Marvel's September previews reviewed

Will one of Marvel's Spider-Men kill one of Marvel's Captains America because they disagree so strongly about whether or not to fight crime based on the predictions of a prophetic mutant Inhuman? Probably not!

Remember when Marvel cancelled their entire line of superhero universe books during the course of the Secret War event series, replacing them all with limited series spinning out of the "Battleworld" premise of that series? Reading Marvel's solicitations for September, it feels like they are pretty much doing the exact same thing with Civil War II, in an unofficial way. They didn't cancel all their ongoings, but they all do seem to be interrupted to focus almost exclusively on tying in to the events of Civil War II, the premise of which doesn't appeal to me in the slightest.

I guess I'll read it in trade next year and know for sure, but it doesn't seem to have the sort of grabby hook that previous Marvel event series, even the bad ones, had. "The Marvel heroes have different opinions regarding The Minority Report" doesn't do anything for me the way that, say, "The Hulk wants to beat everyone up" or "Big, strong guys get evil Thor hammers" or "Doctor Doom has created all of reality in his own image" or "The good guys are now bad and the bag guys are now good" did.

So if all the Civil War II tie-ins sound kind of the same and also kind of lame, what does that leave us with? Not much!


BLACK PANTHER EPIC COLLECTION: PANTHER'S RAGE TPB
Volume #1 in the Black Panther Epic Collections
Written by DON McGREGOR & STAN LEE
Penciled by RICH BUCKLER, BILLY GRAHAM, GIL KANE, KEITH POLLARD & JACK KIRBY
Cover by GIL KANE
In the 1960s, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created an unprecedented string of classic comic-book heroes. But quite possibly the most iconic of them all was the high-tech king of Wakanda, the Black Panther! When the Panther began his own solo series, Don McGregor strove to meet Lee and Kirby's high standard with "Panther's Rage" -- an epic adventure so huge it ranged across the savannah, into the deepest jungles and up snow-topped mountains. Over its course, McGregor would explore and expand the life and culture of the Wakandans and their African kingdom in compelling detail. Then, he sent the Black Panther into very different but still dangerous territory -- the American South -- seeking justice for a murder connected to the Klan and the Soul Strangler! Collecting FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #52-53 and JUNGLE ACTION (1972) #6-24.
400 PGS./Rated T ...$34.99
ISBN: 978-1-302-90190-5

This is that one classic Black Panther story arc that everyone points to as, like, the best Black Panther story arc that wasn't written by Christopher Priest ever, right?

I like the old Essential format better than these Epic Collections, but that is because I am cheap.


CAPTAIN MARVEL: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HERO VOL. 2 TPB
Written by KELLY SUE DeCONNICK & JEN VAN METER
Penciled by SCOTT HEPBURN, GERARDO SANDOVAL, PAT OLLIFFE, FILIPE ANDRADE, MATTEO BUFFAGNI,
BARRY KITSON & TERRY DODSON
Cover by JOE QUINONES
Captain Marvel and the Avengers face the enemy within! When vicious echoes from the past of Earth's Mightiest Heroes crop up all over Manhattan, Carol Danvers refuses to be grounded by her recent, mysterious loss of power. But who is the sinister figure behind the madness, and what does it have to do with Carol's calamitous condition? And most disturbing of all, is this villain even real? Matters get worse as the events of INFINITY unfold. Carol goes cosmic -- Binary cosmic -- in an epic that rocks worlds, not least hers! But when she comes back to Earth with a bump, will her biggest fan be the key to rebuilding her life? Plus: Captain Marvel and Spider-Man share a big problem! Collecting CAPTAIN MARVEL (2012) #13-17, AVENGERS: THE ENEMY WITHIN #1, AVENGERS ASSEMBLE (2012) #16-19 and AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #9-10.
280 PGS./Rated T+ ...$29.99
ISBN: 978-1-302-90128-8

"Earth's Mightiest," huh Carol? It's not bad enough that you stole poor Billy Batson's superheroic alter ego's name, now you've gotta have The World's Mightiest Mortal's nickname too? Have you no shame, Carol?

