Graphic Novels I've Read
10 - Awesome
9 - Excellent
8 - Very Good
7 - Good
6 - Above Average
5 - Average
4 - Below Average
3 - Poor
2 - Very Poor
1 - Abysmal
10 - Awesome
9 - Excellent
8 - Very Good
7 - Good
6 - Above Average
5 - Average
4 - Below Average
3 - Poor
2 - Very Poor
1 - Abysmal
9/10 - I loved this. Art was fantastic and the slightly more adult tone made it all the more enjoyable. You can tell the film draws inspiration from the book.
8/10 - Another fantastic book but just a little bit short of being as good as it's predecessor. The Liberators were pretty badass.
8/10 - Brilliant read. Great to see how Batman started out and i prefer this to arguably the greatest Graphic Novel of all time The Dark Knight Returns.
7/10 - I wasn't a big fan of art but the story was good. I did have my gripes though and that is the overuse of the TV panels. The battle between Batman and Superman was great.
7/10 - Beautiful art and Great story and i loved the dark dream state of the book. I would have rated this higher had the Joker's dialogue not been a pain in the ass to read at times.
8/10 - Again Beautiful art and great story. Would have been rated higher had the story been longer. I also enjoyed the Made of Wood story.
10/10 - I could not put this down, Everything about it was outstanding. Easily the best book i have read so far and possibly the best and most enjoyable book of any kind i have read.
7/10 - Very similar to The Long Halloween. I had just read the The Long Halloween which meant Dark Victory was good but ultimately more of the same so didn't have as big a impact on me.
7/10 - Would have been higher if the book wasn't so damn short. It took me about an hour to read and although the story was engrossing and art was beautiful it ended just as i was getting into it.
5/10 - There were just far to many coincidences in this book for me to enjoy and i am also of the opinion Batman just doesn't work outside of Gotham City. You would think the fact that Robin is killed in this would make me happy as i hate Robin as a character no matter who plays him but i just felt the book was pretty weak.
3/10 - Obviously this is included in the A Death in the Family book but i thought i would comment on it's own because i feel it was terrible. The whole premise that a 13 year old boy can crack the identity of Batman and Robin but the rest of the world can't is just too stupid to put into words.
6/10 - Decent but pretty short. It was worth reading if only to see how things began.
7/10 - Enjoyed it more than The Origin. It was interesting to see Cap struggle with coming to terms with a world he doesn't know anymore. Thor came of as a bit of a pompous ass. I read the first part of the Ultimate Collection and will read Man Out of Time next before the final part of Earth's Mightiest.
6/10 - Beautiful art and and a great updated version of Cap coming to terms with a world that he doesn't recognize. I may have thought this was better if i was more of a Cap fan and i am sure if i was American it would have had more significance mainly due to the references to American history and tragedies. Well worth the read though.
8/10 - Great second half to the book. Pym's breakdown and change into Yellowjacket was good reading and this book made me have a better understanding of Vision as a character who i previously never knew much about. I enjoyed the Super Adaptoid battle also and the Black Panther trying to get through to Delroy that he would regret his actions should he take the route he was thinking of taking.
5/10 - Decent story but the dialogue felt very dated. I lost count of the amount of times the Molecule Man mentioned he controls all molecules. Apart from holding up a mountain Hulk wasn't portrayed to well, Colossus love angle was pretty lame and the ending was just so so but i am glad i read it if only to see Spidey in the black suit.
7/10 - This is a very hard one for me to comment on. First off i'll say Thor is not my favourite character this book confirmed that, I thought if i could read this that he would grow on me but if anything it made me me realize that Thor just isn't for me. Now, You'll see i gave the book 7/10 well the thing is i loved everything else about it. The stories, the villians, Thor's friends and the art. Those alone made me give the book it's good mark. I can see why this run is so highly thought of.
8/10 - Thoroughly enjoyed this. Great story that had a lot going on. I always had a feeling Craddock was a Skrull and it was pretty obvious Carol Danvers was going to be unveiled as a Skrull too. It was the first time i had saw Clint as Goliath and i am not sure i liked it but it was nice to see Rick Jones be the hero rather than one of the big names even if it was the Supreme Intelligence pulling the strings. It also just goes to show a woman can even screw up an Android's mind.
7/10 - The book felt pretty short but it was still an enjoyable read. A decent story and some great battles especially Hulk-Thor. The last chapter where the Defenders try to save the Black Knight was the weakest part of the book for me especially after a massive battle with Dormammu.
7/10 - This could have been a higher mark but Mantis's dialogue just wore me down. If i never hear the words "This One" again it will be too soon. The book was really good up until the Mantis Origin where i felt it went down hill, The Kang story was good, his reasons for wanting to marry the Madonna were good and i enjoyed the Legion Of The Unliving. I liked Dormammu trying to get his revenge on the Scarlet Witch and the Vision's Origin was enjoyable but i just wasn't all that interested in Mantis. That was mainly down to the annoying dialogue.
7/10 - I found myself really liking Hellcat and thought the story tied together well. The Squadron Supreme really seemed to have the Avengers number but as always they found a way to pull through. Thor saying to Moondragon she is overbearing was like eh!! Thor have you heard yourself. Another solid and enjoyable book.
10/10 - This is on a par with The Infinity Gaunlet as my favourite Avengers story. Quite simply an awesome story that really get's you thinking. The whole premise that Korvac wasn't a villian in the conventional sense and didn't have evil in his heart was brillaint.
7/10 - Another very good story even though it's quite a short book. Only took me about an hour and a half to read. I liked the end fight with Chthon possessing the Scarlet Witch only for her to be broken free and then bringing the mountain down on Chthon. Another good Avengers book.
6/10 - Felt like the dialogue was a bit dated and the story was pretty basic. The battles were ok but nothing special but i did enjoy Hawkeye getting one over an Elder Of The Universe. Grandmaster beaten by a carny trick. Worth the read it just isn't in the same class as other Avengers stories.
7/10 - Hawkeye is a character that has grown on me and turned into one of my favourtes since i started reading Avengers books so to finally get to read him on his own was good. Some parts of the book felt a little dated like the Hawkeye Iron Man story but it was still enjoyable. The main Hawkeye four issue story was my favourite and the Mockingbird and Spider-Man issue was also good . I wasn't to keen on the Mockingbird black and white issue but that was more to do with the fact i prefer colour so i still came away from the book liking her as a character.
7/10 - It was interesting to see these B-Listers come together and see if they could make a new branch of Avengers work. Hawkeye questioning himself and asking what Cap would do, Tigra asking herself if she has what it takes to be on the team, Wonder Man doesn't know if he made the right decision rejoining the Avengers and Rhodey toiling with whether he should reveal that he isn't Tony Stark. Eventually though the team show they are worthy of the Avengers title by bringing down Gravition. I also really enjoyed the Maelstrom story as well.
7/10 - I thought the Vision and Scarlet Witch tie in was very good and the whole story with the family angle and the Hank Pym and Ultron story throughout the book was good but after that it was a bit of a mixed bag. Some good stories and some average. I am not really feeling Wonder Man as a character and Thing really isn't someone i was really interested in. I did like Firebird but the Cat people story was pretty average as Tigra is becoming a bit of a pain.
9/10 - It is easy to see why this is so highly regarded. For me it just falls short of my two favourites The Korvac Saga and Infinity Gauntlet but it is still an engrossing story which had something i had not seen before with Masters Of Evil taking over Avengers Mansion.
6/10 - I enjoyed the Hawkeye stories beginning with his revised origin then the Death Challenge by Trickshot. It was a nice touch the ending which had Trickshot having cancer and Hawkeye going to help him. The other Hawkeye and Black Widow stories were good too but the rest like Moon Knight, Scarlet Witch, Hellcat and Doctor Druid were pretty poor i thought.
6/10 - I was really enjoying this up until the last part of the Vision Quest, What i thought was a very good book was let down by a rather crappy end. That which endures just seemed very vague, sure it survives and moves on but it all just seemed a bit easy for the Great Lakes Avengers in the end. I think if there was a little bit more to it it could have been good rather than just decent.
6/10 - I have read this book was quite a highly regarded Avengers book but i thought it was just decent. The book lacked flow and only really had a few issues that were any good and those were near the end. The Darker Than Scarlet and final two issues were very good but as for the rest i can't say they were all that enjoyable. I also hate U.S.Agent, Byrne had him say to the Time Keepers about taking Immortus back to be taken into custody by the US Government. Hey dumbass these guys control time why the fuck would they worry about the US Government.
6/10 - Another mixed bag, Some average stories, Some good and by far my favourite the U.S.Agent vs Hawkeye. I don't think i've laughed so much at anything comic related as i did when Hawkeye was winding U.S.Agent up as he was getting voted out. I thought it was brilliant as i really have a dislike for U.S.Agent, He is your typical military meathead. The Demonicus story was enjoyable and it was great to see Spider-Woman also but the rest like the Hydro-Man, Vibro and Living Lightning story was just decent.
10/10 - I absolutely loved this, Thanos is such a great character and i thought the story was brilliant. I really hope they decide to use this material in an Avenger film at some point although how it would translate to the big screen may not do the story justice.
8/10 - The links to the Kree Skrull War book are obvious and you can see how this is regarded as somewhat of a sequel, It also continues the high quality story telling of the Kree Skrull War. Once again the Avengers have to get involved in a potential cosmic war between two alien races and it leads to an engrossing book that sets up part two of Operation: Galactic Storm beautifully. The unveiling of a potential Skrull involvement and Deathbird's assassination of the Kree Military Leaders in part one has me eager to get started on part two and i am sure by the way book one sets up book two i will not be disappointed.
8/10 - I had high hopes for book two and it didn't disappoint. The Skrull influence wasn't as big as i thought it was going to be but once again the Supreme Intelligence manage to execute his plan exactly how he wanted to. The Moral battle between the Avengers who thought killing the Supreme Intelligence was the right thing to do and the Cap's group who were against it was intriguing. I enjoyed the aftermath with Cap struggling to come to terms with what has happened and him doubting himself and his ability to inspire and lead the team.
7/10 - A good story that was let down by the order in which the issues were arranged in the book. It didn't read as well as it should have and if the issues had been better arranged then the story could have been excellent. Another gripe i had was that often there was just to much going on in the panels and sometimes it was hard to know what was going on. Still, This was enjoyable but the points i mentioned stopped it from being excellent.
8/10 - Loved book one, Some genuinely funny moments with Pip the Troll, Drax and Maxam. Drax introducing Maxam to Hulk as the Bulk, Wolverine as the Badger, Iron Man as Iron Pan had me in stitches. Infinity War could have been as good if the issues were arranged better.
8/10 - If i had one gripe about this issue it would be that the art was very hit or miss. Ron Lim's was fine but Tom Grindberg's during the Drax vs Thor issue was terrible. Still, It was a very good follow up book to the first one. A fitting way to complete a very good Infinity Series.
7/10 - This was one of the grittier stories i have read and i thought it was pretty good, A bit short but i thought the story worked and showed a more realistic outlook on war than i have read in other books. Well worth the read.
7/10 - Although the book obviously feels dated i still enjoyed it, Seeing how my favourite character came to be was brilliant. You can see that Lee and Kirby weren't sure where to go in the beginning with the Hulk, Starting off grey then green, Him changing at night fall and day break rather than through anger shows it was a bit trial and error to begin with but i think it adds charm to the book and character. It was good to see why Thunderbolt Ross hates Bruce and Hulk but Betty is pretty much brainless and just there as the air headed female which obviously changes in time.
8/10 - Volume 2 see's the introduction of The Leader and Glenn Talbot and some fantastic battles, Namely with Skurge The Executioner and Hercules. I felt it was better than volume 1 because you get to see the character finally taking shape into what made him so popular.
8/10 - I thought it was a little hard to follow at points mainly due to the fact the issues were spread out which left gaps that had to be filled by recaps ie: Talbot getting taken hostage, He and Betty getting married and then separating, General Ross's breakdown, Still Hulk and Jarella's story throughout the book is brilliant and i much prefer Jarella to Betty Ross. I especially enjoyed the Bill Mantlo issues which bodes well for the next two books i'll read in Pardoned and Regression.
9/10 - I had so much fun reading this book, Mantlo's Hulk really is great reading and Buscema's art is just brilliant. His Hulk is a thing of beauty. Although i am a big fan of the more Savage Hulk i really loved seeing Intelligent Hulk. I thought although excellent all the way through from #269 onward it really stepped up another gear. The Abomination/Galaxy Master, U-Foes and Avengers/Leader arcs were outstanding and the end of the book has set it up so i can't wait to read Regression.
9/10 - Man this was awesome, Some absolutely fantastic stories in here and Mantlo's Hulk is very near perfect. Intelligent Hulk was brilliant but even after that Banner descent from intelligent Hulk to Savage Hulk was every bit as engrossing. I had heard criticisms about this collection because of the exclusion of a part of #296 but i found what i needed online so it wasn't an issue for me. Peter David's run on the Hulk is looked at as the definitive Hulk so if it's as good as Mantlo's i can't wait to read it.
6/10 - Decent but short, Hulk back from exile separated from Banner after Doc Samson separates them in an experiment. Hulk escapes after Doc Samson thought he could reform the Hulk who goes on a rampage. Banner on the other hand survives the separation and starts his own Hulkbusters and asks Betty to marry him. Betty says yes and they marry but not without Thunderbolt Ross showing up and shooting Rick Jones before Betty tears Thunderbolt down. After his final battle with Doc Samson Hulk leaves and that's all she wrote. It would have been interesting to see where this would have went had John Byrne not left Marvel.
8/10 - I had read that this was one of the weaker volumes of the run but already after reading this you can see the character development Peter David is trying to work. I also thought the art from Mcfarlane was good and the first volume definitely sets up volume 2 nicely due to the reveal of Banner's abusive father and the Hulk starting to show a bit more compassion as he saw the kid Alex Woolcot similar to himself as he was abused also.
9/10 - Starting off with the Hulk and Wolverine running into each other and leading to a great battle between them meant this volume couldn't start any better. The first issue was fantastic and had the Leader trying to find the Gamma Bombs and had Betty missing Bruce despite what happened previously in volume one. Through the Man-Beast, Half-Life and Androids issues Hulk, Rick and Quartermain finally find Betty and we see signs of Banner coming through in Hulk's personality as the volume just gets better and better. Leader turns Laroquette and Saunders into Rock and Redeemer and sends them of to steal the Gamma Bombs. Betty and Bruce try to iron out their differences but the Hulk and Betty's conversation on a mountain top is where they really try to get to the root of all the issues between Banner, Hulk and Betty. Finally Betty tells Hulk she's pregnant and the final panel of the issue shows Hulk holding a crying Betty. After the Middletown gamma bomb and the apparent destruction of the Hulk followed by the subsequent court case that saw Quartemain cleared of any wrong doing Betty decides to keep the baby and the Leader's scheme is going exactly as he had planned, Little does he know that Hulk or should i say Joe Fixit is in Vegas working as a heavy man for a casino boss as the Absorbing Man finds out to his peril. Lastly what i have noticed so far is Peter David's ability to delve into the psychology of the Banner/Hulk relationship is better than any Hulk writer i have read. I love Mantlo's Hulk to but David's Hulk seems so much deeper psychologically.
8/10 - Another very good volume with a return to Ka'i for Hulk. I felt this was the best part of the book as it referenced the previous visits to Jarella's world Hulk had. The book also had two great battles between Hulk and Thing with Dr Doom pulling the strings in the background. The roles are reversed this time and Thing was the more powerful and beat Hulk in the first fight but then Hulk came back and outsmarted Thing. Hulk's Joe Fixit personna is very likeable and the battle for control of Vegas between the Casino owners and the Maggia was a great story line.
8/10 - Joe Fixit continues to try hold his life together in Vegas but Glorian and Cloot have other ideas. Glorian misguidedly tries to make Hulk see the light by signing a deal with Cloot to trick the Hulk in exchange for his soul but in the end Hulk has to save Glorian by beating Sattanish at craps. The best part of the book for me is when Betty who has just lost her baby is visited in her dream by Nightmare and D'spayre who try to take her soul by making her lose the will to live. It takes Hulk and Banner to save her. The final part of the book see's Bruce working as a Janitor and he meets Dr Sterns who wants Bruce's help in his job to help him move up the ladded and in return he'll let Bruce uses the equipment to try find a cure to the Hulk. Another good volume as David's run continues to be a high quality of storytelling.
9/10 - A very good story to start the book with Hulk being poisoned with a disease similar to aids by the Madman who turns out to be Philip Sterns, The Leader's brother. Hulk after fighting Abomination who was sent by the Leader searches for a cure by going to the fantastic Four who after a battle with Hulk decide to help him. Reed Richards couldn't find a cure in time so the Leader interjects and tells Hulk he can help him if he kills the Madman. A nice touch shows Leader unwilling to kill his brother hence why Hulk is needed. By this time Hulk is deteriorating and after a battler manages to get the antidote just in time. Hulk and Banner's journey back to Connecticut to find Betty is filled with strange goings on, First he runs into Mr Hyde and battles on a train, Then Freedom Force try to capture Hulk and finally the Lifeform and Hulk go toe to toe Which leads to Hulk being turned into the Dark Hulk while trying to help Doctor Strange. After defeating the Strange Matter that took over Hulk Banner is told by Doctor Strange that Betty has had a miscarriage. This puts further strain on Banners already strained psyche and when he finds Betty she is a nun but is not allowed to see her. Prometheus who has been chasing Banner finally catches up to Banner and attacks him as he is trying to stop Betty leaving on a train but Prometheus's interruption just puts even more pressure on Banner's psyche which finally snaps and the result is the return of Ol Greenskin. After dispatching of Prometheus Banner thinking he has lost Betty again but the final page shows Betty standing there and she and Banner embrace each other. Keown's art added to David's storytelling is perfection.
9/10 - This volume is nearly perfect and it would have been a 10/10 had it been all Keown and David. David delves further into Banner's psyche and shows exactly why Banner's different personalities exist. Joe fixit's ex girlfriend shows up as the new girlfriend of Rick Jones and the pressure and questioning from Betty, Marlo and Rick is what tips Bruce over the edge into an emotional breakdown where the two Hulk's fight for dominance of Banner's psyche but it takes an intervention from Doc Samson and a counselling session to get to the depths of Banner's issues. It is from here that we find out that the abuse by Bruce's father and his father's killing of his mother when Bruce was a child is what drives the multiple personalities that exist inside Banner's mind and show that the gamma bomb only magnified Bruce's Multiple Personality Disorder to the extreme. The Doc Samson issue where Crazy Eight is sentenced to death and given the chair was very enjoyable also and a nice addition. The book ends with Hulk being take to the Mount and Agamemnon trying to recruit Hulk to the Pantheon's cause. Hulk accepts but the book ends as Delphi see's into the future, Once again we see a troubled insane Hulk.
8/10 - Starts off during the Infinity Gauntlet with a good story about Abomination and his love for his ex wife who thinks he is dead and moves onto to the chaos with Gestalt while Infinity Gauntlet is still happening. Hulk's trip to Israel shows once again that even though he is regarded as a monster his morals are still stronger than those of the Pantheon who were willing to kill Max Meer. The Mole Man/Tyrannus story was ok and the Jim Wilson Aids reveal was good and caontinued to show Hulk as a deep man with emotion before the final Man Thing issue which was just ok.
8/10 - Volume 8 starts of with the very good three issue War & Pieces story where the Hulk and the Pantheon try to free Trans-Sabal from the Dictator Farnoq Dahn. X-Factor are called in by the US government official Mr Galvin and think that by fighting on Dahn's side they are fighting on the side of peace until later when it is revealed that he has drugged Val Cooper, Taken Havok hostage and killed Mr Galvin. Eventually as the story progress even after firing missiles with innocent civilians tied to them the people of Trans-Sabal still forgive Dahn but Dahn is gunned down by a Mandroid who is revealed to be controlled by an angry Rick Jones. The stor with Hulk, The Pantheon and the People's Protectorate was good and it showed a good look a Igor Drenkov and how although he regretted the decision to allow the Gamma Bomb to go off he wouldn't do it any other way as he had a mission for his country, Even though he knew the consequences. Next we have Rick Jones traumatised by his own actions killing Farnoq Dahn in Trans-Sabal. In this issue it also has a great story with the Hulk and Pantheon searching the Himalayas for Atalanta as she is being hunted by the Alien Trauma. It takes the combined efforts of Hulk and Atalanta to defeat Trauma although he is not dead as the final panel shows. The volume ends with a cracking story with Rick Jones's mother trying to get back into Rick's life and Hulk being Joe Fixit again to help the murdered Mike Berengetti's wife Suzi against Berengetti's murdered Sam Striker and his henchman Frost. The Punisher makes an appearance and helps Hulk and the Pantheon set up Striker's men into admitting to Berengetti's murder while staging a false drug deal. Peter David and Dale Keown's work together have been far and away the best part of the run and this volume was no different.
