The watchful, completely objective and correct gaze of Soliciting Multiversity now falls upon Marvel’s crop of titles for November! Check out our picks below and let us know what stuck out to you in the comics.
If you want to follow along here’s Marvel’s November 2015 solicitations courtesy of CBR.
10. Best in The Galaxy
I’m a huge fan of WWE which naturally means I’m a huge fan of CM Punk. For those of you who don’t know, he’s kind of responsible for the modern “Reality Era” of wrestling and is kind of the forbearer for many of WWE’s current top stars. He’s also a smart dude with a strong personality which is why I’m excited to see him tackle a series like “Drax” with Cullen Bunn and Scott Hepburn. My major concern for this title though, I just how “CM Punk” it’s going to be. The Best in the World trunks and UFC look make it clear this is kind of a pet project for Punk, but I’m not sure how much I want to read Punk’s fan fiction about himself. There’s still a chance this will be a mind-blowing look at Drax and one of the best comics of 2015. It could also be another “Wolverine: In The Flesh.” Either way, I’m sure the scene where Drax brutally punches the alien tyrant Hantar Harst Helmsee to death is going to be uncomfortable for some people.
DRAX #1
CM PUNK & CULLEN BUNN (w) • SCOTT HEPBURN (a/C)
Variant Cover by Ed McGuinness
HIP-HOP VARIANT COVER BY MIKE CHOI
YOUNG VARIANT COVER BY SKOTTIE YOUNG
UFC FIGHTER CM PUNK MAKES HIS MIGHTY MARVEL DEBUT!
Drax the Destroyer is the muscle for the Guardians of the Galaxy, but what does he do when he’s not adventuring through space with the Guardians? He lets his bloodthirsty quest for revenge take the pilot seat, of course! Determined to find and kill Thanos once and for all, Drax is ready to take on the universe. But when you’re tooling around the universe in a ship aptly named “The Space Sucker”, an unwavering desire for bloodshed isn’t enough to keep a mission from derailing. Drax crash lands into his wildest adventures ever, encountering foes no one will ever expect! The depths of space may not be big enough to contain this much grit, vengeance and all-out action!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
9. Baby On Board
What if issue #1 ends Jessica Drew giving birth to a whole swarm of spiders. Oh god. OH GO-
No but really, I’m kind of curious as to where “Spider-Woman” is going for with the pregnancy storyline. It’s not something that’s traditionally done in superhero comics unless you have a complete time jump where a baby has been sired like in “One Year Later” or the superheroine puts everything away to have the pregnancy to term. I do, however, like the idea that Jessica is so insist on being a hero that she’s still going to kick ass into her third trimester. I just want a scene of a frantic Ben Urich chasing after her and asking why she can’t wait a week or two to have the baby and then go fight. Thing’s already about to pop out.
SPIDER-WOMAN #1
DENNIS HOPELESS (w) • JAVIER RODRIGUEZ (a/C)
Variant Cover BY SIYA OUM
ACTION FIGURE VARIANT BY JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
COSPLAY VARIANT ALSO AVAILABLE
HIP-HOP VARIANT BY NATACHA BUSTOS
BABY ON BOARD!
Jessica Drew is a private investigator, a super hero and… a mom to be? Since we last saw her, Spider-Woman’s got a whole NEW responsibility — she’s super heroing for two now, after all! Ben Urich and Porcupine are still along for the adventure, too, and aren’t making Jess’ life any easier – half the time they won’t even let her leave the car! How’s a gal supposed to save innocent people and keep herself out of harm’s way? See how in the mother of all Spider-Stories!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
8. Oh Golly, You Devil Dinosaur
Amy Reeder on a Marvel book? Sold.
One thing I’m really appreciating in comics is the Big Two’s willingness to go cutesy. I don’t mean that in a disingenuous way. There really should be a space in comics for little girls to go on adventures with huge dinosaurs. Not everything needs to have hands getting chopped off, you feel? Also, I’m really appreciating Marvel’s recent trend of utilizing Devil Dinosaur more often. He’s not “Nextwave” Devil Dinosaur but he’s close.
MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR #1
AMY REEDER & BRANDON MONTCLARE (w) • NATACHA BUSTOS (a)
Cover by AMY REEDER
HIP-HOP VARIANT COVER BY TBA
Variant Cover BY TBA
LUNELLA LAFAYETTE is a preteen super genius who wants to change the world—but learned the hard way that it takes MORE than just big brains. Fearful of the monstrous INHUMAN genes inside her, life is turned upside down when a savage, red-scaled tyrant is teleported from prehistoric past to a far-flung future we call TODAY. The pair are many things, and together the most amazing Marvel Team-Up. MARVEL PRESENTS… MOON GIRL & DEVIL DINOSAUR!
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
7. Herc With A Mouth
Real talk: Hercules should always be in some Marvel comic at all times. He’s one of the most entertaining heroes out there and I can’t think of a writer who hasn’t had a blast with him. Also, this would be a good opportunity to have a book led by an LGBTQ hero. Herc’s been bisexual since, uh, Ancient Greece but that’s been something writers have tended to pick and choose when it comes to the Marvel version. I’m not saying that Marvel NEEDS to make sure Hercules is bisexual in this comic, but I will do a heavy sigh if he’s portrayed as straight. You don’t even need to make this comic a PSA about bisexuality or anything. Just have him make out with a guy at one point and shout “That was good!” Exact words.
