However, though Amazing Spider-Man is the most noteworthy issue, it isn't the only issue to come out. So, because of that, I'm putting the Amazing review at the very end, so you don't have to read it right off the get go.
Captain America #1
This was the first issue of Captain America that I've ever gotten. I was initially unsure if I was going to get this series but I decided to try it anyways. Let's just say that I might be on board with this series now. I've always liked Captain America, but I've never had the urge to pick up an issue until now. When it was announced that Rick Remender and John Romita, Jr. were going to be on the book, I decided to try it out. It was a very good first issue, and I'm thinking that I'll be back at least for the first arc. I really enjoyed the short but sweet moments between Steve and Sharon as well as the moment in the beginning of the book, with the Rodgers family. While some people didn't like JR Jr.'s art in this issue, I enjoyed it. John Romita, Jr., has always been a personal favorite of mine, so whenever he gets announced on a project or book, 9 times out of 10 I'll be picking it up. While I don't know much about the villain of the book so far, I am intrigued by him and the storyline that Remender is laying down, and I'm planning on pulling at least the first couple of issues now.
Grade: A-
Captain Marvel #7
Dexter Soy returns on art duties while the book gains a co-writer for this arc. Coming off her adventures in space and in time, Carol decides to take on an underwater adventure. And that allows her to beat up some sharks, without even using shark repellent. For every good see adventure, one needs a skipper, and Carol's skipper for this adventure would be Monica Rambeau, the ex Captain Marvel. However, it wouldn't be a sea adventure without some kind of monster and, in this case, it is a giant robot made out of debris. This was a pretty good issue, as Dexter Soy's art is really growing on me. I'm thrilled to hear that he, along with personal favorite writer Christos Gage, will be doing the Age of Ultron issue of Superior Spider-Man. Writing wise, I love the banter between Carol and Monica. Kelly Sue and guest writer Christopher Sebela nail the conversation the two friends had as well as their conversation between Frank Gianelli. Though a little light on action, this was still a fun issue.
Grade: A
Daredevil #20
Another great issue from Mark Waid and Chris Samnee. This issue gives us the origin of Coyote, showing his motives and some of the jobs he has pulled. However, while Coyote gives DD's head the spiel, his body goes on an exploration, finding the device that is keeping his head and body separated. We have a creepy scene where we see all the heads that Coyote has kept over the years, and we get to see him feed them. We get a little bit of a view of what Kirsten is up to, but not much. The big reveal of this issue is that Coyote isn't real Spot, I think. We'll have to see next issue what is really going on with that whole situation. Like I said earlier, this was another great issue of Mark Waid's run. If you would have asked me two, three years ago if I could see myself enjoying Daredevil, I would say no. The movie left a bad taste in my mouth and I sort of soured on the character. However, what Mark Waid and his merry band of artists have done on the book is just marvelous. I'm planning a DD love post somewhere down the line, so keep an eye out for that.
Grade: A
Daredevil #20
Another great issue from Mark Waid and Chris Samnee. This issue gives us the origin of Coyote, showing his motives and some of the jobs he has pulled. However, while Coyote gives DD's head the spiel, his body goes on an exploration, finding the device that is keeping his head and body separated. We have a creepy scene where we see all the heads that Coyote has kept over the years, and we get to see him feed them. We get a little bit of a view of what Kirsten is up to, but not much. The big reveal of this issue is that Coyote isn't real Spot, I think. We'll have to see next issue what is really going on with that whole situation. Like I said earlier, this was another great issue of Mark Waid's run. If you would have asked me two, three years ago if I could see myself enjoying Daredevil, I would say no. The movie left a bad taste in my mouth and I sort of soured on the character. However, what Mark Waid and his merry band of artists have done on the book is just marvelous. I'm planning a DD love post somewhere down the line, so keep an eye out for that.
