Ghost Spider#1

Writer:  Seanan McGuire

Artist:  Takeshri Miyazawa

Cover Art:  Jorge Molina

Gwen Stacy of Earth-65 has returned to the comic rack this week with the release of Ghost Spider#1.

Gwen Stacy’s secret identity has been revealed in her home dimension, and she is finding that to be a problem with her normal life.  So Gwen decided that she still wanted to attend college like any girl.  However, it turned out to be not quite like any girl.

She applied to Empire State University, on Earth-616.  Yes, that is the earth where Peter Parker lives.

Peter used his “contacts” at ESU to get Gwen accepted in the program.  Gwen’s plans, go to college in 6161 and fight crime in 65.

What could go wrong?

The first issue was a strong start, working Gwen through the set up of the dimensional traveling aspect of the story.  Peter Parker/Spidey guest starred here as well, helping round the Ghost Spider in the lore of 616 immediately.

However, the end of the story reached back to another story in Spider-history as a major villain makes an appearance in Earth-65.

Book started out fun and looks to be an interesting continuation of Gwen Stacy moving forward unlike any other superhero before her.

Age of Conan:  Valeria #1

“Chapter One:  Child of War”

Writer:  Meredith Finch

Artist:  Aneke

Cover Art:  Jay Anacleto & Romulo Fajardo Jr.

Another book set in the world of Conan the Barbarian came out this week.  In the vein of Belit, Valeria exists in the Conan Universe, but Conan does not appear in this story.

I have, apparently, become a huge sucker for anything with Conan in it from Marvel over this last year.  I had never been a huge Conan fan, but I have been thoroughly engaged by Jason Aaron’s work, the Savage Sword and the beautiful, near-wordless Exodus.  I skipped most of Belit, not because I disliked it, but because it did not grab me as much.  Valeria is in the same boat.

I did enjoy the book.  I enjoyed the strong female character and the story they were building.  I found the flashbacks interesting and I thought the art was original and uncommon.  Then, there was a solid cliffhanger.

I’m just not 100% sure how I felt about the book as a whole.  Sure, the pieces were all pretty strong.  I am just not sure how they fit together.

I think. much like Belit, I need to see a few more issues before I can determine exactly if I want to continue collecting the book.  I lean toward positive on the book, but, as of yet, it is a wait and see.

Punisher Kill Krew #1

Writer:  Gerry Duggan

Artist:  Juan Ferreyra

Cover Art:  Tony Moore

So, I am not much of a fan of Frank Castle, the Punisher.  And I was not a fan of The War of the Realms series.  So the series that continues the idea with Frank casing after some Frost Giant he promised to kill was a stretch for me.  How did I like it?

The art was awesome.

Other than that, I was not a fan of this book.  Where as the other books that have come out of The War of the Realms have been great (Thor, Loki, Valkyrie), this one is weak.

I dislike the silly helmet on Frank’s head and I am not really sure why this is Frank Castle’s story.  Is it simply the fish-out-of-water idea taking the supposedly down-to-earth Punisher and throw him into the world of fantasy and Norse mythology?

Is it to see Frank buy a bunch of kids pizza?  Frank wants them to draw the monsters that killed their families and he would take care of them for these kids.  Is he expecting these kids to be able to give him first hand witness reports…enough for him to know what he was killing?

I had very low expectations for this.  I had even thought about just bagging it up and not reading it, but I persisted.  The book was not very good.  I did think the art inside was exceptional though.  Otherwise, don’t bother with this one.  Read Loki instead!

Captain Marvel #9

“Falling Star Part 2”

Writer:  Kelly Thompson

Artist:  Carmen Carnero

Cover Art:  Mark Brooks

Captain Marvel has found a story that is intriguing.  Carol has been moving along through the multiple versions of her book for several years, and, while many of these issues have been fine, few of them have been stand out.

But when I arrived at my comic shop today, I saw Captain Marvel #9 listed atop the store’s Top 5 list of comics for the week.  I was shocked.  So I read the book, and I was very interested.

Seems that Carol Danvers has been having trouble with her powers.  And this mystery of what is happening is very compelling.  It seemed as if there was an obvious answer and Carol pursued that possibility only to discover that there is more than what she expected.

Tony Stark made an appearance in this issue too, showing strong Banter with Captain Marvel as well as Spider-Man (from Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #10).  There are also great scenes with Carol and Jessica Drew, aka Spider-Woman.  I loved their relationship over the past several years (especially in Jessica’s own book) and it is nice to see them reconnect.

There is a beautiful cover on this issue as well, from Mark Brooks.

The idea/theme of this story feels as if it is ripped out of the headlines as the country has started to see Captain Marvel as an alien, more Kree than earth hear.  Meanwhile, we are seeing the arrival of a new hero in the Marvel Universe, named Star.  We get a little more with her during this issue.  I suspect she is involved in the overall story, but I am excited to see where it takes me.

