It’s the 20th new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics May 15 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics May 8 2024 new releases.
This week in Marvel Comics: a Hickman/Greene Doom one-shot, Gillen says farewell to hope, original Marvel Apes, an adamantium-free Wolverine omnibus, an “Oops All Wolverines” conclusion, and more!
Here’s a wild statistic that speaks to the mess that is Marvel’s publishing strategy at the moment – out of 14 comics out this week, only three are issues from ongoing series.
This list includes every comic and digital comic out from Marvel this week, plus collected editions in omnibus, hardcover, paperback, and digest-sized formats. I recap and review every new single issue. Plus, for every 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!
Marvel Comics May 15 2024 Collected Editions
The Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Assassin Nation
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302957902 / digital)
See Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (1963 – 2018). This is a reprint of the Epic collecting a very fun 1989 run of Spider-Man just after his initial confrontations with Venom and just before the true excesses of the 90s kick in on his title.
Astonishing Iceman: Out Cold
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302952495 / digital)
See Guide to X-Men – The Age of Krakoa (2019 – 2024). Iceman seemingly died in the Hellfire Gala, but this Steve Orlando series brings him back!
I never enjoyed enjoyed Iceman’s previous 2017 and 2018 solo turns by Sina Grace, which made him out to be the most generic 20-something American gay guy you could imagine without any connection to who he was as a character. This Steve Orlando take is a little more interesting – focusing on how Bobby’s death may have actually taught him something about his capabilities, both as a mutant and as a person. Plus, interiors artist Vincenzo Carratú is well on his way to becoming one of the next big things at Marvel!
This is a book you can enjoy as an Iceman fan without having to be fully engaged in the Fall of X, and it’s one of the better uses of him as a character throughout all of the Krakoa era.
Captain America Epic Collection: Bucky Reborn
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302957858 / digital)
See Guide to Captain America – Steve Rogers. This volume follows Cap out of the 60s and into the 70s as his title becomes a bit more socially conscious of current events of the day – plus, it begins to regularly star The Falcon as his regular sidekick! This is a good place to dip your toes into classic Cap if early Silver Age stories feel a bit too generic for you.
Capwolf & The Howling Commandos
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302947194 / digital)
See Guide to Captain America – Steve Rogers. An alternate World War II history where Steve was CapWolf! I find it curious that this wasn’t marketed as a “What If” or under any other banner since it was a random standalone multiverse story. Marvel certainly didn’t make it easy to figure out it was an alternate WWII history!
Civil War II
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302952747 / digital)
See Guide to Marvel Universe Events. Despite this having a bad reputation with comic fans, I think it’s actually an enjoyable single serving read.
The dissent over the Hero Registration Act in the original Civil War seemed like it could’ve been an actual civil conversation, which sometimes made the “war” part of the story seem pointless. However, the idea that there is a clairvoyant who can accurately predict the near future and heroes are divided on how much to trust them and how much action to take makes a lot more sense as a way to divide friends and allies. Plus: this looks really great.
I think the real power of line-wide events is to act as a sampler platter for what was going on in the universe at that time, including the heroes and teams that were active. If you want to get to know what the Marvel Universe looked like in the wake of Secret Wars (2015) in a quick-moving and good-looking story, you could do much worse than this.
Daredevil by Frank Miller Omnibus Companion
2024 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302957650 / digital)
See Guide to Daredevil. This was Marvel’s first “Companion” omnibus, and it’s probably still their best use of that label. Why? Because it collects a smattering of material that would rightfully be collected in a variety of other omnibuses, but that you might want to read directly after enjoying the Frank Miller omnibus!
This collects Miller’s famous brief return to Daredevil (1964) for “Born Again,” his origin mini-series The Man Without Fear (1993) #1-5, aa much earlier pair of issues from Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) #27-28, and Daredevil: Love and War OGN with Bill Sienkiewicz.
Planet of the Apes Epic Collection: The Original Marvel Years
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302959999 / digital)
This slim paperback collects the exact contents of last year’s equally slim omnibus at half the price! This collects Doug Moench’s adaptation of Planet of the Apes and Beneath the Planet of the Apes in the pages of Marvel Comics.
