Finished reading Harley Quinn: Angry Bird, DC's Harley Quinn series continues as writer Frank Tieri brings an array of Gotham's own criminals lead by Penguin to Harley's corner of the DC universe. The book opens with Harley's friend Tony in a local bar where he's kidnapped while leaving, the news only gets to Harley when she notices that her friends have been following her as she's not been acting herself recently and has been pushing people away. Which causes Harley to look for Tony herself while everyone else start their own investigation not without have Red Tool to keep an eye on Harley before the two are attacked by a Man-Bat. The book then continues with Harley moving out of Coney Island to Brooklyn away from her friends which leads to the Penguin to implement his plan expand his business to New York by bring a group of villains from Gotham to help with his first move being a take over of Coney Island which has been left unprotected since Harley's left before expanding to the rest of New York. The final story takes place in a post apocalyptic future as Red Tool has captured an older Harley to bring her back to Coney Island as the Gang of Harley's has taken control of the state of New York with each having their own part and have been fighting each other for years with Harley being that last hope to stop the gang. Overall this was a great book as it continues Harley's story extremely well thanks to the amount of character development she has over the course of the book by building upon what has happened throughout the series. The book's supporting cast also has a great amount of development thanks the the amount of time the book makes for their own story and the way each character interacts with one another which includes some great moments of levity. The art throughout the book is great as the art team is able to put a nice amount of detail into the abilities each character and their equipment to great effect. 8/10.
Finished reading Batman: Bride or Burglar?, continuing the DC Comics series as Batman and Catwoman continue to plan their future together with their wedding around the corner which dealing with the multiple threats from around the DC Universe. The book opens with Bruce Wayne meeting with a boy named Matthew who has asked for advice in how to deal with the lost of his parents after finding his own murdered in their own kitchen as Batman takes on the case to find the murderer. The next story sees Wonder Woman asking for Batman's assistance to join her in another dimension as the two trade places with the Gentle man allowing him to have a brake from fighting an endless hoard of monsters which he uses to see his wife. However Catwoman soon discovers that time flows differently on Earth compared to the other universe as years begin to pass for the heroes how have stopped ageing. The penultimate story has Poison Ivy taking over the world's population apart from Batman and Catwoman who are able stop Ivy's control over them before her complete takeover of the world thanks to an antidote that Batman has on his desk. Once discovering that their free of Ivy's control Batman and Catwoman begin to come up with a plan to save the world from Ivy. The final story has Catwoman breaking into a shop to look for a wedding dress while the book flashbacks to multiple times Catwoman and Batman had met over the years. Overall this was decent book as writer Tom King continues the series with the lead up to Batman and Catwoman's wedding as the two deal with the views and opinions of their close friends while also being faced with multiple threats to Gotham and the world which leads to so very intriguing stories that sometimes miss their mark within the execution of a few of them thanks to some continuity errors among other head scratching moments. The art throughout the book is amazing that's to the almost breathtaking imagery especially during the Poison Ivy story with how much detail goes into the character and location designs along with the way the plants are within the story. While the creature designs and the action scenes during the Wonder Woman story also look amazing thanks to the way the book put focus on to the heroes combat abilities. 6/10.
Finished reading Suicide Squad: The Secret History of Task Force X, writer Rob Williams continues the series at the current version of the Suicide Squad come face to face with their predecessors as an alien threat reappears. The book opens with the Squad readying for the night in their cells when a small robot is stopped by Deadshot when it looks to attack Amanda Waller. While looking over the robot that it came from the Earths orbit along with it having a map to an abandoned airfield in Nevada, leading to Waller to split the team up into two groups with one going up into space to see where the robot came from which lead to the team to come face to face with the leader of the original Suicide Squad, Rick Flag Sr who has been living on a space station with his team member Karin Grace who convince the team to join them on a mission the the moon to stop the return of a extraterrestrial threat. Meanwhile the team in Nevada come under fire by a group of robots when they find a file on the original Task Force X by the head of Argent, King Faraday. Overall this was a good book as it sees the return of the classic Suicide Squad which leads to some great intrigue to how the team lead by Rick Flag Sr, the grandfather of the current teams former leader was formed and how one of their missions to keep the Earth safe from extraterrestrial threats has influenced the modern day Suicide Squad's with the Red Wave becoming a dangerous threat once again. The art throughout the book is great as the action set pieces by keeps the feel of tension fell moments as the team is fighting against hordes of robots along with putting a great amount of focus in the alien designs that makes each element look to be from a horror film that's to the was the different types of aliens are able to reanimate corpse as well as the Red Wave being able to possess and influence different characters. While the flashback story that is told concurrently with the main story does a great job in capturing the aesthetic of the time period thanks to the designs used to show case the classics science fiction along with the more espionage moments. 7.5/10.
