Reviews for Angel & Faith #7, Astonishing X-Men #47, Invincible #89 and more!

It was a fifth week this past comic book Wednesday.  Not much was released between the big publishers. Was a decent week overall.  Let's get started.

Dark Horse Comics

Angel & Faith #7:  This series has been rather strong since #1, and it looks to be getting even stronger. #7 is easily the best issue to date.

Christos Gage tones down the action this month focusing more on the characters.  And as a long time viewer of the show, what Gage does with Angel is a great.  It makes him rethink everything that has come before in his "helping the helpless."  It's a hard thing to write, as you can't make him seem like an asshole, but actually questioning who he is.  Gage does the latter, while also tying the entire thing in with the daddy issues theme of the arc.  Gage then shows off, including Connor in the comic without it bogging down the issue or having to explain much.  Faith's dad part takes a slightly normal angle, with the ending slightly predictable.  It's still an interesting read, making me that much more excited for #8 next month.  Having Faith talk to Angel shows how great these characters are together.  

Rebekah Isaacs as well pencils her best issue of the series.  Her characters portray so much emotion on every panel, without ever looking like something other than their actor counterparts.  As stated before, it's a toned down issue, so showing break neck action scenes is replaced by talking head scenes.  They still look great, and this gives her more time to give the backgrounds attention to detail.

Angel & Faith #7 gets 4.5/5.

Marvel Comics

Astonishing X-Men #47:  Greg Pak ends his all to brief run with a great issue.

One of the problems I have with alternate reality stories is that the usually "don't count."  Not that they can't be fun, but they could never have happened and they wouldn't affect the overall story of these characters.  Pak throws this rule out the window though, and gives Cyclops a great issue.  It's full of great moments that make Cyclops reevaluate his current friendships.  While we might never see him talk these thoughts out in other books, it's still fun to read.  The final scene was a tad cheesy, but it hit all the emotional points it was trying to hit.  The scene with Storm and Emma Frost talking to their parallel universe counterparts gave me a chuckle.  

Mike McKone has always been a good superhero artist.  And while having Cyclops be without shirt the entire issue is a little weird, his work is still good.  The action scenes flow well, and his characters are expressive.  There are a few panels where the sound effects get in the way of enjoying the art, but those are few and far between.  I look forward to his work on Uncanny X-Force after reading this arc.  

Astonishing X-Men #47 gets 4/5.

Image Comics

Invincible #89:  When I started reading comics and looked at Image comics, The Walking Dead and Invincible were the two big series I heard of. With the cover saying it was a good jumping on point, I made the dive.

Robert Kirkman treats this as best he can as a jumping on point, but it still doesn't work that great as one.  There are a lot of character names thrown around and little to zero explanation of how they interact with each other.  It can't be an easy task considering there are about 15 trades worth of history to put away for an issue or two.  But the script is still very interesting, and the new person under the Invincible costume is given enough time to shine.  The characters are interesting enough that will bring me back next month, and maybe check out the trades.  Might need to too completely understand who these people are.  I find it ironic that Kirkman always says DC and Marvel need to do more than superhero books, when this book seems more superhero than any of those books.

I'm not familiar with Ryan Ottley's pencils, but from the little I have seen, I have liked.  Characters are very expressive, and the aliens all look great.  He pencils quiet scenes to scenes filled with tons of unique creatures without ever missing a beat.  The quick violence panel was beyond bloody and made me pull the comic back a little.  I have read great things about how his action scenes look, but sadly didn't get any of those in #89.  Maybe we will next month.  

Invincible #48 gets 4/5.

DC Comics

Justice League #6:  The first arc of DC's flagship book ends, and the issue is like the rest of the series.  Safe, but still entertaining.

Geoff Johns gives a different twist to this issue, having a father, who is a writer, write about what is going on.  The rest of the issue is a big fight between the Justice League and Darkseid, and Batman finding Superman.  It all plays out in predictable fashion, but it's still fun to read.  Wonder Woman is still strangely silent throughout most the issue.  The rest of the cast get some good character moments, especially during the ending.  The ending is a tad cheesy, but it gives the Flash one of his best lines in a while.  Having the Justice League beat Darkseid on their first outing was good choke, even if veteran readers know that Darkseid doesn't go down that easy.

Jim Lee pulls out all the stops for the end of the arc.  The book is filled with numerous splash pages that let Lee show off a little bit.  The fight with Darkseid is amazing on every level.  It's easy to get lost in these pages, looking at the attention to detail that Lee gives in every scene.  Every character looks the same, but that's a small gripe in otherwise great looking issue.

The backup story hints at a few things that are to come in the series.  With DC trying to get rid of all ties to the old continuity, I'm surprised that they bring in a tie to the old one.  It seems counterproductive.  We'll see how things go in the future, but this might end up back firing.