9/10 - Future Imperfect - Outstanding. A ruler named Maestro controls a city called Dystopia 90 years in the future where poverty is rife and punishment is death. Resistance fighters have one hope and that hope is the Hulk, They need and want him to take down the man named Maestro but Hulk soon learns that Maestro is a future incarnation of himself who was driven mad from ambient radiation and watching everything he ever loved die as he survived. Rick Jones is revealed as Gramps and the man who made the plan to bring the Hulk into the future using Doctor Doom's time machine. Jones lives in a trophy room which contains many of the most famous superheroes weapons, Skeleton's, ashes and costumes. Jones dies at he end at the hands of Maestro who knocked Jones into the adamantium Skeleton of Wolverine and this leads to some very touching moments between Rick and Hulk after Meastro is sent back to die at the hands of the very gamma bomb that created Hulk/Maestro.
10/10 - Hulk: The End - This is now my favourite story i have read, A harrowing tale of a man who is the only person left on earth with nothing but cockroaches that try to eat him and a vidbot for company which was left by an alien to record as Banner lives out his lonely life. Banner wants to die, His friends and loved ones are long dead and there is nothing for him to live for but Banner's alter ego the Hulk has different ideas. Hulk is the ultimate survivalist and will never bow to defeat no matter what the enemy and this leads to a very emotional two sided tale of Banner the lonely man who wants to die and Hulk the monster who'll never give up fighting. It is in a dream that Banner realizes that he may be getting punished for humanity's sins by never being allowed to die much like the Titan Prometheus who was punished by Zeus for giving humanity fire which led through the years to technology. Promotheus's punishment was that he had to be chained the mountain with chains that not even a Titan like himself could break, and two gigantic birds would rip open his stomach and eat his liver slowly day after day, and every night his liver would grow once more. This bears resemblence to the Hulk who would be eaten by cockroaches only to heal and live on. The book ends with Hulk sitting somberly outside a cave thinking "Banner is gone...got rid of him last night." and knowing if he turns back into Banner he will die. Hulk is glad and thinks he doesn't need Banner only for the tragic realization to come upon him: "Hulk...strongest one there is. Hulk...only one there is...Hulk feels...cold." Keown's art is the best i have seen on any Hulk book and David takes you on a journey which is emotional but quite simply beautiful.
6/10 - This all felt a bit of a mess, I mean the first four issues were just a retelling of the same story from different perspectives. The art was good but the story was a bit all over the place. Hulk being used by Tyrannus to wreak havoc then he loses control of the Hulk so kidnaps him and siphons the power of the Hulk into someone else who causes a plane crash killing hundreds and then Banner gets the power of the Hulk back and through Leonard Samson's hidden camera SHIELD see Banner was being manipulated. There was also a story of how Bettey Ross was brought back to life but at night turned into a some moss type plant thing like the Man Thing. Not the best Hulk i have read and a pretty big comedown from Peter David's outstanding work.
7/10 - Much of this book is a trip through Banner's psyche and his struggle to cope with his Dissociative Identity Disorder and having Lou Gehrig's disease he is dying. We are treated to appearances from Joe Fixit, Professor Hulk, Savage Hulk, a new Devil Hulk and a guilt based Hulk which is based on Bruce's father. Banner comes to an agreement with his other Hulk personalities that between the three dominant, Gray, Savage and Professor will share time being in control although Banner will always be pulling the strings in the background. Banner seeks the help of former girlfriend Angela Lipscombe as he struggles to come to terms with Betty's death and his impending death. We see the appearance of General John Ryker who has been carrying out tests on humans trying to replicate Banner's condition in an attempt to be able to cure his wife's cancer although this isn't revealed until the end of the book and we are led to believe that Ryker was a very sick man. Ryker finally captures the Hulk and tortures him trying to break him but Banner is freed by none other than Thunderbolt Ross who's feels guilty at hearing Bruce's words about what would Betty think of his actions. Nick Fury and SHIELD storm Area 51 to free Banner and the hostages at the end but Ryker escapes. Enjoyable story and excellent art.
7/10 - I kinda enjoyed the light hearted nature of first story where Fixit and Hack go to a air force base and try to retrieve a machine called the hybrid. Hack seems a bit of conspiracy theorist and thinks there is aliens at the base, which he is right about. The Disorganized Crime two part story was ok, Some funny parts with the dumb Delfini Brothers but it wasn't anything special. Fixit goes to claim money he was due from Jimmy Delfini but he is dead and his associate is running a scam that makes everyone think Jimmy Defini is still alive even the three brothers have fallen for it. In the end Mister Foster is betrayed by his bodyguard Nobby Pyles and Pyles tries to defeat Fixit but Fixit had heard a rumor years ago about Pyles being scared of puppy's which turns out to be true. Another light hearted tale. Dear Betty has Banner struggling still to accept Betty's death and his therapy is writing a letter to her suggested by Doc Samson but Banner tells Samson it was Professor Hulk who forgave Abomination for killing Betty and he feared what he might do if he met Abomination. Abomination is working as a teacher and much like Banner is destroyed by the loss of his wife only Nadia isn't dead it's just Abomination can't see her when he is a monster. Thunderbolt Ross approaches Bruce to tell him he doesn't blame him but tricks Bruce into showing him Betty's body in stasis and Bruce changes into the Savage Hulk and goes looking for Abomination. The Hulk and Abomination battle was brilliant but although Banner got revenge Banner knew General Ross had used him and managed to stop himself from killing Abomination. There is a video playing on a loop in Abomination's cell that tortures him, His wife saying she will always love him. The Past Perfect was very good, Banner's mind has created the perfect life for him but the cracks start to appear as the Professor alter ego starts leaves clues in Banner's dreams before Banner gets a phone call from what turns out to be a very old Mr Fixit from the Crossroads Hotel. The Devil personna has given Banner the perfect life and all he wants in return is control of Banner's body to wreak havoc on the world. I didn't like the Thor-Hulk issue even though it was a good battle i just can't stand Thor. The Spiral Staircase story was pretty good as the Leader gives Banner a cure for the ALS that is killing him, It is revealed that Bruce's father's DNA helped cure Bruce. All in all it was a mix of good and decent.
3/10 - Really didn't like this. The art wasn't to my taste, In fact i thought the Hulk looked like Shrek and Doc Samson looked terrible. There was a well choreographed battle between Hulk and Samson but apart from the it was probably the worst Hulk book i have read. Doc Samson was portrayed badly in my opinion also. Just not for me.
8/10 - I enjoyed this telling of the Hulk's origin. It is looked at from another perspective and isn't completely true to the original origin for example the appearance of Iron Man but it was an interesting look at it. I found it very interesting the way Hulk yearned for Betty to see him for who he was, The way he treated her he just wanted to show her what she meant to him but Betty was in denial but it is interesting to see how at the end it is revealed that Betty stayed with Bruce through all the tough times because the turbulence and punishment for lack of a better word of their relationship was much like her relationship with father. Bruce/Hulk never treated Betty the way her father did but with the Hulk she was never going to have a peaceful life so in a way it was the familiarity of it all so she accepted what came with being with Bruce/Hulk.
8/10 - I really enjoyed this book as The Thunderbolts atempt to prove they can be trusted to be the Earth's new Heroes after the deaths of The Fantastic Four and Avengers, Of Course it is revealed as a scheme by the Masters Of Evil to gain public trust and get inside the world's defenses but as time wears on we see certain members actually enjoying being on the side of good and not having to face humiliation and defeat as they did when they were villians. A side story which a young teenager called Hallie Takahama crosses paths with Thunderbolts and leads to her joining the team. With Appearances from The Rat Pack, The Wrecking Crew, The Mad Thinker, The Circus Of Crime, Hulk, Spider-Man, Black Widow, New Masters Of Evil and Arnim Zola. This is a very good book with fantastic art from Bagley and great storytelling from Busiek.
8/10 - Following on from Volume One see's Citizen V still trying to gain access to the Avengers files from S.H.I.E.L.D. Citizen V/Zemo is showing signs of restlessness and has started demanding access after The Thunderbolts run into former Avengers foes The Elements Of Doom. The members of The Thunderbolts disobey Citizen V/Zemo's orders not to help the government until they have access to the files and they end up being captured. The Thunderbolts manage to escape and defeat The Elements Of Doom with help from some of earth's other heroes like Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Daredevil and more. Citizen V/Zemo uses the capture of The Thunderbolts members to finally get access to the files as Dallas Riordan finally manages to persuade Colonel Bridge to release the files. The Thunderbolts are called in to help the Heroes For Hire to take down the Super Adaptoid who has escaped but Citizen V/Zemo's actions are starting to raise suspicions with the Heroes For Hire as his true self starts to come through. Black Widow approaches Songbird and Mach 1 with a warning and tells them of her suspicions and that they have to make a choice, She uses the example of when Hawkeye, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch first became Avengers as an example of how people can change. S.H.I.E.L.D do eventually find out who The Thunderbolts are and it's revealed it was Zemo and Techno who did it as part of his plan which leaves the other members no choice but to follow Zemo. Moonstone, Jolt, Beetle and Songbird try to carry out a plan to stop Zemo while on the space base but when the Avengers show up it's found that they are under Zemo's control through the Bio-Modem. The Thunderbolts with Iron Man's help finally defeat Zemo but Zemo escapes with a little help from Goliath/Atlas before saving the Avengers lifes. The Remaining Thunderbolts are transported to Kosmos where the story leads us to their apparent link to Kang after there battle with the Growing Man in TB#12. They're imprisoned by the Kosmosian leaders and sentenced to death but Moonstone escapes and comes to an agreement with the Vizier to kill the Primutor if they are returned to Earth. Busiek and Bagley continue the awesome stories and art.
8/10 - I was expecting this to be the best out of the three volumes especially as i knew Hawkeye shows up but although it as very good it was on a par with Volumes One and Two. I think this may have been to do with the fact i was starting to dislike certain characters, Namely Songbird and Jolt with Songbird just being a bitch and i actually started to wish someone would kill her and Jolt just being a bit of a pain in the ass. It didn't help that every time Songird used her power we are given a description about how a carapace in her throat turns her screams in to solid sound. Once or twice i don't mind but every time?. That being said the stories were good but after three volumes i didn't feel a connection with any characters so that definitely effected my ability to care what happened to certain members of the team, Still Busiek's excellent story telling kept me reading.
9/10 - This was absolutely brilliant with the quality of both Busiek's story telling and George Perez's art being excellent. I also love Busiek's deep characterization and his references and connections to Avengers history. The Morgan Conquest and Supreme Justice were very good but my personal favourite was Clear and Present Danger. Fresh villians and varied heroes makes this first volume all the more interesting so it's no wonder Busiek's run is so highly thought of if this is the marker for how good the stories are. Roll on Volume two.
9/10 - I really enjoyed the issue Annual 99 which was written by John Francis Moore and pencilled by Leonardo Manco, Telling the story of the Avengers deaths from Jarvis perspective, It felt dark and gritty and the art was very good. The Jerry Ordway issues weren't as good as the Busiek's but still the were good. I absolutely loved Ultron Unlimited. What a great story, totally engrossing and Ultron is such a baddass character.
8/10 - Another excellent volume but not as good as the first two. The Nefaria Protocols was the best in the book and it was on a par with other good stories like Ultron Unlimited and The Morgan Conquest but the other stories in the book weren't as good as in the first two volumes. Volume two also brought to an end George Perez gorgeous artwork on the book.
9/10 - The Maximum Security Dangerous Planet and Maximum Security three issue story at the beginning of the book was very good and tied the loose ends up from the Super Intelligence having the Forever Crystal at the end of Avengers: Forever. The art in the two Steve Epting issues following Maximum Security was fantastic and it's a shame he didn't do more as i really liked it. The beginning of the Kang Dynasty story is also very good and sets up nicely going to Busiek's final volume.
9/10 - This volume starts off with the great Ultron Imperative story as the follow on from Ultron Unlimited story where Alkhema builds her own Robos children using the brain patterns from the six captured Avengers (Wonder Man, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Hank Pym and Wasp) along with Grim Reaper in Ultron Unlimited. The art was good in places and not so good in others. After the Ultron Imperative the book continues the Kang Dynasty story line that is carried over from the end of volume 4, I have seen people say that the Kang Dynasty is to long well personally i thought it was excellent, So many things happening that were tied up in the end by Busiek's fantastic story telling abilities and it was a fitting end to his Avengers run which was consistently excellent.
7/10 - I felt this started off really slow and never picked up until around issue #7. It was an enjoyable read though which due to my having read much of the books referenced in Forever made it all the more enjoyable as i knew what parts of Avengers history Busiek was using. I can't give this anymore than an 7/10 simply because the first half of the book was so slow and the characters used were characters that i am really not that bothered about, Except Hawkeye.
8/10 - Read this in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it. There wasn't much action in the book and it actually read more like a movie which i thought was very good. I felt it was a good way to follow on from Busiek's outstanding run even if Johns Avengers stuff isn't that highly thought of.
10/10 - Absolutely loved this book. Something about the way Johns writes gives the stories a feel as though they would be perfect for a movie. Red Skull somehow manages to get himself into the Secretary Of Defense job as undercover Dell Rusk and a secret project named Bloodwash is unleashed on the public from Mount Rushmore contaminating and killing lots of innocents before the Avengers with the help from Henry Gyrich manage to uncover that Dell Rusk is in fact Red Skull and foil his plan of a New America which would attack Wakanda after he would blame them for the biological attack which killed innocent Americans. Fantastic book with great Olivier Coipel art and one of the best Avengers stories i have read.
6/10 - This was decent but still a big drop from Red Zone. The art was just ok and the story although good just lacked something and even an appearances from the Hulk couldn't make this anymore than above average.
7/10 - I thought this was a decent start to the Bendis era. Some fantastic artwork and a story which involves the total destruction of the team. Scarlet Witch is responsible for the carnage that costs Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Vision and Jack Of Hearts their lives but not only that but Wanda manipulated She-Hulk into attacking her fellow Avengers injuring Wasp and tearing Vision in half. All this came from a slip of the tongue by Wasp that mentioned Wanda's children which sent Wanda to see Agatha Harkness who had cast a spell on Wanda making her forget that she had ever warped her children into life. Wanda warps reality and causes events that prove to be the Avengers worst day ever.
7/10 - The start of a New Avengers team, Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Luke Cage and Spider-Woman make up the new team with Daredevil declining the offer of membership. A prison break is is what brings the heroes together and the story moves on from there eventually ending up in the Savage Land as the New Avengers try to capture Karl Lykos (Sauron) who escaped with help from Electro. A good new beginning for the team.
8/10 - A good story that showed why David is the best Hulk writer there has been. This story was all about how Nightmare has been manipulating the Hulk for years tormenting him for inconveniences that Hulk has caused Nightmare. Nightmare tells Hulk that certain parts of Hulk's past may of may not be real, this was of course a way to wipe out much of Bruce Jones Hulk run and the Sadistic Hulk that Paul Jenkins introduced. Cameos be Fing Fang Foom, Wolverine, Doc Samson, Thunderbolt Ross and the Gray Hulk in this make this a very enjoyable book with some fantastic Lee Weeks art, I also really loved the stand-alone issue "Dear Tricia..." it had a pulp feel to it. A very dark love story with great Jae Lee art.
6/10 - The Avengers try to find out who the Sentry is and why nobody remembers him. Sentry thinks his wife is dead and that i he uses his powers it will mean the Void showing up but eventually it turns up that the Void is a repressed persona of Sentry. These events happened as the Sentry had a virus implanted into his mind by his nemesis the General and mutant Mastermind but with the help of Emma Frost the Avengers and X-Men are able to help cure Sentry by unblocking his mind. Another good read.
8/10 - As Wanda continues to lose her grip on her sanity Pietro tells Magneto and Wanda that the Avengers and X-Men plan to kill Wanda because she is losing her grip on reality and is becoming more and more unstable as time goes on. It is thought Magneto helps Wanda change reality by capturing Charles Xavier but it turns out that it is Pietro that is responsible of doing this in his fathers name. Wanda gives everyone all they ever wanted, Even bringing Hawkeye back to life but none remember their previous life's except Wolverine who then goes about trying to tell the others with the help of a young girl who is somehow able to make the others remember. Once everyone has had their memory restored a plan to destroy the House Of Manus is hatched. When Wanda sees the carnae that the fighting has brought she decides mutants are the problem and decides to wipe out the mutant gene leaving only the members of the team who were protected by Emma Frost and Dr Strange as still mutants. At the end there is still no sign of Xavier and Wanda and Pietro are of Avengers radar while the X-Men visit a powerless Magneto in Genosha. A good story that had fantastic Coipel art.
8/10 - Good story by David with just ok art. In the alternate reality created by the Scarlet Witch Hulk is living with Aborigines and is living in peace until a mutant army encroaches into the Aborigines land. Hulk is forced to intervene and with the help of a sect of A.I.M defeats the mutant government in Australia with Hulk becomming the new leader. The Hulk is later double crossed by Monica Rappaccini and A.I.M as they use human subjects to build a cyborg army to take down Magneto. Rappaccini's daughter Scorpion helps Hulk uncover the plot and the cyborg army is no more after Hulk defeats a giant Cyborg in battle. Hulk and Monica wake up together in bed as reality is restored after the end of House Of M and A.I.M comes to collect lead Scientist Rappaccini as her daughter Scorpion a S.H.I.E.L.D agent fails to take her into custody, Banner is shown walking away from the burned down part of Aborigine land.
7/10 - A good edition to the House Of M event, Based around Luke Cage and a group of "Sapiens" as the humans are called in a mutant ruled world. Cage and his Avengers fightback against the mutant persecution of the Sapiens is based in Hell's Kitchen which is named Sapien Town. After uniting with Shang Chi's rival gang the Sapiens have to try to take down the corrupt Mutant Task Force The Brotherhood. Some very good art in this with some of my favourite characters like Iron Fist, Moon Knight, Elektra, Hawkeye and Punisher.
7/10 - More and more is revealed about Spider-Woman being a double agent and how that actually happened. Her position meant she had to help Madam Hydra escape the Quinjet which almost killed Captain America in the process. The Avengers also have the help of a mysterious Ninja which turned out to be Echo. There is also the Silver Samurai who was offered the Leader position of Hand and to unite the Japanese underworld in the hope he could take out the people who were controlling the Hand and Hydra. These people have yet to be named. Another decent edition to the Bendis Avengers run.
8/10 - Hulk is called in to defuse a Hydra Gamma Bomb which is found out in the Nevada Desert. The bomb goes of right in front of Hulk which send him crazy with him having some sort of breakdown as parts of his life flash before his eyes sending him on a rampage that forces the Fantastic Four's Thing and Human Torch to try and stop. Hulk beats down the Thing and even Survives Torch going Nova as he finally comes to his senses. In the Peace In Our Time four issue story Hulk is living in Alaska trying to keep himself out of the way as he is befriended by what turns out to be a S.H.I.E.L.D agent. Hulk ends up being asked by Nick Fury to help destroy a A.I satellite called Godseye in space which has taken on a life of it's own. Fury lies to Banner telling him it was a HYDRA creation when in fact it was S.H.I.E.L.D that built it. After destroying Godseye the Hulk is double crossed and shot out into space by Fury and a mystery voice on a computer that says "Bruce we're sorry, You have left us no choice". The art in the Peace In Our Time story was very good in parts, especially the first issue and it was an enjoyable read.
10/10 - And to think there was a time when i wasn't even going to purchase this due to the fact Cap isn't one of my favourites. After reading this awesome Brubaker book he really made me care about Cap something no Avengers book has made me do and even Waid's Man Out Of Time story didn't grab me like this one but after reading this it's no surprise that this run is so highly praised. Brubaker's gritty story is also an emotional ride as Cap is put through hell and when you add the gorgeous art by Steve Epting and the flashbacks done by Michael Lark you have an outstanding effort.
