Thor: God of Thunder #6 – Review

By: Jason Aaron (Writer), Butch Guice, Tom Palmer (Artists), Ive Svorcina (Colorist)

The Story: The tale of Gorr is told, telling us how he got from feeble child to god butcher.

The Review: Transition issues between arcs are tough for readers. Most of the times, they are used for the benefit of the readers or to put several elements in the right place for a further story down the line, yet it does not necessarily amount to a satisfying issue for the readers. A series that can be used as an example would be Earth 2, which begun rather strongly, only for it to falter with less than admirable efforts for three consecutive issues before the next arc could be properly presented. It amounts to them being presentations of some other characters or elements of the setting, as if you had been bombarded by a huge information dump before the next important chapter.

Amazing Spider-Man #557 – Review

By Zeb Wells (writer), Chris Bachalo (pencils, colors), Townsend, Irwin, Faucher, Mendoza, and Vey (inks), Antonio Fabela (colors)

Just when I’ve hit my comfort zone with Chris Bachalo drawing Spider-Man he leaves. It’s just not fair, I tell ya! He and writer, Zeb Wells have arguably constructed the best Brand New Day story arc yet. As much as I’ve enjoyed this series since its reboot, what’s been accomplished in the past three issues doesn’t feel as fragmented as previous arcs. It’s a complete story with a satisfying ending. Yes, the on-going subplots are still going, but this story with Mayan gods and sacrifices was entertaining, fulfilling, and even suspenseful at times.

Wells continues to do a good job with Spidey and his dialog. The climax of the story was unexpected, and actually pretty cool! The way things come full circle at the end will also bring a smile to your face. I dug seeing Carlie in this book, it’s just too bad she was forced to play the damsel in distress. It would have been nice to see her character grow some more. I also could have done without Dr. Rabin’s constant expository dialog which quickly became redundant. But hey, no one’s perfect.

Hats of to Chris Bachalo for his Mayan God design. It’s undecipherable at times, looking like pieces of husk, bone, and straw all tossed onto a skeletal structure, but when we get a pull back on the camera and see this thing for what it is, I gotta say,  it’d make one heck of a cool statue! His art here is probably the best of the three issues. I know I’ve said this before, but the borderless pages, the white panels, and the coloring are exceptional. Great package, all around. (Grade: A-)

– J. Montes