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 Spencer discuss Batman Eternal 40, Detective Comics 38, Angela: Asgard’s Assassin 2, Hawkeye vs. Deadpool 4, Legendary Star-Lord 7, X-Men 23, Operation S.I.N. 1, Spider-Man 2099 7, and The Woods 9.

Drew: A lot has been made of the epic scope of Batman Eternal — it’s still growing after 40 issues — but what really impressed me this week was the focus on character motivations. With a cast this large, it’s all to easy for characters’ actions to serve the plot, rather than the characters themselves, but the writing team here makes a point of giving everyone a believable motivation. Most of the rogues are power-hungry, Selina is hoping to direct that ambition towards a less destructive plan, and Nygma is fearing for his life. This issue is definitely setting up some big stories (it ends with armed villains running amok in Gotham, and puts Selina on a collision course with Stephanie Brown), but still manages to feel like its own payoff, a feat this series has struggled with in the past. Throw in some striking art from Davide Furnó and Paolo Armitano, and you’ve got a great little issue.

Do you ever wonder what happened following Project Mayhem’s attack on the world’s financial system at the end of Fight Club? That may not be the most pressing thought at the conclusion of that story, but its certainly an interesting question. That’s basically the setting of Detective Comics 38, with maybe a little V for Vendetta thrown in. It’s a great premise, but Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul never get a chance to fully explore it here, instead splitting their time with those skulls that showed up in the harbor last month. I’m sure they’ll tie in eventually, but in the meantime, it feels like this issue is made up of two totally unrelated half-stories, making for a frustrating installment. The art is as gorgeous as ever, but this feels like a step back after the tight focus of issue 37. Am I being too hard here, Spencer?

Spencer: Maybe just a little bit, but I certainly see where you’re coming from. The “diversion” about those skulls only lasts two pages, but it is jarring; Alfred even calls attention to how this case is a distraction from the Anarky situation, which is about as on the nose as you can get. Still, I think my only real complaint about this issue is that I never really feel any sense of chaos or panic due to Anarky’s attack. Manapul and Buccellato’s art certainly captures the action in a tense, creative manner, but their art is so atmospheric (especially with all the snow) that the proceedings just feel much more calm than they sould. Of course, I don’t mean this as a knock against Manapul and Buccellato’s art, which is as flat-out breathtaking as ever — what impresses me the most about their work this month, though, is actually their designs.

Anarky’s asymmetrical costume plays tricks on my brain every time I see it — it’s just so uneven! — but I think that’s the point. What better design could there possibly be for a character who is all about anarchy than a chaotic, off-kilter design like this? Even at just a glance it screams chaos, and it’s an ingenious bit of design on Manapul and Buccellato’s part.

Angela: Asgard’s Assassin 2 is another artist spotlight, treating us to the work of two masters. Phil Jimenez’s detailed pencils give full weight to the glory of an Asgardian celebration (though Romulo Fajardo’s colors are a tad muddy), and Stephanie Hans’ five pages are full of breathtaking painted images and complex, creative layouts. Unfortunately, Kieron Gillen and Marguerite Bennett’s story isn’t quite up to the level of the art; sticking the back-up feature smack-dab in the middle of the issue worked okay last month, but this time around it feels shoehorned in, largely irrelevant to the rest of the plot and full of purple prose that does more to obfuscate details than tell a story. Gillen’s characterization of Angela is still focused on her waging battles and making deals, leaving her motivations for kidnapping her newborn sister a frustrating mystery, and the focus on Angela and Sera teleporting from place to place in the second half of the issue with little development otherwise ends up feeling redundant. This issue — and perhaps the format of the entire series — needed a bit more tinkering.

No more tinkering was needed on Hawkeye vs. Deadpool 4; everything Gerry Duggan has been setting up throughout this miniseries falls cleanly into place as Clint, Kate and Wade bring down Black Cat’s organization in the haphazard, making-it-up-as-we-go-along way that has quickly become the trademark of all three heroes. Duggan circles back to hit just about every beat from previous issues, and I’d almost call it perfunctory if those moments weren’t so often funny and charming (and, on occasion, even shocking — I may never step on an escalator again). Matteo Lolli and Jacopo Camagni’s art is expressive and energetic, and Nick Filardi’s colors are lush and vibrant. I know, I know, those are words we throw around a lot for colorists, but they’re particularly true here; Filardi is particularly good at shading and contrast, making even more conventional images pop off the page.

Drew, last time we talked about this series you thought there was a bit of an inbalance between the titular characters and particularly their trademark brands of humor, and I suppose I can still see that here — compared to Deadpool, Hawkeye actually comes across as responsible, and the issue’s emotional heft falls squarely on Clint’s shoulders. So with that in mind, I ask: Drew, did the end of this series work better for you than the beginning?

