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Alpha Flight Vol. 2 AKA by Mantlo, Ross, & Lee – The #34 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

May 30, 2017 by krisis

Alpha Flight is mostly known for its visually distinct team of founding members as written and drawn by creator John Byrne. With a Byrne Alpha Flight omnibus plucked straight from the 2016 survey results to be released earlier this year, is there any point in pushing for another collection of a less recognizable team?

In any other case, the answer might be no, but the next run of Alpha Flight has its own remarkable pedigree – it’s written by Bill Mantlo with Jim Lee first ever sequential art for Marvel!

Alpha Flight, Vol. 2 AKA by Mantlo, Ross, & Lee is the #32 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 – plus, CK patrons have access to a super-detailed Alpha Flight reading and collecting guide that tracks not only every issue, but a complete reading order for each core team member’s every appearance.

Past Ranking: A 2017 debut!

Probable Contents: Alpha Flight by Bill Mantlo, Dave Ross, & Jim Lee would collect at least Alpha Flight (1983) #30-66, Annuals 1-2, and Avengers #272 – marking a clean break on Mantlo’s run of the title before James Hudnall takes over with the “Wrath of the Dreamqueen” arc on #67.

That said, it would make just as much sense for the omnibus to include Wrath of the Dreamqueen in #67-70, as it caps a few running plots. Then, it could push into Hudnall’s run as far as issue #78, which is another relatively clean break just prior to Acts of Vengeance. (Hudnall’s run continues through #86.) Then, one day Marvel could release a rather hefty final volume would cover #79-130, and maybe Northstar #1-4.

Since running out the latter years of this relatively obscure team likely isn’t a priority for Marvel (who, after all, haven’t even reprinted this series past a trio of Classic trades from the John Byrne era), it seems much more likely they’ll go with the slimmer Mantlo / Ross / Lee volume. I still say it should end on #70, despite that ending on a bit of a cliffhanger.

Creators: Written by Bill Mantlo through #66 and then by James Hudnall with pencils by Mike Mignola (#30-31 & 47), Jon Bogdanove (#32), Sal Buscema (#33-34), Dave Ross (#35-44), June Brigman (#45-46, 49-50, 52, & Annual 2), Jim Lee (#51, 53, 55-62, 64), Hugh Haynes (#54, 63, 65-67), and John Calimee (#68-76, 78 and beyond).

Can you read it right now? Only in floppies! Otherwise, issue #39 is the sole collected issue in this run thanks to its crossover with The Avengers. It’s the same on Marvel Unlimited.

The Details:

Alpha Flight, Vol. 1 was previously a mainstay in the Secret Ballot top 10, but lo and behold we saw it printed in January of this year as Alpha Flight by John Byrne.

Knowing the completionist urges of secret ballot voters, us wanting a volume two is fait accompli regardless of its quality – right?

Well, maybe. But, the Bill Mantlo run from #29-66 that follows John Byrne’s turn on Alpha Flight contains a number of interesting plots that make it worth reading as a companion to the first volume. Byrne created, assembled, and defined the mainstay characters of Alpha Flight, but he didn’t spend much of his run writing them as a complete team. Mantlo pens their most memorable and stable period, but also significantly transforms the members and deconstructs the team. [Read more…] about Alpha Flight Vol. 2 AKA by Mantlo, Ross, & Lee – The #34 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

The Micronauts, Vol. 1 – The #35 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

May 29, 2017 by krisis

When fans are rabid for an aged property it’s sometimes hard to decipher if they’re interested in quality or nostalgia. Have you gone back to watch many of your favorite cartoons from when you were a kid? At least half of them won’t hold up.

I think The Micronauts falls on the side of “quality,” and not just because of its Bill Mantlo pedigree. There’s hardly any residual fondness from sources other than the comic, since the toys were only a minor hit and there was not an ongoing cartoon or film for these characters.

I’m not saying it’s Watchmen, but as comics about toys go, people aren’t voting for Micronauts just for nostalgic purposes.

The Micronauts, Vol. 1 is the #35 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.

Past Ranking:

Probable Contents: The Micronauts (1979) #1 to 30, 35, 37, 44, or 46 & Annuals 1-2, plus bonus materials from reprint series The Micronauts: Special Edition (1983) #1-5.

Then, a second volume would include the remainder of this series (through #59), The X-Men and The Micronauts (1984) #1-4 (after 57), and Micronauts: The New Voyages (1984) #1-20, written by Peter Gillis.

Creators: Bill Mantlo writes this entire run – and, in fact, this entire series, save for the final issue.

