Captain Marvel #5 | All-New Ghost Rider #4 | Rocket Raccoon #1
Amazing Spider-Man #1.3 | Thor, God of Thunder #23 & #24
The Wicked & The Divine #1

Captain Marvel vol. 8, #5 (released July 9, 2014)
I’ve decided this title reminds me of SAGA-lite – which isn’t mean to be an insult. The comic is fun and heroic soapy space opera (well, it could probably stand to be a little MORE soapy). I like it and the art continues to be fine.

All-New Ghost Rider #4 (released June 25, 2014)
Could it be that this mostly crappy series had a good issue? Maybe my expectations have become so low I am more easily satisfied. Despite some cornball dialogue and story-points, this issue finally makes it seem like Smith is getting it together. This should’ve been the first or second issue, not the 4th. The H.S. stuff scans well, and while the art style is not for me, I am enjoying the panel layouts and the coloring.

Rocket Raccoon Vol 2, #1 (released July 2, 2014)
I love Skottie Young’s art, and this title has great energy and movement, and the colors are fantastic. I just. . . don’t like Rocket Raccoon. He is one of these all-id characters that are annoying, and the target of the vengeful women he’s bedded and dropped thing introduced in this first issue is so cliche and smells of wink-wink nudge-nudge sexist rascal casting of a character I remember very differently from back in the day. It is not so much that they changed him, but that they changed him into just another forever-adolescent male fantasy. Doubt I will continue with this, which is a shame.

Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 3, #1.3 (released July 9, 2014)
(“Learning to Crawl” Part 3) Marvel is the king of the soft ret-con, avoiding having to reboot a title or character whole-cloth by digging into the cracks and crannies of the continuity, even places that have seemingly been mined to death, like the early days of Spider-Man’s career. I continue to love the art and the pacing, but the story really reinforces the fact that like many ostracized nerdy kids given a little power, Peter Parker becomes an impulsive jerk and his Spider-Man identity gives him license to act out on that masculine entitlement.

Thor, God of Thunder #23 & #24 (released June 18 & July 2, 2014)
The conclusion and epilogue to “The Last Days of Midgard” story arc. I have to say was a little disappointed in how this concluded. Despite Thor finally given a chance to have some trolls to fight, the reader is deprived of a well-choreographed superhero fight scene. At least in the conclusion there seems to be some long-term consequences for Thor’s actions in the present time-line and in the future in his struggle against Galactus. Ribic’s art is still great in Issue #23, but #24 has a fill-in artist that is not nearly as good.

The Wicked & The Divine #1 (released June 18, 2014)
Rock star divine beings who can put people into temporary comas and explode people’s heads, but that lots of people believe are frauds? I don’t know what this is, but I find it compelling already. . . though I am so-so on McKelivie’s art sometimes.