SPIDER-MAN
Amazing - Lately, it's kinda just been unreal. I mean it's become very far removed from old-school spidey. I'm not saying that's bad, just that it seems by now that JMS is just going for change for the sake of change. I wish they would bring on a good solid writer, one of two different ways. Option A: Give it to an all-star, super name, big hitter like Loeb or someone else that has an interest in the charecter and can bring some freshness to the book. I want some talent that can keep things new, but not stray as far out as constantly as JMS does. Option B: Give it to a guy that is a big fan favorite that needs the kind of exposure that ASM gives. Of course I'm talking Slott here. Give him the title. Make hi play it a little more stright up that Spider-man/Human Torch and She-Hulk, but not anywhere near as straight up as his Arkham stuff. This guy can write. When was the last time you heard people complaining that Slott has no continuity, or is boring, or relies on one or two tricks in his bag of writing skills? Give him a title that will sell no matter what, and then let people fall in love with his stories like we all know they will. Also, for art, in my book, it's gotta be JRJR. Deodato was nice, but not best suited for Spidey. JRJR is amazing and can draw anything.
Friendly Neighborhood - I like that this is the title where I can expect normal Spider-man fun despite whatever else is going on. Peter David isn't what he used to be, that much I have come to suspect. He's still a damn fine writer though, and he writes Pete like I've come to know him. I can't quite understand why he pulled that BS Flash move with him forgetting that he and Pete were best of pals, but I'm certainly willing to see where he can take it.
Sensational - I like Aguirre-Sasaca, no matter whether or not I know how to spell his name. Plain and simple, this guy has had the tough luck of being put on hard books. He gets Nightcrawler right off the bat, which is a hard pitch to a jaded market that is tired of X-Spin-Offs. Still, he delivered what I felt to be a faithful portrayal of the charecter, create a decent support charecter, and managed to introduce a cool background story into his past that didn't stink of retcon. After Nightcrawler's inevitable cancellation, he gets put on the already dying Marvel Knights: 4, the little MK book that couldn't. He manages to keep that title going for a nice little while, and even gets to continue his mystical story in a way that didn't feel overly forced. I enjoyed it, along with the rest of his run. Now, he's on a book that will NOT be cancelled anytime soon, and I think he's going to really get a chance to play around with his ideas more.
Ultimate - Bottom line here is that Bendis did great out of the gate, but has been spinning his wheels ever since Hollywood. His gang war arc was pretty good, but it was also his forte, crime comics. I can still enjoy it, but I think it's kinda funny how this book is following 616 spidey's career. Started off as a fun loving guy, then he gets tangled up in the kingpin stuff, alot like the earlier ASM issues (before 100 and such). Has a big run in with the Goblin that kind of changes the tone of the book. Next, he gets mixed up in Symbiote business for a while, then he goes to meeting Silver Sable and a bunch of new charewcters like Spidey introduced in the later 80s. Now that we are appraoching the early 90s analogue to the book timeline he gets mixed up with the X-men big time, much like the entire Marvel U did in 616. Now he's dating an X-(wo)man and fighting X-Villians and such (Genosha, Omega Red, Deadpool). Lo and behold, what will save us from early 90s X-fever? THE CLONE SAGA of course! I'm hopeful, but lets wait and see how it turns out.
X-Men
Astonishing - Doing everything well, except tying in with the larger universe. I like Astonishing, don't get me wrong, but the original premise was that they were going to be Super Heroes again. They've been fighting at the mansion now for two arcs, no wonder the MU isn't stopping in for a visit. Thing is though, it's still entertaining, and that's what matters in the end.
Uncanny X-Men - Ugh... Claremont is that guy you knew in High School that was always head of the pack. Quaterback, Prom king, most popular, whatever. And X-men was that Girl that he always had on his arm, and in the beginning, when they were young and fresh, hot damn did they look great together. Now it's 20 years later, and you're at the reunion, and it turns out that Chris isn't exactly doing so hot. He's let himself go, gotten lazier, and he keeps trying to tell stories from his glory days. That girl of his? oh yeah, she's still around, but now she's not quite the petite simple franchise she once was. Chris kept her spitting out the spin-offs till there were too many to count. She's only recognizable by that big X-Emblem she wears on that "Hi My Name Is" sticker. She's been dragged down with him, but you feel bad cause you know she could be so much more. Lucky for her, that quiet, smart, cute guy Joss that always had a thing for her still does, and he wants to make good on it. He's got his competition though, cause that Ed Brubaker guy is kinda honing in too, and he's gunning for the prize as well.
X-Men - This book is not for Milligan. I'm not really sure what bok is, but it's not this. Things just don't seem to be getting better either with Bachalo on the horizan either.
Ultimate - Kirkman's doing ok. I think we all loved the magic that was BKV, but Kirkman is a good replacement. The biggest trouble is that it's not an easy, or really smart thing to do to bring in a new charecter to Ultimate that wasn't in 616. I don;t know why he's hell bent on doing it, but he is, and it's hurting him. The art leaves some to be desired too.
Wolverine - I like Ramos, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. It's a weird style that I didn't care for at first, and I'll admit that Wolverine isn't the charecter I think of when I hear his name, but I can definately deal with it. I guess the Tie-in is definatly appropriate, but I'm not sure its easy to tell how good the book will be afterewards. I'm not familar with the writer so I couldn't tell you if he'll be able to come up with decent stories for after the CW tie-in arc. Time will tell.
Wolverine: Origins - To be honest, it feels disjointed, and not what I'd expected. We havn't learned anything about Logan thats really new in this book, and I'm not a fan of Wolverine having pupils while in costume. It's one art thing that bugs me. It just doesn't look right to me. Not to mention that while he's a good artist, Dillion's faces are all identical.
