Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #13

“You Say You Want a Revolution”

Writer: Tom Taylor

Artists:  Ken Lashley, Todd Nauck, Ig Guara, Dike Ruan

Cover Art:  Andrew C. Robinson

I’m saying this right now… Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is the most entertaining, most fun and simply the best Spider-Man title currently on the market.  And it is not even close.

Issue #13, featuring the Fantastic Four, is some of the best work of the month.  There are literally several times where I actually laugh out loud at the dialogue being shown by Tom Taylor.  The interactions between Spidey and the FF and, quite frankly, between the FF members are just amazing (pardon the pun).

I believe that Tom Taylor has as good of a grasp on the character of Peter Parker, Spider-Man as any writer working today.  Every month it only seems to exceed itself.

The story is kind of odd, and the climax to the story may have felt a little bit rushed, but that does not take away from the fact that I was thoroughly entertained by this comic and enjoyed every page.

Spidey and Reed Richards bonding over science is something I never knew I needed.  And how they then turned the tables on Johnny Storm… priceless.

I legitimately feel giddy over the book.  It is not coming out every week like some Marvel books or every other, but as long as this is the quality that they continue to provide, I am happy to wait.

SCIENCE FIVE!

Contagion #5

Writer:  Ed Brisson

Artist:  Adam Gorham

Cover Art:  Juan Jose Ryp & Jesus Aburtov

I have really enjoyed the five-issue limited series from Ed Brisson and Adam Gorham called Contagion.

A strange fungus creature arrived on Yancy Street and started infecting people, including three-fourths of the Fantastic Four and several other major Marvel Universe heroes.  It wound up to be in the court of the Moon Knight and a young iron fist named Pei to save the day.

I enjoyed the pacing of the story and the art was top notch every issue.  But, if I am being honest, there is one thing that I enjoyed about this series way more than anything else…

This was a Marvel five issue limited series that did not require 20 different spin offs/crossovers for the story to be told.  It did not cross over into the Fantastic Four series or the Avengers series or the Doctor Strange series.  It was five issues, it told a self-contained story and it was glorious.

I understand the business aspect of comic books, but the fact is, most if not all of these crossover issues are unnecessary for a story.  In fact, several of them feel superfluous.  Right now, I have not read several of the Absolute Carnage crossovers because they would have taken place before the main series and I already know what would have happened.

Contagion had none of this.  Just five issues of good storytelling, strong character work and an uncertain future that brought some stakes to the comic.

I would love to see more of these kind of event series from the House of Ideas and keep those bloated crossover events such as Absolute Carnage, 2099, War of the Realms limited to once or so a year.

I know I am dreaming.  But read Contagion.  It is solid work and worth the time… and easy to do.

Amazing Spider-Man: Full Circle #1

Writers:  Jonathan Hickman, Gerry Duggan, Nick Spencer, Kelly Thompson, Al Ewing, Chip Zdarsky, and Jason Aaron

Artists:  Chris Bachalo, Greg Smallwood, Michael Allred, Valerio Schiti, Chris Sprouse, Rachael Stott, Cameron Stewart, and Mark Bagley

Cover Art:  Rod Reis with Chris Bachalo, Tim Townsend, Greg Smallwood, Michael Allred, Laura Allred, Valero Schiti, Mattia Iacono, Chris Sprouse, Karl Story, Dave McCaig, Rachel Stott, Triona Farrell, Cameron Stewart, Nathan Fairbairn, Mark Bagley, John Dell & Frank D’Armata

I actually love the gimmick of this comic.

According to the first page of Amazing Spider-Man: Full Circle #1, Marvel took seven creative teams to put together a Spidey story round robin style, picking up the story where it was left off.  The teams were given no plan prior to the beginning their process.  They would receive the pages from the previous creative team with no idea of what was coming.  The team would need to get Spidey out of the problems from the previous writer, move the story ahead and end with a cliffhanger for the next guy to work on.  The final chapter was everybody “scrambling together” to wrap everything up.

