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Crushing Comics includes definitive comic book guides, essays about characters and titles, collecting strategies, comic reviews, and more!

Guide to Pre-Crisis Superman (1939) – Golden Age, Silver Age, & Bronze Age (New for Patrons!)

February 27, 2024 by krisis

As I continue my celebration of seven years of my Guide to DC Comics, it’s time to tackle yet another title for DC’s biggest hero in a guide debuting exclusively to Pledgeonaut Patrons of Crushing Krisis. This was the first true solo superhero book – and, it published continuously through WWII and even the early-50s dark ages of comics! That’s right, it’s a Guide to Pre-Crisis Superman (1939) – The Golden, Silver, & Bronze Ages!

Guide to Pre-Crisis Superman (1939) – The Golden, Silver, & Bronze Ages

Recapping the 42(!) Marvel Omnibuses announced for August 2024 through January 2025 – LIVE on Near Mint Condition

February 25, 2024 by krisis

We interrupt your regular weekend wall-to-wall Drag Race coverage for this special announcement: I’m going LIVE with Omar on Near Mint Condition at 2:30pm US ET to review every Marvel omnibus announced from August 2024 through January 2025. That’s 42 new and reprint omnibuses!

(I’ll be back with my weekly Power Rankings of RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16 tomorrow.)

Unlike our recent Evergreen shows, this show is pure high-quality analysis of why these omnibuses were announced, what they contain, and if you should check them out. I think this is one of the strongest release slates Marvel has ever had – there’s really just one or two books I think are weak, and only one I’d call “garbage.”

Tune in to Near Mint Condition later today. for over two hours of 1:1 discussion between Omar and I, plus comments from the amazing Minties in the live chat. Then, come back later this week for my own recap of all 42 of these books – including which guides you can find them in on Crushing Comics.

New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – February 28 2024

February 22, 2024 by krisis

It’s the 9th new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics February 28 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics February 21 2024 new releases.

This week in Marvel Comics: Gang War ends, Tony Stark’s X-era, nostalgic Power Pack perfection, the conclusion of unexpectedly great turns on Punisher & White Widow, 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. 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!

Marvel Comics February 28 2024 Collected Editions

The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 8: Spider-Man’s First Hunt
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302953447 / digital)
See Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (2018 – Present). This collects the arc that directly precedes Gang War and vaguely follows up on Dark Web with a focus on new comedy character Rep-Rap. It was fine, but ever since the initial meta-arc of this book wrapped up in issue #25 it has felt a bit directionless. I wouldn’t call this a jumping-on point.

Daredevil Modern Era Epic Collection: Underboss
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302956332 / digital)
See Guide to Daredevil. This recollects Brian Bendis’s run from the start. However, it is not the same mapping as Daredevil by Bendis & Maleev Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1 because it collects the typically skipped arc from #20-25! This is the first time that arc has ever been collected in sequential order along with the issues that surround it.

The Invincible Iron Man Vol. 2: The Wedding of Tony Stark and Emma Frost
(2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302947590 / digital)
See Guide to Iron Man – Tony Stark. If you haven’t been reading Iron Man I imagine that title might warrant an eye-roll or the assumption that this is a big sales gimmick forcing a romance between Tony and Emma. In reality, this is a surprisingly organic outgrowth of the continuing plot of Fall of X extending out of the 2023 Hellfire Gala.

In this collection, Iron Man is 100% an X-book, and here’s a secret: Gerry Duggan is way better with a solo title with one or two characters than a big team book, so importing Emma here means he has room to really have fun with both her and Tony. Issues #9-10 are perfection, especially if you’ve also been reading Duggan’s X-Men (2021).

Debating our Evergreen DC Omnibus List – LIVE on Near Mint Condition

February 21, 2024 by krisis

Are you ready to rumble? Tomorrow, on Thursday 22 February at 5:30 pm US ET I’m live with Near Mint Condition to share my Evergreen DCOmnibus List – that means the books should never go out of print!

Omar of Near Mint Condition, Jess the Omnidog, Lars of Mad Norwegian Press, and more distinguished panelists will share their lists, too… and then we’ll fight tooth and nail over our officially endorsed Evergreen DC Omnibus List of 10 books.

It’s the show that is half serious recommendations, half a cut-throat game show of all of us trying to block other people’s recommendations so that all of our own make the list. How many Batman books will make the cut? Can we manage to shut out all of Omar’s choices for the second stream in a row?

Tune in to Near Mint Condition on YouTube find out!

New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – February 21 2024

February 15, 2024 by krisis

It’s the 8th new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics February 21 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics February 14 2024 new releases.

This week in Marvel Comics: Fall of X collections, an Alien anthology, an unexpected Sentry, a major Spider-Woman cliffhanger, and more!

Marvel Comics February 21 2024 Collected Editions

Black Panther by Christopher Priest Omnibus Vol. 2
(2024 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302953683 / digital)
See Guide to Black Panther. This was one of the most-requested Marvel Omnibuses for a long while, so it’s amazing to see it finally completed with a second volume! This run has the distinction of establishing tons of familiar modern Black Panther lore (including Okoye and the the Dora Milaje) but also being batshit crazy, as all Christopher Priest comics are. If you’ve never read it before, Fariha and I covered the first half of this run (the entire first omnibus) in our Black Panther Reading Club six years ago this month back in 2018!

Blade Vol. 1: Mother of Evil
Vol. 1: Mother of Evil (2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302952105 / digital)
See Guide to Blade. I just caught up on this Bryan E. Hill series this week. This first arc is about Blade coming up against an ancient evil much bigger than anything he is used to fighting. That sounds mega-fun, but it’s told through Bryan E. Hill’s authorial filter – which is all about expository two-person dialog. Y’all remember Fallen Angels (2019), right? While this book isn’t the catastrophe that one was, this arc is a lot more about talking about what might happen than it is about character moments or coherent action. I think that made this arc slightly unsatisfying, but the book does pick up afterward with some shorter, tighter stories.

Children of the Vault
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302952464 / digital)
See Guide to X-Men – The Age of Krakoa. First things first: This Fall of X book should be titled “Cable & Bishop.” While the Children of the Vault are the featured foe, if you go in expecting to spend quality time getting to understand them in a way that pays off what Carey and Hickman created you’ll be sorely disappointed. Instead, go in assuming you’re in for some guerrilla warfare from a pair of X-Men who traveled through centuries as sworn enemies. I think this sputters at the end, but Deniz Camp shows a flair for terse sci-fi that makes me excited to read more from him at Marvel.

Daredevil Epic Collection: A Woman Called Widow
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302957933 / digital)
See Guide to Daredevil. Despite the title, this reprint of an existing Epic actually collects the period just prior to Black Widow taking over as the titled co-star of Daredevil (1964). [Read more…] about New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – February 21 2024