It’s the 21st new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics May 22 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics May 15 2024 new releases.
This week in Marvel Comics: Gang War collected, Spencer Cap in omnibus, Blood Hunt continues, Fall of the House of X concludes, She-Hulk’s space vacay takes a turn. Immortal Thor fights a PR war, and more!
This list includes every comic and digital comic out from Marvel this week, plus collected editions in omnibus, hardcover, paperback, and digest-sized formats. I recap and review every new single issue. Plus, for every new release, I’ll point you to the right guide within my Crushing Comics Guide to Marvel Comics to find out how to collect each character in full – and, if a guide is linked from this post, that means it is updated through the present day!
Marvel Comics May 22 2024 Collected Editions
The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 9: Gang War
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302954604 / digital)
See Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (2018 – Present). This collects all of the core of the Gang War story from Amazing Spider-Man (2022). While there were a lot of tie-ins to this story, the plots in books like Spider-Woman and Luke Cage didn’t really drive the plot.
The Avengers Epic Collection: The Evil Reborn
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302955236 / digital)
See Guide to Avengers (1963 – 1996). This Epic collects several different authors writing a year on either side of Avengers (1963) #200, including George Pérez! The initial burst of this has been collected in the past as “Heart of Stone,” but otherwise this material has only ever been in Marvel Masterworks!
Also, it includes the intensely problematic issue #200, which Chris Claremont immediately rebuked with his all-time classic introduction of Rogue in Annual 10 – also in this book!
Captain America by Nick Spencer Omnibus Vol. 2
(2024 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302953706 / digital)
See Guide to Captain America – Steve Rogers. This collects the conclusion of Nick Spencer’s two-year, multi-title run on Captain American across Sam Wilson, Steve Rogers, and the Secret Empire event.
However, this isn’t a “Secret Empire Omnibus” – it only includes the core 12 issues of the event. I’ll be very curious to hear about the reading order of this turns out, since it’s all by Spencer and he certainly wrote it in a specific reading order.
Luke Cage: Gang War
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302957148 / digital)
See Guide to Luke Cage. I was so incredibly hype for this Rodney Barnes take on Luke Cage because I am a big fan of his Killadelphia book. There were definitely moments that were really interesting to me contrasting Luke Cage the mayor with Luke Cage the hero, but ultimately it was just a big bash-em-up fight with a lot of fun guest stars – and there’s nothing wrong with that! I just hope Barnes gets another crack at Luke sometime in the future where he isn’t beholden to a linewide event.
Predator: The Original Years Omnibus Vol. 2
(2024 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302928988 / digital)
I believe this finishes up collecting all of the pre-Marvel Predator comics, since it spans the 90s to the 10s. Does that mean Marvel will finally get started with Aliens vs. Predator material next?!
X-Force by Benjamin Percy Vol. 8
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302951542 / digital)
See Guide to X-Force. This collects the penultimate arc of Percy’s X-Force, and if you’ve been reading all along this is one you’ll want to pick up! This finally resolves the many plot threads connected to Colossus and Russia – and it does it in a satisfying way.
You’ve heard me be tough on Percy’s pair of X-books, but I’ve always appreciated that he developed years-long plot threads on X-Force. That feels like a lost art. He pays them off well here, especially for folks who have had questions ever since the second arc of the book.
Read on for a summary of all of the Marvel Comics May 22 2024 single issue and digital releases!
Marvel Comics May 22 2024 Physical Comic Releases
Amazing Spider-Man (2022) #50 – See Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (2018 – Present). Last issue was a one-shot tie-in to Blood Hunt that launched into the Spider-Man Blood Hunt mini-series.
It also had some of the best moments I’ve had with this series in months. It got to the core of Peter Parker’s morality and his need to try to save everyone.
We all know Zeb Wells is capable of that quality and that energy – and we all want to see it on Spider-Man! Let’s hope we get more moments of that humanity out of this final phase of Amazing Spider-Man (2022).
Black Widow & Hawkeye (2024) #3 – See Guide to Black Widow and Guide to Hawkeye. I am officially on-board with this Stephanie Phillips Nat/Clint series.
There have been so many things going on with both of these characters the past few years that isn’t thrilling to me – most of all Black Window currently having a symbiote suit. Phillips acknowledges all of that and works with it, but her story is very much just about Nat & Clint’s connections … and differences.
The premise of the series is that Clint has done something truly awful, and Nat has to reckon with that as well as protect him from the consequences. Also, the art from Paolo Villanelli has kept me engaged. It’s really clean and engaging, but with a lot of details of the urban environments in the background to make the world feel lived in.
