THE BEST OF MARVEL
The Amazing Spider-Man #693 (writer: Dan Slott; artist: Humberto Ramos)
Apparently the fine people at Marvel have something BIG planned for when Spidey hits the 700 mark, and it’s building up in epic fashion with Spidey being forced to act as mentor to the troubled teen superhero Alpha. Alpha is arrogant, impulsive… oh, and has the potential to be near-omnipotent. It seems like a standard plot at first: Spidey encounters an obnoxious teenager, but relates to them, manages to get them to step up and take responsibility, and moulds the kid into a paragon of superhumanity. But a dark line from Peter Parker on the final page casts that into doubt- there’s a good chance that Alpha could be a strong ally to Spidey in the future, but an equally good chance that he could end up being the big baddie of issue 700.
Age of Apocalypse #7 (writer: David Lapham; artist: Renato Arlem)
Set in the Age of Apocalypse universe -you know, the one where Apocalypse rules everything- this is a gritty, almost noir tale of a group of rebels called the X-Terminated. And to think I thought they were running out of words they could prefix with the letter X to make clever group names! Being an alternate reality, some villains have become heroes, some heroes villains, and some beloved dead characters are alive now (well hey there Jean Grey, it’s been a while). Also, surprisingly for an X-book, the main cast is comprised entirely of humans and depowered mutants. Well worth a read for a more dystopian, grown-up take on the X-Men franchise; if you liked Uncanny X-Force, you’ll love this.
Hawkeye #2 (writer: Matt Fraction; artist: David Aja)
This is the second issue of Hawkeye’s very own series, and it just keeps getting better and better. Hawkeye has even has his very own sidekick, Kate Bishop (you know, that other Hawkeye) It’s nice to see a bit more of Clint’s actual personality, as in recent ensemble comics he’s seemed to exist just as an extra uniform to fill out the team. This comic seems to be going for an adventure-of-the-week theme, rather than an overarching plot, which I like as the plots are just the right level of mental: in the first issue he adopted the bad guys’ dog; in this issue he and Kate take down a dodgy circus. It’s smart, it’s funny, what’s not to love?
The Punisher #15 (writer: Greg Rucka; artist: Marco Checchetto)
Well. The Punisher seems to have pissed off the wrong people (although, that said, does he ever piss off the right people?) and a whole lot of people end up dead. Including some cops. That’s pretty much all I can say, plot-wise, as it’s all just a long fight sequence with guns, smoke grenades, regular grenades and a buxom redhead; but the art is unflinching and the action is merciless. I never really read Punisher before, now I’ve been converted.
DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON
The Mighty Thor #19 (writers: Matt Fraction and Kieron Gillen; artist: Alan Davis)
The second part of the ‘Everything Burns’ arc mostly concerns itself with diplomacy missions and political intrigue, like that session of an RPG that you yawn your way through, scrounging role-playing XP until it’s time to hit something again. It’s not badly-written, and it’s presumably essential to the story, but I found myself starting to skip the odd page here and there. If you’re already getting The Mighty Thor it’s a decent read, but if you want to get started I wouldn’t recommend this as a jumping-on point.
ALSO
Deadpool fires a flamethrower out of his butt in Deadpool #60!
Ever wondered what ‘X-Men: First Class’ would be like if Wolverine was in charge? Check out The First X-Men #2!
Venom vs. demons in Venom #24!
THE BEST OF DC
Green Arrow #0 (writer: Judd Winick; artist: Freddie E. Williams II)
Green Arrow is partying it up on an oil rig to impress his girlfriend and stick it to his old man- so something’s gotta go horribly, horribly wrong. And oh boy, does it ever. Green Arrow messes up so spectacularly that I genuinely gasped. After that, it’s no surprise that he goes into self-imposed exile on the nearest island, or that his old pal Tommy Merlyn might be a little mad at Ollie. But it’s not all doom and gloom, as this comic also covers the first meeting between Ollie and Roy, who’s just as funny and sexy here as he is in Red Hood and the Outlaws. Did I say sexy? That must’ve slipped in there by accident. I meant to say charming. And intelligent. And sexy.
Green Lantern #0 (writer: Geoff Johns; artist: Doug Mahnke)
This is intense. It tells the story of Simon Baz, an American Muslim who -as well as having faced persecution his whole life- makes a few poor decisions and gets himself implicated in a terrorism plot. His quick actions ensure nobody is hurt, but he is taken by the feds to an unspecified location for some pretty brutal questioning. The story focuses so well and so completely on Simon’s anger and regret, that I forgot I was reading a Green Lantern comic at all. And then the power ring shows up, apparently by accident (though I would’ve expected a red ring to fly his way) and the rest is history. The only unfortunate thing about this comic was that I would love to see more of him, and that seems unlikely given that this is a prequel issue. Please, DC, please bring back Simon Baz somehow.
Swamp Thing #0 (writer: Scott Snyder; artist: Kano)
Swamp Thing has been a good comic so far, but dear god this one is grim. And I mean that in the best possible way. With graphic images of flayed bodies, a baby being killed by a brain on a hand, and Arcane of the Rot wearing and then bursting out of people’s skin, this is not a comic for the faint of heart. Or the faint of stomach. Or the faint of anything, really. This is the best horror comic I’ve seen in a long, long time. Since Sandman #6, in fact. I don’t know whether it’s made less horrible because we know Alec’s going to be OK, or more horrible because we know what the Rot is capable of. Don’t read before bed.
The Phantom Stranger #0 (writer: Dan DiDio; artist: Brent Anderson)
Despite having a premise that sounds like a drunken conversation in a bar just outside Comic-Con at 3am -what if Judas was a superhero?- this is a very strong start to what I’m sure will be a great comic series. Like all the best stories, it leaves you with a lot of questions and a burning desire to have them answered, and gives a nod to the rest of the comic mythology without letting itself get bogged down by it. If you’re a Vertigo fan looking to get into the New 52, I would strongly recommend the Phantom Stranger.
DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON:
G.I. Combat #0 (writers: Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmotti, J.T. Krul; artists: Staz Johnson, Ariel Olivetti)
This comic wobbles nervously on the tightrope between comic-book science and gritty realism, and eventually falls into the murky river of WTF. G.I. Combat, much like the vastly superior Action Comics and Detective Comics, runs two stories in each issue. Sadly, neither of them are particularly worth reading.
‘A Deeper Mystery’ involves a soldier being regressed through what could be his past lives, or could be other people’s lives that just imprinted on him after he died. Either way, he’s being regressed, though I’m not sure why because pretty much as soon as that’s done his handler runs him through a slide show about how American troops have been converted to Islam, and are now potential sleeper terrorists. After the amazing job Green Lantern did with a sympathetic Muslim character, it is very disappointing to have G.I. Combat apply such a ham-fisted “Muslims = terrorists” approach.
Meanwhile, in ‘The War that Time Forgot’, a soldier lost in prehistoric times kills a sabre-tooth tiger and eats its heart because he doesn’t have any photos of his family. I feel ya, bro. That’s always the first thing I do to remind me of home.
ALSO
Wanna see Animal Man in a chicken suit? Of course you do! Check out Animal Man #0!
Fairground frolics in ancient Babylon in Dial H #0!
Jenny through the ages! Demon Knights team-up! Stormwatch #0!