It’s the 22nd new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics May 29 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics May 22 2024 new releases.
This week in Marvel Comics: a killer Black Panther creative team, a Pride-filled X-Men wedding, an Epic Spider-Man gap filled, penultimate Krakoa, Night Thrasher fights depression, Spider-Boy vs. his maker, 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 29 2024 Collected Editions
The Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection Volume 10: Big Apple Battleground
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302955267 / digital)
See Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (1963-2018). This presses forward with the continuous run of Epic coverage from Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #1 through issue #185.
The Amazing Spider-Man Epic line has just five more volumes left to fill its remaining gaps – four directly following this one and the long-awaited Volume 16. However, this year we saw two Clone Sage era Epics to extend the line deeper into the 90s alongside three reprints of existing Epics with just this one gap-filling Epic, so it could be as many as five more years until we get total coverage from this line.
Yes, that’s slow-going. But, the fact that Marvel has already reprinted 13 of the 23 epics in this line is a great sign of their dedication to the ongoing health of the line.
The Avengers Epic Collection Volume 1: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302957988 / digital)
See Guide to Avengers (1963 – 1996). Go back to the start of Marvel’s iconic team with their original “Avengers Assemble” against Loki followed by them unthawing Captain American from his deep freeze and continuing through the debut of “Cap’s Kooky Quartet” when the book shockingly swapped to Cap being backed by an all-villains roster of Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, & Quicksilver! Imagine the fan rage if that happened today!
Hulk: Grand Design
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302958145 / digital)
See Guide to Hulk – Bruce Banner. This roughly recaps all of the Hulk’s history from his first appearance through the Immortal era, as retold by Jim Rugg.
Incredible Hulk by Byrne & Casey Omnibus
(2024 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302954062 / digital)
See Guide to Hulk – Bruce Banner. This is an odd little gap-filler of an omnibus that gives me faith that Marvel knows what they’re doing when it comes to their collect editions strategy! Rather than cram the seven final issues of Incredible Hulk (1968) that were written by Joe Casey into a Peter David omnibus, they’re collect here alongside John Byrne’s brief run on the 1999 relaunch of the title simply as “Hulk.”
That gives me hope that Marvel is done abandoning brief runs by creators that aren’t major sales drivers. It’s even cooler that they listed Casey in the book’s title here, since he was a major late-90s and early-00s writer who often doesn’t get his due from modern readers.
Punisher: The Bullet That Follows
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302955724 / digital)
See Guide to Punisher. I appreciate that Marvel didn’t even attempt to follow Jason Aaron’s total mic drop on his supernatural Punisher (2022) run, and instead pivoted to a totally new hero in the costume. I think the question is if the Punisher brand is strong enough to pull in readers who want a comic all about vengeance if it doesn’t star Frank Castle and isn’t especially bloody.
Personally, I dig when Punisher is a grounded anti-hero who occasionally needs to deal with superpowered nonsense. Plus, I love Dave Wachter’s artwork! So this book was slightly up my alley, but despite being good-looking the story was mild. I hope another author can push this character farther, because I think there’s more to be done with him.
World War Hulk Omnibus
(2024 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302957674 / digital)
See Guide to Hulk – Bruce Banner. The complete World War Hulk event in one book! I think this “Hulk vs The Illuminati” story only fully hits as a story if you’ve also read Planet Hulk (2023 hardcover, ISBN 978-1302949686 / digital), which directly precedes.
Read on for a summary of all of the Marvel Comics May 29 2024 single issue and digital releases!
Marvel Comics May 29 2024 Physical Comic Releases
Avengers: Twilight (2024) #6 (of 6) – See Guide to Avengers flagship titles (2010 – Present). Chip Zdarsky’s glimpse into a possible end of the Avengers concludes.
Black Panther: Blood Hunt (2024) #1 – See Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Blood Hunt. Cheryl Lynn Eaton. Farid Karami. Andrew Dalhouse. HOOK IT INTO MY VEINS.
Cheryl Eaton is one of my favorite culture and comics commenters online, and she has turned in some seriously proficient one-shot stories for DC Comics. I think her work distinguishes her as a creator who really could do something amazing in the shared universes at Marvel and DC and I want to see them take more chances on her.
Farid Karami absolutely blew me away on his guest turns on Fantastic Four (2018) #45 and Daredevil (2023) #3 & 5. I don’t know if there is any rising artist who I am more excited to see on several sequential issues in a row right now.
And, colorist Andrew Dalhouse is probably in my Top 5 superhero colorists working right now for the way he makes every panel seem to glow from within, as if we’re viewing it through a lightbox.
