Every comic you've read in 2016

[Missy]

Hyperion #1-2: If one were to cross Superman: Grounded with Mad Max: Fury Road, the end result would be Hyperion. That's not a complaint, merely an observation. While these issues didn't spark must-read excitement, I am somewhat intrigued by Doll and her fixation on Hyperion. Why did she choose him over Wolverine, The Punisher, Captain Marvel, Rogue, or even Man-Thing; what makes Marc the go-to guy here, savior wise? Hopefully they'll answer that in issues to come.

Though I'm not big into Hillbilly horror, the first scene with the worms did creep me out. The look on the young woman's face as she's pushed into the windshield is perfectly executed in its grotesqueness. Some of Nik Virella's other visuals, such as the carnival family, were a little too familiar for my liking, but the softer and more horrific moments did strike a chord.

I have a question about Doll, which I hope doesn't come across as insensitive: is she transgender? There's something about her design that's made me think so from the very first panel in which she appeared. Also, that moment when Doll questions Marc about his possible alien origin, along with his response (RE: "Would that bother you?"), made me wonder if writer Chuck Wendig is addressing Doll's gender through Hyperion's origin. Either way, she's a fun new character who's more interesting than the title character, and I hope she's Kitty Pryde- and Jubilee-like in terms of bringing new readers into comics.

Comics: 148

[Missy]

New Avengers #1: Roberto da Costa (Sunspot) has overthrown Advanced Idea Mechanics and has rebranded it Avengers Idea Mechanics, which has made SHIELD very nervous. Though the new AIM might have good intentions, one group having all that tech and brain power could spell doom, even if Roberto's intentions are noble. From this issue alone, it looks like this branch of The Avengers will tackle the more science-based threats. If this winds up being the case, I'll enjoy that. When a team has multiple offshoots, I'm of the mind each one should have a distinct purpose and agenda, otherwise what's the in-universe point of having another band of Avengers or X-Men?

Without spoiling anything, it'll be very interesting to see how the villain of the storyline is dealt with. This is someone with more mental prowess than Doctor Doom and Tony Stark combined, so I hope Al Ewing comes up with a feasible way for this rookie team to win the day. Speaking of which, the team members are fun as individuals, but it will take a few issues for them to gel as a cohesive unit. Right now, they're each doing their own thing.

Gerardo Sandoval's artwork proudly displays its manga roots; there are sharp angles aplenty, hair appears as daggers, and Squirrel Girl's eyes are so almond-shaped there's almost a nut joke to be made. While it's not quite my taste, I found myself enjoying it by the end, which I think comes down to Dono Sanchez Almara's colors. Everything is bright and happy for the go-get-em team, even the action moments; while the scenes with SHIELD and Roberto are brown and dour in tone; with the villainous moments rendered in a cold, dispassionate, computer-screen blue. It not only compliments Sandoval's work, it actively brings it up a level.

I'm in for an arc.

Comics: 149

[Missy]

New Avengers #2: So it turns out the opening story was only two issues, but there's a greater game here that will, seemingly, play into a larger story as the series goes on. Also, AIM is used perfectly, in that everyone plays a part in the punching-didn't-work-let's-do-science solution. Even the masked AIM beekeepers have a role to play. If there's one quibble, though, it's that Roberto is being written as a younger Tony Stark. Maybe that's the point -- maybe the character is emulating Stark when he was Director of SHIELD -- but, even still, it's a little to Starky in the "ten-minute dance party" / "champagne robot" victory celebration. All the same, I'm digging the book and really want to see where the villain's plan is heading.

Comics: 150

[Missy]

James Bond #1-6: Warren Ellis and sure-to-be-a-star Jason Masters team-up to craft one of the better Bond stories I've read or seen. This world is harsh, caring not for who lives or dies; 007 is far from perfect, surviving on a combination of skill, tenacity, and luck; and the antagonists are, for better or worse, marked and motivated by their missing limbs. There are plenty of Bond tropes tossed in for good measure, however, the story doesn't rely on or overuse them. Ellis delivers what you expect: long, silent fights; meetings, more meetings, and even more meetings; snarky characters; and a ruthless lead character. All of these things work for James Bond and his world, so Ellis' style works here. Jason Masters, whoa, just look him up. Q introduces Bond to a bullet that fractures upon impact, and I suspect Ellis added this element because he knew Masters would be able to perfectly render the ultra-violent nature of such a weapon without glorifying it. This is not a cool Bond. This is a coldhearted, ruthless killer with government backing and training, and I appreciate the creative team all the more for displaying him as such.

