Marvel Comics in 2026

It's been four years since I last posted about the comic books. They seem to be almost forgotten by Marvel themselves as the company shifted the brand's focus to movies, which did make them huge amounts of money, well...Disney perhaps is the man behind the curtain on this. Yet comics keep being made, and I keep reading them, but it is hard for me to imagine buying a physical copy of one at this point, as they are so inconsistent. To keep abreast of what was really going on, you would be blowing a hundred dollars a month on what?  Characters that are not being respected? 

How is this disrespect to the characters happening? Well, their stories are being bastardized. How many people have worn the Spider-Man mask in the past year? Wel that first requires you to answer the next stupidest question, who is Spider-man? If the answer is not Peter Parker, then the legacy of this character is in trouble. When I tell you, Norman Osbourne was wearing the red and blue suit while Parker was in space recently, then you might understand how sharks have been jumped, and poor editorial decisions have been made, and they are affecting most characters. This bleeds over into their delusion of what will work on the big screen or television, and things compound. 

I am going to look at 10 other comics aside from Spider-Man, featuring the 10 charaters that matter the most to me aside from Parker, and see where the problem lies. It makes sense to give my favorite character a look first, so let's see how ole Bruce Banner is doing.

The Hulk

Just got finished reading the lastest issue of the Infernal Hulk. The latest gimmick.  I approve of taking the Hulk in a more horror-oriented direction, and like the Immortal Hulk series, some of those books would have been worth buying. Maybe one day I will grab a trade paperback. For Infernal, I will break it donw like this an Anicent demon , yanked Banner from Hulk and now wears the Hulk as it has possessed him to wage war against god, not a bad concept in theory I am not opposed to it the execution is jumping ahead of it self as it has this Infernal Hulk taking on the Marvel Universes incarnation of God, the One Above All, or so the fight was billed but it was reallyu for of an Arch angel andd the Infernal Hulk crushed it, not Stark is about to put on some fancy armour and right him. It's dark, reminds me a little of Alan Moore Swamp Thing days when it comes to the art. Give it a B+

The Sentry

He just got a new series. It is not clear where this falls on the timeline in terms of  Canon; it looks like  New Avengers' era or an alternate Universe, he did get ripped apart by Knull a while back, and I do not recall reading an reasonable explanation for his reincarnation, but as his power set, I am not asking too many questions. Jenkins wrote this, so it should come together it seems the Void is acting on its own accord at times. I will see where it goes. Give it a C+

    Thor

Well, his book is now called Mortal Thor, so you can guess he came back from the dead with no powers, does not remember that he is Thor, nor does anyone really remember him as Thor, so magic is afoot in this regard. His son is about to take the throne in Asgard. It is a case of writers who should not be writing a character that they do not know what to do with at full power, as this has been done before, so why recycle the story? The art is decent. Give it a D +

Doctor Strange

He is in Asgard, being a wizard with Angela in tow. The writer is obviously into Dungeons & Dragons, it would be nice to see him more grounded in a 9th Gate type story, moving in a more Lovecraftian direction, but here we are, give it a C

She-Hulk 

She is now on Skaar, Planet Hulk, in a more involved soap opera of a storyline; they brough her boyfriend Jack of Hearts to fight her. It looks like after six issues, she might be heading back to earth as they milked it for all it was worth, very Star Wars-like story and action, give it a C

the Punisher

Another reboot finds Marvel repenting for being apologetic for the character after his iconic symbol was almost cancelled by stupid Millennials. He is back in the proper costume being treated the right way with great art. The first issue of the new series is some of their best work in years. Give it an A

Iron Man

Only on the 2nd issue of the new series so too hard for them to screw it up, but they are working with what is tried and true, which is the formula they should stick with. Give it a B

Captain America

With the Avengers disbanding their current roster, it means we have to use Steve Rogers, the heartbeat of what is going on at the center of the Marvel Universe. He does have General Ross (the Red Hulk) in the periphery of his stories, but things have not really come to a head with that. Seems like he has just been on an endless mission the past few years that digs deeper into things, but there is no clear story. Give it a C

Scarlet Witch

Not the best at holding down her own series, she is now the Sorceror Supreme, not the first time. The art is very 90s, and in some ways it works, but we got her fighting Agatha for four issues, and that got old. Not a fan of how she is drawn, not really as hot as she used to be in the 80s and 90s, she can still be curvy and powerful, it kind of kills their whole feminist vibe by not letting this happen ou are saying that those concepts are mutually exclusive- give it a C

Will try to get more regular with writing about the comic books, but the comic books should be more inspiring and not a second thought to the movies. 

Reviewing the Year in Marvel Comics-2024

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It has been a minute since I wrote about just comics which used to be a weekly ritual for me, in fact, this very article I started back in 2023, but am now forcing myself to finish it. as Marvel Comics have been pretty underwhelming as a general. DC when I have given them the chance has been worse, they seem to be falling for some of the same traps as Marvel in devaluing the legacy of their characters Marvel got the hint to some degree and is trying to salvage its comics line and make people care about them since the movies and shows have started to tank. They are learning people do not want Disney politics mixed in with their escapism. This is bleeding into the comics as stories are starting to head back into a more classic direction. 

. The further we get from the Avengers the more it's going to fade in the rearview mirror of our collective attention span. The comics came first and that is the legacy of these characters more so than any whoring of their likeness to Hollywood so let's take a look and see how Marvel is doing in reclaiming this to steer the ship back in a better direction. So how was  2024? I will take 10  branches of the Marvel Tree that matter the most and give the run 

Spider-Man...

It does not matter who has the hit at the box office, he is their flagship legacy. Peter Parker, is doing pretty well in the Amazing Spider-Man series, it keeps breaking down into something more street-wise at present. They need to break it down to just Peter, Miles, and Jessica Drew, as the only spider people for sure.  Doctor Octopus was back in the mix, along with  Norman Osborne who returned as a crazy big bad. Parker dated   Black Cat again. It worked best when there was little to no crossover from other corners of the Spider-Verse for now at least. They tried killing off  Ms Marvel in his book, was un-needed would have made more sense in Avengers, that way there would have been someone for them to Avenge, but aside from that Amazing Spider-Man is worth reading these days. It has Parker back in a more grounded place.  Sure there is the "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man cartoon, that did some ridiculous race swapping, which seems to be shooting for a younger audience. Who cares about it really, it's something I will forget about after I press publish on this article. 

