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New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – March 20 2024

March 14, 2024 by krisis Leave a Comment

It’s the 12th new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics March 20 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics March 13 2024 new releases.

This week in Marvel Comics: Franklin Richards’ secret revealed, Gillen’s final X-book, Spider-Woman old and new, repackaged collected editions, 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 March 20 2024 Collected Editions

Astonishing X-Men Modern Era Epic Collection, Vol. 1: Gifted
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302957971 / digital)
See Guide to Astonishing X-Men. On one hand, I’m all for any recollection of the brilliant first two arcs of this title, which should always been easily accessible to new readers. On the other hand, this is an exact copy of a prior Ultimate/Complete collection, which bums me out because it would be cool to see an Epic line of this title include some or all of Kitty Pryde: Shadow & Flame, Phoenix: Endsong, or Phoenix: Warsong – which were all extensions of this title. (For that matter, so was House of M).Shadow and Flame would have fit perfectly as another five issues in this collection.

Captain America Omnibus Vol. 4
(2024 “Vol. 4” oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302955137 / digital)
See Guide to Captain America. This is a reprint of “Captain America by Jack Kirby” simply rebranded to fit seamlessly into the omnibus line. That means it’s actually totally fine to buy as a standalone book – that’s how it’s been sold for well over a decade! If you want to read the beautiful madness that is Kirby drawing and writing Cap, it’s all here.

Carnage Epic Collection Vol. 3: The Monster Inside
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302956363 / digital)
I’m working on this Carnage Guide right now, I swear! It’s been a busy month. This is a third (and likely last) “Classic” Carnage collection, picking up in 1998 and cruising all the way through 2009 to pick up some of his modern mini-series.

Doctor Strange by Jed MacKay Vol. 2: The War-Hound of Vishanti
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302951177 / digital)
See Guide to Doctor Strange. I wouldn’t recommend picking up this book as a standalone, as it’s all payoff for the mystery that was set up expertly in the first volume by MacKay. That said, this is immensely enjoyable. It shows off just how good modern Strange comics can be. There’s a way to build off of old magical continuity and established foes without being slavishly devoted to it in a way that is dull or alienating to new fans. MacKay is the author to perfectly walk that tightrope, and it yields a fascinating puzzle box of plot for our Doctor. [Read more…] about New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – March 20 2024

New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – March 13 2024

March 7, 2024 by krisis 1 Comment

It’s the 11th new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics March 13 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics March 6 2024 new releases.

This week in Marvel Comics: Thor’s most-titanic stories yet, a collected hunk of multi-versal Deadpool, Black Widow & Hawkeye team up, Carnage crosses over with Venom, Ghost Rider’s Final Vengeance, and more!

Marvel Comics March 13 2024 Collected Editions

Deadpool-Verse: Deadpool Corps
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302958527 / digital)
See Guide to Deadpool. Don’t confuse this collection with the “Marvel-Verse” digest-size books collecting scattershot all-ages stories for their focus character like the Wonder Man volume below. This is actually a very chunky standard-size paperback collecting all of the Deadpool Corps material from the Prelude mini-series and the 12-issue main series.

This is one of the main “Deadpool in the multi-verse” sorts of stories, which tracks well with the themes of the Deadpool & Wolverine film from what we’ve seen in the marketing material.

Immortal Thor by Al Ewing Vol. 1: All Weather Turns To Storm
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302954185 / digital)
See Guide to Thor – Odinson. This run is a massive blockbuster that somehow manages to tell a Thor story even bigger than the two runs that came before. However, if you like Thor throwing his hammer at a clearly-defined villain, this one’s not for you. It’s about the concept of Thor, of godhood, and of stories. Also, it looks absolutely gorgeous. More on this run below in the single issue section!

Marvel-Verse: Wonder Man
(2024 digest-size paperback, ISBN 978-1302954543 / digital)
Hmm, I don’t have a guide to Wonder Man, but with Marvel pumping out collections in anticipation of his debut in the MCU maybe I need to move him up the priority list! This digest-size intro to the character collects Avengers (1963) #9, Marvel Two-in-One (1974) #78, Wonder Man (1986) #1, and Avengers (1998) #14.

