AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #30: Despite some great character moments with Penance and Trauma, this is not my favorite issue of this series ever. It’s VERY texty, to a fault, especially considering there’s some great action set pieces. And it feels like the title is in a holding pattern until the next status quo, when previously, it was almost the backbone of the Marvel U. Too bad. If you’re a fan of the series, pick ‘er up, but otherwise not the best point to jump on board.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #613: Paul Azaceta’s art, once again, fits perfectly with the electrical (Electro is the villain, natch) nature of this storyline, with his jagged art, and thick lines. Mark Waid also turns in a solid script, though there’s a few too many “Whoops, the villain disappeared, guess we’re done with him forever!” moments for my liking. Spider-Man continues to be a solid read, though, week after week, and not many comics can say that.

DARK AVENGERS: ARES #2: Last issue, I said I loved what writer Kieron Gillen was doing up until the end. Oops! I was wrong! There’s a great twist in here that completely forgives the ending of this issue, and proves Gillen has a well thought out series. Fans of Incredible Hercules, in particular, will appreciate this as the more serious, hardcore action piece to that series’ emotion and humor. I’d love to see Gillen on an Ares ongoing, dovetailing with Hercules as both Greek Gods continue, creating their own mini universe. But maybe that’s just me.

SECRET WARRIORS #10: Jonathan Hickman proves, once again, that he remembers just as much about the Secret Warriors as the rest of us do – which is to say, not at all. Other than Phobos and Nick Fury, none of ‘em appear in this issue, and that’s a great thing. A character piece focused on the relationship between Phobos and his father Ares, with a little Fury thrown in for good measure, it works to further deepen the relationship between father and son. I’m honestly at a bit of a loss with this title, in general. Some excellent art; as mentioned, great character work by Hickman; but no one has any idea who any of the characters are, and it doesn’t seem to have a purpose. If you want a Nick Fury book, I’m totally behind you. If you want an Ares & Son book, I’m cool with that, too. But the team Secret Warriors doesn’t seem to be working. Maybe it’s the title? Maybe Secret Warriors sells more than Nick Fury and His Amazing Friends? I dunknow. Whatever it is, there’s something off about this, and it needs to be fixed… Even with the good quality of this issue (and most issues) as a whole. Weird, right? Anyway, hopefully his upcoming S.H.I.E.L.D. mini-series will address these concerns.

INCREDIBLE HERCULES #138: Every issue of this is perfect. Why aren’t you reading it? You should be reading it. Good, glad we settled that.

FANTASTIC FOUR #573: In one issue, Jonathan Hickman completely dumps everything in the first half of Mark Millar’s run, and all of Fantastic Force. Hey, I didn’t say this was a bad thing, it’s just surprising that it happened so quickly. As is, I still like but don’t love this series. But! Franklin’s birthday party in the next issue should, I think, kick it up that extra notch. We shall see…

MS. MARVEL #47: I wish this was a LITTLE more fun. Brian Reed has shown that he knows how to write Spider-Man, in, you know… Spider-Man. And he knows what to do with Ms. Marvel. But this issue paints Peter as a slob, which is a little too broad, I think. And we don’t really learn anything necessary, other than a tidbit that sets up the next (and last) arc of the series. Too bad, as there’s a lot of great comic and emotional possibilities, which, other than a few exceptions, aren’t present in this issue. Not bad, but not my favorite issue of this series so far.

DARK WOLVERINE #80: Daniel Way and Marjorie Liu are doing a splendid job fleshing out Daken’s character in this series, and actually making him someone I would want to read more about. While this arc isn’t quite as successful as the first (the motivations are even murkier, as are the antagonists), I’m eagerly awaiting whatever comes next.

WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #2: There’s a fun surprise guest in the too-short Electro origin story in this issue that, nevertheless, makes it worth a pick-up. And the Jonah Jameson story in the back is a delight. Spider-Girl, I know, is good, but its so dense it makes my head hurt I’M SO SORRY.

