Books of the Week – 09/04/19

1. Agents of Atlas #2 (Marvel) ★★★★★
‘The Portal City of Pan – Part 2’
Writer: Greg Pak, Jeff Parker / Art: Nico Leon & Pop Mhan / Colors: Federico Blee
Absolutely delightful. Great world building, coupled with an intriguing mystery, some romance and top notch art. So far, this book is everything I hoped it would be.

2. House of X #4 (Marvel) ★★★★★
‘It Will Be Done’
Writer: Jonathan Hickman / Art: Pepe Larraz / Colors: Marte Gracia
Gorgeous art highlights this surprisingly dark and grim book. A story of sacrifice and loss that makes for a gripping read from beginning to end.

3. Fantastic Four #14 (Marvel) ★★★★★
‘Point of Origin – Part 1: Wanderlust’
Writer: Dan Slott / Art: Paco Medina / Colors: Jesus Aburtov
Not a story I would have expected, but a fun book nonetheless. Wonderful dialog makes this very wordy issue a joy to read. The Ben/Alicia sandwich scene was priceless. The art was beautifully simple, even if it did feel a bit odd not having a cover by Esad Ribic. Great book.

4. DCeased: A Good Day to Die #1 (DC) ★★★★
Writer: Tom Taylor / Art: Laura Braga & Darick Robertson, Richard Friend, Trevor Scott & Darick Robertson / Colors: Rain Beredo
Solid offshoot from the main DCeased comic. I really enjoyed the writing. The dialog popped and everybody got a chance to shine. Great (and grisely) stuff.

5. Amazing Spider-Man: Going Big (Marvel) ★★★★
‘Field of Fire’ / L’ife Lessons’ / ‘The Execution’
Writers: Gerry Conway, Ralph Macchio, Erik Larsen / Art: Mark Bagley, Todd Nauck, Erik Larsen, Victor Olazaba, Andy Owens & Dexter Vines / Colors: Carlos Lopez, Rachelle Rosenberg, Laura Martin
Enjoyable mini-anthology. ‘Execution’ was my favorite story, if only for Erik Larsen’s artwork. There were some very cool visuals in ‘Field of Fire’ too. A solid 80th Anniversary book.

6. Doomsday Clock #11 (DC) ★★★★
‘Part 11: A Lifelong Mistake’
Writer: Geoff Johns / Art: Gary Frank . Colors: Brad Anderson
Solid penultimate issue. Things are coming together and the stage is set for a big finish. Hopefully they don’t drop the ball.

7. Savage Avengers #5 (Marvel) ★★★★
‘Chapter 5: The Triumph of Kulan Gath’
Writer: Gerry Duggan / Art: Mike Deodato Jr. / Colors: Frank Martin
Our initial story comes to a close with a big action book… followed by a lot of chatter. A. Lot. There were some pretty cool scenes in this book, plus some promising hints for the future, bit I’m not sure I’m sticking around to see how they develop. We’ll see.

8. Absolute Carnage: Symbiote Spider-Man #1 (Marvel) ★★★
Writer: Peter David / Art: Francesco Mobili / Colors: Java Tartaglia & Rain Beredo
Compelling story and complimentary art. Who doesn’t like Whie Rabbit? Reads like an old timey horror comic. Necessary? No. For completists? Sure, why not?

9. Something Is Killing The Children #1 (Boom Studios) ★★★
‘The Angel of Archer’s Peak – Part 1’
Writer: James Tynion IV / Art: Werther Dell’edera / Colors: Miguel Muerto
Straightforward monster story with a relatable protagonist. The writing hits all the right marks, and the art has that modern look we’re seeing more and more of. There is a bit of mystery surrounding things, and some light gore. A little tame for an adult, but t I can see teens loving this.

10. Champions #9 (Marvel) ★★★
‘While You Were Away’
Writer: Jim Sub / Art: Steven Cummings / Colors: Marcio Menyz
Champions fighting Champions. I usually tire of this well worn plot, but the twists here kind of make it work. Nice fight sequences, and some snappy dialog. Nova’s helmet feels off, but otherwise the art is solid.

11. Web of Black Widow #1 (Marvel) ★★★
Writer: Jody Houser / Art: Stephen Mooney / Colors: Triona Farrell
Bought this book on the premise that it was going to delve into the Widow’s early life. It did, and it didn’t, which was a bit of a disappointment. The art was slightly unpleasant, with overly heavy inks and a rough look that didn’t quite gel. The story itself is actually somewhat interesting. Lets see where this goes.

12. Absolute Carnage: Scream #2 (Marvel) ★★★
Writer: Cullen Bunn / Art: Gerardo Sandoval with Alex Arizmendi, Victor Nava / Colors: Erick Arciniega
Scream and Andi fight Carnage and his minions in a fairly rote fight/break/fight again book. The multiple artists don’t help matters and the book feels erratic. Entertaining enough, but hardly necessary.

13. Justice League #31 (DC) ★★★
‘Justice/Doom War – Part 2’
Writer: Scott Snyder & James Tynion IV / Art: Jorge Jimenez / Colors: Alejandro Sanchez
A lot of talk and more exposition. The story is moving along, but it felt like this issue included a lot of unnecessary set-up. Hopefully we get some action in the next issue.

14. Batman vs Ra’s al Ghul #1 (DC) ★★
Writer: Neal Adams / Art: Neal Adams / Colors: Neal Adams
There were a few flashes of classic Neal Adams in this book, but not enough to get past the overly-wordy, OTT and confusing story. It’s a six issue series, take your time and let the story breathe. Sheesh.

15. Alpha Flight: True North #1 (Marvel) ★★
‘Mired in the Past’ / ‘Monsters’ / ‘Illegal Guardians’
Writers: Jim Zub, Jed Mackay, Ed Brisson / Art: Max Dunbar, Djibril Morissette-Phan, Scott Hepburn / Colors: Jim Charalampidis, Ian Herring, Jim Charalampidis
Three stories featuring some of the AF members on the cover, but not all. ‘Mired’ looked great, but made no seance. ‘Monsters’ was quite good, especially the final panel. ‘Illegal Guardians’ made me want to smash Mac in the face. All in all, okay, but the whole thing felt a bit bait and switchy.

16. Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium #1 (DC) ★★
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis / Art: Jim Lee, Dustin Nguyen, Andrea Sorrentino & Andre Lima Araujo / Colors: Alex Sinclair, John Kalisz, Dave Stewart & Jordie Bellaire
Sometimes multiple creative teams can be fun and interesting. This was not one of those times. The story was confusing and the changing styles only added to the problem. The art was good, but my unfamiliarity with Rose and Thorn just muddied things for me.
17.
Spawn #300 (Image) ★★
Writer: Todd McFarlane & ScottSnyder / Art: Greg Capullo, J. Scott Campbell & Jason Shawn Alexander, Todd McFarlane / Colors: FCO Plascencia, Brian Heberlin, Peter Steigerwald & Matt Hollingsworth
I felt like I was at a party where I didn’t know anybody. Clearly one needs to know their Spawn lore to get everything in this book. I was completely lost. Aside from that, much of the art was quite good. Some only so-so. I guess I knew the risks when I signed on board.