Making The Grade: Marvel Comics

The Revolution handed out grades to the DC comics on our pull list. Now it is time to take on the Marvel comics on our pull list. Will the Marvel titles garner higher grades than the DC titles? Let’s find out.

MARVEL

GRADE: A

Astonishing_X-Men: Joss Whedon has been killing it on this title. This comic has certainly been the best X-title over the past couple of years. Whedon has a great feel for the classic X-Men. This reads like the X-Men from the 80’s. Cassaday’s artwork is gorgeous. This is definitely a title worth collecting.

Captain_America: Ed Brubaker. Get used to hearing his name, because, he gets several A’s from me. For my money, Brubaker is the best writer in the industry right now. Everything he touches turns to gold. I have never like Captain America, but Brubaker has got me loving this title. Epting’s artwork is enjoyable and works well with Brubaker’s tone.

Daredevil: Ed Brubaker part II. I loved Bendis’ run on Daredevil, but Brubaker is even better. Daredevil is one of the best reads on the market. The storyline is wonderfully paced and is complimented by great artwork.

Moon_Knight: I cannot praise this title enough. Huston is doing a masterful job on this title. The pacing is very measured and steady. Huston flat out “gets” the essence of the original Moon Knight by Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz. The psychology is brilliant and it is enthralling to watch Marc Spector struggle with his tenuous grip on sanity. Plus, Finch rocks the artwork on this title like only he can.

Ultimate_Spider-Man: Bendis is masterful on this title. This comic book has been a brilliantly consistent and enjoyable read since issue #1. Bendis has done something incredible with this run on this comic. Plus, he has the storyline cooking with the wildly fun clone saga plotline.

Ultimates: Millar has done a phenomenal job on this title. I am very interested to see if this title takes a serious plunge with Loeb assuming the writing duties. Millar made this one of the best titles that Marvel publishes. I just don’t think that Loeb can continue what Millar started. They have such vastly different writing styles. I think that Loeb is going to make this more of a “fluff” title.

Uncanny_X-Men: Ed Brubaker, part III. Brubaker has resurrected this comic book. I have not enjoyed reading Uncanny X-Men this much in many years. It is nice to see Marvel’s flagship title actually be a relevant and interesting read once again. Billy Tan serves up some great artwork, too.

X-Factor: This just might be the best title that Marvel is publishing right now. This comic if totally flying under the radar. David is spinning an incredible story. David relies on incredible character development and strong dialogue instead of mindless fights and two page splash shots in order to create a compelling read. This is a title that I would recommend to anyone.

GRADE: B

Civil_War: Millar is doing a great job delivering a fun and exciting storyline like a summer blockbuster movie. McNiven’s artwork is wonderful.

Friendly_Neighborhood_Spider-Man: David is making this a fun title to read. I like David’s version of Peter Parker. And, of course, David serves up plenty of entertaining dialogue.

Iron_Man: The Knaufs have done an incredible job on this title. I enjoyed their work on HBO’s Carnivale. So, I’m not surprised that I am enjoying their work on a title that has been my favorite Marvel comic since I was 6 years old. There is no doubt that the Knaufs are writing the most interesting and complex Tony Stark ever. It is a shame that Marvel seems determined to assassinate Tony Stark’s character in Civil War while the Knaufs are turning out such an excellent read.

X-Men: Carey has taken a title that has been a complete joke for years and makes it an entertaining read. Personally, I cannot stand the artwork. Bachalo’s artwork does absolutely nothing for me.

GRADE: C

Amazing_Spider-Man: JMS is starting to loose me on this title. I enjoyed his run on this title for a while, but my interest has waned several months prior to Civil War. It certainly hasn’t improved with the various Civil War tie-in issues. JMS has some serious work to do after Civil War to re-capture my interest in this comic book. There is a good chance that on the current trend that in 6 months when I give out grades that this title will get a big fat D and be in danger of getting the axe.

The problem is that I don’t see how Peter’s identity being public and the obsession of Joe Quesada with breaking up Peter’s marriage is going to bet me more interested in this comic.

Ghost_Rider: Imagine how happy I was when I learned that one of my all time favorite characters was getting his own monthly once again. Imagine my continued delight when I learned that my favorite Ghost Rider artists, Mark Texiera, would once again be drawing old skull head. Then imagine my despair when I found out that Daniel Way would be handling the writing duties. Way couldn’t write a quality story even if he had the spirit of Hemingway in one ear and Faulkner in the other. Way’s less than impressive writing puts a serious damper on a wonderfully drawn comic book.

New Avengers: Bendis has never impressed me on this title. I just don’t think that this comic suits Bendis’ strengths. Bendis needs to stick with solo titles like Ultimate Spider-Man and Daredevil where he totally kicks butt. However, the New Avengers was average at best before Civil War. With the Civil War tie-in issues, this comic has sunk even lower. Having to get preached to by Bendis via stories that are rather pointless is not my idea of a great read. I also simply don’t enjoy the artwork.

Ultimate_Fantastic_Four: Carey is taking over control of this title along with Pasqual Ferry who will be handling the art duties. I think that Carey’s X-Men is solid. I am not really familiar with Ferry’s artwork. I will remain cautiously optimistic about this new creative team.

Wolverine: I have not been overwhelmed by Guggenheim and Humberto Ramos with their run on this title. Guggenheim is an average writer. Ramos’ style just doesn’t work for me on this title. Plus, Ramos draws one of the worst looking Wolverines. The body proportions are totally out of wack. Loeb and Bianchi will take over with issue #50. Hopefully, that will give this title a nice boost.

GRADE: D

Fantastic_Four: JMS is going absolutely nowhere with this title. This comic was floundering before Civil War and gotten even worse with the terrible and pointless Civil War tie-in issues. I have a feeling that this title is going to be getting the axe in the next several issues.

Squadron_Supreme: JMS, again. Hmmm, notice a theme here? This title has had no direction at all. It has wandered around with no point or purpose. Plus, JMS’ writing has been nauseatingly PC. The only nice think about this comic has been Frank’s artwork. Unfortunately, Frank leaves this issue after #7. That means that I’m out. I gave this title 6 issues and an honest and open mind. This comic book gets the dreaded AXE. Chop chop.

Ultimate_X-men: Kirkman has done nothing to get me interested in this title. This comic is definitely the weakest of all the Ultimate universe comics. I am only getting this comic because I have a perfect run of all Uncanny X-Men, X-Men and Ultimate X-Men titles. I don’t want to ruin my complete collection. How incredibly lame am I?

Wolverine: Origins: This is pretty much a combination of what I said in Ghost Rider and Ultimate X-Men. I think Way spins a poor storyline that reads like a parody rather than being serious. I’m only still getting this title for two reasons. One, I don’t want to miss anything important concerning Wolverine’s past. Two, I have a perfect run of every Wolverine comic going all the way back to his first mini-series. Yes, I am most definitely lame.