Welcome to August my friends and wow what an exciting month this is going to be. Not only are we hitting the eighth month of the 2018 year, but it falls on “New Comic Book” Day and with some monumental launches and one-shots hitting the racks this month I am going to start with the stuff coming out care of Marvel Comics. As usual, the copy and any images come care of their resources while the editorial closing is from our side of the fence. Let’s get down to business since there is a lot to absorb and so much so that you might need to cut back on a coffee or three during the week and ask your boss if a little overtime is possible.
FANTASTIC FOUR #1: FOUREVER Part One. BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT – THE WORLD’S GREATEST COMIC MAGAZINE IS BACK! Since the end of SECRET WARS, there’s been a gap in the Marvel Universe. A void no other team can fill. And it’s time for the world to move on. But can it? A life-changing decision by the Thing! A momentous declaration by the Human Torch! A clarion call-to-arms that summons Doctor Doom! And a signal in the sky that heralds the return of hope to the Marvel Universe! All this, and Alicia Masters adopts kittens! So cute! Plus, the Impossible Man!
AND BONUS STORIES ILLUSTRATED BY SIMONE BIANCHI AND SKOTTIE YOUNG! IF YOU READ ONLY ONE MARVEL COMIC THIS MONTH, THIS IS THE ONE!
DAN SLOTT (W) • SARA PICHELLI (A); Cover by ESAD RIBIC
FANTASTIC FOUR #1 FACSIMILE: As a fresh era begins for Marvel’s First Family, revisit the original Fantastic Four #1 in this special commemorative edition! Stan Lee and Jack Kirby changed super hero storytelling forever when they introduced Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, and Susan and Johnny Storm. Together, the adventurous quartet blast off on an experimental rocket flight – only to be bombarded by life-altering cosmic rays! Reed becomes the elastic Mister Fantastic! Ben transforms into the rocky Thing! Sue turns into an Invisible Girl! And Johnny flames on as the Human Torch! They’ll use their incredible powers to help mankind – starting by fending off the menace of the Mole Man! Now, the book that started it all is re-presented in full – including its original ads – alongside suitably fantastic extras! It’s the next best thing to buying Fantastic Four #1 off the stands back in 1961!
STAN LEE (W) • JACK KIRBY (A/C)
MARVEL GRAPHIC COMIC BOX – FANTASTIC FOUR: Welcome to the Marvel Age of Comic Boxes! Store your treasured collection in sturdy surroundings every bit as exciting as the issues inside! Featuring action-packed illustrations on all sides from some of comics’ finest artists, Marvel’s Graphic Comic Boxes will star all your Marvel Universe favorites – continuing with THE FANTASTIC FOUR! Preserve your comic collection with Marvel Graphic Comic Boxes! Inside dimensions – 15-1/2” x 7-5/8” x 10-7/8”
EXTERMINATION #1 & #2 (of 5): Cyclops. Iceman. Angel. Beast. Marvel Girl. The original team of teen mutants brought together by Professor Charles Xavier many years ago have been shunted through time to find a world they barely recognize but were determined to help. Now, finding themselves targeted for death, the future of mutantkind lies squarely in the hands of its past. Writer Ed Brisson (OLD MAN LOGAN, CABLE) and artist Pepe Larraz (UNCANNY AVENGERS, AVENGERS: NO SURRENDER) answer the biggest question of all: can the fate of the X-Men be changed?
ED BRISSON (W) • PEPE LARRAZ (A); CoverS by MARK BROOKS
INFINITY WARS #1 & #2 (of 6): As the Infinity Stones come to Earth, so too comes the war for control over them. But none who wield the stones know the truth about the power they contain…or what it would take to bring them to their END. The nature of the universe itself hangs in the balance as we learn the answer to the question on everyone’s lips since “Infinity Wars Prime”: WHO IS REQUIEM? Gerry Duggan (DEADPOOL, INFINITY COUNTDOWN) and Mike Deodato Jr. (ORIGINAL SIN, OLD MAN LOGAN) look into the Infinite and bring the truth to light!
GERRY DUGGAN (W) • MIKE DEODATO JR. (A/C)
WEST COAST AVENGERS #1: A NEW ERA DAWNS…AVENGERS ASSEMBLE! HAWKEYE (KATE BISHOP). HAWKEYE (CLINT BARTON). A guy named FUSE. Never have they ever been called “the big three” of…anything. And now here they are, reunited for, okay, well, it’s only the second time ever. Thank god they also brought AMERICA CHAVEZ, GWENPOOL and KID OMEGA. Wait. What? That’s right, it’s the new West Coast Avengers, son. And you better hope they can figure out how to save the world because BIG things are headed for the West Coast.
