Comics of February 15, 2017

Well, it’s the third week of comics in February, and I feel like I’m already starting to switch a bit more toward DC over Marvel. I didn’t pick up this week’s Captain America: Steve Rogers, and picked up Super Sons instead. I do still intend to keep up with favourites like Mighty Thor and Ultimates volume 2, both of which saw an issue release today, as well as all the Star Wars comics. But like I said last week, I don’t like some of the directions Marvel is going as a company, so I’m reducing my Marvel pickups.

Also I finally watched the Suicide Squad movie this past week. My thoughts – I’m having trouble remembering half of what happened in that movie, and I’m usually a bit of a data head with fiction. I’ve barely thought about the movie since. It was that forgettable. I guess that’s better than outright hating the movie like I did with Man of Steel, and Batman v Superman to a lesser extent. I want to like the DC movies, I really do, but the direction they’re going in is just not for me. Their comics are really good right now though.

Anyway, the comics I picked up include Monsters Unleashed 3, The Ultimates 2 4, Star Wars: Poe Dameron 11, The Mighty Thor 16, Super Sons 1, Batman 17, Superman 17 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 7. Here are my first impressions, and links to full reviews will be added when they’re posted.

Super Sons 1 review (plus talk of Superman 17 that’s not quite enough to be a review)’

The Mighty Thor 16 review

Star Wars Poe Dameron 11 review

Monsters Unleashed 3 is fun. The first two issues were heavy action issues. This one starts off with a huge monster on monster fight, but the rest of the comic really delves into the storytelling. There’s a touch of character drama and some intense build-up, but the core of the story remains the same. This event is just dumb fun, and that is in no way a bad thing. If all the world’s superheroes defending the Earth from an army of monsters interests you, then check this series out.

Unless there’s something particularly great or not so great in an issue though, I won’t be reviewing Monsters Unleashed anymore. There’s no real point when it’s just dumb fun. It’s refreshing compared to the far too slow Civil War II and Inhumans vs. X-Men, which doesn’t have any of the dramatic weight that it should. Also unlike both of those events, Monsters Unleashed isn’t about heroes fighting heroes. Just know that out of Marvel’s last three events, this one is shaping up to be the only one that’s actually worth reading.

The Ultimates 2 4 is great. The comic is split between some very intense story development and a great fight scene between the Ultimates and the Troubleshooters, a mysterious group of superpowered people introduced in the previous issue. This remains Marvel’s best team book and Marvel’s most creatively brilliant series on the market right now, with a bit of a cosmic exploration angle. That alone makes it worth a look.

Batman 17 is intense. After the somewhat disappointing I Am Suicide arc and the 2-parter about Batman and Catwoman that I didn’t care much for, this arc seems to be picking up again. That said, this is mostly a build-up issue for the confrontation between Batman and Bane. It’s exciting, but when you have two issues of mostly build-up, you’d better have some sort of payoff. This is worth checking out for Batman fans though.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 67 is great. There’s some good drama involving the Ninja Turtles family dynamics, and how Leonardo seems to be the only one of the four turtles taking the rising threats seriously. At the same time, there’s a dark story involving Slash (a giant snapping turtle mutant) being kidnapped by a mysterious organization and experimented on. This simultaneously gives the turtles some much needed downtime and character focus while introducing an intense new storyline. Ninja Turtles fans should be picking this series up.