Hunger #1 – Review

Joshua Hale Fialkov (Writer), Leonard Kirk (Artist) Jesus Aburtov (Colorist)

The Story: Rick Jones is warned multiple time that a huge and devastating event will soon happen. Cue Galactus.

The Review: If I have a certain sub-genre of comics I really love in comics, it would be the space-opera/ sci-fi vibe that some stories like Annihilation and Infinity Gauntlet possessed. The big scales, the problems, the conflict and how the players need to resolve some problems that are way beyond their capacities can lead to great stories. However, this genre is not always well-presented in comics, as many tries to mimic it, only to fail without reaching the height of those cosmic stories. Does Hunger, so far, relate to the former or to the latter?

Judging from the first issue, I’d say we have a big chance that it will be the former, as Joshua Hale Fialkov seems able to deliver on some very key front in terms of cosmic stories, the first of which being the scale. As we see the Chitauri–Kree war develop and how the animosity between those two races develop, we also see the Ultimate answer to Galactus, Gah Lak Tus, the Watcher, the infinite depth of space and more, all being led up toward the arrival of Jack Kirby’s creation himself. The pacing and the exploration of all these elements is done rather well, letting the readers escalate throughout the rapid flow of information and exposition. Fialkov let us know that the cosmic background of the Ultimate universe is different, as he shows it aptly throughout the issue.

How he does so, however, is quite befitting, as our protagonist, Rick Jones, is presented quite well too. His balance between cosmically aware, yet his utter humanity and his younger years do help us readers absorb the information, either by humor or by juxtaposing our own questions throughout his voice. However, the character isn’t exactly perfect either, as his utter cluelessness about his predicament do lead us to question why he has such powers, something that isn’t helped at all by the vague explanation provided by the Watcher. A good character he may be, his role as our window toward what is happening is a bit less effective due to a certain repetition of his lack of knowledge.

Age of Ultron #10 – Review

By: Alex Maleev, Bryan Hitch & Paul Neary, Butch Guice, Brandon Peterson, Carlos Pacheco & Roger Benet w/ Tom Palmer, David Marquez, Joe Quesada (Artists), Paul Mounts & Richard Isanove (Color Artists), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

Review: I finished Naughty Dog’s PS3 magnum opus The Last of Us last night. It was terrific. I won’t spoil anything for my fellow gamers out there but suffice it to say that it’s got a pretty unexpected ending, far more ambiguous and open to interpretation than many of the potential finales fans suggested. Crowning the entertaining and tension-fueled hours that led up to that point, the ending managed to tie everything off neatly; it faithfully resolved its protagonists’ journeys and was bold enough to make like there won’t ever be a sequel – like it counted – even though such a thing is inevitable because money. That, my friends, is how it’s done. You do not do it like Age of Ultron #10.

 And why not? Because this issue winds up feeling more like a slap in the face than a fulfilling denouement. Even viewed on its own merits this is a troubled comic.

Age of Ultron #9 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Brandon Peterson (Artist), Carlos Pacheco (Penciler), Roger Bonet (Inker), Paul Mounts, Jose Villarrubia (Color Artists), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: I’ll say this: Wolverine’s lucky that Doc Brown ain’t an Avenger. He’d have a few harsh words for the hairy canuck right about now, least of which would be “Great Scott!” Then again, perhaps it’s for the best. All Marty ever gave back was a “Gee, Doc!” as he gurned a weary frown; Wolverine would probably have gutted him from top to bottom with a “Stick that in your Flux Capacitor!” Either way, the Space-Time Continuum would still be stretched to breaking point…as may be your levels of patience and willing sense of disbelief at this point.

Age of Ultron #8 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Brandon Peterson (Artist), Paul Mounts (Color Artist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

Review: How crazy is Age of Ultron #8? “It’s insane. It’s—it’s a fantasia of insanity,” according to future/alternate Tony Stark. I’d say that’s pretty conservative. R Kelly would call it “crazier than a fish with titties.” Amanda Bynes would just do this. Though as good as those descriptions are, do any of them really do justice to the image of Morgana Le Fey flying into battle backed up an army of Dragon-riding Asgardian Doom-Bots!?!? Nah, not really. This ish is bugnuts.

