Cover of the Week

Are you ready to celebrate some art? You should or I’d expect you’d have little reason to be here otherwise. This one is sort of special in that it comes from an art team I’ve recently come across and whose work I’m definitely looking forward to seeing more of.

Marco Checchetto and Matt Hollingsworth, for your cover to Punisher #16, we would like to welcome you both to this very exclusive club. There’s no prize to collect. Nor are there any benefits. But I’m sure that’s okay with you guys.

Seriously, look at that. First, it would be hard to ignore the GIANT skull in the background. Then there’s Frank holding a gun to Cole’s head with blood flowing down the bottom of the cover. I wonder what that means for the story. Hmmm. I also like the reflection of both of the characters in the blood. Nice touch. It’s all topped off by the series’ colorist Hollingsworth.

As stated, I do own one issue of this series from the Omega Effect crossover (which was good reading) and I liked Checchetto’s work there. His pencils and Hollingsworth’s colors are a great combination. I’ve been a fan of Rucka for a while and haven’t read much Punisher, so I figured I’d try out the first collected volume. I’m looking forward to reading it.

What do you think of this week’s winner? Are you a Punisher reader? What do you think of Rucka, Checchetto, and Hollingsworth’s run? Let me know. Thanks for looking.

Avenging Spider-Man #7 Review

Avenging Spider-Man keeps rolling with a rotating partner and creative team. This month Kathryn and Stuart Immonen team-up with Wade Von Grawbadger, Matt Hollingsworth, and Joe Caramagna to pair Spidey with our favorite gamma powered lawyer, She-Hulk.

First, I’ll say that I don’t know much about She-Hulk. I’ve never had a problem with her, but I’ve never read much of her. But it was nice to see her appear in two books in the same week. My point in saying that was I didn’t know what to expect from her character. I imagined her to be a more laid back type of person. Again, that’s coming from a person with little knowledge of the character. She’s very serious and certainly annoyed by Spider-Man, which honestly isn’t unwarranted.

Second, the story is titled “Wadjetmacallit?!.” I kid you not. Odd, right? Well it definitely fits the story. This issue starts off with our heroes teaming up to take out some sewer creature. How did they happen to team-up? I have no idea. After this they head to an Egyptian exhibit and encounter Bastet, goddess of cats. And of course, there are TONS of cats.

Spidey maintains his usual charm. And of course that means annoying She-Hulk. Stuart Immonen’s visuals are what you’d expect from him. I really don’t have much to say on that front. I do like his She-Hulk though.

I really wouldn’t recommend this book. If you’re a She-Hulk fan, you might like it. I won’t guarantee that though. Seven issues and this is easily the least entertaining of the series.