Gang War

New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – March 6 2024

February 29, 2024 by krisis

It’s the 10th new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics March 6 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics February 28 2024 new releases.

This week in Marvel Comics: a major Moon Knight omnibus, Dark Droids collections, the new arc of MacKay’s Strange, Iman Vellani’s return to Ms. Marvel, 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 March 6 2024 Collected Editions

The Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection, Vol. 5: The Secret of the Petrified Tablet [reprint]
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302957810 / digital)
See Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (1963 – 2018). It’s less interesting that Marvel is reprinting this Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection of issues #68-85 & Annual 5 and more interesting that this is when they are reprinting it. The first printing of this book was just four years ago, and it means Marvel has gotten the first five Epics back into print in a three-year span.

I think that’s really interesting, considering they also now have the Mighty Marvel Masterworks in play to cover this Silver Age material. It shows a real commitment to making their most-historic comics evergreen in an affordable format. Take note DC.

Daredevil Modern Era Epic Collection, Vol. 2: Underboss
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302956332 / digital)
See Guide to Daredevil. Speaking of interesting Epic Collections, this second volume of Epics covering Daredevil from 1998 to present is the first time issues #20-25 have ever been collected continuously alongside issues #16-19 & 26-30, which are by Bendis.

Plus, it collects Daredevil: Ninja (2000) #1-3! This is what the Modern Epic collections ought to be doing – not just parroting existing mediocre maps of Complete Collections.

Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Captain America Vol. 3: To Be Reborn
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302954321 / digital)
See Guide to Captain America – Steve Rogers. In an unusual twist, this Mighty Masterworks line is now behind what was collected in the original hardcover Masterworks of the same volume number. The two lines aren’t meant to match up with each other, but I’ve been working from the expectation that these books would go slightly more aggressively to cover more material, faster.

Moon Knight: Marc Spector Omnibus Vol. 2
(2024 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302956899 / digital)
See Guide to Moon Knight. This is a big deal, y’all! This omnibus collects the end of Moon Knight’s 90s series for the first time, as well as his subsequent 1998 and 1999 mini-series. It also means we have every issue of Moon Knight in oversize format from his debut through the beginning of Marvel Now at the end of 2012. That’s pretty major! It’s amazing what some MCU exposure can do for the collected edition coverage of a Marvel character who hasn’t had a single continuous series from the Silver Age to present day. [Read more…] about New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – March 6 2024

New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – February 28 2024

February 22, 2024 by krisis

It’s the 9th new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics February 28 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics February 21 2024 new releases.

This week in Marvel Comics: Gang War ends, Tony Stark’s X-era, nostalgic Power Pack perfection, the conclusion of unexpectedly great turns on Punisher & White Widow, and more!

Marvel Comics February 28 2024 Collected Editions

The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 8: Spider-Man’s First Hunt
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302953447 / digital)
See Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (2018 – Present). This collects the arc that directly precedes Gang War and vaguely follows up on Dark Web with a focus on new comedy character Rep-Rap. It was fine, but ever since the initial meta-arc of this book wrapped up in issue #25 it has felt a bit directionless. I wouldn’t call this a jumping-on point.

Daredevil Modern Era Epic Collection: Underboss
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302956332 / digital)
See Guide to Daredevil. This recollects Brian Bendis’s run from the start. However, it is not the same mapping as Daredevil by Bendis & Maleev Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1 because it collects the typically skipped arc from #20-25! This is the first time that arc has ever been collected in sequential order along with the issues that surround it.

The Invincible Iron Man Vol. 2: The Wedding of Tony Stark and Emma Frost
(2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302947590 / digital)
See Guide to Iron Man – Tony Stark. If you haven’t been reading Iron Man I imagine that title might warrant an eye-roll or the assumption that this is a big sales gimmick forcing a romance between Tony and Emma. In reality, this is a surprisingly organic outgrowth of the continuing plot of Fall of X extending out of the 2023 Hellfire Gala.

In this collection, Iron Man is 100% an X-book, and here’s a secret: Gerry Duggan is way better with a solo title with one or two characters than a big team book, so importing Emma here means he has room to really have fun with both her and Tony. Issues #9-10 are perfection, especially if you’ve also been reading Duggan’s X-Men (2021).

New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – February 21 2024

February 15, 2024 by krisis

It’s the 8th new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics February 21 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics February 14 2024 new releases.

This week in Marvel Comics: Fall of X collections, an Alien anthology, an unexpected Sentry, a major Spider-Woman cliffhanger, and more!

Marvel Comics February 21 2024 Collected Editions

Black Panther by Christopher Priest Omnibus Vol. 2
(2024 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302953683 / digital)
See Guide to Black Panther. This was one of the most-requested Marvel Omnibuses for a long while, so it’s amazing to see it finally completed with a second volume! This run has the distinction of establishing tons of familiar modern Black Panther lore (including Okoye and the the Dora Milaje) but also being batshit crazy, as all Christopher Priest comics are. If you’ve never read it before, Fariha and I covered the first half of this run (the entire first omnibus) in our Black Panther Reading Club six years ago this month back in 2018!

Blade Vol. 1: Mother of Evil
Vol. 1: Mother of Evil (2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302952105 / digital)
See Guide to Blade. I just caught up on this Bryan E. Hill series this week. This first arc is about Blade coming up against an ancient evil much bigger than anything he is used to fighting. That sounds mega-fun, but it’s told through Bryan E. Hill’s authorial filter – which is all about expository two-person dialog. Y’all remember Fallen Angels (2019), right? While this book isn’t the catastrophe that one was, this arc is a lot more about talking about what might happen than it is about character moments or coherent action. I think that made this arc slightly unsatisfying, but the book does pick up afterward with some shorter, tighter stories.

