What I Bought 4/19/2016 - Part 1

All this month, I've been expecting certain books to be released, and they keep not appearing. Which is why there are only four books in this batch (and because the store was out of the most recent issue of Henchgirl). So the last week of April better have a ton of books for me.

Illuminati #6, by Joshua Williamson (writer), Mike Henderson (artist), John Rauch (color artist), Joe Caramagna (letterer) - Nice touch by Rossmo having Crusher's right hand starting to absorb the properties of the ice cream cone.

This issue takes place after the Illuminati - or Hood and Titania anyway - rescue the Absorbing Man from the Pleasant Hill virtual reality prison place. And most of the issue is taken up with Crusher explaining to the Hood what was going on before they got there. He worked in an ice cream shoppe. He had a crush on the sheriff, who turned out to be Elektra. Oh, and he decided he liked the normal life, but not until he wasn't around Skeeter, as she points out before she storms off. So now Crusher is pissed, and wants them to recruit all the villains that were kept prisoner, and then go wipe out SHIELD. Because that's a productive and intelligent plan. What am I saying, this is Absorbing Man we're talking about. He has the brainpower of a turnip.

That was not really what I expected. I was hoping for more of a caper approach, the Illuminati trying to break into Pleasant Hill, figure out what's going on, find Crusher, figure out how to get him to remember who he is, escape SHIELD, maybe tangle with some confused Avengers. Instead, it's a recap issue. I know the book is on its last legs, but it's a letdown.

The variation in the colors between different parts of the issue is interesting. The sections in the Hood's lair are dominated by a black, featureless background, with scant sources of light that begin and end abruptly. The reality in Pleasant Hill has a dusty feel. Sort gritty, dirty, you wouldn't want to breathe the air too much. And the false image is bright and cheery, blue skies. The teenager that was actually Whirlwind(?) has cheeks that almost glow, they're so cherubic. Everything looking pretty, but it's all garbage underneath.

Black Widow #2, by Chris Samnee (writer/artist), Mark Waid (writer), Matthew Wilson (colorist), Joe Caramagna (letterer) - I actually got the variant cover drawn by Bengal, because it was being sold more cheaply, and I am cheap. It's not a bad cover, except for the fact it's a Civil War variant, even though that hasn't started yet.

This issue explains why Natasha stole from SHIELD. She was trying to stop a group led by the Weeping Lion from attacking SHIELD at a funeral, except she was the target all along. And this Weeping Lion has records of something Natasha did that's so awful, she will steal from SHIELD just to keep it from leaking. Now, I fully expect that down the line, we will learn Natasha doesn't really care if it leaks, and was just playing along to find out what this bad guy really wanted. But as it stands right now, it's pretty hard for me to believe she did something that would make all her friends and allies turn away. Deadpool is an Avenger right now, with full support of Steve Goddamn Rogers. Wolverine was an Avenger, he's killed more people than organized religion. Tony Stark does something horrible every five minutes, they keep letting him in the door. I think Natasha would be fine. But as I said, it's probably all part of a plan on her part.

That aside, it's still a nice issue. I had wondered, after Natasha trounced her captors, why they would thoroughly search her for tracking devices, but not remove those bracelets of hers. And a page later, we get the answer: They were amateurs, set up by their boss for her to trounce. I like Wilson's occasional use of red during the fights in the cemetery. He doesn't use it every time Natasha strikes, I think he saves it for the moments of greater tension. When she's having to rush, or struggle a bit.

One page I'm trying to figure out is page 18, where the Weeping Lion is standing along the left side of the page, and he stretches vertically across four panels. Including a panel that is just a close-up on his face. That's not really something I can recall Samnee doing before, so it must mean something. The guy's dialogue starts with that figure, but then moves to other pictures of him within the panels. But that larger, full-body image of him is still there.

What I Bought 3/29/2016 - Part 4

One last book, all by its lonesome. But it's a villain book, so it's fine. They didn't want to hang out with those dumb super-heroes anyway.

Illuminati #5, by Joshua Williamson (writer), Kev Walker (artist), John Rauch (color artist), Joe Caramagna (letterer) - I know he's trying to look like a big wheel (not to be confused with The Big Wheel), but Parker just looks like a dork wearing a red suit and a red tie under a huge red cloak. It's just too much.

