As “Secret Wars” dutifully marches on, Multiversity Comics takes a look at the ten most interesting picks from Marvel’s solicitations. Check out our picks below and let us know what stuck out to you in the comments.
10.Obligatory Secret Wars Hype
The sucky thing about “Secret Wars” is that it’s everywhere. This column is going to be 90% “Secret Wars” for at least two more months and there’s nothing any of us can do about it. Everywhere I look is another one-shot, a tie-in, a comic with the word “Battleworld” plastered on the cover. And yet, even if the quality of the tie-ins are inconsistent, the “Secret Wars” series itself has proven to be very promising. The whirlwind of factions fighting for control of a world created by GOD EMPEROR DOOM is an incredibly strong premise for a crossover that builds on elements from the original “Secret Wars.” If it can tie back into the Beyonoders storyline Hickman was working with in a cool way, I don’t see any major problems coming from this series.
SECRET WARS #6 (OF 8)
JONATHAN HICKMAN (w) • ESAD RIBIC (a)
Cover by ALEX ROSS
CONNECTING VARIANT BY SIMONE BIANCHI
ACTION FIGURE VARIANT BY JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
VARIANT COVER BY ESAD RIBIC
VARIANT COVER BY BABS TARR
CLASSIC VARIANT BY TBD ARTIST
THE FINAL WAR!
40 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
9. Hearts And Skulls On Fire
Another thing about “Secret Wars” that’s great to see from Marvel is its willingness to really experiment with the tie-ins. A romance comic isn’t what most companies produce when its time for their summer events but at least those characters are Kamala Khan and Robbie Reyes, two characters who should really share more screen time together. That said, does anyone else feel like this might get lost among the forty other “out-there” titles that Marvel’s putting out? Hopefully it’ll stand out, especially with that incredible cover by David Nakayama. And while I don’t think Deadpool’s meant to be involved in “Secret Wars”, I wouldn’t be surprised if this comic included a Wade Wilson/Bea Arthur segment.
SECRET WARS: SECRET LOVE #1
MICHEL FIFFE, FELIPE SMITH, MARGUERITE BENNETT, JEREMY WHITLEY, KATIE COOK & MORE! (w)
MICHEL FIFFE, FELIPE SMITH, KRIS ANKA, GURIHIRU, KATIE COOK & MORE! (a)
Cover by DAVID NAKAYAMA
VARIANT COVER BY TBA
• WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, CAN THEIR LOVE SURVIVE?
• ROBBIE REYES/KAMALA KHAN!
• TYPHOID MARY/KAREN PAGE/MATT MURDOCK!
• AND MANY MORE SECRET LOVE AFFAIRS…
40 PGS./ONE SHOT/Parental Guidance …$4.99
*SECRET WARS SERIES
8. Ghost Rider: Fury Road
Call it a weird alignment of the zeitgeist, but “Ghost Racers” is reminding me of Mad Max in the best way. Some characters seem to be thrown into “Secret Wars” tie-ins with no real reason (see: Captain America as a gladiator in “Planet Hulk”) but “Ghost Racers” seems tailor made for the Ghost Rider character, bringing in every Ghost Rider ever while elevating Robbie Reyes in a unique way. This might end up being my personal favorite of the “Secret Wars” tie-ins, if only because it’s the one title that involves Ghost Rider 2099: ZERO COCHRANE. He’s a 90’s hacker. A 90’s hacker for a street gang!
GHOST RACERS #3
FELIPE SMITH (w) • JUAN PABLO CUELLO VILLANUEVA (a)
Cover by FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA
JOHNNY BLAZE VARIANT BY FELIPE SMITH
THE REAL DEATH RACE BEGINS!
•ROBBIE REYES: FUGITIVE!!!
•Can the ALL-NEW GHOST RIDER outrace his doomed destiny?
•And what kind of VENGEANCE will JOHNNY BLAZE, DANNY KETCH, ALEJANDRA BLAZE, SLADE and ZERO COCHRANE unleash on him?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
*SECRET WARS SERIES
7. Last Days Of What?
Honest question: what’s up with the “Last Days” titles? The Battleworld stuff (sort of) makes sense, even if there’s a lot of inconsistencies between all the planet’s realms. Does it take place in the 616? Didn’t the 616 blow up? And why is this renumbered but “Spider-Woman” and “Ms. Marvel” keep their original numbering? Is the best way to nab moviegoers who just got out of “Ant-Man” throwing them directly into “Secret Wars”? Because I’ve been reading comics since I was twelve and I am wildly overwhelmed by “Secret Wars”. Will kids seeing Ant-Man for the first time just get right into this no problem? Am I growing too old?