Fantastic Four

Another one of the Golden Age staple books, that in the past found itself a little convoluted with too many cooks in the kitchen and way more than the core Four. Some of the babysitting hanging on is gone and at present, they are focused on Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny, which is as it should be. Though the writing it not the greatest a they have a penchant for dedicating issues to a single member rather than focusing on them as a family unit which is their strength They will be getting more of a push this year with the movie gaining hype. 

The X-Men

There are too many books, so the storylines get muddled making it a continuity nightmare.  I feel like I am always struggling to keep up, the last Uncanny arch was pretty good, and we have most of the essential characters on state. Then an increasing number get solo series which if we are going to be honest  Wolverine is the only one who warrants their own series, unless we are counting Deadpool as an X-man, less convoluted than it has been. 

Avengers 

As far as team books go the current run the roster is all classic characters like Scarlet Witch, Thor, Iron-man etc with the only twist on the classic being the Sam Wilson version of Captain America which is getting hype for the movie to come. They have tried to work Storm in a possibly Black Cat. Unless it's an Uncanny Avengers book, which was a good series worth bringing back, they are better off leaving her in the X-men, but at least there is no Blade of Ghost Rider, who was never a good fit for the team anyway. I think they need to focus on picking villains suited for them, as there can be too much in the way of trying to farm new characters than having no emotional investment. 

Daredevil 

With Spider-man also more grounded in the streets, Daredevil needs to be left on the grittier side. Matt Murdock's character is always picking himself back up to re-invent. Kingpin was running the show which put him in a bad spot, the whole prison arch, with Elektra becoming Daredevil was dumb, they should just work on making Elektra more interesting as her own character. The same cycle of rogues has been in rotation too long, they need to get writers in who keep things fresh while staying true to the character. 

Hulk 

Once again we begin to see writers at Marvel wanting to be the next person who creates a big bad like Gorr or Venom who catches on and sticks to become a recognized villain in the Marvel pantheon but fail to do this in a method that pulls from existing mythos. With Hulk, I am surprised we have not seen more from the Leader since Sterns is appearing in the new Captain America movie. While I am glad we do not have too many Hulks in the mix, it's about time to have Skaar show up, where the hell is Abomination? Rick Jones? The Hulk is doing what the Hulk does, and I have not disliked the monster slant, but there are plenty of monsters that could have made an appearance rather than trying to create new ones. Glob, the Missing Link, Wendigo, Frankenstein, the Living Mummy and Werewolf By Night could have all made an appearance shit I'll even take War-Wolf. 

Thor 

Getting back to basics is working Enchantress was due for a comeback., It was good to see the Executioner in play as well. I think there needs to be a balance of how we see Asgard and Midgard interplay. The Thor being a wanted man on Earth could have been a good angle, who would they send to hunt Thor down, when does Thor get fed up with humanity's shit and do some god smiting would be an interesting question to pose. He plays too nice, I think he works best with a rougher edge that is more true to Norse mythology. But things are less contrived than they have been in the past which works for me. 

Dr. Strange

Of all the books Strange is getting the worst end of the stick. Killing him off an making him a ghost, is dumb if anyone can navigate the afterworld back to his body it's Strange. This has spilled over into other books like Spider-man and we have seen both Clea and Dr, Doom trying to be sorcerer supreme. It's as dumb as when Thor was unworthy. This is an easy fix they need to get in there and do it right.

Iron Man

Pretty decent Stark is doing better than Steve Rogers. Stripping away Stark Industries and not making him more of an Elon Musk, works for now, but how can you expect him to not get back to where he was considering who he is and the network and resources he has. At least his book is not as littered with too much supporting cast. Not sure how I felt about the Emma Frost thing. The thing they need to get back to the classic feel, and the West Coast Avengers book seems like the part forward to that. 

Captain America 

I am only exposed to Sam Wilson through Avengers which is fine, as he is a better supporting cast member than some one in the spotlight, he has not rogues gallery and I do not see Roger's villains taking him seriously. Rogers is like Stark where too much supporting cast members like Bucky or Black Widow weigh things down and lower the stakes. There are some interesting stories that could be told with him, and I think we would be a good avenue to bring back SHIELD as a shadow organization, maybe that he plays against as was hinted in the movies, but their is a wealth to work with that is not being tapped here. 

    . 

Film Review- "Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse"

 “Spider - Man; Across the Spider verse” takes the stylistic brand of animation that gave 2018’s “Into the Spider verse’ it’s charm and takes it to the level of high art animation. It uses more mixed mediums, from live-action to LEGOs. The animators worked on “the Mitchells vs the Machines” in-between making the two Spider  films and learned a whole new bag of tricks that they made the most of when it comes to varying the animation styles to create a wide range of atmosphere and mood. Gwen Stacy’s Earth 65 home looks like impressionistic watercolor paintings that reflect her unsettled emotional state that is dripping with brooding teenage angst. They capture this with the shifting drip of color, as well as the futuristic landscapes you are whisked off to. 

Miles Morales is taller as he swings deeper into his teen years , which also comes with conflicts with his parents, almost more of a focal point than the main villain the Spot. I was glad to see this more obscure member of Spider-Man's rogue’s gallery get some recognition, I do not feel like he was the most well written cast. Though matters of multiverses once again are the focus of the movie’s main conflict, that involves a society of Spider-People trying to hold Miles down. The movie's best characters like Ben Reilly come from this. While it pulls from every corner of Spider-Man lore, Jessica Drew got the worst shake of things with her alternate replacement. Ben is also a parody of himself as he is depicted as being hyper comics accurate. Mile’s finds life is a struggle, but wins when the plot armor is laid on too thick, as the Scarlet Spider and Spider-Man 2099, would wipe the floor Morales . 

I am sure viewer who want to read into this movie sub text that fits their narratives will find the fuel to do so, but Sony, unlike Disney did not bait their audience with the diversity tropes being pounded down our throats these days, despite the changes to character they made which would have left them open targets for such snark. Instead they just told a fun story free of agendas. A fact many viewers might not have even noticed since they were just enjoying themselves. Most of the things forced, just were organic working parts of the story being told. 

