At a certain point, the freakshow on steriods nature of Absolute Batman is bound to get old, but we're nowhere near there yet. Not when there's still plenty of A list Batman rogues to be reimagined. The transformation of Ivy in this two parter is sure to be remembered as a peak moment in this run.
As a fan of the original PotA, I'm having a ball with this mini. I don't know if anyone coming to this strictly for the FF end of things might feel shortchanged but as a Gen Xer weaned on the original Apes series, and animated show, and live action TV spin off, this scratches a real nostalgic itch.
And it's matched by the art by Ibraim Roberson and Gabriel Guzman that has an almost George Perez like enthusiasm for not skimping on any details and thrives on depicting as many costumed characters as possible, in many cases new characters with new designs.
I mean, any Marvel comic's gonna be comic booky but when you have Abyssus as the combo of Galactus and Knull, with Dracula as his herald, in a wager with Mephisto to see whose army of warriors can win for the fate of the 2099 universe, that's on a whole other level of comic book craziness.
This might be the grand finale (or maybe it'll just be a springboard to something else) but even if this is his 2099 wrap up, Orlando has been allowed to tell a nice set of stories and I find that to be pretty cool. As far as this mini goes, I just love how super comic book nerdy it is.
One thing I appreciate about Marvel's habit of pumping out minis is that corners of the Marvel U that otherwise couldn't sustain an ongoing still get their share of attention and a writer can still shape a long term story. Steve Orlando has been carving his own niche in the 2099 universe for years.
As far as Strange goes, specifically, I'm enjoying this fantasy adventure as a fun detour for Strange, and as an opportunity to see him operating in a different setting.
Strange is not going to be the Sorcerer Supreme of Asgard forever, anymore than Wanda is going to be the Sorcerer Supreme of 616 Earth forever. Both these stories will run their preplanned course and subsequently relaunch into whatever's next for both characters. Personally I'm enjoying both atm.
Clearly it's a mini, even though it wasn't announced as one. So when this inevitably ends at ten issues, you can cue the bellyaching from some fans, but I say this is so obviously planned to be a limited series that it will be dumb to complain when it ends and Strange gets another relaunch.
Artist Ivan Fiorelli has a very distinctive style that they're bringing to this that may not be to everyone's taste. I like it but I wonder if something more in line with the covers by fantasy artist Alex Horley's might've been more suited to it. Anyhow, writer Derek Landy is telling a solid story.
Aside from the fact that this could've just continued on from the Magik series, rather than been relaunched as its own mini, this is quality stuff. I feel pretty certain that Ashley Allen is gonna keep on writing Magik for awhile. Either this'll continue on or they'll just keep doing new minis.
If anyone deserves an evergreen mini to call their own, it's Hulk, and Ryan North has been serving up some top shelf smashing here, with Vincenzo Carratu killing it on art. It's just a lot of fun, with North's premise perfectly designed to illustrate the dangers of poking this gamma irradiated bear.
Hopefully as it moves forward, Eve L. Ewing will be able to juggle the big cast in a way where it doesn't feel like characters are getting shortchanged. And that Cyclops' opposition to Graymaytter Lane will become better articulated so he isn't just coming off as a hostile jerk.
I felt pretty sour towards this on my first read. But a second run at it softened my stance a bit. I still wasn't blown away by it, and it still feels disappointing to me that this is what we're getting in place of the underappreciated Exceptional X-Men, but read #2 at least left me more optimistic.
I don't have any industry insight but my purely anecdotal observation is that this isn't a title where sales are slumping. My LCS's are always cleaned out every time a new issue hits. This week's issue is sure to be no exception to that, with Felicia and MJ pulling a heist in the Negative Zone.
Restarting that every six to ten issues with a new #1 and a new title is a bit annoying, but at the same time, the favorable trade off is that Steve Orlando has been able to keep telling Wanda stories over several years now. Anyhow, as far as Black Cat's concerned, I think they should keep rolling.
All that said, if Black Cat gets canned at 10, I'll be irked - just for the fact that it's clearly selling. If they cancel this at 10 only to start a new BC series at #1 just for the easy sales boost, that will be obnoxious. I get it with Scarlet Witch. I imagine that each volume has done just ok.
I know some fans are grumbling about Marvel ending a lot of series at ten issues lately, but I don't have much of a beef with it. I'd rather they at least take a shot at a series, esp with characters that don't usually get ongoings, and if it doesn't sell, oh well. At least an attempt was made.
Death Spiral continues to be fast paced fun. Things ramp up here with VenoMJ and Spidey searching for Carnage, and Eddie putting the pieces together on Torment's killing pattern. Carlos Gomez's art keeps it all looking sharp and Ewing tees up a great cliffhanger leading into next week's ASM.
Apparently this'll be another done at 10 issues book. That's fine. I've enjoyed it, I'm glad Marvel gave it a shot. It's the most I've followed Spider-Gwen since her initial series, so points for that. Mostly, I loved being introduced to Paolo Villanelli's art. I hope they'll do more work at Marvel.
This wraps up Year One of Absolute Flash, and I think my interest in this title has finally (no pun intended) run out. For a bit, I was really feeling it with its '50s sci-fi vibes, but it's been flat for a few issues now. With Ryan North jumping on the main book, I can get my Flash fix over there.
Prior to this arc, I had a hard time imagining how well this book would function as an ongoing comic but this arc really made its viability as a long running title clear, that that this Superman can easily fight his own never ending battle. This version is going to go the distance, guaranteed.
If this hadn't already been my favorite Absolute title from the start, this issue would've put it over the top. I love what Aaron has been doing with it, and I love that he's made the inspirational quality of Superman so central to this take. In a cynical world, Superman is always a beacon of hope.
Also, it can't be said enough how good Jorge Jimenez is. He's been killing on Batman for years, so the fact that he's been able to up his already impressive game for this run is insane. Batman has been drawn by legends, and Jimenez is one of the best to ever do it.
One reason I enjoyed Wells' and Capullo's Deadpool & Batman story so much is that we got to see something we'll likely never get again in regular continuity, a classic version of The Joker. But whatever. It is what it is. Fraction gets his Joker tale off to a good start. We'll see how it goes.
Given that, Fraction does as well as anyone possibly could. I just can't help but lament the fact that we lost The Clown Prince of Crime in exchange for whatever the Joker is now. The need to constantly up the ante with the Joker, to make him more and more inhuman and demonic, came at a cost.
This was the biggest test of this run for me. As someone who thinks that The Joker has been mangled beyond all repair as a character, could Fraction make his current incarnation palatable to me? The answer is, yeah, kind of. Writers working in comic continuity have to play the ball where it lies.
This mini wraps up in fine fashion here. Writer Jimmy Palmiotti and artists Tommaso Bianchi, Gabriel Guzman, and Mario Santoro did a solid job on this. Just a meat and potatoes, street level DD and Punisher tale with spot on characterizations and nicely gritty art. If they cook up a sequel, I'm in.
Oh, this was terrific! Super fun and creative story from Ryan Stegman, illustrated by himself, Steve Skroce, and Sanford Green. Even though it's an Annual for adjectiveless X-Men, it actually stars the Louisiana Uncanny crew, but regardless of that, it's just a cool X-Men tale. Thumbs up.
It's nothing fancy and it doesn't shake off the middle of the road nature of this run, but it also displays why it's been a dependable read: Ahmed writes a solid Logan. He gets the character and has a natural grasp on how he thinks and acts. So if nothing else, I feel like Logan's being well served.
