Welcome to Soliciting Multiversity: “50% War of the Realms” edition. Yes, the War of the Realms is taking over most of Marvel, so we’ve got plenty of tie-ins and spin-offs to look at. But there’s still room for something a little extra, even a little… savage.
10. What Can a Spider Do in Asgard?
Spider-Man representing Midgard in a team-up to protect the realms. I’m sold. Somehow, Spider-Man’s tie-ins to any event tend to be the best part of the event, so I want to see how he brings a ragtag band of dwarves, trolls, and more together. Mayhem may ensue. In fact, I hope it does.
War of the Realms: Spider-Man & the League of Realms #1
Written by Sean Ryan
Illustrated by Nico Leon
Cover by Ken Lashley
Variant Cover by Cully Hamner• In order to win the War of the Realms, we need a LEAGUE OF REALMS!
• Thor once led this team with one representative from each fantastical realm, but the League has a NEW leader and representative of Midgard- SPIDER-MAN!
• Spider-Man must Frodo-Up and lead this ragtag group of SCREWBEARD THE DWARF, UD THE TROLL, RO BLOODROOT THE WIZARD, SIR IVORY HONEYSHOT THE LIGHT ELF and TITANYA THE MOUNTAIN GIANT! But who will represent ASGARD?!
• And, as Spidey is a terrible leader, could this team possibly achieve ANYTHING?!
32 PGS (EACH)./Rated T …$3.99 (EACH)
9. Panthers in Space!
Ta-Nehisi Coates has taken the Black Panther out of Wakanda and put him in space, which has made for quite the engaging comic. We’ve gotten bits and pieces of how T’challa wound up there, but now we get the full story. Questions will be answered, and the Marvel universe may get just a bit bigger for it.
Black Panther #12
Written by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Illustrated by Jen Bartel
Cover by Paolo Rivera and Daniel Acuña
Variant Cover by Heyjin Im• THE “GATHERING OF MY NAME” REACHES A TURNING POINT!
• The can’t-miss issue! Rising star Jen Bartel returns for the end of the second groundbreaking arc. Years ago, the Black Panther departed Earth for the stars — and discovered an empire bigger than he could have dreamed. Learn at last how the King of Wakanda found himself a slave in the Vibranium mines of a half-familiar world. T’Challa’s lost past is revealed here!
• 32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
8. Ratatoskr Returns!
Remember when Squirrel Girl had to deal with an Asgardian squirrel of chaos? I remember. And it was great. So now they have to team up in a War of the Realms tie-in, plus Doreen gets a neat new suit in the process. As always, this comic deserves a place of honor on the list.
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #44
Written by Ryan North
Illustrated by Derek Charm
Cover by Erica Henderson
Variant Cover by Sujin JoWAR OF THE REALMS TIE-IN!
• The other nine realms have fallen, Earth is under attack and the only one who can save us is DOREEN GREEN, A.K.A. THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL.
• So that’s terrific. We’re in great hands and don’t need to worry at all! Phew.
• Or at least we would be, if it weren’t for the complicating factor of an ancient Asgardian Squirrel Chaos God who’s decided she wants to be…FRIENDS??
• In this issue, Squirrel Girl and Ratatoskr fight Frost Giants…and their unspoken assumptions about each other!
• This arc is a “WAR OF THE REALMS” TIE-IN, but it’s also an awesome stand-alone story that you don’t need to be reading all the other comics to get!
• Don’t tell Marvel.
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
7. Represent!
We’ve got a lot of War of the Realms tie-ins to look at, but a New Agents of Atlas team featuring superheroes from all over Asia? Definitely deserving of a spot. Of course, the heroes they’re using are great too – Shang-Chi, Amadeus, an even some new heroes who I look forward to seeing in action.
Continued belowWar of the Realms: New Agents of Atlas #1
Written by Greg Pak
Illustrated by Gang-Hyuk Lim
Cover by Billy Tan
Variant Covers by Pyeong Jun Park and Patch Zircher• FEATURING MARVEL’S NEWEST HEROES WAVE, AERO & SWORD MASTER!
• ISSUE #1 – A “War of the Realms” tie-in series! As Sindr, Immortal Queen of Muspelheim, and her legions of Fire Demons march on Asia, it’s time for a new band of heroes to unite to protect the Pacific Rim. Having brought together a ragtag team of heroes to defend the Earth from an alien invasion in the past, can Amadeus Cho reassemble his “protectors” — Shang-Chi, Silk and Jimmy Woo to save the world from incineration? And where is Kamala Khan? And just who are Crescent, Io and Luna Snow??? Featuring Marvel’s newest heroes from China, Aero and Sword Master, and a mysterious new Filipino heroine named WAVE!
• 32 PGS. (EACH)/Rated T+ …$3.99 (EACH)
6. The Hunt Ends
There’s been a lot of build-up to the “Hunted” storyline, and every solicit makes it sound more and more tense. So it all ends here. Will Spider-Man be forced to do the unthinkable? Probably not. Will Kraven die again? Maybe. Will it be a comic worth reading? It sure sounds that way, so I look forward to seeing for myself.
Amazing Spider-Man #21
Written by Nick Spencer
Illustrated by Humberto Ramos
Cover by Humberto Ramos
Variant Covers by Leinil Francis Yu and Sujin Jo• THE CLIMACTIC CONCLUSION OF “HUNTED” IS HERE!