With the exception of Dr. Strange getting name dropped, this becomes an isolated corner of the Marvel Universe. This boxed the feel of the story into a smaller world even when they traverse other dimensions. But the movie’s main struggle is in the writing. They build up so many layers of plot and then get so lost in this web they have spun that the story is unable to find the third act, so they end with a cliffhanger. It would have been wise to take notes from “Infinity War” who might have resolved things with “the Snap” but opened it up for more questions, rather than this movie that found the writers not even finishing their sentence. Come for the art and you will be wow’ed, the story might work better as a cartoon series or comic book, but did not work in the adaptation to film,

Film Review : Spider-man No Way Home

 This phase of the Spider-man trilogy comes to an end in a big way. I have a couple of friends who have not cared for Tom Holand in the role and this movie dismisses such notions in a very vivid manner. It picks up where the previous film left off with Parker's identity being revealed. If you have seen the trailer and have half a brain the plot is not surprise. Nor are there any surprises that are not numbered among the fan theories. Though there are a few theories that do not come to life, this movie does not include Captain Marvel who was rumored to appear and try to hunt Spider Man down. Nor does Miles Morales appear. Kraven the Hunter is also not one of the film's villains.  Dr. Strange is one of the main characters but really only bookends the film, yet this movie is a clear cut set up for his sequel. 

If you did not like the previous Holland movies, I do not think you are going to like this one. Since magic figures in as a key plot point, if you need hyper realism then stick to Bat-man movies.  It feels more like a comic book. Which is the tone these movies should have. They try to fix a few problems the movies have had. It is well paced and two of the major fan's theories do occur and pay off well. It almost made me think if the internet buzz is the new focus group and wonder if Marvel did reshoots for these. I think there is a balance of meeting expectations. The focal point is not his legal disputes though the thought of Spider-man being painted as a more of an anti-hero is present. His relationship with Dr. Strange is pretty comics accurate.  I think the only flaw in the movie this version of MJ.  She worked better in the previous film, but the chemistry is not believable and trying to paint them as a couple in real life is one of the oldest Hollywood tricks in the book, if you need an example of this watch the movie "Hail Caeser" . I give that picture they are trying to paint with them a month or two before that clause in their contract expires. 

Yes, this movie is a huge marketing vehicle. The Marvel brand is out the center. To the point that this is the first time one of the post credit scenes has been a trailer. This is done in a way that works and is not heavy handed until that moment. The movie is a lot of fun, one of the strengths is how it redeem William Dafoe, who has the movies best performance, no that is not a spoiler, he is in the trailer so if you get your feelings hurt by thinking it is, then go fuck yourself.  This movie sets up the next phase of Marvel movies better than anything we have seen so far and is the best of the four Marvel movies released this year.   

Film Review : "Spider Man- Far From Home"

The "Home Coming" sequel finds them picking up the pieces from "End Game". Firmly entrenched in the Marvel Universe , even more so than "Home Coming". Holland has settled into the role, Granted this is the 5th movie with him playing Peter Parker. The kids in Parker's school are dealing with the logistics of what is being called "The Blip". Nick Fury , who does not want to talk to Captain Marvel for reasons later revealed, is set to make Parker the next Iron-man and wants him to step up to the plate. So this movie is more about Peter Parker thinking about the great responsibility this would come with and comparing him self to Stark. This whole scenario is far from the comic, but som how feels like it could have worked in them.

Mysterio is a villain who represents fake news. This is the under lying message. However this movie tries less to be politically correct than it's predecessor Mary Jane and Flash Thompson are still terribly off from the comics. I mean can you see that guy becoming Venom like Thompson does in the comics, which is not likely to happen. Parker never punches anything but drones. The Hydro-man and Molten - Man appearances are  are not what they seem from the trailers. Obviously their size is off, but that is not all. The movie is well paced. Sure there is more scenes of Parker in action without the suit than I might prefer, but we get him in a few different suits. This movie does not set things up for Miles Morales, so if you were getting your hopes up for that , you will be waiting sometime. The whole alternate time line /Universe is not delved into like in the last Avengers movie.

It seems like there is one more movie they can get out of Holland. They have him playing the press, there is no indication he is going in a gay Spider-man direction considering the love interest for this movie. This movie carries the weight of the bigger Marvel Universe story they are still telling, so I think "Homecoming' is a little better in tone, despite every one being more settled into their roles. The Vulture also proved a better villain. I am also surprised they did not elaborate more on the Scorpion. Norman Osborne is supposed be set up here, if you blink you miss it. Is it fun? Yes, so it accomplished what it needed.    `.  .   

The Top 30 Marvel Movies

When Marvel started making movies we were just glad to see these characters on the screen. Now it's a billion dollar hype machine. People need to attach things to these character that just isn't there. Fuck the politics of what Hollywood wants them to  promote on any given day and lets look at how these movies stack up against one another. Ranked on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of faithfulness to the comics , acting , cinematography these qualities put them where they sit on this list. Since after all those are the most important elements of a movie about super-heroes, story wise they already have it laid out for them.



1-Dr. Strange

Faith-9

Act-10- The best cast yet

Cine-10

29...the best of the bunch.



2-Captain America Winter Solider

Faithful-9

Act- 9

cine- 9

27

This movie had the most heart Marvel has committed to film so far



3-Iron Man

faith-8

Act-9

cine 9

26

Kicked off the concept of a shared universe. Rober Downey jr, became Stark.

4-Captain America

faith -9

Act- 8

Cine-9

26




5- Captain America Civil War

Faith - 7

Act-9

cine-9

25

The most heroes they have had on screen up until this point, Spider-man and Ant-man stole the show.


6-Blade

Faith 8

Act- 8

Cine- 9

25...Black Panther might have been created by some white men in 62 making him the first black Marvel hero, but Blade was the first black hero to hit the big screen. If he is not a hero then neither is Bat-man. Some classic scenes in the movie that was really well done considering when it came out.

7-Incredible Hulk


Faith - 8

Act- 9... thanks to Ed Norton

Cine-8

Norton is probably the best Banner yet.



8-Guardians of the Galaxy

Faith -8

Act- 8

Cine 9

25... Groot and Rocket stole the show.

9-Deadpool

Faith-7

Act- 8

Cine- 9

24...Rated r super hero movies became a thing, tone was better than their faithfulness or lack of to the books



10-Logan

Faith- 6

Act - 8

Cine -8

24...Gritty in all the right ways even though it never touches the Old Man Logan Story.




11-Punisher War Zone


Faith - 9

Act- 7

Cine- 8

24...as violent as it should be.



10- Spider-Man 2

Faith - 8

Act-8

Cine- 8

24- Molina's Dr. Octopus was great and Mcguire got comfortable with the role.

