BLACK WIDOW: DEADLY ORIGIN #2: I’ll just say I’m not a huge fan of making sense of sixty-plus years of continuity in a comic book, though I am a fan of Paul Cornell, and leave it at that.

DARK X-MEN #2: I’m not quite as in love with this issue as I was the last, which was a pitch-perfect kick-off good enough I thought this should be an ongoing series. However, you’ve still got Paul Cornell’s endless invention on display, and I’m always a big fan of when villains as heroes doesn’t sell short the idea that they’re still awful people. So yeah, not an A+ like the last issue, but still better than it has any right to be, given Cornell and Leonard Kirk’s excellent work.

DEATHLOK #2: Lan Medina’s art continues to be well defined and rather beautiful, especially when paired with Brian Heberling’s colors, but I just can’t get past Charlie Huston’s script. It’s got some fascinating concepts in it, but so far, it’s so dense I can’t quite hook into the characters, or why I should care about what’s going on. I think this is going to collect well, and Huston is a solid enough writer that he surely has the whole thing well planned out in advance, but as individual issues, it’s not quite hooking me right off the bat.

ENDER’S GAME: WAR OF GIFTS SPECIAL: The more I read of the Ender’s Game universe, the more I want to read. And each of these specials really fleshes out the world of the series by focusing on something specific. In this issue, we get religion, and it pays off with a sweet, sad story that shows how the Battle School isn’t all bad, and sometimes religion isn’t bad either. I want to read Orson Scott Card’s books after reading these comics, and that speaks highly, I think, to the level of adaptation going on. Pick ‘er up.

GHOST RIDERS: HEAVEN’S ON FIRE #5: How to make a second Ghost Rider movie work: Step One, hire Jason Aaron to write it. Step Two… There is no step two. Honestly, I could have cared less about GR before Aaron was writing him. The series was great. This mini is better. If you haven’t been reading it, go back and find the issues, read the whole thing, and get ready to have your ass kicked by awesome.

INCREDIBLE HULK #605: I’m going to pretend that Greg Pak coming back on this title a few issues ago was a reboot (which, essentially, it was, but without the new number one), and say that this issue is easily the best of an already excellent title. For those of you who haven’t been picking it up, a de-powered Banner is traveling around with his son, Skaar, who wants to kill the Hulk. Banner is (supposedly) training Skaar to kill the Hulk… Except maybe he’s not. Layered, textured, and tons of fun, not only does Greg Pak have perfect mastery of the Hulk and all his supporting characters, but he knows how to craft an issue of a comic that continues a story, but feels complete in and of itself. That takes skill. Oh, and Ariel Olivetti’s art is ridiculously good.

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #21: God this is satisfying. Like most of the other titles this month, it ruins the end of Cap Reborn (which, of course, I’m ruining by telling you this ruins it), but boy oh boy, the way Fraction makes this work, and his reasons for bringing all the heroes together are nothing short of brilliant. Who would have thought a comic where the lead character is unconscious the entire time would be this thrilling, and this fun?

NATION X #1: I’m a fan of these story collections the X-Office has been doing each time our merry Marvel mutants change their status quo, to help flesh out the world. But, like most short story collections, not all of them hit. It’s like an episode of SNL, though: rather than judge them on every sketch, if you eek out one or two good ones per show, in my eyes, you’re golden. So the real star here is James Asmus’ story with Mike Allred, showing a Wolverine/Nightcrawler road trip that’s fun, poignant, and has some classic moments all in its few pages.

NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL #3: Hey, guess who really likes the torture scene in Casino Royale?

PUNISHERMAX #2: Jason Aaron is no stranger to crazy, over-the-top action, and if anything, he trumps the eyeball squeezing scenes of the first issue in spades. However, the real star here is Steve Dillon, who perfectly parallels The Punisher and The Kingpin is a series of witty panels. I may lack the emotional complexity of the Garth Ennis run, but these two guys are forging their own classic Punisher story, and it’s well worth the ride.

