Bottom of the Pile - Feb. 19th, 2014

Back to back installments.

Amazing X-Men 3

 

Nightwing's always had a ton of fans, but I'm not sure anyone had ever really tried to show us why people thought he was so cool, until now.  Yeah, Nightwing and the X-Men sailing through the after life throwing down with a gigantic army of the most dangerous killers ever to walk the Earth definitely makes the blue guy's boss rating go up a rank or three.

Avengers World 3

Avengers World #3 channels Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker's Immortal Iron Fist with this issue that's an entire fight scene between Shang Chi and the villain of the issue.  I won't spoil the ending, but this scene was too good not to post.

Daredevil 36

 The "end" of Mark Waid's Daredevil run (the first part, anyway) is a reminder of why Mark Waid is such a great storyteller--the characters (and their emotions) come first.  Always.  

Iron Man Annual 1

 

The idea that language is both a kind of magic and the ultimate prison that binds our thoughts are both rather old ideas--even in comics it dates back to the late 90's in Grant Morrison's Invisibles at the very least--but it's interesting to have that belief expressed by what is essentially a normal guy.  I have to say, I thought Pepper being engaged after Tony came back from space was a little corny, but at least writer Kieron Gillen is doing a good job at selling me on the guy she's trying to marry.

Justice League 28

This week's Justice League is probably my title of the week, this week.  Still.  WCW?  That hasn't been a brand since 2001.   Come now, Geoff.   I thought these guys existed in the new continuity, not the old one.

New Warriors 1

"Stay the Fuck Out of Mexico": The new slogan for the Mexican Border Patrol, coming to you directly from their newest affiliate, the Scarlet Spider.   Seriously though, this was a great first issue and I could have picked any number of cool moments, but I chose not to spoil them.

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up 10

Superior Spider-Man Team-Up has honestly done a better job of making Otto relateable than the mother book ever has.  Here's another example of that, in a flashback scene in the life of Otto Octavius, our current (for another two months) Spider-Man.

Author's Note: Bottom of the Pile is a weekly column (or at least, my attempt at said) in which I cover the comics that found their way to the bottom of my pile, thus being the best as I've always been a proponent of "saving the best for last".   Since bog standard reviews can be found literally anywhere, coverage can range from mini-reviews to funny comments to commentary on a creator's run or comics as a whole, depending on a wide range of factors including the comic itself, the amount of time I have, and my general mood.