After having a week off of my usual blogging, it’s good to be back. It’s a big week as well, and almost all Marvel. Some of them were good, a few were bad, and a few I have mixed feeling for. So here are my first impressions for all the comics I picked up this week.
They include Captain America 10, Uncanny Avengers 11, Uncanny X-Men 11, FF 11, Avengers Arena 14, Captain Marvel 15, Gambit 16, Scarlet Spider 21, Wolverine and the X-Men 35, Astonishing X-Men 66, Journey Into Mystery 656 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 25. I’ll add links to my full reviews below, so let’s get started.
Wolverine and the X-Men 35 review
Uncanny Avengers 11 was one of the issues I have mixed feelings for. There isn’t a lot of action in this issue. Instead, there’s a lot of story exposition from the Apocalypse Twins as they explain their plan. It’s an intriguing plan, even if it’s been done so many times before on a smaller scale. What action was there pits Thor against Apoco-Sentry and Wolverine against his resurrected son. The first just shows how overpowered Sentry always was, and now he appears even more ridiculous. I might have enjoyed the drama between Wolverine and Daken if I actually cared about Daken, but it was over way too quickly for its own good. If you’ve been enjoying Uncanny Avengers so far, I would recommend this. Personally though, I’m starting to lose interest in this series.
Uncanny X-Men 11 was great. It shows how quickly Cyclops’s new X-men are growing up as they fight a very powerful sentinel (most likely from the future). Cyclops narrates the bulk of this issue, and Brian Michael Bendis does a great job at exploring his mindset. There’s also a quick scene referencing the recent Hydra fight from All New X-Men with a great Dazzler cameo. I’m not a fan of the art style, but it’s never too difficult to see what’s going on.
FF 11 was fun. The whole issue is the FF interacting with Impossible Man as he first plays around with them, but then asks for their help. It’s somewhere between a throwback to classic Fantastic Four stories a modern style FF comic. As usual, there’s a bit of shenanigans with the FF kids back at the Fantastic Four headquarters. As fun as this issue was though, I have to wonder when the main story will start moving forward. These single issues are great fun but they don’t seem to contribute all that much to the story Matt Fraction promised us several issues back. Still, I’d recommend this to anyone who’s a fan of any character on the cover or those who enjoy Matt Fraction’s writing.
Avengers Arena 14 left me with slightly mixed feelings, but they were mostly positive. Character wise, this issue focuses on Bloodstone. Story wise, it begins the final story arc in this series. While there aren’t any confirmed deaths in this issue, it’s possible that one was killed off panel (I hope not though). I can’t help but feel a little excited about the entire island being covered in the trigger scent though, if only to see how everything plays out. This issue won’t change the minds of anyone who hates the series, but if you’ve been enjoying it you’ll probably love this one.
Captain Marvel 15 was great. It feels a lot like last week’s Avengers Assemble, but this time through Captain Marvel’s perspective. It also ads more to what’s going on in the giant battle, gives some perspective on how Carol’s dealing with her memory loss and ends with an exciting teaser. I won’t review this as I’m not reading the main Infinity event, but I enjoyed this enough that Captain Marvel regulars should read this, whether they’re reading Infinity or not.
Gambit 16 was … alright. I’d have to read this a second time to decide exactly how I feel about this one.
Scarlet Spider 21 was great. I shouldn’t talk too much about this issue as it’ll spoil the ending, so let’s just say that nothing is as it seems. Also, Kaine has to deal with a lot of internal struggles in this issue. I’m starting to enjoy this series much more than Superior Spider-Man – every single issue so far has been a blast.
Astonishing X-men 66 was kind of fun. The X-Men try to relax after handling the Iceman situation, and the result is a quick yet entertaining Karaoke scene. Meanwhile, a strange creature has arrived on Earth and is creating a zombie-like infection. It’s kind of fun, and watching the X-men relax and try to party gives this a bit of a Claremont feel with Marjorie Liu’s own twist. I won’t call this comic great, but it was worth reading.
Journey Into Mystery 655 was good fun, and it’s one of my top two comics of the week. It’s hard to talk about this issue as a whole because of how much happens in it, but it’s not the least bit confusing. Every sentence written in this comic is either entertaining or dramatically effective. The page where signals die off on Earth is funny because of how true it feels. I’m going to miss this series – every issue was better than the last, and it’s a true shame it never found its audience.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 25 was great – the other of my top two comics of the week. The last three issues have been relentless in their pacing, while this issue takes its time to allow readers to catch up with everything that’s going on. Despite the manipulation done to his mind, Leonardo still feels a strong connection to his brothers. The moments between the three remaining Ninja Turtles is a particular highlight. And of course there’s the final page, which just made this entire storyline all the more exciting. If you’re a Ninja Turtles fan of any TMNT era, you should be reading this series.
healed1337 
Captain America was whatever. I don’t really care. Sharon’s death annoys me. She was a good character. She deserved better than what Remender gave her. But I guess he wants to hook Cap up with someone else. Cap already has chemistry with Sharon, and Remender can’t allow any relationship with any sort of chemistry to happen.
UA was whatever. Remender’s usual darkness and melodrama. Until he figures out how to infuse his books with some humour, I just don’t give a damn. I am just so frigging over Rick Remender. He is without question the most overrated writer working at Marvel right now.
UXM was awesome. Scott’s narration was really good.
FF was great. Maximus likes old Daredevil comics, and HERBIE likes dubstep. Who knew. And, you know, plenty of other good stuff. Great book.
Captain Marvel was very good. Some strong stuff.
Gambit was OK.
Scarlet Spider was very cool. Very exciting. Glad to see Kaine’s not actually dying. Yet.
WatXM was crap. As usual. Whatever.
AXM was OK. I liked the karaoke scene.
JiM was great. A good final issue. I’m so sad now, though. I loved this series so much, and now it’s over.
LikeLike