Marvel Penguin Picks: February 2023
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Immoral X-Men #1 (of 3), Storm and the Brotherhood of Mutants #1 (of 3), and Nightcrawlers #1 (of 3)
The “Age of Apocalypse” really was the gift that keeps on giving to the “X-Men.” People thought the idea of canceling all of the currently ongoing “X-Men” books in the 90’s for four months was nuts when the event was first announced. Not only did that storyline wind up being one of the most fondly-remembered ones of that era, they’re still doing variants on it to this day. Of which the “Sins of Sinister” event is just the latest.
It’s ten years in the future and Mister Sinister looks like he’s managed to get everything that he’s wanted. Except he’s got Storm looking to exact some payback for the destruction of Mars, someone out to wrest control of his elite Wagnerine assassins, and Emma Frost strangling him with a chain on the cover of “Immoral X-Men.” Things do seem like they could be going better for the man. Kieron Gillen is masterminding this event, but there’s no doubt that he’s left plenty of room for fellow writers Al Ewing and Simon Spurrier to do their thing on their respective series. What’s interesting is that Paco Medina is credited as the artist on all three issues solicited this month. Will it just be for this month or will Medina be illustrating all nine of the issues for these miniseries? If he does, that’ll be one more reason to look forward to what promises to be an enjoyably twisted “X-Men” event.
Red Goblin #1: Given how popular the Norman Osborn/Carnage pairing was in the final arc of Dan Slott’s “Amazing” run, you’d have thought that Marvel would’ve gone back to this particular well sooner. The thing is, with Norman currently expunged of all his sins and trying to do good, the pairing being revisited here is that of his grandson Normie and the Carnage Symbiote. Or… maybe not. This series is described as spinning out of the current “Venom” series rather than “Carnage” so it’s possible that writer Alex Paknadel and artist Jan Bazaluda are working off of a twist we’re not aware of. At least, one that I won’t be aware of until I read the next volume of the current “Venom” series.
Avengers: End Times – Marvel Tales #1: This is described as the start of an anthology series that’s designed to spotlight fan-favorite characters, timeless stories, and feature some of the publisher’s biggest talents. Which is why they’ve decided to start with a collection that… features the end of Bendis’ run on “Avengers.” Not “New Avengers,” which had a decent wrap-up, but “Avengers” where the team went into the microverse to rescue Janet Van Dyne in a story that can charitably be described as “A Mess.” Good luck with this initiative Marvel. At least subsequent offerings will be likely to improve after this volume.
Avengers Forever #14: Doom the Living Planet was one of the most over-the-top concepts to come from writer Jason Aaron in one of his most over-the-top series, “Astonishing Spider-Man and Wolverine.” How over the top was it? So over the top that artist Adam Kubert featured it in a three-page fold-out splash panel in the miniseries’ third issue. If you thought that Aaron wasn’t going to bring this thing back for the final storyline of his “Avengers” run, then you thought wrong. Best of luck to artist Jim Towe in trying to match the level of spectacle Kubert brought to the character.
Amazing Spider-Man #’s 19 & 20: This is essentially a two-part fill-in arc that sees Peter Parker and Felicia Hardy head to a spa in the Catskills for some much needed R&R. Naturally, someone tries to kill them while they’re there. It all sounds perfectly inconsequential, except these two issues have some major talent behind them as they’re written by Joe Kelly and illustrated by Terry Dodson. The expectation now is that they’re going to be a fun action-packed romp that will allow everyone to properly decompress from the event. I honestly don’t know why Marvel isn’t pushing this harder, telling us how “Dark Web” took so much out of regular writer Zeb Wells that he had to hand it to legendary “Deadpool” scribe Joe Kelly for two issues. I’d say I hope they include these issues in an upcoming volume of Wells’ run, but I’m reading “Amazing” on Marvel Unlimited, so I’ll be reading them when they come out.
X-Men #19: Remember back in Jonathan Hickman’s run when Broo ate the King Egg and became lord of all the Brood? Remember how the data page which followed that also mentioned that the production of a rival King Egg could disrupt the leadership of the hive? I’m sure Gerry Duggan does, which is why we’re getting this story about the X-Men heading out into deep space to find out what’s behind a Brood Civil War. Interestingly, while the cover of this issue connects to “Captain Marvel” #46, and while that title is also running a Brood-centric storyline, there’s not going to be a crossover between them (yet). Go figure.
Legion of X #10: It appears that this series has one more issue to get out before it can join the “Sins of Sinister” and… hey, is that NIMROD on the cover of this issue? You may recall that he’s one of Orchis’ heavy hitters in addition to being an AI that has teamed up with another AI from the future to wipe out all mutants in the present. Featuring him here seems like this current storyline might be kind of important to the overall X-narrative on Krakoa. I didn’t need another reason to start reading this series, but I’ll gladly take it.
Star Wars: Sana Starros #1 (of 5): In a move that took far too long to happen, one of the first new characters of the current Marvel “Star Wars” era gets her own miniseries. I mean, her ex has had an ongoing series for years now and we’re just finally getting around to giving Sana her own spotlight? Anyway, this comes to us from writer Justina Ireland and artist Pere Perez and features Sana returning to her ancestral home to recharge after a series of disappointments. What looks to be a family reunion of scoundrels quickly goes downhill when stormtroopers show up. I’ll admit that the actual miniseries could be pretty entertaining, but this sounds like a very standard-issue setup with nothing to distinguish it. Is Sana doomed to get the short end of the stick in “Star Wars” comics? I guess we’ll find out in February. Meanwhile, Speaking of Sana’s ex…
Doctor Aphra #29: Wait, we’re still on the storyline about the Spark Eternal? From the sound of it here things will be wrapping up in the next issue. Which means that it’ll have run for 15 issues – a virtual eternity in this era. That said, I do believe I see a familiar dark-hued protocol droid and his similarly colored astromech companion on the cover of this issue. I sure hope that’s not some kind of misdirection, because the thought of them teaming up with an Aphra who has been possessed by a mechanical approximation of Sith power implies all sorts of disturbingly entertaining possibilities.
Immortal Hulk Omnibus HC: $150 for the whole 1,592-page shebang? Yeah, I’d say it’s worth it.