11- the Avengers

Faith - 6

Act- 9

cine-8

23- Their chemistry worked despite the cgi vomited ending that became an unfortunate super-hero staple.





12-Spider-Man Homecoming

Faith 7

Act-8

Cine 8

Thankfully spared another origin story, Holland is the best of the three Spider-men


13- X-men First Class

Faith -6

Act- 8

Cine- 8

22...guess they didn't know who was actually in the first class, it was the most fun I had in an X-men movie up to this point.



14-Iron-Man 3

Faith - 5

Act-9...thanks to Robert Downey jr

Cine 8

22...the movies villains were a little weak, but Downey pulled it together.

15-Amazing Spider Man

Faith - 8

Act- 7

Cine-7

22...too soon for a reboot, the mask came off way too much.

16-Blade 2

Faith -  8

Act-6

Cine - 7

22...still fun, they should have ended it here and not made the third movie


17-Guardians of the Galaxy 2

Faith - 5

Act-8

Cine 8

21...Mantis was a Pokemon and it was way too goofy.

17- Avengers Age of Ultron

Faith - 4

Act- 8

Cine-8

20...at least we got Vision and Scarlet Witch though way too far from the source material.

18-Ant-man

Faith 4

Act-8

Cine 8

20...This should have been Pym,

19-Iron - Man 2

Faith - 4

Act-8

Cine-8

20...not sure what didn't work about this movie, maybe it way when Whip Lash got armor.

20-Spider-man

Faith-8

Act-6

Cine-6

20...why was the Green Goblin a Power Ranger?

21-Thor the Dark World

Faith - 3

Act-8

Cine - 8

19...why were elves in space ships?



22-Thor

Faith - 4

Act-7

Cine-7

18...He didn't have his powers half the movie and they were too apologetic about him being a god not an alien.



24- Amazing Spider man 2

Faith-5

Act- 6

Cine- 7

18...Electro was terrible

25-Black Panther

Faith- 6

Act-5

Cine - 6

17...the acting was terrible with accents that came and went scene to scene, supporting cast was either wooden or acted like teenagers, we are too far into this to have cgi of this low quality.

26- Fantastic four 2 rise of Sliver Surfer

Faith - 4

Act-5

Cine- 7

16...might have been better if Galactus was not a purple cloud.

27-Daredevil

Faith- 6

Act- 4

Cine-6

16-acting was as stiff as Affleck looked in that suit.

28-Punisher


faith-6

Act-5

Cine   - 4 

15...I tried really hard to like it when it came out.

29-Spider-man 3

faith-3

Act-4

Cine -7

14...Venom was horrible

                                           

30- Man-Thing

Faith 4

Act4

cine 3

Worse than the second Swamp Thing , but we did get titties for this b-horror movies right from the jump.

Spider Man - Home Coming

So this is Marvel Studios first shot at a stand alone film with arguably their most beloved hero. What worked with Holland's portrayal of the character in Civil War still works here. The movie is flawed, but fun. Where the other actors fell flat Holland excels, but he still has a script to adhere to and it's the writing where things get a little iffy. The twist with Keaton's Vulture and how he was mixed into his life on a few levels was clever even with it's deviation from the source material. However the biggest flaw was the lack of Spider sense. Spidey senses tingling is almost a part of the pop culture surrounding this character so why is it not a part of the character? Would this have really messed up the twist with Keaton before the third act ? No.

What did they get right? I thought Keaton did a good job as the Vulture. I liked the easter eggs they dropped for the Sinister Six and making it obvious Scorpion is going to be at least one of the villains in the next movie. I still want to see Black Cat on screen and they could have laid the ground work for that without making her seem like a Cat-woman rip off which she is but some how it's still ok with me , must be the boobs. But I digress. I had heard going into this it was more of a comedy than a action movie. This is not true it was a good balance. I think one of the things I was most greatful for was that it was not another origin story. There was still that Greatest American Hero moment with the hi tech suit which, I know Spider-man has now in the comics thanks to Parker Industries , but he did not have it back then.

Sure some of the casting was flawed. An Indian Flash Thompson was a stretch, how many Indians do you know with the last name of Thompson? But it was the fact he was on the debate team and not the football team that really fumbled. They missed a great chance to throw in some anti-bullying social justice bull shit here which I would have still rolled my eyes at , but it would be in proper context and was part of Parker's mythology. Tomei as Aunt May still worked. So that was a casting oddity I was fine with so I am flexible to certain extent. I was also fine with the alien tech from the first Avengers being used to make things like the Shockers gauntlets. So it did not seem forced. What did seem forced was Parker's relationship with Stark. Aside from that I think it's on the tier under Dr. Strange, Captain America and Iron-Man, so maybe number five in the Marvel movies...are we counting Logan in that ? Oh yeah I would review it but it's been out so long I'll just say I liked it and put it in the top five Marvel movies

Catching up with Marvel

With everything that has been going on with my life, I have still been reading comics, have done little else than compile the reviews here and never finish it so this is a helter skelter compilation of issues that came out in December and have been sitting here for a month, I am going to make another post where I sum up the year maybe even do a top ten comic books of 2016, but until then lets catch up with what Marvel did last month.


The 8th issue of Black Panther finds it going back into a contrived Game of Thrones like family drama and losing all of the fun a super-hero comic should have. Contrived story lines abound in the explanation of Gwen's jump into this world in Amazing Spider-man as now the tangled web grows bringing Kaine into the mix. The 15th issue of the Sam Wilson book veers from his story to focus on Demolition man's wrestling. Not bad but not great either. The 13th issue of Old Man Logan turned into a bizarre anime like thing. I'm fine with Black Cat coming on board for the 12th issue of Hell-cat, but what is up with Jubilee? The book would benefit from better art and less of a Squirrel Girl attitude.The 16th issue of Extraordinary X-men wraps up the silly Inferno like story line so they can go head on with the In-humans, it all felt a little contrived. The same could be said for Black Widow which finds the book floundering by it's 8th issue. The first issue of this new volume of Ghost Rider doesn't owe too much to the Agents of SHIELD version of the character allowing Robbie to be who is is. With the addition of Cho Hulk and X-23, I think it was too cluttered as those guys don't show a connection to Ghost Rider. The second issue of the Great Lakes Avengers was well drawn and not a thoughtfully plotted out.

