The watchful and completely objective gaze of Soliciting Multiversity now falls upon Marvel’s crop of titles for November! Check out what we’re thankful for below and let us know what stuck out to you in this month’s solicitations in our comments section.
10. AXIS: INHUMANS VS. KREE-SKRUll CIVIL WAR III
My job at Multiversity is to be the recap boy for all of Marvel’s events and lately it’s been pretty easy. “Secret Wars” was kind of tough because the main series was actually not too bad and there were more tie-ins than there are people in my day-to-day life. It’s been great writing about “Civil War II” because I decided to ignore most of the tie-ins and focus on seven main issues and try to enjoy myself. Not only is “Civil War II” getting delayed into November (which I should’ve expected) but it gets an eighth issue and leads right into another Marvel crossover where two groups clash over ill-defined reasons. My cubicle at Multiversity Comics has that “Don’t forget, you’re here forever” sign from The Simpsons except it’s covered over with pictures of Brian Michael Bendis. Yes, I know he’s not writing this one.
Anyway, “Inhumans vs. X-Men” seems super weird just because it’s the final step to Marvel telling the X-Men to die off for a couple years until Fox surrenders the movie rights after X-Men: X-CUtioner’s Song bombs at the box office. Most of the X-Men will do that, the really popular ones (Emma Frost, Kitty Pryde, Wolverine’s corpse) are going to get reclaimed as Inhumans like Marvel did with Beast while Gambit gets stuffed into a fridge until Channing Tatum’s done with him.. In other words, I can’t wait.
CHARLES SOULE (W) • KENNETH ROCAFORT (A/C)
Variant Cover by ALAN DAVIS
Variant Cover by RON LIM
This issue sets the stage for the upcoming Inhumans vs. X-Men mega-event! Learn who the major players will be, plus the seeds of the incredible plan that will unfold in IVX #1. Beast and Iso travel the world to learn a desperate truth, the X-Men assemble their ranks and the Inhumans prepare for the war to come. It all begins with one choice — see it here.
40 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99
9. Earth’s Mightiest
Hey, remember that time Mark Waid helmed Marvel’s main “Avengers” series and no one really noticed? That was super weird right? “All-New All-Different Avengers” kind of suffered the same fate of every other All-New All-Different Marvel book by, uh, not being that. The focus on the trio of Nova, Miles, and Ms. Marvel was great and led to a lot of fun stuff for those characters in their own books (including the upcoming “Champions”) but this book never really felt like an Avengers one. Or at least one that felt distinct from all the other dozen Avengers books we’ve seen over the last year. I’m interested in seeing what happens when Waid splits up his main superhero team with his teen hero team in “Champions”. I’m double interested to see how the hell The Vision’s still an Avengers after everything in his own comic. Major forced reprogramming, maybe? It’d explain why his daughter’s run off with the Champions.
AVENGERS #1
MARK WAID (W) • MIKE DEL MUNDO (A)
Cover by ALEX ROSS
Variant Cover by ADAM KUBERT
Variant Cover by TBA
Captain America 75th Anniversary Variant Cover by TBA
Hip-Hop Variant Cover by TBA
Action Figure Vision Variant Cover by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
Divided We Stand Variant Cover by TBA
Blank Variant Cover Also Available
The time has come! Their ranks shattered by Civil War, their spirits weighted down by
a toll both personal and spiritual, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes must find the resolve to stand united one final time against their greatest foe! Captain America! Thor! The Vision! The Wasp! Spider-Man! Hercules! When the dust settles, not a one of these valiant heroes will make it to the final page alive! This is KANG WAR ONE!
48 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99
8. Invincible Ironheart
There’s been a lot of hype in the media for Riri Williams to take on her own set of armor and rightfully so! Siri Williams seems like she’s going to be a really interesting character and, if we’re going to be honest, we’ve all needed a break from Tony Stark as Iron Man for a while. Plus, branding Williams as “Ironheart” rather than “Iron Man” or “Iron Woman” avoids that uncomfortable inevitability where we all wait for the straight white guy to take back his throne when his movie comes out (see more on that later, re: Thor). However, not to be that guy, this would be a lot higher on the list if it wasn’t written by 2016 Brian Michael Bendis.