Uncanny Avengers: The Resistance
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302952334 / digital)
See Guide to Uncanny Avengers. This Fall of X mini-series is curiously unsatisfying when divorced from the rest of the line despite spinning directly out of the 2023 Hellfire Gala. Since it was written by Gerry Duggan, it really should have simply been part of the subsequent arc of his X-Men (2021) beginning in issue #25, which was a bit starved for content.
I wouldn’t recommend picking this up on its own, but if you’re all-in on a read of the Fall of X it’s the primary place to follow Rogue after the Gala.
Wolverine Omnibus Vol. 5
(2024 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302958060 / digital)
See Guide to Wolverine – Logan. Sometimes Marvel is smart, y’all. This omnibus picks up at Wolverine (1988) #76, which is the first issue after Fatal Attractions, as well as the perfect story to read based on some other multimedia happening right about now. It collects through Logan’s “bone claws” period, past his break for Age of Apocalypse, and to his 100th issue! Plus, even more Marvel Comics Presents stories and Original Graphic Novels.
If I had to roughly characterize difference periods of this book into different “eras,” I’d call issues #1-30 the “Madripoor Era” featuring a very different sort of Wolverine who was still developing as a solo character, issues #31-75 as the “X-Men Era” where the book repeatedly got close to the main X-Men narrative and also featured many solo X-Men team-ups (sometimes this felt like the X-Men book in the late-30s/early-40s while Claremont was doing his disassembled thing), and #76-100 as the “Wilderness Era” where Logan wanders away to re-find himself (and tie up some old plot threads) before finding his way back to the X-Men with a different attitude than he had before.
That means that in its way this period could be the most-satisfying to read on its own in an omnibus – it’s a lot of solo stories from a Logan who is very well-defined by this point in the mid-90s. If you’re Logan-curious, this isn’t a horrible place to begin (especially this week!)
Read on for a summary of all of the Marvel Comics May 15 2024 single issue and digital releases!
Marvel Comics May 15 2024 Physical Comic Releases
Alien: Black, White & Blood (2024) #4 (of 4) – See Guide to Aliens comics. This issue brings stories by Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing (the Hivemind!) with Michael Dowling (who I worship), Bryan Edward Hill (who can bring the cinematic goodness) with Chris Cross (a legend!), and indie darling Pornsak Pichetshote with Partha Pratim.
Heck, that’s a line-up good enough that I might read a random issue of an Aliens anthology book!
Aliens: What If…? (2024) #3 (of 5) – See Guide to Aliens comics. I don’t understand the strategy of dropping two unrelated series in a single franchise on the same day, but go off I guess?
While streaming with Near Mint Condition last week folks who have been keeping up with this Paul Reiser series mentioned that it’s an unexpectedly funny take on Aliens – unexpected because Aliens generally isn’t very funny, but not because of Reiser who is a comedian of many decades. That razor’s edge of wit is what made him such an effective villain in Aliens, so now I’m curious to see what his imaginary version of the Aliens movieverse looks like!
Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt (2024) #1
Carnage (2023) #7 – See Guide to Carnage. The Symbiosis Necrosis crossover with Venom is over, and it barely changed a thing for Carnage. If anything, it felt like it put the brakes on this Torunn Grønbekk series just as it was starting to gain momentum, since it was really about one frozen moment in the present day that allowed Carnage to wreak havok in Eddie Brock’s future. If you missed it, I don’t think you need to catch up.
However, this issue promises to get back to the Flash Thompson vs. Cletus Kasaday tension that was getting interesting. Plus, it will pull in recent Symbiote-slinger Liz Allan. I’m hoping with an open field and no need to tie into another book we can see Grønbekk really let loose to build up to something as tense and as grim as we’ve seen her capable of on prior series.
Doom (2024) #1 – DOOM BY HICKMAN BABY! We’re back!
Except… not.
Doom is, of course, the featured villain and plot driver of the entirety of Hickman’s Marvel Universe Saga from 2009 to 2015 through Fantastic Four and Avengers. So, what’s not to love about him returning to the character? A few things.
First, this is just a one-shot. Boo.
