East of West 1 = ★★★★✩

Not a fan of alternate future post-apocalyptic stories, this was hard work for me - but it turned out to be a pretty interesting start. Cowboys, science fiction tech, the four horseman of the apocalypse - it's a crash of ideas which, I'm sure, will be woven together into a pretty engaging longer-term narrative. I like the character designs of the two (presumably) demi-gods who accompany Abaddon (Death). There's a great bar fight sequence which is comically shown from the horrified face of the bartender. It's not as enthralling as Saga but I'll stay with this for a few issues to see how it goes.

Aquaman 18 = ★★★★✩

Arthur is hunting down Atlantean technology used by surface dwellers. Meanwhile a crazy-looking old guy, who refers to himself as the King of the Sea, does some ice damage and encounters Mera. Better than the recent JL crossover.

Batman Inc 9 = ★★★★✩

The fall-out from Damian's death is better handled here than the other bat books. We get to see what happened directly after the killing and how the family respond. I liked this issue a lot - much more, in fact, than I have at any point in the run. That Batman and his Inc are now illegal and have to go underground is a much-needed move. The pacing of this issue was perfect and I had more of a sense of Bruce's agony here than in the regular Batman title.

FF 5 = ★★★★✩

This is so odd that I love it. The minute the Allreds are off - it'll lose its charm. Essentially, this is a weird soap opera. There's some continuity stuff going on from the Hickman run on FF - but it really doesn't matter.

Guardians of the Galaxy 1 = ★★★★✩

It does the job of a first issue pretty well. The problem is set up (Earth's made a target), the characters are identified ("it's the most dangerous tree in the universe") and there's a lot of action. Undoubtedly this is pitched at the audience for the GotG movie next year when this'll be in trade. Incorporating Iron Man in the team is a clever move: it grounds the team with a known superhero (and I wonder if Robert Downey Jr will be in the film, too). McNiven does fine work as artist - even though I think the costumes stink.

The Superior Spider-man 6AU = ★★★✩✩

At first I disliked this tie-in with Age of Ultron. Not written by Dan Slott, the voice of "Superior" Peter Parker was off - it wasn't the Ock that is Spider-man in the regular title. By the end, once I'd ignored the voice, I did warm to the story. Spidey, Tony Stark and Quicksilver plan to use Negative Zone tech to defeat Ultron. Instead, Ock-Peter decides to try controlling Ultron with his own technology and fails. The one opportunity they had is lost and Ock-Peter realises the value of the Avengers as a team. It's not a necessary read for AU and is really more-of-the-same in terms of Ock-Peter developing insight and respect about Peter Parker.

Young Avengers 3 = ★★★★✩

I didn't read issue 2 so I'm a little lost precisely about what's going on. McKelvie  and Norton are the attractions here. Like FF, it's a teen soap with superheroes that ends in a nightclub.

Age of Ultron 3 = ★★★✩✩

This is already dragging. We're already a third of the way through and nothing much has really happened. I'm becoming aware of panel after panel of characters just standing around talking to each other - a criticism that's often leveled at Bendis. The reveal at the end is decent enough and Bryan Hitch's art is great. It does seem like a "What If?"-type comic: the characters look very different than they do in other titles and the plot appears completely out of sync with the rest of the Marvel Universe. It has to pick up the pace or I'll be dropping after the next issue. I actually wonder if this is written for a popcorn-chomping mass (movie-) Avengers audience who will look as the great visuals, see versions of the movie characters and not be fussed about things like a decent narrative.

Flash 18 = ★★★✩✩

The Manapaul-esque artwork and storyline continues (the artist is Marcio Takara who does a fine job). Flash attempts to help out the Trickster, who he thinks is being framed. A couple of characters who were sucked into the speed force now have powers similar to Barry Allen's. I'm not sure what the purpose of giving Trickster a mechanical arm. Dislike having to pick up Dial H for Hero to read the next part of the story.

Justice League Dark 18 = ★★✩✩✩

Thank goodness that this arc is over. JLD isn't dark at all. It did start out with a lot of promise - but my good will for this title has almost run out. It reminds me of Demon Knights: both are potentially great off-beat team books but seem bland in comparison with books like Uncanny Avengers from Marvel. Swamp Thing in next issue. If it's no better then I'm going to drop it.

Uncanny Avengers 5 = ★★★★★

Thought this was great. It reminded me of a 80s Avengers issue: mysterious opening, classic villains, team meeting, public showoff of new members, battle. Plus it has that quirky Remender oddness that worked so well in the X-Force run. Coipel on art is a perfect stand-in for Cassaday. Remender seems to be able to present character moments within a pretty dramatic narrative. Unlike AU, there's  a brisk pace - almost too brisk.


SCORING 
✩✩✩✩✩ = Awful.
★✩✩✩✩ = Poor.
★★✩✩✩ = Average.
★★★✩✩ = Good.
★★★★✩ = Very good.
★★★★★ = Excellent.