Blood Hunt (2024) #2 & Blood Hunt: Red Band Edition (2024) #2 – See Guide to Marvel Universe Events. Y’all, I loved Blood Hunt (2024) #1. I think the device of how the vampires have blocked out the sun was absolutely fun stuff, Pepe Larraz’s artwork was stunning, and it ended with an amazing shock.
I’ve seen some fans who are already weary of this cynical, bloody take on the Marvel Universe, with Vampires mowing down civilians and heroes alike. I’m a little brighter on it than that – maybe because I didn’t read the Red Band Edition so I saw less gore than they did.
I absolutely love vampires, but when you digest a lot of vampire media you start to see the same beats getting hit again and again. It’s no different than superheroes – they’re just a storytelling device, but some people treat them like a genre than can only do one thing. So far, this story isn’t. Without getting into spoilers, I enjoy that this story is playing with the political aspirations of the Vampire Nation and the overthrow of Dracula, with vampires making superheroes’ powers going haywire, and with a team of vampire super-villains duking it out with the Avengers.
With issue #1’s cliffhanger continuing directly into Jed MacKay’s Doctor Strange (2023) (and taking an interesting left turn from there), so it will be interesting to see where this second issue picks up.
Fall of the House of X (2024) #5 – See Guide to X-Men – Age of Krakoa (2019 – 2024). The antepenultimate issue of Krakoa! (That means third-to-last.)
Last week, Kieron Gillen wrapped up one of the biggest plot points of his era of Krakoa in a somewhat shocking development. It feels like there are still some big things to resolve over in the Dominion side of of things in Gillen’s final issue of Rise of the Powers of X. Whereas, on the Duggan side of things I find that I’m not too engaged in whatever he has left to resolve or reveal. This began as a book about Orchis and public sentiment against mutants, but along the way it feels like we’ve completely lost that story.
As a result, I have zero excitement or anticipation of this big finale. But, it’s coming for us, either way! And, then, off to something new.
Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance (2024) #3 – See Guide to Ghost Rider. I’m happy for anyone who has been enjoying Ben Percy’s run on Ghost Rider, but for me it has all had big “this doesn’t need to exist” energy. That’s doubly true for this mini-series.
This series puts a Marvel villain in the seat of The Rider, but it does very little with that idea – on top of having done very little for Johnny Blaze for the past two years. Percy’s approach to Ghost Rider has very little to say about the bearer of the Spirit of Vengeance, and very little to say about vengeance in general. It’s just “oh, monsters doing monster stuff – Ghost Rider whips them with chains!” over and over again.
Issue #1 clumsily spent the entire issue playing with the idea that the Rider was looking for a new host before finally settling on this villain. Issue #2 gave us a recap of who he is, but didn’t really tell us much about why being the Rider mattered to him other than “I’m gonna take over Chicago.” Also, it’s using vampires as a major plot point but it is not a Blood Hunt tie-in and it doesn’t even seem to matter that they are vampires. They are just another generic monster doing generic monster stuff.
I love the idea of Ghost Rider as a horror title, but horror is more than monsters and the occasional shocking panel of gore. It feels like obligatory comics, made because there needs to be a Ghost Rider comic out right now.
Immortal Thor (2023) #11 – See Guide to Thor – Odinson. Al Ewing has been brewing something very special on this book, and for me it all came together last issue. If you love stories about stories and enjoyed Kieron Gillen’s Journey Into Mystery starring Loki, this is the Thor equivalent (though with a very different tone).
Last issue we had the magnificent Carlos Magno on art, and it was a revelation to see him colored by Matthew Wilson. Magno uses very fine lines and plays with forced perspective to give his characters dimension. A lot of modern colorists with a glossier, less-textured style feel like they fight against that art style – flattening out Magno’s characters and making his linework seem rough and aliased. Not Wilson. Wilson’s textured approach to color is a perfect match with Magno’s linework. I stopped and stared at literally every single panel in issue #10.
None of that has to do with this issue, which is drawn by Valentina Pinti. I just had to freak out about how amazing last issue’s art was and it just so happens I have a blog where I can do that.
