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This week in comic book collected editions – March 8, 2017

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For a number of arcane reasons, it’s hard to say, “These are the new comic collections out this week!”

Out where? Mass market booksellers like shops and Amazon get comic collections at a different time than comic stores do, and that lag differs from publisher to publisher.

What’s out? Not every publisher is as big or as consistent as DC and Marvel. The release list shifts day-to-day in the final week before they hit the shelves, so that you have to check the Preview Mag website on a Saturday to see what definitely hit the trucks.

Ah, but here’s the important question: Why care?

First, because single issue AKA “floppy” comics are a pain to keep up with and to keep. It’s way easier and more satisfying to buy complete stories.

But, more importantly – some of these comics are really good stories.

Publishers:

What are the must-read books this week?

DC’s Rebirth initiative has generated a lot of hype for major heroes like Wonder Woman and Superman, but some of the below-the-fold titles are generating the most buzz amongst fans.

One of those has been Deathstroke, by beloved author Christopher Priest – who was also responsible for the definitive run on Black Panther. Deathstroke Vol. 1: The Professional is the first volume of his reboot and from what I’ve heard it’s great. If you’ve never read Deathstroke before, he’s the totally serious and merciless assassin that Deadpool has parodied to much greater success.

And now, onto the full list of books!

[Read more…] about This week in comic book collected editions – March 8, 2017

Marvel Collected Editions Solicits – March, 2017

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Marvel_logoHere’s a holiday surprise for you – another month of Marvel solicitations just arrived on Amazon! These books take us though the Amazon release date of March 28, which means these books will hit the direct market on March 14. I covered the January and February solicits last month.

I’ve broken out the books below. They don’t yet list their contents, so I’ve made a few educated guesses until we can fill in the final contents. If you pre-order with Amazon, please keep in mind that Amazon releases dates are two weeks later that Direct Market release dates.

Please note: This post will not be updated with corrected dates, titles, or issue ranges for these titles. For the most up-to-date information, visit the accompanying collection guide pages.

Marvel Masterworks

There’s only one of these books released each month, so this big reveal is a guaranteed feature of each new month of solicits. [Read more…] about Marvel Collected Editions Solicits – March, 2017

Marvel’s Most-Wanted Omnibuses of 2016 – #2 and 1 Most-Wanted!

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Omnibus on ShelfWe’ve arrived – it’s the finale of my annotated countdown of Marvel Most-Wanted Omnibuses, from the annual Secret Ballot officiated by TigerEyes. I covered #3-4 in the last installment.

As you’ll see in a moment, the top two are a pair of books that hold special interest for me, so this will be a fun one!

Before we get started, I want to thank everyone who has been tuning in daily to read these recaps – especially because you could have easily spoiled the anticipation by Googling to see the ballot results!

Now that you’ve formed a habit of stopping by, I hope you’ll keep it up. I’ll be back to posting comic reviews but I also have a ton of Marvel collections content dreamt up, starting with an absolutely monstrous post tomorrow that acts as an epilogue for this Most-Wanted Omnibus series. To stay up-to-date each week on site content – including new and expanded comic guide pages, you can join my mailing list, “Crushing On Crushing Krisis”:

For more details on all of Marvel’s existing omnibuses, visit my Marvel Omnibus & Oversized Hardcover Guide. It’s the most comprehensive tool on the web for details on every oversize book, including a rundown of contents and if the volume is still readily available for purchase. I’m always working to add more and more-updated information.

Okay. This is it. The final pair of most-wanted omnibuses. Are you ready? [Read more…] about Marvel’s Most-Wanted Omnibuses of 2016 – #2 and 1 Most-Wanted!

Marvel’s Most-Wanted Omnibuses of 2016 – #20 to 16

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Omnibus on ShelfA week into this countdown and accompanying annotation and we’ve finally reached the Top 20 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibuses from the 2016 Secret Ballot by Tigereyes. I covered #25-21 in the last installment.

This installment includes two books of fan-favorite material, a long shot second volume to an orphaned first, the long-ignored origin of a hero who has two films to his name, and the highest-ranking vote from my own ballot! There’s a solid chance I would buy all five of these books.

If you have any extra information to add about the probable runs or opinions to share about the comics therein, please leave a comment! Even when it comes to X-Men, I don’t know (or remember!) everything about these books – and you might.

