Comic Book review: Tokyo Ghost, Volume One: The Atomic Garden

Despite cover art that might evoke thoughts of Akira and Mad Max, Tokyo Ghost falls nearer to the themes explored in Ghost in the Shell, with a presentation that teeters towards Tank Girl and Robocop. It is an extremist vision of a future controlled by one corporation, a world run into the ground with pollution and technological addictions. At the center of this story are Debbie, one of the few citizens of mega-city Los Angeles who has remained clean, and her boyfriend, constable Led Dent, a tech junkie who is known as feared as the most effective of enforcers in L.A.

Led Dent frequently tracks down those who have tried to cheat his employer out of money, or those who seek to upset the twisted dystopian order of the city. And Led carries out many of his jobs with extreme prejudice, destroying mechanical and organic obstacles alike. Debbie, meanwhile, does not think so highly of L.A., nor does she care much for Led’s employer, but she sees the jobs as a necessary evil, a means of escape from this world drowning in its own addictions and misery. While Led’s hulking form and beast of a motorbike play into much of the series visual ‘pop’, Debbie’s bright pink and purple color scheme denotes her livelihood, her hopes for a better tomorrow, and the fact that – even in such a rotten city – her soul is still filled with love for Led.

The series explains that, many years prior, Led Dent was a kid named Teddy. Debbie and Teddy fell in love, but as the world went to hell in a hand basket around them, Teddy felt weak, unable to protect Debbie, or himself, for that matter. Teddy subjected himself to a number of implants in order to become the gargantuan and fearsome Led Dent, but in doing so, sacrificed his soul and much of his free will. Seeing Led constantly jacked in to a series of radio and television feeds as he carries out his missions, Debbie is determined to get him clean, to bring back the boy she fell in love with, by escaping to Japan, rumored to be the last country on the planet devoid of technology.

The environments in Tokyo Ghost display and absurd attention to detail. Many signs and company names can be picked out from any single one of Tokyo Ghost’s cityscape panoramas, while the lush greenery, tranquil waterfalls, and feudal buildings of Japan present a stark contrast. It is a series that rides on the wilder side, with the gore and sex often being gratuitous to further drive home the notion that this future is controlled by selfish individuals whose concerns are not with the common folk. For those who grew up during the boom of cyberpunk anime and films, Tokyo Ghost may be worth a look. This first volume ends on a note that may leave readers a tad puzzled, even caught off guard. With that in mind, I feel it is worth stating that this is but the first act of Tokyo Ghost, and there is plentiful opportunity for the story to be elaborated upon in later volumes.

My rating: 8 (out of 10)

Comic Book review: Deadpool vs. X-Force

A prequel of sorts to the original meeting of Deadpool and Cable in the mid-1990s, Deadpool vs. X-Force is a bizarre romp through American history, as the X-Force members seek to course-correct all of the problems Deadpool has left in his wake. Deadpool appears to be working for some mysterious benefactor, and has been assigned particular targets, as per his mercenary title. But he doesn’t seem to mind increasing the body count exponentially, shooting up and cutting down any confused soldier from the American Revolutionary or Civil Wars that gets in his way. Armed with an absurdly large arsenal including modern firearms and futuristic laser weaponry, Deadpool has a clear advantage in practically every scenario.

That is, until the X-Force begin pursuing him through time. And while they too have a host of future-tech and incredible powers at their disposal, their lack of familiarity with Deadpool at this point means that their approach is more cautious, with Cable ordering them to flank around Deadpool’s hiding spot in a manor and adopt a tactical strategy. However, the soldiers caught in the middle of this scuffle are nothing shy of confused and terrified, and so they end up firing upon Cable and the other members of X-Force, adding another layer of chaos to the entire ordeal.

The story moves along at a rather brisk pace, and as a result, the humor is sprinkled in at appropriate junctures or breaks in the action. Readers seeking a constant spout of jokes may not find this release as satisfying. But Deadpool vs. X-Force does well to balance the two portrayals of Deadpool most commonly witnessed in his comics – wacky, self-referential, lovable idiot, and borderline-psychotic murderer who gets a rise out of his bloody line of work. The majority of the jokes that are delivered in this collection are at the expense of Cable, his audience (with Deadpool refusing to offer any recaps on events, and suggesting that readers read the previous issues), and his creators (asking if perhaps they could paint black ‘X’s on the eyes of anyone he’s already killed, to make it easier for him to keep track of who is left standing).

Given its nature as a prequel, Deadpool vs. X-Force does not have much wiggle room with regards to its ending. It’s a conclusion that many will see coming, and despite it not being a wondrous finale, it’s acceptable. It would have been nice to see the other X-Force members be more active participants in this collection – Cannonball and Boom Boom take to the fight for a few key moments, while Warpath has a couple panels worth of fighting, and Domino seems to just be along for the ride. Perhaps my feelings toward Deadpool vs. X-Force would have been more positive had the series run another issue or two in length – it could have helped draw out the pacing a bit, and even added another backdrop or two for Deadpool and Cable to bring their duel to. Still, it’s a decent Deadpool story – certainly not the best outing the merc with the mouth has had, but far from the worst.

My rating: 7 (out of 10)

Comic Book review: Spider-Man: Anti-Venom

While all-American Flash Thompson was running black ops missions for the U.S. government as the new ‘Agent Venom’, former host of the Venom symbiote Eddie Brock renounced his past life and sought to cleanse hurting individuals of their diseases and addictions. Under the new alias of Anti-Venom, Eddie Brock remains slightly unhinged, seeming to perceive himself and the Anti-Venom as two halves of a whole being. Despite his terrifying and alien visage or his lack of subtlety, Brock hopes to provide aid to those in need, especially when it comes to one young woman named Jenna.

Brock helps to get Jenna clean early on, but then enlists her help in tracking down the local dealers who led her to become a junkie, in the hopes that it will prevent others from heading down the same dangerous path. And while Brock does manage to find some small-time local dealers, he also discovers that the trail leads all the way to another country, where a well-connected drug lord lives. Brock ends up crossing paths with Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, who would similarly like to take down this cartel, but isn’t exactly the most trusting of Brock, being all-to-familiar with his past actions as the former Venom.

In the chaos that erupts between Anti-Venom fighting drug dealers, The Punisher fighting the same thugs, and the two antiheroes fighting one another, young Jenna is taken hostage and transported directly to the head drug lord’s well-guarded estate. Anti-Venom and The Punisher stop their fighting in order to track down this larger target – or at least, Anti-Venom does, as The Punisher still attempts to blast Brock away on a couple of occasions. Anti-Venom is shocked at these attempts on his life by Frank Castle, even frustrated, but he refrains from physically lashing out in anger, which presents some comical back-and-forth interactions between the two.

The pairing of Anti-Venom and The Punisher proves to easily be the highlight of this short-lived series. While Jenna is a central focus throughout, early issues make it seem as though something larger may come of her placing trust in Anti-Venom. Unfortunately, she proves less of a full-fledged character and more of a convenient plot device during the later issues. The pacing is rather slow early on as well, and the thugs lower on the chain prove to be pushovers in the presence of Anti-Venom. Even the final foe is an over-confident fool in the presence of Anti-Venom and The Punisher, which removes any real tension from the conflict, save for the well-being of the antiheroes in the midst of bombastic firefights.