Grade: A
Deadpool #2
Deadpool versus more undead Presidents, round two. This time, the Merc with the Mouth goes up against Teddy Roosevelt while starting his weird team up with the ghost of Ben Franklin. This was another funny issue that was, yet again, drawn beautifully by Tony Moore. The full page panel of Deadpool being skewered by the elephant tusk was just plain gruesome. Then, of course, you have Deadpool electrocuting an elephant, setting it on fire and killing it in the process of killing Teddy again. The team of Brian, Gerry, and Tony are great for the book, as they cause the book to have equal levels of humor and epicness.
Grade: A-
Indestructible Hulk #1
Of all the first wave books that were announced when Marvel NOW! was revealed, this was the one that piqued my interest the most. Marvel did one of the smartest things ever: they put Eisner winning Daredevil scribe Mark Waid together with superstar artist Leinil Yu. That team could do a Groot book and it would be a best seller. Thankfully, Marvel put them on Hulk, a character that had gotten a fresh breath of air under Jason Aaron, but another breath was needed. These two pulled it off. We have Bruce Banner, who is working with the Hulk. Sounds weird, right? Well, it basically equals down to the Hulk and Bruce share a mind and work together. Banner seems to know what he is doing, enough to offer his service to Maria Hill, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Banner is upset that he isn't getting respect for being one of Marvel's geniuses. That causes Bruce to blackmail Maria, and he offers the Hulk's service for his liberties. We then get some beautiful Yu pages showing the Hulk doing what he does best: SMASH! One of the best first issues of the Marvel NOW! era. If Mark Waid continues his success from Daredevil here on Indestructible Hulk, then we'll all be in for a treat.
Grade: A
Justice League #14
Picking up right where last issue left off, we see the League trying to defeat a Cheetah infected Superman. For the remainder of the issue, the League splits up, with half dealing with the Cheetah while the others try to cure Superman from the infection. The story also gives us the New 52 origin of the Cheetah, which is not the same as what it was in the old DCU. There are three great scenes in this issue that I personally just love. The first one is Aquaman holding the Cheetah underwater with piranhas surrounding them. The next scene was the one where Clark and Diana go to Smallville, eating at a diner and visiting the Kent house. The final scene that I loved was the last one, where Batman is being all creepy and spying on the new couple making out. The Shazam backup finally starts to pick up too, as Black Adam makes his way to the city while Billy buys clothes and looks to be getting food. We end the issue with the introduction of Sloth, one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Overall, a good issue. The main story actually felt really short; likewise, the Shazam backup seemed to be longer than it usually does. The best part of the issue was definitely the Superman/Wonder Woman moments at the end of the main feature. Geoff Johns writes the scene pretty well, and the backup was written well as well. The art on this issue was phenomenal, with both Tony Daniel and Gary Frank doing great jobs on their segments.
Grade: B+
Ultimate Spider-Man #17
Grade: B
Justice League #14
Picking up right where last issue left off, we see the League trying to defeat a Cheetah infected Superman. For the remainder of the issue, the League splits up, with half dealing with the Cheetah while the others try to cure Superman from the infection. The story also gives us the New 52 origin of the Cheetah, which is not the same as what it was in the old DCU. There are three great scenes in this issue that I personally just love. The first one is Aquaman holding the Cheetah underwater with piranhas surrounding them. The next scene was the one where Clark and Diana go to Smallville, eating at a diner and visiting the Kent house. The final scene that I loved was the last one, where Batman is being all creepy and spying on the new couple making out. The Shazam backup finally starts to pick up too, as Black Adam makes his way to the city while Billy buys clothes and looks to be getting food. We end the issue with the introduction of Sloth, one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Overall, a good issue. The main story actually felt really short; likewise, the Shazam backup seemed to be longer than it usually does. The best part of the issue was definitely the Superman/Wonder Woman moments at the end of the main feature. Geoff Johns writes the scene pretty well, and the backup was written well as well. The art on this issue was phenomenal, with both Tony Daniel and Gary Frank doing great jobs on their segments.