Apparently, none of the creators knew who was involved, except for the previous creators.  This felt like a gigantic improv game, and I loved the idea.  The story?  Not so much.

Unfortunately, the story was just too kooky and devolved into too much of weirdness.  It started out intriguing, but by the midway point, there were talking werewolves and time travel and everything was just too bizarre.

I understand that the story is meant to feel somewhat disjointed.  It is the design of the entire concept to put these writers/artists into this creative challenge and see what they can do, but I just did not like how they took the story.  Some of the ideas were taken in a different way that I just was not a fan of (ex. the whole “man in a box” bit turned into something unnecessarily nuts).

I would absolutely be in for another try of this gimmick (though the $9.99 price tag is too expensive for an experiment like this) and I think these types of creative ideas need to be used more to help bring an excitement to the comic book industry.  I would just rather see a story more involved in characterization than plot.

The Immortal Hulk #25

Writer:  Al Ewing

Artist:  German Garcia

Cover Art:  Alex Ross

Um…WTF?

Okay, this was the strangest issue that I have seen of any comic in a long time.

Honestly, what I was thinking the whole time while reading this book was how much the story was like the comedic poem, Hungry Mungry, written by EYG Hall of Famer Shel Silverstein.

‘Cause nothin’ was nothin’ was
Nothin’ was nothin’ was
Nothin’ was left to eat.

Outside of that critique, as I told the owner of my comic shop, I do not think I am smart enough to really know what was happening here.

And the guest cameo on the last page… it really blew my mind.

I was worried that, because of the way the story was going, that this might be the final issue of The Immortal Hulk and that would have been terrible.  I love this series very much and I am very glad to see the advertisement for next issue at the back.

The thing is.. this felt like a series ending issue.  Glad it is continuing because this has been, perhaps, the best comic Marvel has put out this year.  It is, at the very least, in the argument.

The cover by Alex Ross is as gorgeous as any covers that I have seen this year.

This was an amazing issue, I think.  It was clearly psychedelic.

The Amazing Mary Jane #1

Writer:  Leah Williams

Artist:  Carlos Gomez

Cover Art:  Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado

I had some doubt about Mary Jane Watson getting her own series, albeit a limited series, but I really enjoyed issue one of The Amazing Mary Jane.  Matching her up with Quentin Beck’s Mysterio is an intriguing choice and I am looking forward to see how it progresses.

I can hear some people complaining about MJ sticking with the film after discovering that it was Beck behind it, but I found it all made plenty of sense.  I am fascinated to see what Mysterio will do.  Will he slip back into his evil ways or will he be able to contain his more negative characteristics.

I also enjoyed the meta-type storytelling.  With the idea that MJ is making a movie, they can play with the story all they like.  And having the movie be about Mysterio and his “real-life” situation is a stroke of genius.

I especially loved the interaction between MJ and Peter on the phone.  This is a relationship that I loved when I was young and have missed over the years since they were broken apart.  I certainly hope the new secret will not cause a problem.  Peter has been known to keep a secret or two in his life.

The twenty-second dance party was as charming as anything I have seen in quite a while.

Excited to see where this goes.  Nervous about the villains on their way.

X-Men #1

“Pax Krakoa”

Writer”  Jonathan Hickman

Artist:  Leinil Francis Yu

Cover Art:  Leinil Francis Yu & Sunny Gho

After the two connected X-series Power of X and The House of X concluded, the X-Men were ready to start on their new adventures in the new world.  A sanctuary land known as Krakoa where all mutants are welcome has become their new home and allowed them a new grasp on life.

This first issue focuses on the Summers clan and their family get-together on the moon.  There are some other storylines that are sprinkled into the book, especially the strange arrival of a new character who was “born out of time.”  This female character was interesting and I found that I wanted to know more about her.  Unfortunately, she was on two pages.

We are also introduced to what appears to be a group of new villains on their way to make the X-Men’s lives troublesome once again, but I am having trouble caring much about them since I really do not know who they are.