Issues #1-12 were drawn by Michael Golden with inkers Joe Rubinstein, Bob McLeod, & Al Milgrom, and colorists Carl Gafford, Doc Martin, & Roger Slifer.

Afterwards, it’s line art primarily by Howard Chaykin and then Pat Broderick, inks by Al Milgrom, Armando Gil, Danny Bulanadi, & Doc Martin, and colors by Bob Sharen, Roger Slifer, & Barry Grossan.

Can you read it right now? Sadly, you’ll need to hunt down some floppies to read this series.

The Details:

The Micronauts were one of many licensed properties that Marvel developed into ongoing comics in the 1970s. The comics were based on a line of Mego toys that were first released in 1976, which in turn were based on designs and concepts from Microman, a line of Japanese toys.

If you’re a child of the 80s like me, you’re used to most major toy lines coming with a Saturday morning cartoon that was a combined story bible and toy commercial. Micronauts didn’t have that built-in media tie-in – the comics were it! That meant that writer Bill Mantlo was creating the Micronaut’s world and story from whole cloth with each issue – unlike Star Wars or Conan, which adapted other existing and implied stories.

That makes Micronauts a lot like Master of Kung Fu and ROM in Marvel’s licensed character pantheon, in that many of the characters and concepts in the comic belong to Marvel rather than Mego. [Read more…] about The Micronauts, Vol. 1 – The #35 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

Generation X, Vol. 1 – The #36 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

May 28, 2017 by krisis

Generation X arrived on the verge of the X-Men franchise’s glory days starting to spoil in the Onslaught era. For that reason, many fans tend to write it off – or, they weren’t even around for it.

Yet, the comic readers who stuck by the X-Men through the 90s know that Generation X wasn’t more of the same compared to other X-Men books of the period. A huge part of that was the Scott Lobdell and Chris Bachalo creative partnership that lasted through the first few years of the series.

Generation X, Vol. 1 AKA by Lobell & Bachalo is the #36 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 my Guide to Young X-Men to see how many issues of this series have already been reprinted in collected editions.

Past Ranking: #26 in 2016

Probable Contents: This volume would certainly include Generation X #1-25 & Annual 1995, 1996, 1997, and material from Generation X Ashcan Edition, San Diego Preview, and material Generation X Collector’s Preview. It wouldn’t be surprising to also see Uncanny X-Men #316-318 and X-Men #36-37 duplicated from the Phalanx Covenant OHC.

That makes for a somewhat short volume that slightly cuts off the end of the Lobdell/Bachalo run, but it marries to the Operation Zero Tolerance OHC, which begins at #26. Alternately, this book could duplicate #26-31 from that volume to include the complete works of the original creative team, also adding #-1 – pencilled by Bachalo.

(It could also add Daydreamers #1-3, which continues from Generation X #25 and has never been collected.)

Either way, the remainder of the series could likely be knocked out in a single additional volume starting from #32.

Creators: This run is primarily written by Scott Lobdell and drawn by Chris Bachalo with Mark Buckingham and Scott Hana on inks.

An army of pencillers fill in for the year where Bachalo is away – notably including Roger Cruz and Tom Grummett. Issues #28-31, if they were to be included, were written by James Dale Robinson.

Can you read it right now? No. There’s are a pair of Generation X classic trades that run from #1-11, but then you’re stuck with floppies until #26. Guide to Young X-Men covers that and all the rest of the series.

It’s the same story on Marvel Unlimited – #1-11, then straight to #26.

The Details:

Generation X was the totally weird X-Men book that no one knew they wanted but everyone was strangely happy to have when it launched in 1994.

It used to be that New Mutants was the book with the young, school-age cast and Excalibur was the oddball book full of humor. That had changed in the prior year, with X-Force focusing more on a proactive approach to preserving the mutant race and Excalibur finally being sucked into all of the standard X-Men crossover drama.

That left a hole to be filled by a quirky book set at a school. That is what Marvel launched out of the Phalanx Covenant crossover, which introduced a new generation of mutant coveted by the race of techno-organic life forms.

Generation X wasn’t just quirky. It was something altogether different and more transgressive than any X-Men title that had come before. It was a book full of superheroes who wore uniforms but hardly acted as a team. If they had any unifying theme, it was that their powers were metaphors for adolescence that doubled as body horror. [Read more…] about Generation X, Vol. 1 – The #36 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

X-Factor by David & DeMatteis – The #37 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

May 27, 2017 by krisis

The X-Men and their various teams have gone through many reinventions in the decades since their birth, but I’d argue one of the most successful of them all was Peter A. David (PAD) writing X-Factor from 1991 to 1993.

