We may not be able to stroll through many parks this very merry month of May, but maybe some comics will still take you by surprise. Okay, that’s a weird month-based reference to make, even by my standards, but it’s where things are. Vaccines are still rolling out, but so are comics, so while we wait for it to be safe to go out and see people again, let’s enjoy some comics. May also kicks off Marvel’s new “Heroes Reborn,” featuring a world where certain heroes never rose to prominence, but Squadron Supreme did, so there’s plenty of comics from there to look forward to.
10. It’s a Nice Day for a Doom Wedding
Dan Slott’s run on “Fantastic Four” has included plenty of focus on the love lives of various characters, including Johnny Storm. Now we’re getting more of that, including a return of old exes. But that’s not the romance I’m interested in, as the new arc is called “The Bride of Doom.” Has Victor Von Doom actually deemed someone worthy enough to be his wife? Who, and why, and how? It’s the start of a story arc I’m quite interested in seeing play out.
Fantastic Four #32
Written by Dan Slott
Illustrated by R.B. Silva
Cover by Mark Brooks
Variant covers by Ron Lim, Peach Momoko, Jack Kirby, Skottie Young, and Superlog• THE BRIDE OF DOOM!
• Part 1: “Betrothal”
• The HUMAN TORCH’s love life is changed forever when he must choose between his soulmate and his ex-wife…
• And is Johnny Storm’s first heartbreak, CRYSTAL, back in the book?! This is all too much! Fortunately, there is also a lot of punching, hitting and clobbering going on! All this and an ominous decree by DOCTOR DOOM! PLUS: A second tale in which Reed Richards duels Doctor Doom for the strangest prize imaginable!
• 40 PGS./Rated T …$4.99
9. Let Them Fight
Alright, are we done with Sin Eater and Harry Osborn as a centipede demon? Cool, then let’s focus on something more exciting, like all of Marvel’s baddies fighting over magical tablets! Yes, it’s time for an exciting clash of crime lords, and Boomerang’s neck is also on the line. It sounds like it should be a fun story arc for Spider-Man, or if not for him, at least for us as readers.
Amazing Spider-Man #65
Written by Nick Spencer
Illustrated by Federico Vicentini
Cover by Mark Bagley
Variant cover by Cory Smith• It is ALL OUT WAR!
• All the super crime lords of the Marvel U are competing at the whims of Mayor Wilson Fisk!
• Their task? Get the Tablets of Life & Destiny and Death & Entropy.
• Also, KILL BOOMERANG!
• Spider-Man, Randy and Robbie Robertson are caught in the cross-fire!
• 32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
8. The Classic Boba
“Bounty hunters. We don’t need their scum.”
That line alone in The Empire Strikes back was enough to introduce one of the most interesting parts of the Star Wars universe. Intergalactic bounty hunters, chasing down targets for the Empire or anyone who could pay. Boba Fett, Bossk, IG-88 – even if they just appeared for a moment, they gained extensive lives and backstories in the expanded universe.
Now let’s see them all fight. The “Star Wars” comics are building up to a “War of the Bounty Hunters” event, and it starts with Boba Fett, whose very presence made fans go “I haven’t even seen this guy do anything, but he’s got to be awesome!” And when written well, he is. Let’s see how well this Mandalorian does.
Continued belowStar Wars: War of the Bounty Hunters Alpha #1
Written by Charles Soule
Illustrated by Steve McNiven
Cover by Steve McNiven
Variant covers by Steve McNiven, Leinil Francis Yu, John Tyler Christopher• THE STAR WARS COMIC EVENT YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR!
• The notorious bounty hunter BOBA FETT has finally landed his greatest prize – HAN SOLO, frozen in carbonite for easy transport.
• Fett will bring the smuggler to TATOOINE to collect the massive bounty placed on Solo’s head by the fearsome crime lord JABBA THE HUTT.
• Sounds easy. What could go wrong?
• 32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
• Star Wars © Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved. Used under authorization. Text and illustrations for Star Wars are © 2021 Lucasfilm Ltd.
