Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 18: Ultimate Knights by Brian Michael Bendis (Writer), Mark Bagley (Penciler), Stuart Immonen (Penciler), Drew Hennessy (Inker), Wade Von Grawbadger (Inker), Justin Ponsor (Colorist), VC;'s Cory Petit (Letterer)

In the previous comics, Peter Parker has broken up with Mary Jane because it is just too dangerous for him to date anyone. But that's before he meets Kitty Pryde of the X-Men who can take care of herself.   And Kitty has a problem with Peter being friends with MJ.  To be fair, MJ is kinda trying to win Peter back.  MJ and Peter get back together but Peter never really gets around to telling Kitty face to face that it's over.  Now Kitty Pryde is out of the X-Men and her school district is Peter and MJ's which makes things very awkward.

Peter gets approached by Matt Murdoch who reveals his identity as Daredevil to him in order to convince him to meet with him and some others that night on top of a building to discuss The Kingpin and what to do with him.  One of them suggests killing him, but Matt and Peter believe in bringing him to justice and the others go along with that.  The group includes Moonlight, Iron Fist, and Shang Chi.  Moonlight, who isn't stable mentally, agrees to go undercover as a bodyguard for Fisk and gather intelligence.

It turns out that one of the five is working for Fisk and giving him info on the group so the plan is blown right from the start.  Moonlight is sent to Peter's school to attack it and bring back Spider-Man and later Moonlight is killed off.  Daredevil loses it and wants to kill Kingpin especially since he knows Matt's identity due to a slip by Peter, who is put in the position of talking him off the ledge and remind him that the world can turn on a dime.

This was a fantastic comic, but I'm biased as I love any comic with Daredevil in it. Its a poorly executed plan to take down the Kingpin, but I like how the Kingpin can get to any one of them and make them turn traitor.  This was my first Moonlight comic and I found him very interesting and refreshing. It also includes a long discussion at the end with Aunt May about him being Spider-Man that was long overdue as she found out in the previous comic.  I give this comic a four and a half out of five. 

Listed On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Spider-Man-Vol-18-Knights-ebook/dp/B00GUNOWF0/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=ultimate+spiderman+18&qid=1587646270&sr=8-1

A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

A\ bizarre case has come up and both of Scotland Yard's finest detectives have been assigned to the case: Lieutenant Lestrand and Lieutenant Gregson.  Gregson invites Sherlock Holmes, the consulting detective to join them on the case.  The two detectives have left the scene untouched for Sherlock.  When he arrives he notices that a taxi had been there the night before judging by the carriage wheels.  He also noticed that there were two men involved--one tall and one with expensive shoes.  The one with expensive shoes was found dead inside.  The dead man had a look of horror on his face and the smell of poison on his breath.  There was blood splattered and the word RACHE written on the wall.  A woman's wedding ring is near the body.             

When they go to check on the dead man's secretary they find him dead of a stab wound to the side entering the heart and the word RACHE, which is German for revenge, written in blood above his head and the window open.  Sherlock has figured out the mystery but he needs to gather some evidence first for the detectives while the detectives have their own erroneous ideas and are mainly depending on Sherlock to solve it for them for their job security and fame.  Sherlock is getting sick of not getting credit for his work. John Watson has an idea of what to do about this.

There's a section on Mormonism that's a small part of it and drags a bit, but it picks up soon after.  For those who watched the Cumberbatch and Freeman series, you will notice that the two are different, yet similar.  I prefer the book's version as on the show the killer didn't seem to have much of a motive.  This was a really good book and I give it four and a half out of five stars.

*For those who watch Elementary they will notice that the character on that show Captain Gregson bears no resemblance to Lieutenant Gregson his counterpart in Scotland Yard.

Quotes

It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence.  It biases the judgment.

          -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (A Study in Scarlet p 23)

To a great mind nothing is little.