Comics: 156

[Koete]

Sold.

[Donomark]

Yeah I've been giving that series a cursory glance each issue. It's pretty uncompromising.

Savage Dragon #213: Man this is a weird comic. Erik Larsen walks the tightrope between sexism and feminism in ways which make me rue the fact that it's an either/or scenario. Pretty sure that was statutory rape I just read in there too. Ehhh...

[Venneh]

Lumberjanes: Beyond Bay Leaf: Cute little special including ghost ponies, weird women, and just an overall nice read. Sucks that the back third or so is all house ads though.

Single Issues: 131
TPBs/Collections: 55
Digital First Issues: 10

[Venneh]

Wonder Woman 1-35: The Azzarello/Chiang run. I mostly like this run, with the exception of two major plot points. One: the Amazons doing breeding raping murder parties and trading all the boy babies away that happened as a result (pointlessly grim dark, betrays what the amazons have been for the mythos in the past). Two: Diana somehow becoming the God of war and never really doing anything with it (if they'd actually taken the time to explore it, great!). Chiang does an amazing job, especially with Matt Wilson on colors. and the other two artists (Atkins and Sudzuka) manage to get close enough to Chiang's style that it isn't super noticeable when they fill in (which is frequently). Stalls in a few places, but mostly a real solid run.

Two Brothers: This got nominated for the Eisner, and we've had it on the to read shelf since NYCC last year, so I figured I should read it. This is a reimagining of a Milton Hatoum novel by Ba and Moon, and I will say this: the art is absolutely striking, and is great at illustrating the complete fucked upness of this family's multigenerational saga. I'm not that big of a fan of the narrative, but I'm going to chalk that up as being more of the fault of the original author than the boys. Not my favorite work of the twins', but still gorgeous nonetheless.

Single Issues: 167
TPBs/Collections: 56
Digital First Issues: 10

Edited April 24, 2016 by Venneh

[Davedevil]

Hellboy: Wake the Devil - Really fun and creepy story. Starting to see more of the characters' personalities. Art's pretty much there already, besides not having Dave Stewart yet. 

Batgirl #50 - Good wrap-up to this team's era. Pretty good selection of artists, and Stewart does layouts once last time.

Harley and the Suicide Squad's April Fools Special - Loved most of it, until the Suicide Squad bits show up and I really don't care for it just yet. I hope Harley's book continues on its own direction. Nice to see Jim Lee again, he does pretty well with the action. And the Wall's back to looking how she should!

Black Panther #1 - Gorgeous Stelfreeze art. How he does shadows is amazing. The plot's pretty interesting, but part of the dialogue doesn't flow so well.

Black Widow #2 - Pretty fantastic. 

Spider-Women Alpha - The art by Vanesa Del Rey just doesn't appeal to me, not here and not in Constantine. It's an enjoyable book, but I'm a little more interested in the parts by Latour and Hopeless.

Star Wars Poe Dameron #1 - Phil Noto does fantastic work on this. It's great to see a little more of the characters, especially his squadron. The backup story was really cute.

[Missy]

New Avengers #3-4: So, it looks like this series is following the Nextwave model:

• A team of B-grade characters? Check.
• Over-the-top crazy action? Check.
• An over-powered android? Check.
• Two-issue stories? Check.
• An Avenger who takes her/himself too seriously? Check.

While not a complaint, Al Ewing doesn't have quite the same handle on it as Warren Ellis. This mostly comes down to the characters, who, at this point, have yet to come fully alive under his pen. There are some good character moments in these two issues, but they're lost in a Kree / Skrull "Hulkling is Our King" prophecy tale which holds zero interest for me. Also, I really don't like how Hawkeye is being portrayed. He's been a hero longer than some of these New Avengers have been alive, yet he's played as a dimwitted joke for not knowing the mutant / Terrigen Mist thing. (As an Avenger and agent of SHIELD, he'd be aware of that.)

