Crushing Krisis

New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – February 8, 2023

February 8, 2023 by krisis

Welcome to the second in my trial run of a return to new release posts! This post covers Marvel Comics February 8 2023 releases.

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 Crushing Comics guide.

Marvel Comics February 8 2023 Collected Editions

Avengers by Jonathan Hickman Omnibus, Vol. 1
(2017 hardcover, ISBN 978-1302907082 / 2023 hardcover, ISBN 978-1302945473 / digital)
This is the massively-satisfying first half of Hickman’s Avengers run, taking it through the end of the Infinity event in perfect Hickman-approved reading order. Although I’ve been known to have complains about this run, they’re 100% from the back half – you cannot go wrong with this (and I’m a rare dissenter on the run as a whole). See the Guide to Avengers Flagships (2010 – Present Day).

Avengers By Jason Aaron Vol. 11: History’s Mightiest Heroes
(2022 paperback, ISBN 978-1302928858 / digital)
This is the final volume of this series collected on its own before it heads into the climactic Avengers Assemble crossover. See Guide to Avengers Flagships (2010 – Present Day).

Avengers: Kree/Skrull War Gallery Edition HC
(2023 oversize “Gallery” hardcover, ISBN 978-1302949594)
These gallery editions are even larger than omnibus-size – they’re similar to DC Absolutes. And, if any classic run of art merits one, it’s Kree/Skrull war, which contains one of my favorite issues of all time, Avengers (1963) #93 – “Journey to the Center of the Android.” See Guide to Avengers (1963 – 1996).

Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Captain Marvel Vol. 1 – The Coming of Captain Marvel
(2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302948894 / digital)
This book is part of Marvel’s new paperback Masterworks recollection line, which does not always line up directly with the breaks in the original Masterworks line. See Guide to Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers or Guide to Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell (eventually).

Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Menace Revealed Vol. 3
(2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302932312 / digital)
This release (and the announcement of some Epics for later in 2023) brings us tantalizingly close to full coverage of Star Wars Legends in Epic format. Of course… Marvel hasn’t reprinted a single volume, so some of them have risen to omnibus-prices on the aftermarket! We’ll see if Marvel releasing the actual omnibuses deflates that a bit. See Guide to Star Wars Legends (Expanded Universe, 1977-2015).

X-Men: The Animated Series – The Adaptations Omnibus
(2023 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302947774 / digital)
This one is PACKED with nostalgia for us 90s X-kids. It collects the three ongoing series comic adaptations-slash-extensions of the iconic X-Men Animated series. Collects X-Men Adventures (1992) #1-15, X-Men Adventures (1994) #1-13 and X-Men Adventures (1995) #1-13 in full. See Guide to X-Men Ongoing Titles.

Read on for a rundown of Marvel Comics February 8 2023 single-issue releases, including a link to their accompanying guide pages on Crushing Comics.

Guide to Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur – now available to the public!

February 8, 2023 by krisis

I’m happy to announce that my Guide to Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (& Moon Boy, too!) is now available to all readers to celebrate the launch of Moon Girl’s new Disney Channel and Disney+ series out this week!

Guide to Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur

This guide includes a Devil Dinosaur reading order for his 40 years of stories starting from his introduction by Jack Kirby in 1977, plus a complete Moon Girl reading order to all of her appearances in the Marvel-616 Universe starting from her debut in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2016) #1.

Lunella Lafayette is a rare young Marvel character who exists all on her own in the Marvel-616 universe without needing to be added to a team or aged up. Her entire concept is that she’s an amazing girl genius in an average grown-up world, who also happens to be an Inhuman with a psychic connection to one giant red Tyrannosaurus Rex! Lunella isn’t meant to be a full-time superhero, but a school kid navigating her frustrations with being super-smart while still having a lot of growing up to do.

This guide exists thanks to the ongoing support of the amazing Patrons of Crushing Krisis. They’ve had exclusive access to the guide for five years! Now, the guide is open to the public and updated through the present day.

Patron’s Choice: Guide to Emma Frost, The White Queen

February 7, 2023 by krisis

Today I’m here with a Patron’s Choice guide for all Patrons of CK that I originally intended to launch back in September, before life got in the way. I always love a deep dive into an X-Men character’s history, and after reading 40+ years and over 1,200 issues of this queen of the X-Men franchise I love her even more than before! I’m happy to share the February 2023 Patron’s Choice: Guide to Emma Frost, The White Queen!

Guide to Emma Frost, The White Queen

This Emma Frost Guide was unique for me to put together in a way few other guides will ever be.

That’s because I knew Emma Frost as a villain – or, at least, an antagonist – from my initial comic reading years that ended in 1996. But, at the time I never had access to all of her exploits beyond the Dark Phoenix Saga since back issues were so pricey. I more knew her by reputation – and, of course, from fighting her in the classic X-Men arcade game!

Later, I knew about her as an X-Men from my return to reading Astonishing X-Men in the 00s before diving full-time back into X-Men in 2010 starting from Grant Morrison’s New X-Men. But, I remained ignorant of anything that happened with her in the five years from 1996 to 2005.

That meant my White Queen knowledge was sort of a figure-eight-shaped, with a pair of big holes in the 80s and the latter half of the 90s. And, those are two periods that were huge for Emma Frost!

Marvel United: Multiverse wages World War Hulk as their final expansion! (Plus: a BIG all-in pledge reward)

February 6, 2023 by krisis

CMON’s Marvel United: Multiverse Kickstarter campaign just announced final expansion box, and while the theme wasn’t a surprise some of the contents are: Marvel United Multiverse – World War Hulk!

