Archives for 2017

Amazing Spider-Man by J. Michael Straczynski & John Romita, Jr. – The #39 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

May 25, 2017 by krisis

J. Michael Straczynski – commonly known to fans as JMS – is a famed author across multiple mediums. After cutting his teeth on a number of early-80s children’s cartoons, he broke out in 1993 with syndicated sci-fi hit Bablyon 5 – an epic and nuanced take on similar subject-matter to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He also made his entrance into the comics world in the 90s with his creator-owned book Rising Stars.

As you can imagine, fans were excited for him to take over Amazing Spider-Man in 2001 after a few years’ dip in quality of the Spidey flagship – especially as accompanied by classic Marvel artist John Romita, Jr.

Be careful what you wish for…

Amazing Spider-Man by J. Michael Straczynski & John Romita, Jr. is the #39 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017 on Tigereyes’s Secret Ballot. Visit the Marvel Masterworks Message Board to view the original posting of results by Tigereyes and visit The Guide to Spider-Man to read this run today.

Past Ranking: This book ranked #30 in 2014 and just missed the survey in 2016, coming in somewhere between #51-56

Probable Contents: Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #30-58 and 500-508 (though it could stretch as far as #518)

JMS’s run on Spider-Man accounts for 87 issues as gathered in his five-volume Ultimate Collection set, which means we’d be looking at either two hefty 40+ issue volumes or three slimmer 30-ish issue volumes to cover it.

I’m speculating on the former, which would leave a second volume to collect Amazing Spider-Man #509-545, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2005) #1-4 & 24, Marvel Knights Spider-Man (2004) #19-22, The Sensational Spider-Man (2006) #41, and Spider-Man: The Other (2005) Sketchbook, and Spider-Man: One More Day Sketchbook (2007).

Creators: J. Michael Straczynski & John Romita, Jr. handle the entirety of the run through #508 with few interlopers; #508 is the end of Romita’s run.

Can you read it right now? Yes! This run has been collected in several formats, including oversized hardcover. Head to The Guide to Spider-Man for details. It’s also available in full on Marvel Unlimited.

The Details:

Spider-Man was on a major high when J. Michael Straczinski took the reigns of his flagship comic in June 2001, but not for the reasons you might think.

Amazing Spider-Man was one of the last Silver Age comics that Marvel relaunched in the late 90s, leaving only Uncanny X-Men to continue its original numbering into the new millennium. Amazing and its sister titles started with a flash with John Byrne co-scripting and pencilling, but faded afterwards during what was a massive overall fade for the comic industry a the time.

Doesn’t sound like a high, right? Well, the high was from Ultimate Spider-Man, the mega-hit launched by Brian Bendis at the end of 2000 that recast a teen Peter Parker into the modern day. [Read more…] about Amazing Spider-Man by J. Michael Straczynski & John Romita, Jr. – The #39 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

Avengers West Coast by Thomas & Thomas – The #40 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

May 24, 2017 by krisis

Completionism is a a crazy impulse. There are hundreds of Avengers issues unrepresented by oversized volumes, but omnibus collectors are super-focused on getting the relatively unheralded back third of Avengers West Coast into an oversize volume to complete their bookshelves.

The funny thing is, I’m not sure all of the voters realize just how strong and cohesive this Roy & Dann Thomas run on Avengers really is.

The Avengers West Coast by Thomas and Thomas Omnibus is the #40 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017 on Tigereyes’s Secret Ballot. Visit the Marvel Masterworks Message Board to view the original posting of results by Tigereyes and head to the Guide to Avengers West Coast to see how you can read this run right now.

Past Ranking: This volume leaps up five spots from #45 in the 2016 survey.

Probable Contents: Avengers West Coast (1989) #63-100, 102, & Annual 5-8, Avengers Annual 19, Darkhawk Annual 1, and Iron Man Annual 13,

That’s 43 issues, which means the book could also include the full Bloodties crossover: Avengers West Coast (1989) #101, The Avengers (1963) #368-369, Uncanny X-Men (1963) #307, & X-Men (1991) #26.

