Soliciting Multiversity now turns its all-seeing eye to our picks for the ten best and most interesting releases from Marvel’s May 2015 solicitations, as things get weird upon the arrival of “Secret Wars” and its infinite tie-ins.
Take a look at my picks below, and please share your favorite releases and thoughts in the comments.
10. How is this a thing?
First, the solicit:
MARVEL FIRSTS: THE 1990S OMNIBUS HC
Written by HOWARD MACKIE, GREGORY WRIGHT, FABIAN NICIEZA, PETER DAVID, DAN ABNETT, DG CHICHESTER, CHRISTIAN COOPER, TOM DEFALCO, JOHN OSTRANDER, JORGE GONZALES, TOM PEYER & MORE
Penciled by JAVIER SALTARES, JACKSON GUICE, MARK BAGLEY, ANGEL MEDINA, STEVEN BUTLER, RICHARD CASE, RON GARNEY, ART THIBERT, RON FRENZ, GABRIEL GECKO, TOM TENNEY, SCOTT MCDANIEL, PASQUAL FERRY, JIM CHEUNG & MORE
Cover by VARIOUSRevisit comics’ most divisive decade with a giant-sized compendium of daring debuts! All your favorites are here: Deadpool! Nomad! X-Force! Scarlet Spider! Quicksilver! ClanDestine! Venom! Nightwatch! Gambit! Vengeance! Spider-Man 2099! The Thunderbolts! Plus: Ghost Rider and Deathlok, reinvented for the ’90s! Guns! Swords! Leather! Clones! Pouches! Don’t dis the ’90s, they’re totally dope!
Collecting GHOST RIDER (1990) #1, DEATHLOK (1990) #1, NEW WARRIORS (1990) #1, FOOLKILLER (1990) #1, DARKHAWK #1, SLEEPWALKER #1, X-FORCE (1991) #1, X-FACTOR (1986) #71, WARLOCK AND THE INFINITY WATCH #2, DEATH’S HEAD II (1992A) #1, SILVER SABLE AND THE WILD PACK #1, TERROR INC. (1992) #1, NIGHT THRASHER: FOUR CONTROL #1, DARKHOLD: PAGES FROM THE BOOK OF SINS #1, NIGHTSTALKERS #1, SPIDER-MAN 2099 (1992) #1, VENOM: LETHAL PROTECTOR #1, CABLE (1993) #1, DEADPOOL: THE CIRCLE CHASE #1, THUNDERSTRIKE (1993) #1, GAMBIT (1993) #1, WAR MACHINE (1994) #1, BLACKWULF #1, FORCE WORKS #1, BLADE THE VAMPIRE-HUNTER (1994) #1, GENERATION X SAN DIEGO PREVIEW, FANTASTIC FORCE (1994) #1, WEB OF SPIDER-MAN (1985) #118, BISHOP #1, X-MAN #1, ELEKTRA: ROOT OF EVIL #1, GREEN GOBLIN #1, CAPTAIN MARVEL (1995) #1, HEROES FOR HIRE (1997) #1, MAVERICK #1, QUICKSILVER #1, SPIDER-GIRL (1998) #1, SLINGERS #0, SPIDER-WOMAN (1999) #1, DEATHLOK (1999) #1 and WARLOCK (1999) #1; and material from CAPTAIN AMERICA ANNUAL #9, WEB OF SPIDER-MAN (1985) #100, MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS (1988) #147 and #158, and TALES OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE.
1288 PGS./Rated T …$125
In a way, that’s kind of fun. You can revisit a time gone by in a big way, all in one place for one lump sum. But it’s a little weird, isn’t it? The solicit goes out of its way to reference that – more or less – people thought this time sucked, and even listed out the things people make fun of. That’s funny, but in terms of making this $125 omnibus more palatable, isn’t it a little weird that they didn’t try to be positive about it? I don’t know. What I do know is that this is probably the weirdest and maybe worst collection of comics one can find in omnbius form, and it boggles the mind that this gets publication before something like a “Thunderbolts by Busiek and Bagley” Omnibus. But that’s me. Where are the pogs though? And will it have a holofoil cover? These are things I need to know.