9/10 - Extremis introduces a new Origin story for Iron Man and gives his armor a significant upgrade in power. You can see why this is one of the most highly thought of Iron Man stories and you can also see that the Iron Man movies have borrowed from the Extremis story arc. With the Extremis Nanotubes now in his system Iron Man can now mentally command not only his armor, but phone, computer, and even global satellite networks along with having improved healing abilities and a boosted immune system. It wasn't tell the end when it clicked that Maya Hansen had to have helped Dr Aldrich Killian to get into the vault to release Extremis due to the vault needed two key cards. A nice twist at the end. I thoroughly enjoyed this Warren Ellis story and Adi Granov's art was brilliant as well.
7/10 - More fallout from the House Of M as an energy collecting mutant named Michael Pointer has somehow collected the powers of many of the mutants who lost their powers in the House Of M. Pointer on his road back to Genosha kills civilians and Alpha Flight except Sasquatch who survives. The Collective powers identifies itself as Xorn and chooses Magneto as the next host as the mutants will follow Magneto. Eventually though the Avengers pull through and throw Xorn into the sun and after the Helicopter carrying Magneto explodes it's suggested he may have escaped. Good art with a decent story.
10/10 - Ed Brubaker has turned a character who i was not to fussed about and managed to make Captain America one of the best series of books i have read. The quality of Brubaker's stories are just outstanding, They have everything in them. Emotion, Action, Mystery and even references to past history as Cap continues to search for Bucky, Crossbones manages to deprogramme Sin and turn her back into an heir the Red Skull would be proud off, Aleksander Lukin's relationship with Red Skull keeps getting stranger as their plans to destroy Captain America continue with the use a group named the Master Race who try to destroy London with the help of a robot named the Sleeper. Cap along with Sharon Carter, Union Jack, Spitfire and even a little help from Bucky manage to thwart the Skulls evil plans. I can't praise this run highly enough. Epting and Perkins continue with the absolutely gorgeous artwork in this series. This is one series that i will definitely re-read once i collect all the issues.
6/10 - I felt this was just ok. The art was decent but not anything special, i preferred the art in Extremis to this. In fact the covers by Adi Granov were beautiful and the best artwork in the book. The story was ok as Tony Stark is reported to be going around the world killing people who are on a mysterious man's list and had all played a part in Ho Yinsen's murder. We find out later that Stark had an implant put in his brain by Ho Yinsen when Tony was captured and this is how he is being controlled by the hooded man. The Iron Men Argonauts that Stark had been building get taken over and are controlled by the villian but with the help of the Avengers ad FF4 Stark saves the day. The guilt of the innocent life's lost weighs heavy on Stark as he sits in a hospital bed and ponders how his armor is a lethal weapon like a gun and guns have to be registered which is a of course setting up Civil War.
5/10 - I read this before reading the actual Civil War book and i can't help but feel maybe i should have read it after. The book was ok, Nothing about it was bad it's just nothing was great either. My favourite issue was the Luke Cage issue but the rest were just average also the art in the Captain America issue was terrible.
7/10 - I feel the idea behind the story is better in theory than is executed. I get that with a tragedy like 9/11 Marvel then tried to add their own twist to this and also their own take on the Patriot Act but rather than use the characters in a way that would fit the story they made the story then tried to put the big names in which resulted in characters acting somewhat out of character. I also think for an event as big as Civil War was that even though they tried to take no sides i thought the Pro-Reg side came of looking very bitter and like the villains. Personally i agreed with Cap and the Anti-Reg side. I get the tone of the book is "Would You Give Up Your Freedoms For Security" but this is never really debated in the book, I did love seeing the Thor-Bot get it's head smashed in though. The book left me with a sour taste in my mouth regarding Iron Man and Reed Richards, I look forward to seeing if there will be any payback toward them as i hope there will be. Still despite these complaints i enjoyed the book for what it was and may read it again at some point.
5/10 - An average tie in nothing more, In the Embedded story line a reporter named Sally Floyd who thinks there is a conspiracy afoot. Ben Urich another reporter who doesn't think there a conspiracy until he is confronted by Norman Osborn even though he is supposed to be in jail. J. Jonah Jamieson doesn't believe Urich when he tells him that Osborn threatened him and told him to pass on a message to Jamieson. In the Accused story Speedball who seems to be struggling to take responsibility for his actions and part in the Stamford Explosion however indirect it was ends up in prison for refusing to take a bargain plea from the government and sign the SHRA. In Sleeper Cell we also see an Atlantean sleeper agent who is followed by Wonder Man meeting with a group of other Atlantean's with the reasons likely to be revealed in book two. The book is very politically linked to the real world and although i was enjoyable enough i just felt there was something missing.
5/10 - Another only average tie in, Some things really pissed me off about this. Urich and Floyd's decision about not running the story of what Tony Stark done and Floyd's utterly stupid rant about MYSPACE, Youtube and American Idol. I mean WTF really? still though there was some interesting parts and the story was ok. I thought the story of how Speedball became Penance was good but there was nothing that really gripped me about this book. Unless you can call my new found hatred for Stark and Richards gripping.
10/10 - Absolutely brilliant, I loved how there are so many similarities with Mantlo's run as Pak takes Hulk to Sakaar much like Mantlo took Hulk to Micro World K'ai. Hulk lost Caiera much like he lost Jarella but it is this which shows why Hulk is such a tragic character, even when happiness seems within his grasp it is ripped away. Planet Hulk has everything that any Hulk fan would want but even for the non Hulk fans it's just a fantastic story to see Hulk free a planets people from oppression as he then tries to unite them and bring peace to a planet ravaged by war. Ironically it is a Human device that does the most damage to Sakaar just as peace looked to be within it's grasp. There is a great cast of new characters introduced here like Krog, Hiroim, Caiera, Miek, Elloe and Brood which i look forward to reading more about and i can't wait to read World War Hulk now to see the puny Humans getting exactly what they deserve.
8/10 - I really enjoyed this, It was better than Execute Program and the story of the Mandarin is really taking shape as he has infiltrated the US Government as a CEO of Prometheus named Tem Borjigin and managed to get Maya Hansen to go back to work on Extremis. These developments were brought about by Splinter groups attacking S.H.I.E.L.D and Iron Man using Biological weapons. I am really looking forward to the next volume.
10/10 - Emotional, Gritty and Gripping, Brubaker's Cap is fast becoming the best run i have ever read. I absolutely love it and it has me hooked. Winter Soldier is a character i am growing very fond of as well but if i am honest Brubaker's use of all the characters has been outstanding whether it's Sharon Carter to Falcon, Crossbones to Sin they all just seem to be perfect for the story Brubaker is telling. Cap's death and the story that unravels about who is responsible is first class, Not only that but the highly charged emotions that result from Cap's death result in Bucky going on a one man crusade. Falcon and Sharon worked together after Sharon quits S.H.I.E.L.D but there are outside forces at work that lead to a terrible revelation for Sharon. Her world is rocked further with the news that she is pregnant. Once again the art by Epting and Perkins is brilliant.
6/10 - I thought this was just ok, It wasn't anything special and i also thought Yu's art was very hit or miss. In some fight scenes it was like characters were just there and not actually engaging in a fight with anyone. The story itself was only ok, The Underground Avengers try to save Maya Lopez (Echo) from the clutches of Hand after she has been killed by Elektra and brought back to life. We also see the return of Hawkeye who takes Maya Lopez' role as Ronin. At the end when the Avengers finally save Maya, Maya kills Elektra who is revealed to be a Skrull.
7/10 - I liked the story but i'm really not a fan of the Romita Jr artwork, I felt some parts were just flat out ugly and i hate how he draws Iron Man's suit. The story although not as good as Planet Hulk was a good continuation and was probably more enjoyable for Hulk fans as it's basically a beat down of the Marvel Universe. I loved the Hulk making the so called heroes pay. I really don't like Reed Richards or Sentry so it was nice to see them get their ass handed to them. Dr Strange, Iron Man and Black Bolt i really don't mind but it was also nice to see Hulk get some payback on them. Hulk got his revenge for the heroes betrayal but after reading Planet Hulk i had my suspicions that it would be Miek who'd be the culprit for the bomb on Sakaar.
7/10 - It was good to see Hulk go right through most of the X-Men, Even giving Wolverine got a nice going over. Much like the World War Hulk main book this was just a lot of action as Hulk goes through character after character. The art was good though. The Irredeemable Ant Man issue was terrible, Horrible cartoony art and just a crappy story. The Initiative issues were decent as was the Ghost Rider issue but nothing brilliant. Lastly the Iron Man issues i enjoyed, Still don't like the way Stark acted through Civil War or World War Hulk but these issues sort of show how tough his decisions were. The art in the Iron Man issues were the best in the book i thought.
5/10 - Average is about all i can say about this, A street level story telling World War Hulk from the point of view of Sally Floyd and Ben Urich. Art was very hit of miss, Some very good and some downright horrible. The story was the same, Interesting in parts but in others it just felt like hard work.
7/10 - I did enjoy this as it showed that although Hulk wanted his revenge for what had happened to him on Sakaar he wasn't going to kill anyone whilst doing it and even went so far as to save some humans when they were in danger. It was also nice to see that the Hulk had some friends on Earth as well as his Warbound. Amadeus Cho held an idealistic view of the Hulk but he was mostly right about Hulk as a hero. Hercules, Angel and Namora helped Amadeus throughout but it was She-Hulk who suggested Amadeus get in contact with them. All in all a good edition to the World War Hulk saga.
7/10 - I was surprised at how much i enjoyed this as i am not a big fan of Reed Richards or Charles Xavier. I have also been a bit indifferent to Tony Stark after his actions in Civil War and World War Hulk. I found the book to be enjoyable with excellent art by Cheung. Nothing ground breaking but the foundations for Secret Invasions are set.
5/10 - Didn't think this was any better than average and the fact the art was just ok didn't help it. I am really beginning to dislike Bendis's dialogue and it really feels like it lacks flow sometimes. So far apart from Secret War Bendis's run has been pretty average in my opinion.
6/10 - I thought this was decent. I don't know it just feels like there is something missing when i read Bendis's Avengers, I don't hate it i just don't enjoy it as much as i thought i would. So in this volume we have the team doubting each other, thinking that they have been infiltrated by Skrulls so they now don't trust each other. We also get the appearance of the Hood who has brought together lots of Super-Villians and is trying to take down the Avengers. In this issue we also see New York attacked by Symbiotes which is part of the Might Avengers Venom Bomb story. Leinil Yu's art was also pretty good.
6/10 - I thought this was better than The Ultron Initiative, It was a decent story with Symbiote infection being released on New York and the Avengers traveling to Latveria to try and capture Dr Doom who was responsible. I think one of a few reasons i am not enjoying Bendis's Avengers as much as i should is due to the fact that the Sentry has such an important part. I just don't see the attraction with him. We also see an appearance by Morgan Le Fay with those scenes beautifully drawn by Marko Djurdjevic. Those were the best scenes in the book for me. Mark Bagley was the main artist and he was good it just doesn't hold a candle to those Djurdjevic pages.
5/10 - It was ok but nothing more than average. It was good to see the Leader face off against the Hulk's Warbound and appearances from characters of the Hulk's past like Kate Waynesboro but i felt underwhelmed after reading this. There was a few references to past Hulk stories which was nice but it couldn't make this book anything other than average.
9/10 - The final part of the Knauf's Iron Man run. An excellent end to a thoroughly enjoyable run. Haunted was a very good book with some brilliant art by Roberto De La Torre and Butch Guice. The Mandarin has manipulated Maya Hansen into working for him and they are working on being able to release Extremis airborne. Hansen thinks this is to help aid humanities illnesses but the Mandarin want's to use it as a biological weapon. Iron Man who seems to be losing his sanity manages to stop the Mandarin but it's at the cost of his reputation. It's only after Iron Man suceeds does the people and the UN appreciate the sacrifices that Stark has made.
8/10 - Thunderbolts is something i haven't read a lot of apart from Busiek's great run but enjoyed this. Warren Ellis managed to take characters like Jack Flag and Steel Spider and actually make me care what happened to them. He also gave the best portrayal of Norman Osborn i have read, Bullseye was also very good. I really enjoyed the Faith In Monsters arc although i will say there seemed to be a difference in Chen Lu (Radioactive Man) in the Initiative compared to what he was like in the Faith In monsters. He seemed a lot more forgiving in the Faith In Monsters whereas he acted kind of ruthless in the Initiative. That's a minor annoyance though. As for the Caged Angels arc i thought that was very good as well. Osborn putting on the Goblin costume was brilliant and although i am not big on Penance it was nice to see Robbie Baldwin looking like he might get back on track. The art throughout these arcs was fantastic by Deodato.
5/10 - I didn't really think much of this, Average is about all i can say about it. The art was ok but nothing great.
10/10 - The Winter Soldier is being held captive by Dr Faustus and is being subjected to mind control but Bucky is fighting it. The Falcon and The Black Widow survived being shot by Sharon Carter and they go looking for her and find she is also under Faustus mind control. They chase Faustus down but he escapes only by Carter throwing Bucky out a plane forcing Falcon to save him. Red Skull and Lukin have faked Lukin's death and used his Kronas company to try and take down the American Economy but it's up to Bucky who takes up Cap's mantle after Iron Man shows him a letter from Steve Rogers to try and stop Lukin and the Skull. Once Captain America Bucky manages to stop the Red Skull's plan and defeats Crossbones, Sin and the Serpent Squad. The book finishes with Sharon Carter trying to escape but in Arnim Zola's lab she see's Cap's body in some sort of containment chamber. I really do love Brubaker's Cap, It's just so good. The art by Epting, Perkins and Guice again is just beautiful.
10/10 - After the revelation of Sharon seeing Cap's body it is revealed that it was in fact the 1950's Cap, The Grand Director. He is used to further Red Skull's plan of getting Senator Wright into the Presidency by way of his new Political Party The Third Wing. Dr Faustus eventually betrays Red Skull and it takes Bucky, Falcon, Black Widow and a Sharon Carter who lost her baby in a fight with Sin to eventually defeat the Red Skull by shooting Aleksander Lukin as Lukin/Skull try to escape with Arnim Zola. The final page shows that Zola has transferred Skull's body/brain or whatever into a Zola shell or body. Another excellent addition to Brubaker's run and Epting's art continues to be beautiful.
5/10 - An average offering from Bendis that had an ending that was completely dumb. Hey, Norman Osborn took the killing shot "Shot heard around the world" as it was called so lets give him the job with the highest security clearance in the country. Lets give an insane man who has murdered countless amounts of people a job of that gives him access to weapons and power that could destroy the world. Unbelievable. Oh that wasn't the only dumb thing, What about Thor summoning all the Skrulls to Central Park for the big battle by banging Mjolnir on the ground. Talk about the Skrulls just walking straight into the hands of the heroes. As for the actual Invasion well Skrulls replaced heroes and tried to take over the world. Heroes, Villians, Gods and even a Kree fought and defeated the Skrulls. Sentry had another breakdown and pissed off somewhere, Luke Cage's baby was stolen by a Skrull, Mockingbird came back and Wasp was killed. Good art by leinel Yu but that couldn't save this from being anything but average. Again Bendis's dialogue is pretty bad, Also his habit for making every character crack jokes in battle is getting right on my nerves.
4/10 - I usually find something in a story interesting but this was just the same as Secret Invasion. Poor.
5/10 - Again, Average. I liked the Cage issue pencilled by Michael Gaydos and the Echo issue pencilled by David Mack. The art was very good but the rest was just ok. It did explain how some of the Skrulls managed to get into position for the Invasion and how the managed to replace the Heroes but there was nothing groundbreaking here.
5/10 - Much the same as book one, It did fill in some gaps and i did like the references to past history like House Of M and how the Skrulls were going to try kill Wanda but again it's a case of some good some average. I did however really like the art in the Luke Cage issue by Michael Gaydos.
5/10 - The first few issues here are pencilled by Alex Maleev and are beautiful. They follow Nick Fury as he tries to get a new team together after he finds out a Skrull has tried to trick him by taking the place of Valentina Allegra Defontaine. After this this causes Fury to recruit Daisy Johnson and try to put a new team together due to the impending Skrull attack. Fury also warns Maria Hill he is watching her and for her to start using LMD's. There is also an issue that shows another story of the Sentry being crazy and how the Skrulls plan to stop him, It wasn't very good. This issue was pencilled by Khoi Pham and the art wa ok. The final issue was about how the Skrulls managed to replace Hank Pym and it shows how they found Tony Stark's weakness and them giving Wasp the growth serum. Pencilled by Romita Jr i really didn't like the art. I just don't like Romita Jr's art at all.
5/10 - I thought the Elektra issue was pretty good with decent art. It shows how the Skrulls took down Elektra and managed to control the Hand. The next issue was about the Skrull troubles of getting a Hank Pym who wouldn't question the Skrull plan, Pym's human thought's were coming to the conclusion the Skrull would fail. Next issue is how Nick Fury trains his new team, Preparing them for the upcoming Invasion. It's pencilled by Stefano Casselli and it's a really nice looking issue. The art in the Captain Marvel issue wasn't very good and it just showed him struggling with his identity between thinking he is Marvel and a Skrull. The final issue shows Hank Pym trying to come to terms with the loss of the Wasp, It also shows her funeral and a recap of all that's happened since Pym was swithced out for a Skrull. Quite a good issue. Overall it was an average book much like issue one and other Bendis tie ins.
5/10 - I wasn't a big fan of this, The art was pretty good throughout the book but the best art came on the covers. The story itself of the Invaders time travelling to the future and meeting the Avengers, to then try to undo the effects of the cosmic cube sounds great in theory but i just though it was pretty average if i am honest. There was some nice inteaction between 40's Captain America and present Tony Stark but all in all i don't think this is something i'd bother to read again. Disappointed as i expected better.
7/10 - This is the best Bendis book i have read for a while, I enjoyed it, We see the Assembly of the Dark Avengers from the Rogue Avengers point of view, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones manage to find their baby and we see some of the dirty dealing Norman Osborn is willing to do with his new found position of power. I really enjoyed the Maleev pencilled issue Secret Invasion Dark Reign, The art was brilliant but even the other issues with art by Billy Tan was very good.
8/10 - The formation of the Norman Osborn Avengers. This felt very much like Warren Ellis Thunderbolts which was certainly not a bad thing and it's very interesting to see how psycho's try to hold it together as part of the team. We see how all the members were recruited, The first mission to save Doctor Doom and battle Morgana Le Fey, Osborn's reply to Clint Barton's tv interview, Venom being allowed to eat Skrulls and Atlanteans and Sentry wiping out all but one terrorist Atlanteans. A very good start to Dark Avengers with awesome Deodato art.
8/10 - This really has an old Avengers feel to it and Slott has has managed to write a very enjoyable book. The art throughout the book is good and adds to the overall classic Avengers feel Slott brings. Slott takes us back to Mount Wundagore as Chthon is trying to use Modred and Quicksilver to take over the world. Loki who is masquerading as the Scarlet Witch manages to influence all the heroes and Hank Pym to assemble a new Avengers team to defeat Chthon and trap him back in the Darkhold. Pym manages to redeem himself after the events of Secret Invasion where a Skrull who was impersonating Pym was the face of the assault. Later on Quicksilver joins the team and we see more of Loki's devious plans as Osborn begins to crack. In one of the issues it shows exactly why i despise Reed Richards. The biggest douche in the Marvel Universe. His actions towards Hank Pym by not giving him the inducer force Pym into trying to infiltrate the Baxter Building. After a struggle Richards sees what Pym is needs the inducer for and what he is trying to create and lets him having it. Jocasta was the final piece of the puzzle but we are left wondering what the results are as the issue ends.
8/10 - I thoroughly enjoyed this story by Jim McCann. Clint and Bobbi are so good together it was nice to see them giving it another go. It was a simple story but one i thought was very good and suited to the characters. Mockingbird struggling to come to terms with being back on earth after being replaced by Skrulls is being very secretive so Clint doesn't know where he stands so he and proceeds to follow her and finds out she is starting her own team called W.C.A. They are trying to stop A.I.M detonating a bomb in Zaragoza, Spain and it's not until Bobbi thinks Clint is dead that we see that they could work out. They stop the bomb and defeat A.I.M and Monica Rappacini and finally get back together. The art was decent but nothing to great.