Second, this is not purely a Hickman series. Sanford Greene is the writer/artist with Hickman co-writing. I dig Greene (an Eisner Winner for Bitter Root) some of the time, but he has a solid miss ratio with me over the past decade. Specifically, Greene’s artwork can be overly-busy and hard to follow. Plus, the way he draws character acting tends to have a comedic bent to it and I’ll be interested to see if he leans into that or restrains it on this book.
Third, the first words of this solicit are”IN THE NEAR FUTURE,” so it either has no real impact or it’s Hickman setting up more dull plots that will go nowhere like his G.O.D.S. (AKA F.L.O.P.S.).
Perhaps I’ll do a rare single-issue review post for this one, since with no issue #2 you’ll have no other way to know if my pessimism was off-the-mark or not.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man (2022) #20 – See Guide to Spider-Man – Miles Morales. Issue #19 finally wrapped up the Rabble plot line, which means we get a one-issue breather of being at a steady status quo before this book heads into it’s Blood Hunt tie-is.
I simply don’t see artist Federico Vicentini, who continues her from the prior arc, as a fit for this title. His art often comes off as an angular jumble of shapes without a clear focal point. When the masks come off after the fight, I think he struggles with physical acting from his characters – especially in his awkward, gawky faces. There were so many points last issue where I finally made some sense out of a panel and got drawn into a fight only for one of his silly faces to pull me right out of it again. I’m dreading what he will turn on on this downtime issue.
Luckily, we’ll be getting the always creepy Travel Foreman for the next two issues, which are Blood Hunt tie-ins! I almost always love Foreman’s art – he has been killing it on his guest turns on Incredible Hulk. I’m looking forward to if he can make Cody Ziglar’s scripts sing a bit more than Vinentini can.
Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace (2024) #3 (of 4) – See Guide to Ms. Marvel. I’m a big booster of Sabir Pirzada & Iman Vellani, but last issues Mojoverse romp got a little soggy for me despite having some hilarious deep cut jokes about both Lila Cheney and Kamala.
I think that’s often the challenge of when you start writing “a love letter to character N” in a humorous tone. The jokes can quickly go from hilarious to recursive, swallowing up the plot of an issue with a series of low-grade chuckles that readers won’t even remember the next month.
That’s a bit harsh, since I still don’t think Pirzada & Vellani have turned in a bad issue yet. But, with last issue focused on Mojo, this issue focusing on Marvel Zombies, and the next on Inhumans, I feel like this should’ve been an open-ended “[Ms.] Marvel Team-Up” series rather than a mutant-branded mini that sounded like it would play into the Fall of the House of X (and which carries that branding on its covers).
Star Wars: Mace Windu (2024) #4 (of 4) – See Guide to Star Wars Expanded Universe comics. Even a comics curmudgeon like me has to admit that Georges Jeanty killed it on art in issue #3. The Samuel L. Jackson likeness was there, the action was clear, there were tons of big splashy pages, and he drew some cool details on the dilapidated tech of the Star Wars Universe.
I guess where I’m a bit stuck on this series is that it’s just a big action sequence. Mace and his ally Azita had some philosophical conversations in issue #2, but it doesn’t feel like this series is essential to Mace’s character in any way – nor is it meaningfully expanding the Star Wars universe. It could have been explained away in a single line of dialog, and if we had that line of dialog in a film at least it would be thrilling to see it expanded here. But, we don’t. Even a brief mention of Jabba the Hutt last issue was a meaningless Easter Egg, since Mace Windu has no real connection to Tatooine (and why should he).
Even if there’s a big revelation to give this some continuity-based teeth in this final issue, it’s hard for me to recommend picking up this book unless you are specifically looking for some low-stakes Star Wars action sequences.
Ultimate X-Men (2024) #3 – See Guide to Ultimate Marvel Comics. Here’s where I am with this Peach Momoko series after a pair of issues: it’s obviously not for me, but beyond that I just can’t square the complete tonal and stylistic difference between this and the rest of the Hickman-derived Ultimate Marvel Universe. It gives me comic book whiplash.
If each of the new Ultimate books had a distinct style and tone this would work better for me, but Bryan Hill’s Ultimate Black Panther is practically a Hickman book in tone and what Deniz Camp has written for Ultimates so far also feels similar. Then, you have this fourth title – a slice-of-life-y book with a heavy Manga influence leaning hard on not using recognizable characters.