Oh, yeah, there’s also the story! 😂
Al Ewing is playing with the idea of Thor as an undying myth. Even as a hero of myth, Thor has his own myths that he believes in. And, as a hero of myth to the people of Earth, their opinions of him can be easily swayed. We’re still too early to know Ewing’s endgame in playing with this idea of Thor’s identity being mutable. However, in the moment, we’re seeing his Thor crash up against the very real, very profit-motivated Roxxon as a foe when they realize fighting Thor is more of a PR battle than a physical one.
Throw Enchantress and Executioner into the mix and you’ve got something incredibly compelling that feels distinct from the past decade of outstanding Thor stories.
Predator: The Last Hunt (2024) #4 (of 4) – The final issue of this Ed Brisson mini-series.
Sensational She-Hulk (2023) #8 – See Guide to She-Hulk – Jennifer Walters. I might be prepared to say this is the best series at all of Marvel Comics, coming with the big caveat of “if you like low-key, slice-of-life comics.”
At its core, this is a little indie book about the difficulty of balancing romance, a career, and just… being an adult. Each issue gives us plenty of time to get into She-Hulk’s head, includes plenty of chuckles, and looks absolutely stunning thanks to Andres Genolet and Dee Cunniffe – one of my favorite recurring art team-ups at all of Marvel.
Last issue was perhaps a bit small in focus and too reliant on “missed connections” style plotting, but I can forgive the occasional plot contrivance in a book that sustains such a high level of quality – especially when it is mindful of its own continuity as well as some fun deep cuts from Marvel’s past.
Spectacular Spider-Men (2024) #3 – See Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (2018 – Present). This Greg Weisman series teaming up Peter Parker and Miles Morales continues to be made of pure charm.
This book is funny – silly, even. It acknowledges continuity without being weighed down by it, including a very specific tie to Miles’s current run. And, it’s juggling multiple mysterious threads of plot that are clearly connected in some way we haven’t yet learned.
I love that for a Spider-Man book. My only concern would be if Weisman continues to lean on his disconnected cutaway scenes of the “getting everything you wanted” side plot past this issue without meaningful development. Yet, I think those scenes already escalated significantly from issue #1 to issue #2, so I’m not too worried.
Spider-Gwen: The Ghost-Spider (2024) #1 – See Guide to Spider-Gwen. Let’s be brutally honest here: the past few years of Spider-Gwen comics have been a major fizzle.
Seanan McGuire worked hard to reset Gwen’s status quo and give her a reason to be in the 616, but it never caught on with fans and got derailed by Maximum Carnage. Since then, it feels like nothing has happened with the character. The recently-concluded Melissa Flores series was cute, but inessential.
That’s why I am so invested in seeing what Stephanie Phillips can do with this book. Phillips has been capable of great things in the indie world, but she has yet to have a solid hit since she defected from DC to Marvel a few years ago. I think writing a character who is slightly more out-of-the-way of other books might give her room to craft a bigger plot than she was allowed to on books like Rogue & Gambit (2023). Plus, literally anything would be a better Gwen story than her being late to practice again.
Star Wars (2020) #46 – See Guide to Star Wars Expanded Universe comics. This Charles Soule book set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi has stuffed a lot of content into the canonical single year between those films. Some of it has seriously stretched the bounds of what I’m willing to believe could fit into that period, but the current “Trial of Lando” arc makes perfect sense.
Clearly, Lando’s actions in The Empire Strikes Back weren’t something that could be easily forgiven and forgotten, especially by Leia. And, Charles Soule has had him make many other dubious decisions over the course of this series. That has all come to a head in the wake of the “Dark Droids” even with the Rebel Alliance putting Lando on trial. Yet, I think this reads just as well if you assume the trial is just for his betrayal in Empire, and issue #45 played it that way.
Plus, we get to see Soule flexing his lawyer muscles in a galaxy far, far away, which is very fun!
Special shout-out to Rachelle Rosenberg for the colors on the past few issues of this series. I am serious when I say I am rooting for every comic book and creator to be the best they can be every month. Rosenberg is a colorist whose choices used to vex me, and now I perk up when I see her name on a book. She had an amazing few years on Moon Knight (2021) and I am in love with the way she is using shadow and texture in this comic.
Superior Spider-Man (2023) #7 – See Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (2018 – Present). Over the past few months I’ve questioned why this book exists as a distinct title from the main Spider-Man series, but as of the past few issues I’m starting to see the light.
This is straight up a Spidey/Ock title. Sometimes it’s a team-up. Sometimes it’s a “versus.” But, if you want to see Peter contrasted directly with Doc Ock as they both content with the legacy of Ock’s time as Superior Spider-Man, this is for you.