Moon Knight Vol. 5: The Last Days of Moon Knight
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302950910 / digital)
See Guide to Moon Knight. Jed MacKay brings his 30-issue Moon Knight series to a spectacular conclusion. Normally I’d say, “don’t start with the final volume!” However, this opens with a truly outstanding issue in the giant-sized #25, and I think you could read this brisk conclusion in order to catch up to the new Vengeance of Moon Knight (2023) title and be left hungry to catch up on the four volumes that came before. [Read more…] about New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – March 13 2024

New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – March 6 2024

February 29, 2024 by krisis Leave a Comment

It’s the 10th new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics March 6 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics February 28 2024 new releases.

This week in Marvel Comics: a major Moon Knight omnibus, Dark Droids collections, the new arc of MacKay’s Strange, Iman Vellani’s return to Ms. Marvel, and more!

Marvel Comics March 6 2024 Collected Editions

The Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection, Vol. 5: The Secret of the Petrified Tablet [reprint]
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302957810 / digital)
See Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (1963 – 2018). It’s less interesting that Marvel is reprinting this Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection of issues #68-85 & Annual 5 and more interesting that this is when they are reprinting it. The first printing of this book was just four years ago, and it means Marvel has gotten the first five Epics back into print in a three-year span.

I think that’s really interesting, considering they also now have the Mighty Marvel Masterworks in play to cover this Silver Age material. It shows a real commitment to making their most-historic comics evergreen in an affordable format. Take note DC.

Daredevil Modern Era Epic Collection, Vol. 2: Underboss
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302956332 / digital)
See Guide to Daredevil. Speaking of interesting Epic Collections, this second volume of Epics covering Daredevil from 1998 to present is the first time issues #20-25 have ever been collected continuously alongside issues #16-19 & 26-30, which are by Bendis.

Plus, it collects Daredevil: Ninja (2000) #1-3! This is what the Modern Epic collections ought to be doing – not just parroting existing mediocre maps of Complete Collections.

Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Captain America Vol. 3: To Be Reborn
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302954321 / digital)
See Guide to Captain America – Steve Rogers. In an unusual twist, this Mighty Masterworks line is now behind what was collected in the original hardcover Masterworks of the same volume number. The two lines aren’t meant to match up with each other, but I’ve been working from the expectation that these books would go slightly more aggressively to cover more material, faster.

Moon Knight: Marc Spector Omnibus Vol. 2
(2024 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302956899 / digital)
See Guide to Moon Knight. This is a big deal, y’all! This omnibus collects the end of Moon Knight’s 90s series for the first time, as well as his subsequent 1998 and 1999 mini-series. It also means we have every issue of Moon Knight in oversize format from his debut through the beginning of Marvel Now at the end of 2012. That’s pretty major! It’s amazing what some MCU exposure can do for the collected edition coverage of a Marvel character who hasn’t had a single continuous series from the Silver Age to present day. [Read more…] about New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – March 6 2024

New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – January 17, 2024

January 16, 2024 by krisis Leave a Comment

It’s the third new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics January 17 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel’s January 10 2024 releases.

This week in Marvel Comics: Gaiman & Buckingham close a chapter of Miracleman, Nicieza returns to Cable, and an omnibus of Gillen’s almost-perfect Marvel event!

Marvel Comics January 17 2024 Collected Editions

The Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection, Volume 27: The Clone Saga
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302953669 / digital)
See Guide to Spider-Man, Peter Parker (1963-2018). For many years we’ve assume that the Epic line would cut off prior to the Clone Saga in Amazing Spider-Man, if only because there are already a well-mapped set of “Epic” collections for this period across the Spider-line. Well, guess what? Marvel generally follows the Disney rule that it’s always a good idea to re-release popular material every 7-10 years, and that’s how long it has been since the last set of paperback reprints! It’s unclear right now if the Epic line will collect this period as comprehensively as the prior paperbacks or the omnibuses. This stretches a bit farther than I’d expect in Amazing Spider-Man if it was going to collect everything that ran alongside it, but we’ll need to see a Volume 28 to be certain.

