Animal Man 18 = ★★★★✩
Like Swamp Thing, this issue ends the Rotworld crossover and returns Buddy Baker to his family. It's a tearjerker, though - because of Robin's death over in Batman Inc. - not as impactful as it could be. Also, there's an odd moment where the rot-creatures are healed to reveal men in suits who talk about an Ascension Chamber and something called Taproot. A mystery.
All-new X-Men 8 = ★★★★✩
Both Angels up against Hydra. The Avengers turn up and want to know what's happening and Jean Grey does something... well, not good at all. I'm not sure how the hell this is all going to be resolved - but it's thoroughly engaging. Marquez draws the hell out of this & it stays just on the right side of cartoony. Not sure what I think of Jean Grey's hair at the end though.
Age of Ultron 1 = ★★★★★
A foil cover with Ultron jumping at the reader from the defeated bodies of the Avengers. I know it's incredibly sad - but I love these Marvel "event" comics. AU is epic. Brian Hitch brings wide-screen Ultimates-level visuals to Bendis' apocalyptic plot. The story starts right in the middle of the action after Ultron has taken over New York and the Avengers have gone into hiding. Spider-man is drugged and held hostage by a couple of minor villains and no one has a plan to fight back. The final page emphasises the tone of this comic. (And you thought that AvX was a real downer!)

Avengers 7 = ★★★★★
Hickman has jacked up this title after the very strange first few issues. Like AU, it's an epic story. Without spoiling anything - we're seeing the return of elements of New Universal (should have seen that coming when the Whiteout Event was dropped at the end of the last issue). Got to say that Dustin Weaver draws this issue amazingly. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this. Some great misdirection before the big reveal plus it's the first time I thought movie-Cap actually looked cool.

Green Lantern 18 = ★★★★✩
New Green Lantern, Baz, is trapped in a dead zone with Hal, Sinestro and a host of other dead Lanterns. While I've been reading GL for ages, I haven't followed what's actually happening in the Wrath of the First Lantern arc - but now understand who Volthoom is and what's going on. This issue looks great: the bleak black panels filled with ghostly characters. Final panel is such a tease...
Before Watchmen: Rorschach 4 = ★★✩✩✩
My least favourite of the Before Watchmen mini-series. Rorschach seemed to spend a lot of time being beaten up. The bad guys don't even get busted by Rorschach: one gets killed by a mob and the other by a passing tiger (no, I don't get it either). I know this was supposed to be an early Rorschach adventure...
Swamp Thing 18 = ★★★★✩
Fitting end to the Rotworld saga (and, I believe, Scott Snyder's run on the comic). It all ends bittersweetly. Like the design of the decay avatar.
Hypernaturals 9 = ★★★★✩
This is another comic I absolutely love. It's everything I'd want in an issue of Legion of Super-heroes. Got to say that I thought the first six pages by Andres Guinaldo were my favourite and I'd certainly like to see him doing more of the art. By the end of this issue the Hypernaturals team are reunited and it certainly looks like the closing stages of this story arc has begun.
Superior Spider-man 5 = ★★★✩✩
While all the attention is on the Avengers and X-men, big things are happening in Spidey's world. Doc Ock is still inhabiting Peter Parker's mind and doing a pretty good job of it, too. He does cross a line in this issue (which is largely spoilt by the cover). I have to say that Guiseppe Camuncoli's drawing continues to be brilliant (especially when he draws Spidey in action). I guess that I didn't enjoy the story as much as I usually enjoy Dan Slott's writing - but it's still a comic well worth picking up.




SCORING

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