First off, the second part of the commentary track for The Rescue. Next up will be The Mind Robber, although whether that starts the first or second week of March is still unclear - trying to schedule it with Jack. Watch this space. Part one is still available here.
Also, Logopolis book update, I just ordered my proof copy, so expect an announcement early next week. Tentatively, let's say it'll be out on Tuesday the 3rd. Details will be up here, but broadly, the plan is a limited release exclusively through this site and my print on demand publisher, at least for the first few months, with a possible broad release/ebook version to follow.
Finally, comics.
Chew #46
This just left me totally cold for some reason. Whatever is meant to be interesting about this latest plot arc doesn't really present itself yet, with the death of Poyo yet to actually have any interesting consequences, and the vague sense of "well, I've bought forty-six issues, I may as well follow it til the end" back in force here.
New Avengers #30
The sense that Jonathan Hickman is just Grant Morrison without a sense of humor is strong in this book. Can't say I'm wild about destroying the entire Captain Britain mythology casually and without a "Last Days of the Captain Britain Corps" mini or anything. Actually, I can't say I'm wild about anything here. It feels like Hickman doesn't trust his own ideas enough to carry a story, and is just going all out in explaining his wild multiversal philosophy. Comparisons to Multiversity do Hickman no favors, and I don't even like Multiversity that much.
Amazing Spider-Man #15
I can't honestly say I care much about the status quo coming out of Spider-Verse, not least because the status quo coming out of any Marvel event right now is a bit of an odd thing what with time running out and everything ending. Much of this served as a resolution of the Superior Spider-Man plot, which I skipped, so that didn't really work for me either. I'd say I'm really considering dropping this, but my position on Marvel right now is that it's kind of silly to make any major changes to my pulls given that I'll be redoing them all in the wake of Secret Wars anyway.
Thor Annual #1
A triptych of small tales, all on the sweet/funny end of the scale. Harmless, and no bad tales, but a classically inessential annual at $4.99.
All-New X-Men #38
I read this and the preceding installment of Black Vortex this week, having accidentally left Star-Lord on the shelf last week. The pace of the start of the crossover has thoroughly dissipated, and we're now left in decompressed wheel-spinning of the sort that blights crossovers reliably. The "evil versions" of characters are as dull as I feared, and I'm not a fan of Sorrentino's art, which is, for me, a textbook case of exchanging clarity of storytelling for prettiness. But at least Bendis is at home with decompressed middle chapters, they being essentially his default form, so this rolls along pleasantly.
Gotham Academy #5
My failure to remember who anyone is made this one much more like the frustrating issues 2-3 as opposed to the unexpectedly fun #4. I don't think this is a bad book at all - the plot beats are all really nice, in fact. DC's refusal to do recap/cast pages is a real thorn in the book's side, though, and I really wish I were trade-waiting, frankly. #6 should be the last before Convergence, and I may well switch to the trade after it, probably after sitting down with the first six and reading them back to back in the hopes that I remember who the hell anyone is.
Daredevil #13
While I continue to feel like Waid has used his best ideas on Daredevil, his second best are still quite fun. I really like Kirsten being kidnapped on her own terms, by her own arch-nemesis. I hope the sense of tragic downfall is one Waid ultimately avoids, but I think he will, as it really doesn't fit what else he's been doing on the book.
Darth Vader #2
It speaks to how poor a week this is that this, which I wasn't overly enamored with as a comic, lands so high on the list. There's a lot here that's good. I like the decision to use this book as a sort of "mission by mission" take on Vader, but the frame is lacking for me, and I found myself not entirely sure what's going on or what it had to do with issue #1 for most of this. I couldn't tell what was happening at several major plot beats, and even a reread is not entirely clarifying. I like the broad strokes, but it felt like I'd missed at least one issue, if not more, which is an odd place to be on a second issue. Not sure what's going on here, as Gillen is usually super-good about pacing and structure.
Spider-Gwen #1
I'm so thoroughly glad this book exists. In the general aesthetic of pop comics going on right now (books like Batgirl, WicDiv, and Ms. Marvel), this has been one of the most satisfying success stories, not least because of the sort of organic nature of its success - a one-off for a crossover makes good as people fall in love with the character. Great style, fun book, and a very sly cliffhanger. Check this out.
The Wicked & The Divine #8
But this is still my favorite of the week. Gillen and McKelvie in arch-formalist mode, enjoying the ways in which a middle installment of a storyline allows them to wander seemingly far from any notion of "plot" or "arc." Which means nobody can touch them; this is the sort of thing both of them are best at. Completely and utterly not where to jump on with WicDiv, but the book is firmly at the point where it can drop a "for the fans" issue and move on. As a fan, I'm enormously appreciative.