Justice League #6 gets 3.5/5.

Marvel Comics

Moon Knight #10:  I have said it and I will say it again, it's very sad that Moon Knight is going to be cancelled.  It's easily the beset Moon Knight series in recent memory, or maybe ever.

Brian Michael Bendis doesn't dwell much on the death Echo, focusing more on Spector's fallout and subsequent coma.  It's all great stuff, referencing a bunch of old Moon Knight characters.  As Bendis has always done, he writes the police procedural scenes well, even though it doesn't stay around for long.  The scenes with Spector wallowing in guilt work well, showcasing why this series is fantastic.  Bendis treats #10 as the calm before the storm, leaving Moon Knight alone against the big villain Nefaria.  The addition of Madam Masque is a great twist, and I didn't even know that Nefaria was related to Masque.  It's going to be a great final two issues.

Alex Maleev continues his great run on Moon Knight.  The final page looks rather rushed, but the rest of the issue is great stuff.  The scenes with Spector wallowing in quilt look great.  The remorse just oozes from each panel.  The entire issue has a veil of heartbreak and being pushed back again the wall for some reason.  These two are some of the best coworkers in the business.  As much as I'm going to miss this series, I'm glad to see that Scarlet is going to come back.

Moon Knight #10 gets 4/5.

IDW Publishing

Star Trek Ongoing #6:  While I always need more of J. J. Abrams' Star Trek universe, this is sadly not it.

Mike Johnson has done a decent job creating Star Trek worthy stories, but one of the reasons that the movie was so awesome was the characters.  This series has lacked that in spades.  Kirk, Spock, Bones, and Scotty have had all the face time, and the rest of the characters are sadly absent.  Focusing on only a few characters is a good choice, but they are all cardboard cutouts of their movie counterparts.  There is nothing special about these characters.  There isn't a reason to have this series besides trying keep people interested in the franchise until Star Trek 2.  #6 wraps up the mini arc in an ok way.  Everything ends in a way that the movie could start tomorrow and nothing would be affected.  Die hard fans will enjoy having more Star Trek stuff to read, but other fans (like myself) aren't going to be entertained much by this series, or really this book.

Joe Corroney's art is serviceable, if nothing special.  Talking head scenes are good, but the action scenes look stiff and action figure like.  The characters look like their actor counterparts, but not all the time.  A few times, Bones looked exactly like Scotty.  The only way I could tell the difference was that Bones was wearing a blue shirt.  The art could be a lot worse, but it also could be a lot better.

Star Trek Ongoing #6 gets 2.5/5.

Marvel Comics

Ultimate Comics Ultimates #7:  It seems like the Ultimates might have something to combat the Future Foundation.

Jonathan Hickman has been writing the hell out of this book.  He continually introduces new characters to the universe in interesting ways that will surprise the most veteran of readers.  The conversations between characters are interesting and make a slower issue like this one still a great read.  The only problem that I had, and it's becoming more of a nagging issue with the series is that the FF are becoming an unbeatable villain.  And while the eventual downfall will be that much greater, for now they are just boring.  They keep inventing new stuff that combats anything.  And seven issues into their arc, it's getting old.  Maybe it's the monthly format that makes them seem this way, and when I read all the issues back to back I won't have this problem, but for now I do.

Esad Ribic continues to be a force to be feared.  His pencils are hyper detailed, making every panel a sight to behold.  Xorn and Zorn look fantastic, with Ribic making a flaming skull look expressive.  Why wasn't he the artist on the new volume of Ghost Rider?  The final few pages are especially pretty.

Ultimate Comics Ultimates #7 gets 3.5/5.

Marvel Comics

Venom #13.4:  As you might suspect, the issue that bring Rick Remender back to Venom is the best issue so far in the mini event.

Remender has every come to ahead in this issue.  There is a surprising amount of talking in this issue, but Remender never makes it seem boring.  Alejandra seems a little grim, especially when the rest of the cast is optimistic.  It's a small bone to pick in an otherwise perfectly written comic.  Remender doesn't lose sight of the fact that this event is a tad out there, so the tone is naturally a little light.  I never saw the end coming, even after I realized I should have seen it coming.  Remender has a great hold on making the event seem crossover event size while still focusing on the characters.  Marvel, keep an eye on this guy for the next crossover.

Lan Medina's pencils work wonders with a demon setting.  The attention to detail in the characters is great, with Venom reverting to his old look later in the book.  Sadly some of the detail is lost in the backgrounds, but again, a small bone to pick.  The final page looks fantastic and makes me very excited for #14 next week.  Dr. Strange's and Damion Hellstorms' magic effects have a great look to them as well.

Venom #13.4 gets 4.5/5.

Old Comics

Uncanny X-Force #22 gets 4/5.