7/10 - The Hood is on the hunt for Dr Strange as he wants the Eye Of Agamotto but the Eye has other ideas as it chooses Brother Voodoo to be the next Sorcerer Supreme. I enjoyed this book, Not only did it have the Avengers but Daimon Hellstrom along with Strange and Brother Voodoo helped banish Dormammu the demon who had taken over Parker Robbins. Great art by Bill Tan and a good story by Bendis.
7/10 - As a whole this book was good although i actually preferred some of the single issue stories in Dark X-Men: The Beginning than the main story. Stories like Dark Beast, I Am Daken and Get Mystique (Slight Return). The Main story was good but i did think it would be better than what it was which disappointed me. On a whole the art of the book was good especially the Marc Silvestri issue and Jock (Mark Simpson) issue but i didn't like the Terry Dodson pencilled issues. Enjoyable but could have been better is how i'd describe this one.
7/10 - The classic Avenger feel continued on from the first volume of Slott's run. The Avengers have to try and stop The Unspoke, A king of the Inhumans who's act of hiding the Slave Engine meant he was overthrown and banished never to be spoken of again. The Unspoken who survived with his servants the Alpha Primitives lived in caves and found a way to create their own Xerogin Cyrsals. Xerogin Crystals are the opposite of Terrigen Mist which gives the Inhumans their powers. The Xerogin Mist turns humans into Primitives. The Unspoken wants to make the humans pay for their actions of the Silent War but Hank Pyms Mighty Avengers and The Young Avengers manage to stop the Unspoken from infecting the world. Decent art and and enjoyable story from Dan Slott.
6/10 - I thought this was decent but nothing to special, It's pretty much how i have felt about much of Bendis Avengers run. The Hood's gang manage to reverse engineer a machine the drains the heroes powers and when they use it on the heroes Luke Cage has a heart attack. Cage's only way to survive and help his Avenger friends escape is to let Osborn capture him so that Osborn has to let someone operate on him and as it would be bad PR for Cage to die in Osborn's hands. The Avengers then create a diversion so the can go rescue Cage after the operation but Cage's heart has been rigged with a miniature bomb but Hank Pym and Doctor Strange manage to save Cage just in time. There is a side story where Loki helps The Hood get his powers back by helping him find the Norn Stones that will be interesting to follow. Immonen's art is good but there is the odd occasion where it looks a little rough.
7/10 - I really think that Dark Avengers has been much better than New Avengers and Mighty Avengers from Bendis. I found it very enjoyable with excellent art by Deodato. In this book we have people disappearing in a small town called Dinosaur, Colorado and it turns out that the person responsible is the Molecule Man. The Molecule Man also manages to to get rid of all the Avengers but it's not until Sentry finds out he also can control his own Molecules that they managed to defeat The Molecule Man. All in all it was a good read.
9/10 - I love Brubaker's Cap run, I can't get enough of it. With the Red Skull stuff and the Death Of Steve Rogers behind him Bucky has a new problem from his past to tackle. A Professor named Zhang Chin who the Invaders saved back in the war became a target for the Winter Soldier in 1968 but when Zhang Chin recognized the Winter Soldier Bucky tried to escape and in the process killed Zhang Chin's fiancee. Now in the present day Zhang Chin has the help of Batroc the Leaper and Chin's own failed Super Soldier experiment The Man With No Face capture the original Human Torch who was being hidden in a UN facility. They try to lure Bucky into a trap to to try and make him pay for Chin's fiancee's death, Zhang Chin also tries to create a virus using the Human Torch that will kill 35/50% of the worlds population but Bucky has the help of Namor and The Black Widow to stop him. Another excellent addition to Brubaker's Cap with outstanding art from Epting, Guice and Luke Ross.
8/10 - This was probably the weakest book i have read in Brubaker's run so far but it was still enjoyable. Sharon Carter's memories are starting to come back as she now realizes she was pregnant. She also now thinks there may be a way to save him. There was a few short stories some very good and some not so good, The art was the same. The art from Luke Ross and Butch Guice was great as it has been everytime they have been the artists on Cap but there was some art from other which wasn't so good. It was a good lead up to Reborn and one i enjoyed it just isn't as strong as Bru's previous issues.
10/10 - The prologue starts with Sin being offered a deal by Osborn to reveal the second shooter of Captain America in return for her freedom. When Bucky and the Black Widow are captured trying to find the time machine that trapped Captain America Osborn releases Black Widow and tells her to tell Sharon Carter that she has 24hrs to hand herself in or Bucky dies. Sharon does this even though Falcon manages to free Bucky when he was being transported somewhere else. Skull gets help from Dr Doom who works with Arnim Zola to fix the time machine and try to transfer Red Skull's mind into Steve Rogers body. Part of the deal Osborn made would be for the Skull/Cap to join his Avengers. Although this works and Skull's mind is in Steve's body Steve manages to fight back and retake control sending Skulls mind back into a suit like Arnim Zola's. The Avengers take down the Skull after this and Cap is back reborn. Bryan Hitch and Butch Guice are the artists and do a fantastic job, As does Luke Ross in the prologue. Brubaker once again delivered an enthralling story that never disappoints
7/10 - Although i am not the biggest Thor fan i can't deny that this was very good. It had a good mix of mythology and real world events. The first six issues deals with Thor coming back to life and trying to find and free the souls of his fellow Asgardians who are trapped in human bodies. He manages to free Heimdall, Hogun, Volstagg and Fandral but Thor does not want to free the evil that exists so he in unsure and tries to free only the good but eventually in the end he free's all the Asgardians that are trapped, Including Balder who was trapped in the Destroyer's body and had taken Humans/Asgardian souls hostage. For me the best part of the book is during Thor's travels that he visits New Orleans just after Hurricane Katrina and also runs into Iron Man. Iron Man tries to dictate to Thor but Thor has none of it and takes Iron Man down with ease and warns him in no uncertain terms how things will be and to give this warning to the powers that be. Thor also creates a new Asgard in the middle of the Oklahoma and raises it up in the air. Loki makes an appearance as does Dr Doom which leaves an interesting plot open. JMS did a great job with this and i am looking forward to the next book, Also with Olivier Coipel on art the book is beautifully drawn.
7/10 - Thor's search for Sif continues and his guilt of not bringing Odin back to life is eating him up. It's not until Thor enters the Thorsleep that his father issues are resolved and Odin reassures him he is doing the right thing. Loki is up to his old tricks manipulating Balder and revealing to him that he is in fact also Odin's son and Thor's brother. Loki also manages to get Thor banished by bringing back Bor Odin's father and puts a spell on Bor to make him think he is in a land of demons. Thor has to fight Bor although he doesn't know it's him and kills him which results in Thor's banishment. Loki is also trying to move Asgard to Latveria. The art continues to be brilliant and JMS continues to keep the strong storytelling going.
7/10 - The final issues of JMS Thor run. This time art duties have been taken over by Marko Djurdjevic and as good as Olivier Coipel's art was in the last two books i think i preferred Djurdjevic to Coipel. In this book Thor is still banished from Asgard and Mjolnir has been damaged in the battle with Bor, Thor needs the help of Dr Strange to fix Mjolnir and so he can go and save Sif from death. Loki and Doom are still conspiring in their evil scheme. Loki manages to convince Balder to move the Asgardians to Latveria. William decides to move to Latveria with Kelda because he can't live without her which proves to be his downfall as he witnesses Doom and Loki experimenting on an Asgardian as Doom tries to unravel the secrets of immortality. William is then chased by Loki's soldiers and is slain but not before he manages to warn Balder of what is happening. Kelda swears her wrath on Loki. JMS has taken a character in Thor which didn't care for and managed to at least get me to like his run which shows me that it's a great run as Thor usually bugs me.
7/10 - As Balder readies his troops to go after Doom, Amongst them Tyr the God Of War. Kelda shows up at Castle Doom to take her wrath on Loki for William's death. Kelda destroys a Doombot but is taken by surprise by Doom who rips her heart out. Loki shows up in front of Balder pleading innocence but Balder doesn't believe him and orders him to be held prisoner until after the battle. Thor who has managed to get Reed Richards to track the origin of the Doombot attacked Donald Blake arrives during the battle to exact revenge on Doom. Doom managed to use what he learned about Asgardians and used it to use the Destroyer as a suit of armor, It still does him no good as Thor defeats him. This tied up the loose ends left from the JMS run and took Thor into Siege, The Thor Siege and Aftermath tie ins were pretty good but i was glas to see the end of this by the time i was finished,
6/10 - So Loki has convinced Norman Osborn to declare war on Asgard and Osborn has taken his Avengers and the whole Initiative to try defeat the Asgardians. Thor and the Asardians fight back but are taken by surprise. All seems to be going well until Ares finds out Osborn lied to him and goes to confront Osborn only to be attacked by the Sentry. Sentry and Ares fight and Sentry rips Ares apart which causes Captain America to gather troops of former Avengers to try and help Asgard. With Captain America's Avengers joining the battle as do the Hoods group of villians to help Osborn. Thor and the Sentry begin to battle but when Osborn is taken down he commands Sentry to tear down Asgard which he does before we see an insane Norman Osborn saying that he was the only one who could stop him. He is talking of Sentry who has merged with the Void. In the last issues while the Avengers battle Sentry/Void Loki tries to help by giving the power of the Norn Stones to the Avengers but this still isn't enough and Sentry/Void rips Loki apart. Thor then summons all his powers and strikes Sentry/Void with lightning and Sentry reverts back to Bb Reynolds and begs for the Avengers to kill him. They refuese but when they do the void demon reappears and Thor kills Sentry/Void/Bob. After this Thor throws Sentry into the sun where hopefully he never reappears ever again. The book ends with Captain America being given the job of restoring order back to what it once was and Asgard and Earth in an alliance. I thought Siege was decent but much like the other big events it was a bit of a let down. The art by Coipel was good but the story by Bendis was only ok.
5/10 - Average tie in that never had much at all to do with the Siege event. I had really liked the previous Dan Slott Mighty Avengers books but this one was just average. This continued the Hank Pym love in, Mentioning that he was Scientist Supreme on more than a few occasions the title given to him by Eternity. The Ultron story line was ok but the whole underspace shaped like Janet Van Dyne was pretty dumb. A bit of a let down to the end of Slott's Mighty Avengers run.
5/10 - The List is the first issue in the book and shows Clint Barton going off on a one man mission to kill Norman Osborn. The artwork by Marko Djudjevic is beautiful by i really don't like this simply because for anyone with any experience of Clint Barton knows he has a no kill policy. It's like Bendis has completely ignored this just to make his story. The Annual #3 also had fantastic artwork by Mike Mayhew and had the girls of the rogue Avengers Mockingbird, Spider-Woman, Ms Marvel and Jessica Jones go and bust Clint Barton out of the H.A.M.M.E.R Helicarrier. The Hood calls for the his gang to take down the rogue Avengers but he gives them a power boost using the Norn Stones. They attack Spider-Man, Spider-Woman and Bucky. With Spider-Woman under the mind control of the Mandrill he gets her to attack Spider-man but after fighting it off Spider-man and Spider-Woman defeat the Mandrill and Griffin. Meanwhile Captain America, Bucky and Luke Cage meet up with Nick Fury and the Secret Warriors and then the rest of the Avengers after defeating the Living Laser. Cap, His Avengers and Fury and the Secret Warriors show up to help Thor and Asgard in it's time of need but when Sentry destroys Asgard The Hood and Madam Masque manage to escape the battle into Mexico. The Finale has the Rogue Avengers hunting down the hood who has went with Madame Mask to try get help from Masques Father Count Nefaria. The Avengers bust in and take Nefaria, The Hood and Masque into custody. Average tie in again, good art though but the art is the best thing about the book, Not much else.
6/10 - Decent tie in but nothing special. It's not surprising as Dark Avengers has been a better book than Bendis New Avengers and Mighty Avengers was. Good art from Deodato.
7/10 - I enjoyed this book, It was good to see Hawkeye back in purple and back with the bow in his hands. I hated the way Bendis used Hawkeye and McCann brought back the Hawkeye we all know and love. It was great to see Mockingbird back by Clint's side again and both working with the W.C.A (World Counter-terrorism Agency) as they try to work at getting their relationship back on track. Clint and Bobbi manage to stop an arms deal and it turn out that Crossfire is behind it. He is working for benefactors who remain unnamed but when Clint and Bobbi cross paths with Crossfire they also run into Jaime Slade who is the great grand daughter of the Phantom Rider who raped Mockingbird. Slade and Crossfire begin working together to try and take Clint and Bobbi out even going so far as to shoot Bobbi's mother although she did survive. In the end Clint and Bobbi manage to defeat Crossfire and also the Phantom Rider/Jaime who's spirit is separated from Jaime by exorcism. Clint leaves the W.C.A and splits with Bobbi again but is forced to go back when he uncovers a plot to kill all the W.C.A members. An enjoyable story by McCann with decent art from Lopez.
7/10 - Nothing really ground breaking here but i still liked it as Hawkeye, Mockingbird and Black Widow are some of my favourites. The plot is about a gang who are taking out the worlds top spies and the trail leads to Ronin. Ronin also wanted to destroy the Kuril Islands so that peace talks between Japan and Russia would break down but with the Spy agencies taken out nobody would know it was him. It so happens that Mockingbird and Black Widow happen to be on this list of spies to be terminated but they along with Hawkeye and Dominic Fortune manage to stop Ronin the Supreme Soviets and the Dark Ocean Warriors before it's to late. Another pretty good story by McCann but as i said nothing ground breaking. The art was decent too.
7/10 - Hawkeye i going blind from the blow to the head he received in Widowmaker and needs Tony Stark to make glasses and a cowl that will help his eyesight. Hawkeye also finds out that the benefactor who was behind Crossbones and all the hell that has been in his life lately was Baron Zemo who was doing this in revenge for Hawkeye taking Moonstone away from him. When Hawkeye's former mentor Trickshot turns up on hi doorstep dying Hawkeye goes on the hunt for the culprits. Zemo and the new Trickshot who turns out to be Barney Barton Clint's brother are responsible for Trickshot's death. Zemo wants a brother to brother fight to the death but when Hawkeye wins and the Avengers show up Zemo escapes. Donald Blake and Tony Stark manage to use Barney Barton's bone marrow for a new experimental operation to save Clint's eyesight. Barney only does this so he can kill Clint himself later on. Pretty good art with another decent story from McCann,
9/10 - In Who Will Wield The Shield, Steve Rogers is back from the dead and there is some indecision about who will continue on as Captain America. Bucky wants to give up the shield but Steve tells Bucky to keep doing it for him as Steve fears that the visions of the future he has seen will happen if he keeps being Cap. In Two Americas, 1950's Insane Cap William Burnside has started to lead a Militia group named the Watchdogs and plans to blow up some government convention but it's just a distraction to cover for the real event which is to blow up The Hoover Dam. Insane Cap doesn't like the way America has went and feels they are fighting a war in America and thinks he is doing the right thing. It takes Bucky and Falcon to take him down and stop the bombs going off. Another fantastic addition to Brubaker's run with more brilliant art by Ross and Guice.
5/10 - The story felt disjointed and the art wasn't too great, In fact i felt it was pretty bad at points but there was still some interesting stuff in the story line. The story follows Skaar from birth and onto a journey called the Prophets Walk to claim the Old Power. He runs into villians along the way like Axeman Bone, Deaths Head Guards and Lava Monsters so it's not all plain for Skaar. I enjoyed parts and others not so much, I'd say it was average.
6/10 - A decent story here from Greg Pak and some lovely art from Ron Lim but there was an issue that the art was pretty poor. Don't think it was from Lim though. The story follows Skaar who now holds the Old Power and his refusal to heed the advice of the Silver Surfer to get the people onto the stone ships before Galactus arrives. Caiera also comes to try to warn Skaar but he refuses to listen because Skaar has a plan to kill everyone on the planet he deems is evil. Caiera gets the Silver Surfer to trick Skaar by making him see visions which Skaar believes to be real of Galactus devouring the planet. Caiera returns the old power to Skaar thinking he'll do the right thing but he uses it to give the Surfer an ultimatum of "Spare Sakaar or he'll use the Old Power on Galactus So he becomes addicted to it". Caiera returns and exiles Skaar and sends him through a wormhole to earth but like he promised Skaar uses the old power on Galactus which means Galactus wil now hunt for any planet that has any old power on it. When on earth Hulk, She-Hulk and Skaar were drawn to each other and although Hulk didn't know who Skaar was due to Banner suppressing the Green Scar, Skaar stabbed the Hulk and told him he'll return when Hulk is worth killing.
7/10 - This was the best book that had the Son Of Hulk stories in it. Jenkins made me actually feel sorry for Hiro-Kala. The art by Guinaldo was pretty good and it added to the story quite well. Hiro-Kala reveals he is the Son Of Hulk and Caeira after Galactus destroys Sakaar and swears retrebution on Galactus so he leads the survivors to a planet called Gaiusar that is also connected to the Old Power. Hiro-Kala knows the Old Power has been corrupted by the Shadow People thousands of years earlier and knows that if Galactus consumes it it will poison him. Not even Caiera knew what Hiro-Kala had planned and many thought he was just a bringer of destruction but as Hiro-Kala's plan worked and seen the effects on Galactus everyone knew he had saved the Universe with his actions.
7/10 - It was good to see much more of Banner as he sets tasks for Skaar to train him to kill the Hulk when the time comes. Some of Skaar's tasks was to fight Juggernaut, Wolverine and Daken. Banner also has Skaar playing American Football with A-Bomb and Korg. We also see appearances from The FF, Leader and the Harpy which turns out that she had been experimented on by Leader. Some decent art in this and the story was decent too but i miss the Hulk being in his own book and if i am honest the thought of all these Hulks does nothing for me. I will however continue reading to see where this goes, Good or bad the Hulk is still my favourite character so i will always be interested in what is happening with him.
6/10 - I was enjoying this but near the end when Hiro-Kala leaves to fight the Hulk we see the Enigma Force buried but then all of a sudden Hulk digs them out. Nothing was mentioned of what happened to Hiro-Kala or what happened between him and Hulk. It was a let down and a bit anticlimactic. The art was decent and in some parts very good. Would have rated this better if not for what i just mentioned.
5/10 - I liked the Jeff Parker and Greg Pak issues especially the FOH Alpha that is told from The Leader's perspective. The Jeph Loeb issues were pretty average though. I was much the same with the art, Some was good like the Pelletier issues but others like the John Romita Jr art was borderline terrible. I really feel that the who whole Hulks thing has been a bit of a mess.
8/10 - With all the Heroes and AIMarines Hulked out Banner who is captured along with the other Smartest men is rescued by A-Bomb (Rick Jones). We find out that Betty is the Red She Hulk after she is stabbed by Skaar and after long time of Banner manipulating heroes and friends he manages to carry out the last part of his master plan which is to reverse the gamma that has changed everyone into Hulks and with no place for the energy to go Banner has to absorb it changing him back into the Hulk. We get the battle between Skaar and Hulk and eventually a touching moment of Banner and Skaar hugging in a warm embrace. The art was very good and Pak's story was great as well. I will be glad to see the back of all the Hulks except the original and will most likely enjoy Pak's run better when re-read without Loeb's Red-Hulk.
8/10 - Hiro-Kala is headed for Earth with the help of the Worldmind and he's taking K'ai with him. He also has the Old Power back and has a plan to obliterate Earth. Earth's forces makes plans to intercept this new planet that is heading towards them but its a ship full of Hulks that the president of the United States needs to put his trust in. The Hulks try to make Hiro-Kala see sense but he doesn't listen and Skaar takes him down by using the Old power to wrap him in stone. It's revealed that Hiro-Kala's visions of his mother Caiera was his imagination that was manifested as looked for acceptance for what he'd done. The art in this was good but in some panels Hulk didn't look to muscular. Pak's stories are better than before Fall Of The Hulks.
