@deep2hb
The Herculean task of scripting an Avengers run after Jonathan Hickman befell poor Jason Aaron. At first I was happy with the team he brought in. I like Robbie Reyes and Blade and “Thingee”. I even dug the Vampire arc until the end. I scratched my head as to why Superion wasn’t an Avenger but back in Squadron Supreme again…but whatever.
Okay…so Mephisto is pulling strings from a cage in Vegas. Look…this series reminds me of watching my son pulling out all his toys to play with and then forgetting a bunch under the couch or television stand. It’s just toys everywhere and I’m waiting for him to clean up the damn living room. But instead he pulls out crayons and starts coloring his trains and cars and not picking up the mess. ENTER, MOON KNIGHT in another story arc after another unresolved arc called the “Age of Konshu” or as I will don it, OKAY, JASON….
So as to not spoil it, the art looked super rushed, especially the Thor part. The part had me like, “nah yo,… oookay Jason”. The Iron Fist part had me like “riiight…. ok Jason”. The Dr. Strange part has me like “surrrrre, OKAY JASON!!!!” You get my drift, I’m sure. Oh, speaking of drift, the Ghost Rider part, – OKAY JASON. I’m not saying I hate Moon Knight. My favorite stuff had to be Warren Ellis’s brief stint on the character, which made him cool.
I will also take this time to say my old buddy and coworker Mark Thomas, at Jim Hanley’s Universe, wanted to pitch the Moon Knight concept of personality shifts affected by moon phases in 2002. Just putting that out there. Anyways, I’m not feeling this arc from the get. Maybe it’ll all be a awful hallucination of Marc Spektor…like his last series, or however that resolved itself. 1/5 Dang Moon Bibles.
-Rob Deep Maldonado
Writer Gerry Duggan gives us a pretty straightforward story of a search and rescue. We found out early one of Forge’s ex-employees had a photographic memory, and has been kidnapped to create a weapon, so in proper X-Men fashion, they come to the rescue.
I, being a huge Emma Frost fan, was very excited to see her leading the pack on this mission. It was fun and a quick read with a surprise ending for the kidnapped. As usual in the Marvel world, Steffano Caselli and Edgar Delgado give us beautiful visuals to guide us thru a story of mutants, Russians, and a UFO. 3/5 Bibles.
-Jimmy Cupps
@scarletdadspidr
You can never go wrong with an oversized comic issue. Marvel’s latest issue of Venom delivers just that. Writer, Donny Cates with art by veteran, and fan favorite, artist Mark Bagley elicit the reader to put themselves right there with Eddie Brock in the story, and who doesn’t love pages with panels that break down into an interview format? The inks provided by Andy Owens are lined up tight and a little rigid with colors by Frank Martin that both pop but when deep darkness in the panels are asked for, it is received.
The double-sized Venom #25 is a good jumping point for readers that might have missed out because it gives you a run down on the most recent events including Absolute Carnage and the fallout into Venom Island. Eddie Brock is searching for help from friends to prepare for the Marvel Universe’s next challenge. If that wasn’t hard enough, Brock also has to deal with his guilt regarding his son and his recently discovered power. The comic also goes into the impending symbiote arc following Venom Island. By the looks of how the comic ends, the rest of the Marvel Universe is going to have to once again help with the threats that the symbiotes bring and the forces that assist them.
The comic ends with a nice little throwback by David Michelinie, Ron Lim, J.P. Mayer and Erick Arciniega titled “Paradise Interrupted”. This issue is fun and feels like it makes sense paired with the finale of Venom Island. The throwback picks up right after Venom/Brock were under the idea that they successfully got rid of Spider-Man. In the end, the art on this mega-ish is engaging and the story gives the reader something to look forward to. Venomaniacs old and new will enjoy the latest Venom comic installment. 3.75/5 Bibles.
-Frank Simonian
Giant Gog is destroying the city and it’s up to Spider-Man and Boomerang to save the day before Kingpin kills Gog. I have to say, for a giant monster, he is pretty cute. I loved the art from Ryan Ottley (Invincible, and Spider-Man). He does a great job of making me see the innocence of Gog and the evilness of Kingpin.
For a story about Spider-Man getting a pet, Nick Spencer (Spider-Man, Secret Empire) also keeps the story interesting; but at the end of the day, it is just a story about Spider-Man getting a new pet. For what it is, it was a fun, short read. 3/5 Bibles.
-Tim Markham
Birds Of Prey: Sirens of Justice #1 is a light, fast read and a great way to kick off not only the summer, but the start of the regular comic-publishing schedule. Harley Quinn is out joining Black Canary and Huntress, who are out investigating a currently-in-construction hospital which is being used as a crime front. Coming in between them is none other than Poison Ivy, whose eventual involvement Harley’s been hiding from her colleagues.
Light on exposition and heavy on action, this is a great introductory issue that doesn’t require anything in the way of picking up back issues to understand characters and their relationships. Gail Simone does a hell of a job just getting us right into the groove of things (no surprise from her there), and just having great fun (fun. Remember fun?) The art by Inaki Miranda is smooth enough without being knock-out or anything, but where it flourishes is with the ample action: clear, concise, and easy to follow. The faces are expressive, and whatever goodwill is leftover from this past spring’s Birds of Prey movie is easily translated back onto the page. Best of all? This issue wraps up nicely without threatening a crossover or anything! Wow! A fun, quick, action-packed read that is self-contained? This is right up my alley. 3.75/5 Bibles.
-J.L. Caraballo