Cover to Cover: How do you miss a glowing hand on your shoulder?

STUPID HUMIDITY.

Guardians of the Galaxy #4
by Abnett, Lanning and Pelletier

This is becoming more Battlestar Galactica, which was actually a pretty good TV show. I'm just not sure if it's the right mood for Guardians.

There's a lot more internal conflict here, like political power struggles, and conflicting team decisions. It just seems like no one trusts anyone anymore.

See, maybe in issue one this would've been done for comedic effect, but I'm not sure anymore.

This is a Secret Invasion tie-in, so I guess it's the Skrulls that are putting everyone on edge. This is certainly a change in tone from the previous issues, but I'm going to keep reading.

It's the same guys who write Nova, after all.


Amazing Spider-Man #568
by Dan Slott and John Romita Jr. (back-up by Mark Waid and Adi Granov)

Aw man, so "New Ways to Die" begins here, which means I'm returning to Amazing for a while.

There's a nice little recap of Spidey's origin at the beginning, and I'm not sure how necessary that is, but hey, it's John Romita Jr. drawing some classic Spidey panels, so that's fine by me.

Spidey is still witty too, in his exchange with "Menace," who's yet another Green Goblin rip-off.

The plot is still really strong. In the fight with Menace, Peter discovers a sweatshop, and sends the photos not to the DB (because he quit it for moral reasons. Yay!), but to Front Line, which is run by reporter Ben Urich.

There are some foreshadowing scenes, and then we learn how Eddie Brock cured his cancer! Martin Li, AKA "Mr. Negative" runs the shelter where Eddie works, and he seems to transfer those spores into the bloodstreams of whomever he touches. Freaky. Could this be the birth of the new villain "Anti-Venom"?

This was a strong start-up issue. There are lots of developments in Peter's life, and they're all interesting to read. I'm wondering when MJ will get back in the arc, but I'm pretty impressed so far.

There's also a 10-page back-up by Mark Waid and Adi Granov. It's about Eddie's struggle with cancer, and it's worth your money. Adi Granov establishes the dark and pensive mood so perfectly, and Waid makes some spot-on narration.

Up next: Birds of Prey and Superman/Batman!