Finished reading Star Wars: Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith - The Burning Seas, writer Charles Soule continues the series as Vader finds himself going to the planet of Mon Cala in search of a rouge Jedi while the Imperial fleet is bombarding the planet. The book opens with Vader being called to meet Palpatine who gives him a new mission to show a force of strength with the planet of Mon Cala being used as an example for Empire with Tarkin leading the charge of the operation as Vader along with a small group of Inquisitors are tasked with the mission to find a potential Jedi on the planet. Once Vader lands on Mon Cala an Imperial ambassador's ship is shot out of the sky which leads to an assault on the planet by the Empire while Vader and his team try to find the Jedi hiding on the planet who is revealed to be living on the planet with his own students and a complete knowledge on who Vader is and his life as Anakin Skywalker. The next story sees Tarkin along with a group he has assembled to hunt down Vader on the Chander's Folly on a request by Vader himself when Tarkin found himself in Vader's debt to him after asking him to change his mission while on Mon Cala. The final story by writer Chuck Wendig sees Vader traveling to Geonosis to investigate a constant string of sabotages on the construction of the Death Star where he meets with Orson Krennic who is overseeing the Death Star project before conducting his investigation. Overall this was a great book as Vader counties his mission to wipe out the Jedi while also continuing to consolidate the Empires's power and control over the galaxy, with the inclusion of Jedi master Barr leading to some great moments between him and Vader thanks to the way the two characters stories are influenced and motivated by each other own which leads to Barr feeling more of a villain towards the end of the story. The book has a great amount of character development throw the especially for the relationship between Vader and Tarkin with the foundations of their working relationship being forged thanks to the way the two deal with the different situations they find themselves in, while the story where the two are trying to hunt each other also enforces this thanks to the story being from Tarkin's perspective. The final story also has a great amount of character development thanks to the way that it has an intriguing connection between the Attack of the Clones and Rouge One films that not only builds upon Vader's story but those of Krennic and the Erso family. The art throughout the book is amazing as the action set pieces are breathtaking in places especially during the Mon Cala story thanks to the way the art makes use of the water base environment especially in the fight between Vader and an alien squid is used to amazing effect. Also the art during the books last story puts an interesting take on Vader as he appears to be taller which helps to give him a more foreboding presence. 8.5/10.
Finished reading Star Wars: Mutiny at Mon Cala, writer Kieron Gillen continues Marvel's main Star Wars series as the Rebel Alliance try to gain new recruits to the Rebellion with the heroes next stop being he aquatic world of Mon Cala. The book opens with Leia, Han, Luke, Chewie, C3PO and R2D2 being joined by Ackbar to meet with the current leader of the Mon Cala, Admiral Urtya in the hopes to get the Mon Calamari to join the Rebellion. However the group find themselves under attack by a group of Stormtroopers on patrol which leads to Urtya to decline the proposition to join the Rebellion when the lives of the Mon Cala are at stake. This then gives Leia the idea to break into a high security prison to free the King of Mon Cala, Lee-Char with the hope to encourage the planet to join the Rebellion and once Leia is given the go ahead by her peers the group plan on kidnapping Tan Hubi, the imperial Moff of the Mon Calamari with the first stop being to beak out a shapeshifter named Tunga in order to impersonate the Moff with the help of C3PO as the group take to Moff to the prison on Strokill Prime. Overall this was a great book as writer Kieron Gillen continues to expand the upon the new Star Wars cannon by showing how the Mon Calamari became a big asset to the Rebel Alliance and their continuing fight against the Empire thanks to Rebels planning a heist that leads to some great moments within the book while the team execute their plan. The book does a great job in the different character interactions with the main cast while retaining their characteristics from the films also build upon them leading to some great comedic moments with how the characters react to the different situations they find themselves in especially during the heist where the team kidnap a high ranking member of the Empire. While C3PO has a gets a great character arc as he helps the shapeshifter Tunga to stay in character as Tan Hubi in order keep their cover which leads to great moments of levity within when the book takes a more serious turn. The art by Salvador Larroca is great as as the designs for each of the characters, locations and spaceships are brought to life extremely well especially in some parts like the end space battle which has some breathtaking moments which is elevated by the colours used by Guru-eFX. 8/10.
