So I was in mood for reading comics recently and whilst I wasn’t able to get the comics I wanted to read (who knew it was so hard to get ahold of a particular Captain Marvel book or Thor volume?), I did get a hold of the following two:

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Black Widow, Volume 1: S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Most Wanted
By: Mark Waid (Writer), Chris Samnee (Writer, Artist), Matthew Wilson (Colourist), Joe Caramagna (Letterer)
Format/Source: Paperback; my purchase

They wowed you with Daredevil, now the Eisner Award-winning team of Mark Waid and Chris Samnee take Black Widow to new heights -by forcing her to go on the lam!

Natasha has a lifetime of secrets, and when some of the darkest ones are made public, nobody is safe. As S.H.I.E.L.D. turns on its once greatest asset, she seeks out her own answers in a knockdown drag-out tale of action and espionage! But will the Widow’s hunt for the Weeping Lion send her back to the one place she never wanted to go? And, when a S.H.I.E.L.D. funeral makes the assembled top brass an attractive target, it’s lucky for them that the Black Widow is still on their side, even if they aren’t on hers.

Collecting: Black Widow 1-6

So here’s the thing: I did start reading the previous Black Widow series (forgot the name of the writers) from Marvel Now! but I was left rather disappointed as her story–the overarching one, anyway–went nowhere (much as I loved the art). So I was a bit wary picking this comic up but I had heard good things about it so when I did come across it, I decided to pick it up.

Well, this story definitely starts off running and the pacing is just relentless, which is something I expect from a Black Widow story. There’s actually not much talking at the start from Black Widow, which I appreciated as I thought it’s something that’s just part of the character. She’s tough, she’s determined, and she certainly has a lot going on in her past. It was interesting to actually see a bit of her past and about the Red Room. What was a bit of a downer was the reveal of what the Weeping Lion had on her that set off the chain reaction leading her to being on the run from S.H.I.E.L.D. but overall the volume was a fast-paced romp of intrigue and action.

Rating:

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Rocket Raccoon, Vol. 2: Storytailer
By: Skottie Young, Filipe Andrade (Illustrations), Jake Parker (Illustrations)
Format/Source: Paperback; my purchase

Rocket Raccoon continues his quest to try to fix his past…um, bad calls, but as a stranger stalks him from the shadows, he just might cause a cosmic calamity on the dreaded Winter Planet! Then, what happens when you water Groot a little too much? Grootzilla! He’s faster than a speeding Rocket, more powerful than Drax the Destroyer, able to eat tall buildings in a single gulp – and he’s not happy! And Rocket’s skills will be put to the ultimate test as he challenges everything he’s known about himself. Does the Book of Half-World – the mythical text of Rocket’s early adventures- actually exist, or was it all a big hoax? Is Rocket really the last of his kind? Find out once and for all, right here!

COLLECTING: ROCKET RACCOON 7-11

All right! So I read the first volume years ago (errr, you’ll have to sift through the Marvel tag for that review), which I greatly enjoyed because of Scottie Young’s art and his grasp of Rocket Raccoon’s character. It’s still there in this volume but the vignettes were a bit different here: the first story about the Winter Planet was great, and I especially enjoyed the art there, but the story about the Book of Half-World sort of fell flat–could’ve been longer, I think–and the short story of Grootzilla was a filler, really. And the last story…well, it’s just classic Rocket Raccoon and Groot, really. All in all it was fun, but some stories were a little memorable than others. But a story with Rocket is always fun.

Rating:

The Infinity Gauntlet
By: Jim Starlin, Ron Lim, George Pérez
Format/Source: Paperback; my purchase

For the dark Titan, Thanos, the Infinity Gauntlet was the Holy Grail, the ultimate prize to be coveted above all else. Now, on the edge of Armageddon and led by the mysterious Adam Warlock, Earth’s super heroes join in a desperate attempt to thwart this nihilistic god’s insane plunge into galactic self-destruction.

With Avengers: Infinity War out in theatres, I wanted to check out the comics and what storylines were adapted for the big screen (partly in an effort to avoid spoilers–I want to see the movie for myself! (So please, no spoilers about the movie (even though I think I have some idea of what happened based on the little hints I’ve heard so far)).

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