Black Widow

New Comics & Collected Editions Releases: Marvel Comics – April 10 2024

April 6, 2024 by krisis

It’s the 15th new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics April 10 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics April 3 2024 new releases.

This week in Marvel Comics: Modern Black Widow Epics, actually classic Daredevil, Carnage’s identity struggle, Star-Spider, X marks the Stark, Ms. Marvel vs. Mojo, 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. For each 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 April 10 2024 Collected Editions

Black Widow Modern Era Epic Collection Vol. 3: Chaos
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302956431 / digital)
See Guide to Black Widow. This collects all of Nathan Edmonson & Phil Noto’s 2014 Black Widow series. I enjoyed it. It often played Widow as someone whose plans were constantly ruined, but that came across less as a character flaw and more as the theme of the series – “chaos”!

This being “Vol. 3” has interesting implications for what two volumes before it will contain! While Vol. 2 could wind up being a verbatim reprint of Widowmaker (2020 paperback, ISBN 978-1302921446 / digital), which collects all of her 2009-2010 material, I wonder if perhaps they would shift the first series in that book – Black Widow: Deadly Origin (2009) #1-4 – out of that and into Vol. 1 to make room for Captain America & Black Widow (2012) #636-640 even though it is part of Cap’s line and not Natasha’s.

Daredevil Omnibus Vol. 3
(2024 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302955182 / digital)
See Guide to Daredevil. This collects what I consider to be the first truly great run of Daredevil – his entire San Francisco period, including Black Widow as his co-star (and her solo stories from Amazing Adventures (1970) #1-8). If you really want to read classic Silver and Bronze Age Daredevil, I’d just skip the first two omnibuses and start with this one!

Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk Vol. 1 (Re-Masterworks)
2024 “Re-Masterworks” hardcover, ISBN 978-1302951382 / digital)
See Guide to Hulk – Bruce Banner. Marvel hasn’t reprinted Masterworks volumes since prior to 2010 with some of the big lines like X-Men and Spider-Man, but their new Re-Masterworks program is giving them an excuse to both revise and expand the contents of these early Masterworks volumes by upgrading the artwork throughout.

I’ve just ordered my first of these re-issues, so I’ll be able to comment on the art restoration soon. From what I’ve seen online, it’s mostly just cleaner, thinner, more-defined ink lines – so, if you’re not the kind of person who would notice that sort of thing, there’s no reason to rush to buy these if you have the original Masterworks or the omnibus that was reprinted in 2022. [Read more…] about New Comics & Collected Editions Releases: Marvel Comics – April 10 2024

Marvel Solo Heroes Omnibus Mapping (A-M) for the Tigereyes Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus 12th Annual Secret Ballot

April 1, 2024 by krisis

Until April 5, I’ll be loosely mapping missing and most-wanted Marvel omnibus volumes every day! Today you’re in for a LOT of mapping, because this post covers every non-mutant, non-Spider solo hero I have yet to cover! That’s more than 100 maps of potential omnibuses for dozens of amazing Marvel characters starts here (and continues in the next post)!

This post explains titles and potential Omnibus Mapping for entries on the Tigereyes Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus 12th Annual Secret Ballot. You can vote right now (until 5 April 2024 @ midnight US ET) or watch our mega-length announcement stream reviewing every single voting option.

Below I cover America Chavez, Ant-Man (Pym, Lang, & O’Grady), Black Cat, Black Knight, Black Panther, Black Widow, Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell & Danvers), Conan, Crystar, Darkhawk, Deadpool, Deathlok, Echo, Falcon, Frankenstein, Galactus, Hawkeye, Hellcat – Patsy Walker, Hellstrom, Hercules, Iron Fist, Jack of Hearts, Jessica Jones, Ka-Zar, Kang, Killraven, Kingpin, and Luke Cage.

It’s so much mapping that I had to break it into two parts so I wouldn’t break your browser! See the next post for the remainder of the alphabet and the rest of the maps.

We don’t have many options left to explore, but one of them is THE BIGGEST category of books on the pool: mutants! Stay tuned this week for a massive amount of X-Men mapping!

If you’re not sure of what to vote for, stick around for my explanations. Or, if you’ve already voted, learn why the team behind the poll decided on these books and titles – including some of my mistakes and regrets as one of the editors of the options on the final poll.

Or… just find some great comics to read!

Remember: These mappings are just my suggestion of how Marvel could assemble these books. They are meant to help you decide on your votes and build your personal reading list, but your vote on the poll is NOT an endorsement of my specific map. It’s a vote in favor of Marvel creating a book with that title or covering that period.

Over-the-top comics posts like this one are made possible via the support of Patrons of Crushing Krisis. For less than the cost of a single comic issue a month you can fuel my in-depth comics coverage, plus gain access to dozens of exclusive collecting guides & reading orders – including all of the Crushing Comics Guide to Marvel Comics.

New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – March 20 2024

March 14, 2024 by krisis

It’s the 12th new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics March 20 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics March 13 2024 new releases.

This week in Marvel Comics: Franklin Richards’ secret revealed, Gillen’s final X-book, Spider-Woman old and new, repackaged collected editions, and more!