I don't want to sound like a grump here, because there really wasn't anything wrong with #3 and 4, it's just that this type of story wasn't for me.

Comics: 158

[Dread]

Empress #1: There's really nothing surprising about this. A little GoT mixed with a space opera and a weird choice on placing it on earth thousands of years ago for seemingly no reason, but the art is gorgeous and it's pretty fun.

Faith #3: This is some good shit. I even found the fantasy sequence ok this time @Venneh

Fight Club 2 #10: it hasn't been the best series, but it has been pretty radical and transgressive. Beautiful art.

GI Joe #227: I think I'm done with this. The premise of this story arc is great but they just seem to refuse to do anything interesting with it. If Hama can't make this exciting, there's no real reason to read these anymore.

GI Joe Deviations #1: a what if of what if Cobra won. Stupid. Waste of time and money.

Ghostbusters Deviation #1: what if the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man won? It's actually pretty great, Tonally very in line with the film.

Godzilla Oblivion #1: great.

Gold Key Alliance #1: I really had a feeling this would be a disappointment. Dammit, it was. It's not hard to get these characters right. None of them are right here.

GrizzlyShark #1: delightfully bonkers.

Hercules #5: They're doing Marvel's version of American Gods by way of Azzarello's Wonder Woman and I can't not love it.

Invincible Iron Man #8: liking this more now that Spider-Man's showed up, weirdly enough.

Last Sons of America #4: pretty solid. This was a failed film script though i think.

Lobster Johnson The Forgotten Man: LJ is basically made for me, but I haven't really liked anything with him. This was good though.

Midnighter #11: still solid.

Miss Fury #1: here's a character I have never been able to get into. Love the look/character design, but it just fall flat for me.

New Avengers #9: pretty good, I guess. I'm gonna grab the first trade from the library and see if I can give it another shot.

New Suicide Squad #19: fucking beautiful. Fun story too.

Ninjak #14: pretty solid, but feels a little out of nowhere.

Old Man Logan #4: Pretty good.

Comics: 450
Trades: 18

Graphic Novels: 12

Omnibuses: 6

[Donomark]

The Twilight Zone - THE SHADOW #1: Really really awesome first issue setting up the Shadow stuck between identities. Is he Kent Allard, or Lamont Cranston, or the Shadow?

Totally Awesome Hulk #6: A very helpful issue in establishing for me more about Amadeus Cho as a character. Good art too.

[Missy]

Ghostbusters: Deviations: Because Des spoke highly of this book, I gave it a shot. And, yeah, this was fun. It's sort of a weird cross between the movie and cartoon in humor and tone, but the characters are very much their movie selves. The Mini-Puffs reveal was perfectly fucked up, and I adore the evil-sounding-but-always-smiling Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

All-New Hawkeye (2015) #1-5: Goddamn! Ramón Pérez and Ian Herring just might be my new favorite art team. This is one of the best-looking books you're going to see. The flashbacks are awash with watercolor-like brushstrokes, yet, despite taking place under the big top, the tones are muted and hazy. The current pages line up with what was going on in the Matt Fraction / David Aja series, but by no means are they a ripoff of Aja's work. In fact, I'd say there's more Mike Allred than Aja in some of Pérez's superhero pages.

The writing is one gut-punch after another, especially the circus pages with Clint, Barney, and Jacques. The boys are in absolute pain, which Jacques takes advantage of in a very real-world manner. He doesn't brainwash them with science or magic or something else that's very comic booky; he plays off their strengths and weaknesses to manipulate each boy individually to his own end. It's honest and hard and does not end well for anyone -- and that includes the modern superhero tale. Speaking of which, the superhero pages, as wonderful as they are, are only there to sell the book. In truth, this is really a slice-of-life drama about two runaways, a scumbag father figure, and their life behind the scenes of a circus. In many ways, I was reminded of Tender as Hellfire by Joe Meno. Though there's a youthful beauty to their world, it will be mired in pain and grit and grime.

