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Soliciting Multiversity: Marvel’s Top Ten for January 2017

By | October 27th, 2016
Posted in Columns | % Comments

The watchful and completely objective gaze of Soliciting Multiversity now falls upon Marvel’s crop of titles for January! That’s 2017! Gross! Check out what comics you’re going to read in a hunugover daze on January 1st. As always, let us know what stuck out to you in this month’s solicitations in our comments section. Also, we got some massive “Amazing Spider-Man” spoilers that the internet probably already spoiled you on. Enjoy!

10. Gwen Stacy Adventures Part 1

We’re starting off 2017 with what Marvel’s insisting is its new power couple: Spider-Gwen and Miles Morales. On one hand, there’s nothing wrong with two similarly powered teenagers hooking up, even if this comic is relationshipbaiting which is a strong possibility. On the other hand, a kid from an alternate universe is going to start dating the girl whose alternate reality self dated the guy who the kid watched die in his own alternate reality. And that guy is still swinging around as a thirty something year old man while his dead girlfriend is a teenager hanging out with his protege from another world? Is this the weirdest thing Marvel could possibly do with Gwen Stacy? Wait, what’s going on in “Amazing Spider-Man”?

SPIDER-MAN #12
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (W) • SARA PICHELLI (A/C)
Variant Cover by Richard Isanove
CLASSIC ARTIST VARIANT COVER BY TBA
STORY THUS FAR VARIANT COVER BY TBA

• THIS IS IT! THE MOMENT YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR! THE KISS HEARD ROUND THE WORLD!
• The two most talked about heroes give us something new to talk about in this Spider-Man/Spider-Gwen crossover.
• How did Miles and Gwen get here?!
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

9. Gwen Stacy Adventures Part 2

LOL

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #23
DAN SLOTT & CHRISTOS GAGE (W) • GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI (A)
Cover by ALEX ROSS
Variant Cover by Simone Bianchi

A CLONE CONSPIRACY TIE-IN!
• Gwen Stacy is back in the land of the living and in league with The Jackal.
• But why? She’s not evil. She’s not being mind-controlled. What would push the one of the most beloved characters in Marvel history to join one of Spider-Man’s worst villains?!
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

8. Night of the Monster Men Unleashed

Marvel’s doing a miniseries about monsters that’s supposedly “drawn by today’s greatest artists!!!” Steve McNiven’s drawing the first issue which is pretty choice but who’s that doing a variant cover? Is that Geof Darrow? Is Marvel going to get Mr. Shaolin Cowboy to draw some monster violence? Hey, maybe 2017 won’t be so bad after all.

MONSTERS UNLEASHED #1 (OF 5)
CULLEN BUNN (W) • STEVE McNIVEN (A/C)
VARIANT COVER BY KEN NIIMURA
50’S MOVIE POSTER VARIANT COVER BY FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA
VIDEO GAME VARIANT COVER BY JEEHYUNG LEE
NEW MONSTER VARIANT COVER BY TBA
CLASSIC MONSTER VERSUS MARVEL HERO VARIANT COVER BY MIKE MIGNOLA
TEASER VARIANT COVER BY GEOF DARROW
HIP HOP VARIANT COVER BY TBA

THE EPIC BATTLE MARVEL FANS HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR, DRAWN BY TODAY’S GREATEST ARTISTS!!!
It’s all hands on deck with the AVENGERS, CHAMPIONS, GUARDIANS, X-MEN and the INHUMANS as they clash with monstrous threats that threaten to destroy every corner of the Marvel Universe. Who are the LEVIATHONS? Who controls them? How can they be stopped before Earth becomes another tragic, barren world in their wake? Written by powerhouse writer CULLEN BUNN and drawn by Marvel legend STEVE McNIVEN, this issue is the beginning of something big that you just can’t miss!
40 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99

7. Deadpool The Duck Hunt

Marvel’s publishing a Deadpool and Howard the Duck combo book to personally victimize me. Under the bad writer, both Deadpool and Howard can be really grating characters. There’s no gurantee that “Deadpool the Duck” will actually be a bad miniseries, but the idea of the two fused into one being gives me a headache. The only way this could be more of a personal attack on me would be if juggalo Harley Quinn got involved.