Avengers: Beyond
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302952044 / digital)
See Guide to Avengers Flagship Titles (2010 – Present). This collects a fun, five-issue Derek Landy & Greg Land series with ties to the original Secret Wars that follows up on their All-Out Avengers (2022) #1-5. All-Out was much more fun with its one-off issues, whereas this is one continuous story. For me, more of a “read it digital” than “buy it.”

The Incredible Hulk Vol. 1: Age of Monsters
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302954161 / digital)
See Guide to Hulk – Bruce Banner. I can’t say that I’m a fan of this Phillip Kennedy Johnson run on Hulk, though it looks great thanks to Nic Klein’s artwork. The majority of Phillip Kennedy Johnson comics include domestic abuse, sexual assaults, and threats of sexual violence – all largely against women, even if it’s just offhand comments or background action. When I’m looking for consistency from a writer, that’s not what I’m talking about.

A.X.E. Judgment Day Omnibus
(2024 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302952907 / digital)
See Guide to Marvel Universe Events – AXE: Judgement Day. Want to read a good Marvel event? Maybe a “Top 5 of All Time” Marvel Event? What if I told you that fully HALF of this event and its tie-ins (and by extension this omnibus) were written ENTIRELY by Kieron Gillen, and then another third of it by his X-Office brain trust of Al Ewing, Gerry Duggan, & Si Spurrier. The result is a high quality event with just a few dull issues (we’re looking at you, Ben Percy). However, for maximum impact you’re going to want to read all of Gillen’s Eternals (2021) first – the entire series is a prologue to this event.

Note that the Events Guide has this material in PERFECT reading order, as worked out with my co-reader VapourSnake.

Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil Vol. 18
(2024 hardcover, ISBN 978-1302953164 / digital)
See Guide to Daredevil. This is wild to say or even to think about, but… Marvel Masterworks is now PAST the initial run of Frank Miller material in Daredevil! This entire volume begins after Miller’s initial departure. Of course, Daredevil is never not good (except for maybe post-300-pre-Kevin-Smith), so this is still Masterworks-caliber material. However, for me personally, my Masterworks shelf ends with Volume 17. [Read more…] about New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – January 17, 2024

New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – September 20, 2023

September 19, 2023 by krisis

It’s time to take a look at what’s out from Marvel Comics this week! This post covers Marvel Comics September 20 2023 releases.

Plus, I’m getting close to caught up on reading all of the Marvel Universe – so I have some commentary on some of the single issues and new collections.

Marvel Comics September 20 2023 Collected Editions

The Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection, Vol. 22: Round Robin
(2015 paperback, ISBN 978-0785192688 / 2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302950545 / digital)
See Guide to Spider-Man, Peter Parker (1963-2018). I’ve just updated all of the Amazing Epic Collections on the guide and I was shocked at how many of them have been back to print in the past three lines. Even Epics of relatively insignificant runs! Marvel has truly found a way to create a Manga-Style, well-organized, evergreen line of their entire comics history and we love to see it.

The Avengers Omnibus Vol. 4
(2023 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302953621 / digital)
See the freshly rebuilt Guide to Avengers (1963-1996)! This is the last of the four reprints in addition to a brand new Volume 5 out this month. We love to see this line advancing without new Avengers movies on the big screen, which used to be the only way it got a new volume.

Bloodline: Daughter of Blade
(2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302924423 / digital)
See Guide to Blade. This series has an awkward history – originally it was meant to be launched by Tim Seeley several years ago, and then it was shelved and seemingly lost before it was revived (and revised) by Danny Lore. Unfortunately, this just didn’t hold together for me. It wasn’t Lore’s fault – I think the artist had trouble keeping up with a story that repeatedly mixed casual scenes with action scenes. The discontinuity of storytelling in the art eventually wore me down.

Captain Marvel: The Saga of Carol Danvers
(2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302951818 / digital)
See Guide to Captain Marvel – Carol Danvers. This is a peculiar trade that’s more of a sampler for the movie crowd then a trade for a consistent bookshelf. It collects the opening eights issues of Kelly Sue DeConnick’s 2012 Carol Danvers series (which includes a great pair of issues where she meets up with Monica Rambeau) as well as the origin-redefining The Life of Captain Marvel (2018), which brought her comic origins more in line with the MCU (booo!).