Honestly, I find this whole new take on the mutants to be fairly meh.  I have trouble with potential stakes since, if anyone dies, they can just be reborn again with all of their memories.  It is like the old “nobody truly dies in comics” taken to the nth degree.

There were some good moments in the book, especially a conversation between Rachel and Hepzibah about the spikes on her clothing.

The whole thing with this new version of the X-Men is that everything feels off.  That may be by design, in which case I may have revisit this at some point, but the whole Krakoa stuff with the cult-like situation is just creepy.

And fact is, with all due respect, I have not been a fan of the art in this book so far.  Hopefully it picks up.

I’m not sure how I feel about the X-Men.  I had cut the ties with the mutants prior to the House of X and Powers of X, and I cannot see any way I am buying the plethora of X-books that will be coming out over the next couple of months, but there are some potential here that could turn into more than what is here now.  We’ll see…

Something is Killing the Children #2

“The Angel of Archer’s Peak Part Two”

Writer:  James Tynion IV

Artist:  Werther Dell’Edera

Cover Art:  Werther Dell’Edera

A few weeks ago, I was at my comic shop, Comic World and Games.  I had some time so I was hanging out reading some of the weekly pull list.  I have really enjoyed the opportunities that I have had to just sit at the shop and read the comics.

I was getting ready to leave when Ben, the owner, asked me if I had seen this new book called Something is Killing the Children?  Since it was from the company called Boom!, my answer was no.  I don’t go outside Marvel much (though the last few weeks I have expanded some into DC).

He said they had several first printings of this book and I had to read it.  His description of it as a horror comic intrigued me and, when they offered it to me to read without a promise to buy, I could not refuse.  So I sat back down and read it.

Man it was great.

I would have written about it when I first read it (I, of course, then purchased the first printing copy I had read), but it had been out for awhile so I decided to add it to the pull list and wait for number two.

Number Two came out today.  Time to rave.

This second issue was every bit as great as the first one.  It tells the story of the murders of kids in the small town of Archer’s Peak.  The survivors bring back stories of monsters that seem to fantastic to be believed.

However, the mysterious woman named Erica Slaughter has arrived and joined forces with one of the kids who had survived, James, to try and stop what is happening.

The story has been slowly building over the first two issues, so much that I am still not sure what is going on, and I love that.

GLAAD Award-winning author James Tynion IV (The Woods, Batman) and artist Werther Dell’Edera (Briggs Land) are the creative force behind this hot new series and I have been completely engaged by them.  I love the unconventional look of the art in this series because it fits right in with the story that is being told.  The cover for issue two is just astounding.

After two issues, this book has flown up to the top of my anticipated read list ahead of most of the other books I read.  The fact that I have an issue #1 first printing and now an issue #2 which has sold out at the distributor level before its debut on October 16, 2019 at comics shops.

I know there are great comics being created outside of the big two, and this is one of the best examples going.  Get on this train before it is too late.  This is a fabulous comic book.

Doctor Doom #1

“Pottersville”

Writer:  Christopher Cantwell

Artist:  Salvador Larroca

Cover Art:  Guru-eFX

Okay, this one was great.

I have always been a big fan of Doctor Doom and I really enjoyed this issue.  I was not expecting this to be a political thriller, but I thought it was a awesome way to go.  I was intrigued by the way Doom was shown and how he reacted to the situations around him.  And then with the big surprise of “Who attacked the moon” (you’ll understand if you read it), the book took another twist.

I am not sure that Doom would react the way he did in this book, but I am willing to let that slide.

However, Doom with the TV news host “Steve”… that was perfect.

This issue kept me on my toes.  There were some fun cameos from characters that we have not seen for awhile.

Behind the scenes of the political world in Latveria and the series set as a world conflict, Doctor Doom with a connection with Kang, and a mystery to boot.

I loved this issue.

Year of the Villain: The Joker#1

Writer:  John Carpenter & Anthony Burch

Artist:  Philip Tan

Cover Art:  Tan & Ramos

I wonder why there were so many comics this week featuring the Joker?  Hm.

The first Wednesday after the release of the new movie, Joker, which made $96 million dollars its opening weekend, saw several comics featuring the Clown Prince of Crime.