9. A Pleasant Surprise
While I can’t say I’m interested in all of the books, conceptually, what I can say about most of the “Secret Wars” tie-in books is that Marvel took some interesting chances on the creators involved with the projects. Take this one, for example. Sure, it’s basically just a new version of the “Vs.” series they did during “Avengers vs. X-Men” that was…unimpressive, but pairing the “Nailbiter” team of Josh Williamson and Mike Henderson with the talented duo of Ed Brisson and Scott Hepburn is inspired. Not only that, but apparently it features a shit ton of M.O.D.O.K.s and the New Fantastic Four, and that makes it a very, very interesting thing indeed.
Continued belowSECRET WARS: BATTLEWORLD #1 (OF 4)
JOSH WILLIAMSON & ED BRISSON (w)
MIKE HENDERSON & SCOTT HEPBURN (a)
Cover by PACO MEDINA
Variant Cover by JAMES STOKOE
ACTION FIGURE VARIANT COVER BY JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHERWhen the Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Universe collide, there is only…Battleworld!
Featuring the fights, battles and blow-ups that are just TOO BIG for Secret Wars!
When a Dr. Strange-possessed Punisher goes on the run, only Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hulk and Ghost Rider can track him down!
Question: What happens when M.O.D.O.K. recruits every single M.O.D.O.K. ever for his evil schemes? Answer: M.O.D.O.K. M.A.D.N.E.S.S.! 32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
8. Hopefully not the next “Dark Knight Strikes Back”
I wrote about this before, but this is a book I think shouldn’t be part of “Secret Wars”. I understand why it is – it’s a recent event(ish) book that sold well – but Mark Millar and Steve McNiven’s story was a really, really enjoyable complete tale. It just seems unnecessary. Still, they put an A-List team (who doesn’t really fit in my mind, but oh well) on the book and who knows, it could be totally rad. I might check it out, but as you’ll notice, it’s one of many $4.99 books this month (that also is double sized).
OLD MAN LOGAN #1
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (w)
ANDREA SORRENTINO (a/C)
Variant Cover by STEVE McNIVEN
VARIANT COVER BY ANDREA SORRENTINO
YOUNG VARIANT BY SKOTTIE YOUNG
BLANK VARIANT COVEREnter the Wastelands…a realm where all heroes have been murdered by their arch-enemies, villains who now rule over the land with an iron fist. In the midst of this dystopian chaos, one man may make a difference…a reluctant warrior who was once the greatest mutant of all…a man known as OLD MAN LOGAN. 40 PGS./Rated T …$4.99
7. The weirdest Secret Wars tie-in is here
Garth Ennis. Russ Braun. Fighter planes. Dinosaurs. Complete ridiculousness. Somehow in a few month span, Marvel and DC are giving Ennis the keys to the kingdom on two books, and oh baby, are things going to get weird. This book may be proper nuts, but I do believe I will enjoy it.
WHERE MONSTERS DWELL #1 (of 5)
GARTH ENNIS (w)
RUSS BRAUN (a)
Cover by FRANK CHO
VARIANT COVER BY ALEX MALEEVGARTH ENNIS returns to Marvel Comics proper and he’s bringing his The Boys collaborator Russ Braun along with him! Fighter planes and dinosaurs collide in this raucous tale that starts with the classic Marvel character Phantom Eagle and digs much deeper! 32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
6. Superheroines unite!
This pick is a G. Willow Wilson centric pick. I love “Ms. Marvel” enough that I’ll try out anything she does, and the concept sounds pretty fun. Maybe a bit more underdeveloped and less out there, but fun. Plus, Bennett is a rising talent and Molina’s an up-and-comer as well, and we have ourselves a promising little project.
A-FORCE #1
G. WILLOW WILSON & MARGUERITE BENNETT (w)
JORGE MOLINA (a)
Cover by JIM CHEUNG
INHUMANS 50TH ANNIVERSARY VARIANT VARIANT COVER BY RUSSELL DAUTERMAN
VARIANT COVER BY STEPHANIE HANS
VARIANT COVER BY JORGE MOLINA
YOUNG VARIANT BY SKOTTIE YOUNG
BLANK COVER VARIANT ALSO AVAILABLEMarvel’s Mightiest Women finally get their own explosive series!