Finished reading She-Hulk:Jen Walters Must Die, writer Mariko Tamaki concludes the series as Jen finds herself against a familiar foe while also trying to find a solution to her current state as a Hulk. The book opens with Jen meeting with Professor Robyn Meiser Malt in a restaurant for an interview that was set up by her assistant Bradley. After leaving the restaurant Jen has her phone stolen by someone being controlled by the Leader which gives Robyn time to drug Jen whiles she's distracted and takes Jen to her lab where Robyn plans to use replicate Jen's powers for herself. The next story sees Jen going to self help author Flo Mayer for help with her current state with her Hulk persona after she nearly went to far in her fight with the Leader and Robyn. The final story see's Jen along with Patsy Walker at a high school prom when an anti-mutant rights group attack the prom in protest of a mutant named Burn had been elected class president leading to Jen and Patsy having to stop the group. Overall this was a great book as it brings an end to the series as writer Mariko Tamaki brings in the Leader as the main villain for the first half of the book allowing for some interesting story beats as Jen's views on the state of her powers differ from that of Robyn's who whats be be like her which the Leader is pushing. The book has some great character development for Jen as her story comes full circle within the scope of the series as she comes to terms with how her life and powers have been effecting Jen which leads to a great ending for the series. Additionally the book does a great job in giving the supporting cast their own character arcs with Robyn having a fleshed out backstory making her more of us one note antagonist. Along with Burn from the book's final story and Hellcat who brings some great interactions with Jen while also providing some of the best comedic moments. The art throughout the book is great as it does and exceptional job to bring the action set pieces between Jen and Robyn as well as the final fight with Jen against an anti-mutant rights group to great effect. Also the art puts a great amount of detail into the way that the characters are able to emote allowing for the more emotionally driven moments to be more effective. 8/10.
Finished reading Spider-Gwen: Gwenom, continuing the series of Marvel's Earth-65 as Gwen finds herself dealing with this universe's version of Venom which makes her life even more complicated. The book opens shortly after Gwen along with the help of this universe's version of Wolverine and Shadowcat have been able to cured Harry Osborn of being the Lizard which lead to the creation of a version of Venom that bonds with Logan casing him to go on a rampage. Once Gwen and Shadowcat are able to catch up and separate Logan from Venom it lashes on to and bonds with Gwen leading to Matt Murdock showing up with Gwen's interdimensional teleported to show Gwen the current state her father is in. Once back in New York Gwen shifts her focus onto finding Rhino to get revenge for her father, meanwhile the band members of the Mary Janes try to search for their friend along with the help of May and Ben Parker due to Gwen now showing up for some time as she has been Spider-Woman nonstop. Overall this was a great book as writer Jason Latour continues the series with Gwen dealing with a version of Venom that leads to some great storytelling thanks to the way that it effects her and the book's supporting cast. The addition of Matt Murdock's origin within the book is great as it provides an interesting backstory to the character that has some great twist the the main universe's version. The art throughout the book is great as the design of Gwenom looks extremely foreboding in places thanks to the way that the book has a sift in a slightly darker tone in the way that Venom effects Gwen. Along with the art doing great job in bringing to life each character's emotions that has a great effect on the story. 8/10.
Finished watching Johnny English Strikes Again, directed by David Kerr and staring Rowan Atkinson, Adam James, Ben Miller, Emma Thompson and Jake Lacy. The film opens with MI7 being at the centre of a cyber attack which leads to all of the names of current agents being leaked online, causing the agency to call in former agent Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson) who is currently a geography teacher while also teaching his students how to be spies. After being reassigned and debriefed by Pegasus (Adam James) the current head of MI7, English then meets with Bough (Ben Miller) again as the two begin their mission with France being their first stop. Meanwhile the British Prime Minster (Emma Thompson) finds herself calling in tech billionaire Jason Volta (Jake Lacy) to help with the cyber attack that keep happening in the country. Overall this was a good film as it continues the film series by reintroducing some characters like Bough from the first film to great effect with how he plays off of English throughout the film. The comedy throughout the film is great as there are some truly hilarious moments throughout. However some parts do fall a little flat as there are some bits that are a bit dated and out of place. 7.5/10.
