Sam, T'Challa, and the City give this issue a nice organizing spine, just what the story needed. The art's pretty good (although something's off about Sam's head, right?), and there's some staggeringly good dialogue in the script.

Overall, this is a nice rallying cry that reignites my enthusiasm for the arc just when I needed it to.

The author goes full blast on plot, and the results are engrossing. Plenty of cool twists and intriguing developments, all smoothly delivered with sharp art and a good pace. It doesn't quite break through to greatness, but it's consistently good--no weak points.

Once again, twining this title with X-Men allows Gerry Duggan to take a mulligan on a previous scene, and once again, the later version is better. Marvel needs to pay him more so he has time to burn through a few more drafts without committing them to print.
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This is an exciting, intriguing story, and it looks gorgeous. It has an appealing and authentic take on Ms. Marvel, and it's easy to care about her struggles.

But.

This feels like a good comic that happens to star Ms. Marvel, rather than a good Ms. Marvel comic. Does that make sense? It's woven tightly into the bigger X-Story; it doesn't stand on its own feet the way virtually all previous Ms. Marvel volumes did.

That's no deal-breaker, particularly not to a Marvel Unlimited nerd like me who's reading everything anyway.

But what we all really hunger for is a good Ms. Marvel comic, and this isn't quite that.
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The story beats are exquisite. But…there are really just two of them, which is slightly disappointing. Only slightly, though. The words and art make an epic feast out of these two courses and keep me fully engaged with the ongoing story.

We finally slow down to chart the course to the next plot point. It's still stylish as all get out, but I'm slightly disappointed by the dearth of substance underneath. The casual disposal of the last issue's cliffhanger was a bit of a letdown, and the subsequent developments didn't quite haul me back to my previous level of engagement.

Adana is shaping up so much like the Mother of Horrors in The Incredible Hulk that I think a crossover or at least a nod is required.
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Eu amei a forma que a Louise retrata que jean só amar somente o scott e não o logan, a forma que jean desmotrar ter empatia por logan separar de romance por empatia

It's a good story, told with good words and nigh-great art. I appreciate the double fakeout cover: "Oh, it ISN'T going to be this, except, oh dang, it IS!"

I feel like this is a contrast to issue #1. Where the story for that issue felt a little too small for the pages allotted, this one feels a little too big. The climax would hit harder with just a few more pages to breathe.

It's still a very good read, though. And I continue to appreciate the way this series folds "What If…?" content into real continuity.
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A bit of the human dialogue is clumsy, and the visual storytelling breaks down once or twice. Those nitpicks aside, though, this is a charming, rollicking adventure with a rare perspective. The previous issue's pacing problems are resoundingly solved. This is thoroughly satisfying and definitely a good comic.

Plus: Bats the Ghost Dog, hooray! A surprising and entirely welcome addition to the squad.
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The marketing and the final page are equally emphatic about this series being "a beginning," but it sure curls up on itself like a timey-wimey Möbius strip. Character X grows up to be Character Y, who returns to the past to set the plot in motion.

Of course, this reading is merely implied, never definitively stated. And it's Jonathan Hickman doing the implying, so the odds are good that the likeliest explanation is wrong--or at least twisted.

Strategic thoughts aside, this puzzle box of a series never really connected with me. There's a wicked intelligence in the ideas, and the art is scrupulously detailed to the end. It just never gelled into a must-read.
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This issue's packed with powerful ideas, but the pace gets too fast again, blurring them together and undercutting their potential impact on the reader. There are a few moments where the prose or the art aspire to elevate the material, but they're relatively rare, and it's even rarer that they overlap.

I think this is a fundamentally sound plot, but the storytelling used to convey it is hugely improvable. It's not truly BAD, just underwhelming.

The cliches in the dialogue and the cliches in the narration constantly tripping each other up is what rustles my jimmies the most.

An intense focus on plot development, a meaty action scene, and an active role for Naina (at last!)--these factors combine to make this a decent, average comic. But no more than that. There are still a lot of loose ends, and the storytelling (words and art) isn't all that memorable.

Gah! Contractions! Human. People. Use. CONTRACTIONS!

That nitpick aside, I liked this issue more than the last. Real plot development makes the story more engaging. The narration works a little better with the action and the dialogue. The art is decent and (mostly) clear. Best of all, the thematic ties between prophecy, action, and foreshadowing--all the talk of walls and barriers--suggest the author has a grand plan for the story as a whole.
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The one slim silver lining here is that there are two nice character beats (between Scott and Carol) that nod to last week's X-Men Annual.