Do you own an oversized tome of your favorite character’s comic books? My Marvel Omnibus & Oversized Hardcover Guide is the most comprehensive tool on the web for tracking Marvel’s hugest releases – it features details on every oversize book, including a rundown of contents and if the volume is still readily available for purchase. [Read more…] about Marvel’s Most-Wanted Omnibuses of 2016 – #20 to 16

X-Men Reading Order Guide – Era #3: The New Mutants

A reading order for stories starting from Uncanny X-Men #143 in March 1981 and ending with Uncanny X-Men #200 in December 1985. A part of Crushing Krisis’s Collecting X-Men: A Definitive Guide. Last updated October 2018.

Era #2: Second Genesis  X-Men Reading Order Guide  Era #4: X-Factor

What does Era #3: The New Mutants include?

This era of the X-Men Reading Order is focused on the widening of the X-Men’s world beyond the Second Genesis characters from Giant Size X-Men.

It includes Kitty Pryde and Rogue as active team members, X-Men beginning to make wider guest appearances, the spawning of a second ongoing title with New Mutants, the first spin-off books in the form of New Mutants and limited series like Wolverine and Magik. It ends with the X-Men’s popularity exploding and on the verge of Jean Grey’s return and the launch of a third ongoing title, X-Factor.Rogue joins the team in Uncanny X-Men (1963) #171

I’ve always had a hard time deciding where this era ends. While the poetic Uncanny X-Men #198 feels like a natural stopping point prior to Magneto’s trial, the bigger break comes with issue #200.

In that blockbuster issue Cyclops and Maddie are about to have a baby, Magneto is on trial, and a near-death Professor Xavier is whisked into space by Corsair and Lilandra. That sets up the epic fight over the team’s leadership in issue #201 to kick off the next era, “X-Factor.”

Flagship X-Series in this era:

Ongoing X-titles released in this era:

  • Alpha Flight (1983) #1-28 – see Alpha Flight
  • Dazzler (1981) #1-40 – see Dazzler
  • Defenders (1972) #103-124 – see Defenders
  • New Defenders (1983) #125-150 – see Defenders
  • New Mutants (1983) #1-35, Annual 1, & Special Edition – see New & Young X-Men
  • Captain Britain in: (see Captain Britain & Excalibur)
    • Hulk Comic (1979) #1 & 3-46 and Incredible Hulk Weekly (1980) #47-55 & #57-63
    • Marvel Super-Heroes (1979) #377-388
    • Daredevils [Marvel UK] (1981) #1-11
    • Mighty World Of Marvel, Vol. 2 (1983) #7-16
    • Captain Britain, Vol. 2 [Marvel UK] (1985) #1-14

Limited Series released in this era:

Later X-titles set in this era:

  • New Mutants: Truth Or Death (1997) #1-3 – see New & Young X-Men
  • Weapon X: First Class (2009) #1-3 – see Wolverine
  • Wolverine: First Class (2008) #1-21 – see Wolverine
  • X-Men & Alpha Flight (1998) #1-2 – see Alpha Flight
  • X-Men Gold (2014) One-Shot
  • X-Men Unlimited (1993) #39 & X-Men Unlimited, Vol. 2 (2004) #11 – see X-Men Ongoing Series

Notes:

  • There is very little guidance on where to place Alpha Flight, Captain Britain, and Dazzler amidst the stories of this era. I did a lot of reading, research, and going with my gut to fit them into a reading order.

[Read more…] about X-Men Reading Order Guide – Era #3: The New Mutants

Top 12 X-Men Collections of 2011 – New Material

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Uncanny X-Men issue #534.1, from Uncanny X-Men: Breaking Point

Today I bring you a list of the best collections of new X-Men material released in 2011, which collect stories originally published over the last 18 months of comics.

Occasionally I wonder if comic collecting as an adult is merely a shameless attempt at recapturing our youth now that we have the budget to appreciate it properly – especially as I and many other fans (let’s be honest) fetishize premiere format reprints of the comics we coveted as a kids. (Last week’s post covered the best of those from 2011.)

Is there anything to this hobby other than rewarding our inner teenage geeks?

If there’s an answer to be found in X-Men comics, it must be on this list. These are the twelve new X-Men stories that captured my imagination like those old issues I still obsess over, and I categorize “the wonder of feeling like a kid again” separately from “trying to recapture youthful feelings with a dose of well-preserved nostalgia.” Read more…

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5. Uncanny X-Force: Apocalypse Solution
Collects Uncanny X-Force #1-4 & material from Wolverine: The Road to Hell

A team of 90s-popular hyper-killers plus a parody of a 90s hyper-killer sounds very … 90s. Right?

