Marvel Previews Picks: October 2015
“All-New Marvel NOW!” begins here!
…Wait, that’s not it. They already used that one about a year into “Marvel NOW!” Let me see…
Ah, “All-New, All-Different Marvel NOW!” begins here!
You know the drill, with the wrap-up of “Secret Wars” — assuming that the final issue does arrive in October — Marvel serves up its latest batch of creative reshuffling and new #1 issues. Cynicism aside, some of these sound pretty good and there’s an increased commitment to diversity in terms of the characters being featured in these titles. That’s only half the problem as there’s been an increasingly louder call for diversity in the creators who are bringing us these titles as well. As long as the volume there keeps increasing, it’s likely we’ll see results there sooner rather than later. After all, conventional wisdom these days states that you have to have a successful run at Marvel or DC before ditching them to start making real money with your creator-owned title at Image. Though there’s always an exception to that rule…
Invincible Iron Man #’s 1&2: …and his name is Bendis. While a lot of familiar names — Remender, Gillen, Hickman — have either left the company or are only writing comics about Sith Lords, Bendis continues trucking away with three titles for this relaunch (“Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Spider-Man” are the other two). After deciding that a “Superior” approach wasn’t the way to go, we’re getting the old “likeably arrogant” Tony Stark back with the promise of a new purpose, new armor, and new villains. Bendis has specifically promised to deliver “Tony’s Magneto” so we’ll see how he fares on that front. “Ultimate Spider-Man” artist David Marquez is illustrating, and after his solid work on that title, that’s just one more reason to be optimistic about it.
Ever since he took over “Avengers,” Bendis has been focusing on team books in the Marvel Universe. While they’ve generally been fun to read, I think that most people will feel that his best work has been done on solo titles like “Ultimate Spider-Man” and “Daredevil” where he can zero in on the inner workings of one person and flesh out their supporting cast. Same goes for his creator-owned work as well. Plus, after runs from Matt Fraction and Kieron Gillen, I’m eager to see how Bendis’ Stark banter compares to theirs.
Ms. Marvel #19: Wrapping up its “Secret Wars”-tie in just in time to be relaunched with a new #1 next month. Just one more symptom of how dumb Marvel’s relaunch fever has become in the course of this event. That said, I finally picked up the first two volumes of this title after it turned out that buying them was cheaper than the forthcoming hardcover on Amazon. The short version of my thoughts: Believe the hype. Expect the longer version later this week.
Amazing Spider-Man #’s 1&2: I thought that “Spider-Verse” represented Dan Slott’s last big story before winding down his run on “Amazing.” Apparently not, but this isn’t a bad thing. Particularly since this title has Parker Industries going global with Peter becoming a globetrotting CEO with his bodyguard Spider-Man in tow. So he’s Tony Stark now? We’ll see how long this lasts because if history has taught us anything, it’s that today’s massively successful Peter Parker is tomorrow’s hustling photos to sell at the Daily Bugle Peter Parker. Plus, after “Superior Spider-Man,” Slott clearly knows his way around drastic changes to the title character’s status quo and how to make them work.
Doctor Strange #1: Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo worked together to give us the inspired madness that was “Wolverine & The X-Men” for a good portion of the first half of that title’s run. Now they’re teaming up to take on the Sorcerer Supreme and I see no reason to not be excited for this. Aaron has shown in all his Marvel work that he has a real knack for dishing out craziness in an offhanded manner that a series about Dr. Strange should have, while Bachalo thrives on drawing stuff that doesn’t lend itself to easy visual interpretation. There’s no indication as to what the actual thrust of this series will be about, but Bachalo’s cover implies that the good doctor will be dealing with the kind of problems that need a really big axe to solve.
Extraordinary X-Men #’s 1&2: Jeff Lemire takes over writing one of the two flagship “X-Men” titles — Cullen Bunn’s “Uncanny” launches next month — while Humberto Ramos illustrates. I’m not sure how to feel about this as I haven’t read any of Lemire’s straightforward superhero work at DC and the weird, character-driven, horror-based storytelling of “Animal Man” doesn’t make for an easy comparison. I did like “Sweet Tooth” and am looking forward to reading “Descender,” so I can at least hope this will work out. If nothing else, he’s assembled an eclectic team: With Storm as team leader, followed by Magik, Colossus, Nightcrawler, young Jean Grey, and Old Man Logan. I’m not sure about the last one, but I’m certain it’ll be more interesting to read Lemire’s take on him than Mark Millar’s.
Karnak #1: I’ve managed to avoid reading any “Inhuman” titles because they just haven’t made themselves seem all that appealing to me. Until now. Warren Ellis teams up with artist Gerardo Zaffino for this series about the Inhuman whose ability is to see the flaw in all things. While his ability has traditionally been used in the manner of knowing where to hit a foe to defeat him instantly or bring down a wall with a single tap, the solicitation text indicates that it’s being expanded to include “systems, philosophies, and people.” So be sure to pick up the first issue as Karnak explains why all religion is wrong and corporate-owned superheroes are a dead-end creative endeavor. I’m only half-joking here. This will likely be one of Ellis’ six-issue runs, as was the case with “Moon Knight.” Which is good because the “Inhuman” connection doesn’t give me any reason to suspect that this will last any longer than that.
Secret Wars HC: Solicited here, but still contingent on that final issue coming out in October. Remember kids: This may be Marvel’s latest event series, but it’s actually the finale to Jonathan Hickman’s runs on “Avengers/New Avengers.” That’s what’s going to make all the difference in the end regarding its ultimate quality.
The Superior Foes of Spider-Man Omnibus HC: The new Sinister Six, featuring Boomerang, Shocker, Speed Demon, Beetle, and Overdrive, deal with being D-List foes of Spider-Man and aim to find the one big job that will set them for life. Why are they the Sinister Six if there’s only five of them? Because it’s better to split the money from any job five ways than six. It’s that level of professionalism, plus the complete lack of trust they have for each other, and their overall moral integrity that got them where they are in the first place and results in in some great laughs for the reader. This was one of my favorite titles of the past year and assuming that likeable characters aren’t a requirement of yours for enjoying a story, then you’ll likely be entertained by this as well.