Star Wars: Shattered Empire

This is a journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens for one character in particular.  If you have seen the movie & Poe is one of your favorite characters of the new movie then listen up.  This is the story of Poe's humble beginnings more importantly this is the story of his parents.  Poe's parents fought with the Rebellion at the Battle of Endor alongside its main heroes.  We see how Poe's parents react to working with each of the heroes of the Rebellion in different situations & where this life leads them in the wake of the Battle of Endor.  Poe does not actually appear in this book but he is mentioned, this is more of a focus where he comes from.  Now that I have seen the movie I want more, more Star Wars!

Avengers / X-Men: Utopia

I just finished reading Avengers / X-Men: Utopia, I can't say it was a great crossover in fact it was really a little less than OK.  The beginning of this crossover is really a weak basis for involving the Avengers a riot between mutants & humans in the streets of San Francisco.  Really the whole purpose of this event is for Norman Osborn to make his own team of X-Men to gain control of the mutant population in the United States.  Osborn running the Avengers & H.A.M.M.E.R. is scary enough but imagine if he control the X-Men as well.  This new team of X-Men is lead by Emma Frost other members include Namor, Mimic, Omega, Daken, Mystique, Dark Beast, Cloak & Dagger.  The story goes where Osborn is trying to discredit & arrest mutants that are not part of his X-Men on site.  This leads to Cyclops & company to take drastic steps which culminates in the raising of Asteroid M from the depths of the San Francisco Bay & renaming it Utopia.  The main difference between Osborn's teams & the real Avengers or X-Men is that they don't fight as a team.  That is more apparent than ever in this book as the X-Men defend Utopia from the Dark X-Men & the Dark Avengers in front of the whole world.

Avengers the Initiative Vol.4: Disassembled

Secret Invasion is over but the initiative is in shambles they are trying to rebuild but all of the sudden the Skrulls left something behind.  There is a fare amount to like in this volume everything from Ragnarock coming online to tear apart Camp Hammond to all the drama that was created by Skrull Pym,  Hardball has defected to Hydra but all is not what it seems.  Enter Norman Osborn his answer is to retool the Initiative to fill it with villains.  Not only that but he shuts down Camp Hammond he blackmails certain staff members into staying while turning others into fugitives.  The new initiative home base is set up in New Mexico, Camp H.A.M.M.E.R.

The New Avengers Vol. 6

This volume takes place concurrently with Dark Avengers volume one, so much in fact that some of the dialog & scenes are even repeated.  The great thing about this is that a person is not required to pick up both Avengers titles to get the whole story.  However if your a fan of Brian Michael Bendis's Avengers run then you are already picking up these two Avengers titles.  This title shows a shift in the Avengers team as the new Captain America makes his presence felt, the Cage family enlist the Avengers help in tracking down the Skrull who stole their child.  Clint Barton is given field command of the team in this book.  The second story in this collection shows the Avengers helping Doctor Strange take down the Hood with the help of Daimon Hellstrom & the new Sorcerer Supreme Brother Voodoo.  Brother Voodoo is essentially Marvel Comics version of Shadowman from Valiant Comics.  I like where this is going Marvel has made some great changes with characters overtime the thing about those changes is that they rarely stick for a great deal of time.  So it is only a matter of time before Strange is back as Sorcerer Supreme.

A Song of Ice & Fire: A Storm of Swords

The third book in A Song of Ice & Fire series has out shined the previous two books by a mile & then some.  There is so much that happens in this book it eclipses the events of the previous ones.  Where the first book set the stage while the second book broadened the playing field & the cast of characters.  I loved this book there was a lot of heartache in this book not a single family was safe.  The Starks are still getting put through the ringer but the Lannisters are getting their just desserts as well.  This book reveals how several major players bite the dust & several major conflicts along the way.  I would dive into more detail but even the slightest explanations would spoil the story for those that are unfamiliar with the tale, again read before you watch the show.

Dark Avengers Vol. 1: Assemble

The Skrull Invasion is over they lost the earth won but it wasn't the heroes who scored the victorious blow to end the invasion.  The Thunderbolts made themselves known & one man was there to reap the reward, Norman Osborn.  This book reads like a Marvel nightmare, Norman Osborn aka the Green Goblin has taken over as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. from Tony Stark.  He has taken over the Avengers & the Fifty State Initiative.  Osborn's first act is to rebrand S.H.I.E.L.D. into H.A.M.M.E.R. while his second act is to fire the majority of personnel & replace them with a selection of former S.H.I.E.L.D. & Hydra agents.  Osborn even rebuilds the Avengers from the ground up since Ms. Marvel refuses to work with Osborn he replaces her with Moonstone, he brings in Venom to stand in for Spider-Man, Daken Akihiro is brought on board to replace Wolverine, Noh-Varr is released from prison to become the new Captain Marvel & Bullseye is standing in for Hawkeye.  All of these additions join the only two members who decided to stay after Osborn took over, Ares & the Sentry. To say this new team of Avengers is scary is an understatement Osborn even goes as far as he can to dress them up like the characters they are supposed to be portraying.  However with all of Osborn's planning the symbolic heart of the Avengers is still missing until Ghost opens up Stark's vault & refurbishes some of the Iron Man suits into Iron Patriot.  All seems to be going well their first mission is a success but when Osborn is in charge you just know he is going to self destruct it is just a matter of time & by the end of this first volume it looks like the first cracks are appearing.

Avengers the Initiative Vol.3: Secret Invasion

Avengers the Initiative kicks it into high gear with a Secret Invasion.  The story is told through two different perspectives, Crusader who is a cadet at the Camp Hammond & a Skrull who has turned his back on the Empire.  The second main character is 3-D Man who is currently part of the Hawaiian team of heroes.  The story goes back & forth between the two characters as they react to learning about the Skrulls & fighting from two different sides back to Camp Hammond.   I really liked the characterization of both Crusader & 3-D Man & I really liked this book up until the last page.  Part of me wishes it it could have ended differently but I don't know how that could have been accomplished.