It is nice to see such a legacy character as Carol Danvers be placed in an engaging and entertaining story.  We can also relate to her since we all know what it feels like to be afraid that you are sick more than you know.

Hopefully this continues to improve each month.

Conan the Barbarian: Exodus #1

“Exodus”

Writer:  Esad Ribic

Artist:  Esad Ribic

Cover Art: Esad Ribic

Conan the Barbarian has been consistently one of the best characters at Marvel since the Cimmerian returned to the comic company.  The reason is the creative forces behind the barbarian have not been restrained to tell the same stories that we have seen.

This is a beautiful example.  Written and drawn by Esad Ribic, Exodus tells the story of a young Conan who left his homeland for the first time, traveling across the frozen land of Cimmeria.  The story  is told through the beautifully rendered art and the wonderfully colored pages.  There is little to no dialogue (and what there is, looks to be in non-English) and no boxes of text.  Esad Ribic has chosen to tell this story, almost exclusively, from the images on the page and the breathtaking art.

The story is full of dramatic tension and it builds it honestly, with each visual the pages displays.

This shows how powerful art can be.  You do not need to have words to tell a story when you can present a masterful piece of art as this.  I really loved this comic.  It may be my favorite Conan story to the current moment.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #10

“Feast or Famine: Part Four”

Writer:  Tom Taylor

Artists:  Ken Lashley, Scott Hanna, Luca Maresca

Cover Art:  Andrew C. Robinson

This issue brings to a close the four part story arc with Spider-Man and the Prowler.  I have to say, as a huge Spider-Man fan, this series has consistently had the best version of Peter Parker and his costumed alter-ego that there is in comics today.  I swear the creative team, in particular, writer Tom Taylor, has a fantastic grasp on what makes Peter Parker the hero Spider-Man, and he puts in on display in clever, funny and dramatic ways.

Tony Stark is in the issue as well, as we saw last issue, and he is tremendously funny.  Spider-Man and Tony Stark have a wonderful banter between them that picks the dialogue up as the book moves along.

The story not only shows Spidey’s will and determination, but also his creativity and intelligence.  The ending is pure gold and

The art is wonderful.  The three artists worked on different sections of the book, but they flow together seamlessly.  Many times when you have separate artists for part of the story, there are dramatic and obvious differences, but these three artists complement one another perfectly.

Tom Taylor has a grasp on Spider-Man, the hero that he is and the strength of his will.  I hope this book continues its run of excellence.

Daredevil#9

“No Devils, Only God Part 4”

Writer:  Chip Zdarsky

Artist:  Lalit Kumar Sharma

Cover Art:  Julian Totino Tedesco

Chip Zdarsky has been taking Daredevil, or should I say, Matt Murdock on a journey through this arc of Daredevil of spiritual questioning.  Matt Murdock is lost, doubting his own faith, and uncertain of what he wants, needs or is expected to do.  And it is as compelling as it can be.

In a book that starts off with Matt playing chess and engaging in a fascinating discussion with Reed Richards about the existence of God, Matt continues to spiral out of control.

Having given up being Daredevil, the call of the vigilante life keeps pulling on Matt, with forces around him pressing him back to the life.  Or is it a sign from God?

These questions are within the book, but the character of Matt Murdock is having a tough time dealing with those pressures.  The ending event of this issue was shocking for a man of faith as Matt Murdock and really goes to show how lost he has become.

The side story with vigilante-hating detective Cole North took a turn in the book as well, creating a bigger problem for Detective Cole than just the spandex crew he is after.

This book is heavily dialogue driven, but it works well.  Daredevil has been through many highs and lows in his life, and Zdarsky has taken those and built a realistic and deep set doubt inside Matt that has shaken the man to the core.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the beautiful interior art from Lalit Kumar Sharma.  The shades and the imagery perfectly corresponds to the crisis of character happening inside Mat Murdock’s soul.  There is a realness to it, a texture that fits wonderfully with the story being told.  Finally, the cover by Julian Totino Tedesco is a piece of art worthy of hanging on a wall.

Black Cat #3

“Holiest of Holies Part 2“

Writer:  Jed MacKay

Artist:  Travel Foreman

Flashback artist:  Michael Dowling

Cover Art:  J. Scott Campbell & Sabine Rich

Three issues in, I have found the new Black Cat series from Marvel to be very entertaining and a fun read.

In issue #3, Felicia Hardy heads into Dr. Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum to try and push off her newest problem, Xander the Merciless, off on Dr. Strange.  However, Dr. Strange was not home and all Felicia found was Bats, Dr. Strange’s ghost dog.

There were some great jokes in the story.  One in particular that found Bats mistaking Felicia for Silver Sable.  It was a fast-paced, enjoyable and engaging story.