All New Wolverine's 14th issue is predictable but keeps the story moving in the new Enemy of the State arc that finds Laura at odd with Shield. The 14th issue of Dr. Strange brings in Satanna, who attempts to force fed strange into the role of her celebrity hell, I like the way she is drawn in this and want to see more of her in the Marvel U. The second issue of Jessica Jones does a great job of blending the feel of the show with what a Marvel comic books should have and much of this is due to the inclusion of Spot from Spider-man's rogues gallery. Not of fan of the break up with Luke Cage. The second issue of the Infamous Iron-man only just begins the show down with Ben Grimm that is teased on the cover. It's ok, nothing to really get too excited about. Mosaic's second issue was better, but I am not sure he can hold his own book, he belongs in the In-humans.

This Week in Marvel

dare

After what happened at the polls this week, the Riri Iron-man books, feels like a discarded foot note in Marvel's social justice warrior agenda. I can't see Disney wanting to be considered subversive, so no more M.O.D.O.K Trump jokes. What is eluded to here is the fact Tony Stark might have been killed off in Civil War 2. So Marvel is really spitting in the faces of it's fans by taking away a third character we know and love. Three from the cinematic universe, if they continue to commit marketing suicide. This week it was obvious we are tired of being politically correct, so give us back the original characters living and dead.

All- new X-men brings back the Inferno arc and seems like it is setting the ground for their next Monsters on the Loose cross over, though we know some of that is coming from the Cho-Hulk series. Amazing Spider -Man's Renew Your Vows feels good as a story until you consider where this is going to fit into to continuity.  Speaking of outside continuity that go back and tell a classic Avengers story on the 1.1 Avengers book. Why not just make this line-up the new team and kick the imposters out? This eliminates the margin for error more ret-conning can cause. As for ret-conning gone wrong, the seventh issue of Captain America, finds this hail Hydra story line muddying the waters even further. The 13th issue of Daredevil is a waste of time as Murdock is barely in the book which focuses more on his side kick we could not give a shit about and the serial killer chasing him in the sewer.

Ret-conning continues with the second issue of the Clone Conspiracy. The Jackal brings back everyone who has died on Spider-man's watch with what he implies to be the best intentions and they do handle the two Gwen Stacey's as well as one could deal with that without killing them off, which is what is best. This does raise the question of if this will create more problems than it solves. The Uncanny X-men was a slight improvement, but the Uncanny Avengers was much better as they square off against the Hulk who is resurrected by the Hand. The team sees that they are out classed. Though Rogue goes into the fight thinking she can hand with any version of the Hulk. This version can't talk but doesn't seem to be totally mindless as it has enough memory to fight out of instinct. Not sure Cable is going to help much.

Catching Up with Marvel This Week

Ok...  a week after Dragon-con , things are returning to normal. Thinking back at the Con it seems Dead Pool is the most popular character in the Marvel Universe based off of the sheer volume of merch worn and cosplay. Comic wise we are in a lull as they have taken have taken too long for the throw down that should be the new civil war.

Amazing Spider- Man is full on into "Dead No More' and showed up Prowler's fate and how the new female  Electro comes about, but there was little in the way of actual Peter Parker. Uncanny X-men did not have much going on aside from the introduction of the New Hell-fire club. Introductions has been the them lately as Dare-Devil's 11th issue entangled him with the In-Humans, and also brought in this new serial killer big bad. Squadron- Supreme had them squaring off against Spider-man, who held his own against the team longer than you would suspect. The 12th issue of Silk finds them at the beginning of the end for this series as she is off in the Negative Zone, and away from the back drop that works best for her character. Invincible Iron-Man find the ground work being paved for Victor Von Doom to take over.

The All New All Different Avengers was another book full of prep work for Marvel's agenda to replace every one so Disney will be left holding their mouse dicks, as they continued to introduce this new version of Wasp, even though Janet is not going any where.While it gets points for being both original and a mind fuck the 6th issue of Moon Knight, continues to make things more obtuse. The 11th issue of Dr. Strange re-introduces Baron Mordo and I dod give them props for not feeling the need to make him the black Mordo from the movie coming out in a couple of months. If diversity is not organic than it is just another buzz-word in the agendas of bigger machines moving toward a one world government... and that is not just a Hydra plot.

This Week in Marvel

The 8th issue of Captain Marvel was enmeshed in Civil War, but did little to move the story forward except further high light the fact that Black Panther is having doubts about this ridiculous stance Carol is taking. Squirrel Girl's 11th issue was decent in her show down with Nightmare, it was a throw back to the comic books of  the 80s, but even then the hokey irony of this book is obviously for hipster girls who want to be geek. The 6th issue of International Iron-man was a waste of time with nothing to do with anything. Uncanny In-humans also bored me not of fan of the new In-humans, why can we stick to the classic ones? While I was glad to see Daimon Hellstorm the son of Satan in the latest issue of Hell-cat, the story was treated in the same girly Power Puff manner this entire run has been, I wish they would take her more seriously.Captain America find the book beginning to lose steam in the fourth issue. The Selvig part is trying to hard and this Hydra thing is not really working and I can see it being a stinker that they find themselves trying to correct like One More Day or the Clone Saga. Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur finds the book beginning to tread water in the 10th issue , I would like to see sales figures and see if this book is on it's way to being cancelled.

Venom Space Knight was pretty good, unsure how it ties in to Civil War, but a Spider-man & Venom throw down is always fun and it's good to be reminded for where Venom got his start and he is in fact a Spider-man villain and should be an anti-hero at best. Night Hawk was pretty decent , but it felt like the writer was like I want to write Punisher as a black man. Pretty violent for a Marvel book. The 13th issue of "Extraordinary X-men"  was decent, seems detached from the other books and oblivious to Civil War. The New Avengers was o.k it worked with the established story and this team is starting to grow on me. Drax showed some improvement , but it still way to silly for me.

This Week in Marvel

The race debate continues as a seemingly non caucasian is cast to play Mary Jane Watson, which is fine with me as long as she has red hair. The Jennifer Jones casting is more worrisome should that fall into the wrong hands for her Net-Flix series. The Fallen which shows Banner's funeral was alright. It made me think how can Bruce be dead if the Maestro is alive in the future? Just another The fallout from Clint Barton's actions is seen in a few books aside from the Fallen one shot. A-force shows it is and continues to make both Medusa and Capt Marvel further disliked.It's not just me check the comments section of any site where this is a topic and it's all taking a unfavorable turn towards Carol. Spider-woman handles it pretty well and finds Jessica siding against Carol. Sam Wilson Captain America continues on with it's hashtag take back the shield, looks like John Walker is showing up to kick his butt. It's a social justice bitchfest in every issue they should just run this as a web comic on Cnn. All New In-Humans remains another time waster in it's 10th issue as the focus remains on Flint who is a supporting character at best. Marvel is of the delusion all of their characters are created equal and can hold the spot light thanks to success of a character like Jessica Jones or Guardians of the Galaxy.