And, even if you don’t want to see that, this might very well be the best solo Spider-Man book at the moment. Dan Slott easily slipped back into Spidey quip-mode, Mark Bagley is delivering some of the best art I’ve seen from him in the past few years alongside inker John Dell
and especially colorist Edgar Delgado.
This kinda feels like the main Spider-book to me right now, especially in the way it’s acknowledging past continuity and integrating with Spider-Boy (2023) while Amazing Spider-Man (2022) stumbles aimlessly. However, considering Ock is both here and about to be the main plot-driven of a Sinister Six plot in Amazing, it will be interesting to see if they begin to interact (or even acknowledge each other at all).
Symbiote Spider-Man 2099 (2024) #3 (of 5) – See Guide to Spider-Man 2099. What I love about this series is that Peter David is taking the idea of inserting an extra arc into his original Spider-Man 2099 run very seriously. This tracks perfectly to the arc of the original 90s run, leaning heavily on Venom 2099’s character beats, Miguel O’Hara’s family relationships, and the overall status quo of the Marvel 2099 universe from that time.
That also might be what you don’t love about this book. I think if you are not already invested in Spider-Man 2099 this is going to come off a bit flat for you. Last issue was a lot of gnashing of teeth about familial relationships that exist outside of this series (though Peter David is adept enough to have reminded us about all of them in issue #1).
Bottom line: this is more of a love-letter to longtime fans than it is a “start here” kind of book.
Ultimate Black Panther (2024) #4 – See Guide to Ultimate Marvel. I continue to be hot and cold on this comic, although I’m always at least “warm” on the art from Stefano Caselli and David Curiel.
Last issue, Bryan Hill teased a big revelation for T’Challa as he met with Storm and Killmonger. That’s it. That’s the whole plot. Okay, there was also a brief sparring match between Shuri and Queen Okoye, but the entire issue was just a walk and talk between T’Challa and Killmonger on the way to something that might prove to be interesting.
This tends to be my beef with all of Hill’s recent comics. It’s not just the decompression and the use of panels as storyboards with sparse dialog. It’s this feeling of “it’ll all pay off in the end” and then not paying off. Especially with an artist of Caselli’s calibre, I’d think you’d want to use him to your greatest advantage as quickly as possible.
I’m still rooting for this series, because I think of all Marvel’s heroes Black Panther has a mythology that could benefit from an Ultimate Universe from-the-ground-up reimagining that doesn’t define him in terms of American or Western culture. However, Hill really needs to get to the point for me to stay interested in this gorgeous book.
Union Jack the Ripper: Blood Hunt (2024) #1 (of 3) – See Guide to Marvel Universe Events – Blood Hunt, until I create a Guide to Union Jack (eventually). I’m a big fan of minor Marvel characters getting their chance to shine, so a mini-series for Union Jack (and by extension, Spitfire) is an instant winner for me.
Union Jack is a plainclothes British hero who carries a revolver (although he does have some lingering mystical abilities, depending on the author) who just happens to have taken up the mantle of the original World War 2 era character of the same name.
The creative team on this book includes Cavan Scott scripting and Kev Walker on pencils, which is relatively heavy-hitting for a side character mini-series. Scott drives much of the Star Wars: High Republic Universe for Disney, but I’m not sure if he’s a name draw outside of Star Wars (or even within it). I find a lot of his comics proficient if a bit bland, so I’m interested to see what he’s capable of on a horror-focused book.
X-Men ’97 (2024) #3 (of 4) – This series is an in-continuity prologue to the X-Men ’97 show and it continues to be stuffed with enjoyable Easter Eggs for fans of 90s X-Men comics. I think the low-key set-up of the opening status quo of the season isn’t exactly required reading. But, the bevy of villain guest-appearances drawn in the X-Men Animated Series style might be enough to make this a worthwhile read for you.
Marvel Comics May 22 2024 Digital-First Comic Releases
This is a list of projected Marvel Comics Digital-First releases based on the recent digital release schedule. Actual releases are not confirmed until they show up on the Marvel Unlimited app.
These releases have not been quick to be released in print, though we’ve now see print versions of a few of these series trickle out a year or more after they were released.
- Avengers United Infinity Comic (2023) #33 – See Guide to Avengers flagship titles (2010 – Present).
- Infinity Paws Infinity Comic (2024) #8
- Spider-Man Unlimited Infinity Comic (2023) #38 – Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (2018 – Present)
- X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic (2021) #140 – See Guide to X-Men, The Age of Krakoa
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