7. DOOM IN SPACE
“Guardians of the Galaxy” has been advertising an expansion to the team, featuring a new mix of heroes from Earth and beyond. This includes Doctor Doom. Yes, Doom is now a Guardian. Do I even need to say anything more? If you haven’t been reading Al Ewing’s take on the Guardians team, you’re missing out, but now that Doom is joining their ranks, you really need to start.
Guardians of the Galaxy #14
Written by Al Ewing
Illustrated by Juan Frigeri
Cover by Brett Booth
Variant covers by Rian Gonzales and Chris Sprouse• A WHOLE GALAXY OF TROUBLE!
• As half the team defends the Kree/Skrull Throneworld against a deadlier threat than they’ve ever faced before…
• …the other half investigates a terrifying sacrificial cult on a mysterious planet…with the power to plunge the universe into war.
• Plus: A new space hero…joins…the team…
• …No way.
• 32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
6. Mutants in a Reborn World
With “Heroes Reborn” changing the face of the Marvel universe, what will happen to Mutants? Does this new world feature Krakoa, or is that changed too? Oh yeah, it’s totally changed, with the Squadron Supreme having unleashed a deadly attack on Mutantkind. Now Magneto is running a team to save Professor X, so how will they fare in this strange new world?
Heroes Reborn: Magneto & The Mutant Force #1
Written by Steve Orlando
Illustrated by Bernard Chang
Cover by Nick Bradshaw
Variant covers by Ryan Benjamin and Bernard Chang• CAN MAGNETO RESURRECT HOPE FOR MUTANTKIND BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE?
• Years ago, Magneto and Professor X led Earth’s mutants in a final push for independence against the Squadron Supreme of America. What followed was the Squadron’s Mutant Massacre, a violent rebuttal that left Mutantkind forever wounded, and Xavier dead…or so Magneto thought. Years later, Magneto discovers Xavier clinging to life in the astral plane and gathers his allies for a first-of-its-kind rescue mission. Too bad the same mission puts the Mutant Force back on the Squadron’s radar! Failure means the last gasp of mutantkind, but success means the first breaths of something even more elusive to the mutants of Heroes Reborn: HOPE.
• 40 PGS./ONE-SHOT/Rated T+ …$4.99
5. It’s Just Good Business
Just when you think the X-titles have explored every avenue with Krakoa, they find a new one. Now we’re getting the business side of the new Mutant homeworld, with Monet and Angel at the helm. What will X-Corp bring us, and how will business dealings and negotiations translate into comics? I look forward to finding out.
X-Corp #1
Written by Tini Howard
Illustrated by Alberto Foche
Cover by David Aja
Variant covers by Otto Schmidt, Tom Muller, Todd Nauck, and Skottie Young• KRAKOA IS FOR CLOSERS!
• The deals have been made. Mutantkind is safe on Krakoa. As the Reign of X continues, what are the wants of the mutants who have everything? Leading the charge is X-CORPORATION, headed by CXOs Monet St. Croix and Warren Worthington, a duo as cutthroat and ruthless in the boardroom as they are on a battlefield. But X-Corp needs more than just its figureheads. As Monet sets out to staff their team with some of the brightest and most deviant minds in mutantkind, Warren finds himself in a tense meeting with one of Krakoa’s first allies who wants to know the truth: on Angel’s wings, will X-Corp crash or soar?
• 48 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99
4. All Teens, Not Titans
One important aspect to consider in a world with changed history is the effect on legacy characters. If Carol Danvers never becomes the first Ms. Marvel (then later Captain Marvel), who will Kamala look up to? If Peter Parker never becomes Spider-Man, will Miles Morales ever become a hero? Now we get to see what the Champions become when the Squadron Supreme are the heroes of the land, written by Jim Zub, who’s had plenty of experience bringing these characters to life. Also: Deadpool is involved somehow, and I’m very curious to see what he’s like in “Heroes Reborn.”
Continued belowHeroes Reborn: Young Squadron #1
Written by Jim Zub
Illustrated by Steven Cummings
Cover by Karl Kerschl
Variant cover by Takashi Okazaki• The Squadron Supreme of America have taken root in the hearts and minds of all, but none more so than a trio of youthful champions who call themselves the Young Squadron!
