Read “THE BEST DEFENSE” in order!
An unsolvable murder. An aquatic doorway to nothingness. A wanderer at the end of time. And a cosmic train of planetary proportions.
Four seemingly-unrelated events that will require the powers and insights of the members of the greatest Non-Team of them all, the original DEFENDERS, to connect the dots and challenge the strange power behind these disconnected happenings – before all of reality pays the price!
Doctor Strange! Immortal hulk! Namor the Sub-Mariner! The Silver Surfer!
Don’t call them a team – call them the DEFENDERS!
ON SALE 12/5/18
IMMORTAL HULK: DEFENDERS #1
NAMOR: DEFENDERS #1
ON SALE 12/12/18
DOCTOR STRANGE: DEFENDERS #1
SILVER SURFER: DEFENDERS #1
ON SALE 12/19/18
DEFENDERS #1
Thanks for the suggestion, Marvel, but I think I will trade-wait this one.
It looks like writer Al Ewing may be the mastermind here, as he is writing one of the character-specific one-shots (Immortal Hulk) and the concluding Defenders #1. The other writers involved are Jason Latour, Gerry Duggan and Chip Zdarsky, with art by Joe Bennett, Simone Di Meo, Latour, Carlos Magno, Greg Smallwood. Ron Garney, who is a great choice for a Defenders comic, is just providing covers; Bennett is drawing the final issue.
I'm curious if this will lead in to a new Defenders comic or not, now that Bendis' Netflix team is done squatting on that name. In a perfect world--well, slightly more perfect for me personally, anyway-- where I would be Marvel's Editor-In-Chief, the new Defenders book would combine these four with the the Netflix team. Kurt Busiek would writ it, Erik Larsen would draw it and it would be awesome.
Let's see, what else is going on at Marvel in December? A bunch of X-Men stuff, a wedding, some Christmas specials and, as per usual, a hell of a lot of variant covers.
These are organized around a few different themes, including "Fantastic Four villains"--which is also the theme of this month's $1 "True Believers" reprints, which my school teacher sister's students apparently love--and "Conan Vs. Marvel Heroes" variants, which I imagine are exactly what they sound like. That latter one seems like a good idea...to the degree that any variant covers can be said to be "good ideas." I'm definitely not the market for collectible variant covers, but I would certainly enjoy looking at a bunch of images of Conan doing battle with various Marvel characters.
I'm a little surprised Marvel hasn't done that with Star Wars characters yet. I mean, I can see crossover comics being a terrible, terrible fucking idea, but variants of Darth Vader fighting Doctor Doom or Hercules getting in a bar brawl in Mos Eisley or Star-Lord playing Sabacc with Han Solo? That doesn't seem to cross the streams in anyway too damaging; it would basically just be professional fan art.
Anyway, let's take a look at Marvel's got planned for the last month of 2018...
DANIEL KIBBLESMITH (W) • RICARDO LÓPEZ ORTIZ (A)
Cover by RYAN BENJAMIN & Rain Beredo
...
OFF WITH HIS HEAD!
But WHOSE head? Deadpool’s? T’Challa’s? …JACK O’LANTERN’S? (And which Lantern?) Well SOMEbody better keep his head, because Deadpool and the Black Panther now have a MUTUAL THREAT on their hands—and if they don’t act soon, there’ll be no Wakanda left to fight for!
32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$3.99
Hey, it's Jack O'Lantern! I've always liked the cut of that guy's jib. I don't think I've ever read an actual story about him, I've just seen him appear in things, but in general I like characters with pumpkins for heads, and that rocket-broom is a pretty cool gimmick, too.
Written by BILL EVERETT, CARL BURGOS, JOHN COMPTON & MORE
Penciled by BILL EVERETT, CARL BURGOS, AL FAGALY, CARL PFEUFFER & MORE
Cover by ALEX SCHOMBURG
Celebrate 80 years of Marvel Comics, decade by decade — beginning with the first two superstars of the Flying Forties! The original Human Torch and Namor the Sub-Mariner get along as well as fire and water, and several of Timely’s greatest comics feature the twin titans clashing in fantastic feature-length fisticuffs! A rivalry for the ages is born when Namor, mistreated by the surface world, attacks New York — and the Torch stands in his way! As World War II rages, Namor decides to create peace by flooding the planet! Can the Torch and his young sidekick, Toro, bring Namor back to his senses? They’d better — because the Nazis are on the attack, and the Golden Age archrivals must put aside their differences aside and unite against a common foe! Collecting material from MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS #7-10 and HUMAN TORCH COMICS #5B, #8 and #10.
232 PGS./Rated T+ …$24.99
ISBN: 978-1-302-91658-9
This looks sort of cool, although I'm not entirely sure of the organizing principle here. Will there be other Marvel In The '40s books, starring other characters, particularly ones of much less popularity and staying power than these two...? I hope so! I love Namor, and I love 1940s Namor the best of all (The fifties should be a particularly interesting decade to read, if they do one of those, as it falls between the two peak "ages" of super-comics, especially at Marvel).
