Comics: A Catch Up (Part 1)

With me having the time of my life, for the 6th time, at Dragon Con last week I wasn't around to do my usual comic review. A very jet-lagged trip to the store today helped me get the comics I was missing (although I couldn't find New Avengers #9 so that's a problem) but as there are more than usual I'm going to break this review up to make things easier.

- X-Men: Battle of the Atom #1
- Written by Brian Michael Bendis
- Art by Frank Cho with Stuart Immonen and Wade Von Grawbadger

It may be the jet-lag talking but all I want to write about right now is Wade Von Grawbadger's name. Just look at it. Graw-badger. VON Graw-badger. It's a thing of beauty.

Grawbadger is the name of my Robert Smith cover band.

As far as the comic is concerned, it's good stuff. Bendis continues the strides he has made with the All New title, and if I'm honest this doesn't really feel like a big event comic because it just feels like another issue of his All New X-Men series. The extra title seems like a money grab to me.

I know, right? Surprised me too. Superfluous comic title is a cynical move for our money. Who saw that coming?

- All New X-Men #16
- Written by Brian Michael Bendis
- Art by Stuart Immonen

And to further prove my point. TA-DAH!

Reading these back-to-back is cool, they're a good read and the story is interesting and I'm looking forward to reading more. Future X-Men have come to the present to admonish them for letting the past X-Men to hang around in the present as it will adversely affect the future. It's the right amount of ridiculous and stupid to be a great comic story. I'm all for it.

But it doesn't take away from my original point. Maybe I'm just getting jaded. Maybe it's because I'm kinda broke. I don't know. Either way, it has bugged me.

Maybe I need more sleep. I still recommend this comic.

- Infinity #2
- Written by Jonathan Hickman
- Art by Jerome Opeña & Dustin Weaver

And here is the other big event comic that Marvel is pushing right now. It's annoying because the title I missed out on last week was the lead in to this issue so there is a small gap in the story for me but it's not enough of a gap to feel like I can't follow what's going on and/or enjoy it.

Hickman does sci-fi best. That may be a shit sentence grammatically but I feel like it gets the point across. Anyway, this is perfect Hickman territory as he gets an opportunity to wage an intergalactic war and bring Thanos to the forefront of the Marvel universe. Playing with The Infinity Gauntlet is a bonus.

Black Bolt is getting a chance to shine and with another event sure to revolve around him on the horizon (Inhumanity) there is lots of the silent King to look forward to.