Marvel Penguin Picks: November 2022
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Legion of X vol. 1
“Way of X” initially seemed like it would be right up writer Simon Spurrier’s alley as the idea of Nightcrawler founding a mutant religion appeared to mesh with the writer’s desire to avoid telling superhero stories that embraced the obvious conventions. That turned out to not be the case as it was ultimately about the character trying, along with Legion, to find a way to address the figurative spiritual malaise that comes with immortality, along with the literal malaise represented by Onslaught. It eventually came together in the end; though, whether or not the decision to wrap up the series in the “Onslaught Revelation” one-shot was planned all along, or representative of an abrupt change in direction for the series has not been revealed.
Which leads us to “Legion of X,” also written by Spurrier with art from Jan Bazaluda. It still features Nightcrawler, but in a much more proactive role this time around. He’s leading a team of mutants tasked with enforcing justice on Krakoa, with all the complications that kind of task sounds like it’ll entail. I seem to remember Spurrier describing this as the “X-Men” equivalent of a cop show, and while that may raise a few eyebrows in this day and age, one look at the writer’s history on titles like “The Spire,” “Coda,” and “The Dreaming” should let you know he’s not one to promote any sort of “copoganda.” As for what this series is meant to promote, it does have a more clear direction this time around, while also leaving me curious as to how the writer is going to subvert our expectations as he always does.
Avengers Assemble: Alpha #1: If you’ve thought to yourself, “You know, Jason Aaron has been writing ‘Avengers’ for a while. I wonder if he’s making any plans to wrap up his run?” “Avengers Assemble: Alpha” is your answer as it represents the beginning of the end of the writer’s run on “Avengers” and (one assumes) “Avengers Forever.” The solicitation for this issue is short on specifics as it talks about a battle that rages from the beginning of time to the dark watchtower at the heart of all as the worst of villains and their army makes their play for everything. Aaron has been building up Mephisto as the Big Bad of his run, so it’s safe to assume that he’s behind a lot of what’s being talked about here. If nothing else, I’m certainly going to enjoy seeing the team had Big Red his ass by the time this is all done; though, I wouldn’t mind seeing him struggle a little before then. Bryan Hitch illustrates this issue and I can’t think of a better artist to realize the over-the-top approach the writer is going for here.
Gold Goblin #1 (of 5): Norman Osborne has actually been a good guy since having his sins cleansed after the “Last Remains” storyline. In fact, he’s using his tech and smarts to give super-heroing a try as the Gold Goblin. Which is all well and good until you realize that it’s only a matter of time until a) Norman’s mental instability rears its head and b) the people who he’s victimized over the years notice and start making plans of their own. The idea of Norman Osborne – Super Hero is a weird one and that means it should be right up writer Christopher Cantwell’s alley. In addition to writing about mentally disturbed protagonists in a compelling way in the pages of “She Could Fly,” he’s also shown that he’s good at getting in the heads of Marvel’s biggest villains with his “Doctor Doom” series. Lan Medina illustrates this series that I hope goes in some appropriately weird directions and leaves us with a better understanding of the character than we had going in.
Fantastic Four #1: Ryan North takes over from Dan Slott and begins his run by going… small? That’s right, North has already admitted that he’s not going to be able to go any bigger than what the previous writer did, so he’s going to do smaller and more personal stories featuring Marvel’s First Family. Which is why the first issue is about Ben and Alicia Grimm traveling to New York and getting stuck in a time loop along the way. North has always been a pretty inventive writer, so I’m sure he’s going to find a way to deliver some satisfying stories by dialing the scope of them down a bit. Iban Coello provides the art and I’m sure he’ll find a way to make this all look good too.
A.X.E.: Judgment Day – Omega #1: The expected coda issue for the event series. Except it’s more than that. Kieron Gillen mentioned in his newsletter that he’s no longer writing “Eternals” so this is likely going to be the finale of his run on that title. On one hand, it’s disappointing that throwing Gillen and Esad Ribic at the “Eternals” and making an event out of their run didn’t result in a longer stay for the concept, but I guess that’s their fate. To be a curio created by Jack Kirby that has no more than cult appeal. The series is advertised as wrapping up not with any major changes, but with the Eternals finding out just what is eternal after all.
