This week, we got a nice crop of X-Men comics, leading with Weapon X-Men and the 2nd issue of the divisive Ultimate X-Men. I picked up the Image Comics Spawn-adjacent #1, Rat City. And a couple of Batman comics to round out the pull list. Of course, the new Invincible Iron Man comic came out so it’s my pick of the week.
Comic Book of The Week:
Invincible Iron Man #17
by Duggen / Zircher
Even though The Orchis War has been an X-Men/mutant thing, I have to say my favorite war coverage has been inside of the Avengers tie-ins, preferably in Jed MacKay’s Avengers, and Gerry Duggea’s Invincible Iron Man. In issue #17, Tony’s final battle with Feilong comes to an abrupt close… because Iron Man finds out the truth that Nimrod and Omega Sentinel are controlling the true Orchis! To get there, this issue has Tony’s, in a concussive state, dealing with past traumas and fears. It’s apparent this is a penultimate issue, and the true batter against Orchis will conclude in the pages of the X comics. I’m hoping The Avengers will join the fight proper and we get one hell of a brawl to end the mutant Krakoa Era in style.
Duggan’s writing is, as always, damn good. I was a little unsure about guest artist Patch Zircher’s artwork at first, but his use of textures as depth because very enjoyable. Almost a mesh of old and new comic styles, with the recent style in the forefront and classic styles in the background. Kael Ngu’s covers, as always kick ass. This wasn’t the best issue in the run but it as good enough to push the story forward. I think the anticipation of the upcoming issues is what put this issue over the top.
Rating: 3.75/5
Best of the rest:
