65
Contest of Champions
Al Ewing & Paco Medina
This book seemed bizarre to me. All of these alternate universe characters feel like red-shirts in Star Trek; I don’t care about them. This book really just reeks of that crossover-tie-in funk that bogs down so much of what Marvel publishes. There isn’t really anything substantial in the book even worth writing about – a really lousy comic. I will in no way shape or form be reading any more of this book. – IP
I did not like this at all. I don’t want to play your damn game and I don’t want to read your confusing tie-in. – BC
First collection: Contest of Champions, Vol. 1: Battleworld (May)
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64
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Marc Guggenheim & German Peralta
I’m so confused. I thought even with multiverses collapsing, the Marvel Movie U and the ANAD Marvel were separate things. Is that Robert Downey Iron Man? I don’t see this book capturing a wide audience. I don’t think the TV show’s audience is really hankering for more B-listers and primetime tropes in comic form. This is some classically lame, cross-promotional baby shit. Ugly drawings. Boo boo, Peralta. – RF
First collection: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Vol. 1: The Coulson Protocols (August)
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63
Red Wolf
Nathan Edmondson & Dalibor Talajic
I’m just not into westerns. Having said that, though, there was a moment when I thought I could get into this slice of pre-Marvel (Timely) pulp tradition. And then, ironically, the bubble burst with the dimension-jumping crossover nonsense. Would have rather had an All-Star Western-style alt-U series. The covers are pretty cool though. – MMDG
Only collection: Red Wolf: Man Out of Time (July)
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62
X-Men ’92
Chris Sims & Chad Bowers
Do you like the X-Men books of the 90’s!? Then re-read the X-Men books published in the 90’s. Or watch the 90’s cartoon. This is an all-ages rag that can get lumped in (and ignored) along with Spidey. – MMDG
First collection: X-Men ‘92, Vol. 1 (October)
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61
Black Knight
Frank Tieri & Luca Pizzari
What a waste of paper. Aaron and Del Mundo set the table for some decent Marvel fantasy swords & sorcery with their Weirdworld mini-series, and then Frank Tieri goes and does absolutely nothing with it. Because of the wasted potential… I might actually dislike this more than Drax. – MMDG
Only collection: Black Knight, Vol. 1: The Fall of Dane Whitman (June)
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60
Hyperion
Chuck Wendig & Nik Virella
Somehow they managed to make a group of carnies in a Fury Road ripoff boring. – BC
If I told you the premise of this book before you read it, you’d think, Oh. that’s going to be terrible. Then you’d read it, and realize it’s even worse. – MMDG
First collection: Hyperion, Vol. 1 (November)
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59
Drax
CM Punk, Cullen Bunn, and Scott Hepburn
CM Punk is popping up everywhere, so strange… The premise of Drax being bored and hankering to smash is fun, but how long can that sustain a book? If this were an eleven-minute Adult Swim show I would watch it, but I don’t think I would read very much more. Although, next month Drax wiill fight a dude with a giant axe… – RF
This reads like a grade school notebook with fewer poop jokes. – BC
First collection: Drax, Vol. 1 (June)
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58
Illuminati
Joshua Williamson & Shawn Crystal
I didn’t care about the Hood when he reappeared in Civil War, and I still don’t give a fig. Even though I like the redemption angle of Titania’s story, this seems like a book that will rehash old villains to maintain copyrights and throw in some big name characters to try to bump issue sales. Maybe the new Illuminati will have a small role in the next big Marvel event, but honestly, I don’t care how they get there. – RF
Only collection: Illuminati: Life of Crime (July)
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57
Angela, Queen of Hel
Marguerite Bennett & Kim Jacinto
Bennett spends too much time showing off bits and pieces of her English degree while trying to be overly clever. And the art, partly reminiscent of bad 90’s Marvel and partly half-ass painting, doesn’t help much either. I wish this was good, because I like the incorporation of Gaiman’s Angela into the Marvel U, and I do dig on the mythical and medieval shtick… but this is a confusing mess. – MMDG
Rarely am I this confused by a Marvel book. – RF
Only collection: Angela, Queen of Hel: Journey to the Funderworld (July)
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56
Venom: Space Knight
Robbie Thompson & Ariel Olivetti
I’ve always been a fan of Olivetti’s stuff – his illustrations look so different from most superhero books. This was a pretty fun space adventure, but I’m not really a fan of Venom being a straight-up hero. I think Marvel could have plugged any space character into the role of Agent of the Cosmos and it would be just the same. If they were counting on Venom’s fanbase to follow this title, I think most fans will be disappointed by the nature of their favorite symbiote. Not a bad book, but not one I care to keep reading. – RF
First collection: Venom: Space Knight, Vol. 1: Agent of the Cosmos (July)
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55
Guardians of Infinity
Dan Abnett & Carlos Barberi
Though there are good fights in this book, the art is horrible. I do not enjoy these notebook doodles of Mcfarlane-style art. I could be down with a bunch of different time-traveling Guardians fighting each other if I could actually enjoy the illustrations. But I’m not prepared to give up on it until it’s more clear where the story’s going. – RF
Only collection: Guardians of the Galaxy: Guardians of Infinity (August)
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54
Rocket Raccoon and Groot
Skottie Young & Filipe Andrade
Marvel’s counting on everyone’s favorite members of the Guardians to be able to carry a book, but I don’t know. I like the parallel universe’s Pockets Mouse and “Me are Shrub,” but this again seems like something that works better as a miniseries than an ongoing book. Andrade’s art work straddles the line between interesting and lame, with certain panels looking good enough to be sci-fi novel covers and some looking like unfinished drafts. If I could hang around for an issue or two before I made a judgement, I would, but based on this one, pass this noise. – RF
First collection: Rocket Raccoon and Groot, Vol. 1: Tricks of the Trade (August)
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53
Star-Lord
Sam Humphries & Javier Garron
I thought Kitty Pryde was Star Lord..? Garron’s artwork is some of my favorite from the ANAD. Even though this is an origin story, my unfamiliairty with the character and history makes me open to a retelling. Pretty standard setup, but I’d at least finish the first arc to get educated on Star Lord, and to see an awesome space opera. – RF
Not bad, but not good either. I just don’t care about Star-Lord, year one. – MMDG
First collection: Legendary Star-Lord, Vol. 3: First Flight (July)
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52
Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Al Ewing & Frank Barbiere
I had a ton of fun with this. Really enjoyed the light-hearted spirit and banter between the characters. There is a ton going on here but for a first issue it did a good job of giving some background as to who the commandos are and their purpose. Got a lot of old-timey feels of the joys I had reading the few comics I did as a kid. Will definitely keep reading this. – MH
Only collection: Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Monster Squad (June)
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51
Carnage
Gerry Conway & Mike Perkins
I’m shocked at how much I liked this one. I was expecting some cartoony, supervillian-turned-goodguy battling aliens in space (you know, kinda like Venom), but instead I got an intelligently written comic with decent art that made Carnage feel like a real threat. I’ll be back for issue two. – 3D
First collection: Carnage, Vol. 1: The One That Got Away (May)
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The Institute of Idle Time 