9/10 - Baron Zemo has found that Bucky a man he thought his father had killed in WW2 is still alive but not only that but he is now Captain America. Zemo enlists the help of Iron Hand Hauptmann and rigs Bucky's motorbike to explode but it's Falcon that is injured in the explosion. Zemo releases information to the press that Bucky is Captain America and that he was also an assassin called the Winter Soldier during the Cold War. Zemo then lures Bucky to Camp Lehigh and manages to take Bucky captive. He plans on killing him back in England where he thinks Bucky should have died in WW2. Bucky escapes unharmed after reliving the nightmare that made him but Zemo also escaped. There hasn't been one issue of Brubaker's Cap run i haven't enjoyed, It's outstanding. The art was good in this but there was a few panels that weren't up to the consistently high standard of the series.
8/10 - Steve Rogers is following up on a lead by British Intelligence that Jacob Erskine, Araham Erskine's grandson is going to sell the Super Soldier Serum he perfected on the black market. Steve eventually finds Erskine and after questioning him why he would sell it to criminals Steve Jacob tells him the plan was to use it to cure cancer. Jacob realizes that his head of security Myron Smith is responsible and asks Steve to make sure his wife is safe. When Steve goes looking for Jacobs wife he finds the wife looks like an ex lover of Steve's from the war called Cynthia Glass and that Myron Smith is in fact Machine Smith and Jacobs wife is a robot that thinks she is human. When Steve confronts Machinesmith he is shot with something that deactivates Steve's Super Soldier Serum turning him into the skinny weakling he used to be. After being held captive Machinesmith thinks he's got all he needed from Steve so sends in his goons to finish him but Steve manages to use his skills to beat them and find Erskine's wife to help him reactivate his Super Soldier Serum before going to try and stop Machinesmith selling the Serum to terrorist countries. Steve hijacks the auction and defeats Machinesmith by destroying anything Machinesmith can transfer into but after Erskine's wife Anita has destroyed every electronic device on the army base Machinesmith is only left with one choice and that's to transfer into Anita. This was Steve's plan and Anita self destructs defeating Machinesmith. In the epilogue it show Jacob Erskine who managed to survive talking with Aloysuis Thorndrake of the Shadow Council and they are discussing the Serum as they pass a 17yr old boy who is poor, skinny and fragile with the same background as Steve Rogers they talk about how they are making more Steve Rogerses. Thorndrake wants an Army of Steve Rogers Super Soldiers for the Shadow Council. The art was pretty good by Dale Eaglesham although not as good as it in previous Cap books but rubaker's stories are as good as ever.
9/10 - Steve Rogers has put together a team consisting of Black Widow, Moon Knight, Valkyrie, Nova, Beast, Ant Man and War Machine calling themselves the Secret Avengers. A Black Ops team under Steve Rogers Command. The Secret Avengers first mission ha them finding a Crown that is one of three that could put the Universe in danger. Roxxon have been digging and mining on Mars and had found the Crown but the Secret Avengers go on a mission to get it. Problem is they aren't the only ones who want it, Once the Secret Avengers go to Mars to investigate the links Roxxon have to missing workers the Shadow Council get onto the Secret Avengers ship and ko Sharon Carter and take the Crown back. Meanwhile on Mars Nova who had found the other Crown after being sent on a scouting mission by Steve Rogers has been taken over by the Crowns power. It takes the Secret Avengers and an awakened Archon, who is the protecter of the Crown so it doesn't fall into the wrong hands and awaken Abyss. A creature of immense power who could destroy the Universe. tHE Secret Avengers managed to stop the possessed Nova and the Archon flees to some dark corner of the Universe to keep the Crown safe while the Shadow Council has the other one. Sharon Carter then finds intel that shows Nick Fury working for the Shadow Council but it turns out that it's an LMD that had been implanted with Fury's memories. The Shadow Council are going to be keeping an eye on the Secret Avengers. This was a very good book, Brubaker had the characterization spot on and Mike Deodato's art was fantastic as well. Marko Djurdjevic provided some outstanding covers and the issue #5 was pencilled by Michael Lark and David and was my favourite of the book. Great start to the series.
5/10 - Kang comes back in time to tell the Avengers that their kids are going to kill Ultron who has killed the Avengers and take over his empire. Kang asks the Avenger to stop them as he has not been able to. Wonder Man also attacks the Avengers and is not happy the Avengers have reformed. They then get help from Noh-Varr to build a time machine to go back in time to try stop the kids as there is some strange goings on happening. Apocalypse and the Four Horseman show up and battle the Avengers but disappear in the middle of battle. Next to show up is Killraven then there is riots and even Galactus makes an appearance while Stark, Wolverine, Bucky and Noh-Varr travel back in time. While back in time the meet Maestro Hulk and Tony meets himself from the future. After finding out that Noh-Varr is the difference in the timestream they go back then are transported to the future again this team meeting Ultron and begging him to let Kang defeat him in battle or there will be nothing left for Ultron to rule over. The twist at the end shows why the kids kill immortus and the reason Kang came back. Overall the book was ok, The biggest problem i have is with the art. Romita Jr is terrible i really can't stand his art at all.
6/10 - This was a bit better than the Avengers vol. 1. Stories were of similar quality but the art in this by Immonen was far superior to Romita Jr's in the other Avengers title. The plot revolves around a demon that is trying to get the Eye Of Agamotto into it's possession. Throughout the story the New Avengers are attacked by all sorts of demons and guys like Daimon Hellstrom, Iron Fist, Luke Cage and Dr Strange all get possessed at one point or another. It takes a spell to combine all of the New Avengers powers into Wolverine's body and Doctor Voodoo's intervention to defeat the demon who turns out to be Agamotto. Agamotto is thought to be one of the first Sorcer Supreme's and has come back to collect the Eye. Doctor Voodoo dies for his intevention but saves the Earth but Voodoo's dead brother Daniel Drumm swears revenge on Dr Strange who he blames for his brothers death.
5/10 - I'll start of by saying Alan Davis art was good, without doubt the best thing about the book. Now Bendis, Why does every god damn character he writes crack jokes like they are Spider-Man? Throughout this book Iron Man done nothing but be a wise ass and not only that but there was a few sex jokes thrown in for good measure. Cap cheated on Sharon with an Elf too. The plot has Hela creating a nightmare world with the Twilight Sword and Thor, Cap and Iron Man are sucked into it. Thor is defeated but manages to raise an army to fight Hela but during battle it takes Enchantress help get Mjolnir back to Thor and Fafnir and Iron Man to defeat Hela. Thor uses the twilight sword to put things back to the way they were before Hela got her hands on the sword. The end has Tony and Cap making up and being friends again touching but a little over the top.
10/10 - With the media storm brewing and more and more information coming out about Bucky as the Winter Soldier Cap, Iron Man and the Black Widow continue to see things from Bucky's point of view but Hawkeye isn't happy that Bucky's past was kept a secret. After stopping a Neo Nazi meeting that has a poster of Master Man, Bucky and Steven meet and Bucky decides to face the charges against him and hands himself in. Master Man goes on to free sin from the Insane Asylum as Bucky's lawyer goes about trying to play the media. Falcon and Black Widow also capture Dr Faustus to testify for Bucky. Faustus and Steve cut a deal to look like Faustus helped save the President but things take a turn for the worse when Sin psych tapes from months previous are released implicating Bucky as an associates of the Red Skull. Whilst all this is going on Sin has a plan to blow up the Statue Of Liberty. During Dr Faustus testimony Bucky and Cap manage to foil an attempt by one of Sin's men to kill a lawyer and he reveals Sin's plot to blow up the Statue Of Liberty but with a twist. Master Man and Sin have taken Black Widow and Falcon prisoner and they want to exchange them for Bucky. The judge of the trial disagrees by Faustus helps Bucky escape the van on the way back to prison so he can go stop Sin and Master Man. Eventually Bucky, Steve, Falcon, Black Widow and Sharon Carter stop the bombing attempt but Sin escapes. Bucky turns himself back in and the court case continues. Bucky is sentenced to twenty years but the judges says he has already served it so he is free but as they celebrate a Russian Ambassador arrives with an extradition order to take the Winter Soldier back to Russia. The final issue has a new Captain America show up by the name of David Rickford, On his first day he is captured by A.I.M and it takes Steve Rogers to save him. Turn out that Nick Fury had been the person behind it so that Steve would be manipulated into picking back up the Captain America shield. Brubaker continues to pump out awesome story after awesome story that keeps you hooked. The art as always is first class.
9/10 - The Secret Avengers discover a plot to try and bring Shang Chi's father back to life by using gems by the name of the Eyes Of The Dragon. Steve thinks this is the Hai Dai's doing but the Shadow Council are involved in this. After being captured Shang Chi manages to escape with help from Ant Man while Valkyrie and Prince Of Orphans go looking for Shang Chi's fathers grave. Cap will also come face to face with an old WW2 partner John Steele after Max Fury and Steele kidnap Sharon Carter when the Secret Avengers are on a mission that turns out to be a decoy. Steele wants to swap Sharon for Shang Chi. During tthe swap Rogers and Steele fight and Steele gets the upper hand only for the Avengers to come crashing in to help but Steele threatens to blow the building and escapes with Chi as a prisoner. With Moon Knight able to infiltrate the Shadow Council he alerts the Secret Avengers to when Shang Chi's father (Fu Manchu) will try to complete his ritual to take his sons life essence and the Secret Avengers show up and defeat Fu Manchu and the Shadow Council but Max Fury and Director Thorndrake escape while John Steele is captured. The final two issues deal with how John Steele went from good guy to bad guy. The Shadow Council turn out to be responsibe and Steve offers Steele a chance at retribution. Deodato's art again was excellent and Brubaker's story was fantastic, but that's no surprise anymore.
5/10 - The Hood is back and he has escaped from Ryker's Prison. The Hood is trying to hunt down the Infinity Gems so he can wield power like never before and have the world his way. The Avengers are alerted to this by the Red Hulk and along with the Illuminati the Avengers manage to stop the Hood from getting the Gems. The story was ok but once again the horrid Romita Jr artwork just ruined any chance i had of getting into the book.
6/10 - I'll start off by saying this is definitely the better of the two Avengers books and the art is pretty good too. In this you have two stories running side by side, One a flashback to how Nick Fury started an Avengers Initiative just after WW2 and how he tried to track down the Red Skull to stop the Fourth Reich. Red Skull has managed to make his own Captain America with his own Super Soldier Serum which is mixed with the Infinity Formula that stops Nick Fury from aging. In the other story the New Avengers find out there is evidence that H.A.M.M.E.R are still active and when the New Avengers finally get enough information to confront them the meet Superia and during the battle Mockingbird is shot. She is at deaths door for much of the second half of the book. The New Avengers with Hawkeye finally take down Superia who has stolen the Super Soldier Serum and Infinity Formula but when Fury comes to collect they use it to save Mockingbird. Victoria Hand is also acting very suspicious.
9/10 - With Bucky in a Russian prison fighting for his life Black Widow, Sharon Carter and Steve Rogers all try their best to uncover what is really going on behind the crimes Bucky is being punished for. In prison Bucky is having to fight for his life with everyone against him from the guards, inmates, a former Crimson Dynamo, Ursa Major, Titanium Man and even the Warden all who want to see him dead. When Black Widow and Sharon Carter find out that the KGB are trying to cover their tracks by destroying paperwork Black Widow goes rogue. Bucky also gets tricked into a fake escape attempt and is taken captive by Colonel Rostov. After Steve Rogers saves Henry Gyrich from an attack Steve questions Gyrich about his involvement in whats happening to Bucky and finds out the Gyrich is responsible for getting Becky extradited. Steve turns to Nick Fury for help and Bucky finds out the codes for Agents of Mass Destruction have been locked in his head for many years. Black Widow helps Bucky escape from Siberia by showing up with a Helicopter and Fury and Steve manage to stop the sleeper agents. Steve is left trying to decide whether to pick up the shield again. My only complaint with this is that there seems to be a bit of a disconnect at the end that from what i read is supposed to be cleared up in Fear Itself. Some of the short stories by various writers at the end of the book were only ok.
5/10 - I enjoyed the Book of Skull prologue, It showed Sin and Zemo going looking for a mysterious object of power that many years ago her father found. It also shows the story in the past of how the Red Skull's journey to find the artifact went. The Book of Skull is made from the skin of dead Atlanteans and this adds to the story of Skull's journey as Captain America, Bucky and Namor are trying to hunt him down. I thought it set up Fear Itself pretty well. The main story itself was just your typical big event that was a let down. Odin came across as a right dick, Bucky dies and it's like Cap just doesn't care that his best friend who e has been worrying about in his own title for years. This whole Asgard/Ragnarok thing is played out and the villains just meant nothing to me. If it wasn't for Stuart Immonen's amazing art this would have been rated very low. Unfortunately even the art couldn't save Fraction's Fear Itself from being anything other than mediocre.
7/10 - I enjoyed this even if Thor and the whole Asgard thing doesn't interest me. It was a beautifully drawn book by Doug Braithwaite and Kieron Gillen produced an excellent story. A young Loki is trying to do good deeds by trying to warn Asgard of what's to come but none will listen to him. He goes to all lengths to get help from Mephisto, Hela, Tyr and finally manages to get the Destroyer too to try and stop The Serpent. It is Loki though so one must ask exactly what is he up too and what mischevious stunt will come of this?
7/10 - Another beautifully drawn book by various artists, None more so than the "So The Devil Walks" issue #627. I don't think i have ever seen Mephisto look better. Gillen continues his high quality story focused around Loki. Loki conjures up a spell to summon a "Teller" to help him spy on the Warriors three, Lady Sif, Heimdall and Odin so he can find out exactly what they think of him. The next issue focuses on Mephisto and how the Serpent is affecting him and other demons. He also looks to punish Loki for double crossing him by delivering an anonymous letter that implicates Loki. Loki and his companions Disir, Tyr, Destroyer, Leah then go on a mission to change the story of the Serpent by changing the Prophecy in a book. Loki then summons Surtur and he appears in Dark Asgard. Loki's plan succeeds but it doesn't stop Thor's fate. The issue with Volstagg telling the story of his triumph to his kids was pretty good as was the last issue.
7/10 - A tie in that was better than the main book. I really enjoyed this and thought the art throughout the book was brilliant. I especially enjoyed the last two issues that mainly focused on Black Widow, Natasha is definitely one of my favourites. As much i i disliked the Main book the tie ins i have read so far have been good.
5/10 - A very mixed batch in this book. You had the awesome art of Mike Deodato Jr and also the terrible art of John Romita Jr, You get a few stories that are indicating to the future relationship between Hawkeye and Spider-Woman. We also see how getting the Infinity Formula and Super Soldier Serum has improved Mockingbird and we still get a little taste of Spider-Man's trust issues with Victoria Hand and toward the end of the book we see that Daredevil was responsible for saving Luke Cage and Jessica Jones baby Danielle during the Biltzkreig, His actions lead to the impression he is going to become an Avenger. All this is based around interviews given by the Avengers to an anonymous person who is writing a book. It definitely feels like Bendis is on autopilot here.
7/10 - The Hulk family take on a back from the dead Abomination and a Zom possessed Dr Strange to save Rick Jones wife Marlo from The Chaos King who wants to extract the tiny bit of Death that she has left in her body so that the millions of people who are in a sleep unharmed can be killed. Bruce also conquers long standing demons. He shows his father no longer scares him and defends his mother who along with Glenn Talbot, Doc Samson and Jarella are brought back from the dead by Marlo to fight Abomination and Zom. This tie's in with the Chaos War main event so although you don't see much you also know that Hercules and Amadeus Cho are battling the Chaos King. After Chaos War Hulk goes to ask Hercules to cure his friends and family of their illnesses and demons but Hercules cannot and says only Zeus can so Hulk goes to confront Zeus and the story plays out somewhat similar to the myth of Prometheus who went against the gods wishes. There was some shorts stories at the end of the book about who Bruce would choose to be on his Smash team, They were ok but the book as a whole was enjoyable. The art from Pagalayan was good and Pak's story was enjoyable.
7/10 - I liked the Planet Savage story and thought Dale Eaglesham's art was very good. Miek has returned and his body has adapted to be able to have his own children as he is the last of his kind. He needs the Hulk's blood for his children to survive though. I assume this is for the same reason that Hulk's blood on Sakaar brought life to the planet. In the end Hulk's regenerative power helps him manage to fight off Miek's influences but then Skaar takes Miek's children is going to raise them. This leads to the break up of the Warbound, Elloe is now the Red Queen of the Imperials on Savage Land and i think Korg stay's with them, Brood and Skaar are going to look for lost Sakaarian's on Savage Land and the Hulk leaves. Their is also a 4 issues spy like story involving mythical artifacts like Pandora's Box that Tyrannus wants to steal, The add on to the story is that Red She-Hulk is in danger of not being able to change back to Betty again if she keeps changing to Red She-Hulk. A pretty good story and it adds to an enjoyable book.
7/10 - Greg Pak concludes his run on Hulk and tries to go out with a bang. The story was good and definitely had a more classic Hulk feel to it and had fantastic art from Paul Pelletier. The story is based around the Fountain Of Youth that has kept Tyrannus young for thousands of years and when Monica Rappaccini and AIM try to turn it into a Wishing Well it goes wrong. Now every wish made has negative effects. Many try to take advantage of it to punish the Hulk but only Tyrannus is smart enough to wish for anything because he knows that any wish is cursed. Hulk uses it to cure his friends but is left battling the Red She-Hulk in the Dark Dimension. In the final issue though the wish machine is used to bring Hulk and Red She-Hulk back to earth to absorb all the Gamma energy that Fing Fang Foom is using and to save the world. After defeating Fing Fang Foom Hulk uses the last of the mystic energy he contains to wish that everyone he cares about gets their wish, All except Bruce which leaves Betty mad. Betty tries to make a wish for Bruce to get what he wants but nothing changes and shows that Bruce and Hulk aren't separate entities but seem now to have accepted each other. After a Amadeus tracks down Bruce at a diner Bruce tells him he's going to disappear but as he is leaving Betty picks him up and as they drive away the car explodes as Hulk and Red She-Hulk leap away.
8/10 - Six short stories by Warren Ellis each by different artists. The first is pencilled by Jamie Mckelvie and has the Steve, Moon Knight, Black Widow and Beats trying to stop the Shadow Council from activating a Von Doom time machine that has been built around Cincinatti. They use an EMP to to blow up the pylons that are needed for the time machine to work. The second story is pencilled by Kev Walker and has Sharon Carte, War Machine, Valkyrie and Steve going to Serbia to investigate video footage of a machine kidnapping humans. It turns out that these humans have been used for there brains to make some sort of bio computer. Steve seems to think the British Government was involved. The next issue is pencilled by David Aja and has Sharon, Shang Chi and Steve trying to stop the Sahdow Council from mining stuff called Trans Matter in the multiverse. It turns out a broken copy of Arnim Zola is responsible Arnim Zola 4.2.3 and is leading a group of the Shadow Council but Steve manages to board their ship and stop them. The next issue is pencilled by Michael Lark and has Moon Knight, Sharon, Black Widow and Steve going to Symkaria to what seems like a Brothel to try stop the sale of what they think is a super soldier serum or drug to the Shadow Council. It turns out that this is not a drug or serum but it's some kind of Possession. It's the crushed bones of elder gods that people smoke to give them the power of the elder gods that have multiple souls. Steve and the group manage to bring down the leader Voydanoi before the sale to the Shadow Council. The next issue is pencilled by Alex Maleev and has Steve, Sharon and War Machine killed in a mission but it takes Black Widow to go use a escape hatch to escape She gets Oscar Khronus to build her a time device so she can stop Steve, Sharon and War Machine dying. The final issue is pencilled by Stuart Immonen and has the Avengers breaking into a building by causing what looks to be a fire but is really a hologram. When in the building they find out someone is working for the Shadow Council and has been helped in some type of breeding experiment on male volunteers in paraguay. This was to create some sort of alien portal for an invasion by the Shadow Council's alien masters. The test subject were kept in a frozen lab but once it was thawed out the test subjects came to leaving Steve with no option but to destro the building killing them. My favourite out of the six issues was the Michael Lark issue but every issue was beautifully drawn. Ellis did a great job here.