          -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (A Study in Scarlet p 49)

Listed On Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Study-Scarlet-Arthur-Conan-Doyle/dp/1514698854/ref=sr_1_3?crid=37NZJ9Y5WP051&keywords=a+study+in+scarlet&qid=1580302402&sprefix=a+study%2Caps%2C194&sr=8-3

     

Young Avengers Vol 1: Style >Substance by Kieron Gillen (Writer), Jamie McKelvie (Artist), Mike Norton (Artist), Matthew Wilson (Colorist), VC's Clayton Cowles (Letterer)

Loki died and was reborn as a young kid with young powers.  Loki tries to get America to do something but she doesn't stick around long enough to find out what it is.  Kate Hawkeye is in space with a Kree named Noh-Varr that everyone calls Marvel boy.  They get attacked by the Skrull and have to fight them off.  Teddy, a Skrull teen disguises himself as Spiderman to be a hero upsets his boyfriend, Billy who is the son of the Scarlet Witch and being raised by two humans.  Billy is a reality-altering witch and he goes through different possible worlds until he finds one with Teddy's mom alive on it and brings her back alive. 

But the creature he brings back is a parasite, not his mother and she takes over the minds of Billy's parents.  Billy and Teddy go to the Scarlet Witch for help but she is bespelled as well and sees nothing wrong.  They go to Loki but his price is Billy's powers which is ridiculous.  America comes in to help and Kate says she'll come as soon as she's finished with the Skrull.  America's parents have joined Billy's parents in hassling them as well as Marvel boy's parents.  Billy breaks down and decides to let Loki borrow his powers for ten minutes and Loki makes the most of it for himself.  The rest of them will just have to try to fight it out.

This comic was okay, though the art was fantastic.  Like when Billy is trapped in a plain white box and Loki comes along and saves him and then the two of them walk along the tops of the boxes looking for something.  Or when Billy and Teddy are fighting Laufey and the panels are shattered like from his ax.  There are many more examples.  I really enjoyed the art and because of it I give this book four out of five stars.

Listed On Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Young-Avengers-Vol-Kieron-Gillen/dp/0785167080/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3JXHG0JOSZHQ1&keywords=young+avengers+vol+1&qid=1580142696&sprefix=Young+avengers%2Caps%2C203&sr=8-1

Agent Carter: Operation S.I.N. by Kathryn Immonen (Writer), Rich Ellis (Artist), Jordan Boyd (Colorist), Raono Perez (Artist), John Rauch (Colorist), VC's Joe Sabino (Letterer), Jared K. Fletcher (Letterer)

  Taking place in 1952, Howard Stark ropes Peggy Carter into going to the Soviet Union to investigate something suspicious.  Her minder, Tania isn\t really her minder. She locked him up in a van. She wants to find her father who is locked up in gulag prison and she thinks that a group of Americans is her best bet to finding him.

They meet up with Stark's contact, a man named Woodrow McCord, who is prejudiced against anyone who is not like himself.  So when they meet a young man who can turn into a bear in the woods, he wants to kill him.  They stop him from doing this.  And when they meet an alien who is working at a gulag run by Hydra he really wants to kill her even after she saves Tania's life by healing her.

The alien's mate has been trapped here for so long he no longer remembers who he is and he has turned into a black hole.  If they use the transponder from her plane and give it to him he will think it's her and leave them alone.  Meanwhile, the bear guy is trying to rescue everybody in the gulag. And Howard and Anatol, a scientist who has been working on groundbreaking stuff and is in love with the alien, who wants to stay with him, argue over where scientific discovery should take place.  Then Hydra comes back and captures them all. Will they escape?

This comic brings up the prejudices of the 1950s that McCord exhibits and resonates.  It also brings up the pertinent question of who should be trusted with knowledge and what is done with it.  Peggy Carter is a great character and so is Howard Stark.  Also included in the comic Captain America and the First Thirteen which takes place during the war in France and involves Peggy and Captain America on a mission.  Overall this was an okay comic and I give it three stars out of five stars. 

List On Amazon.http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=35.48425475165652&lon=-80.61926938387415#.WCMiRWsrKM8
 

Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

Fifty years ago at what was called The Turn, witches, warlocks, werewolves, vampires, pixies, faeries, etc....were revealed to the humans because of a virus is known as the Angel virus infected a strain of tomatoes and were wiping out humans but not those with special powers.   After getting over their want to kill them they came to realize that these people were keeping society going and helping to save their sick population. There are two law enforcement agencies. One for the Interlanders or I.S. and one for the humans or FIB, Federal Interlander Bureau.

