May 19 releases

Atlas #1 (Parker/Hardman/Rosanas)

This Heroic Age relaunch of the Agents of Atlas focuses mainly on 3D Man, a character I have no previous experience of but Parker very quickly gets me interested in. Hardman continues to provide great art and Rosanas does well in the second story. Gold

X-Men Legacy #236 (Carey/Land)

Second Coming Chapter 8: This issue is let down by some awful 'art' by Land, more so than the last Legacy chapter. The crossover is yet to pick up from its current low though signs are it should. Bronze

X-Factor #205 (David/De Landro)

Second Coming Revelations: Great tie-in issue that showcases the X-Factor team and where David makes great use of the crossover without losing his own voice. Gold

May 12 releases

The Heroic Age: Prince of Power #1 (Pak/van Lente/Brown)

Even without Hercules, Pak and van Lente, rejoined by probably the best artist to contribute to iHerc, Reilly Brown, make this a great issue, packed full with action, great dialogue, brilliant sound effects and awesome art, with particularly good Kirby crackle on Brown's part. I never thought that I'd develop such an interest in Amadeus Cho for him to able to hold a title on his own but Pak and van Lente have been doing a great job developing his character and making him the probably the best new character this millennium, and I'd say the best depiction of a character with super intelligence. Gold

New Mutants #13 (Wells/Roberson)

Second Coming Chapter 7: After last issue's pause for reflection, the crossover doesn't really get back up to pace with this issue, which is good although the fight between Hope and Moonstar feels rather contrived and the art is quite static. Silver

May 5 releases

Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine #1 (Aaron/Kubert)

Until I learnt that Jason Aaron was writing this I didn't give it a thought, but as soon as I found that out I knew I'd be getting this. Aaron sets up an interesting story, writes a very good Spidey and Kubert provides very good art, especially with his Robinson Crusoe look for Peter Parker. Gold

Batman and Robin #12 (Morrison/Clarke)

Having been dithering over whether to continue with this title I eventually decided this issue would be the last, unless it really blew me away. Well, I'm afraid it didn't, and with the whole Return of Bruce Wayne stuff kicking off now, I don't care about the story Morrison is telling enough to put up with the jarring inconsistency of the writing and art since the brilliant first arc. So this is the last issue I'll be getting, in fact probably the last DC comic for a fair while, until Batwoman eventually shows up. Bronze

Uncanny X-Men #524 (Fraction/Dodson)

Second Coming Chapter 6: A considerably slower paced issue focusing on Nightcrawler's funeral (though Ariel is completely ignored...) but works well. The crossover is keeping a good level of quality so far. Silver

April 21/28 releases

Avengers vs Atlas #4 (Parker/Hardman and Aaron/Caracuzzo)
Enjoyable though quite hard to follow the Pym/Kang timey-wimey explanations. Hardman's art very good, Gorilla Man backup enjoyable as well. Silver

Guardians of the Galaxy #25 (Abnett/Lanning/Walker)
As great as always, Walker has improved greatly since going Guardians, the full team is together again, Star-Lord is at his best and the Thanos Imperative is set up. Gold

Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #2 (Pak/van Lente/Olivetti and Tobin/Brown)
Though the art, particularly the backgrounds (or the fact that they're not art) lets this issue down but otherwise very enjoyable as usual from Pak and van Lente, plus great backup again. Silver

Nova #36 (Abnett/Lanning/di Vito)
Possibly the last issue, hopefully not but a great issue to go out on if it is the case. Considerable improvement over the last arc, Nova back to its best yet before Thanos Imperative. Gold

X-Men Legacy #235 (Carey/Land)
Second Coming Chapter 4: First thing - Greg Land's "art" is not as bad as usual or expected, some of it, particularly Hodge's machine body, looks quite good. Story continues well though. Silver

X-Factor #204 (David/de Landro)
Second Coming Revelations: good that this isn't being dragged into the crossover fully, this issue is mostly set up for the MRD attack on the team. Silver

X-Force #26 (Kyle/Yost/Choi)
Second Coming Chapter 5: the crossover increases pace, though Nightcrawler's death was very obvious it was web handled, Choi provides incredibly detailed art. Silver

Marvel Zombies 5 #2 (Van Lente/Kano)
A lot more Aaron Stack and Howard the Duck, plus Jacali gets more development and Killraven is very interesting, really like the reality hopping to spotlight underused characters and the art is great. Gold