Marvel
News, Reviews, Features, Podcasts, & Buyer's Guides...Best Comics of 2015
Posted by Panel Beats Team at 10:28 on 31 Dec 2015

Rather than doing a ranked countdown based on any kind of consensus, we've instead individually written about which books stood out for us this year. As ever, our tastes and consumption habits can vary hugely (although there is some crossover); and of course, we're aware that we don't necessarily cover the full spectrum of everything that was published across the industry in 2015. Nevertheless, if we've mentioned it below, then as far as this site's concerned, it was a highlight of our year - and is well worth checking out if you haven't already.
Reviewing the Ultimate Universe
Posted by Seb Patrick at 10:35 on 30 Jun 2015

And so it seems as good a time as any to look back over the past decade-and-a-half of revamped, alternate-universe Marvel stories. And to do so in as much punishing detail as possible, by examining the merits of every single ongoing and mini series published under the imprint.
Daredevil liveblog
Posted by Abigail Brady at 08:00 on 10 Apr 2015

Nearly 12 hours later: Well, that was certainly the best Daredevil film I have seen. It could stand to lose a few hours.
My recommendation: don't marathon it, don't even rush it. Eke it out. There are some big spoilers out there but you should be kinda able to see them coming anyway, and while I wouldn't recommend seeking them out, I don't think your enjoyment will be substantially reduced by it.
The boldest thing about this series is the decision to entirely dump the overall tone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that mix of humour, action and emotional truth, that everything from Iron Man to Thor to Agents of SHIELD to Agent Carter has been going for (with varying degrees of success - I'm as fervent in my dislike of SHIELD as James is). This feels very different. There's a combination of tenseness and violence to it quite unlike any of the MCU stuff, with a kind of stylised approach that's also not like any of the grim crime dramas I've been watching lately. It's its own thing. I'm still not sure whether I liked that thing. But it absolutely did what it was trying to do.
Review: Agents of SHIELD 2x13: One of Us
Posted by Ian Grundy at 12:40 on 21 Mar 2015

"I've had it with these motherfucking quakes on this motherfucking plane!"
There's something deeply unsatisfying about the way the plot of Agents of Shield lurches onwards. Every episode, every scene, and every subplot seems like it was started with absolutely no idea where any of it is going. Plots are frequently resolved by different plots showing up without warning overriding the previous plot. It's like jangling keys at the audience to distract us from the previous jangling keys.
Cinematic Universe Episode 5: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Posted by Seb Patrick at 11:15 on 19 Mar 2015

Review: Agents of SHIELD 2x12: Who You Really Are
Posted by Ian Grundy at 22:50 on 11 Mar 2015

This week's episode guest-stars Jamie Alexander as Sif. Finally, a Sif episode! Sif's presence means there is a chance that someone might at some point actually say "Thor" out loud in a scene, as part of actual dialogue, to another character! As unlikely as it sounds this show actually started off as a tie-in with those popular Marvel movies, so it's always nice when someone from them actually shows up for a bit.
Oh wait, she's lost her memory. Never mind.
Cinematic Universe Episode 4: Agent Carter (2015)
Posted by Seb Patrick at 11:24 on 05 Mar 2015

(Spoilers: they don't.)
Is Spider-Gwen the most important new comic of 2015?
Posted by Seb Patrick at 20:30 on 27 Feb 2015

This is, of course, the very nature of media publicity in general - but there just seems to be something particularly acute about it in comics. Genuine, industry-shattering hits are rare - and ones that break through into the wider consciousness all the rarer - and so for that reason, the publishers seem determined to make sure that they, and not the readers, are the ones to identify which ones they'll be, so that they can be accordingly prepared to deal with them.
Cinematic Universe Episode 3: Iron Man (2008)
Posted by Seb Patrick at 11:45 on 18 Feb 2015

The Avengers react to Spider-Man joining the MCU
Posted by Seb Patrick at 11:13 on 10 Feb 2015
Tony just really, really wants someone he can build that Iron Spider costume for. 