Greetings my friends and before we get into this first issue overview from Marvel Comics let’s once again bow our heads in humble respect to the passing of the legendary Stan “The Man” Lee who we lost this past November at age 95. He has truly left an indelible mark on the comics industry and our Memorial Toast can be examined HERE in the event that you missed it. Now we continue along and let me ask you a question. Did November just blast by us or am I imagining things? Maybe its just me but I felt that the month went by super-fast and while its now a couple of days ago, I hope that those who celebrated the holiday had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We kept it mellow with some family because those kinds of days are needed more and more based on the frantic pace of my media adventures. So here we go into the mix with the provided press copy and images from the House Of Ideas. Lots of good stuff this month for sure.

X-Men: The Exterminated #1: EXTERMINATION AFTERMATH! A Death in the Family! In the aftermath of Extermination, the X-Men mourn for their fallen brother, Cable. But no one is taking it harder than his adopted daughter, Hope Summers. Will Hope be able to cope with the loss, or will she be led down a dark path that she won’t be able to return from? Only Jean Grey can save Hope from herself! Plus, celebrate the life of Nathan Summers with a story from his past by Chris Claremont! One-shot.
Zac Thompson & Lonnie Nadler and Chris Claremont (W); Neil Edwards & more (A); COVER BY Geoff Shaw

FANTASTIC FOUR: WEDDING SPECIAL #1: Come and celebrate the impending nuptials of the Thing and Alicia Masters with a Ladies Night Out as only the First Family of Comics can do it! Guest-starring She-Hulk, Medusa, Crystal and more, it’s the bachelorette party Alicia never expected—and one whose ribaldry will be interrupted by the arrival of a Surprise Super Villain! (And no, we don’t mean Johnny Storm!) Meanwhile, the Thing has an unexpected meeting with his future father-in-law, the Puppet Master! Plus, Hembeck! The Fantastic Four family tree! And more! R.S.V.P. at your local comics retailer this December, and don’t forget to kiss the bride!
GAIL SIMONE & DAN SLOTT (W) • LAURA BRAGA (A); Cover by CARLOS PACHECO
FANTASTIC FOUR GIANT OVER-SIZED VINYL POSTER BY JOHN BYRNE

X-FORCE #1: FROM THE ASHES OF EXTERMINATION! Cable is dead…and now, the original X-Force team of Domino, Cannonball, Shatterstar, Boom Boom and Warpath. must hunt down the murderer of their former leader! The mutant militia are hot for blood…but when their target is the time-traveling younger version of their fallen mentor, is there a line they absolutely cannot cross? And what does Deathlok have to do with all of it? From Ed Brisson (EXTERMINATION, OLD MAN LOGAN) and Dylan Burnett (COSMIC GHOST RIDER), comes an all-new, high-octane mutant adventure! A reckoning will come!
ED BRISSON (W) • DYLAN BURNETT (A); Cover by PEPE LARRAZ
KILLMONGER #1 (of 5): THE BRUTAL TALE OF A MAN WHO WILL STOP AT NOTHING FOR FREEDOM…One day, Erik Killmonger will rise up and attempt to steal the throne of Wakanda. The throne he believes he is owed. But long before he became “Killmonger,” there was a boy known as N’Jadaka. A boy who was stolen from his home and taught only the world’s cruelties. A boy who knew the Black Panther only as a fairy tale, a whisper from strangers. This is the story of a man who driven by revenge. This is the legend of Killmonger
BRYAN HILL (W) • JUAN FERREYRA (A/C)
KILLMONGER #2: CAN’T KILL THE KING! All he wants is Ulysses Klaw. But to get his revenge, Erik Killmonger will have to take a job from the deadliest man in New York City: Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of crime. Four targets – four assassins. Assuming, that is, that Erik can trust his newfound teammates…
BRYAN EDWARD HILL (W) • JUAN FERREYRA (A/C)

SEASON’S BEATINGS #1: It’s the most wonderful time of the year! And certainly the most eventful, as this cast of Marvel heroes soon find out as they engage in wacky hijinks to save the holiday season! One-shot.
JASON LATOUR (W) • CHRIS BRUNNER, VERONICA FISH, IRENE STRYCHALSKI & MORE! (A); COVER BY MARCOS MARTIN

