Marvel Previews Picks: July 2021
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Hellions vol. 2
There’s another round of collections from the X-books in these solicitations. Much as I like what Jonathan Hickman and Gerry Duggan have been doing on “X-Men” and “Marauders,” I have to admit that Zeb Wells has been doing great, demented work on “Hellions.” Its first arc could have come across as creepy and grimdark, but the writer and artist Stephen Segovia found ways to insert a surprising amount of (dark) comedy and character. This was also the case, even more so, when Carmen Carnero joined for the two “X of Swords” issues which were just tie-ins to the main event. But what tie-ins they were as Sinister led his team down the garden path for his own ends and the surprising fate that awaited everyone who wasn’t him. The only question here should be whether or not Wells and co. will be able to keep the good times rolling into vol. 2.
…which I can say is an “Affirmative” after reading through issues #7-8 on Marvel Unlimited. It’s a two-parter which sees the team face off against a classic X-villain as they try to rescue Nanny’s ship from him. Backstabbing, acid-drenched insults, a wanton disregard for the necessities of a happy ending — these two issues indicate that this volume is likely to be as enjoyable as the first one was.
Amazing Fantasy #1 (of 5): “Amazing Fantasy” may have been the series that Spider-Man made his debut in, but it wasn’t a fantasy series. This miniseries from creator Kaare Andrews looks to change that as specific versions of Marvel Heroes — Red Room Black Widow, Teenage Spider-Man, WWII-era Captain America, are mentioned in the solicitations — and thrusts them into a high fantasy world. How high fantasy? The variant covers on display show us orcs, elves, a winged tiger, and some nasty creatures in futuristic armor. This sounds like a promising setup, even though Andrews is a creator whose recent work hasn’t interested me and whose last reinvention of a Marvel character (see “Spider-Man: Reign”) went off the rails in a way that reminds me I have to check it out at some point.
Sinister War #’s 1&2 (of 4): It’s event time in “Amazing Spider-Man” again. With Doc Ock reviving the Sinister Six and the Vulture forming his own Savage Six, there’s only room in New York for one Six-based team of villains. That’s where the “War” in this title is coming from and it’s something that Spidey desperately wants to prevent. Which he has a decent shot at because if there’s one character that Doc Ock, Vulture and the rest of the members of their respective teams hate more than each other, it’s the Wall-Crawler himself. It’s a good setup for a Spider-event, and I’d likely be looking forward to it… if writer Nick Spencer hadn’t torpedoed my interest in his run with “Last Remains.” My review of it is forthcoming, but it’s currently on my shortlist for “Worst of 2021.” Mark Bagley illustrates this event, which means that it’ll look great regardless of whether or not Spencer nails the land or faceplants (again).
X-Men #1: What? A re-launch of “X-Men” in the middle of Jonathan Hickman’s stewardship of the line? Believe it! While Hickman will be writing a new title in the near future, he’s turning writing duties on the flagship title over to a writer who has made a surprisingly great impression in this new X-era: Gerry Duggan. Yes, I never thought I’d be looking forward to seeing the man who ran “Deadpool” into the ground for me take over “X-Men,” but “Marauders” really has been that good. (What I’ve read of his “Cable” series was fun, though I need to catch up on it.) Duggan’s team will consist of a mix of familiar staples (Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Wolverine, and Rogue) and B-listers whose profile he wants to boost (Sunfire, Synch, and Polaris). As far as what this new team will be facing off against in its introductory arc, who can really say? The solicitation text only mentions that the X-Men will be doing what they always do: Saving the world and protecting who they can. So it’s a good thing that Duggan has shown us what he’s capable of with “Marauders” and that this new series will be illustrated by Pepe Larraz.
