Judging by the rundown of first issues premiering in February, I can honestly say that comic book readers are in for a Marvel-ous group of treats and I’ve lined out a bunch of them below. As usual we have cribbed the official description from their press provisions along with the cover art and I’ll close it up by speaking my thoughts. Here we go.
DARTH VADER #1 & 2: The original Dark Lord of the Sith stars in his first ongoing series! Ever since Darth Vader made his first on-screen appearance, he became the one of the most popular villains to ever haunt an audience’s dreams! Now, follow Vader straight from the ending of A NEW HOPE (and the pages of the new STAR WARS comic book) into his own series, showing the Empire’s war with the Rebel Alliance from the other side! Writer Kieron Gillen (Uncanny X-Men, Journey Into Mystery, Iron Man) and artist Salvador Larroca (Invincible Iron Man, X-Men: No More Humans) bring us a peek behind the mask of evil!
Creative Team: KIERON GILLEN (w) • SALVADOR LARROCA (a), CoverS by ADI GRANOV, ISSUE #1 – Teaser Variant by JOHN CASSADAY, CONNECTING VARIANT COVER B BY J. SCOTT CAMPBELL, VARIANT COVER BY ALEX ROSS, SKETCH VARIANT COVER BY ALEX ROSS, VARIANT COVER BY MICHAEL GOLDEN, VARIANT COVER BY MIKE DEL MUNDO, YOUNG VARIANT BY SKOTTIE YOUNG, ACTION FIGURE VARIANT BY JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER, MOVIE VARIANT COVER ALSO AVAILABLE BLANK VARIANT COVER ALSO AVAILABLE, ISSUE #2 – VARIANT COVER BY WHILCE PORTACIO
MARVEL UNIVERSE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #1 (of 4)
Adapted by Joe Caramagna. Based on the highly anticipated new series coming to Disney XD in 2015, follow the further adventures of the Guardians of the Galaxy! With a galaxy full of danger, only the Guardians stand between us and the destruction of everything! Featuring adaptations of the upcoming animated series with a mix of screen grab and brand new stories for everyone to enjoy!
GUARDIANS TEAM-UP #1 & 2 Launching directly out of Guardians of the Galaxy comes the new ongoing series bringing the Guardians to the Marvel Universe’s grandest stage for an opening arc of out-of-this-world adventures with some of the biggest hitters Marvel has to offer. Kicking off with a cosmic threat so massive, it’ll take more than just the Guardians of the Galaxy to stop it! Assembled side by side with the mighty Avengers, prepare for two titanic teams to unite like you’ve never seen before!
ISSUE #2 – GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and THE AVENGERS!
Follow part two of this story as the Guardians of the Galaxy slam their way into the world of the Avengers – and only working together as a team will help them save the galaxy! Tension runs high when survival is at stake, and when the likes of Gamora, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Rocket are forced to problem solve together, it can mean only one thing is guaranteed – destruction!
Creative Team: BRIAN BENDIS (W) • ISSUE #1 – ART ADAMS (A/C), ISSUE #1 – VARIANT COVER BY SKOTTIE YOUNG, ISSUE #1 – Variant by PASQUAL FERRY, ISSUE #1 – INHUMANS 50TH ANNIVERSARY VARIANT COVER BY LADRÖNN, ISSUE #1 – GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and THE AVENGERS!
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY & X-MEN: THE BLACK VORTEX ALPHA #1: THE BLACK VORTEX STARTS HERE! The Black Vortex, an ancient artifact imbued with immeasurable power, is now in the hands of Mr. Knife! With billions of lives potentially at stake, Peter Quill, the Legendary Star-Lord, is going to have to dust off his thieving gloves but with Knife’s Slaughter Squad protecting him, Peter’s probably going to need some help…
Creative Team: SAM HUMPHRIES (w) • ED McGUINNESS (a), COVER BY ED MCGUINNESS AND JUSTIN PONSOR, CONNECTING VARIANT COVER A BY ALEXANDER LOZANO, COSMICLY ENHANCED VARIANT BY ANDREA SORRENTINO
SPIDER-GWEN #1 SPIDER-GWEN SPINS INTO HER OWN SERIES!
BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT! The breakout hit of the biggest Spider-Event of the century is taking comic shops by storm this winter with her own new ongoing series – SPIDER-GWEN! Gwen Stacy is Spider-Woman, but you knew that already. What you DON’T know is what friends and foes are waiting for her in the aftermath of Spider-Verse!
Creative Team: JASON LATOUR (W) • ROBBIE RODRIGUEZ (A/C), VARIANT COVER BY KRIS ANKA, YOUNG VARIANT BY SKOTTIE YOUNG, VARIANT COVER BY ADAM HUGHES, BLANK VARIANT ALSO AVAILABLE.
SILK #1: Cindy Moon exploded out of her bunker and into the Marvel Universe when we first learned that she had been bitten by that same radioactive spider in the first arc of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. She then went on to save Peter Parker’s life (more than once!) and traverse the Spider-verse alongside Spider-Woman. Now, as SILK, Cindy is on her own in New York City, searching for her past, defining her own future, and webbing up wrong-doers along the way! Robbie Thompson (writer from TV’s Supernatural) fills this new ongoing series with his unique blend of antics and feels. Featuring stunning covers by Eisner Award winner Dave Johnson and interiors by future superstar Stacey Lee.
