Marvel’s latest series relaunch is its most ambitious to date, with up to sixty new titles debuting this winter. Unlike similar events in the past, whether it was Heroes Reborn whose issue re-numbering eventually defaulted and resulted in schizophrenic dual-numbered issues, or the more recent Marvel NOW! which seemed to target properties that were developing their own cinema-inspired identities, this year’s All New All Different Marvel bears a few significant differences.

For one, the name is pretty dumb. It doesn’t have the snap of DC’s “New 52” or even the brevity of “Marvel NOW,” but maybe the cumbersome label makes it easier to shed, months down the road, when this new universe has been established as the new normal. Which brings up the second key difference: this time, the relaunch is universal. In the wake of the latest Secret Wars event, bits and pieces of various Marvel realities – some that we are familiar with and some of which are brand new – are coming together to form this new universe. All of the groups are affected: the X-Men books, the Spider-books, and, of course, the Avengers titles.

As we did with the 52 series that comprised DC’s relaunch, a dedicated team of Idle Timers will be reading the first issue of every series under the All New All Marvel banner. We’ll then rank them from worst to best, and share insight from both long-time comics fans and neophytes. Sometimes the best feedback, for a venture designed to hook new readers, comes from folks coming in cold. MH hadn’t even ever heard of Doctor Strange, if you can believe it.

But because that list is months away, and we want to keep track of the new series as the books progress, we’ll be sharing the releases of All New Marvel titles on a weekly basis with select bon mots from our internal comments and conversations. On week 1, there were four #1 issues, as well as a few preview comics that help flesh out the new Marvel U.

All New All Different premieres
Amazing Spider-Man #1
Contest of Champions #1
Doctor Strange #1
Invincible Iron Man #1

Related Titles
All New All Different Point One
Avengers #0

You had me at sexy incorporeal asian succubus. This book suffers a bit from exposition disease, which may mostly be a function of this being the first issue; so, I can forgive for the time being. I like the general concepts at play, but I’m generally wary of unbounded powers (sorcerers kinda have unlimited ex machinas in their back pockets). We’ll need to see how this plays out to see if it’s a problem. Still, I like it and have high hopes that this magical smart-ass’s dialogue will improve as character/world is better established. – SS

WEEK 1 | WEEK 2 >