The Mighty Avengers Vol. 2: Secret Invasion

This is a great companion piece to Secret Invasion just like volume 5 of New Avengers.  This collection sets up so much in just a short amount of time.  The origins of Nick Fury's new team Secret Warriors in set in motion in this book.  There is a lot of back story in these issues about when the Skrulls replaced certain heroes.  I really liked this book & I have a new respect for Secret Invasion now that I have read these to main Avengers titles.  There is a nice epilogue showcasing the funeral of the Wasp.  Tony Stark has been demoted by the government & removed from S.H.I.E.L.D. only to be replaced by Norman Osborn.  To find out more pick up the upcoming Avengers title Dark Avengers.

The New Avengers Vol. 5

The Secret Invasion is in full swing & this book is a great supplement of stories that give more of a back-story than a side-story.  I like all of the planning & build-up that the Skrulls have set in motion to prepare for their invasion.  This volume & Brian Michael Bendis's Avengers run as a whole has given me a new appreciation for the Secret Invasion story-arc.  I would recommend that if you're are looking at reading Secret Invasion or any event set forth from Marvel Comics from Avengers Disassembled to the current running Secret Wars make sure you are reading the Avengers titles concurrently alongside it.  The X-Men are still relatively separate but are still involved with major Marvel events.  This volume alone makes me want to pick up Secret Invasion again & reread it.

Avengers the Initiative Vol. 2: Killed in Action

A lot happens in this volume characters die, allegiances change & new characters arrive.  It seems that the first round of recruits has even graduated by the end of this collection.  This book is Avengers trying to be X-Men with a training facility except they don't know how to train these kids instead it seems like trial by fire every step of the way.  Dan Slott is still writing this book but is now sharing those duties with Christos Gage.  These young heroes are constantly paying for the mistakes made by the adults in this collection everything from poor leadership to the brilliant idea that it was OK to create clones of M.V.P. & give one of those clones their most powerful weapon.  A new batch of recruits arrive & they look even sadder than the first batch.  Really the only high point of this series is that it spins off into New Warriors.  Bring on Secret Invasion because skrulls are showing up everywhere.

Avengers the Initiative Vol. 1: Basic Training

Before Dan Slott joined the Spider-Man collective that retooled Amazing Spider-Man after the One More Day story-arc he also joined Bendis in telling a new tale set in the Avengers stable.  Set after the events of Civil War & tying into World War Hulk, Tony Stark as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. has instituted a 50 state initiative to train heroes for every state.  Some of the heroes picked or created for this series have very little depth.  Cloud 9 is by far the most interesting of these characters while The Gauntlet is just a painful character to read.  I like all of the posturing & references to the survival of the New Warriors which had a short lived series that started up around this time.  The Initiative has some great instructors in Yellow Jacket, War Machine & Justice.  However there is one major character who feels really out of place in this series & that is Peter Henry Gyrich.  As a fan of the 90s X-Men cartoon I thought he was primarily an X-Men villain.  I really want to know more about M.V.P. it looked like he died but there is clearly more than meets the eye to his character.  Out of the three of Avengers titles on the shelves at this time this is clearly the least interesting.

The New Avengers Vol. 4

This volume of New Avengers takes place concurrently with the events in the first volume of The Mighty Avengers.  There are references made to the World War Hulk story-arc that happened after Civil War.  So far all of these Avengers titles have been taking place before Brand New Day because Peter Parker is still wearing the black suit.  Luke Cage really shines in this collection he is rapidly becoming a fan favorite of this series I really like the dynamic created by this team of Avengers.  The second half of this collection is the Illuminati mini-series showed how the Marvel Illuminati set in motion the events that lead to the Secret Invasion story-arc.  They even gather the Infinity Gems to prevent another Infinity Gauntlet event.  This leads to Uatu the Watcher to arrive showing grave disappointment in Reed Richards in particular.  The Watcher even states that if Reed uses the Infinity Gauntlet he will destroy everything.  Later on the group confronts the Beyonder in the Asteroid Belt & believed that have convinced him to leave their universe.  It seems very vague on where the Beyonder did go but it provided a little more background to who & what he is.  I really like how Bendis has instilled this idea of the Illuminati in the Marvel Universe it makes sense & I can see the early seeds being planted for Secret Wars which is going on currently.

The Mighty Avengers Vol. 1: Assemble

This is the first volume of Brian Michael Bendis's second Avengers title The Mighty Avengers.  Tony Stark won the Civil War & has been made the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. now he is putting together United States sanctioned Avengers team.  Stark brings in Ms. Marvel as team leader but instead he is the one really running the show.  Other Marvel characters to debut in this collection as part of the Mighty Avengers are Wasp, Sentry, Wonder Man, Black Widow & Ares.  Unlike Luke Cage & company in New Avengers this team is all over the place the only characters that have any real chemistry are former Avengers.  There are two main story-arcs in this collection The Initiative story is first showing the team take on their first threat in the form of Ultron taking over Tony Stark's new Extremis suit.  The second story-arcshows the Avengers taking on a Symbiote attack on New York City.  This attack leads the Avengers to Latveria to take on Doctor Doom.  Overall the second story is really great with twist & turns & it ties in with what has been happening in New Avengers & how they found out that Elektra was a Skrull.  Now Iron Man has been informed by Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman that Elektra was a Skrull & shares the fears of Luke Cage's team that this is the start of an impending invasion.  The first story in this book sucked to high heaven Ultron in a female body that resembles Janet Van Dyne is just a horrible premise.  There are two major complaints I have about this book other than the Ultron story.  First I really hate the change of writing style were the inner monologue is connected with the spoken dialog this created confusion all through the first half of the book.  The second problem I have with this collection is the art work.  Frank Cho just does not seem to bring his A game to this book I have seen great Cho work before & this just doesn't work.  Bendis is setting up Secret Invasion quite nicely in this book & setting up Tony Stark for the biggest fall of his life since the Demon in a Bottle story.

Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland

Winsor McCay was ahead of his time in comics & his creation of Little Nemo's Adventures in Slumberland is a timeless classic.  I was first introduced to Nemo & friends as a child through the cartoon made in the 1980s  Like the original work by McCay the art is the highlight of this book Gabriel Rodriguez is a master at recreating & updating the world McCay imagined.  The story starts off kind of slow but it continues to draw you in & by issue two you can't put it down.  The tessellated tower & the lava lake are the highlights of this book I would love to see a book that explores dreams the way this does.  This is Nemo for a new generation; it is a great way for parents to introduce their kids to this character & the legacy that was created.  There are some gripes about this but they are minor the major one for me though is Flip.  He is just as out of control as ever but they have made him less rough around the edges.  This is definitely a more politically correct version of Nemo but other than that I would love to see an ongoing series spiral out of this.

The New Avengers Vol. 3

This third volume of New Avengers is best read along with Civil War because there is a lot of stuff that happens in that event that pertains to this volume.  This collection covers what happens to the New Avengers team during Civil War & the The Initiative.  This is really where Luke Cage comes into his own he is the leader & everyone else is there to follow.  Everybody in this book has sided with Captain America in Civil War.  There is some back story to Tony's motivations for his side of Civil War while he is talking to Captain America but really this is about Luke Cage's team.  This book also shows how Tony Stark becomes the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. after Maria Hill's short reign.  I don't know how much time they are saying went past between Civil War & Avengers Disassembled but it doesn't seem all that long.  I would think that the public or at least the U.N. would be wary of Stark after he had a drunk meltdown in front of them.  It just seems out of left field that he would be given the reigns of their peace keeping force.  Back to Maria Hill she was created by Brian Michael Bendis & she has been a bad-ass every time she appears on panel I really loved how she infiltrated Avengers Tower; it really is to bad that the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of her is not this awesome.  The other thing that this volume brings to the forefront is the return of Clint Barton & how he took up the mantel of Ronin.  One thing that I have noticed is that Bendis has really been seeding the paranoia & mistrust throughout his Avengers run up to this point.  I know this preparing the way for Secret Invasion & I would recommend that if you are going to catch up on Marvel events from Avengers Disassembled forward to Avengers vs. X-Men you need to be reading Bendis's Avengers run alongside it will make so much more sense.

Wolverines Vol. 4: Destiny

The final volume of Wolverines turns up the intensity which isn't saying much for this series.  Mr. Sinister has ambushed Mystique's team to get revenge for what they did to him in the first volume.  Characters die in this volume which helps to clear the board a little of all of the Paradise characters with the exception of Shogun.  They were never fully fleshed out & their deaths seem trivial compared to some others.   Mystique's plan is finally revealed when she turns on everybody to bring it to fruition only to be fooled by the very person who set her on this path.  Destiny who Mystique was trying to resurrect was really moving Mystique to resurrect Logan.  Most of the characters have lost their healing factor by the end of this story & Mystique has chosen to walk away instead of bringing Wolverine back.  Destiny knew even when she had this vision that the world needed a Wolverine but it was doing fine without her.  It was nice to see Man-Thing show up in this final volume I hope Marvel is going to give him a big push the way DC gave Swamp Thing a number of years ago.  In the end this is really a Mystique & enemies story but it ends to quickly.  I would have enjoyed seeing another issue to show some repercussions of the actions taken by the different characters on the team.  then have a splash page cliffhanger to show the looming threat of Secret Wars.  I am excited for All-New Wolverine though but that wasn't brought on by this series.

Wolverines Vol. 3: The Living & The Dead

The third volume of the Wolverines finishes off the Fang story arc.  Ogun & Lady Deathstrike are conspiring to take control of Shogun's body.  Mystique is playing everybody to her own ends.  This series has still not wowed me the way other Marvel series have, I am now three quarters through & still feel like its going nowhere.  Blade appears in this story as well taking one some vampires but there is a comment made that he takes out monsters.  I really hope that alluding to this upcoming Blade series.  Fantomelle meets her client that is having her steal all of this Wolverine paraphernalia.  Turns out Deadpool is one of Wolverines greatest fans & tries to fill the void left by Wolverine's death.  The high point for this volume is Fantomelle sneaking back aboard the Changeling to deliver a Wolverine uniform to Laura.

Wolverines Vol. 2: Claw, Blade & Fang

This second volume of the Wolverines picks up the the pace a little but it is still wandering all over the place plot wise.  After the events of the first volume the X-Men are in possession of Wolverines remains.  Fantomelle is off on another adventure retrieving a series of items for the Collector.  Shogun's team of misfits is scattered with some siding with Sinister after the dust had cleared.  Mystique has taken control of the band now while Lady Deathstrike has her eyes set on Shogun.  This really starts to shine when Fang shows up & starts playing devils advocate with the team by taking different members on a little side trip.  That part of the story alone makes this worth the read.