Say, does anyone read Carnage? Is at anywhere near as good a comic as its covers might lead one to believe? Because the covers are almost always awesome.

DEADPOOL V GAMBIT #5 (OF 5)
BEN ACKER & BEN BLACKER (W)
DANILO BEYRUTH (A)
Cover by KEVIN WADA
VARIANT COVER BY TBA
• The con comes to close!
• Will Deadpool and Gambit get away with the money?
• And...why on Earth is Wade now...DEADFIST?
32 PGS./Parental Advisory ...$3.99

I don't know, Wade. Given your skin condition, I don't think the cut of Iron Fist's original costume looks quite right on you. Maybe you should try a red and black version of his current, less revealing costume...?

I haven't mentioned it in probably about a month now, but I really like Arthur Adams. This is his cover for Guardians of the Galaxy #12, which will apparently be about Marvel superheroes fighting one another over a pretty cut-and-dry non-issue, like just about every other comic book Marvel is publishing in September. Do note that Adams is only drawing the cover, but from what I've seen so far, interior artist Valerio Schiti has been doing a pretty fine job.

HOWARD THE DUCK #11
CHIP ZDARSKY (W) • JOE QUINONES (A/C)
...
• Join Chip (Zdarsky) and Joe (Quinones) as they say goodbye to Howard in a Very Special Issue that is still priced as a Regular Issue!
• Can Howard outwit fate? Can any of us? Or is the concept of predestination just shorthand for the near-infinite factors in play that are guided, at their core, by free will?
• Guest-starring Spider-Man, probably.
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

WHAT?! "Say goodbye"...? Is this really the last issue of Zdarsky and Quinones' Howard The Duck? That's a rhetorical question, because I see that Zdarsky says that it is indeed ending on his Tumblr blog, and that it's ending because they've reached their pre-planned ending for the series, and not because of sales or anything.

This is terrible. I just read the second volume of the series, which is labeled "Volume 1"because Marvel, and it was just as excellent as the first volume, the one labeled "Volume 0." This series has been part of a three-way tie for my favorite Marvel comic with Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and Patsy Walker, AKA Hellcat, but I guess come September there will only be two comics left in the running for  Caleb's Favorite Marvel Comic At The Moment. 

I've thus far found the title to do what I would have otherwise considered pretty impossible, which is to make me enjoy a Howard The Duck comic so far removed from Steve Gerber's work. It has been very (very, very) different, and extremely focused on Howard as a foot in the door to jokes about the Marvel Universe and their immense character catalog as a whole, but it's met those goals quite effectively. Also, it has the best Spider-Man cameos.

I've also liked the way that this and the other two Marvel books I've just mentioned have been interacting with one another pretty regularly since they've launched; the last Howard and Squirrel Girl trades both contained their inter-book crossover, and the first Patsy trade had the title character getting a job at Howard's friend's tattoo shop. 

I do hope both creators get swell gigs elsewhere, either together or separately. Hey, maybe this will free up Zdarksy's schedule to work on another Archie Comics series comparable to his excellent Jughead comic...? Maybe he and Quinones can take over a rebooted and realunched Betty and Veronica or a new That Jerk, Reggie Mantle title...

PATSY WALKER, A.K.A. HELLCAT! #10
KATE LETH (W) • BRITTNEY L. WILLIAMS (A/C)
DEFENDERS VARIANT COVER BY Sandy Jarrell
• Boy problems. Who's got 'em? Patsy Walker, that's who.
• Let's get lost in the final issue of our second arc (what?!) as Patsy makes the most of the fight against her (mostly) evil exes.
• Hellcat didn't just come here to dance -- she came to save her friends and save the day!
32 PGS./Rated T ...$3.99

See? There's Howard right there, on the cover of Patsy Walker #10! I continue to not like Brittney L. Williams' particular version of Son of Satan, despite loving everything about her art in general.

