Publisher Marvel Comics - Review

Amazing Spider-Man 651

It must be a good 20 years since I last read a Spider-Man comic. So what has happened in the intervening years? It turns out Spider-Man has turned into Batman, more or less.

Avengers: The Children’s Crusade – Search for the Scarlet Witch 1

Bloody hell that’s an unwieldy title! The first two parts are the series title; the latter part is because this is a collection of the first three issues, still in comic book format, at $5, which is only a dollar more than each one individually – I like this format, which is new to me. Good encouragement to catch up on a series.

Ultimate Captain America 1

This seemed a good randomish pick this week: I like most of the Ultimate line, and Aaron seems to be building a reputation, so I’d meant to try him. He confuses the hell out of me, to be honest.

X-23 4

I know nothing about X-23, beyond the fact that her name suggests yet another one of the interminable X-Men spin-offs. A quick Google of her name reveals she’s a Wolverine clone. How unoriginal, and how unpromising.

What If? 200

A 200th issue celebration, including Stan Lee’s first ever story for the series.

Ultimate Doom 1

The most annoying thing about this is that it is not genuinely the start of a four-part mini-series. Well, it is, but it isn’t the start of a story: it’s a continuation of Ultimate Mystery.

New Avengers 7

There’s a lot to be said against Brian Michael Bendis’ writing, and I’ve said most of it already; his overrated, sprawling style has become the industry standard, padding out storylines endlessly to fill the all-important Trade Paperback, with a multitude of costumes all saying the same ‘cool’ things in exactly the same voice, characterisation being subverted to a plot point or a ‘witty’ punchline.

Incredible Hulks 618

Marvel and DC’s business strategy to the symptom of plummeting sales seems to be this: spin off your most popular characters into second and third and fourth books. Spin-off the spin-offs. Then involve them in one long, universe-threatening, cross-over.

Deadpool MAX 1-2

Deadpool MAX, the inevitable “but now he can say ‘fuck'” iteration of Spider-Man-with-pouches. With David Lapham on scripting chores and Modern Master Kyle Baker on art – both idiosyncratic cartoonists with little aversion to journeyman dalliances, what rough beast will emerge?

Uncanny X-Men 530

This is the first X-Men comic I’ve read since the end of Grant Morrison’s run, and it’s not bad. Not great, but not bad either.