My prediction for a Gamma-oriented box from World War Hulk or one of the subsequent 00s Hulk storylines has been rising in the odds in every update I’ve made on this campaign. However, the surprise is that this box actually covers two events in one in terms of characters, as it includes two of the predicted anchors of my #1 pick for a Siege expansion: anti-heroes Ares and Sentry/Void.

The total contents of World War Hulk are Gladiator Hulk, Hulkbuster Iron Man, Hercules, Ares, and Sentry/Void. This box will be available at retail, but it has a Kickstarter Exclusive figure of Doc Samson.

Clearly this departure from a pure Gamma-focused box that would include The Leader, Skaar, A-Bomb, Thundra, and Red She-Hulk. I ultimately think it was a good idea to get Hulkbuster into the action in lieu of some of those more-obscure Gamma characters, since a Gladiator Hulk vs. Hulkbuster set will have terrific character recognition at retail. Also, this is a perfect chance to introduce Hercules, since he took over Hulk’s title just after this period!

However, I’m slightly disappointed by this all-male group of characters when Thundra or Red She-Hulk could have easily been pulled in from a subsequent storyline to round out the box.

(Using Ares and Sentry here doesn’t erase the chances of a Thunderbolts box in a future campaign, so I’m happy we snuck them in! However, if we see Moonstone as a late stretch goal, the gig is up for the Thunderbolts.)

In my last set of Marvel United: Multiverse predictions, I had Siege ranked #1 with 60% odds and World War Hulk ranked #3 with 40% odds, so I’d say I did pretty well! I’m disappointed that we won’t see a proper Secret Wars expansion for a “Multiverse” campaign, but “Secret Wars” is a big enough deal that it could be the entire campaign theme for a fourth season.

(Want to play Marvel United right now? Grab either the Marvel United or Marvel United X-Men core boxes right now. They are fun cooperative games that are fun to play with adults and kids alike.)

With this box comes the announcement of the all-in “Omniverse” pledge that includes all of the new gameplay elements in this campaign – which means every new expansion, card deck, and stretch goal figure (but, not plastic tokens, cardboard locations, game mats, reprinted expansions, or past campaign stretch goal boxes).

The all-in offers a $50 discount over getting everything individually, which is more than one expansion free – a pretty good deal. If you had pledged for everything so far, this will be $15 cheaper and you won’t have to up your pledge for the new Marvel United Multiverse World War Hulks expansion box.

Not only is the all-in Omniverse pledge cheaper than buying everything separately, it comes with a HUGE bonus character: FIN FANG FOOM! [Read more…] about Marvel United: Multiverse wages World War Hulk as their final expansion! (Plus: a BIG all-in pledge reward)

Drag Race Belgique Season 1 – Pre-Season “Meet The Queens” Power Ranking

February 5, 2023 by krisis

It’s time for the second Drag Race season of 2023 – in a new country, but fronted by a familiar face: Drag Race Belgique Season 1 hosted by two-time Canada finalist Rita Baga! The show premieres on February 16, so it’s time to check out this inaugural cast of 10 Belgian drag queens for my pre-season Power Ranking.

I write these Power Rankings not to judge these queens and their drag, but to have fun trying to predict what their drag and their editing says about their placement on the show. Part of that is 15 years of examples of what aspects of drag do well on Drag Race, but a lot of it is the amount of confidence, experience, and adaptability artists bring to the show.

Or, said another way, we’re looking closely at their Charisma, Uniquness, Nerve, and Talent.

My typical pre-season rules apply: I’ll spend two minutes looking at these artists’ social media feeds, examine their promo looks, and then watch their “Meet The Queens” segment twice (with the subtitles on, of course!).

That’s it! Then, I’ll make my totally blind, no-spoilers try at ranking their chances to win the show.

Part of what I love about Drag Race‘s worldwide franchises is that they often exist outside of the the homogenizing effect the US franchise has on drag. Queens all over the world have access to the same social media, but in other countries what will bring fans out to bars and clubs differs greatly from the states. Even after four Ru-hosted seasons of Drag Race UK, its queens do not feel as “same-y” as most of a brand new US cast can often feel.

I know very little about Belgium and its culture – and, especially nothing about it’s queer culture! I’m excited to listen and learn as I respond to the show, but I also invite those of you who are more familiar to point me towards facts or resources so I can study up!

Just from checking out the Instagram’s of these ten queens, it seems like we might be in for the most gender-bending, androgynous series of Drag Race. There’s a lot of playing with gender signifiers from this cast, and not all of them “erase their face” the way queens are often expected to do in the states.

I have a certain predisposition for drag art that has that slight edge of androgyny to it form growing up on things like David Bowie and Priscilla Queen of the Desert. It will be interesting to see how that plays with the judges, especially Rita Baga as head judge.

Also, trend alert: thin brows!

(Another cultural difference I noticed: outside the US, people still use Facebook a lot more, so public figures still have active Facebooks and don’t tend to use LinkTrees as much! That’s true in NZ as well.)

Between that, the fact that this is another French-speaking season (I’ll be able to understand some stuff!), and what might be the most-gorgeous promo videos of all of Drag Race herstory, I am so ready dig into this season when it debuts on February 16. If you want to watch Drag Race Belgique you can sign up for WowPresentsPlus to watch the many worldwide Drag Race franchises. (Note that if you’re in the US you will need to use a VPN to “visit” another country to see the US Franchise.)

Lecteurs, start your engines. Et, que la meilleure Drag Queen gagne!