Avengers Assemble #15 – Review

By: Al Ewing (Writer), Butch Guice (Penciler), Tom Palmer with Rick Magyar (Inkers), Frank D’Armata (Colorist), VC’s Clayton Cowles (Letterer)

Review: Jesus, is Age of Ultron still going on? Feels weird to think so sometimes…and I’ve been reviewing each and every issue. The thing is, it lacks a sense of importance; and some of that can be put down to the lack of tie-ins. Sure, there are many justifiable grievances held against Marvel’s usual approach to tie-in culture (gumming up the flow of our favourite series mid-run etc.) but one thing’s for sure: in the case of Secret Invasion, Siege et al, you at least felt like the events of those books were dramatically affecting the breadth of shared continuity. Not so much with AoU and the feint corona of books that illuminate it.

Red She-Hulk #65 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (Writer), Carlo Pagulayan, Ray-Anthony Height, Wellington Alves (Artists), Val Staples (Colorist)

The Story: Betty and Aaron have to fight several villains on Mount Rushmore in order to access another part of the great machine.

The Review: I think this title has an unfortunate curse, one that makes it unable to be consistent in terms of quality, despite the best effort of the team working on it. Either they balance their action and development well-enough to give us a rewarding read, or something gets in the way of our enjoyment.

Here, what seems to be causing a bit of disappointment would be the setting of a routine of some sort in the book. Sure, Jeff Parker bring some good and original ideas in the mix, but somehow the plot of most issues so far seems to be ‘’exotic locale, fight bad guys, look at the machine’’, which then continues like this. We are sometime treated to the development of other situations, like the original She-Hulk meeting General Fortean or the Mad Thinker and his schemes.

Age of Ultron #7 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Brandon Peterson, Carlos Pacheco (Artist/Penciler), Paul Mounts, Jose Villarrubia (Color Artists), Roger Martinez (Inker), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

Review: Regular WCBR readers will know that I’ve been a staunch supporter of Age Of Ultron. Amidst the general criticisms that it’s been sluggishly paced or too low on action and characterisation, I’ve instead found it to be a well-plotted and atmospheric success that’s offered a welcome change in tone to the more overt histrionics of other Marvel event books. It’s been bleak but beautiful, the hypothetical death rattle of the Marvel Universe. But everything that’s occurred in those first six issues has really just been a set-up; a teaser playing up the eventual reveal of what happens when the past is definitively altered in a final act of desperation by the heroes of the present. With Ultron retroactively defeated, what exciting new world has Bendis created for us? If the Rabbit never existed, what now rests in the Magician’s hat? Well, it’s just the Magician’s hand. And he’s giving you the finger.

Age of Ultron #6 Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Brandon Peterson, Carlos Pacheco (Artist/Penciler), Roger Martinez (Inker), Paul Mounts, Jose Villarrubia (Colorist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: If you’ve read every issue of Age of Ultron up to this point you’ve probably been in one of two camps. You may have been growing increasingly impatient with Bendis’ glacial pacing, begrudgingly putting down your $3.99 week after week hoping each time that this will be issue to get things moving. Alternatively you’ve enjoyed it every step of the way, have withstood the downbeat and malevolent mood and savoured a Marvel event book that’s employed more substance than style. Either way it’s been a bumpy, expensive ride with few signs pointing to how, if at all, its outcome will impact on the wider Marvel Universe. Age of Ultron #6 signals the beginning of the end of this journey, and it might just have managed to keep everyone happy into the bargain.

It covers quite a lot of ground. Ostensibly it’s the natural progression from last month’s cliffhanger; Nick Fury and a handful of the more powerful Avengers head into the future to confront Ultron while Wolverine goes into the past to kill Hank Pym (thereby circumventing the whole Ultron problem in the first place). Admirably, this issue really jumps into both storylines head first and there’s immediate outcomes presented on each front. And when I say outcomes…I mean deaths.

