DID YOU KNOW: Apartment hunting in New York City is THE PITS FPNYC Faithful.
My personal problems aside, it was a really good week for comics! Shall I give you the details of the goodness? I think I shall!
Uncanny X-men #16
Brian Michael Bendis/ Chris Bachalo. Tim Townsend and others
Marvel, $3.99, 20 pages
Several weeks ago, Marvel announced Magneto would be getting his own on-going series in 2014, which means that first volume will be out in time for Days of Future Past. Snark aside, Cullen Bunn was named as the head writer of said series, meaning Brian Michael Bendis and friends would have to write Erik out of Uncanny somehow.
This is the exit issue, and DAMN, it’s a impressive goodbye. An excellent done in one, we get to see Magneto unleashed, lashing his frustrations out on Madipoor, as Bendis resolves a few plot lines while setting up Magneto’s new series. It’s a lot to juggle, but Bendis manages to balance all of the plot lines and the result is arguably the most bad ass Magneto seen in some time. This is the bar scene from X-Men First Class spread across 20 pages, and the results are glorious.
Uncanny is at it’s best when Chris Bachalo is drawing and coloring it, and this issue is no different, if not the best. Bachalo does some really neat things with the classic Magneto wave, even if Mags is look more Walter White than Jack Kirby these days. And his choice for setting scenes with certain colors that dominant each one is a good look. It’s another great issue for this creative team, who seem flawless with these last few stories.
Daredevil #35
Mark Waid/Chris Samnee/Javier Rodriguez
Marvel, $2.99, 20 pages
Speaking of flawless, Chris Samnee returns to Daredevil this month, and he’s brought Elektra with him. Elektra is a character I’ve never really cared for when Frank Miller isn’t around, but Samnee draws her with a certain energy and composure that’s so good, it’s hard to not like her. Samnee’s skill doesn’t stop at her though, as there’s an extraordinary display of how Daredevil’s powers work that I’ve attached to show how powerful of a storyteller Samnee is. And with Javier Rodriguez back on colors, this book remains as beautiful as ever.
And with this being the next to last issue of Daredevil volume 3, Mark Waid goes all out with twists, raising the stakes more than ever. There’s also a HUGE shout out to Brian Bendis/Alex Makeev‘s legendary run, that leads to one hell of a cliffhanger. It sets the stage nicely for the upcoming volume 4, which promises a number of changes for Daredevil, all while proving how good this creative team is together.
All New X-men #21
Brian Michael Bendis/Brandon Peterson/Brent Anderson/Israel Silva
Marvel, $3.99, 20 pages
Here’s some irony for you. Last issue I slammed ANX for throwing in a guest artist who’s style really didn’t mesh the lead artist on this issue. Here this happens again, and this time it’s wonderful.
In my defense, and with no disrespect to said artist, it’s Brent Anderson this time around, adding another chapter to the legendary X-story “God loves, Man kills.” that ties directly to the story Bendis is telling. It’s a neat flashblack, and having Anderson draw it only makes it cooler to long term X-men fans.
Brandon Peterson handles the rest of the book, and it looks great. A tad dark, but it takes place in one of those secret remote evil bases so that makes sense. He works well with the action heavy script, and overall did a good job filling in for Stuart Immonen.
All New was nothing special this month, but it’s still a solid comic. The current arc’s purpose was to introduce X-23 onto the team and it did just that, nothing more, nothing less. It was a fun little arc, and….it’s back to crossovers next week. Whelp.
