The pace is fast, and the amount of plot development is a little light. But those are about the only faults I could lay against this comic.

The well-turned words and brilliant art do a stellar job of building an air of suspense and menace. With this passionate storytelling, I'm okay with a small serving of content--and eager for the next round.

It's a cool little mystery just between its own covers, and it drops some more fascinating clues about "Victor Shade." It's written and drawn very well, and it has some great jokes. The icing on the cake is that it foreshadows an awesome twist for the Immortal Thor.

I've been waiting for the Booth shoe to drop for a whole year, and it's pretty enjoyable when it does. The script and the art build up to a terrific Hulk-fight--but the creators run out of pages before they can bring it to a conclusion. The overall shortage of content is what holds this a little shy of greatness in my opinion. (That, and the fact that the author shows little recap mercy for readers who might have forgotten the Booths.)
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The plot develops with a vengeance, and on the character side, we get that rarest of all creatures: a contrite Mr. Sinister. The art looks great. I think the "random past Jean Grey quotes" gimmick was a little overdone, though.

This is drawn well, and it has memorable dialogue, but what I appreciate most is the way the characters' decisions are justified in rational--often gut-wrenching--ways. It makes this feel far more consequential than a lot of miniseries.

It's another solid one-off adventure for Logan. The Black Panther's cameo is functional, but not all that inspired. The art looks good, and the arc seems to be chugging reliably toward an impressive climax. I do like that Benjamin Percy is getting some more mileage out of Jun Wei after introducing her in X-Force.

The plot threads all weave together into a thoroughly satisfying second act. The supporting cast shines, and the art looks great. But there are plenty of nits I could pick, and things unwind into frustratingly vague foreshadowing at the end. So I call this issue good, but not great.

The art is what stands out most to me. It's incredibly dynamic, polished, and just a ton of fun to look at.

On the script side, Elektra's voice sounds good. The plot leaves me a little underwhelmed, though. The antagonists are aggressively non-memorable. But maybe I'm old and cynical.

This is a satisfying read, but not (so far) an essential one.

The prose and the art are solid, but not spectacular. The whole issue is elevated by an impeccably consistent theme, one rooted deep in Shang-Chi's character. Of course, it all comes down to Shang's daddy issues, as always, but it's compelling nonetheless.

This issue juggles an admirable number of balls, and it does so with a creative style that I find personally appealing. An adequate amount of groundwork is laid for post-Gang-War adventures. But first, the Big Dumb Crossover.

Jess is set up well for GW by developing a personal beef with Diamondback--and the gangster gets enough development to hook my interest.

The storytelling skills (the art in particular) get slightly shaky in spots. But the solid content and the creators' clear commitment to the characters ensure that I'm thoroughly engaged.

I give the author credit for building well on top of Bendis's Defenders, which makes for a pretty shaky foundation.
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It looks pretty damn good on the artistic front, and Jessica's voice is a delight. Forward plot progress is a little slow, though. The spycraft that fills the majority of this issue is entertaining, but it also feels inconsequential.

This issue did a remarkable job of getting me excited for a crossover that I previously had zero enthusiasm for. I'm strongly in favor of the "resurrection" featured here.

For me, the weak link is the art. It's clear and polished, but the style seems too cartoony for the subject matter.

The script is definitely not weak. The pace is fast and tense, the story flows clearly, and all of the dialogue sounds realistic. It's also peppered with memorable lines, particularly by the "resurrected" character.

Plus, the verbal spankings that Pete gets from Miles and Robbie were SORELY needed. Pete's been so aimless for so long. I really hope that he follows through on the final scene and gets proactive about protecting his city.
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The resolution is a little unfocused, and this issue features a weird take on Marc's DID. However, it does bring things in for a solid happily-ever-after that might impact Moon Knight's status quo in the future. The art is strong, too.

There's a truly impressive amount of action, world-building, and character development packed into this issue. Miles continues to push his solo stories and relationships forward, while making room for a healthy helping of crossover combat.

I appreciate the wit and sass in the dialogue. I'm still ambivalent about the art, though. There are individual moments of great dynamism and excitement, but the details and the flow from panel to panel could be much clearer.
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This is a logical conclusion to the arc, but it's not all that satisfying to me.

The slangy dialogue irritates me, but that's subjective. The focus and structure of the script are choppy.

The art is highly stylized, dynamic, and pretty polished. But it does a poor job of storytelling. It doesn't realize the full potential of the script, and the action scenes require far too much scrutiny to decipher what's going on.

Still, the previous issues redeem this one a bit. The arc as a whole is very engaging, and just seeing how it all turns out elevates the experience of reading #12.
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I'm engaged with the way the story's developing, laying my little bets about what the villains are planning and how the heroes will stop them. As a big stan, of course, I'm happy to see that Surprise Final Page Guest Star. And I'm okay with the art; its frenetic style delivers some much-needed tension.