KELLY THOMPSON (W) • STEFANO CASELLI (A/C)
THE PUNISHER #1 & #2: YOU CAN TAKE THE PUNISHER OUT OF THE WAR MACHINE…Punisher no longer has the War Machine armor, but he retained his newly acquired taste for big game, and he’s hungry for more. However, the paths to such perilous pursuits are fraught with dangers bigger than any Frank has faced before, and this lone wolf could use otherworldly help on his way up to the world stage. MATTHEW ROSENBERG continues pushing the boundaries of the Punisher, and now joined by acclaimed artist RICCARDO BURCHIELLI (DMZ, Northlanders), this is the book Punisher fans will be talking about for years to come!
MATTHEW ROSENBERG (W) • RICCARDO BURCHIELLI (A); CoverS by GREG SMALLWOOD
WAKANDA FOREVER: AVENGERS #1: From Hugo Award-winning Writer Nnedi Okorafor! THE HUNT FOR MALICE REACHES ITS CLIMAX! The Black Panther joins the fight against Nakia, A.K.A. the villainous and crazed Malice! Finally, the man of her dreams is within Nakia’s grasp. But he’s brought a few friends with him, and they’re not happy about the world-ending weapon she just unleashed. The seemingly all-powerful Mimic-27 has already laid out Storm and the X-Men, and the Dora Milaje are at a loss. If they’re going to save Wakanda and the world, Okoye, Ayo and Aneka will have to delve deep into the mysteries of the Doras. Best-selling author Nnedi Okorafor reveals secrets of the Dora Milaje in the final installment of WAKANDA FOREVER!
NNEDI OKORAFOR (W) • Oleg Okunev (A); Cover by TERRY DODSON
VENOM: FIRST HOST #1 (of 5): MIKE COSTA AND MARK BAGLEY REUNITE FOR A VENOM STORY UNLIKE ANY OTHER! Before the AMAZING SPIDER-MAN…before VENOM… There was the FIRST HOST. And that First Host has returned in need of Venom’s help – only by reuniting can the two avert cosmic ruin! Can Eddie and the symbiote trust one another long enough to save the galaxy, or will the FIRST HOST prove to be Venom’s undoing?!
MIKE COSTA (W) • MARK BAGLEY (A/C)
EDGE OF SPIDER-GEDDON #1 & 2 (of 4): SPIDER-GEDDON IS COMING!
ISSUE #1 – Spider-Punk is back and better than ever. After SPIDER-VERSE, Hobie Brown was a Web Warrior, but that didn’t mean things back in his universe were solved. The writer of the SPIDER-PUNK story in SPIDER-VERSE is back and joined by VENOM’S Gerardo Sandoval! Spider-Punk’s Earth is under attack both on the ground and from space, meaning his responsibility seems to outweigh his power. Don’t miss this first shot of the SPIDER-EVENT of 2018!
Issue #1 – JED MACKAY (W) • GERARDO SANDOVAL (A/C)
ISSUE #2 – After Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance, The Umbrella Academy) and Jake Wyatt created SP//dr back in SPIDER-VERSE, she was one of the most requested heroes. With Spider-Geddon on the horizon, SP//dr is back. Zac Thompson and Lonnie Nadler are joining the team to bring you the next chapter in Peni Parker’s life and set the table for the Spider-Event of 2018!
Issue #2 – ZAC THOMPSON & LONNIE NADLER with Gerard Way (W) • JAKE WYATT (A/C)
WEB OF VENOM: VE’NAM #1: SPINNING OUT OF THE PAGES OF VENOM! As the United States of America struggled through the Vietnam War, Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. needed a secret weapon – and when an ancient creature was discovered at an archaeological dig site, he was sure he’d found it. In reality, the discovery was an ancestor of the Klyntar symbiotes…and would become a waking nightmare for a platoon of American soldiers!
DONNY CATES (W) • JUANAN RAMIREZ (A); COVER BY Ryan Stegman
CABLE AND DEADPOOL ANNUAL #1: THE TIME IS NIGH! History’s favorite duo are back together, and just in time! When Deadpool is hired to protect a woman from time-hopping villains, it’s only a matter of time until he breaks the timestream. Fortunately, his old pal Cable has some experience with that. But dark secrets have put the client, and reality itself, in more danger than either of our heroes could have foreseen! David F. Walker, Paco Diaz, and a host of stellar guest artists take Cable and Deadpool on an adventure of epic proportions!