In a secluded corner of the Battleworld, an island nation is fiercely protected by a team of Avengers the likes of which has only ever been glimpsed before…
Fighting to protect the small sliver of their world that’s left, the Amazing A-FORCE stands shoulder-to-shoulder, ready to take on the horde! 32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
5. Devil Dinosaur. ‘Nuff said.
This is the only tie-in to “Secret Wars” that seems anywhere near as crazy as “Where Monsters Dwell”, and I have a feeling it will be a) super crazy and b) super awesome. Steve Rogers riding Devil Dinosaur and fighting a horde of Hulks is pretty much everything I want from a comic. Sam Humphries can do cray well, Marc Laming is a very gifted artist, and they promise a back up from a “surprise creative team”. Color me intrigued. However, $4.99 once again! Damn you Marvel! Damn you!
Continued belowPLANET HULK #1
SAM HUMPHRIES (w)
MARC LAMING (a)
Cover by MICHAEL DEL MUNDO
Variant Cover by MUKESH SINGH
BLANK COVER VARIANT
YOUNG VARIANT COVER BY SKOTTIE YOUNGA forbidden zone of wild HULKS
A battle-worn gladiator named STEVE ROGERS
A journey that could break the spirit of a world’s greatest freedom fighter.
PLUS: A back up story by a surprise creative team! 40 PGS./Rated T …$4.99
4. Every new beginning is another beginning’s end
I stopped reading the Bendis X-Men books a good long while ago, but I am an absolute sucker for centennial issues, especially from X-Books. Plus, Bendis has promised that it will involve all kinds of big name X-Artists (it already features Bachalo, Immonen, Asrar, Anka and Irving which is a hell of a list as a start, plus covers from people like Art Adams and Olivier Coipel), and that makes it very, very intriguing. I’m not sure what the future holds for the X-Books, but it seems like it will start here whatever it is. I’ll join up for that issue, at least. And it’s not $4.99! Yay! It’s $5.99! Boo!
UNCANNY X-MEN #600
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (w)
CHRIS BACHALO, STUART IMMONEN, MAHMUD ASRAR, KRIS ANKA and FRAZER IRVING (a)
Cover by CHRIS BACHALO
ACTION FIGURE VARIANT COVER A BY JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
ACTION FIGURE VARIANT COVER B BY JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
ACTION FIGURE VARIANT COVER C BY JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
VARIANT COVER BY KRIS ANKA
VARIANT COVER BY PAUL SMITH
VARIANT COVER BY OLIVIER COIPEL
VARIANT COVER BY ED MCGUINNESS
VARIANT COVER BY ARTHUR ADAMS
VARIANT COVER BY LEINIL YU
VARIANT COVER BY RICK LEONARDIThe final explosive issue in Brian Michael Bendis’ epic X-Men saga!
Scott Summers – savior or destroyer? Questions will be answered!
The Jean Grey School, the New Xavier School – it’s all going to change.
The X-Men are at a crossroads. And not everyone will make it through in one piece.
Featuring 40 pages of a host of popular X-Men creators! 56 PGS./Rated T+ …$5.99
3. Sometimes, it’s the little things
I might be the only person who really enjoyed the Frontline books that were associated with previous events like “Civil War”, and while this might not be exactly like that, it does seem to be similar in that it tells the event stories that are a little smaller and stranger. A Kate Bishop story set in 1602? A story set in the world of Egyptia? Art from talents like Bachs and Pizzari? Freaking Prudence Shen (“Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong”) working on a Marvel book? We’re getting some unexpected tales from some unexpected characters, and I think they’ll be pretty dang good.
SECRET WARS JOURNAL #1 (OF 5)
Prudence Shen & Michael Rosenberg (w)
Ramon Bachs & Luca Pizzari (a)
Cover by Kevin Wada
VARIANT COVER BY TBA
ACTION FIGURE VARIANT BY JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHERWITNESS THE STRANGE TALES OF BATTLEWORLD! TWO SCINTILLATING STORIES OF SECRET WARS!
Is LADY KATE of 1602 the nefarious HAWKEYE BANDIT who robs from the rich and gives to the poor?
Can an enslaved band of MUTANTS in EGYPTIA overthrow their overlord, KHONSHU?