Black Panther seems like he has a weighty role to play in Blood Hunt, and I cannot wait to see this team bring that to life (or, undeath).
Edge of Spider-Verse (2024) #4 (of 4) – Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (2018 – Present). I caught up on the past three issues of this anthology series this week and I must admit it’s charming as heck.
We’re getting new and highly-imaginative takes on what it means to be a Spider, from a deeply cool Weapon X Spidey to a Tim Burton living dead Spidey to a sci-fi cosmic Spidey, plus back-ups from some of the best past Spider-Verse characters. For me, nothing has topped the very heavy Weapon X story from issue #1 by Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing, but I think all of the stories will resonate differently with readers depending on their tastes.
I also dug that the Alex Segura back-up in issue #1 promised that this is all heading somewhere big – potentially tying back to the main Zeb Wells run on Amazing Spider-Man (2022).
Hellverine (2024) #1 (of 4) – See Guide to Wolverine – Logan. The same week as the final issue in Ben Percy’s run on Wolverine we also get another Ben Percy Wolverine series to continue our suffering fill the gap until the debut of his “From the Ashes” series later this summer.
This series alleges that we’re getting more Wolverine possessed by a spirit of vengeance “because you demanded it” – and I’d really love to know who the “you” was in this situation. I saw absolutely zero buzz about the Percy Wolverine/Ghost Rider crossover that acted as pilot for this series.
Maybe it’s incredibly popular in comic shops and less so online.
Jackpot and Black Cat (2024) #3 (0f 4) – See Guide to Black Cat. I’ve got to hand it to writer Celeste Bronfman. Despite my absolute loathing of Mary Jane as Jackpot and the fact that this “the app is evil” plot has been used at least three times in the past three years at Marvel, issue #2 of this series got me on board with the story.
It turns out, this is less of a team-up book and more of a “contrasting” story that pits MJ’s optimism as a hero against Felicia’s weary experience as an anti-hero. I think that’s an incredibly smart beat to play – not only because it’s a fun read, but because it actually does something with the wretched concept of Mary Jane as a superhero.
You can pick up issue #1 with no pre-reading required. It explains exactly why MJ is a hero now and gives you all you need to know about Black Cat’s status quo.
Midnight Sons: Blood Hunt (2024) #1 (of 3) – See Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Blood Hunt. So far, all of the Blood Hunt mini-series have started out strong. I’m very curious to see how this one unfolds – with Bryan Edward Hill continuing some of the themes of his run on Blade (2023) only with his prior lead character as the antagonist.
If you’ve kept up with these release posts, you know I think Bryan Edward Hill struggles with pacing as a scripter. Will writing a three-issue mini-series with a defined ending resolve that problem or exacerbate it?
Night Thrasher (2024) #4 (of 4) – See Guide to New Warriors. I continue to root for this Night Thrasher mini-series, because I think this is a character with potential in the modern day and a story with a particularly strong engine driving it.
There was one very good scene in issue #3 where Night Thrasher wondered why he is even alive again. He returned with no place in the world and no one who values his aid. Is that all life holds in store?
That’s a great beat to play, and unexpectedly deep for a Marvel mini-series. Yet, it’s also how I’m feeling as a reader of this series. Writer J. Holtham is giving us a Night Thrasher intent on shutting down his charitable foundation and who has little interest in reconnecting with past teammates. He feels some vestigial amount of dedication to righting the wrongs in his community, but that seems to be mostly because someone he knows is behind it.
Writing a depressed hero dealing with post-traumatic stress is like walking a tightrope. If you have them simply say “I’m depressed” while kicking ass an taking names, it rings false. Yet, if you characterize their depression too fully and have them sink into their PTSD too deeply, it can make the story seem listless.
I think that’s where this series is stuck right now. J. Holtham is actually writing tremendous characterization for a character who isn’t even convinced he ought to be alive, so he’s deliberately tearing down everything in his life that had impact or value. Yet, that leads to a lot of scenes of Night Thrasher feeling (or: being) useless.
That could work if this was an ongoing series – or, even a six issue mini-series! With more issues, there would be room to develop Dwayne Taylor’s journey beyond just the nadir of his depression. As it stands, we’re just going to have to wrap up things in a hurry next issue and then put this character back on the shelf.
Rise of the Powers of X (2024) #5 – Guide to X-Men – Age of Krakoa (2019 – 2014). Here we are, at the penultimate issue of the Krakoan Age, and Marvel achieved their end goal: I cannot wait for this rushed mess of an ending to be over so we can get to the From the Ashes era.
