I spend a lot of time talking about the wonders and tribulations of Marvel Unlimited, but a reader question reminded me this week that Marvel’s app game is potentially confusing. On one hand you have the official Marvel Comics app, and on the other you have Marvel Unlimited. What’s the difference between the two? How do they interact? And how could these two apps synchronize in the future to completely revolutionaize and monopolize the digital comics landscape? [Read more…] about Question of the Week: What’s the Difference Between the Marvel Comics App and Marvel Unlimited?
Avengers Assemble #9 – #13 Review! Marvel NOW’s Cinematic Infusion
I had half a mind to exclude Avengers Assemble altogether from my Marvel NOW! reading order. Partially this was because of how uninterested I found myself in the Brian Michael Bendis helmed first seven issues (when Zodiac and Thanos fall flat, you know you’re in trouble), but mostly because Avengers Assemble is the most heavily connected to the Marvel cinematic universe of any Marvel comics. In many ways, this is a comic that feels disconnected from Marvel continuity at large (it’s kind of a hobby). Nonetheless, with Kelly Sue Deconnick taking writing duties, and with a long run of tie-ins to Age of Ultron and Captain Marvel: The Enemy Within, Avengers Assemble has earned its place in the Marvel NOW! reading order (literally the highest honor I can bestow). [Read more…] about Avengers Assemble #9 – #13 Review! Marvel NOW’s Cinematic Infusion
X-Men Legacy NOW! – The Story of Legion (Don’t Call Him Legion)
In almost every way, X-Men Legacy is one of the least likely and riskiest books of the Marvel NOW! relaunch. For starters, the book is really just a Legion solo series, which is a bit wild in and of itself because there are even plenty of X-fans who would look around and wonder, “Who’s Legion?” To be honest, if not for the wild and crazy lead-in to Age of Apocalyse, I’m not sure I’d have any concept of Legion, aka David Haller, aka the son of Charles Xavier, myself. So why X-Men Legacy, then? What’s so special about Legion that he gets his own ongoing series? [Read more…] about X-Men Legacy NOW! – The Story of Legion (Don’t Call Him Legion)
Uncanny Avengers NOW!: Avengers for Unity
Of all the Marvel NOW! titles to launch in the wake of Avengers vs. X-Men, Uncanny Avengers is undoubtedly the lynchpin. While All-New X-Men embraces the plight of the X-Men following the events of AvX, and Uncanny X-Men continues the struggle of Cyclops and his fellow outlaws, nothing touches on mutant/human relations like Uncanny Avengers. Following the tyrannical (albeit well-intentioned) world takeover from the mutant Phoenix Five, anti-mutant sentiment is at all time high, meaning if the Avengers and X-Men can’t come together there will be a riot goin’ on. [Read more…] about Uncanny Avengers NOW!: Avengers for Unity
Marvel NOW! Review! Iron Man vol 2 & vol 3: The Secret Origin of Tony Stark
Origin stories are a staple of superhero comic book lore, as essential to the mythology as wolves to romulus & remus or sweet teeth to Hansel & Gretzel. At some point, every comic book fan wants to know how their heroes got their start, which is why we see miniseries like Wolverine’s “Origins” getting a second chance at life a decade after the original. Within the last decade, this obsession with origins has also led to the more dramatic “secret origin,” the twist or new light brought to a revisiting of an established character’s roots. Typically, “secret origins” has been a DC Comics labeling, with the likes of Green Lantern’s Secret Origins launching a modern favorite run on Hal Jordan (and ultimately spawning a disaster of a film). It was only a matter of time before Marvel co opted the language, and hence, we have Kieron Gillen and Greg Land’s “The Secret Origin of Tony Stark.” [Read more…] about Marvel NOW! Review! Iron Man vol 2 & vol 3: The Secret Origin of Tony Stark