1) A.X.E Judgement Day #5 - Written by Kieron Gillen, art by Valerio Schiti, ink by Marte Gracia
I said it in my last review and I'll say it again here: Judgement Day is the best crossover Marvel event we have had in a LONG while. King in Black had a good start, but a classic modern day marvel mediocre finish. Unlike most recent Marvel events, this series actually improves as you read it. I am VERY much looking forward to the finale, and #5 was the perfect precursor to it. The Celestial is a chilling villain, and it was awesome to see it's power on full display in this issue. Props to Gillen for using Nightcrawler as a main character in a crossover event, he is so often under utilized. If you missed out on the issues, make sure to grab the paperback when it's out! Props to the creative team of Gillen, Schiti, and Gracia for creating a highly enjoyable adventure.
2) Edge of Spider-Verse #4 - Written by Jordan Blum, David Hein, Dan Slott, and Tee Franklin, art by Michael Shelfer, Luciano Vecchio, Ty Templeton, and Jethro Morales
The Edge of Spider-Verse series has a whole has been underwhelming so far, but this issue more than makes up for it. We get an average Spider-Ham story, followed by incredible stories by Hein and Franklin. I'm all in for Sun-Spider and Spinstress, and I'm all OUT for Spider-Mobile, no thanks! I can see Disney getting their grubby little hands all over Spinstress and actually turning her into a Disney movie, so this issue is worth picking up for the value alone. Spinstress is a Marvel take on a Disney Spider Princess, and it's equal parts charming and creative with it's use of iconic Spider-Man characters. Sun-Spider is a disabled superhero (as the comic will tell you over and over again in case you missed it) who has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. The story itself is cool, and the design of Sun Spider by Jethro Morales is sleek. I would definitely pick up a solo series of that character alone, so hopefully it gets some traction! I'm sick to death of the Spider-Verse (Marvel literally won't kill it), so it was nice to get a couple new spiders who are actually fun to read.
3) DC Vs. Vampires #9 - Written by James Tynion IV and Matthew Rosenberg, art and color by Otto Schmidt
So even though I'm definitely loving the side stories for this event, twelve issues is SO long for this to wrap up. I love the story still, but now instead of a central story we are kind of just branching out a bit too far. Ollie is doing his own thing, Canary and company are infiltrating Gotham, and Kara is still trying to get...somewhere. As much as I love this comic it's getting weighed down by all its different paths. The highlight of this issue was the Black Manta reveal, and as awesome as it was it kept cutting away to meaningless scenes of Black Canary's team just...talking. It's literally only two pages, but it tears us away from the main draw, Kara's team on a suicide mission and Ollie on an even MORE suicide mission. I still think Part One of this story is an excellent read, but Part 2 has been a bit of a bore.