As comic publications go, few are as hotly contested as Fantastic Four in recent months. While much of the distress stems from perceived managerial edicts, writer James Robinson’s ongoing narrative certainly does not aid in smoothing anything over. Since taking the reins about a year ago, Robinson’s “break ‘em down to build ‘em back up again” approach to the Richards Family is met with consistent acclaim but his overall effort proves too little, too late. [Read more…] about FANTASTIC FOUR #642 Review: “The Beginning of the End! (already in progress)”
CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE MIGHTY AVENGERS #4 Review: “Operation: Hot Mess- The Aftermath!”
The latest issue of the recently re-branded Captain America and the Mighty Avengers is one part epilogue and two parts subplot set-up. It’s like one of those classic X-Men “down” issues, except with a severe lack of backyard softball. For a title re-launched during the “good is bad” shenanigans of Marvel’s fall event, Avengers & X-Men: Axis, this issue tackles the theme of public persona damage control in a pretty straightforward fashion. However, for all its addressing, punctuation is at a minimum as the pages just loll by as a largely uninspired twenty-page segue. [Read more…] about CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE MIGHTY AVENGERS #4 Review: “Operation: Hot Mess- The Aftermath!”
STAR WARS #1 Review: “The Force Reboots!”
The story goes it only took two words from Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso to Thor writer Jason Aaron for him to hop on-board the comic relaunch of one of pop culture’s most beloved franchises. Those two words: simply “Star” and “Wars”. [Read more…] about STAR WARS #1 Review: “The Force Reboots!”
AVENGERS #40 Review: “A Song of Fish and Cats!”
Spoilers abound in this latest portion of Jonathan Hickman’s ramp-up to Secret Wars. Well, it’s not so much spoilers– plural- as it is a single one that informs all of the action within this oversized issue. For those following since Hickman assumed control of the Avengers franchise back in late 2012, there is tremendous payoff regarding one of the major backbeats of the Illuminati-centric New Avengers portion of his story. Like, “Holy-insert-expletive-of your-choice, I can’t believe that actually happened!” amounts. [Read more…] about AVENGERS #40 Review: “A Song of Fish and Cats!”
THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #1 Review: “Go Nuts or Go Home!”
Peggy Carter and Ant-Man may be most prominently flying the flag for Marvel this week but the real pound-for-pound winner is undeniably this book. Operating in some respects as twenty serialized pages as it is a cohesive narrative, the debut issue is the perfect gateway for even the most casual of comic book readers. [Read more…] about THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #1 Review: “Go Nuts or Go Home!”