Last Week's Comics, Ranked. (28/12/16)

A highly subjective ranking of a selection of last week's comics (28/12/16).

1. Wonder Woman #13
2. Mother Panic #2
3. Star Wars #26
4. All-Star Batman #5
5. Dark Knight III: The Master Race #7
6. Deadpool: Too Soon #3
7. Black Widow #9
8. Action Comics #970
9. Captain America: Steve Rogers #8
10. Batman Beyond #3
11. Detective Comics #947

Quickfire Combo-Reviews: "The Hunt" #1 & #2 / "Black Widow" #6

"The Hunt" #1 & #2: It certainly looks the part, but even for someone who gets startled rather easily, this didn't do much in terms of scares or convincing atmosphere. Well established tropes en masse, and the decision to actually write out the Irish accent proves to be a doubtful one.

5/10

"Black Widow" #6: Even though the hinted at showdown with Iron Man did not really happen, and the revelation of the Weeping Lion is slightly disappointing, this still fully convinces with its spectacularly paced storytelling and breathtaking art style. 

7/10

Quickfire Combo-Reviews: "The Fix" #4 / "Black Widow" #5 / "Star Wars" #21

I need to catch up with my comics, so here's something new to get up-to-date relatively quickly. Enjoy!

"The Fix" #4: More Mac, more Josh, more Pretzels, more mayhem. Fun, entertaining, hugely disturbing, the surprise series of 2016 keeps impressing.

9/10

"Black Widow" #5: It's pace and relentless action reminds of the fantastic first issue, as Natasha feels the heat on her from everywhere. Still great, even though it lacks some of the magic we were getting used to.

8/10

"Star Wars" #21: Superbly narrated, as its art perfectly matches the comic's sombre atmosphere. Whether you love or hate the Stormtrooper special unit we get to know here, their appeal is unmissable. Marvel's darkest Star Wars comic so far.

8/10

Keepin' It 360: "Black Widow" #4

Samnee's and Waid's Black Widow is still at its best when narrated through the former's stunning art. Even though this homage to old spy movies (including some Soviet stereotypes) lets us finally dig deeper into the Weeping Lion's story and motifs, it's Samnee's ability to use arrangement, pace and composition to deliver another strong entry in the series.

8/10

Further Links:

Black Widow #2

Black Widow #3

10 Things We Learned from "Captain America: Civil War"

Now that the movie is out for a couple of days, here's a no-major-spoilers run-down of 10 important things we learned from Captain America: Civil War:

1. Chris Evans' Captain America is as good a comic book movie super hero as you'll ever see. 
2. Nobody misses Thor and Hulk
3. The whole "choose your side" thing is complete nonsense. The movie is directed so that you sympathize with Captain America.
4. Tom Holland as Spider-Man is not cool. Do we need another High School Peter Parker?
5. Black Panther is an absolute success.
6. Although Chadwick Boseman doesn't know though how to do an African accent.
7. Too many scenes play on generic German airports or grey Soviet ruins.
8. Black Widow still kicks ass.
9. Ant-Man is better than Giant-Man
10. Helmut Zemo makes for a compelling villain, although he might not be what you'd expect.

Comic of the Day 7/5: "Black Widow" #3

It's terrific to see "Black Widow" returning to dense storytelling through art alone; a formula that made #1 so exceptional earlier this year. Especially when dialogues are not Chris Samnee's and Mark Waid 's forte here, with the very few verbal interactions feeling stiff and artificial. 

Whereas the first two issues mainly centered around sequences of relentless action, the focus shifted noticeably here. Samnee proves that his art is equally able to tell Natasha's more emotional and haunting backstory. He understands how to make her stand out on every single panel, with her lines drawn always a nuance sharper than those of her environment. Matthew Wilson's bright colors enhance this notion, while is overall choice of a brownish color palette adds some valuable grit. 

All this, paired with a first class cliffhanger and a full page panel that captures Widow's symbioses of ballet and assassin skill like nothing before, makes "Black Widow" #3 another outstanding read.

8/10

Further links:

"Black Widow" #2 Review

Comic of the Day 7/4: "Black Widow" #2

To say that Black Widow #2 does not match the series' first issues is by no means meant as a criticism. It was just so phenomenal in its simplicity, sturdiness and pacing, that it would have been foolish to expect the same again.

But fortunately, Black Widow #2 does not try to just duplicate what it so skilfully mastered the first time around. It is slightly more traditional in its storytelling, but never conventional about it, heavily drawing from classic spy tales (the funeral, a betrayal, the lion, the torture chair) with an art style that is retro without feeling old. Samnee and Waid pay an aesthetically fascinating tribute to the 60's and 70's and thus create an environment that probably fits Natasha Romanova more than any other could.

Black Widow is on its way to become one of the defining comics of 2016, and I can't wait for #3.