Wolverines Vol. 1: Dancing with the Devil

This first volume of Wolverines sees the partnership of the experiments from Paradise teaming up with former experiments of the Weapon X program.  All of these individuals are working to retrieve Logan's body, half so they can find a medical miracle & the other half to learn their trigger words.  Overall this isn't a great read & the art is only OK there are a few character moments that are really nice like Sabertooth having moral outlook on life is just hilarious.  Mystique really shines in her limited screen time but it looks like she could be a double agent.  The big bad is revealed rather early on as Mr. Sinister.  I'm not sure what Sinister's power set is but damn can he dish out the punishment.  Why hasn't he been put in a movie yet.  Other than Mr. Sinister this volume also gave us the first appearance of Fantomelle.  She is kind of a mystery like Fantomex but she is pretty cool it would be nice to see are in an upcoming New Mutants or Young X-Men book.  So far everything that has been happening on the Wolverine front since Logans Death has been mediocre.

Static Shock: Supercharged

I loved this character growing up Static was essentially DC Comics version of Peter Parker.  So I was super excited to see that when DC rebooted back in 2011 that Static was getting a push however DC didn't push hard enough.  While this was an OK read it wasn't great, the story started off with action but a lot of the dialog feels forced throughout the book like the writer doesn't have a grasp on the character.  The art is also only OK there are some panels throughout the book that I had to look at multiple times to try an figure out what is going on. The whole story of Static's sister being kidnapped is never fully explained it would be nice to have more backstory here with this character instead of DC taking for granted that the general public knows the same amount about Static that they know about Superman.  This is really an example of how DC killed the momentum of a character they had been building up in Teen Titans prior to the New 52.  If you love the character pick up the title give it try,  otherwise you can pass on this collection.

Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy

This was a nice little title showcasing how many of Logan's supporting characters mostly enemies deal with his passing.  The five issues in the middle are written like a series of one shots but they add to the overall story for this mini series.  The X-23, Daken & Lady Deathstrike stories are especially touching but the Sabertooth & Mystique stories seem rushed by comparison.  This whole series takes place after the other mini series Death of Wolverine: The Weapon X Program & sets up The Wolverines series.

Death of Wolverine: The Weapon X Program

This series is a direct follow up to the Death of Wolverine story-arc & features the experiments that Logan found in the Paradise facility that was a revamp of the Weapon X Program.  These characters are on the run from a mysterious government agency who is bent on recapturing them dead or alive.  All of these characters with the exception of Skel are not who they claim to be they each have a secret past which comes back to haunt this misfit crew in some way.  The biggest reveal in this story is that Sharp is really the new host for Ogun.  The overall story-arc The Weapon X Program is only OK again I have not been wowed by Charles Soule but the back up story Life After Logan in which the reader gets to see how various X-Men deal with Wolverine's death is great look at some of the characters who knew him best.

Daredevil Omnibus

This is the definitive Daredevil collection, it will immerse the reader into the world that Matt Murdock inhabits & show you the dark side of New York City.  I have been a fan of Frank Miller's work since I first read Sin City.  This is where he truly got his start before Sin City, before Batman & before 300.  It is also a true joy to see Will Eisner's influence on Miller's work this early on because it seems that over time Miller lost some of that as his style changed.  I have to say I really love his early art compared to the art he has in some of his later work.  Where do we begin with such an extensive collection?  The beginning of this book kind of starts off in the middle of a story line so it is some what confusing but push on through it is well worth it.  Then it picks up speed with a some stories about Bullseye, Kingpin & Punisher.  By the time the book reaches the Elektra story it is at a full head of steam with no hint of slowing down.  The introduction of Elektra, Stick & The Hand are a great addition to the mythos One of the biggest surprises & highlights in this book is the inclusion of Black Widow & her relationship to Daredevil.  Again there is so much to discover in this collection of Daredevil stories that this is just the tip of the iceberg.  I love the new status quo that Frank Miller leaves his run on Daredevil with it was a fitting & lasting change & though it may have seemed small at the time it opened up a realm of possibilities.

Saga Vol. 5

Saga is back in all its glory picking up where the previous volume left off we start off learning about some of the history of the war between Landfall & Wreath.  However we still don't know what started the conflict between the two factions.  Dengo has taken the Hazel, Alana, Klara & the little robot baby hostage to get the attention of the Robot Empire, but the space ship tree has taken them to a snowy planet & stranded them there.  Meanwhile The Brand, Gwendolyn & Sophie are on a quest to save the The Will's life.  Their quest has taken them to the planet Demimonde a land of dragons.  The third party of our heroes is traveling across space trying to find where Dengo has taken the others.  This group consist of Prince Robot IV, Marko, Ghus & Yuma.  The underlying theme in this volume is the role of the parent & sacrifice or better yet the definition of sacrifice.  Three of our heroes heroes die in this volume one from each of the aforementioned parties.  One dies for the memory of a lost loved one, while another dies saving the other members of their group & the third character dies protecting the youngest member of their group.  All in all the every character has moment to shine in this story there are even some new characters introduced in this volume The Revolution a group of terrorist who are bent on killing innocents to stop both sides from fighting. The Will wakes up at the end of this volume & receives a gift from The Stalks brother.  By the end of this two of our groups are reunited but it is far from a happy ending for all.  I eagerly await the next volume of this series part of me wants to wait until Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples are done with this series but it is just to good.

A Song of Ice & Fire: A Clash of Kings

So much happens in this second book of A Song of Ice & Fire series that I don't want to spoil but this second installment of the series has left the realm splintered & fractured.  By the end of this book another self proclaimed king has died, alliances have been forged, betrayed & reforged.  This book introduces a slew of new characters; characters like Brienne of Tarth, Melisandre, Asha Greyjoy & Davos Seaworth are just of few of these new characters that stand out in this title.  Characters that were only mentioned in the first book receive even more attention in this one.  One of the greatest chapters in this book is a Daenerys chapter in which she visits the House of the Undying: within this house she is given visions this is a chapter that will require multiple reads to understand & could possibly be a key to understanding the story as a whole. The first time I picked up this series I only got two thirds of the way through this book before I had to abandon the series for awhile.  In coming back to the series & in reading this book a second time that chapter alone provides so much foreshadowing that it should not be ignored.  By the end of this book the Kingslanding has been attacked, the north lands are covered in blood, the river lands burn day & night several hated characters still live.  But there is still this glimmer of hope because it always gets darker before the dawn & winter is coming.