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #1
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (W) • STEFANO CASELLI (A/C)
Variant Cover by JEFF DEKAL
Variant Cover by SKOTTIE YOUNG
Hip-Hop Variant Cover by TBA
Steam Variant Cover by TBA
Action Figure Riri Variant Cover by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
Divided We Stand Variant Cover by TBA
From the violent streets of Chicago, a new armored hero rises! Clad in her very own Iron Man armor, Riri Williams is ready to show the Marvel Universe what she can do as the self-made hero of tomorrow. But is she ready for all the problems that come with stepping into Iron Man’s jet boots? Where’s a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist when you need one?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
7. God of Death
Hey, Thanos has a new book. Cool? I’m a big fan of Jeff Lemire and I even like Mike Deodato’s art when it’s in weird sci-fi settings but I’m not totally sure what the hook of this series is, so to speak. Jason Aaron and Simone Bianchi did some cool stuff in “Thanos Rising” by playing with the idea of Thanos as a cosmic level Jeffrey Dammer but I don’t know what “evil dude in space is going to translate into.” Maybe it’s just him bragging about how he killed War Machine off-screen in “Civil War II”? I’d hate him if I had to read that comic.
THANOS #1
JEFF LEMIRE (W) • MIKE DEODATO (A/C)
Variant Cover by RON LIM
Variant Cover by JEFF DEKAL
Toy Variant Cover by ALEX KROPINAK
HIP-HOP VARIANT BY MIKE DEL MUNDO
EVIL HAS BEEN UNLEASHED ON THE UNIVERSE.
Thanos, possibly the most evil individual in the Marvel Universe, is back…and he’s out for vengeance on all who would oppose him. Unfortunately for the Mad Titan, he’s also heading for an unexpected reckoning…with his family. Take an ongoing walk on the dark side of the galaxy, following the deadly trail of destruction left in the wake of…THANOS!
32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$3.99
6. Hawkguy of The People
This is a weird one. David F. Walker (please read “Shaft” and “Power Man and Iron Fist”) is going to write about post-“Civil War II” Hawkeye by making him a populist icon? To be honest, I rolled my eyes when I first looked at the cover and title but it makes a lot of sense when you read it.
If you haven’t been keeping up with “Civil War II” (which you can do here), Hawkeye killed The Hulk because a magic teenager told The Avengers he was going go on a rampage. Hawkeye was arrested for Bruce Banner’s murder but got acquitted because 1) The Hulk’s kind of responsible for the deaths of hundreds and 2) Banner left behind a video diary saying that he gave Clint the arrow he used to kill him, in case Bruce should ever lose control of The Hulk. Still, Hawkeye’s never the type of person to take a gift and move on and he’s wracked with the guilt of killing a friend and getting away with it, just because he was being a super hero. How does he cope with that? By helping people get even with heroes like Hawkeye who got away with hurting people just because they were “doing the right thing.”
That’s actually… I really want to read this now.
Continued belowOCCUPY AVENGERS #1
DAVID F. WALKER (W) • CARLOS PACHECO (A)
Cover by AGUSTIN ALESSIO
Variant Cover by MICHAEL CHO
Hip-Hop Variant Cover by TBA
Action Figure Hawkeye Variant Cover by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
Divided We Stand Variant Cover by TBA
Super heroes – they’re a privileged class. Doing what they want, when they want and suffering no consequences. They have no regard for the ordinary people who are left behind to suffer in their wake. Who will stand up for the little guy? There is a man. If you can find him, and if he believes in your story, he and his friends will put things right. Some call them outlaws, rebels, Robin Hoods. To others, they are heroes. No powers to speak of – just skills, smarts and a burning drive to do the right thing. His name is Hawkeye. Occupy Avengers: It’s time to “Take Back Justice”!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
5. Renewed Renew Your Vows
Remember that thing DC’s doing where an older Superman shows up with his wife and kid and they all get into hijinks based on the kid discovering their inherited powers? Here’s that but the child’s covered in webbing.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: RENEW YOUR VOWS #1
GERRY CONWAY (W) • RYAN STEGMAN (A/C)
Variant Cover by ADAM KUBERT
HIP-HOP Variant Cover by TBA
Action Figure Mary Jane & ANNIE Variant Cover by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
Divided We Stand Variant Cover by TBA
The Parker family is web-slinging and wall-crawling their way into your hearts and into comic shops later this year! Life is good for Peter Parker and Mary Jane; their daughter Annie is their pride and joy, they’re both working and (barely) making ends meet, they’re keeping the streets of New York City safe from super villains…you know, normal family stuff. Oh, did we mention MJ and Annie have Spider-Powers –– just like Peter?! Being Spider-Man just became a family affair…
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
4. Expanding The World of Wakanda
If you can give Ta-Nehisi Coates props for anything on his “Black Panther” run (and you can give him a lot of props for a lot of things) it’s how deep he’s gotten into Wakanda and its politics. A lot of other “Black Panther” stories have bene pretty content with T’Challa leaving Wakanda entirely or the only other representatives of the country consisting T’Challa’s family, bodyguards or a warlord trying to usurp him. Under this latest run, Wakanda’s feeling more like a real place and that’s naturally going to deepen with “World of Wakanda” which is diving right into the compelling women who are giving T’Challa trouble in “Black Panther”. Just generally good stuff.
Continued belowBLACK PANTHER: WORLD OF WAKANDA #1
TA-NEHISI COATES, ROXANE GAY & YONA HARVEY (W)
ALITHA E. MARTINEZ & AFUA RICHARDSON (A)
Cover by AFUA RICHARDSON
Variant Cover by BRIAN STELFREEZE
Variant Cover by SKOTTIE YOUNG
HIP-HOP VARIANT BY ALITHA E. MARTINEZ
BLACK PANTHER 50TH ANNIVERSARY VARIANT BY NATACHA BUSTOS
Action Figure Black Panther Variant by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
Divided We Stand Variant Cover by TBA
Blank Variant Cover Also Available
“YOU DESERVED SO MUCH MORE, LITTLE FLOWER. YOU DESERVED A WAKANDA THAT CHERISHED YOU.”
Writer ROXANE GAY (Bad Feminst, Hunger) spins a Wakandan love story — its tenderness matched only by its brutality. You know them now as The Midnight Angels, but in this story they are just Ayo and Aneka, young women recruited to become Dora Milaje, an elite task force trained to protect the crown at all costs. What happens when your nation needs your hearts and minds, but you already gave them to each other? Illustrated by industry veteran ALITHA E. MARTINEZ (Iron Man, Black Panther).
And in a special backup story, acclaimed poet YONA HARVEY (Hemming the Water) explores the true origins of The People’s mysterious leader Zenzi. Black Panther thinks he knows who Zenzi is and how she got her powers, but he only knows part of the story… Illustrated by rising star AFUA RICHARDSON (Genius).
40 PGS./Rated T …$4.99
3. Odinson, Odisonall!
“Godkiller” was one of the best Thor stories I’ve ever read and I’m really sad that the rest of Jason Aaron’s run hasn’t lived up to that. To be fair, it’s hard to live up to a first act that’s Thor traveling the cosmos to track down a serial killer of gods who’s slaughtering pantheons of deities across the cosmos to power his magic bomb that will wipe out every god from the universe. And while “Thor: God of Thunder” is pretty good, it doesn’t have the genuine madness that Jason Aaron has. Jane Foster’s Thor’s kind of filtered through a modern sensibility even if she’s fighting ice giants and and yelling verily all the time. But with Thor Thor, especially a disgraced and desperate Odinson trying to find an alternate version of Mjolnir in space, I feel like the kind of insanity that bred “Godkiller” has the chance to blossom.