Creative Team: ROBBIE THOMPSON (W) • STACEY LEE (A), Cover by DAVE JOHNSON, Variant cover by Stacey Lee, YOUNG VARIANT BY SKOTTIE YOUNG
ALL-NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA: FEAR HIM #1-4
ISSUE #1 – A hungry villain has returned to feed on the city’s fear. It’s up to the All New Captain America and Nomad to curb his appetite… Which might be easier if they weren’t always at each other’s throats.
ISSUE #2 – • All New Captain America searches the sewers for the missing Nomad while the Scarecrow and his army of terror crows do their worst.
ISSUE #3 – Cap and Nomad reunited! There’s not much this dysfunctional duo can’t handle, except, of course, when one of them is having a violent psychotic episode.
ISSUE #4 – • It’s Nomad’s last stand. As the Scarecrow’s terror pheromone has taken Captain America’s mind… But that’s really the least of his worries. What does it take to scare a man who grew up in a Dimension of boogie men?
Creative Team: DENNIS HOPELESS (W) • SZYMON KUDRANSKI (A), Covers by SIMONE BIANCHI
MARVEL’S ANT-MAN PRELUDE #1 (of 2) GET READY FOR MARVEL’S NEXT SMASH HIT FILM WITH THIS OFFICIAL PREQUEL! Before Scott Lang becomes Marvel’s shrinking sensation, Dr. Hank Pym will pull on the helmet and leap into action on a death-defying mission that will take him into the icy heart of Cold War East Berlin!
Creative Team: WILL CORONA PILGRIM (W), MIGUEL SEPULVEDA (A)
THOR ANNUAL #1: Three stories featuring three Thors! Wrestling superstar CM Punk and Rob Guillory (Chew) on Young Thor’s idea for how to prove himself worthy of Mjolnir: a drinking competition! Noelle Stevenson (Lumberjanes) and Marguerite Sauvage tell a tale of the new Thor! and Jason Aaron on the Girls of Thunder’s quest to find the perfect birthday present for their grandfather, King Thor! How about a new Garden of Eden?
Creative Team: JASON AARON, CM PUNK, NOELLE STEVENSON (W), ROB GUILLORY, MARGUERITE SAUVAGE (A), Cover by RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE, Variant Cover by ROB GUILLORY, VARIANT COVER BY MARGUERITE SAUVAGE
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 1 HC (MOVIE COVER) Why has Earth suddenly become the most important planet in the galaxy? The Guardians of the Galaxy plan to find out! Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, Groot — and the invincible Iron Man — embark on an explosive adventure! The secrets they discover will rattle readers for years to come! But while Earth deals with a brutal Badoon invasion, the Guardians’ fate has been decided millions of miles away! Then, Heaven’s most fearsome angel comes for the Guardians! And when Gamora battles the mysterious Angela, the universe hangs in the balance! The Guardians find themselves at a crossroads when Thanos’ master plan takes shape. Can Angela’s power help combat INFINITY? And will Star-Lord betray the entire universe? The cosmic blockbuster hit begins here! Collecting GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2013) #0.1 and #1-10, and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: TOMORROW’S AVENGERS #1.
Creative Team: Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS, Penciled by STEVE MCNIVEN, SARA PICHELLI, FRANCESCO , FRANCAVILLA, KEVIN MAGUIRE, MICHAEL AVON OEMING, MICHAEL DEL MUNDO, MING DOYLE & YVES BIGEREL, Variant Cover by STEVE McNIVEN
PiercingMetal Thoughts: Wow that is a LOT of comics to browse through this month so I hope you have been minding your pennies to use at the checkout counter. Oh who am I kidding, everyone seems to be paying with stuff on their phone nowadays so what do I think of this batch? I am so excited for the Darth Vader title with him being one of my favorite film characters ever. Now that Marvel will be releasing Star Wars comics since they are both fully owned by Disney, I think we can expect some cool stuff coming down the pike. Next up are several Guardians Of The Galaxy themed titles with the first being the adaptation of the upcoming animated series. I am sure going to watch this series to see how far it explores Marvel’s animated universe. The Guardians Team Up title intrigues me the most since I used to love “Marvel Team-Up” and its clear how the Guardians have become the darlings of fandom thanks to the recent film. The limited series that features the All-New Captain America aka The Falcon could be a good one and we get to see how Nomad reacts to this new person in the role of Cap. Since I think that the stuff I like so far will clean out my coffers for this month I will likely wait until both “Spider-Gwen” and “Silk” are available as a trade paperback and while I am not always a fan of prequel editions to films, the one that features Ant-Man from the upcoming film could be interesting. That’s my take on this months Marvel offerings and I have not even gotten to the DC Comics stuff yet. Whew, I am going to need to start working some overtime or asking you kind readers to share your copies when finished 🙂 See you with more soon.
Official Website: http://www.marvel.com