A Storm comes to the Avengers, Blue Beetle's last hurrah, and EC does sci-fi right - August 7th Reviews

This week’s comic book reviews. While I try to read everything, I can’t review everything. So, if you’re a publisher who wants me to check out their upcoming releases, email me at [email protected]!

Marvel Comics

Uncanny X-Men #1 — Gail Simone, David Marquez, Matthew Wilson, and Clayton Cowles — If “Wolverine, Rogue and the X-Men fight a dragon” wasn’t enough of a selling point to get you into the latest iteration of UXM, Simone, Marquez, and Wilson’s first issue establishes an excellent team dynamic of heroes with some incredibly heartfelt moments and action-packed pages. Marquez, with Wilson’s colors, team up to create a gorgeous X-book, while there’s plenty of excitement and intrigue about what may happen next. 8/10

Avengers #17 — Jed MacKay, Valerio Schiti, Bryan Valenza, VC’s Cory Petit — I’ve said it before, but MacKay’s writing totally works within the constraints of a team book, as he continues to give shining moments to a fairly large cast — and with Storm now on the team, it opens the story to get even bigger. Schiti and Valenza are masters at drawing on a large scale while nailing more intimate moments. Plus, with a tease of one of my favorite characters coming to take on the Avengers, this is easily my favorite issue of the series. 9/10

DC Comics

Blue Beetle #11 — Josh Trujillo, Adrian Gutierrez, Wil Quintana, Luca Gattoni — “Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened.” A huge breath of fresh air and the definitive run of Jaime Reyes, Blue Beetle (and its previous Graduation Day series) will be missed. The art is joyful and dynamic, the writing is pitch-perfect for Jaime’s voice, and the series did bold and exciting things with a lore that needed exactly that. Congratulations to the entire team on a spectacular run. 10/10

Gotham City Sirens #1— Leah Williams, Matteo Lolli, Trino Farrell, Hassan-Ostmane-Elhaou — If you loved X-Terminators, I’d highly recommend checking this one out. It’s a hilarious, surprisingly relevant tale about three badass women who want to do some good but refuse to play by the rules. Lolli and Farrell’s art captures the chaos and playfulness of the story and its lead heroines. 8/10

Birds of Prey #12 — Kelly Thompson, Javier Pina, Sophie Campbell, Gavis Guidry, Jordie Bellaire, and Clayton Cowles — While other books might dial things back 12 issues into a series, Birds of Prey goes full-speed in a fun dimension-jumping affair that features some hilarious moments including a chibi-styled world where there are so many funny scenes and reactions, I couldn’t stop laughing. Another solid issue from one of DC’s best books. 8/10

Oni Press

Cruel Universe #1 — Matt Kindt, Kano, Corinna Bechko, Caitlin Yarsky, Michael Atiyeh, Chris Condon, Jonathan Case, Ben H. Winters, Arttyom Topilin, Britanny Peer, Richard Starkings, and Comicraft’s Tyler Smith — I’m so glad this comic exists. Issue one features some great, hard-hitting science fiction stories that will have you guessing until the very end. I particularly loved “Solo Shift,” which might be my favorite anthology story of the year. Oni Press is proving they are indeed the best spot for EC Comics. 9/10

Magma Comix

The Pedestrian #1 — Joey Esposito, Sean Van Gorman, Josh Jensen, and Shawn Lee — I went into this story completely blind, and I’m glad I did. The Pedestrian #1 is an offbeat and bizarre comic with a main hero who is entirely captivating, and I’m not sure I can explain why. This story is worth checking out for those fans of wacky, absurd, but surprisingly emotive comics. I don’t know where it’s going next and I kind of love that. 8.5/10

Dark Horse Comics

Arkham Horror: The Terror at the End of Time #1 — Cullen Bunn, Andrea Mutti, Valerio Alloro, Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou — I LOVED Bunn and Mutti’s work on the Mad Cave series A Legacy of Violence and their work here with Valerio Alloro doesn’t disappoint. This noir-ish, monster-filled tale takes readers to a world they will simultaneously not get enough of but also might be too frightened to turn the next page. It also would be a crime if I didn’t point out Rafael Albuquerque’s main cover art for this book, which is absolutely stunning. 9/10