50
Spider-Man 2099
Peter David & Will Sliney
I didn’t hate it, but that’s about all I can say very strongly. I do like Spider-Man and I think this version might go a more serious route, so I’m willing to give it a chance. For the moment, the prospect of a dark Spider-Man and the awesome covers have me interested….for the moment. – SS
Groaning at the first few pages isn’t usually good. I kind of thought the whole fun of Spider-Man 2099 was seeing the Marvel world in the future so without that concept, I am out. – BC
First collection: Spider-Man 2099, Vol. 1: Smack to Future (April)
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49
Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur
Amy Reeder & Brandon Montclare
It’s pretty hip in the comic world to resurrect lesser-known Kirby works, but after reading this, I feel like it’s lesser known for a reason. A story with a super genius and a dinosaur pet as main characters initially seems awesome, but I’m not as excited to read further as I am interested to know what the heck is going on. I believe it’s good to not answer all questions right away, but this book could have done a bit more to flesh out the background. And the art is pretty average, not at all Kirby-chic. – RF
First collection: Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur, Vol. 1: BFF (July)
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48
Starbrand & Nightmask
Greg Weisman & Domo Stanton
This book started a bit rough, but once they got to college I began to enjoy it. The art is serviceable and I liked the cameo from Squirrel Girl, but this book also feels a bit pointless. Who are these characters? They don’t have too much personality, but I like the conflict at their core. This one isn’t a must read or anything, but I will stick with it for now. – IP
Everything about this book screamed one-and-done to me: lousy New Universe characters refreshed for copyright; garbage art; YA-targeted demographic. Buut… it wasn’t half-bad. And I appreciate the creative team making a concerted effort of separating this duo from the Avengers storyline that first made them relevant a few years ago. – MMDG
Only collection: Starbrand & Nightmask: Eternity’s Children (July)
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47
New Avengers
Al Ewing & Gerardo Sandoval
This book felt like it was trying way too hard to cool. I kinda liked the characters and I really like the bad guy (1000-year-old Evil Reed Richards?!) and his crazy crystal head plan. Still, I get the feeling that this was written for jr. high kids. Everyone can fly, everyone can go invis… bleh. Superhero power inflation is real, and it’s worse when it comes in packs. – SS
New Avengers has always seemed like a pointless concept, and this book tries hard to argue the opposite. I’m not sure I’m convinced, but I enjoyed this enough to keep reading. The lineup is good, in a sort of Nextwave Agents of H.A.T.E. kind of way, so I’m all aboard for that. What I’m apprehensive about is the story, and the Avengers themselves. In a Marvel Universe full of teams there needs to be a distinguishing factor to separate them. The X-Men have their oppression; the Inhumans have their secrecy; the current Squadron Supreme is a good example of how to justify the existence of a team. I’m not sure I was feeling that here. But not a bad book, so I will keep going with it. – IP
First collection: New Avengers: A.I.M., Vol. 1: Everything Is New (May)
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46
Spidey
Robbie Thompson & Nick Bradshaw
Read this a billion times before but not with Nick Bradshaw art. Will read just to see him draw more Spidey villains. – BC
Sigh. Haven’t I read all this before? They even throw in the classic holding-up-the-cave-in bit. Oh but now his photos are getting hashtagged and Oscorp makes tablets. I’m clearly not the target audience. Might have been fun if they were new stories set in Parker’s past, but I’m not reading any more of this. – MMDG
First collection: Spidey, Vol. 1: First Day (August)
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45
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl
Ryan North & Erica Henderson
This cover makes me want to punch my own face. Sometimes I wonder what a superhero sitcom would be like, assuming it to be awesome, but this book gives me doubts. The lack of a clear plot arc makes me think this is just a meandering title. I like what it’s trying to do, but I don’t think it’s aimed at my demographic. – RF
Still my jam! Give me a killer robot that wants to learn to code. Also the weird trend of making everyone not a mutant continues. – BC
First collection: Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 3: Squirrel Really Got Me Now (May)
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44
Astonishing Ant-Man
Nick Spencer & Ramon Rosanas
Now that the Marvel films seem to be informing the characters and story developments of the comics, and not the other way around, we get shit like this. It’s like one of those licensed property comics from the 80’s. Further Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai or something. I audibly said “nope” when I reached the caption on the final splash page: You Want To See What Happens Next? – MMDG
More like Ant-BLAND, amirite? – SS
First collection: Astonishing Ant-Man, Vol. 1: Everybody Loves Teamups (May)
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43
Nova
Sean Ryan & Cory Smith
Wow, i really really liked this comic. Loved the sense of “everything is TOO quiet and going TOO well” vibe and that soon something is going to go wrong. By the last page of the comic the WRONG does happen and it pays off big. I like how you can read this comic and not know a thing about the Marvel universe; this story takes place, it seems, within its own wonderfully written universe. I’ll be back for the next issue. – 3D
Wasn’t sold on the father/son story, but it looks like it could be a fun arc. I’ve got no history with Nova, and because of the whole young-hero angle, I’m going to say this is standard young adult reader fare, like Spider-Gwen, and I probably don’t need to keep up with it. – RF
First collection: Nova, Vol. 1: Burn Out (June)
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42
Silk
Robbie Thompson & Stacey Lee
Stacey Lee, your art is so damn good. Where have you been? Took me a second to realize that this takes place in the 616, but it was okay. Nothing special, but I may end up reading just to look at the art. – BC
This series hooked me early, even though triple-crosses are somewhat played out. I really liked the art, and once again any Spider story worth its salt keeps the main character grounded, which this one does. I am unsure of which universe this takes place in, but I don’t really care. Will definitely keep reading. – IP
First collection: Silk, Vol. 1: Sinister (May)
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41
Web Warriors
Michael Costa & Julian Totino Tedesco
Surprisingly fun. The multiple Spider-Man thing plays better for me here than in Amazing. Even though it’s gimmicky, I will read a Web Warriors arc where they go to different worlds populated by groups of the same Spider-Man villain. Symbioteverse would be so cool! The opening gag is great, and Spider-Ham is just a sight to behold. You know that’s a Disney-Marvel thing. – RF
The Spider-Man masturbating gag was amazing, but this series is kind of tiresome. I will probably keep with it because of the humor and art, but really this is just a gag book. – IP
First collection: Web Warriors of the Spider-Verse Vol. 1: Electroverse (May)
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The Institute of Idle Time 