Continued belowANT-MAN: LAST DAYS #1
NICK SPENCER (w) • RAMON ROSANAS (a)
Cover by MARK BROOKS
MANGA ARTIST VARIANT COVER BY TBA
• When a local clairvoyant predicts the end of the world, a mysterious woman sends Scott on a vital mission!
• An old foe (okay, maybe more like annoyance) shows up — and Scott’s going to regret it!
• What do you do when you think the world is about to end? What do you think? Doesn’t anybody else remember 1999? You party! Everything dies? Pfft. Everything DANCES.
32 PGS./ONE SHOT/Rated T+ …$3.99
6. More Like Ben UrGreat
I haven’t been keeping up with any of New Costume Spider-Woman but this solicit makes me question my decision. A road trip to the Alamo with F-Lister The Porcupine and Ben Urich? I hope every other page of this is Ben stopping the story to protest episode twelve of Daredevil.
SPIDER-WOMAN #10
DENNIS HOPELESS (w) • NATACHA BUSTOS (a)
Cover by DAVE JOHNSON
THE LAST DAYS OF SPIDER-WOMAN
• Spider-Woman’s roadtrip across the country continues, as she pays a visit to THE ALAMO!
• Not even Spider-Woman and her RAGTAG CREW OF BEN URICH AND THE PORCUPINE are safe from SECRET WARS, though.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
5. I Was Wrong
A while back, I said that “Age of Ultron vs. Marvel Zombies” was a cheap grab at two vaguely popular events that sounded ultimately meaningless. I was so wrong. “Secret Wars” #2 did a lot to make Battleworld seem cool, not the least of which was the revelation that The Wall from Game of Thrones exists in Battleworld and it keeps out a legion of Ultrons, Marvel Zombies, and Annihilation Waves. With that oodle of context, “Age of Ultrons vs. Marvel Zombies” just became four times more interesting at least. I hope there’s a scene where a Peter Parker as Jon Snow falls in love with an Ultron and bangs it in a cave.
AGE OF ULTRON VS. MARVEL ZOMBIES #3
JAMES ROBINSON (w) • STEVE PUGH (a/C)
VARAINT COVER BY TBA
BETWEEN GRIEF AND NOTHING…I’LL TAKE GRIEF!
• Our heroes hold off hordes of ULTRONS and ZOMBIES!
• HANK PYM must confront what his counterpart hath wrought!
• From the domain of PERFECTION, ULTRON is on the verge of a breakthrough that will shake the foundations of BATTLEWORLD!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
*SECRET WARS SERIES
4. Unstoppable
I thought we were done with the Battleworld tie-ins, that every tie-in coming forth would just be a continauing series with a few one-shots sprinkled throughout. Now there’s “House of M” which isn’t listed as a mini-series or a one-shot. That said, it’s going to be a mini-series. Every other Marvel series since 2012 has been a mini-series.
Also, the Manga Artist note made me misread the solicit as “House of Magna.”
“No More Waifus”
HOUSE OF M #1
DENNIS HOPELESS (w)
Marco Failla (a)
Cover BY KRIS ANKA
BLANK COVER VARIANT ALSO AVAILABLE
MANGA ARTIST VARIANT COVER BY TBA
PROMO VARIANT COVER BY JORGE MOLINA
INHUMANS 50TH ANNIVERSARY VARIANT COVER BY TBA
• The House of Magnus controls all, having crushed all resistance to their reign. Magneto rules with an iron-fist, while his children and grandchildren live their lives as royals—with all the privileges and pit-falls that come with that title.