My rating: 6 (out of 10)

Comic Book Review: Captain America: Castaway in Dimension Z

Penned by Rick Remender, Captain America: Castaway in Dimension Z is a two-part storyline that reintroduces Steve Rogers as part of the Marvel NOW! comic run. Dropped into an alien realm ruled by the maniacal Arnim Zola, Captain America must escape a technological fortress and battle horrific alien tribes if he hopes to survive and make an escape home. Neon blues and purples decorate the bizarre backdrop of Cap’s new surroundings, and, in many ways, it feels like the First Avenger has been dropped into Remender’s other dimension-hopping series, Black Science.

Castaway in Dimension Z opens with a bang, and despite Cap’s ability to escape from Zola’s clutches, he ends up furthering the wrath of the Nazi-turned-robot villain by taking Zola’s artificially-created son with him as he escapes from the facility. The two encounter plenty of challenges over the many years they remain in Dimension Z – the monstrous wildlife is plentiful, and the two are nearly killed by a tribe of rock-like beings, only managing to come to peaceful terms with them thanks to a universal communicator that Cap has on him. But Cap did not escape Zola unscathed – he was infected with a technological virus that haunts him more and more as time passes, and Zola attempts to break Rogers’ mind.

Cap’s decision to take the boy (who he names Ian) from Zola, is brought into question as something of a morally grey action. As is later revealed, Ian was not the only child Zola intended to raise, but he did intend to brainwash both of them to do his bidding. Meanwhile, Zola’s virus torments Steve Rogers with questions of the justification of tearing the boy from his home, teaching him his own values and sense of right and wrong. As readers, we certainly know that Cap’s virtues will always trump those of Zola, but in the eyes of a child who has never known anything beyond this tumultuous and bizarre reality, it’s a lot to take in.

Less compelling to this narrative is Steve Rogers’ out-of-nowhere decision to finally attempt an escape plan after many years spent in this hellish domain, and a full beard grown. Certainly, Zola has many scientific monstrosities at his disposal, and storming his technological fortress is no small feat, but there is practically no explanation as to why Cap decides to wait until Zola’s plans for invading Earth are nearly complete before taking any sort of heroic actions. Visually, it’s an interesting setting to have Cap stranded in, and breaks from the familiar Hydra or A.I.M. bases that the First Avenger so frequently storms. Plot-wise, Castaway in Dimension Z is slow-going, and doesn’t offer many satisfying answers.

My rating: 6.25 (out of 10)

Top 5 Comic Books of 2015

In similar fashion to my year-end ‘Top 5’ lists for video games and anime, the stories detailed below are the five best comic books/graphic novels that I read between January and December of this year. Some of these series may have been released in years prior, but I simply did not get around to reading them until recently. Also, keep in mind that while comic book reviews are one of the newest additions to my blog, having only started in April of this year, that some of the earliest reviews posted here were of comics I read in 2014 or earlier, and are thus ineligible for making this list.

#5) All-New Ghost Rider: Perhaps the strongest debut in the Marvel NOW! launch next to Nova, All-New Ghost Rider sees teenager Robbie Reyes raising his younger, wheelchair-bound brother without parental aid in a rough Los Angeles neighborhood. Surrounded by frequent gang shootings, drug lords, and common school bullies, Robbie works twice as hard to earn money as an underpaid mechanic to afford basic necessities for his brother’s medical care. When he is granted the powers of the Ghost Rider, Robbie decides to try and clean up the town, and hopes to make it a safer place for his brother, himself, and increase the overall quality of living for locals who – whether directly or not – are affected by the criminal goings-on.

#4) X-Men ’92: Exactly as its name implies, X-Men ’92 is a trip down memory lane, as the cartoon counterparts of the classic X-Men team debut in comic book form as part of the 2015 Secret Wars event. An original story that takes place after the Brotherhood of Mutants have been defeated, the miniseries sees Jubilee, Wolverine, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Gambit, Rogue, Beast, and Storm reunited for one more adventure, as they investigate a suspicious rehabilitation facility run by one Cassandra Nova. Other faces drop in as well, such as the X-Force team, while the finale offers plenty of satisfying, slightly goofy homages to the X-Men history, and still manages to successfully tease future storylines, as X-Men ’92 has since been greenlit as an ongoing series post-Secret Wars. X-Men ’92 is strikingly self-aware, occasionally breaking the fourth wall to land a joke about the X-Men arcade game, or the 1990s censorship rules regarding what could or could not be said on a children’s television program

#3) X-Men: Age of Apocalypse: A bold reimagining of the X-Men universe from the mid 1990s, Age of Apocalypse details an expansive ‘what if?’ scenario, where Charles Xavier was killed by his unstable, time-traveling son Legion, leading Magneto to champion all of Charles’ ideals and form his own team of X-Men. As the years pass, Apocalypse rises to power, corralling humans into prisons and pens, only serving to further strain relations between humans and mutants. Despite all this, Magneto and the X-Men strive to help those humans still living in the futuristic dystopia created by Apocalypse and his four horsemen, and intend on striking directly at the villainous conqueror, no matter how greatly the odds may be stacked against them.

#2) Guardians of the Galaxy: The Complete Collection: Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s Guardians of the Galaxy run stands as the highest point of the already-superb Marvel cosmic renaissance of the mid 2000s. A broad cast of strange, yet oddly intriguing characters drive a plot that is just complicated enough to suck readers into to these spacey adventures, without getting lost within its own backdrop. This series stands masterfully on its own as the premiere cosmic Marvel storyline, while also acting as an effective bridge between the two Annihilation events and The Thanos Imperative finale.

#1) Black Science: A wild and unrelenting ride into outlandish realms and alternate realities, Black Science is bold; unafraid to mash vastly different scenarios together. Much of the series’ visual spectacle comes from equally fantastical and terrifying backdrops that include of a World War I-era battle between ill-prepared German soldiers squaring off against Native Americans who have repurposed hyper-advanced alien technology for their own needs, a tribal conflict between fish people and frog people on a moving island set on the back of a giant turtle, a society of territorial snow monkeys who are skilled in both clockwork and steam-based mechanicals, and a fallen Roman Empire where troops travel by jetpack while a virus has killed the majority of the populous. The plot, meanwhile, revolves around Grant McKay and his team of scientists, as they are stranded in these increasingly dangerous locales. One of the team members has broken the Pillar, the device that allowed them to make the initial jump through time and space, and as such, the series begins with all of them becoming suspicious and distrusting toward one another. The other significant conflict is Grant attempting to reconcile with his children, who have also been swept up in these events, over years of being emotionally and motivationally absent from their lives, and for causing his marriage to their mother to fall apart due to an affair with one of his co-workers. These interactions between the core characters ground the series in relatable terms, and the character progression therein is surprisingly satisfying. There are a few twists along the way, and the payoff of each proves worthwhile. Though there is still plenty to be explored in future releases, these first three trade paperback volumes do well to cap off what is essentially the first story arc of Black Science.