Finished reading Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man - Most Wanted, writer Chip Zdarsky continues the the series as Peter Parker becomes a high profile target for the entire Marvel Universe while trying the help his potential sister Teresa. The book opens with Peter returning home after just receiving his identity as Spider-Man to J Jonah Jameson where he’s met by a swat team who are looking to bring him in for questioning about Spider-Man and his involvement with Teresa who currently has government secrets about the super heroes and villains in the Marvel Universe. After turning himself in when the authorities go to aunt May’s home Teresa along with Johnny Storm break Peter out of custody only for the two to find themselves being chased by heroes and villains alike including a group of former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents know as the Grey Blade wanting the information that Teresa currently has within her blood stream. Overall this was a great book as it continues with the series story as Spider-Man finds himself at odds with heroes and villains alike while trying to keep the information on the superhero community that Teresa has within her blood stream out of the hands of people who what to abuse that information. The book also has some great character moments within the book thanks to the great interactions between characters leads to some comedic moments that reach their mark while also developing a new and interesting status quo for Jameson and Spider-Man. The art throughout the book is great as all of the action set pieces but all of the characters powers and abilities on show extremely especially within the moments where the Tinkerer is able to disable the heroes technology which lead to some very creative sequences with in the book. 8/10.
Finished reading Uncanny Avengers: Unity - Stars and Garters, writer Jim Zub brings this Avengers series to an end as the team are dealing with the aftermath of the Secret Empire event while also looking to move forward. The book opens outside of a damaged Avengers Mansion as the team is join by Scarlet Witch who what's to rejoin the Avengers team that comes with a bit of opposition. While staying the night at the Mansion the team soon find themselves up against Graviton who is looking for the Cosmic Cube. After the Graviton fight Johnny Storm is approached by a lawyer to speak to him about his inheritance of the Fantastic Four as on the other side of the city Beat and Wonder Man catch up over a couple of drinks before seeing Whirlwind caught in a high speed chase. While back at the Mansion Brother Voodoo and the team being to make plans to rebuild the Mansion only for Juggernaut to show up by accident when Voodoo summons some help. Overall this was a good book as it brings an end to the series by giving each of the characters their own story arc allowing for the book to wrap up nicely to set up the future for the team itself along with each of the individual characters. The art throughout the book is great as the character driven moments have a great amount of focus on the characters reactions and interactions to one another thanks to the way that the book is more of a character piece for the team. While the action sequences are brought to life extremely thanks to the way that each of the characters powers and abilities are put on show while still retaining the focus on more character driven moments. 7.5/10.
Finished reading All-New Guardians of the Galaxy: Infinity Quest, concluding the current Guardians series as writer Gerry Duggan begins to set up the next part of the Marvel Universe as the book reintroduces aspects from the universe's cosmic side. The book opens with Nova commander Scott Adsit introducing the Corp's newest recruits, the Guardians of the Galaxy who have been ask by Adsit to help him in uncovering any untrustworthy Corp members. This leads to the team splitting up as the cover more ground as Rocket staying at the Nova's base as Gamora and Ant-Man finding themselves fighting a bunch of aliens that Ultron has assimilated while Star Lord meets with Richard Rider to check on a Nova facility. While Drax is on is own mission to locate another group of Novas. Overall this was a great book as it sees the Guardians joining the Nova Corp to help clean up the Corp along with focusing on their own missions to find the Infinity Stones which leads to the return of Adam Warlock back to the Marvel Universe while the threat of the Raptors and the Gardener's twisted Groot like creations is sill present. The art throughout the book is great as its able to breath life in the different aspect of the book especially well be that of the body horror moments with the Ultron assimilated aliens to the way the more character driven moments of Peter and Richard catching up along with Drax being at a crossroads in his life and the direction it heading in. 8/10.
