Uncanny X-Force 28
I sometimes feel that Rick Remender is given the B titles or B superheroes to go weird on. He tells interesting strange tales with either avengers or x-force and is know for his work on Venom and Punisher. I find him compelling and I like how he develops rapports between characters. This book is no different. It’s a continuation of a story that involves Wolverines old foes teaming up against him. The first three issues of the arc are average and now the team is transported into the future to face old foes and themselves.
His characters are great and I love how amusing he makes Deadpool even in times of seriousness. Wolverine is in killing mode which is necessary to allow Deathlok to give the murdering bad guys is still murdering speech. There is some inconsistency with Betsy and her ability to feel, as apparently she did lose the ability to feel emotion a few issues back. However her pain is apparent throughout this issue and leads to the depressing climax to the book. Rick easily writes a team book and remains faithful to the cast.
What makes this issue great is the post apocalyptic environment created by Julian Totino Tedesco. He makes the cityscapes look real and the whole comic takes place at night, which is no mean feat. This is in part due to the colourist Justin Ponsor who takes dark shades of pink, blue and red to create this dystopia. The last few pages are of Betsy on her own in the rain dealing with the pain of losing the man she loves. The artwork adds to the emotions and leaves you feeling quite depressed at the end, which is the desired affect.
Brilliant – 9.5/10
Wolverine & the X-Men 14
Jason Aaron is a great writer and has done excellent work on this title and Incredible Hulk. W&XM has been a lot of fun since its inception but I do think Jason writes too many words at times. I am not a fan of Avengers versus X-men and its taken a long time to get to where we are. This issue is a tie in which Colossus, who is now Phoenix possessed is trying to woo Kitty. He fails and turns on the school as the issue takes further steps to turn the reader against the Phoenix 5, with Iceman realising his conscience.
Kitty, Iceman and Colossus are well written as Jason keeps them true to their personalities. Kitty was always the loveable schoolgirl and now has become a loveable schoolteacher talking to Peter who has become stronger and more entitled due to his newly acquired powers. He turns from the loveable strong guy to the school bully who takes to fighting when he is rejected. Ultimately his anger leads to shame and loneliness and you genuinely feel for him.
The artwork is great in places, especially pages 3,4 and the final page. Jorge Molina makes Kitty looks gorgeous and Colossus terrifying. He draws eyes beautifully and he draws facial expressions with emotional variety. The heavy pencilling and complex background combined with excessive writing can cause the page to become cluttered. This is why the pages mentioned work so well.
Good work – 9/10
Justice League Dark 11 
Jeff Lemire is on a roll with his fantastic work on Animal Man. JLD has been a decent title since it started and this week the Eternity one shot was excellent. JLD is a fantasy magic team book and although some of the characters are a bit similar, it has been good reading. I think this is largely due to John Constantine who is essentially the magic anti-hero and everyone else despising him!
Magic good guys chase magic bad guy to get to magic books is the essential plot. It is told simply and the side plots and twists are great and keep you interested. Constantine is the only interesting character but the rest merge into one really and there is no team emphasis. This is made up for by Mikel Janin art who has a few special touches. His characters look great and are all easily distinguishable and the women are drawn especially well. The shading and colouring is key to this. What Mikel does exceptionally well is make the book feel magical. Each person’s magical attacks look colourful and have different styles and contrasts to those pages without any magic. This is key to making this book unique and complements the plots well. It’s a shame the character writing does not live up to the artwork and plot.
Solid – 8.5/10
Others
Eternity 1 Lemire one shot, excellent plot & twist – solid artwork 9/10
Green Lantern 11 Black hand returns, artwork is creepy! 8/10
Flash 11 Really dull issue, nothing happens, artwork solid 6/10
Cap America 15 Nothing interesting, plot dull, artwork stifled 3/10
Winter Soldier 8 Widow brainwashed into a ballerina, art good 7/10
New Guardians 11 Sad death of Glomi, artwork great 7/10
Sec Avengers 29 Interesting plot development, good strange artwork 6/10
Avengers 28 Intriguing Red Hulk story, stylish layout 7/10
X Legacy 270 Reasonable plot development, faces are weird 6/10
Inc Hulk 11 Not really interesting, art okay, disappointing 5/10
House Of Flying Scalpels 