Now that Nanowrimo is over, my regular 3 or 4 comic reviews a week should be back. The comics I picked up this week include the Avengers Annual, Amazing X-Men 2, Marvel Knights X-Men 2, Guardians of the Galaxy 9, Fearless Defenders 12, X-Men Legacy 21, Superior Spider-Man 23, Legends of Red Sonja 2 and Velvet 2. Here are my first impressions. Links to full reviews will be added as they’re posted.
Marvel Knights X-Men 2 was good. I only just read MKXM 1 this past weekend, so these are kind of my thoughts on both issues. This mini-series is off to a good start as the X-Men are off to a small town to help several mutants living there. Their powers are interesting, as is the local town life. It’s hard to explain what happens in this issue without spoiling it, and half the fun is watching it play out. These are worth picking up if you’re an X-Men fan.
Guardians of the Galaxy 9 was alright. As with the last issue, it feels as though it’s behind on Infinity (especially since it ended last month), but the action is good and it still feels relatively self-contained. The art isn’t all that good though – Agent Brand really doesn’t look like herself, and sometimes it’s hard to visually tell the other Guardians apart. This shouldn’t happen when they all have very distinctive looks.
Fearless Defenders 12 was alright. As with several other titles that have been cancelled early, there was just too much going on for a single issue. Too many plot threads that have just now been introduced, only to be solved pages later. It makes many of the recent issues feel kind of pointless, as they could have been dedicated to solving the plot in a more drawn out fashion. It’s still worth reading if you’ve picked up every other issue so far, and the last page reveal is intense, but it is a disappointment considering this series started off so well.
X-Men Legacy 21 was good. Half of the comic is David Haller taking on the evil entity that recently escaped from his head. The rest is dealing with Legion’s attraction to Blindfold. These two halves complement each other very well, and it helps slow the pace of this rather fast-paced series. If you’re a Legacy regular, you won’t want to miss this one.
Superior Spider-Man 23 was great. Even though the bulk of this issue is focused on Venom, there’s still room for all the other dangling plot threads in this series. We finally see what’s going on with Mary Jane again. There’s a quick scene on Carlie Cooper’s situation and the Goblins. The venom storyline ties in tightly with Aunt May’s bad leg storyline. This issue manages to pack in quite a bit, and it all feels seamless the way each scene leads into another. Also, we see the creation of Superior Venom. This is definitely worth reading for Superior regulars, and isn’t a bad place to start if you’re interested in the series.
Velvet 2 was great. It’s a creator-owned espionage comic written by Ed Brubaker, what more do you need?
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Avengers Annual was awesome. Hilarious and adorable. I don’t know why Marvel hasn’t already announced a new project for Immonen.
Amazing X-Men was kinda meh, for me. It’s not clicking.
MKXM was great. Dark and moody and tense and really interesting. Darla’s story is sad, and seeing it played out with the ghost-like illusions made it even more effective.
GotG was OK. Some fun stuff. The conversation between Peter and Carol was oddly hilarious.
Fearless Defenders was pretty good. It did feel very rushed. Still, Morgan le Fey is back! I do love Morgan.
XML was good, but felt like a step down.
Superior Spider-Man was good. Very cool.
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