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The biggest question coming out of 2012’s Spider-Men miniseries was “Who is Miles Morales’ counterpart in the Marvel 616 universe?” Thankfully, the answer is finally delivered in the first issue of Spider-Men II, but not before delivering more universe-hopping drama. Before we get to that, we should start at the beginning, as writer Brian Michael Bendis chooses to open the issue a week in the future. This proves to be a perfect way to begin the tale, since it allows the reader to immediately be introduced to the titular Spider-Men, Peter Parker and Miles Morales, after the action has already begun. Artists Sara Pichelli and Justin Ponsor pull the reader back to reveal the heroes in a precarious situation surrounded by an inferno on an airplane runway, which immediately gets the mind working to figure out how they wound up in this situation. RELATED: Spider-Men II #1 Reveals the ‘Other’ Miles Morales, But Who Is He? One has to wonder what craziness our Spider-Men found themselves ent

In Daredevil #20, Charles Soule and Ron Garney deliver a satisfying conclusion to the “Purple” storyline, revealing the final puzzle pieces in the mystery of how the world forgot that Matt Murdock is Daredevil. He also returns Daredevil to a characterization of Hell’s Kitchen’s avenging angel that readers will recognize and appreciate. Gone are the apprentices, the girlfriends, and the distractions from Daredevil’s mission, and in their place stands a hero focused on a better future for his city. As if to reinforce the focus of Sole’s script, Garney’s art marks quite the departure from the more abstract styles of recent creative teams, his different line work seeming to physically represent this new beginning. RELATED: Marvel’s Purple Man Brings Matt Murdock Face to Face with… Daredevil? Similar to other Marvel characters with television/film incarnations, the comic book version is undergoing a shift to bring Daredevil more in line with his on-screen counterparts. Soule is the ideal

When Todd McFarlane’s “Spawn” reached its milestone 250th issue last month, its culminating moment featured the return of the dead twice-over Al Simmons. Paul Jenkins and JonBoy pick things up from that point in “Spawn Resurrection” #1, where God takes an unusual form and explains the big picture to Simmons. This issue, in turn, culminates with an occurrence that will come as no surprise to anyone who took a not-so-wild guess at the outcome based on the title of this one-shot; there are a couple of notable revelations about past events but, otherwise, little happens in this overly wordy and unnecessarily long bridge to “Spawn” #251. If nothing else, this issue plays well with the verbosity that’s often been present throughout McFarlane’s tenure; McFarlane is even credited with “additional dialogue” to supplement Jenkins’ story. More is not better here, though; the epic backstory relayed in this issue is plenty understandable and doesn’t require such detailed drilldown, nor does it be

Co-published by IDW and BOOM!, “Star Trek/Planet of the Apes: The Primate Directive” #1 blends the universes of two of pop culture’s most beloved licenses. Sticking with the 1960s and ’70s versions of the franchises, respectively, this series opens up by sending members of the Enterprise deep undercover. Bearing more than a passing resemblance to William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols and George Takei, the crew of the Enterprise quickly find themselves heavily embroiled in a firefight with the Klingons. Adhering to the look of the 1960s series, the Klingons are less bulbous and more savage as they were on the show. Rachael Stott has such a magnificent grasp on the ships, settings and characters from “Star Trek” that little else matters, especially since the stars of “Planet of the Apes” are limited to just a few panels in this opening issue. Stott keeps the storytelling straightforward and crisp throughout the comic, giving readers a nice, guided tour from

A tale traversing time, “Resurrectionists” #1 introduces readers to a group of people with the ability, whether known or unknown to them, to experience their lives both past and future. It’s a solid concept surrounding a modern day heist story and delivers just what a reader would want in a first issue. Fred Van Lente is an industry veteran and knows how to craft a first issue. Outside a major corporation, a woman in a black catsuit displays the ability to call back several past lives and their inherent abilities when taking down the swarm of security guards protecting the building. The reader is given a tease of what these powers look like when harnessed properly, while Van Lente leaves an ominous feeling over that scene, then shifts the story to another character just discovering these abilities for the first time. The action continues moving forward in both the past and the present as both Jericho and the reader discover how these powers manifest for the first time. The story its