The Inclusion of corgi's in Mocking Bird was cute, but like my wife's reaction when I showed her..."what the hell kind of comic book is this?"  Power-Man and Iron-Fist's 7th issue finds the book losing some of the steam and serving as the build up to the next issue that will bring Cage into conflict with Captain Marvel. Uncanny Avengers awkwardly resolves the story with the Pym fused Ultron. Black Widow's last issue finds the book still a bore, a shame since it got off to such an awesome start in the first issue.

The All New Wolverine's l1th issue which crossed over with Civil War 2 was pretty damn good from every angle. Captain America's appearance wasn't forced and felt very natural.Though I don't think X-23 is experienced enough to trade blows with Cap like that. The Civil War issue of X-men was decent, the Luke warm fight with nothing happening between the two teams made more sense when you find out it is just a diversion.  The Amazing Spider-man was pretty decent, Robot Master is a very stupid villain but they made the most of it. The Gods of War issue of Civil War was pretty decent glad Hercules is powered back up.

The State of Marvel

Ok, it's getting harder and harder to write about comics as the characters I have grown up with are slowly getting edged out so here is this week and last week. Obviously this week is a big one and I'll get into it more in depth as the death of Bruce Banner deserves it's own post. There was not much else going on with Civil War three, they had Hawkeye take the fall for it. New Avengers caught up with the story the quickest. Hawkeye's team mates over there are tied up with this battle going on with SHIELD. But we know it's going to be AIM not SHIELD that comes out on top in the governments eyes. In Agents of SHIELD's 7th issue Coulson gets canned. Stark tried to recruit them. I am not sure at this point how can anyone not be on Stark's side, each week Danvers is made more of a bitch and who really gives a fuck about War-Machine at this point?

The 2nd issue of Spider-man's Civil War book, was a little meh, it focused on this Clash guy who is really a c-list villain at best. The second of Choosing Sides  was pretty much a waste of time with Nick Fury or some version of Nick Fury pretending to be Moon-knight. The Gods of War book was fun and I am looking forward to seeing a rampaging Hercules fuck some people up. The 10th issue of Gaurdians of the Galaxy might have seen the return of Angela, but it was just a jumbled mess of fighting with the Badoon, that felt like the end of the first Avengers movie. The 9th issue of Vision continues to take the book in a darker direction. Silk's 10th issue was a little bit of a letdown. She really was getting her but kicked by Black Cat, so not sure how her powers ebb.  The 8th issue of Old Man Logan was young Jean trying to show him everything is o.k. Things are not as fine in the all new X-Men even though that book is getting bogged down with the young Apocalypse.

Iron-Man's 11th issue was a little bit of a let down despite the art. At least this arc which really felt like it had nothing to do with Civil War is over . In other news, Marvel finds themselves once again at odd with the fans while trying to push their agenda, in a survey in regards to Iron-Man being replaced 62 percent were against it, with 19 on the fence and less than twenty percent in favor, once again proving how out of touch Marvel is with their fan base.

The first issue of Kingpin's Civil War book is pretty decent , even though the art leaves something to be desired. I like Fisk more than any of the heroes in the book.

Marvel Week of -6/29/16

Here's what was up with Marvel last week...it's been rough recently. To be fair Black Panther has never had a decent solo book, so there is not a lot to expect from this, so I think people are impressed because, well...this is better than the other attempts, but the fact is Black Panther is a better supporting character than being able to hold down his own book...or movie for that matter which is why this will fail. The third issue tries to build up a supporting cast I can't care about and take the focus off the fact Black Panther is not interesting enough to carry this book. He could be, but the focus is not there.The 9th issue of Silk is a waste of time to get to some where that we could have covered in three issues back in the 80's. Captain Marvel's 6th issue is more un-needed back story leading into Civil War. Uncanny Im-humans does a much better job of advancing that story. Nothing is done to make you more sympathetic to Danvers side and I am looking forward to her getting her but kicked by Stark. The 11th issue of Extraordinary X-men is rather convoluted and this Apocalypse Wars thing is rather silly. The 9th issue of the Uncanny X-men also gets dragged into this. Spider-Gwen is about as dumb as it gets and the fact Marvel's editors let it out of the gate shows how the quality control has spun out of control.

The 5th issue of Spider-man is pretty damned good. Black Cat feels better here. Jessica Jones is in the mix, so we have some interesting things transpiring with good art to go with it.The second issue of Captain America makes more sense of the Hydra connection. Marvel are liars by trying to say he was not brain washed. Lets get this straight. If the Cosmic Cube, changes your memories and creates another lifetime in your head, you have been brainwashed. Hyperion's 4th issue is alright, look forward to seeing what they do with Thundra.

Weeks of Marvel

Here is a little catching up. First off the second issue of Civil War 2 is better than the first though I do not like what I think is going to happen with Bruce Banner. If Carol Danvers kills him, before he can turn into the Hulk, I'm contemplating just giving up on comics all together. I mean then only Dr. Strange will be left of my top 3 characters since Thor is still m.i.a. I like how Stark took down the In-Humans. Karnak's depiction in every other book that is not his is better than what happened in his solo book. Speaking of In-Humans , both their books were just terrible. Trying to go with these more "diverse" In-Humans instead of focusing on the core is really weakening them. You want an In-Humans book, get Gorgon out of the wheel-chair, then focus on Triton, Karnak, Medusa, Black Bolt, Crystal and Maximus. Sure I'll give you Lash, but none of the others are worth a damn. The cross over in Squadron Supreme, was a fake out if you were to judge the book by it's cover.

The 8th issue of Venom Space Knight, was a little bit of a let down. The new art falls really short of where the old artist held the bar and Flash chasing after Venom, was on the lame side. The second issue of Thunderbolts was really weird the art looked like it was from a 90s comic and now the In-humans are coming out of no-where not sure how much sense it made. The other lets down were the Amazing Spider-man which saw very little Parker and more Regent than anything. Vote Loki's first issue is pretty pointless as was both the obtuse Spider-Gwen and Black Widow.