The team does not die in the explosion. They don't do so well against Odin's Thunder Guard, as it turns out their Enchantress is a fake. There's a fake Enchantress? Anyway, Titania gets angry/desperate enough to trounce some guards and punch the Hood in the face, both buying them time and giving Parker enough of a power boost (blood magic) to get them the hell out of Asgardia. And into actual hell, which is where Parker's hideout is. Brilliant. No possibility of disaster there. Titania is understandably ready to ditch this nonsense, but then the Hood mentions he knows where the Absorbing Man is being held - that Pleasant Hill place where they make the villains believe they're some other, average person - and they should totally go free him. Team bonding exercise!

I'm still waiting to see if the story is going to confirm my suspicion the Hood's staged attack on Titania in issue 1 is behind her power upgrade. Or else what is the explanation. It can't just be her being angry, because she's been angry pretty much every time she's shown up, except those times she was afraid of Spider-Man. Nice touch that of course the villain team is full of people lying about themselves and the resources at their disposal, or how they got them, but there are a couple (Thunderball and Titania) who seem to be open about what they're doing and why. It helps to make me actually care when the Hood gets them in over their heads, and turns out not to have other members he can call in for backup. These others are actually trying to buy in, be team players, and their boss is just screwing them over.

I hadn't paid enough attention to the solicits to know Kev Walker was drawing this issue, but I'm never disappointed to see him. A little surprised. He was drawing Hickman's Avengers books last year, I'd think he would be on a more high-profile book, but then I probably wouldn't get to read it. And it's his usual excellent work. The shift from nice, straight, rectangular panels in the build-up scenes to ones that are tilted and more trapezoidal during action is still in effect. I especially like the page where Titania backhands basically the entire Thunder Guard, and the sound effect is so big it's weighing down the panel below it, where she's still in the middle, breathing hard from the exertion while Thunderball looks on in awe, and the Hood fist pumps in the background.

I do think he draws her a little small, though. She should be a lot taller than the Hood, right? Also, there's a sequence near the end of the issue where she grabs the Hood by his collar, then decides not to hit and lets go, then abruptly grabs his face in one hand, which just feels awkward. Like, she maybe should have grabbed by the face second, when she asserts she won't hit him, then let go as she explains he's not worth it. Because after that she starts walking away, so it's like grab, let go, grab differently, then walk away, and it just feels clunky. Could be a scripting issue. Or it could just be me. If she's running a range of reactions, and not sure exactly which way to go, it would make sense her actions are a little herky-jerky.

Who Is Getting Betrayed Is Unclear

I have this theory, based on Titania's seeming strength upgrade recently, and the Hood's observation of her fight with Thor in Illuminati #4.

The ray those poor dope thieves shot her with, the ones who busted into the pawn shop in the first issue, was designed to simulate whatever energies Dr. Doom used to give her power in the first place, like a boost to her powers.

That's not such a big deal, but it is part of the reason I can't entirely rule out that the Mad Thinker's betrayal of the team is all part of the Hood's plan. Because someone had to build that ray gun for him, and while Thunderball's a smart guy, he seems too on the level to have been involved (and too unsure of whether being part of this group is a good idea at all). The Thinker is even smarter, and I can't see any reason he'd object to building the gun.

Which doesn't preclude him from having betrayed the Hood. Titania being even stronger would help them get to Asgardia, which helps them get to those weapons he wants to steal. But then I start thinking about why the Hood couldn't simply teleport them to Asgardia himself. He has the ability to do so, and he's set up his HQ in some weird building where the only apparent exit is via him and his powers. He supposedly didn't teleport them away from Club Fenris because he'd take all the other villains along, too, which suggests he's got plenty of power to teleport only a half-dozen or so. So why not do that himself, given a quiet moment?

It could be as simple as him needing to know where to go, and not having a clear sense of where Asgardia is in relation to Earth. Or it could be part of a larger scheme. Either to bring the rest of the team closer together, by having them get betrayed. Or he could be using it as a chance to weed some weak links out. He decides he can't trust the Black Ant, have him blown up. Then see who on the team can fight their way past a bunch of angry Asgardians, and those survivors are the ones you keep.

