Look, there are a lot of comics out there. Too many. We can never hope to have in-depth conversations about all of them. But, we sure can round up some of the more noteworthy titles we didn’t get around to from the week. Today, Drew and Patrick are discussing Batman / Superman 6, Green Arrow 26, Earth-2 18, Superior Spider-Man 23, Amazing X-Men 2, Indestructible Hulk Annual 1, and Guardians of the Galaxy 9.

Drew: Greg Pak’s Batman/Superman charged out of the gate with a fascinating study of Bruce and Clark, using the funhouse mirror of Earth-2 to show us who they are — and importantly, who they aren’t. Batman/Superman 6 manages to continue to demonstrate who the characters aren’t, which unfortunately means an issue full of super-powered Batman and rage-fuelled Superman. Aptly titled “Boss Fight,” this issue casts aside all of the hard-earned emotional intelligence of the first arc, favoring an insanely overpowered punch-em-up. This may read better for those with a fondness for the tropes being sent-up, but for the rest of us, this issue largely approximates the experience of watching your friend play video games.

I actually got a bit of that video game feeling from Green Arrow 26, but Jeff Lemire smartly favors puzzles over brawlers. I suppose the kind of MacGuffin hunt here could easily lead to that same kind of boss fight mentality, but I couldn’t help but hear the Zelda secret chimes when Shado and Ollie discover the Arrow dungeon chamber. Patrick, I know that you were a bit wary of starting yet another long arc, and I’m curious if this issue has pushed you one way or the other.

Patrick: I was worried about starting another long story arc, but I think that’s just because the actually storytelling thus far in Green Arrow hasn’t exactly been the strongest. Don’t get me wrong, the series has many virtues — smart characterization, vast mythologies, interesting concepts, jaw-droppingly stylized art — but the quality of the adventure has been lacking. Between that Zelda-ish-ness that you mention and the strong parallels to LOST (the island and a flashback story structure), I’m starting to feel that my adventure appetite will be well-satiated. Plus, I love seeing that Andrea Sorentino has both an “art” and a “storyteller” credit on this issue. It makes me hopeful that we’ll be exploring grand island vistas because he absolutely has to draw them. I mean, look — tell me he wasn’t born to draw this:

I mentioned last month that Earth-2 was sort of fumbling the transition from a writer I dislike to a writer I adore. Taylor’s second issue has a lot more focus and displays many of the qualities that make his Injustice series so damn entertaining. While Superman is outside Arkham, being evil and serving the will of Darkseid, Batman — or someone/something claiming to be Batman — is cleaning up after the World Army. Sometimes this means freeing their prisoners (like a Mera analogue — who also refuses to be called Aquawoman) and sometimes it means murdering them (I hope you like seeing Batman shoot a defenseless Joker with a gun!). But the most interesting development is the introduction of Jimmy Olsen, the boy with the power to access All The Information. I can’t wait to see what they turn that character into, but the “refresh” symbol on his shirt could be a clue (CALL HIM REFRESH, PLEASE).

Let’s pop over to the Marvel Universe and talk about how things are progressing in Superior Spider-Man 23. “Progressing” is certainly an accurate way to describe what’s going on. We’re at the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Superior line, and it’s amazing to consider how many balls Dan Slott has knocked into the air with his Doc Ock stunt. While this issue tells a neat and tidy story about Otto tricking Flash into giving up the Symbiote, there’s so much about the world of Superior Spider-Man in this issue. Drew, I know sometimes we find checking in on those on-going concerns to be a distracting, but the whole Carlie / MJ / Goblin King thing feels like it’s getting so close to a boiling-over point, I’m just so excited to see what’s going to happen.

Drew: Oh, for sure. My interest in those threads varied when they were separate, but now that they’ve crashed headlong into one another, there’s an urgency that wasn’t there before. I love the idea that Otto’s superiority hasn’t been fully tested, and the business here with the symbiote serves as a great microcosm of that concept. Otto manages to route the symbiote with minimal effort — truly an impressive feat — but as Flash helpfully points out, the symbiote is a hell of a lot stronger than Otto expects. If this is the Superior Venom, it’s clear Otto isn’t prepared for the Superior Green Goblin.

Of course, it’s also possible for a villain to be too formidable — as in Amazing X-Men 2. I can appreciate why Marvel would want to make Nightcrawler’s return from the dead arduous (especially when they also introduce a dead Charles Xavier), but a five issue arc seems like a long way to go to reach an ending given away in its name. Sure, the X-Men may have only just now realized they’re in the midst of “The Quest for Nightcrawler,” but we’ve been reminded twice now, and it’s hard not to assume this success is ultimately successful — especially given Kurt’s past-tense voiceover throughout. I’ll admit that my sit-back-and-enjoy-the-ride meter may need some recalibrating — I actually found myself put off by the sheer number of afterlife pirates — but when an issue amounts to little more than the characters figuring out what the audience already knows, I can’t help but lose interest.

With so many super-geniouses floating around the Marvel Universe, it’s easy to think of them as interchangeable, but Jeff Parker’s Indestructible Hulk Annual 1 finds the heart of both Bruce Banner and Tony Stark — and reminds us why their friendship is so charming. There’s also plenty in there about aging into a mentor’s peer-group and the frustrations of funding pure science (and a way too on-the-nose joke about becoming your work), but I couldn’t get over the fun of seeing these two characters just shoot the shit on what amounts to a beachside camping vacation. Parker finds plenty to mine in their parallel genius lives, and writes them beautifully as old friends — even making Tony’s ability to push Bruce’s buttons a plot-point.

Patrick: Their friendship is easily the biggest strength of the issue. I love seeing how they discover and deduce information together. Their shared history (both in as young men and again as Avengers) informs so many of their decisions and it’s just neat to watch them audition their theories as to why Hulk transformations last for less time. It’s sort of a bummer that the last 10 pages or so devolve into a slug-fest, but such things are inevitable in Hulk comics. I really like Mark Waid’s run on Indestructible Hulk, but the last couple story arcs in that series have been knee-deep in Marvel mythology, so it was super fun to just chill out in a more frivolous adventure. It actually reminded me of the Thor-team up from a few issues back — maybe not quite as goofy, but just about as charming.

And then there’s Guardians of the Galaxy, squeezing in one last Infinity story, even though we’ve already closed the book on that thing. It’s a weirdly slight volume for a Brian Bendis joint: all our characters do is allow the Avengers access to Earth and then self-destruct The Peak. There’s a lot of the series’ typical humor throughout, and it’s nice to see Starlord joining in on ripping into Earth’s primitive technology (I know, buddy, I can’t believe we don’t use Quan Pressurizers in our airlocks either!). Francesco Francavilla is back for this issue, which means that its visually stunning. His dark, brooding sci-fi-scapes aren’t the most appropriate for this adventure — which is anything but moody — but the man can also play against type and just deliver a kick-ass action sequence too. The bombastic four-page run where Angela is overcome with enemy forces and is then rescued by Drax and Groot is just about perfect.

It doesn’t look half as impressive when I shrink it all down like that. But it’s an amazing display on the page.The conversation doesn’t stop there, because you certainly read something that we didn’t. What do you wanna talk about from this week?