Marvel Penguin Picks: September 2026
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Iron Man by Joshua Williamson vol. 1: A New Nightmare
His early work definitely struck me as being too formulaic for its own good, but Joshua Williamson’s runs on “Superman” and “G.I. Joe” have shown me that the writer is capable of finding new twists on old properties. That’s what I’m hoping to see in this collection of his first major gig at Marvel as Williamson tackles the new adventures of Tony Stark. In a volume that looks to be surprisingly free of tie-ins to the company’s current events, we get to see the genius inventor and industrialist grappling with some of his biggest fears: What kind of weapon would he create if he was faced with imminent death, and what would happen if someone else created it first? The latter fear would appear to be a non-issue given that there’s no one else like Iron Man in the Marvel Universe, but it appears that Madame Masque and A.I.M. are going to give it their best shot. Here’s hoping it represents a bang-up start for Williamson’s run, backed by what is sure to be some great art from Carmen Carnero and Juann Cabal.
Avengers Armageddon #4 (of 5) & Avengers #1: The former advertises a shocking character debut that will set the stage for the latter’s debut in November. Meanwhile, the solicits for “Avengers #1” indicate that it’s on sale in September, so who knows what’s going on here. Anyway, the new ongoing adventures of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are coming to you from new Marvel golden boy Chip Zdarsky and artist Marco Checchetto, together again after their award-winning run on “Daredevil.” Not only is Ol’ Hornhead part of this new team, but so are Spider-Man, Wolverine, Luke Cage, Captain Marvel, and [REDACTED]. While Marvel clearly wants this to be a surprise, the speculation is that this unnamed hero is David Colton, the Captain America of the 9/11 era from Zdarsky’s run on that title. I’m still waiting for that first volume to arrive, which is certainly taking its damn time to arrive since the writer’s third arc on “Captain America” is being solicited right here.
Alien vs. X-Men #1 (of 4): If you asked me what I thought would get Kieron Gillen back at Marvel to write something, it certainly wouldn’t have been a crossover between Marvel’s Merry Mutants and the Xenomorphs. However, according to the writer’s newsletter, “Aliens” is one of his foundational film experiences so I guess it was only a matter of time before this happened. Which is good for us as the man’s track record is impeccable and there’s no doubt he’s already got some kind of clever swerve against our expectations planned for the end of the first issue. Geraldo Borges illustrates the main story as well as the back-up feature written by Chris Claremont that involves Kitty Pryde, the Xenomorphs and their close Marvel cousins, the Brood. While Gillen’s involvement does make this a must-read for me, he’s already let one story detail slip: No Mister Sinister in this event. Disappointing, but Jonathan Hickman already nailed the character in this kind of thing with “Aliens vs. Avengers.”
Infernal Hulk vs. Wolverine #1: Beginning the march to “Hulk War” from writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson, this one-shot (the first of four with fights against the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and the Avengers on deck) sees Wolverine throw down with the monster that has possessed the Hulk. I’ve been meaning to catch up on Johnson’s “Hulk” run since Marvel clearly believes in it enough to let him see it through to its conclusion via this upcoming event, and due to his “Action Comics” work as well. Still, I see that Jonas Scharf is illustrating this issue and after his work on “Ultimate Incursion,” I find myself wanting to see either regular artist Nic Klein tackling this story, or (better yet) variant cover artist Lenil Francis Yu.
Marvel Mangaverse: Web of Blood #1: Writer Joe Kelly earns major dad points by bringing his son on to co-write… a revival of the Marvel Mangaverse? Uh, good for them, I guess. I know that Marvel did this whole thing trying to get some synergy from the rise of manga back in the 00’s, but it never came to anything. Neither did any of the previous attempts to revive it. I don’t know why Marvel thinks that there’s an audience for this kind of thing when real manga has been eating the publisher’s lunch for years. But if it’s to make the Kellys happy then I guess that’s as good an explanation for this as anything.
Mortal Thor vol. 2: Come at the King: The first volume of the second half of Al Ewing’s run on “Thor” (review forthcoming) was an interestingly low-key take on what the man who was Thor is up to in the Marvel Universe. One of its most interesting bits involved some follow-up on something that was set up in Ewing’s fill-in issues for Donny Cates’ ill-fated run on the title. Follow-up that involved one of the more disturbing developments from it. Let’s just say that being trapped under the Earth to have poison dripped in his eyes by the world serpent hasn’t improved Donald Blake’s disposition any. Should be interesting to see how that plays out, along with whatever this murder business the Enchantress has planned in Asgard turns out to be.
Cyclops: Seeing Red: He’s a character who’s famed for his superhuman powers of repression, his leadership skills, as well as his actual superhuman eye beams (which come from the punch dimension). So what happens when you strand him in the wilderness, stick him with a sole mutant who resents him, take away the visor that controls his powers, and put him up against the latest incarnation of the Reavers? Writer Alex Paknadel and artist Roge Antonio know, and if what I’ve heard is true, then the results are going to make for one of the better stories to feature the character.
Captain America: Modern Era Epic Collection – Reborn: Collecting the lead-ins and the actual event that saw Captain America return to the land of the living after writer Ed Brubaker killed him off. While the “Two Americas” story that followed was decent, anyone experiencing the writer’s run in this format for the first time can just stop here. Unless you have a thing for seeing superheroes constantly and consistently outsmarted by villains, then you’re going to love what happens next!