One week ago Gerry Duggan ended five years of Orchis and Nimrod with a mild finish – at least it had Storm being cool. Two weeks ago Kieron Gillen gave Mystique her semi-happy ending and capped a 16-year old story with a page-wasting fizzle that felt like him making a desperate play to take a favorite character off the table before another writer could do something worse with them.
All of those were major plot points of Hickman’s initial burst of HOXPOX. Now, the only plot point left to resolve is my favorite of all of Hickman’s set-ups: The Dominion.
Can Gillen bring this plot point home in a satisfying way that makes the past five years of X-Men worth it? Or, will this just be another rushed finale full of nonsense? Three weeks ago I would’ve told you that I trust Gillen completely to make it work, but now I’m not so sure.
Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver (2024) #4 (of 4) – See Guide to Scarlet Witch. Something Steve Orlando is doing very right on his continuing multi-title run on Scarlet is giving her good villains.
Past books have used Wanda well, but they basically just constrain her to witchy stuff with the same few villains you would expect. Yeah, we all want to see her bump up against Agatha Harkness and Loki. But, giving her a more physical opponent like Scythia in her last ongoing and a technological opponent like The Wizard here lets her stretch out as a character and use her powers in more interesting ways.
I absolutely adore this book, and I think Lorenzo Tammetta is having a star-making turn on artwork alongside colorist Frank William. This book looks so good that I would literally follow them onto ANYTHING they work on after this – even if it was a franchise I have no affinity for whatsoever. And, I want to see Steve Orlando continue his run on Wanda – which he will do after this on a relaunched Scarlet Witch (2024) series.
Spider-Boy (2024) #7 – See Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (2018 – Present). At this point, I think I have to stop saying how surprised I am about loving this book and just admit that I am a major fan of Spider-Boy.
Part of what works about this series for me is that Dan Slott laid out a very specific, compelling mystery at the start and then attacked it from two sides. The mystery? How did Spider-Boy get so Spidery?! The approach? Let us follow his own adventures, but also give us glimpses into the mad scientist who made him – though she can’t tell us the full story, because her memory was altered by the events of Spider-Man (2022).
That’s a brilliant set-up that shows of why Dan Slott is just so damn good at making comics. The idea that the villain won’t be able to put her own story together until she catches our hero makes us actively root for him to lose just so we can get to the part we all want to read. That happened in issue #6, and I think it was both satisfying and also deeply hilarious.
For me, this is the perfect argument to have more in-continuity books for younger readers like this, Super Sons, Runaways, and Gotham Academy. Don’t force young readers to consume one-off titles far outside your main universe, because then they’ll never develop an affinity for it!
Plus *whispers* great kids books can be fun for grown-ups to read, too.
Spider-Punk: Arms Race (2024) #4 (of 4) – See Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (2018 – Present). As I caught up on last month’s pull to give you a write-up for this final issue, I realize that this is the Marvel series that I currently dread reading the most.
Why? I love Spider-Punk. Justin Mason’s art colored by Morry Hollowell is delectable chaos with major punk rock energy. So, where does this go wrong for me – and, does that mean it goes wrong for everyone?
I think where I am stuck on this series is two-fold.
First, it’s just not giving me enough time with Spider-Punk. I love the idea of a riotous punk rock Spider-Man! But, all I’m getting is him reacting to villains and saying “oh no!” There’s nothing essential about his character happening in this series.
I think part of that is because his supporting cast is far too big for a character who hasn’t had much of a chance to shine on his own. We have alternate version of Captain America, Daredevil (sort of), Ms. Marvel, Iron Heart, and Shuri – all of whom get tons of panel time while Spider-Punk does very little. In fact, if this book had been called “Iron Heart & The Spider-Gang” it would make just as much sense as it does being called Spider-Punk.
Second, it doesn’t feel like there is a story here. Basically, the entire plot boils down to, “hey, the first mini-series was interesting, and some villains have an opinion about that.” There’s nothing unique or compelling happening. Literally, the whole plot motivation last issue was, “your first mini-series was better!”
I have sympathy for Cody Ziglar and the rest of the creative team, who are following up on the modest hit of their 2023 series by trying to give fans the same buzz they had from that initial romp last year. But, even if this wasn’t another mini-series and instead was the second arc of an ongoing, I just don’t think it’s doing enough with the character of Spider-Punk to justify its existence.
Star Wars: Darth Maul – Black, White & Red (2024) #2 – See Guide to Star Wars Expanded Universe comics. I often skip these Black, White, & Blood anthology series, but the promise of Darth Maul stories sucked me into this one.
Rather than feature multiple short stories, the first issue was just one. I think that’s the right move with Maul, who has relatively few adventures of his own (even in the old Legends universe) to define his character.