Comic Book review: Age of Apocalypse, Volume One

Considered by some to be one of the best Marvel event series of the 1990s, X-Men: Age of Apocalypse tells the story of an alternate history where Charles Xavier was killed by his psychotic son Legion decades before his school for gifted children could provide a safe haven for troubled youth, and before the legendary X-Men could become a fighting force for good among mutant and humans alike. Instead, Xavier’s death provides Apocalypse and his loyal horsemen a clear path to launch a campaign against humankind, keeping with the all-powerful mutant’s beliefs in ‘survival of the fittest’. Born of Apocalypse’s conquest is a dire future, where humans are corralled into pens like cattle, where mutants are hunted to either be hired into Apocalypse’s ranks or killed for opposing him, and where one Erik Lensherr champions the causes of his old friend Xavier and forms his own team of X-Men.

What is so captivating about the Age of Apocalypse story is the manner in which it takes familiar characters, partnerships, and rivalries, and turns them on their heads. Magneto is now a hero, an icon among those mutants who would dare to stand against Apocalypse and strike back at his dystopian regime. Rogue is Magneto’s wife, and together they have a child whom they name after the late Charles Xavier. Logan is still survivor of the Weapon X program, but is never referred to as Wolverine, and loses one of his hands in a battle with Cyclops, the latter of whom works for Apocalypse under Sinister as one of their most trusted officers. Nate Grey, the X-Man, is a highly powered telekinetic who travels with a band of misfit performers including Toad, Sauron, and Forge, while Sabretooth, Wild Child, Blink, Iceman, and Morph round out Magento’s team of X-Men.

It’s a dark, gritty vision of the X-Men, but rarely feels like it is pushing an ‘edginess’ simply for the sake of selling to older teenage audience. The dialogue is appropriate to the setting, while remaining overall friendly to readers of a broad age range. Character and environment artwork maintain a consistent direction throughout, though each artist does add their own slight spins on these faces and places with which readers will spend many hours.

What is unusual about this first numbered volume in the Age of Apocalypse series is that it gathers a strangely disjointed collection of issues together. Unlike the later volumes, the span of time that is passing across the issues collected in this first trade paperback is hard to pin down. Likewise, it would appear that certain events from issues placed toward the back of this volume actually occur simultaneous or even before issues that are placed near the front. Some of the storylines in this first volume lend a significant amount to establishing the characters and state of the world in Age of Apocalypse. Others, like Blink’s solo romp through the Negative Zone wherein she loses her memories and is caught up in a power struggle between Blastaar and Annihilus’ loyalists, add very little to the core plot, acting as largely uninteresting (sometimes annoying) distractions.

Still, Age of Apocalypse is a wildly engrossing story, and even with its shortcomings, this first collected volume offers some genuinely enjoyable subplots. Its disorganized nature simply falls a bit short of the quality of the later volumes. For those who enjoyed the Prelude or random issues of the later Age of Apocalypse tale, I can assure you that the series only gets better from here.

My rating: 7.5 (out of 10)

Comic Book review: Thanos Rising

A limited five-issue series, Thanos Rising steps back in time to the formative years of the Mad Titan. The story displays his birth, his youth, his teenage years, and the eventual murderous streak that would leave him obsessed with death – both the act and the mystical character of the same name. The art throughout is superb, highlighting bright, metallic surfaces on Thanos’ home moon of Titan, while damp caverns are displayed through rugged inking and the ruins of annihilated worlds convey a haunting air.

Thanos is born into a society that knows no war, no conflict. They are a people of science, and despite Thanos’ unusual purple skin and dark eyes, his father, Mentor, takes to him just as he would his other son, Eros. Thanos’ mother, on the other hand, is immediately horrified by the sight of her child, believing there is something very wrong within him, and attempts to kill him with a knife. She is stopped, and spends many of her years institutionalized. During this time, Thanos grows into a curious, incredibly intelligent child. He seeks to make friends with other students his age, and grows queasy at the idea of dissecting lizards for his studies – a far cry from the cosmic villain he will eventually become.

One girl in particular catches Thanos’ attention, and continues to over the years. She is, in many ways, his enabler, convincing him even at a young age to carry out acts that will result in bloodshed, beginning with a group of lizards who attacked his friends during their exploration of one of Titan’s otherwise-off-limits caves. Thanos Rising has excellent pacing throughout, as each chapter jumps ahead years at a time to the most pivotal moments of the Mad Titan’s rise to infamy. Each section slows down to highlight Thanos as a character – his motives and personality, as well as his gradual embrace of murder, first justifying it as a means to try and discover that which sets beings of higher intelligence apart from animals. But when Thanos receives no answers from his gruesome handiwork, he comes to admit that he finds murder an enjoyable task.

As an adult, Thanos leaves his legacy on many a planet, fathering children with seemingly countless females of varying races. Thanos also makes his mark by joining a crew of space pirates and daring to challenge their leader. For Thanos is not content with mere pillage and plunder – he would see worlds break before him. Thanos Rising presents compelling and appropriate justifications for how would come to earn his reputation and title as ‘The Mad Titan’. His estrangement from his father does not come to pass until the final chapter, but it bears significant weight on the narrative of Thanos Rising, as well as the many conquests Thanos will ultimately carry out. The only oversight in Thanos Rising is the decision to not incorporate Thanos’ brother Eros into his development – he is mentioned once or twice, but never makes a physical appearance, and given how well the late-story clash between Thanos and his father played out, it could have raised the quality of this story even more.

My rating: 9 (out of 10)

Comic Book review: All-New Ghost Rider, Volume One: Engines of Vengeance

Robbie Reyes lives with his younger paraplegic brother Gabe in a crime and violence-ridden part of Los Angeles. Robbie does his best to look after his brother, being his apparent only family in the area, but has to juggle high school, his low-paying job as an auto mechanic, and the dangers of the neighborhood. He hopes to save up enough money to move both himself and his brother to a safer residence, and often has to ask one of the teachers at Gabe’s elementary school if she can babysit while Robbie works extra hours.

Local bullies throw a wrench in Robbie’s plans when they decide to push Gabe out of his wheelchair and steal it, taunting him and calling him names. Robbie, furious over this, tries to fight the bullies and reclaim the wheelchair, but is outnumbered and promptly has his face beaten and bloodied. After returning Gabe home, Robbie hatches a half-baked plan to ‘borrow’ (without asking) a sporty muscle car from a nearby house for the evening, in order to compete in a street race and win some hefty cash. But shortly after the race gets underway, Robbie finds himself being tailed by thugs who work for a criminal drug dealer that owns the very car that Robbie stole. Cornered in alleyway, Robbie steps out of the car, only to be gunned down and killed on the spot.

However, a spirit named Eli revives Robbie, healing his prior wounds, and giving him the powers of a Ghost Rider. Robbie is then able to chase down some of the goons who tried to finish him off, but others still escape. Armed with the ability to phase through structures and teleport to the car he stole, Robbie regains his ride from the thugs, and lets Eli inform him on how to make the most of his newfound Ghost Rider powers.

