It’s the 18th new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics May 8 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics May 1 2024 new releases (plus, Marvel’s Free Comic Book Day 2024 issues!)
This week in Marvel Comics: Blood Hunt expands, first trades for Captain America by JMS & Marvel by Wong, a Black Armor flashback, historic Miracleman, Dagger goes solo, Thing & Torch get a job, penultimate Wolverine & X-Men Forever, and more!
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 8 2024 Collected Editions
Captain America by J. Michael Straczynski Vol. 1: Stand
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302955670 / digital)
See Guide to Captain America – Steve Rogers. Even though I’m slightly down on this JMS run on Cap (more on that, below), I think this initial trade does have something special going for it with the flashback scenes to Steve’s pre-Super-Soldier-serum youth in the slums of NYC.
Some of this adventurous plot for the spindly, sickly Steve Rogers might seem slightly apocryphal, but if you love the first 15 minutes of the first Captain America film then this book is for you! I’ve seen a pretty wide consensus that this flashback material to the early days of World War II and Nazi sympathizer rallies being held in the US is strong stuff.
Plus, the present day plot includes some fun material with Doctor Strange (who feels like the hero that JMS really ought to be writing).
Captain Marvel Vol. 1: The Omen
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302957056 / digital)
Guide to Captain Marvel. The start of the 2023 run by Alyssa Wong ties in heavily to the plot of The Marvels, with Carol Danvers swapping places with a mystical thief due to a pair of malfunctioning Nega Bands being hunted by a powerful force from another dimension.
I don’t recommend this run for Carol fans. It simply doesn’t have much to say about her, nor is her voice very specific. Just keep re-reading your Kelly Thompson run!
Contest of Chaos
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302955038 / digital)
See Guide to Scarlet Witch. This Annuals crossover was really a Scarlet Witch & Agatha Harkness mini-event, though most of the stories were of heroes being randomly compelled to fight each other. However, it ended with an intriguing and all-new status quo for Agatha Harkness and for the Darkhold, which now has significance during Blood Hunt.
Daredevil: Black Armor
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302952273 / digital)
Guide to Daredevil. I understand Marvel’s habit of releasing retcons series to flash back to beloved continuity from the 80s, 90s, and 00s. Fans both new and old adore those eras and creators and want to revisit them.
However, this retcon book is a little peculiar because it revisits possibly the least-loved era of Daredevil since 1980 – D.G. Chichester’s Black Armor era – when Daredevil and Matt Murdock were both presumed to be dead!
Of course, everyone era is someone’s nostalgic favorie, which I guess is how this title got greenlit. In fairness, it entirely captures the vibe of early in the Black Armor run. The voicing is on-point, and while the art is a big improvement over the era it still feels like it could be from the late-90s rather than the present day.
There’s just not much too this story – Daredevil uncovers a literal underground fight ring used by Baron Von Strucker to destablize major cities before turning them into smoking craters. Also, a very beefy but under-utilized Sabretooth.
It’s a fun concept with a strong start, but in the end it doesn’t give Daredevil much to do.
Hulk Modern Era Epic Collection, Vol. 6: Who Is The Red Hulk?
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302956479 / digital)
See Guide to Hulk – Bruce Banner. This is the first of the Modern Epic Collections out for Hulk, and it collects the start of his Jeph Loeb & Ed McGuinness 2008 series, which began on the heels of World War Hulk and introduced the mysterious new Red Hulk into the mix.
Lockjaw: Avengers Assemble
(2024 digest-size paperback, ISBN 978-1302954574 / digital)
A reprint of two prior Lockjaw-led pet collections – Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers (2009) #1-4 and Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers Unleashed (2010) #1-4. I’m somewhat surprised they didn’t include the charming new Marvel Unleashed (2024) #1-4, but I suppose these older series were much more deliberately YA-themed than that new one.
Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars: Battleworld
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302950842 / digital)
See Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Secret Wars. This is set entirely during Secret Wars #12 on page 36 between panels 4-5! It is a lightweight story that is mostly a beat-em-up that focuses on pulling in some characters previously unseen in Secret Wars to put Spidey’s new black suit to the test. A fun all-ages action romp.
Miracleman by Gaiman & Buckingham: The Silver Age
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302948825 / digital)
See Guide to Miracleman. This is the Miracleman comic everyone has wanted for over 30 years – the completion of the second “Book” of Neil Gaiman & Mark Buckingham’s Miracleman trilogy! I still need to read all of “The Golden Age” to get up to speed on this, but I skimmed a few issues as I built my Miracleman guide and they included some truly outstanding (and incredibly mature) story beats.