However, that would leave behind 20 issues of five related miniseries – U.S. Agent #1-4 (after #95 & Annual 8), Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective #1-4 (after #97), Spider-Woman #1-4 (after #101), Scarlet Witch #1-4 (after #101), and Hawkeye #1-4 (after #102).

What to do? More on how to reconcile that, below.

Creators: Written by Roy Thomas and Dann Thomas with pencils by Paul Ryan and Dave Ross with Tom Morgan, George Freeman, Herb Trimpe, and Andrew Currie.

Can you read it right now? Mostly. Issue #76-79 and #83-88 remain uncollected (as is the U.S. Agent mini-series), but everything else has been captured. Visit Guide to Avengers West Coast for the full details. Unfortunately, most of this run is not on Marvel Unlimited.

The Details:

Avengers West Coast had gone for years as a forgotten era of Avengers as far as reprints were concerned until Marvel’s Cinematic Universe began focusing strongly on its core cast of Iron Man and Hawkeye, and later Scarlet Witch and Vision.

Suddenly, West Coast reprints were abounding – a set of Marvel Premier Classic hardcovers, corresponding paperback reprints, two omnibuses, half of an Avengers by John Byrne volume, and a handful of trades covering the latter run of the series. The only remaining gaps are #76-79 and #83-88, two stories split by the massive “Galactic Storm” crossover.

Comic books fans are nothing if not obsessive completists, so that makes a final omnibus edition of Avenger West Coast sorely tempting – especially since it’s all co-written by comic book royalty Roy Thomas along with his wife Dann (who was the first woman to ever script an issue of Wonder Woman!) mostly to illustration by a pair of strong pencillers – Paul Ryan through #69 and Dave Ross from #71 through the end of the series. [Read more…] about Avengers West Coast by Thomas & Thomas – The #40 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

Black Panther by Christopher Priest, Vol. 1 – The #41 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

May 23, 2017 by krisis

For a character about to be starring in his own Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Black Panther has relatively few long-running series, and even fewer enduring classic stories.

Christopher Priest’s 60-plus issue run beginning in 1998 is both. It’s a fun, funny, challenging read that makes the most of the comic medium and T’Challa’s status as super hero and sovereign.

Black Panther by Christopher Priest, Vol. 1 is the #41 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017 on Tigereyes’s Secret Ballot. Visit the Marvel Masterworks Message Board to view the original posting of results by Tigereyes. To collect these issues (and more), visit the Guide to Black Panther.

Past Ranking: This volume has slid seven spots from #34 in 2016.

Probable Contents: Black Panther (1998) #1-35 & Deadpool (1997) #44

Creators: Written by Christopher Priest.

Priest launched with Joe Quesada co-writing #1-4 with art from Mark Texeira. After that, Priest was joined by an army of pencilers – with over half of the issues by Sal Velluto and others including Vince Evans (#5), Joe Jusko (#6-8), Amanda Conner (#8), Mike Manley (#9-10), Mark “Doc” Bright (#11-12 & 24), Kyle Hotz (#18), Norm Keith Breyfogle (#30), & Jim Calafiore (#34-35)

Can you read it right now? Yes, in just two books – Black Panther by Christopher Priest: The Complete Collection Volume 1 and Volume 2. For more details (and the following volumes), see the Guide to Black Panther. Plus, it’s available in-full on Marvel Unlimited.

The Details:

The 80s and 90s diminished Black Panther from a leading man and Avenger to a minor character practically in exile aside from a pair of mini-series and a run of quarter-issue stories in Marvel Comics Presents.

That’s part of why Christopher Priest’s 62-issue run on 1998’s Black Panther is such a revelation – Panther simply hadn’t been seen or used at length in nearly two decades. Also, Priest marked the first time a black author scripted T’Challa (though he had long been associated with black artists, from Billy Graham on his original run to Denys Cowan and Dwayne Turner pencilling him in those 1988 and 1991 mini-series, respectively).

It’s also very good comics. [Read more…] about Black Panther by Christopher Priest, Vol. 1 – The #41 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

The Punisher by Rucka & Checchetto – The #42 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

May 22, 2017 by krisis

It makes perfect sense that Greg Rucka would be the author to turn in the most-memorable in-continuity Punisher story in recent memory and the one with the best-developed female characters. After all, he’s not only known for stellar super-hero runs on titles like Wonder Woman, but also beat-cops drama on DC’s Gotham Central.

