Must-Read Marvel Comics For January 2017

It’s a new year, and a new month, and that means brand new Marvel Comics to look forward to.

Civil War II may be over, but there’s still plenty of events and major storylines happening across the Marvel Universe now that Marvel NOW! is in full swing.

ComicBook.com has gone through Marvel’s January solicitations and five new comics that you defeintely don’t want to miss. Read on to see what they are!

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Monsters Unleashed #1

Civil War II may have only just wrapped, and IvX may have only just begun, but that’s not stopping Marvel Comics from launching into its next event series.In a refreshing change of pace, 

In a refreshing change of pace, this event series will not see Marvel’s superheroes punching other. Instead, Monsters Unleashed brings the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men, Inhumans, and Champions together to fight off giant monsters who could destroy the planet!

Monsters Unleashed is written by Cullen Bunn and features an all-star lineup of artists, with a different artist on each of the series’ five issues. Monsters Unleashed #1 is drawn by Steve McNiven, artist of Civil War and Old Man Logan. And if that’s not enough for you, there are indivdual tie-in issues for Spider-Man/Deadpool and Avengers releasing in January as well.

MONSTERS UNLEASHED #1 (OF 5)
CULLEN BUNN (W) • STEVE McNIVEN (A/C)
VARIANT COVER BY KEN NIIMURA
50’S MOVIE POSTER VARIANT COVER BY FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA
VIDEO GAME VARIANT COVER BY JEEHYUNG LEE
NEW MONSTER VARIANT COVER BY TBA
CLASSIC MONSTER VERSUS MARVEL HERO VARIANT COVER BY MIKE MIGNOLA
TEASER VARIANT COVER BY GEOF DARROW
HIP HOP VARIANT COVER BY TBA

THE EPIC BATTLE MARVEL FANS HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR, DRAWN BY TODAY’S GREATEST ARTISTS!!!

It’s all hands on deck with the AVENGERS, CHAMPIONS, GUARDIANS, X-MEN and the INHUMANS as they clash with monstrous threats that threaten to destroy every corner of the Marvel Universe. Who are the LEVIATHONS? Who controls them? How can they be stopped before Earth becomes another tragic, barren world in their wake? Written by powerhouse writer CULLEN BUNN and drawn by Marvel legend STEVE McNIVEN, this issue is the beginning of something big that you just can’t miss!

40 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99

 

The Mighty Thor #15

Just the title of “The Asgard/Shi’Ar War” should be enough to get most Marvel Comics fans excited.

It seesm there’s no peace for Thor. This issue she’s her striking against Malekith, who has occupied the Light Elf home world, but there’s another threat brewing.

The Shi’ar Empire is one of the most feared in the galaxy, and now they’re attacking Asgardia and looking to get their hands on Thor.

Give us Thor vs. Gladiator, and we’re sold on this.

MIGHTY THOR #15
JASON AARON (W) • RUSSELL DAUTERMAN (A/C)
Variant Cover by RYAN SOOK
Variant Cover by ANDREA SORRENTINO
Story Thus Far Variant Cover by CHRISTIAN WARD
Teaser Variant Cover by MIKE DEODATO

THE “ASGARD/SHI’AR WAR” STARTS HERE!

• As Malekith’s campaign to conquer the Ten Realms rages on, Thor and her League of Heroes lead the charge against the Dark Elf’s forces.

• But far across the galaxy, another conflict is brewing and the most powerful super-army in the cosmos is preparing a surprise attack on the city of the gods.

• The Shi’ar Empire will lay siege to Asgardia. Their target: the Goddess of Thunder.

32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

 

Spider-Man #12

They say long distance relationships never work out. So then how does a relationship across different realities work?

That question will be explored in a crossover between Spider-Man and Spider-Gwen that kicks off in Spider-Man #12 and continues in Spider-Gwen #16. The crossover brings Miles and Gwen together in what looks to be a romantic relationship.

“The covers that have been released were consciously produced to evoke a reaction,” writer Brian Michael Bendis said of the crossover in an interview with ComicBook.com. “We’re very aware of the age difference, very aware of the dimensional differences and we’re diving in head first.”

SPIDER-MAN #12
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (W) • SARA PICHELLI (A/C)
Variant Cover by Richard Isanove
CLASSIC ARTIST VARIANT COVER BY TBA
STORY THUS FAR VARIANT COVER BY TBA

• THIS IS IT! THE MOMENT YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR! THE KISS HEARD ROUND THE WORLD!

• The two most talked about heroes give us something new to talk about in this Spider-Man/Spider-Gwen crossover.

• How did Miles and Gwen get here?!

32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

 

Amazing Spider-Man #23

As one Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy come together, the original pair has never been more separated.

The story of The Clone Conspiracy will continue in January in The Clone Conspiracy #4. After the shocking reveal in The Clone Conspiracy #3, Spider-Man fans are definitely going to want to keep reading there, but another major Spider-Man twist will be followed up on in Amazing Spider-Man #23.

The issues of Amazing Spider-Man leading into The Clone Conspiracy revealed not only that the Jackal had resurrected Gwen Stacy from the dead, but also that Gwen was able to hear everything that trasnpired on the bridge before she died. She learned Peter Parker’s secret and that her death was just a way for the Green Goblin to torture Spider-Man.

Amazing Spider-Man #23 will explore what came next, and why Gwen Stacy now stands with the Jackal.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #23
DAN SLOTT & CHRISTOS GAGE (W) • GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI (A)
Cover by ALEX ROSS
Variant Cover by Simone Bianchi

A CLONE CONSPIRACY TIE-IN!

• Gwen Stacy is back in the land of the living and in league with The Jackal.

• But why? She’s not evil. She’s not being mind-controlled. What would push the one of the most beloved characters in Marvel history to join one of Spider-Man’s worst villains?!

32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

 

Deadpool the Duck #1 & 2

If you’re looking for something on the wackier side of the Marvel Universe then look no further than Deadpool the Duck.

The series brings together Deadpool and Howard the Duck in the most literal possible way. Somehow the two of them end up merged into a single body, and hijinks ensue.

Now the merged being is on the run, while Deadpool and Howard fighter for control of their body.

DEADPOOL THE DUCK #1 & 2 (OF 5)
STUART MOORE (W) • JACOPO CAMAGNI (A)
Covers by DAVID NAKAYAMA
ISSUE #1 – Variant Cover by RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE
ISSUE #1 – VARIANT COVER BY RON LIM
ISSUE #1 – VARIANT COVER BY TBA
ISSUE #1 – CONNECTING VARIANT COVER BY TBA
ISSUE #2 – Variant Cover by JAY FOSGITT
ISSUE #2 – CONNECTING VARIANT COVER BY TBA

What do you get when you take one cynical anthropomorphic duck (named Howard) and cross it with the smelliest (and most annoying) mercenary in the Marvel Universe? DEADPOOL THE DUCK! When Deadpool is sent on a mission from S.H.I.E.L.D. to capture a high-profile E.T. that is rampaging across the high plains, the snatch-and-grab turns out to be much more complicated than the Merc with a Mouth anticipated. One unfortunate wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time accident later leaves Deadpool and Howard fighting for control of the cutest mercenary the Marvel Universe has ever seen! Brought to you with words by Stuart Moore (CLOAK & DAGGER, THANOS: DEATH SENTENCE Novel) and art by Jacopo Camagni (DEADPOOL’S SECRET SECRET WARS).

32 PGS. (EACH)/Parental Advisory …$3.99 (EACH)