If Alan Moore’s original 1980s work is too dense for you I think it would be perfectly fine to pick up from Gaiman & Buckingham’s Golden Age. While it is all reverent of Moore’s work and plots, Gaiman is doing something very specific by playing with the eras of comic storytelling that makes a fine jumping on point.
Read on for a summary of all of the Marvel Comics May 8 2024 single issue and digital releases!
Marvel Comics May 8 2024 Physical Comic Releases
Amazing Spider-Man (2022) #49 – See Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (2018 – Present) or Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Blood Hunt. A BLOOD HUNT TIE-IN!
This is Zeb Wells’ single tie-in issue before this plot rolls onward next week into Amazing Spider-Man: Blood Hunt (2024) #1-3, co-starring Morbius and written by Justina Ireland with art from Marcelo Ferreira.
It feels like Zeb Wells is still circling what the main plot of the back third of his series will be. We’ve seen a resolution to the plot of MJ’s aunt on Krakoan medicine leading to the reformation of the Sinister Six, plus the long-running Betty Brant subplot intersecting with Chasm & Hallow’s Eve in the past two issues.
That sets up two pretty massive plot inflection point that could involved either a battle against signature villains or something that majorly messes with Spidey’s mind. Maybe both? The past few issues have been a welcome breather after a pretty dull few months for this title, but I fear if Wells plunges this into more “Spidey isn’t himself” plots it will be a total disaster. I’m hoping he has something a little less obvious up his sleeve to kick off next month in issue #50.
Avengers (2023) #14 – See Guide to Avengers flagship titles (2010 – Present) or Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Blood Hunt. A BLOOD HUNT TIE-IN!
Last issue of Avengers ended with a “black skies” tie-in to Blood Hunt, showing just how things had become on Earth while the team was busy routing Orchis. But, before you read this, you also need to read Blood Hunt (2024) #1 – which is a full-on Avengers tale also by Jed MacKay with dire consequences for the team!
Jed MacKay has really built up the godly power of his primary squad of Avengers, so I’m intensely curious to see how he broadens his cast with a pivot to a B-team that includes Steve Rogers, Hercules, Kate Bishop, Hazmat, and Quicksilver. I am totally in love with that random membership and I’m truly excited to see what he does with them!
Blood Hunters (2024) #1 – See Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Blood Hunt . A BLOOD HUNT TIE-IN!
Based on the solicit, this is an anthology with one-off lead stories for Hawkeye and Man-Wolf, plus a continuing Erica Schultz story focused on Dagger while Cloak is indisposed based on the events of Blood Hunt (2024) #1. It seems like that Dagger story could turn into something more, as there’s a hint that a new team could emerge by the ends of this book.
I think it’s a bit odd to have Hawkeye lead this off when he’s in his own mini-series with Black Widow right now, but the creative teams are all interesting – with art from Bernard Chang, Javier Garron, and Robert Quinn on this issue. I feel like some anthology series are effectively “audition” books for newer writers and artists, but this feels more like a “best of” with a lot of established creators on it tackling little-seen characters. I’m always into that.
Captain America (2023) #9 – See Guide to Captain America – Steve Rogers.
I’ve struggled with this JMS series so far, largely because JMS is struggling mightily with a voice for Steve Rogers. I discussed this on Twitter – and, anecdotally, it seems like many others agree.
We’re coming out of a lugubrious trio of issues of Cap defending an imaginary liminal space that exists between life and death that is also an old-timey movie theatre. It felt very un-Cap-like.
However, now that it resolved, Cap has an obvious mission – find and protect a half dozen “change agents” in the modern day who the forces of evil might prefer to see silenced. I’m curious to see if this series can gain some momentum by giving Cap more agency in the present day – but I fear if JMS can’t find a convincing way to voice Steve that this next arc will be dead on arrival.
Captain Marvel (2023) #8 – See Guide to Captain Marvel. Now that we’re into the second arc of this Alyssa Wong series, I am somewhat appreciating how she is using it to feature the entire extended “Mar-Vell Family” in one book – including Rick Jones!
However, it took a long time to get there, and it still feels like this is mostly a book for Wong’s self-insert character Yuna, following up on a run about Wong’s self-insert character Valentine Vuong in Deadpool (2023).
I call them self-insert characters because they are both Asian non-binary femmes, which Alyssa Wong also is. If I wrote a run of Deadpool followed by a run of Captain Marvel featuring two separate gorgeous long-haired bloggers who lived in New Zealand, you would also call those characters self-inserts.