It’s good business by DC to give the people what they want.  I mean, I am not a DC guy, but I purchased a couple of those Joker books this week because I was interested once again in the character.

Then, I was also intrigued by the name on the cover.  John Carpenter credited as one of the writers on this comic is a major reason why I grabbed this off the stand.  Plus, the fact that it is a one-shot and does not require any further commitment was a selling point.

However, with all of those pluses, I thought the book was okay at best.

It is a Joker story with a henchman who escaped with Joker.  Joker dresses up as Batman and makes this guy Robin and then goes around Gotham causing chaos.  I was only somewhat interested in the story.  The art is very solid from Philip Tan and the inking done by Marc Deering, Danny Miki, Jonathan Glapion and Tan.  It looks good.

There is a great cameo from the Condiment King.

That was really about it.  I mean … it was fine.  Honestly though, with John Carpenter’s name on the cover, I expected more.  That reminds me of when RL Stein wrote that Man-Thing series that was, at best, average.  This is like that.

Contagion #1

Writer:  Ed Brisson

Artist: Roge Antonio

Cover Art:   Juan Jose Ryp & Jesus Aburtov

The Marvel Universe has a new contagion that has been released in this new limited series, affecting heroes and villains, and turning them into mindless zombie-like creatures.

In issue one, we see the Fantastic Four get involved with a group of infected Moloids who had been attacking kids on Yancy Street.

Meanwhile, we are not sure where this has come from or how it arrived in the underground of Yancy Street.  There does seem to be some connection to K’un-L’un because the book starts out there and we end up with Danny Rand.

I have heard the rumors of this book being closed to DCeased, but, since I did not read that book, it is a critique that did not bother me.

I did not love the book, but it was fine.  I enjoyed reading it and I have enough questions to continue reading it.  I hope it becomes as fascinating as it could be.

Strikeforce #1

Writer:  Tini Howard

Artist:  German Peralta

Cover Art:  Andrea Sorrentino & Dean White

I looked at the line-up of the new Marvel series called Strikeforce and I liked what I saw.  I have always been a fan of Jessica Drew’s Spider-Woman, Bucky Barnes’ Winter Soldier and Monica Rambeau’s Spectrum.  Angela and Blade are characters that have had their moments for me as well.

However, this issue fell flat for me.

I did not find anything in the book to be interesting after involvement of the Avengers (even though they used the feral She-Hulk, which I hate).

After the group were framed to make it look as if they had been involved in attempting to steal several vials of some of the world’s “most virulent diseases,” Blade led the whole group on a mission to fight some kind of shape shifters that can only shift into people they kidnap.

I did not like the art.  I did not like the story.  Most of the characters fell into the background of the story.   This was not a well developed team concept in the book.

It felt very much like Savage Avengers, except that Savage Avengers slowly built its roster of characters over several issues.  Venom did not show up until several issues. This feels as if they tossed the whole group together for some reason and did not worry much about any character development.

This is going to be a Marvel comic that I am going to skip happily.

Harleen Book One

Writer: Stjepan Šejić

Artist:  Stjepan Šejić

Cover Art:  Stjepan Šejić

I have said before that I do not buy much from DC.  It is not that I dislike their characters, but there just is something about how they tell a story that makes me want to Make Marvel Mine.  However, I am not opposed to reading some DC, if it were the right book.

My comic shop owner Ben told me today that Harleen was his favorite book this week and that, if this was was DC Black Label would be, he was in.  I have always enjoyed Harley Quinn and I considered picking it up.

I have been very uninspired by Superman Year One, the previous DC Black Label book.  The first issue was, at best, okay, and the most recent one was below average.  This did not inspire confidence.

So when I sat down to read Book One of Harleen, I was really not sure what to expect.

This was a really great book.

A reimagining of the “love” story between Harley and Joker was at the center of the book, but it also showed how a respected young psychiatrist, slowly fell for the wrong man, that would lead her down the path of psychosis.