I can only hope the six-issue 2016 follow-up series is just as beautiful.

Comics: 164

[Dread]

Superior Foes of Spider-Man Omnibus: seems odd to read this considering I read the entire series last year, but this is still fun as fuck. They're hilarious characters, but they're still rotten people and it doesn't turn you off as a reader. Great collection.

Power Lines #1: This is made after 1997, and, therefore, it has nothing to offer.

RRH #1: ok. Cute.

Raptors: a Euro graphic novel about vampires. Not very good.

Rough Riders #1: they're doing the slow burn for putting the team together, but considering these are historical figures, I love it.

Satan's Hollow #1: I'm interested.

Comics: 454
Trades: 18

Graphic Novels: 13

Omnibuses: 7

[Donomark]

DC vs. Marvel (vs DC) 1996:

I first read this four-part miniseries as it came out each month back in '96 in grade school. It was the first "event" I ever became invested in, and one of the earliest stories in my comic reading life. As a result, I can't not love this story. Sure, as a crossover battle between the big 2 it's relatively disappointing. The battles are too quick and mostly too bullshit (the one thing everyone remembers is Wolverine beating Lobo from behind a bar-stool). But I don't care. It says something that a first grader could follow the story, but it introduced to me so many characters that I would know for the rest of my life. Plus there's some genuinely awesome scenes and set-ups like Batman and Robin vs. Bullseye in the Batcave, J. Jonah Jameson in charge of the Daily Planet, "Peter Parker" working with Clark Kent and flirting with Lois, Robin and Jubilee's romance. None of this gets enough screentime except the Bullseye scene, but all of it is just too enjoyable for me to really get caught up in any squandered potential. The artwork by Dan Jurgens and Claudio Castellini is fantastic. The writing by Ron Marz and Peter David is hilariously goofy. The story is in that sweet spot of the 90s where the Image era was fading out. You still have long-haired Supes, Leather Jacket Superboy, Spider-Ben, Fabio-Thor, 90s show X-Men and the like. But...I love all that shit. Those were my DC and Marvel Comics. It's my favorite crossover and I can't separate any sort of critical lens from my reading of it as a child. 

[Missy]

DC vs. Marvel (vs DC) 1996:

I first read this four-part miniseries as it came out each month back in '96 in grade school.

...

It says something that a first grader could follow the story...

 I graduated high school in 1996.

[Venneh]

I was 8!

Kat and Mouse vol 1: Early DeCampi, set in a private school in New England (hello excuse for school uniforms!), with a pretty solid manga-inspired artist (can't remember the name, derp). Girl moves to New England to go to a private school that her dad just got a job at, her dad gets blackmailed, and she teams up with a classmate to solve crimes! It's pretty cute, and DeCampi makes what could've been a pretty non-remarkable comic a fun, quick read. (Also, that period when Tokyopop was trying to do creator owned stuff.)

Black Canary 6-9: So, I actually kind of feel sorry for whoever's on this book at any given time. There's random fill ins, a dive straight into craziness plot wise, and constantly switching artists. When they can get Wu, it's great. Otherwise? Not so much. Wu does some crazy stuff with kirby krackle in 6 and 7, and some downright amazing fight scene art in 7 particularly. Lee Loughridge on colors in 6 and 7 is phenomenal. If nothing else, just read issues 6 and 7, you don't need context, just enjoy the ride. 8 appears to be the start of a new arc with a random artist, but is interrupted by issue 9. 9 is a fill-in by Rosenberg and Moritat, and solid. 

Dark Knight III: The Master Race 3: Kryptonian suicide bombers. Yup. Miller's back again. Also, old guys in general, please stop trying to do teenage texting patterns, it makes you look ridiculously out of touch. Weird ass Green Lantern backup with what seems to be women Muslim powered individuals falling to his rightness and will and offering themselves to him and yup, that's Miller alright. Okay. 

Injection 7-9: Going to keep following this on the trade, but by god now that we've actually got the shape of the thing, it's a great combination of supernatural and fucking ridiculous in the way that only Ellis can manage. Prime examples include "The Adventures of the Elderly Ghost Sexer" and "Hail Dongzilla". Solid art by Declan, but the colors by Jordie are beyond gorgeous. 

