It’s time to take a look at what’s out from Marvel Comics this week! This post covers Marvel Comics September 20 2023 releases.
This list includes every comic and digital comic out from Marvel this week, plus collected editions in omnibus, hardcover, paperback, and digest-sized formats. For each new release, I’ll point you to the right guide within my Crushing Comics Guide to Marvel Comics to find out how to collect each character in full – and, if a guide is linked from this post, that means it is updated through the present day!
Plus, I’m getting close to caught up on reading all of the Marvel Universe – so I have some commentary on some of the single issues and new collections.
Marvel Comics September 20 2023 Collected Editions
The Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection, Vol. 22: Round Robin
(2015 paperback, ISBN 978-0785192688 / 2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302950545 / digital)
See Guide to Spider-Man, Peter Parker (1963-2018). I’ve just updated all of the Amazing Epic Collections on the guide and I was shocked at how many of them have been back to print in the past three lines. Even Epics of relatively insignificant runs! Marvel has truly found a way to create a Manga-Style, well-organized, evergreen line of their entire comics history and we love to see it.
The Avengers Omnibus Vol. 4
(2023 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302953621 / digital)
See the freshly rebuilt Guide to Avengers (1963-1996)! This is the last of the four reprints in addition to a brand new Volume 5 out this month. We love to see this line advancing without new Avengers movies on the big screen, which used to be the only way it got a new volume.
Bloodline: Daughter of Blade
(2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302924423 / digital)
See Guide to Blade. This series has an awkward history – originally it was meant to be launched by Tim Seeley several years ago, and then it was shelved and seemingly lost before it was revived (and revised) by Danny Lore. Unfortunately, this just didn’t hold together for me. It wasn’t Lore’s fault – I think the artist had trouble keeping up with a story that repeatedly mixed casual scenes with action scenes. The discontinuity of storytelling in the art eventually wore me down.
Captain Marvel: The Saga of Carol Danvers
(2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302951818 / digital)
See Guide to Captain Marvel – Carol Danvers. This is a peculiar trade that’s more of a sampler for the movie crowd then a trade for a consistent bookshelf. It collects the opening eights issues of Kelly Sue DeConnick’s 2012 Carol Danvers series (which includes a great pair of issues where she meets up with Monica Rambeau) as well as the origin-redefining The Life of Captain Marvel (2018), which brought her comic origins more in line with the MCU (booo!).
Guardians of the Galaxy, Modern Era Epic Collection, Vol. 1: Somebody’s Got to Do It
(2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302953751 / digital)
See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy. It’s amazing to see how certain franchises wax and wane with the whims of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite the modern Abnett/Lanning run of Guardians being extremely well-collected, as a film-adjacent property Marvel is rolling it into the Modern Epic collection line. I actually love the idea of this line, since it tends to be more inclusive and more evergreen than past Complete Collections… I just don’t have a reason to buy it, since I chased down all these books already 10 years ago! 😂
Maestro by Peter David Omnibus (2023 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302951139 / digital)
See Guide to Hulk – Bruce Banner. A massive tome of all of Peter David’s future Hulk stories of the villainous Maestro. Note that this leaves out some other uses of the character along the way and includes a string of modern “retcon” series from the past few years. But, they’re all PAD books in line with his vision of Mastro’s future continuity, so they’re actually a fun read if you enjoy the conceit of this character.
Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 22 (2023 hardcover, ISBN 978-1302949419 / digital)
See Guide to Thor – Odinson. This volume is a major milestone in Thor’s Marvel Masterworks line, because it is the final volume before the start of Walt Simonson’s Thor run! That should make Marvel’s publishing schedule over the next few years interesting, considering that this is not only the material for the next group of Masterworks, but also one of the only remaining gaps in the Thor Epic line – and they won’t want to cannibalize the Masterwork line sales by releasing them right on top of each other. (Daredevil’s line also just went through this with the Masterworks covering Miller’s famous run, which Epics had yet to touch.)
Marvel Studios’ Thor: Love & Thunder – The Art of the Movie (2023 hardcover, ISBN 978-1302949136)
See Guide to Thor – Odinson.
