppose she found a new manifestation of her powers, but I didn’t need 22 pages for that.

Taskmaster 1-5

Practically a repeat of my review for Strange Academy yesterday - definite elements of fun in this miniseries, and Jed MacKay writes some great humor, but it’s missing that little extra oomph to push this out of the Nice zone.  

I do love how Taskmaster is Black Widow’s bitch.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

That’s it for Marvel Box 10!  (10!  That’s insane, and there’s still a ton of Marvel to go.  Daredevil, Thor, Punisher…)

Box summary

Time spent reading: 18 hours, 12 minutes

Issues read: 174

Issues cut: 6

Highlights (Good or better): Miracleman 1-16, Miracleman 2 (Gaiman), Runaways 1-12, 19-24, Silver Surfer 13-14, Mary Jane, Mary Jane: Homecoming, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane 1-15, Spider-Woman 1-7

Project Summary:

Time spent reading: 44 days, 17 hours, 18 minutes

Issues read: 9428

Issues cut: 1080

Strange Academy

Strange Academy 1-6

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this comic.  In fact, there’s a lot that’s good.  Skottie Young’s come up with an awesome, distinctive cast of students who have great rapport with each other.  Humberto Ramos draws the crap out of it and Edgar Delgado’s colors are befitting a crazy school of magic.  By all accounts, I should love this book.  It’s fun.

And yet.  All of these wonderful elements don’t click.  It’s missing that certain… special… something.  It’s still an enjoyable read, but not enough that I wanted to get the second trade the first time around.  Present me agrees, and really wishes this was just a little bit more interesting on the story side.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Nice

Spider-Woman

Spider-Woman 1-7

Oh my god the art on this.  Alex Maleev is always good, but he’s on another level here.  It’s the colors - He’s coloring himself, and it brings the art to an entirely different level.  The only other instance I can find where he’s colored himself is here, and...wow.

Storywise, Brian Michael Bendis writes Jessica Drew the same way he writes Jessica Jones, as a completely capable woman who’s drowning in problems that she can barely handle, winging it from moment to moment in a desperate struggle to stay sane.  It’s like Born Again, only without going over the edge.  

God, the colors.  I can’t recall the last time a comic’s floored me this way with colors.  

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good