That’s a major bummer for me, because I love non-binary characters and want to see many more of them at Marvel and DC! However, these characters get a bad reputation when they are being shoehorned in by the same author repeatedly and then they take over the books they are being used in.
Anyway, long story short, the solicit for issue #10 sounds like it could be a final issue and that would be fine with me.
Daredevil (2023) #9 – See Guide to Daredevil. I’ve been so excited by the supernatural elements of this Saladin Ahmed run, but last issue pivoted hard out of that plot and into Matt & Elektra romance and the familiar embrace of conflict with Bullseye and Kingpin.
With the solicit for issue #11 teasing that it sets a stage for “a brutal and barbaric finish,” I wonder if we’re about to see the shortest run on Daredevil in over a decade! Or, does Ahmed have something more in store for us after this brief pivot into the familiar?
Either way, I’d say it’s worth checking this run out from the start – especially because the mysterious early status quo that Ahmed sets up in the first issue significantly affects Matt & Elektra’s relationship through this issue (and, based on the solicits, beyond).
Deadpool (2024) #2 – See Guide to Deadpool. This Cody Ziglar Deadpool series is a curious thing.
Ziglar directly continues from the prior Alyssa Wong series – picking up Deadpool’s new symbiote dog and all of the emotions that come from his breakup at the close of that book. Usually I’m fully in favor of new authors acknowledging what came before rather than starting a brand new status quo. However, issue #1 of this series really felt like the next issue of that prior series – it had very little new to say and was almost entirely a recap of Wong’s plots over some very tedious action.
Maybe that was just Ziglar’s way of trying to pick up existing Deadpool readers, but given that Wong’s series was somewhat-abruptly cancelled I’m not sure it requires quite as much homage as Ziglar is paying it (though, I did enjoy it!).
Issue #1 ended with a mysterious new enemy taking an interest in Deadpool, so I’m curious to see where Ziglar takes it next and if he settles into an amusing voice for the Merc with a Mouth.
Doctor Strange (2023) #15 – See Guide to Doctor Strange or Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Blood Hunt . A BLOOD HUNT TIE-IN!
This should be interesting! Last issue of Doctor Strange ended with him returning from his magical roleplaying adventure to see that the sun had been blotted out as part of the lead-in to Blood Hunt!
However, Jed MacKay’s Blood Hunt (2024) #1 directly followed that by fundamentally shifting Strange’s status quo – and, this MacKay issue picks up directly from that shocking cliffhanger!
Dracula: Blood Hunt (2024) #1 – See Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Blood Hunt or Guide to Marvel’s Dracula. A BLOOD HUNT TIE-IN!
Usually I’d be excited for any kind of Marvel Dracula nonsense, but I’m slightly guarded on this one since it co-stars Blade’s daughter Bloodline as written by Danny Lore. Lore’s Bloodline mini-series was more like a flatline, with a hard to follow plot and lots of repetitive scenes. Yet, that seemed to be largely connected to a struggling artist and Lore has been strong on Blade and horror in the past.
I’m curious to see which version of Lore we get on this series – and if it truly gives us some time with Dracula or mostly spends it focused on Bloodline.
Fantastic Four (2022) #20 – See Guide to Fantastic Four. We still have another month before Blood Hunt kicks in in Ryan North’s Fantastic Four; this issue is a light-hearted Torch/Thing one-shot story.
With the initial conflict of this title resolved and the entire F4 family reunited, it has felt to me like North has slightly run out of steam in the past few issues. His one-off stories are starting to lean more into alternate realities and feel less like critical explorations of the team and their relationships and more like random filler. I’m curious to see if North has a second act up his sleeve that’s as compelling as his first year on the title, which included several of my favorite F4 stories of all time.
Giant-Size X-Men (2024) #1 – See Guide to X-Men – Age of Krakoa (2019 – 2024). Considering the monumental impact of the original Giant-Size X-Men, I expected this 50th anniversary one-shot to be a big deal – tying into the Fall of X and written by a famous X-Men author like Claremont, Gillen, or Hickman! Instead, it’s a one-shot Angel story by Ann Nocenti.
Spider-Man: Shadow of the Green Goblin (2024) #2 (of 4) – See Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (2018 – Present). I just caught up on the first issue of this J. M. DeMatteis retcon series. I wasn’t expecting much – more revising past glory days of Spider-Man to engage aging fans.
Well, I was TOTALLY WRONG.
First, this series doesn’t focus on the early-90s period that DeMatteis is most known for. Instead, it’s more like the famous Untold Tales of Spider-Man series from the late 90s. It flashes back to the earliest of Spider-Man continuity – when he is still working with a promoter to try to profit off of being Spidey and has yet to meet Harry Osborn or Gwen Stacy!