HERCULES #1
DAN ABNETT (W) • LUKE ROSS (A)
Cover by Clay Mann
Variant Cover by Jay Anacleto
HIP-HOP VARIANT COVER BY THEOTIS JONES
ACTION FIGURE VARIANT BY JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
YOUNG VARIANT COVER BY SKOTTIE YOUNG
“Still going Strong”
The World’s first super hero decides it’s time to get back in the game, protect the innocent, defend the world, and generally remind everyone why he set the mark for heroism in the first place. Make way… Hercules is back! The greatest son of Olympus is thrown into the fight against threats ancient and modern, and Hercules demonstrates that a legend, no matter how strong he is, survives on his experience, and his ability to move with the times. A modern world, an age-old hero… and blockbuster action!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
6. Star-Lord Waiting in the Sky
The Guardians of the Galaxy movie did a lot of good things for Star-Lord, like make every single person want to be him. But Chris Pratt’s performance also kind of diluted him into Lovable Space Dork trying his best. While that’s certainly a fun character to watch on screen, I’m pretty excited for the return of Scumbag Star-Lord, the same Peter Quill who actually got the mantle of Star-Lord after stealing it from his co-worker. Having him be an adorable kid with the dead mom made for a quick and clean origin story in Guardians, but actually embracing what happened at NASA helps add just a bit more edge to Star-Lord. It’s what turns him from Luke Skywalker into Han Solo.
Continued belowSTAR-LORD #1
SAM HUMPHRIES (w) • JAVIER GARRON (a)
Cover by DAVE JOHNSON
Variant Cover by Yasmine Putri
HIP-HOP VARIANT COVER BY TRADD MOORE
MOVIE PHOTO VARIANT ALSO AVAILABLE
THE STIRRING STORY OF STAR-LORD STARTS HERE!
Before Peter Quill traversed the universe, before he was a Guardian, before he was Star-Lord, he was…an astronaut! Well, at least, he wanted to be. But as NASA’s biggest burn-out, it looked like the once and future Star-Lord was destined to stay grounded on Earth forever. However, with his burning desire for vengeance, his expert spacecraft knowhow, and his distinct lack of scruples, odds are he won’t be on Earth much longer. See how Marvel’s scoundrel of the spaceways discovered the galaxy he was destined to guard!
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
5. World Wide Web Warriors
Honest question: Was “Spider-Verse” that good? I’m saying that as someone who loved the initial crossover and all its tie-ins. “Spider-Verse” was a great story but not good enough that we’ve been reading it for a straight year now. When’s “AXIS” going to get that same treatment. Ugh. At least the “Spider-Verse” tie-in for “Secret Wars” has been consistently entertaining. This isn’t going to be a bad comic by any means, but it feels kind of redundant, no?
WEB WARRIORS #1
MIKE COSTA (w) • DAVID BALDEON (a)
Cover by JULIAN TOTINO TEDESCO
HIP-HOP VARIANT COVER BY DAMION SCOTT
YOUNG VARIANT COVER BY SKOTTIE YOUNG
Variant Cover A BY TBA
Variant Cover B BY TBA
All of your favorite web-slinging wonders from SPIDER-VERSE, together in one place! It’s high-stakes action when ELECTRO threatens all of reality! From their base on Earth-001, it’s up to SPIDER-GWEN, SPIDER-MAN NOIR, SPIDER-MAN INDIA, SPIDER-UK, SPIDER-HAM and a TON of other surprise spider-guest stars to stop him!
40 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99
4. Vaguely New Vaguely Different X-Men
If you told me in 2012 that Marvel would still be publishing comics about the 1960’s X-Men in 2015, I’d ask why they weren’t doing the same with “Superior Spider-Man.”
Even though I cautiously feel like the 60’s X-Men should’ve been sent back during or after “Battle of the Atom” (which was two years ago???), this does feel like a pretty fresh take on the characters. Even though some people weren’t exactly, uh, thrilled with “Avengers Arena” I felt like it showed Dennis Hopeless’s skill in writing young characters. And while I’m a bit iffy about Mark Bagley on art, I’d rather see the ANAD X-Men go in a new direction rather than run in place with Bendis at the helm. Also, Kid Apocalypse and Oya are going to be in this. Their appearance automatically makes X-Men comics better.
ALL-NEW X-MEN #1 & 2
DENNIS HOPELESS (w) • MARK BAGLEY (a/C)
ISSUE #1 – HIP-HOP VARIANT COVER BY ED PISKOR
Variant Cover BY MARK BAGLEY
KIRBY MONSTER VARIANT COVER BY TBA
ISSUE #2 – VARIANT COVER BY TBA
Hated and feared more than ever, the world is a dangerous place for mutants. As the few remaining X-MEN retreat into seclusion, a handful of mutant teenagers refuse to allow their destiny to be decided for them. CYCLOPS. BEAST. ICEMAN. ANGEL. THE ALL-NEW WOLVERINE. KID APOCALYPSE. OYA. Stepping out of the shadows of their predecessors, the ALL-NEW X-MEN are striking out on their own, determined to write their own futures!
