Comics of July 29, 2015

Usually on the last Wednesday on a month with five of them, my pull list is small. This week is an exception; I picked up 9 comics. But before I get into them, a quick update on my writing. I’ve been participating in Camp Nanowrimo this month, and I set my goal to 100,000 words. I just matched that count this past Sunday, but the book’s not even over yet. I still have the climactic battle to write, but I’m very close to finishing the most ambitious novel I’ve written so far. Because I’ve also been working 1-10 almost every day this past month, I’ve fallen behind on some people’s blogs. I should be able to catch up soon.

Anyway, the comics I picked up this week include Thors 2, 1602 Witch Hunter Angela 2, Deadpool’s Secret Secret Wars 3, MODOK Assassin 3, Black Widow 20, Batgirl 42, Batgirl Annual, Red Sonja 17 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 48. Here are my first impressions, and links to full reviews will be added when they’re posted. Seriously though, there are a lot of great comics this week and I have no idea what my favourite is at this point.

Black Widow 20 review

Thors 2 review

Batgirl Annual 3 review

1602 Witch Hunter Angela 2 is also great. The main story is very clever, combining Marvel mythology with middle-ages beliefs and attitudes. The 1602 Guardians bring a nice twist on the Guardians of the Galaxy. Also, the backup story about Witch Hunter Angela’s past is just entertaining. This is among the most brilliant of the Secret Wars titles I’ve been reading, and it’s at least worth a look for anyone reading Marvel.

Deadpool’s Secret Secret wars is … ok. I enjoyed the first two issues, but this one isn’t as entertaining. That said, there are a few amusing continuity nods and some of the action is good. If you enjoyed the first two issues this is still worth a look, but I wouldn’t recommend buying it.

MODOK Assassin 3 is ridiculous in all the right ways. Most of this issue is an action scene, but there’s still room for quasi-romantic dialogue and plot development. The action itself is stupid but fun, and appropriately enough, there’s a lot of killing. Some might find MODOK himself annoying, but this is a very entertaining comic that’s definitely worth a look.

Batgirl 42 is good. This kicks off where the last issue left off, with the new Batman threatening to arrest Batgirl. The fight doesn’t exactly go as expected, but it’s good. It turns out that Gordon doesn’t want to arrest Batgirl, but his employers are ordering him to. Somehow Batman and Batgirl must work together to arrest a very dangerous criminal, Livewire, without having to fight each other. It’s not quite as dramatic as I hoped, but it’s fun. Batgirl fans should be picking this series up. For those who want to further read up on the new Batman and how it affects his relationships, this comic is also worth picking up, along with Batgirl 41.

Red Sonja 17 is good. So far it’s kind of a standard Red Sonja story; she’s hired by people to defend a tower from an evil tyrant. That said, the dialogue is great and it touches on Red Sonja’s childhood in a way that feels fresh. There’s a nice dramatic moment after the main fight between Sonja and one of her employers, while the teaser suggests this story is about to get much more intense. It’s not great yet, but this story could potentially reach that point. Either way, Red Sonja regulars should enjoy this, and it’s a new story-arc, making it a good jumping on point for those interested in a good Barbarian story.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 48 is intense. About half of the issue is the Ninja Turtles defending Splinter from an army of Stockman’s robots. Despite the intense action, there’s still room for dramatic moments, story development and touching on several other sub-plots. It’s a bit late for people to jump into this series, but any Ninja Turtles fans who haven’t read this series yet really should.