Marvel's April 2015 Solicitations Discussion
Hello CTG readers! I've always wanted to read a discussion on the monthly comic solicitations but don't seem to find any on the internet (despite not searching too hard). So I've decided to write my own. I'll be starting off with Marvel this week. Here's a if you want to check them out before reading: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=58587. Enjoy!
. Honestly I'm getting a little worried by Marvel's increased pricing. Their 4.99$ titles are progressively taking over the entire line. 2.99$ titles are extremely scarce (I believe the only one to be Ms. Marvel) and that worries me. I dread having an entire line of 4.99$ comics and bigger 5.99$ ones. Anyway for the comics themselves, here are my observations.
Too bad Secret Avengers is getting cancelled. I met the creative team in October and I got the chance to have a long conversation with Michael Walsh (artist). The book met critical acclaim but lacked the sales to warrant more than 16 issues. It's unfortunate but expected. I don't think that Marvel are going to relaunch this title but it's definitely a possibility if Ales is still willing to write.
Avengers and New Avengers are obviously ending after 77 issues, it's about time that Hickman gave us his epic conclusion. I can't wait to read these two issues but I'll definitely be upset when reading them. These Avengers books have been my favourite reads every month and there'll be a huge void in my pull list as they come to a close. At least I'll have Secret Wars to satiate my desire for Hickman superhero comics.
Avengers: Ultron Forever looks like it's going to be damn awesome. I love Al Ewing and I'm happy Marvel are giving him a shot at a bigger title. He's writing the Ultron book before Age of Ultron so hopefully he'll be able to build a larger fan-base with this mini-series. From what I read of the texts, it seems as though this tale is set in Jonathan Hickman's Marvel continuity where Ultron has taken over the world (Anvengers #31) and that's a plus as well. The idea of a world controlled by Ultron is an awesome one that failed to meet it's potential in the Age of Ultron event so hopefully Ewing will be able to top that story and give us the Ultron comic we've been waiting for. Oh and Doom seems to be the main character. AWESOME. Ewing characterized Doom to utter perfectly in his March to Axis issues of Loki so I can't wait to see where he takes the character here.
I wasn't a huge fan of Charles Soule's Inhuman book. I read issue 1 and was quite bored, I actually thought the story was vapid. It just wasn't what I wanted out of an Inhuman comic. However I seem to be really excited for Uncanny Inhumans (despite the 4.99$ price tag... oh Marvel). I'm a huge Steve Mcniven fan so I buy almost everything that he pencils but I'm just glad that Charles will be working with Black Bolt and the direction he wants to take the character in seems interesting. I read an interview he did with IGN and he definitely piqued my interest. Hopefully Charles will be able to provide the same sort of Magic for Black Bolt that he did with Alec Holland.
Spider-Gwen #3's text really intrigued me. Police Lieutenant Frank Castle? That's AWESOME. I haven't read the Spider-Verse issue featuring Gwen Stacy but I'm inclined to do so now. I've started researching the character and she has an incredible fan base. I'll definitely be checking her solo book out come February. (But really though Punisher being a cop, that is so cool)
Wow there are a lot of Black Vortex books. I love Legendary Star-Lord but I'm not too sure Black Vortex is going to be a solid story. There seem to be too many creative teams working on it and it could just end up being another elongated event. I'm going to start reading the it but if I don't enjoy I honestly won't be too disappointed. It would save me a lot of money!
Brian Michael Bendis is still on Guardians of the Galaxy but Marvel seem to be adding a lot of diversity to the line. One shots, the Team-Up series etc. I'm glad the main title isn't the only way of reading Guardians comics but I'm still yearning for a new writer.
I like the True Believers selection. I most likely won't be purchasing any of them but it's a good way to promote Secret Wars and give fans a short look at Marvel's game changers.
So it seems as though April will see the Fantastic Four's final issue. I truly think that people overreacted upon hearing this news. There's no way that Marvel's first family will be absent from the line for long. Time Runs Out saw a broken FF and I truly think the end of this run is for story-telling purposes and not because Marvel want to spite fox. To me that's just ridiculous, the Fantastic Four will be back before we know it.
Moon Knight looks like it'll be fairing well under Cullen Bunn. I like that Marvel change the creative team every 6 issues. As long as they keep hiring great creators for the job of course! It's representative of Moon Knight's different personalities and it just feels right. I was worried when Ellis and Shalvey left but Wood and Smallwood's run rival theirs in my opinion. Hopefully Cullen Bunn will bring his best to this book. I'm not a huge fan of his because of his (in my opinion) lacklustre Magneto book. Everyone seems to love it but I thought I was reading the same issue over and over again. The plot seemed to be treading similar ideas and events each issue so I got bored with the title. But that wasn't before (around) issue 5. So hopefully Bunn's flaws as a writer will be downplayed here.
Deadpool 250 is 9.99$ Ugh Marvel, please. I haven't been following this Deadpool run and I don't know much about the character to be candid. However, I heard that he was dying here which seems odd to me. Marvel have killed Wolverine and now they're going for the 2nd most popular mutant. Anyhow, I hope that his send off will please those who love the character (even though he'll obviously be back).
That sums up my thoughts on Marvel's April 2015 solicitations. I don't read every book and I don't want to talk about everything but I hope you enjoyed my thoughts and I'd love to hear yours in the comment section bellow. I'll be back this week with thoughts on the Image and DC solicitations.