Mythic 6-8: Alright, I did end up seeing where the story was going, as there's been some similar themed stuff lately, and it was still a real good ride. McCrea does great on art, especially in the transition to black in white in the latter part of the book. Probably going to try to read it in one shot again to see if it flows better, as the trade contains the first eight issues. 

Saga 36: God bless Ghus - because sometimes you just need some good old levity, or a seal child wielding a giant fucking axe. Also, the arc ends happily? The fuck is this shit? Looking forward to seeing where this goes next, as always. 

Sex Criminals 15: Matt, sweetheart? You clearly got fucked up by your dad's death. The meta isn't working. You're trying really, really hard, but it isn't working. Which is weirdly meta for this entire arc, but okay. This arc has just been going in circles. Work on getting the next issue out, but after that, just take a longer break and get your stuff back together. 

Batgirl 51: Okay. This now appears to be culminating in a three way crossover between the shared-ish worlds of Gotham Academy, Black Canary, and Batgirl. ...Not really sure if Fletcher can pull it off in the one issue he has remaining to do so. The artist is solid, but clearly trying to imitate Tarr, and doesn't pull it off so well. 

Black Canary 10-11: 10 now appears to be banking back into Batgirl, which, okay? I guess? 51 appears to take place after 8, not sure where 10 and 11 fit in in the overall scheme of things, because 10 also banks vaguely back into the stuff happening in 8. Starting to think Fletcher may have been a bit spread thin here. Artist wise, these two issues are split between three different artists, which, lord. This run has kind of suffered from being pulled five different ways, unfortunately. 

Patsy Walker, aka Hellcat 5: Again, really neat premise (Asgardian recruiting disaffected millennials with powers) that doesn't quite play out. But hey, Jessica Jones shows up next issue!

All-New Wolverine 7: One off issue that crosses over with Squirrel Girl and also manages to provide some real character development for Laura and Gabby both. Up next? A Civil War II tie in. Oh fucking joy. 

Dark Knight III: Master Race 4: Pretty evenly split between Azzarello and Miller at the helm, as near as I can tell, which gives the feeling of whiplash, to be honest. Some really good one page splashes, too. But of course they draw Trump in FFS. And then Miller goes and does this universe's Batgirl, and Aquaman shows up to save her. IDEFK. 

Single Issues: 186
TPBs/Collections: 57
Digital First Issues: 10

Edited April 27, 2016 by Venneh

[Missy]

All-New Wolverine #7: As noted with issues four and five, this is unofficially the All-New Marvel Two-in-One. Here, Wolverine teams with Squirrel Girl to save, you guessed it, a squirrel. It's sweet and fun, but also emotional; Laura makes a decision that will, for better or worse, change her life. In so doing she further distances herself from the way Logan handled the exact same situation years ago, stepping into the mentor role in a way he never could.

Marcio Takara does a damn fine job filling in for Davids López and Navarrot. The book remains artistically similar, yet Takara brings out Laura and Gabby's Japanese traits. His Squirrel Girl is perfectly rendered, in that she's cute, charming, and so dorky it hurts, but she's also not svelte. Wolverine and Gabby have softer designs than the male characters, but he doesn't sexualize them, nor are they overtly feminine. In fact, there are a few times Laura looks a touch blocky, as if inks were done by a toned-down Klaus Janson.

There's a flashback to a Logan / Laura scene, set shortly after she first arrived at the school. In it Logan makes a really lame joke. Had Spider-Man said it, I wouldn't have flinched, but Wolverine? It took me aback for a moment, then I really studied that panel as well as the next two, and I realized Logan's joke was his attempt at dad humor. And it failed because that's not who he is, which goes to the point he makes in the scene. Takara's art sells every inch of that moment, and Logan's self-loathing and sadness comes through in a way that's impossible not to feel.

All-New Wolverine, Vision, and Carnage are must-reads every month, and I hope Marvel continues to take chances like these. Yes, this is a Wolverine comic -- claws are popped and a rescue mission is undertaken -- but not one punch is thrown, no one is choked or even threatened. Problems are solved with mental acumen and lots of heart. It's so different from what's come before, but true to these characters and the legacy of Logan.