It has a lot of potential for disaster, but that's the Hood for you, always making plans he thinks are better than they really are.

What I Bought 2/26/2016

Made a comics purchase of opportunity on Friday, managed to get a couple of books. The remainder of the last three weeks' stuff will hopefully be along next week.

Illuminati #4, by Joshua Williamson (writer), Shawn Crystal (artist), John Rauch (color artist), Joe Caramagna (letterer) - The Hood's face in the lightning bolt is a nice touch, since it lets him loom as this brief presence over the fight.

So Thor arrived right as the crew were about to start their heist. The Hood's attempt to convince they've reformed fails miserably, so it's down to Titania to keep Thor occupied until Thinker and Thunderball can get the artificial Bifrost working. Which they do, and they get to Odin's weapons chamber, and steal everything. Then the Thinker appears to betray and make off with the loot, not before triggering a bomb inside Black Ant. Even if the team survives, their stealthy approach is blown.

Though I wonder where Heimdall is? Seems like he'd notice the sound of a bridge opening. No doubt he's been put in some useless role by that dolt, Odin. The interesting thing to me about the twist in the plot this issue is I can't decide whether this is all some team-building exercise by the Hood, or if the Thinker just caught him with his pants down. I could see it going either way, given Hood's track record of thinking he's smarter than he is.

I like how Crystal draws the Hood most of the time as this extremely thin figure, wrapped up in his cloak. It looks simple, but it makes him visually distinct, and it's a different approach from what you get with a lot of caped characters, where it billows around them. He's not making himself look bigger, he's presenting a smaller, maybe less-threatening target, while also suggesting he's keeping things hidden. that said, there was some awkward stances for characters in some of the panels. At one point the Roxxon security is firing at Thor and Titania, and while I think Titania's supposed to be blocking their blasts with her fists, it looks more like she's shooting energy beams out of her hands. Sometimes Crystal simplifies his style a little too much.

I still wouldn't say I love this book, but I'm curious to see where it goes.

Patsy Walker, aka Hellcat #3, by Kate Leth (writer), Brittney L. Williams (artist), Megan Wilson (color artist), Clayton Cowles (letterer) - Who is the worst tipper among those customers? I'm going with Howard. Or maybe Enchantress. Doom will tip well, but with DOOMbucks, which are not recognized currency in the U.S. Which is not Doom's fault.

This month, Patsy must contend with her new landlord, Mr. Ravina, and his son Federigo, who both patsy and Tom find very attractive. Unfortunately, Mr. Ravina likes to drive tenants out and keep their security deposits, and uses his son's ability to control bedbugs to achieve this. Patsy is able to fight him off and convince him to mend his ways and take over being landlord from his dad. But it appears Mr. Ravina was also approached by Casiolena so her plans are still moving, and even worse, Hedy called Patsy to discuss the contract Patsy signed.

OK, so by the end of the issue, Patsy is over her crush on Federigo, citing her standards, which apparently draw the line at dating a handsome guy who can control bugs, but not at marrying the literal son of the Devil (who had a pentagram on his chest and stupid hair to boot). Patsy, dear, you have no standards. Or they're awful ones and you should seriously reconsider them.

Nice touch by Williams, having the outline of a heart around Patsy and Federigo when he first brings up the possibility of a date, then using it again at the end of the issue when she puts him off, only now the heart is crumbling on Patsy's side of the panel. Wilson's background colors for the fight scene, where she shifts between an eerie green whenever Federigo starts using his powers, and otherwise maintains this twilight hour lavender color, I liked those. There's something about the lavender that seems ominous. Not quite DC's "red skies = Crisis", but something's up.

Patsy's 'Oh my God so many bugs I'm gonna barf Oh my GOD,' made me laugh. Maybe because it's just bedbugs. If it had been ticks, I'd have been trying to find a flamethrower, and we'd have a dead son of a landlord on our hands. Which is probably grounds for eviction. Also, I like how largely nonplussed Dr. Strange is by Patsy's arrival and problem. She catches him by surprise initially, but once he sees who it is, he just sighs and asks her to use the front door. He sort of warns her to be careful, but hardly insists, because he knows it's a waste of time. But he doesn't play aloof, either. I tend to hate it when Strange starts being the distant guy, who can't have friends because he has weighty matters to contend with beyond their comprehension. Have some damn friends, Doc! Don't be like Batman, I don't care what the one t-shirt says.

