Hello there my readers and “Welcome To February”!!! How are you doing so far in 2018? I hope that the New Year is treating you alright. If you’ve been following us since the bell first tolled on this one, then you know it’s been very, very busy here. So with the upcoming “Black Panther” movie opening up in a couple of weeks, I’ve given Marvel Comics the chance to be our first comic book report of the month. As you’ll see there are a great bunch of first issues, one-shots and special editions coming. We did hit an anniversary for one of the “Spider-Man” titles so I’ve featured that as well. As expected, the copy below comes from their official resources along with the images but the closing editorial is all me. Let’s take a look at what will be on the stands this month.
X-MEN RED #1: The Hate Machine Part 1. THE FIRST SENSATIONAL ARC OF AN ALL-NEW TEAM OF X-MEN STARTS HERE! JEAN GREY is back! Returned to a world she doesn’t recognize, the First Lady of the X-MEN gathers an unlikely team — NIGHTCRAWLER, NAMOR and LAURA KINNEY (A.K.A. ALL-NEW WOLVERINE) — to face an evil that threatens to tear down XAVIER’s dream by any means necessary!
TOM TAYLOR (W) • MAHMUD ASRAR (A); Cover by TRAVIS CHAREST
DOCTOR STRANGE: DAMNATION #1 (OF 5): The city of sin gets its biggest sinner yet. When Doctor Strange raises Las Vegas up from its destruction during SECRET EMPIRE, he inadvertently opens a big door for the embodiment of evil, MEPHISTO! The devilish villain takes the city for himself and sets his sights on the rest of the world. It’s going to take heroes from all over the Marvel Universe to defeat him, but there’s nothing simple about fighting the lord of Hell.
DONNY CATES & Nick Spencer (W) • ROD REIS (A/C)
PETER PARKER: THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #300: MOST WANTED Part 4: An oversized anniversary epic, told the only way your pre-eminent pals in the Spidey-Office know how — in the Mighty Marvel Manner! For weeks, the Tinkerer has been launching a campaign against his do-gooder brother, the Mason, and Spidey’s nearly met his maker more than once trying to stop their sibling rivalry! With a little help from a tech-heavy team of Marvel heroes, Spider-Man takes the fight directly to Tinkerer! But Tinkerer’s got tech of his own…and it’s out of this world!
56 PGS./Rated T …$5.99
CHIP ZDARSKY (W) • ADAM KUBERT (A); Cover by MARCOS MARTIN
BLACK PANTHER ANNUAL #1: LEGENDARY PANTHER WRITERS RETURN! Three legendary BLACK PANTHER writers return to Wakanda! Don McGregor’s famous storyline “The Panther’s Rage” has become one of the most well-respected runs in comic book history. Now, the author who redefined Wakanda for a generation is back to expand the mythos! Bearing the heart-shaped herb that defines the Panther legacy, King T’Challa leaves his beloved country for a heart-wrenching mission in the streets of New York. Then: For half a decade, comics legend Christopher Priest made his mark on the Panther. The acclaimed writer returns with an all-new story – and with it, of course, U.S. State Department employee Everett K. Ross! And finally, no Panther history would be complete without Reggie Hudlin, author of more than 50 Black Panther stories, including the famed “Who Is The Black Panther?” Don’t miss the sequel to his “Black to the Future” story, featuring original artist Ken Lashley!
DON McGREGOR, CHRISTOPHER PRIEST & REGGIE HUDLIN (W); DANIEL ACUñA, KEN LASHLEY & MORE (A); Cover by DANIEL ACUñA
BLACK PANTHER: THE SOUND AND THE FURY #1: PANTHER VS. KLAW! The fantastic technology of Wakanda comes to Dubai! But when the villainous KLAW launches a plot to extort billions from the citizens of the city, T’CHALLA’s diplomatic mission becomes a search and rescue for the BLACK PANTHER! Written and illustrated by industry legends Ralph Macchio and Andrea Di Vito, THE SOUND AND THE FURY puts the Black Panther on a mission that will test his prowess against his long-standing nemesis, as well as three new villains – BLOKK, GARROTTE, and SHEN-YU! Featuring a special presentation of FANTASTIC FOUR #53, featuring the earliest conflict between T’Challa and Klaw, and the introduction of VIBRANIUM! One shot.
RALPH MACCHIO (W) • ANDREA DI VITO (A/C)
LOCKJAW #1 (OF 4): WHO’S A GOOD BOY? Part 1: At long last, the dog has his day! Lockjaw spends most of his time defending the Inhuman empire alongside Black Bolt and Medusa. But when he gets a message that his long-lost litter mates are in danger, he’ll spring into action to save them! But wait – Lockjaw has brothers and sisters? Can they teleport? Are they Inhuman? Can they possibly be as gosh-darned cute as their big brother? All the answers are here! Get ready for an adventure worth fetching for!
Daniel Kibblesmith (W) • Carlos Villa (A); Cover by ED MCGUINNESS
INFINITY COUNTDOWN: ADAM WARLOCK #1: ADAM WARLOCK IS BACK! Reborn from the realm of the dead, Adam has come seeking the Soul Stone…and the truth about what it did to Him! His guide through this Infinity Quest is none other than…Kang the Conqueror?!? Be there as Adam begins down the dark trail sure to lead him into the heart of the mystery of the Infinity Stones…One shot.
GERRY DUGGAN (w) • AARON KUDER (a/C)
Infinity Countdown Prime #1
STAR WARS: THRAWN #1 (OF 6): One of the most cunning and ruthless warriors in the history of the Star Wars Universe, Grand Admiral Thrawn is back with a six-issue miniseries about how he became one of the most feared military tacticians in a galaxy far, far away. Written by Jody Houser (ROGUE ONE ADAPTATION) and drawn by Luke Ross (STAR WARS: DARTH MAUL, STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS ADAPTATION), follow the comic adaptation of Timothy Zahn’s New York Times best-selling novel about Thrawn’s rise in the Imperial ranks!
JODY HOUSER (W) • LUKE ROSS (A); Cover by Paul Renaud
PiercingMetal Thoughts: So that is the run of new launches from Marvel and remember that many of these titles have variant covers to choose from as well. The excitement for the upcoming “Black Panther” film is so great that Marvel dished out a freebie which I discussed on THIS LINK. Make sure you contact your local comic shop and ask if they have a copy for you since it hit the stands this past Wednesday for New Comic Book Day. Marvel has also unveiled the Teaser Trailer for the “Ant-Man and The Wasp” film which will be released in July. I posted about that the other day as well and if you missed it just click HERE. Closing up, I’m happy to announce that PiercingMetal will once again be attending the American International Toy Fair as a member of the press. It’s our eighth year straight of this trade show and lets me keep the collectors happy and aware of what is coming down the pike. Be sure to head over to our Official Instagram for the insights and highlights from this event if you aren’t already following. See you next time.
Official Website: http://www.marvel.com