Continued below

DEADPOOL THE DUCK #1 & 2 (OF 5)
STUART MOORE (W) • JACOPO CAMAGNI (A)
CoverS by DAVID NAKAYAMA
ISSUE #1 – Variant Cover by RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE
ISSUE #1 – VARIANT COVER BY RON LIM
ISSUE #1 – VARIANT COVER BY TBA
ISSUE #1 – CONNECTING VARIANT COVER BY TBA
ISSUE #2 – Variant Cover by JAY FOSGITT
ISSUE #2 – CONNECTING VARIANT COVER BY TBA

What do you get when you take one cynical anthropomorphic duck (named Howard) and cross it with the smelliest (and most annoying) mercenary in the Marvel Universe? DEADPOOL THE DUCK! When Deadpool is sent on a mission from S.H.I.E.L.D. to capture a high-profile E.T. that is rampaging across the high plains, the snatch-and-grab turns out to be much more complicated than the Merc with a Mouth anticipated. One unfortunate wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time accident later leaves Deadpool and Howard fighting for control of the cutest mercenary the Marvel Universe has ever seen! Brought to you with words by Stuart Moore (CLOAK & DAGGER, THANOS: DEATH SENTENCE Novel) and art by Jacopo Camagni (DEADPOOL’S SECRET SECRET WARS).
32 PGS. (EACH)/Parental Advisory …$3.99 (EACH)

6. Tumblr’s Favorite Big Brother

Robbie Reyes is one of my favorite Marvel characters and definitely my favorite Ghost Rider but this issue’s solicit describing him as “Tumblr’s favorite big brother” has forced me to build a time machine so I can go back in time and kill Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster to prevent superheroes from ever being a thing. Sorry everyone!

GHOST RIDER #3
FELIPE SMITH (W) • DANILO BEYRUTH (A)
Cover by FELIPE SMITH
Variant Cover by TBA

SIBLING RIVALS!
• Newly minted big sister Laura Kinney goes toe-to-toe with Tumblr’s favorite big brother, Robbie Reyes!
• Plus: Gabe versus Gabby!
• Hey, uh, is anybody gonna stop the giant purple alien rampaging through southern California?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

5. Yaas Captain

On a similar note, this solicit for “The Mighty Captain Marvel” that throws in a “Yaas, Queen!” is forcing me to make a second stop on my way back from the 30’s to kill Al Gore and prevent the internet from happening. Enjoy the forty minutes before the singularity where this article is still available.

Nitpicking aside, what’s going to happen with Captain Marvel? “Civil War II” forced her into that “I guess I’m a fascist now, hope everyone likes their lives being Minority Report” mindset that every leader in a crossover has to adopt so one of the sides in said crossover looks like the bad guys. See Tony Stark in “Civil War I: The Phantom Menace” or Cyclops in “Avengers vs. X-Men”. Tony Stark barely recovered from that, and it took the power of Robert Downey Jr. and his entire memory of 2006 being burned away before he became an okay character again. Cyclops got it so bad that Marvel hasn’t published an X-Men comic since like 2010.

The Mighty Captain Marvel #1
MARGARET STOHL (W) • RAMON ROSANAS (A)
Cover by ELIZABETH TORQUE
VARIANT COVER BY ALEX ROSS
YOUNG VARIANT COVER BY SKOTTIE YOUNG
Variant Cover by Phil Noto
Variant Cover by Dave Johnson
HIP-HOP VARIANT BY JENNY FRISON

The Greatest. That’s what they call her. Carol Danvers has been to the depths of outer space and back, but that still hasn’t prepared her for her newfound status of biggest super hero ever.
Yaas, Queen! Danvers may not like the crown she’s wearing, but boy does it look good on her. Just watch out for the thorns it comes with—forces trying to take down everything Carol has built.
Carol Danvers makes her triumphant return as the Mighty Captain Marvel! Written by celebrity writer Margaret Stohl (Beautiful Creatures, Black Widow: Forever Red) and drawn by the artfully talented Ramon Rosanas (Ant-Man), this bold new take on Earth’s mightiest and favorite hero!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

4. New U.S.Avengers

Marvel’s newest super team is “U.S.Avengers”! But I’m not typing that all out every time so it’s US Avengers now. Sorry.

Continued below

“US Avengers” is the follow-up to Al Ewing’s “New Avengers” run where the scraps of AIM were bought up and turned into an Avengers team. It was a pretty cool part of whatever we were calling the last Marvel Now! reboot and had a lot of great ideas, American Kaiju chief among them. Let’s see if the new “US Avengers” can do it again while working for the US Government. They have mustachioed Red Hulk AKA Evil Ron Swanson on their team so I’m definitely going to give it a look.

U.S.AVENGERS #1
AL EWING (W) • PACO MEDINA (A/C)
50 STATE VARIANT COVERS BY ROD REIS (see Diamond site for ordering information)
CANADA, WASHINGTON D.C. & PUERTO RICO VARIANT COVERS BY ROD REIS (see Diamond site for ordering information)
SECRET VARIANT BY DANIEL ACUñA (AUG168924)
VARIANT COVER BY RYAN STEGMAN (OCT160724)
ACTION FIGURE VARIANT COVER BY JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER (OCT160727)
YOUNG VARIANT COVER BY SKOTTIE YOUNG (OCT160725)
HIP-HOP VARIANT COVER BY OMAR CASANOVA (OCT160726)
XCI VARIANT COVER BY TBA (OCT160728)
BLANK COVER VARIANT (OCT160729)

In a world beset by danger, the United States of America needs a team of heroes they can rely on. Welcome to… American Intelligence Mechanics! A.I.M. will dare any danger — no matter how awesome that danger might be — to save their nation from the
wildest, weirdest threats of all! The most patriotic super-group ever is here to save the day. And they’ll do it all looking tried & true
in the red, white & blue! Can you live without…the U.S.Avengers?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
DIAMOND CODE OCT160723

3. Deadpool 2099

Aside from “The Vision” being the best book Marvel’s done in five years (RIP), I think my most repeated statement in this column is how rad Gerry Duggan’s run with “Deadpool” has been. It’s one of the most consistent stories Marvel’s been telling which means a lot when more than fifteen issues is considered “a great run” for most books. Lately, Deadpool’s been facing a crumbling marriage, loss of a team, and an ongoing rivalry with the voice that used to live in his head. On top of all that, there’s been some glimpses into the future that may or may not tie the current day events into a war between Deadpool’s two daughters over the use of his name? It’s all pretty good, and I doubt that a book in 2016 titled “Deadpool” needs a bump of any kind, but it’s definitely been one of my favorite Marvel titles thus far.

DEADPOOL #25
GERRY DUGGAN (W) • SCOTT KOBLISH (A/C)
Variant Cover by RON LIM
Variant Cover by TBA
Variant Cover by TBA
Secret Comics Variant Cover by SCOTT KOBLISH
DEADPOOL 2099 reaches its DOUBLE-SIZED CONCLUSION!

• Wade’s two daughters battle for his legacy!
• PLUS: The old man himself gets in the game!
• AND: IRON FIST shows just how IMMORTAL he is!
56 PGS./Parental Advisory …$5.99

2. Unstoppable Waspy Schmidt

This is what happens when you don’t read “Uncanny Avengers”. You find out that Hank Pym had a secret child he never talked about because he was a wife beating dirtbag who created a genocidal robot. Crazy that people still like that guy. Anyway, Nadia Pym has the powers of Pym particles along with the intense training that comes from being trapped in The Red Room, the same room where Black Widow was raised. So she’s half-Wasp half-Black Widow? Spooky.

THE UNSTOPPABLE WASP #1
JEREMY WHITLEY (W) • ELSA CHARRETIER (A)
Cover by ELSA CHARRETIER
Variant Cover by ELIZABETH TORQUE
Young Variant Cover by SKOTTIE YOUNG
HIP-HOP VARIANT COVER BY NELSON BLAKE II
Action Figure Variant Cover by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
MOVIE VARIANT COVER ALSO AVAILABLE
BLANK COVER VARIANT ALSO AVAILABLE

Girl. Genius. Hero. Unstoppable.
Nadia spent the entire first half of her life a captive of The Red Room, but now this teenage super-scientist is on her own for the first time, and she’s ready to spread her wings! Hank Pym’s daughter has a lot of time to make up for and she’s determined to change the world. You know, if she can get her U.S. citizenship first. Guest-starring Ms. Marvel and Mockingbird!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Continued below

1 RIP Steve Dillon

A few days ago, the comics industry lost one of its strongest artists in Steve Dillon. Dillon was best known for his collaborations with Garth Ennis, pumping out classic story after classic story in titles like “Punisher”, “Hellblazer” and most famously “Preacher”. Dillon had only recently returned to work on this new volume of “The Punisher” with Becky Cloonan, in a storyline that had been really finding its voice. I can’t say a whole lot about Steve Dillon the way others who knew and worked with him have but it’s a real blow to lose him, especially with more work of his on the way. Obviously, a lot of people will be looking to however much of his run he had completed as Dillon’s swan song, but it’s going to be interesting to see how Cloonan’s Punisher moves forward as it loses one of Frank Castle’s most prominent artists.

THE PUNISHER #9
BECKY CLOONAN (W)
STEVE DILLON (A)
Cover by DECLAN SHALVEY

THE BIG CHILL
• THE PUNISHER’s taken the worst of what the backwoods can throw at him and sent it back in pieces.
• But his temporary allegiances are over and his arsenal is long gone.
• Will that stop Frank? No. No, it won’t. There are still plenty of bodies to put in that cold, cold ground.
32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$3.99


//TAGS | Soliciting Multiversity

James Johnston

James Johnston is a grizzled post-millenial. Follow him on Twitter to challenge him to a fight.

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