Robbie is so likeable at an early stage in this series because of how much he sacrifices for his brother. He is a genuinely selfless protagonist, telling his brother not to go outdoors after dark because people play unsafely with firecrackers (guns, in actuality), and not putting up with a pawn shop owner who would like nothing more than to cheat Robbie out of every penny he’s got just to get Gabe a subpar replacement wheelchair. Robbie is one of the only students in his class that puts forth real effort, and his teacher greatly respects Robbie’s maturity and desire to create a better environment for himself and Gabe. All of this makes for a very interesting contrast to the general chaotic, violent, and terrifying visage of the Ghost Rider, though Robbie’s bodiless soul of a companion Eli seems to understand his host’s vindications quite well.

That said, there are a few moments where Eli proposes more violent, cure-all solutions for the problems plaguing Robbie’s neighborhood. While Robbie does well to opt for alternate solutions where few people are hurt, save for gun-toting thugs and armored drug runners, it presents an interesting contrast that could be extrapolated upon in future volumes as an ‘inner demon’ conflict. This first volume of All-New Ghost Rider is smart to paint its conflict on a relatively small scale, and the last page feels like it has given proper closure to Robbie Reyes’ origin story. Come what may, this first volume of All-New Ghost Rider is a brilliant start to a series that has so much more potential, and is among the strongest of the Marvel NOW! relaunches.

My rating: 8.75 (out of 10)

Top 5 Comic Books of 2014

Though I only started posting my comic reviews to this blog earlier this year, I first started uploading them to my YouTube channel back in 2012, beginning with Y: The Last Man and Saga. However, they did not become a regular part of my channel’s uploads until 2014, and that year saw quite a few video reviews. Below are my picks for the five best comic books that I read last year. Rest assured, I will be posting a list of the five best comic books I’ve read in 2015 this December, but I first wanted to go back and give credit where credit is due on last year’s reads. (Note: in the same vein as my year-end top five lists for best video games and anime, not all of these comic books were actually released in 2014, rather they were comic books that I read between January and December of 2014.)

#5 – Nova (volumes 1-3): One of the strongest runs in the Marvel NOW! series, Nova carries on many of the themes that drew me to the Spider-Man comics years ago, before the webslinger’s plotlines became so convoluted and of a sub-par quality. Picking up the mantle of Richard Rider and the now-annihilated Nova Corps, young Sam Alexander slowly familiarizes himself with the cosmic powers of becoming a human rocket. Sam is a wonderfully likeable kid – he stumbles in the company of long-established heroes like Beta Ray Bill and Rocket Raccoon, he has to balance the cosmic adventures of heroism with his school studies and helping his mom with household chores, and he’s willing to admit his faults and learn from them to become better as the new Nova one day at a time.

#4 – Annihilation: The first major pillar of Marvel’s mid-2000s cosmic renaissance, Annihilation lays the foundation for the eventual formation of the Guardians of the Galaxy, the tensions that would lead to the War of Kings breaking out, and the eventual invasion from the Cancerverse in The Thanos Imperative. Annihilation opts to place some of Marvel’s stranger cosmic heroes and villains in the spotlight, with tales centered on Drax the Destroyer, last surviving Nova Corps member Richard Rider, shamed warrior Super Skrull, lawful extremist Ronan the Accuser, and the many heralds of Galactus. Annihilus and his insectoid army seek to devour everything in the galaxy, and with the events of Civil War playing out on Earth, Richard Rider must (reluctantly) step up to the plate as the champion and leader the galaxy needs during one of their darkest hours.

#3 – Inhumans: One of Marvel’s more bizarre cultures, The Inhumans’ future-tech and medieval hierarchy saw a revival in the late 1990s. This series, spearheaded by Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee, focuses on the Inhuman society and the way the royal family keeps the city of Attilan in order, far away from the prying eyes of mankind and other superhumans. The Terrigen Mists proves a weird, but compelling rite of passage for young Inhumans once they reach maturity, and what lies in the future of each Inhuman is a greater unknown factor than even the mutants of The X-Men face on a regular basis. This Inhumans series is brilliant for its uncompromising choice to focus almost exclusively on its titular culture – Reed Richards and Namor both have minor cameos, but the remaining ninety-five percent of this story is focused on conveying just how secretive the lives of the Inhumans are, and what desperate measures a gun-jumping military division will go to in order to try and topple the fabled city of Attilan.

#2 – Venom: Reinventing one of Spider-Man’s most popular villains/rivals is no small task, and the Flash Thompson-led series (penned by Rick Remender, and later Cullen Bunn) is a bold new vision for the symbiote soldier that pays off in spades. Having returned from his military service, and having lost both of his legs in the line of duty, Flash Thompson spends many of his nights emptying bottles of alchohol, until he is presented with a highly-classified opportunity to make use of the Venom symbiote’s powers as a black-ops super soldier. Flash is sent in to the most hostile of hot zones, ordered to rescue civilians caught in the cross fire and quash enemy forces, but it isn’t long before he discovers the involvement of sadistic supervillain Jack O’Lantern, and subsequently picks up a thread that will eventually lead him to a criminal organization so closely tied to the missions Venom is tasked with putting an end to. Venom is very smart in its writing, and hones in on the difficult balance of Flash Thompson’s personal life and romance with Betty Brant, with his tactical operations as Agent Venom, ever-aware of the fact that his employers have placed a kill-switch on him in the event that the Symbiote gains control and runs rampant. Venom is one of the best examples of Marvel taking a character of relatively minor importance, rounding them out, and giving them their own series wherein they are not only consistently human and imperfect in nature, but where they emerge to stand so tall in the company of long-established heroes and villains.

#1 – Age of Ultron: An alternate history where Ultron bested the Avengers in one fell swoop, few heroes remain to challenge the vengeful A.I. The remaining Marvel heroes are battered, beaten, and have practically no plans for taking down Ultron, until Captain America comes up with a desperate plan. I found the cast of Age of Ultron a wonderful mix of the more mainstream heroes and some of the less iconic Marvel characters. Age of Ultron does not present a ‘who’s who’ of the most physically powerful of characters in Marvel history, rather a collective of the most quick-witted and capable during the descending mechanical apocalypse, or those who simply lucked out in not being at the epicenter of Ultron’s attack. Gone are Hulk, Thor, three members of the Fantastic Four, and the majority of the X-Men. Tony Stark’s sanity begins to slip, Cap’s faith in his own leadership abilities waver, and an uneasy alliance is struck between Red Hulk, Black Panther, and Taskmaster. Age of Ultron paints a bleak picture, a seemingly unwinnable scenario, and the extreme measures that these heroes are willing to go in order to return the world to some semblance of its state prior to Ultron’s takeover.

