Going into 2021, I wasn’t sure if the world would make it to 2022. But we’re just a few months away, and Marvel has announced the comics they’ll be ending the year with. Some events end, others begin, and some comics just continue to be fun. So let’s see how the House of Ideas will cap off the year as we take a look at the top 10 upcoming Marvel comics for December 2021.
10. What is Best in Life?
Conan the barbarian has been up to a lot around the Marvel Universe lately. Not only does he have his own series of comics, he’s been brought into the modern day as part of the “Savage Avengers” team. But it all leads to one destination: King Conan.
Now Jason Aaron picks up the pen for Conan again, bringing us a story with King Conan’s last stand. I’ve praised Jason Aaron’s work before, and I’m once more looking forward to seeing what he has in store for us with a new Conan adventure. (Besides, a little bit of sword and sorcery action is always fun.)
King Conan #1 (Of 6)
Written by Jason Aaron
Illustrated by Mahmud Asrar
Cover by Mahmud Asrar
Variant covers by Marguerite Sauvage, Alex Maleeve, Stan Sakai, James Stokoe, Stephanie hans, Mr Garcin, and John Buscema• CONAN’S LAST STAND AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD! Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar return to the saga of CONAN in an all-new adventure that takes the story of the Cimmerian further than has ever been revealed in ANY media to date! As Robert E. Howard posited, when King Conan grows restless on the throne, he sails west, toward land and adventure unknown. Now see the first step of King Conan’s fateful journey from Aquilonia, as an old and terrible danger threatens to end the saga of the Cimmerian once and for all! Don’t dare miss the first issue of the adventure of a lifetime!
9. Prime Time Avenging
Hey look, it’s another comic written by Jason Aaron! This year’s Free Comic Book Day gave us a preview of an upcoming “Avengers” story, featuring an unknown Avengers Prime from the future and an army of Deathloks. Little was explained, so it built the anticipation nicely.
Now it’s going to pay off, with a new “Avengers” arc and what’s billed as a megaversal threat (that’s right, not just universal, not just multiversal, but MEGAversal, because threats always need to escalate). Jason Aaron’s “Avengers” run has been filled with over-the-top fun that exemplifies everything Marvel has to offer, and now it’s getting even crazier. That can only be a good thing.
Avengers #51
Written by Jason Aaron
Illustrated by Juan Frigeri
Cover by Javier Carrón
Variant covers by Bryan Hitch, Rob Liefeld, and Nick Bradshaw• THE DEATH HUNT BEGINS. Sent by the mysterious Avenger Prime from a great watchtower at the dark heart of all that is, the cybernetic soldiers known as the Deathloks have come to our Earth with a dire warning for the Avengers. But hunters follow close behind them to ensure their warning of megaversal doom is never delivered. The most Earth-shatteringly powerful hunters any universe has ever seen. And their first stop: the golden realm of Asgard.
8. Every Nation Has its Captain
There is a long legacy in Marvel of nations having their own Captains. Captain America, Captain Britain, Captain Canada – and now Captain Krakoa (putting aside the fact that the current Captain Britain is also a Mutant living on Krakoa). The solicitation is keeping his identity a secret, because of course there’s more to this apparently new mutant than meets the eye.
Gerry Duggan has been keeping me consistently entertained with everything he’s written recently, and his run on “X-Men” has been good so far, so I look forward to seeing what he has planned with Captain Krakoa.
Continued belowX-Men #6
Written by Gerry Duggan
Illustrated by Pepe Larraz
Cover by Pepe Larraz
Variant covers by Oeoe larraz and Russell Dauterman• WHATEVER HAPPENED TO CAPTAIN KRAKOA? There’s a new hero on the X-Men. Who is he? Why is here? And why does Cyclops not want him on the team?
7. Darkness Fell
Sometimes, heroes have to make big sacrifices. In the case of “The Darkhold,” they have to sacrifice their minds and even the very essences of their beings when they risk reading from the Darkhold. In the months leading up to now, we’re getting tie-in issues showing how each of these heroes are twisted and tortured by the cursed book, and it comes to a close here. So… will it be worth it? I can’t wait to find out.
