Deadpool vol.3 #2

I'm going to start off by saying that I love this cover. The second issue of the new creative team delivers on this issue as well. Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn write another fun issue of Deadpool vs Zombie presidents.

This issue pits Deadpool against Teddy Roosevelt during his hunting trip. At the zoo. It was full of good jokes and timing but the issue feels a little light on plot. Hopefully the story will start picking up its pace. Deadpool being funny is great as long as there is a good story behind it. I will be disappointed if this is the whole of their first arc

Tony Moore is as brilliant as ever. It's kind of fun seeing him draw zombies again.

Iron Man vol.5 #2

I thought Kieron Gillen did a nice nod to the Arthurian stories done in the past by David Michelinie and Bob Layton. Iron Man is set against a group of warriors along the Latverian border who model themselves from the Knights of legend using Extremis in there armor.

Tony tracks the Extremis to this group and if offered a challenge to regain the Extremis the group had obtained. He must win in single battle against each of the Knights. I was a little disappointed with Tony's deception and the use of the same old story of a scientist who Tony showed up wanting revenge. I think that was the plot of half the Iron Man comics published so far. 

All in all it was not a stellar issue but it was passable. I expect more from Gillen based on his other writings.

Love his art or hate it, Greg Land is Greg Land. Heavily photo-referenced which can make it highly distracting at time, but his actual Iron Man looks great.

Uncanny Avengers #2

Not a great sign for Marvel. Uncanny Avengers was supposed to be Marvels new flagship series yet the second issue was delayed by two weeks and the third is announced as delayed also. That doesn't help build confidence in Marvel's new initiative

On to the story. Rick Remender picks up from last issue, showing the after effects of Avalanche's attack ant the anti-mutant sentiment that it has brought. Wolverine questions Cap's decision and motivation for recruiting Havok as an Avenger considering Cyclops is Alex's brother. We also get a nice moment of realization from Thor that mutants need to be defended.

Rogue and the Scarlet Witch are held prisoner in the Red Skull's base, with Rogue being chained up while the Red Skull uses his new mental powers to brainwash Wanda. Rogue shows an inventive use of her powers to escape, which leads to a confrontation with the Skull influenced Wanda. This brief battle causes the floor to collapse beneath them. They land in the lab with Xaviers body, which snaps Wanda back to herself and causes Rogue to remember her beloved teacher defending her acceptance into the X-Men.

John Cassaday does an amazing job portraying the horrified look on Rogue and the Scarlet Witch's faces when they find Xavier. It is one of those moments that you can actually feel. I hope Cassaday can "right" his schedule. I love his art, but I want a consistent book more

All New X-Men #2

Another great issue. I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this series initially, but that has already begun to change. Brian Bendis gives us a very solid second issue, with the O5 making their way to the present through Beasts time machine.

The shock of the O5 coming to the present is felt through all the characters throughout the issue. Wolverines reaction was expected, Iceman's was funny, Jeans was a little heartbreaking, though I expect more to come. Even with the knowledge of what becomes of some of the O5, they seem to be in good spirits.

O5 Beast realizes that his older self is dying from a further mutation, and has arranged the time travel event as a final act. A few issues were raised in this story that require further explanation, but I'm holding out hope that they will be touched upon later. The Revolutionary team wasn't featured in this issue The issue ends with the O5 running away from the JGS to seek out new mutants before Scott's older self.

Stuart Immonen continued to impress me with this issue. I'm not a huge fan of his current Iceman, with the ice spikes all over, but the rest of the characters looked wonderful.

Thor: God of Thunder #2

Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic deliver another great issue with the second issue of Thor: God of Thunder. Jason Aaron handles the dialogue very well without slipping into the Shakespearean speak and has begun to craft a story that truly feels epic in scope.

 The majority of this issue focuses on "young" Thor as he travel to what will someday be Russia with a group of Vikings.While crossing the sea, we see a figure in the fog who comments that he can smell Thor's "godflesh" and begins to follow the viking ship in the hopes of Thor leading him to other gods. 

Once they shipped has docked, the river people begin boasting over their gods and the protection from the vikings that they will bring. A flying steed covered in blood soars down and the river people identify it as Peruns horse. Thor mounts the horse and flies off to find what has happened to these gods but as he reaches the clouds he sees another decapitated god. The God Butcher reveals himself and the battle begins.

Esad makes the God Butcher look terrifying, the flying steeds gorgeous, and Thor like a warrior born. What more could you ask for?

A + X #2

I enjoyed A+X #2 a lot more than the previous issue. Chris Bachalo handles both the art and writing on the first story and Peter David and Mike Delmundo deliver the second. I was happy to see nods to current continuity with the Kilgore Mark X Sentinel and references to the recent pregnancy/infestation issues of Wolverine and the X-Men.

Bachalo shows a day off gone bad for the Black Widow as her relaxation time gets interupted by a battle between Rogue and a Sentinel. Natasha of course can't sit by and joins in to put a stop to the Sentinels plans. There is a good amount of humor throughout this story but again not a much occurs. I personally love Bachalo's art and he draws this in his normal, chaotic style. But that's what makes it so fun to look at.

The second story is written by Peter David and drawn by Mike Delmundo. It features Kitty Pryde being summoned to Resilient (formerly Stark Resilient) so that Tony can try to sway Kitty into taking a job there. 

David gets some great lines of dialogue in and delivers a cute story. Mike Delmundo's art compliments the tone of story well, and was a good choice to be alongside Bachalo in this issue. 

Locke & Key: Omega #1

This is the beginning of the end for Locke & Key and I'm already starting to miss it. Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez have created a rich world throughout this series and made characters that you can't help but feel for.

The evil spirit/demon/whatever the hell it is has finally found the Omega key along with any others that it might find useful. Relationships are repaired and explored between the Locke children and their friends. All while being unaware that the darkness has found what it has been looking for. 

Gabriel Rodriguez has a great style all his own. Its an almost perfect mix of detail and cartoon while always feeling a little dark like something is looming. Its hard to describe but amazing to look at