Oh look, Marvel's October MU #1's!

The August - October 2015 edition of Marvel Previews is out. Know what that means? October marks the first month of its sixty first issues initiative. I question the wisdom of doing so when Secret Wars approaches its conclusion and mini-What If? event; but I am not Marvel so I have no idea what they are thinking. In any case, here's my thoughts on each solicitation. Only will cover Marvel Universe titles so no Star Wars or non-continuity titles.

• Invincible Iron-Man #1 & 2: New purpose? That could be intriguing. New supporting cast? Sounds good. Who are  his biological parents? On second thought, this is a pass for me. I hate the revelation that his parents aren't his actual parents. Actual colored interior pages are included and they do look purdy. Madame Masque being back is rather cool.
• All-New, All-Different Marvel Point One #1: One of those titles that leads me to question Marvel's publishing wisdom. Why publish this title when the new initiative has begun? Why not before? Short stories are provided for six titles, two of which are 'classified'. Impulse buy.
• Avengers #0: See previous rant. New stories for all six Avengers titles plus what seems to the beginning to next Avengers meta-plot. Probably a must-read for Avengers fans.
• Amazing Spider-man #1 & 2: The first issue is a double issue for double the price! I like the 'Tony Stark'-ified Peter. The Zodiac is a fun group of villains. Its a direction that we have never seen before. First issue also provides stories for the rest of the Spider-line. If it wasn't for the implied twice a month publishing, I would buy this. I dropped Amazing because I could not keep up with the two or three times a month schedule. Impulse buy.
• Angela: Queen of Hel #1: Angela (of Spawn fame) is now in Asgard's Hel because her companion is there. She is now its queen. Al Simmons and her should compare notes.
• Blade #1: A female Blade! That's all Marvel provided. Pass!
• Astonishing Ant-Man #1: If you saw the free Marvel previews magazine that Marvel provided, there's nothing new here. A maybe.
• Contest of Champions #1: Appears to be bridging series between Secret Wars and the ANAD Marvel U. Maestro, Gamora, Devil Dinosaur. An extra dollar for an extra 8 to 18 pages. Would have been nice if Marvel listed how long the title will last...
• Doctor Strange #1: Apparently Doctor Strange will be paying price for each act of magic. Probably explains why he wields a battle axe now. Wonder if the title will touch upon the nerve damage in his hand or whether the Vishanti are upset with him. Has possibilities. As an aside, it does provide fodder for a character concept for 5E D&D. Hmm, future blog post.
• Exraordinary X-Men #1& 2 - Guess, Storm is leading this team. Yep, do you like the roster?
• Guardians of the Galaxy #1 - I have been collecting GotG so... the solicitation has not changed my mind... Ben Grimm & Kitty Pryde (Star-Lady ?!)
• Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1: Marvel actually included interior art from the issue that not only do I appreciate that they did but I appreciate the art. The solicitation says that the division S.T.A.K.E. (very pun-y) comprises of aliens, mythical beasts, and extra-normal entities. My kind of title. So I give it 12 to 24 issues. Sadly...
• Karnak #1: Warren Ellis's new book about the inhuman Karnak. Turns out it sees the flaws in everything. So Karnak might be more philosophical than at first glance. Plus an Agent Caulson appearance! Could be good although with Ellis's current track record either he or the book will last 6 or 12 issues.
• New Avengers #1 &2: Oh that's Sunspot in the lead. Sunspot's a cool character. Except I don't see how he fits the idea of Avengers Idea Mechanics. I'm not sure how any of the characters on the first issue's cover fits that idea. Pass.
• Captain America: Sam Wilson#1 & 2: Nothing new revealed. At least the title is no longer call 'All-New...' anymore and could easily be changed...
• Spider-Gwen #1: The spider-powered Gwen Stacy has her very own title. Not going to lie this development arose after I dropped Amazing so I do not have much to go on. So solicitation it is. The Lizard is involved. Plus apparently Marvel's multiverse is back too.
• Spider-Man 2099 #1 &2: Peter David writes it.
• The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Unless she's on the GLA written by Dan Slott, pass.
• Uncanny Avengers #1: Another title where the roster will make the difference. Deadpool is Avenger seems the major selling point.
• Uncanny Inhumans #1: Hey lists the full team of Medusa, Black Bolt, Triton, Reader, Human Torch, and Beast! Surprisingly, its a first... sadly. Whoa, they are taking on Kang the Conqueror! Marvel provided a sample in this year's FCBD of which I mean to comment on but they may actually have sold me on it based on the solicitation.

