These are my unscripted first impressions on the comics I picked up today. They include Wolverine 1, Age of Ultron 2, Secret Avengers 2, The Fearless Defenders 2, Uncanny X-Men 3, Fantastic Four 5, Thor: God of Thunder 6, Avengers Arena 6, X-Men Legacy 7, Batman 18 and Batgirl 18. I’ll add links to my full text reviews as I post them.
The Fearless Defenders 2 review
In case you’d rather read my thoughts, here they are in a couple sentences each.
Uncanny X-Men 3 was great. The confrontation between Cyclops’ X-Men and the Avengers was a lot more civil than I was expecting, not that it’s a bad thing. It also develops the back story for one of the new mutant characters. This is an easy recommendation for X-Men fans.
Fantastic Four 5 was great. The confrontation between Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman was very well handled, and the field trip into old Rome was a fun little adventure. Recommended for Fantastic Four fans and/or fans of Matt Fraction’s writing.
Thor: God of Thunder 6 was great. It’s the origin issue of Gorr: The God Butcher. If you’ve been enjoying Thor so far, this issue could be important.
Avengers Arena 6 was good. It has the first death caused by one of the contestants. To avoid spoilers, I’ll just say that it’s one of the new characters. If you’ve been enjoying this so far, you’ll likely enjoy this issue. If this series angers you, this issue won’t change your mind.
X-Men Legacy was crazy fun. Legion takes on a bunch of mutant-hating religious nutjubs while telepathically flirting with Blindfold. There’s really nothing else to say about this one. Legacy started out as mediocre, but it’s easily the weirdest Marvel Now series so far, and in a fun way.
Batman 18 was great. It deals with Batman’s reaction to Damien Wayne’s death through the perspective of Harper Roy (a minor character who was introduced earlier in Batman’s new 52 series). It’s a touching issue that can take place any time in continuity. Batman fans should definitely read this one.
Batgirl 18 was good, but not as good. It also deals with the aftermath of Damien Wayne’s death, but the continuity feels off. Otherwise, it’s a fun chase game of death between Batgirl and her criminal brother … from his perspective.
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Wolverine was pretty good. Not as fun of Savage Wolverine, so it’ll need to do something else to distinguish itself.
Age of Ultron was good. More character-focused storytelling, which is what I want in comics. If Bendis keeps it character-driven, this will be his best Avengers event.
Secret Avengers was good. Mockingbird! Yay! I’m very interested in seeing where the AIM story’s going. Some very cool villains the guy’s chosen for his Ministers.
Fearless Defenders was better than last issue. A lot less fanservice. Solid writing. Dani’s awesome. This is a book worth reading.
UXM was great. The X-Men get to tell off the Avengers, and it’s glorious. I loved it. Also interesting twist with Magneto. I wonder if there’s going to be another twist with him. Like him being a quadruple-agent or something. Anyway, go Team Cyclops!
Fantastic Four was great. I loved the concept of a possessed Julius Caesar. Also, we see again why Reed and Sue is the greatest comic book marriage, and why it’s lasted 50 years.
Thor was good. Interesting seeing what led Gorr to become a god-butcher.
Arena was a book whose concept I simply cannot get past.
Legacy was good. Ruth’s anger was something to see. The relationship between David and Ruth is cute in general. And I’m always glad when Brand shows up to snark.
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Though I loved LEGACY from the get-go, I’m very glad to hear you singing it’s praises. It’s my favourite Marvel comic since Fraction’s run on THE DEFENDERS.
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