Ant-Man Vol. 1: Second-Chance Man

This is the first volume of Ant-Man's new series by Nick Spencer that came out after the Axis event. This is a great primer for anyone unfamiliar with Scott Lang's Ant-Man.  Scott Lang died in the Avengers Disassembled event & did not return to the land of the living until Avengers: The Children's Crusade.  The trade off of Scott Lang returning to the land of the living is that his daughter Cassie Lang who took up the name Stature when she joined the Young Avengers died in the same event that he returned in.  In this volume Cassie is alive & well this is not explained it might have something to do with the Axis event.  If there is one thing that the Ant-Man movie did extremely well was to portray Scott Lang I could literally hear Paul Rudd's voice while reading Scott Lang's dialog.    It's like the fact that Robert Downy Jr. is Tony Stark not portraying but is; or like Hugh Jackman is Wolverine.  This first volume is like a follow-up story to the origin of the Scott Lang Ant-Man & his confrontation with Darren Cross.  I am really interested to see where this series goes after the Secret Wars event going on right now.  I also want to know what repercussions this story will have for Cassie Lang & will she ever suit up as Stature again.

New X-Men Omnibus

I am amazed beyond belief New X-Men was one of the most amazing & inclusive X-Men books I have ever read!  Grant Morrison is a genius pure & simple I wish he would write something else for Marvel.  I have been a longtime X-Men fan ever since I was introduced to the uncanny mutants through the 90's cartoon.  The cartoon convinced me to track down early collections of Chris Claremont's run on the X-Men.  Now Stan Lee may have created the X-Men but Chris Claremont is the godfather of the franchise no other writer has taken the X-Men so far or added so much to the mythos.  Grant Morrison is one of the greatest writers when it comes to researching a franchise & bringing original concepts to the forefront again.  Not only does he flush out the original concept but he injects new ideas & new concepts.  In just his brief X-Men run Morrison has used almost every trope & idea that the X-Men are known for.  Everything from adventures in space, the phoenix, persecution, racism, drama, death, sentinels, Weapon Plus program, the Shi'ar Empire & alternate reality futures,  Everything is here & it is executed almost perfectly.  I absolutely loved the the majority of this run as for what happened to the Magneto in this volume I agree that it didn't stick to the landing but the overall reveal was awesome.  I completely disagree that Marvel erased the majority of Grant Morrison's run on from continuity in fact I think they preserved a great portion of it.  Since this run not only have Magneto & Xavier taken more of a back seat but leadership of the different mutant factions has been taken up by other characters.  Cyclops has had an especially big push over the last couple of years.  As for the Scott / Emma relationship Jean gave her consent in the end so I think it was a nice progression for both of the characters.  Several characters that Grant Morrison created are still being used today, Quentin Quire, Angel, Beak, Fantomex & the Stepford Cuckoos.  Yes I know Beak & Angel are depowered now thanks to M-Day but they still exist.  I really love the final story-arc Here Comes Tomorrow an alternate future story in which the X-Men of the future must take on The Beast & it reveals the real fate of Jean Grey-Summers.  Since her final death the original Jean Grey has been dead since 2004, longer than any of her previous deaths.  The story introduces the idea of the Phoenix Egg which is currently being used in Brian Michael Bendis's current X-Men run.  Physically Jean Grey is dead but spiritually her consciousness has fully merged with the Phoenix Force as a cosmic entity.  She returns when needed to restore balance appearing multiple times since Morrison's run.  In essence this series brings forth many of the ideas that Marvel has been using currently taking chances with characters in new directions.  Currently Marvel has killed off Charles Xavier & given his mind to the Red Skull.  They have killed off the Watcher & replaced him with the original Nick Fury.  Wolverine has also been killed off is being temporally replaced by several of his enemies before being fully replaced by X-23.  Currently in there major summer event of 2015 they have destroyed both the Marvel Universe & the Ultimate Universe to create a battle world in the style of Game of Thrones ruled by Doctor Doom.  This event will create a new Marvel Universe so in the fall anything is possible as to what the new Marvel Universe will hold but these type of out of the box thinking is the type of stuff that Grant Morrison brought with his writing style.  The follow up to Morrison's run is Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men I look forward to everything that comes after the this run which includes one of my other favorite X-Men stories Messiah Complex which leads to a whole set of other stories.  This is a fabulous jumping on point for all of the lapsed X-Men fans or people who just don't know where to start.

Spawn Origins Collection Vol. 1

I can't believe that it took me this long to pick up a Spawn comic.  Spawn was created back in 1992 by Todd Mcfarlane one of the co-founders of Image Comics he was also known for his work as an artist on Spider-Man.  Mcfarlane's art is to die for it is on par with Jim Lee's artwork.  Al Simmons is a tragic character who doesn't view himself as a hero.  By the end of this volume of Spawn is starting to accept his powers & this second chance at life that he has been given.  Mcfarlane's opening story arc is a little wordy for my taste but the origin story pulls you in leaving you wanting more.  Spawn references several other Image Comics creations like Youngblood, The Savage Dragon & Shadowhawk.  Not only was this a great diversion from the big two super-hero comic book companies but it made me want to delve into the other titles that set up the foundation of Image Comics which is now known for a vast array of creator owned comics.