There you have it. Marvel's October launch. Five dollar comics concern me especially if they are followed by another issue that month. Such a flooding of the market does not help any retailer or reader choose which titles to read. The opaque solicitations and lack of samples does not help the matter. Of the twenty titles or one-shots debuting in October, only ten stir any interest whatsoever. If the rest of the roll out follows suit, there's not much to bring this former Marvel zombie back into the fold. Maybe the actual content will change my mind but $4 and $5 dollar comics act as a barrier.

All-New, All-Different (Free) Marvel Previews Thoughts

Much like DC, Marvel will soon start a new publishing initiative in which it releases sixty new issue ones to serve as jumping on points for its entire line. Whereas DC offered eight-page stories highlighting the new directions and creative teams, Marvel chose to release a magazine that mirrors a solicitation but contains less information. Such an information void is frustrating to say the least. Hopefully, the release's solicitations are more revealing. I'm going to provide stream-of-conscious commentary on many of the titles. If I don't comment on a given title its because either I have nothing nice to say or whatever snippet that Marvel provided offered nothing.

 

• Invincible Iron Man - The only title that includes actual interior artwork.
• A-Force - The all-female Avengers title from Secret Wars makes the line-up. A decent roster of characters.
• All-New, All-Different Avengers - Should also state 'All-Diverse' as well. If there was any title that demonstrates Marvel's push for diversity its this one. Its also the only title that Marvel has actually provided a sample for as it was the publisher's FCBD offering this year. I'll provide further commentary in a separate post but short answer is I'd buy it.
• Uncanny Avengers - I like the roster! With characters such as elderly Steve Rogers, Spider-Man, Rogue, Brother Vodoo, Quicksilver, and Deadpool this should be a fun book.
• New Avengers - Avengers Idea Mechanics. The quirky Avengers title.
• Ultimates - Is Galactus on the team? 'Nuff said!
• Doctor Strange - Doctor Strange with an axe? Not sure if do or do not want to buy the title to find out why. I was a fan of Bachalo's art on Generation X. Not so much on some his later work. Should be a good fit for Strange though.
• Captain Marvel - The fleet of ships behind her caught my eye. Maybe she'll be the leader of an Earth Defense Force?
• Sam Wilson, Captain America - Like how they are distinguishing this title from previous volumes with putting 'Sam Wilson' in the title. The rift between Steve and Sam is interesting.
• The Mighty Thor - looks like the 'new' Thor's other identity will be explored now.
• Illuminati - An all-villain book. Marvel's answer to Suicide Squad?
• Ant-Man - Seems like a cross between Ant-Man and Superior Foes of Spider-Man (with the new Beetle as the only returning character). Betting its a heist book.
• Amazing Spider-Man - Probably has the best cover and tagline combination that explains the new volume perfectly. A globe-trotting Peter Parker replete with fancy gizmos? Yes, please! Now if it wasn't a twice-a-month book...
• Carnage - I'm glad Gerry Conway is writing for Marvel. I'm surprised that he's writing Carnage.
• Web Warriors - A team of various Spider-Men plus Spider-Gwen and the second Spider-Woman should be a rather quirky team book.
• Daredevil - Hey another Daredevil restart! At least this time DD has a new creative team, costume, and direction (as evidenced by an apprentice).
• Guardians of the Galaxy - New line-up! Rocket Raccoon leading the team should lead to plenty of hijinks. The Thing and Kitty Pryde (in Star-Lord outfit) bring a new dynamic to the team.
• Drax - CM Punk's first ongoing title! Love how the tagline says 'Best in the Galaxy'.
• Howard The Duck - most humorous entry as it satirizes the fact that the title is being restarted after only five issues.
• Nova - Father/Son dynamic. Potentially the return of Richard Ryder. I may actually check this title out!
• Venom: Spaceknight - Venom as a cosmic space hero is such an outlandish concept it may just work.
• Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Speaking of outlandish concepts... A S.H.I.E.L.D. team that includes monster characters such as Werewolf by Night and Man-Thing sounds awesome.
• Karnak - Warren Ellis.
• Angela: Asgard's Assassin - Angela as the new Hel?
• Squadron Supreme - Love how the various characters from different realities make up the roster. I'll keep an out for this title.
• Extraordinary X-Men - My interest stems from the inclusion of Storm, Colossus, and Nightcrawler on the roster.
• Uncanny X-Men - Magneto, Mystique, and Sabertooth on an X-Men team. Expect a high body-count.
• Deadpool - yep, didn't believe that the 'Death of Deadpool' story would stick.

