50 Years of SHIELD: Agent Carter Special

Celebrating 50 years of SHIELD, Marvel’s premier spy organization, they have released a series of one shot specials. The two before this were about Quake (Daisy/Skye on the Agents of SHIELD tv show), and Mockingbird/Barbara Morse. This one features Peggy Carter. Like most of the SHIELD-related comics over the last year or so, this tries to straddle the line between fitting the comics continuity but also not contradicting the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There’s an old saying about if you chase rabbits, you will catch neither.

Star Wars #9

Our various separated heroes are continuing to have their runs of bad luck On Nar Shadda, Luke has to chase down the thief that made off with his lightsaber. Luke’s chase takes him through a series of good news/bad news adventures. He finally ends up a prisoner of a new foe who has a stunning collection that’s very much of interest to Luke. Unfortunately, his captor intends to add Luke to the collection. It’s not a good day to be an untrained Jedi.

Secret Wars 2099 #5

The 2099 heroes wrap up their story on Battleworld. The combined might of the Avengers and Defenders are needed as a new foe arises, and he, in turn, calls in something nastier and uglier. In the grand tradition of hero team ups, the two groups have to put their differences aside to battle something far worse than they are. It’s an ugly fight.

Star Wars #8 comic book review

In part of most Star Wars stories, there comes a point when the heroes are separated and things aren’t going great for them. This seems to be about that point. Luke, having concluded his adventure on Tatooine, is off to his next bit of chaos. Being a famous Rebel with a price on his head doesn’t make anything any easier when he tries to bargain passage to Coruscant amid the seedy bars of Nar Shaddaa. Remember his trip to the cantina in Mos Eisley? Yeah, about that good.

Moon Knight #17 review

Cullen Bunn has been playing up the mystic side of Moon Knight, and doing a great job of it. He’s shown several different aspects of the relationship between Khonshu and Marc Spector, the Moon’s Knight. A god can have many faces, and his worshippers, their own interpretations.

Ms. Marvel #17 review

The world is ending in the Marvel Universe, and their various titles are doing their “Last Days.” In this case, Ms. Marvel gets to meet her hero, Carol Danvers (Ms. Marvel/Warbird/Captain Marvel), the heroine that inspired Kamala. They work together, trying to save who they can as the end comes closer.

SHIELD #8 review

The SHIELD comic has been mirroring the tv show to an extent, with greater or lesser success. Some of the issues have been great. Last month’s and this month’s, in my humble opinion, didn’t work as well. Trying to combine the tv and comic continuity is difficult, and sometimes nearly impossible. In this issue, Phil Coulson sends Melinda May and Mockingbird out after someone who is doing some horrific surgeries.

Black Widow #20 review

Like all the rest of the regular Marvel titles, Black Widow is ending as the Secret Wars/Battleworld stuff happens. One of the themes in this book, which to me is reminiscent of the Widow/Loki scene in the Avengers movie, is Widow trying to “balance her ledgers.” This story goes back and forth between one of Widow’s early missions for the Russians in Cuba, and her desperately trying to save people as the world ends in the present.

Ant-Man movie review

If you’re a comic book fan, which I am, one of the questions you may have had with the cinematic success of the various Avengers films is, “Where’s Hank Pym?” In the comics, he was a founding member of the team. Not only has he been ignored up to now, some of his story has been given to other characters. For example, in the comics, Pym created the robotic menace Ultron. Now, as I said in my review of Avengers: Age of Ultron, that change actually made a lot of sense, but still, no love for a founding Avenger? Two, actually, as the Wasp was not only another founder, but she named the team.

Squadron Sinister #1

The Squadron Supreme has had a long and weird history in Marvel Comics. They are fairly obviously analogues to DC’s famed Justice League, and have had several different incarnations now. In fact, in this issue, the new version fights the one from the “Max” line a few years ago. This evil version, the Squadron Sinister, which has also shown up in various versions in the past, reminds me a lot of DC’s Crime Syndicate, the evil reflections of the Justice League.