You could probably have guessed that Fury’s camp would suffer the most casualties. The dude almost drops his team straight into the meat grinder after all as they move from the Savage Land direct to New York (even time-travelling genocidal robots want a piece of the Big Apple it seems).  Now a gleaming technopolis devoid of human life, the city offers nothing but an ambush from thousands of flying Ultron heads and the Avengers are pretty much sitting ducks. They are, after all, just drifting in the wind thanks to Storm’s weather powers, and that can’t allow for much manoeuvrability. They get slapped around some and a major character literally loses his head – we may see a few Avengers captured and brought before a gloating Ultron before the series is up, but otherwise it looks like this particular plan has gone wronger than corduroy.

Age of Ultron #5 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Bryan Hitch (Penciler), Paul Neary (Inker), Paul Mounts (Colorist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

Review: By issue count Age of Ultron #5 represents the halfway point of Marvel’s latest event story, even though it feels like it’s only just wrapped up the introduction. By the end of this chapter some of our heroes are winging their way to the future while some are headed to the past. Both share the same goal – the ultimate destruction of Ultron. You could argue (and many have) that Bendis has taken too long to get to this point, squandering the impact of a great idea in deference to a protracted bout of decompression, but I have to respectfully disagree. Without the punishingly grim nature and methodical plotting of this extended intro I don’t think the final page of this issue would have carried half the resonance that it does – and that final page is a doozy.

Age of Ultron #4 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Bryan Hitch (Penciler), Paul Neary (Inkers), Paul Mounts (Colorist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: It seems like patience may play a large part in how taken you are with Age of Ultron. Despite a pretty relentless release schedule the decompressed storytelling that Bendis has employed for the event is a sore point for some. Even though in this – the fourth issue – we’re still only inching towards a resolution, at least all the disparate plot-threads are finally tying together. With that in mind, and with the next issue signalling the end of Bryan Hitch’s stint on the book, I think we’re heading towards a satisfying end to AoU’s first act.

Age of Ultron #3 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Bryan Hitch (Penciler), Paul Neary (Inker), Paul Mounts (Colorist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

Review: This issue should hopefully pacify some of the haters. If you’re among the impatient few that felt that Age of Ultron #1 and #2 plodded along at an unbearably slow pace you should find that #3 delivers a relative bullet-train of forward momentum. Ultron doesn’t get his ass handed to him or anything, but the fight back begins here. Characters die, the conflict expands and a fairly massive twist rears its head (or torso, to be precise). Conversely, there are also a few things that happen that prove we perhaps shouldn’t take any of this series too seriously, as well as a couple of possible blunders in execution that remove you from the fiction in small but noticeable increments.

Age of Ultron #2 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Bryan Hitch (Penciler), Paul Neary (Inkers), Paul Mounts(Colorist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review:  This’ll be a short review. Not because I’ve suddenly gained the ability to limit myself to sub-1000 word articles (I don’t think I’ll ever break that irksome habit), but rather because thanks to a dose of plot decompression there’s not much to add here that hasn’t already been covered in my review of Age of Ultron #1.

The same sense of despair, after all, is persistent. Even on the other side of America (this issue takes place in San Francisco) the outlook’s bleak. Ultron-Bots continue to ‘pacify’ the population while Black Widow scrambles over piles of dead bodies and Moon Knight snipes at violent looters from atop blown-out buildings. The two heroes were apparently caught off-guard by Ultron’s uprising while in the middle of a black-ops mission and are seen working together to locate a secure rallying point (a classic Fury hideout) and from there plan some payback.

Age of Ultron #1 Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Bryan Hitch (Penciler), Paul Neary (Inker), Paul Mounts (Colorist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer)

The Review: Bleak: that is my one-word review of Age of Ultron’s opening salvo. Not in terms of quality, but certainly in terms of tone. Sure, from the hype and the previews I knew it wasn’t going to be a Short Circuit-style Rom-Com but I didn’t know it would get so dark so fast. By the end of the issue some or all of your favourite Marvel heroes are either beaten, broken or dead, and if not they’ve apparently been compromised to the core. Not even Squirrel Girl could magic them outta this mess.

Let me first make the case that I doubt the horror and dread of the story could have been captured with anywhere near the same levels of precision by anyone other than Bryan Hitch. It’s career-defining work. There are moments of shocking violence among landscapes wrought with devastation and ruin which are portrayed with such unflinching clarity that it’s almost too big an ask to reconcile this book with the Marvel Universe proper;  if you squint, you could easily mistake this for a long-lost first draft of Ultimates 3.

