Comic Book Review: Week 12/24/2014

Happy Belated Holidays! I’ve been reading by my imaginary fireplace and spending time with family and friends. These comics are over a week out, but I didn’t have any pulls for the New Year so I wasn’t in a rush.

She-Hulk #11 by Charles Soule (Writer), Javier Pulido (Artist), Munsta Vicente (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer), Kevin Wada (Cover Artist)

Second to last issue, I can tell already that this series is going to end strong. Not only will this arc conclude the much teased Blue File story, it also shows some new sides of super-paralegal Angie and Hei-Hei. And that’s just the awesome stuff coming from the narrative. Pulido continues to deliver amazing panels, layout, composition, pick your fancy artsy word and he does it. This issue really captures the scope of what it’s like to have characters with super-strength not holding back against each other, and also shows the damage this can cause to their surroundings.

Magneto #13 by Cullen Bunn (Writer), Leandro Fernandez (Artist), Dan Brown (Colorist), Dan Panosian (Cover Artist)

Magneto himself was hardly in this issue (in person anyway), instead the viewpoint characte, Briar Raleigh, brought the reader into a part of the Marvel universe I’ve personally never visited, the communities of people fascinated by villains, especially destructive ones. It’s an interesting issue to read and calls to mind the success of stories in the real world like those about serial killers or thieves, especially the ones ‘based on a true story’. What is it about infamy that can turn the buzz around someone morally reprehensible into something akin to hero worship? Magneto himself has been represented as unabashedly evil for parts of his career but he is probably more popular as the morally grey tragic hero that the readers know but the general public does not. I really enjoyed this issue.

Loki: Agent of Asgard #9 by Al Ewing (Writer), Lee Garbett (Artist & Cover Artist), Nolan Woodard (Colorist), Clayton Cowles (Letterer)

Loki: Agent of Asgard continues to be clever and fun (just look at that cover, you never see covers like that anymore!) but doesn’t shy away from serious concerns about Loki’s past and present worthiness of redemption. AXIS as an event has probably had the most meaningful impact on him, in my opinion, because it gave him a chance to be the hero he wanted to become in order to redeem his misdeeds, but despite everything there is one wrong that cannot be forgiven it seems.

Gotham by Midnight #2 by Ray Fawkes (Writer), Ben Templesmith (Artist)

Pretty solid followup that fleshes out a few characters and ties up an encounter, but only hints at the larger case it’s a part of. If you are interested in supernatural stories in Gotham, without Batman, check out Gotham by Midnight #1 if you get the chance!

 

 What have you been reading over the holidays? Get any neat presents? I was able to play a lot of fun board games and I have started to become obsessed with the Lord of the Rings Living Card Game. You may or may not see posts about it in the future.