David F. Walker (W) • Paco Diaz and others (A); COVER BY Chris Stevens
HUNT FOR WOLVERINE: DEAD ENDS #1: THE HUNT IS OVER. The hunt for Wolverine is over… Now the time has come to put the pieces together and see what was learned. Kitty Pryde, Daredevil, Tony Stark and Sabretooth may have found what they were looking for…but it wasn’t what they expected. Where has Wolverine been? What has he been doing? And how does it lead into next month’s WOLVERINE #1?
CHARLES SOULE (W) • RAMON ROSANAS (A); COVER BY MARCO CHECCHETTO
SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1: STARRING MILES MORALES!vvBefore he wore the webs, he was just Miles Morales: newly-minted Brooklyn Visions Academy student with hidden spider powers! When a Secret Invasion of Skrulls turns Manhattan upside down, Miles must choose: do his great powers come with great responsibility? A mysterious new chapter for Miles is unveiled by rising superstars Bryan Edward Hill (Detective Comics) and Nelson Blake II (Marvel New Year’s Eve Special)
Bryan Edward Hill (W); Nelson Blake II with Mark Bagley (A); cover by Kris Anka
DAREDEVIL ANNUAL #1: Misty, meet the Devil! You know Daredevil as the Man Without Fear, the protector of Hell’s Kitchen. But once upon a time, Daredevil was just the newest super-suit on the block – and NYPD Detective Mercedes “Misty” Knight was just a cop on the job. So when she places Daredevil at the scene of a crime, sparks will fly – and not the good kind. Award-winning crime writer Erica Schultz teams with fan-favorite artist Marcio Takara to bring you a story of street-level heroism in the early days of the Marvel Universe!
Erica Schultz (W) • Marcio Takara (A); Cover by Shane Davis
MARVEL RISING: MS. MARVEL/SQUIRREL GIRL #1: THE GAME IS UP IN THE PENULTIMATE CHAPTER OF MARVEL RISING! When Ember Quade traps Ms. Marvel, Squirrel Girl and their friends in a video-game reality, they’ll have to fight their way through the terrifying villain hordes of Ember’s imagination! But when they reach the final level, even Ember will be surprised at what they find. All the cards hit the table as award-winning writers Devin Grayson, G. Willow Wilson and Ryan North take MARVEL RISING to its heights!
Devin Grayson, G. Willow Wilson & Ryan North (W); Ramon Bachs and Irene Strychalski (A); Cover by GURIHIRU
ASTONISHING X-MEN ANNUAL #1: Jean Grey and the original X-Men reunite! Following her resurrection, Jean Grey can no longer make sense of her life since becoming an X-Man. Who better to relate to this than Hank McCoy, Warren Worthington III and Bobby Drake? But this reunion will prove bittersweet when they’re joined by an unexpected guest…the former Professor Charles Xavier, X! Why has X revealed himself to his former students? And what strange mission does he want to send them on?
MATTHEW ROSENBERG (W) • Travel Foreman (A); Cover by ROD REIS
MARVEL SUPER HERO ADVENTURES: INFERNO #1: TIME FOR SPIDER-MAN TO FACE THE FIRE! With his good buddy Inferno, of course! Dante Pertuz has the power to wield fire — and he’ll need it against Spider-Man’s biggest foe, Venom! But if Venom gets too close, it’ll be lights out for the two heroes. Can Spidey help Inferno conquer his fears and take down the villain before New York City goes black?
JIM MCCANN (W) • DARIO BRIZUELA (A); Cover by JACOB CHABOT
STAR WARS: BECKETT #1: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE DEADLY! TOBIAS BECKETT taught HAN SOLO everything he knows about surviving hoodlum-filled cantinas and backwater worlds. But who is this career outlaw and why is ENFYS NEST— one of the galaxy’s most dangerous and brutal marauders — so dead set on taking him down once and for all? Find out in this original tale of a man who has gamed star system after star system, but at a cost that no heist can make up for.
GERRY DUGGAN (W) • WILL SLINEY, EDGAR SALAZAR & MARC LAMING (A); Cover by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
PiercingMetal Thoughts: Whew. There are really a lot of titles that I will be snagging this month but I think the most important one of them all will be the standard edition of “Fantastic Four”. Sure, I love the variant covers but for me it’s the standard edition or nothing for my personal collection. I’m also a big fan of annuals and there are some good ones coming out this month. “The Punisher” and “West Coast Avengers” were titles I had been reading for many years way back in the day so new titles featuring them are welcome things. Remember that there are dozens of concurrently running series in addition to these first go-rounds. Which ones are striking your interest? Chime in down below in the comments section and stay tuned for the stuff hitting from DC Comics soon. Oh and before I forget to share this news with you – Yesterday we got the second trailer for the upcoming Sony Pictures release “Venom” and you can see that trailer HERE
Official Website: http://www.marvel.com
