This is the first appearance of Laura (x23) and honestly, it has little to do with her.

Instead the story focuses around Kiden, a mutant who can basically stop time and then hurt people really bad by touching them. After a incident at school leading to her favorite teacher getting shot she goes on the run. Around half way meet Laura and then a bunch of other mutant kids who are basically the "street kids".

The thing is, some of it works. The art for the most part is great. Especially the coloring. By at the same time the artist (or could be the writer who wanted this) liked to get odd shots of girls panties and such, which since we're talking about 15 or 16 year olds is weird. But then some of the dialogue is pretty good, then some is really cringy street lingo that doesn't work. Then got some interesting characters like Kiden and Laura, and then some really bad ones. I mean for every good there's a bad, and that's the problem with the book. It's a decent read and get to see Laura when she first comes on the scene but nothing beyond that.

A 2.5 out of 5.

A much better mutant related read is Ultimate X-Men volume 14 (almost to the end!) by Kirkman.

The title is strange but that's because we do a new twist on the whole Phoenix thing. The first half of the book is actually focused on relationships, friendships or love interest. It works well to have some characters grow and also question their choices. The second half is more focused on a new mutant and him joining the X-Men while Jean gets to figure out what the hell is happening with her and the Phoenix.

Overall, most of this works. I think the first half is especially strong because Kirkman wisely focuses on the relationships and most of it is great. The second half is a bit iffy. I think the stuff with the Phoenix was a bit long winded but by the end I loved the clever twist. The other stuff with the new Mutant kid is cool but he's also insainly annoying. Hopefully he pays off.

Overall pretty good, better than expected. A 3.5 out of 5, I'll round it to a 4.

Man it's like mutant mania, everything I read has them now days!

Spider-man gets to deal with a new kid who seems to be showing mutant powers. So while he tries to help him he gets visited by the X-Men and then they all work together to help the kid. But while Peter is doing that he's still trying to figure things out with MJ while also dealing with Aunt May losing her shit on Peter going missing all the time.

The X-Men stuff is the least interesting part to be honest. Kitty and Peter is cute, but the rest of it is just okay. The new kid is annoying as hell. BUT saying that the MJ stuff is wonderful and the Aunt May stuff is perfect. The ending to the final issue is perfect.

Overall good but not great. A 3 out of 5.

Bakuman continues to be an amazing read into the world of creating Manga.

This time we have our duo meet a new and upcoming manga artist and it brings a lot more lolz this time around. On top of that we get the first "writer's block" storyline and as someone who creates their own comic I feel the pain. It's such a headache to want to write, you have something in there, but nothing is coming together. But with both an artist and a writer working together the other might not wait around.

This is another really great volume with lots of insight on how it all works. I love the dialogue and characters, and the art is great to boot. The unraveling of the team so early on makes me worried what will happen in the future but I like the direction. Give me more!

A 4.5 out of 5.

Well that new member had a very brief appearance.

This starts off actually way different than I expected. The new member isn't who he seems, or is he? The X-men aren't taking chances and attack him because his powers are unstable. So the first half deals with that. The second half of this is Kurt going...well the nice way to say it, batshit insane. If this was 616 Nightcrawler I'd be annoyed, but this is a pretty interesting twist on a broken man/mutant.

Overall, was pretty good. First half was fun and exciting and kind of interesting ending to it all. Then the second half kicks in and it's jarring the jump in Nightcrawler's mood. He does some pretty terrible things. However, the very last few pages are pretty great.

I'm digging a lot of Kirkman's Ultimate X-Men here. Not amazing but good. A 3.5 out of 5.

This was pretty enjoyable!

This is a story of Brandt returning back to his home in Japan to visit family. When he was younger he promised his Grandpa he'd come to visit again once he passed away. See Brandt has the ability to talk to the dead under a tree near his home in Japan. So he does just that but he's dealing with a lot of pressure back home in America too. So between that and now visiting his past through these ghost, Brandt must figure out what he wants in life.

I really dug a lot of this. Well crafted, interesting, sad, and beautiful as well. I think what worked best was how honest this was. People are always stuck in the past. So this is the main focus as well as moving on. The ending is sad, but well done.

This is something nice to read inbetween all the action comics. A 4 out of 5.

This was pretty cool to see Captain Marvel wreck shit. She pretty much takes on every Avenger. The ending is pretty decent but overall super predictable.

I knew my boy Parrott would come on this title and fix it.

Right away you get a far better "team" and "everyday life" push into this series, and man it is perfect. Love seeing this new team work together while we have our other half of the team basically saving the universe. Gives a nice balance to both and really helps shows how vast and big the events were for Shattered.

I really enjoyed the dialogue, Parrott has a knack for making everyone sound good. I also enjoyed the fights, but quick and brutal, all good stuff. It was a bit confusing as first since I skipped a book (because I had no desire to read it TBH) so it took a bit to figure out what was happening but once I did it clicked.

Mighty MOrphin Power Rangers is back to being damn fun!

Spider-man gets to deal with Kingpin once again...and also a lot of issues with MJ and her piece of shit father.

You get to see Peter losing his cool here as Kingpin is getting off Scott free for KILLING SOMEONE ON CAMERA. This happens more often than anyone would like to admit in the good old USA, and Peter ask the questions no one wants to answer. Why? WHY IS HE FREE? He KILLED someone ON camera!!! On top of that now he has to deal with Black Cat and Electra. You thought he had girl problems before, you just wait!

Overall, super fun and important for Peter to see him grow. I love character development and they do it so well here. Peter and MJ relationship also grows as MJ has to deal with her asshole of a father. Also Aunt May has an AMAZING scene here. Really Bendis does write the best family dynamic for Peter hands down.

A 4 out of 5.

For some reason I just can't get into Tokyo Ghoul Re like I did the original series, but saying that, this is by far the best volume so far.

It mainly focuses on Shu and his depression. After believing Ken Kaneki was dead he just couldn't go on living anymore. So this time, the "mouse" has given Shu's right hand man the tools to make him come back. With Shu ready to to get his friend/lover/creepy obsession of Kaneki back what will he do to do it? On top of that Rose, the kidnappers, make their move but the CGC is on it and Kaneki and his team are lethal now.

Overall, this is pretty good. I liked the focus on Shu and getting to the point of getting out Kaneki back. The CGC is flushed out more, and I did enjoy the main core more this time around. I'm not digging a lot of the side characters and feel the author introduces so many for almost no reason other than he could. The art remains strong, and while I don't love some of the character designs looking too similar, the actual battles are getting better and better.

While not at a 4 yet, it's an improvement over volume 1-3. A 3.5 out of 5.