Last issue, they had a short story at the end dealing with Silver Fox and Dracula.  This time, this was handled as a flashback during the story.  I liked that too.

Black Cat #3 was a lot of fun and I enjoyed reading it.

Future Foundation #1

Writer:  Jeremy Whitley

Artist:  Will Robson

Cover Art:  Carlos Pacheco, Rafael Fonteriz & Matt Yackey

New series featuring the kids from Fantastic Four, the Future Foundation, that includes two of the former members of Power Pack, Julie and Alex Power.

I was a fan of Power Pack so it was nice to see these characters once again.  There is also Dragon Man, Leech, Artie and such.  I do not know much about the Bentley-23 character (apparently a clone of The Wizard) but I did like him and his snarky attitude.

Yondu his here and he is very much the Michael Rooker version of the character as he appeared in the MCU Guardians of the Galaxy movies.  I’m not sure when that version of Yondu made it into the Marvel Universe, and I have to say that Yondu did distract me almost the entire time he was on the page.  I just remember Yondu from the 3000s with the other “original” team of Guardians and he was nothing like this.  That was okay when the movie made changes to fit into their movie, but then to make that change here is odd.  Is the other Yondu just gone?  I’m not sure, but it sure seems as if this is our Yondu moving forward.

The comic also featured a lot of dialogue and I believe that makes sense because these characters are intended to be smart ones put together because of their minds.  The dialogue was fine.  I might encourage some more action in the book as it moves along.

The art has a definite younger feel to it.  It feels like a cartoon in several places and perhaps even over-the-top.  It is better than most of the “kids” comic art, but it reminds me of it, for sure.

Future Foundation is a book that I am giving a chance because I like the characters, especially those from Power Pack.  I hope to learn more about several of the members of the Future Foundation as the series moves on.

House of X #2 (of 6)

“The Uncanny Life of Moira X”

Writer:  Jonathan Hickman

Artist:  Pepe Larraz

Cover Art:  Pepe Larraz & Marte Gracia

Jonathan Hickman’s new run on the X-Men continued this week with an issue that starts to unravel some of the questions that House of X#1 and Power of X#1 asked while still leaving the reader with plenty of uncertainty of what is going on.  I know I had plenty of questions to ask when I finished reading the book, which is something that I like.

Seems that Moira McTaggart is more important to the X-Men lore than anyone could have guessed.  Without spoiling anything, Moira appears to be the key to the series that is resetting the history of everyone’s favorite mutants.

Everything is weaved together well, and it is obvious that Hickman has done a tremendous job of planning a whole new timeline while not eliminating anything that had come before.

The art is great too with Pepe Larraz.

I do not want to give anything away so I am stopping here.  This has hooked me enough that I am as fascinated as can be of where this is heading.  I am more interested in the X-Men than I have been in years.

Absolute Carnage #1 (of 5)

“Chapter One: The Bleeding King”

“Chapter Two: The God Son”

“Chapter Three:  The Long Red Dark”

Writer:  Donny Cates

Artist:  Ryan Stegman

Cover Art:  Ryan Stegmen, JP Mayer & Frank Martin

I have not been looking forward to Absolute Carnage.  The last Marvel crossover was The War of the Realms and I was not a fan of that book.  I also knew that this series would be more of a focus on Venom than Spider-Man and I have not been a Venom fan for quite a while.

However, the first issue of the crossover event is as good of a first issue as I have seen in a long time.  I am completely in.  I did worry that, since I have not been following the Venom/Carnage books over the last many months, I might be lost in what was happening.  That  was not the case.

I really liked how they portrayed Eddie Brock.  There were some interesting things that they included that I found fascinating.  Spider-Man was here and I loved how he was used.  The relationship between Spidey and Eddie is unlike like any other relationships in comics.

There is some wonderful character work in the comic, but the action is not sacrificed in favor of it.

The book is gigantic, but not a page is sacrificed.  It is not an over-sized issue with two or three wasted shorts at the end.  There is no sketchbook or character design section or anything but story (there is a letter page, but that is fine).

The art from Ryan Stegman is amazing.  It is gloriously horrifying, as the book has plenty of horror aspects to it.  The red tone of the art and pages plays right into the mood the story is creating.  The techniques used here truly help set the feeling for the reader of fear and uncomfortableness.

This is a fantastic way to start this series off and it has made me very excited to see the next installment of the series.  I am still uncertain about the tons of crossover issues that go along with the 5-issue series, but this could not have been a better way to start.

Captain America #12

“Captain of Nothing: Part VI”

By Ta-Nehisi Coates & Adam Kubert

Cover Art:  Alex Ross

This is the final part of the story “Captain of Nothing” where we have seen Captain America sent to prison for a murder he did not commit, have problems inside, and escape with the help of a group of female super heroes. Now Cap is on the run from the authorities, including Nick Fury.

