Marvel Now rankings, Part 3: 27-25

With another installment of the Marvel Now rankings ahead, which issues fill out the next three on this list?

The third installment of the Marvel Now Rankings is here, which unveils the next three issues from this series of comic books. The first six books were already announced, and there are over 25 left to dive into.

27. Spider-Man and the X-Men: Written by Elliott Kalan with art by Marco Failla

This book was a miniseries set in the wake of the death of Wolverine. It had Peter taking a teaching position at the Xavier Institute, mentoring some of the students.

The only problem with this book was Spidey’s students; not sure why they chose these kids out of the countless available in the other X-Men titles, but this book was dragged further down than it should have been.

I would recommend this for anyone reading Wolverine and the X-Men (2011) that were attached to these particular students.

Image by Marvel Comics. Partial Cover of Wolverine and the X-Men 2014 issue 8

26. Wolverine and the X-Men (2014): Written by Jason Latour with art by Mahmud Asrar

This book was a revamp of the Wolverine and the X-Men book under a new writer and artist. This version had a smaller cast choosing to focus primarily on Wolverine, Storm and Quentin Quire. That was until the Death of Wolverine storyline took place and this book shifted its focus to showcase how that affected the rest of the cast.

The beginning of this book was enjoyable but as soon as Wolverine died so did the enjoyment of this book. I was not a fan of any of the story that involved Quentin, as he had grown a lot as a character in the previous Wolverine and the X-Men title but seemed to regress into the annoying and privileged brat that he had been at the start of that book. It was tolerable when there was a more important story following Wolverine going on, but after his death Quire took center stage, it hurt the book.

Image by Marvel Comics. Partial cover of Thor: God of Thunder Issue 1

25. Thor God of Thunder: Written by Jason Aaron with art by Esad Ribic

This book followed the three separate storylines in Thor’s life; young Thor before he is worthy of Mjolnir, present-day Thor, and future Thor who took over for Odin as King but is witnessing the end of the world. In the first arc, these stories intersect and are told fluidly, blending together to tell an interesting story. After that arc, the three timelines continue to intermingle but not in as much of a direct way as the first story did.

The first story was incredible, showing off just how great of writer Jason Aaron could be. but after that arc the book started to drag, the issues were filled with to many words and narration, and it began to feel like a chore to read. While still a solid book, it should focus on the artistic side of comics rather than the written words in this specific book, as Esad Ribic does tremendous work.

Anyone wanting to catch up on Jason Aaron’s Thor run so they can be ready for his War of the Realms event should immediately jump on this title. Along with any Thor fan, or anyone who wants to know what happens to Thor in the future, and how the Marvel Universe could potentially end.

While these books are enjoyable they still have problems that cannot be overlooked. That will change in the next part where the books’ quality starts to improve.