Marvel Penguin Picks: July 2022
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
A.X.E.: Death to the Mutants #1 (of 3)
Yes, this event tie-in miniseries is here mainly on the strength of its title alone. It’s also being written by event maestro Kieron Gillen with art from Guiu Villanova, so it’s likely to actually be a good read as well. Though the title seems pretty self-explanatory, Gillen has said in his newsletter that this represents the Eternals’ perspective on the conflict. The mutant perspective is being told in “Immortal X-Men,” which I imagine leaves the main “Judgment Day” miniseries to tell us how the Avengers feel about all this superhero infighting. Between these titles, Gillen is writing four comics for Marvel this month, which has to be a personal best for him. Is there such a thing as too much Gillen from one publisher? I would like to think that wouldn’t be a possibility, but I guess we’ll see how this shakes out over the summer.
Avengers: 1,000,000 B.C. #1: What’s this? Another series spinning off from Jason Aaron’s “Avengers” run? Wait, no. It’s actually just a one-shot from the writer about the prehistoric team with art from Kev Walker. That in itself sounds like it could be pretty fun. While the solicitation text makes vague references to some event that shattered their ranks, it’s more specific about the one that brings them all back together: The birth of Thor!
A.X.E.: Judgment Day #’s 1 & 2 (of 6): We already know the inciting incident to this event: The Eternals are here to protect Earth from Deviants and now they’ve come to realize that mutants are very Deviant-esque in their own way as well. While that would normally be enough to kick off another round of superhero infighting, Kieron Gillen apparently felt the need to throw some gas on the fire in the form of the X-Men’s “secrets” being leaked to their foes. Any takers on whether or not this is where the Avengers and Eternals find out about Resurrection? Oh, and Tony Stark is said to abduct an old friend here. Any takers on whether or not that’s Sersi? So much potential here – and with art from the always-great Valerio Schiti as well!
Ms. Marvel & Wolverine #1: When I saw this solicitation without an “(of #)” in it, my first thought was, “Are they really doing an ongoing series about these two characters?” I can’t say I’d be adverse to seeing how this odd-couple pairing would work out on a long-term basis, especially with Jody Houser writing and Ze Carlos illustrating. Further inspection revealed that it was just a one-shot, which makes the solicitation’s promise of further Kamala Khan team-ups with Moon Knight and Venom make more sense. I mean, she’s got a show coming out this summer that needs promoting after all. Or rather, there’s a “Ms. Marvel” series hitting Disney+ this summer and Marvel is going to try and use it to sell a few more comics.
X-Terminators #1 (of 5): Leah Williams migrates from “X-Factor” (we’re just going to pretend “The Trial of Magneto” was a bad dream) into something more… X-ploitative *rimshot*. No, really. That’s how the solicitation text is pitching this miniseries about Jubilee and Boom-Boom taking Dazzler out for a night on the town only to be kidnapped and put into deathtraps for someone’s amusement. (Is it Arcade’s amusement? I bet it is!) I’m curious to see how far Williams is willing to go with this setup as the solicitation text also tells us to, “ENTER THE GRINDHOUSE OF X!” Carlos Gomes illustrates this miniseries, which, if the main and variant covers are any indication, are going to feature another female cast member who’s well-suited to surviving deathtraps.
Predator #1: It’s back! This title was originally supposed to launch last year, until it was derailed by a lawsuit from the writers of the original “Predator” screenplay. That has since been settled and now Marvel can get on with the business of selling comics based on the character and Disney can get on with putting out movies and TV shows based on it through Hulu or one of their other media subsidiaries. This series comes to us from writer Ed Brisson and artist Kev Walker and takes place in the far future where a girl who saw her family murdered by a Predator has grown into a woman who hunts the spaceways looking for revenge. That said, care to guess what other 20th Century property that Marvel is currently publishing a comic about also takes place in the future? The lawsuit may have delayed the company’s plans a bit, but it’s safe to assume that a new “Alien vs. Predator” series will be happening eventually.
Silver Surfer by Slott and Allred Omnibus HC: I was thinking about making this the “Above-the-Board Recommendation” just to go, “If you haven’t bought or read this by now…” Because it really is good enough for me to keep nagging everyone to read it. Either in this hardcover omnibus format or on Marvel Unlimited.
War of Kings Omnibus HC: The solicitation text mentions that this is a new printing, but I hadn’t realized how all-encompassing this omnibus is. In fact, calling this “The Saga of Emperor Vulcan” would be a better description for it as it includes the twelve-issue arc of “Uncanny X-Men” that saw the character storm the Shi’Ar Empire and become its Emperor, the “Emperor Vulcan” and “Kingbreaker” miniseries that followed up on it, and the cosmic “War of Kings” event that sprawled through multiple miniseries and one-shots as the Inhumans and Shi’Ar went to war with each other. It’s also worth noting that, aside from the character’s introduction in “Deadly Genesis,” this represents all of the comics to feature Gabriel “Vulcan” Summers before he showed up again in Jonathan Hickman’s “X-Men” where he’s had considerably less to do than he did here.
Venom by Al Ewing and Ram V vol. 2: Deviation: I still have yet to pick up the first volume, mainly due to a lack of availability and sales, but I’m going to get it eventually. If only to see how the series is functioning with having two writers writing alternating issues of the series. It’s still happening too as while recent solicitations have listed Ram V as the sole writer, Ewing wrote issue #10, the last one collected in this volume. So this co-writing thing is still happening with this series – along with Bryan Hitch illustrating every issue too!