Neil Gaiman

New Comics & Collected Editions Releases: Marvel Comics – May 8 2024

May 3, 2024 by krisis

It’s the 18th new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics May 8 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel Comics May 1 2024 new releases (plus, Marvel’s Free Comic Book Day 2024 issues!)

This week in Marvel Comics: Blood Hunt expands, first trades for Captain America by JMS & Marvel by Wong, a Black Armor flashback, historic Miracleman, Dagger goes solo, Thing & Torch get a job, penultimate Wolverine & X-Men Forever, 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 8 2024 Collected Editions

Captain America by J. Michael Straczynski Vol. 1: Stand
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302955670 / digital)
See Guide to Captain America – Steve Rogers. Even though I’m slightly down on this JMS run on Cap (more on that, below), I think this initial trade does have something special going for it with the flashback scenes to Steve’s pre-Super-Soldier-serum youth in the slums of NYC.

Some of this adventurous plot for the spindly, sickly Steve Rogers might seem slightly apocryphal, but if you love the first 15 minutes of the first Captain America film then this book is for you! I’ve seen a pretty wide consensus that this flashback material to the early days of World War II and Nazi sympathizer rallies being held in the US is strong stuff.

Plus, the present day plot includes some fun material with Doctor Strange (who feels like the hero that JMS really ought to be writing).

Captain Marvel Vol. 1: The Omen
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302957056 / digital)
Guide to Captain Marvel. The start of the 2023 run by Alyssa Wong ties in heavily to the plot of The Marvels, with Carol Danvers swapping places with a mystical thief due to a pair of malfunctioning Nega Bands being hunted by a powerful force from another dimension.

I don’t recommend this run for Carol fans. It simply doesn’t have much to say about her, nor is her voice very specific. Just keep re-reading your Kelly Thompson run!

Contest of Chaos
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302955038 / digital)
See Guide to Scarlet Witch. This Annuals crossover was really a Scarlet Witch & Agatha Harkness mini-event, though most of the stories were of heroes being randomly compelled to fight each other. However, it ended with an intriguing and all-new status quo for Agatha Harkness and for the Darkhold, which now has significance during Blood Hunt. [Read more…] about New Comics & Collected Editions Releases: Marvel Comics – May 8 2024

Miracleman & Marvelman – Collecting Guide & Reading Order

Guide to Miracleman & Marvelman – New for Patrons!

January 17, 2024 by krisis

Today is a historic day in modern comics history, so it’s also a big day for Pledgeonaut Patrons of Crushing Krisis! That’s because one of the longest-dangling plot threads in comics has been tied up neatly with one of today’s new releases. The more I thought about it and got curious about it, the more I realized that no one else on the internet would approach explaining it quite like I would. And that is how I wound up spending my week creating a Guide to Miracleman!

Guide to Miracleman

Today’s historic event is the release of Miracleman by Gaiman & Buckingham: The Silver Age (2022) #7. Aside from being a mouthful, today’s issue is the final installment of the middle “book” of Gaiman & Buckingham’s planned trilogy of Miracleman arcs. Why all the fuss about a middle chapter? Because they started that middle chapter in June 1992, and for nearly two decades it seemed like they would never have the chance to finish it.

New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – January 17, 2024

January 16, 2024 by krisis

It’s the third new comic book day of the new year! This post covers Marvel Comics January 17 2024 releases. Missed last week’s releases? Check out last week’s post covering Marvel’s January 10 2024 releases.

This week in Marvel Comics: Gaiman & Buckingham close a chapter of Miracleman, Nicieza returns to Cable, and an omnibus of Gillen’s almost-perfect Marvel event!

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 January 17 2024 Collected Editions

The Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection, Volume 27: The Clone Saga
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302953669 / digital)
See Guide to Spider-Man, Peter Parker (1963-2018). For many years we’ve assume that the Epic line would cut off prior to the Clone Saga in Amazing Spider-Man, if only because there are already a well-mapped set of “Epic” collections for this period across the Spider-line. Well, guess what? Marvel generally follows the Disney rule that it’s always a good idea to re-release popular material every 7-10 years, and that’s how long it has been since the last set of paperback reprints! It’s unclear right now if the Epic line will collect this period as comprehensively as the prior paperbacks or the omnibuses. This stretches a bit farther than I’d expect in Amazing Spider-Man if it was going to collect everything that ran alongside it, but we’ll need to see a Volume 28 to be certain.

Avengers: Beyond
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302952044 / digital)
See Guide to Avengers Flagship Titles (2010 – Present). This collects a fun, five-issue Derek Landy & Greg Land series with ties to the original Secret Wars that follows up on their All-Out Avengers (2022) #1-5. All-Out was much more fun with its one-off issues, whereas this is one continuous story. For me, more of a “read it digital” than “buy it.”