Doctor Strange: Fall Sunrise #1 (of 4): Tradd Moore writes and illustrates a Doctor Strange miniseries featuring the sorcerer in a world not his own. Which sounds to me like a license for one of comics most creative and over-the-top artists to just go nuts drawing whatever he wants. Your mileage may vary, but that right there is enough for me.
X-Treme X-Men #1 (of 5): The Chris Claremont hit parade continues as we get a revival for a series that I didn’t think had all that much nostalgia going for it. “X-Treme X-Men” was the title that Claremont wrote after his first return to the “X-Men” franchise crashed and burned big time. I think that the idea behind this was that getting him off “X-Men” and “Uncanny” would give him more freedom to do what he wanted, and would result in better stories at the same time. While a 46-issue run isn’t anything to scoff at, you’d be hard-pressed to note any lasting changes or name any memorable storylines the series produced over the course of its run. You likely already know if this story is for you, and if that’s the case then the fact that original “X-Treme X-Men” artist Salvador Larroca is illustrating it will likely only sweeten the deal.
Sabretooth and the Exiles #1 (of 5): Here’s something you don’t see often at Marvel: A sequel miniseries. The first “Sabretooth” miniseries dealt with what happened to the character after he wound up in the Pit at Krakoa and by the looks of the cover, he’s finally free. Except that the solicitation text makes it sound like his troubles are only beginning. Original miniseries writer, Victor LaValle and artist Leonard Kirk return for this one, and I’ll have to get around to reading it on Marvel Unlimited at some point. While I’m curious to see how the title character dealt with his time in the Pit, I’m more curious to see how he’s going to deal with new teammates Nanny and Orphan-Maker if that cover is anything to go by.
Thanos: Death Notes #1: I see what they did there. Unfortunately this is not about what happens when the Mad Titan gets his hands on a book that allows him to describe how anyone whose name he knows will die. It’s apparently spinning out of Donny Cates’ and Nic Klein’s run on “Thor” and features stories from J. Michael Straczynski, Torun Gronbekk, Kyle Starks, and Christopher Cantwell. I’d certainly be interested in reading stories about Thanos from three of those four creators, so I hope this gets collected as part of the next volume of “Thor.” Or I’ll just read it on Marvel Unlimited as well.
Crossgen Tales #1: Why is this called “Crossgen Tales?” Because it’s better than calling it “Reprints to Extend Copyright Tales,” which is what its real purpose is.
Star Wars: Hidden Empire #1 (of 5): It was only a matter of time before the Emperor realized what Q’ira and Crimson Dawn were up to. Now he’s making his move to crush the crime syndicate before it can present a real obstacle to his agenda. The only problem is that Q’ira has been preparing for this eventuality and she’s secured some muscle to help her out: The Knights of Ren. While feelings regarding the sequel trilogy are… divisive, to say the least, you can’t fault writer Charles Soule’s efforts to try and find interesting ways to flesh out the concepts presented in those movies and tie them to the wider “Star Wars” mythology. We all know that Q’ira’s not going to succeed in her ambitions, but here’s hoping that Soule, and artist Steven Cummings, can find a way to have her fail in an interesting way.
New X-Men Omnibus HC: I’ve probably spotlighted this omnibus before, but I’ve got no problems with doing it again. Grant Morrison’s “X-Men” run was the best one I’ve read on that title and it deserves a place in any comics fan’s library.
Miles Morales vol. 8: Empire of the Spider: The main story in vol. 7 ended on a sour note when Ultimatum showed up again. Fortunately it doesn’t sound like he’s going to be the main focus of the story for this volume. That would be Miles’ other clone brother, Selim, who has turned Brooklyn into his own private empire. Miles and Shift know that they have to stop him, but who can they turn to in this alternate universe? Ultimatum aside, the buildup for this arc was pretty solid, and writer Saladin Ahmed has been doing good work on this title for a while. I’m optimistic about this story, but not about whether he’ll finally get me to care about Ultimatum.