Thor: God Of Thunder #5 Review

It feels like an absolute eternity since #4 of this series was in our hands. In fact it felt so long ago that I was really grateful for the summary page at the start of this issue, as without it I really do think I may have been a bit lost. Regardless of that, Jason Aaron continues his God butcherer story line in this issue; in which we learn a tad more about the motives of the butcherer, as well as what exactly happened the first time he and Thor met.

It is funny because the next issue of this series advertises the fact that it will be covering the origins of the God butcherer; but it is in this issue where we get a glimpse into why he wants to kill of every God in existence  The first few pages of this book cover this, and set up the rest of the book really nicely. It is clear that he is annoyed at the Gods for deserting him, and he seems to want people to understand why he doesn't think Gods are worth anything. It seems to be an opinion that he wants everyone to share, and this issue does a good job at piquing my interest for the origin story next time around.

As I mentioned in the introduction, this issue also shows what happens the first time these two met. It was interesting to see how their first encounter ended, and it was also interesting to see just how much of a bad taste it left in Thors' mouth. The overly confident young Asgardian was nowhere to be seen, as he seemed quite shook up by the events that took place.
We also saw the current encounter between the two of them; which led directly to what we saw at the end of the last issue. This also led on perfectly to what I was sure was going to be a final encounter in the next issue...until I saw it was an origin story next issue. I am not complaining about the origin story by the way, it just shows how good a job this issue did at building up the next epic battle in this story.

I have loved the art throughout this series, however I felt that in this issue it was a bit hit and miss. Some of the panels, especially close ups of faces, were just tremendous. However, other panels which were busy. seemed to be quite confusing. This is really odd as in other issues these busy panels have really come to life and looked just awesome. It is only really a minor concern as it wasn't like that throughout the book, and I do think that it will just be a one off.

Once again, this series has really impressed me with this issue. I am really looking forward to the next one and finding out more about the big bad guy. After each issue in this series I have felt really satisfied after reading it and this particular issue is no different. You know when you have it in your hands that you are going to get a good read out of it; which is quite a testament to it considering it is only 5 issues in. Lets hope it can keep it up, which I have no doubt that it will do.

Rating: 8.3 / 10

FREE CODE: TMM14Y29R0J2

Wolverine And The X-Men #25 Review

This book is just so much fun. If you are not reading it then I really do not understand why. No matter what kind of story it is, be it a major storyline or just one lasting a couple of issues, you are always in for such an awesome ride. In this issue the story focused on some of the students attempting a team bonding exercise in the Savage Land. So how did they fare out in the wild?

This issue is just laying down the foundations for the rest of this storyline as it only really focused on the team getting to the Savage Land, and the way they inevitably split up due to not wanting to work together. What this issue has teased though is the development of Kid Omega. He is certainly one of the more entertaining characters of this series, and we may be seeing a side to him that we really did not expect we will see.

I went in to this issue really excited to see what was going to happen to Broo after the last page of #24. Well, what has happened is he has gone feral! He has lost all his intellect which at first I was dreading to read more about, but he ended up being used in this issue in a great way. The relationship between Idie and Broo has changed once again, and this new dynamic seems like it is going to bring us plenty of laughs and comic relief.

There was also a character appearance in this issue that I was not expecting. It is someone who is very close to wolverine who I have actually not read anything about before. In fact, I did not even know that this character existed before I read this issue. I am very intrigued to read their inevitable battle in the next issue or so, as it will be the first time I will have seen anything of the sort. I do not know what more hardcore fans of Wolverine will think, but I am very excited anyway.

Overall, I still can't get enough of this series. I can't believe that it has got #25 already though. The only disappointment with this issue was the fact that the regular artist, Nick Bradshaw, was not on the issue. I also do not think that they were on the issue before this either. The art is what makes this series so fantastic, however Perez in this issue was also superb and was more than just a suitable fill in artist.
This series is still fantastic and I would suggest any new readers to start picking up old issues. You do not necessarily have to do this, but the stuff you will have missed has just been outstanding. It is worth reading as much material on this run as you possibly can. The best thing is, it is still knocking out quality issue after quality issue.