Moon Knight #12 – Review

By: Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Alex Maleev (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: Moon Knight versus Count Nefaria, head to head, one last time.

The Review:  All good things must come to an end and, sadly, it has come all too soon for Bendis and Maleev’s Moon Knight.  Thankfully, however, reading this issue, it’s clear that this was exactly the ending that the creators always intended; this isn’t at all a rushed, slapped together conclusion necessitated by a sudden cancellation.  Instead, the issue is excellently paced, covers all the bases, and ties up any and all loose ends very nicely.  All the plot elements that Bendis introduced in his run get some level of satisfying closure, from the current state of Marc’s current “Avengers” personalities to the status of his television show.

Much of Bendis’ run has seen Moon Knight bumbling about, only semi-competently, playing Avenger.  As the run has progressed, we’ve see him become more and more the professional superhero we know him to be.  This issue, fittingly, feels like the crux of that; as he goes one on one with Nefaria in a police station, Moon Knight feels at his most superheroic.  Furthermore, throughout the issue, he also retains that human aspect, that vulnerability that Bendis has so focused on.

Moon Knight #11 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Alex Maleev (art), Matt Hollingsworth (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: Buck and Moon Knight go after Madame Masque in order to recover the Ultron head.

The Review:  In it’s penultimate issue (unfortunately), Bendis and Maleev’s Moon Knight is cooking on all cylinders.

The majority of the issue is taken up by a fight between Moon Knight and Madame Masque.  It is elegantly drawn and carries the required, gritty “street level” feel.  It’s well choreographed, but feels just as low-powered as should be.  More than that, Bendis and Maleev really bring home the ludicrous “faux Avengers” fighting style of Moon Knight, including just how bizarrely effective it actually is.

A good part of what makes this issue exciting, however, is that with the death of Echo still casting a shadow on the book and Buck’s being a new Bendis-created character, you really don’t know if everyone is going to make it out alive.  The result is some serious teasing on Bendis’ part – at a couple points, he really does succeed in making you think Buck is a goner.  After all, if Buck went, it wouldn’t even be a blip in the Marvel Universe.

Buck and Marc’s buddy teamwork is also part of what makes the action so much fun.  It’s enjoyable seeing them work as diversions for one another and really, as a no-nothing SHIELD agent, that teamwork only make’s Marc’s fighting style seem all the more ragtag.  Even without much dialogue, the “buddy dynamic” the two share shines through even in their actions.

Avengers #6 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Klaus Janson & Tom Palmer (inks), Dean White (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: The Avengers try to reach an agreement with Ultron to stop Kang’s breaking the timestream.

What’s Good: This issue really goes out of its way to establish the Avengers as the central title for the Marvel Universe through its both hinting at, and setting up, major stories to come.  Bendis is able to do this thanks to the story’s conveniently being located in the future.  There’s a really nice reference to the outcome of the “Trial of Captain America” storyline over in Captain America, while the final events of the issue seem to hint at a major Ultron-related storyline that might possibly lead to an event spreading to other titles.  All told, it’s stuff like this that makes the Avengers feel really important as a title.

Bendis does a good job with the wacky time traveling dynamics.  For the first time, I feel as though things not only made perfect sense, but also were actually rather clever.  Bendis puts everything where they ought to be and, unlike previous issues, the timestream stuff is never dubious.  In fact, it actually allows for Bendis to write a really, really nice ending, allowing for this story-arc to end exactly as it began, as the murder of Immortus is explained and cast in a wholly different light given what we now know.  It’s really quite good, so much so that I was taken by surprise by how eloquent and well constructed it was.

The Avengers’ attempting to stop the war from ever happening is also well done; their dialogue with Ultron is tense but logical.  Bendis writes a really good back and forth, doing solid work in making Ultron’s reasoning and thought processes appear calculating and ruthless.  Honestly, Bendis just writes a good Ultron.

Romita’s artwork continues to sharpen and improve.  This may be his most polished issue yet, as it really cuts back on the “scratchiness” that at times gets out of control in Romita’s work and ends up making things look sloppy.  The detail work is solid and characters look Romita-trademarked cartoony, but never deformed.  The action and pyrotechnics are enjoyable and Romita also joins a very, very nice Ultron.