Aliens: Aftermath #1: Celebrating the 35th anniversary of the film with a one-shot from writer Benjamin Percy and artist Dave Wachter. A crew of investigative journalists heads to the site of the former colony of Hadley’s Hope to investigate exactly why Weyland-Yutani scrubbed it from public record. No points for guessing what these journalists will find once they get there. I think it’s a nice setup for a one-shot, as it’s hard to imagine stretching it out to a full-length miniseries. Even if it’s just an excuse to play around with one of the most iconic settings in sci-fi film history, there’s a chance this will work out. At the very least it should clear the low bar set by Gearbox’s “Aliens: Colonial Marines” game which tried to do much the same thing.
X-Men: Legends #5: This series has been all about allowing classic creators/creative teams from the X-books’ past to come back and tell another story set during their glory days. First we had Fabian Nicieza and Brett Booth. Then there was Louise and Walter Simonson. Now we’re getting to a creator and team that I have a very soft spot for: Peter David and “X-Factor.” David’s original run on the title during the 90’s was short but very well-regarded and led to his 100+ issue run on a relaunched version of the title in the 00’s. We’re going back to the 90’s version of the team with artist Todd Nauck, who David has worked with before, but never on “X-Factor.” The description of the plot for this two-part arc also sounds promising as deals with the team recounting what happened during a mutant-related hostage situation at the Latverian Embassy. It’s just that everyone has their own perspective on what went down, and it’s not immediately clear who’s telling the truth…
Savage Avengers #22: It’s one thing for Conan to interact with the Marvel Universe. It’s another for the Marvel Universe to interact with Conan’s. What do I mean by this? In this issue, Conan tells us about Hyboria’s Spirit of Vengeance. It rode around on a giant spider because just the thought of that combination is some pure goddamn nightmare fuel. I haven’t started reading this series yet, but I’m becoming more and more convinced that I need to start soon.
Star Wars: The High Republic vol. 1 — There is No Fear: Journey back to a time in the “Star Wars” universe where things were… pretty good, actually. The era of the High Republic is a time when the Jedi flourished and no one had ever heard of a Skywalker. Writer Cavan Scott and artist Ario Anindito give us the story of Padawan Keeve Trennis as she is forced to choose between completing her Jedi trials or saving the innocent. My guess is that option B will also wind up fulfilling option A, so we’ll have to see it the promise of a new alien threat called the Nihil can inject some drama into this first comic from a whole new era of “Star Wars.”
Heroes Reborn: America’s Mightiest Heroes: Call this “Avengers by Jason Aaron vol. 7.5.” The title may name-check the equal parts famous and infamous 90’s event that saw the Avengers transferred to a new world under the purview of Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld, but the setup here is pure Aaron. How else would we get an atheist, hammer-hating version of Thor. Or Thanos and his Infinity Rings. Or Doctor Juggernaut. Or the fact that the Squadron Supreme of America is now the most powerful superteam on the planet. You have to wonder what kind of devil’s bargain they had to make in order for that to happen, and that may be closer to the truth than you think. Ed McGuinness pencils the majority of this event, with the likes of Dale Keown, Federico Vincentini, James Stokoe (woohoo!), R.M. Guera, Erica D’urso, and Aaron Kuder pitching in.
Captain America by Ta-Nehisi Coates vol. 5: All Die Young, Part Two: It’s Cap and friends vs. the Red Skull and the Power Elite for all the marbles. Coates’ run has been uneven, but vol. 4 left the series in a good place for him to deliver a solid wrap-up to it all. Which will hopefully involve Alexa Lukin losing and losing hard in the process. What can I say, I’ve got a real thing against villains who don’t struggle and have their successes handed to them by the dictates of the plot.
X-Men by Jonathan Hickman vol. 3 & Marauders by Gerry Duggan vol. 3: In which we get some payoff. For the former, it involves finding out what happened to Laura “Wolverine” Kinney, Synch, and Darwin after they disappeared into the Vault. Also, Nimrod might put in for a cameo here as well. For the latter, Kate Pryde is looking to get some payback after Sebastian Shaw set her up to die back in issue #6. Oh, and both titles are headed to the Hellfire Gala, which should just be the gravy on a strong-looking collection of issues from both titles.