Marvel Previews Picks: March 2014
Okay, Marvel, what you’re doing with the “Infinity” hardcover is a grade-A DICK MOVE as far as I’m concerned! Previously, the hardcover was set to collect not only the six-issue miniseries of the same name, but also issues #12-23 of “Avengers” and #7-12 of “New Avengers.” All of Hickman’s build-up and essential tie-ins to the event in one place, and two volumes of “Avengers” in one. That’s not the case anymore as the hardcover is now listed on Amazon as collecting issues #14-23 of “Avengers.” No explanation was given, though if I had to guess it may be because these issues were co-written with Nick Spencer and the company wants (or had to) give us an entire omnibus of Hickman goodness. If anyone else has any ideas, I’d like to hear them. As for now, it seems that I’ll have to track down the missing issues as I did for “Ultimate Comics Spider-Man” if I want to know what I’m missing.
Daredevil #1: So this is relevant to what I was talking about on Monday. For the past couple years “Daredevil” by Waid, Samne and co. has been selling in the mid 30K range for the monthly issues. Apparently Marvel feels that it should be selling much better given the unanimous critical acclaim and good word of mouth it receives on a regular basis. So, after wrapping things up with #36, Matt Murdock is being moved out to San Francisco for a fresh start. It’s a novel idea, but the real draw is Waid and Samnee’s continued involvement in the series that they have come to define.
Moon Knight #1: I’ve already written about this. So Warren, Declan, Jordie: Best of luck on making it stick this time.
Silver Surfer #1: It’s been a while since the last time we got an ongoing series featuring this character. Fortunately for my interest, Mike Allred is illustrating it with Dan Slott writing. I know I usually (read: always) put the writer first when talking about something, but Allred is a special case. He has such a distinctive and effective style that whenever he works on a title, it feels like it’s working under his rules rather than the writer’s. That said, after years of working on “Spider-Man,” Slott has shown that he knows how to properly balance action, comedy and drama so I’m expecting him to effectively complement Allred’s style here.
All-New Ghost Rider #1: Forget the fact that the title character is now driving a muscle car instead of a bike, what I want to know is how Felipe Smith wound up at Marvel! Given the general insanity of his manga “Peepo Choo,” you’d think that he’d find the confines of working within a superhero universe and without a “mature readers” too restrictive. If nothing else, he’s got an artist who can also go for the gonzo with “Luther Strode’s” Tradd More. It sounds like a great pairing, yet I can’t help but wonder if the restraints they’ll be operating under here will rob us of the appeal of their over-the-top styles. Then again, “Peepo Choo” could’ve used a little restraint in most places so this may actually wind up working against my initial impression.
Magneto #1: Um… Had Marvel done this series in the 90’s, when the “X-Men” line was managed more tightly than it is today, I could see the logic in doing this. Now, it strikes me that the only reason we’re getting this is maybe to get some heat off of the new movie “Days of Future Past” which will be launching in two months’ time from the comic. While I have nothing against writer Cullen Bunn and artist Gabriel Hernandez Walta, I don’t have a whole lot for them either. I wouldn’t expect this title to last long, but then the relaunched “X-Men: Legacy” has lasted twice as long as I thought it would. Maybe this title will be as lucky.
Wolverine and the X-Men #’s 1&2: Why, back in my day we would’ve called these issues #43 & 44 of the original title! We also walked to school in the snow! Uphill! Both ways! Anyway, we have another Jason, Latour, taking over for Aaron and Mahmud Asrar providing the art. I’m more familiar with Latour’s work as an artist than a writer so I’m not full of optimism on Marvel’s choice here. Still, I like the characters and the setting, so unless I hear that he’s completely missed the mark I’ll pick up the first volume at least to see how things turn out.
X-Men: Legacy #300: Speaking of “Legacy,” the fact that Si Spurrier’s take on Legion has lasted for two years means that we can celebrate the #300th issue of the title. In addition to Spurrier, previous writers Mike Carey and Christos Gage also contribute stories about Professor X and Rogue who are still both dead at this time. Interestingly, there’s no new creative team announced for this title. So this could represent the finale to Spurrier’s run, or he’ll continue on with issue #301 next month. If that’s the case, then he deserves some props for crushing my initial expectations into the ground.
Powers: Bureau vol. 2 — Icons: Well, this is interesting. Amazon tells me that the first volume of this latest relaunch of the title will be heading my way in January. Now we’ll be getting the second three months later (as the first is currently out in comic shops). If this is the case, then Bendis and Oeming managed to get the twelve issues they did for this series out at a much faster pace than I expected them to. Maybe there is hope for “Powers” if they can keep it up for whenever the next relaunch is scheduled to happen.
Punisher MAX & Wolverine and the X-Men by Jason Aaron Omnibi: Both represent the two sides to Aaron’s writing style. You’ve got pitiless drama on one, and insane comedy on the other. Yet these collections will make for some thoroughly entertaining reading for whoever picks them up. That is, assuming they can get over the fact that both are being marketed at $100 and you get about 400 more pages in the “WatXM” volume. Yeah, the latter sold a lot better than the former, but it’s still really hard to justify the disparity in price and page count. Particularly when you consider that you can get the four volumes of Aaron’s “Punisher MAX” for $66 on Amazon now while you can pre-order the omnibus for $76. Yes, you won’t get the “X-mas Special,” but — details.
Uncanny X-Force vol. 3: The Great Corruption: I liked the first volume of Sam Humphries’ take on the title, but it didn’t have a clearly defined direction to set it apart from other “X-Men” titles let alone Rick Remender’s definitive take from the previous volume. I’ve since read the second volume and while I’ll talk a bit more about it on Saturday, I can say that even though it’s still “just another ‘X-Men’ book,” it’s at least a good one. This represents the end of Humphries’ run on the title and a crossover with “Cable and X-Force” that sees the two titles crossover and presumably set the stage for Spurrier’s new “X-Force.” Can a worthy ending be wrought from the ashes of a crossover? It’s certainly possible.
Fantomex MAX: Will reading this be more entertaining than Paul O’Brien’s take on the first two issues? I really don’t think so.