Rachael Morgan works for the I.S. with Jenks a pixie as her back up.  But she\s getting tired of her assignments which are for rookies.  She's thinking of going out on her own and this last assignment involves a leprechaun so she can get three wishes. That\s when Ivy, a vamp she had done some runs with but who was at the top of the runners wants to join her in her enterprize as does Jenks. So they move into a church that has an incredible kitchen and an amazing garden only a witch or a pixie could love.  Jenks got one wish from the Lephrechan and that was for to be sterile. Ivy got the other wish.  And the first wish was Rachael's to not get caught. 

One night Rachael is wearing Ivy\s nightgown and is wanting to talk about bloodlines in Vampires and when Ivy gets up and leaves the kitchen to go to the living room she follows her.  All of these are signs of you being turned on the person.  Even though Ivy knows Rachael isn't turned on by her, the pheromones are in the air and she jumps her. She doesn't do anything just tells her to leave.  The next day she gives her a book on dating a vampire and the things you can do to turn your vampire on.  Such as wearing their clothes to mix your scents, talk about bloodlines, and follow your lover into another room.  Now Rachael is scared of Ivy even though Ivy gave up drinking blood three years ago. 

Racheal gets this crazy idea to go into Trent Kalamack's office and get proof that he is dealing with bio drugs and making them as well.  Trent is a mysterious individual who deals in Brimstone and whom no one is sure what he is.  So Rachel does a transformation spell and turns herself into a mink and Jenks goes with her.  They find what they need when the alarm sounds. Jenks gets out, but Rachel is caught.   For three days Rachael spends in a cage hearing Trents\s plans for shipping bio drugs.  If she can catch him dealing in bio drugs it will pay off her contract with I.S.              And they'll be no more fairie assassins or were attacks, or vamp interest that is held off by Ivy. The Fairie attacks are thwarted by Jenks and his family.  And the Weres are wary of going on holy ground. 

Trent decides he'd make more money off of Rachael if she was fighting in the Rat Fights.  But Rachael doesn't want to kill anyone, even a rat and that\s when she runs into a human who had been turned into a rat that she\s supposed to fight.  They find a way out of it and a way to escape with Jenks's help. The rat is a human whose name is Nick and he is an odd one at that. 

This book hits the ground running and doesn't stop.  I love the main characters with Rachael and her red hair and how she mucks things up but manages to get things right in the end and Ivy who has to plan things to death and can fight to the death and Jenks who fears to be alone and wants a partner to do runs with.  Rachael can be at times frustrating and delightful. Jenks can be a real sweetheart.  Ivy is a tortured soul who desperately wants a friend. This is an excellent book with a great storyline and fabulous characters. I give it five out of five stars. 

Quotes

It looked like Yoda's kitchen meets the Galloping Gourmet.

          --Kim Harrison (Dead Witch Walking p 107)
             
Link to Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Dead-Witch-Walking-Kim-Harrison/dp/0061567191/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2VOSFCSXRT2AH&keywords=dead+witch+walking%5C&qid=1579707215&sprefix=dead+wi%2Caps%2C194&sr=8-1

The Red-Headed League by Sir Authur Conan Doyle

In this Sherlock Holmes mystery, Watson is there to chronicle everything down. A red-headed man comes to them with a wild tale of an advertisement that his assistant had noticed in the paper that a member of the Red-Headed league had died and that it needed to be filled that it was begun by Ezwwkah Hopkins. Members were to do nominal work and receive a great fee in exchange.  His assistant points out the ad in the paper for redheaded men of a certain caliber to replace a man who has passed.

The red-headed man has come to Sherlock because the club suddenly stopped after a month or so and he wants to know if this was some kind of prank and if so than by who and why.  Sherlock takes the case because it is interesting and because there is a famous thief involved that he has always wanted to get.  This story is intriguing and while you might figure part of it out you won't figure the whole thing out.  But the best thing the story has is redheads.  I give this story four out of five stars.