The 12th issue of New Avengers is a big improvement, the art is great. Squirrel Girl is back to being drawn relatively hot instead of looking like a teenage lesbian. The arc with Dum Dum, might drag this book in a weird place unless they have a show down with the Howling Commandos. I am a little confused with where this falls with the death of magic arc over in Dr. Strange, I am assuming, that was resolved by this point?  The first issue of the "Gods of War" series of Civil War, was fun and pretty much picks up where Hercules left off. The art is very suited for the story being told though the Cho-Hulk is drawn a little oddly. One of the best books over the past couple of weeks was Ant-man, whose 9th issue told a charming story without risking becoming a cliche.  Civil War X-men was much better than Uncanny.

This Week In Marvel 4/27/16

Marvel got blasted for "white-washing” in the casting of Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One and came out and said they did so because they did not want to offend China. The international movie dollar must make the decisions rather than casting some one who is best for the role. Offended that Tilda is in the role can share in the disdain the rest of us feel when Marvel makes poor casting choices for Heimdall or Sam Wilson taking on the mantle of Captain America which was a move done to market product much like this casting of Swinton. But enough of that lets get onto the comics. More this week can be called into question than praised. While its showing improvement the book remains not a tightly written as it could be Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur stomps on with a plot in it's 6th issue that feels like it could have been a more action packed story told in half the time. I am a little unsure about the 6th issue of Daredevil that brings in Elektra. Her motives seem skewed. She is also missing her booty and too think like the Netflix show. I'm glad Angela Queen of Hel came to an end, just when I was beginning to like that character some writer had to go muck things up by forcing in their lesbian agenda. Speaking of lesbians all the women heroes in Hell Cat continue to be drawn to look like lesbians. The series 5th issue finds itself floundering with Patsy doing very little and She-Hulk doing most of the work. It is not as big of a mess as the 6th issue of the Ultimates that finds Galactus punching cosmic beings and meeting with the Molecule Man, but the team the book is named after is no where to be found. The art is excellent and deserves a much better story to support.

There is a little hope in Amazing Spider man as arduous battle with Zodiac comes to an end in 11th issue. 11 issues guys really that could have been done in four at the most. Even this issue was clunky in its narrative. It looks like Dr. Octopus might be making a comeback as well. Starlord's 6th issue is just plain silly. IT depicts both he and Kitty as being about as mature as teenagers.  The 6th issue of the Squadron Supreme shows the book turning the team’s sights on the In-humans. It is not the most compelling beginning looking at how problems between Dr. Spectrum and Black Bolt began. It really depends on what In-humans are going to be in the throw down, I think Black Bolt, Medusa, Triton, Karnak and Crystal don't have as good of a chance without Gorgon and perhaps Lash. Ms. Marvel gets better in it's 6th issue, but is poorly pace and leaves the major plot points hanging when the wedding could have been a page and everything tied up in a bow. They do begin to show the tension with Danvers and Stark.  Old Man Logan seems like the beginning of a Clint Eastwood movie I have already seen so the 5th issue is exposition with little action.

The wrap up of the Stand off on Pleasant Hill wraps things up by prepping you for the title to arise during civil and the birth of a new Quasar, whom it seems weird that she has an Earth based origin since she should be like Captain Marvel a less grounded character. Dr. Strange continues to kick ass and take names even if the good Dr. who is our protagonist is on the run and the first half of the book was back-story on the new Villain. Spidey's 5th issue re-tells stories we already know, it's a shame they have to go back to this era and can't just make Amazing Spider-man this good.

This Week In Marvel 3/13/16

The big news in Marvel this week is the trailer for Dr. Strange that was released on the Jimmy Kimmel show. When Kevin Fiege began initial talks about the movie, I remember him saying it was going to start with Strange as the Sorcerer Supreme it wasn't going to be an origin story and what do we get ...an origin story. Before the trailer was released Fiege backtracked and said his origin was too classic to not be told. So this dashes my hopes that Strange would be one film to escape the formulaic superhero blue print. The casting as been great so far and it looks well made. I'm find with Tilda Swinton as the Ancient one. A little worried about Mads' makeup. I have gone on record as saying Dr. Strange will be the last great comic book movie. I might still be right if the origin is kept to only a few minutes more than what they showed in the trailer. Ten minutes of origin at most told trough flash backs would be the most effective. The first Star Wars movie threw you into the world and told you to figure it out. If you don't know who Dr. Strange is , then you have to be smart enough to know it's a super hero who deals with magic. If you need too much more than that then you are too dumb and need to do some magic of your own and make yourself disappear. If you haven't seen the trailer it's below now lets get to comics.






The second issue of X-men 92 get's silly, though anytime Dracula shows up I'm a fan. But the more comedic tone takes away from the horror elements which is what I'm afraid will make the next issue have even less of an impact.Web Warriors continues to be a waste of time even in the 6th issue which finds the art improved. This time there are too many Venoms, which add to the bloat that makes this book feel like it was written by a D/C writer.  The art is on the slippery side, but as good of a cross-over with the Spider-women as this book ca be I still wouldn't say this is good as everything seems rushed or stalling, the flow of the story needs work. Of course the 5th issue of Weirdworld finds the book incapable of finding the fire that made the run so great during the Secret Wars the reason being no Akron, and this continues the prove the flaw of diversity, which is just have female leads, to have female leads doesn't mean it will work. If Valkyrie was the lead in this book it might work, but Akron  is what made the other book work, none of the these characters are shit, even Jennifer Kale is poorly written.While  it was entertaining watching the big Thing vs Surfer throw down in the books third issue, some of the more obtuse elements of the book keep it from being in the best pile. The Avengers show up and then Norin dies? For no reason? When I don't care about a book with She-hulk in it there is a problem an that is the problem with the fourth issue of A-Force. The art is meh, the story wraps up the arc they have been on, but does so in a very tangled way. Speaking of books with Hulks that are going down the drain the 7th issue of  Contest of Champions hears the gurgle of the sewer pipes come to life. The art has take a turn for the worst and this new story with the Ultimates just gets more contrived. The long drawn out battle against the Zodiac continues, though in the background more familiar Spider-man villains are assembling for promises to be the Sinister Six.In other poor Spider-man news aside from the waste of time that's Spidey,  His appearance in All- New  In-humans 6th issue was a waste, Crystal and Lockjaw were the only In-humans , I am not going to count Gorgon as long as he is in a wheel chair. I refused to read Gwen-pool because marrying Gwen Stacy to a character not even connected to her is beyond stupid. Agents of Shield told the same story we already read in New Avengers last week, but from a different perspective.

