Books of the Week – 08/28/19

1. Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #11 (Marvel) ★★★★★
‘Friendly Neighborhood Mary Jane’
Writer: Tom Taylor / art: Juann Cabal / Colors: Rachelle Roseberg
Outstanding. Sparkling dialog.. complete with callbacks. Spot on art with lots of great bits of business. Plus: a surprise guest star. Practically perfect in every way.

2. Thor #16 (Marvel) ★★★★★
‘Once Upon a Time in Asgard’
Writer: Jason Aaron / Art: Mike Del Mundo / Colors: Mike Del Mundo & Marc D’Alfonso
The end of a classic series ends in a fitting way. No real action to speak of in this book, but it was still an enjoyable coda to the Aaron/Del Mundo run. We’ll never see a series like this one again.

3. Mountainhead #1 (IDW) ★★★★★
Writer: John Lees / Art: Ryan Lee / Colors: Doug Garbark
Dark, brooding and packed with more than a bit of intrigue, Mountainhead is a solid read. I love the art by Ryan Lee. It suits the story well. The writing is top notch too. I feel like I know these people (yes, even Noah).

4. Doctor Strange #18 (Marvel) ★★★★★
‘Strange Visitor’
Writer: Mark Waid / Art: Jesus Saiz
A sweet one-shot. I saw the end coming a mile away, but I didn’t care. This was an uncharacteristically fun book. I love the homeowners, and the way Strange goes about his business. Great stuff.

5. House of X #3 (Marvel) ★★★★★
‘Once More Unto the Breach’
Writer: Jonathan Hickman / Art: Pepe Larraz / Colors: Marte Gracia
Tight and compelling Eve of Battle book. Loved the tension in this one, and that final page? Aces.

6. Avengers #23 (Marvel) ★★★★★
‘Challenge of the Ghost Riders – Part 2: Hellrace 666’
Writer: Jason Aaron / Art: Stefano Caselli / Colors: Jason Keith
BIG action book. The Ghost Riders race in Hell, the battle with the possessed Avengers mountain. Boy-Thing… This books had everything, including a sweet reveal at the end.

7. Absolute Carnage #2 (Marvel) ★★★★★
Writer: Donny Cates / Art: Ryan Stegman & JP Mayer / Colors: Frank Martin
Lots of action in this book. Carnage is everywhere. Love the packed, crowded art in this book. Really works with the whole Carnage theme. A solid read from beginning to end.

8. Marvel Comics #1000 (Marvel) ★★★★★
Writer: Various / Art: Various / Colors: Various
I really enjoyed this book. The Mask narrative provided a nice anchor for the annual stories by the various creative teams. I had many favorites, but I think my top one was ‘The Route’ by Donny Cates & Geoff Shaw. Solid Stuff.

9. Spider-Man: Velocity #1 (Marvel) ★★★★
Writer: Dennis Hallum / Art: Emilio Laiso / Colors: Rachelle Rosenberg
Very fun book with some great puns and sparkling dialog throughout. Emilio Laiso’s art work on Pete’s face is a bit hit & miss at times, but really, that’s my only complaint.

10. Venom #17 (Marvel) ★★★★
Writer: Donny Cates / Art: Iban Coello / Colors: Rain Beredo
Another great Carnage book. The art is simultaneously vibrant, alive, dense and dynamic. A tricky mix we rarely see anymore. Score.

11. Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales #1 (Marvel) ★★★★
Writer: Saladan Ahmed / Art: Federico Vicentini / Colors: Erick Arciniega
Nice looking art and some snappy dialog make this one of the more fun Abso-Carnage books. The story rolls along full speed right up to the end, which I actually found quite a surprise. Solid stuff.

12. Spider-Man: Life Story #6 (Marvel) ★★★★
‘The 10’s – Chapter 6: All My Enemies’
Writer: Chip Zdarsky / Art: Mark Bagley & Andrew Hennessy / Colors: Frank D’Armata
There’s a lot of story packed into this finale issue. Nice use of Miles & Otto, MJ, even Aunt May. The ending was nicely done too. As a series, ‘Life Story’ was a bit hit and miss, but at least it ended on a high note.