However, the book does not rush the story.  It slowly develops the character of Dr. Harleen Quinzel and gives us a looking inside the mind of who would become the sidekick to Joker.  She knew how the appearance of the murderous clown affected her, but she was determined to not give up on what she wanted.  Yet, maybe she did not realize exactly what it was she was wanting.

The art by Stjepan Šejić is beautiful and the cover is downright striking.  The book interweaves Harley into the world of Gotham, rubbing her shoulder with such figures as Harvey Dent, Lucius Fox and Hugo Strange.

Ben was right.  This was a really great book and I am glad that I took the time to read it.

House of X #5

“Society”

Writer: Jonathan Hickman

Artist:  Pepe Larraz

Cover Art:  Pepe Larraz & Marte Gracia

Okay… I am not sure how I feel about this issue… or where Jonathan Hickman is taking the X-Men.

Simple fact… as I read House of X #5, I could not get out of my head the idea that this is a cult and that these are not the mutants I grew up reading.

As revelation continued through the book, I was just shocked.  I enjoyed the story, but is this how the X-Men are going to be moving forward?  I’m not sure how I feel about that.

And Charles Xavier feels like a villain right now.

Maybe I am wrong and I am misjudging the book, but I am having a difficult time wrapping my head around what is happening.  Accepting that this is the new status quo.

I have not made a final decision if I am sticking with the X-men titles after the end of this dual limited series arc, but I am still holding my final opinions back.  I just am not sure if how to feel.

I have to say, that scene where the populace of Krakoa showed up to chant “MUTANT” at the “returning” heroes… just not what I expected.

Absolute Carnage #3

Writer:  Donny Cates

Artist:  Ryan Stegman

Cover Art:  Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer & Frank Martin

Wow.  This issue kicked back into high gear after, what I considered, a bit of a drop off for issue two.  The debut issue of this limited series was engaging and completely thrilling.  However, issue two felt like a mix of the other books connected to this story.  Issue three came out kicking though, making me very excited about where Absolute Carnage is heading.

Perhaps it is the use of Spider-Man again that helped raise issue three.  Plus, we had Cap, Wolverine, Thing and Bruce Banner as well.

I’m kind of ashamed that I did not see what was going to to happen.  I mean, they foreshadowed it several times in the book and yet, when the last few pages happened, I was totally thrown for a loop.

No spoilers here.  Just suffice it to say that I am very excited for issue #4.

There are some great moments between the Venom symbiote and Eddie Brock with their internal monologues.  They are definitely two distinct characters in this book and that makes the whole thing more fascinating.

Spider-Man#1

“Bloodline”

Writer:  JJ Abrams & Henry Abrams

Artist:  Sara Pichelli

Cover Art:  Dave Stewart

Being a huge fan of LOST, I was very excited when I found out that J.J Abrams would be writing a limited series featuring Spider-Man.  Seeing it on the stands today was quite the thrill.  I love Spider-Man and I could not wait to see what JJ had in mind.

As I started to read the book, I realized that this would be a story involving a possible future.  An Elsewhere type book that looks at Spider-Man after a tragic event in his life.

My enthusiasm is dampened.

While I love Spider-Man, I am never much of a fan of alternate histories.  I like my Spider-Man stories to take place in continuity of the Marvel Universe.  And this is certainly not in continuity.

I don’t want to spoil anything, but I continued to read the book with my expectations now lowered considerably.

I will say that I did like the book as I read it even if I dismissed it as nothing more than just another Spider-verse story of an alternate reality Spidey with little stakes.  I enjoyed where the story went and I am looking forward to reading the rest.

I will say, one of the more intriguing aspects of the story was what had happened to Peter Parker and how he seemed lost.  I had several questions about him.

There is also a brand new villain called Cadaverous (though that name leaves a bit to be desired).  I do like the touch that we get from Cadaverous and I do want to know more about him.

The art fit the story very well, as Sarah Pichelli provides some real memorable scenes.

Overall, I enjoyed this book even though it is not something that will matter in the long run.  I hope the series will maintain the excellence it started with.