Some kind of enormous fight's happening behind me, isn't it?

S.H.I.E.L.D. Infinity ****
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Zachary Baldus, Kevin Mellon, Nick Pitarra, Gabriel Hernandez Walta
Cover Artists: Gerald Parel, Dustin Weaver, and Christina Strain
Publisher: Marvel

Those of you who enjoyed the first arc of S.H.I.E.L.D. and are waiting patiently for the next arc to start must pick up this book. It was so great. Hickman is doing a fantastic job integrating science fiction into the human history and it is mindblowing at how well how everything flows seamlessly. While the issue does leave the reader wistfully wishing for Weaver's art, it gets the job done.

Steve Rogers Super Soldier Annual #1 **1/2
Writer: James Asmus
Artist: Ibraim Roberson
Cover Artist: Ibraim Roberson
Publisher: Marvel

Uh. There is so much wrong about this story. So instead of listing off those things, I'll just say what's good about it. For one, the art is absolutely gorgeous. Ibraim Roberson has done such an amazing job in the past with the X-books and does not fail to bring it in this issue. With regards to the story, the best part of the book was when Steve Rogers gave Hope the verbal smackdown. While I'm talking about Hope, I don't particularly understand what Marvel is trying to accomplish with the character. I mean, are they purposefully trying to make readers dislike her? She got out of her shackles faster than a blind guy and then belittled him for it? WTF?

Uncanny X-Force #7 ****
Writer: Rick Remender
Artists: Esad Ribic, John Lucas, and Matthew Wilson
Cover Artists: Esad Ribic, John Lucas, and Matthew Wilson
Publisher: Marvel

Oh hell yes. This book is so good on so many different levels. For one thing the art contines to be lovely. It's got a great gritty, graphic approach to it that really enhances the overall story. The only thing that I don't understand is why Deadpool had to change his costume. It's a little too similar to Fantomex's costume and it makes no sense when it comes to blending in to the environment, but that's a small complaint. Fantomex is the this arc's headliner and Remender handles that extremely well. "The World" is one of the more interesting aspects to come out of Morrison's run on the New X-Men and Remender does a great job of incorporating that into his story. The end reveal is shocking and totally awesome. Not only does it tie the first two arcs together, making the series a more cohesive single plot, but it also sets up the upcoming "Age of Apocalypse" plot.

Uncanny X-Men #535 ****
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artists: Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson, and Justin Ponsor
Cover Artists: Terry Dodson, Rachel Dodson, and Justin Ponsor
Publisher: Marvel

It's the start of Gillen's run on Uncanny and this issue also marks the return of Breakworld. For those of you not in the know, Breakworld was the story arc which ended Joss Whedon's run in Astonishing X-Men and saw Kittty absorbed into a bullet. That was a great arc and I hope this arc does it justice. This first issue was pretty well done. There was a nice undertone of humor in an otherwise serious situation. The end reveal was intriguing, to say the least. We'll have to see how everything else progresses. Oh! How could I forget, a hearty welcome back to the artist team of the Terry and Rachel Dodson and Justin Ponsor. Their art was a major part of what Made Uncanny so great in recent years, so it's nice to have that back.

X-Men Legacy #247 ****
Writer: Mike Carey
Artists: Clay Maan and Jay Leisten
Cover Artist: Mico Suayan
Publisher: Marvel

I'm sure a lot of people, like yours truly, had suspected Legion's role in this event but even with that, the reveal was handled in a great way. The flashback explaining Xavier and Nemesis' role in all of this was intriguing, it was unexpected, but at the same it it made perfect sense. Throughout the event we've been seeing Carey do remarkable things with the characters in this alternate world and he continues to provide in this issue. The scene on the battle field between Basilisk and Cannonball was brilliant. We start to see signs of the the "real" Scott and Sam shining through the farce and it is awesome.

As usual, my DC reviews can be found at ComicAttack.net!