Second it is really, really good. In fact, I’d say that the voicing for Peter is the best writing I’ve read for him since Tom Taylor wrote Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man back in 2018! The version of Peter narrating the flashback from some point in the future, which allows him to comment winkingly on his early predicaments in a way that will reward long-time Spidey fans.
This series has my absolute endorsement. To me, this is retcon done right – not just revisiting a creator’s past output for the sake of nostalgia, but telling a story that feels exciting and true to the character.
Star Wars: Darth Vader (2020) #46 – See Guide to Star Wars Expanded Universe comics. This issue continues both from last month and from the Free Comic Book Day 2024: Star Wars / Darth Vader issue.
We’re in the midst of Vader embedding himself with a group of disgruntled Empire revolutionaries. They’ve all had Vader sent after them in the past, but always at the command of Emperor Palpatine. Even if there’s the sense that Vader will surely sacrifice these peons by the end of this arc.
Star Wars: The High Republic (2023) #7 – See Guide to Star Wars Expanded Universe comics. I swear, I’m going to start catching up on High Republic sometime soon! It was next on my list and then I started catching up on DC for my DC New Releases posts.
High Republic is the period of Star Wars that comes several centuries before the Prequels – with a younger Yoda as a part of a thriving council of Jedi training new young Jedi across the Galaxy. That’s a lot of fun, and a markedly different tone than anything from the Skywalker Saga.
Strange Academy: Blood Hunt (2024) #1 (of 3) – See Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Blood Hunt or Guide to Doctor Strange. A BLOOD HUNT TIE-IN! A new creative team comes to Strange Academy as the kids try to resolve Blood Hunt by finding The Darkhold.
Venom (2021) #33 – See Guide to Venom or Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Blood Hunt. A BLOOD HUNT TIE-IN!
This is the first issue of Venom following the Symbiosis Necrosis crossover, which seriously rocked this title’s status quo with a few major deaths and transformations in the prior issue for the world(s) of Eddie & Dylan Brock. You don’t have to read the Carnage side of the crossover to keep up with this title – it was a less of a direct crossover and more two titles telling parallel versions of the same story.
For Blood Hunt, Ewing is pivoting hard to another character entirely – Lee Price, the man who briefly bonded with the symbiote in 2016 and 2017 before Eddie Brock’s celebrated return. Based on the solicits, it sounds like this issue and issue #34 won’t focus at all on the Eddie Brock cliffhanger from the end of Symbiosis Necrosis, which will resume in #35 with a prelude to “Venom War.” That means you should be safe to pick up these tie-ins cold without too much confusion from the ongoing plot.
Wolverine (2010) #49 – See Guide to Wolverine – Logan. It’s the penultimate chapter of The Sabretooth War and of this series!
I have found the War to be more of a gory skirmish. Despite having a terrific set-up of a vengeful Sabretooth with the most power he’s ever wielded, this run felt like it peaked with the wanton mutilation of a bunch of side characters and then had little else to say. That leaves the book in an awkward place now, trying to manufacture a thrilling climax from a depowered Logan versus an multiversal Graydon Creed.
Even if you were heavily invested in both this title and Victor LaValle’s pair of Sabretooth series, I think this grand finale has already failed to fulfill its promise – which is a real bummer.
X-Men: Forever (2024) #3 – See Guide to X-Men – Age of Krakoa (2019 – 2024). X-Men Forever has now been confirmed in many ways to be the final arc of Immortal X-Men (2022) – including by the title of its trade paperback release and by Kieron Gillen himself.
This book appears to contain all of the plot resolution of for The Five and the mutants who were stuck in the White Hot Room, as opposed to the Xavier-vs-AI-vs-Dominions plot of Rise of the Powers of X (2024). Yet, they are both the same story, as made obvious by the simultaneous scenes involving Rachel Grey-Summers in the last issues. Much of Immortal X-Men (2022) (and, Judgment Day (2022) as well!) saw Gillen focusing on Jean Grey and Destiny, and it seems as though the final two issues of this series may resolve some of his plots for them both.
Marvel Comics May 8 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) #31 – See Guide to Avengers (2010-Present).
- Infinity Paws Infinity Comic (2024) #6
- Marvel’s Voices Infinity Comic (2022) #100
- Spider-Man Unlimited Infinity Comic (2023) #36 – Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (2018-Present)
- X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic (2021) #138 – See Guide to X-Men, The Age of Krakoa
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