Can YOU afford not to read the coolest, hippest, most continuity-important book in all of SECRET WARS??? Because this is TOTALLY THAT BOOK. But don’t tell anyone. It’ll be our little Secret…Wars Journal. 32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
2. This time things are ending…for real, we swear
So the Ultimate Universe is ending. For realsies. I know it has seemed like they were killing it an array of other times, but this time – THIS TIME – they mean it. Marvel’s saying it will be integrated into the Marvel Universe going forward (whatever that means) so Miles Morales will live on in some capacity (I really wish they’d just let the character exist in his own universe forever with Bendis writing him), but I’ll believe it when I see it. Either way, Bendis and Bagley do good things with the Ultimate universe, and I’m in on this mini-series, even if it doesn’t really end the universe like they say it will.
Continued belowULTIMATE END #1 (OF 5)
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (w)
MARK BAGLEY (a/C)
Variant Cover by DAVID MARQUEZ
ACTION FIGURE VARIANT COVER BY JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER YOUNG
VARIANT COVER BY SKOTTIE YOUNGMILES MORALES and the rest of the heroes of the ULTIMATE U face final extinction.
As the end of their world becomes inevitable, will the heroes’ heartbreaking sacrifices make any difference?
The dramatic end of an era begins here! 32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
1. Thus begins the event that changes everything…again
I don’t know why, but “Secret Wars” just seems bigger than the last few events, doesn’t it? It feels to me like the biggest event since “Avengers vs. X-Men”, at the very least, and while that doesn’t say much (that was a pretty putrid event, after all), it does say that we’re going to be in for a bumpy ride. As a person who hasn’t been reading Hickman’s “Avengers” or “New Avengers”, I’m probably not the right person to be hyped for this book, but I can tell you this: I would read any Hickman and Ribic book. And I mean any. Rom? Sure. Matter Eating Lad solo book? Totally. Grimm Fairy Tales: Cinderella from Zenescope? For an issue or two, I guess. The point is, this is a great team working on a book with literally infinite potential. If this book isn’t awesome, something is seriously wrong. I have a feeling it will be awesome. Worst case scenario, I read a bunch of funny recaps from Multiversity’s James Johnston instead of this comic and something crazy happens to Marvel’s line at the end. It’s a win win.
SECRET WARS #1 (OF 8)
JONATHAN HICKMAN (w)
ESAD RIBIC (a)
Cover by ALEX ROSS (FEB150650)
VARIANT COVER BY ESAD RIBIC (FEB150656)
PARTY VARIANT COVER BY CHIP ZDARSKY (FEB150663)
CONNECTING VARIANT COVER BY SIMONE BIANCHI (FEB150653)
VARIANT COVER BY AMANDA CONNOR (FEB150655)
VARIANT COVER BY Jim Cheung (FEB150651)
CLASSIC VARIANT COVER BY Butch Guice (FEB150652)
YOUNG VARIANT COVER BY SKOTTIE YOUNG (FEB150657)
BLANK VARIANT COVER (FEB150658)
ACTION FIGURE VARIANT BY JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER (FEB150654)
PARTY VARIANT SKETCH COVER BY CHIP ZDARSKYTHE FINAL INCURSION IS HAPPENING!
THE MARVEL UNIVERSE IS COLLIDING WITH THE ULTIMATE UNIVERSE!
AND NEITHER WILL SURVIVE! 40 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99
SECRET WARS #2 (OF 8)
JONATHAN HICKMAN (w)
ESAD RIBIC (a)
Cover by ALEX ROSS
VARIANT COVER BY ESAD RIBIC
VARIANT COVER BY YASMINE PUTRI
ACTION FIGURE VARIANT BY JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
CONNECTING VARIANT COVER BY SIMONE BIANCHI
CLASSIC VARIANT COVER BY Kevin NowlanWHEN THE MARVEL UNIVERSE IS GONE, ALL THAT REMAINS IS BATTLEWORLD!
LEARN THE SECRETS OF THIS BRAVE NEW REALM IN THIS SPECIAL OVERSIZED ISSUE! 56 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99
That’s it for my look at Marvel’s March solicits. Take a look at Comic Book Resources for the full list, and please, share your favorite releases in the comments.