Eternal Warrior Vol. 1: Sword of the Wild

This first volume of the Eternal Warrior is really a stand alone story about Gilad & how he has lost his way.  Over the years while he was the guardian for the Geomancer for the the House of the Earth he settled down to help raise a family.  While warring with one of the other houses Gilad lost his family this did not immediately dissuade him from his chosen path but instead it became the seed that would lead to his walking away in the late eighteen hundreds.  It is only when his daughter returns after six thousand years that he decides to pick up the fight again, but this time he wants to destroy the houses starting with Mother Earth.  This volume ends with a bang but where it goes from here is any ones guess this seems to be a different Gilad than has been previously seen in Archer & Armstrong.

Harbinger Vol. 3: Harbinger Wars

Still tied into Harbinger Wars this third volume of Harbinger is almost all flashback to an early confrontation between Toyo Harada & Project Rising Spirit.  There are really two different stories being told here the first of which is between a young Harada & the director of Project Rising Spirit, the second is set during present day & shows how the Renegades proceeded to Las Vegas & what trouble they got into along the way.  This is really the first time they have functioned as a team the previous volume was finding & activating them.  The way this is written I really have to sympathize with Harada he's not an out an out villain instead he is a lot like Magneto for Marvel Comics & the Renegades are like the X-Men without Xavier.  I like where this is going it was a great compliment to Harbinger Wars.

Bloodshot Vol. 3: Harbinger Wars

This volume of Bloodshot gives a detailed account of Bloodshot's journey from his showdown with Toyo Harada to the Harbinger War in Las Vegas.  Bloodshot has a lot of inner dialog with the nanites that control the healing in his body.  This explains how he regenerates after the battle with Harada.  Kuretich chooses a side & pays for his choice in this volume.  Bloodshot gives Kara an out in this volume which explains why she is not seen in the main Harbinger Wars book.  The final showdown between Bloodshot & Harada takes place in this book & sets up where Bloodshot is going after this event.  

Harbinger Wars

This is the first major crossover in the new Valiant Universe.  This is basically the big showdown between the Harbinger Foundation & Project Rising Spirit with Bloodshot, several new psiots & the Renegades caught in the middle.  This is a great little crossover its only four issues it builds directly off of the events in Bloodshot Vol. 2.  Project Rising Spirit is almost decimated by Bloodshot & is looking at a hail marry attempt to contain the situation by unleashing the H.A.R.D. Corps.  One of the major questions that has been lingering since the beginning can Harada be injured or is he just too powerful,  well Bloodshot can certainly hurt him.  By the end of this event some characters are dead & the balance of power has shifted more in one direction for psiots plus Toyo Harada is still anonymous when it comes to the Harbinger Foundation's true purpose for the global landscape.

Justice League Vol. 3: Throne of Atlantis

The first story in this third volume is about one of Wonder Woman's main villains Cheetah.  The story delves into Cheetah's origin & in this two issue story she takes out all of the members of the Justice League well almost all of them.  It is amazing the she is fast enough to take out the Flash.  After the Cheetah story The Justice League book jumps into the Throne of Atlantis story arc.  Throughout this story Cyborg is the true savior of the Justice League when all of the rest of the League is incapacitated.  One of the things about the two stories in this volume is that they both show the Justice League taking some of its founding members villains.  This is something that Marvel doesn't really do unless the villain is really looking to strike out on a massive scale.  The Cheetah story was really not in that caliber.  There is some interesting fallout in this book from the Throne of Atlantis story arc.  The potential for new members to the Justice League.  Steve Trevor & Amanda Waller setting up a contingency plan.  Plus the biggest revelation of all that Batman knows about Superman & Wonder Woman while Cyborg & Flash suspect something.

Aquaman Vol. 3: Throne of Atlantis

This third volume of Aquaman touches on his origin which leads seamlessly into the Throne of Atlantis story arc which crosses over with the Justice League book.  One of the great things about this book is grand epic scale that the event has taking a what was once a fifth rate character & taking one of his villains to a world threat level.  Even though all of Atlantis's attacks were directed at the United States its effects would have been felt around the world.  The revelation that Orm is not only Arthur's brother but Ocean Master is nice but the reveal of who really orchestrated this attack to certain & for what purpose is somewhat lackluster.  The return of the creatures from The Trench is nice surprise as well.   All in all this really an Aquaman story & the Justice League are just bit players but does show that the League is not prepared for everything.

Daredevil: The Man Without Fear

Earlier this month I binged Marvel's Daredevil on Netflix, that is one awesome show.  I had to go out & find the origin story of Matt Murdock.  Frank Miller revitalized Daredevil for Marvel Comics in the early 1980s before he solidified is career with his epic tales on Batman for DC Comics.  In 1993 Frank Miller & John Romita Jr. created the essential origin for Daredevil.  This book and everything & then some the only thing that was missing was Night Nurse she was so essential to the Daredevil's life in the show.  Other than that this book had everything even Elektra.  One of the best things about this book is John Romita Jr.'s art I love his work on Amazing Spider-Man, its appropriate for Kick-Ass but in this book it's just phenomenal.   I feel like his style had changed for the worse over the years.  Don't get me wrong his work is still great but his early work is far superior to his current work.  I would love to see Frank Miller return to Marvel Comics in some way on writing duties.  This was a great story & I definitely will be looking for more Daredevil to read.

Manifest Destiny Vol. 2: Amphibia & Insecta

This volume picks up after the events of the first one the Lewis & Clark's group has expanded a little by picking up the survivors from the fort.  But are these new characters going to help or hinder the expedition remains to be seen.  This volume slows down the expedition quite a bit by having the boat get stuck on the river, the symbolism of the arch is back, & to top it all off the group has been split in two.  Clark is in charge of the group that has made it to the shore while Lewis is in charge of the group that has remained on the boat.  There is a giant frog like creature that is preventing them from continuing on their journey.  On land however in the woods a blood thirsty foe awaits not as deadly but just as gruesome.  There is also a glimmer of back story to who Lewis & Clark really are & that they may not be as wholesome heroes as we are meant to believe.

