Apart from Ms. Marvel 2 and the final issue of Animal Man, there wasn’t anything too special on my pull list this week. Sure, a few storylines wrapped up and Supergirl joined the Red Lanterns, but otherwise this felt like just another week in comics. Quality-wise, it’s a mixed one at that. On the upside, I finished Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze last night, except for all the bonus levels that is.
The comics I picked up include the Superior Spider-Man annual, Ms. Marvel 2, X-Men 12, Uncanny X-Men 19, Thor: God of Thunder 20, Superman Unchained 6, Supergirl 29, Animal Man 29 and Aphrodite IX 9. I also picked up the last three issues of Mighty Avengers, which I’ll read later. Here are my first impressions; links to full reviews will be added as they’re posted.
The Superior Spider-Man annual was good. Written by Christos Gage, it has two stories in one, each following a side-character. The first is about Phil Urich’s father as he tries to help his son return to normal. The second is about Wraith as she tries to figure out what’s going on. They’re both good stories, and offer unique insight into Goblin Nation that the main series simply won’t have time for. Considering there are several important moments in Wraith’s story, it’s a must read if you’re reading Goblin Nation.
Uncanny X-Men 12 was great. It mostly acts as a precursor to Cyclops’s war on SHIELD, while showcasing how much a threat the mysterious villain can be. There are a lot of quips and some great action to balance this issue out. X-Men fans in general should give this title a chance if they haven’t yet.
Thor: God of Thunder 20 was good. While issue 19 mostly focused on Thor and his attractive SHIELD agent friend, this one focuses more on King Thor vs. Galactus in the future and the Earth destroying villains of Roxxon in modern times. There are some good villain moments and the comic ends with a powerful teaser for the next issue, but it wasn’t as fun as this series usually is. Still, this is worth checking out for Thor fans.
Supergirl 29 was alright. It does more with Silver Banshee than it does Supergirl as she tries to stop the red lantern kryptonian from destroying … everything. The action is good and the character focus on Silver Banshee helps improve this entry, but the story still feels weak and it takes several steps back in Supergirl’s character development. I might give this a few more issues, but I haven’t been enjoying the Red Lantern storyline at all so far. This might be my last issue until she leaves the Red Lanterns. I can’t recommend this.
Animal Man 29 was cute, and it’s worth picking up for anyone who’s read the series up till now. It concludes most of the remaining plot threads and devotes much of its time to Buddy Baker’s family. There’s also a cute rehash of the title’s entire run as narrated by Maxine.
healed1337 
Superior Spider-Man Annual was good. I always enjoy Christos Gage’s work. He does solid character stuff, and he does it here. Quick correction, though: Ben is Phil’s uncle, not father. Father figure, but not father. He’s Phil’s Uncle Ben.
Ms. Marvel was great. Awesome issue. I loved it.
X-Men was really good. Especially the main segment. The second part felt a bit like filler, like Wood just wanted to wrap up the Bling/Mercury story. I hope he keeps using them, actually. They’ll make a cute couple. But yeah, the main story was really good.
UXM was great. Action, plot development, character development, and clever dialogue. Magik learning some actual magic was a nice touch. Way to go for her.
Thor was good. Insane. In a good way.
As for the last three issues of Mighty Avengers – oh man, so damned good. Al Ewing’s a great writer, Valerio Schiti’s a great artist, and they tell a great story. This series is a must-read, in my mind.
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So I just read Mighty Avengers 6-8 and I agree, they are pretty good. I like how, save for Monica Rambeau, it’s mostly a street level team. Looks like I’ve found my replacement for Avengers Assemble.
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I wouldn’t say it’s street level. There’s Monica. There’s also Blue Marvel and She-Hulk – and no team with a Hulk can ever be considered street-level. White Tiger and Power Man are both martial artists, but they’ve both got some mystical stuff going on that gives them plenty of power. Luke Cage is a bona fide Avenger. So is Falcon. “Ronin” is coming back soon, and not to spoil anything, but the character wearing that costume right now has a long history with the supernatural.
So they’re not a street-level team. And the threats they’ve engaged in so far: One of Thanos’ generals, Shuma-Gorath, a demon-monster-thing, and now Blue Marvel’s kid. And the tiger god.
In terms of the characters, they’re not street-level. Most of the threats haven’t been, either.
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I’ll give you that. Also, I still haven’t read their Infinity tie-in. Either way, thanks for the recommendation.
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