I was worried for a while after starting this volume that the series had reached the point where it was losing its volume-to-volume appeal and a full re-read was going to be necessary in order to appreciate everything that was going on.  The basics of the plot are easy enough to grab as the cast […]

Creators Brenden Fletcher, Cameron Stewart, and Babs Tarr (co-writer, co-writer/layout artist, and artist, respectively) managed to spark a mini-revolution at DC with their run on “Batgirl.”  Their “Batgirl of Burnside” brought a real sense of style and fun to the “New 52” and enough buzz to get DC to follow their lead.  It didn’t last, […]

Adrian Padilla hasn’t been doing that great lately.  He’s been plagued by hallucinations of insects and rot infesting the people and objects nearest to him.  Though he’s not a junkie, his friends are about to write him off as one.  Well, all of them except for Molly who recommends that he go and see a […]

This volume ends on an amazing cliffhanger. If you’ve been following Rick Remender’s writing for any length of time, you’ll know that he loves to grind down his protagonists.  Sometimes this can get really wearying, but in cases like “Deadly Class” it becomes part of the fun.  Still, when I was getting to the last […]

This was billed as the first major “Descender” event, but it’s also going to be the title’s last.  To my surprise, the back cover text told me that this is going to be the penultimate volume of the series.  I was expecting “Descender” to have a longer run (50-60 issues is usually how long most […]

With “The Defenders” getting their own show on Netflix, it was inevitable that we’d get a new comic which teams up Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Daredevil.  That the comic is coming from a writer, Bendis, who has experience writing all of them is definitely a plus as is the fact that it’s […]

Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo wrap up their run on this title in the same weird, queasily funny, and strangely (pun intended) violent way they came into it.  The stakes are high, though, as we’re picking up from the previous volume’s cliffhanger which had Mr. Misery — the living embodiment of Strange’s pain and suffering […]

I think Mark Waid’s strengths as a writer lie in character development and a willingness to subvert convention when necessary.  These are the things that made his run on “Daredevil” so great after all.  With “Champions” it’s all about channelling a youthful spirit of rebellion and that’s something he hasn’t quite nailed here.  To his […]

For the first round of collections from the current flagship titles of the “X-Men” line, the win went to “Gold.”  It didn’t exactly do anything new with the characters or its storytelling, but it did serve them up in a pleasingly familiar way which served as a welcome dose of nostalgia.  The first volume of […]

You know, I thought that Wizord’s arc for this series was going to be a standard redemption one but now I’m not so sure.  There’s a lot here in “Explosiontown” which suggests that while he’s come to like our world and enjoy being a part of it, he’s still the same bastard he was back […]