• Spidey faces an impossible situation that will push him as far as he’s ever been pushed.
• Who lives and who dies when the hunters become the prey?
• 32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
5. Tony vs a Dragon?
This is the most amazing cover I’ve seen in a long while. Look at it. Just look at it. And then look at the team behind the comic. You can see why it’s on the list. I have full faith in Gail Simone’s ability to write a compelling and witty story, which is just what I expect from an Iron Man comic, and it’s backed up by a fine artistic team. This ought to be good.
Tony Stark: Iron Man #12
Written by Gail Simone
Illustrated by Paolo Villanelli
Cover by Alexander Lozano
Variant Cover by Nexon• WAR OF THE REALMS TIE-IN!
• A war needs weapons — but Tony Stark once vowed that he’d never build weapons again!
• So why’s he hunkered down with Screwbeard the Dwarf in Avengers Mountain? And what is he making?
• 32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
4. To War!
Yep, another War of the Realms tie-in. I’m a sucker for a good team-up, and look at this team – Captain Marvel, Venom, Deadpool, even Weapon H (who I didn’t particularly care for on his own, but will make a very interesting addition to the team). It’s this kind of team composition that makes me really interested in reading the comic, so let’s see how they work off each other.
War of the Realms Strikeforce: The War Avengers #1
Written by Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum
Illustrated by Kim Jacinto
Cover by Kim Jacinto
Variant Cover by Nick Bradshaw• CAPTAIN MARVEL AND HER WAR AVENGERS HOLD THE FRONTLINE!
• While two other Strikeforce teams head out to other realms, Captain Marvel leads the fight to reclaim the Earth! But even with a crew of heavy hitters (Weapon H, Captain Britain, Venom, Deadpool) and two of the best spies on the planet (the Winter Soldier and the Black Widow), Carol’s fighting a losing game. Malekith’s allies are without number — and the battlefield bigger than any Carol’s commanded before. Time to lay it all out on the line — and fight for a miracle.
• 40 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99
3. Time to Play
Things are getting particularly serious and in the War of the Realms, and it sounds like Earth is losing (which builds dramatic tension, so that’s a good thing). Rather than just a single world domination, though, we have the baddies from the various realms splitting the continents like they’re playing a life-sized game of Risk.
Continued belowSo if we don’t get to see the various villains standing around a Risk board at least once, I will consider that a major missed opportunity.
War of the Realms #3
Written by Jason Aaron
Illustrated by Russell Dauterman
Cover by Arthur Adams and Matthew Wilson
Variant Covers by Billy Tan, Marko Djurdjevic, Marco Checcetto, Sean Izaakse, Victor Hugo, Heejin Jeon, and Greg Horn• RECLAIM THE REALMS!
• North America freezes into New Jotunheim. Europe becomes New Svartalfheim. Asia goes up in flames as the new domain of Queen Sindr and her fire goblins. Ulik the Troll lays claim to Australia while Amora the Enchantress raises an army of the dead in South America. Africa falls to the Angels of Heven while Roxxon Oil drops its stakes in Antarctica. Midgard now belongs to Malekith and his allies! The Avengers’ last hope lies in a series of suicide missions across the realms, starting with the rescue of Thor—last seen surrounded by an army of Frost Giants in Jotunheim…
• 32 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99
2. Princess vs Queen
The “Star Wars” comics have been giving us some high-stakes, engaging storylines, but Queen Trios and her betrayal of Princess Leia and the rebellion has been a big part of them lately. Now Leia is out for revenge, and it all cumulates with this – it’s really putting the “War” in “Star Wars,” and promises to be quite the issue.
Also, since I can’t do issue 66 without saying it: execute Order 66.
Star Wars #66
Written by Keiron Gillen
Illustrated by Angel Unzueta
Cover by Gerald Parel
Variant Cover by John Tyler Christopher• “THE SCOURGING OF SHU-TORUN” PART 5
• QUEEN TRIOS vs. PRINCESS LEIA at last!
• Can LUKE SKYWALKER hold out against the attack of overwhelming force…from his own allies?!
• And when you think things couldn’t get worse for our Rebels, there’s always an orbital bombardment to survive!
• 32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
• Star Wars © Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved. Used under authorization. Text and illustrations for Star Wars are © 2019 Lucasfilm Ltd.
1. So Savage
I never thought we’d see the day where Conan the Barbarian canonically joins an Avengers team, but here we are. Sure, it’s one of those spinoff side Avengers teams, but Avengers nonetheless. Besides, it’s got Wolverine in it – every Avengers team needs a Wolverine at least once.
Savage Avengers #1
Written by Gerry Duggan
Illustrated by Mike Deodato Jr.
Cover by David Finch
Variant Covers by MIke Deodato Jr., Simone Bianchi, SKottie Young, Leinil Francis Yu, and Moebius• The most savage, most unkillable team of characters in the Marvel Universe is assembled! Wolverine! Venom! Elektra! Punisher! And in their midst – Conan the Barbarian! Conan has returned to the Marvel Universe and his new adventures begin here. What is the City of Sickles? Who is the Marrow God? How is the Hand involved? The roughest and most dangerous characters rumble through this new title starting with…Conan vs. Wolverine? ’Nuff said.
• 40 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99
Check out the full solicitations over at CBR.com.