6/10 - Norman Osborn has been bust out of Rykers and H.A.M.M.E.R is alive and well. Osborn along with Madame Hydra and Superia are approached by Dr Caroline Washington a forensic scientist to formulate a plan to make the Super Hero Community pay for what she says is the super heroes getting away with anything for years. She has collected the heroes genetic secrets through out the [ast months and plans on using them. While this is going on Cap and Iron Man are trying to put another Avengers team back together after the destruction of Avengers Tower. After an Osborn hologram appears and speaks to the press at the unveiling of the new team Cap sends teams out to find what the can on Osborn and H.A.M.M.E.R whereabouts but when the teams get there it's a trap and they are attacked. The Avengers are held hostage as H.A.M.M.E.R negotiate with the US Government but Daisy Johnson manages to free the Avengers but they run into Osborn and he has been given the powers of the Super Adaptoid. Osborn being his own worst enemy though overdoes it and tries to absorb to many powers at once which fries his brain and he gets taken into custody. The last issue has the Vision trying to adapt to a world he doesn't recognize now and when he decides to look for Wanda he has a confrontation with Magneto. Cap tells him to look forward. I loved the art in this, Daniel Acuna did a great job and Bendis did better than on Volume one and two.
6/10 - Bendis goes back to the Dark Avenger well again and this time with a whole new cast of members as he tries to once again make the Avengers look like the bad guys in front of the media. This was nothing new and the only difference is that Hydra, The Hand, AIM and H.A.M.M.E.R are now joined as one with the same plan that failed Norman Osborn before. We even have the US Government being dumb enough to fall for it all over again and try to arrest Cage's Avengers. Cap and Victoria Hand have been playing Osborn all along though and with Skaar's help bring down the Dark Avengers, While this is going on Luke Cage is out looking for Jessica as she has left after Osborn's threat to kill Danielle. Deodato's art was good but Bendis story was just a rehashed take on the Dark Avengers.
7/10 - So it turns out Dr Doom has been hiding Wanda and she has lost her powers and memory. It's not until the Young Avengers and Magneto try looking for her that they find her. Iron Lad takes the Young Avengers back in the timestream to get them out of a battle involving the Avengers, Dr Doom, Magneto and Doombots and when Wanda sees Jack Of Hearts rotting body thats when she regains her memory and powers. Wanda tries to kill herself from the guilt of what she has done but when Wiccan reveals that she is his and Thomas mother she calms down. The Young Avengers, Beast, Hawkeye and Wanda then go about trying to reverse the "No Mor Mutants" and give them back their powers. After a confrontation between X-Men and Avengers Wanda turns to Doom to help her help the mutants but Doom steals the life force power and from there Doom does what Doom usually does and that's let the power consume him before the X-Men and Avengers defeat him. In the end the Young Avengers appear to go there separate ways and Wanda says she'll spend her time trying to fix things and have a life of her own. Cheung's art is very good.
6/10 - Cable comes back in time to kill the Avengers as he tries to alter a future that will see his daughter Hope die. It was ok, I had read bad reviews but it wasn't nearly as bad as what i though it might be.
9/10 - Awesome, This was a gripping book of how super heroes started and how they not only impacted the war but also how they kept streets at home safe. It is told from the perspective of a hero called Angel who was inspired to become a hero by the Two Gun Kid Matt Hawk. It has characters like Cap, John Steele, Toro, Jim Hammond (Original Human Torch), Namor, Bucky and many others. Just brilliant story telling by Brubaker and fantastic art by Epting.
8/10 - An origin story for Bucky and a very good one at that. Brubaker has made Bucky interesting and this book gives a detailed account of Bucky from the young boy who lost his mother and father to the man who would become Winter Soldier. Samnee art was good too.
7/10 - Good, just not as good as other Brubaker Cap books. It had a more classic feel to it and the art certainly complimented that style.
9/10 - Fantastic read, Awesome art with awesome story telling. I think it important that you know a lot of Marvel's history so that the events in the book have more of an impact. There is many historical events The Coming Of Galactus, The Kree Skrull War, The Deaths of both Captain and Gwen Stacy, Namor flooding New York and more its really a wealth of Marvel history. The story is told from the perspective of a reporter named Phil Sheldon and it's shows the impact of how the boom of the super hero culture impacted regular people. Throughout the book Sheldon struggles with how he feels about super heroes but eventually he see that what they do is both noble and selfless and yet he starts to resent normal people for the way they treat the heroes despite the acts that save any lives. This is a book that i will most definitely read again.
7/10 - This was a very dark book that does a good job of showing Moon Knight's back story and introduces you to his friends and enemies. It shows Moon Knight wallowing in self pity after his encounter with Bushman, Moon Knight had fallen from a roof and badly damage both legs to the point he was no longer doing Khonshu's work anymore. It shows how Moon Knight's friends and lover had all been driven away by Marc's actions after his injuries. It would appear the committee are to blame for manipulating events and also sending the Taskmaster to kill Moon Knight but it turns out it was in fact Khonshu who did this to make Marc carry out more Vengeance. The book was good and Huston's story was intriguing with Finch doing a fantastic job on art.
7/10 - Moon Knight comes up against his former sidekick Midnight who is killing and dismembering people to try and get Moon Knight's attention. Midnight is now a cyborg and has a female called Lynn Church with him as he plots to take Moon Knight down. Moon Knight enlists the help of the Profile to help him track down Midnight and take him down. Marc is also trying to win back Marlene while also trying to hold his life together as Khonshu who appears as Bushman continues to haunt Marc and urge him for more blood and vengeance. Captain America, Tony Stark, Spider-Man and the Punisher make cameos in this as well as Marc is also put in the picture of the Civil War. Again the art by Finch is really good and the story by Huston enjoyable and dark.
8/10 - Drax The Destroyer gets a reboot in his four issue mini-series changing him from the dumb brute into a smart tactical fighter. This happens on earth as the Space Prison known as The Kyln is destroyed by the Annihilation Wave and lands on Earth with only The Blood Brothers, Paibok, Lunatik and Drax are the only survivors. Drax is killed by the other prisoners but reincarnates. He finds a human companion named Cammi who sticks with him even though she annoys him. Next in the Annihilation Waves path is Xandar and the Nova Corps. They are wiped out with only Richard Rider surviving, The Xandarian Worldmind uploads itself into Rider's mind and gives him the full Nova Force. Rider struggles to deal with this but runs into Drax who will help him control it. Drax, Rider and Cammi manage to find a ship and get of Xandar and end up in Nycos Aristedes and meet Quasar. Nycos Aristedes is being evacuated as the it is next in the Annihilation Waves path. Rider manages to open a Stargate and most of the citizens of Nycos Aristedes escape but in the fight with Annihilus Quasar perishes when Annihilus seems to feed off his power and Annihilus takes the Quantum Bands. Rider manages to execute a plan that makes Annihilus fleet start to destroy itself but Annihilus retreats and swears revenge. The book ends with Rider then asking Drax to teach him to be a Detroyer. The art was pretty good and i thought the Dan Abnett Nova issues were the best part of the book, I'm looking forward to book two.
8/10 - Silver Surfer - Annihilus has beings called Seekers trying to hunt down the Heralds of Galactus. They killed Air-Walker, Captured Terrax but Firelord, Red Shift, Stardust and the Silver Surfer are going to fight back. Galactus summons the Surfer to him and asks the Surfer to once again be his herald in return he will give the Surfer the power and conviction to defeat the Seekers. Surfer battles the Seeker called Ravenous and defeats him. While this is going on Thanos appears to have befriended Annihilus while Tenebrous and Aegis escaped the prison Kyln that they were imprisoned in by Galactus. - Super Skrull - Has him witness a new Annihilation Wave weapon called the Harvester Of Sorrows and after asking for help from the Skrull Empire he is shunned. He decides that he needs to go to the Negative Zone to recruit an army of who were the first to feel Annihilus wrath. Super Skrull also wants to find a way to stop the Harvester Of Sorrow from the man who person who created it so he can save the world his son is living on. With his army ready Super Skrull and his followers interject themselves into the battle at Zaragz'na but are betrayed by R'kin their pilot who had offered to bring their doomsday weapon but failed to do so. After escaping the Annihilation Waves capture Skrull gets his revenge on R'kin and manages to destroy the Harvester Of Sorrow by absorbing all the heat Praxagoria could expend. She escapes and he blows up the Harvester becoming his peoples hero. - Ronan The Accuser - Is looking for those who testified against him and who were responsible for his exile. He finds himself on a Planet called Godthab where he meets Korath ans some Kree settlers. The planet also has Gamora and her Graces, One who testified against Ronan. There are other forces at work namely Glorian. After a battle with Gamora word reaches Ronan that the Annihilation Wave is about to reach Kree space settlement but the Annihilation Wave also reaches the rest of Godthab. After a massive where Gamora losses most of her Graces and Tana Nile admits to false testimony against Ronan, Korath, Ronan and Gamora go looking for Glorian but find his mind has gone and he is crazy. Ronan swears to go and warn the Kree of the threat of the coming Annihilation Wave. The art was ok in this, the Skrull issues not so good but the story continues to be intriguing.
8/10 - Book Three starts on the Deadallis 5 on the Kree System Periphery as Ronan, Nova, Starlord, Gamora, Drax and their army tr to hold back the Annihilation Wave. They are struggling to hold them and also find out that Galactus and the Silver Surfer have been defeated in battle by Aegis and Tenebrous. Thanos captures Drax's daughter Moondragon and cuts her ear off and sends Drax a warning whill the Centurions show up on the battlefield. When the resistance is defeated Deadallis is consumed by Galactus who is now used as a weapon by Annihilus and Thanos. Something happens which brings Super Skrull back to life and they escape from the planet, They have lost the war. Ronan, Praxagora and Super Skrull then go to try kill the House Fiyero. With Drax staying behind to battle the remaining Wave he then goes hunting for Thanos. Thanos uses Moondragon's telepathy to find out what Annihilus plan really is. Thanos realizes he needs to free Galactus but as he is doing so he is attacked and killed by Drax who has hunted him down before he can completely free Galactus. Nova has ground troops ready to strike against Annihilus by teleporting right under the enemies nose. Drax then frees the Surfer who manages to free Galactus. In Hala Ronan, Kl'rt and Praxagora find the House Fiyero were in alliance with the Wave, They defeat the Seeker Ravenous and his Currs and after killing the House Fiyero Ronan goes to see a dead Supreme Intelligence. When he comes back outside the Kree call his name. When Galactus destroys Annihilus ship he survives but Nova shows up for a final battle and defeats Annihillus. The Heralds of Galactus stories were decent and tied up a few loose ends, Especially the Sliver Surfer one which had him battle and kill Tenebrous and Aegis. Again the art was good and the story was a good pay off to books one and two.
8/10 - Crazy, Funny and just downright enjoyable. This is the wackiest book i have read and probably the only one where i have had some genuine laugh out loud moments. It just follows Nextwave as they are being hunted down by The Beyond Corp who were a terrorist cell called S.I.L.E.N.T. Nextwave worked for H.A.T.E until they found out about them being terrorists and this is why H.A.T.E are trying to get Nextwave. There is so many crazy bad guys in this too, A Director of H.A.T.E who is having a nervous break down called Dirk Anger, Villians made of Broccoli, Elvis Modok's, Monkey Wolverine's, Giant Evil Robots, Fin Fang Foom wearing Purple pants, Baby Modok and even a Devil Dinosaur with issues. Just a very fun book by Warren Ellis and the art by Stuart Immonen is perfect for what the book is.
10/10 - This was excellent, Outstanding art by David Aja and Brubaker and Fraction knocked it out the park with the story. It had the perfect mix of action, mysticism and even had some appearances from Luke Cage. When Danny Rand feels that someone else is using the Shou Lao the Undying he goes to search for the person responsible, It brings him to Orson Randall the Iron Fist who was Rand's predecessor who had been living a drugged out life of seclusion. The Wai Go Corporation is trying to take over Rand Corporation if they do not build trains for them but Wai Go is a front for the Steel Serpent and agents of Hydra. They kidnap Jeryn Hogarth's mother and try to bribe him. Danny and Orson find the book of Iron Fist but before Danny gets the chance to learn everything in it they are attacked in the Rand Corp building by The Steel Serpent and Hydra, Orson dies but when he does Danny is able to take his chi and the Steel Serpent flees when Luke Cage, Misty Knight and Colleen Wing show up. Danny is then summoned to compete at a tournament by Lei Kung the Thunderer and Yu-Ti to decide the fate of the cycle. This really does provide a great history of the Iron Fist, Great book.
10/10 - With Danny Rand back in K'un L'un to fight in the Tournament Of The Seven Cities we see the opponents he will have to face. After Danny loses to Fat Cobra he leaves K'un L'un using a magic Gateway which was created by Phineas Randall, Orson Randall's father. He is shown this Gateway by Orson's daughter and is told to go find Orson Randall's friends and the man who wrote his autobiography to find out the lost secrets of Orson Randall. The book delves deeper into Wendell Randall, Danny's fathers training by Lei Kung and how Wendell defeated Davos to get the opportunity to face Shou Lao the Undying. When at the gates leading to face Shou Lao Wendell decided to run and not face Shou Lao choosing that he didn't want to be the Iron Fist. Hydra are still watching whats going on for the Crane Mother as Xao and Wei Go are holding Jeryn Hogarth hostage to build the railway through the K'un L'un mountains. Their plan is to drive the train through the Gateway and destroy K'un L'un with Luke Cage, Colleen Wing, Misty Knight and Jeryn Hogarth and his mother inside the train too. Things don't go as planned when Danny who has joined the revolution with Kei Lung the Thunderer, His Army of Thunder, The Prince Of Orphans and the Immortal Weapons to take on Yu Ti and his army as they claim he is a tyrant. They defeat Yu Ti, Hydra and Xao with help from an unlikely source in Davos but during battle Yu Ti escapes, Xao dies and Jeryn's mother is saved. Lei Kung will become the new Yu Ti with Orson Randall's daughter becoming the new Thunderer. Davos hands himself in for his crimes and is tasked with protecting Shou Lao until the dragon is fully grown. This has become one of my favourite series, It's captivating and with David Aja's amazing art i can't get enough of it.
8/10 - I didn't find this as good as the previous two volumes mainly due to the fact that the combination of Brubaker, Fraction and Aja was rare in the book. The issues that they did do were excellent as usual but although the others were still good the art wasn't as good as what Aja produced. The story of previous Iron Fists Wu Ao-Shi and Bei Bang Wen were good as was Orson Randall And the Green Mist Of Death. The Origin Of Daniel Rand was decent though it wasn't as good as the other stories in the book. This has been a very enjoyable run and is now one of my favourites.
9/10 - The book is based around the four seasons with Spring being told from the perspective of Jonathan Kent and what his son Clark means to him and how he deals with emergence of Clark's powers and Clark eventually leaving Smallville to go live in Metropolis. - Summer - Is told by Lois Lane and how Superman has been helping the City and the lives he has saved. It shows how Lois looks up to Superman and how she ideolizes him as some sort of perfect man. - Autumn/Fall - Is told from the point of view of Lex Luthor. It shows his jealousy and his determination to rid Metropolis, His City from Superman and his willingness to use people of Metropolis as pawns to succeed. Luthor unleashes a airborne virus that only he can fix with the help of an obsessed Superman fan who is a bio-chemist. Superman had saved the bio-chemist before but this time she dies which racks Superman with guilt driving him back to Smallville. Luthor's plan worked. - Winter - Is told from Lana Lang's perspective and why she disappeared after Clark showed her that he was Superman. How she dreamed that one day she and Clark would settle down and be married with kids. How she helped Clark get back to helping people and why she would eventually stay in Smallville. - This book is the first Superman story i have read and i thoroughly enjoyed it, It is written and drawn by a the classic combination of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. It does seem like four short separate stories but they're linked. Sale's art is classic looking but is still very good.
10/10 - The book starts with the destruction of Krypton and Jor-El and Lara making the decision to put Kal-El into a ship and send him to another planet that he would most likely survive. That planet is Earth due to the fact that the Sun would help Kal-El grow strong. Jor-El says Kal-El will be Earth's Man Of Tomorrow. Once Kal-El is in the ship and is leaving the Krypton atmosphere his ship is struck by Kryptonite that affects the ships shields. The ship makes it to Earth just in time. Forward 25yrs as Clark is in Africa as he is trying to get a story on the Ghuri tribe who are being persecuted by the Turaaba. A Ghuri man who is fighting for the Ghuri's rights called Kobe Asuru has had attempts on his life and even when Clark uses his powers to try and stop an assassination attempt his is to late. It is with Asuru's death that the Turaaba leader was forced to leave parliament and Kobe's sister is given a position that the Ghuri had been fighting for. Clark heads back to Smallville having made the decision that he will become Superman and try to help people. Clark and Martha get to work on making his costume and changing his appearance so people wont recognize Clark as Superman. Clark makes the decision to head to Metropolis where he has a job interview at the Daily Planet, It is interrupted by Rogue helicopters that are attacking the city and for the first time Clark appears as Superman, Saving Lois and Jimmy then destroying the helicopters. Superman traces the rogue copters back to Lex Luthor. Clark gets hired at the Daily Planet and Lex Luthor links the S on Superman's costume to the S that is engraved into the piece of Kryptonite he has in a lab. Luthor asks for a meeting with Clark regarding the atricle Clark wrote linking Luthor with the rogue helicopters and while in the meeting presents his thoughts and evidence to Clark and Lois about Superman being an alien. Clark is forced to write a column about Superman baing an alien that breeds a mistrust in people towards Superman. Lex then tries to set Superman up to look like he was trying to destroy a bridge and also tries out the Kryptonite that he has. Clark goes back to see his parents and tells them stories about Lex when he was in Smallville and how socially awkward he was. Clark and Lex were friends until Lex showed Clark the Kryptonite he found, Lex takes Clark's sickness toward Kryptonite as Clark disregarding Lex's experiment and throws him out of the lab. The lab explodes killing Lex's father and burning Lex. He runs away and is never heard or seen in Smallville again. Superman goes to see Luthor to find out why Luthor is trying to make him out to be a threat and Luthor tells him its because he embarrassed him the first time they met and also tells Superman of his Kryptonian origns. Luthor's plan to expose Superman as a threat moves into another gear with a faked alien invasion with the invaders all wearing the S of Superman and supposedly from Krypton. Lois tries to help Superman by breaking into Lexcorp to try and retrieve the piece of Kryptonite which she succeeds and the illusion of the invasion is lifted and the people of Metropolis fight back and help Superman but Lois is caught by Lex and thrown out of a window as Lex tries to kill her. She is saved just in time by Superman before he goes to find Lex. Lex is watching a monitor that shows Jor-El and Lar putting Kal-El into the space ship and talking of how Krypton is doomed, Superman sees this and finally knows who he is. Superman defeats Lex and Lex is indicted for the alien invasion while in the end Jor-El and Lara receive a final transmission before Krypton explodes with Kal-El saying he made it. - This was an absolutely fantastic book, Mark Waid great storytelling combined with the fantastic art of Leinel Yu was the perfect combination for the updated origin of the Man of Steel.
6/10 - I thought the book was decent but it did feel very dated. Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow and For The Man Who Has Everything were better than the Swamp Thing story but all in all i prefer the more modern take on Superman.
6/10 - Again some of this stuff felt very dated and the art wasn't great in certain stories but there was some good to very good issues in it. The Killing Joke was easily my favourite story but i knew it would be before i read the book as i had read The Killing Joke before. The Green Lantern issue were ok as was the Green Arrow but they weren't anything amazing. The two Superman stories of For The Man Who Has Everything and Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow were good but again felt dated.
8/10 - I thought this was very good, The art by Lee Bermejo was brilliant. It shows what drives Luthor and how he views the City of Metropolis. How he thinks Superman holds back humanities possible evolution and that Luthor needs to stop Superman to save humanity. Luthor sees Superman as an alien not as a man. Its told from Luthor's point of view and at first Luthor comes across as a charitable and fair business man but as the story progress it shows that Luthor is cold and calculative who'll do what needs to be done to try rid the world of Superman.
3/10 - I thought this was pretty bad, The plot was paper thin and the writing wasn't very good either. The art was ok but there was some very dumb stuff in this, hint: Doomsday being attracted to Metropolis due to seeing a wrestling advert on tv. Struggled to get through it and it's definitely not something i'd read again. I then started to read A World Without Superman and jesus it was bad, i couldn't finish it. I also own The Return Of Superman and the Doomsday Omnibus but wont be bothering to read them.