What I Bought 1/26/2016 - Part 1

Not a blistering start to the New Year on the comic front. Only six books in the first three weeks. Let's start with a couple that came out two weeks ago, each of which has been riding mostly on my affection for the art. Can the writers start carrying their half of the water?

Descender #9, by Jeff Lemire (writer), Dustin Nguyen (illustrator), Steve Wands (letterer and designer) - Jeez Quon, try not to be so mopey. Enjoy your space voyage. It may be the last one you ever make.

And the machine resistance even hooked Quon up with a new robotic limb, for which he is extremely ungrateful. TIM-21 is extremely upset they left Bandit and Driller behind, and Telsa is no help. TIM-22, on the other hand, is a good listener, and shares some of his experiences, though I can't help wondering if he's trying to manipulate TIM-21. I feel the pleasant pink lighting that suffuses the room during their conversation is meant to make us as the audience find it touching, and take it at face value. While Telsa plots to escape with either of the TIMs, they reach the machine homeworld, hidden within an asteroid. Which I find pretty cool in theory. Strange worlds hiding beneath the surface are something I guess I like. Probably because I wonder what's beneath my feet.

Back on Gnish, the deceased king's son takes the throne (and the hairpiece, and it's color makes me suspect it's a Trump reference). The new king immediately declares he's doubling all bounties on robots. So Andy and Blugger better pick up the pace if they're going to find TIM first. To that end they find Driller and Bandit (as well as that UGC lieutenant), and Andy mentions there's a chip in bandit that could be used so TIM could always find him they can probably reverse to find TIM. Or, rather, Andy's ex-wife can probably do that.

It's interesting to track the changes in TIM-21's speech patterns. When he's yelling about their having left Bandit behind, and him not being able to reduce his emotion settings, because that's not how he was designed, he still seems like a young, frightened kid. But when he's talking to TIM-22, and he starts discussing Telsa as lacing in certain social graces, that sounds like someone very different. I don't if that's strictly a matter of his emotions being under control by then, like a person's, or if it's meant to imply something about artificial life in this universe. Do they think in a more orderly fashion when around other artificial life forms, but humans throw them off somehow? This is a similar train of thought to the one I had a few issues back about Driller's speech patterns seeming to expand the longer he was around TIM. Of course, he's around plenty of robots now, and seems to have regressed, but he's also spending all his time killing those robots. That not quite double-page splash of him taking out five robots at once was very nice. The splash of yellow and red at their throats was a nice contrast to the general grey tone of their bodies, and it reminds the reader of blood, makes us remember this is gladiatorial combat, whether the contestants are organic or not.

Overall, one of the stronger issues of the series for me, which is encouraging.

Illuminati #3, by Joshua Williamson (writer), Shawn Crystal (artist), John Rauch (colorist), Joe Caramagna (letterer) - Is the Frog-Man on the cover? He's not a villain! I'm going to blame this on Reed Richards and Franklin, since they created this new version of the Marvel U. Great work guys, between that and the whole thing with the Terrigen Mists being actively harmful to mutants now, you're doing a bang up job.

The crew escape the Fenris club with relatively little trouble. Not surprising since only loser super-villains would go to a club run by those creepy siblings. But now there's strife among the roster, so the Hood gives everyone 24 hours to decide whether they're in or not. So we see what most of them get up as they decide whether to stick with this. Thunderball wants to use the rewards to form his own technology-producing company, Enchantress is out for more power and revenge, the Mad Thinker wants access to new science to expand his boundaries, and Titania doesn't seem to have anything else. So they all come back, the heist is just getting started, and here's new Thor. Let's take odds that the Hood tipped her off to be that distraction he's telling the team they need.

I'm still not sure how I feel about the writing. Enchantress seems off - she says she hates running from a fight, but Amora's struck as the sort to avoid direct conflict when she can just seek revenge from the shadows or through proxies - and I'm not sure about the Mad Thinker. The search for more knowledge fits, but his ragged, disordered appearance not so much. And I would expect an LMD based on Eric O'Grady to spend more time making excuses for stupid crap he does.