Comic Book review: Angela: Asgard’s Assassin, Volume One: Priceless

When Marvel acquired the rights to Angela, formerly a character from Image’s Spawn comics, they chose to place her in the company of the Guardians of the Galaxy. It was a bold move, to be sure, but she felt right at home in that cosmic setting. Angela was hell on legs, able to best most of the Guardians in battle before befriending them, and carrying on a flirtatious rivalry with Gamora. It was a gamble that paid off in spades, as Angela was able to flourish in her own identity, playing off the Guardians wonderfully, while still feeling as though there was plenty of potential for development down the road.

Enter Angela: Asgard’s Assassin, a series wherein Angela is the main character, rediscovering her Asgardian roots, and quickly finding herself on the run from her long-lost brothers Odinson and Loki. Her crime? Stealing her younger sister, eventual heir to the Asgardian throne, and leaping through the nine realms with the baby in tow. Also in Angela’s company is Sera, a former angel who lived not unlike a monk among the few male angels before leaving on her adventures with Angela. At some point before the start of this first volume, Sera was killed, only to be mysteriously resurrected, and Angela’s desire to know why and how Sera returned to the land of the living serves as a secondary mystery.

There is a lot going on in this first trade paperback volume – too much, in fact. While Odinson and Loki are shown as the initial pursuers, some of the forces of Hel also chase after Angela, Sera, and the baby, while the story flashes back every so often to Asgard to explore Odin and his views on this very complicated family reunion. Yet, there is actually quite a limited amount of time spent in Heven. Only during the last couple of chapters do Angela and Sera actually enter the realm of the Angels, a place which boasts more future-tech than myth and magic. Given how significant a change-up to the previously-established nine realms this new tenth one is, Marvel could have easily devoted an entire trade paperback volume solely to Angela’s roots and the history of the angels.

Angela’s portrayal sees an odd reversal from how she was depicted in the Guardians of the Galaxy comics. She’s still willing to cut down anyone who challenges her, but has lost much of the ferocity she was once known and feared for. Instead, she preaches the system of repayment that the angels apparently base all of their actions around – if someone asks her for a favor, Angela will oblige, but only after reminding them that they must eventually offer her something of a similar value (whether said offering is a physical object or action). It’s an interesting concept, but one that wholly contradicts her presentation in the Guardians comics.

Angela: Asgard’s Assassin is quite heavily steeped in the mythos of the Thor comics, and current events from Odinson’s life. The Thor comics have long existed within their own sphere, to a certain degree, separate from the more closely-interwoven storylines of Avengers members, the X-Men, and most of the other Earth-based heroes. The same can be said of cosmic Marvel – much as Nova, Captain Marvel, and the Guardians of the Galaxy might cross paths with one another, Asgardians tend to stick to the realm of might and magic, save for Thor’s frequent team-ups with Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, and the other core Avengers members. Nine times out of ten, there is so much lore at play in the Thor comics that it is difficult, even discouraging for newcomers to jump on board, and while Angela: Asgard’s Assassin is not quite as explicit an offender in this regard, there is still a decent portion of backstory that is barely even glossed over, with the assumption that readers are up to speed on recent Asgardian history.

Angela does earn herself a radical new outfit by the end of this trade paperback collection, and the action sequences are plenty exciting to look at. But as a character, Angela performs best when she receives the spotlight for more than just violent actions. Future storylines centered around this fallen angel will prove far better if their narratives are not so restricted to the current events of the Asgardians.

My rating: 6 (out of 10)

Comic Book review: Uncanny Avengers, Volume One: The Red Shadow

As part of the Marvel NOW! movement, Uncanny Avengers sees a new Avengers team, dubbed the Avengers Unity Squad, emerge from the recent death of Charles Xavier, a crippling loss to both the superhuman and mutant communities alike. The first issue opens with Wolverine delivering a speech at Xavier’s memorial service, reminiscing on how Xavier saw so much potential in him and every other student that came through his school’s doors, and that despite their efforts, Wolverine does not feel that believers in Charles Xavier’s ideals have managed to properly make it a reality. It’s Wolverine at perhaps his most likeable – a straight-shooter who doesn’t soften his blows, but at the same time does not go out of his way to pick fights with others if they simply disagree with him, and refrains from his once-feral tendencies.

The story then cuts to Havok, who is visiting his brother Cyclops in a S.H.I.E.L.D. maximum security cell, as Cyclops was apparently the one directly responsible for Xavier’s death. While this first volume of Uncanny Avengers does well to set the stage for future conflicts, this scene presents one oversight where new readers are not given enough context to understand the full series of events that led to Cyclops killing Xavier, only that Cyclops doesn’t seem to be all too upset by his actions, while Havok believes the human-mutant relationship is at risk for being further strained. It is not long after that Havok is visited by Captain America and Thor, with the red, white, and blue icon asking Havok if he would like to join the Avengers as the leader of a new team.

The pacing that this first trade paperback of Uncanny Avengers adopts is notably slower than other first entries in the Marvel NOW! lineup. By the time the fifth and final issue in this collection comes to a conclusion, the team has still not fully formed, as certain members are reluctant to get along with one another – more specifically, Rogue and Scarlet Witch, with the former holding a grudge over the later for the ‘No More Mutants’ event. Scarlet Witch, meanwhile, maintains that there are greater things at play than Rogue can perceive, and is even painted as more of an antagonist early on, before she is faced with a greater threat facing the Avengers and the community of Marvel heroes at large. Even Captain America has to be reminded of the fact that Havok is the man in charge on a couple of occasions.

Red Skull is this volume’s primary villain, and his Nazi roots resurface in spades as he attempts to influence the masses of New York into spilling one another’s blood in order to wipe out the 'mutant menace'. With Charles Xavier dead, Red Skull has extracted the psychic brain of the famous X-Men leader, and fused it to his own, granting him incredible powers of persuasion and deception over the Avengers Unity Team. He is able to penetrate Captain America’s mind briefly, leading to an argument in the heat of battle between the star-spangled Avenger and Havok. Perhaps even more threatening are the similarly persuasive abilities of one of Red Skull's henchmen, Honest John, who influences Thor to do battle with his former friends and allies.

The other minor villains that Red Skull employs are considerably less memorable, and appear in a limited number of panels. Almost half of this first volume is devoted to the Avengers’ battle with Red Skull, and the press conference that follows, wherein Havok feels that transparency will be their best option if they hope to convince the public that Charles Xavier’s vision lives on, and that they can put their faith in a mutant-superhuman team like the Avengers Unity Squad. Red Skull is cunning and devious a villain as ever, while the dialogue between all of the major characters in Uncanny Avengers properly reflects the team's growing pains. That said, it would have been nice for this story to cover a little more ground, because even though it has the makings of a strong origin for this new Avengers team, it feels like merely the first half of said origin story. All of which is made doubly odd, considering how much later portions of the story tease events to come, specifically from the events of Marvel’s AXIS crossover event.

My rating: 7.25

Comic Book review: Saga, Volume 5

It’s now been multiple years since Alana and Marko began their life on the run from the many factions that view their hybrid child Hazel as a bargaining chip or threat to galactic stability. As the fourth volume saw Alana, her mother, and Hazel forcibly separated from Marko thanks to the actions of one misguided and extreme janitor, this fifth volume bounces back and forth between the ferocity with which Alana will defend her daughter and the uneasy alliance forged between Marko, the now-exiled Prince Robot IV, coastal rancher Ghus, and thespian/drug addict Yuma. There is a also, a secondary plot concerning The Brand, Sophie, Lying Cat, and Gwendolyn, as they search for a means to revitalize The Will, who is still out of commission.