Finished reading Avengers & Champions: Worlds Collide, writer Mark Waid brings together the Avengers and Champions as they find themselves having to work together to prevent the oncoming threat of Counter Earth. The book opens with Falcon, Vision and his daughter Viv helping civilians escape from a burning building in New Jersey as Viv and her father have a disagreement before parting ways. Meanwhile the other Championships and Avengers members are watching the news of a satellite getting into position from the other side of the sun when it notices an asteroid heading straight for Earth which leads to both teams heading to the crash site to stop the asteroid before it lands. After stop the asteroid after a bit of confrontation between the two teams with how the Avengers as taking the lead the Earth begins to shake causing some to the worlds tallest buildings to become unstable as the asteroid opens to reveal a large Minotaur like creature that has been sent to Earth by the High Evolutionary. Overall this was a good book as it brings the Avengers and Champions together that leads to some great parings from the two teams within the book along the use of the High Evolutionary makes for a villain that raises the stakes of the story thanks to his villainous plan. The story between Viv and Vision is great as it helps to put more of an emotional stake to the story with how to have the most development for the a characters and their relationship which becomes more complicated in some parts when the High Evolutionary is introduced within the book. The art throughout the book is great as each of the art teams are able to bring the action set pieces to life extremely well that takes the different character and creature designs and put them to great effect within the book's story while also having a nice amount of focus on the character emotions as well. 7/10.
Finished reading Marvel Legacy, starting the next publishing line for Marvel as writer Jason Aaron sets you the next part of the Marvel Universe and where some of the directions the characters and series are heading. The book opens in the distant past as a young Odin scars away a group of Neanderthals in order to retrieve Mjolnir along with a group of prehistoric superheroes as they focus their attention onto the giant Celestial on Earth. While in present day Robbie Reyes wakes up fining himself in South Africa with no memory of why when he is attacked by Starbrand. Meanwhile Loki has gotten a group of outcasted Frost Giants together as they attack an old S.H.I.E.L.D. facility for a mysterious crate which is being prepared for transporting after the collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the aftermath of Secret Empire. Luckily the current Captain America, Sam Wilson and Thor along with the help of Ironheart are overseeing the transfer of the facility’s contents when the Frost Giants attack. The book also contains a set of mini character centric stories that retells the origins of multiple heroes and teams within the Marvel Universe that work greatly for anyone needing to catch up on a different part of the Marvel Universe. Overall this was a great book as it sets up the future for the Marvel Universe with the return of characters and concepts that have been away for a little while at Marvel while also weaving an intriguing along the way. The art throughout the book is great as within the main part of the books story does a great job in transitioning between the prehistoric and the present day stories with Loki and the Frost Giants plan along with the fight between Ghost Rider and Starbrand which the art excels at which how the heroes powers are put on show. While the pages that interconnect with the main story by multiple artists does a great job in setting up the tone and character directions for future stories while not feeling completely out of place to the main story. 8/10.
Finished reading Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider - Death's Sting, continuing with Ben's time in Vegas as the one time Spider-Man finds himself dealing with his own mortality along with the aftermath of Marvel's Secret Empire event. The book opens with Ben trying a serum to help Abigail Mercury while he is still looking for a cure for her. While wait for how the serum with affect Abigail, Ben notices Rick Jones' wife Marlo who has come to see Ben and wants to see how he reacts to different parts of his life before revealing herself as Death. The next story within the book has a time jump to the aftermath of Secret Empire as the partly destroyed city and its population is dealing with what happen during the event as Cassandra Mercury's food supplies come under attack by Hornet who has been hired to stop these shipments which leads to Ben meeting with Ricochet who has come to Vegas after hearing that Hornet has been spotted event though his friend was killed by Wolverine. The final story in book shows the first appearance of the Slingers as the group get use to being a part of a superhero team that is inspired by identities that Spider-Man temporary had. Overall this was a great book as writer Peter David continues Ben's story by bringing characters like Death and the Slingers into the book allowing for some great interacts with Ben, particularly Ben's interactions with Death which give him some great character development. The art throughout the book is amazing as Will Sliney is able to bring the city of Las Vegas to life extremely well thanks to the amount of detail that is put into the location along with how the wave of destruction from Secret Empire has affected the city. This is also accompanied great some action scenes and character moments throughout. 8/10.
