Marvel Penguin Picks: October 2026
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Doom: All-on-One #1
Expect lots more comics featuring the good/bad Doctor as we get closer to the release of “Avengers: Doomsday.” While “Written by Al Ewing” is certainly a way for any such project to get my attention, this also looks like it’s going to have a lot of visual style to back it up. Not just because of the fact that it’s being illustrated by the very talented Alessandro Capuccio of “Ultimate Wolverine” fame, but because it’s being published in a landscape format: You’ll be reading it lengthwise instead of vertically. Does anybody remember the “Marvelscope” format that they did the “New X-Men 2001 Annual” in over twenty years ago? It’s just like that!
Anyhow, Ewing and Capuccio are going to have Doctor Doom fight through the Marvel Universe in this format in a 64-page one-shot for $8. Which doesn’t sound that bad by modern standards. This is before you consider that it’s going to have the Doctor fighting everyone in the Marvel Universe… IN HELL! Yes, he’s throwing down against Mephisto again – no word on whether or not this is connected to his current status quo in the underworld or if this is just a story about one of the many times Doom fought Marvel Brand Satan for his mother’s soul. Whatever the case is, it’s likely to be a great read, however you come by it.
Midnight: Fantastic Four #1 & Midnight: Spider-Man #1: I already talked about my thoughts on “Midnight: X-Men” a while back and it’ll be launching alongside these titles in October. Unlike that title, the horror-infused takes actually sound a good deal more interesting than “‘X-Men’ But With Vampires Again.” An obsessive scientist warps himself and three of his friends into strange and terrible new forms as they plumb the secrets of the universe? Sounds like “Fantastic Four” with a proper cosmic horror vibe. A young man is transformed into a hideous spider-hybrid by the Oscorp corporation’s quest for immortality, and forces himself to overcome his circumstances to save others from becoming victims like him? Damned if that doesn’t seem like something Peter Parker wouldn’t do. Ben Percy and Kev Walker are writing and illustrating “Fantastic Four” while Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Scietronc are doing “Spider-Man.” I’m still not sure if Superheroes But With Horror is the magic bullet that will allow Marvel to compete with Absolute DC, yet these still sound like titles I’m interested in reading.
Wolverine: Paradise #1 (of 5): Logan heads to Miami and sniktety-snikt hijinks ensue. Written and illustrated by Dan Panosian who’s going to bring his distinctly spiky style to the Ol’ Canucklehead and special guest star Dazzler. No word on whether or not this is going to be a flashback tale set in the 80’s as some of the variant covers imply, or if we’re getting a present day story that channels the state’s infamous Florida Man vibes. No word either on whether or not this got greenlit because Marvel wanted to have a Wolverine story set in Florida that they could also sell to all the people that’ll be visiting Vice City when “Grand Theft Auto VI” releases the following month.
Venom #1: Not really a spoiler to say that Eddie Brock and Venom are back together in the wake of “Queen in Black.” We all knew that it was going to happen, it was just a matter of when. What’s surprising is that this is going to be the third consecutive “Venom” series I’ll be buying after the runs from Donny Cates and Al Ewing. “Carnage” writer Charles Soule takes over along with new artist Tommaso Bianchi and we’re not given a whole lot to go on here. Just that Eddie is going to try and be the hero he always knew he could be, and he’s not going to let anyone – especially any superheroes – say otherwise. I’m guessing that Soule is saving any real surprises for the issue itself, but I like that this sounds as if we’re going to get a less depressed and downbeat Eddie Brock than we’ve seen recently.
Marvel Premiere Collection: Spider-Man: Kraven’s Last Hunt, Iron Man: Extremis, & Thor: Godbomb: Marvel’s compact reprint program soldiers on with a classic Spidey story I’ve never read along with other relevant tales from its writer J.M. DeMatteis, Warren Ellis & Adi Granov’s modern “Iron Man” classic packed together with the first volume of Kieron Gillen’s run for some reason, and the start of one of the very best runs on “Thor.” I almost considered making “Godbomb” the Above-the-Board recommendation this month. What stopped me was the fact that I think Esad Ribic’s art would be better served in either a regular-sized or an even larger format. Still, I bet that the epic quality of the story being told will still come through even if you read it in this format.
Amazing Spider-Man/Venom: Death Spiral: Collecting the crossover between the two titles while also following up on the events of the “Eddie Brock: Carnage” series. I need to catch up on “Amazing,” but will likely be reading this anyway as it’ll be interesting not just to see what Carnage does with his newfound knowledge that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, but what happens when Spidey finds out that Mary Jane is now Venom. Any chance they’ll just all sit down and talk it out like adults? In a modern Marvel crossover event – not a chance!
Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon: Setting up the “Avengers: Armageddon” event, courtesy of its writer Chip Zdarsky and artist Luca Maresca. Wolverine finds out that there’s a new company on the block called Primewarrior that’s creating super-soldiers and selling them to the highest bidder. This reminds him of the bad old days in the Weapon X program, and now someone is going to have to die. While I’m interested in “Armageddon,” I’ve also heard that this functions as a very solid “Wolverine” story on its own terms, and I’ve always got room in my library for something like that.
Venom vol. 1: Behind the Masque: Picking up from “All-New Venom” and preceding “Death Spiral.” Al Ewing gets to follow up on everything he was doing in “All-New” before sales dictated that this series be re-numbered for the Issue #250 sales bump. So expect to see more of Doc Ock running S.C.A.R., Madame Masque looking for some payback, and Luke Cage trying to decide whether it’s better for everyone if he sides with human or symbiote law. While I’m up for anything Ewing writes, even I’ll admit that it’s a little hard to get excited about what he’s doing here knowing that everything that comes after is going to be crossover fodder.
Imperial Guardians: It was supposed to be an ongoing series that spun out of “Imperial.” It was cut down to a miniseries before it was launched. Let’s hope that it still reads like one as the premise sounds like a recipe for a good time. I mean, Maximus the Mad running a deniable ops team trying to keep galactic peace that’s made up of Gamora, Captain Marvel, Darkhawk, Amadeus Cho, and Cosmic Ghost Rider? One wonders if they’re all going to check their drama and work together as professionals just to spite Maximus, and if that was his plan all along. Should be good fun with Dan Abnett writing and Marcelo Ferreira illustrating.