Issue #1 basically Star Wars meets Event Horizon as rendered by Ben Percy and Stefano Raffaele. The tale revolved around Darth Maul gradually deciding that there is an amount of chaotic worship of bloodshed that outstrips even his own violent tastes – and that it should be left beyond the grasp of Darth Sidious.
That’s pretty darn clever as a one-shot story. It not only tells us something about Darth Maul as a character, but it makes good use of the “& Red” of this title to tell a story that feels a little creepier and bloodier than a typical Star Wars yarn.
This issue is written Mark Russell, a writer who often bores me but who occasionally comes through when he’s pushed to go darker than his typical satirical societal commentary. He did fine work on Blade: Vampire Nation (2022) #1 by merging his cynicism about modern society with some pleasing gore. I’m intensely curious to see what he can do here in the Star Wars universe with artist Carlos Nieto.
Star Wars: Jango Fett (2024) #3 (of 4) – See Guide to Star Wars Expanded Universe comics. We’ve got a winner on our hands with this one, y’all!
These Star Wars mini-series can often feel like corporately-mandated grunt work. They’re intellectual property gruel that exist just to be ladled into an open spot in the release schedule. But Ethan Sacks, Luke Ross, Nolan Woodard, & Joe Caramagna are delivering a Jango Fett series that feels both fun and essential.
As a pre-Prequels bounty hunter, Jango Fett is high-competent and also a complete asshole. Even though he’s known to get the job done, no one trusts him or especially likes him. And, he’s fine with that. There’s a real sense from these issues that he only derives satisfaction from staying on mission, which comes through in every conversation he has.
On top of that, Luke Ross is absolutely stunning on art here. With Nolan Woodard’s vivid, saturated colors we’re edging close to “stop and gawk at every panel” territory, which is my favorite place to be when reading comic books.
I’m actually bitter that this is wrapping up next month. A series focused on Jango before he was a Clone Papa is exactly the kind of story I want from Star Wars Expanded Universe Comics. Hopefully the positive response to this is significant enough for us to get more stories in this era.
Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #5 – See Guide to Marvel Ultimate Comics. I know I wasn’t the only fan worried about last issue pivoting from Marco Checchetto on artwork to David Messina.
We needn’t have worried. Messina absolutely crushed a talking heads issue with Matthew Wilson introducing consistency via colors.
In fact, I’d go so far as to say that Messina is better at plainclothes scenes than Checchetto! Plus, poppa Hickman turned in perhaps his best single issue of casual dialog in a whole decade! I’ve long lamented that Hickman’s scripts can be stiff and he gives all women the same stilted voice, but Mary Jane and [redacted] were the absolute stars of this issue with their verbal jousting in and out of their dinner date with Peter and Harry. It was minor plot development but major character development.
Ultimate Spider-Man continues to lead the way as perhaps Marvel’s best superhero title. Is that just because it is in the Ultimate Universe, where characters are allowed to grow and change? I don’t think so, because none of the other Ultimate titles came out of the gates this strong. I think it’s simply that Hickman is writing the Spider-Man book that all of fandom wants to read – a mature Peter Parker in a committed relationship whose main character trait isn’t just being a screw-up. It harkens back to late 80s and early 90s Spider-Man for me, even if this Parker is a veteran family man but a newbie hero.
Ultimate Spider-Man is one of Marvel’s few “must-read” titles, and that’s coming from me: a notable curmudgeon when it comes to alternate universes. My primary complaint about it is that I wish it was double-shipping.
Wolverine (2020) #50 – See Guide to Wolverine – Logan. Well, we’ve finally reached the end of several months of me lamenting the pointlessness of the graphically violent “Sabretooth War.” After a brilliant set-up by Victor LaValle in his pair of Sabretooth series, this ten-part final arc from LaValle and Ben Percy has been one big sad trombone.
Last issue Sabretooth got trapped in his own mind again. I think that’s the third time during this story? I don’t know. I’ve lost track. I think it actually hit an interesting beat of reminding us that Sabretooth has no remorse for his violent actions, whatsoever. But, in order to get that reminder, we got to revisit his greatest his of semi-sexual violence against women.
Meanwhile, Wolverine donned an over-the-top suit of adamantium armor (boldly advertised on the cover!) to stand on the beach of Krakoa while a random multiverse Sabreooth and Graydon Creed had a yelling match over hard-to-follow action.
I know all of the X-Office writers had to rush to plot a final six months of stories, but I’m still annoyed that they wasted everyone’s time and money for ten whole issues to tell one of the most boring and repetitive Sabretooth stories of all time – just inserting some graphic gore and violence against women to keep things spicy. What started as an epic one-man war against Wolverine and X-Force is ending in the same dull fight we’ve seen a dozen times over.