• But is Magneto’s control as all-encompassing as it seems? And what happens to a conqueror when there is no one left to conquer?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
3. Howard the Franchise
Howard the Duck’s recent renaissance is definitely one of the weirder aspects of Marvel’s recent publishing. This may be an indication of how tied they are into the MCU, but I can’t trust any new series or revitalized character unless it has a direct tie to the MCU. So every time I see a new “Howard the Whatever” title, I have to assume Seth Green’s getting his own 120 minute CGI-fueled adventure. I really hope Marvel hasn’t taken “Guardians of the Galaxy”‘s success and assumed it can turn any character into a franchise. They already have, considering Ant-Man is in two months, but a Howard the Duck film can’t be done without mythological amounts of hubris.
Continued belowHOWARD THE HUMAN #1
SKOTTIE YOUNG (w) • JIM MAHFOOD (a)
Cover by JIM MAHFOOD
VARIANT COVER BY TBA
• Spend a day with Howard, a private investigator and the only human living in city full of animals. But not, like, criminals and lowlifes. We’re talking elephants, apes, ducks and kitty cats. Catching a case, grinding a few gears, dodging some bullets and almost getting killed by an anthropomorchic monstrosity. It’s just another Monday for Howard the Human brought to you by Skottie Young (ROCKET RACCOON) and Jim Mahfood (MIAMI VICE REMIX).
32 PGS./ONE SHOT/Rated T+ …$3.99
2. Sure
Honestly, let’s do this. Michael Walsh has been a stellar artist at Marvel with his work on “Secret Avengers” and, uh, Curb Your Enthusiasm was a successful show(?) Out of every new Marvel character from the past three years, whether they be alternate versions like Spider-Gwen or legaly heroes like Robbie Reyes, I hope Hank Johnson’s the one that endures for years. I also hope they change his design so he’s literally Larry David.
HANK JOHNSON, AGENT OF HYDRA #1
DAVID MANDEL (w) • MICHAEL WALSH (a)
Cover by AMANDA CONNER
VARIANT Cover by MICHAEL WALSH
• Hey there, comic reader! Have you ever wondered what Hydra agents do during their downtime? No? Well…then, uh, go read HAIL HYDRA. For everyone else with a burning desire to see a Hydra agent letting it all hang out, THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU! BE THRILLED as Hank picks up his kids from school! BE AMAZED as Hank talks with Hydra’s HR department! And BE STUPEFIED as Hank wishes he had picked a different line of work! From CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM executive producer David Mandel, Hank Johnson, Agent of Hydra will have you looking at faceless henchmen in a whole new light.
32 PGS./ONE SHOT/Rated T+ …$3.99
1. Hope For The Future
Marvel, do not play with me.
Recent titles like “Mighty Avengers” and the Deadpool wedding cover have hinted at “Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.” being canon. If you need to know why its canon status was always in doubt, you need to know that “Nextwave” might be the dubious comic Marvel’s ever published. Unfortunately, Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen stopped after twelve issues, depriving the world of their pitch-perfect blend of hyperactive mania and senseless violence. Like I said with “Howard the Human”, Marvel never publishes anything unless they have some plan for it. This could just be a reprinting but until the day Marvel announces new “Nextwave”, I’ll be here rocking out.
NEXTWAVE: AGENTS OF H.A.T.E. – THE COMPLETE COLLECTION TPB
NEW PRINTING!
Written by WARREN ELLIS
Penciled by STUART IMMONEN
Cover by STUART IMMONEN
RRRAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!! Action! Excitement! Explosions! The Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort, or H.A.T.E. (a subsidiary of the Beyond Corporation©) put NEXTWAVE together to fight Bizarre Weapons of Mass Destruction. When NEXTWAVE discovers that H.A.T.E. and Beyond© are terrorist cells themselves, and that the BWMDs were intended to kill them, they are less than pleased. In fact, they are rather angry. So they make things explode. Lots of things. Starring Monica Rambeau (formerly Captain Marvel and Photon), Aaron Stack (Machine Man), Tabitha Smith (X-Force’s Meltdown), monster-hunter Elsa Bloodstone and The Captain! If you like anything, you will LOVE NEXTWAVE! BOOM! Included on the Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for 2007 by the Youth Adult Library Services Association, Nextwave is a pure extraction of comic-book action and adventure, with plenty of kicks, punches and explosions along the way! Collecting NEXTWAVE: AGENTS OF H.A.T.E. #1-12.
304 PGS./Parental Advisory …$34.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-9839-0
If you want to follow along here’s Marvel’s August 2015 solicitations courtesy of CBR.
