Marvel's May previews reviewed

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #20.HU
NICK SPENCER (W) • CORY SMITH (A) • Cover by GREG LAND
ESSENTIAL “HUNTED” TIE-IN!
• The Vulture is one of Spider-Man’s oldest villains and his oldest villain…
• …but that doesn’t make him any less dangerous. Kraven’s biggest hunt has thrown everything upside down and there’s plenty of carrion for the Vulture.
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #21
NICK SPENCER (W) • HUMBERTO RAMOS (A/C)
Connecting Variant Cover by LEINIL FRANCIS YU
...
THE CLIMACTIC CONCLUSION OF “HUNTED” IS HERE!
• Spidey faces an impossible situation that will push him as far as he’s ever been pushed.
• Who lives and who dies when the hunters become the prey?
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #22
NICK SPENCER (W) • RYAN OTTLEY (A/C)
...
HUNTED AFTERMATH!
• The fallout from “HUNTED” continues to loom, and much of Peter’s life is called into question.
• What is left of Spider-Man after living through the harrowing hunt?!
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

So have you guys heard about the realms? Apparently, they are all at war. And this realm warring is a comic book event series that is pretty damn close to eating up all of the available pages in Marvel's line this May. I've noted the above books simply because they are not tied into the War of The Realms event series, and were the first of the many, many, may titles I had to scroll down through before hitting something that didn't have to do with Jason Aaron's Thor-centric mega-narrative. (I just read the first collection of Spencer and Ottley's ASM though, and it was quite good).

The Spider- books, Ta-Nehisi Coates' Black Panther and Captain America, Daredevil, The Invaders, The Immortal Hulk, Ironheart, Shuri...honestly, it would be easier to list the books not tying into War of The Realms than those that are, and that's notable given how many spin-off miniseries with the words "War of The Realms" in the title there are; one wouldn't think the story would need to spill into the pages of Venom or Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur and Unbeatable Squirrel Girl or whatever in order to be told in full.


CAPTAIN AMERICA: EVOLUTIONS OF A LIVING LEGEND TPB
Written by JOE SIMON, STEVE ENGLEHART, MARK GRUENWALD, MARK WAID, ROB LIEFELD, JEPH LOEB, ED BRUBAKER, RICK REMENDER & NICK SPENCER
Penciled by JACK KIRBY, SAL BUSCEMA, TOM MORGAN, DAVE HOOVER, RON GARNEY, ROB LIEFELD, MIKE DEODATO JR., JOHN ROMITA JR., JESUS SAIZ & CHRIS SAMNEE
Cover by ALEX ROSS
The many costumes of Captain America! The star-spangled costume of Captain America has been a timeless symbol of hope and freedom since his days fighting Nazism overseas and McCarthyism at home. This historical retrospective of Steve Rogers’ various uniforms and super hero mantles is a showcase of America’s ever-evolving sociopolitical landscape. From his early days fighting in overt patriotic garb as Captain America during World War II through his adoption of the predominately black uniform and title of the Captain at a time when he became a symbol of resisting absolute government control, Rogers has always worn his allegiance openly. Time and again, Steve has returned to Captain America’s red-white-and-blue iconography, proving that the symbolic clothing of the Sentinel of Liberty stands for a higher ideal than any one person or government can achieve. Collecting CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) #180, #337, #438 and #451; CAPTAIN AMERICA (1996) #3; SECRET AVENGERS (2010) #1; CAPTAIN AMERICA (2012) #1; CAPTAIN AMERICA: STEVE ROGERS #1; CAPTAIN AMERICA (2017) #695; and material from CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #1-2.
248 PGS./Rated T+ …$29.99
ISBN: 978-1-302-91848-4

I'm not a savvy enough Marvel reader to be able to match many of these titles and issue numbers to actual stories, but this sounds like a collection of the many different times Cap has adopted different, temporary costumes and code names as he became disillusioned with being Captain America and then would re-adopt a version of his original duds. That's an interesting idea to organize a collection around--although The Man Costumes of Captain America is a better-sounding title. I hope there's a lot of prose content in their to contextualize each of the changes.


INFINITY WARS BY GERRY DUGGAN: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION HC
Written by GERRY DUGGAN
Penciled by MIKE DEODATO JR., MIKE ALLRED, AARON KUDER, MIKE HAWTHORNE, ANDY MACDONALD, MARK BAGLEY & CORY SMITH
Cover by MIKE DEODATO JR.
ON SALE SEPTEMBER 2019
The full saga of Requiem and the Infinity Wars! The Infinity Stones are back. Individually, they grant their wielders great power. Together, they bestow the power of a god! As each stone’s location is discovered, forces converge for a battle that will send the universe down a dark path — to the end! Featuring the Chitauri, the Raptors, the Nova Corps, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Adam Warlock and more surprising Stone wielders! But who, or what, is Requiem? When she warps the Marvel Universe in half, what surprising heroes will assemble to stand against her? And when death comes at last, who will fall? Collecting INFINITY COUNTDOWN PRIME, INFINITY COUNTDOWN: ADAM WARLOCK, INFINITY COUNTDOWN #1-5, INFINITY WARS PRIME, INFINITY WARS #1-6, INFINITY WARS: FALLEN GUARDIAN and INFINITY and material from FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2018 (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN/GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY) #1 and THANOS LEGACY #1.
592 PGS./Rated T+ …$50.00
ISBN: 978-1-302-91496-7
Trim size: oversized

There were seemingly so many preludes and tie-ins to this series that I was waiting until the dust settled and the collections arrive at the library before even attempting it. This sure looks pretty complete; is this the book I want to read Infinity Wars in, or is this particular volume too complete, and I am better off just reading the main series...? And is this where all those neat-looking "Infinity Warps" characters show up, or is that another trade...?

