Marvel Penguin Picks: July 2026
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
DNX #1 (of 5)
Marvel is sure going event-crazy in their recent solicitations. What with “Avengers: Armageddon” and “Queen in Black” having kicked off in the June solicits and this kicking off here. Of the three, this is the one I’m most interested in because you can draw a clear line to it from “Age of Revelation” – which I just finished reading this week. The end of that storyline saw Cyclops and… the Chairman of 3K (if you haven’t been spoiled for his identity like I was, I won’t do it here) return to their bodies in the present day with plans. Cyclops wants to use what he knows to avert it while the Chairman is planning on utilizing his newfound knowledge to advance 3K’s mutant superiority agenda. This is being written by regular “X-Men” writer Jed MacKay who also did the only issues you’ll need to read from “Revelation,” and his work is proving to be the brightest spot in the line post-Krakoa. That should continue to be true here, along with Federico Vicentini delivering some really sharp art to go along with the story.
X-Men: The Hellfire Murder #1: This year’s “Hellfire” one-shot looks to be a self-contained murder mystery taking place at a costume gala hosted by Sebastian Shaw. It falls to Wolverine and Jubilee to solve this locked-room mystery, which would appeal to anyone who has fond memories of their relationship from the 90’s (like me). However, there’s no denying that these “Hellfire” specials have been of varying importance to the line as a whole over the years, making me wonder if Marvel is just keeping them going out of habit more than anything else. This is still going to feature contributions from writers central to most of the line like Jed MacKay, Gail Simone, Saladin Ahmed, and Eve Ewing; so, it’s entirely possible that this story could have wider ramifications once its full story is revealed.
Challenges of Doom #1: Mister Fantastic: Didja hear that Doctor Doom is making his MCU debut later this year? In what is clearly a transparent attempt to get more newbie-friendly material involving the good Doctor out in time for “Doomsday” we’re getting this series of one-shots spotlighting pivotal confrontations between him and various Marvel heroes. While I may sound cynical about the origins and aims of this series, I can’t deny that I’m going to want to read this as this issue is written by Al Ewing with art from Mike Henderson. If all subsequent issues are also going to be written by Ewing, then picking up the collected edition will be an easy choice. If not, then we’ll see.
Godzilla Conquers the Marvel Universe #1 (of 5): Huh, we’re onto our third Gerry Duggan-written and Javier Garron-illustrated miniseries featuring Godzilla laying waste to the Marvel Universe. I read the first two issues of “Godzilla Destroys the Marvel Universe” on Marvel Unlimited, but didn’t think we’d be getting up to fifteen issues of comics based on that concept. Then again, they’ve been scaling up with each successive miniseries with the events of the first being confined to Earth, the second taking place on a cosmic scale, and now this one sees the King of All Kaiju tackling the multiverse. I can at least see myself going back to that first miniseries to see if it was all good, and then maybe waiting for the Epic Collection of all three miniseries because its follow-up “Infinity Roar” isn’t on Marvel Unlimited for some reason.
Punisher vs. Spider-Man #1 (of 5): I like Dan Abnett, and I’m open to Marvel’s claim that the artist of this miniseries, Matteo Della Fonte, could be my new favorite. But, man, did they pick the wrong time to release a miniseries featuring these two characters after Jonathan Hickman and Adam Kubert’s “Long Way Home” (which has extra Hulk) debuted last month. My money isn’t on this being the better of the two miniseries, yet I wouldn’t bet against all of its issues coming out on a monthly basis, at least.
Predator vs. The Planet of the Apes #1 (of 5): Um, okay. It really does appear that we’re only getting this crossover because Marvel has the comics publishing rights to both properties. I mean, can you think of any other reason for this to even happen? The only thing stopping me from saying that you shouldn’t bother with this at all is that it’s being written by Greg Pak, who’s turned in some good work, most recently in my book with his “Darth Vader” series. I’m not sure he’ll be able to do the same here, but I guess I can check it out when (if?) this heads to Marvel Unlimited.
Marvel Premier Collection: Avengers – Time Runs Out & Secret Wars: Normally I’d be glad to see some of Jonathan Hickman’s best Marvel work being repackaged for the mass market. However, starting with these is not the best way to experience his “Avengers” run as they represent the culmination of it rather than the start. Don’t get me wrong: It’s a good culmination. Yet it feels like Marvel is doing these first as they’re pretty Doctor Doom centric (and it’s his visage that graces the “Secret Wars” collection) and they’ve got that movie featuring him that needs promotion before the end of the year. Still, both collections are over 300 pages in length with a smaller trim size for $15 each, which is a good deal by any standard.
Marvel/DC: The Dead of Knight and Other Stories: Collecting “Deadpool/Batman,” “Spider-Man/Superman,” and the digital-first “Thor/Shazam” and “It’s Jeff!/Aquaman” comics. I was considering giving the top spot to this collection since it’s the other half of the current DC/Marvel crossovers, but there’s no denying I’m less excited about reading this than I am DC’s half. Zeb Wells and Greg Capullo are a hell of a team, but not quite as exciting as Grant Morrison and Dan Mora. Though Jorge Jimenez and Pepe Larraz may be incredible superhero artists, I trust Mark Waid as a writer far more than I do Brad Meltzer. Maybe my expectations will be upended by this collection; though, I wouldn’t bet on it. What you can bet on is a podcast talking about both collections arriving sometime in July or early August to find out whether or not that’s the case.
Planet She-Hulk: When Bruce Banner went off to investigate the circumstances that led to the death of his son, Skaar, in “Imperial” he asked his cousin Jen Walters to look over Sakaar in his absence. Which he swore would be no longer than five days. That promise was broken pretty quickly and now She-Hulk has found herself as the de facto leader of one of the most savage planets in the cosmos. The one-shots meant to trail upcoming cosmic series spinning out of “Imperial’s” wake were an uneven bunch, but Stephanie Phillips’ “She-Hulk” was one of the better ones. I’m at least curious to see what the writer and artists Aaron Kuder and Emilio Laiso do with their setup, even if we’ve already been told this is going to collect one five-issue arc and one abrupt change-in-direction issue after poor sales dictated that this title wouldn’t get its previously allotted ten issues.