This fifth volume of Saga does well to focus the spotlight back on Alana and Marko more so than the previous two volumes did, but it does teeter back and forth in uncertainty as to whether or not it wants to redeem these two main protagonists. While they may be worlds apart from each other for the majority of this most recent volume, their thoughts of one another do weigh heavily, as their last interaction before they were torn apart was one of confrontation and hurtful words. And yet, while Alana does appear to bear some degree of regret over her exchange with Marko, her cunning and maternal defensiveness are somewhat undercut by the fact that she doesn’t seem to give a rat’s ass about anyone other than her own family. Marko, meanwhile, decides to turn to the drugs he so abhorred to escape his feelings of guilt over losing track of his family, and even displays a savage nature from seemingly out of nowhere.

While not nearly as overwhelmed in its attempts to juggle multiple story threads as the previous volume, this latest entry still feels a bit thinly stretch as more characters are introduced to the already burgeoning cast. Many of these newcomers see their stage exits by the end of this fifth volume, but it’s still almost too much on the plate when you consider the number of characters who have held minimal importance on the larger plot for the past two volumes. And at the end of this collection, there’s merely more cliffhangers and open-ended threads, with not but a few subplots being resolved by this trade paperback’s conclusion.

While Saga’s adult language and ‘edgier’ presentation factor were amusing early on, they have since become obnoxious elements of its identity. The series tries too hard to jam vulgarities into every other sentence, and the sexual imagery is largely without purpose – it’s perfectly acceptable to explore the relationship Marko and Alana forged during or even prior to Hazel’s conception, but it’s wholly unnecessary to show the act of a dragon fellating itself for a cheap laugh or ‘shock value’. While not as sour an entry as the fourth trade paperback, this fifth volume of Saga only does so much to return the series to the spark of imagination and intrigue, as well as the focused path that were so prominent in its first two collected volumes. As much as I wanted to continue enjoying Saga, I feel these most recent releases have turned me off to the series enough that I can confidently state that this is the end of my investment in Brian K. Vaughan's space opera.

My rating: 5.5 (out of 10)

Comic Book review: Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies

Among the wilder concepts to come of Marvel’s 2015 Secret Wars event is the four-part Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies. On the far edge of Battleworld, a giant wall has been constructed to keep the more problematic creations from Marvel’s comic history quarantined – those problems, of course, being the undead hordes of Marvel Zombies fame and the ever-evolving rage-filled A.I. known as Ultron. The Zombies wish only to devour those individuals who are tossed into their so-called Deadlands as punishment by the Thors for breaking God Emperor Doom’s laws, while Ultron seeks to eradicate the zombies and their impure nature in his quest to perfect this no-man’s land.

While this is certainly a curious pairing, it would prove a tiring conflict very quickly were a third party not introduced. At the start of this limited series, a version of Hank Pym from the wild west town of Timely is banished to the Deadlands. With little to defend himself and limited knowledge of the Battleworld realms beyond Timely, Hank would most certainly be a goner, were it not for the arrival of Vision, Simon Williams, and Jim Hammond. The trio rescues Hank Pym, bringing him to their makeshift fortress/home in the middle of this desolate region, with the hopes that he might be able to create a counter to Ultron and his devious machinations.

This stranger-in-a-strange-land Hank Pym is, naturally, taken aback, having practically zero knowledge of their modern technology. But he did manage to partially construct a clockwork equivalent of Ultron once upon a time, and, after some convincing, agrees to aid these three synthetic men. Vision, Simon Williams, and Jim Hammond, are not the only three whose lives are factored into Pym’s decision, as there are many other survivors living in their shielded community – most notably, the love interests of these three heroes.

What lends Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies to be a more compelling tale than the cover art might let on is the juxtaposition of this bleak environment and its terrifying armies with a focus on classic Marvel heroes, all of whom have previously struggled with the concept of what it means to be a man versus what it means to be a machine, and where they fall in that spectrum. Hank Pym, meanwhile, is more so the tether that binds the story together.

There are some more frequently vocal members of the undead hordes, which lends the zombies some personality beyond shambling, starving husks. And the situation becomes even more so dire when Ultron proposes a plan that could unleash both armies on the rest of Battleworld. At four issues in length, Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies has nearly-perfect pacing. It incorporates daring science projects, golden age heroism, and a nicely varied but appropriately-contained cast. It has fun with its diverse roots, embracing its oddities and weaving an entertaining and well-rounded narrative.

My rating: 7.5 (out of 10)

Comic Book review: X-Men: Age of Apocalypse Prelude

Before Age of Apocalypse’s wildly different vision of the X-Men universe properly came into its own, Charles Xavier’s insane son Legion awoke from his long coma to find he had gained some degree of control over the multiple personalities swimming around in his head – enough control, that is, to formulate a plan to travel back in time to kill Magneto and alter the present day, but enough foresight to consider the ramifications of such a major rewriting of mutant history. The buildup to Legion actually putting his plan into action is something of a slow burn, but an effective one just the same. Seeing all of the major X-Men and a handful of both their allies and enemies as they are most well-known makes the transition to their dystopian Age of Apocalypse counterparts all the more powerful, as the contrasts between these are often drastic. Similarly, it offers better context to readers not as intimately familiar with the X-Men legacy.

There are two prominent points in history that this Prelude volume covers: the ‘present day’ before Legion’s actions cause a rewrite of the history of the X-Men readers once knew, and the past when Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr (aka Magneto) shared a newly-forged friendship and were only just becoming familiar with the emergence of mutants around the globe. It is both insightful and amusing to see the relationship these two prominent leaders shared in their younger days, with Charles exhibiting more aggressive and impulsive behavior at times, and Magneto questioning the extent of the power other mutants could possess. While it is clear that these two do not share a perfectly matching view on the world and the struggles that it might one day face, there is a mutual respect that serves to shape Magneto’s ideologies in the later volumes of Age of Apocalypse.

Given how dark and desperate the world has become by the time volumes one through four of Age of Apocalypse roll around, it should come as no surprise that the X-Men, despite their best efforts, fail to stop Legion’s plans. However, these events do not play out in a predictable manner, as Mystique is the first to attempt to kill Legion in his comatose state, only to be thwarted by the members of X-Factor. The fact that different parties of mutants spend enough of their time squaring off against one another as opposed to focusing solely on Legion, as well as the fact that the extent of Legion’s powers are largely unknown until late in this Prelude, are what grant him the upper hand.

The X-Men throw nearly every plan that can scramble together on such short notice once the past becomes threatened by Legion’s intent to kill Magneto and alter the present. Cable and Domino are called upon, and both Charles and Jean attempt to maintain a psychic link with the mutants in the past. When the final hour is upon these heroes, they share a few somber, yet appropriately intimate exchanges with one another, before an awe and terror-inspiring wave wipes over the Earth, erasing the world as it once was and putting the Age of Apocalypse in its place.