32 PGS. (EACH)/Rated T+ …$3.99 (EACH)
3. Actually All-New All-Different Avengers
“All-New, All-Different Avengers” #1 feels like that part in the initial “Avengers” run where the team disbanded and became just Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and Captain America as their leader. It’s that comic that turned the latter three into major Marvel characters and I feel like that’s something happening here in “ANAD Avengers” #1. What a lot of people forget is that the “Avengers” roster has been uniformly terrible for pretty much most of its history. But while heroes like Thor or Iron Man don’t always need to be on the Avengers to be relevant, other heroes getting their A-Cards helps elevate their status a bit. And considering that this roster features three of Marvel’s most important young heroes finally getting Avengers status, their future in the Marvel Universe feels just a little bit brighter. At least until Miles dies in a big crossover to make Peter cry or whatever. That’s going to be a terrible day.
Continued belowALL-NEW, ALL-DIFFERENT AVENGERS #1 & 2
MARK WAID (w) • ISSUE #1 – ADAM KUBERT & MAHMUD ASRAR (A)
ISSUE #2 – ADAM KUBERT (A)
CoverS by ALEX ROSS
Issue #1 – VARIANT SKETCH COVER BY ALEX ROSS
Variant Cover BY MAHMUD ASRAR
Variant Cover BY LUCHIANO VECCHIO
HIP-HOP VARIANT BY JIM CHEUNG
VINTAGE VARIANT COVER BY ALEX ROSS
VINTAGE VARIANT SKETCH COVER BY ALEX ROSS
INHUMAN 50th ANNIVERSARY VARIANT BY CLIFF CHIANG
KIRBY MONSTER VARIANT COVER BY TBA
Issue #2 – Variant Cover by Oscar Jimenez
The Avengers are dead–long live the Avengers! Earth’s Mightiest Heroes–Captain America, Thor, Vision, and Iron Man–are living separate lives, not tied to any team–but when a threat from beyond the stars targets our world, fate draws them together once more, alongside Nova, Ms. Marvel, and Miles Morales a.k.a. Spider-Man!
Issue #1 – 40 PGS./RATED T+ …$4.99
Issue #2 – 32 PGS./RATED T+ …$3.99
2. MORE LIKE ILLUMINAUGHTY, AM I RIGHT?
This is my most unabashedly “I can fucks with this” Marvel comic for November 2015. Joshua Williamson and Shawn Crystal doing a darker version of “Superior Foes” sounds like a dream. I don’t even have anything snarky or cynical to add. The concept of The Hood trying to reform his empire under the All-New All-Different Marvel Universe just sounds dope.
ILLUMINATI #1
JOSHUA WILLIAMSON (w) • SHAWN CRYSTAL (a)
Cover by RILEY ROSSMO
Variant Cover BY Paul Pope
HIP-HOP VARIANT COVER BY TBA
KIRBY MONSTER VARIANT COVER BY JACK KIRBY
“Bad guys win every day… why not us?”
How do the villains of the Marvel Universe live in a world where the sky is constantly filled with heroes? What do they do when they want out of that life? There is no escape. No future. Who saves the villains? The Hood believes he might be that savior. He wants everyone to have a place at the table. Now all he needs to do is build his army… Featuring Titania, Mad Thinker, Thunderball, Black Ant and Enchantress, Illuminati is a tale of villains just trying to survive in the All-New All-Different Marvel Universe.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
1. Turning Lead Into Intangible Gold
I’ve considered Tom King to be somewhat of a miracle worker. He’s able to take concepts that sound ridiculously not good and completely turn them around. Did anyone think “Grayson” was going to be a middling espionage comic with no personality? Was anyone else then surprised to find it’s one of DC’s sexier and funnier comics? How about the fact that he wrote a comic that served as a metaphor for Middle Eastern insurgents AND made Kyle Rayner interesting? “The Vision” is his critical event horizon. If he can actually make “The Vision” a compelling character, by adding three more Visions no less, I will eat my print copy of the comic until I become one with it. On the flip side, this might be 32 pages of The Visions silently weeping. That’s right, even an android family can cry.
THE VISION #1
TOM KING (w) • GABRIEL HERNANDEZ WALTA (a)
Cover by MIKE DEL MUNDO
Variant Cover by MARCOS MARTIN
Artist variant cover by RYAN SOOK
HIP-HOP variant cover by Vanesa R. Del Rey
The Vision wants to be human, and what’s more human than family? He goes to the laboratory where he was created, where Ultron molded him into a weapon, where he first rebelled against his given destiny, where he first imagined that he could be more, that he could be good, that he could be a man, a normal, ordinary man. And he builds them. A wife, Virginia. Two teenage twins, Viv and Vin. They look like him. They have his powers. They share his grandest ambition or perhaps obsession: the unrelenting need to be ordinary. Behold The Visions! They’re the family next door, and they have the power to kill us all. What could possibly go wrong?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