S.W.O.R.D. #2: With the first, more jokey issue out of the way, issue two manages to trump it in almost every way. The Sorkin-esque banter is well balanced with the more actiony elements; we find out more about Gyrich’s evil plan; and things ramp up in danger to an alarming degree. Plus, long-neck Beast has been toned down this issue, as Steven Sanders gets more comfortable drawing the characters. Pick ‘er up.

SPIDER-MAN & THE SECRET WARS #1: I’ve been really curious about how this project was going to work out for a while now, and I think, now that I’ve read it… It was in a way that’s completely obvious given that Paul Tobin is writing it, and also rather surprising. Basically, like most of Tobin’s work, it’s a tightly written character piece, focused on the relationship between Spider-Man and The Hulk, played out over the course of the story, using action as a backdrop. That’s the surprising part, if anything: that Secret Wars barely matters for the story Tobin wants to tell, and I would say that’s a good thing. Bringing a little emotion and depth to an event that, while fun, was all about selling toys, is an interesting challenge, and one that I’m definitely checking out issue two for.

UNCANNY X-MEN: FIRST CLASS #6: I don’t think the First Class books are really known for their insane, hardcore, cosmic style battles, but after this issue, maybe they should be. As insane and over the top as any mainstream continuity X-Men book.

WAR MACHINE #12: Greg Pak gives James Rhodes a new status quo, and a gangbusters ending, just in time for his series to end. Too bad, too, as it felt like it was just getting started. For those of you who missed it, all twelve issues read as one mega-story, and this’ll read great in the trade.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #3: Fred Van Lente’s lead story on the origin of The Rhino wins for week’s best use of sound effects as art. The back-up story by J.M. Dematteis wins for most terrifying description of just how much Aunt May is getting nailed on her honeymoon. I’m not usually faint of heart, but I had to stop reading the last story several times to quell my vomit.

WHAT IF? WORLD WAR HULK: I can’t believe it took an entire issue and a half of these new What Ifs for Uatu to show up. I’m all for tweaking the formula, but the “What if Thor Entered World War Hulk?” story is easily the best one so far. Fun, funny, and an actual story (rather than a butt-load of exposition), it doesn’t make the issue worth picking up, necessarily, but it is delightful nonetheless.

WOLVERINE: UNDER THE BOARDWALK: As always, a solidly reliable Noir-ish script from Stuart Moore. In fact, take away the claws, and this could easily have been a Wolverine: Noir one-shot. Solid story, definitely not for younger readers.

X NECROSHA: THE GATHERING: This issue is very similar to the Dark X-Men mini that recently ran, in that it’s basically Selene walking up to people and convincing them to join her team. However, all of the stories and art are solid, and I always like reading more about Blink. Not essential reading, but for X-devotees, and people curious about how the dead heroes and villains returned in X-Necrosha, this adds a large piece to that puzzle.

X-MEN FOREVER #13: This is like fan fiction – but the best possible fan fiction ever, written by a classic X-Men writer, drawn and colored and lettered professionally. And just like the best of fan fiction, it pays off all those fun “hey, what if–” moments with silly glee. I dunknow, I like this, leave me alone.

X-MEN NOIR: MARK OF CAIN #1: This issue really gets going with the killer last page, which hits the Noir/X-Men crossover elements perfectly. The rest of the issue starts slow, but has some nice money moments throughout, and of course, Dennis Calero’s pitch perfect art. The dude was born to draw Noir books. Just sayin’.

ASSAULT ON NEW OLYMPUS PROLOGUE: For those of you wondering when to jump on Incredible Hercules — this is the issue. Pak and Ven Lente make every issue of Herc brim with humor and intelligence. It’s a dense, fun read in exactly the right way… Only problem is, it ain’t sellin’ too good. So here we go with a universe spanning cross-over, kicking off with a fight with Spider-Man, and guest appearances by the big stars of the Marvel U. It’s a sales ploy… But it totally works. This issue builds on months of Herc storylines, and introduces every single bit of the storyline, conflict, and characters succinctly in one or two pages, without feeling needlessly expository. Plus, even if you haven’t been paying attention to the title before, there’s a new/old adversary, the big bad of the series, who also is effortlessly added in. Fun, funny, sexy, and darn near perfect: you need to know nothing to pick up this issue, other than that you have a love of comics and things that are good.

ASTONISHING X-MEN #32: Can I say I like this current storyline approximately one million times better than the last one? I think I probably can, because I’m writing this review, so I’ll just go ahead and put this on record: I can totally get behind biological sentinels that shoot brood from their fingertips. That’s good comics.

BLACK WIDOW: DEADLY ORIGIN #1: I love Paul Cornell, and though this is a blatant “let’s get the series out, so we can collect it in trade before Iron Man 2″ move, he completely makes the issue work. In particular, the first scene is a doozy of spy one-up-manship. The rest of the issue is a current day story mixed with flashbacks to the Black Widow’s, um, deadly origin, and while I’m not a huge fan of the “huge swathe of a person’s life” montage, Cornell does make the flashbacks fluid and easy to read. What I’m not as crazy about is the current day story, but as that’s given the least page time, I could change my mind next issue.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: REBORN #4: Now, that’s what I’m talking about. Four issues in, and we finally get the huge action movie we were promised from the start, with big reveals, big villains, and big, big action. Hitch draws the crap out of this issue, and Brubaker writes a totally perfect Dr. Doom. One issue can’t really forgive the wheel-spinning of the last two issues (I’ll say I liked the first, for the record), but if it keeps up this pace for the next two, we are good to go.

DEADPOOL TEAM-UP #899: There’s been a lot of talk about why there are so many Deadpool books right now, and whether three ongoing series is too many. The thing is: you guys are buying them. Personally, I’ve been mildly enjoying them, with Daniel Way’s main series my fave of the three, but Fred Van Lente turns in a fun old-school team-up in this book, that ties into current continuity, while still existing nicely on its own. My only quibble is the three dueling Deadpool voices. Again, Van Lente makes it work for the story, which is great, but the dueling narration is Daniel Way’s thing, and I wish it would stay in his book. Meaning, being an author’s tool, rather than the way Deadpool is portrayed across the board. Don’t think I’m going to get my wish there anytime soon.

DEATHLOK #1: Hey, everybody: in the future, war will be like sports! I don’t really like sports. That aside, and ignoring the fact that makes this book a little impenetrable to me, I do think the Starship Troopers vibe Charlie Huston cleverly injects the Deathlok concept with doesn’t quite mesh with the hyper-real art of Len Medina. They’re both good at what they do, I’m just not sure its working together. The opening sequence, introducing (I think) a new Deathlok works quite well, but the subsequent pages and action are a little too stiff.

DOCTOR VOODOO: AVENGER OF THE SUPERNATURAL #2: I like the fact that Dr. Voodoo is trying to get a handle on who he is, now that he’s Sorcerer Supreme, just as we, the readers are doing the same. Writer Rick Remender has also done an excellent job of throwing DV in a situation way out of his league right off, so we know he’ll be more worthy of the title once he conquers this sitch. Though, knowing Remender’s work, its actually possible he might find himself deeper in a hole than he is now. Anyway, this second issue sells me more on the title than the first did, and that’s a good thing.

GHOST RIDERS: HEAVEN’S ON FIRE #4: I love than Jason Aaron is really flexing his comedy muscles, in general, and that shines through nicely in this issue. The panel with Ghost Rider (yeah, you read that right) is one of the funniest of the week, and the rest of the issue is pretty amusing, too. Plus, Aaron balances the humor with great moments of horror and terror, as well as a delightful trip through villains of the Marvel U. past. Possibly the most fun Ghost Rider has ever been.

HOUSE OF M: MASTERS OF EVIL #4: A good story is a good story, no matter what, right? Except not exactly so in the world of mainstream comics, where continuity and universe building trump story-telling… At least most of the time. Point is, I have intellectual problems with this series, and questions why it even exists. But beyond all that, Christos Gage has built a solid story that exists better on its on, than when compared to the House of M event and universe. Its not necessary reading, but it is a well done story. And that should matter more in comics than it does.

MARVEL ZOMBIES: EVIL EVOLUTION: Zombies vs. Apes shouldn’t be nearly as complicated as it is… But it is. Ah well, I was really liking the Marvel Apes stuff up until now, and the Zombies stuff tied itself up nicely with the last mini. Let’s just pretend this issue never happened?

PSYLOCKE #1: Psylocke has got a complicated history at this point, and though I may be singing a different tune at the end of this mini, I don’t think this first issue helps that much. You need to know most of her history, most of the current X-Men history, and even a little international law to get into this. Plus, the art is a little too action-manga-esque for my tastes, at least when melded with a Western coloring style. I trust Chris Yost enough to give the next issue a try, but this did not grab me.

THE MARVELOUS LAND OF OZ #1: “Perfect” is a pretty big word to throw around, and I don’t use it lightly, but the first Oz series by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young was a perfect comic book experience, beautiful to look at, and a joy to read. The one thing hampering it, perhaps, was the familiarity of the story, which took the reader out a bit… We’re all familiar with the movie, the book less so, and the differences led to a less immersive reading experience than an unknown story would have. Which is why this new series is so great. I’ve read the Oz books, but so long ago that I don’t even vaguely remember what happened in the novel version of this story. So its a completely new experience, and perfectly recaptures the magic of “The Wizard of Oz,” and moreso. Skottie Young’s art is brilliantly paired with Jean-Francois Beauleu’s lush coloring for a unique artistic experience unlike anything on the stands. Plus, kudos to both Shanower and Young for adapting a book, making it literary, but still uniquely molding it to the comic book form. Once again, I’m pleased to say this is a perfect comic book experience.

ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #4: Along with Skottie Young’s work on the Oz books, David LaFeunte’s take on Ultimate Spider-Man is one of the two best drawn books Marvel is currently publishing… As much as I love Mark Bagley and Stuart Immonen, LaFuente’s unique characters have taken Bendis’ plotting to the next level. This is as good as, if not better than, Ultimate Spider-Man has ever been. One of the great things about these first four issues is that Bendis nicely bucks the trend of this title, that would intersperse very dialogue-light issues, with dialogue heavy ones, and instead has found a way (with LaFuente’s help, I think) to merge the two sides of his brain into a glorious whole. All of the characterizations are great, the mysteries are interesting, and this whole package earns the right to call itself “Ultimate,” once again.

X-MEN ORIGINS: ICEMAN: Honestly, I don’t remember whether Iceman has ever had his origin told before, but this probably isn’t it? For me, Angel: Revelations is the gold standard to which all of these Origins books should be held, which sounds unfair, except… Sorry, they should be. That Origin, and Magneto: Testament were quality pieces of work, and unique bits of storytelling. I like the idea of having Origins stories for all the X-Men, but this needed to be a little less generic. Bobby Drake is the happy mutant; why does he have to have the exact same origin as everyone else? Couldn’t we see some other side of things? Not to mention, there’s bits that just don’t fit, like Professor X talking about having a school for mutants, and us seeing full grounds of kids… But then, at the end of the issue, Xavier clearly states that there are only two students, Cyclops and Iceman. Unfortunately spotty work.

X-MEN VS. AGENTS OF ATLAS #2: I really hope you picked up the first issue of this, and now pick up the second, because this series is tons of fun. Its accomplishing the same thing as Assault on New Olympus, giving a lighter, easier story for people to get into the Agents of Atlas, and like AoNO, it works. Other, side note: Read this before you read the back-up in AoNO, it’ll make more sense that way.