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Comic Books, Drag Race, & Life in New Zealand
by krisis
I’m back to continue my countdown to the release of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 in just 8 days! Today, I have a guide to the character who assembled the modern Guardians of the Galaxy and became their defacto leader, even if his increased goofiness by-way-of the Marvel Cinematic Universe made him a less-convincing commander than he began in Annihilation. Follow Peter Quill through his every Marvel Comics appearance (across two different incarnations) in my Star-Lord Guide!
Want to learn more about the disparity between Star-Lord’s on-screen depiction and his Marvel Comics history, or how he was stealthily rebooted from a prior character without anyone realizing it in the early 10s? Check out my original launch essay from when I debuted the Star-Lord Guide to Patrons of CK.
If you want to read the very best of Star-Lord, you mostly want to read tons of Guardians of the Galaxy comics, which not only feature him as the leader but also the central driver of plot. However, his brief 2016 Chip Zdarsky & Kris Anka solo series helped to balance the sexy, silly aspects of his MCU version with his existence in Marvel-616, and Al Ewings most-recent run on Guardians of the Galaxy (2016) included a surprising amount of character work that unlocked new aspects of Peter’s personality linked to his now-obscure alternate-universe beginnings.
by krisis
As we count down to the release of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 in just 10 days, I’ll be releasing a number of Guardians-related guides and guide updates! First up is the major Marvel character finally making his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (after they have arguably already told his biggest story!). Read all about Him in my Adam Warlock Guide!
Learn more about the distinct eras of Adam Warlock in my original launch essay for the guide.
From the advertising for Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, it looks like it’s pulling from the earliest Adam Warlock stories – when High Evolutionary encounters his protective cocoon floating through space and subsequently installs him on Counter-Earth as a hippy space Jesus.
However, though early Bronze Age comics might be a little dated for modern readers (both for the style and the hippy themes). Instead, you might want to check out the stone-cold classic Infinity Gauntlet (1991), which is pretty much the plots of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame but with Warlock as Thanos’s primary opposition instead of a number of underpowered Avengers.
Or, for a much more modern story of Warlock serving alongside the Guardians, check out their landmark 2008 revival series by Abnett & Lanning!
All of those runs and more are covered in my Adam Warlock Guide, now available to all readers of CK thanks to the magical ongoing support of Patrons of CK.
by krisis
It’s time to take a look at what’s out from Marvel Comics this week! This post covers Marvel Comics April 26 2023 releases.
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 Crushing Comics guide.
All-Out Avengers: Teachable Moments (2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302947019 / digital)
See Guide to Avengers Flagship Titles (2010 – Present). This new “All-Out” brand for Marvel indicates an all-action series that is a non-stop five issue fight, here created by Derek Landy & Greg Land. The Landy-Land team continues to a new volume, Avengers Beyond, below.
Cosmic Ghost Rider by Donny Cates (2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302949891 / digital)
See Guide to Ghost Rider. This paperbacks collects all of Donny Cates’s Cosmic Ghost Rider material, which is a subset of the material from the 2021 omnibus. However, there is really just one full CGR series in this collection – his first 2018 five-issue limited series. All the other material in this book are his debut in Thanos (2016) and guest-starring and team membership issues. Bottom line: This is the right buy if you’re a Cates fan or looking purely for origin material, otherwise you should buy the omnibus instead.
Deadpool & Cable Omnibus (2023 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302949921)
See Guide to Deadpool or Guide to Cable for this complete reprint of their 50-issue 2004 team-up series.
Fantastic Four by Millar & Hitch Omnibus (2023 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302949716 / digital)
See Guide to Fantastic Four. This omnibus fits directly prior to Jonathan Hickman’s run and pair of omnibuses. This run’s reputation tends to be overshadowed by Hickman, but there are some enjoyable big ideals here and I enjoy seeing Millar in his less-audacious mode when he’s not writing mature books.
Midnight Suns (2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302947187 / digital TBA)
See Guide to Ghost Rider or Guide to Blade. This series featured a peculiar hodgepodge of a team of supernatural heroes… and Logan, with a cast of Magik, Wolverine, Blade, Spirit Rider, and Nico Minoru.
Thor Epic Collection Vol. 9: Even An Immortal Can Die (2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302948689 / digital)
See Guide to Thor – The Odinson. This material has been covered in Masterworks and in bits and pieces across several old trades, but it has never been collected comprehensively in paperback before.
Strange, Vol. 2: The Doctor Strange of Death (2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302946746 / digital)
See Guide to Doctor Strange. The second (and final) volume of Jed MacKay’s volume of Clea as the Sorcerer Supreme before the relaunch of Doctor Strange last month.
X-Terminators (2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302946999 / digital)
See Guide to X-Men – The Age of Krakoa. Leah Williams takes Dazzler, Jubilee, Boom Boom, and Wolverine (X-23) on a high-action, high-comedy spin.
Read on for a rundown of Marvel Comics April 19 2023 single-issue releases, including a link to their accompanying guide pages on Crushing Comics.
[Read more…] about New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – April 26, 2023