Of the ones I've read Loki, Ms. Marvel, Black Widow, and Secret Avengers are the cream of the crop. The first two are just a brilliant combination of art and writing. BW has GORGEOUS art and while the first issue's writing was good, it seemed a bit... lacking. But the book's really picked up and on a second reading I glommed a lot more to that first ish. Secret Avengers reads like a team book version of Fraction's Hawkeye book and it's glorious.
Silver Surfer, Ghost Rider, and Moon Knight are more wait and see. I love Allred's art but I've got to give it a couple issues to see if I'm really in love with it. But it seems not that much of a stretch from Slott's run on She-Hulk which was absolutely glorious. Ghost Rider's art is interesting and I like the premise but it was super decompressed and the writing was honestly a bit hackneyed. But Tradd Moore is really doing some interesting things with the layouts and representation of speed. Moon Knight honestly felt like phoned in boilerplate Ellis, though I do like Ellis.
WatXM seemed trying a bit too hard to be catching the quirkiness of Aaron's run, but the humor didn't really click for me. Magneto, Avengers World, and X-Factor just didn't really grab me. Both of Robinson's books are a bit of a disappointment so far.
And Avengers Undercover will probably be good... I liked what Hopeless did with the Avengers Survivor thing.
I few of those I have no plans on bothering with because I don't really care about the characters, but there are indeed some really great books already.
Silver Surfer - I could read this just for the art, but I really enjoyed the writing too. I like this less-serious take on Silver Surfer. It's not goofy but it's not so dark and serious like it seems every other SS story I've ever read is.
Moon Knight - I'm a little leery of the diagnosis that he
doesn't actually have DID but is instead infested by an alien
, but the book is good enough to give it a chance. This is like Silver Surfer in that it's a different type of story for the character, but it's a little more weird for Moon Knight. The way he talks and interacts with others...he's less like Moon Knight and more like, well, a lot of Warren Ellis characters. But it's a really good book and the art is good.
Ghost Rider was pretty bad. I just didn't like it, and really didn't care for the change to a car from a motorcycle.
I've complained about this elsewhere, but Fantastic Four is god awful.
She-Hulk is great; I think there is a thread for this one as well.
Avengers World looks promising - maybe a little more promising than even the main Avengers book. Hickman has been a little disappointing on Avengers so far.
Black Widow has been great as well. Pretty standard stuff for the character but well done.
Punisher seems like the most polarizing book, for me anyway. I like the art and it's not poorly done, but it's a really radical departure for the character. It's really weird seeing Frank Castle frequenting a restaurant with his friends who help him. It's just really, really weird.
Ms. Marvel is pretty good. Good enough to give it a fair shake anyway.
I just read the first issue of Kaare Andrews's new Iron Fist and it is excellent! The art looks great of course but I wasn't sure what to expect writing-wise because I seem to remember he wrote something recently that wasn't that good, but I couldn't remember what that was or if I was confusing him with someone else. But it doesn't really matter because it's really great.
Also Secret Avengers #2 is an improvement. It still feels like the writing is trying too hard to be as quirky as possible but it's not off-putting, and the art is bee-yoo-tee-ful. It reminds me a little of NEXTWAVE.
Ms. Marvel: Brilliant, book. It's great having someone who is of the Muslim religion write about someone of that faith than trying to have someone who isn't knowledgeable or is trying to pass off as such write this. Two issues and it's one my new favorite books if not the favorite one.
She-Hulk: Another great hit. The Hawkeye-vibe it has is working for this book. Plus Pulido's art on it is working wonders. We still get superhero She-Hulk in other books and it's great to see her still be a lawyer when she's not busy fighting baddies.
Magneto: A surprise hit for me. I didn't think it was going to be bad, but when announced I wondered how exactly a Magneto ongoing would work. And boy, it really works. Cullen Bunn is writing this series where Magneto is basically the "X-Men Punisher" and it couldn't be more exciting.
Black Widow: I was honestly only going to read this because Phil Noto is the artist and Phil Noto is one of my favorite artists. The story, however, has been as just amazing as the art.
Avengers Undercover: Have not checked out this book, but maaaaaybe I will at some point. Still deciding.
Fantastic Four: It's decent. I don't hate it, it's not great or anything, but decent. That's all I can really say. Will keep reading it.
Daredevil: Read the first issue and thought it was OK. I haven't read all the issues in the previous volume with Waid, so maybe it didn't have as a big impact on me as with others. Might go back to it at some point.
Punisher: Have not read this, although I've seen lots of praises for it. Will likely check it out soon.
Ghost Rider: I don't mind the art, but man the story is bad. There's really no context as to what's going on. We don't get properly introduced to the characters, their world, or what's happening to them, etc. It's like snippets of moments were taken and put together. Wait a minute, this book is basically like a preview, like what websites get!
Invaders: Have not read it. Kind of want to check it out for the original Human Torch alone.
X-Factor: It's an OK book, IMO. But I loves me Doug and Warlock (Warlock's the best), so that's cool.
Avengers World: Not bothered to really read this one. I don't know why. Nothing that I've seen really makes me want to check it out, except for the Shang-Chi issue, but even that seemed like a let-down.
Secret Avengers: Read the first issue and thought it was great. I think I will be adding this to my reading pile.
Loki: Have not gotten to read this one yet. I will sooner or later.
Moon Knight: Weird series, but that's Ellis. And that's OK because it's great.
Silver Surfer: I was excited to read this and the first issue did not disappoint. Allred makes it infinitely better.
Wolverine and the X-Men: Latour has so far done a good job with the series and continuing on some plot point Aaron wrote in the previous volume. Asrar's art is superb. Needs more Iceman.
Marvel has done a great job with their books. They've really stepped things up. Sure, there are still some bad ones out there, but no one's going to bat a thousand. Marvel is kicking DC's butt in films and in comics.
Kaare Andrews' Iron Fist is flat out gorgeous, and a pretty drastic tonal change from the Iron Fist we've seen for years.
Ice, you need to check out Loki. It's easily the cream of the crop.
And I agree with Ghost Rider. The art for the chase sequences is stellar, but I haven't really kenned to the character work. As for the writing, it's pretty bare, and what is there is pretty bland and stereotypical. That's a shame, given that I kind of like the core premise. Muscle car grindhouse should be a lot cooler than what we're given here.
Man, how good is Silver Surfer? I can't believe this is the same guy writing Spider-Man. After I read #2 I felt like this is already the best book they're making right now.
