Marvel officially announced its full 45-title “All-New, All-Different Marvel NOW!” line, which will spin out of Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Wars event this fall. The announced titles largely feature established Marvel creators working on new and exciting character concepts. While all 45 series at least show some promise, we know that readers’ wallets (and social lives) can only be stretched so thin. So to help save you money and time, we’ve whittled the massive list down to five can’t miss bets for October.
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Doctor Strange
Dr. Strange has his very own solo movie out in 2017 and it looks like Marvel is positioning the character to take on a major role in its new Marvel universe. Headlined by Jason Aaron and Chris Bachelo, the new Doctor Strange series promises a more “heart-filled” take on the good Doctor, along with a wide assortment of weaponry. While I’m not sure why the wielder of the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak and the Eye of Agamotto needs a big axe, I’m excited to see how Bachelo, one of the most dynamic artists in the industry, handles all the weirdness and kookiness of the magical side of the Marvel Universe. Jason Aaron has also shown he can handle the big hitters of Marvel, as his Thor series remains one of the most talked about books out every month. If there’s one character who stands to explode in a big way from All New, All Different Marvel, it’s Doctor Strange.
Spider-Woman
Spider-Woman has been the center of plenty of change over the last 12 months. The character gained her own solo series during Marvel’s Spider-Verse event as part of the publisher’s push to add more female-centric titles to its superhero line of comics. The comic went from being scorned for its interior art (by Greg Land) and a controversial variant cover (by erotic artist Milo Manara) to praised when the creative team quickly announced a new costume design and direction earlier this year. Now, Spider-Woman is getting yet another bold new direction, this time featuring the superheroine juggling parenthood with the life of a hero. While the promotional picture for the series shows Spider-Woman significantly pregnant, comments by writer Dennis Hopeless hint that the character might have already given birth before the series relaunches in October.
Pregnancy is a tricky storyline to handle in superhero comics and has too often been used for cheap drama over the years and as a way to introduce unnecessary peril into superheroines’ lives. Many fans of Spider-Woman have expressed anxiety about the new series direction and doubt over whether a pregnancy story can be done right. However, if Hopeless and artist Javier Rodriguez handle the pregnancy in a respectful and nuanced manner, this could be a unique and cool addition to the All New, All Different Marvel Universe.
Karnak
Warren Ellis. That’s all I need to say about this totally out of left field series starring a C-list member of the Inhuman Royal Family. Warren Ellis created a masterpiece in 2014 with his 6 issue Moon Knight run and it’s clear that Marvel brass is banking on Ellis to strike gold again. Karnak allegedly killed himself during the brief Inhumanity event, but recently came back in the pages of Inhuman. Most comic readers probably don’t know much about the character (he’s a kung-fu whiz who can inherently detect the weakness in…anything), but I bet everyone will be familiar with Karnak before 2015 is through.
All New X-Men
I have a soft spot for the original X-Men, and loved it when Brian Bendis brought the original five members back in the first run of All New X-Men. While the Bendis run petered out after Cyclops went to space and team got stuck in crossover hell, Sam Humphries is bringing (most) of the gang back for a fun road trip across America. The new All New X-Men team features young versions of Cyclops, Beast, Iceman and Archangel (with laser wings courtesy of the Black Vortex) as well as X-23/Wolverine traveling across America in a modified VW van. While teen Jean is staying behind to star in Jeff Lemire’s Extraordinary X-Men, I’m sure that putting the rest of the Original Five in a van with a teenage female clone of Wolverine is ripe for fun, mischief and classic teen drama. I mean, who doesn’t want to see Cyclops refuse to drive above 55 MPH or watch Iceman and Beast bicker over what fast food place to stop for during lunch? And who isn’t excited about the return of the greatest romantic superhero pairing of all time: Cyclops and Wolverine (which is legitimately what X-23 is going by nowadays)?
Totally Awesome Hulk
We don’t know who the totally awesome Hulk is yet (it’s probably Amadeus Cho), but we’re fairly confident the series will be totally awesome. Greg Pak had a masterful run on both the Incredible Hulk and its spinoff title Incredible Hercules and I’m confident his new Hulk will be just as fun and exciting. Totally Awesome Hulk looks like a more lighthearted version of the not so Jolly Green Giant, something that Pak is capable of bringing in spades. Joining Pak is Frank Cho, who’s still capable of producing some of the most gorgeous art in comics. Plus, Cho on artwork almost guarantees that we’ll see a Hulk vs. dinosaur showdown at some point.
Which All-New, All-Different Marvel Comic are you most excited to read? Let us know in the comments!
