A+X #2
This is the first A+X issue I've gotten and I have to admit, the only reason I got this issue was because Chris Bachalo was doing art on it. And, boy, was it nice to see. His story, which he also wrote, has Black Widow team up with Rogue to take down a loose Sentinel. The Sentinel is set to blow, so Widow gets the idea to shoot it from a distance. However, since her hand was broken earlier in the fight, Rogue has to do it, obtaining the ability to do so by kissing Widow. The Sentinel goes boom and the girls enjoy a day at the spa, ignoring their calls to go into action.
The second story has Kitty Pryde, my personal favorite X-Men member, visiting Resilient, a company owned by Tony Stark. Tony offers Kitty, who is battling her allergies, a job at Resilient, telling her that he plans on eliminating obesity by utilizing Pym Particles. However, when in the room with said particles, Kitty sneezes, unleashing a hoard of Brood, the things that Kitty was "pregnant" with during Wolverine and the X-Men. Tony suits up, but the Brood have adopted Kitty's phasing ability, and they attempt to take over Tony's Iron Men suits he has at Resilient. However, when they get control of the suits, Kitty phases through them, short circuiting and defeating them. Tony realizes that this would happen all the time with Kitty there, and she politely declines the job offer.
Just like AvX, this was a fun book, mainly as it isn't as serious as other books on the stand. Sure, there are still drama filled moments, but for the majority, the stories are just fun. I know that there are a good number of people who absolutely hate the Rogue/Widow kiss, saying it was pointless and it was thrown in there just to appease fanboys. Maybe that's true, but I didn't care either way. It was just a funny moment in a funny story, that's all. Anyways, the plot in both stories was short and sweet, though Peter David's story with Tony and Kitty gets a gold star for acknowledging the Brood storyline from WatXM. Chris Bachalo actually wrote his section, and for the most part, it was written pretty well. The art for the book was stupendous. Both Michael del Mundo and Chris Bachalo's work was spot on and it made the issue that much more enjoyable.
Grade: A
FF #1
The flip side to Fantastic Four #1, we get to see the new Future Foundation start to form. The form of the issue is pretty interesting too. We get shots of the students, saying who they are and giving various information about the Future Foundation, and then the other parts is the actual members of the Fantastic Four recruiting members for the group. Reed recruits Scott Lang (Ant-Man), Sue recruits Medusa (Black Bolt's wife), Ben recruits She-Hulk, and Johnny takes his girlfriend out to breakfast, as he totally forgets about asking someone to fill in for him (though we know that his girl, Darla, will become Miss Thing). Everyone is thrilled to join, except for Scott. Seeing that his daughter Cassie in The Children's Crusade at the hands of Fantastic Four villain Doctor Doom, Scott doesn't want to be in charge of more children, afraid that his track record will catch up with him again. Reed and Scott talk about what happened and how Reed is sick and needs to leave to get cured. Eventually, Scott agrees to take his place as the head of the FF, asking Val and Franklin to inform him all about the Future Foundation.
Overall, this was a really fun issue. It was a very nice introduction to the characters and it was cool to see the students view of the Future Foundation. Matt Fraction, who is overseeing both Fantastic Four and FF, writes a funny story that also has a nice section of seriousness in the form of the Reed/Scott talk. The one scene that I personally enjoyed was during the Thing/She Hulk conversation. Ben says what everyone has been thinking whenever Reed talks about being gone for only four minutes: things don't go according to plan for the Fantastic Four. For whatever reason, that was the line of the book for me, as it foreshadows the terrible events that will be happening to Marvel's First Family. The art was just fantastic. Mile Allred returns to Marvel full time and it is a gorgeous thing to see. The one panel that stuck out to me was during the Sue/Medusa part, where Medusa's hair formed a heart around an image of Black Bolt when the two of them are talking about him. It's just the little things like that that make me enjoy Mike's work. Even though I'm still new to Mike's artwork, I can already tell that I'm going to love it.
