Guardians of the Galaxy

New Comics & Collected Editions Releases: Marvel Comics – April 24 2024

April 19, 2024 by krisis 1 Comment

It’s the 17th new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics April 24 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics April 17 2024 new releases.

This week in Marvel Comics: excellent X-Men ’97 synergy, uncollected Avengers West Coast, all of Ahmed’s Ms. Marvel, Blade & GODS both end, Gillen’s X-Men endgame, Darth Maul strikes back, 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 April 24 2024 Collected Editions

Avengers Inc.: Action, Mystery, Adventure
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302953393 / digital)
See Guide to Avengers flagship titles (2010 – Present). I’ll always be a bit miffed about how this Al Ewing Avengers series rolled out. It was simply a second arc of his brilliant run on Janet van Dyne as Wasp from earlier in 2023, but with a noir spin. But, a drab noir look does not work on Janet at all – she needs to pop off of every page in bold color. (The book does not look as stylish on the interior as it does on the cover.)

As a result, we got a curiously sombre detective comic without an Avengers team that didn’t make great use of its feature character. It’s actually a fun read, but if you didn’t read (and enjoy) the Wasp series that preceded it I can’t recommend it on its own.

Avengers West Coast Epic Collection Vol. 7: Ultron Unbound
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302956448 / digital)
See Guide to Avengers West Coast. This is a long-awaited Epic Collection, because it finally collects the issues in the #83-91 range of Avengers West Coast! Even if we’re still awaiting a final epic to take us from issue #96 through the end of the title in #102, we’ve had that material in paperback several times over – this book represents our last true collecting gap and means that all of this series will now be present on Marvel Unlimited.

Also, this presses far enough that a final volume can collect the seven issues of #96-102 plus all of the mini-series and errata that ought to be joined with the end of this series, which has always been a collection challenge. In addition to those seven issues there are more than 20 other issues that fully cover the end of this team, and Epic Collections usually top out in the 20-22 issue range. It could include U.S. Agent (1993) #1-4, Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective (1993) #1-4 (which has USAgent and War Machine), all of Blood Ties (Avengers #368-369, X-Men #26, & Uncanny X-Men #307), Spider-Woman (1993) #1-4, Scarlet Witch (1994) #1-4, material from Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #143-144, and possibly also Hawkeye (1994) #1-4 (though this will be in the Hawkeye Epic Line).

I think that leaves us with an interesting question of whether Volume 8 really will conclude this Epic Line (and necessarily skip some of that material – likely Terminatrix Objective and Hawkeye to get down to 23 issues), or if it will simply end with issue #100, with another volume pushing beyond that and onward into the team’s relaunch as Force Works!

Marvel Teams Omnibus Mapping for the Tigereyes Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus 12th Annual Secret Ballot

March 29, 2024 by krisis 6 Comments

Until April 5, I’ll be loosely mapping missing and most-wanted Marvel omnibus volumes every day! Today I’ll be looking at all of the omnibuses that don’t yet exist for Marvel’s teams outside of Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men. That includes Defenders, Guardians of the Galaxy, Inhumans, and more!

This post explains titles and potential Marvel Teams Omnibus Mapping for entries on the Tigereyes Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus 12th Annual Secret Ballot. You can vote right now (until 5 April 2024 @ midnight US ET) or watch our mega-length announcement stream reviewing every single voting option.

Below I cover all the non-existing omnibuses for Agents of Atlas, Alpha Flight, Champions, Clandestine, Damage Control Defenders, Eternals, Guardians of the Galaxy, Heroes for Hire, Inhumans, Invaders, New Warriors, Nextwave, Nicky Fury & SHIELD, Power Pack, Runaways, Squadron Supreme, Thunderbolts, and Warlock and the Infinity Watch!

If you’re not sure of what to vote for, stick around for my explanations. Or, if you’ve already voted, learn why the team behind the poll decided on these books and titles – including some of my mistakes and regrets as one of the editors of the options on the final poll.

Or… just find some great comics to read!

Remember: These mappings are just my suggestion of how Marvel could assemble these books. They are meant to help you decide on your votes and build your personal reading list, but your vote on the poll is NOT an endorsement of my specific map. It’s a vote in favor of Marvel creating a book with that title or covering that period.

Over-the-top comics posts like this one are made possible via the support of Patrons of Crushing Krisis. For less than the cost of a single comic issue a month you can fuel my in-depth comics coverage, plus gain access to dozens of exclusive collecting guides & reading orders – including all of the Crushing Comics Guide to Marvel Comics.

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!

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 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!).

Drax Guide – now available to the public!

April 29, 2023 by krisis

My countdown to the release of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 continues! Today I have another green-skinned warrior, though he’s not related to Gamora. In fact, one of his earliest objectives was to kill her! I never fully understood this character until I put together his guide, when I realized his key character trait wasn’t his strength or his single-mindedness, but his endless cycle of death and rebirth all triggered by the brutality of everyone’s favourite purple-skinned mad titan, Thanos. Learn about the man known as “The Destroyer,” who was revived to be Thanos’s arch-nemesis in my Drax Guide!

Drax Guide

What do I mean about an endless cycle of death and rebirth? Drax’s earliest incarnation was a revival of an Earth man as a powerful golem hell-bent on Thanos’s destruction, but on his mission he has died several times over, which each revival leading to a tweak to his powers (and, sometimes, his intellect). Read more about how the Marvel Cinematic Universe merged those multiple versions of Drax into one in my original launch essay from when I debuted this guide to Patrons of CK.

If you really want to understand Drax’s cosmic comic origins, you absolutely must read a back-up story from the obscure Logan’s Run (1977) #6 as well as Warlock & The Infinity Watch (1992) #12-13. You’ll appreciate Drax more with that core of understanding, no matter which of has many incarnations you read next. I wish I had already known that material when I first read the Annihilation event prologue in Drax The Destroyer (2005). At the time, the themes of that book went totally over my head – I just saw a violent green guy and was confused about why he came back to life so quickly!

Drax has the most fully-developed comics history out of all of the core Marvel Cinematic Universe members of the team, but it also often feels like he doesn’t get the full focus of the book the way Star-Lord and Rocket often do. For a strong modern arc that connects to Drax’s origins, check out Guardians of the Galaxy (2019) #7-12 by Donny Cates.

All of Drax’s many incarnations and every one of his Marvel Comics appearances are detailed in my Drax Guide. Whether you’re trying to put your single comics in a perfect reading order or reserve some Destroyer-filled reads from your local library, my guide has every issue and collected edition you’re looking for.