Comics of July 25, 2018

Now that I’m done my in-between years for my James Bond blogathon, maybe I’ll finally get around to trying to put all of the Pixar movies in order of my personal preference, as impossible as sorting out the top 5 will be. But for today, it’s time to talk about comics. This week I picked up Mr. and Mrs. X 1, X-23 2 and Amazing Spider-Man 2. I didn’t pick up Action Comics 1001 because I already know I’m not a fan of the direction Bendis is taking the Superman series (completely removing Lois Lane and Jon Kent from the picture). At this point, I might only be reading Supergirl out of all the Superman family books, and even that took a 3 month break for Bendis to begin his run. Ugh. Anyway, here are my first impressions for this week’s releases.

Mr. and Mrs. X 1 is fun. I didn’t read the wedding special in X-Men Gold, but thanks to idiotic “journalists” on comic websites, the ending was spoiled to me before it even came out anyway. Not that I personally mind, but I’m sure a lot of people were upset about that. Anyway, I also missed out on the recent Gambit and Rogue miniseries, but if this issue is any indication, I’ll need to pick that up as well. Gambit and Rogue always made a great couple when they were written properly, and they certainly are here. Throw in some welcome cameos, great dialogue and a weird but fun story, and you’ve got a well-rounded comic. This is an easy recommendation for fans of either character.

X-23 2 is great. Continuing off from the first issue, this shows Laura continuing her investigation into the missing scientist Beast told her about. The Stepford Cuckoos also begin their plan, and whatever it is, they made it personal for Laura pretty much right away. The first issue explained the Cuckoos’ motivations very well. They aren’t quite villains in this (except for maybe one of them), but this kicks off the series with a potentially very dangerous enemy for Laura, not to mention one with a similar past. The dark and mysterious core story is balanced out with some great dialogue between Laura and Gabby, Laura showing off her investigation skills and some well-placed humour. Long-time X-23 fans will likely enjoy this series, and it’s worth checking out for Stepford Cuckoo fans as well.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is good. Ignoring the fact that I still feel this went a bit too far in taking Spider-Man back to the basics (no job, no business and down on the Parker luck), it’s nice that Peter’s back together with Mary Jane. This issue also gives Peter Parker an opportunity to restore his name in the science world, while also giving us a fun action scene. I’m still not entirely convinced that I want to stick with this series, but I’ve enjoyed it so far. It’s at least worth a look for Spider-Man fans.