Comics Update - UPDATED FEB. 27

Some comments on various stuff I've been reading (or plan to read):

1) I've dropped "Ultimate Spider-Man", and so will not be reviewing any more storylines. This book has been on thin ice for a while now as far as I'm concerned, and the utter mediocrity of the most recent arc was the last straw. And so, from the four Bendis ongoings I was reading little more than a year ago, only "Powers" remains - and it's been so long since the last arc that I don't even remember what's been going on. That book will probably also be reevaluated as soon as the current storyline concludes. As for Bendis himself, he's now officially "Black List" material - meaning I won't be bothering with anything that has his name on it. How the mighty have fallen.

2) I won't be reviewing "Generation M" after all; I've read through the four issues that have been released and, eyes-glazing dullness aside, there's not much to say about it. "Son of M" and "The 198" are still on the list, though. "Deadly Genesis" will be treated as the first story arc of Ed Brubaker's run on "Uncanny X-Men".

3) Due to a desire on my part to avoid any more "House of M" stupidity, I'll be checking out Brian Reed's "Ms. Marvel" series starting with issue 1, not the prologue story in "Giant-Sized Ms. Marvel #1".

4) This was a difficult decision for me, but I won't be picking up Peter David's "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man" after all. I was going to jump on as soon as "The Other" was over, but I don't think I realized how much PAD's principles have changed recently, as he's delving into continuity backwaters while incorporating such silliness as the Iron Spidey suit. That's really not what I was looking for.

5) "X-Factor" also has a big question mark over it, as issues #8 and #9 will be tying into "Civil War" and I am absolutely determined to avoid this event on every possible level. Now, past experience has taught us that PAD tends to swerve around crossovers rather than engage them directly (meaning he doesn't really deviate from the original story anyway), but considering how "X-Factor" and FNSM have been written, and how this "New PAD" is suddenly all about the bigger picture (though I guess I can't blame him, given where his more individualized series usually end up), I honestly can't be sure. Let's not forget that "Civil War" probably isn't the last Mighty Marvel Moron Mega-Event, and if hooking into every half-brained written-by-committee crossover becomes standard procedure for David... well, you can see where that would lead us.