Welcome to this week’s edition of The Comic Fanatic! This week’s I’ll be talking about Avengers VS X-Men, Age of Apocalypse, X-23, and Mass Effect Homeworlds.

First up, Avengers VS X-Men #5. You can read my full review here, but the short version is this: it’s not bad. Not great, but not bad at all either. If you’ve been along this far for the ride, there’s no reason not to continue. Just know it’s not the tastiest burger in the joint. Also, Uncanny X-Men #13 is a pretty sub-par tie-in issue. Definitely not Kieron Gillen’s best work, and a far cry from the wonder of the Breaking Point arc. We’ll see in two weeks as we hit the midpoint for Avengers VS X-Men how far it’s come, and how far it has to go.

Next up is Age of Apocalypse #4. With this issue, the series cements itself as a definite DO NOT MISS. In a contrast to the aforementioned A VS X, Age of Apocalypse is beautifully drawn, very intense, well done action, and is filled with new and exciting characters, the X-Terminated (fantastic name). The series is very dark and gritty, very reminiscent of Yost and Kyle’s X-Force. In this issue, the stakes have never been more dire for the team: Fiend lays dying in a pool of her own blood as Dark Beast and Sugarman watch. Horror Show and Prophet have been detained, Deadeye is stuck in deep cover, and Goodnight has the pleasant task of trying to awaken the Hulk from within Banner. And remember, they’re only human in a world where mutants rule supreme. The writing is spectacular, and the artwork is extremely well done. Be sure to pick up this book. Also, issue the preview for issue 5 looks awesome. Check it out:

This issue drops on July 4th Looks patriotic, Jean Grey with a ton of guns. I dig it.

Mass Effect Homeworlds #2 stars everyone’s favorite Quarian, Tali! Fans will want to read this comic, it tells the story of Tali’s pilgrimage and how she ended up in that alley where Shepard rescues her. It’s a well done book, I did really enjoy reading it, a definite improvement over issue 1. The writing is good, and so is the art, although it switches artists midway through and it is a little distracting. It tells a story that most of us wanted to hear. It was an area in Mass Effect that was told quickly, and could definitely have gone into more depth. Luckily, that is exactly what we have here, and it is well done. I am very much looking forward to next month’s issue that features Garrus.

My last pick this week is X-23: Don’t Look Back. This volume collect issues 17-21 (the end) of X-23′s solo run. It picks up where Chaos Theory left off. Sue Richards calls Laura to baby sit Franklin and Valeria for an evening. Naturally, it’s far from a simple night and includes dragons, dimensional travel, an intergalatic treasure hunter, and Hellion. We finally find out it  Laura and Julian get together or not. It’s a very well done book. Liu finished the series off very strong (she has since taken over Astonishing X-Men), and Takeda’s artwork is nothing short of amazing, and Noto does a good job as well. While I am sad this run ended, this isn’t the last we’ll see of X-23, and I was glad she got a very solid run of her own at all. Not a bad job for a character that started off as an extra on X-Men: Evolution. I was a little skeptical of the series when I found out it wasn’t going to be Yost and Kyle writing their famed creation, and it had a bit of a rocky start, but ended up being really fantastic, and one of the books I keep reading and re-reading. A fine series for a great character.

That’s all for this week, now you tell me: What have you been reading? Later, True Believers.

PS: I will be at San Diego Comic Con. If you’re going, drop me a line!