Comics: 165

[Dread]

DC vs. Marvel (vs DC) 1996:

I first read this four-part miniseries as it came out each month back in '96 in grade school.

...

It says something that a first grader could follow the story...

 I graduated high school in 1996.

I was behind the wheel of a car.

 

*I do not condone reading comics while operating a vehicle.

[Venneh]

Ms. Marvel 2-6: Willow proves she's still on her game with this - both with Kamala fighting gentrification, being out as Ms. Marvel to her mom, and dealing with Bruno moving on and his new girlfriend in general and in the following arc about the three ways her life is pulling her apart, and actually getting to touch base with the adults (Tony and Carol in light hints of what's meant to be their Civil War II tensions, I'm betting) on how to keep the craziness that is her life in general in balance. Also features an adorable subplot with her older brother falling in love and getting married. Not so hot on the penciller for the second art (Nico Leon, I think?), but he still does a solid enough job. 

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur 2-6: Okay, this is fucking adorable. Super smart black girl, trying to prevent her transformation into a Inhuman, and the dinosaur she accidentally picks up. Cho!Hulk showing up makes sense too. (Also: YANCY STREET GANG REPRESENT.) And Lunella just makes my heart swell, in general. Art fits well and doesn't look rushed or too sketchy. Definitely worth picking up on the trade. 

Single Issues: 196
TPBs/Collections: 57
Digital First Issues: 10

[Davedevil]

A-Force #4 - Kinda forgettable, still enjoyable with the art. I'm interested in the next team's arc.

ANAD Avengers #8 - Much more tied into the crossover, and I'm a bit lost. Liked some smaller moments with the characters though. The art isn't up to Adam Kubert's usual standards.

ASM #10 - Pretty good issue. 

Spider-Gwen #7 - There's something just a little bit off with the issue. Still enjoyable, and I like Bengal's art. Hopefully he's on the list of people to take over for Robbi Rodriguez once he retires.

Darth Vader #19 - Just great. Triple 0's hilarious. And I really liked the art by Larroca. 

Web Warriors #6 - Great to see Noir take the spotlight. The Spider-Man India plot was pretty cool and obscure. (And apparently it's gonna get more obscure from here)

 

[Missy]

Carnage #7: The timeline of this one confused me. It begins after the last issue, then it fills gaps between five and six, but it's not clear when the scenes with Carnage are set. I think they too precede six, but there's not a lot saying they can't be taking place afterwards. While it's probably the weakest issue thus far, it's setting pieces in place which will payoff down the road, so I'm looking forward to that.

Comics: 166

[Missy]

Squadron Supreme #6: What the hell is this, other than a rambling mess?

Comics: 167

[Koete]

X-Men: Mutant Massacre TPB - As "nothing will ever be the same again" superhero stories go, this one actually delivers on it. Not only are the Morlocks almost completely wiped out, but Nightcrawler's in a coma, Colossus is paralyzed in is metal state, and Kitty Pryde is seemingly permanently intangible. Over in X-Factor, it looks like their cover is going to be blown (which, as Dan said awhile ago, was convoluted from the start) and Angel's going to lose his wings. Claremont and Louise Simonson build up the Massacre, starting with a couple Morlocks outside the tunnels, then captions describing the assault, and on, until there are several issues where the X-teams are surrounded by corpses. They spend several issues tending to survivors, which really gives the crossover weight rather than just something done for shock value (Leech crying for his surrogate mother got to me). The Thor crossovers are a bit random, but Thor reflecting on the Massacre from a warrior's perspective does add something. The Power Pack issue is just bizarre. With one of the boys telling the other one to kill the Marauders after seeing all the bodies, maybe it was a commentary on kids not understanding the gravity of violence from entertainment? But it's not really explored. Between that, the kids holding their own against the Marauders, and Jon Bogdanove's cartoony art, it goes against what the rest of the issues are trying to do. The rest of the art is mostly typical 80s Marvel stuff, with the stand-out issues being those drawn by Walter Simonson and one by Alan Davis. After getting descriptions of how much blood there is and how bad the massacre is in early issues, there's a double page splash by Simonson of an energy blast ripping through a Morlock that really takes you aback. The last issue is an epilogue/transition to the next story issue, and the cleanness of Alan Davis' art demarcates that. Plus, he's ones of the superhero greats.

