Comics of August 17, 2016

It’s a busy week for my pull list, but before that, I feel like talking a little bit about this year’s Olympics. There’s been a lot of great moments this year, but two stand out above the rest to me. Fiji won their first ever Olympic medal of any kind – the gold in men’s rugby. They didn’t just beat the British, they crushed them 43-7, yet the British didn’t look upset. If anything they looked genuinely happy for the winners. And of course Usain Bolt did what so many thought impossible – he won gold in the 100m dash three Olympics in a row. That guy is simply amazing. It’s also great that he clearly loves the sport of running and wants to share it with both the other runners and the world. If I feel the energy, I might end up writing a longer post about Rio’s special moments, both for my home country, Canada, and for other countries in the world. For now, it’s time to talk about comics.

This week, I picked up X-Men: Civil War II 3, Star Wars: Poe Dameron 5, Black Widow 6, The Ultimates 10, The Mighty Thor 10, Spider-Woman 10, All-New Wolverine 11, Supergirl Rebirth 1, Batman 5, Superman 5 and I Hate Fairyland 8. Here are my first impressions, and links to full reviews will be added when they’re posted. Even if some of these issues aren’t as good as usual for their series, almost everything I read this week is at least good.

All-New Wolverine 11 review

Supergirl Rebirth 1 review

X-Men: Civil War II 3 review

Star Wars: Poe Dameron 5 is fun. Poe’s squadron is in a race to break out a Hutt crime lord from a high security prison, to try and get information out of him. The prison break turns out much different than Poe expects, while at the same time, there’s a very entertaining sequence with droids working together to cause the prison’s observation platform all sorts of problems. That sequence convinced me that we should get some sort of one-off issue starring a bunch of astromech droids. Fans of The Force Awakens should check this series out.

Black Widow 6 is great. While on the run from SHIELD, Black Widow meets up with Iron Man, where they discuss one of her deeds that is now leaked to the public. It’s something that hits Tony Stark personally. I can’t say anything else about this issue without spoiling the fun. If you’re interested in an espionage series taking place in the Marvel Universe, look no further.

The Ultimates 10 is intense. There’s a great debate about Ulysses’s powers between the Ultimates and how they’re being utilized. What makes this issue really awesome, besides the fight between some of Earth’s most powerful superheroes, is Thanos’s actions in the background. Seriously, read this series.

The Mighty Thor 10 is great. There’s a lot going on in this comic, but to sum it up, the different plot threads feel like they’re coming together, building toward some sort of epic story arc in the near future. As such, this isn’t a great starting point, but regular readers will enjoy this.

Spider-Woman 10 is weird in all the right ways. In the last issue, Captain Marvel hired Spider-Woman to check out Ulysses’s predictions. His predictions lead Spider-Woman to all sorts of bizarre situations, with some great humour thrown in. The ending gets very dramatic when Spider-Woman learns of the Hulk’s death. Of all the Civil War II tie-ins that I’m reading, this is probably the most entertaining so far, while it still feels like a Spider-Woman book.

Batman 5 is intense. Gotham has gone crazy and is attacking Gotham City with powers similar to Superman. There are some great tactics by Batman and his allies, and some good drama with Gotham Girl. We also learn how Gotham and Gotham Girl’s powers work, and the consequences for using them. This is turning into a great Batman run, and his fans should at least give this run a chance if they haven’t already.

Superman 5 is great. The fight between Superman and the Eradicator over Jon’s fate intensifies when they reach the moon. Even though this is an issue long fight scene, there’s still room for some good family moments, plus Lois Lane has an awesome moment of glory. Superman fans should give this series a chance.

I Hate Fairyland 8, as usual for Scottie Young, is very entertaining. If you like his sense of humour and could see yourself interested in his creator-owned series about a girl trapped in fairyland, you should buy this.