Review/Pre-view - Marvel at the amazing comic report by Stu!

by Stu Somers

Welcome to my first comic book oriented article here at Flipside Gaming. In this article series, I will be taking a handful of issues week to week and review each issue. We'll also discuss the upcoming issue(s) in that series so you know what to get excited for!  I'm going to discuss the coming week’s books that are the most intriguing in descending order. So, without any further delay:

REVIEWS

Jessica Jones #5:

When I started catching up on comics for this article, if you had told me Jessica Jones would be the one to start filling in some of the holes Secret Wars left behind I would have thought you were crazy. Here we are though with Jessica hunting down someone who is a killer and claims that they are from an alternative time before the universe reset. You expect to see this type of thing in the Ultimates like we are, but to have it be in Jessica Jones, 2017 is shaping up for some very ugly secrets to come to light in the Marvel Universe.

Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #4:

I have to admit that Renew Your Vows was one of my least favorite Secret Wars tie-ins even though Spider-Man is one of my favorite characters. That being said, getting passed Regent and making the Mole Man the villain for the first few issues has been a lot of fun. Mole Man is so campy and over-the-top that he works far better with Spider-Man than he ever did with the Fantastic Four. I was a bit hesitant on Mary Jane being Spinneret but having all three Parkers kicking butt has been a lot of fun and watching MJ put her foot down on both Peter and Annie has produced some great comedic moments.

Kingpin #1:

This is the comic I was most looking forward to this past week. The idea of Kingpin going the straight and narrow is an idea that really intrigues me and I am curious as to how they are going to make one of the biggest street-level villains in the Marvel Universe look legitimate. The dynamic between Fisk and Sarah Dewey started cold at first but she really warmed up to him as it progressed. It will be great to see how that ending plays out and what it does to their bond going forward.

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #4

Sure, this isn’t a “Marvel Universe” comic, but you have to admit the Star Wars comics have all been on fire recently. I am not sure what dynamic I enjoy more: Aphra and her dad bickering at each other or the fact the evil versions of C-3PO and R2-D2 have as much fun killing as BeeTee and Triple Zero do. We also have a new imperial villain come to the forefront so it will be great to see how that fleshes out.

Ms Marvel #15:

I think we can all relate the Ms Marvel in that we wish we could just find the online troll that is giving us grief and use our super-powers to teach them a lesson. Kamala Khan being a character so entrenched in online gaming gives her a unique perspective in the Marvel Universe and in this case it gives her a unique villain to be challenged by. That cover art was also so unique and a great call-back to old school games that it by itself help the issue stand out to me.

Inhumans vs X-Men #4:

I think at this point a lot of people are excited for Secret Empire just so we can stop watching heroes fight heroes. This whole crossover has been oddly paced and with only 2 issues left, I hope that there is a chance to salvage this because right now it seems like the stakes are not all that high without a character really feeling the weight of any their decisions so far. That being said, I did let out a pretty good laugh with the Mosaic/Magneto moment part way through that will probably get turned into a meme at some point.

PREVIEWS

Clone Conspiracy #5:

This Spider-Man event has been pretty good overall. There have been some great twists and getting to see a smaller collection of prominent Spider-Heroes facing off against a former friend has made for some great moments. While Clone Conspiracy: Omega will probably fill in the questions we have left after this issue, most notably what the Scarlet Spider will be up to going forward, I can see the conclusion to this event having lasting ramifications. 

Captain America: Steve Rogers #11:

Steve Rogers has taken over as Director of Shield and with Secret Empire coming closer, the pace is going to pick up substantially with his plan to cull the Earth with the Chitauri looming. The biggest question is not when he plans to unleash his plan, but who is the inevitable hero to figure it out before it is too late? My money is on Sam Wilson or Maria Hill, but we will have to wait and see.

Deadpool #27:

Well, usually it is Deadpool that is appearing in everyone else’s comics, so why not have Steve Rogers crossover to Deadpool this time. This new, my threatening Captain America should make for some great dialogue with Deadpool who is none the wiser to the change in the good Captain’s personality. The more I think about it, the more I think Deadpool might be the one to save everyone from Captain’s evil plan after all!

Monsters Unleashed #3:

I have been loving this crossover so far. As I said above, I am so bored of heroes fighting heroes that seeing them punch monsters together as a team has been a surprisingly refreshing experience. It is also great to see less known heroes such as Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur come to the forefront to fight these monsters that Monsters Unleashed might be the best crossover since Secret Wars.

Ultimates 2 #4:

So the Living Tribunal is dead and Logos has been born of a merger of Lord Chaos, Master Order, and the In-Betweener. This is going to have massive, universe level consequences and I think this is when the Ultimates will get involved and help Galactus out. There is also the ominous warning that someone from the prior Marvel Universe has snuck into the new universe. I love seeing the cosmic entities come to the forefront and be fleshed out. I am excited to see where this issues goes from here.

Thanks for reading! Don't forget to stop in any Flipside Gaming in East Greenbush to pick up or reserve your copies of these titles today!

 -Stu Somers

Stu is a former M:TG Pro Tour competitor and avid comic book fan. He wants to know what you think about his article, so hit him up on twitter! @Ssomers55