In “Resurrection Man” #0, writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning and artist Ramon Bach deliver a satisfying origin story and a tidy resolution to the New 52’s run of “Resurrection Man.” Either by itself is no small feat, but combined make for an applause-worthy exit. The cliffhanger in “Resurrection Man” #12 was shocking and bizarre, but it’s also a standard trope. Is Hooker’s boss really who he claims to be and if so, how is that possible? Was it just for shock value or is there a story with substance to account for everything? Luckily for readers, it’s the latter, and “Resurrection Man” #0 explains all with a few clever twists. There’s a lot of scientific-sounding fantasy, but “Resurrection Man” lives in a bizarre mash of angels and demons and labs anyway. The wrap-up is a little too neat, but it comes off because Abnett and Lanning have laid the groundwork for it earlier. Half the issue is told in flashback, and Abnett and Lanning use dialogue and action to give the past the immedi

“Resurrection Man” #6 feels a lot like a missing issue from the late 1990s version of the series. And when I say that, trust me when I say that it’s a good thing. This stand-alone story gives us the strengths of “Resurrection Man” in a neat and concise way. While this issue follows on from previous issues, you don’t have to worry about any of those storylines. Everything you need to know is given to you in the first few pages: Mitch Shelley has been placed in Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane. He gets new powers every time he dies (and comes back to life). And the staff of Arkham is doing everything in their power to keep him from killing himself because they think he’s nuts. From there, the sky’s the limit. Mitch has to deal with being doped up (to try and keep him from killing himself) so that he can’t focus and use his current power, with corrupt guards on the take, and of course, trying to get himself killed among Arkham’s super-villains. It’s a fun inversion on the normal

Last month’s return of “Resurrection Man” was a pleasant surprise, an updating of an old cult favorite in comics and slotting it into the new DC Universe. This month? It doesn’t just feel like it’s a book back from the dead, it actually feels to this long-time “Resurrection Man” reader like this could have somehow been “Resurrection Man” #29, not #2. Don’t worry, if you haven’t read the previous “Resurrection Man” series, that doesn’t mean you’ll be lost. If anything, a trip to Wikipedia will give you more information than main character Mitch Shelley has, due to his amnesiac state. Rather, “Resurrection Man” #2 feels even more like the first series, with all the creators fully settling in. Not worrying about backstory or convoluted plots, most of this issue revolves around Mitch’s quest to find his past — and that ends up being a combination of a lost member of his family, and two faces from his past that he’d rather have kept lost. With Mitch being unable to permanently die, forev

Philip K. Dick’s work is hot right now with numerous film and comics adaptations. With a remake of “Total Recall,” the adaptation of Dick’s short story “We Can Remember it for You Wholesale,” in the works, a comic book sequel to the film is a natural idea. After “Blade Runner,” “Total Recall” is in a tight race with “The Minority Report” for the most well-known Dick-adapted movie and lends itself to a continuation as this issue shows. The first issue picks up where the film ended and is logical in how it proceeds, working on a conceptual level, but falling down on execution. The film may have ended on a happy point with Mars gaining a breathable atmosphere, freedom from Cohaagen’s rule, and Doug Quaid/Hauser getting the girl, but the comic takes those positives and immediately turns them on their head. Mars is still a battleground with the rebels fighting a chaotic government and the planet still seen as a support base for the Northern Block on Earth. It’s also clear what the directi

Warren Ellis began writing “Hellblazer” with issue 134 in December 1998 for what seemed like a lengthy run on the book, but his run concluded a mere nine issues later with Ellis leaving the book. At the time, he explained why online: “I have resigned as writer of the DC Vertigo title HELLBLAZER effective with #143. This follows an incident regarding #141, a story entitled ‘Shoot.’ ‘Shoot’ concerned the recent spate of child-on-child schoolyard slayings in American schools. Its creation and treatment predated the Columbine massacre. At the last moment, DC’s executive level felt that the story could not go out in its original form. All media, particularly the narrative arts, are particularly sensitive to the politics of post-Columbine blame-placement at this time, and their concern was entirely justified given their position and special responsibilities. But the changes required created a story that I could not stand behind as a writer.” Ever since, “Shoot” was only available online in