SON OF HULK #17: With the last issue of this series, I have a far better idea of who Hiro-Kala is, and where he’s going than when we started, and that’s a good thing. Though I don’t think he can support his own series, I’m looking forward to the next appearance of this addition to the Marvel Cosmic Universe. Which is kind of a repetitive name.

THOR GIANT SIZE FINALE #1: Sigh. It’s solid enough, and has some great Warriors Three moments, but the steam has gone out of JMS’ run with this issue. You can almost feel him turning the script in because he had to. I don’t blame Marvel for this, they did give him amazing latitude for a main Marvel character, I just wish he had gotten to finish the story he was telling. Maybe someday will get an out of continuity finish the way he wanted to do it? Regardless, I’m looking forward to Gillen’s run and seeing what he does with good ol’ Hammer-Master. That’s my name for Thor.

NEW MUTANTS #7: I’m sorry. You bring Douglock into the equation, and I just can’t properly review a title. I’m sure it’s good or something, but you’re not going to win my over with flashing back to Fall of the Mutants, the most seminal story for Dougheads (you know, Doug Ramsey fans), Zeb Wells. You won’t win me over. Never. Maybe.

POWERS #1: I love that Powers is back, and it’s great to see Mike Oeming and Brian Michael Bendis back as a team; they perfectly compliment each other. If you haven’t previously read the series… Well, first, what’s wrong with you? Second, this is not the BEST jumping on point, but its as good as any other for a series that alternates between easy to follow to mysteries, and dense character continuity. Pick ‘er up.

HULK #17: …And we’re back. Sigh. This arc went one issue too long, and a few too many angsty Rulk lines to be believable. It’s still silly fun, and I would argue probably one of the more classically structured comic books Marvel is publishing. But with the copious unnecessary nudity, and grim and gritty dialogue, ya lost me. And just when I was starting to get into the character. Ah well. Anyway, Fall of the Hulks should be fun.

ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS #4: Given the amount of Ultimates stories where the Avengers try to take down one of their own, before teaming up to beat the big baddie, you’d think I’d be tired of it. And yet…

UNCANNY X-MEN #517: It’s pretty clear that Matt Fraction is channeling an action movie for his run here on X-Men, and whether you like it or not if pretty dependent on whether you like your X-Men big and broad, or angsty and playing baseball. Me? I like it, its big and fun and though the cast is huge, its easy to keep track of. But Claremont era fans might be bristling in their juices right now.

AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #29: Another consistently solid issue of this title. There are some cheese-ball moments throughout, and the cliffhanger is paced far too quickly for it to have any sort of resonance (unless I’m forgetting things from previous issues). But those quibbles aside, A:TI continues to shine the light in the forgotten corners of the Marvel Universe, while still staying squarely in the middle. I’m going to be a little bummed if it gets canceled at the end of Dark Reign, but if the rumored Avengers Academy takes its place, and stays consistent to the tone presented here, I’m definitely on board.

DARK AVENGERS: ARES #1: Kieron Gillen continues to prove why he was made to write about gods and mortals, perfectly capturing Ares character here, as well as creating some indelible military images. Which is why its such a bummer that this suggests, at least, its going to tie into other comics at the end of the issue. It may not, who knows, but the first 20 or so pages are filled with brilliant menace. I hope the next issue is as good as this one, and doesn’t exactly follow up on the promise of the cliffhanger here.

DARK REIGN: THE LIST – PUNISHER: Now this is what the “List” books should have been all along. This is easily the biggest issue of the week, Marvel-wise, and if you ignore that the ending has been effectively spoiled for months now by Marvel itself, and take the book on its own merits, it kicks an ass and a half. My main problem with the List books so far is this: they purport to be Normie taking Dark Reign to the next level, attacking the heroes where they live. But they come off as attempts hampered by continuity, lack of change, and perhaps editorial decree (oh no! editors! run!). So you get lame things like sending Bullseye after Daredevil with Norman’s over-arching plan being, “Make Daredevil feel bad.” Or Norman’s plan to take down Clint Barton is to wait until he comes into Avengers Tower, and then arrest him. Or, my personal favorite, taking care of Namor once and for all by killing a character we haven’t seen in more than a decade (though I will admit that got to me). I think the key term there is “once and for all…” The endings of these one shots have felt very much like Norman going in loops (standing in for the authors), explaining how the result of the book was a big victory for him. The other problem I’ve had is that these plans have consistently had a reverse Acts of Vengeance feel to them. Rather than mixing things up, Norman sends the same villains who have previously gotten their butts handed to them multiple times by the hero, and expects they’ll be victorious this time. They’re not.

