Quote:
Originally Posted by Rev. Bob
I got an email a few days ago saying that my free month of comiXology Unlimited would expire soon... to which my response was, "I had a free month of cXU?" Apparently so - I'm guessing it was the by-product of a graphic novel purchase - and thus I've been binging on their library.
Spider-Man and the X-Men was a completely disposable story that strained credibility by having Spidey and his mutant students get repeatedly attacked by team-ups between X-foes and Spider-baddies, all while Spidey gets no respect from the senior X-Men who should know better.
I do like me some Spider-Man, though, so I tackled Avenging Spider-Man V1 - a solid "Spidey teams up with Avengers" collection - and Ultimate Spider-Man: Miles Morales V1: Revival, which is the first half of a dozen-issue series that preceded the elimination of the Ultimate universe. It was okay, despite me having at best sketchy knowledge of the Ultimate Spider-Man series, except that it raised a big mystery and ended without resolving it. Presumably volume 2 answers the big question, but it's not in the Unlimited library and it's a moot point anyway. (A lot of the Marvel selection on cXU is like that: a free volume or two to draw you in, then you have to buy the next volumes to keep going. I get it when it's new content, but for older stuff, it just feels cheap and coy.)
Iron Man: Demon in a Bottle did not live up to the hype. Most of the collection was about the debut of Justin Hammer, with a few hints of Tony's drinking problem tossed in along the way. The final issue is the linchpin of the "epic storyline," but by his entire struggle being forced into a montage, it was a real disappointment. Yes, I know it was 1979 and daring to show a major hero struggling with alcoholism was a Big Deal, but in 2017, admitting and overcoming his addiction in the space of a single issue was a real let-down. Recovery's just not that fast. I preferred the later Iron Man: Extremis trade, and not just because the art's bloody gorgeous. That actually builds a story from start to finish and paces the revelations accordingly.
Finally, I decided to try The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Volume 1 at the princely sum of no cost. I was... underwhelmed. There were some good points, but I find the main character just too... twee? Is that the word I want for "the creative team is trying so hard to make her adorkably cute that they completely fail"? I get that she has fans, and good for them, but this book's not for me.
I've got a few other books lined up, like the first couple of Jessica Jones: Alias volumes and the first year of Marvel's current Star Wars title. Might as well (ab)use my free access while I've got it!
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Sounds like you need to take a break from comics. Why read on if they let you down?