Books of the Week: 10/23/19

1. Martian Manhunter #9 (DC) ★★★★★
‘In the Atmosphere Factory’
Writer: Steve Orlando / Art: Riley Rossmo / Colors: Ivan Plascencia / Cover: Riley Rossmo
Intense storytelling at is best. The Thoughtopsy followed by Jones’ & Mead’s continued bonding make for one heck of a riveting read.

2. King Thor #2 (Marvel) ★★★★★
‘Chapter 2: Gorr and the Last of the Gods’
Writer: Jason Aaron / Art: Esad Ribic / Colors: Ive Svorcina / Cover: Esad Ribic
The Gorr, Loki, Thor dynamic makes for an incredible read. Aaron’s writing in this issue is simply amazing. The visuals are grim, brutal and sublimely beautiful. An awesome book. What a rebound. Wow.

3. Marauders #1 (Marvel) ★★★★★
Writer: Gerry Duggan / Art: Matteo Lolli / Colors: Federico Blee / Cover: Russell Dauterman & Matthew Wilson
I admit I was skeptical, but this book brought it. Great story from beginning to end. The art is gorgeous (despite the Storm controversy). A wonderfully solid read. Great stuff.

4. Spider-Man: Full Circle #1 (Marvel) ★★★★★
Writer: Various / Art: Various / Colors: Various / Cover: Rod Reis & Various
Fun (if a bit confusing towards the end) book built as a tag-along by nine different creative teams, each taking over where the last team stopped until the end. My favorites were Hickman/Bachalo, & Spencer/Allred, but they’re all great. At $9.99 it’s a bit steep, but at 90 pages, it evens out.

5. Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors #3 (Marvel) ★★★★
Writer: Frank Tieri / Art: Flaviano / Colors: Federico Blee / Cover: Iban Coello & Jason Keith
Wow, they saved the best for last in this mini-series. I loved the team dynamics. Lots of tension and beautiful bookending to start and end things. A big, and welcome, surprise.

6. Amazing Spider-Man #32 (Marvel) ★★★★
‘Running Late’
Writer: Nick Spencer / Art: Patrick Gleason / Colors: Matthew Wilson / Cover: Ryan Ottley & Nathan Fairbairn
Love new artist, Patrick Gleason. Books feels alive again. Pete’s friends seem like fun. There’s a lightness to the writing that I really enjoyed. Intriguing mystery surrounding 2099. Tops.

7. Second Coming #4 (Ahoy) ★★★★
Writer: Mark Russell / Art: Richard Pace & Leonard Kirk / Colors: Andy Troy / Cover: Amanda Conner & Paul Mounts
Loved the heroes in therapy, Wheels of Justins and Row-Bot. Fun stuff. Jesus in jail with Pinecone was really good. Jesus reminiscing about where he went wrong rang awfully true. Great writing.

8. Show’s End #3 (Mad Cave) ★★★★
Writer: Anthony Cleveland / Art: Jef Sadzinski / Colors: Julian Gonzalez / Cover: Julian Gonzalez
Things go south quickly during Loralye’s debut performance. Cash problems, and a brilliant rescue come to the forefront as darker truths emerge. Nice work.

9. Sharkey the Bounty Hunter #6 (Image) ★★★★
Writer: Mark Millar / Art: Simone Bianchi / Colors: Matteo Vattani / Cover: Simone Bianchi
A speedy wrap-up and a lot of farewells. Not the most action packed comic, but some topical humor and plenty of feels bring it home. A touching coda to a fun series.

10. Avengers #25 (Marvel) ★★★★
‘Challenge of the Ghost Riders – Part 4: Spirit of Avengeance’
Writer: Jason Aaron / Art: Stefano Caselli / Colors: Jason Keith & Ericl Arciniega / Cover: Stefano Caselli & Marcio Menyz
Pretty entertaining conclusion to the GR storyline. Nice cliffhanger lead-in to the next story. A Solid wrap-up of a read.

11. Contagion #4 (Marvel) ★★★★
Writer: Ed Brisson / Art: Damian Couceiro / Colors: Veronica Gandini / Cover: Juan Jose Ryp & Jesus Aburtov
Things are looking mighty grim, but there are still a few laughs to be had. I love the Moon Knight is being featured here. It’s a nice touch to have one of the lesser-seen heroes step in.

12. Immortal Hulk #25 (Marvel) ★★★
‘Breaker of Worlds’
Writer: Al Ewing / Art: German Garcia with Joe Bennett & Ruy Jose / Colors: Chris O’Halloran with Paul Mounts / Cover: Alex Ross
That was… something. An interesting tale of cosmic loss and.. Rebirth? I’m still not sure what I just read. It was compelling though, so I’ll give it that.

13. Amazing Mary Jane #1 (Marvel) ★★★
Writer: Leah Williams / Art: Carlos Gomez / Colors: Carlos Lopez / Cover: Humberto Ramos & Edgar Delgado
Fun, if unremarkable story featuring Mysterio & Mary Jane making a movie in Hollywood. Lots of set-up in this one, plus some fun Pete & MJ Moments toward the end. The art’s solid. This could be a cool ride. We’ll see.

14. Spider-Man: Velocity #3 (Marvel) ★★
Writer: Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum / Art: Emilio Laiso / Colors: Rachelle Rosenberg / Cover: Skan
Haley’s certainly out of control. I hope she’ll get her just due, but I know they’ll say she was just a kid and justify all of her actions. I’m sort of hating this book, but want to see where it goes, and hope I’ve gotten everything wrong.