• Kid Spectrum (Sam Alexander), Girl Power (Kamala Khan) and the all-new Falcon (Miles Morales) are here to fight for truth, justice and the American flag…or are they?
• Beneath the flashy facade of colorful adventure, something grim is stirring and Deadpool is determined to bring it to light.
• 40 PGS./ONE-SHOT/Rated T+ …$4.99
3. Shang-Chi’s Return
Did you read Gene Luen Yang’s “Shang-Chi?” If not, you missed out, but it’s not too late. Now he’s back, with a new run under the same name, picking up where the last run left off. Shang-Chi is trying to turn the Five Weapons Society into something better than his father wanted it to be, but how will that go over with the Marvel universe at large? Well, it sounds like it’s going to involve a lot of fighting, so it’s bound to be a good time.
Shang-Chi #1
Written by Gene Luen Yang
Illustrated by Dike Ruan
Cover by Leinil Francis Yu
Variant covers by Superlog, Junggeun Yoon, Benjamin Su, J. Scott Cmapbell, and Michael Cho• SHANG-CHI VS. THE MARVEL UNIVERSE!
• Shang-Chi and his family are back! And this time, they’re colliding head-to-head with the Marvel Universe’s biggest heroes! Shang-Chi has finally taken his place as the leader of the Five Weapons Society. But using an evil secret organization as a force for good won’t be easy. And it’s about to get a lot harder when Shang-Chi’s fellow super heroes, like the Amazing Spider-Man, start to see him as the bad guy! Gene Luen Yang and Dike Ruan return to bring you the next chapter of this Marvel legend!
• 32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
2. The Long Life of the First Family
The Fantastic Four have been around for a long time. The world has changed, and they’ve changed with it, but never quite growing old at the same time. What if they did, and time passed for them in the comics at the same rate as the real world?
Enter the “Life Story” series. We’ve seen it with Spider-Man, now we see it with the Fantastic Four, as they go through sixty years of history, growing older with each passing year instead of “comic book time.” Let’s see how the world changes because of them, and how they change with the world.
Fantastic Four: Life Story #1
Written by Mark Russell
Illustrated by Sean Izaakse
Cover by Daniel Acuña
Variant covers by Marcos Martin, Paolo Rivera, and Brett Booth• In the tradition of SPIDER-MAN: LIFE STORY, and in celebration of the FF’s 60th Anniversary, comes this series setting the lives of the fabulous foursome in real time across the years!
• Amid the backdrop of the Cold War and the Space Race, a terrible accident gives the Fantastic Four great powers, a terrible secret, and entangles them in the history of their planet.
• 40 PGS./ONE-SHOT/Rated T …$4.99
1. When’s Their Movie Deal?
Of course this was going to be the number one spot. We’re getting four issues of Heroes Reborn this month, not counting the tie-ins, so those alone could have filled this column. It’s a new world, one where there are no Avengers, but there is the Squadron Supreme.
Oh, and Blade. It also has Blade, so there’s at least one Avenger.
It’s time to take a look at a different Marvel universe, where familiar faces play different roles. One thing is certain, though: no matter what universe it is, if Jason Aaron is writing it, I’m reading it.
Heroes Reborn #1
Written by Jason Aaron
Illustrated by Ed McGuinness
Cover by Leinil Francis Yu
Variant covers by Ed McGuinness, Jeffrey Veregge, Mark Bagley, Iban Coello, George Pérez, John Tyler Christopher, Carlos Pacheco, Joshua Cassara, and Artgerm• A WORLD WITHOUT AVENGERS!
• Welcome to a world where Tony Stark never built an Iron Man armor. Where Thor is a hard-drinking atheist who despises hammers. Where Wakanda is dismissed as a myth. And where Captain America was never found in the ice because there were no Avengers to find him. Instead this world has always been protected by Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, the Squadron Supreme of America. And now the Squadron faces an attack from some of their fiercest enemies, like Dr. Juggernaut, the Black Skull, the Silver Witch and Thanos with his Infinity Rings. But why is the Daywalker Blade the one man alive who seems to remember that the entire world has somehow been…reborn?
• 56 PGS./Rated T+ …$5.99
Check out the full solicitations over at CBR.com.
