Various Recent SuperHero Single Issues

Amazing Spider-Man #635 by Joe Kelly and Michael Lark with a backup by J.M. DeMatteis and Max Fiumara and another back up by Stan Lee and Marcos Martin.

I really liked this issue. In the last issue we get the cliffhanger of Ezekiel coming back from the dead so I was very interested in what would happen. In the end of the issue we find out that Ezekiel is actually the chameleon, which makes complete sense. I was surprised how well they fooled me. I like how Kelly has been playing with spiritual forces but at the same time doesn't go too far with them. Overall the issue was really good, with great artwork by Michael Lark and an issue full of action and intensity. I am looking forward to the rest of the series, specially considering the incredible cliffhanger at the end of the issue.

The first backup, which is written by J.M. DeMatteis is pretty good. This is the second issue in this storyline about Kraven. I liked Fiumara's artwork more here then in the previous issue, he seems to have gotten a better hold on how to draw Kraven and Kaine. The issue was pretty good, I really like the interaction between Kraven and Kaine.

The last backup, the two pages by Stan Lee and Marcos Martin are interesting. Not as good as in the previous issue, but it seems to be setting a funny series. These two pages don't work as well in isolation, but hopefully it will work well once we have all the package together.

Superman #701 by J.M. Straczynski and Eddy Barrows.

After a lackluster prologue in #700, Straczynski finally starts his Superman story called "Grounded" in which Superman walks across America to find his roots and why he is a hero. This issue has a few flaws, places where Superman says strange things (such as saying the world is unfair by mentioning that John Lennon is dead) and seems a bit pretentious at times (quoting Thoreau near the end), however I liked it in whole. I liked that Superman is not nice to reporters, given that I hate reporters that just follow celebrities. I liked that Superman cares about saving one life. The scene where he cares about a girl about to kill herself is pretty good, although one has to wonder about this scene, given that Morrison had just done this in an "All Star Superman" issue.

The artwork in the issue is not great, but it is not bad either. I think in terms of storytelling it is okay, he just sometimes doesn't draw Superman's face as perfect as I imagine Superman. Sometimes he nails it, sometimes he doesn't.

I am looking forward to the rest of the series. It was a much better issue than the prologue and I think that once Straczynski goes into rhythm we'll get better issues.

Irredeemable #15 by Mark Waid and Diego Barreto.

Issue #14 ended with the Plutonian coming at the Paradigm in full force, so this issue starts with a lot of action. The heroes have a secret weapon that can destroy the Plutonian, a bullet that has a special wax inside that is known to make the Plutonian vulnerable. One of the Paradigm's leaders, Qubit, doesn't trust the Orion, an evil alien that is helping the Paradigm destroy the Plutonian. There is a bit of a struggle between the Paradigm deciding whether to kill the Plutonian, in which case they would be vulnerable to Orion and not destroying the Plutonian now in hopes of finding a way later on. Besides all these problems, the Paradigm doesn't know that who they think is their resurrected friend Samsara, is actually the villain Modeus. In other words, all sorts of chaos is going on in this series and I love it. Anything can happen. The end of this issue was incredible, making a victory seem like a loss.

While I miss Peter Krause's artwork a bit, Diego Barreto does a fantastic job of covering him. The action scenes are well drawn and he is able to clearly show complex situations in the book. I like his artwork quite a bit.

Overall this series continues to impress. I am glad I gave it a chance last year and I will continue to read it for a while.

Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine #2 by Jason Aaron and Adam Kubert.

I had already forgotten the end of the first issue, so I was confused with how this issue started. However, I shouldn't worry about being confused anyways, because later on I realized that the writer just skipped months in time between the end of last issue and the beginning of this issue. Last issue was based in prehistoric times where Wolverine leads a tribe while Spider-man tries to figure out how to get back in time. At the end of the issue, Spider-man and Wolverine are thrown in time to the future, a future where humanity ended and instead of humans, ape-people rule the world. Ape-people are pretty friendly and in fact Spidey has been teaching them science these months.

The issue is quite good. Once the threat arrives, planet Doom, the issue becomes incredible. I can't believe how much detail Kubert is able to put in his art and I can't believe how outrageous this comic has been. Really fun, unpredictable and exciting. An excellent combination. I am looking forward to the rest of the series, I am very happy I am reading this series.

Various Recent Single Issues

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #37 by Karl Kessel, Paulo Siqueira, Kurt Busiek and Pat Olliffe.

The annual consists of two stories. The first one by Kessel and Siqueira and the next one by Busiek and Olliffe. The first story is about the first meeting between Captain America and Spider-Man. It was a fun issue. I like how Kessel treated Cap. The art was also quite good. I liked the second story more though. I thought it was a fun story, it made me want to read the other issues that Busiek wrote about Spidey's first year. It was worth buying.

Batman: Return of Bruce Wayne #2 by Grant Morrison and Frazer Irving.

This issue is about Puritan Batman. The issue is not as good as the first one, but it was quite good. I liked how Bruce would use his power to save people from superstition. We are starting to learn a little bit more of why it is dangerous for Bruce to go back to the present, but it is still mysterious.

The next issue is Pirate Batman. I am looking forward to that, I have the issue right next to me, I will read it tomorrow. The cover is great.

Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine #1 by Jason Aaron and Adam Kubert.

I loved this issue. I was very surprised by it. I was not expecting an issue set in the past starting Spider-Man and Wolverine. The issue slowly explains how Peter and Logan ended up in prehistoric times, which I think works great. Jason Aaron really knows how to write and it doesn't hurt to have a superstar artist like Adam Kubert to help. Kubert has very detailed pencils. The images are very sharp and clean, I really like the feel of the story. I also like that Kubert is not afraid to put more things into the panels by putting the camera farther back. Really good stuff.

I am looking forward to the rest of this miniseries, it is shaping up to be a fantastic one.

Spider-Man: Marvel Adventures #1 by Paul Tobin and Matteo Lolli.

Marvel Adventures Spider-Man was rebooted into Spider-Man: Marvel Adventures and it starts with a solid first issue. I really like this series. It is full of joy and fun adventures with Spider-Man. Paul Tobin does a really good job with a teenage Spidey and I really like Chat, she is a nice supporting character.

Nemesis: The Impostors #4 by Ivan Brandon and Cliff Richards.

I am a little disappointed with this series. The art is really good (the best I've seen from Cliff Richards), but I think they should have put some kind of recap at the beginning of the first issue or something. Maybe I misunderstood the story, but it seems to me like the series depends on a previous series. I just didn't get the significance of anything that happened in this issue and I kind of didn't care about what happened.
I think it was a mistake to read this miniseries. I recommend reading another nemesis story first before trying to get into this one.