All of this, and I still haven’t talked about this issue, so here we go… And there are spoilers here: Norman decides to take care of the Punisher once and for all. Does he resurrect Jigsaw and send him after Frank? Heck no. He blows up everything in a five block radius around him. And when that doesn’t work, he sends hundreds of H.A.M.M.E.R. agents to kill him. And when that starts to work, he sends in Daken, who slices Frank Castle into tiny little pieces. And if you’re not sure that worked, the issue ends with tiny little pieces of Frank lying in a pile in a alleyway. The end.

Now, that is what I’m talking about. Plus, you’ve got John Romita Jr. drawing at the top of his game, Klaus Janson writing, and insane, over the top action courtesy of Rick Remender. If there’s one fault with this issue, it’s that we also get a preview of the next issue of Punisher (by Tony Moore and Rick Remender, hells yeah), and we know he’s not gone for long.

But like I said, on its own merits? This is a classic comic, and worth every penny.

DARK REIGN: THE LIST – WOLVERINE: Yeah, and then there’s this. Totally fine writing and art, Jason Aaron writing a fun, over the top story as usual, but read above for all my previous criticisms of the List books, and apply that here, too.

DARK REIGN: YOUNG AVENGERS #5: The resolution of this series is hampered a bit by the idea that I don’t think we’ll ever see these characters again, so its a little hard to get into their struggle. Also, though Paul Cornell’s scripting is reliably good, most of the last few issues of this mini have taken place in one warehouse, with the characters just talking. Kinda boring, honestly. I think there was potential here to have a new, Young Masters of Evil to counter the Young Avengers, but it was squandered on yet another recruitment drive story. Ah well.

FANTASTIC FOUR #572: People are really loving this run a lot, and… I’m not totally sold. Love Jonathan Hickman, LOVE Dale Eaglesham, and the inventiveness on display here is surprising and fun in all the right ways. But the situation with the Council of Reeds and the Celestials is resolved a little too quickly and easily, without using all the tools on display (hey, what about that room full of Dooms, huh?), and Reed’s emotional resolution with Sue, while nice, also feels a little quick. Plus, Hickman separates Johnny and Ben from the group before Reed even gets back. So we’re not gonna get a full group story for a while, which is a bummer. It’s possible Hickman is holding certain ideas and arcs in reserve, so we haven’t seen how this all plays out yet, but I’m not quite falling in love with this as hard as other people are. I’m still keeping with it, though, because its a well made comic, and I expect it’ll get even better, even if it isn’t grabbing me right now.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #19: Well, that situation was resolved way more quickly than I thought it would be. GotG is solid month after month, and its a thrill to see Kang, one of the most integral characters in the history of the Marvel U, back in the spotlight, however briefly.

HULK #16: Who is the Red She-Hulk? Who cares? And I mean that in a good sense, actually, because Loeb is finally remembering that comics are about characters, not just blow-em-ups and super-secrets. I could actually care less about the whole conspiracy angle, but like the attempt to give the Red Hulk some sort of character, and how more is revealed through the new Red She-Hulk. This is not high art by any means, but its been fun, and a step up for two issues in a row.

INCREDIBLE HERCULES #137: There’s nothing I don’t like about this book. Tying up the Amadeus Cho half of this particular arc, we get good emotion, great ideas, and lots of myths, just the way we like it. This book is great.

