Books of the Week: 11/13/19

1. Black Cat Annual #1 (Marvel) ★★★★★
‘Let’s Get Married’
Writer: Jed Mackay / Art: Joey Vazquez, Natacha Bustos & Juan Gedeon / Colors: Brian Reber / Cover: J. Scott Campbell & Sabine Rich
Absolutely delightful. Beautiful artwork, great dialog and a fun heist story. I love Cat and Spidey together. Jed MacKay continues to show why Black Cat is one of Marvel’s best current titles. Awesome stuff.

2. Invaders #11 (Marvel) ★★★★★
‘Dead in the Water – Part 5’
Writer: Chip Zdarsky / Art: Carlos Magno with Butch Guice / Colors: Alex Guimaraes / Cover: Butch Guice & Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Very cool book that explores Cap & Namor’s past at the same time showing how strong their relationship remains. I really liked Namor in this book, Zdarsky captured all of his complexities in a single issue. (Yes Namor’s situation was resolved way too quickly and easily… but hey, comics!).

3. Agents of Atlas #4 (Marvel) ★★★★★
‘The Portal City of Pan – Part 4’
Writer: Greg Pak / Art: Nico Leon & Pop Mhan / Colors: Rachelle Rosenberg / Cover: Junggeun Yoon
That moment when you know something’s coming, but when it does it’s totally unexpected. Another fun book building towards a confrontation with Jimmy Woo, Mike Nguyan and the A’s of A. This continues to be a very fun and enjoyable series.

4. Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #50 (Marvel) ★★★★
(Final Issue)
Writer: Ryan North / Art: Derek Charm & Erica Henderson / Colors: Rico Renzi / Cover: Erica Henderson
Well,…damn, now I have to go back and pick up the previous 48 issues I haven’t read. This was a fun book, even if I had not idea what was going on. The sequence with Galactus & Doreen on the moon was magical. Ryan North’s writing is amazing. I can’t wait to see what he does next.

5. Seven Days #2 (Lion Forge: Catalyst Prime) ★★★★
Writer: Gail Simone / Art: Jose Luis & Jonas Trinidade / Colors: Michelle Madsen / Cover: Stjepan Sejic
Earth’s heroes take it to the alien invaders. Great to see Quincredibe in action again. The story got a bit confusing at points (I blame the reader – it has been a month since I read issue #1), but the book moves at a good clip, with a few surprises thrown in as well. Solid stuff.

6. Guardians of the Galaxy #11 (Marvel) ★★★★
‘Faithless – Part 5 of 6’
Writer: Donny Cates / Art: Cory Smith & Victor Olazaba / Colors: David Curiel / Cover: Geoff Shaw & Dean White
Things are looking pretty grim for the GotG. Nice job of subverting expectations after the Big Battle sequence. If Rocket can’t save the day, I don’t know who can. Issue #12 promises to be something.

7. X-Men #2 (Marvel) ★★★★
‘Summoner’
Writer: Jonathan Hickman / Art: Leinil Francis Yu & Gerry Alanguilan / Colors: Sunny Gho / Cover: Lenil Francis Yu & Sunny Gho
Shoot first and ask questions later. No wonder everyone hates the X-Men. I actually liked this book. The dialog was fun and the art is quite good too. The story? Meh. That Cyclops and his kids acted like jerks shouldn’t be a surprise, but it was unexpected. Yay?

8. Fallen Angels #1 (Marvel) ★★★
‘Bushido’
Writer: Bryan Hill / Art: Syzmon Kudranski / Colors: Frank D’Armata / Cover: Ashley Witter
Interesting, if somewhat confusing story about digital highs, a lost child and Mutants who thrive on danger. Plenty to like (the Magneto sequence was tops), but my unfamiliarity with Psylocke has me at a disadvantage in terms of connecting with this book.

9. History of the Marvel Universe #5 (Marvel) ★★★
Writer: Mark Waid / Art: Javier Rodriguez & Alvaro Lopez / Colors: Javier Rodriguez / Cover: Steve McNiven, Mark Farmer & Morry Hollowell
A very “Just the facts, Ma’am” recounting of modern Marvel history. I found it interesting as this is a period I am fairly unfamiliar with. Still, it reads a bit drier than previous issues.

10. Event Leviathan #6 (DC) ★★★
(Final Issue)
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis / Art: Alex Maleev / Colors: Alex Maleev / Cover: Alex Maleev
Not the big reveal / conclusion I was hoping for, but a very interesting read nonetheless. Am I annoyed that it doesn’t really end, but continues in Action 1018? A little.

Honorable Mention:
Agents of Atlas #3 (Marvel – 10/23/19) ★★★★★
‘The Portal City of Pan – Part 3’
Writer: Greg Pak / Art: Nico Leon / Colors: Rachelle Rosenberg / Cover: Junggeun Yoon
Greg Pak continues to write light and breezy dialog that entertains and moves the story along seamlessly. I like all the simultaneous mysteries, they’re a lot of fun. Plus that last panel… squeee! I have no idea why I originally skipped this book.