Grade: A
Thor: God of Thunder #2
This issue mostly centers around young, brash Thor, though we get a little bit of story with present day Thor and two panels of ancient Thor. The issue starts with Thor trying to get Mjolnir, but he is not worthy enough for it yet. Now in the Baltic Sea, Thor is leading a group of warriors to a battle when a figure is shown stalking the boats. The figure is revealed to be Gorr, the God Butcher. While in the middle of the battle, the horse of the locals god arrives, bloody and without a rider. Thor leaves the battle with the steed, and eventually runs into Gorr for the first time. Though Thor gives a decent fight, Gorr still puts a whooping on him. The only way Thor survives the fight is when he calls upon lightning, shocking Gorr literally and metaphorically. Back in present day, Thor has defeated the "guard dog" that attacked him last issue. Thor swears to avenge the slain gods, stating that he will finish what he started years ago before flying off, with the final shot of the issue being young Thor in a crater, looking defeated for the time being.
I really enjoyed the first issue of Thor: God of Thunder and this issue, while not as strong as the first issue, was still really good. I liked how we actually got a story involving just one of the Thor's for the first time, and it leaves a nice cliffhanger for when we see young Thor again. I am a little disappointed that we didn't get to see a lot of ancient Thor this issue, but his story seems to be front and center in a couple of issues. However, that was my only major gripe. Everything else in the issue was fine. I know that some people think that Gorr looks like Voldemort from Harry Potter, and while I thought of that at first, it really doesn't bother me that much.
Grade: A-
Venom #27.1
The first issue post "Minimum Carnage" shows Flash struggling. Not with the outcome of "Minimum Carnage", but with the symbiote. In the beginning we see Flash taking out some punks that Daimon Hellstrom sent him after. Flash loses control sort of during the fight and then again when talking to Daimon, smashing the glass. We then see Flash, Peter (who is still Peter Parker at the time), and Flash's sister and mom checking out a room at a Center of Wellness for Flash's mom. Flash mentally acknowledges that the reason that his mom is moving is because she is hiding from him, from Venom. Peter and Flash talk for a bit, and Peter brings up that someone from high school has moved back into the city; A.J. Patton, someone who Flash bullied back in the day. Flash goes and meets A.J. and apologizes for bullying him so much. When A.J. leaves to talk to his husband, he says that he sees Flash as a wash-out now, which Flash can hear loud and clear. Later, Flash wakes up from the dead of sleep to call for the suit. He then goes and interrogates one of the punks from the previous night, but is shown to be possessed by the demon that lies inside of him. Demon Venom then goes to the Center of Wellness, where he waits outside Flash's mom's room, freaking her out. The next day, Flash and Peter have another talk, where Flash tells Peter that he is leaving New York for good.
This was a pretty good issue. First and foremost, I loved the parallel between Peter and Flash when it came to the suit. Just like when Peter first had the black suit, it would latch to him and they would go out fighting crime. This time, there is a bit of a twist, as it is the demon that wants to go out, and uses the Venom suit to do just that. I do kind of wish that Flash and Peter would learn each other's identity, but we may never get that, depending on what happens post-Amazing Spider-Man #700. I do think the scenes with A.J. were a little pointless, as it really didn't do much for the story. Besides that, though, the issue was pretty good. Cullen Bunn does another good issue writing, especially the conversation at the end between Peter and Flash. I also really like the twist with the demon using the Venom suit to do it's own terrifying tasks, including the creepy scene with Flash's mom. The star of the issue, though, was Marco Checchetto. This guy needs to be put on a Marvel book ASAP, because he is way too good to not be doing anything for them. I would definitely love it if he was put onto some kind of Spider-Man related project, but he should be on something.
Grade: B+
Alright, that's it for this week. Next week is going to be another fun week, with Avengers #1, All New X-Men #3, and Amazing Spider-Man #699, among others, coming out. Not sure when I'll have reviews posted, as next week is when my finals start. I'm aiming for either Saturday or Sunday being the dates, but I'm not sure. It could be earlier than that for all I know. Just keep a weather eye on the horizon.
Thanks for reading!
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