Avengers #5 – Review

by Brian Michael Bendis (writer), John Romita Jr. (pencils), Klaus Janson & Tom Palmer (inks), Dean White (colors), and Cory Petit (letters)

The Story: The Avengers discover the truth behind the breaking of the time-stream and come up with a gameplan.

What’s Good: The new main Avengers title continues to deliver its brand of old-school, pulpy stories, which is a good thing, as combined with Romita’s distinctive, scratchy style, it makes the title stand out among the mass of Avengers-related title, and that’s a major accomplishment in and of itself.

It also provides grounds to use a smattering of characters that can’t be found anywhere else, guys like Maestro, the Next Avengers, and most importantly, Kang.  Kang is presented really well this month, both arrogant and sniveling, seemingly in a constant state of petulance.  There’s a sense throughout this issue that Kang’s up to something that the others can’t quite put their fingers on, despite their suspicions.  I couldn’t help but get the feeling that despite his current downcast state, he’s still pulling the strings somehow, which did intrigue me about the story-arc’s future.  There’s also a certain kind of tragedy inherent to the fact that the broken time-stream has resulted in, or perhaps is caused by, Kang’s fighting the same unwinnable battle against Ultron again and again and again.  It’s a nice statement on the classic comic villain and, combined with Romita’s down-trodden rendition of Kang, makes the character all the more compelling, even sympathetic.

Beyond that, Romita’s art maintains its recent upswing in quality.  Large panels are very impressive, and the bigger the action, the better.  Giant, flamboyant images are clearly what Romita excels at and he attacks any and all action sequences with gusto.  The book isn’t lacking character, and while it may not be for everyone, I found it to be fun.

Fantastic Four #573 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (writer), Neil Edwards (pencils), Andrew Currie (inks), Paul Mounts (colors), and Rus Wooton (letters)

The Story: Johnny, Ben, and the kids go to Nu-World for a vacation but what they find there is a far cry from being a resort.

What’s Good: Probably the best thing the issue has going for it is its generic tone.  The book is a wacky, retro sci-fi adventure.  While Nu-World has become a dystopian mess, Hickman uses this as an excuse to fill the issue with a scuttling, disembodied brain and a hero with a goofy helmet blasting apart robots by the dozen with his ray gun.  It’s cheesy, but definitely fun, like a bad 70s sci-fi flick.  There’s also a depiction of a pseudo-scientific, transcendental sort of mass suicide that sort of reminded me of Logan’s Run with astronauts.  I’m probably alone on that, but it’s cool nonetheless.

I’ve never been a fan of the kids, but Hickman actually made me enjoy their presence.    Both Val and Franklin have a comical way of undercutting Ted Castle and his planetary problems, but in different ways.  Val makes it all seem so simple through her intellect, while Franklin approaches the situation and his circumstances on an entirely different level, as a child would.  There’s a beautifully paced sequence where he offers a grieving Ted Castle a sandwich, tugging the heart-strings while providing a laugh.

Through his wacky sci-fi hijinks and his use of the brain and the kids, Hickman takes what could’ve been a heavy-handed, grindingly tragic affair and turns it into something much more light and fun.  That said, by the time the issue ends, he still gives a little glimpse of the epic nature of what actually unfolded, finishing the book with a beautiful retrospective montage, narrated in a simple fashion that metatextually breaks the comic into its component parts and making it seem all the grander in retrospect.

What’s Not So Good: Despite all this, under perhaps a more cynical lens, it’s hard not to be very well aware of the fact that this issue was more or less written to serve a simple purpose: sweep Nu-World under a rug.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for it, but it can be a bit frustrating when a writer’s purpose is so abundantly clear.  The comic is as much a story as it is a means to an end.

Of course, if Hickman is writing this issue solely to be done with Nu-World, that also means that several characters are treated cursorily, perhaps not with the respect they deserve.  There’s not one but two character deaths, both of which are insultingly brief, abrupt, and underwhelming.  Like Nu-World itself, it’s clear that Hickman just wanted them out of the way.   The Nu-World characters have little page-space, don’t flesh themselves out much, and basically show up just to remind us that they’re there.