MS. MARVEL #46: Brian Reed made a pretty bold choice with this arc, to make Karla Sofen (Moonstone) the focus, and “hero” of the arc, while Carol Danvers is most decidedly the villain. And it works, while keeping them both on their sides of the fence anyway. I do think this fizzled a bit, starting far stronger than it ended, but we’re probably (hopefully) getting some follow up on this arc as we switch perspectives back to Danvers. Definitely one of the more underrated titles Marvel is publishing right now, and worth jumping on for next issue at least to check it out.

NEW AVENGERS #58: Bendis has really gotten his groove back on this arc. Its based in the characters, good action, and fun beats throughout. Hope it keeps up, ’cause this is a lot of fun.

NEW MUTANTS #6: The moment we have all been waiting for has finally come: Doug Ramsey is back. Okay, maybe only I was waiting for it, and herein lies the crux of this review: I can’t divorce myself from my feelings for Doug enough to properly review this issue. Everybody has that character, that one character they unequivocally love, and for me it was always Cypher. So… Yeah. Good issue, but I couldn’t read it without feeling kind of uncomfortable, because this isn’t even close to the Doug I know. Amping up his powers to treat combat as a “language” is cool in theory, but it does just come off as “Doug’s powers are lame, let’s figure out a way to make ‘em interesting.” Also, this is probably the 56th time he’s come back as a techno-organic being, so its lost its power a bit. Take this all with a very large grain of salt, by the way. If you haven’t already.

PUNISHER #10: Read this before The List. I would say that this has one of the most insane moments in Punisher history; so much so, it made me angry. And you wouldn’t like me when I’m… Can’t think of a word to finish that statement. Oh well!

SECRET WARRIORS #9: I keep going back and forth about this title. If it focuses on one character (say, Nick Fury or Phobos), I like it quite a bit. If it’s a team story, like this issue, I honestly can’t remember who all the Secret Warriors are, so it’s a little difficult to follow. Does that make me racist towards Secret Warriors? Probably.

ULTIMATE COMICS ARMOR WARS #2: Did Bryan Hitch ghost-pencil this? I swear to god, I didn’t realize this was Steve Kurth and not Hitch until I went back to check the title page. This is silly, the kind of “remixing old stories” that the Ultimate U was supposed to have left behind. I honestly don’t know if any of it would make any sense to someone who hasn’t read the main Marvel U. For someone who has, like myself, it’s a lark, but a negligible one.

ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS #3: Same thing here, with remixing Marvel U ideas… Except it kind of works, because Millar is drawing on his run on Ultimates, and skipping right over the Loeb stuff. Great art, big over the top globe trotting story, huge action… Just the way we like it.

X NECROSHA: Blackest Night begins here! Its actually unfortunate that this is coming so close to the heels of BN, though to the writer’s credit, it zips through the “Oh my god! Look who’s back alive!” thing much more quickly and efficiently. I’m not sold on this yet, but if you want the tapestry of the X-Men part of the universe for the next few months, you have to start here. Actually, read X-Force first, then this, then New Mutants. But yeah, start here. In the middle.

X-FACTOR #50: I would love to say this is a triumphant end of this title’s biggest arc, but… Well, X-Factor is always solid, and always fun, but this is a little too texty. And plotty. And wraps up a bunch of stuff that I didn’t really care about, so unfortunately the stuff I do care about, like Layla Miller’s secret origin, and what’s going on with Evil Madrox kind of get short shrift. That’s too bad, but at least we’re clearing the deck for a new start next issue, and hopefully more people will start picking it up.

X-FORCE #20: Basically a continuation of the X-23 series, this is hardcore, sad, and everything that is good about this comic on a regular basis.

Video reviews for JSA #30, Superman #691, Flash: Rebirth #4, Hulk #14, Secret Warriors #7, Last Days of Animal Man #4, Wonder Woman #35, New Mutants #4, Batman: The Widening Gyre #1, Sinister Spider-Man #4, X-Force #18, Gotham City Sirens #3, Dark Wolverine #77, Avengers: Initiative #27,