Children of the Vault
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302952464 / digital)
See Guide to X-Men – The Age of Krakoa. First things first: This Fall of X book should be titled “Cable & Bishop.” While the Children of the Vault are the featured foe, if you go in expecting to spend quality time getting to understand them in a way that pays off what Carey and Hickman created you’ll be sorely disappointed. Instead, go in assuming you’re in for some guerrilla warfare from a pair of X-Men who traveled through centuries as sworn enemies. I think this sputters at the end, but Deniz Camp shows a flair for terse sci-fi that makes me excited to read more from him at Marvel.

Daredevil Epic Collection: A Woman Called Widow
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302957933 / digital)
See Guide to Daredevil. Despite the title, this reprint of an existing Epic actually collects the period just prior to Black Widow taking over as the titled co-star of Daredevil (1964). [Read more…] about New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – February 21 2024

New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – February 14 2024

February 8, 2024 by krisis

It’s the seventh new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics February 14 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics February 7 2024 new releases.

This week in Marvel Comics: a true Jessica Drew, lots more Gang War, the return of Night Thrasher, Pet Avengers for the win, and more!

Marvel Comics February 14 2024 Collected Editions

Captain Marvel: Dark Tempest
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302951214 / digital)
See Guide to Captain Marvel – Carol Danvers. Ann Nocenti writes this bridging series between the concluded Kelly Thompson run and the impending Alyssa Wong run. I saw some internet fans come down hard on Carol being voiced badly, but I didn’t feel that way at all. This is a solid arc that makes good use of both Spider-Woman as a supporting player and various civilians to give Carol someone other than superheroes to bounce off of. I do think Nocenti tends to treat some groups of characters as a Greek Chorus rather than developing them individually, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Not an all-time-best arc, but worth reading if you collect all of Captain marvel.

Edge of Spider-Verse: Across the Multiverse
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302957339 / digital)
See Guide to Spider-Man – Peter Parker (2018 – Present). This is an anthology of anthologies – collecting the three different “Edge of Spider-Verse” mini-series from 2014, 2022, and 2023. Each issue introduces new alternate-reality Spider-folks or revisits past one. The first series famously included the first appearance of Spider-Gwen. This isn’t a particularly satisfying read on its own, especially since most of the stories are written to subtly dovetail into the Spider-Verse events that followed. But, if you love Spider-Verse stuff in general and can’t get enough of alternate spiders, this one is for you!

Luke Cage Epic Collection Volume 2: The Fire This Time
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302955069 / digital)
See Guide to Luke Cage. This collects the second half of Luke’s original series from when it was titled “Power Man,” stopping prior to the first two issues he shares with Iron Fist before the indicia changes to “Power Man and Iron Fist” with issue #50. It’s really wild how we went from this series not being collected at all in color in 2014 to it being fully collected in Masterworks, Omnibus, and now Epic over the course of a decade. It’s one of the prime examples of how hard the Marvel Collected Editions department has worked to cover their 1970s series. (Of course, the Netflix shows helped!)

Marvel Unleashed
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302931124 / digital)
See Guide to… um… I’m not sure, honestly, because this delightful story primarily stars Redwing, Chewie, and Bats the Dog, among other Marvel super-pets. If that sounds like a dull kiddie book to you, boy have you got a surprise in store! I read this a few weeks ago and it is consistently hilarious, beautifully drawn, and made me cry at the end. If you want to read a great Avengers adventure without any human Avengers, this is the book for you.

New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – January 10, 2024

January 9, 2024 by krisis

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

This week in Marvel Comics: Hickman & Checchetto launch Ultimate Spider-Man, Zdarsky & Checchetto’s Devil’s Reign omnibus, and the Rise of the Powers of X (not drawn by Marco Checchetto)!

Marvel Comics January 10 2024 Collected Editions

The Avengers by Jed MacKay, Vol. 1: The Impossible City
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302947699 / digital)
See Guide to Avengers Flagship Titles (2018-Present). This is the first collection of Jed MacKay’s Avengers relaunch. I’ve heard folks say this has been a bit slow-moving, but that’s often code for “I have no patience,” so I need to read this myself now that the entire first arc is complete!

Deadpool Epic Collection: Drowning Man (Epic Collection Vol. 3)
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302953324 / digital)
See Guide to Deadpool. Continuing Deadpool’s status as Marvel most perfectly-collected character, they are now re-collecting his original 1997 series in Epic Collection after it has already been completely covered in Classic and Omnibus format.

Devil’s Reign Omnibus
(2024 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302952921 / digital)
See Guide to Marvel Universe Events. A massive all-in-one collection of all of the tie-ins to the act break in Chip Zdarsky & Marco Checchetto’s Daredevil series. I don’t think any of these mini-series really add all that much to the main story in the event title, so if you’re not desperate to fill an oversize gap in your shelf you could simply pick up the trade paperback verison.

Doctor Strange Epic Collection: I, Dormammu (Epic Collection Vol. 2)
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302953157, digital)
See Guide to Doctor Strange. Doctor Strange was the rare Epic line that didn’t kick off with sequential releases of its earliest volumes interspersed with later volumes, probably due to the fact that Marvel had released a (slim) early omnibus around the same time. Now we’re finally getting the second Epic collection filled in.

Marvel-Verse: Spider-Man & Madame Web
(2024 digest-size paperback, ISBN 978-1302954581 / digital)
Do I need a Madame Web guide now? Anyway, here’s some Amazing Spider-Man issues starring Madame Web, in case you wanted to compare Sony’s new movie to the comics.