Furthermore, while the art isn’t atrocious or anything, Neil Edwards is a far, far cry from Dale Eaglesham.  His artwork just feels very generic, with little sense of individual style or flair.  It does the job without attempting to do anything more.  Edwards also struggles with headshots.  Two panels in particular, one of Johnny and one of Psionics, are total botches.

Conclusion: Enjoyable for what it is, but it creaks a little at times due to the weaker art and Hickman’s obvious motivations.

Grade: B

-Alex Evans

 

Exiles #5 – Review

By Jeff Parker (Writer), Casey Jones (Pencils), Karl Kessel (Inks), and Anthony Washington (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I’m going to miss Jeff Parker’s Exiles when the series comes to an end next month. It’s had a short, but very sweet, run…

The Story: The Exiles try to escape their robot captors and learn some very startling information about the current reality they are in.

What’s Good: Jeff Parker scores a lot points for taking a fairly basic “robopocalypse” concept and injecting some clever, intelligent (Marvel-centric) twists into the formula. I wish I could go into more detail about what makes the story in Exiles #5 so cool, but it’d be a shame to ruin some of the smartest moments of Parker’s plot. In addition to a cool plot, the latest issue of Exiles also provides the usual dose of humor and personality that has made the series such a fun read since the beginning. It’s clear now that Parker had some sort of character path for each of the Exiles planned (Beast’s, while obvious, works especially well in Exiles #5), which makes series finale all the more disappointing. Oh and another good thing? Morph is as cool as ever!

The artwork done by Casey Jones, Karl Kessel, and Anthony Washington is a breath of fresh air in comparison to all the dark, gritty, moody Marvel books on the stands. While one could argue that the art would look more at home in a Marvel Adventures book, it really brings all the creativity and personality of Parker’s script to the page. And quite frankly, isn’t that what the artwork is supposed to do?

What’s Not So Good: The biggest complaint I have about Exiles #5 really doesn’t matter a whole lot in wake of the series cancellation. That said, here it is: the formula Jeff Parker seemed to have in place for Exiles is more prominent than ever in Exiles #5. If you’ve been a reader since issue one, you’ll have no problem seeing nearly every plot beat before it happens. As a result, some of the storytelling takes a bit of a hit. My only other complaint is that, as far as character work goes, I still prefer Salva Espin’s work to Casey Jones’. I think Espin’s more cartoony style is a better fit than Jones’ more realistic one.

Conclusion: Exiles #5 delivers everything I’ve come to expect (not 100% a good thing) from a Jeff Parker Exiles book. If you’ve enjoyed the series so far, why not stick it out till the finale next month?

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny

Exiles #4 – Review

By Jeff Parker (Writer), Casey Jones (Pencils), Karl Kesel (Inks), and Anthony Washington (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I’m not quite sure what I think about having Casey Jones take over for Salva Espin. However, I’ll save any judgment until after I’ve seen what the artist can do with a full issue.

The Story: The Exiles must overthrow the machines that have made great strides towards killing most of the life on the planet.

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: Exile’s #4 delivers in all the ways you’d expect. Jeff Parker introduces an interesting alternate world that seems rather plausible, considering how technology exists in the Marvel Universe. Furthermore, he uses that world to give each Exile a chance to shine (Polaris, as you’d expect, really benefits from the situation). In addition, Parker intelligently uses Blink to add a layer of uneasiness to a series that, so far, has been fairly light-hearted and fun. While I’m not entirely sure if Exiles will actually benefit from the darker tone that’s hinted at (since the series stands out because of it’s tone), I’m confident that Parker will find a way to make the most of it.

The artwork in Exiles #4 works a lot better than I had expected. While I prefer Salva Espin’s style, Casey Jones’ work definitely doesn’t feel out of place. Jones handles all the action well and brings out the personalities of the characters in a way that elevates Parker’s handle on the team. The more I think about it, I feel that Jones’ more realistic style might prove to be more effective than Espin’s in the long run; now that Parker seems to be moving the Exiles down a darker path.

Conclusion: I recommend picking up Exiles #4. It’s satisfying for regular readers and it can function as a nice jump on point for new readers.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny