August 2017 Spider-Solicitations

Sorry guys this is so late, but sometimes you have to do stuff outside of comic books. Like playing Injustice 2. So here we finally go, covering Spider-Men, Empires and Venompool (ugh).

SECRET EMPIRE #8 & 9 (of 10)
NICK SPENCER (W) • Issue #8 – DANIEL ACUñA (A)
Issue #9 – LEINIL YU (A)
CoverS by MARK BROOKS
Variant CoverS by J. SCOTT CAMPBELL
Villain Variant CoverS by DAN MORA
Hydra Hero Variant CoverS by ANDREA SORRENTINO
Action Figure Variant CoverS by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
ISSUE #8 – Marvel vs. Capcom Variant Cover by TBA

ISSUE #9 – Kirby 100th Anniversary Variant Cover by JACK KIRBY UNITED WE STAND – against the SECRET EMPIRE!
ISSUE #8 – 32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
ISSUE #9 – 40 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99

SECRET EMPIRE #10 (of 10)
NICK SPENCER (W) • STEVE MCNIVEN (A)
Cover by MARK BROOKS
Variant Cover by J. SCOTT CAMPBELL
Villain Variant Cover by DAN MORA
Civil Warrior Variant Cover by TBD
Action Figure Variant Cover by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
Can there be any redemption for Captain America as the SECRET EMPIRE starts to crumble?
48 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99

Comments:It looks like Marvel are going down the route of Captain America living past Secret Empire, which I honestly didn’t expect them to do. Honestly, I would prefer it if his Hydra past remained but he was becoming increasingly more conflicted with it (I suppose in a similar vein to the current Scarlet Spider series). I would be disappointed if this cultivates in a simple retcon. 

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #31
DAN SLOTT (W) • STUART IMMONEN (A)
Cover by ALEX ROSS
Marvel vs. Capcom Variant Cover by TBA
SECRET EMPIRE TIE-IN!
• On orders from Captain America, the Superior Octopus is taking the fight to Parker Industries.
• Peter must use the full force of his company to stop Ock and Hydra, but WILL IT BE ENOUGH?!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Comments: Please don’t be enough! I really feel like this Parker Industries plot is quite tired and has took too many missteps along the way for it to ever regain its footing. Maybe it’s time Peter is given a break and the other Spider-characters take the lead. But with Homecoming on the horizon, I see this as very unlikely and I can only presume that the film’s Stark-suit will only consolidate Peter’s dependency on technology.

AVENGERS #10
MARK WAID (W) • MIKE DEL MUNDO (A)
Cover by ALEX ROSS
Marvel vs. Capcom Variant Cover by TBA
SECRET EMPIRE TIE-IN!
• They’re Earth’s Mightiest – but are they heroes? Taskmaster, Deadpool, the Superior Octopus…how can they be fighting alongside the Avengers we know?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Comments: To be honest, I dropped this book early on in favour of Champions (which has let me down with its recent Freelancers arc). Whilst this tie-in sounds like it has potential, it is more likely that it will be treated as a throw-away until the Empire event has run its course.

CHAMPIONS #11

MARK WAID (W) • HUMBERTO RAMOS (A/C)
Marvel vs. Capcom Variant Cover by TBA
SECRET EMPIRE TIE-IN!
• Broken up and dispersed all across the U.S., the Champions still fight the good fight – but if they can’t pull together soon, everything they stand for will turn to ash!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Comments: As I just mentioned, Champions has really disappointed me with the current Freelancers arc, which strayed into a grey area of political bias and away from Waid’s strengths of simple, yet complex, characterization. Hopefully the threat of the Secret Empire will give this book the rejuvenation it needs.  

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #10
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (W) • STEFANO CASELLI (A/C)
Marvel vs. Capcom Variant Cover by TBA
• Riri comes face-to-face with the biggest threat she will ever encounter – a headstrong Tony Stark A.I. that’s decided it knows what’s best for the world! What is Tony Stark like without a human form? Pretty awful, it turns out.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Comments: Cool concept, but it leaves me wondering how this factors into Secret Empire, seeing as A.I. Tony looks to be on the side of the angels in that event. Regardless, I will be tuning in to see how this goes down.

PETER PARKER: THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #3
CHIP ZDARSKY (w) • ADAM KUBERT (a/C)
Variant Cover by TBA
• Spider-Man and the Human Torch are following a trail of terrifying tech, and the trail takes them to… WILSON FISK?!
• The former Kingpin of Crime is still quite a force to be reckoned with…but what is HIS connection to all this?
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

Comments: This solicit cements my worries that this is turning into a re-branded Spider-Man Team-Up over a series that focuses on the real Peter. But Chip Zdarsky has a pretty good track record and Adam Kubert tends to hit more than he misses, so I am holding out faith for now. What do you guys think about this one?

SPIDER-MEN II #2 (of 5)
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (w) • SARA PICHELLI (a/C)
Variant Cover by TBA
Connecting Variant Cover B by JESUS SAIZ
• The mystery of the OTHER Miles Morales thickens, but our Spider-Men may need to hit pause on the sleuthing because…
• …TASKMASTER IS GOING TO TAKE THEM DOWN!
• Don’t miss this Spider-Event!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Comments: I’m excited. Spider-Men is one of the greatest modern Spidey stories, so the idea of a sequel gives me chills. Also Taskmaster’s costume is pretty cool – it’s kind of giving off medieval vibes, which is pretty sweet. 

EDGE OF VENOMVERSE #4 (of 5)
RYAN KEY (w) • ANDRE LIMA ARAUJO (a)
Cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA
Variant Cover by RON LIM
RIDE OF THE WOLVENOM!
• Logan’s adopted son, Scotty, has been missing for years…
• …but Warren Worthington III, formerly the X-Man called Angel, has found Logan at the bottom of a bottle to bring him a message: Scotty is alive, and Angel knows where he is.
• A new and original story from Ryan Key, lead singer of Yellowcard, set after the events of the original epic OLD MAN LOGAN!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Comments: Hmm. This doesn’t seem to be straying down the predictable avenue of a Wolverine-Venom story, instead opting for a follow up to Old Man Logan. Collar me impressed. 

EDGE OF VENOMVERSE #5 (of 5)
Clay McLeod Chapman (w) • JAMES STOKOE (a)
Cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA
Variant Cover by RON LIM
THE SYMBIOTE WITH THE SLOBBER!
• “Deadpool’s bonded with the Venom symbiote, blah, blah, blah,” you’re saying to yourself. Well HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, TRUE BELIEVER!
• Bringing you a terrifying tale of VenomPool trying to save a hospital full of innocent people who’ve been infected with a DANGEROUS MIND-CONTROLLING PARASITE is none other than horror writer and SPIDER-VERSE veteran Clay McLeod Chapman!
• Still not enough? WELL DON’T TURN THAT SOLICITATION PAGE, MARVELITE! Because the House of Ideas has enlisted comics legend James Stokoe to draw this – one of the most awesome, audacious and outrageous tales in all of Marveldom! SO DON’T MISS IT!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Comments: Oh my! Deadpool and Venom? Together?! Which hair-brained genius came up with this remarkably unique idea? I don’t care if the solicit goes all meta and tells me the exact opposite of what I’m thinking, this one reeks of trodden-on territory and doesn’t pique my interest in the slightest.

VENOM #153
MIKE COSTA (w) • GERARDO SANDOVAL (a)
Cover by FRANCISCO HERRERA
Marvel vs. Capcom Variant Cover by TBA
“THE LAND BEFORE CRIME” CONCLUDES!
• Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote are having a tough time sticking together, biologically speaking. Fortunately, the fine folks at ALCHEMAX are working on a cure!
• Eddie just has to find and stop Stegron the Dinosaur Man from turning New York into a raging army of dinosaurs for them!
• Luckily, MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR are around to help! I wonder if they realize Stegron can control dinosaurs in addition to turning people into them.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Comments: Okay, Moon Girl, Devil Dinosaur and Stegron sounds like a crossover plucked from my dreams. It’s a real shame it has to feature Venom though. 

SPIDER-MAN #19
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (W) • OSCAR BAZALDUA (a)
Cover by PATRICK BROWN
Marvel vs. Capcom Variant Cover by TBA
• Miles has been wrestling with some inner demons and losing.
• Has he gone so far into the dark that he can’t find his way back into the light?
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

Comments: Ambiguous solicit – I dig it. 

SPIDER-GWEN #23
JASON LATOUR & HANNAH BLUMENREICH (W)
ROBBI RODRIGUEZ & HANNAH BLUMENREICH (A)
Cover by KRIS ANKA
“Predators” Part 5!
• GWEN! WOLVERINE! HARRY OSBORN! MADRIPOOR!
• Plus, Hannah Blumenreich steps in for a guest story starring THE MARY JANES!
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

Comments: I don’t know about you guys, but this once vibrant and exciting book is starting to feel a little tired to me, with plots being drawn out for longer than they possibly need to be. Perhaps it works a little better if you read the TPB. On the plus side, the Mary Janes are always a delight to read.

SPIDER-MAN/DEADPOOL #20
JOSHUA CORIN (w) • WILL ROBSON (a/C)
Marvel vs. Capcom Variant Cover by TBA
• Spider-Man and Deadpool continue their epic adventure with Slapstick!
• But with a literal cartoon fighting by his side (and Slapstick, too!) will Spidey be able to keep his promise to take his super heroing more seriously?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Comments: My god, this book actually went and made #20! Congratulations! Whilst Slapstick isn’t my favourite Marvel character, I’m sure that, like usual, this book will turn out its fair share of laughs.  

BEN REILLY: SCARLET SPIDER #6
PETER DAVID (w) • MARK BAGLEY (a/C)
• With enemies bearing down on him from every side, Ben Reilly’s running out of options and running out of time!
• It doesn’t help that one of the people out for Ben’s blood is his spider-powered web-slinging sibling KAINE!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Comments: Just because I said before that I hope Captain America takes a leaf out of Scarlet Spider’s book does not mean I’ve found this book at all enjoyable. It feels slightly boring and at times mean-spirited in it’s characterization of Ben. I feel like I’ll only give this a few more issues before I drop it off, even with Kaine’s imminent arrival. What’s you guys opinion of this story so far?

 

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: RENEW YOUR VOWS #10
RYAN STEGMAN (w) • NATHAN STOCKMAN (a)
Cover by Nathan Stockman
• A spotlight on Norman Osborn II!
• How did 10-year-old Normie achieve the smarts and cunning of his grandfather?
• Will he inherit the Goblin family legacy…and will he take it to terrifying new heights?
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

Comments: I’m sure you all love Renew Your Vows, as do I. However Normie has been the most divisive part of the series, kind of reminiscent of that time a bunch of 10 yr olds took over the Hellfire Club. I suppose all we can do is see how it plays out. On a different note, it’s curious to see that regular artist Stegman will be penning this issue – I haven’t seen anything he’s wrote but I’m sure it will be just as stellar as his artwork.

GWENPOOL, THE UNBELIEVABLE #19
CHRIS HASTINGS (W) • GURIHIRU (A/C)
• Marvel hero Gwen Poole is friend to all!
• That is…until supposedly she ruins Miles Morales’ life by revealing his secret identity.
• Oops?
• Find out how Gwen plans on fixing THIS continuity drama!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Comments: Poor Miles. But it does sound like comedic gold, in a meta-way that’s kind of comparable to Zdarsky’s work.