 More commentary will follow once the solicitations start appearing in Previews.

Of Zim and Waid

Recently, I picked up three shiny new #1s from three "independent" publishers. Mark Waid was creator involved in two of the titles, Archie and Strange Fruit. The third title was the return of Invader Zim written by his creator Jhonen Vasquez. All in all, I enjoyed all three of them.


Archie #1
Creators: Mark Waid and Fiona Staples
After seventy-some years, Archie comics has decided to revamp its flagship titles and characters. While I am not an avid Archie reader, I do have a nostalgic fondness for the character and the house style that has defined the character for decades. So when I found out that they were revamping the character and radically changing the design, it raised my fanboy hackles. That said, I decided to give the revamp a try. As an all-ages teenage humor comic, Archie has always had a cartoonish look. Staples's work is a more modern, realistic approach. At first, the art was far radical but as I read the issue the stylistic changes stopped distracting. In fact, its quite good and captures "modern" teenagers fairly well. As for the writing Waid does a stellar job. These are the same familiar Archie characters maintaining the all-ages nature of the material but modernized. Archie, himself, is the issue's narrator as frequently breaks the fourth wall to inform the reader as to what-is-what. The story concerns the school gossiping about the break-up of Archie and Betty, while some conspire to bring the two back together. As an added bonus, the 6-page story that introduced Archie in Pep Comics #22 is included along with introduction to that story from Mark Waid. If there's one major quibble that I have the main story is that I read it almost as fast as I read Archie's first appearance.


Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars. The revamp starts out strong. I may very well sample the second issue. However, I have not decided if I am onboard it yet.


Strange Fruit #1 (of 4)
Creators: J.G. Jones (story/art) and Mark Waid (story)
Warning: due to the nature of the comic book industry this story probably was completed well before the Confederate battle flag controversy erupted. This story takes a strong stance for one side.


The second Waid collaboration is a much more literary story compared Archie. Strange Fruit #1 is the beginning of a period piece set in the Deep South during 1927 in the time segregation and which that entails. Jones provides fully-painted art that's both beautiful and realistic. Likewise, the writing is evocative and captures the time period faithfully. The first issue concerns the racial tension of the time along environmental threat of the levees threatening to burst from the flooding of the Mississippi River. The issue ends with African-American being chased a posse only to rescued by the surprise appearance of a visitor from an another world... who just happens to look African-American. The last page is sure to cause quite the controversy and kick the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund into overdrive within the Deep South.


Rating: 4/5 stars (0/5 stars if one holds the Confederate battle flag in reverence) - easily the most literary comic I have read all year. Probably one of the more controversial comics too in light of recent events. I'll probably pick up the next issue.


Invader Zim #1
Creators: Jhonen Vasquez and Aaron Alexovich


I am Zim! Finally, finally, Invader Zim has returned... to comics? That's right, an old(?) Nick favorite, Invader Zim, has come back except instead of animation to comics. Ushering Zim into his first foray into comics with his shiny first issue is his creator Jhonen Vasquez. Joining him is Aaron Alexovich, whom despite a lack of involvement in the original animated series, provides art that captures the animated look perfectly and does an excellent job telling the story. Only had one quibble with one sole panel. Fortunately, I was able decipher said panel utilizing what fragments of Invader Zim lore that I retained. What's that? You are unfamiliar with Invader Zim or your memory is hazy? Fear not. The first issue opens with a two-page primer of Zim and his world. Invader Zim #1 easily makes the transition from a twenty minute episode to a twenty page comic. Jhonen Vasquez retains his superhuman grasp of all-ages wit and bizarre creativity. We learn what happened to Zim. We learn what happened to Dib. Eww! We learn what cunningly, evil Zim has planned. Well, sort of. The issue ends with Zim and Gir heading out into space with Dib ready to pursue.


Rating 4.5/5 stars - only because I reserve the right to give a future issue/story a 5/5. Invader Zim is off to superb start. I look forward to the next issue.