9/10 - The Story starts as a dying Wesley Dodds passes on visions of armageddon to his friend and pastor Norman McCay. McCay is then taken on a journey by The Specte as they witness his prohecies. With Superman retired from a life of crime fighting and his wife Lois Lane dead Superman is asked to return by Wonder Woman. Today's heroes are not like the heroes of Superman's era, they are reckless and don't care about protecting the innocent but would rather spend their time fighting each other. They are anti-heroes and Superman has to try and either convert them or find a way to imprison them. Superman's reason for leaving many years ago was when Magog the man who is seen as man of tomorrow, the man who is willing to kill to get the job done killed the Joker and was acquited. Magog is also responsible for the death of a million people when the heroes of today are fighting a battle and Captain Atom is killed that then kills all life in the area. Superman gets the Justice League back together with added new members but after asking Batman he refuses, Batman has aligned himself with the Green Arrow, Dinah Lance and Ted Kord. Batman does see eye to eye with Superman and goes to Lex Luthor and his Mankind Liberation Front to work together. Luthor also has Captain Marvel under mind control and as he and Batman build a giant steel robot police force Norman McCay interferes in events to tell Superman of the upcoming disaster. Batman however was tricking Luthor to find out just how he was controlling Captain Marvel and turns against him. Captain Marvel escapes and heads to the Gulag where the Justice League have went to battle the rioting prisoners. Superman again tries to get help from Batman but when he finds out Captain Marvel is at the prison he speeds there but is struck down by Marvel. The final battle takes place, A Captain Marvel who's lost his mind and a Superman who is in shock that it's come down to a battle of this proportion. While this is going on the humans decide to launch a nuclear device to kill the super-humans. Wonder Woman and Batman manage to stop some nukes but one gets through and it's only after Superman manages to get through to Captain Marvel while battling that Marvel sees sense and sacrafices himself to stop the bomb. The bomb still kills many which drives Superman mad and he heads to the UN building to punish the humans but while he is about to go to far some survivors of the bomb like Batman, Wonder Woman and others show up and Norman McCay talks sense into Superman. The books ends with Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman in a cafe and Diana and Clark are having a baby and ask Bruce to be the godfather. This was a excellent book, Mark Waid has become one of my favourite writers and this story is the perfect elseworld tale. Alex Ross art as ever is great but its the sory in this book that is the best thing about it for me.
9/10 - Red Son is another elseworld Superman story that has Superman landing in Russia rather than in the United States. Superman works for Stalin helping protect the people and when the United States hear that the Russians have an Alien who has amazing powers it causes them to turn to Doctor Lex Luthor who is married to Lois Luthor to try and create their own United States Superman. Luthor manages this by causing Sputnik 2 to nearly crash into Metropolis which Superman stops. Luthor retrieves Superman's genetic material and builds his own Bizarro Superman. Wonder Woman and Superman meet at a party and become close friends and when Superman becomes the Russian president after Stalin's death the fight crime together. When Luthor tries to shrink Moscow but his partner Brainiac shrinks Stalingrad instead and Superman intervenes. All isn't well in Russia on the streets as Luthor's second plan is for an orphaned boy, Parents killed by Stalin's son Pyotr is asked to try take down Superman. The Batmankoff captures Wonder Woman and lures Superman there and uses rays that stop Superman's powers. Wonder Woman breaks free seriously injuring herself before shutting the generator off allowing Superman to bust free. Batmankoff then blows himself up. Luthor's third plan is to have Hal Jordan and accomplished pilot wear a Green Ring that was found in a Roswell crash that contained an alien. The ring gives the wearer the ability to create what he wants out of thought. Luthor is elected president and starts his own Green Lantern Corps and finds the Phantom Zone. Lois goes to Themiscyra to join forces with the Amazons to help defeat Superman. Lex Luthor shows up in Russia and is incapacitated by Brainiac and when Superman and Brainiac invade the United States he comes face to face with Lois who has a letter from Luthor that says "Why don't you just put the whole world in a bottle. Superman". Superman realizes that he has meddled in something he shouldn't have and when ordered to stand down Brainiac refuses and reveals he had been playing Superman all along. Luthor who was being held by Brainiac in his ship turns Brainiac's power off and a detonation sequence starts. Superman flies the bomb into space and it explodes. This starts a chain of events that mirrors Earth to Krypton with Luthor bringing a Utopia to Earth. Luthor dies and Superman is revealed to still live and shows up at the funeral as Clark Kent. Earth like Krypton is finally swalloed by the sun which has become a Red Giant billions of years down the line and Luthor's distant relative sends his Son Kal-El back in time to Earth as the planet is destroyed. - This was another excellent story with great art and one that i will most definitely read in the future.
7/10 - Godfall sees Superman on Krypton with his wife Lyla as Metropolis still tries to recover from a series of catastrophic events. Their symbol of hope Superman is missing! Not even his wife Lois Lane knows where he is. Superman has been tricked into thinking he is an ordinary man but his powers start to show when attacked by aliens. This world turns out to be the bottle city of Kandor and Lyla is a empath who had tricked Superman into forgetting who he really was. She thought of him as god and she had visions of him and called to him but he appeared to her broken and exhausted so she infused him with her own frustrations about her existence. When she was ready she stole his powers and left the bottle city of Kandor and went to Metropolis believing it was heaven and that she would be worshipped. She finds out Superman wasn't a god. Superman and aliens leave the Kandor and confront Lyla in Metropolis and thy battle but then Preus shows up and Superman sacrifices himself for the people of Metropolis and Lyla sees he is a good man. Superman and Lyla work together to defeat Preus as he starts getting powers of his own due to exposure of Earth's sun but all three survive the final battle. Superman goes back to his life and wife Lois and tries to help Kandor as best he can while the end of the book show Preus swearing that Kal-El had defiled the the legacy of the Superman and that he would assume the role and the impure would die by his hand. - This was a beautifully drawn book and although it was short it was a good read.
10/10 - Chapter one deals with Clark being a normal quiet kid who has the same name as the comic book character Superman. He is teased endlessly for this in school and even his parents and other family use his name as some sort of joke to give him presents like Superman action figures, Comics and costumes. Clark likes peace and quiet and goes camping in the mountains some weekends and it's when he is alone camping he has a dream and wakes up and he is flying. This is the start of his powers showing. Clark can now fly and uses this to go to places he wouldn't be able to had he not had powers, He starts to wonder where he came from and tries to get help from a reporter to find out who he really is and although the relationship starts out well she tries to trick him to get his face on camera. Clark flies away and doesn't come back but finally decides to reveal that he is the Superboy to the town Picketsville at the fair. On his big night though there is an explosion and Clark has to save people and he is caught saving his friend Cassie but the towns people see it as a set up due to Mandy Case busting in and saying that Clark belongs to her. She had set him up to reveal himself by blowing up the gas mains. After this Clark decides it best to keep things quiet. - Chapter two sees Clark move to Manhattan to work as a reporter at the New Yorker and it is here that when on a works night out they play a prank on him by setting him up with a woman named Lois. After the initial anger of Lois they get on really well and enter a relationship and fall in love but just as everything seems perfect Clark is set up by the government and captured. They try to get tissues samples from him but he eventually escapes but finds other test subjects, He destroys the facility. He begins wearing glasses hoping to stay unrecognizable to the government who may be watching him. He continues to be Superman but is more careful, He also gets a book deal and reveals his secret to Lois and feels great relief for that when they both accept each others. - Chapter three sees Clark and Lois have here dream home built and life seems to be going very well. Lois announces to Clark when she comes home from a work trip that she is pregnant and Clark is delighted at first but as time wears on he worries about Lois and the babies safety especially with the government still after him. After a meeting where Clark tries to come to a compromise with the government officials he is set up again but he doesn't give up and eventually they decide to work together. Clark and Lois have twin girls but Clark can't be at the birth as he has to go help free hostages at the governments request but Lois understands and things work out. - Chapter four and Clark and Lois children are grown woman with jobs and boyfriends, Clark finds himself feeling the effects of age and he reminisces about his life. Clark continues to wonder if there are more superhumans and eventually when the Government official Malloy retires Clark is freed from working working with them. Malloy reveals he did know who Clark was and that the torture facilities were before his time. When Clark tries to stop a tornado he is sure someone is is there and hears laughing from two people, He then thinks it's his girls and eventually they reveal themselves to have their own powers. Time moves on and as a visibly older Clark and Lois are happy they travel more, They grand kids and are truely happy. - This is without doubt one of the most beautiful books i have read, Both in art and story. Busiek makes you really care about what happens, i found myself hoping that there was going to be a happy ending to this story and Immonen captures the mood of the book perfectly.
7/10 - I enjoyed this story by Azzarello and thought the art by Jim Lee was pretty good but it's not as good as some of the other Superman stories i have read. The story tells of how one million people have vanished and nobody knows how and what has happened to them. Superman blames himself as he was away in space helping the Green Lantern when the Vanishing happened so he then goes to a priest called father Leone for a series of confessionals to talk about his guilt. The priest has cancer and this is one of the reasons Superman chooses him and on his second confession Superman tells of a mission to the middle east that he goes on that had him find the source of the Vanishing and also destroys all the weapons from one side of the two warring enemies. Superman has to fight Equus a cyborg mercenary who just before defeat by Superman manages to use the Vanishing device to cause a second Vanishing and this time himself along with General Nox and three hundred thousand disappear. Superman feels the anger of the people and the Justice League for his actions of interfering in a nations war. Superman decides to use the Vanishing machine after he fixes it and improves on it to try find the missing people,Wonder Woman tries to stop him and sets of the Fortress of Solitude's self destruct but he convinces her during a fight that he needs to try save them. Father Leone is then seen to be getting operated on in a lab with Mr Orr watching, he is being changed into a cybernetic mercenary like Equus, This was how Mr Orr meant to cure Father Leone's cancer, The process neutralized it and helped make him an enhanced mercenary called Pilate. In Metropia the paradise that Superman created in the phantom zone Superman is reunited with Lois Lane but eventually has to fight General Zod after it is shown that Zod is responsible for the Vanishing. After Superman defeats Zod and returns to earth he confronts a cybernetic like similar to Equus and he learns it's Father Leone who begs him to kill him. As this is happening Equus attacks thinking another cybernetic will help defeat Superman but Pilate attacks Equus and they are transported to an island where they continue to fight. With all the Vanishing back on earth Superman builds a new Fortress Of Solitude in a pyramid in the jungle. Superman has saved the day again but Mr Orr is still free as is his benefactors.
8/10 - I felt slightly let down by this, Before reading it i had seen how highly thought of the series was and how it is one of Superman's best stories. The thing is i saw the All Star Superman animated film before reading the book and maybe this took some of the impact away from the story when i read it but although i still thought the book was good it was far from perfect. I think also if the story left out some of the fluff and side plots like the Bizarro World stuff i would have enjoyed it far more, The Bizarro stuff to me i just didn't like and find the whole reading of the backwards dialogue to be a chore i cant be bothered with. As for the story of Superman dying due to cell death from to much Sun exposure i found it very good, It raised him to an almost god like level of power but at the same time slowly killing him. The whole Lex Luthor angle was brilliant to and the issue with Clark and Lex in jail was very good. The death of Jonathan Kent was sad and Clark speaking at the funeral was quite beautiful as well. As the book wore on Superman gets worse and worse slowly dying till the time comes when Lex Luthor and Superman battle. Luthor has super powers for 24hrs much like Lois did earlier and finally he sees what it is like to be Superman but they wear off at and he can't finish his plan of Superman dying. Superman then goes and saves the sun. When i say i was let down by this thats not to say i didn't enjoy it, i did i just thought it was going to be better than it was.
7/10 - With all the worlds villian's having the same dream of the cities of the world being hit with missiles and seeing that even the Justie League are incapable of saving anyone the villian's decide to team up and try to take out the Justice League. Aquaman is taken captive and the other villians bring vegetation and and water to barren lands and heal sick people who didn't have long left. Martian Manhunter goes missing when looking for Aquaman and Red Tornado is attacked in the Watchtower and the Justice League's secret identities are cracked and each super villian goes about attacking the Justice League where they think they are safe. While this is happening Luthor is giving a speech to every country in the world on how they no longer need the Justice League and how they show have been theones who healed the sick and helped humanity. Luthor tells the world they're no longer needed. With the Justice League under attack and nobody answering the call to help back up members start receiving the call and they step up and help and try to help the Justice League figure out what exactly is going on. Martian Manhunter and Zatanna find Aquaman and get him help but as he is coming around his child is stolen but Superman finally figures out who is behind what's going on. The Justice League organize a plan to strike back at Gorilla Grodd, Luthor and Brainiac once Hal Jordan arrives back safe. Every member of the Justice League and back up members are covered in metal suits to stop contamination from Brainiac's mind control worms. The finale battle rages on as the Justice League battle Brainiac's robots with Brainiac having taken control of the worlds nuclear weapons and has began the countdown sequence. Aquaman is still chasing Brainiac to try get his son back. Aquaman eventually gets his son back and the Justice League manage to avert the nuclear missile strikes by diverting them into space where the Green Lantern Corps throw them into the sun. - I liked this especially through the first 6-8 chapters but it did get a bit needlessly convoluted toward the end. The art was fantastic though and it really was a great book to look at Doug Braithwaite's pencils and Jim Ross paints are a joy to look at.
8/10 - This latest update to Superman's Origin i found very enjoyable, Geoff Johns did a great job and the art by Gary Frank really was brilliant with Superman looking very much like Christopher Reeve. The story itself was much the same as previous Origin stories but with Luthor being born in Smallville and also being responsible for his fathers death and also added stories of how a young Clark meets the Legion Of Super-Heroes and travels to the future. When they are older and Clark moves to Metropolis you see how Luthor really hates Superman due to him being seen as the cities new saviour something Luthor had previously been seen as, This drives Lex to try different ways to kill Superman. We also see the origin of Parasite and Metallo in this.
8/10 - Superman has lost his powers and it's been a year since that happened. Everything is going well in Clark's life, His relationship with Lois is brilliant, they are happy and he is happy at work. Will it last?. Lex Luthor is being freed from prison and with Lexcorp facing possible bankruptcy what will Lex do?. Luthor also has obtained an ancient Kryptonian artifact named the Sunstone and has collected a limitless supply of Kryptonite along with help from the Toyman. Luthor builds a machine using the Kryptonite man, The Kryptonite and the Sunstone to try get revenge on Metropolis. With Intergang also trying to kill Clark and then Superman only the return of Superman's power will help stop Luthor from destroying Metropolis in the Sunstone ship he found buried under the Earth. - I thought this was enjoyable, Busiek is one of my favourite writers and Johns is someone i am beginning to like so with the added good art from Pete Woods and Renato Guedes i was happy with this book. It also treated me to a larger look at many of Superman's rogues who i hadn't seen before like Prankster, Livewire, Hellgrammite, Silver Banshee, The Puzzler, Riot and more.
6/10 - With everyone still doubting whether Superman is really back or if he is a fraud the Earth is visited by the Auctioneer and he is intent on stealing Earth's greatest landmarks, Churches and even Super-humans to sell to being around the Universe. It takes Superman and an unlikely team of Livewire, Nightwing, Firestom, Blue Jay, Aquaman, Veteran and Sky Rocket to out think the Auctioneer and get him to leave Earth and restore it's monuments and Super-humans. The rest of the book is a collection of team ups from years ago as the Back in Action story was only three issues long. The art in the Back in Action story was decent yet not spectacular and the story was ok but felt like a Superman story of old and with the team ups that fill the rest of the book it's an ok tpb.
9/10 - The arrival of a rocket ship to earth reveals a young child but nobody knows where he has come from. It isn't until he talks to Superman that it is found he is Kryptonian and hence no longer is Kal-El the Last Son of Krypton. Lois and Clark decide to try to help the child by adopting him and saying he is their nephew Christopher (Tribute to Christopher Reeve) who has come to stay with them. It wont be easy as there is people who are looking for the child namely the US Military and his parents who arrive on Earth along with an army of Kryptonians. His parents are none other than General Zod and Ursa. They arrive and defeat Superman by banishing him to the Phantom Zone but he manages to escape with help from Mon-El and uses a rocket to get back to earth. When back on Earth he asks for the help of Lex Luthor and his array of weapons that were built to hurt Superman but after being hit from behind Luthor tells Superman he'll be working for him in his Superman Revenge Squad along with Parasite, Bizarro and Metallo. During the final battle Parasite and Metallo go about killing various Kryptonian's while Bizarro fights Non and Superman takes on Zod and Ursa. Lex Luthor sneeks into Zod's Fortress and tampers with one of the Kryptonian ships rockets that is still tethered to the Phantom Zone. This causes all who have been in the Phantom Zone to be recalled there including Christopher despite Superman's best efforts to stop it. Christopher being the key to the Phantom Zone doorway means that when Lois knocks out Luthor and Chris goes through the doorway it shuts. The Daily Planet runs the story of Christopher saving Earth but an unhappy Luthor sits in his cell shouting it was him who saved the world. - I really liked this book and did enjoy the art even though i felt it was a bit uneven in places. Some pages were very good others looked rushed but Geoff Johns and Richard Donner did a fantastic job on the story.
7/10 - The story starts with Superman and Lois having an anniversary of the first time Superman took her flying but it's a Monday and Clark is having a very busy day. Two former female friends of Clark's have asked to speak to him for a Daily Planet interview, Lana Lang been tasked with saving Lexcorp and Callie Llewellyn is in Kazakhstan with a problem involving a strange creature named Subjekt 17 that has went on the rampage. Superman tries to stop it but during their battle a powerful Sorcerer named Arion shows up warning that there will be events set in motion that will cause Superman to battle a threat called Khyber and the resulting battle will cause Tsunami's, Volcanoes and the Earths crust to split leading to a nuclear Winter which will kill millions. Arion tells of how Superman will eventually die but Khyber will be defeated, This only leads to others trying to take over the world and thus humanity continues to kill itself. Through the years the heroes fall, Flash dies, Lex Luthor dies and Lois dies just before the sun is seen in the sky again leaving only Jimmy Olsen as the last human on Earth. Superman believes what Arion has told him of the future and Arion tells Superman "To Let Mankind Live, You Have To Let Civilization Fall". - This was a good start to this two part story and sets up volume two nicely. Carlos Pacheco's art is well done and really adds to the exciting story Busiek has wrote.
7/10 - Volume two focuses mostly on Superman and how he struggles with the decision of whether to take a step back and stay out of humanities affairs. It's not until Superman has to save a little girl from falling from a building he realizes he can't just allow bad things to happen to people while he has the power to stop it. Arion who is also trying to save humanity attacks Superman when Superman tells of his decision to continue helping the people, The difference is Arion wants to allow millions to die so the future of mankind lives on as he thinks with Superman's constant inteference humans will lose their will to fight on. Arion tries to mind control Superman and use him to do his bidding but when Superman breaks free he has to dedicate his time to finding Arion who escaped. It takes Subjekt 17 who also gives him an ultimatum of are you with me (alien) or humanity and if it's humanity Superman has to beat the whereabouts of Arion out of Subjekt 17. Superman then finds Arion who is hiding in an old Atlantean Castle and defeats him. Events show how resourceful humans can be and Superman reflects on whats happened, As somewhere else the rebirth of Khyber is happening in some tomb. - A good finish to the this two part story by Busiek with very good art once again by Pacheco.
6/10 - There were three stories in this book, The first two linked together and concentrated on faith. Story one was about an old woman who thought Superman was an angel who she could call down to save people in trouble. Story two was about a young man named Redemption who was being used by an old priest to channel his powers to try and fight of military in a place called Nyasir. The priest was powered by the faith of his congregation but when Superman showed the congregation how he was using Jarod Dale (Redemption) the congregation stop believing in him so he lost his powers. Story three has Superman possessed by a demon in what appears to be a dream and him lashing out and killing everyone for wanting something from him. Eventually he ends up in hell battling demons and with help from the Phantom Stranger and Zatanna and he manages to keep control of his soul and the person he is. - The book raises questions of just how right or wrong it is for people to push their faith on others. The art was hit in the first two stories was good but the Walt Simonson issue i didn't so much. The stories were still enjoyable though.