Rating: 8.5 / 10

FREE CODE: TMM19DGRLV5H

Thor God Of Thunder #4 Review

Jason Aaron has been building an absolute epic with his Thor series so far. The first three isues have been tremndous, and I am very pleased to say that this one is exactly the same. Throughout the issue we jump between all three different Thor's, but not once does it feel confusing. It has kept the formula that it had with previous issues, and it is still just as fresh and exciting now. This is just an amazing book that I feel is running slightly under the radar with some people.

Before this issue the old Thor was my least favorite version out of the three. He probably still is now to be fair, but I think this issue really made the distance between him and other two virtually nothing. In fact after the first few pages when I realized it was jumping between them again, I was slightly disappointed as I was eager to see what was going to happen with Thor from the future.

One of the best things about this issue was the introduction of Shadrak. He was the God in the cave at the end of issue #3. What we find out in this issue is that he is kind of like a Dobbie (Harry Potter) kind of character, or he seems that way to me. A couple of things he said did make me laugh, or maybe that was unintentional. Regardless, the way he is drawn in this issue is just out of this world. There is one panel in particular that I looked at for some time in quite a bit of detail due to just how amazing it was.

The first time we see the past Thor in this scene is when he is involved in quite a chilling scene in the cave with the God butcher. Some of the things he says are pretty dark to say the least when he is threatening Thor with torture. It made me imagine the scene in some kind of horror film, and let me tell you, it would be pretty terrifying.

The ending of this issue confused me a bit to start with. I am not too sure how what has happened has actually happened, but of course that will all become evident when the next issue is with us. This is just a fantastic series, and it is one that I highly recommend you pick the back issues up for if you have not been reading it. Jason Aaron is producing some of his finest work with this; it is unmissable. A fine example of why I think Marvel NOW has been such a success; Jason Aaron writing the God of Thunder.

Rating: 8.5 / 10

Wolverine and the X Men #19 Review

This series has constantly impressed me over the first 18 issues of its run. Some of the tie in issues to AvX did feel a bit forced, and were maybe a little poor, but that was to be expected. Now all that is behind us, here Jason Aaron gives readers a perfect jumping on point to kick on from.

So many different things happened in this issue. Firstly, throughout the issue Kitty was interviewing for the vacant teachers post that Hush left. These frames kept popping up and were absolutely fantastic. Some of the candidates were brilliant (Deadpool, Blade, Spider-Man), and I was very eager to come across more of them as soon as I figured out that it was a continuous theme throughout the issue.

We also saw a character developing moment for Toad the janitor in this issue. In the series so far he has always been in the background, gaining no real interest from myself and possibly others. However, in this issue we see that he may have a nasty side to him which we could be seeing more of in future issues.
The Hellfire club still seem very evil which is to be expected. Their little trick on Wolverine was very low, but shows just how seriously they should be taken.
A new villain was showcased at the end of the issue which could be interesting. It is not made clear what is going on with that just yet, but I expect it to be great like the rest of this current run.

Seeing Hank attend to Broo was one of the more sombre moments of the issue. Broo has been a big favourite of the fans throughout the series, and you can tell that the writers also feel that way. This was shown by the way some Marvel characters have reacted to Broo's current state. I really dont think we have seen the last of Broo, and I am hoping he makes a full recovery. He is one of the many highlights of the book and it would be a shame to have him written out completely.

Nick Bradshaw returned to the series with this issue, and let me tell you his art is worth the price of admission alone. He is back on top form this month and it is truly great to see. His art was just made for this book. It fits it to perfection.

All in all another great issue in this series. We were shown future plot points and they all look to be really interesting. I was worried Aaron was going to lose momentum after the stop start of AvX, but I have been proven wrong here. Eagerly anticipating the next issue, along with the rest in what will be the second year for this title.


Rating: 8.5 / 10