The Hood's line of bull seems right, though. For all my feelings that he's never been the big wheel he thought he was, Parker did always show a knack for being able to read people, and use that to manipulate them. That came in handy for getting him out of the trouble he landed himself in by doing stuff without knowing who he was dealing with first, but it's still a skill he seems to have. Titania and Thunderball seem about right. Both seem like the type to recognize that at some point, they aren't getting what they want out of being costumed crooks, and it's time for a change. So it's 50-50 on the cast.

I still like most of the work Crystal is doing with the art. Making the rubble from Titania hitting the ground form the "SMASH!" sound effect was a good touch, and the scowl he gives Amora, combined with the green Rauch has her eyes emitting when she describes what she'll do with her full powers, that was good. The Hood's face remaining mostly in shadow during his conversation with Titania, even when the hood was pulled back, feels significant, but I'm not sure what it represents. He's talking about knowing he'll get busted someday, but he wants to grab as much as he can and enjoy it before then. It could be a load of crap, meant to convince her she'll never get that happy home with the Absorbing Man she was hoping for, but it sounds pretty legit for him.

What I Bought 12/22/2015 - Part 2

Holiday greetings to you all. The question for today is, will the spirit of the season cause me to be charitable in my feelings towards these comics? Eh, could be.

Descender #8, Jeff Lemire (writer), Dustin Nguyen (illustrator), Steve Wands (letterer/designer) - Maybe they'll make an '80s style buddy sitcom about Andy and Blugger. The Robot Killin' Pals! It could have a catchy opening theme and everything.

As to the actual content of the issue, the Robot Killin' Pals try to reach Gnish, only to be blocked by the UGC, because everything's gone to hell in light of last issue's assassination. Andy doesn't care and tries to get past them, only to end up with a lot of pursuing spacecraft, which makes him try to hide on a planet of gaseous beings, which is a little freaky, but effective in dissuading pursuit. And there's a lot of flashbacks to Andy's childhood before and after TIM showed up interspersed through the issue. And that's pretty much it.

It's still a very pretty but, but also pretty slight. Not in any real hurry to get anywhere. Maybe the brief jaunt to Phages will end up being relevant, but otherwise, there wasn't much to it. It's kind of a neat concept, but the story doesn't linger long enough to do anything with it, so it's almost like a stall. Nguyen going to black and white for the flashback pages made for an abrupt shift, in a good way. Suggesting Andy keeps losing himself in memories, then having to snap himself back to present problems. Blugger could prove to be a good addition to the cast. He seems like he'd provide a certain amount of that Ben Grimm-style gruff sarcasm, albeit in a much more amoral package overall. But overall, my interest in the book is starting to wane.

Illuminati #2, by Joshua Williamson (writer), Shawn Crystal (artist), John Rauch (colorist), Joe Caramagna (letterer) - I almost missed the Black Ant there at the bottom of the cover. To be fair, I've generally done a good job forgetting Remender's Secret Avengers.

So the rest of the team has not entirely bought into the Hood's bull, but they do have things they want he's helping them get, so they're in for this "rob Asgardia" plan. And there just so happens to be a scientist who built an artificial Bifrost Bridge to get them in, if they can convince him to let them use it. He's at some club run by those creepy Fenris twins, where there's a rule against killing. A rule Black Ant promptly breaks by shrinking inside the good doctor, then growing until he bursts the guy wide open. Yeesh. At least they got the location of the doohickey, and the passcode, but now everyone in the club is going to try and kill them for breaking the rules.

There are certain things about this I can't track. Whether the Hood is just playing at being irritated by Black Ant's actions, or if this is a team-building exercise in disguise. Why Enchantress seems to be an alcoholic now. She's drinking in every single scene she's in. Sure, Asgardian, high tolerance for Earth booze, but still, kind of strange. The whole thing with Trapster trying to stick up Titania kind of came out of nowhere, although the last time I saw him, Deadpool seemed to have convinced Pete to perhaps rethink his life choices. Maybe Pete found out the straight and narrow pays like crap, but again, there's the presence of the gun meant to resemble a repulsor ray he somehow acquired. So I can't tell if these are mysteries to be answered later, or just weak writing. Which is a feeling I had when I tried Brian Wood's X-Men run, and I didn't like it then, either.