Wrong, when they are in the hands of breakout star writer of 2011, Rick Remender. Wolverine is deadly and deadpan, Psylocke and Archangel are both believably in love and reluctant to pull a trigger, Deadpool is simultaneously hilarious and murderous, and Fantomex is like Robert Downey Jr. playing James Bond playing Deadpool as a Frenchman. This opening arc fires on all cylinders and Jerome Opena’s art is beyond gorgeous. (Read my original review.)

Also available in paperback. If you like this, pick up the following arc, Deathlok Nation.

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4. Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine
Collects the six-issue limited series. 

Even more Wolverine? And how did this book get on here when I claim to dislike Jason Aaron?

As it turns out, Aaron is at his best when he’s at his most zany, which is maybe why I don’t enjoy him on straight Wolverine books. With Peter Parker as his narrator, a nonsensical cross-time caper as his backdrop, and the best-ever take on a classic scenery-chewing X-villain from artist Adam Kubert, he finds sure success. This book is madcap, requires little or no prior knowledge, and is repeatedly worthy of an actual LOL.

Also available in paperback. If you like this, you need to pre-order Aaron’s forthcoming Wolverine & The X-Men, Vol. 1 ASAP.

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3. X-Men: Age of X & X-Men Legacy: Aftermath
Collects Age of X: Alpha, New Mutants #22-24,  X-Men Legacy #245-247, and Age of X: Universe 1-2 & #242-244 and #248-249

Early previews of Age of X left fans a little cold – another alternate reality with twisted versions of our heroes? Leave it to Mike Carey, departing this month after a 70+ issue run on X-Men Legacy, to surprise us all by turning in a subtle, slow-burning alternate reality tale. Age of X is a quality mystery story that gets deep into the psychology of all of our favorite X-Men, plus features delectable art from rising star Clay Mann.

To fully appreciate the deft, self-contained world of Age of X, you also need the strong Aftermath, which bookends Age of X with a pair of significant stories that both benefit from and add depth to to the mysteriously twisted alternative world. Throughout, Rogue (and, to a lesser extent, Magneto) is star of the show. (Read my original AOX and Aftermath reviews.)

Both Age of X and Aftermath are available for pre-order in paperback. If you like the actual-reality of Aftermath, try X-Men Legacy: Emplate (HC or TPB). If you like the alternate-reality of Age of X, pre-order the massive forthcoming Age of Apocalypse Omnibus.

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2. New Mutants: Fall of the New Mutants
Collects New Mutants #15-21.

Since it’s 2009 debut New Mutants has been a fun read, but its first year of issues read like an overflow pan for plots too periphery for Uncanny X-Men to deal with. Here the book not only gets its own unique story, but it is a gripping, daunting action-adventure with high stakes that stretch all the way back the Inferno saga of the 1980s!

Spider-Man writer Zeb Wells nails the characterization of the entire team (even oft-ignored Karma!) and Leonard Kirk draws engaging comic art without the fussy overly-detailed photo-reference of his peers. Together, they plunge the team into one of their most desperate positions (and that is saying a lot for this group of characters!), which makes the shocking resolution even more satisfying! (Read my original review.)

This directly precedes Age of X (above), and should absolutely be read beforehand if you plan to pick up both. Also available in paperback. If you like this, try X-Infernus (HC or TPB) or New Mutants: The Return of Legion (HC or TPB) – both of which are key setup for this arc.

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1. Uncanny X-Force: The Dark Angel Saga: Book 1 (& 2!)
Collects Uncanny X-Force #8-13 (& 14-18 or 19)

Do not be surprised when every year-end X-Men list names this as the storyline of the year. Or decade. Or “ever, since Dark Phoenix.” Writer Rick Remender finds layers in his kill-squad of Deadpool, Psylocke, and Fantomex that never existed before and somehow finds a way to make Wolverine not the main character, all while crafting Angel into the best villain the X-Men have faced in years (decades?) (since Dark Phoenix?).

Yet, this Saga isn’t all endless piles of over-dramatic continuity porn – it starts off with two killer one-shot issues before beginning its sickening ascent up a rollercoaster of plot that pays off with insane loop-to-loops in the forthcoming Book 2. Together they form the story named by a vast majority of X-Men fans – including your author – as the best of 2011.

Plus: the original Dark X-Man, Jean Grey … but not how you might have expected.

Just trust me on this one. Both Book 1 and Book 2 are available for pre-order in paperback. If you like this, read The Dark Phoenix Saga (duh).

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Whew! That’s a lot of X-Men comics! For my fellow fans – do you agree? What 2011 new releases have I left off that no true X-Fan should be without? Leave a comment with your reasoning!

I’ll get back to my collections-of-the-week series soon, but first I’ll be back next week with a preview of the best upcoming collections announced for 2012 in both new and reprinted material.