This issue's script disappoints me, though. It feels like a rush job. The dialogue gets stilted at several points, and the mysterious questions intended to foreshadow future developments come off (to me, anyway) more like highlighting plot holes.
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This issue still has a reasonably complex structure, but I admire that the scope is a lot more zoomed in than the last one. The combat is illustrated with dynamism and brutality, and there are a fair number of memorable lines. The plot takes a solid step forward; this explains the cause of Kingpin's arrival and drops sinister hints about its effects.

It's a very busy "traffic control" issue with a lot of plot development for the event. Sheer volume doesn't imply quality, though. The writing and art are rather pedestrian, and the shock of the "one gangster takes over another's gang" ploy is undercut by THREE PEOPLE trying it in one issue.

On the other hand, it's always fun to see the Track Suit Bros, and She-Hulk is my favorite pitcher for the Fastball Special.
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Gang War seems to be off to a good start. The action is epic and tense, the dialogue is packed with both emotion and humor, and the "traffic direction" organizing the various tie-ins feels (at least somewhat) organic.

The art works for me, though, as usual for JRJR, details and facial expressions are occasionally lacking. Spider-Man is pretty flat, character-wise, and the downside of teaming him with She-Hulk is that he becomes passive yet again. However, some real depth of feeling from the Lincolns and Robertsons gives this issue the character insight it needs.
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Rek-Rap's ridiculous story ambles into its conclusion, and then Gang War starts in earnest.

The two arcs are decent and potentially even better, but jumping from one to the other mid-issue does neither any favors.

The dialogue has a little sparkle to it. The plot and the art, not so much.

I see no reason to dislike this comic, and I WANT to like it, but I just don't. Both the words and the art strike me as slow and stiff. The reactions it evokes in me are boredom and mild disappointment.

The storytelling here is perfectly adequate. It's slow, but scrupulously clear.

All this issue establishes is that Spider-Man and some other folks are subjected to an extra round of Secret Wars, though. If there's something memorable or engaging in the cards, it hasn't appeared yet.

I'm a huge Carol Danvers fan. This is one of the last issues I'd reach for if I were trying to explain why.

It's not flawed; it just lacks any broadly compelling reason to read it. There are SPECIFICALLY compelling reasons to read it--like being a huge Carol Danvers fan, or wanting to see more queer Asian-American female characters, or wanting to support trans artists--but those reasons don't mean that the material is much more than mediocre.

The strongest compliment I can offer is that the script and the art work well in tandem, each doing its part to keep the story clear.
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I don't react well to comics where the top storytelling priority is, "Here's the current status quo for the protagonist and all of his supporting cast." The tiny shreds of actual plot development are lost in the clutter of superfluous world-building. The dated, uninspired scripting certainly doesn't help.

It's a big hoo-rah "putting the band together" episode, conveyed with poetic words and beautiful art. I was certainly rooting for the good guys by the end, but I'm holding my rating a touch shy of "great."

Setting aside the character interactions--which are great--there's not a lot of plot development. The "big picture" progress can be fully summarized in a single sentence. And at least one of the worthiness checks in this issue is questionable.
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The story speeds along to a delightful climax. Doom and Dino-Doom sound terrific, and the shape of the plot gives Ben Grimm another chance to save the day with brains rather than clobbering.
It's just a bit too speedy and shallow to qualify as truly great, at least in my opinion. Plus my subjective dislike of the art style is still itching me.

None of which is to say I consider this issue less than very good.
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The art remains great, combining painterly realism with creepy exaggeration to deliver an overwhelming air of menace.

The words themselves are rather restrained, and there aren't many of them. But the script is exactly in line with the art in terms of tone.

The creators are going all-in to trap Peter Parker (and the reader) in a relentlessly terrifying nightmare. And they are *succeeding*.
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The opening scenes explain the abrupt ending to the previous issue. There's a crucial plot point in the larger story that would either take up an entire issue on its own, or a few pages of summary. The author has elected to handle it with the latter approach. It's not perfect, but it works.

We get back to business soon enough: Blade being an absolutely relentless hardass, the Adana dripping stylish evil, and the conflict between the two unfolding in memorable, beautifully illustrated set pieces.

Style continues to outweigh substance, which once again holds this series back from true greatness. But it remains incredibly fun to read.
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A new creative team does a damn good job of making a silk purse out of the sow's ear of "God-Carnage" nonsense Marvel barfed up this year. By tackling the premise from a more theological perspective, the author excavates some intriguing ideas.

Carnage already has a good head of steam up, but Flash Thompson, his designated foil, just barely gets into gear. So this issue is a little slow.

It's beautiful in its gore and horror, though. I do love Pere Pérez, and this is a sterling example of the artist's work.

If I were a Marvel editor, I would zero in on those moments where failing to use a contraction makes a character sound like a robot (and there are several in this issue) and force the writer to correct them, learning experience-style.
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