Crushing Krisis

Comic Books, Drag Race, & Life in New Zealand

Marvel Comics

Updated: The Definitive Guide to Deathlok

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Today I bring you an updated guide of a character who tended to operate on the fringes of the Marvel Universe until he got pulled into the MCY via Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – The Definitive Guide to Deathlok.

Deathlok is a character who is really eight different characters. Maybe it would be easier to describe him as a concept – a lot like The Terminator. Did that pique your interest? Before you head to the guide, get the short story on Deathlok, including where he’s been recently and what amount of his comics have been printed in collected editions to date.

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Crushing Comics S01E09 – New Avengers (2005) Vol. 3-4, Young Avengers (2005), & Avengers/Invaders

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It’s my first episode in high definition! The potato-quality era of Crushing Comics is over, and to celebrate my first hi-def segment I pull a hefty four-book bundle down from the shelf! Watch my high speed explanation of the beginning of the Bendis’s era of New Avengers, including where Young Avengers and Invaders/Avengers fits into things.

Want to start from the beginning? Here’s the complete Season 1 playlist of Crushing Comics.

Episode 9 features New Avengers, Vol. 3 (Amazon/eBay) and Vol. 4 (Amazon/eBay), Young Avengers (2005) (Amazon/eBay/new TPB), and Avengers/Invaders (Amazon/eBay), all of which are covered in my Guide to New Avengers (2005) and Guide to Young Avengers.

 

Brian Bendis leaves Marvel for DC! (Plus, breaking down Marvel Legacy’s writer roster)

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A few hours ago DC Comics dropped the biggest bombshell comics industry news we’ve heard in years. Forget special events or character deaths – this is truly a “nothing will ever be the same” kind of event.

It’s hard to imagine industry news bigger than that, aside from perhaps Jim Lee abandoning DC to head back to Marvel! Anything less couldn’t possibly compare. That’s because Bendis’s hand in steering the development of Marvel’s comic universe over the course of the past 17 years cannot possibly be overstated.

Brian Bendis completely rebuilt the Avengers franchise into a multi-title behemoth over the course of seven years, defining Marvel’s Universe along the way in a series of major events that fundamentally altered the company’s status quo.

He has solely written the Ultimate version of Spider-Men since 2001, including creating Miles Morales and bringing him to the main Marvel Universe.

He created Jessica Jones and set Daredevil on a course that had seen continued critical success through present day. He took previously forgotten characters like Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Spider-Woman and brought them back to prominence for other writer’s to develop.

That assessment doesn’t even mention his Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men, Iron Man, or any number of other major titles.

Brian Bendis has  just written a lot of comic book issues and stories. Even as a non-fan of most of Bendis’s output, I cannot possible deny his impact.

While it will be a little while before we learn who will be the new driving force behind Marvel’s creative direction, the more imminent question is: who will replace Bendis writing four titles a month!? We’re heading into Marvel Legacy with him writing Spider-Man, Iron Man, Jessica Jones, and The Defenders.

Plus, we have to make sure to leave at least two writers with room to steer The Avengers franchise, which will be up for a shake-up in April. Plus, we need to staff the impending returns of Wolverine and the Fantastic Four (both heavily speculated as potential Bendis territory). And, finally, we ought to spare at least one writer for a marquee X-book.

Let’s take a moment to dissect Marvel’s current roster of writers in Marvel Legacy and figure out how to reassign those books. [Read more…] about Brian Bendis leaves Marvel for DC! (Plus, breaking down Marvel Legacy’s writer roster)

Crushing Comics, S01E06 – Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu Omnibus, Vol. 3

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On today’s episode I discover and unwrap the first book I packed back in Philly – an omnibus I’ve been hyped for ever since I first shared its announcement back in 2015!

Want to start from the beginning? Here’s the complete Season 1 playlist of Crushing Comics.

Episode 6 features Shang-Chi in Master of Kung Fu Omnibus, Vol. 3 (Amazon/eBay), which is covered in the Guide to Shang-Chi.

Iron Man by Michelinie & Layton – The #33 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

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Have you been anxiously waiting for me to tackle the top half of this year’s Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus poll? Well, the wait is over. Now that I’m totally settled in New Zealand (along with my massive comics collection) I’m finally able to focus on completing this monstrous series if posts. I’ll be posting them with their originally scheduled dates from this spring.

If you’ve been waiting for more of this series with bated breath, please consider chipping in to Crushing Krisis’s Patreon campaign. I don’t have the personal budget to keep CK alive with support from readers, and your contribution of even $1 a month accounts for about 1% of my hosting costs.

Iron Man by Michelinie & Layton is tied as the #33 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 collect all of these issue right now as detailed in my Guide to Iron Man.

Past Ranking: Ranked #11 in 2016

Probable Contents: Iron Man #215-250 and material from Annuals 9 and 10.

Your eyes do not deceive you – this Iron Man run is actually not sequential to the Michelinie and Layton run that was already Omnibused ending with #157. Denny O’Neil writes the majority of the intervening issues before Michelinie and Layon return.

The cover of issue #250 bears the Acts of Vengeance banner, but it doesn’t continue directly to the next two issues with the banner, so the omnibus can safely end there (although, Layton did return for #254 and 256, and the next Epic Collection begins on #257, suggesting this could continue through #256).

Creators: Co-written by David Michelinie and Bob Layton, Sr. Co-writing and art (including colors) by Barry Windsor-Smith on #232.

Bob Layton, Sr. provided a range of art through the run, from pencils to finishes to inks. Pencils and/or breakdowns were drawn by Mark “Doc” Bright through #231 and by Jackson ‘Butch’ Guice from #233 (with Denys Cowan on #241, Alan Kupperberg on #242, and Paul Smith on #245). Additional inks by Don Hudson (#239), Barry Windsor Smith (#243), Roy Richardson (#245), Herb Trimpe (#246), Tim Dzon (#247), and a massive team on #244.

Colors by Bob Sharen (#215-243) and Paul Becton (#245-250) with Julianna Ferriter (#217), Nelson ‘Nel’ Yomtov (#226), and a team on #244. Letters by Janice Chiang (with Bill Oakley on #232).

Can you read it right now? Mostly. Issues #215-232 & Annual 9 are collected in Iron Man Epic Collection: Stark Wars, but #233-248 remains an unreprinted gap. Plus, every single issue is on Marvel Unlimited!

The Details:

Co-writers David Michelinie and Bob Layton returned to Iron Man in 1987 after five years away writing (and, in Layton’s case, illustrating) other titles. [Read more…] about Iron Man by Michelinie & Layton – The #33 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017