The Darkhold Omega #1
Written by Steve Orlando
Illustrated by Cian Tormey
Cover by Joe Bennett
Variant covers by Scott Hepburn, Gary Frank, and Cian Tormey• THE FATE OF ALL EXISTENCE LIES IN THE HANDS OF FIVE TWISTED MINDS! Five of the world’s greatest heroes – Spider-Man, Black Bolt, Blade, Wasp, and Iron Man – took a chance and read from the cursed Darkhold. They were meant to gain the power to fight back the dread elder god Chthon – but instead they’ve lost their minds and all they once held dear. Was it worth the cost? And who is their bold new ally – a product of Chthon’s dark dimension, or something else entirely? Steve Orlando and Cian Tormey deliver a heart-pounding conclusion to the epic Darkhold event – and introduce a hero who will take the Marvel Universe by storm!
6. I am Iron God
There’s been a lot of twists and turns in Christopher Cantwell’s “Iron Man” run, taking the story in unexpected and often cosmic directions. Well, nothing exemplifies that quite like the solicitation for this issue, bringing us an Iron God fighting a cosmically-powered Korvac that crosses universes. There’s a lot at stake, from the fate of several worlds to Tony Stark himself, making this an exciting new step in this “Iron Man” story.
Iron Man #15
Written by Christopher Cantwell
Illustrated by Ibrain Roberson
Cover by Alex Ross
Variant cover by Derrick Chew• IRON MAN HAS BECOME THE IRON GOD! Only trouble is Korvac has once again become cosmic as well. Their conflict now spills out across the universe as both newly nigh-invincible entities vie for absolute dominance. What does it look like when two massive egos with celestial-sized abilities duke it out? What kind of havoc does it cause as they tear through galaxies and dimensions? And how can a handful of tiny humans stop them in hope of saving their old friend Tony Stark?
5. Maybe Not a Power Couple
Remember that time Aunt May was engaged to Doctor Octopus? I sure haven’t, and neither has anyone at Marvel.
So we’re now seeing what’s got Peter Parker out of commission and Ben Reilly acting as Spider-Man. While Ben is off doing his own thing (and fighting Miles Morales for some reason?), we’re getting this issue to show us how Peter is doing, and… it’s not well. Enter Otto Octavius working together with Aunt May to try and save him, and frankly, that just sounds like it’s going to be entertaining no matter what.
Amazing Spider-Man #80
Written by Cody Ziglar
Illustrated by Ivan Fiorelli
Cover by Mark Bagley
Variant cover by Joe Quinones• With her nephew at death’s door, May Parker is not just going to sit around accepting that Peter’s ailments aren’t solvable with conventional means.
• Aunt May is going to seek UNCONVENTIONAL MEANS by way of her ex-fiancé DOCTOR OCTOPUS!!!
• One of the most controversial couples in comics history is back together, and they’re Peter Parker’s only hope of living through BEYOND!
4. Some Assembly Required
That’s right, even more Avengers-related comics made the list! We’ve got a new comic featuring a whole multiverse of Avengers, starting with the Cosmic Ghost Rider (who never fails to be entertaining), a post-apocalyptic world, and some unexpected versions of heroes we know. Plus, this will all connect to the current “Avengers” ongoing, so there’s bound to be some great stories to come from this.
Continued belowAvengers Forever #1
Written by Jason Aaron
Illustrated by Aaron Kuder
Cover by Aaron Kuder
Variant covers by Matteo Scalera, Betsy Cola, Russell Dauterman, and Carlos Pacheco• AN ALL-NEW SERIES STARRING THE AVENGERS OF THE MULTIVERSE!
• On a quest for cosmic vengeance, Ghost Rider finds himself roaring through the wasteland on a ruined Earth, where the great age of heroes never came to be, where hope is a four-letter word and where his only ally in the coming battle against the greatest villains any universe has ever seen is the world’s most wanted archaeologist, Tony Stark…the Invincible Ant-Man. Spinning out of the cataclysmic events of AVENGERS #750 and operating in lockstep with the prime AVENGERS series, the next great Avengers saga begins here, as the Mightiest Heroes of every Earth begin to assemble.
