20
Royals

Al Ewing & Javier Rodriguez
beginning with #9

I’m enjoying this, but I grin every time I think of someone picking up this book for the first time. I probably wouldn’t keep reading it either – no context, no clue, just complications. But Javier Rodriguez’s character designs, especially the Progenitors, are wondrous. – MMDG

I don’t really see how this is supposed to be a great issue to pick up on its own. I dig Al Ewing’s other work and I know it’s very rich and reading everything is required so I don’t blame him. I followed it enough and some of if seems interesting to me. I love Maximus and his dialogue was spot on. The real draw was Javier Rodriguez’s art which holy crap is good. Him drawing big science ideas is something I really enjoy so I would keep reading if he was the regular artist. – MeanOldPig

Collection: Royals Volume 2: Judgment Day

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19
Old Man Logan

Ed Brisson & Mike Deodato, Jr.
beginning with #31

To me this book has the feel of a 70’s crime film about someone tangentially related to a crime getting pulled into it by fate. Kind of like Sydney Pollack’s The Yakuza starring Robert Mitchum. This definitely has me intrigued and will make me read more of the title. While I don’t know what will happen to this book in the near future, this story seems like a fun one. – MeanOldPig

Collection: Old Man Logan Volume 7 (July)

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18
Captain Marvel

Margaret Stohl & Michele Bandini
beginning with #125

Glad that Stohl is able to return to the Kree storyline she had embarked upon before Secret Empire took over the series. Be good to see Carol back in the stars instead of whining in the space station. Bandini’s art is good, and I like the Alpha Flight squad. Nothing spectacular yet, but I’m encouraged and will keep reading. – MMDG

Promising start. Nothing groundbreaking but seems like a legit starting point and something that could evolve into great. I like the art and think all the character work is good. I’ll read a second issue. – MeanOldPig

Collection: Captain Marvel: Dark Origins (June)

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17
X-Men: Blue

Cullen Bunn & Jorge Molina
beginning with #13

This shows me what a difference art can make. I could barely stand part one, but Molina’s art is really fun to look at. Him going through the X-Men’s greatest hits is a treat to look at. The story isn’t anything special but I like how Bunn handles the X-Men team dialogue. The only thing making me worry about reading more is having to jump back into X-Men Gold. – MeanOldPig

Great action-packed X-issue. The art was a much needed improvement over Gold, and wisely most of the action in the first two parts of this crossover took place in the pages of Blue. Also refreshing to see other heroes at least trying to involve themselves in the giant pillar action. I hate when something big happens in New York and Spider-Man is nowhere to be found. Honestly though, making this story a crossover is going to hurt it, as I really don’t want to read Gold #14. – IP

Collected in X-Men: Gold Volume 3: Mojo Worldwide

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16
Spirits of Vengeance

Victor Gischler & David Baldeon
beginning with #1

Did not expect to enjoy this. Sucker for those getting the team together books but I like all these supernatural people. It has a layer of cheese that I also find tickling in the right places. Necrodamus? Hell yeah. I can see this being a fun little under the radar book. –  MeanOldPig

This was surprisingly fun. The art is a good modern style, and while the dialogue is iffy at times, Spirits of Vengeance is a pretty competent book. Marvel has been nailing these weird C-lister books lately. – IP

Collection: Spirits of Vengeance (April)

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15
Thanos

Donny Cates & Geoff Shaw
beginning with #13

Thrilled that this series is still running post-Lemire, and very encouraged that Marvel has tapped Donny Cates to lead the way. From the opening pages of the first issue, you get a sense that he is excited to be world-building in Marvel’s cosmic canon, and the gloves are off when it comes to sympathetic characterizations of the most feared tyrant in the universe. “War snow” and future Ghost Rider? Love it. – MMDG

Collection: Thanos Wins (July)

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14
Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur

Brandon Montclare & Natacha Bustos
beginning with #25

This is good fun, and the kind of comic I want to give to my little cousins. It’s like the Pixar of Marvel books — engaging for younger audiences while still holding value for long-time adult readers (like the Fantastic Three!) Much better than anything in their “Marvel Universe” line. – MMDG

Collection: Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur Volume 5: Fantastic Three (July)

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13
Guardians of the Galaxy

Gerry Duggan & Marcus To
beginning with #146

Thought this was pretty fun. Adding Scott Lang to the crew makes sense and he seems fun to bounce off of. I like the art too. Good blend of cartooning and fun action sequences. Duggan seems to get the humor between the Guardians well. I would definitely read more. Also Scott Adsit is a character in this. – MeanOldPig

Good setup for Infinity Countdown. I miss Kuder, and don’t like (or understand) Ant-Man on this team. Still, one of the better books. – MMDG

Collection: Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3: Infinity Quest (March)

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12
Moon Knight

Max Bemis & Jacen Burrows
beginning with #188

This is great. Expectedly bizarre, but unexpectedly unique. Big fan of this type of intro issue: no Moon Knight, but we learn as much about him as we do about his nemesis. Well done, Bemis. And sensational art by Burrows. – MMDG

Moon Knight has been on a sort of excellent reemergence since Warren Ellis’s run a couple of years back. A few writers later and it seems to still be happening. Despite not having Marc Spector in the book, his shadow hangs over the entire issue. Max Bemis’s writing is really good and a great examination of mental stability and identity. Also Jacen Burrows’s art is thing of wonder. A sort of Jamie McKelvie and Steve Dillon hybrid, I really liked looking at every page. One of my favorites of the Legacy project so far. – MeanOldPig

Collection: Moon Knight: Legacy Volume 1 (May)

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11
Daredevil

Charles Soule & Stefano Landini
beginning with #595

Charles Soule’s first issue of Daredevil from our previous Marvel rankings didn’t do much to impress me, but I’ve heard rumblings that he has quietly been crafting one of those legendary DD runs. While I can’t affirm that without reading the rest of the work, this issue did prove to me that it’s very possible that he could be doing just that. I really liked this issue and this relationship between Matt and Fisk is spot on. The art and tone of the book is exactly what I like about a good Daredevil story. I’m going to go back and read his entire run and continue on this as well. – MeanOldPig

Collection: Daredevil: Back in Black Volume 6 (August)

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