The Incredible Hulk Vol. 1: Age of Monsters
(2024 paperback, ISBN 978-1302954161 / digital)
See Guide to Hulk – Bruce Banner. I can’t say that I’m a fan of this Phillip Kennedy Johnson run on Hulk, though it looks great thanks to Nic Klein’s artwork. The majority of Phillip Kennedy Johnson comics include domestic abuse, sexual assaults, and threats of sexual violence – all largely against women, even if it’s just offhand comments or background action. When I’m looking for consistency from a writer, that’s not what I’m talking about.

A.X.E. Judgment Day Omnibus
(2024 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302952907 / digital)
See Guide to Marvel Universe Events – AXE: Judgement Day. Want to read a good Marvel event? Maybe a “Top 5 of All Time” Marvel Event? What if I told you that fully HALF of this event and its tie-ins (and by extension this omnibus) were written ENTIRELY by Kieron Gillen, and then another third of it by his X-Office brain trust of Al Ewing, Gerry Duggan, & Si Spurrier. The result is a high quality event with just a few dull issues (we’re looking at you, Ben Percy). However, for maximum impact you’re going to want to read all of Gillen’s Eternals (2021) first – the entire series is a prologue to this event.

Note that the Events Guide has this material in PERFECT reading order, as worked out with my co-reader VapourSnake.

Marvel Masterworks: Daredevil Vol. 18
(2024 hardcover, ISBN 978-1302953164 / digital)
See Guide to Daredevil. This is wild to say or even to think about, but… Marvel Masterworks is now PAST the initial run of Frank Miller material in Daredevil! This entire volume begins after Miller’s initial departure. Of course, Daredevil is never not good (except for maybe post-300-pre-Kevin-Smith), so this is still Masterworks-caliber material. However, for me personally, my Masterworks shelf ends with Volume 17. [Read more…] about New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – January 17, 2024

New Comics & Collected Editions: Marvel Comics – February 8, 2023

February 8, 2023 by krisis

Welcome to the second in my trial run of a return to new release posts! This post covers Marvel Comics February 8 2023 releases.

Marvel Comics February 8 2023 Collected Editions

Avengers by Jonathan Hickman Omnibus, Vol. 1
(2017 hardcover, ISBN 978-1302907082 / 2023 hardcover, ISBN 978-1302945473 / digital)
This is the massively-satisfying first half of Hickman’s Avengers run, taking it through the end of the Infinity event in perfect Hickman-approved reading order. Although I’ve been known to have complains about this run, they’re 100% from the back half – you cannot go wrong with this (and I’m a rare dissenter on the run as a whole). See the Guide to Avengers Flagships (2010 – Present Day).

Avengers By Jason Aaron Vol. 11: History’s Mightiest Heroes
(2022 paperback, ISBN 978-1302928858 / digital)
This is the final volume of this series collected on its own before it heads into the climactic Avengers Assemble crossover. See Guide to Avengers Flagships (2010 – Present Day).

Avengers: Kree/Skrull War Gallery Edition HC
(2023 oversize “Gallery” hardcover, ISBN 978-1302949594)
These gallery editions are even larger than omnibus-size – they’re similar to DC Absolutes. And, if any classic run of art merits one, it’s Kree/Skrull war, which contains one of my favorite issues of all time, Avengers (1963) #93 – “Journey to the Center of the Android.” See Guide to Avengers (1963 – 1996).

Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Captain Marvel Vol. 1 – The Coming of Captain Marvel
(2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302948894 / digital)
This book is part of Marvel’s new paperback Masterworks recollection line, which does not always line up directly with the breaks in the original Masterworks line. See Guide to Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers or Guide to Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell (eventually).

Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: The Menace Revealed Vol. 3
(2023 paperback, ISBN 978-1302932312 / digital)
This release (and the announcement of some Epics for later in 2023) brings us tantalizingly close to full coverage of Star Wars Legends in Epic format. Of course… Marvel hasn’t reprinted a single volume, so some of them have risen to omnibus-prices on the aftermarket! We’ll see if Marvel releasing the actual omnibuses deflates that a bit. See Guide to Star Wars Legends (Expanded Universe, 1977-2015).

X-Men: The Animated Series – The Adaptations Omnibus
(2023 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302947774 / digital)
This one is PACKED with nostalgia for us 90s X-kids. It collects the three ongoing series comic adaptations-slash-extensions of the iconic X-Men Animated series. Collects X-Men Adventures (1992) #1-15, X-Men Adventures (1994) #1-13 and X-Men Adventures (1995) #1-13 in full. See Guide to X-Men Ongoing Titles.

Read on for a rundown of Marvel Comics February 8 2023 single-issue releases, including a link to their accompanying guide pages on Crushing Comics.