DOCTOR STRANGE #9
MARK WAID (W) • JESÚS SAIZ (A/C)
FANTASTIC FOUR VILLAINS VARIANT COVER BY MARKO DJURDJEVIC
THE DOCTOR IS IN!
• Doctor Strange is back on Earth and back in the Sanctum Sanctorum!
• But a villain from his past is back, threatening Greenwich Village and the Sanctum in a way Strange has never been threatened before.
• Only one more issue until #400, and Mark Waid and Jesús Saiz are setting the dominoes up for a huge 400th issue celebration.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
Just one more issue until #400? But this is just issue #9, so there should be 391 more issues before #400.
EXILES #11
SALADIN AHMED (w)
JAVIER RODRIGUEZ (A)
Cover by DAVID NAKAYAMA
THE WRATH OF KHAN!
The Exiles’ beloved Khan—who sacrificed herself to stop the Time-Eater—has miraculously returned! But this time, her gun is trained on her old teammates! And she’s not alone. Meet the evil Exiles—Captain Axis; Shuri, a.k.a. Killmonger; Iron Kang; X 2/3rd and Skele-Thor!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
High five for whoever came up with the name "Skele-Thor."
DAN SLOTT (W) • AARON KUDER, ADAM HUGHES & MICHAEL ALLRED (A)
Cover by ESAD RIBIC
...
SPECIAL 650th ISSUE SPECTACULAR!
The wedding that’s been years in the making…Ben and Alicia say “I do!”
No bait. No switch. Not a dream. Not a hoax. And we swear, not a single Skrull around. This is really happening! From the book that brought you the first, best and longest running super hero marriage in comics, we give you…the wedding of Ben Grimm and Alicia Masters! Featuring an untold tale of the courtship of Ben and Alicia. A bachelor party that only Johnny Storm could throw. And a very special ceremony brought to you in the Mighty Marvel Manner.
64 PGS./Rated T …$5.99
That's a pretty great artistic line-up. I like Kuder and Allred a whole lot, and while Hughes' current style isn't my aesthetic cup of tea, he's a big name and always something of a get for a comics publisher. I can't help but notice that Sara Pichelli, the artist who relaunched the book, um, four whole issues before this one, is MIA. I hope that is merely because it was time for a break, and a wedding seemed like a good time to bring in some high-profile guest-artists, but one would think both she and the editors would want her involved in at least some small capacity with a milestone event like this, even if it's just providing a framing sequence or something.
I'd be pretty disappointed if she's gone already, because that was the main point of interest for me with this relaunch. Like, Slott seemed like the best choice for the job by default--that is, I couldn't really think of anyone better among the folks Marvel seems to be able to hire, so it would almost have to be Slott or Marvel 2-in-One writer Chip Zdarsky--but Pichelli on FF was genuinely kind of exciting.
Now let's hope Ben and Alicia actually do get married, given the last two high-profile superhero weddings I heard about didn't actually happen.
SINA GRACE, CULLEN BUNN, Jim Zubb & CHRISTOPHER HASTINGS (W)
Garry Brown, Kev Walker, Chris Sprouse & Flaviano (A)
Cover by GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI
With astonishing mental powers and a skeleton made of solid diamond, DIAMOND PATCH lives a life of violence and glamor! Plus, when the Chronogen Mists left KAMALA KANG forever changed, they set her on a course to becoming the teenaged conqueror of time! And finally, when their parents were killed as they got their powers, they swore revenge and became…THE PUNISHER PACK!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
You can't hear it from there, but I'm actually applauding "Punisher Pack" at the moment.
KILLMONGER #1 (of 5)
BRYAN HILL (W) • JUAN FERREYRA (A/C)
...
THE BRUTAL TALE OF A MAN WHO WILL STOP AT NOTHING FOR FREEDOM…
One day, Erik Killmonger will rise up and attempt to steal the throne of Wakanda. The throne he believes he is owed. But long before he became “Killmonger,” there was a boy known as N’Jadaka. A boy who was stolen from his home and taught only the world’s cruelties. A boy who knew the Black Panther only as a fairy tale, a whisper from strangers. This is the story of a man who driven by revenge. This is the legend of Killmonger.
40 PGS./Rated PARENTAL ADVISORY …$4.99
I have to keep reminding myself that the Black Panther movie was just released in February, just seven short months ago, and that it likely takes a good six months to conceive, plan, write, draw and color and letter a comic book, so chances are this was greenlit not long after the box office receipts for Black Panther started rolling in. Still, given how fast news cycles and pop culture trends move, it seems like this is way too late to try and capitalize on any residual excitement for the BP movie (At least with Shuri and those Dora Milague tea-up books, the characters reappeared in Avengers: Infinity War and will likely do so in future Black Panther and/or Avengers movies. Killmonger's dead.
I guess it's safe to say that Marvel's comics division was pretty caught off-guard about how popular the Black Panther movie turned out to be, huh?
