The danger of freely dive-bombing into any and all Captain America comics stocked in the local library is I read everything hopelessly out of order. So, despite having to play some catch up (Who let Bucky go back to Russia? Steve was dead, but now isn't?), PRISONER OF WAR was EXCELLENT.

Emotional and seeking redemption, Bucky is the familiar sad bi party boy from the MCU. Steve doesn't just punch his way out of problems like a superhero: he feels and struggles emotionally like any other human. Natasha is her awesome goddess self, the one whose fighting style of smooth brutality is only matched by her love of her friends. Sharon is the voice of reason in trying times, and loves and works with her big, big heart.

And yeah, I mentioned emotion and love in the above paragraph a lot because it gets skipped over way too much in the Cap comics I've read so far. So much is overly muscular men and slinky, bendy ladies kicking butt and taking names that I feel the actual human character content is ridiculously low. Stay strong, Marvel. It's okay to feel your feelings.

To end on a lighter note, I also really enjoyed the 70th anniversary comics included at the end. Steve gets a ridiculous codename, turned into a vampire, and faints like a Victorian maiden. Excellence, indeed.

This Cap comic has so much potential and they do a lot with it, but juuuuust a smidge not enough to have me give it only 3 stars.

As is, the story is very strong. It's imaginative, emotional, and just the right kind of comics-action-y insane to really get the reader's blood pumping and tickle the little kid inside. The art is perfect and in tune with the story's tone: gritty, jagged lines and dull purple and brown colors blend with the alien bleakness. Cap becomes very desperate and that's reflected in his look, dialogue, and paneling.

AND YET, I wanted more. I'm unsure of the copyediting process within Marvel, but there's holes galore. Steve goes through a lot of physical pain, but the pain doesn't carry: at one point he explicitly breaks his hand, but approximately 5 minutes later goes on a date with Sharon looking very cleaned up and healthy. Does he have a Wolverine-level healing factor in this 'verse? Who knows. Not me.

But the biggest plot hole that I desperately wanted to fill was the parenting. Yep, you read that right. Cap is entrusted with a literal baby. Why do they time skip the parenting adventures? In addition to grappling enemies, Steve grapples with his soldiering life in this 'verse. It's a theme of this story, if not the entire Captain America comics. What's the toll of always being a solider? What is the emotional cost of always fighting, and is Steve willing to pay it? Yet the perfect opportunity for him to explore other roles are glossed over with time skips. How does he deal with feeding the baby? Does he sing old Gaelic lullabies to the baby and when they're still crying sing them the National Anthem? Does he freak out when the baby starts crawling? What's it like being on the run with a baby? Does he use a papoose? I NEED ART OF CAP RUNNING AROUND WITH A PAPOOSE. *grabby hands*

With the present internal struggles though, I did connect more to this Captain America more than CIVIL WAR's. DIMENSION Z is surprisingly good, with an obviously dedicated team behind it. I just wish they realized what a golden opportunity Daddy!Cap is.

This comic is...interesting. I feel like all the writers and artists were sick of their individual heroes, so they decided to collab and brutally smash their characters together in a twisted version of football. The result was pretty spectacular.

And also a pretty spectacular display of testosterone. I felt like I was snorting the stuff while reading this. Everyone's egos do a circle jerk of watermelon muscle masculinity, and the ladies have lots of butts/boobs shots and a few good one-liners. Some initially good decisions turn into utterly terrible "Oh god, why would you even consider that" decisions, and Cap does an abrupt about-face after being given a hug. It's a bit crazy and nuts, but overall a rolicking good punch if you're in the mood for that sort of thing.

So I already loved this volume because the title references The Doors. As hilarious as it's predecessors, there's little not to love about this Kate Bishop special, especially since the previous comics were weighed towards Hawkguy's troubles. Kate is a breath of fresh L.A. air, without the smog.

Again, too, there are diversity points, as Kate befriends Marcus and Finch, an awesome PoC gay couple, and two elderly lesbians with a cat. Kate's exuberance and determination carry the day, even when the actual plot gets as convoluted as a bow knot. Drink coffee while reading. If you spill, you get to say, "Awwww, coffee no."

In this volume of the Hawkeyes' (mis)adventures, the plot thickens. A lot. All the futzing around in the first volume catches up with them, and the baddies get bigger, bro. The humor is still as gut-tickling as the first, and special appearances of the women in Clint's life make for extra fannish happiness. There's also a section from Pizza Dog's perspective and it is the best.

I'm getting a little worried for Clint though. He needs a hug. Like, a really long, good solid hug from Kate or Natasha or somebody. He gets a little more trodden and down in this volume, and not all of it is his fault. However, the mopey bird makes the reader want to keep reading, because the writers have done everything else so well that readers can trust them to not leave the bird mopey forever.

A pizza dog, the Russian Tracksuit Mafia, snarky humor, solid characters, surprisingly good art style, and another dose of sass have never made the story of what an Avenger does in his downtime more enjoyable to read. I think what I enjoyed most, besides laughing my guts out, was how real the Hawkeyes are. If I was a superhero, I'd be like them in my downtime too: futzing around the house, sassing out friends, swapping gear, going to neighborhood BBQs, and watching Dog Cops. The comic is really refreshing and out of the ordinary, and I love the color purple just a little bit more.

As a bonus, there's body, race, and gender diversity! People come in all shapes and sizes, and there are some references to Hawkeye's hearing impairment. It's not explicitly discussed, but he does ask characters to repeat themselves and textually does not hear when others speak quietly. While unfortunately most of the main characters are white, several side characters are PoC. The bonus Young Avengers comic featured a gay, inter-species couple, which provoked a lot of squeeing on its own.

Overall, I highly recommend HAWKEYE to all readers!

This volume features teamwork, revealed story arc/Big Bad, more Liho the cat, more Isaiah the cute and bloodthirsty lawyer! Yes, yes, aaaaaand yes.

While the first volume focused in on Natasha herself, this volume features Natasha doing various team ups. Coming from an outsider perspective, some of the mash-ups didn't quite jive or I needed the extra footnote-y context as to why. Like the Punisher. Why.

BUT THEN NATASHA AND BUCKY KICKED A TON OF BUTT ON A TRAIN. Each team up teased out different aspects of Natasha's personality: Daredevil made apparent her moral qualms and lying skills; Punisher made it clear that Natasha is actually a warm fuzzy tarantula; Laura, aka X-23, brought out the femme fatale awesome sauce. The Bucky team up is above and beyond my favorite because it becomes apparent how much the author and artists are in it to win it with the BLACK WIDOW title. The dialogue is sparse, which would normally not give the artist much to work with, but instead of falling into that pit, the art adds subtlety and longing to their conversation. My fangirl heart went doki doki.

Also, my mention of Cthulhu during my last review wasn't too far off with where this series is going. Yep. I'm excited.

Wow, I'm having trouble articulating how much I love this comic. The art and coloring are drop dead gorgeous. The storyline is a familiar redemption arc (I was in love with Rurouni Kenshin for a solid decade of my life, yo), but with so many layers of heart and feeling that I eat it up like spider candy. Thank God, Cthulhu, and the Flying Spaghetti Monster that the authors are serious about making this title really about Natasha in all her femme glory. She is professional; she is deadly; she thinks she is cold; she has a big, big heart. She loves and fights with the best of them because she is the actual best.

I want to start a drinking game where readers take a sip every time there's a spider joke and I also vote Natasha to be Queen of My Life. Yep. I'm falling hard and fast for this series, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to up their awesome points by over 9,000.