The 9th issue of Deadpool wasn't bad, but it wasn't all that great.The 7th issue of Guardians of the Galaxy was pretty decent with a Ben Grimm coming to save Rocket. The second time Grimm has really thrown down so he is getting a big push this week. The one thing that All -New  All-Different Avengers had going for it in the book's 8th issue was fun. They were escaping from  Wayward Pines, we had villains we had not seen in a minute squaring off against heroes that they had not really faced much before. I told myself this 5th issue of Red Wolf was going to be my last it it didn't improve and it improved, so I am stuck reading it. All- New X-men's 8th issue might be the week's best, it's a team up between Beast and Dr. Strange, they art is awesome and it fits well within the world of Dr. Strange currently being established.

This Week In Marvel 3/6/16

There will be those who will try to ride the hype and tell the first issue of Black Panther was a masterpiece , but the truth is much different. The truth is while the book is not as bad as I feared it would be, it fails in other ways. T'Challa gets pushed to the side lines as his sister takes a more pivotal role. I like the more Toney Stark approach to things like his suit, but I have a sinking feeling Coates is writing this larger story because he can't tell the smaller story of being able to write in T'Challa's voice. The art is fair some aspects better than others. But be prepared for this book to be put on a pedestal it doesn't deserve. The 9th issue of New Avengers sets it up for some cheese with a giant robot fighting S.H.I.E.L.D's version of Godzilla. The art work is pretty decent. Speaking of decent art work the third issue of Spider-man...the Miles version which is all build up no action.Not a bad read, but the beginning of the air coming out of the book's tires. The 6th issue of Scarlet Witch tried to be very stylistic and ended up a waste of time and she is one of my favorite Marvel characters. One of the hottest and she was drawn like a dumpy old lady, how did her hair color change is another question. The consensus is the art on the first issue of Spider-Women Alpha really does suck. The writing is ok, all three Spider-girls in the same book.



The 8th and "Stand-Off" issue of "Uncanny Avengers" was pretty decent in pushing the Wayward Pines Agenda forward as the heroes begin to wake up and look to for what could be Stark's team. I'm a little torn with the 6th issue of the Vision. It is the problem of him being written out of character based off who we have seem him as for the past 30 plus years. The scene with him working with the dead dog is a little creepy. Wouldn't logic over ride this? What would Harkness  see this leading the Vision of such a cliff. It's an issue that made me think and raises more questions than it answers but in the end it was well done.You don't have to do much in Invincible Iron Man to win me over when Deodato is handling the art. He is my favorite Marvel artists. While Rhodey might be a Navy Seal, I think he is a little out classed when fighting a room of ninjas. Not sure how this leads into Civil War but it's supposed to. Old Man Logan's 4th issue finally ties everything together with the X-titles. Nice every one has the right voice. Last and well actually least of the good pile was Spider-Man 2099, he goes back for seconds on Man Mountain Marko and has a run in with Tempest's mother. Good art  some of the story was more vanilla than others and he is supposed to be the Spider-man with more of an edge.

This Week in Marvel : 2/9/16

Though it wasn't the best nor the worst episode, Agents of Shield returned to shockingly low ratings. While Marvel will redeem themselves with the second season of Daredevil. If Agents of Shield tanks the rest of the season then what does that mean for their network tv deal? Well the first shots of Spider-man in Civil War made the Internet forget about not only Bat-Man Vs Super-man , but Daredevil too. But back to what really matters here and that's comics. After a pretty good week last week, this week it's hit or miss, but they do knock it out of the ball park a couple of times.

It is a shame the 5th and final issue of Black Knight didn't end on a better note. Sure throwing Hydra and Merlin into the same issue was fun, the story seems rushed and there was too many pieces on the board.The first issue of Mockingbird was terrible. The art was ok, but over all lacked action and story. Wasn't that impressed with the Uncanny Avengers take on the whole Standoff thing leading into what will turn to Civil War 2.The art in the 6th issue of Guardians of the Galaxy had decent art, the intent to push it in the right direction was there , but the execution was off. Most of this centered around the writers inability to find the proper voice for the characters making Quill and Kitty seem like they had little to no chemistry together, being on a team much less a relationship. Though the cover says that the 9th issue of Amazing Spider was the start of a brand new story line it seemed like the same old same old that they have been running the past 8 issue with Zodiac. The fact Parker has a rocket ship makes this seem like a cartoon. He even survives a fall from space because he has more gadgets than Bat-man now. This is a problem.

 In other problems the density has shifted on Vision in his 5th issue and the book is going down. It was pretty dull. The art is really slacking as well. In the solidly tepid department Spider-man 2099  wasn't bad in any area, the story just seemed very color by numbers. If the next issue of Red Wolf ...which will be their 5th doesn't get any better it will be the last time I waste a minute of my life on that book, it hasn't been terrible but if we get to 5 issues with nothing really happening and it feeling like a watered down version of Banshee then I'm over it. The 5th issue of Ms. Marvel finds it improving with her golems, but on thing I realized is she really hasn't faced much fire power on her own in terms of bad guys . Weird World 4 is another huge waste of time with even the art getting sloppy. Almost as sloppy as Spider-Gwen


Infinity Entity must be their way to bring Adam Warlock back in time for Guardians of the Galaxy 2, which is fine by me, I find it a little weird  that Jim Starlin would miscalculate his powers so grossly. Other than that it captured the classic Marvel feel.  The only way to save face in the Jane Foster throw down with Odin was for something to happen that distracted Odin and caused him to step away from the fight. This was the death of his wife.So they dodged the bullet while still pushing their agenda "Damn the white male patriarch god, we have girl power".The comments section on the site I read this book makes Thor the most hated book in comics right now. But will Marvel admit to this mistake? or are the too invested in it? I had to stop and re-read Dr. Strange's 6th issue before it clicked with me, but in the end it shows this book continues to rise to the top of Marvel's heap. The end section with the wink to Harry Potter is pretty funny. Agents of Shield rivals Dr. Strange in it's 3rd issue in terms of being the weeks best book. It feels like the best parts of the show, mixed with what we want from the Marvel Universe and helps to set up Civil War 2 in a big way. It brings up some questions like what they fuck is up with that Wolverine, which comes out of left field. Speaking of Wolverine the 6th issue of the all new title is pretty decent ending this arc of her clone saga.