Maybe I'm just getting too old for line-wide superhero event series like this, but this is one of those instances where I feel like Groucho buying guide books from Chico at the race track in A Day At The Races...

FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #6
TOM TAYLOR (W) • Yildiray Cinar (A) • Cover by ANDREW C. ROBINSON
...
• The neighborhood, and the planet, is doomed. Spider-Man is powerless to stop the end of the world. Only Earth’s Newest and Mightiest Hero, Spider-Bite, can save the day.
• Wait, WHAT?!
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

Say, is that Spider-Man and Spider-Bite on the cover there...? If so, that's cool; this Spider-Bite character looks to be a sidekick in the mode of sidekicks as little clones of their mentors, like Toro to The Human Torch, or Kid Flash to The Flash when he was wearing his original costume or Tim to The Black Terror. To choose three universally known and beloved examples.

GIANT-MAN #1 & #2 (OF 3)
LEAH WILLIAMS (W) • MARCO CASTIELLO (A) • Cover by WOO CHEOL
...
WAR OF THE REALMS TIE-IN! ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS!
Issue #1 - At the behest of All-Mother Freyja, four men must rise to monstrous heights and infiltrate the most savage territory of New Jotunheim: Florida!
Issue #2 - Four of the biggest men in the Marvel Universe are on a mission in Frost Giant territory: kill the patriarch of all Frost Giants himself, Ymir, on behalf of Lady Freyja. But how exactly will they penetrate Laufey’s forces? By becoming masters of disguise!
32 PGS. (EACH)/Rated T …$3.99 (EACH)

Okay, I give up; why isn't this called Giant-Men, plural...?

And are these four giant men going to risk their lives just to reclaim Florida from Frost Giants? Er, that's okay guys; it's just Florida. Don't put yourselves to any trouble.

MARVEL TEAM-UP #2
EVE L. EWING (W) • JOEY VAZQUEZ (A) • Cover by STEFANO CASELLI
VARIANT COVER BY TBA
Looks like trouble for our hero, Spider-Man, also known as Kamala Khan. Er...wait. We mean Ms. Marvel, also known as Peter Parker. Dang, that’s not right either. Peter Khan? Kamala Parker? Well, whoever it is, this duo isn’t feeling so dynamic at the moment, and they need to work it out fast.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Given how many Marvel superheroes live in New York City and the surrounding environs, you would think that sort of thing would happen more often, with heroes getting parts of their costumes mixed up at the laundromat. Hell, The Avengers probably all share a single washing machine; surely Hawkeye and Captain America have gotten their tunics mixed up at some point in the past...

SAVAGE AVENGERS #1
GERRY DUGGAN (W) • MIKE DEODATO JR. (A)
Cover by DAVID FINCH
...
The most savage, most unkillable team of characters in the Marvel Universe is assembled! Wolverine! Venom! Elektra! Punisher! And in their midst – Conan the Barbarian! Conan has returned to the Marvel Universe and his new adventures begin here. What is the City of Sickles? Who is the Marrow God? How is the Hand involved? The roughest and most dangerous characters rumble through this new title starting with...Conan vs. Wolverine? ’Nuff said.
40 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99

Conan as an Avenger...? Huh. I'm actually kind of surprised Marvel did something this cool and inevitable; it sounds like the sort of thing a fan or reader would want to read, but that the publisher wouldn't actually publish (I mean, I would have preferred the original Avengers found Conan frozen in a block of ice instead of Captain America in a What If? special, but this could be interesting too.

...

So, what do you think everyone is standing on on this cover...?

Walter Simonson draws a hell of a Darth Vader, doesn't he? That's one of the cover images for Star Wars #108, a special one-issue revival of the original Marvel Star Wars comic, which Marvel is apparently doing as part of their 80th anniversary celebration.

Well, that and because publishing more Star Wars comics is, like, one of Marvel's go-to moves these days.


