Hey everyone- Greg here. I wanted to try something a little different on the comics front, as we wait for Kandace and Robby to have a chance to record the next installment of “The Road to Secret Wars” for the Comic Book Club as well as several other podcast installments that are in the pipeline. But today- I wanted to give you a rundown of some of the things I have been reading recently.
I’m going to break it down into a couple of sections, first the *current* comics that I am grabbing off the rack each week. This is the first time in my life that I am heading to my local comic book shop every Wednesday to grab new releases and it is a blast. The best part is- everything I am going to recommend started fresh with a #1 recently and none of them are more than four issues into their run. So if anything piques your interest, catching up won’t require a ton of work on your part.
Then I will cover the trade paperbacks and/or omnibuses that I have been reading (often from our friends at Organic Priced Books). For these, I will include a link (usually to OPB) if you feel inspired to check it out for yourself.
Everything I mention is something I think is worth reading, but I will try to point out my absolute favorites along the way.
So without further ado, let’s dig in.
WEEKLY PULL LIST
Ms. Marvel Mutant Menace #1 by Iman Vellani, Sabir Pirzada and Scott Godlewski
That’s right- this one is written by the MCU’s own Iman Vellani. This 4-part miniseries follows up on her first foray into writing a comic (“Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant”) and the first issue deals with the fallout of Kamala revealing her mutant identity to the world. Vellani and Pirzada nail the tone of the character here. I recommend starting with the first miniseries before jumping in here.
Ultimate Spider-Man #1-3 by Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto
The new Ultimate Universe that was set up in last year’s Ultimate Invasion has spawned several new Ultimate books and none is bigger than this one. Anyone who has listened to Robby or myself talk about comics knows that Hickman is held in the highest regard and this new series does not disappoint.
Ultimate X-Men #1 by Peach Momoko
Full disclosure- this is the first time I’ve ever read anything by Momoko. I’m happy to report that her signature style is not compromised in any way by working on a mainstream Marvel title. It is completely different from anything else I have been reading and it is worth checking out. The story follows the teenage girl Hisako Ichiki and the first issue ends on a solid cliffhanger.
Ultimate Black Panther #1-2 by Bryan Edward Hill and Stefano Caselli
UBP might have my favorite artwork of all the new Ultimate books. Caselli makes Wakanda and its inhabitants look beautiful. The story involves Moon Knight (in the form of Khonshu and Ra) forcefully taking control of Africa, and they have set their sights on Wakanda.
Avengers: Twilight #1-4 by Chip Zdarsky and Daniel Acuna
No, this book is not about vampires. It is, however, about an aging Steve Rogers (no longer powered by the Super Soldier serum) being called back into action years after the mysterious events of “H-Day”. Zdarsky gives Hickman a run for his money as the best person writing Marvel right now and this might be my favorite ongoing series at the moment.
X-Men ‘97 #1 by Steve Fox and Salva Espin
This 4-issue miniseries aims to fill in the gaps between the original X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men ‘97. The first issue pairs perfectly with the third episode of the series, “Fire Made Flesh”.
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