Marvel-Verse: Monica Rambeau – Photon (2023 digest-size paperback, ISBN 978-1302951672 / digital)
See Guide to Monica Rambeau – Photon, Spectrum, & Captain Marvel. Yes, that’s right – as of yesterday this human beam of light of many names has her own guide page! This Marvel-Verse collection includes an odd collection of issues that do actually serve as a strong introduction to her: her debut in Amazing Spider-Man, her 1989 Dwayne McDuffie one-shot, and her appearance alongside Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel (2012). Personally, I’d squeeze in one or both of her Marvel Comics Presents (1988) stories, but they trend a little more adult than the audience for this digest-size line.
Phoenix Omnibus, Vol. 2 [AKA Phoenix – Rachel Summers & Inferno Omnibus] (2023 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302951917 / digital)
See Guide to Uncanny X-Men by Chris Claremont or Guide to Excalibur. I’ve joked on the Near Mint Condition channel that this omnibus could be called “Phoenix: Rachel Grey Summers, The Askani” because at least half of the material here focuses on her time as the wielder of the Phoenix Force, while the other half is essentially yet another reprint of Infero. It’s a weird piecemeal collection, but all of the material is pretty great!
Sins of Sinister (2023 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302950828 / digital)
See Guide to X-Men – The Age of Krakoa. This mini-event was decidedly weird. Three of the four flagship series in the line paused publication for three months to publish three issues of alternate mini-series, much in the spirit of the original Age of Apocalypse. Each issue of each mini-series was set in the timeline of a single “Power of X” – so, the #1s were set 10yrs in the future, the #2s were 100yrs, and the #3s 1000yrs. That meant that the story quickly escalated from familiar superheroes to hard sci-fi in the vein of a 2000AD tale – which makes a certain amount of sense when you realize the event was by a trio of British writers in Kieron Gillen, Al Ewing, and Si Spurrier. Ultimately, nothing about it is essential, as the net effect of the story could be easily summarized in a footnote. But, if you like the idea of X-Men blended with hard sci-fi, you’ll absolutely dig this.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunters Vol. 6 Bedlam on Bestine (2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302948016 / digital)
See Guide to Star Wars Expanded Universe Comics.
Tiger Division (2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302946081 / digital)
I really dug this fun little series following White Fox and her team of South Korean Superheroes. Everything following Marvel’s so-called “Pan Asian” heroes has been a real delight, from the initial Manga-influenced series for Aero and Sword-Master to the run of making them the new Agents of Atlas.
Read on for a summary of all of the Marvel Comics September 20 2023 single issue and digital releases!
Marvel Comics September 20 2023 Physical Comic Releases
Alpha Flight (2023) #2 – See Guide to Alpha Flight or Guide to X-Men – The Age of Krakoa. This book exists on the thinnest of concepts: in a current state where humanity is at war against mutants, what will Alpha Flight do without their few mutant members. I suppose anything that bring back Alpha Flight’s original line-up is worth it, but this seems destined to be a waste of time. The saving graces are that writer Ed Brisson is actually Canadian and artist Scott Godlewski is just fantastic, in general.
The Amazing Spider-Man (2022) #34 – See Guide to Spider-Man, Peter Parker (2018 – Present). I’m still stuck back at issue #20 on this, but I think I’ll be catching up on this Zeb Wells run over the weekend. I’ve been quite positive on it for the first year of the run, so I’ll report back when issue #35 is out!
Captain America (2023) #1 – See Guide to Captain America – Steve Rogers. It’s a brand-new run by an old author – J. Michael Straczynski, creator of Babylon 5 and many other media properties. I don’t meant that in an ageist way and I actually enjoy JMS as a plotter, but he doesn’t have a terrific Marvel Comics track record of finishing what he’s started (such as his 2007 Thor run, completed by Kieron Gillen). That said, he’s always brings a galaxy-brain take that introduces engaging concepts. Maybe I’m just a bit bitter to see Kelly & Lanzing off of Cap after just one year when their run was so much fun.
Cult of Carnage: Misery (2023) #5 – I have a serious grudge against this misleadingly-named series, which seriously doesn’t need to exist. It follows one minor Amazing Spider-Man supporting character as they are newly-infected with a symbiote… except, it’s an absolutely horrible move for one of the few compelling civillian characters in the Spider-Man extended cast and the art and story are a bit of a hackneyed mess. Oh, and, I don’t have a Guide to Carnage quite yet, so there’s nowhere for it to live! Hmm… there’s another one I should probably get to working on…
Dark X-Men (2023) #2 – See Guide to X-Men – The Age of Krakoa. I’m still working my way up to this series. While I don’t think “Dark X-Men” was the best name for a mini-series anchored by Madelyne Prior (Hellions was right there), I’ve enjoyed just about everything I’ve read in the Marvel U from Steve Foxe so far so I’m excited to see what he’s up to here.