My rating: 9 (out of 10)

Comic Book review: Black Science, Volume Three: Vanishing Pattern

The final act in the first arc of Rick Remender’s Black Science continues to thrill with wildly inventive hodge-podge realities and a more pinpointed take on the established narrative style than was seen in the previous two volumes. As volume two concluded, we were made privy to the fact that Grant McKay was in fact alive, despite having been led to believe he had perished beneath the crushing weight of clockwork machinery. And smartly, this third volume makes an early objective of explaining just how the scientist, pioneer, and previously deadbeat dad cheated death. The explanation is brief, yet befitting the tale that has been woven through the previous installments, and simultaneously provides some concrete footing for the answers that are revealed before this third volume’s climactic finale.

If there is one theme that rings constant through volume three, dubbed Vanishing Pattern, it is a story of redemption – specifically, the redemption of Grant McKay in the eyes of his children and unlikely comrades. There are still misunderstandings among the exploration team, and selfish actions that lead to physical confrontations. But the emergence of a father who actually cares about his children and the chance to see them reach home safely is a rewarding payoff having understood Grant to have previously been a cheater, a liar, and a workaholic who was absent for the majority of his children’s formative years. It may not a complete hero’s journey, but it is refreshing to see him act the part of a decent human being, not only taking responsibility for his poor judgment in the past, but also taking the role of leader more seriously.

Meanwhile, Grant’s children appear to have a greater stake in the story as a result of their placing faith in their father. While Nate received a healthy amount of time in the spotlight during Black Science’s second volume, his elder sister Pia takes center stage for a couple of chapters in this third volume, standing up to a couple of key characters who would dare to try and tell her to sit back and let the adults make decisions on her behalf. While it is true that the cast has been thinned a decent amount since Black Science’s first chapter, the dynamics played off among the current band of misfits feels the most natural and manageable yet. Grant still does not trust Kadir, and Kadir may not be out to prove himself a hero to anyone, but it is that very uneasiness between the two most action-oriented males of the party that makes their relationship so perfect.

Vanishing Pattern sees the party visit but one lone world, whose situation is worse than ever. In this reality, the counterparts to Grant, Shawn, Rebecca, and the other cast members concocted some form of virus that spread across the planet – a planet where Roman Praetorians make use of jetpacks, wrist-bound flamethrowers, and other space-age tech in their quest to punish those who allied themselves with the scientists who damned their world. As is the case with nearly every encounter made across the various planes of reality the main cast has made, the initial run-in with these royal warriors turns violent quickly, and they slowly but surely begin to unravel the mysteries of what went so horribly wrong in this world, while simultaneously deducing the pattern of events that has led them to this place and time.

As random as the Pillar’s jumps appeared to have been, there is, in fact, a pattern that is revealed, as well as an intended vector. Volume three does not answer all of Black Science’s lingering questions, but it does clear up a few key mysteries prevalent during this first act. The art style is, once again, superb throughout, with terrifyingly gorgeous decayed cityscapes splashed across full pages, and the high-flying action of jetpack chases expressed with incredible intensity. The oranges and reds of blood and fire clash violently against the dull and darkened interior of this world’s facilities, wonderfully symbolic of the death and destruction that has been wrought upon this reality, as well as how starkly out of place the exploration team is as strangers in yet another strange land. The finale is, yet again, a cliffhanger – one that excels in shock and horror, yet feels a very appropriate tail-end to this more intensely-focused portion of Black Science’s grander narrative.

My rating: 9.25 (out of 10)

Comic Book review: Divinity

Divinity is my first exposure in any capacity to Valiant comics, and while I typically don’t tread too far from Marvel and the occasional Image series, I found its premise of a Soviet cosmonaut returning after a thirty-year mission with godlike powers to be compelling enough to gamble on a purchase. It is clear from the outset that, while we as readers are being fed the background information regarding the Soviet Union’s role in the space race and their advanced engineering methods, narrator and main character Abram Adams no longer perceives these events in a set sequence as his fellow earthlings do. From the first page, Divinity provides a very strong showing of the defining traits of its pivotal character and his impressive powers, as he rescues a man from injury in the Australian outback, and transforms other individuals into their true selves, whether these new forms involve regaining their youth or becoming wild animals.

Abram Adams has the power to create and manipulate – as well as, presumably, destroy – in the blink of an eye, and the events between the beginning of his training for the bold 1960s journey to the stars and his sudden return to modern day Earth are sprinkled in at a gradual but appropriate pace. Even with fringe science designs for both the rocket and space suit, the wonder and terror of what lies unknown far beyond our own blue planet is weaves a compelling plot that is quite convincing within this fictional retelling of history. There are difficult choices to be made, even before the mission begins, and – for better or worse – the ramifications of these will stay with Abram for the rest of his days.

Where Divinity's quality falls short is through its insistence on shoehorning other Valiant heroes into what was otherwise a great standalone origin story. Perhaps if Abram had a brief encounter with one of the heroes, it would have served its purpose in assimilating him into Valiant’s preexisting comic book universe more smoothly. Instead, the entire second half of this graphic novel sees Abrams portrayal shift from main character to primary objective of X-O Manowar, Ninjak, and couple of other previously established heroes who act as anything but in their attempt to contain Abram after no obvious threat was posed from him. These characters invade the narrative in as harsh a manner possible, and from that point on, the story is about their first encounter with Abram, their perceptions of him as an inexplicable danger, which robs the second act of nearly all the aspects that made the previous half such an enjoyable read.

I understand that any comic label that is larger and has more budget to work with than the indie scene wants to bring all of their properties together and coexist within the same space of fiction. But an origin story needs to be just that – the origin of one important character or team. Divinity has a truly commendable first two chapters, but manages to get so steeped in the much during the latter half that it simply loses its fun factor. It’s true that the Marvel Now! properties did feature cameos by Tony Stark and Beta Ray Bill early on in their runs of Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova respectively, but these inclusions never warped the entire presentation or focus of their stories in the way that Divinity’s invasion of heroes does. Despite an open ending with the possibility for many more stories involving Abram and the people he impacted in the Australian outback, the conclusion of his story for this first trade paperback collection is, bluntly put, lazy and unsatisfying.

My rating: 6 (out of 10)

Comic Book review: Guardians of the Galaxy & X-Men: The Black Vortex

Following up on the previous X-Men/Guardians of the Galaxy team-up, this latest mini-crossover sees Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, and Groot, with Captain Marvel and Agent Venom in tow, cross paths with two teams of X-Men: the modern day team, led by Storm, and the time-displaced youthful versions of Jean Grey, Iceman, Beast, Angel, and Cyclops, who were largely at the center of their last encounter. This time, the premise is heavier on the cosmic fanfare typical of Guardians comics. An ancient artifact known as the Black Vortex has fallen into the hands of Star-Lord’s nefarious father J’son, and so Peter Quill and his now-girlfriend Kitty Pide decide to steal it from him, not understanding the extent of its powers, but knowing that J’Son only intends to make use of it for his own selfish, evil ends.