THE UNWORTHY THOR #1 (OF 5)
Jason Aaron (W) • Olivier Coipel (A/C)
Variant Cover by BRYAN HITCH
Variant Cover by JOHN CASSADAY
Hip-Hop Variant Cover by TBA
Action Figure Odinson Variant Cover by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
Divided We Stand Variant Cover by TBA
Blank Variant Cover Also Available
Odinson’s desperate search to regain his worthiness has taken him out into the cosmos, where he’s learned of the existence of a mysterious other Mjolnir. This weapon of unimaginable power, a relic from a dead universe, is the key to Odinson’s redemption — but some of the greatest villains of the Marvel Universe are now anxious to get their hands on it as well. Can The Odinson reclaim his honor, or will the power of thunder be wielded for evil? The quest for the hammer begins here.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
2. The Dream of the 90’s
Venom’s a bad guy again which is great since I lost track of where Agent Venom was going around 2012. He’s in the Guardians of the Galaxy and turned into ROM: Spaceknight at some point right? That early part of Flash Thompson’s arc where he was a black ops agent who had to balance his relationship to the symbiote to complete missions without losing control is still one of the neatest ideas Marvel’s popped out in the last five years. So I’m glad to see it sort of get snuffed after it turned into him being a background extra for the Guardians of the Galaxy to remind you that the Avengers are happening. And even though Carnage has been keeping up appearances as the murderous serial killer symbiote, there’s nothing wrong with going back to classic slobbering monster Venom. I just hope whoever the new symbiote host turns out to be is cool. Like Anna Maria Marconi. She’s not doing anything.
VENOM #1
MIKE COSTA (W) • GERARDO SANDOVAL (A/C)
Variant Cover by RON LIM
Variant Cover by RICK LEONARDI
Hip-Hop Variant Cover by TBA
Action Figure Venom Variant Cover by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
Blank Variant Cover Also Available
Venom is back and badder than ever!
The symbiote you know and love has returned to New York City. No more “Agent of the Cosmos.” No more “Lethal Protector.” It’s time for a new Venom, and it’s great to be bad.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
1. The Best Thing To Ever Happen To Me
Robbie Reyes is the most underrated new Marvel character of the past five years and when we’re all done praising Kamala Khan and Miles Morales, Robbie’s going to be over here working on his muscle car, taking care of his little brother, and battle the spirit of his serial killer uncle that lives in his head and transforms him into a demon. Ever since the last “Ghost Rider” series ended, I’ve been waiting to see where the war between Robbie and Eli was going to lead to next and I’m really glad it wasn’t just left and forgotten. I’ll never watch an episode of Agetns of SHIELD for my life but I’ll definitely watch a trailer for this season since it brought Reyes back. I might watch two trailers since they got Tradd Moore to do back-ups.
Continued belowGHOST RIDER #1
FELIPE SMITH (W) • DANILO BEYRUTH & TRADD MOORE (A)
COVER BY MARCO CHECCHETTO
VARIANT COVER BY FELIPE SMITH
Variant Cover by TRADD MOORE
Young Variant Cover by SKOTTIE YOUNG
HIP-HOP VARIANT BY FELIPE SMITH
Action Figure Variant Ghost Rider w/Car Cover by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
Blank Variant Cover Also Available
TV PHOTO COVER ALSO AVAILABLE
ROBBIE REYES IS BACK!
It’s hell on wheels as the Spirit of Vengeance makes his roaring return! A mysterious object from space crash-lands in southern California, drawing some of the brightest minds in the Marvel Universe to Ghost Rider’s backyard – including Amadeus Cho, the Totally Awesome Hulk! What mayhem will be unleashed as the High-octane Hothead comes face-to-face with the Jade Genius? And with Robbie still possessed by the ghost of his evil uncle Eli…who’s really in the driver’s seat? Then, meet the newest speed trap in Ghost Rider’s life as his original creators Felipe Smith and Tradd Moore reunite for a special backup story and the debut of an all-new villain. Strap in and start your engines, True Believer, this one’s gonna be a scorcher!
40 PGS./Rated T …$4.99
