Punisher War Zone #1 by Greg Rucka and Carmine di
Giandomenico
I haven’t read a Punisher issue in a year or so so I confess
to being left in the dark but Greg Rucka’s story gets me up to speed.
Apparently, during the Punisher’s last mission, he managed to kill a bunch of
bad guys and is accused of killing three cops. And all that carnage was
assisted by Punisher’s possession of a web-shooter – which pisses Spider-Man
off.
But Spidey’s confrontation with him doesn’t go well and
results in another one of his web-shooters missing. Angry and out of options,
Spidey takes his case to The Avengers. With the world’s mightiest heroes about
to come down hard, Wolverine decides to warn him to give The Punisher a head
start.
What I like about this title isn’t just the idea of him
dodging The Avengers but the way it affects Spider-Man. There’s a scene in the
book where Spidey’s trying to convince the others to go after the Punisher and
the team basically says it’s a police problem and while the rest of the team
has turned their back and are heading toward the door, Captain America never
turns his back. In panel after panel, Cap is listening intently to what
Spider-Man is saying. I also like Wolverine giving The Punisher the benefit of
the doubt and warning him. The two of them have had their scuffles in the past
but it’s nice to know someone knows The Punisher didn’t kill any cops.
It’s a promising start to what could be a fun ride.
A-Babies vs. X-Babies #1 by Skottie Young and Gurihiru
When baby-Cyclops steals Bucky-bear from baby-Captain
America, the A-Babies assemble to take on the X-babies to get the stuffed
animal back. This issue is fun, funny, and very entertaining. I haven’t gotten
any of the X-babies stuff before but if it’s this good, I’ve been missing out.
Wolverine: MAX #1 by Jason Starr, Roland Boschi, and Connor
Willumsen
Every once in a while I see a MAX title and tend to think of
it as its own universe. Because if the Punisher or Wolverine are this violent
and use foul language during the course of those stories, why don’t they do
that in normal titles too?
The story starts with Wolverine in a plane crash with a case
of amnesia. It’s as boring as it sounds. A MAX title gives you the ability to
do as big and violent a story as you want – with this larger canvas I expect a
good story. I won’t be fooled into picking up another issue.
Marvel Now! Point One #1 by various
Nick Fury, Maria Hill and Agent Coulson interrogate a man
from the future who gives them some cryptic foreshadowing while the reader is
introduced to five character’s stories.
Each story was pretty awful.
The Starlord story starts 20 years in the past but doesn’t
say who the character is (I only know because of the credits page at the end of
the book) and never shifts back to the present.
The Nova story was brainless nonsense that didn’t endear me
to this new Nova. Is Richard Rider dead or something?
The Miss America Story is the first time I’ve read anything
with the character. She and Loki’s dialogue is full of veiled, unexplained
references to the past that I didn’t get.
The Ant-Man story was probably the most irritating. Ant
Man’s daughter is killed by Doctor Doom so he decides to get a measure of
revenge by defacing Doctor Doom’s painting at a Latverian art exhibit. It’s as
dumb as it sounds.
The Forge story was interesting. The idea that he fixes his
own brain in time to help Cable is intriguing. Forge has had so many writers
tear him to pieces that I’m not a big fan of the character. You never know
which personality he’s going to have or how lax his moral compass will be this
time. It’s hard to root for a character I don’t care about.
As for as the main story – I know the Marvel Universe has a
Maria Hill but when did it gain Coulson? For that matter, when did the Ultimate
Universe’s Nick Fury become 616’s Nick Fury? What in the hell is going on?
When did Marvel stop putting in asterisks next to things to
reference other issues that would explain some of the dialogue or at least tell
you what issue Cassie died in so you could read that story? If this is what
Marvel Now is going to be like, I can skip Marvel Comics for a few years. While
DC Comics is innovating, Marvel is still confusing.
New Mutants #50 by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Felix Ruiz, and
Klebs
The New Mutants throw a well-deserved party!
This is the way every series should end: tying up loose
ends, the characters talking to one another and really connecting. I don’t like
Sam and Dani being in the friend zone but I do like seeing Amara and Roberto
getting closer. The New Mutants are one of my favorite groups and I hate that
the ride is over but I’m looking forward to seeing what happens to each of them
in the future.
X-Men Legacy #275
When Rogue and Mimic respond to a breakout at a prison
holding super-powered prisoners, they might be outnumbered but their ability to
absorb and use other people’s powers gives them an advantage – and they need
it.
The final issue of X-Men Legacy focuses on Rogue. The last
several issues have focused on Rogue and they’ve been amazing so I’m happy that
the title ends with her. She and Mimic have some nice dialogue and a final page
that wraps up the title nicely and tells the reader that, while most of the
X-Men are in turmoil, Rogue is happy.
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