This is a stunning crossroads where every last plot thread the authors have laid down in this volume ties together. The result is stylized and stylish, clear and bittersweet.

Groot's fate by itself wouldn't make for a great comic. But when combined with achingly earnest insights into each of his teammates (and some excellent symbolic art), it rises to greatness.

I have extra kudos for the authors because they make a surprising number of continuity links to other Guardians stories--even Dan Abnett's recent Groot retro-series.
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I had a blast reading this. The story's clear and intriguing, the art's dynamic and sharp, and the dialogue is simply bursting with wit and cleverness.

Still, I rate it a little shy of greatness. Mainly because I know a large part of my love for the script is my subjective simpatico-ness with Si Spurrier. And also I think that though they're earnest, Nightcrawler's psychological woes aren't all that novel.
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I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly this moved without feeling rushed. I was afraid the clone hunt would get dragged out. The art is gory and gorgeous, and the dialogue is suitably peppered with tough-guy insights.

This is an elegant conclusion to a story that ultimately feels a little inessential. Al Ewing is obviously about to take Loki in a different direction, so this serves as a sort of "transitional" characterization.

The insights are thoughtful, the prose is solid, and the art is nice. Though I wouldn't call this series truly essential, it's a very satisfying read.

To be frank, it's stiff and slow in both words and art. But that's about the limit of the issue's defects; the material is clear and enticing. The creators have launched solid stories in both the present and the past, and the antagonist building up to oppose Steve is intriguing.

This isn't a knock-your-socks-off great comic. But it is a thoroughly enjoyable read, and it's a good start for a new volume.
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It's slow and there's a LOT of exposition going on. Beyond that, though, there's nothing wrong with this story. In fact, you can frame those potential negatives as positives: This is scrupulously clear--more so than many contemporary Marvel comics. The art makes a good match for the script; "clarity" is the watchword when it comes to the visuals, too.

An intricate plot seems to be this title's main motive force. Usually, I'm not a fan of that, but there are enough interesting mysteries presented here to hook me. (Very important: these are SEQUENTIAL mysteries, where answering questions leads to new questions. Piling up questions without answers is a different, much less enjoyable thing.)

The characters get just enough attention to make their relationships engaging (Maggot can shut the hell up about Archangel already, though).

I'm a fan of the heavily-shadowed art. Although it's not very detailed, it never fails to enhance conversations with sharp facial expressions.
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I admire how far the author wants to push Spidey into villainy, and how fast he goes. The script's structure is complicated, and the way the endings twist together is great. The art is solid, if not world-class.

This story is walking a tightrope, though. How bad can Spidey get before he becomes irredeemable? I know some anti-fans of this volume will say he's already crossed the line.
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The plot develops briskly, helped along by solid (if exaggerated) art.

The storytelling here just clears the "good comics" bar. But the author has still wrapped himself in the comforting simplicity of bland, omniscient, past-tense narration. And subjectively, the art rubs me the wrong way.

Also, I think Gerry Duggan and Benjamin Percy need to have a Deadpool custody hearing. Granted, this title and X-Force aren't happening at the exact same time. But the character is just too different depending on who's writing him right now.
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A single consistent artist amps up the visual quality of the story. The plot develops briskly, with decent twists along the way. Sadly, though, this installment isn't as funny as the first one, and the character voices are less distinct.

There are a few splashes of fun here. The art has some joyful manga-esque moments, and the dialogue has some witty snark. The narration and setting are arbitrary, though--and of course, it's all growing from the poisoned ground of a singularly dumb event.

The story wraps up messy, with virtually every character getting a big "to be continued" sign.

In this final issue, and throughout the miniseries, there was never anything critically wrong with the storytelling. But to me, there wasn't anything exceptional about the words or art, either.

Combine that with a wide-ranging plot and a too-big cast and you've got a recipe for five issues that never really got me engaged. It's a lot of little sips out of a lot of different cups, and that never satisfied my thirst for a deep chugalug.
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There's the germ of an interesting story idea here, but it's not well-developed. And the words and art that convey it are the very definition of "acquired taste."

The artist sure seems to be enjoying himself, at least.