13. Amazing Spider-Man #28 (Marvel) ★★★★
‘Who Run the World? – Part 3’
Writer: Nick Spencer / Art: Kev Walker & John Dell / Colors: Laura Martin & Andrew Crossley
Lots of story, action… and words in this book. Not as fun as the last issue, but still an enjoyable romp. A slightly slower pace might have given the dialog more room to breathe.

14. She-Hulk Annual 1 (Marvel) ★★★
‘Acts of Evil’
Writer: Alexandra Petri / Art: Andy McDonald / Colors: Matt Milla
Fun little story. Some entertaining dialog along with some pretty nice art, make for an enjoyable, if at times confusing, romp.

15. Power Pack Grow Up #1 (Marvel) ★★★
‘Growing Pains’
Writer: Louis Simonson / Art: June Brigman / Colors: Tamra Bonvillain
‘The Gift’
Writer: Louis Simonson / Art: Gurihiru / Colors: Tamra Bonvillain
The was a very cute book. Clearly for younger readers, but still an enjoyable read. I liked the art too, especially Gurihiru’s work in ‘The Gift’.

16. Flash #77 (DC) ★★★
‘Death of the Speed Force – Part 2’
Writer: Joshua Williamson / Art: Rafa Sandoval & Jordi Tarragona / Colors: Tomeu Morey
The story moves along quite briskly in this second issue of the ‘Death of the Speed Force’ storyline. Still feels a bit lightweight, but I like the other Force characters, plus its funny how everybody dogs on Barry.

17. Superman #14 – Reissue (DC) ★★★
‘The Unity Saga: The House of El – Conclusion: Part 1’
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis / Art: Ivan Reis with Joe Prado & Oclair Albert / Colors: Alex Sinclair
The re-issue that caused all the fuss. I still don’t see anything worth destroying the original run for (except the darkening of the skin on Lightning Lad). Story wise, nothing changes. A lot of fuss over nothing. Book loses a star from its previous score for being a nothingburger.

18. Batman / Superman #1 (DC) ★★★
‘Who Are the Secret Six?’
Writer: Joshua Williamson / Art: David Marquez / Colors: Alejandro Sanchez
Not gonna lie, I’m a bit over The Batman Who Laughs. That this story is running concurrent with BMWL and DCeased feels like overkill. How many tikes can the DC Universe become evil? Is DC out of other ideas? Art was good, read okay, but c’mon…

19. Captain America #13 (Marvel) ★★
‘The Legend of Steve – Part 1’
Writer: Ta-Nehisi Coates / Art: Jason Masters & Sean Izaakse / Colors: Matt Milla
I’m all for politics in my Captain America stories, but this issue felt a bit ham fisted. It added nothing to the main narrative, and smacked of propaganda. Even if I agree with some of it, I’d prefer we get on with our story and not stop for self-indulgent detours.

20. Batman: Curse of the White Knight #2 (DC: Black Label) ★★
Writer: Sean Murphy / Art: Sean Murphy / Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Gritty with lots of action, after a bit of a slow start. The story is starting to gel, but its still a bit slow, and predictable. Meh.

21. Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors #1 (Marvel) ★★
Writer: Frank Tieri / Art: Flaviano / Colors: Federico Blee
Book commits the cardinal sin of having a completely misleading cover, plus being a bit dull. The story, such as it is, feels rushed, and a bit predictable. Instantly forgettable.

22. Fantastic Four: 4 Yancy Street #1 (Marvel) ★★
‘4 Yancy Street’
Writer: Gerry Duggan / Art: Greg Smallwood, Mark Bagley, Luciano Vecchio & Pere Perez / Colors: Greg Smallwood & Eric Arciniega
I really wanted to like this book, but it fell flat. Also, the switching to different art teams mid-story was a bit jarring. Don’t really see the point. Ah well.