The New Avengers Vol. 2

The New Avengers team is coming together, they have recruited The Sentry & Ms. Marvel now. Their quest for the forty five prisoners who escaped the raft has taken them to Japan in search of the Silver Samurai.  Daredevil still refuses to join their team since his identity has been outed but introduces them to the mysterious Ronin.  While in Japan the Avengers have a run in with Madame Hydra & the Hand.  The Avengers know that something doesn't smell right with S.H.I.E.L.D. & it is revealed that Hydra is in the same boat.  There are several revelations in this volume including who the double agent is, who is Ronin, What happened to all of the mutants powers after House of M.  Yes this volume is best read after House of M if you are into reading Marvel events.  Another big revelation in this book is that marriage of Luke Cage & Jessica Jones.  This volume also sees the return of Magneto post House of M & puts the idea of the Super-Hero Registration Act out there which helps pave the way for Civil War.  All in all I am starting to realize why Bendis is the man when it came to writing the Avengers, this is a really good run so far.

X-O Manowar Vol. 3: Planet Death

The big event sized story of X-O Manowar is here in Planet Death.  Aric has discovered the invasion force of the Vine in orbit around Earth.  Not only does the Shanhara make short work of the invasion fleet but instead of waiting for the Vine to reorganize another offensive Aric the Visigoth sets out for Loam the Vine's homeworld taking the fight to them.  During the story we discover the origin of the Vine as a race & the origin of the armor.  Aric uses the suit to free all of the slaves of the Vine from different planets & unite them as a revolt against the Vine capital.   With the help of a priest & a soldier Aric is able to persuade the majority of the Vine to fall back on their faith & realize that this is the dawning of a new age.  At the end of this volume Aric is taking what remains of the Visigoth people back to earth to reestablish their place in the world.

The New Avengers Vol. 1

This volume collects the first ten issues of the first New Avengers series which started the Avengers revolution at Marvel. For a little over two decades the big team book at Marvel was the X-Men. Once Brian Michael Bendis came on board he retooled the Avengers in a way that no other writer has done since the days of Stan Lee. This is the first Avengers story to be told after Avengers Disassembled however I would recommend reading the Secret War mini-series in between the latter & this new book because it is heavily referenced. This first story arc goes off with a bang its called Breakout. Just imagine what it would be like if someone broke several super criminals out all at the same time. Yeah Captain America is here so is Iron Man hell it would not be the Avengers if some of the founders were not there but that's were the similarities end with previous Avengers runs everybody else on the team is new to the team. Characters like Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Wolverine & Spider-Woman just to name a few. These are characters that normally would not work on as team players or they have other commitments. The second story arc titled The Sentry focuses on a character that had himself locked up because he felt he was a danger to others. The Sentry is a character has strong ties to Superman but is less stable of a character in this story seemed a little out of Marvel's field in terms of concept. It reads more like a DC comics story about a hero who has himself institutionalized because of something he thinks he did. Overall I loved the first story about how these characters came together but the second one was a real drag. There are a few notable things to mention in this first volume. First off someone on the team is not who they say they are, also what is this group of heroes that Iron Man is constantly meeting up with & why are they meeting.

A Song of Ice & Fire: A Game of Thrones

First off this is a whole hell of a lot better than the show can ever hope to be.  This is the title that started it all back in 1996.  I love this series I picked it up after my sister got me hooked on some other epic fantasy series; Sword of Truth & Wheel of Time.  Everything that made the first season of the show so good is here & so much more.  The show is like a series of cliff notes for this series & this is one that keeps you on the edge of your seat, turning the pages to see what happens next.  The first book introduces us to the land of Westeros.  Eddard Stark is essentially the main character of this particular book but each chapter has its own point of view character.  Tyrion Lannister steals the show with every chapter he has in this book.  There are so many point of view characters in this series that everyone will undoubtedly have their own favorites.  I really like all of the speculative back story in this book I hope that once George R.R. Martin is done writing the last two books in this series.  That he will do three prequel books  First a book about the Aegon the Conqueror coming & conquering Westeros.  The second book should be a detailed account of Robert's Rebelion; I want to know who John Snow's parents really are.  I think that John Snow is really Lyanna Stark's bastard son with Rhaegar Targaryen instead of Ned Stark's bastard & that she died giving birth to him, so in reality he is Daenerys Targaryen's half brother. The third book should be a collection of the stories that Old Nan told the Stark children growing up, the legends of Westeros.  But knowing how long it takes Martin to crank out one of these masterpieces those three books will probably never happen.  This first one however is one of the greatest works of literature of the last quarter of a century & will stand the test of time like The Lord of the Rings.  If you are a fan of the show you owe it to yourself to read not just this book but the whole series.

Archer & Armstrong Vol. 3: Far Faraway

Valiant is simply doing an amazing job, this third volume of Archer & Armstrong doesn't disappoint it goes into the history of the Boon.  Armstrong tells the true story that surrounds the tale of Gilgamesh.  Mary Maria is on a mission for her parents which coincides with Archer's quest to find out who he truly is.  All of this leads to the three of them getting sucked through a portal to the Faraway.  The Faraway is essentially a garden nightmare the three of them band together to take on this crazy general.  Along the way they make several discoveries of people lost or trapped in the Faraway.  This book leaves the reader on such a cliff hanger that you can't help but wonder what is going to happen next.

Bloodshot Vol. 2: The Rise & The Fall

Project Rising Spirit just got their collective asses handed to them in this collection by Bloodshot & company.  Bloohdshot is every action star put together in one man he's Captain America, Cable & the Punisher at the same time.  Bloodshot is looking for answers about his past which take him to this super secret facility.  It is only at the end of this volume that you realize that he is still a puppet having his strings pulled to set events in motion.  Up next is the first big crossover for Valiant Comics in the form of Harbinger Wars.