However, if Rucka’s success in this story makes perfect sense, the big surprise is the superstar turn from artist Marco Checchetto on his first lengthy run.

The Punisher by Rucka & Checchetto is the #42 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017 on Tigereyes’s Secret Ballot. Visit the Marvel Masterworks Message Board to view the original posting of results by Tigereyes. And, check out Guide to Punisher for details on how to collect this and every other Punisher run, ever.

Past Ranking: A 2017 debut!

Probable Contents: Punisher (2011) #1-16 & Punisher: War Zone #1-5, a crossover with Daredevil #11 and Avenging Spider-Man #6, and material from Spider-Island: I Love New York City (maybe adding the non-Rucka Punisher: The Trial Of The Punisher (2013) #1-2)

Creators: Written by Greg Rucka.

Line art on The Punisher (2011) by Marco Checchetto (with Matthew Southworth, Michael Lark and Stefano Gaudiano, Mirko Colak, and Mico Suayan). Line art on Punisher: War Zone (2012) by Carmine Di Giandomenico. Color art on both series by Matt Hollingsworth.

Can you read it right now? Yes, but the four paperbacks collecting the 23 core issues of this run have become exorbitantly expensive to track down, which is part of the reason this omnibus is such an attractive prospect. Find the details in the Guide to Punisher.

Marvel Unlimited includes both The Punisher (2011) and Punisher War Zone (2012) in full.

The Details:

It’s hard to separate the quality of Rucka’s run from fans’ sense relief and delight that Punisher was back to basics and back to the streets of New York City after less-than-beloved runs from Matt Fraction and Rick Remender. This 2011 iteration of Punisher finds Frank Castle back in New York with little explanation. It’s simply where he ought to be.

(For the record, Remender’s is good but fucking weird.)
[Read more…] about The Punisher by Rucka & Checchetto – The #42 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

Superior Spider-Man – The #43 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

May 21, 2017 by krisis

At the end of 2017 Dan Slott will have been writing Peter Parker as Spider-Man for ten years, but his most-memorable Spider-Man story will probably go down as Superior Spider-Man – the one where he wrote Spider-Man not as Peter Parker … or, maybe more accurately, Peter Parker not as himself.

Superior Spider-Man is the #43 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017 on Tigereyes’s Secret Ballot. Visit the Marvel Masterworks Message Board to view the original posting of results by Tigereyes. And, check out the Definitive Guide to Spider-Man to track down every single issue.

Past Ranking: A 2017 debut!

Probable Contents: Collects Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #698-700, Superior Spider-Man (2013) #1-31, & Annual 1-2.

I could see Marvel also including Amazing Spider-Man (2014) #1-6, which adds a bit of resolution to the relatively abrupt ending of this run and butts up nicely to Spider-Verse on the other side.

It could also include some (but probably not all) of Avenging Spider-Man #15.1 & 16-22 and Superior Spider-Man Team-Up (2013) #1-12 & Special, All-New X-Men (2013) Special, and Indestructible Hulk (2013) Special.

(Note that Superior Spider-Man #32-33 were published later as part of Spider-Verse.)

Creators: Written by Dan Slott with Christos Gage with pencils by the rotating team of Giuseppe Camuncoli, Ryan Stegman, and Humberto Ramos (along with one-offs from Marcos Martin, Javier Rodriguez, Phil Briones, and Will Sliney).

Inks by the pencillers along with John Dell III, Victor Olazaba, Cam Smith, Terry Pallot, John Livesay, and Álvaro López. Colors by Edgar Delgado and Antonio Fabela.

Can you read it right now? Yes! This run is perfectly covered in paperbacks and oversized hardcovers as described in the Guide to Spider-Man and is entirely available on Marvel Unlimited.

The Details:

Superior Spider-Man is a spider-story that anyone can appreciate, and truly one of the best Spider-Man runs of all time despite not quite starring Spider-Man.

To explain the why and how of that will involve some major spoilers. [Read more…] about Superior Spider-Man – The #43 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017