The story really focuses on how the image of Captain America has been tarnished by the whole Hydra thing that had happened and how Cap may be dead.

However, it does not mean that Steve Rogers can’t make an impact.

Splitting hairs?  Maybe.  The final page of the issue is kind of cool as we see something pretty familiar.

Couple of thoughts in the issue:

• Who are the Daughters of Liberty?  I like the idea of a secret society of powerful women that have been around for years behind the scenes, only coming together in the most important moments.  I could see a limited series featuring the Daughters of Liberty in the Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I or II.  I’m not sure that is where they are going with this, but I do like the possibilities.

• Secondly, where in continuity does this take place, because, I have also read Avengers #22 today where Cap is right there with his fellow Avengers dealing with Robbie Reyes and his Ghost Rider problem.  Shouldn’t Nick Fury know that Cap is there?

I liked the art in this issue.  I am not sure exactly who is the artist here as the comic did not specify.  All it listed was the two creators and that it was “by” them.  I know Andy Kubert is an artist, but I do not know if he has expanded into writing or co-plotting or whatever.

This starts into the next story arc for the Captain America comics called “The Legend of Steve”

Fantastic Four #12

“The Honeymoon Crasher”

Writer:  Dan Slott

Artist:  Sean Izaakse

Cover Art:  Esad Ribic

“Speed of Light”

Writer: Jeremy Whitley

Artist:  Will Robson

The Immortal Hulk arrives during The Thing’s honeymoon to cause some trouble.  We have had the epic Thing vs. Hulk fights many times over the years, but this fight brought an air of stakes.

Without spoiling too much, this time the Hulk may not be fully under his own control, and Ben Grimm is on the clock.  With time ticking down until Ben switches to his human form for a few weeks, the Hulk arrives to throw a wrench into the romantic plans of our brand new Mr. and Mrs. Grimm.

You can sense the countdown as the battle raged on, despite Ben’s resistance to originally engage his old nemesis.

Though it ends with a cliffhanger, the story next issue should be quite amazing.

There is also a back story setting up the upcoming series Future Foundation.  Alex and Julie Power, former members of Power Pack, are reunited and deal with some of their own problems.

I used to love Power Pack, and I am interested to see where this will go.

Runaways#23

“But You Can’t Hide Pt. V”

Writer:  Rainbow Rowell

Artist:  Andres Genolet

Cover Art:  Kris Anka

I have just recently caught up with the Runaway series after falling behind several months.  When I sat down to read it through, I realized why this had been nominated for Best Ongoing Series at the Eisner Awards.  It was fantastic.  Great characterization.  Wonderful interwoven plot points.  Beautiful art.  A story that features the characters more than just the super hero/villain aspect.

Runaways#23 continues this trend with the issue focusing on the relationship between Chase and Gert, which has been shaky ever since Chase brought her to the future to keep her from dying.  We also get much more between Victor and Doombot, as both of the robots/cyborgs are dealing with rebooting their systems and deciding what kind of “human” they were going to be.

That is the biggest takeaway from the Runaways… they are young people who are written as real people and who live their lives struggling to get by.  You can feel the anguish with Chase and the guilt of Gert from her new “relationship” with Victor.

We get details on Karolina and her recent choices of using her powers to save people.  She and Nico have a real one-on-one about what has been going on in Karolina’s life.

I find Runaways to be unlike any other comic I buy and I will not be falling behind on the reading any more.

Powers of X #1

“The Last Dream of Professor X”

Writer:  Jonathan Hickman

Artist:  R.B. Silva

Cover Art:  R.B. Silva & Marte Gracia

Jonathan Hickman’s second mini series that is being used to restart the X-Men brand was released this week.  Last week was House of X, and this week is Powers of X (pronounced ‘ten’).  These two books are telling one gigantic story from Hickman and, much like his run on the Avengers, he re-creates a bunch of the future and past and weaves them together.  Because of that, there are moments when it can be difficult to follow.

Again, like last week, there are pages of white throughout the book that gives paragraphs of exposition and I had difficulties with these pages.

There are a group of new characters that are interesting, with apparent ties to mutants that we knew.  I am wondering how much my confusion is because I have not been reading much X-Men in the lat several years.

The beginning scene may have been my favorite as Charles Xavier and Moira McTaggart are shown meeting, yet it all feels odd…dreamlike.  And then the scene on Krakoa is just as strange.  Some of these characters feel unlike they have been shown before.  I have a feeling there is a reason for that.

This may require a re-read to grasp on what is happening, or perhaps the mystery of exactly what is going on is the main part of it.  I will say that I am interested in what is happening and I would like to see where it goes.  I am fearful that all of this is just going to be one more alternate future for the X-men and, once these two stories are over, they will split the mutants up into different teams and just continue the status quo from the last several years.

I plan on continuing to read the two series with hope that this is not just another X-Men story without any weight.