Join us as the Marvel Reporters turn into the Marvel Reviewers our weekly review roundup. This is where we have assembled to give our thoughts on various issues that are released each week. This week we have Bryan, Jay, Louis, and Tatiana giving reviews for books for the week of June 26, 2019. Check out the reviews below and let us know what you think in the comments below or on Twitter. Welcome to the MARVEL REVIEWS, hope you enjoy the experience!
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #24
Written By: Nick Spencer
Pencils: Ryan Ottley
Colors By: Nathan Fairbairn
Letters By: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Price: $3.99
Nick Spencer writes a great transition issue after the larger Hunted story arc. It starts off with a nice Peter and MJ moment. The duo is enjoying a nice evening in a web hammock observing the night sky. This a well deserved moment for Peter after the hell Kraven put him through for Hunted.
The rest of the issue shows us Mysterio’s latest therapy session. Mysterio’s psychiatrist finally addresses the mystery of fishbowl head’s resurrection (seriously no story explains this). Through this session, we learn more about the new villain, who finally gets named, Kindred. According to Mysterio’s explanation, Kindred was a human turned demon who got him out of hell. Plus Kindred lets his presence known to Peter via telepathy. Kindred’s message helps tie into the vision Peter had during Hunted involving an injured Mary Jane. Also, Spencer does an impressive job with Kindred’s dialogue. His words make it clear to the reader he has some history with Peter. Overall, this issue delivers a great Peter and MJ scene while building up the title’s next big villain. ~ Louis @SpiderMan1991
Verdict: 4 Stars
FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #8
Written By: Tom Taylor
Art By: Ken Lashley
Colors By: Nolan Woodard
Letters By: VC’s Travis Lanham
Cover By: Andrew C. Robinson
Price: $3.99
Spider-Man has one day to find out why Prowler was at F.E.A.S.T. and what is really going on. Tom Taylor has the best voice for Spider-Man/Peter Parker, whenever he writes him it feels true to the character no soapbox proxies. Taylor also does a great job blending the street level vibe of Friendly Neighborhood that Peter is from to the super-world that Spider-Man is in. The humor here is great just little moments like him and Hobbie on a “creepy picnic” or him thinking about how his relationship with the police has changed. Ken Lashley continues to impress me with his art doing the same with his art as Taylor does with his words in bringing the grounded while fantastic world Spider-Man lives in. Lashley also does a great job with emoting, I am always impressed with his facial expressions. ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
Verdict: 4 ½ Stars
THE MAGNIFICENT MS. MARVEL #4
Written By: Saladin Ahmed
Pencils By: Minkyu Jung
Inks By: Juan Vlasco
Colors By: Ian Herring
Cover By: Eduard Petrovich
Variant Cover(s) By: Gerard Parel
Price: $3.99
In the vein of her mentor Captain Marvel, Kamala Khan finds herself in space during Ms. Marvel #4. While a plotline revolving around an alien race calling her Destined One may seem silly at first, Saladin Ahmed has found the grounding elements of the story quite easily. The unfamiliar surroundings are a jumping off point for the Khan family to see Kamala in action, and for them to better understand each other’s points of view. There’s also a poignant undercurrent about Kamala finding her voice and identity as Ms. Marvel, speaking out even if she has to tell her own parents “no” sometimes. The alien war taking place in the background feels a little silly at times, but the introspection is more than worth it.
Despite the author transition in the new Ms. Marvel title, Ian Herring keeps the look intact with his soft color palette. Minkyu Jung has a sharp eye for character design as well, and together the art team makes the action sequences look like masterpieces. But it’s really the panels between the fight that make the issue stand out, as the emotion is as evident on the Khan family’s as it is in their dialogue. There are also plenty of new minor characters and species for Jung and Vlasco to bring to life, and the fresh settings give Kamala the necessary space to sort herself out. ~ Tatiana @myrcellasear
Verdict: 5 Stars
SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL 2019
Written By: Jason Latour, Phil Lord, & Christopher Miller
Art By: David Lafuente & Marco Failla
Colors By: Rico Renzi & Jason Latour
Letters By: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover By: David Lafuente
Price: $4.99
The lovable Spider-Ham is the star of this annual. There are two stories and he stars in both. In the first story, Bored Again, Spider-Ham goes through a bit of an identity crisis. MJ and Aunt May have left him because he was never there for him. Plus, his rogues have gone missing. Luckily, there to help him is the newly introduced Spider-Guin and a new six-armed Spider-Man named Parker Peterman. They help him get his mojo back and defeat his rogues. While maybe trying a little too hard with the puns and Ringmaster’s Hulk references got tiring, this was a very enjoyable read, I’d highly recommend. I hope we see more of Spider-Guin and Parker Peterman in the future. Plus, I need a Spider-Guin plushie in my life.
The other story, “A Secret Roar Rages?”, was something completely different. This was an existential story about the goofiness of characters like Spider-Ham and Howard the Duck. While I did enjoy the new characters of Chewatu and Meows Morales, I honestly found this story a bit confusing. It was technically written well, but there was no plot to this story. It was basically a commentary on some of the sillier Marvel characters and Marvel’s tendencies to do a lot of reboots. I’d only suggest this to hardcore fans of the two leads, Spider-Ham and Howard the Duck, or fans of written monologues. ~ Bryan @BryanCK
Verdict: 3 ½ Stars
THE WAR OF THE REALMS: NEW AGENTS OF ATLAS #4 (OF 4)
“Fire And Ice Chapter Four”
Written By: Greg Pak
Art By: Gang Hyuk Lim; Moy R.; Pop Mhan
Colors By: Federico Blee; Andres Mossa
Letters By: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Cover By: Woo Dae Shim
Variant Cover By: Leinil Francis Yu
Price: $3.99
The New Agents of Atlas enact their plan in their final battle with Sindr. This has been the shining gem in the War of The Realms event for me. Pak really does a great job bringing this band of heroes together and leave them in a place where I can not wait for the next mini-series. I have a new found respect for Jimmy Woo who sacrificed his leadership of the team so there could be a team, and so Amadeus would step up as the leader. I am a bit disappointed that Pele was just a glorified LMD, but I am sure we haven’t seen the last of her yet! The art is a perfect marriage of East & West styles where the average comic fan can feel familiar with it while a manga fan can appreciate the influences of it as well. Overall this was a great conclusion to this story and an even better beginning to this team! R.I.P. Monkey King! ~ Jay @ComicBookTheate
Verdict: 4 ¾ Stars
Let us know in the comments what you think of The Marvel Reviews for this week!