Marvel Penguin Picks: June 2025
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Aliens vs. Avengers
This isn’t the first time that the Xenomorphs have faced off against superheroes, as they tangled with Batman and Superman multiple times during the late 90’s and early 00’s. It will be the first time they’ve mixed it up with Marvel’s characters, and in a way that probably won’t lead to any direct sequels. That’s because Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic’s miniseries is set in an alternate timeline that’s going to allow for things to get really, really bad for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. In ways that describe most heroes dead and a certain few “changed,” while also positioning the X-Men as the bigger threat here. In lesser hands I’d take a “Wait and see” approach to this setup, but with Hickman and Ribic involved, I’m actually a little upset this isn’t getting an oversized hardcover-first edition. I’d totally pay the extra money for that!
Godzilla vs. Avengers #1: Writer David F. Walker and artist Georges Jeanty are displaying some storytelling ambition in their “Godzilla vs.” one-shot. That’s because it’s not about the actual fight, but the aftermath as investigated by S.H.I.E.L.D. It also wasn’t just about Godizlla and the (New) Avengers, but Fing Fang Foom and Jet Jaguar as well – and everyone’s telling a different story. That’s right it’s “Rashomon” by way of the Marvel Universe’s big kaiju battle, and that sounds great!
Imperial #1 (of 4): While he’s still busy showrunning the Ultimate Universe, Jonathan Hickman has also found the time to redefine the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe with this miniseries, illustrated by Federico Vicetini and Iban Coello. There’s no mention of the miniseries’ actual plot, save that it’s going to involve Hulks, Black Panthers, Novas, Guardians, and Cosmic Kings and Queens, but as you can guess the writer’s involvement has me sold. As does the fact that this is going to involve some material he had planned for his “X-Men” run by way of his “New Mutants” issues and just wasn’t able to get to the first time.
Marvel Knights: The World to Come #1 (of 6): It says “Marvel Knights” and it’s coming from two of the key players from that game-changing imprint – “Daredevil” artist and former Marvel EIC Joe Quesada and “Black Panther” writer Christopher Priest – but this really sounds like an alternate-future “Black Panther” story. A good one too as the King of Wakanda is dead and now the race is on to see who will replace T’Challa, with the resulting power struggle likely to reverberate beyond the boundaries of Wakanda. Priest excelled at this kind of stuff during his run, and this has been in the works long enough to the point where we won’t likely see any delays in the series as Quesada brings his A-game to it. Should be good – even if my gut tells me that the big twist at the end will be the reveal that T’Challa isn’t dead and has been masterminding all of this from the shadows for the good of his kingdom.
New Thunderbolts* #1: This will be dropping a month after the movie has hit theaters. After which point we’ll finally understand whether or not there was an actual reason for the “*” or if it was just Marvel Studios being cute. Anyhow, the only character from the movie that’s in this comic is Bucky and he’s joined by Black Widow, Hulk, Carnage, Namor, Clea, and Laura “Wolverine” Kinney. As for why they’re working together, apparently they were all in the right place to stop an evil doppelganger Illuminati from destroying the world. Sam Humphries, whose “Uncanny X-Force” run I liked more than most, writes with Ton Lima providing the art.
Death of the Silver Surfer #1 (of 5): Does what it says on the tin, I would expect. “Darth Vader” writer Greg Pak teams with artist Sumit Kumar for this story of Norrin Radd returning to defend a war-ravaged Earth from a new enemy that seeks to destroy him. I’m not sure why we’re getting this kind of “Death” story now, but I hope the “war ravaged Earth” bit from the solicitation text implies that this is an alternate-future story showcasing a potential death of the title character. That’ll at least allow me to get my suspension of disbelief on in order to properly enjoy this story.
Jeff the Land Shark #1 (of 5): After his breakout success in “Marvel Rivals,” Jeff gets his own miniseries from his creator, Kelly Thompson, and artist Tokitokoro. You know, it would be hilarious if this wound up outselling everything else in these solicitations thanks to the videogame’s success. Which would be fine by me as Thompson deserves the fat paycheck that kind of success would (hopefully) bring.
Giant-Size Spider-Man #1: This is hyped as bringing us Kevin Smith’s return to the Marvel Universe, and Chip Zdarsky introducing a brand new character that will play a major role in its future. However, I’m more interested in seeing Al Ewing, with artist Mark Buckingham, deliver a decade-spanning adventure with some of his best friends. To each their own, though.
Ultimate Spider-Man: Incursion #1 (of 5): During the Ultimate Universe’s first run, we had to wait until it was close to its end before it finally crossed over with the regular Marvel Universe. By the time this miniseries rolls around, the current Ultimate Universe will have been in operation for around a year and a half. I don’t think this is a bad thing, and having Miles Morales be the first visitor from the regular to the Ultimate Universe is a cute touch. Still, I can’t say that Marvel’s description of the people writing this as “exciting” really hits the mark. One is Cody Ziglar, who has been writing “Miles Morales” for a while and is clearly doing something right there. The other is Deniz Camp. Let’s hope this is closer to “Children of the Vault” than his current “Ultimates” run.
Ghost Rider vs. Galactus #1: The latest in J. Michael Straczynski’s series of one-shots involving team-ups between unlikely characters. That said, did no one tell him about the Cosmic Ghost Rider? Regardless, this is illustrated by Juan Ferreryra, so it’s going look good.
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra – Chaos Agent #1: The franchise’s morally flexible answer to “Indiana Jones” returns for her third ongoing series. Aphra’s now up to her usual tricks in the era of the New Republic, even if some old trouble is still following her around. So maybe she’ll be able to use Luke Skywalker to help her get her hands on another rare artifact. This comes to us from writer Cherish Chen and artist Gabriel Guzman. While I’m familiar with Guzman, Chen is a new name for me. That’s not a problem as I wasn’t familiar with Alyssa Wong before she took on Aphra’s last ongoing series, and that turned out well (after the second volume).
X-Men by Gerry Duggan Omnibus HC: Collecting everything Duggan wrote in connection with his 34-issue run on the main title during the Krakoan Era. This isn’t without its highlights, but it lacked an overall narrative driving it in the way that “Immortal X-Men” did. Also, it’s missing the conclusion to the whole era in “X-Men” #35. So there’s that to consider as well.
Uncanny X-Men by Gail Simone vol. 2: The Dark Artery: Picking up after the “Raid on Graymalkin” crossover, and omitting the “X-Manhunt” tie-in issue. Which is sensible. That said, I don’t know how excited to be by this solicitation as I’m still waiting to read vol. 1. Which is more than I can say for other relaunch titles at this point.
Namor: Last King of Atlantis: War rages under the seas as seven king seek to rule Atlantis. Yet what about it’s most famous son? Namor is cooling his heels in a surface prison following the events of Jason Aaron’s “Avengers” run and has vowed never to return to the sea again. We’ll see how long that lasts as Aaron shows us what the future has in store for the character as well as some untold secrets from his and Atlantis’ past as well. As I enjoyed Aaron’s “Avengers” run, I’ll be picking this up to see where he leaves the character for the future. Paul Davidson and Alex Lins illustrate.