This is an X-Men run that remains as delightful for entrenched fanatics as it is for brand new readers. Even if PAD was already cemented as a household name for comic fans thanks to his lengthy run on Incredible Hulk, he was the first author to ever focus on Polaris and he turned Multiple Man into such an enduring fan favorite that he spawned another 100+ issue run on X-Factor over a decade after this one ended!

X-Factor by David & DeMatteis is the #37 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 X-Factor to learn how can you read it today.

Past Ranking: Up one spot from#38 in 2016.

Probable Contents: Collecting X-Factor #71-83, 87-105, & Annual 8-9 (and maybe #106 along with Excalibur (1988) #82, X-Force (1991) #38.

Yes, that pushes past the PAD material. I’ll explain more below.

See Oversize X-Men: A map of every existing omnibus, plus what’s missing (Part 2: 1991 to 2001) for a map of the remainder of the series.

Creators: Written by Peter A. David (#71-89, with Shana David & Skip Dietz), Scott Lobdell (#90-95 with Joe Quesada), J.M. DeMatteis (#92-105), & Todd Dezago (#103-106).

Line art by Larry Stroman (#71-81 with Tom Raney, Kevin J. West, Brandon Peterson, & James Bosch), Rurik Tyler, Marc Pacella, Jae Lee, Joe Quesada (#87-92 with Aldrin Aw & Jan Duursema), Terry Shoemaker, Paul Ryan, Greg S. Luzniak, Jan Duursema (#97-106 with Greg S. Luzniak, Bryan Hitch, & Roger Cruz), Chris Batista, & Mat Broome.

Inks by Al Milgrom with Clifford E. Van Meter, Andy Lanning, Jeff Albrecht, Mark McKenna, Terry Austin, & Steve Moncuse.

Colors by Glynis Oliver with Mike Thomas, Kevin Tinsley, Brad Vancata, Marie Javins, Ariane Lenshoek-Pinheiro, Tom Smith, Matt Webb, Carlos Lopez, and Joe Rosas.

Can you read it right now? Not entirely. You can get through #92 with current collections, but then there is a gap until #106. The same is true for Marvel Unlimited.

The Details:

Peter David wrote the perfect first issue with X-Factor #71.

I’ve read this run several times, and along with many voters on Tigereyes’ secret ballot I would say it’s amongst my favorites. Yet, at the time in 1991, the announcement of this cast and creative team supplanting the original five X-Men largely written by Louise Simonson in X-Factor drew a reaction more like “Uh, I guess it could work?” [Read more…] about X-Factor by David & DeMatteis – The #37 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

Avengers by Jonathan Hickman, Vol. 2 – The #38 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

May 26, 2017 by krisis

No, your eyes do not deceive you and it is not a typo – we’ve got a tie for the #38 most-wanted omnibus, and that tie brings us the newest of all the runs in the survey results.

Avengers by Jonathan Hickman, Vol. 2 is the #38 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.

Past Ranking: This is a 2017 debut; Volume 1 debuted at #10 with a bullet in 2016.

Probable Contents: It’s complicated. I cover it in full at the bottom of the post.

Creators: Written by Jonathan Hickman.

The co-writers and other artists vary wildly depending on what gets collected, but the core issues that we’ll see no matter what were drawn by Salvador Larroca and Leinil Francis Yu (Avengers) and Simone Bianchi, Rags Morales, Valerio Schiti, Kev Walker, and Larroca (New Avengers).

Can you read it right now? Yes! This Avengers and New Avengers portions of this run have now been collected in three formats, all still readily available. Avengers World is around in TPB only. It’s all covered on the Guide to Avengers Flagships.

Plus, all three series are available in full on Marvel Unlimited – Avengers, New Avengers, and Avengers World.

The Details:

The first Avengers by Jonathan Hickman Omnibus will be in our hands in a matter of weeks, and it collects exactly what fans were hoping for (and exactly what I predicted last year) – an integrated run of Avengers and New Avengers that incorporates Infinity, ending with Avengers (2013) #23 and New Avengers (2013) #12.

There is much debate over what a second volume of Hickman Avengers will contain, and I’ll cover that in detail below. What’s in common between the three possibilities is that it will surely cover both Avengers and New Avengers through the start of the “Eight Months Later / Time Runs Out” period, which begins in Avengers #35 and New Avengers #24.

The issues leading up to that point are very different across the two titles. [Read more…] about Avengers by Jonathan Hickman, Vol. 2 – The #38 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017