1. Nightcrawler #012 is the last of the issues in this ongoing series. I have mixed feelings about this title ending. On the one hand, I love Nightcrawler as a character but on the other hand, this comic run relied too heavily on pirates from Hell as the villains and it got a bit cumbersome reading the same plot month after month.
This book dealt with the final confrontation between Volge the pirate and War Dogs against Bloody Bess and Nightcrawler and his students at the school.
On the whole this book was decent. However, there were moments when the dialogue felt a bit schmaltzy. That can happen when kids are characters in the books.
I liked that the kids played a role in the action of the story but even more that they wanted to play a role in the story.
The book did an alright job in tieing up the plots.
The art in the book was a bit inconsistent. There were moments where it was excellent but it also seemed that there were moments where the art seemed both over and underdone. Grade: B
2. Uncanny X-men #032 follows what started out as a great story but ended up being very disappointing. In the Last Will and Testament of Charles Xavier we learned that Charles had muted a mutant’s powers because they could have caused an extinction level event. Charles left a hologram projected will where he stated he needed the x-team to make certain those powers were still muted. It turns out that the Mutant in question found out what Xavier had done and killed a couple X-men. Before we could find out what was left to whom in Xavier’s will, kitty Pryde travels into the past and brings back the young Charles Xavier and everything that happened to that point was undone.
When the Will is eventually read, we find out the school was left to Scott. Cyclops, racked with guilt decides to leave the school
This issue of the series covers the repercussions for making that decision. His students are pissed. Emma Frost is pissed. The only person that is in Cyclops’ corner is his brother, Havok.
I think this book did a pretty good job asking one fundamental question. What was Cyclops fighting for and if he walks away from it what does that mean? It is clear that Cyclops doesn’t know. I thought this was a pretty good issue. I’m looking forward to what comes next. Grade: B+
3. When I originally saw the cover of Star Wars Darth Vader #003 I was really hoping that Mara Jade was going to become a part of the Marvel Universe. She’s not. Instead we are getting a woman that reactivates battle droids for clients. Because of his falling out with Emperor Palpatine, Vader is having to create his own private army. He hires the woman in the cover to help him with that.
The writing in this book is generally excellent. However, this chapter was kind of lackluster. We get the real impression that Vader is very methodical in his planning but there are moments where he seems too methodical and, as a result, the plot plods along
The artist still has difficulty creating motion in his art. The detail is next to amazing but his inability to create motion can be disappointing. Grade: C+
4. Guardians 3000 #006 starts another time hopping adventure. Unfortately these adventures are over done and so far there is not a lot of changes to make the story completely original. There is a twist that should prove interesting
The GOTG 3000 go back in time 1,000 years and meeting the GOTG 2015 to see how to stop the time continuum is falling apart and how it can be stopped.
A page or two is dedicated to arguments between the teams over their name.
I really dislike it when comic books are willing to spend time arguing over petty things. Grade: B-