Listed On Amazon:shttps://www.amazon.com/Sherlock-Holmes-Red-Headed-League-Specially/dp/1092117024/ref=sr_1_14?crid=2DT07UL0S61C5&keywords=red+headed+league&qid=1579535569&sprefix=redheaded+lea%2Caps%2C188&sr=8-14

Wonder Woman Vol 7: Amazons Attacked by James Robinson (Writer), Emanuella Lupacchino (Artist), Ray McCarthy (Arthist), Carmen Carnero (Artist), Stphen Segovia (Artist), Jesus Merino (Artist), Marco Santucci (Artist), Romulo Fajardo Jr (Colorist), Saida Remofonte (Letterer).

Grail, the daughter of an Amazonian warrior and Darkseid, an evil creature who.was killed by the Justice League, but he has now been reborn as a baby and his daughter is killing the children of Zeus including Hercules who left all his belongings to Wonder Woman including the location of her twin brother Jason, who goes to live with one of the Argonauts.  Grail needs energy from these children to help Darkseid grow older and stronger. While Diana didn't know that she had a brother, her brother knew about her.  He promised Glaucus that he wouldn't seek her out for fear of Hera's wrath.  But he wondered why she didn't seek him out.  Glaucus went away one day leaving him alone and soon Grail came along and kept him company telling him that she would only take a little bit of energy from the sons and daughters of Zeus--not kill them.  She helped fuel his hatred for Diana who had left him stuck on that Greek island in his viewpoint.  The two gang up on Diana and drag her away for a certain plot that Grail has planned.  Wonder Woman allows herself to be tied up so she can try to get through to Jason, but she doesn't succeed.  So she breaks free from her bondage and kicks some ass on both of them. When Darkseid arrives to join in the fight, Wonder Woman doesn't back down.  She'll take him on alone.  But she won't have to.

Jason has decided to be a superhero but he's off to a rocky start by bringing strangers home to party at Diana's home.  Steve doesn't trust him and Diana is practicing tough love on him because she doesn't want to see him get killed because he was careless.  Then Jason disappeared for a while and came back with a powerful new suit and no memories of how he got it but dreams of giants and that it was given with love but it comes with a price and he'll have to do something with the suit soon.

Steve and his Oddfellows get the last of the relics and lock them up in A.R.G.O.S.  Wonder Woman fights Grail and gets her under the Lasso of Truth and finds out some of Darkseid's plan.  He wants the rest of the relics and he plans to go to Themyscira to do what is anyone's guess.  Wonder Woman is trying to get out of the two captured Furies what Darkseid's plan is when he attacks A.R.G.O.S. to get at the relics.

Can Wonder Woman defeat Darkseid when before it took the entire Justice League to defeat him?  And what about Grail and her evil part in this?  Will Themysciara be safe without Wonder Woman able to step foot on it to warn them or help them?  Jason is shaping up to be an interesting character now that he's calmed down and taking things more seriously.  I only worry that the cost of that suit will be too high.  Also included is a story at the beginning of Wonder Woman and the Silver Swan.  This was a great comic and I give it five out of five stars.

Listed On Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Wonder-Woman-Vol-Amazons-Attacked/dp/1401285341/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3FORV0MXVQMI2&keywords=wonder+woman+vol+7&qid=1579267312&sprefix=wonder+woman+vol%2Caps%2C193&sr=8-1

A Field Guild to the Jewish People, Who They Are, Where They Come From, What to Feed Them, What They Have Against Foreskins, How Come They Carry Each Other Around on Chairs, Why They Fled Egypt By Running Straight to a :Large Body of Water , And Much Much More,Maybe Too Much More by Dave Barry, Adam Mansbach, and Alan Zwelbel