Ironically, the new “From the Ashes” Wolverine book is my #1 most-anticipated title of the new era! I’ve been waiting not-so-patiently for Saladin Ahmed to get a crack at writing Logan and Martín Cóccolo has been breathtaking on Immortal Thor (2023).
X-Men: The Wedding Special (2024) #1 – See Guide to X-Men – Age of Krakoa (2019 – 2024). This is effectively a stealth “Marvel’s Voices: Pride” special for 2024 – their 18th “Voices” one-shot, by my count. It promises to feature Mystique & Destiny’s wedding written by Kieron Gillen, which happened at some point in past continuity – not in the present day of post-Krakoa. However, it will also feature a bevy of other short stories by LGBTQA* writers including Tini Howard, Tate Brombal, Yoon Ha Lee, M. Louis, & Wyatt Kennedy.
As someone who greatly appreciates diversity and queer representation both on the page and behind-the-scenes in my comics books, I’m of two different opinions on this one.
First, I appreciate that – at this point – Marvel has enough sales data on their “Voices” specials to know what works and what doesn’t work. Clearly a book with “X-Men” as the first word in the title is going to sell more than “Marvel’s Voices” no matter what follows that.
Second, I think it’s wise to anchor a Pride book (or any identity-related title) with a big story that people actually WANT TO READ. I’ve come to really despise a lot of these identity specials from Marvel and DC not because they will be low quality, but because they will be low significance. If the entire book is just little-known creators writing stories about minor characters that have no place in continuity and no real impact, then why did I spend my money and time on this comic book?!
At that point, having a number of creators on a book solely based on their identity starts to feel insulting. It’s as if Marvel put together a special identity-based ghetto to keep them all contained in so they don’t bring their identities to any comic that matter.
Let less-known creators fill in gaps in continuity or move a plot forward. Have bigger creators breath new life into smaller characters.
Finally, there’s Marvel’s track record throughout the year – especially as compared to DC.
I really take note of LGBTQA* representation all year long. A few years ago I remember saying it felt like a joke that DC would release a Pride special when they didn’t have a single queer character starring in an ongoing book compared to Marvel. Oh, how the tables have turned. DC now only added prominent new heroes like Jon Kent and Dreamer, but they had legacy heroes like Tim Drake and Connor Hawke come out, and they’ve really leaned into letting their existing queer characters appear and be queer with Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy, Batwoman, and Alan Scott.
Now, the tables have turned. Marvel has virtually erased all of their major queer characters from ongoing continuity aside from Mystique and Destiny, whose entire comics line is coming to a violent end (though Destiny had a nice moment in the finale of X-Men Forever (2024)). Are we trusting Alyssa Wong to be the single bastion of LGBTQA* rep at Marvel outside of Kieron Gillen? Because it feels like their books are where everyone queer turns up – from their self-inserts of Valentina and Yuna to the welcome addition of Wiccan & Hulkling to Captain Marvel’s cast.
Where are the rest of Kieron Gillen’s very gay Young Avengers? We haven’t seen Iceman since his mini-series last year. Hercules popped up in Avengers this month after well over a years of invisibility.
The great thing DC has done in the past two years is allowing their LGBTQA* characters to exist as more than just their queer identities. They’re getting to grow as characters. I’ve read a lot of Dreamer’s appearances in the last year, and she has barely even mentioned being trans. Jon Kent occasionally goes on a date with Jay, but otherwise his appearances aren’t all about being bisexual. Connor doesn’t spend all of his appearances in Green Arrow (2023). talking to his dad about being asexual. Batwoman being a lesbian isn’t the main plot point of The Outsiders (2023). Ivy is clearly in love with Harley, but she also spends a lot of her book murdering people.
As always, I want comics to be good – and I want everyone to see themselves in the books. I hope we get a great story out of this X-Men Wedding Special, but I also hope it means Marvel has a plan on how to use Mystique, Destiny, and all the rest of their LGBTQA* characters in 2024 and beyond – and a plan for keeping their queer creators employed even after Kieron Gillen peaces out to head back to the indie world.
Marvel Comics May 29 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) #34 – See Guide to Avengers flagship titles (2010 – Present).
- Infinity Paws Infinity Comic (2024) #9
- Kid Juggernaut: Marvel’s Voices Infinity Comic (2024) #3
- Spider-Man Unlimited Infinity Comic (2023) #39 – Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (2018 – Present)
- X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic (2021) #141 – See Guide to X-Men, The Age of Krakoa
[…] has remastered many classic storylines and characters in its Epic Collection line17. There are 23 volumes of The Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection, with five more to complete the […]