Finished reading She-Hulk: Let Them Eat Cake, writer Mariko Tamaki continues the series as Jen Walters is still getting used to her new Hulk persona when an internet celebrity finds himself in a similar situation when he his transformed into a monster. The book opens with Jen at a trauma support group before heading to a construction site to let of some steam when Hellcat shows up as the two catch up on recent events. Meanwhile internet celebrity Oliver Constantin is preparing for the next episode of his online cooking show when one of the cameramen named Steve puts a drug on to a cake Oliver later try's while live on the internet which begins to turn him into a monster while the world is watching. This prompts Jen to begin an investigation of what happened. The last story in the book sees Jen getting ready to go on a date with the help of Hellcat as the to discuss the state of Jen’s love life before discovering that her date is more than what they seem. Overall this was a good book as continues with Jen's story with how her life has changed since the end of Marvel's Civil War II event and the inclusion of the internet sensation Oliver Constantin becoming a monster allows for some great parallels to Jen's own story with the type of Hulk she is that makes this a very personal case that she takes. The structure book’s opening story is great as its able to tell a investigation story with Jen at the helm allowing for the supporting cast to have some great moments while also making time for a nice amount of character development for Jen with how her motive to help Oliver coming from what she is dealing within her own personal life as a Hulk. The art throughout the book is great as the entire art team is able to put a nice amount of focus on the way characters are able to emote along bring to like some great monster designs to life especially with the fight scene between Jen and Oliver where the character designs are used to their fullest. 7.5/10.
Finished reading All New Guardians of the Galaxy: Riders in the Sky, continuing the series as writer Gerry Duggan crafts several stores cantering around each member of the Guardians to show what events transpired on the lead up to the beginning of the series. The book opens with a Gamora story as she finds herself within the Soul Stone as she meets with a part of herself that has been in the Infinity Stone for years along with the remnants of other Guardian allies. The next story puts the focus onto Star Lord who is getting a gyroscope for Rocket when one of his tapes break that takes Peter on a journey to rerecord the tape by fining a radio signal from 1980 deep in space. The following story sees Drax explaining to Gamora why he has become a pacifist when he tried to save a group of slaves that took a horrible turn. The next story sees Rocket and Groot going to get some information for a job before the two are attacked that leads to Groot sacrificing himself to save Rocket. The penultimate story has Richard Rider, Nova trying to find his brother Robbie after finding a message that Robbie was unable to seen before he went to the Nova homeworld of Xander only to be captured by a group of Raptors. The book's final story sees the Guardians one Earth as they try to find any leads to the whereabouts of the Infinity Stone whole also picking up a new team member along the way. Overall this was a great book as it shifts away from the books main story to focus on more character driven stories with the team allowing for some great development an insight to what happen to the team in the time between this series and the one that proceeded it. The art throughout the book is amazing as each of the individual art teams do an amazing job in being to life each of the character centric stories along with the tone and the emotions the each of the character to the forefront incredibly well. 8/10.
Finished reading Amazing Spider-Man: Worldwide: Volume Seven, writer Dan Slott continues the series as Spider-Man finds himself in the middle of the Secret Empire event as Peter's time as a globetrotting heroes and company CEO comes to and end. The book opens with Peter Parker being interviewed about recent events from his battle with Ben Reilly to using his company's own resources in Symkaria to stop Norman Osborn. The interview is cut short when the new of an oncoming Chitauri invasion along with New York being blocked off from the outside world, Peter heads to the Parker Industries offices in London where he discovers that Doctor Octopus along with a group of Hydra agents have taken over the building as Otto hopes to reclaim to company while also helping Hydra with their plans in world domination. Which includes keeping the heroes occupied in New York and with the Chitauri invasion. The next story centres around Norman Osborn as he try's to regain his Green Goblin persona after his recent defeat by Spider-Man which leads to Norman going to a temple within a mountain range with the hope that magic might be a way to become the Goblin again. The rest of the book sees Spider-Man dealing with the aftermath of Secret Empire as Peter is living on Mockingbird's sofa since the collapse of his company which makes Peter one of the most hated people in New York as he along his friend Harry are dealing with the remaining assets of the company to pay any legal fees and the former employees while Peter is also trying to find a new job which he surprisingly gets for the Daily Bugle. Overall this was a great book as it brings an end to the Parker Industries part of Spider-Man's life in a very interesting way thanks to the inclusion of Doctor Octopus while also setting up the next part of Peter's life back home in New York. The Secret Empire part of the book is great as it brings a nice conclusion to Peter's time as a globetrotting superhero and company CEO by giving each of the different supporting cast that have been introduced great send offs with how they come together to stop Otto and Hydra. The art the the book is great as artist Stuart Immonen does a great job in making the action sequences throughout the book feel suspenseful especially during Spider-Man's fight with Doctor Octopus, while the more the more character driven moments have a great amount of detail within the expressions of each character that works extremely well with the books dialogue. Additionally Greg Smallwood's art for the Norman Osborn centric story does a great job in bring the more magical elements of the story to life extremely well and making the Green Goblin parts feel very foreboding. 8/10.
