Sometimes, the staff at Graphic Policy read more comics than we’re able to get reviewed. When that happens you’ll see a weekly feature compiling reviews of the comics, or graphic novels, we just didn’t get a chance to write a full one for.

These are Graphic Policy’s Mini Reviews and Recommendations.

Logan

William of Newbury #4 (Dark Horse) – Michael Avon Oeming concludes the William of Newbury with a green-tinged romp into the land of Faerie to rescue two children and hopefully regain William and his brother Edward’s souls. A highlight of the series has been the friendship between the monk William and the non-Christian thief Winnie, and this bond comes in handy during the events of this final issue. Also, Oeming leaves it all out on the drawing board with eerie visions and swashbuckling fights in William of Newbury #4‘s new setting before settling back in the world of medieval England. This series was a really creative take on historical fiction and the anthropomorphic animal fantasy genre with its dry sense of humor and propensity for the weird and uncanny. Hopefully, there will be further adventures for William, Winnie, and maybe even the Faerie children. Overall: 8.3 Verdict: Buy

X-Men #3 (Marvel) – Jed Mackay and Ryan Stegman (With JP Mayer and Livesay on inks) finally hit their stride with X-Men #3. They use the past indignities of the Krakoa era to fuel the twin rages of Scott Summers and Idie Okonkwo. Idie aka Temper shines in this issue as she cuts Magneto down a peg and roasts the utopian ideal of Krakoa before deep freezing some attackers who are trying to destroy Cerebro. Stegman’s art in this series is still from the 1990s Jim Lee cool pinup pose school, but he brings some strong storytelling chops to the argument between Cyclops and the government agent Lundqvist with coffee mugs and diner plates flying. Cyclops is definitely back to being a freedom fighter, but it’s starting to take a toll on him even in his home state of Alaska. Overall: 8.0 Verdict: Buy

NYX #2 (Marvel) – Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Francesco Mortarino, and Raul Angulo‘s NYX #2 focuses on Wolverine as she deals with the specters of her past (From the previous NYX series.) and tracks down the mysterious Mr. Friend. The comic shows Laura indulging in her dark side with Angulo providing a shadowy palette to match. She teams up with a mutant named Local whose power basically hacks New York City leading to many creative sequences. The single-character focus of NYX continues to work well with fleeing appearances from Ms. Marvel and Prodigy showing how isolated Laura is although she does find some fleeting moments of happiness between the property destruction and skin getting flayed off. Overall: 7.6 Verdict: Read

Aliens vs. Avengers #1 (Marvel) – Jonathan Hickman, Esad Ribic, and Ive Svorcina reunite on Aliens vs. Avengers #1, which is more than your typical “intercompany” crossover. Instead of having the current Avengers lineup fight xenomorphs, they craft a dystopian world of just a few aged heroes fighting back in the Weyland Yutani tower. Ribic is so good at drawing hopeless faces, and his fight choreography is unparalleled because nothing beats Hulk smashing a Xenomorph. Featuring an utterly hopeless tone and intergalactic scope, Aliens vs. Avengers #1 feels like a dark coda to Hickman’s Avengers run. Overall: 8.2 Verdict: Buy