Marvel Previews Picks: December 2020
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
All-New Wolverine by Tom Taylor Omnibus HC
There is only one Logan. But there are two Wolverines in my book. He’s one and Laura Kinney is the other. It’s her adventures that are chronicled here in this omnibus, and most of them are really good. From the opening arc “The Four Sisters” which had Laura taking down those seeking to use her genetic material to create new super-soldiers, to “Orphans of X” where she took down a cult of people who sought revenge on her without killing anyone, Taylor took stories that were familiar setups for Wolverine-style adventures and added some imaginative twists to them. He also gave us Gabby, Laura’s clone-sister, and a well-used source of well-earned pathos and comic relief in equal amounts.
This omnibus collects issues #1-35 of the series, plus an annual and “Generations” one-shot. A brief check shows that those two special issues weren’t collected in the six collections I have, so I’ll have to hit up ComiXology in the future to read them. That said, this omnibus should’ve found room to collect the “Hunt for Wolverine: Adamantium Agenda” miniseries, also written by Taylor with art from R.B. Silva. Laura plays a key role in it, and finds out something important about her past, which provided a surprising amount of closure for the writer’s run with the character.
The King in Black #’s 1&2 (of 5): Last year’s “Absolute Carnage” event ended with the title character being stopped (mostly…) but also with Knull, the God of the Symbiotes, being freed from his imprisonment. His next stop? Earth, of course, and that’s the starting point for “The King in Black.” As was the case with “Absolute Carnage,” this is another event spinning out of Donny Cates’ “Venom” run and Ryan Stegman, the original artist for that series, is back to draw this one as well. Just as it was with “The War of the Realms,” this event gets bonus points for being one that has sprung up organically from an ongoing series — double points for being a series that I’m actually reading. Cates has also done a bang-up job of selling the threat of Knull up to this point, so I’m absolutely going to pick this up when it’s collected.
Oh, and since this is Marvel’s latest big event, you know what that means… TIE-INS!
King in Black: Iron Man/Doctor Doom #1: Iron Man is feeling down about how he wasn’t able to do anything to help Eddie Brock. He shouldn’t worry because Doctor Doom drops by to offer some words of counsel in only the way he can. If this sounds like a weird-ass setup for this one-shot, just be aware that it comes from writer Christopher Cantwell. In addition to being comics’ current king of quirk, he’s also writing the solo adventures of both characters. This is even being illustrated by “Doom” artist Salvador Larroca. I’m interested, and my money is on this issue finding its way into the next volume of “Doctor Doom” given that it’s from the same creative team.
King in Black: Immortal Hulk #1: There was also an “Immortal Hulk” tie-in to “Absolute Carnage” that was of marginal importance to the event itself. However, it was a great showcase for what writer Al Ewing had done with the character and featured some nicely stylized art from Felipe Andrade. Ewing returns for this newest tie-in and this time he’s bringing along artist Aaron Kuder. As for what to expect from this: The solicitation text implies that Joe Fixit is running the show and he wants to give the Hulk the best holiday he’s ever had. After fighting his way through a planet of symbiotes. Sounds like a winner to me!
M.O.D.O.K.: Head Games #1 (of 4): Coming to you from co-writers Jordan Blum and Patton Oswalt, the showrunners on the upcoming animated series featuring the character. Scott Hepburn illustrates this story about one of Marvel’s most… distinctive characters as he begins to wonder if he’s losing his mind. Some might say that he lost it long ago, but M.O.D.O.K. is now being haunted by visions of a family he never had. So he’s losing it in a completely different way now, that also happens to sound very similar to what Doctor Doom has been going through over in his series. It still sounds a bit more serious that I was expecting from a M.O.D.O.K. miniseries. Either Blum and Oswalt are trying to play against expectations here, or they just want us to think that. Could go either way, honestly.
Hellions #7: Looking at the cover, my first thought was, “Mr. Sinister looks really out of character there.” I mean, seeing the mad geneticist cry over the loss of his team? No, I don’t think so. Then I read the solicitation text, which states, “Mr. Sinister’s team of Hellions are dead. Oh, the pain! Oh, the injustice! Oh, the–wait a minute…what’s Sinister really up to?” Yeah, that’s more like it. Well played Mr. Wells.
Ghost Rider: Return of Vengeance #1 (of 5): Time to party like it’s 1990 all over again as the creators of the “Ghost Rider” series from that time, writer Howard Mackie and artist Javier Saltares, are back with this new miniseries. It’s not about Danny Ketch, the character they created, however. It’s about Michael Badilino, a guy who was so bad in life that he got placed in a special cell in Hell. Right next to a certain spirit of vengeance. On one hand, people with fond memories of the 90’s incarnation of “Ghost Rider” are certainly going to get a kick out of these creators back on the character. On the other, Mackie’s reputation as a writer has cratered over the past couple decades. So it’s quite possible that the draw of nostalgia here is going to instantly evaporate once these fans start reading this first issue.
Fantastic Four: Road Trip #1: Cantwell takes on the FF with artist Filipe Andrade. While the team decides to head out to the Grand Canyon for some R&R, Reed Richards can’t quite leave his experiments alone. Unfortunately for Sue, Ben, and Johnny, the experiment Reed has snuck along with them goes awry and things start going wrong with their bodies. To the point of actual body horror if the cover of this issue is anything to go by. It’s an interestingly dark premise for a “Fantastic Four” story, which would make it very much at odds with what Dan Slott is doing on the title right now. So I may just have to buy this one digitally rather than wait and see if it turns up in the next proper volume of the current series.
Aliens: The Original Years Omnibus vol. 1 HC: *sigh* Marvel starts reprinting the “Aliens” comics produced by Dark Horse. $125 will get you some of the best licensed comics ever produced, and a lot of other stuff that’s quite readable at the very least. One note: This omnibus is listed as including “Aliens: Space Marines #’s 1-12.” That should actually be “Aliens: Colonial Marines #’s 1-10” since it was originally a 12 issue maxiseries that was cut down to ten issues. Just thought you’d like to know.
X of Swords HC: Wow, they’re putting the entire 22-part crossover in one volume. I can appreciate that. Granted, it’s a $100 hardcover, but I’m sure that price will look more reasonable after it’s discounted by online retailers. As for what it’s about, all I know is “SWORDS” and “APOCALYPSE.” The character, not the actual event. Though I wouldn’t rule out the former causing the latter here.
Spider-Man: Bloodline: This is the miniseries co-written by Henry and J.J. Abrams (more by the former than the latter) and illustrated by Sara Pichelli. The first issue surprised a lot of people who were expecting it to be just another “Spider-Man” story featuring Peter Parker by having it actually be a story set in the future about his son. Then the miniseries schedule went right off the rails. To the point that issue #4 just came out this past week. With a schedule like that, soliciting this collected edition for December strikes me as… recklessly optimistic.
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra vol. 1 — Fortune and Fate: It’s good to see the Doctor back in action. She’s got an all new creative team in the form of writer Alyssa Wong and artist Marika Cresta too. I’ve not read anything from Ms. Wong, but I can tell for sure that she’s got guts. You have to have them if you’re stepping up to write a series that was previously defined by Kieron Gillen and Simon Spurrier. Here’s hoping that those guts help give Aphra a good start to her new series.