Guardians of the Galaxy & X-Men: The Black Vortex Omega #1

Writer – Sam Humprhies
Artist – Ed McGuinness, Javier Garron
Inker – Mark Farmer, Javier Garron, Ed McGuinness
Colours – Marte Gracia

The end is finally here as the combined might of the Guardians and the X-Men cannot actually do all that much as weird as that may sound.  Right now, it is all up to Kitty Pryde at this point and if she fails, then Spartax will be lost.  Ed McGuinness, Javier Garron and Sam Humphries provide a fun-filled conclusion to this crossover that may have went on just a bit too long, but the ending is so exciting you kind of forget about everything else that went on.  While Kitty is taking care of business, the heroes are taking care of the Slaughter Lords as well as Ronan who has come for revenge.  Aside from many of the heroes and villains being transformed into more powerful beings, one of the biggest plot points to make itself felt throughout the whole series was the destruction of the Kree homeworld.  That of course is going to have big ramifications going forward for much of the Marvel Universe, most especially if a super-powered Ronan is out to put a hurt on those that did him and his people wrong.  The ending was too easy though.  It made sense of course and if it is going to be Kitty saving the planet, there are only so many ways that she is going to go about it.  As such, it was a little cheesy, but it did actually fit right into the big pulpy science-fiction tale that Humphries was trying to tell.  There is another big moment in the book which continues into the Guardians’ ongoing title as well, and it is a good thing if a little unbelievable, but was really nice to see as the Marvel Universe has not seen one of these in quite a while.  Some of the things that happen here have already started carrying over into other books that have come out this very week as a few of our heroes, when offered to have their elevated powers removed, refused.  Whether this sticks through to the end of Secret Wars seems to be the question asked in every series so far, but is a valid one.  All in all, this was a decent crossover, but not a great one.  The issues by Humphries particularly stand out as the best of the bunch with this one a good closing chapter.

4 out of 5

Hulk #15

Writer – Gerry Duggan
Artist – Mark Bagley
Inker- Drew Hennessy
Colours – Jason Keith

It all comes down to this final round as Doc Green versus the Red Hulk in a battle to end all battles.  General Ross is in for the fight of his life and if he loses then he knows that he will no longer be a Hulk, which is strange to say as his mission in life has always been to take out the Hulk no matter what.  Seeing him fear what is about to happen, to see him struggle to remain what he hates the most is a very surreal experience.  Gerry Duggan and Mark Bagley have been doing a great job on the title and it is a little sad to see the end result as most can guess what happens.  This is the second to last issue of the series and there are still a few remaining plot threads to be handled before it wraps up, but it should be a lot of fun.  There is a big cliff-hanger involving our hero, there is a question of what will happen to Ross and what will happen going forward.  One thing that is for sure is that now there are only a few Hulks left in the Marvel Universe, losing any more of them will be keenly felt and may make a bigger impact than it may seem at first.  This issue of Hulk is a fun one and worth picking up if only for the huge battle alone, though there are many other things to love in here as well.

3.5 out of 5