Review # 110: "She-Hulk by Dan Slott - The Complete Collection Vol. 1"

Dan Slott isn't afraid to take risks at Marvel. He's taken Peter Parker out of Spider-Man's driver's seat for 30-plus issues, written more than one "Avengers" series anchored by Hank Pym (or a reasonable facsimile) and mocked his own audience. He definitely enjoys exploring the quirky corners of the Marvel U, so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that his work on She-Hulk is very good. Very good, indeed.

Review # 109: "Marvel Masterworks - The X-Men Vol. 6"

Before Len Wein, Dave Cockrum and Chris Claremont came along the X-Men sucked. Flat out sucked. Issue after issue of one-note characters taking on terrible villains in forgettable stories. Given how memorable the work of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby was in the early 60s, it's stunning to find a book so empty outside of some very rare exceptions. As a result, I was 100 percent certain for years that I would never pick up another pre-"Giant Size X-Men" collection again. I wasn't interested in seeing more pale shadows of these characters that I love - Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Charles Xavier, Magneto, etc. - ever again.

Review # 108: "Avengers Assemble by Kurt Busiek Vol. 2"

Is it fair to call a robot crazy?

Review # 107: "X-Men - Battle of the Atom"

It's nice to see a franchise heading in a direction I like. What isn't nice is when it's kinda stumbling in that direction.

Review # 106: "Captain America - Winter Soldier"

Ed Brubaker will be remembered most for killing off Captain America. But first he had to bring someone else back to life. "Winter Soldier" is the story of the return of Bucky Barnes who - for decades - had been "Ben Parker Dead." Resurrection is clearly a common event in comic books, but there are just some characters that are untouchable. There was no way Cap's old sidekick was ever coming back to life. The idea of a story that would make it worth doing so just didn't seem possible.

Review # 105: "Kingdom Come"

There is no better artist than Alex Ross when it comes to depicting larger-than-life superheroes and supervillains as interpreted by the normal human. A few people may criticize his style of painting over photo-referencing, but he clearly gets the job done. Two of my favourite drawings of all time come from Ross' work on "Marvels" where he shows Giant Man towering over photographer Phil Sheldon, then later as Phil looks up to witness the arrival of Galactus on earth. That shot of Galactus is scary as hell based on sheer magnitude. Definitive Fantastic Four artists Jack Kirby and John Byrne were taken to school by that page.

Review # 104: "Madrox: Multiple Choice"

After bidding farewell to X-Factor Investigations, going back to before the beginning to read "Madrox: Multiple Choice" is a weird trip. It's apt to call this finally re-released story something like an "un-aired pilot." The concept of what would become X-Factor is there, but some elements were changed heading into production of the main line. Ultimately, this mini paved the way for the X-Factor relaunch and - like a pilot - it needed approval to go ahead. In this case, though, it wasn't a bunch of network suits: it was the fans who snapped up every single copy available of the first two issues upon release that were responsible for that decision.