Mar-Vell's return was painfully dumb and best left forgotten. Unfortunately, he still shows up in the last issue of Civil War for no reason on a splash page.

I don't think any of them were truly necessary for understanding main Secret Wars series though. Maybe just the Siege mini-series because it elaborated on the interactions between Thanos and Thing? But besides that, it seemed like the main series outright contradicted the tie-ins if they were mentioned at all. It was…

I've generally avoided reading any of his work since the Kick-Ass books because it started to feel like I wasn't reading a complete story anymore, but instead a movie pitch broken down to key plot points with outrageous set pieces. You can just tell that the comics aren't where the heart of the storytelling is anymore.

Yeah I found that section to be very problematic as well.

I've been trying to complete my collection of Peter David's first Captain Marvel book by scouring $1 bins at conventions. It's one of the first titles I started buying regularly, and I already have all of the second volume, which is admittedly not as great as the first.

I'm interested in picking up Renato Jones when it hits single issues. He's a stellar artist who I feel is a little underappreciated. His writing definitely has room for improvement, but that's true for most creators who start out as artists.

I definitely want to get to Kirby/Lee FF one day because it's treated like the Lennon/McCartney of comics.

There should be some happy alternative. Why not go with a refundable safety deposit in case customers bail out?

I see what you mean. It's surprising how much of a difference it makes when the store is run by actual comic fans.

I liked it even though some of these quirks are starting to become a little formulaic. There are recurring elements that I love, such as the general use of first-person narration that depicts the extreme sense of unease the protagonist is experiencing. But then there are others whose impact is dulled for being a…

Oh cool. There's a Montasy in Midtown, near Bryant Park, too. I didn't realize they had multiple locations.

Reading Amazing Spider-Man misled me into thinking that all Silver Age titles were so joyous and accessible. I've struggled with other 60's Marvel books like Daredevil by comparison. Lee/Dito and Lee/Romita ASM are just so binge-worthy. I need to upgrade to an omnibus soon.

The "Spider-Man No More" parody issue starring the Zombie Spider-Man written by Fred Van Lente is probably when the entire series peaked.

I still need to read the original New Mutants run, but I'd like to add that the Zeb Wells New Mutants book was extremely underrated. Definitely one of my favorite recent X-books. At the very least, it's a great companion piece if anyone enjoyed Gillen's Uncanny X-Men and wondered how Magik ended up in the prison.

Two Brothers definitely continues the hot streak for Ba and Moon. At this point, I'm buying everything they work on together. I still need to go back and buy the De:Tales reprint.

Just curious: which NY store are you talking about?

The Fade Out Vol. 3 - A solid finish to one of my favorite Brubaker/Philips books so far. I'd rank this just a notch below Sleeper but above most of Criminal, except Last of the Innocent. I really enjoyed seeing them play in this old Hollywood setting. I'm still processing the unsurprisingly downbeat ending and I…

I'm pretty surprised that I ever enjoyed Smith's comic writing, but Quiver is a legitimately classic Green Arrow story and I even liked Guardian Devil when I read it in high school (though I'm afraid to revisit it).

Incorruptible had the advantage of taking place in the same interesting world Waid created, but following characters who are actually allowed to have fun sometimes.

It's funny because this series is basically Mark Waid doing a Mark Millar book. Just really violent and sadistic in an unpleasant way, but still a story I couldn't stop reading.