Drew: Absolutely. I actually think putting the emotional fallout on Clint emphasizes the characteristic of his that this issue really focuses on: his bad luck. Many of the lunchlines here still feel more at home in an issue of Deadpool than they would in an issue of Hawkeye, but there’s no denying that Clint having the worst luck is a theme straight out of his solo series. Not only does that make Black Cat a great choice of villain, but it makes the emotional conclusion all the more resonant — Deadpool cleaning up a bloodstain wouldn’t have quite the same effect.

Speaking of bad luck, Legendary Star-Lord 7 finds Peter detained just as he was about to see Kitty for the first time since they started dating. Kitty takes to the skies to save him, but is struggling to overcome her fear of space. She hatches a decidedly goofy plan, but pulls it off with aplomb, escaping with Peter, and leaving J-Son fuming. The real centerpiece of this issue for me is Peter and Kitty’s relationship, which writer Sam Humphries hits just right, inserting himself into the issue just long enough to assure us that even he wouldn’t rob them of their first kiss. It’s a surprisingly cathartic moment — I don’t think I realized how invested I was in their relationship, which has been playing out in several series over the last year or so. The business with J-Son is decidedly not over, but for now, I’m just happy to bask in the glow of Kitty and Peter’s romance.

X-Men 23 marks G. Willow Wilson’s first issue on the title, and it’s an assured debut. A sentient storm has crashed Burning Man (or, “Burning Tree”), pitting the team against a challenge they’re not quite sure how to solve. Wilson focuses on Storm’s internal monologue, which makes for a strong issue, but my favorite parts have to be the character moments she gives to everyone else — especially that Gambit is using Burning Man to hit on women. I was a little less enamored of the drama at home — Beast comes off more pretentious than intelligent here — but Wilson handles the transitions well enough to keep it tied to the main action. I’m definitely on board to check out issue 24. What say you, Spencer?

Spencer: Yeah, I’ll second that. Under Wilson’s pen, Storm is a fully realized character with both strengths and weaknesses, which is a joy to see. But, much like you, Drew, I’m just as enamored with her treatment of the rest of the team. Particularly, I love the slightly-snarky bickering between the various X-Men because that’s exactly how close friends and family get when they’re together too much, no matter how much they love each other. That said, I found Roland Boschi’s artwork to be a bit of a disappointment; it’s lumpy and slightly unfinished-looking and full of awkward anatomy (but at least his rendition of Shogo is still adorable). I enjoyed this story a lot, but if the art was on the same level it would be a much stronger issue.

Channeling some well-planned synergy, Operation S.I.N. 1 hits the stands just a day after the premier of the Agent Carter TV series, throwing Peggy Carter and Howard Stark knee-deep into an alien invasion. It’s a fun outing — writer Kathryn Immonen captures the prickly, snarky relationship between her two leads perfectly, while simultaneously creating perhaps the most hardcore rendition of Agent Carter I’ve seen yet. This issue is lacking just a bit of the spark that made Agent Carter such a fan-favorite character (no doubt the result of this being a comic as opposed to live-action; Hayley Atwell’s contribution to the character cannot be understated), but it’s ultimately only a minor fault in what’s otherwise a rather enjoyable book; plus, issue two promises a man fist-fighting a bear, and I’ve got to come back for that!

Despite being another “Spider-Verse” tie-in, Spider-Man 2099 7 feels oddly disconnected from the event. That’s not to say that there isn’t Spider-Verse stuff all over the place — Lady Spider is a prominent supporting character and Deimos the primary antagonist — but just that, ultimately, it doesn’t seem like the issue advances the story of Spider-Verse at all, with Miguel’s mission of dissecting Deimos yielding no usable results and the two Spiders still unable to be reunited with the rest of their friends. Writer Peter David instead focuses on Miguel’s interactions with Tyler Stone and the arrival of a surprising guest star (Punisher 2099, whose 90s book was absolutely bonkers); I suppose whether you enjoy Spider-Man 2099 7 or not will all depend on whether you’re reading the issue to follow Spider-Verse, or to follow Miguel O’Hara.

The Woods 9 marks the beginning of a new arc; skipping two weeks from the end of issue 8, we find the cast starting to settle into the colony of New London. These kids all managed to work together fine when their lives were on the line, but their newfound peace has put them much more on edge. While writer James Tynion IV furthers both the mythology and the ongoing plot of The Woods in interesting ways with this issue, it’s that tension between the characters that most captured my attention, be it Calder’s jealousy or Isaac’s growing frustration at pretty much every aspect of his life. Things get ugly, but it only makes these young characters all the more real, and I can’t wait to see what happens when the tension finally boils over. Drew, this is my first time talking about The Woods with you; have you been enjoying it?

Drew: This is actually my first time picking up an issue in quite a while, so the thing that most struck me here is how clearly Tynion laid out the relationships between all of the characters. I may be confused as to what we do and don’t know about the mythology of where they are (though I don’t think I’m that much more in the dark than if I’d been reading all along), but I’m never confused about what these characters want out of one another. It’s definitely a little teen-drama-y for my tastes, but there’s enough intrigue about this world to keep me coming back.

The conversation doesn’t stop there, because you certainly read something that we didn’t. What do you wanna talk about from this week?