Sword of Sorcery Vol. 1: Amethyst

Of the New 52 titles that I have picked up so far this was one of the better ones a little ahead of its time by about a year.  Now while the main to comics companies in the industry are going through a renaissance of characters & a female revolution this is one title that could easily find a home now days.  The story of Amaya & the realm of Nilaa is quite intriguing, it has a Song of Ice & Fire similarity to its set up.  Ancient houses with leaders having power from certain gems, coming together battling a great foe in Eclipso.  This was a nice introduction to the character I really hope DC gets their collective act together & utilize her now that they have officially brought back the multiverse.  I would really like to see a book come out in the near future that showcases here entire realm not just the ruling houses but the lesser houses as well.  There were two short stories in this collection as well one about a character named Stalker who is tricked by Lucifer int o giving up his soul this was kind of downer.  The other story was great it was an updated telling of Beowulf in which he is a super-soldier of the future created to be a champion of man after the time of super-heroes.  I really liked how this tied in with the future of the DC Universe.  I haven't read Future's End yet but I hope Beowulf appears in that tale.  I feel that the only reason DC is doing some of these books is so they can retain the rights to some of these characters that they don't use but with the success of Marvel's current summer event Secret Wars this type of medieval story has a fan base already behind it.

Amazing Spider-Man Ultimate Collection Book 1

For anybody who is interested in reading about Spider-Man but is daunted by the decision of where to start this is a great starting point.  The Clone Saga is a couple of years behind us at this point plus this is the first in a series of collections that showcase J. Michael Straczynski's run on the character.  I have to say this volume was quite well done it takes the Spider-Man mythos that you think you know & adds to it in a unique way.  The introduction of Morlun is interesting I wish there had been more of a backstory to his character.  This collection also features the 9/11 issue that came out in November of 2001 to showcase how the Marvel Universe was effected by the World Trade Center tragedy.  Overall I like where J.M.S's Spider-Man run is headed, I already know the ending so that may make me a little biased but more on that when we get there.

Sheltered Vol. 3

The finale of Sheltered is here, I don't know maybe its the fact that there was so much time between reading the first two volumes & this one but something was missing from this one.  Maybe it was the fact that I knew this was the final act but this volume played out in a very predictable way.  I am not going to spoil anything on here this is a short enough series that you should be able to read it in one sitting.  If you are a fan of Lord of the Flies or any pre-apocalyptic future type tale involving children this story is for you.  The question in the end who was right?

Copperhead Vol. 1

Copperhead is a new comic out from Image Comics its basically a western set in space after a war.  Think Firefly with a female lead character the main character of this title is the new sheriff in town.  This sleepy little mining town is rife with problems that are floating just beneath the surface.  This first story arc is essentially a murder mystery to recover a sacred stone by the end of this book there are still a lot of unanswered questions but I am super excited to see where this series is going.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 1

This is a nice reintroduction to the mutants that shaped my generation.  There are a few points that seem off about this story like how Shredder is still alive & the whole reincarnation twist on Splinter & his four sons.  But everything else is spot on in this updated vision of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  There are even easter eggs from the original movies that familiar readers will be able to pick out & enjoy.  While it wasn't the most spectacular read of the year so far it has a lot of potential, its good to know that Leo, Raph, Mikey & Donnie are back for a new generation to enjoy.

Superman Unchained Deluxe Ed.

The first Scott Snyder story I ever read was Batman: The Black Mirror & it was incredible!  Now this book has all of the makings of greatness in it with Scott Snyder writing & Jim Lee on art but for some reason it falls short of that incredible factor that I have come to expect from Snyder.  My primary gripe with the book is the portrayal of Superman as an enemy of the free world, hunted by the military industrial complex like the Hulk over in the Marvel Universe.  The lack of fleshing out this apposing force known only as Wraith.  Don't get me wrong there are exceptional moments of characterization here as well between Lois & Clark along with a few other characters.  The real scene stealer of the entire book is Lex Luther.  Every scene that Lex was in was amazing Snyder has brought an intensity that I have not seen in the character in awhile.  Jim Lee's art is top notch as always it truly is a shame that some of the best creators of all time have taken up positions that prevent them from giving us this type of quality on a regular basis.  I like Snyder's work on Batman but if he is going to branch out to DC's other top heroes then it needs to be on a monthly book instead of a mini-series.

The Star Wars Trilogy

Sometimes you just need to read the story instead of watching it play out in front of you.  Reading the original Star Wars trilogy is like reconnecting with an old friend.  For the most part these stories read like the movie, there are a few subtle changes but nothing that contradicts the movies.  Star Wars is one of the greatest movie trilogies of all time which makes this one stupendous collection.  If you have never seen or read a Star Wars title you owe it to yourself to see what all the hype is about.  May the fourth be with you.

Shadowman Vol. 1: Birth Rites

This is another awesome title from Valiant Comics.  Shadowman is like a cross between Blade & Doctor Strange set in New Orleans.  The beginning of the book shows a showdown between Darque & Shadowman in what looks like a fight to the death.  Lets move forward a couple of years Jack is trying to figure out who he is where he came from.  His search brings him back to New Orleans where he finds out about who his parents were but not the whole truth.  Jack has a run in with some of Mr. Twist's agents who try to execute him but he is saved by the Loa.  The Loa turns Jack into the Shadowman.  Jack meets up with Dox & Alyssa who offer to train him to become the Shadowman.  The final showdown between Shadowman & Mr. Twist takes place in the Deadside & what looks like a victory for Shadowman could also be seen as a victory for Darque.