MCU Comics Corner: Backordered #5

It’s time for another trip down to the (virtual) local comic book store, where I fill you in on all the things I’ve been reading in my spare time over the last few months and maybe finally convince some of you to join me in reading Jason Aaron’s TMNT run (hey- a guy can hope!)

Before I dive in, just a quick reminder that Friends From Work has an official comic book partner in Organic Priced Books. OPB offers a massive selection of books, often deeply discounted from what you would pay through one of the big online retailers, and they take great care in packaging your books so they always arrive in mint condition. Shipping is free on any order over $30, and you can use the code “FRIENDSFROMWORK” at checkout to receive an additional discount.

Without further ado, here is my…

WEEKLY PULL LIST

• Ultimates (2024) #7-10 by Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri

• Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #11-15 by Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto

• Ultimate X-Men (2024) #10-13 by Peach Momoko

• Ultimate Black Panther (2024) #10-13 by Bryan Edward Hill and Stefano Caselli

• Ultimate Wolverine (2024) #1-3 by Christopher Condon and Alessandro Cappuccio

  • The Ultimate Universe continues to click on all cylinders for Marvel. The work that Deniz Camp is doing right now is unparalleled (each issue feels like its own event), and Jonathan Hickman has shifted the Spider-Man story into another gear over this last batch of issues. There is a new book in the mix this time, Ultimate Wolverine, and it fits seamlessly alongside the others. The third issue of Ultimate Wolverine brings some classic Marvel characters into play for the first time in this new universe. If you have been on the fence about jumping in, there are now several issues of the first four books available on Marvel Unlimited, and the first arcs for each are now collected and available in trade paperback form.

• Absolute Batman #1-5 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta

• Absolute Superman #1-5 by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval

• Absolute Wonder Woman #1-5 by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman

  • DC Comics is hoping to creatively jumpstart their own signature brands using their new ‘Absolute’ universe in the same way that the ‘Ultimate’ universe has for Marvel. The early results are extremely promising. Snyder, Aaron, and Thompson are all legends in their own right, and backed by incredible art, they’ve effectively put a brand-new spin on the origins of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Superman and Wonder Woman are characters I have very limited experience reading previously, but Aaron and Thompson draw you into these reimagined stories within just a few pages.

• Batman and Robin: Year One #2-5 by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee

• Batman The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween #3-6 by Jeph Loeb and Eduardo Risso

• Batman #158 by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee

• Detective Comics #1091-1095 by Tom Taylor and Mikel Janin

  • Batman has been my favorite comic book character for over 30 years, and several books are coming out monthly right now that take me right back to when I started reading comics for the first time. I remember walking down to the local bookstore after high school in the late ‘90s and buying Batman: The Long Halloween, Batman: Hush, and Batman: Year One. Those books nurtured my love of the character and comics generally, and each has a successor (direct or spiritual) in the marketplace now. Batman and Robin: Year One and Batman The Long Halloween: The Last Halloween are about halfway through their arcs, and I am enjoying the ride. It is as if no time has passed since I read those original books, and I am savoring every page. ‘Hush 2’ from Loeb and Lee begins in the ongoing Batman book with issue #158, and while it is too early to tell if it will be as successful as the others, I am optimistic.

  • The only story from Batman that breaks that nostalgic mold for me is the ongoing Detective Comics narrative arc that began with #1090. Six issues in and Taylor and Janin have combined to tell an intriguing tale that mines Bruce Wayne’s past in some new and interesting ways. Hardcore Batman fans should check it out.

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4-7 by Jason Aaron, Rafael Albuquerque, and Cliff Chiang

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Nightwatcher #4-6 by Juni Ba and Fero Peniche

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nation #3-5 by Erik Burnham, Tom Waltz, Mateus Santolouco, and Vincenzo Federici

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin II - Re-Evolution #4 by Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz

  • Jason Aaron continues to tell an essential and fresh tale about the Turtles. Of all the current stories being written about my childhood favorites, this one stands head and shoulders above the rest. Any fan of TMNT should be reading this book.

  • The other books on the list are less essential but still entertaining. Juni Ba is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers (and artists) in the comic book realm, and Nightwatcher is a fun story about the fifth turtle- Jennika. Issue #5 of Mutant Nation concludes the opening arc of that book. It is much more of a side story, and I will most likely be dropping it from my regular pulls moving forward. The Last Ronin II art is incredible, but the story here is less engaging than the other books from the TMNT Ronin-Verse.

    

• Jenny Sparks #4-7 by Tom King and Jeff Spokes

• Black Canary: Best of the Best #1-5 by Tom King and Ryan Sook

  • I’ve learned never to ignore a Tom King miniseries. Vision and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow are two of the best books I have ever read. Neither Jenny Sparks nor Black Canary reach those heights (there is still one issue to go for BC), but it is still nice to see characters that don’t usually get a chance to be in the spotlight be given the chance to shine.

• Iron Man (2024) #2-6 by Spencer Ackerman and Julius Ohta

• TVA #1-4 by Katharyn Blair and Pere Perez

• The Amazing Spider-Man #62-70 by Joe Kelly and Ed McGuinness

• Mystique #2-5 by Declan Shalvey

• Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1-4 by Cristos Gage and Eric Gapstur

• Wolverine: Revenge #4-5 by Jonathan Hickman and Greg Capullo

• Timeslide #1 by Steve Foxe and Ivan Fiorelli

  • These books are grouped together because they are all from Marvel Comics, and they are all (mostly) new ongoing series that I haven’t read before. The “8 Deaths of Spider-Man” arc in TASM, Mystique, and Iron Man had only released a single issue at the time of the last Backordered. Mystique was planned as just a miniseries, but it is hands-down my favorite book of the three. Shalvey has a firm grip on this story that pits Raven Darkholme against Nick Fury. If Marvel is listening, please give Shalvey the green light to keep going. TASM and Iron Man are less successful. Ackerman is already on his third separate arc through six issues and while the most recent issue is the most promising, none of them have hooked me as a reader in the way I had hoped. “8 Deaths of Spider-Man” starts slow but does start to cook around issues #65-66.

  • TVA and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man are both spin-offs from Marvel Television shows. TVA picks up right after the end of Loki Season 2 (Katharyn Blair was a member of that writer’s room) and has been a joy to read so far. It is not canon to the MCU, but it does a good job of playing around with its connections to the movie universe. YFNSM, the comic, is not as entertaining as the show (which is tremendous), but it does a nice job filling in some of the gaps left by the show.

  • Wolverine: Revenge is Hickman and Capullo at the top of their respective games. This five-issue miniseries is now complete and worth your time. I hope these two get to work together again in the future.

  • Timeslide is a one-shot released last December, and a unique way of previewing the year ahead in Marvel Comics, if that is something that sounds appealing to you. It is always fun spending time with Cable and Bishop.

TRADE PAPERBACKS

• Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross (LINK)

  • Growing up a Batman fan, my reading never strayed into other DC characters unless they crossed into Batman’s book. So, there are some classic stories that I have never read as a result. With James Gunn’s DCU prepping for a release this summer, I thought it was finally time to rectify that. I started with Kingdom Come, which is rumored to be one of several inspirations for Gunn’s Superman. I don’t know why it took me so long. This is an instantly engrossing story from Waid and a wonderful template for a world already filled with superheroes. However, something about Alex Ross’s art style does not click with my personal tastes. I know he is a legend in the industry, and I respect his craftmanship, but it just isn’t for me.

• All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (LINK)

  • This book presented the opposite problem. Grant Morrison is another legend and a tremendous writer. But some of his ideas are so out there that I struggle to stay interested. So this 12-issue series is a mixed bag for me. Some issues are great, and others fall flat. But Quitely is a brilliant artist, and this is an absolutely gorgeous book to look at. I would still recommend it to everyone, especially if you have the ability to grab the Absolute edition.

• The Deviant #1-4 by James Tynion IV and Joshua Hixson

  • Tynion IV is the best horror comics writer working today. I am not even a fan of horror, but I cannot put down his books. The Deviant is no exception, a Christmas story like no other, with a serial-killing Santa creating chaos in the Midwest. I’ve only read the first four collected issues, but I can’t wait to check out the rest.

• Ice Cream Man #39-40 by W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo

  • Ice Cream Man was not a title that was on my radar until Robby and Kandace covered the first trade paperback (issues #1-5) on an episode of FFW+ Comic Book Club. Ice Cream Man is another horror comic (but more of a loosely tied anthology), and Prince and Morazzo continue to innovate with each subsequent issue. Issues #39 and 40 are a two-part story, a decompressed look at a head-on car crash, told from the perspective of the occupants of each car. It deserves your attention.

OMNIBUS

• Infamous Iron Man by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev (LINK)

  • I added this to my reading list after Robert Downey Jr. was revealed at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con to be playing Victor Von Doom in Avengers: Doomsday. After that announcement, speculation about whether RDJ would be playing Victor or if Doom was just a Tony Stark variant was rampant. In this collection, Victor Von Doom assumes the Iron Man mantle (so something of a reversal of what could happen in the MCU), and I had so much fun reading it. Something about Bendis’s style clicks with me, and I love Maleev’s artwork throughout. As an added bonus, Riri Williams is featured more here than in Ironheart: The Saga of Riri Williams, which I talked about in my last edition of Backordered.

• Hulk Modern Era Epic Collection: Who is the Red Hulk? by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness (LINK)

  • Now that Kevin Feige is the Chief Creative Officer for Marvel Comics (in addition to his role as President of Marvel Studios), there has been more synergy between the comics and upcoming MCU projects, particularly when it comes to collected editions. In addition to the Ironheart collection mentioned above, they have released Echo: The Saga of Maya Lopez, Deadpool: The Saga of Wade Wilson, and several others. This Red Hulk collection is in the same vein, and as someone who had never read a single Hulk comic before, I enjoyed getting a crash course on the character. Loeb has long been a favorite writer of mine, and this book is full of (appropriately) Hulk-sized splash pages by McGuinness.

• Captain America by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Leinil Yu (LINK)

  • With Captain America: Brave New World releasing in February, I wanted to turn my attention to another giant hole in my Marvel-reading history: Captain America. Last time, I talked about reading some of the current Sam Wilson-based stories (like Symbol of Truth), but I had yet to read a complete Steve Rogers arc. Then, Robby mentioned to me that he was reading Coates, and I jumped on board, too. I am really glad I did. I was captivated from start to finish. Written starting in 2018, Coates’s work on the character is unfortunately just as relevant (maybe more so) to the world outside our window today as it was then. He tackles what happens to a man when his symbol (and what it stands for) is co-opted by bad actors. My understanding is that this book did not receive the best reception during its initial release, but I think it is essential Captain America reading. The inclusion of the Daughters of Liberty was another highlight. I recommend it to all Cap fans and all MCU fans.

Before I go, I wanted to quickly spotlight two new #1’s that just came out, both from my favorite current writer, Deniz Camp. Assorted Crisis Events #1 (with artist Eric Zawadzki) and Absolute Martian Manhunter #1 (with artist Javier Rodriguez) are fantastic. Camp is a writer at the top of his game right now, and he is doing things along with his collaborators that are stretching the boundaries of what comics can be. ACE is one of the only issues of any comic I have read that made me immediately want to start over and read it again. Martian Manhunter is not a character I have ever had an interest in reading, but what Camp and Rodriguez do with color in this issue is masterful, and the final page of the issue is the most distinctive page of any comic I have read in quite some time. If you are a reader who is looking for something new or different or outside your comfort zone, please check these out.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to open this and read all the way to the end. Please join me on Discord to let me know what you think and to throw your own recommendations my way.

Happy reading,

-Greg