Marvel Comics March 20 2024 Collected Editions

Astonishing X-Men Modern Era Epic Collection, Vol. 1: Gifted
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302957971 / digital)
See Guide to Astonishing X-Men. On one hand, I’m all for any recollection of the brilliant first two arcs of this title, which should always been easily accessible to new readers. On the other hand, this is an exact copy of a prior Ultimate/Complete collection, which bums me out because it would be cool to see an Epic line of this title include some or all of Kitty Pryde: Shadow & Flame, Phoenix: Endsong, or Phoenix: Warsong – which were all extensions of this title. (For that matter, so was House of M).Shadow and Flame would have fit perfectly as another five issues in this collection.

Captain America Omnibus Vol. 4
(2024 “Vol. 4” oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302955137 / digital)
See Guide to Captain America. This is a reprint of “Captain America by Jack Kirby” simply rebranded to fit seamlessly into the omnibus line. That means it’s actually totally fine to buy as a standalone book – that’s how it’s been sold for well over a decade! If you want to read the beautiful madness that is Kirby drawing and writing Cap, it’s all here.

Carnage Epic Collection Vol. 3: The Monster Inside
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302956363 / digital)
I’m working on this Carnage Guide right now, I swear! It’s been a busy month. This is a third (and likely last) “Classic” Carnage collection, picking up in 1998 and cruising all the way through 2009 to pick up some of his modern mini-series.

Doctor Strange by Jed MacKay Vol. 2: The War-Hound of Vishanti
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302951177 / digital)
See Guide to Doctor Strange. I wouldn’t recommend picking up this book as a standalone, as it’s all payoff for the mystery that was set up expertly in the first volume by MacKay. That said, this is immensely enjoyable. It shows off just how good modern Strange comics can be. There’s a way to build off of old magical continuity and established foes without being slavishly devoted to it in a way that is dull or alienating to new fans. MacKay is the author to perfectly walk that tightrope, and it yields a fascinating puzzle box of plot for our Doctor. [Read more…] about New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – March 20 2024

New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – March 13 2024

March 7, 2024 by krisis

It’s the 11th new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics March 13 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics March 6 2024 new releases.

This week in Marvel Comics: Thor’s most-titanic stories yet, a collected hunk of multi-versal Deadpool, Black Widow & Hawkeye team up, Carnage crosses over with Venom, Ghost Rider’s Final Vengeance, and more!

Marvel Comics March 13 2024 Collected Editions

Deadpool-Verse: Deadpool Corps
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302958527 / digital)
See Guide to Deadpool. Don’t confuse this collection with the “Marvel-Verse” digest-size books collecting scattershot all-ages stories for their focus character like the Wonder Man volume below. This is actually a very chunky standard-size paperback collecting all of the Deadpool Corps material from the Prelude mini-series and the 12-issue main series.

This is one of the main “Deadpool in the multi-verse” sorts of stories, which tracks well with the themes of the Deadpool & Wolverine film from what we’ve seen in the marketing material.

Immortal Thor by Al Ewing Vol. 1: All Weather Turns To Storm
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302954185 / digital)
See Guide to Thor – Odinson. This run is a massive blockbuster that somehow manages to tell a Thor story even bigger than the two runs that came before. However, if you like Thor throwing his hammer at a clearly-defined villain, this one’s not for you. It’s about the concept of Thor, of godhood, and of stories. Also, it looks absolutely gorgeous. More on this run below in the single issue section!

Marvel-Verse: Wonder Man
(2024 digest-size paperback, ISBN 978-1302954543 / digital)
Hmm, I don’t have a guide to Wonder Man, but with Marvel pumping out collections in anticipation of his debut in the MCU maybe I need to move him up the priority list! This digest-size intro to the character collects Avengers (1963) #9, Marvel Two-in-One (1974) #78, Wonder Man (1986) #1, and Avengers (1998) #14.

Moon Knight Vol. 5: The Last Days of Moon Knight
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302950910 / digital)
See Guide to Moon Knight. Jed MacKay brings his 30-issue Moon Knight series to a spectacular conclusion. Normally I’d say, “don’t start with the final volume!” However, this opens with a truly outstanding issue in the giant-sized #25, and I think you could read this brisk conclusion in order to catch up to the new Vengeance of Moon Knight (2023) title and be left hungry to catch up on the four volumes that came before. [Read more…] about New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – March 13 2024

Guide to The Champions – now available to the public!

January 23, 2023 by krisis

I’m happy to announce that my Guide to The Champions is now available to all CK readers! This guide covers both the 1975 Champions of Los Angeles as well as the 2016 revival of the team as a squad of Marvel’s young characters in the wake of Civil War II This guide exists thanks to the ongoing support of the outstanding Patrons of Crushing Krisis.

Guide to The Champions

When I first covered how to collect the 1975 edition of The Champions they didn’t merit their own guide page. They had 17 issues of their own and then faded into Marvel history while their members scattered to the winds. I relegated them to my Guide to X-Men Ongoings due to the team including Angel and Iceman.

In reality, the problem with reassembling The Champions wasn’t just that Iceman and Beast had been incorporated into The Defenders (visit the Guide to Defenders), and later into X-Factor (visit the newly-updated Guide to X-Factor)

It was also that Marvel lost the ability to publish comics with the “Champions” title! [Read more…] about Guide to The Champions – now available to the public!