TIMELY’S GREATEST: THE GOLDEN AGE SUB-MARINER BY BILL EVERETT - THE PRE-WAR YEARS OMNIBUS HC
Written by BILL EVERETT with CARL BURGOS & JOHN COMPTON
Penciled by BILL EVERETT with CARL BURGOS
...
Marvel proudly presents TIMELY’S GREATEST, a series of once-in-a-lifetime volumes presenting the greatest stories of the Golden Age, when Marvel was known as Timely Comics! Our debut volume celebrates the incomparable adventures of comics’ first antihero, Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner! Bill Everett’s Sub-Mariner cut a bold path, defending his undersea kingdom, invading New York City, fighting the Axis powers and battling both against and alongside the Human Torch! Like his signature character, Everett was an iconoclast ahead of his time. His lush, detailed artwork and engrossing ongoing storylines were unlike anything else of the era! For the first time ever, experience every adventure of Prince Namor from his 1939 debut through Bill Everett’s February 1942 induction into the armed services. Collecting material from MARVEL COMICS #1, MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS #2-31, HUMAN TORCH COMICS #2-6, SUB-MARINER COMICS #1-4, ALL-WINNERS COMICS (1941) #1-4, DARING MYSTERY COMICS #7-8 and COMEDY COMICS (1942) #9.
864 PGS./Rated T …$150.00
ISBN: 978-1-302-91935-1
Trim size: oversized
TIMELY’S GREATEST: THE GOLDEN AGE SUB-MARINER BY BILL EVERETT -
THE PRE-WAR YEARS OMNIBUS HC (MARVEL 80TH, DM ONLY)
864 PGS./Rated T ...$150.00

Wow, this sounds like an ideal collection! I can't wait to...Wait, $150?! Goddamit, Marvel.

Well, I guess there's always a chance I might win the lottery before the final order cutoff...

THE UNSTOPPABLE WASP #7 & #8
JEREMY WHITLEY (W) • ALTI FIRMANSYAH (A)
CoverS by STACEY LEE
ISSUE #7 - MARVEL BATTLE LINES VARIANT COVER BY SUJIN JO
What do you do when your quasi-adopted stepdaughter reveals that she’s never had a birthday party, and doesn’t even know when her birthday is? Well, if you’re Janet Van Dyne — Original Avenger, Winsome Wasp, Pym Labs C.E.O. and Fashion Designer — you throw together the best last-minute birthday party the Marvel Universe has ever seen. But what happens when Nadia’s fellow Red Room graduate Bucky Barnes, A.K.A. the Winter Soldier, crashes the party?
32 PGS. (EACH)/Rated T+ …$3.99 (EACH)

That's a fine cover.

Um, that's all.

WAR OF THE REALMS #3 (OF 6)
JASON AARON (W) • RUSSELL DAUTERMAN (A)
Cover by ARTHUR ADAMS & MATTHEW WILSON
...
RECLAIM THE REALMS!
North America freezes into New Jotunheim. Europe becomes New Svartalfheim. Asia goes up in flames as the new domain of Queen Sindr and her fire goblins. Ulik the Troll lays claim to Australia while Amora the Enchantress raises an army of the dead in South America. Africa falls to the Angels of Heven while Roxxon Oil drops its stakes in Antarctica. Midgard now belongs to Malekith and his allies! The Avengers’ last hope lies in a series of suicide missions across the realms, starting with the rescue of Thor—last seen surrounded by an army of Frost Giants in Jotunheim…
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99

I really like Captain America's winter jacket on the cover there. It looks like everyone has some sort of winter wear and/or Asgardian artifact on the cover. I have to assume Spidey's silly-looking helmet is magic and performs some sort of function, as he is shown wearing it on other covers as well.

WAR OF THE REALMS: NEW AGENTS OF ATLAS #1 & #2 (OF 4)
GREG PAK (W) • GANG-HYUK LIM (A) • COVER BY BILLY TAN
...
FEATURING MARVEL’S NEWEST HEROES WAVE, AERO & SWORD MASTER!
ISSUE #1 - A “War of the Realms” tie-in series! As Sindr, Immortal Queen of Muspelheim, and her legions of Fire Demons march on Asia, it’s time for a new band of heroes to unite to protect the Pacific Rim. Having brought together a ragtag team of heroes to defend the Earth from an alien invasion in the past, can Amadeus Cho reassemble his “protectors” -- Shang-Chi, Silk and Jimmy Woo to save the world from incineration? And where is Kamala Khan? And just who are Crescent, Io and Luna Snow??? Featuring Marvel’s newest heroes from China, Aero and Sword Master, and a mysterious new Filipino heroine named WAVE!
ISSUE #2 - The Queen of Cinders has conquered Korea -- and the rest of Asia! And only Amadeus Cho and a battered band of international superheroes stand between her and her ultimate goal -- to melt the polar ice caps and turn all of Midgard into a sweltering new Muspelheim! With the ice-wielding superhero Luna Snow down for the count, Amadeus and his team must find a new way to fight fire.
32 PGS. (EACH)/Rated T+ …$3.99 (EACH)

Hmm...

I'm a big fan of Jimmy Woo. And Amadeus Cho. And The Agents of Atlas. These other characters I could really take or leave, although the bear girl looks kinda cool. The idea of an all Asian or Asian-American super-team is interesting, of course, and will likely mean a great deal to other readers. I'm not entirely sure how Pak will have the "Agents of Atlas" name apply to this particular group of characters, but I suppose as long as Woo is there and in charge, it can work.

I hope this is good. I'll await the trade paperback collection though, because this particular event series looks even bigger and more complicated than Infinity Wars was and, well, you know...