3. We Did the Time Warp Again… And Again… And Again
Time travel can get a little… “wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey,” as Doctor Who put it, especially in comics. We’ve seen this plenty, such as in the currently ongoing “Kang the Conqueror” mini-series, but “Timeless” takes it even further. Parallel timelines, battles featuring major Marvel characters, and a look at what’s to come for Marvel? Yes please, that is absolutely the kind of comic I’ll love to read.
Timeless #1
Written by Jed Mackay
Illustrated by Keve Walker, Joe Bennett, and Mark Bagley
Cover by Kael Ngu
Variant covers by Don Heck, Natacha Bustos, Juann Cabal, Carmen Carnero, Joshua Cassara, Iban Coello, Patrick Gleason, Peach Momoko, and R.B. Silva• HOW DO YOU WIN A WAR AGAINST TIME?
• A special year-ending adventure that gives portents as to what is to come in the Marvel Universe over the next twelve months! Kang the Conqueror is a warrior, a destroyer, a subjugator—but even he is subject to the whims and vicissitudes of time itself. So when a parallel timeline threatens to overwrite the future Kang has fought so long and so hard to control, the master of the ages has no choice but to go to war with time itself, battling through days of tomorrow as he struggles to prevent the end of what is to come!
• Featuring all the major players in the Marvel pantheon!
2. And So it Burns…
When Jonathan Hickman wrote “House of X” and “Powers of X,” the X-Men as we knew them were always going to change. While comics have a tendency to switch back to the status quo quickly, and there was foreshadowing that Krakoa was always doomed to fail, exactly what would happen to Krakoa was a major question. With “Inferno,” the new mutant homeland faces an internal threat like no other, and it’s one Hickman has been setting up for a while. Now we see how it ends, whether it means the end of Krakoa or the start of another new era. One way or another, Hickman’s impact on the X-series will be felt for a long while.
Inferno #4
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Illustrated by Valerio Schiti
Cover by Jermone Opeña
Variant covers by Pepe Larraz, Davi Go, Jeff Dekal, Peach Momoko, Iban Coello, David Baldeón, Oscar Vega, and Udon• TO EMBERS! Jonathan Hickman’s time on X-Men ends with the dramatic conclusion of one of the first and best mysteries he brought to the line. Valerio Schiti returns on art to help bring down one of the foundations of the era.
1.
You know how I’ve constantly praised Chip Zdarsky’s “Daredevil” run? Well, he has a little more left in store for us. “Devil’s Reign” kicks off a new story where Mayor Fisk, formerly known as Kingpin, it out to take down all the heroes. He’s been a thorn in their sides politically, now he’s sending all the villains he can after them, which means we’re going to get plenty of action and crossovers. If this is anything close to the quality of the comics Chip has been giving us as of late, it’s going to be amazing.
Devil’s Reign #1 (of 6)
Written by Chip Zdarsky
Illustrated by Marco Checchetto
Cover by Marco Checchetto
Variant covers by Dan Jurgens, Peach Momoko, John Romito Jr., Skottie Young, and Nick Bradshaw• The story that’s been building for years is here! Wilson Fisk went from Kingpin to mayor of the biggest city in America and is going to bring his full criminal and political power to bear on the super heroes who call NYC home. The man who once destroyed Daredevil has set his sights on The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and more. And since it’s Fisk, once he takes them all down, you know he’s going to sign it.
• CROSSBONES! TASKMASTER! TYPHOID MARY! SHOCKER! WHIPLASH! RHINO! KRAVEN! Fisk has an ARMY of super villains at his command – and this is just his opening salvo. For years, Fisk has waited for his time to strike, and YOU WON’T BELIEVE the aces he’s got up his sleeves!
Check out the full solicitations over at CBR.com.
