Marvel #1
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #70
The Amazing Spider-Man leads into a new story run with issue #70, and its concise pacing will leave readers shivering in anticipation for “The Sinister War.” As Peter finds himself confronted with the Lizard’s new status, things around the globe are starting to shift for our favorite heroes and villains. The Sinister Six is back together with mayhem on its mind, and amidst a startling revelation about Harry Osborne, it seems Kindred is ready to scorch the Earth to show up Spider-Man. — Megan Peters
Rating: 4 out of 5
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #2
Marvel Comics’ 2021 annuals have provided a range of quality, but are all ultimately strung along by the same premise that prevents them from delivering more than mildly entertaining entries in a liminal space barely connected to the titles they originate from. This instance tells the story of Star receiving the Reality Stone’s immense powers and Spider-Man failing to stop her from wreaking havoc. There are some great opportunities for writer Karla Pacheco to express humor, including some excellent dog-oriented puns, and the positioning of a reformed gym teacher shows a real knack for memorable conflicts and quick character development, but Pacheco’s panache can’t resolve a story that by its very nature is designed to not be resolved. Its extended page count is always aiming for the promise of more annuals to be collected and more future stories to be followed following this brief interaction between Peter Parker and a barely recognizable Marvel anti-hero, and that’s a bit of a bummer. — Chase Magnett
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
AMERICA CHAVEZ: MADE IN THE U.S.A. #4
America Chavez: Made in the U.S.A. has unearthed quite a bit in regards to America’s past, much of it unexpected, and writer Kalinda Vazquez continues that trend in issue #4. What led to Catalina and America’s separation and the truth about what happened to her parents will undoubtedly hit hard, especially for those who have children or siblings, and artist Carlos Gomez and colorist Jesus Aburtov craft those moments with the weight and tone needed for them to land with the intended impact. When America kneels on the beach, you feel every bit of the loss, the grief, and the pain she’s feeling, and that’s an impressive feat. When things get back to the present, however, it feels like there’s something missing. America’s response to these memories and all this new information just doesn’t feel quite right, even when taking her more matter-of-fact personality into consideration. Perhaps this will get fleshed out a bit more next issue and make sense here, but it didn’t feel as if she had really taken time to process all that and deliver the compassionate response you might expect. There’ still a lot to love here even with the odd ending, and hopefully, the final issue can stick the landing. — Matthew Aguilar
Rating: 3 out of 5
THE AVENGERS #46
Right out of the gate some props are due to artist Javier Garron and colorist David Curiel, who deliver some knockout scenes in “World War She-Hulk”‘s debut issue. Whether it’s the Winter Guard invading Avengers Mountain, Starbrand being a complete force of nature, or Gorilla Man coming to terms with his actions, there are so many captivating scenes throughout the issue that it deserves praise simply for that fact alone. There are plenty of She-Hulk scenes as well, and despite her losing the effort, Jason Aaron does a great job of making Jennifer look strong as it were (to use a wrestling term). That said, there’s not a ton of context as to why this is even happening, and it does seem odd that with that much firepower in Avengers HQ she could be taken like that, even with someone on the inside. Soon we’re going to need some answers, and the nature of those answers will go a long way in figuring out just how good this initial issue was, but just based on what’s here, it’s a solid start. — Matthew Aguilar
Rating: 3 out of 5
CAPTAIN AMERICA #30
The battle between Steve Rogers and the Red Skull doesn’t end with fisticuffs, but a battle of the minds in the “free market of ideas”, with both Schmidt and Cap trading barbs and ideologies against one another. It’s scenes like this Coates is really able to shine, as the Skull and Captain America attempt to push forth why their methodology is the best. It’s an interesting dissection of both characters and what they believe, with the issue giving us an interesting new status quo for Sin as well. Another solid entry for the Star Spangled Soldier. –Evan Valentine
Rating: 4 out of 5
CHILDREN OF THE ATOM #5
Events come to a head in Children of the Atom #5 as the reappearance of the X-Men forces the team to confront their own identities while clearing up a number of lingering questions for readers. It also finishes introducing the team with an internal monologue from Jay Jay this time around. Both advances are welcome for the series, but outside of an introductory showdown with the newest iteration of U-Men is primarily told to readers. Jay Jay’s dynamics with his older brother are barely shown to readers across 5 issues before being resolved and making the resolution a barely noticeable moment as a result. Similarly, the team’s questioning their own actions, claiming themselves as mutants, and being exposed is hand waved away in an installment that seems entirely focused on decreasing stakes and conflict from its start. It’s a perfectly fine step forward and one that offers some entertaining spreads and useful information, but all of that is delivered in a fashion that still leaves me to wonder why exactly I need to pick up another issue next month. — Chase Magnett
Rating: 3 out of 5
EXTREME CARNAGE: ALPHA #1
Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson, who recently reignited DC’s Superman after taking the reigns from Brian Michael Bendis, now has a similar job with Marvel’s symbiotes after Donny Cates’ work with Venom came to a conclusion, sadly his work for the Distinguished Competition started stronger. That begins here with Extreme Carnage: Alpha, an eight part series that’s trying its best to make Carnage happen yet again, but the world here is tired and needs new life injected into it. There is one interesting wrinkle brought in with a political subplot that becomes the driving force of the story, but even that’s not enough to make symbiotes relevant again. Artist Manuel Garcia does decent work throughout the book, making some of its slower moments at least visually interesting. Plus, you can’t go wrong with a Carnage Shark. — Spencer Perry
Rating: 2 out of 5
HELLIONS #13
Hellions slows down the enormous laughs from its prior issue to pick up lingering threads from even earlier issues in #13. It’s a tense set of reminders played out naturally across this series’ idiosyncratic cast of characters as they continue to drive the action. It seems every member of the team receives at least one moment. Both of Hellions’ core pairings—Nanny & Orphan-Maker and Greycrow & Kwannon—continue to evolve in distinct and very interesting directions, just as Mister Sinister adds a new pairing to the mix with similar qualities. The final few pages lead readers to believe that some of these characters arcs are building to pivotal twists in the near future with a cliffhanger that is earned across pages of tension rather than with a single, sudden surprise. Needless to say this is another multi-faceted issue with a reasonable blend of laughs, action, and even romance all told through its characters rather than with or alongside them. Hellions #13 is another strong issue in the most consistently quality X-series today. — Chase Magnett
Rating: 4 out of 5
Cullen Bunn and Jonas Scharf continue their horror-thriller series, diving much further into the characters of the Chimera. Much like the premiere issue, the true strength of the issue lies in its flashback, as we witness these demi-god like beings use their newfound abilities to terrifyingly rip a town apart. I honestly wish the whole story was depicted in this art style used for the flashback sequences but I digress. The series continues to remain a solid one with decent enough characterization, it’s just lacking some oomph to really set it apart from the crowd when it comes to some of the modern day events and characters that we’re following. — Evan Valentine
As Occupied Territory draws to a close, I’m left anticipating more Mullins story. The expansion of Beasts of Burden lore (in both time and space) combined with an incredibly endearing new lead reminds readers how much narrative potential this collection of dogs contains. Mullins’ introduction to the supernatural also serves as an excellent introduction to the series and Occupied Territory #4 is a case study as to why that is. The conflicts, escalating with increasingly terrifying figures from Japanese folklore, are ultimately grounded in the real world and their resolutions are unexpected and entirely earned. There’s still plenty of excitement, but Dworkin draws attention to the complexities of the modern world, refusing to give readers a simple punch up ending. Mullins still has ample opportunities to prove his bravery and serves as a thesis for the unique bravery of dogs. Confronted by death or insurmountable odds, Mullins’ loyalty and courage are unwavering. Scared, overpowered, and alone, he still knows exactly what sort of being he is and pushes on anyway. It’s enough to make you cry, especially with Dewey’s outstanding depiction of dogs in their natural form combined with recognizable expressions. Beasts of Burden serves as a love letter to supernatural stories, comic books, and canine companions, and it is an endearing testament to the power of all three. — Chase Magnett
Bettie Page: Curse of The Banshee #2 opens with a big twist, then spends the majority of its issue spinning its wheels before tossing out one more surprise on the final page. It’s still hard to see who this book is for. — Connor Casey
The Scooby gang returns from their first jaunt into the multiverse to deal with the aftereffects, mainly in the form of listlessness and existential dread. Jeremy Lambert scripts, with guest artist Carmelo Zagaria providing linework. Zagaria’s characters are less stylized than whatever readers have seen in past issues. Still, his line lines look like pen sketches that, in places, seem unfinished and ill-proportioned. There’s something that resonates in Giles voicing the sense of helplessness in the face of a coming, potentially world-ending disaster. After learning that infinite renditions of herself exist, Buffy’s identity crisis is as believable a reaction to peering into the multiverse as one’s likely to find in a genre comic. Yet the script devotes too much of Buffy the Vampire’s Slayer #27 to watching the characters talk in circles about a villain with barely any presence. Combined with the scattered story threads, it creates the sense that there is somehow too much going on and nothing happening in this series. — Jamie Lovett
The final installment of Chained to the Grave largely feels like a missed opportunity as many excellent, individual panels and thematically interesting ideas are lost in translation. The final showdown outside a small chapel is pure chaos in its depiction. New characters appear and many previously introduced individuals are difficult to recognize. Readers are left to trace a handful of easily identified leads through the confusion, which makes each subsequent twist or turn less satisfying. While single panels of flying gators create an impressive impact, they also fail to connect with juxtaposed panels in a clear fashion. After conflict is resolved, there are a handful of strong moments meditating on death and change, but only a handful of these denouements are coherent as many others recall information that was poorly introduced, if it was introduced at all. There is a compelling version of Chained to the Grave to be imagined, but it’s simply not what appeared on the page. — Chase Magnett