But I do like Shawn Crystal's art, even if a lot of his male characters have this pointy-nosed, sunken eyes, slightly fang-toothed look. Could be deliberate, making them seem a bit feral and dangerous, but I'd expect a Strucker to keep themselves up a little better. That one panel with the close-up on the Mad Thinker in his underwear was as unpleasant as I imagine it was supposed to be. Especially with Titania's 'I've seen much worse.' And the page of the Hood detailing his plan, for all the little flourishes. The entire crew wearing cool, black sunglasses in the first panel, because they're a crew on a heist. The actual use of wheelbarrows to carry the loot in panel 2. The Hood's grandkids all in their own cloaks in panel 5. I do wish he made the Hood look a bit younger, but that's me still thinking of the characters as a mostly dumb punk, swimming in waters much too deep for him.

Basically, both books are a case of the artist currently buying my goodwill, and we'll see if the writer's can up their game enough to keep me around (though Illuminati may not stave off cancellation long enough for that to matter).

Parker Robbins Can Lose, But He Won't Learn

It's a little weird to me to see the Hood as the big wheel behind this new Illuminati (really, it's more the new Masters of Evil as I saw one person point out). I have this reaction of, "Are they still trying to convince us this character is a major player?"

I know Bendis tried really hard to make that happen, and since he was writing Avengers' titles at the time, that meant it pretty much became fact. I had already bailed on New Avengers by the time he started that, though, and since one of his earliest attempts to sell us on the Hood was that whole thing where Tigra got pistol-whipped while crying and pleading, well, that wasn't much encouragement to pay attention to what he was doing.

So I only have vague impressions of the Hood from that stretch, and they mostly revolve around him trying to make a big play, and coming up short. Which jibes with the Brian K. Vaughn/Kyle Hotz mini-series he was introduced in. Parker always thought he was more clever than he was, which is why he keeps trying get rich quick capers rather than actually working to support his girlfriend. He just kept trying to pull something off, getting himself in trouble, narrowly managing to twist his way out of it, but creating more trouble for himself down the line. He wasn't so much climbing a ladder of success, as climbing a ladder of increasingly bad people to have unhappy with him.

Which could happen here. He's tricked Titania into joining his crew, which certainly won't backfire on him somewhere down the line. I've been trying to decide if he pulled something similar with the other members of his party, but I definitely can't seem him outwitting the Mad Thinker or Enchantress, and probably not Thunderball, either. Which doesn't mean he won't try to double-cross them later. Whether that's a good idea or not remains to be seen (it's not). He seems to think stealing from the Asgardians is a smart play, which, considering there are plenty of them who won't hesitate to hunt him down and kill him, seems questionable. So he's still in the habit of digging deeper holes for himself.

What I Bought 12/1/2015 - Part 3

Two first issues from Marvel, one of which isn't just a reboot of a series I was already buying.

Illuminati #1, by Joshua Williamson (writer), Shawn Crystal (artist), John Rauch (colorist), Joe Caramagna (letterer) - You'd think the Enchantress would shrink the Gauntlet down to fit her hand. Unless that is the one thing beyond its power.

The Hood is trying to form yet another vast army of super-villains, but to start, he wants to arm them with weapons stolen from Asgard, and for that, he's going to use a select team. Which is where Titania comes in. She's out of prison, and intends to go straight, but finds it difficult to get work. Then when she does get a job working security at a pawn shop, three goons with super-weapons show up and wreck the place, and she gets blamed as mastermind. Then she has to defend herself from Luke Cage and Iron Fist (who did not acquit themselves well here. Not a good sign with their new ongoing on the horizon), before the Hood whisks her away in front of them. Thus sealing their opinion that she was up to no good, which leaves her with no choice but to throw in with the Hood, just as he intended when he sent those goons there. So duplicity is the word of the day.

