The Punisher #31 - So we start a new arc. Let me say first, I'm glad they at least mentioned the Anti-Punisher Task Force set up in the last arc. Even if it was a sham, made by a guy under the control of Romanian slave traders, the police wouldn't have dropped it, even with the sudden death of that cop. So to see it mentioned, nice. Not so nice is Goran Parlov's art. It's not bad, but after Fernandez' work in the last two arcs, it doesn't quite match up. It has a slightly more cartoon feel, or at least less gritty, which worked very well for Frank Castle.The plot? Frank Castle kills some coke dealers. Big surprise, except he saved someone's life while doing so. This doesn't seem like much of a surprise either. Frank often seems to get mixed up in these larger incidents because he saved someone while doing his killing. Well, he saves the guy from more rape, and the guy seems to take it rather well. By which I mean, he's not hysterical, or really in tears or anything. He seems much more concerned about Frank leaving him there to let the cops help him. Frank, while enjoying a burger (could I eat meat if I frequently turned people's faces into something resembling hamburger?), sees a news report about the incident, recognizes someone in the background, and decides he better help that guy out after all. Which means Mr. Castle is going to the police station. Remember kids, cops don't like it when you toss grenades around in their precinct. All this was mixed in with an apparently very rich man, talking to a subordinate who was apparently responsible for Stephens being in the position to be saved by the Punisher. Clearly this rich man will be dead by the end of this arc, which I'm sure will cause problems for Frank Castle. 3 out of 5, because it didn't really grab me.
Spider-Girl #96 - So, like I said last month, Kaine's attempt to protect Spider-Girl from the Brotherhood of Scriers, has ended up putting a target on her back. Way to go there big fella, the Parker luck is strong in this clone. May is also trying to deal with school at the same time. She runs into the guy she used to have a crush on, until she found out he was a mutant-hating bigot. Apparently, that's a turnoff (am I using apparently too much?). Coach Flash Thompson wants May to rejoin the basketball team, but May still thinks it's wrong to use her powers against normal people, so she can't. That gets Felicity Hardy, daughter of Flash and Felicia Hardy and the current Scarlet Spider, on her case, because her dad's jobs in trouble. Oh yeah, Normie Osborn is now flaunting the fact he has the Venom symbiote in front of federal agents. Brilliant. Normie is worrying me more all the time.On her way to the hospital* (*her friend Moose's dad got injured in the fight last issue - CoolMint Calvin) she get jumped by a Scrier. He's supposedly just testing her, but when she whups his butt, he immolates himself. Sore loser Buddhist wannabe. This book marches towards the end, and though there were some nice moments, it still feels like set-up for next month. Which is what I said last month. Bad DeFalco! 2 out of 5.
X-Factor #4 - This wraps up the initial case the crew was working on. The answer to the case of "the dead girl in the movie star's bed" is solved, thanks to Monet's. . . telepathy. *Sigh* Have I mentioned in the last week that I hate how many telepaths there are at Marvel? Monet can fly, has superstrength, and invulnerability, does she need telepathy? She's like Power Girl, minus the heat vision, plus an aggravating attitude. I get that it's an act, or at least that's the feeling I get later on, but damn. She could tone it down a bit. She seems to have a pretty biting wit, but she's needlessly cruel at times. Maybe she needs a lesson in boundaries?Admist this, I get the impression Jamie Madrox is a severe danger to everyone, as it appears that one of Jamie's duplicates has been reading Jake's posts because he makes a rather bold proclamation at one point. Meanwhile, Siryn helps Guido and Rahne get the point across to the cops. What was the point? We're the force here, back the fuck off. The cops, to their credit, get the message, though they'd have to be deaf to have missed it. Of course, they probably are deaf now. . .
Oh yeah, and Layla Miller's creativity and dark sense of humor continue to amuse me. I know some people don't like her, because she was a plot device for House of M, but seeing as I mostly ignored that, I'm perfectly OK with her, especially as Peter David is doing some interesting things with her. The really funny thing to me is that she and these Singularity people seem to be working towards a similar goal, though they may not realize it. Layla has to keep X-Factor from figuring out why mutants got depowered, Singularity wants to stop Madrox from undoing the depowering. yet their guy was ready to kill her. Funny stuff. So between the resolution of a case, and a nice set-up for next month, I'll give this a 4 out of 5.
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