WINTER SOLDIER #1 (OF 5): Bucky Barnes believes in second chances. Having escaped death, the loss of identity, and a life of murder, the man known as the Winter Soldier has worked hard to atone for his sins. But now…he’s going to go one step further. What do you do when you’ve found redemption? You help others do the same. From KYLE HIGGINS (Nightwing, Power Rangers, C.O.W.L.) and ROD REIS (SECRET EMPIRE, DOCTOR STRANGE: DAMNATION, C.O.W.L.) comes the next chapter in the saga of the Winter Soldier. He’s becoming a “fixer,” working to help others leave behind lives of crime. It’s Bucky’s way of channeling his own pain in a productive, personal way…by helping others find the redemption that he found. However, as Bucky is going to learn, not all paths are the same…and not everyone can be “saved.”
KYLE HIGGINS (W) • ROD REIS (A/C)
Read “THE BEST DEFENSE” in order! An unsolvable murder. An aquatic doorway to nothingness. A wanderer at the end of time. And a cosmic train of planetary proportions. Four seemingly-unrelated events that will require the powers and insights of the members of the greatest Non-Team of them all, the original DEFENDERS, to connect the dots and challenge the strange power behind these disconnected happenings – before all of reality pays the price! Doctor Strange! Immortal hulk! Namor the Sub-Mariner! The Silver Surfer! Don’t call them a team – call them the DEFENDERS!

IMMORTAL HULK: DEFENDERS #1: “THE BEST DEFENSE” STARTS HERE! Stephen Strange is dead. A charred skeleton in an abandoned barn on the edge of a deserted town. Bruce Banner wants to know why. And he won’t stop until he has the truth in his hands…with or without THE IMMORTAL HULK. One-shot.
AL EWING (W) • SIMONE DI MEO (A); Cover by RON GARNEY
NAMOR: DEFENDERS #1: “THE BEST DEFENSE” PART TWO! The Monarch of the Oceans has declared war once more on the surface world in the pages of AVENGERS. And if this is a war that Namor means to win, he is going to need allies to stand beside him! The Sub-Mariner’s quest for a lost tribe of sea-dwellers carries him further than he ever thought possible—and to a reckoning both strange and wonderful! And hey, what’s up with that weird apparition in the sheet, anyway? One-shot.
CHIP ZDARSKY (W) • CARLOS MAGNO (A); Cover by RON GARNEY
DOCTOR STRANGE: DEFENDERS #1: “THE BEST DEFENSE” PART THREE! In a desolate, barren landscape, the Master of the Mystic Arts fights what may well prove to be his final battle—alone, unaided, friendless…Except…what’s in that bag that Stephen Strange is carrying with him? One-shot.
GERRY DUGGAN (W) • GREG SMALLWOOD (A); Cover by RON GARNEY
SILVER SURFER: DEFENDERS #1: “THE BEST DEFENSE” PART FOUR! Shall not the Judge of All the Earths do right? Norrin Radd is not so certain. But it falls to him who is the Silver Surfer to decide which planets will live…and which will feed the unending hunger of the world-devouring Galactus! A single honest person can tip the balance…if only the Surfer can find one in time! And the Train rolls on…One-shot.
JASON LATOUR (W) • JASON LATOUR (A); Cover by RON GARNEY
DEFENDERS: THE BEST DEFENSE #1: “THE BEST DEFENSE” FINALE! The lost Atlanteans. The Train. The bedsheet man. Dead Steve. The Stock Exchange of Souls. Trust us, it all makes sense. In fact, it makes enough sense to destroy our entire solar system… Unless four very different heroes can come together to stop it. One-shot.
AL EWING (W) • JOE BENNETT (A); Cover by RON GARNEY
SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #1: A SPIDER-GEDDON TIE-IN! Otto Octavius leaves the moniker of Doctor Octopus behind and once again becomes THE SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN! If you think you’ve already read the most intense and surprisingly heartbreaking Superior Spider-Man story, prepare to be wrong. Otto is going to prove to the world that he’s the most effective and (to him at least) the best super hero in the world. But when a villain that overpowers him by so much shows up in San Francisco, there’s no way Ock can win, right? Can you see Otto smirking from where you’re reading this?
CHRISTOS GAGE (W) • MIKE HAWTHORNE (A); Cover by TRAVIS CHAREST
MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN #1: Balancing his normal life, school, parents, etc…and super-heroing has never been easy, but when the Rhino and a cadre of mysterious criminals start plaguing Brooklyn, things take a dark turn. And Miles doesn’t even know the half of it yet. Eisner Award-winner Saladin Ahmed (BLACK BOLT) and Young Gun Javier Garrón (ANT-MAN & THE WASP) bring you the latest incarnation of the coolest character in the Marvel Universe!
SALADIN AHMED (W) • JAVIER GARRÓN (A); Cover by BRIAN STELFREEZE
SPIDERGEDDON HANDBOOK: The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe returns with an all-new collection of Spider-Man profiles just in time for SPIDER-GEDDON! Among the profiles are the heroic Spiderling (Annie Parker)! Spider-Girl (Ashley Barton)! The vile Inheritors! Spider-Punk! Spider-Man’s sister, Teresa Parker! The Master Weaver! And more! Also featuring updates for Spider-Man (Parker), Miles Morales and two Scarlet Spiders! Plus: A guide to the Spider-Men across the Multiverse!
Various (W/A)
TYPHOID FEVER: IRON FIST #1: Typhoid Mary is stronger than ever, and Spider-Man and the X-Men know that better than anyone as they’ve been forced to fight among themselves. As her powers grow stronger, it’s only a matter of time before Typhoid Mary turns Manhattan into her own personal playground – if not her own personal ashtray. Luckily, IRON FIST is in town and willing to lend a hand…er…fist. But will the Master of Kung Fu be able to stop the flames from spreading, or will he just add fuel to the fire? One-shot.
CLAY McLEOD CHAPMAN (W) • PAOLO VILLANELLI (A); Cover by R.B. SILVA
INFINITY WARS: FALLEN GUARDIAN #1: In the stunning climax of INFINITY WARS, one of the Guardians of the Galaxy makes the ultimate sacrifice. Look back at the life of a fallen Guardian and the empty space they leave behind in what’s left of the universe.
GERRY DUGGAN (W) • Andy MacDonald (A); Cover by R.B. SILVA
INFINITY WARS: 8 #1: What comes AFTER infinity?
GERRY DUGGAN (W) • MARK BAGLEY (A); Cover by MIKE DEODATO JR.