This book is the ultimate guide to all things Jewish.   It is written by humor columnist Dave Barry, who is the son of a Presypreterian minister, and Alan Zweibel who wrote for Saturday Night Live.
The way to tell the difference between the different denominations is this way: Place a pork chop on a plate in front of a synagogue and see how each behaves.   "Ultra-Orthodox--would walk past the pork chop because it's not kosher. Hasidim--would put their arms over their heads and dance past the pork chop because it is not kosher.  Orthodox--Would roundly boo the Hasidim because you are not allowed to dance on the Sabbath.  Humanistic--Would smack the Orthodox because you are not allowed to roundly boo on the Sabbath.  Conservative--Would remove their coat place it over the pork chop, just stand there whistling some Israeli folk tunes, then when no one was looking would pick up their coat with the pork chop hidden underneath, cut through neighbor's backyards, and sneak it into their detached garages because their homes are kosher.  Reconstructionists--would do all for the above except they'd actually eat the pork chop in their home before covering their house with a tent and moving into a motel for the month it was being fumigated.  Renewal--would pick up the pork chop, drive to a post office and mail it to a Gentile friend.  Messianic--would pick up the pork chop with a pair of tongs, walk to the post office because you can't drive on the Sabbath, sleep in the post office lobby because you can't handle money to buy the stamps on the Sabbath, and then mail it to a Gentile friend on Monday morning with the post office reopens.  Reform--would make a beeline dash to Ikea where they'd buy a table and a chair and then rush back and eat he pork chop right there on the sidewalk while going on dictionary.com to find o the meaning of the word Sabbath."

One of the great things about Judaism is sex.  Sex is important and it is considered holy. The Talmid lays out how much a man is to have sex based on his job.  Independently wealthy means once a day while a laborer is twice a week and a sailor is once every six months.  It has been updated for modern jobs such as a doctor, lawyer, accountant which is daily and venture capitalist which is five times daily.  Women do have a say as to whether or not they have sex, which is where the joke comes from  What is Jewish foreplay? Three hours of begging. The great thing about the rules of sex is that they're flexible and as long as you love each other it's alright.

Another great thing about Judaism is all of the holidays.  One of my favorites is Sukkoth because you move into a temporary dwelling and you eat all you can since it is a harvest festival.  My absolute favorite is Purim which celebrates Esther.  Esther saves her people from evil Hamon. To celebrate Purim the Book of Esther is read, drinking occurs, eating of little tricorn cookies and wearing of costumes and sometimes acting out the story of Esther.

This book contains so much information including getting married, bar/bat mitzvahs, the Jewish calendar, and the history of the Jewish people. And it's done with an incredible sense of humor.  You will laugh your ass off reading this.  I learned a lot from reading this.  This was a first-rate book and I give it five out of five stars.   

 Listed On Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Field-Guide-Jewish-People-Foreskins/dp/1250191963/ref=sr_1_1?crid=NAE7ZMIQ82EB&keywords=a+field+guide+to+the+jewish+people&qid=1578842815&sprefix=a+field+gu%2Caps%2C200&sr=8-1

Counter-Clock World by Philip K Dick

Set in the not too distant future in a world where time is going backward in that people are aging backward, while some are being born old from the cemetery.  Sebastian owns a vitarium that digs up the old dead and brokers a sale for them.  Officer Joe Tinbane is patrolling one night when he hears the voice of a woman. It won't be until morning before the police's people can get there. So he calls Sebastian to come out and get her.  While out there, Sebastian feels that someone else is close to coming up and it's no other than Thomas Peak, the former head of the Udi church.  This would be quite a catch so he puts a heartbeat monitor on his tombstone.  And because he's afraid of going to the Library he sends his wife, Lotta who is terrified of going there.  But Lotta will do anything he says, she's so dependent on him.

The next day she runs into Joe at the Library freaking out and he calms her down and takes her in to see Mr. Applewood, who while he works at the Library is the nicest one there.  Sebastian told her to go and find out what she could about Anark Thomas Peak.  Applewood explains that he was a member of the Negro Movement and fought for rights and became a preacher in a religion he started.   Now that religion is run by a young man named Ray Roberts. That is who Joe is there to find out about.  While there Lotta lets slip that her husband knows where Anark Peak is located at.  The two men make sure to shut her up before she tells them anything.

