Marveling at Marvel…

Since the start of the year The Husband and I have been using Marvel Unlimited… because we do like our Marvel but comics are expansive. Some months I don’t read all that many and I can incorporate them in my monthly wrap-up. Some months (like this month) I read quite a bit more and I dedicate a full post to them. So here are some mini-reviews for the Marvel comics I read during the month of April.

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I finally finished of the 2013-2015 run of Guardians of the Galaxy by Brian Michael Bendis… and I can’t say I enjoyed it. There must be a better way to incorporate big events than inserting different random parts into several series. The first part of Vol 4 ties in with The Thanos Imperative… which I didn’t read so I had no idea of what was going on. Then we move on to the symbiotes, and I actually did enjoy this part a whole lot (due to which Volume 4 still got a 3* rating from me). Then we start Vol 5 with some random chapters from the Black Vortex event (random as in 4 and 7 or something… aka not enough to make any sort of sense), and then we end with what this series has actually been about: Star-Lord’s presidency. But this last bit has gotten so little space that it is wholy unsatisfactory. At least I finished the series now…

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Marvel Unlimited finally uploaded enough issues of the new Spider-Woman series to complete the first Volume, so obviously I read it. And I love Karla Pacheco’s take on the character. Jess is close to her heart, and that really shines through. There is swearing, wit, ass-kicking and explosians. And oh yeah… DINOSAURS!!! We also have a closer look at Jess’ past and family which I hugely appreciated. My only issues with this Volume is that the pacing and plot could have been smoothed out a bit better, and I am not sure if I am a fan of the new costume (though I do appreciate that the story actually contained a reason for the costume change). Although a different artist than the previous Spider-Woman series, Pere Pérez has done a great job of sticking to that style and keeping reoccuring characters similar, whilst also making it his own. So yeah, I love this and am Extremely happy to see Jess back in a great series.

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I have been wanting to pick up some She-Hulk comics for ages, and now I finally did it! (The rumours that she might be in Falcon and Winter Soldier may have given me the push to get on with it). And I loved them! I went for the 2014-2015 run by Soule and Pulido, just because I had heard most of those and it was a good call. Although a lot of other characters make appearances in these issues, you don’t have to be aware of any other events and so this series can fairly easily be read on its own.

I have a preference for superhero comics that also show the human sides of their characters, and this series absolutely excelled in that. Yes, She-Hulk certainly kicks plenty of but in here. But she spents even more time doing her day job as we she her struggles of setting up her own business and trying to get clients to defend in court. Clients that are all in some way linked to the superhero ‘business’. It was also really nice to see this other side of the heroes, and to see them being held accountable.

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I do have to say though that I wasn’t the biggest fan of the artstyle. Pulido did an okay job, though a bit too simple for my tastes. I really didn’t like the look of the few issues Wimberly did though. My other issue with this series is that not all questions are anwered. Although all the individual cases represented in 2-3 issues were really fun and satisfactory, these did take away from the overarching case that therefore felt rushed.

I still really enjoyed this series though and will certainly check out more She-Hulk comics.

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And then I couldn’t decide what to read next, so I let The Husband pick something from my ‘To-Read’ list… and because he knows me too well he told me to read more She-Hulk. So I picked up the 2016 run by Mariko Tamaki. Thank you hubby, you’re the best! Because I loved this. When Lashaan talked about the first volume in this series last year in November I knew it would be right up my alley and I had to read it. This is set after Civil War II, where Jen faught Thanos and ended up in a coma. When she wakes up her cousin Bruce has been killed by a friend. Dealing with this trauma and grief, and the panic attacks involved with that are very present in this comic. I love the stories in which we see the people behind the masks, and this one did it perfectly. Because of the PTSD her hulk form has changed as well, and Jen has to learn to trust that side of her again as well… again, a very interesting story line. The villains she has to fight aren’t too interesting themselves, but the personal story more than made up for that in my opinion and this series is definitely a favourite.

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Mariko Tamaki has also written a X-23 series I had my eye on, and because she has written it I will definitely pick that one up as soon as possible. I also hope that more of the Spider-woman issues will be put on the app so I can read the second volume in its entirity. And I have got my eye on a Black Panther series (I am not going to lie, I wasn’t a fan of the movie. Actually, I fell asleep halfway through and haven’t been bothered to give it another try since). The series I am looking at follows Ayo and Aneka, so it should be kickass. And lastly I want to pick up Monsters Unleashed! I am currently reading a novel following Elsa Bloodstone, and I love her. So that should keep me busy for a while…

Hoping you are well,