Comics of May 21, 2014

Usually the third Wednesday of the month is my big week. Thankfully this Wednesday is smaller than most in terms of numbers, but almost everything I picked up was $4. Most of the comics I picked up were good, but my wallet isn’t smiling.

The comics I picked up include Amazing Spider-Man 2, Hulk 3, Magneto 4, Amazing Spider-Man 7, All-New X-Factor 8, X-Men 14, Savage Wolverine 19, Uncanny X-Men 21, Thor: God of Thunder 22, Velvet 5 and Supergirl 31. Here are my first impressions, and links to full reviews will be added as they’re posted.

Amazing X-Men 7 review

Uncanny X-Men 21 review

Amazing Spider-Man 2 was good. A lot happened on the story front, with Electro having his first fight with Spider-Man since Peter Parker re-emerged into the role, Anna Marie learning that she was dating Dr. Octopus with a well-written shock reaction and developments for Parker Industries. It almost feels like there’s too much going on, but bits of humour help spice it up. This is well-worth reading for Spider-man fans, or anyone who wants to check out his comics.

Hulk 3 was fun. The whole issue is pretty much a fight scene between the Hulk, the new Abomination, a couple more Avengers and whoever is behind the Abomination’s creation. Along with the action are minor hints that Bruce Banner might at least partially recover from his brain damage. If you like the Hulk, you’ll probably enjoy this.

Magneto 4 was great. Magneto takes on a group of Purifiers, ‘nuff said.

All New X-Factor 8 was very good. Most of the team members have a decent character moment in this issue, plus there’s the tragic family situation with the Mexican media giant who hates mutants, and his mutant daughter. Everything somehow fits together, and Polaris shows off her magnetism powers quite well. It also ends with more hints that Serval Industries may not be as straight as the CEO wants X-Factor to think. X-men fans should give Peter David’s X-factor a chance if they haven’t already. While it mostly has C-list characters, that’s part of what makes this title work so well – he has near complete freedom with character development.

X-Men 14 was good. The main story is starting to get intense, with villains that seem to be prepared for everything. The backup story in the Danger Room is just fun. Of all the X-men titles on the market right now, this one has the most classic feel – in a good way.

Savage Wolverine 19 was great. I don’t usually pick up Wolverine titles lately, but I’ll probably be picking up the 3-months to die storyline and the Death of Wolverine mini-series. But in any case, this issue is written by Gail Simone, and is just as much about Jubilee as it is Wolverine. It’s just a fun issue, and one that explores the early days of their friendship. If you enjoy the father/daughter relationship between Wolverine and Jubilee, you should read this.

Thor: God of Thunder 22 was great. In the present, Thor’s confrontation with Roxxon continues to build in tension with legal threats, a ruined Broxton and all sorts of environmental destruction. In the future, Thor’s descendants join his fight with Galactus. Jason Aaron’s run on Thor remains simply epic, and it appears that next month’s finale to The Last Days of Midgard will be intense. This is where it’s at, Thor fans.

Velvet 5 was both good and disappointing. On the one hand, there’s a lot of backstory about the title character, her training as an agent, her trainer and some of her past conflicts. It’s all very intriguing and adds depth to the entire series. On the other hand, very little happens in the current story, and this was delayed by almost a month. Apart from those complaints, this is a very good comic. It’s Ed Brubaker (he wrote the story that Captain America: The Winter Soldier was based on) writing an espionage comic. Just read this if you haven’t already.

Supergirl 31 was good. It continues where Red Lanterns 30 left off, with the team trying to find a new Red Lantern before the villain, Atrocitus, finds him/her first. Even with the intense race going on, there’s room for a great moment between Supergirl and the new Red Lantern where they learn to understand each other’s rage. I was skeptical about this Red Lantern storyline at first, but it’s actually turning out well.