While Joe is married it's to a bitch of a wife.  He finds himself thinking of blackmailing Lotta into going to bed with him.  And when Sebastian tells Lotta she has to go back to the library while he and his crew work first on one body and then pull Peak from the ground whether he's ready or not.  Lotta goes to Joe thinking she can avoid the Library but he makes his offer of hanging out with him in exchange for his information. She chooses the Library and gets stuck with Mrs. MaGuire the head librarian and the worst of the bunch.  Joe tells off his wife and decides to go and rescue Lotta.  He takes special equipment and his gun and rescues her from the Library.  Now she has transferred her affection onto Joe for rescuing her.  They go and hide out at a motel.  Sebastian knows that Joe went and rescued her and took her to a hotel.

Anarch Peak is awake now and talking up a storm having the secretary take down what he's saying.  The Library sends Ann Fisher, the head librarian's daughter and a shark to go after Sebastian who sleeps with her and can't get rid of her.  She brings in a bomb with her hidden in a tape recorder.  There are three main players wanting Anark's body: Rome, Uti, and the Library.  The Library is the evilest and the scariest and the least interested in what Peak has to say.  They want to erase what he has to say.  The best place for him would be with the Uti.  But who does Sebastian arrange for him to be with or does his team get caught before arrangements can be made?  This book made a librarian hate libraries.  There aren't any really likable characters,, but the story is so compelling it keeps you turning the pages.   I really loved this book and I give it four out of five stars.

Listed On Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Counter-Clock-World-Philip-K-Dick-ebook/dp/B005LVR7D6/ref=sr_1_2?crid=4QWDHLT0WMPQ&keywords=counter-clock+world&qid=1578664711&sprefix=counter-clo%2Caps%2C190&sr=8-2

Patsy Walker, AKA, Hellcat: Hooked on a Feline by Kate Leth (Writer), Brittney L. Williams (Artist), Natasha Allegri (Artist), Megan Wilson (Colorist), VCX's Claton Cowles (Letterer),, and Joe Sabino (Lettterer)

All it takes is one look at the art to see how stupid this comic is.  It looks like a Nancy comic strip which is not what you want for a superhero comic.  The plot goes something like this: She catches Ian who can move objects with his mind stealing money from a truck and takes him to task.  He apologizes and they become friends and go shopping at a book store where Patsy meets her old friend Tom who is selling reprints of the books her mom wrote of her and her friends.  Patsy is upset that Hedy is reprinting them for though they are popular they embarrass her.  And Hedy gave everyone a cut on the profit but not Patsy.

Patsy lost her job working for lawyer She-Hulk and her home in the closet.  Ian offers her a room at his place and Tom gives him a job.  Patsy takes a lowly job in order to get job experience for her job temp agency but can't manage to keep that job.  I went into this thinking it would be like the Patsy Walker character that's on Jessica Jones. A really cool, tough, crime-fighting woman. But it isn't.  She's pathetic and a cartoon and a joke.  I give it zero out of five stars.

Listed On Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Patsy-Walker-K-Hellcat-Vol/dp/1302900358/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2KVT39T714AGZ&keywords=patsy+walker+aka+hellcat&qid=1578493050&sprefix=patsy+walker%2Caps%2C312&sr=8-1

The Defenders: The Best Defense by Al Ewing (Writer), Chip Zdarsky (Writer), Gerry Duggan (Writer), Jason Latour (Writer), Somone Di Meo (Artist), Carlos Magno (Artist), Greg Smallwood (Artist), Dono Sanchez-Almara (Colorist), Ian Herring (Colorist), Reprint (Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Paul Reinman, Dick Ayers, Art Simek), VC's Cory Petit (Letterer), VC's Travis Lanham (Letterer), VC's Clayton Cowles (Letterer), Joe Bennett (Penciler), Belardino Brabo (Inker)

Bruce Banner walks into a deserted town and finds a barn where he discovers the body of his friend Stephen Strange but without his Eye of Agamoto.  What has happened?  His body is burnt to a crispt.  A homeless man took it to get revenge on the town for what they did to him.  Banner turns into the Hulk and takes the Eye and goes in search of who killed his friend.

King Namor decides to go in search of the Vodani who had been kicked out of Atlantis long ago.  He wants to welcome them back into the fold because he's worried about the humans on the surface and what they'll do to the underwater peoples.  So King Namor makes the long and arduous trip to visit with the Vodani only to be told they don't want his help.  But the King agrees to consider his offer due to his daughter's influence.  If Namor slays the creature bothering their people he will help Namor.  Only when Namor does, the King doesn't keep his end of the bargain and Namor gets revenge.