5/10 - This book is three stories based around Superman' pal Jimmy Olsen. The first shows a young Jimmy who is homeless and who Perry White spots some potential in. It shows the beginning of Superman's and Jimmy's relationship as pals. The second story is about Jimmy suddenly getting super-powers and trying to decide whether or not he should use them to help people and whether he is capable of being a hero. Jimmy decides to become Mr Action but struggles to get to grips with his powers. The final story has Simyan and Mokkari working for Darkseid. They're growing clones to take over Metropolis and a devolution ray has been built to turn humans back to the neanderthal. It takes Jimmy, Superman, Dubbilex and The Guardian ton stop the plan. - I thought this was pretty average, the first two stories were ok but the last felt very dated .
6/10 - Superman and Batman search for the Third Kryptonian that the Auctioneer had mentioned in Back In Action. While Superman searches there is trouble coming to Earth after the Auctioneer had sold information of the presence of the Kryptonian's on Earth. Amalak an alien wants to kill the the Kryptonian's as revenge for his people but not only that he wants to destroy Kandor when he hears of it's presence on Earth. When Superman eventually finds the Third Kryptonian and hears her story they are attacked by Amalak. Superman is captured but is freed by the rest of the Kryptonian's and after a long battle the defeat Amalak an Karsta the Third Kryptonian takes him to face punishment for his crimes in another galaxy. There is an issues called best day when Clark takes the Kent's, Lois, Supergirl, Chris and Krypto for a picnic to a place called Terabithia. The last issue is about Martha and Jonathan's fears as Clark has been sent to the Phantom Zone by Zod in Last Son. - The art in this was ok and the story was decent but nothing spectacular.
7/10 - Superman has been called to the year 3008 by Brainiac-5 to try and help stop that times Justice League from imprisoning and persecuting Aliens like the Legion of Super-heroes. The Justice League have spread lies that Superman was in fact born on earth and are trying to wipe out any knowledge of Superman's real lineage along with killing the Legion of Super-Heroes. Brainiac has managed to trick his way to becoming leader of his homeworld Colu so that he can halt plans for the United Planets to destroy Earth for their treatment of Aliens. When the Justice League tips off the Coluian's that Brainiac is helping the Legion then Brainiac calculates that they are only 4hrs from Universal War. Superman and the Legion go to try and stop the Justice League with help from the Substitutes and during the final battle find Sun Boy hooked up to a machine and he is the reason for Earth's red sun, they free him and when the yellow sun comes back Superman gets his powers and they defeat the Justice League and prevent the war. - I thought this was pretty good, it's my first experience with Legion of Super-Heroes and there is so many characters but it was an interesting story and the art by Gary Frank was very good.
6/10 - Lana Lang has been kidnapped and Superman traces the source of the kidnap to the moon where a hive of Alien bugs have cloned Lana's body to be their Queen. While this is going on Chris Kent is feeling sick and is struggling to keep control over his powers while Lois is finding it difficult to look after him. She needs Clark but with Clark on the moon trying to free the kidnapped Lana Lois has to look after Chris alone. On the moon Superman is captured by the bug Queen and here followers and she makes Superman bug hatchlings but the escaped Lana Lang manages to help Superman and he defeats the Queen saving earth. Lana and the other humans that had been working on the moonbase are brought home in ships that were built by Lexcorp and this technology may have saved Lexcorp from bankruptcy. Chris illness were coming fro the red sun watch and is scared he'll be sent away but Clark reassures him earth is his home and him and Lois are his family. The last two issues are a two part story called Shadows Linger, It has Superman, Lois and Chris moving into a new appartment after the destruction of the last one due to Chris powers. Superman is also trying to find a way to cure Mon-El and get him out of the Phantom Zone but is approached by the Priest-Elders Of The Prototonic Flame and to to hand over Mon-El or die. It takes an unlikely team of Paragon and Superman to defeat the Elder-Priests weapon they unleash and even after defeating the weapon and with the Elders dying they refuse Superman's help to save them. - The art was pretty good in this and i thought it was a enjoyable story but again like much of the run it seems like it will fail to tie up certain plot points from other books.
9/10 - A very simple but brilliant story as Brainiac has been travelling across the Universe and capturing Cities off different planets, Putting a force field round them, shrinking them and then keeping them miniaturized in bottles. Kandor hasn't been the only one. Once Brainiac captures a city he then explodes their sun destroying the planet. When a Brainiac probe arrives on Earth it locates Superman and sends a signal back to Brainiac, When Superman goes looking for Brainiac ship in space he is captured and Brainiac takes his ship to Earth to try and capture Supergirl along with bottling Metropolis and destroying the sun to incinerate the Earth. Superman manages to defeat Brainiac and save Kandor and Metropolis and Supergirl stops the missile that was going to hit the sun but a second missile destroyed the Kent's farm in Smallville. Jonathan saves Martha but has a fatal heart attack after it. The epilogue is a touching look at Jonathan's funeral. - A great story and one with beautiful art by Gary Frank.
8/10 - A Superman origin story with a few twists. It shows Superman leaving Smallville and moving to Metropolis but has flashbacks to points in his life that show him struggling to fit in, Coming to terms with his powers and also trying to find out who he is and where he came from. It also has an Alien Invasion led by someone called Tyrell and they have came to Earth specifically to look for Kal-El and to kill the last remaining Kryptonian. It is when the invasion happens that Superman wears the costume for the first time. Tyrell explains that Dheron his world and Krypton shared the same sun and were at war every 20 years until someone visited his world with a plan and means to destroy Krypton, They did this but Jor-El managed to get Kal-El free and the deal was no Kryptonian should live. Tyrell plans to do to Earth what they did to Krypton and machines are set in cities around the world. With Tyrell looking like he has won the battle Lois and Jimmy help free Superman from trouble and then Superman's uses his mind which is linked to his ship and uses his ship to destroy the Dheron ship and defeat Tyrell before destroying the drills set up in cities around the world. The book finishes as Clark is shown getting a job at the planet and him then sitting in the arctic getting information from his ship. - Beautiful art by Shane Davis and a fresh new take on Superman's origin. I liked it, It was different.
8/10 - Hal Jordan's soul has been taken over by the Spectre as the Spectre has tried to free Jordan of the influence of Parallax, a parasitic entity who feeds on fear. Parallax had been defeated by the Guardians of Oa a long time ago and had been imprisoned in the Central Power Battery and it lay dormant for billions of years. It was for this reason that the Guardians would only choose someone who could master fear to be Green Lanterns. Parallax however did awaken eventually and choose Hal Jordan to influence when he was at his lowest and this is what lead to Jordan's murderous activities. Sinestro who was thought dead arrives in front of Kyle Rayner and Green Arrow says he is the reason Parallax is awakened. Sinestro battles Kyle Rayner and Green Arrow while The Justice League arrives and does battle with Parallax, While this goes on the Spectre manages to free Hal's soul fro Parallax and his soul is willed back to his body on the Watchtower where he confronts Sinestro and they do battle. Hal coes out on top with help from Kyle Rayner and Sinestro escapes into a Vortex that Hal and Kyle can't track so they go to help the Justice League with Parallax. The Lanterns are set to team up to take on Parallax when Batman steps in unhappy but Hal punches Batman knocking him down with one punch, The Lanterns leave and defeat Parallax and Hal looks to get his life back on track. - I enjoyed this, Johns and Ethan Van Sciver are a great team and it was a beautiful book with a very good story.
7/10 - This book deals with Hal Jordan trying to return his life after Rebirth, He is trying to get back into the UASF and still be the Green Lantern. His hometown Coast City is rebuilt but nobody is coming back to stay there through fear of what happened before. Hal has to deal with a lot in this as he finds out that the USAF have reverse engineered a Manhunter they had in their posession and used it to build there newest Jet Fighter, The problem is when the Manhunter on Earth switches itself back on it attracts a newer version from Biot that comes to terminate it along with all other life forms and Hal. Hal also has to deal other Krolotean Gremlins who like to interfere in the natural evolution of other life forms, They do this to the Shark and Black Hand who are both after Hal also. Hal manages to capture the Krolotean Gremlins and they are sentenced by the Green Lanterns of Sector 2812. - The story was good but a bit of a step down from Rebirth and the art was a bit hit and miss. Ethan Van Sciver was good but the rest not so much.
7/10 - This book contains what seem like three separate stories but they are connected. In the first Hal and Green Arrow team up to take on the Mongul's son who is trying to conquer Earth something his father couldn't. He uses the Black Mercy plant to infect and kill humans and his sister shows up too but Hal and Ollie manage to defeat them. - The second story has Hal and Batman teaming up to take on a new Tatooed Man who has killed people. Hal and Bruce come up with a plan to take him down before it goes any further. - The third story picks up one year after Infinite Crisis with Hal showing a disregard for the Freedom Of Power Treaty and crossing into international airspace to capture villains which is ruffling feathers. During a ceremony where Hal, Cowgirl and Rocket Man are receiving an award a space ship crashes near them with Tomar Tu in it. Tomar was thought to be dead as Hal killed him but he escaped Biot the Manhunters planet. Hal and Guy Gardiner go to Biot to see if the other Green Lanterns are still alive going against the Guardians orders. They find the others being held captive but also run into Cyborg Superman, Hal frees the rest of the Lanterns and finds Arisia. They work together and help everyone escape Biot while destorying the planet. - The first two stories were good but the Revenge Of The Green Lanterns was better, The art by Ivan Reis and Van Sciver was good but i wasn't so much a fan of the Pacheco art.
8/10 - This recaps when Hal, Cowgirl and Rocket Man were captured by Chechnyan terrorists and how the managed to escape. The USAF send Cowgirl back on another mission to Chechnya but she doesn't tell hal or Rocket Man and her ship is shot down. Hal find out and goes looking for her as the Lantern but he is again breaking the Freedom Of Power Treaty and is intercepted by the Global Guardians who kill Chechnyans Hal is questioning to set Hal up. The Global Guardians are being controlled by Klarmarians who are working for Amon Sur, Abin Sur's son who wants Hal's ring as he thinks it's rightfully his. The Justice hear NEWS of Hal's reported killing of the Chechnyan's and arrive to take him in but they help him defeat the Rocket Reds and Hal explains that he needs to save Cowgirl. He finds her but when does more Bounty Hunters attack him and Hunter Dog takes him prisoner and Hal wakes up with Amon Sur demanding to be taken to his father's grave. When there John Stewart is revealed to have been under cover as Hunger Dog and saves Hal but Amon Sur is suddenly chosen as part of the Sinestro Corps and is whisked away for psychological evaluation. The final issues of the book follow the Star Sapphire Jewel and how it moves from Carol Ferris to Cowgirl in an attempt to win Hal. Throughout the issues the warning of the upcoming war is mentioned. - I thought this was the best book since Rebirth and the art was very good throughout.
7/10 - Sinestro go about recruiting members to his Sinestro Corps with the rings choosing members who have the ability to instill fear in others. They invade Oa and free Superman-Prime and Cyborg Superman while also capturing Kyle Rayner and infecting him with Parallax, They are also joined by the Anti-Monitor. Sinestro sends his Corps to kill Lanterns throughout the Universe, The Guardians mount a counter offensive and send Lanterns to Qward led by Ke'Haan to save Ion and a Lanterns led by Kilowog to save Mogo the planet. Ke'Haan's group arrive and are surprised to find Hal, They help Hal and once they escape a group goes to try free Ion and Hal's group goes to free Guy and John Stewart. Hal's team manage to free John and Guy and head back to earth and Ke'Haan's team manage to free Ion and even though the Anti Monitor kills Ke'Haan the rest get back to Oa. Ganthet and Sayd ask the Guardians to rewrite the Book Of Oa to permit the Lanterns to use lethal force they do but banish Ganthet and Sayd. On Oa the Guardians and Lanterns are ready for the upcoming assault but it isn't Oa the centre of the Universe the Sinestro Corps want, It's Earth the centre of the Multiverse. The Justice League and Lanterns battle the Sinestro Corps on Earth and Hal helps free Kyle Rayner of Parallax influence. The Lanterns are called to New York and the Guardians infuse Sodam Yat with Ion. Superman Prime and Ion battle but Prime gets the better of it, Sinestro is revealed to be happy the Lanterns will kill now he feels justified that the Lanterns will now be feared. Eventually Hal and Kyle defeat a de-powered Sinestro and he goes to prison on Oa, Prime kills Anti Monitor then a Guardian manages to get rid of Prime. The Lanterns help rebuild Earths cities and Coast City begins to thrive again. - I did enjoy this but these big events with pages upon pages of massive battles just don't do it for me.
8/10 - Hal Jordan's origin story, It takes you from his childhood where he see's his fathers death to him joining the USAF at 18yrs old to his mothers death and him been chosen by Abin Sur's ring to be a Green Lantern and up through his training as a Lantern and his relationship with Sinestro. His fathers death haunts him throughout his life but gives him the ability to overcome fear, For that reason he is chosen as a Lantern. We see the beginnings of the Prophecy of the Black and William Hand (Black Hand) origin, the creation of Hector Hammond from the accident with the meteor in Abin Sur's ship and also Atrocitus and The Five Inversions who warned Abin Sur of the prophecy. Finally we also see Hal's relationship with his brothers and his relationship with Carol. - This book has everything and i wish i had read either before or just after Rebirth, The art by Ivan Reis was excellent and i'd say along with Rebith this has been the best Lantern story i have read so far.
7/10 - In this book we see the death of Amon Sur at the hands of Laira who is then convicted of murder. The implementation of the second new law by the Guardians which is the allowance of lethal force to all enemies of the Green Lantern Corps. The Guardians also create a the Alpha Lanterns, A mix between the present Green Lantern and the Manhunter. We see the imprisonment of Sinestro and the emergence of the Red Lanterns led by Atrocitus. He and his Red Lanterns want Sinestro to die so they capture him when he is on his way to by killed on Korugar. The appearance of Blue Lantern is next and Jordan is told of the Prophecy of him being the Blue Lantern's leader but he is captured in Ysmault trying to get Sinestro which leads in to the Sinestro Corps freeing Sinestro and Sinestro kills Laira which makes Hal angry and he is consumed by the Red Lanterns rage and power ring. He is saved by Saint Walker who gives him his Blue Ring and Hal defeats the Red but Sinestro escapes and we are shown the eergence of the Orange and the lead up to the War of Light. - Another beautifully pencilled book and a good story, I am enjoying it but i get the feeling there is to many different Power Rings now.
7/10 - Agent Orange introduces Larfleeze and how he gained the Orange Lantern, An origin story of how the Guardians let him keep the Orange and also goes further to expand on the War Of Light. The Guardians write a new law that allow the Green Lanterns to police the Vega System, A place previously off limits to the Corps. The Green Lanterns and the Guardians travel to the Vega System after Robot Lantern Stel calls for backup when he is chasing a Sinestro Corps member toward the Vega System and the Sinestro Corps member is killed by an Orange Construct. Hal is also still struggling with the Blue Ring and when they arrive on Okaara Larfleeze wants the Blue Ring. After a battle a truce is made between the Guardians and Larfleeze but it is revealed that Larfleeze wants nothing more than the Blue Ring and that the Guardians have told him where to find it. Larfleeze arrives on Odym to attack the Blue Lanterns. The end of the book shows Guardian Scar writing with tears of what appears to be blood in the Book of the Black as two Green Lanterns find the Black Lantern. - Another brilliantly pencilled book with a more lead in to the Blackest Night.
7/10 - The Black Hand is going around raising the dead creating a Black Lantern Corps until his ring is at full power so that he can then raise Nekron. Nekron then tries to raise a being called the Entity which the Guardians say is what the Universe was at the start and which was also on earth at the start. The heroes need to combine their efforts and all the Lantern Corps have to work together to stop Nekron and combine their Light. We also see the creation of the White Lantern Corps that is created by the will to live and plays a massive part in defeating Nekron. - The story was good and again the art was fantastic but there is just too many of these end of the universe big crossovers now.
7/10 - The book begins with an origin of Black Hand. It then focuses more on Hal Jordan and his journey to unite the different Corps to defeat the Black Lantern Corps but it also see's Sinestro get revenge on Mongul defeating him on Korugar. The reset of the book follows the different coloured Lanterns as they try to stop Nekron. It fills in any gaps from the main Blackest Night book. - As with all of the Lantern books the art was fantastic but these end of the Universe stories that come in crossovers are just not my thing anymore. It may be i am just sick of the crossovers so even though this was more of a tie in it still affected my enjoyment.
8/10 - Someone is capturing the different entities of the various power rings and Hal, Sinestro, Carol and Atrocitus are trying to find out who. When Hal Jordan isn't reporting in to Oa the Lanterns have someone watch Hal to see what he is up too. Throughout the book the entities possess different people including Parallax possessing the Flash. The identity of the person trying to capture the Entities is revealed to be former Guardian Krona and he defeats the Lanterns and flees to the Lost Sector which leads into the War Of The Green Lanterns. - Excellent art and good story that continues where Blackest Night left off.
7/10 - The banished former Guardian Krona manages to get control of the Predator (Love) Entity giving him full control of all the Entities. He heads for Oa and takes control of the Guardians as the Entities possess the Guardians. While this is going on a group of Green Lanterns led by Salaak tries to arrest Hal Jordan for treason. With Parallax back in the central power battery Krona is using him to control the Green Lanterns with only John, Kyle, Hal, Guy and Kilowog able to fight of the influence. Kilowog is captured but the rest use the different rings to become Hope (Kyle), Compassion (John), Fear (Hal) and Rage (John). They find the Gauntlet originally used by Krona then split into two groups, Hal and Guy try to take Parallax out the battery and John and Kyle go to help Mogo. Hal and Guy are captured by Krona and wrappend in the ancient bandages to evolve them into the new Guardians. When John and Kyle can't save Mogo John channels the Black Ring power of death and destroys Mogo. They manage to free Parallax and stop Krona's control over the Green Lanterns, The Lanterns manage to combine their efforts which see's Sinestro chosen to be a Green Lantern again and Hal is the one who kills Krona. Even after being saved Hal is banished by the Guardians as is Ganthet. - Another good story and more brilliant art but it really feels like Johns run is just one big event after another and as good as it's been i am glad that the pre 52 is over.
7/10 - With Hal no longer a Corps member and Sinestro returned as a Green Lantern Sinestro strikes a deal with Hal asking him for help to save his home world Korugar from the Sinestro Corps. Even after capture Sinestro manages to create enough rings for his people who are imprisoned with him and they help break out and once out Sinestro and Hal manage to drain the Yellow rings and return the Yellow Lantern to Oa. The Guardians are already planning to get rid of the Green Lantern Corps though, Back on Earth Carol and Hal are are going to try giving their relationship another go. The last issues shows Sinestro hunting Lyssa Drak and capturing the Book Of Black, He also see's visions of what the Guardians are planning to do. - I liked this, Mahnke's pencils as always are excellent and Johns continued with what was the fallout from WOTGL.
7/10 - The book begins with Deadpool's first appearance in New Mutants where he has been hire to kill Cable but fails. It then moves to his first solo run in The Circle Chase where he along with other Mercenaries are trying to find the planets most deadly weapon that has been alluded to in a guy named Tolliver's will. Deadpool comes up against Garrison Kane, Black Tom, Juggernaut and Slayback on his travels and is joined by his friend Weasel. The weapon is not actually a weapon but is in fact a type of robot/android thing that makes other weapons obsolete. Although it does feel dated this does show there is more to Deadpool than just some crazy killer as he helps save Vanessa, A women he loves life. - The next story in the book is Sins Past. This has the first time we see Wade without a mask, It also shows just how much his appearance hurts him and how he doesn't want others to see it. The story is based around Black Tom being broken out of prison by Juggernaut and they have Doctor Killebrew kidnapped and he has to try cure Black Tom's illness but to do this he needs Deadpool. Deadpool teams up with Siren and Banshee in this to capture Black Tom but he does it with his regeneration powers not working properly. It was a good story. - Finally we see the first issue from Joe Kelly and Ed Mcguinness where Deadpool is sent on a mission to destroy a Gamma machine, When he does Sasquatch tells him that what he has done will destroy the whole Eastern Seaboard so Wade thinks he has been set up but when he confronts the people who gave him the job they tell him it was a test and that they want him to work for Landau Luckman and Lake. - I enjoyed the last issue probably the best so far, I am looking forward to Volume two.
With Deadpool's regeneration powers failing Dr Killebrew tells him that he needs to find the Hulk and get some of his blood. Wade's aggressive cancer he had could come back unless he gets the blood. Siren and Wade's relationship grows here and Siren helps get Wade on the track to the man he wants to be. -