Boom! finished in 2nd for the second year in a row, at 21 comics (17.5%), a little down from last year. IDW and Vault are tied for 3rd, with 10 comics apiece, and Lion Forge was next, at 8. Then there's 5 other companies that add up to 12 comics. It's probably the most different companies I've bought from in a given year.
Infinity 8 #10-17: This took us through two of the 8 attempts to explore the space mausoleum, and two-thirds of the way through a third. Martin Trystram drew the "Symbolic Guerrilla" story, where Patty Stardust tries to investigate without blowing her cover as a member of some weird art cult. Lorenzo de Felici drew "Apocalypse Day", where Ann Ninurta got caught in the middle of a zombie problem before she even got into the space graveyard. And Franck Biancarelli's drawing "Ultimate Knowledge", with Leila Sherad enlisted a historian to help her, but they're definitely going to get too involved in exploring something else to go where they're supposed to.High Point - I like the colors Biancarelli uses for Sherad's space gun. The scene when Ann makes it back to her daughter's day care, but it's too late. There isn't a tearful moment where she has to shoot her daughter's zombified remains, just a silent panel where she figures out it's too late. There's a vein of cynicism in Symbolic Guerrillas towards the Captain and the other symbols of authority over the officers that I haven't seen in any of the others. It's sad how it plays out, but it made for an interesting contrast.
Low Point - I feel like the reason the mission is going to be completed in Ultimate Knowledge, is going to feel really contrived when it happens. Could be wrong.
Jungle Comics #1: I think my problem with this was it tried too hard to lampshade some of the questionable stuff about the genre, rather than just tell a good jungle adventure story without those elements. Like it was trying to be an old-school style jungle comic, but also deconstruct them at the same time? Didn't really work either way.
Locke & Key - Dog Days: Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez come back for a one-shot that's split into two stories. One of them is about three boys just hanging out together, except one of them is a little strange. The other is setting things up for a future story, and involves Tyler Locke making a giant key that's able to restore the house that was destroyed. There's really nothing to the second one, other than wondering why the hell anyone would bring that house back after the shit they went through, but the first story is funny.
Magnificent Ms. Marvel #1-8: As soon as Ms. Marvel was canceled, they started her new series, with her new creative team of Saladin Ahmed and Minkyu Jung. They immediately gave Kamala's father a terminal illness, had her mother tell him Kamala's secret, then immediately had that knowledge taken away by a space prince. Gave her a new costume that is definitely not the Kree equivalent to a symbiont. Then she fought some corporate monster that turned his employees into zombies because it wasn't prohibited in their contracts.High Point - Her punching Josh and the little redheaded fascist during the zombie two-parter? Vazquez had some nice creepy panels in that two-parter I liked. Jung seems to have Kamala expanding what she can do shape-changing wise. She's moved into Plastic Man/Reed Richards territory a couple times. I don't know if that's a great thing, but if you want to represent her continuing to grow and improve, it's not a bad idea.
Low Point - Granting that Wilson did absolutely nothing with Kamala's mother knowing her secret, or the fact her father didn't know, giving them that information, then doing the ol' "magic memory erase" stunt, felt kind of stupid. The new costume looks terrible. It has all these unnecessary seams and lines. It looks like something leftover from all Jim Lee's New52 redesigns.
Magnificent Ms. Marvel Annual #1: Marvel did this half-assed "Acts of Evil" thing over the summer. Like Acts of Vengeance, but without any overarching plot or coherence. Just heroes fighting villains they normally don't. In this case Magdalene Visaggio and Jon Lam have Super-Skrull attack Ms. Marvel because he bought some doohickey (off a Kree) that can ramp up her powers, then release them as some sort of field he can use to make Earth into a new Skrull homeworld. but first he's gonna pose as a super-hero for a while. Look man, I don't know.
Mega Ghost #2, 3: I figured Gabe Soria and Gideon Kendall's story about a kid who summons three ghosts and combines them into a giant robot would be up my alley. Seems like a mash-up of enough different stuff I'm sometimes interested in to work. But something didn't click with me. Probably aimed at different audience than me.
Ms. Marvel #37, 38: The last two issues of G. Willow Wilson's run on the book. The first issue, with Nico Leon and Ian Herring on art duties, is a goofy thing and Kamala and Gabe trying to look after their baby nephew when a huge section of the city floods due to lack of infrastructure spending. The final issue is a jam issue written by Wilson, Devin Grayson, Eve Ewing, Jim Zub, and Saladin Ahmed, and drawn by Leon, Takeshi Miyazawa, Joey Vazquez, Kevin Libranda, Minkyu Jung and Juan Vlasco. Kamala and her friend get drawn into some strange video game that simulates the struggles they've been having, but reaffirms their friendship or something. Issue #37 would have been a better choice to end the series with.
Power Pack - Grow Up!: I bought this out of a "what the hell" moment, but it wasn't bad. The story takes place across Alex' birthday, and the first half by Louise Simonson and June Brigman is more typical superhero stuff, with the kids trying to save their talking horse alien friend from the Brood. The second, with Gurihiru taking over art duties, is Katie feeling guilty she didn't get Alex a better present and the solution to that problem. Neither story is revolutionary, but they're solidly entertaining.
Punchline FCBD: I didn't pay money for this, so maybe it shouldn't count, but what the hell. I think it basically explains how one hero, who had been reluctant to give up her powers, gives them to a random helpful teenager she meets in the cemetery, then tries to train her to be an effective hero. It was OK, there were a few mysteries I might have been curious about if I'd started buying the book.
Questions -The Deaths of Vic Sage #1: Jeff Lemire writing, with Denys Cowan, Bill Sienkiewicz, and Chris Sotomayor on art duties. Vic's exposing political corruption, when he finds a ring with a symbol on it that gets him started hunting. Leads him to a corpse that also has no face, and then a drug-aided trip into the past. Meanwhile, Hub City is in the middle of a riot over a cop killing an unarmed man. Priorities, Vic. Second issue is supposed to be out this month, so we'll see where that takes it.
Section Zero #1: Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett described this as "Jack Kirby meets X-Files", so I figured why not. That seems to factor prominently into some of this year's purchases. It's about some secret group that investigate weird stuff, and there might be another, rival group out there. Someone playing both sides, too? The first issue just didn't grab me enough to bring me back for a second issue. None of the characters were interesting enough I had to see what happened to them, or learn more about their backstories.
Sensational Spider-Man - Self-Improvement: This was based off a script idea someone sent to give Spidey a new costume back before he ever got the symbiote. Except, it's not really Self-Improvement when Reed Richards makes it for you, is it? Plus, this was not some of Rick Leonardi's stronger artwork. Definitely needed a heavier inker. Or more time to draw. Whichever.
That's it for Day 3. Tomorrow wraps up the remainder of the series I have to go through. A lot fewer than today. Three mini-series and two ongoings.
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