MERRY X-MEN HOLIDAY SPECIAL #1
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD, CHRIS SIMS, CHAD BOWERS, ED BRISSON, MATTHEW ROSENBERG, KELLY THOMPSON, RAINBOW ROWELL, CHARLES SOULE, Zac Thompson, Lonny Nadler, Leah Williams, Tini Howard, Sina Grace, Al Ewing, Chris Claremont, & More (W)
Marco Failla, Kris Anka, Ryan Browne, & More (A)
Cover by DAVID NAKAYAMA
...
Twenty-five holiday tales of merry mutants, one for each day of December 1 through December 25! What does Magneto do for Hanukkah? What’s Rogue and Gambit’s first married Christmas like? Is Jubilee truly the master of navigating malls during the holidays? These questions and more are answered as all your favorite X-Men and more creators than you can shake a jingle bell at come together for a holiday celebration to last all month long!
40 PGS./one-shot /Rated T+ …$4.99
"Merry...X-Men"...? But Merry Mutants is right there for the taking! I would also accept The Uncanny X-Mas.
This sounds like an X-Men Advent calendar. I'm in.
SALADIN AHMED (W) • JAVIER GARRÓN (A)
Cover by BRIAN STELFREEZE
...
Balancing his normal life, school, parents, etc…and super-heroing has never been easy, but when the Rhino and a cadre of mysterious criminals start plaguing Brooklyn, things take a dark turn. And Miles doesn’t even know the half of it yet. Eisner Award-winner Saladin Ahmed (BLACK BOLT) and Young Gun Javier Garrón (ANT-MAN & THE WASP) bring you the latest incarnation of the coolest character in the Marvel Universe!
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
And now we know that Marvel's post-Bendis plans for Miles Morales. They will indeed keep publishing him in a new title with a new writer. Saladin Ahmed is a good choice, I think.
Although it is perhaps worth noting that with Otto Octavius once again being a Spider-Man and starring in a new book called The Superior Spider-Man, there's probably too many Spider-Men swinging around the Marvel Universe at the moment (and I'm not even counting the Multiversal versions from Spidergeddon), a problem Marvel had with female Spider-people a few years ago.
CHIP ZDARSKY (W) • CARLOS MAGNO (A)
Cover by RON GARNEY
...
“THE BEST DEFENSE” PART TWO!
• The Monarch of the Oceans has declared war once more on the surface world in the pages of AVENGERS. And if this is a war that Namor means to win, he is going to need allies to stand beside him!
• The Sub-Mariner’s quest for a lost tribe of sea-dwellers carries him further than he ever thought possible—and to a reckoning both strange and wonderful!
• And hey, what’s up with that weird apparition in the sheet, anyway?
40 PGS./one-shot /Rated T+ …$4.99
Namor looks weird covering up so much of his skin, doesn't he? I love that character, and am particularly interested in what Zdarsky might be able to do with him, given his ability to write comics that are funny and dramatic simultaneously.
KELLY THOMPSON (W) • DANIELE DI NICUOLO (A)
Cover by STEFANO CASELLI
CITY OF EVILS CONTINUES!
• Sometimes saving the day includes saving yourself so you can live long enough to deal with the next crisis, and, as a slew of villains band together to destroy the West Coast Avengers, our heroes will have to do just that!
• Hope you survive the L.A. experience! (Yes, we brought an X-Man on board just so we could legally say that! So can we fire Quentin yet?)
• What house of horrors awaits the West Coast Avengers? And what familiar face is gonna throw a wrench in Kate Bishop’s less-than-well-oiled team?!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
I don't know. Probably Wonder Man.
Zac Thompson & Lonnie Nadler and Chris Claremont (W)
Neil Edwards & more (A)
COVER BY Geoff Shaw
...
EXTERMINATION AFTERMATH!
A Death in the Family!
In the aftermath of Extermination, the X-Men mourn for their fallen brother, Cable. But no one is taking it harder than his adopted daughter, Hope Summers. Will Hope be able to cope with the loss, or will she be led down a dark path that she won’t be able to return from? Only Jean Grey can save Hope from herself! Plus, celebrate the life of Nathan Summers with a story from his past by Chris Claremont!
40 PGS./one-shot /Rated T+ …$4.99
Oh, so I guess Cable is temporarily dead for a while, starting in December? I find it slightly hilarious that his head is being cradled by Jean Grey, whose whole character arc seems to have revolved around dying and coming back to life, looking slightly worried about a fellow X-Men dying. Lady, you guys die all the time. In fact, how many of the mutants who aren't Cable on that cover have died and come back previously? I know I've read the resurrection stories of at least two of them.
Cable dying--or "dying"--is a particularly ho-hum death, given that he's a time traveler, and in the ever-flexible rules of superhero comics, killing a time traveler could/would/should be more-or-less impossible, right? In fact, there's another version of Cable, a younger one, appearing in this month's issue of X-Force, so...
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