Marvel Previews Picks: November 2020
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Giant-Size X-Men by Jonathan Hickman [and Friends!]
For all intents and purposes, this is essentially another volume of Hickman’s “X-Men.” Call it vol. 2.5 if you want, as it will likely wind up between vols. 2&3 on my shelf. The main reason for that is because each of the five issues collected here are written by current X-mastermind Hickman. So it’s all but assured that each of these issues will be playing into the larger story he’s been orchestrating from the start. As for the issues themselves, they’re all spotlighting a different X-person with one exception (that one spotlights two). Expect deep dives into the mindsets of “Jean Grey & Emma Frost,” “Nightcrawler,” “Magneto,” “Fantomex,” and “Storm;” a retcon or three regarding their personal histories; and some incredible art. Russell Dauterman (twice), Alan Davis, Rod Reis, and Ramon Perez are onboard to handle the art for these issues, which means that they should look as good as I expect them to read.
Wolverine: Black, White, and Blood #1 (of 4): Why are we getting a black and white (plus one primary color) anthology featuring Marvel’s most marketable character? Some have said that it’s a response to DC’s online anthology of Harley Quinn stories in a similar format, but who can really say. The reasons behind the existence of this miniseries aren’t going to matter if the stories are good. If the talent attached to the first issue is any indication, then the chances of that happening are pretty good: Gerry Duggan and Adam Kubert take us back to the days of the Weapon X program, Matthew Rosenberg and Joshua Cassara team Ol’ Canucklehead up with Nick Fury in a deep-cover spy mission, and Declan Shalvey has Logan surviving a deadly trap. In the wilds. Well, at least Shalvey has his reputation to coast on when trying to convince me that this sounds like a story I want to read.
X of Swords: Destruction #1: Part 22 of the crossover!? Good lord! I remember thinking it was crazy when a multi-title “X-Men” crossover went to 12 parts. This is likely going to be a nightmare for Paul O’Brien to cover over at The X-Axis. As for me, I’m honestly wondering if it’ll all be collected in one volume, or if Marvel will break this up into two or more collected editions. My money is on the latter because I know that Marvel likes money.
Eternals #1: Yes, I was tempted to give this the Above-the-Board slot. I mean, this isn’t just Kieron Gillen’s return to the Marvel Universe. It’s his return to the Marvel Universe with Esad Ribic (who I’m guessing is just here for the first arc, but I’d be happy to be wrong about that). Gillen has said that he’s returned because he’s been away from the Marvel Universe for around five years now, and this was his chance to do something new within it. Which is good for him, and for these characters as well. I mean, the last time ANYONE paid attention to the Eternals was when Neil Gaiman and John Romita Jr. tackled them, and that was just for one miniseries. That Marvel is putting another A-list team on these characters is almost certainly down to the movie that’ll now be coming out next year. Which, if we’re lucky, will mean that the first volume of this series should be out in time for its arrival. Synergy!
U.S.Agent #1 (of 5): “Black Panther” and “Deathstroke” writer Christopher Priest tackles the authoritarian version of Captain America. I have a hunch that this might get a little political, even if the solicitation text tells us that this is about the character getting caught up in a fight between a small town and a corporate giant trying to destroy it. Stefano Landini illustrates what should likely be a good read as Priest has never been one for taking the easy way out in his stories.
Tony Stark: Iron Man Omnibus HC: I’ll have reviews of the two most recent volumes of this series up next week. If you’re looking for the short version of what I thought of them in relation to this omnibus, then here it is: “Iron Man 2020” will have to be veeeeeery good if this omnibus is going to be worth anyone’s time and money.
Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Omnibus HC: Huh. This omnibus isn’t just collecting the forty issues and three annuals which make up the good-bad doctor’s first series. No, it’s also collecting the issues from “Star Wars” and “Darth Vader” which feature her prominently. I can’t imagine those issues will read as well as they do in the context of the arcs they’re a part of, but this $125 collection would still be recommended even if they weren’t.
Doctor Strange: Surgeon Supreme vol. 1: Yes, I did give this the Above-the-Board recommendation back when it looked like this volume was coming out in May. I’m still very much looking forward to reading this, even if it’s going to be the ONLY volume of this series. While it was cool of Marvel to try and give Mark Waid’s run a boost by relaunching it with Kev Walker as its new artist, there was no guarantee that the series would really benefit from it. Even before the shutdown hit comic shops. So I’ll just pick this up and prepare to be disappointed that it’s the only volume of “Dr. Strange” we got from this creative team.
Amazing Spider-Man by Nick Spencer vol. 10: I guess it was silly of me to expect that Marvel would be collecting back-to-back anniversary issues of this series in one volume. Vol. 10 collects issues 48 & 49, the latter of which is the 850th issue of “Amazing Spider-Man.” As for what you can expect to see in these issues, well, I think the title of this volume is pretty self-explanatory. Also collected in this volume is the most recent “Spider-Man” Free Comic Book Day story and the “Sins of Norman Osborne” one-shot. Because it’s still good form to round out a volume with SOMETHING when you’re only collecting two proper issues of a series.
X-Factor vol. 1: When you’re trying to verify whether or not a mutant is actually dead, who ya gonna call? Northstar, Polaris, Daken, Prestige, Eye Boy, and Prodigy! …No, it doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but these are the mutants who comprise this latest version of X-Factor. It’s such an oddball assortment of characters that it makes you hope writer Leah Williams wanted to write all of them, as opposed to being stuck with them by editorial remit. David Baldeon and Carlos Gomez illustrate these first four issues. Why only the first four? Because they had to make room for a 22-issue crossover starting with issue 5, that’s why.
X-Force by Benjamin Percy vol. 2: I’m currently waiting for the first volume to arrive. In case anyone is keeping track at home, yes, this is also the same order that’s set to contain “East of West” vol. 10. So until it arrives and I read through it, I can’t say how much or if I should be excited that the second volume of this series has been solicited.