I think Marvel either needs to include a few more stylized books in the new Ultimate Universe to give this one context or they should have simply had enough faith in Momoko’s obvious star power and sales draw to start her own line of comics apart from Hickman.
Venom: Separation Anxiety (2024) #1 – See Guide to Venom. David Michelinie is back with yet another in his string of successful Venom retcon series.
Donny Cates returned Venom to being a regular seller, so it’s no surprised to see Marvel juggling three series for him at once. I respect Marvel’s strategy of going back to basics with throwback series like this when a character is doing something very different in the present. I can’t imagine the current Venom book from Al Ewing is scratching a major itch for many Venom fans, nor is it easy to pick up. This series will be both of those things!
However, I question the wisdom of dropping this #1 the same week as another Venom book, the “What If” series covered below.
Weapon X-Men (2024) #4 (of 4) – See Guide to Weapon X. Y’all, I dearly love this dumb “Oops All Logans” version of Exiles and I desperately need it to return as an ongoing series.
We all know I never get invested in alternate reality nonsense, but the premise here is both too smart and too kooky to fail. Onslaught as an omniversal threat that must never be allowed to escape Earth? YES PLEASE. Jean assembling an all-Logans team because, despite them being low-power, she knows they’ll do what needs to be done? YES PLEASE. And, Zombie Logan giving a running commentary on everything while he searches for a semi-ethical semi-living snack food? ALSO YES PLEASE.
Last issue gave us great moments for everyone but a particular focus on Jane Howlett. It looked SO GOOD – the art on this book has been stellar from the start. However, content warning for an unnecessary threat of sexual violence last issue, even if it lead to a terrific (and obvious) self-saving damsel moment.
What If…?: Venom (2024) #4 (of 5) – See Guide to Venom. This issue, what if the symbiote sank it’s tendrils into Loki! The King in Black meets the Chaos God, and I’m sure they will get up to plenty of trouble.
Wolverine: Madripoor Knights (2024) #4 (of 5) – See Guide to Wolverine – Logan. For me, this continues to be the best Claremont retcon series we’ve had in a while… maybe ever?
Last issue was a somewhat lightweight Madripoor slugfest, but it hit all of the delicious classic Claremontian notes. I think this series being forced to fit into a very constrained timeframe with characters who have defined voices and continuity has forced Claremont to innovate in ways he doesn’t when he’s allowed to play with the early years of one of his own toys like Gambit.
If you love Uncanny X-Men (1963) #268, it’s an absolute no-brainer that you should read this.
X-Men: Forever (2024) #4 (of 4) – See Guide to X-Men – The Age of Krakoa (2019 – 2024). Last issue, Kieron Gillen brought out the big guns of plot, both metaphorically and literally.
He finally drew together the plot strings of Mystique and Destiny, which have been critical to the Age of Krakoa from the first moments of House of X. Gillen was always capable of tugging on the heartstrings this hard, but I feel like I felt some strains of his relatively new fatherhood playing through some of the material.
Also, he gave Hope a literal big gun in the form of (SPOILERS!) David Haller to use to assassinate The Phoenix Force where it has been roosting the White Hot room to force it to regenerate back in reality. I think many fans have forgotten Gillen was at the ground floor of launching Hope as a modern-day X-Men character, and he clearly has some thing to say about her here.
Plus, the final page kicker was an absolute shocker that answers a long-gestating X-Men question that I had assumed would never be touched.
This is the Gillen we know and love: using the cover of a major event to do cool stuff and play with massive emotional stakes. It gives me hope that he can deliver something big in this final issue of Forever, his penultimate issue overall.
Marvel Comics May 15 2024 Digital-First Comic Releases
This is a list of projected Marvel Comics Digital-First releases based on the recent digital release schedule. Actual releases are not confirmed until they show up on the Marvel Unlimited app.
These releases have not 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.
- Avengers United Infinity Comic (2023) #32 – See Guide to Avengers flagship titles (2010 – Present).
- Infinity Paws Infinity Comic (2024) #7
- Spider-Man Unlimited Infinity Comic (2023) #37 – Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (2018 – Present)
- X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic (2021) #139 – See Guide to X-Men, The Age of Krakoa
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