Grade: B+
Ultimate Spider-Man #17
In what I believe to be the last tie in issue to the "Divided We Fall"/"United We Stand" event, Miles finds himself in his first battle with the Ultimates, where Spider-Woman is his chaperon, much to her chagrin. Overall, this was a so-so issue. It was still good, but it wasn't anything special. Maybe having the knowledge that "Venom Wars" is coming up distilled my enjoyment of this arc, or maybe it was having different artists on the issues. I'm not entirely sure. I do like the set up for the next issue, though; we end the book with Miles, out of web fluid, stranded in Wyoming. However, the cover and solicitations for this issue and next are kind of misleading. The solicitation for this issue mentioned the secret connection between Miles and Jessica, but it barely gets a mention in this issue. And the cover for the next issue, which can be seen here, doesn't show Miles in Wyoming. The art by Pepe Larraz was okay, though not as good as Marquez or Pichelli. Thankfully, Marquez is back next issue and then, with "Venom Wars", Sara Pichelli is finally back.
Before I get into big time spoiler details, I want to thank you for reading my reviews. Check out the next post for this weeks reviews. As it is nearing finals times, I'm not getting to write as much as I would like, so busting these review posts, seeing as they were massive ones, was extremely difficult. I'm hoping to have another post out soon, discussing Superior Spider-Man, but I am, as of now, unsure when it will see the light of day. But, again, thanks again for reading!
Alright, here we go.
For the last time, SPOILERS LIE AHEAD
Do not read on if you have not read Amazing Spider-Man #698
The issue starts out with the medical squad on the Raft rushing to Doc Ock's room, as he begun to say two words: Peter Parker. Speaking of good ol' Petey, we see him swinging around and stopping crime, exclaiming how awesome it is to be Spider-Man. He seems to be a little more violent and blows off the police when they ask him to come downtown to do paperwork. After a pit stop at his place to change into some fancy clothes, Peter heads to Horizon, where he and Max have a meeting about needing an invention, as the quarter is coming to a close. Peter is confident, claiming that he'll put all his other inventions to shame. After making some web fluid, Peter heads over to MJ's, where he meets up with MJ and basically tells her that he wants to start dating again. MJ, a little shocked over the brashness Peter is showing, tells him that they must go visit Aunt May, who is still recovering from the Alpha accident. However, when she leaves to get her jacket, Peter is seen checking out some other ladies. While with Aunt May, Peter tries to initial talks with MJ again, but is interrupted by his Avengers card going off. He attempts to leave, but Jay freaks out on him again. However, MJ has his back and, while Jay is still pissed, May is fine with it, as she realizes that Peter and MJ may be getting back together. At the Raft, Captain America tells Spider-Man that Doc Ock is asking for Peter Parker. Peter unmasks, telling Ock that he is Peter. That is when the bombshell is dropped: Peter Parker isn't really Peter; it's Doc Ock in Peter's body with all his memories. While Doc is in Peter's body, Peter is in Doc Ock's dying body. Doc Ock gloats, saying that he will never give up his secret and walks out as Peter/Otto flatlines. Doctors try to resuscitate him while Otto/Spider-Man walks away with the Avengers none the wiser.
I, uh, I'm going to come out and say it. I hate what Dan Slott did. Yet, at the same time, I absolutely love it. I knew that something was up with Peter throughout the issue, and I had no clue what it was until I finished the issue, my mouth gaping. After rereading the issue, I finally got what happened and I'm unsure on how I feel about it. I'm game for having Doc Ock as Spider-Man, though I'm not sure on how long I will enjoy it. This is the beginning of a three part story, though, so we'll have to see how Dan continues the story. Plus, the preview art for issue #700 shows that Peter is still around and fighting, though a little differently than I expected. I trust Dan Slott, as he has given us a great run on Spider-Man so far. However, I'm not going to lie when I say that I hated this issue the first couple of times I read it after the "holy sh!t" reading the first time. After the third or fourth time, though, I realized how monumental this issue is going to be. The art by Richard Elson was very good, especially his dying Doc Ock/Peter Parker. I may actually check out the first issue of Morbius: The Living Vampire because of his art. This issue made me very nervous for Peter. I've never been as nervous for a character before, so this is an odd feeling. The preview art for the final two issues of Amazing show that Peter is not done fighting yet, but I'm not feeling too sure if he is going to make it out unharmed/alive.
Grade: A
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