Doctor Stephen Strange knows something is coming in the sky. He heads to the town where his body will be found dead.  He changes Hulk into a creature that eats magic. He dies and becomes his astral form which will hold for an hour.  He has to stop Dormammu's reign on earth from happening.  He launches himself into space using a piece of the Silver Surfers' board.  Nebulon is running the train toward earth with the Silver Surfer, King Nabor, and Hulk, and Stephen Strange's astral projection aboard.  The train is heading toward Vodani and the Silver Surfer and King Nabor go down to try to help but the Queen doesn't want their help.  Then things go wrong because Namor is an arrogant ass.  Will Strange stop the train and the evil forces upon it?  Or will his last act be one of failure?  The section on The Silver Surfer was boring.  I just didn't much care for this comic.  It had a few moments with Strange and Hulk but that's it.  I give it three out of five stars.

Listed On Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Defenders-Best-Defense-ebook/dp/B07MF8K54N/ref=sr_1_1?crid=292RPFJ04RDK9&keywords=the+defenders+the+best+defense&qid=1578318416&sprefix=the+defenders+the+b%2Caps%2C224&sr=8-1

Spider-Gwen Vol 6: The Life of Gwen Stacey by Jason Latour (Writer), Robbi Rodriguez (Artist), Chris Visions (Artists), Rico Renzi (Colorist), Lauren Affe (Colorists), VC's Clayton Cowles (Letterer)

In the last issue, Rhino has beat up badly Captain Stacy on Murdoch's orders.  Her radioactive powerups tear through Harry's DNA and Venom is born first taking over Wolverine.  Kitty and Gwen phase through Wolverine pulling the Venom out of Wolverine.  Gwen knows that noise affects it and begins to play music.  But it only works if it has taken over someone first and Gwen becomes Venom and threatens Murdoch's life until he tells her of her dad's situation and she goes to his side which is a trap Murdoch set up to catch her, but she gets away.  Meanwhile, her friends and Uncle Ben and Aunt Mae are out looking for her because she has been missing for a while.  She reveals herself to them and explains what has been going on.  Including that Frank Castle has killed the Rhino in order to get her help in going after Murdoch. Uncle "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility," Ben says that she needs to take Murdoch down and kill him.  There is something off with this world when evil Cindi Moon is the one making the most sense in telling her to not let Murdoch have power over her by giving into vengeance.  Stacey attacks Murdoch anyways and escapes to another world but can't get back because the Watchers are keeping her from returning because she messed with the timeline by attacking Murdoch when all the Watchers are supposed to do is watch and not pay attention.  But they liked this perfect Earth and they liked this Murdoch.

Stacy winds up in Earth G-17 and meets up with a Gwen Stacey who is a Spider-Man.  The two decide to help each other after Gwen gets nowhere with getting help asking Reed Richards.  So they go to Tony Stark with an idea they have about thin holes in space and the projects where the nearest one is which is the bridge.  Gwen jumps down through the hole, meanwhile, in the apartment where the kids live and the Spider-Gwens travel through the Watchers are visiting as well as three Spider-Gwens, one of whom explains to them how things really are between them and the Gwens.

When Stacey gets back home, she goes to J. Jonah Jameson and confesses who she is. She wants the truth out there.  After being out for a short while, Detective DeWolf arrests her for what happened to Peter.  She hires She-Hulk to defend her and while a lot of the major charges were dropped against her she is still charged with crimes because people want to see her go to jail.  Jail is pure holy hell.  Constantly being beaten and tortured.  Captain Ameria comes to her with an offer from S.H.I.E.L.D. that would get her out six months early but she'd be working for them.   Does she take it and get to visit with her dad in the hospital?  Or does she serve out her sentence?  How will prison change her?  This is a hard-hitting comic that shows how people view those with superpowers and are different than them.  The art that takes place in prison is very creatively down.  Though I don't know if I agree with how Stacey handles her prison sentence. I think it sends the wrong message.  I give it a four out of five stars.