Deadpool: Badder Blood (2023) #4 – See Guide to Deadpool. A continuity-lite Rob Liefeld jam, if you appreciate that kind of thing.
Death of the Venomverse (2023) #4 – See Guide to Venom. I have not been following this in the slightest, so I could not even begin to tell you what the Venomverse is or if it has anything to do with Al Ewing’s current run.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2023) #6 – See Guide to Guardians of the Galaxy.
Loki (2023) #4 – See Guide to Loki. The conclusion of this Dan Watters mini-series.
Predator vs. Wolverine (2023) #1 – See Guide to Wolverine – Logan and a Guide to Predator (eventually). I’m not sure of the continuity status of this title, which is the first of any of Marvel’s new run of Fox properties to cross over with the proper Marvel-616. On the other hand, it is written by Wolverine’s regular author, Benjamin Percy (and set in the past, so I’d call it “continuity-lite”)! Unlike Conan’s foray in the present day, Marvel isn’t really a licensor here – Disney owns this property outright, so it should appear on Marvel Unlimited. But, that doesn’t mean it’s entirely in continuity. I guess we’ll have to see.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunters (2020) #38 – See Guide to Star Wars Expanded Universe Comics
Star Wars: Dark Droids – D-Squad (2023) #1 – See Guide to Star Wars Expanded Universe Comics
Strange Academy: Moon Knight (2023) #1 – See Guide to Doctor Strange or Guide to Moon Knight. This is part two of one of those annoying “three-issue mini-series that we’re releasing as one-shots” from Marvel. Less annoying, the first one-shot – a team up between Strange Academy and Miles Morales – was absolutely delightful.
Uncanny Avengers (2023) #2 – See Guide to Uncanny Avengers. The third of the three “Fall of X” mini-series releasing this week. That doesn’t seem like an outstanding sales strategy to me…
Anyhow, this is Gerry Duggan returns to writing this “Unity Team” mashing up Avengers with mutants.
Uncanny Spider-Man (2023) #1 – See Guide to X-Men – The Age of Krakoa. Speaking of poor sales strategies, here’s the fourth “Fall of X” mini-series with an issue out this week, which is the fifth series to continue Si Spurrier’s somewhat underloved Krakoa-era run on Nightcrawler (and probably also Legion). Yes, that’s right – his run has extended through Way of X (2021) #1-5, X-Men – The Onslaught Revelation (2021) #1, Legion of X (2022) #1-10, X-Men: Before the Fall – Sons of X (2023) #1, and now this.
I know Marvel gets a sales bump from each new #1 issue, but I can’t help but think all of these series might have done better as a single 2o+ issue run of Nightcrawler across 30 months with pauses between arcs. Also, is the title “Uncanny Spider-Man” helping anyone find this book? I suppose “Uncanny” usually denotes “includes mutants,” but you’d think Nightcrawler as the star would be worth putting his name in the title. It’s not like anyone believes this is going to lead to an ongoing “Ock as Spidey” situation like Superior Spider-Man did.
What If…? Dark: Carnage (2023) #1 – Alas, I have no guide for Carnage or What If at the moment. Ask me again in a few months 😉
Wolverine (2020) #37 – See Guide to Wolverine – Logan
X-Men (2021) Annual 1 – See Guide to X-Men – The Age of Krakoa. This is part of the “Contest of Chaos” summer annuals crossover. While I usually don’t get hype for such things, it’s written by Paul Allor(!) and features Cyclops squaring off against Captain Marvel(!!!). I’d absolutely love to see Allor writing more X-Men comics after his delicious and surprisingly queer run on G.I. Joe, so I’m ready to show up and support this book!
Marvel Comics September 20 2023 Digital-First Comic Releases
This is a list of projected releases based on the recent digital release schedule; actual releases are not confirmed until they show up on the Marvel Unlimited app.
These releases are exclusively available on the Marvel Unlimited app – you cannot access them from a web browser even if you have a subscription! They also haven’t been quick to be released in print, though we’ve now see print versions of a few of these series trickle out a year or more after they were released.
- I Am Groot Infinity Comic (2023) #3
- Marvel’s Voices Infinity Comic (2022) #69
- Spider-Man Unlimited Infinity Comic (2023) #3
- X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic (2021) #105