Legendary Star-Lord #11

Writer – Sam Humphries
Artist – Paco Medina
Inker – Juan Vlasco
Colours – David Curiel

The team-up between the Guardians of the Galaxy and the X-Men continues as they not only face off against the Slaughter Lords on Spartax, but must also try and fend off the Brood before they lay their eggs in the frozen populace of the planet that have been encased in amber.  The fight over the Black Vortex also continues with Gara, one of the first people to ever use it and now an elder of the universe warning everyone to stay away from it.  Jean thinks she must be the one to sacrifice herself to it in order to save everyone and then it is Peter who thinks the same thing.  In the end though, it is Kitty Pryde who makes that decision for everyone else.  Sam Humphries keeps on delivering strong with Star-Lord’s latest issue and while it is a good book, this crossover has been going on for far too long.  All of it could have been told in four to six concise issues and instead it has been watered down with far too many ancillary tie-ins and thus the impact it might have made is almost non-existent.  There are some good moments in the book, specifically when our three heroes are gazing in the Vortex and they see themselves elevated into what they could become.  The temptation is great and the Vortex provides what the heart wishes with each member having different feelings on the doing of it.  Jean is resigned thinking it her fate.  Star-Lord cannot bring himself to do it as his improved-self reminds him of his father.  Kitty does not want it in the least and because she will have no part of it, that alone seems to make her the perfect candidate for undergoing the transition for maybe she alone can fight it off and perhaps come back from it.  There is one more issue left in this event and hopefully it ties things up nice and neat and resolves the fates of all who have been transformed, of Mister Knife, of Thane and the people of Spartax.

3.5 out of 5

Spider-Man 2099 #11

Writer – Peter David
Artist – Will Sliney
Colours – Antonio Fabela

Miguel is back in the present and Peter David finally picks up the plotline he had left dangling from the very first issue involving Miguel’s neighbour Tempest and her sickness.  Spidey, being from the future, knows how to cure said disease and so he does thinking it the best thing for her.  Later on Miguel makes his way back to work and meets up with Liz who shows him the plans for the prison they are working on, one that they hope will bury the one Peter Parker is designing and he knows that he has to warn Peter about it.  This was a decent issue by Peter David and Will Sliney and it is nice to see them get back on track without any crossovers to get in the way.  There are a couple of problems with this issue though, one being the artwork by Sliney.  Usually it looks great, but with the book being on the rapid schedule it has been on of late, and Sliney drawing each and every one of them, the work has suffered and this issue is probably his worst to date, containing none of the polish that his work usually exhibits.  Another thing that was executed poorly was the continuation of Tempest’s story, which had started out strong ten issues ago and saw her as a potential love interest for Miguel and now has been pretty much wrapped up as fast as possible.  There is a bit of a cliff-hanger involving her and so the story has not ended just yet, but what was once quite promising has simply fizzled out.

3 out of 5