Listed On Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Spider-Gwen-Vol-Life-Times-Stacy/dp/1302911929/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3V5NTW6Y9BCZ4&keywords=spider-gwen+vol+6&qid=1578047316&sprefix=spider-gwen+vol+6%2Caps%2C189&sr=8-1

Birds of Prey Vol 3: Full Circle by Julie Benson (Writer), Shawna Benson (Writer), Roge Antonio (Artists), Marcio Takara (Artists), Marcelo Majolo (Colorist), Jordan Boyd (Colorist), Saiba Temdfonte (Letterer), Josh Reed (Letterer), Dezi Sienty (Letterer), Deron Bennett (Letterer)

In one of the stories, Barbara Gordon's father gets his first sick day on the job and winds up in the hospital he's so badly ill.  Lois Lane had come over from the Daily Planet to work on a story and found herself roped into this intriguing story where all these people are sick including the mayor. Lois has come over to Commissioner Gordon to interview him too.  Oliver Queen flies in to visit Laurel Lance.  Huntress's boyfriend Nightwing comes down with the illnesses and Harley Quinn is caught by Black Canary trying to steal medicines for the Joker even though she doesn't like the way he treats her.  Even Bruce Wayne is sick. It turns out that only men are getting sick but Batgirl/Oracle, Huntress, and Black Canary can't seem to find out who is behind it.  They join up with Harley, Cat Woman, and Ivy and Batwoman, Gotham Girl, and Orphan Girl and Wonder Woman decide they can work with them too.  Ivy gets to work on a cure as soon as blook samples start coming in.

Meanwhile, Oliver comes into the hospital with a sore wrist with Harley, Ivy, and Black Canary as nurses.  A bad nurse tries to inject Oliver with something and Harley stops her with her bat.  They capture the woman and Ivy takes the serum to study with another female doctor.  Olver plays it safe and goes and hides out in the Clocktower.  Wonder Woman goes and rescues a group of men from under a bridge and gets them to the makeshift hospital at the stadium.  A group of women dressed in medieval gas masks and long cloaks attack the women with gas and kidnap Batgirl, Black Canary, and Batwoman.  They explain their plan is to use the blood of a Super Flu Immunity patient from 1918 to create a killer dose of the flu to use on the men and kill them.  After all, what have men ever done but caused wars and hurt women?  Will the other women find them in time and will they stop these evil women before Waller firebombs the city?

In another story, Gordon has been using Gordon Clean Energy, her business, not just as a cover, but as a way to do some good, such as help Ivy stay on the right side of the law.  But she's been slipping where the right and wrong side of the law are concerned.  She's been hacking Calculator's feed, piggybacking on it to find who his clients are so she can send the intel to Huntress and Black Canary so they can get the bad guys.  Now Calculator has sent Burnrate, an evil robot to find out who is Oracle.  Huntress and Black Canary are furious with her for lying to them and for putting them into this position.  But not just them. Also, Gus.  When they are too late to save and who died rather than give up Barbra's name as Oracle.  Now they're all mad at each other as they process their grief.

On top of that, Helena has been visiting her mom in prison hoping that her mom can change.  Her mom is brought before the judge who is paid off to put her mom in Arkham. She goes off to torture the judge and gets attacked by Burngate.  Laurel finds that she is afraid to use her cry because she worries that she'll kill someone.  Barbara feels guilty over Gus.  Meanwhile, Calculator breaks out of Arham Blackbird and Helena's mom.  Blackbird can hypnotize people and Helena's mom can control the mobs.  Worse, now Helena\s identity is revealed.  Is her mom truly hypnotized or is she her true self?  Can Oliver help Laurel find her cry? And what did Gus leave the Birds of Prey?   This was a stellar book and the Birds of Prey are great characters.  I five give a five out of five stars.

Listed On Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Batgirl-Birds-Prey-Vol-Universe/dp/1401277810/ref=sr_1_2?crid=89AAMZADZ1FV&keywords=birds+of+prey+vol+3&qid=1577899873&sprefix=birds+of+prey+vol%2Caps%2C183&sr=8-2