Avengers: Under Siege TPB - Along the same lines as Mutant Massacre on a smaller scale. Baron Zemo and the Masters of Evil take over Avengers Mansion, leaving Hercules and Jarvis in critical condition. Also like Mutant Massacre, Thor shows up for a couple issues to have words with the villains as only Thor can. There's a lot of fights against heavy hitters like Absorbing Man, Titania, Mister Hyde, and the Wrecking Crew, but there's some interesting character work too, involving the female characters. On the Masters' side, Moonstone was the original controller of the dark dimension spawning Blackout. Zemo is well aware that she could challenge his position as leader, so he spends a chunk of the early issues insuring his position of power. The Wasp is the leader of The Avengers at this time, and while most of the members respect that, there are two that don't in different ways. Hercules is, unsurprisingly, pretty angry that he has to follow the orders of a woman, especially in battle. This allows him to be manipulated by Zemo, leading to his being trapped and beaten into a coma. Black Knight is in love with the Wasp, and feels like he needs to always rush to her aid, despite her being the leader and able to take care of herself. By the end, when he tries to do it again after being wounded, he finally listens to her and understands he was out of line. The biggest drawback to the story is the later part of Baron Zemo's plan. The Masters take the mansion in minutes, they capture a couple Avengers, including Cap, beat up Jarvis...and then everyone's just kind of waiting around for some data files to be stolen. It feels like it could have gone farther, but had to stop so the Avengers could come to take back the mansion. Baron Zemo being petty as hell and ripping up the picture of Cap and Bucky almost makes up for it. If you're doing Avengers and issue after issue of battles, it's hard to do better at the time than John Buscema inked by Tom Palmer. Even though he only did breakdowns, the faces are pure Buscema. And Tom Palmer was Gene Colan's go-to inker, which is the only credential you need. 

Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle HC - Can you tell I have a lot of unread classic Marvel stories laying around? This is the weakest of the three on a writing level. Claremont is overwrought and on the nose, but through that, he hits some emotional moments. Louise Simonson is less so, but in a similar ballpark, getting some good melodrama out of Angel and Cyclops. Roger Stern's writing really flows, considering the exposition of the time, with the superheroes acting like superheroes and the supervillains acting like supervillains. Comparatively, I remember a lot of corny jokes from David Michelinie. It's also more of a traditional series of Marvel issues, with several smaller arcs that have plotlines that carry through. The first two are a forgettable team-up with Namor, followed by an inventory issue recapping the origin. Rather than saying something new about it, it's basically a recreation of the original script and panels, a total waste of an issue. Then a couple issues where Iron Man fights Blizzard, Melter, and Whiplash, filling the action quota. The malfunctioning armor that's come up in the issues pays off as it frames Iron Man for murder, resulting in a quest for answers that leads to a first confrontation with Justin Hammer. In an amusing comparison with Avengers, Iron Man fights a dozen villains by himself without trouble. Then there's the classic "Demon in a Bottle" issue. Tony's alcoholism has been getting worse with each issue, from a few mini-bottles of gin on a plane to morning to drinks to getting wasted when Iron Man gets framed. They're up front about where things are going to, but there are some more subtle moments, like a shot of a table that shows everyone drinking coffee except for Tony. The strongest thing about the actual issue is that, soon after a page showing Bethany Cabe helping him get sober, he goes to take a drink after learning that S.H.I.E.L.D. is the majority shareholder of his company. Even though he doesn't take the drink, it's clear that one montage doesn't mean he's free from alcoholism. John Romita Jr. draws a Tony Stark that really captures the era. Beyond that, it's John Romita Jr. inked by Bob Layton, it's classic Iron Man. Overall, it's decent superhero comics, but it's not at the level of the previous two.

[Dread]

Under Siege is literally one of the few books that made me love comics for life.