I bought this in part because I've enjoyed books about villain groups in the past, and because Shawn Crystal was drawing it, and I enjoyed the work he did on Daniel Way's Deadpool run back in the day (one of the few saving graces of that run). So we'll see. I don't know whether this is going to be the regular cast, or if Williamson intends to cycle villains in and out from one mission to the next. Hopefully there'll be at least a few cast regulars outside the Hood. Would be hard to care otherwise.

Crystal's work is smoother than I remember, but that might just be because he isn't drawing Deadpool. Wade's world kind of encourages things to look rough and weird. He and Rauch seem to be working really well together. The panels of Danny's Iron Fist, with the green swirling energy in the form of a dragon, around the skeletal outline of Danny's fist? That was really cool, as was the dragon's chagrined look when Titania effortlessly blocked it. Even if I do think that's bullcrap. I'm not saying she should have been knocked out, but her catching it like it was no big deal was nonsense. I'm pretty sure one of the best martial artists in the Marvel Universe ought to be able to land a punch on someone with no particular combat skill anytime he wants. Whether it does anything is another matter. Sorry, that just kind of irritated me. There's a lot of other good work in the issue, from the crumbling "BOOM" sound effect when the pawn store gets wrecked, to her discussion with the Hood, where one panel she's looking at him, and then the next, her gaze has drifted to the stack of cash on the desk in front of him.

So I'm in for a while, at least.

Ms. Marvel #1, by G. Willow Wilson (writer), Takeshi Miyazawa (artist, pgs. 1-21), Adrian Alphona (artist, 21-30), Ian Herring (color art), Joe Caramagna (letterer) - Well, Kamala's officially reached the point where she got a cover of her pulling back civilian clothes to reveal her superhero outfit. I feel like that's probably a big milestone for a solo series. Not sure if Nova ever got that, and he's had like 5 ongoings.

Kamala's busy being an Avenger, which does have the perk that Tony Stark rebuilds your school (while welshing on his promise to help with physics homework), but also leaves one a little too busy to see what's going on around her. Like the fact some evil redevelopment scheme is taking over the neighborhood and gentrifying it, while using her face as part of the campaign. And they have hovering security droids that don't like loitering! Even worse, Bruno has taken Kamala's advice and is dating a nice young lady named Mike, who saved him from a bus sent flying by a giant toad. So that's another problem Kamala's not going to be able to punch out.

Kamala should be less concerned about Tony not helping her with her physics homework, and more worried that Tony's booting her off the Avengers in three months, based on the cover for All-New Avengers. Oh well, Tony never was any good at building a roster. Also, I have to imagine all these giant animals are the work of the Inventor's creator, who was last seen arrested and bitter no one was giving him credit for making a cockatiel with the mind of Edison. But is the gentrification scheme his as well?

As for Kamala learning the downsides of being a popular public figure, we'll have to see how she's going to handle this. Although if Stark could sue Scott Lang for using him to endorse Scott's company, I see no reason Kamala can't have the Avengers sue whoever is behind this. Maybe Murdock could take five minutes off from helping Luke Cage file bullshit cease-and-desist orders against Deadpool to do something useful. As for the Bruno and Mike thing, I don't really have an opinion. They still seem in the idyllic stage, but we'll see what happens when Bruno starts trying to help Kamala out of a jam and Mike's left hanging.

Oh, I do have one opinion. Bruno looks really stupid in that sock hat. Those are to be pulled down tightly over your head and ears to keep warm, not worn cocked way back when it clearly isn't cold out. Just terrible Bruno. You deserve to get kidnapped and used as bait at least once just for that.

Other than that, Miyazawa is now the lead artist for the book, with Alphona chipping in as needed, I guess. Which is fine. I like Miyazawa's artwork plenty. I am trying to decipher the look on Nakia's face in the second-to-last panel on page 7. Kamala's kind of absently playing with the lid of her coffee while looking sad, but Nakia kind of looks stern. Is she mad at Bruno for dating someone else? She doesn't look pissed exactly, but it isn't a strictly neutral look, either. It could just be friend solidarity, but presumably she's had time to get used to the idea Bruno's not waiting. Kamala's grumpy/furious face as she runs to switch into her costume was pretty great, and I appreciate that when she clutches her hair in frustration, it doesn't just immediately assume the shape shape and form after she stops. Part of it stay frazzled and mussed, which makes sense, but I'm not sure everyone who remember that.