Review # 127: "Annihilation"

Written from 2005 to 2007 and overshadowed completely by the likes of what was happening with the X-Men, the New Avengers and Captain America at the time (including "Civil War,") "Annihilation" has quietly gone on to have a surprising influence on Marvel's pop culture properties. To put it simply, you can't have a "Guardians of the Galaxy" film without "Annihilation."

Review # 126: "Squadron Supreme"

Before there was "Watchmen" and its more realistic depiction of superheroes in the public eye and before there was "Kingdom Come" and its story showing what might happen if superheroes tried to police the world, there was "Squadron Supreme" and its attempt to do both.

Review # 125: "Avengers West Coast - 'Vision Quest' and 'Darker Than Scarlet'"

Talk about a great Comiccon find: the out-of-print "Avengers West Coast" run with John Byrne as writer/artist for 30 bucks. I like ordering online, but there's something to be said about shelf-diving.

Review # 124: "Captain America - Red Menace"

One of the more underrated performances in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" comes from Frank Grillo as he takes on the role of Brock Rumlow. But it wasn't a performance I noticed at first. Despite my knowledge of comics, I had no idea that Brock Rumlow is the real name of the assassin Crossbones. It was only after seeing the film that I put two and two together.

Review # 123: "Y: The Last Man - 'Paper Dolls' and 'Kimono Dragons'"

"Y: The Last Man" started to lose some of its momentum in in its sixth volume and - unfortunately - by the end of the seventh it doesn't have it back.

Review # 122: "Avengers Assemble by Kurt Busiek Vol. 3"

These days if a comic book writer wants to explore a character in a team book, it seems like most of the time they get added to a team without subtractions. It raises the question of what the point is of having some characters around if they're no longer serving any purpose.

Review # 121: "Y: The Last Man - 'Ring of Truth' and 'Girl on Girl'"

"Ring of Truth" is a pivotal volume of "Y: The Last Man." It adds two important characters to the mix, neutralizes a major villain, introduces another and answers a major question about Yorick's survival of whatever wiped out every other man on earth save him and his pet monkey.

Review # 120: "Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink!'" and "Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons"

"Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink!'" was the first Calvin and Hobbes collection I ever owned. I got it through a Scholastic book order (remember those?) at the age of 10 and read the hell out of it. It shows in the condition of some of the pages, which look very much like they were handled by a kid. As I go through these collections in order as an adult, I can't help but think I made a great pick. This is the best of the bunch so far and will be hard to top.

Review # 119: "Cable and X-Force - 'This Won't End Well' and 'Vendettas'"

When I bought the first collection of "Cable and X-Force" I noted that the series had potential with its character choices and was worth getting on the ground floor with. As Dennis Hopeless' run comes to a close, I feel like the elevator broke down.

Review # 118: "Daredevil - End of Days"

An unfortunate truth about superheroes is that their stories never end. They can't even die. With every passing comes the anticipation of resurrection. As long as popular heroes continue to sell, their return is necessary.