This trade hardcover collects significantly more issues than a typical Marvel release – mind you, it’s not as thick a graphic novel as the likes of much larger crossover events like Infinity, but a little more than twice the size of a regular single trade release. Included are Guardians of the Galaxy & X-Men: The Black Vortex Alpha #1, Guardians of the Galaxy #24-25, Legendary Star-Lord #9-11, All-New X-Men #38-39, Guardians Team-Up #3, Nova #28, Cyclops #12, Captain Marvel #14, and Guardians of the Galaxy & X-Men: The Black Vortex Omega #1. While it is a breath of fresh air to have characters like Captain Marvel, Nova, and even Ronan the Accuser steal the spotlight for a bit, their time on center stage is very brief, and this ties into The Black Vortex’s most prominent problem: there is simply too much going on in this storyline.

At the outset, accounting for the Guardians, present day X-Men, and their youthful X-Men tagalong companions, there are sixteen heroes on the playing field, pitted against J’son, his loyal team of Slaughter Lords, Thanos’ Inhuman son Thane, and Ebony Maw. And they only add more characters from that point forth, granting most of the characters only one major moment of heroism. In a similar vein, there are nearly a half-dozen subplots that the story jumps through, some of which are meant to round out narratives set in motion quite some time ago, such as where Thane disappeared to after he escaped Earth in Infinity, and the romance between Peter Quill and Kitty Pride. On their own, each of these smaller stories are decent, but when they get tossed into the already complicated mix that is The Black Vortex, many of them ultimately feel like distractions from the main plot.

That main plot, of course, being concerned with the mystic and dark powers that the Black Vortex can bestow upon anyone who willingly submits themselves to it. Almost immediately following its acquisition by Peter and Kitty, there is an involved debate over whether or not the heroes should take advantage of it. While some of the more level-headed characters are opposed to taking such a huge gamble with an unknown artifact, and Drax thinks it should simply be destroyed, the Slaughter Lords descend upon them, weapons drawn. In the heat of the ensuing battle, Gamora, Beast, and Angel all submit to the Black Vortex, upgrading to incredibly powerful versions of themselves, albeit at the cost of being detached from mortal concepts of time, space, and morality.

While this second crossover of the two teams certainly leans closer to the territory of Guardians of the Galaxy, it is written with the intent that it is easier to access for any readers that might not have a wealth of familiarity with the cosmic misadventures of Star-Lord, Drax, Gamora, Rocket, and Groot. The tradeoff for this, however, is that the writing style is dumbed down considerably, to the point where it is somewhat boring dialogue throughout for anyone who has been following along with the Guardians comics as of late. Iceman is fun during the moments that he is allowed to get in a few quips, and Nova’s standalone comic is still up to the quality I’ve come to expect from his current ongoing series, but when all is said and done, the heroes who see the best payoff in terms of noteworthy character development from The Black Vortex are Star-Lord, Kitty Pride, Cyclops, Gamora, and Beast. The rest of the cast fills in the gaps - Storm and Captain Marvel championing mentor and leader roles, while X-23, Agent Venom, and Rocket are conveniently absent or simply forgotten about for the majority of this tale.

My rating: 6 (out of 10)

Comic Book Update: “I am as far beyond mutants as they are beyond you!”

I’m going to be altering the format with which I handle comic book/graphic novel reviews from this point forward. While I certainly feel there is a benefit to seeing the visual artwork and layout of the graphic novel format within a video review, the comments sections of my YouTube videos have, over the course of the last year or so, become increasingly populated by lazy, rude, and overly demanding individuals. As such, comic book reviews going forward will be adopting a format similar to my video game and anime reviews. With perhaps rare exceptions, I still expect to review individual volumes of a longer running storyline, as opposed to the entirety of that storyline. However, when the end of the year ‘Top 5 Comic Books of 2015’ list is posted (alongside my ‘Top 5’ lists for video games and anime) it will list my best-of-the-best selections for this year as the sum of its parts – or, at the very least, the extent of what has been released before the end of December 2015. In short, my comic book reviews are not going away, they are simply seeing a format change that will be more in line with the style I have already established for my video game and anime reviews.

With that order of business taken care of, what follows is the current list of upcoming reviews. Keep in mind that I have no concrete date in mind for the posting of these reviews, only that they will be coming sooner rather than later. From the Marvel Now! line, I’m still following along with Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy, and while the latter won’t see its fifth proper installment released until later this year, I recently finished the second crossover with the X-Men, titled The Black Vortex. I also picked up the first volume of Angela: Asgard’s Assassin, as I rather enjoyed how they opted to introduce her character in the Guardians of the Galaxy run, and am hopeful that a solo series of her own can garner a solid balance between Marvel’s cosmic and fantasy realms. It certainly doesn’t hurt that she kicks all kind of ass on her journeys of self-discovery.

I also recently finished Thanos: The Infinity Relativity, the second of three original graphic novels by Jim Starlin, focusing on the Mad Titan himself, as well as plenty of other familiar cosmic Marvel faces. And I continue plugging away at the magnum opus that is X-Men: Age of Apocalypse, a series which, frankly, has no right holding up as well as it does in this day and age (it continues to blow me away, in the best ways possible). In a similar gamble to Black Science, I decided to pick up Divinity from Valiant Comics (a label with which I have no prior knowledge of), as it too dabbles in the territory of fringe science and men playing gods. Meanwhile, the third volume of Black Science is en route to me as I write this, and in all likelihood, I will power through this latest release on the day it arrives on my doorstep.

While I typically wait for the trade paperback releases of comics to purchase them, some of the current Marvel Secret Wars/Battleworld storylines proved too appealing for me to pass up, and so I am currently reading X-Men ’92, Inhumans: Attlian Rising, Guardians of Knowhere, Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies, Armor Wars (2015), and Age of Apocalypse (2015). Currently, X-Men ’92 is my favorite of the bunch, but Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies is proving a surprisingly solid read as well. I’m only one issue into Age of Apocalypse, so I can’t properly gauge that series as of yet, while Inhumans: Attilan Rising, despite being one of the more wildly inventive offerings from the bunch, has not yet left as strong an impression on me as most of the other series. Perhaps it will prove a slow burn. Either way, I certainly appreciate the fact that these storylines will all be limited runs, and that Marvel isn’t pretending that the Secret Wars/Battleworld mish-mashing of different places and times in their history is in anything but temporary. On a side note, I have been reading the main Secret Wars series on loan from a friend, and it is easily one of the better crossover events in recent history – possibly a better read than Infinity, depending on how these upcoming later issues play out. More likely than not, I’ll end up purchasing the Secret Wars trade paperback before year’s end.

Comic Book review: Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume Four: Original Sin

My review of Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume Four: Original Sin.  Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Illustrated by Ed McGuinness and Valerio Schiti.

My rating: 7 (out of 10)

Comic Book review: Captain Marvel, Volume Two: Stay Fly

My review of Captain Marvel, Volume Two: Stay Fly. Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, illustrated by Marcio Takara and David Lopez.

My rating: 7 (out of 10)