CHAMPIONS ANNUAL #1: The spirits of the North stir and Snowguard must answer their call! Amka Aliyak’s past and present collide as she strives to understand the power she’s been given and where she belongs. Take a deep dive into Marvel’s newest young hero in this special supersized Champions issue!
JIM ZUB (W) • MARCUS TO (A); Cover by SEAN IZAAKSE

MERRY X-MEN HOLIDAY SPECIAL #1: Twenty-five holiday tales of merry mutants, one for each day of December 1 through December 25! What does Magneto do for Hanukkah? What’s Rogue and Gambit’s first married Christmas like? Is Jubilee truly the master of navigating malls during the holidays? These questions and more are answered as all your favorite X-Men and more creators than you can shake a jingle bell at come together for a holiday celebration to last all month long! One-shot.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD, CHRIS SIMS, CHAD BOWERS, ED BRISSON, MATTHEW ROSENBERG, KELLY THOMPSON, RAINBOW ROWELL, CHARLES SOULE, Zac Thompson, Lonny Nadler, Leah Williams, Tini Howard, Sina Grace, Al Ewing, Chris Claremont, & More (W)
Marco Failla, Kris Anka, Ryan Browne, & More (A); Cover by DAVID NAKAYAMA

MARVEL’S AVENGERS: UNTITLED PRELUDE #1 (of 3): A COSMIC CALAMITY! From the dawn of the universe came six INFINITY STONES, each in control of an essential aspect of existence: space, reality, power, soul, mind and time. Now, THANOS strives to collect them all to further his mad plan of wiping out half the universe’s population. Standing between him and his goal: the AVENGERS, the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, SPIDER-MAN, and more! But with one Infinity Stone already in Thanos’ possession, will even the combined might of the Marvel Universe be enough to stop him?
WILL CORONA PILGRIM (W) • PACO DIAZ (A)
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PiercingMetal Thoughts: That sure is a whole lot of coolness to add to your collection and since the holidays are going to keep a lot of my financials busy, I will need to peruse them on the shelves first. Lots of awesome first launches and yes my friends, another great set of the “True Believers” one-dollar comics once again. This next group features “Fantastic Four Villains” and was discussed already on THIS LINK to give you some lead time in ordering them from your local shop. Be sure to check those out and so many of the other awesome items that your local comic book retailers might have on hand. Keep the memory of Stan in your comic book reading heart and I will see you next time around. “Excelsior”
Official Website: http://www.marvel.com