Finished reading U.S.Avengers: Cannonball Run, writer Al Ewing brings an end to the series as the team find themselves dealing with the events of Secret Empire with them being scattered across the world. The book opens with the U.S.Avengers in Washington DC fighting the oncoming Hydra forces which includes the teams own Red Hulk as Maverick is being controlled by Hydra thanks to them injecting him with nanites. With the battle lost Toni Ho decides to hack into Enigma's suit to teleport her and Squirrel Girl away from being captured by Hydra which leads the two finding themselves in France where they meet a group of heroes based in Europe who are trying stop stop the Hydra forces in Paris. Meanwhile Toni finds herself as a prisoner of Hydra as she soon discovers that her cell mate is a severely wounded Roberto Da Costa. The next part of the book sees the team dealing with the aftermath of Secret Empire as Roberto meets with Senator Kevin Krask about the current state of the world since the Hydra takeover of America and the Senator trying to get A.I.M. to work for the American government. With this being against Roberto's original deal with general Maverick, he quits as the leader of A.I.M. leading to Krask to lose his temper before Smasher comes to Roberto asking for his help in finding her boyfriend Cannonball who has been taking to a planet of Glenbrook that looks like a classic American town, this leads to Roberto calling the U.S.Avengers together to find their lost teammate. Overall this was a good book as it sends the U.S.Avengers in the middle of the Secret Empire event as by show a different aspect to the event with how Hydra is trying to expand across the world along with a look as how they treat their prisoners who oppose them. The book does a good jobs in giving a nice amount of character intrigue within the European heroes and the world of Glenbrook, while the book also gives Toni a great amount of development thanks to the what that the situation she finds herself in with Roberto parallels that of her father's and Tony Stark's when they first met. The art throughout is great as the art team is able to bring each of the character interactions to life extremely well by the way the characters able emote along with the different character and location designs that works with the books story. 7/10.
Finished reading The Mighty Captain Marvel: Band of Sisters, within the events of Secret Empire affecting the Marvel Universe writer Margaret Stohl tells the story of what was happening on the Alpha Flight Space Station during the event. The book opens with Captain Marvel showing three new Alpha Flight cadets around the space station while also getting a group of comic heroes together including the Ultimates and the Guardians of the Galaxy as they prepare for the oncoming Chitauri fleet. Once the heroes are able to stop the first wave of Chitauri and Captian America activates Earth's planetary shield trapping the heroes with no help and little resources outside of the planet while oncoming Chitauri waves are making their way to Earth. The last story of the book deals with the aftermath of Secret Empire as Carol along with Jessica Drew Spider-Woman and Jessica Jones as the three spend some time together while Carol try’s to figure out her next step in life after the Alpha Flight Space Station was destroyed. Overall this was a great book as it expands upon the events of Secret Empire by showing how the heroes trapped outside of Earth’s planetary shield leading to some great character moments with how Carol and the rest of Alpha Flight are dealing emotionally with being unable to contact Earth along with the constant waves of Chitauri that outnumbers the heroes. The character interactions throughout are great from the way that it helps to develop new and exciting characters, with some of the dialogue being ripped straight out of the main Secret Empire book while that does help to place the book time wise to the event it does feel a bit off when reading both books concurrently. However the book’s art by Michele Bandini during the Secret Empire story is amazing as it’s able to make the Chitauri threat feel foreboding thanks to the size and scale of the fights with the alien fleet along with making character moments feel extremely impactful even the moment that are taken from the main Secret Empire book are surprising more impactful in this book thanks to the amazing art. While the rest of the book’s art does an amazing in capturing the more character focus moments of the last story in the book. 8/10.