I really love how cute her Squirrel Girl is. I really don't think we can get enough Squirrel Girl guest appearances in this title, since that means more Squirrel Girl as drawn by Williams.

ROCKET RACCOON & GROOT #9 & 10
NICK KOCHER (W) • Michael Walsh (A)
CoverS by DAVID LOPEZ
CIVIL WAR II TIE-INS!
• We don't mean to be carpet-braggers, but you'll have to (Ulysses S.) grant that these are the best issues of the entire event!
• When Rocket, Groot, and Gwenpool all go after the same bounty in Georgia, the results are antebellum-believable!
• Get-tysburg as many copies as you can!
32 PGS. (each)/Rated T ...$3.99 (each)

Let's take a moment to applaud the mostly terribly forced Civil War puns in this solicitation copy.


STAR WARS LEGENDS EPIC COLLECTION: LEGACY VOL. 1 TPB
Written by JOHN OSTRANDER & JAN DUURSEMA
Penciled by JAN DUURSEMA, TRAVEL FOREMAN, ADAM DEKRAKER & COLIN WILSON
Cover by ADAM HUGHES
Head far into the future of long ago! A new evil has arisen, shattering a resurgent Empire and seeking to put an end to the Jedi once and for all. The Sith Lord Darth Krayt sits on the throne. Only one hope remains -- the last remaining heir to the Skywalker legacy. Cade may be strong in the Force -- but years after a tragedy, he is a bounty hunter, working with Jariah Syn and Deliah Blue. When he reluctantly finds himself at the center of galactic turmoil, Cade may be forced to embrace his heritage. But will the path on which he embarks be one of redemption, or damnation? Collecting STAR WARS: LEGACY (2006) #0-19.
464 PGS./Rated T+ ...$39.99
ISBN: 978-1-302-90012-0
Star Wars © Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved. Used under authorization. Text and illustrations for Star Wars are © 2016 Lucasfilm Ltd.

Despite the obvious pains that were taken to make Luke Skywalker's descendent Cade appear as bad-ass and anti-Luke as possible–Tattoos! Space drugs! Piracy!–I actually ended up really rather enjoying this series. The two big reasons are, of course, John Ostrander and Jan Duursema, both of whom are great talents who have done particularly great work on the Star Wars franchise.

I also kind of liked just how far removed this series was from the two eras of Galactic history from the two trilogies, and how it therefore boasted a lot of familiar elements of the franchise, but in radically remixed ways.

So yeah, while I will admit that no one who makes fun of Cade and how hard this book occasionally tried, I would still recommend it.

Um, if you like Star Wars comics. If you don't, this probably isn't the one that's going to win you over.

THUNDERBOLTS #5
JIM ZUB (W) • JON MALIN (A/C)
...
CIVIL WAR II TIE-IN!
• It's the Winter Soldier versus Spider-Man and only one of them is going to walk away.
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

Really? Only one of these characters is going to walk away from the fight? If the implication is that one of them is going to die, well, that's not very suspenseful, is it? The Winter Soldier is totally going to bite it. Sure, he may have home book advantage, and he may have already died like three times already, but the other guy is Spider-Man. Well, a Spider-Man. But still! A Spider-Man is still a bigger deal than a Winter Solider.

Of course, maybe the solicitation copy is just being coy. Only one of them is going to walk away...because the other one will swing away on a web!

Huh. I thought the only metal Wolverine was interested in was adamantium.

Also, I wonder what Toadies album Jubilee is looking at on the cover of X-Men '92, given that their first full-length album (and their big break through) didn't see release until 1994. And a quick Google search does indeed reveal that the cover doesn't look like that, anyway, even if Kang The Conqueror dropped his copy of Rubberneck in a Tower Records while time-traveling through the era.

I suppose things like the particular year of an album's release or its cover art could be different in the Marvel Universe, though...