The Superior Spider-Man #25 (ongoing)
Writer: Dan Slott
Artist: Humberto Ramos
I'm a big fan of the Superior Spider-Man run, but as of late the pacing has been all wonky in the books and this issue revs that wonky pacing to the max. Here we see that the Venom Symbiote has attached itself to Spock (Spider-man/Doc Ock), after removing it from Flash Thompson last issue, and Spock declares himself "THE SSSSSSSSSSSSSUPERIOR VENOM". Now here is where things get wonky/rushed. Spock rushes out, attacking Cardiac and Flash and then proceeds to beat up a whole bunch of street level thugs, a couple D-List Villains, and yell at Aunt May (;_;). Oh yeah, and if that wasn't a lot to cram into an issue, The Green Goblin and his Goblin Army are doing stuff too, and Carlie got sprayed with the Goblin Serum... To be honest I think the title is being rushed for some reason or another and Darkest Hour, which in my opinion should have been a two month (4-5 issue arc) has been compressed into 3 issues. Now that may be an editorial complaint but Slott has definitely not dealt with the issue properly and his characterization of Spock has become almost random, and basically forced to fit into whatever he needs it to be rather than keep it consistent. Over all, I feel like this issue has been another step down from the fun that used to be "Spock's Wild Ride".
Superior Spider-Man Team-Up #8 (ongoing)
Writer: Christopher Yost
Artist: Marco Checchetto
As of late this has really been the Superior Superior Spider-Man Comic. Christopher Yost seems to have a better handle on the character of Spock. However, more importantly he has a more consistent depiction of Spock's character, and the changes we do see are logical ones. In this issue we see Spock struggling with having failed in his Superior Six project and nearly destroying New York. He decides that he is an inferior Spider-man and go to the Avengers to find a way to restore Peter Parker to his body. However on the way he meets Earth's Mightiest Scumbag The Submariner Namor. Namor is currently being hunted down by Wakandan assassins. To my, and Spock's surprise Spock actually saves him, and during their face off with the assassins they discover that the assassins are actually robots, robots that are about to EXPLODE! Spock risks his life to save the day and realizes what it means to be Spider-Man, that no matter how bad things get Spider-man will always push through and save the day, and he punches that scumbag Namor in the face. While the story seems a little far-fetched the dialogues between Spock and Namor are what really shines, and along with the other issues of Superior Team-Up we get a cool little window into how Spock thinks, and we get to see him slowly but surely understand what it means to be a hero.
Scarlet Spider #25 ( FINAL)
Writer: Christopher Yost
Artist: David Baldeon
Man these Spider Family books are dropping like flies. Last month it was Venom and this one its Scarlet Spider, both of which were amazing titles that were unfortunately overshadowed by more popular titles. In this issue we see Shathra come to consume Kaine while he struggles with whether or not he is a monster or a hero. However, when the lives of his friends are put at stake he embraces his inner monster to save the day. Although he is run out of Houston as a monster, we see him now in Mexico and despite vowing never to be the hero ever again we still see him saving the day. The charm of Scarlet Spider is really its compelling main character, Kaine. One of the Clone's of Peter Parker made by the Jackal we see Kaine constantly struggling with what he thinks he is, a monster, and what he strives to be, the Scarlet Spider the mantle of his "brother" Ben Reilley, one time Spider-man and the original Scarlet Spider. This is a great story about redemption and I highly recommend picking up the trades, and if you like it fear not The Scarlet Spider will be returning in a few months as a member of the New Warriors.
Thunderbolts (Annual)
Writers: Ben Acker and Ben Blacker
Artist: Mateo Lolli
I reviewed Thunderbolts last week and let you guys know how much I liked it and what exactly I liked about it. This issue had more of the same and with a huge face lift. Even though I never had an issue with the art in this it was nice to see a polished version of such a fun book and the story they used for this was a lot of fun. A rogue Dr Strange is forcing everyone to be nice, gang warfare has stopped, Villains are eating ice-cream with heroes, and mobsters are doing charity. Only one team can stop this, the Thunderbolts. After going on various humorous sorties to obtain magical weapons capable of combating Dr Strange and a mind-wiped visit to W.A.N.D, SHIELD's Witchcraft Alchemy and Necromancy Department, they face Dr Strange. However, it is revealed that this isn't Dr Strange but the evil fairy king whose weapon... IS JOY! As the other members of the Thunderbolts succumb to joy all seems to be lost, but what the fairy king doesn't realize is that the Punisher doesn't feel joy and blows his head off. This book had a ton of hilarious panels and a fun story I highly recommend it.
Lastly we have X-men #14, the first appearance of the Sentinel, and a mini-bust of a Sentinel. I bought this as a gift for a friend and the friendly people at my comic shop were a huge help in picking this out. I told them what my friend liked and they told me about the book, and while one of the clerks went to snag the issue another had produced the mini-bust. They cut me a sweet deal on the two and now I have a radical gift to give my friend. So let this be great reason to go to your local comic shop if you can instead of using an online service or a chain like Newbury Comics.
Well, that's it for my pull list this week. Let me know in the comments if you agree/disagree and I'm always looking for something new to read so make some suggestions as well and I'll try and get my hands on it, and remember to share this on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+ if you want to see more content like this.
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