February is the month of love. And wouldn’t you know it, we found 10 things in the Marvel Solicits for February 2021 that we are just smitten with.
Open The Vault
We here in the Xavier Files Media Empire are big fans of the Mike Carey arc “Supernovas”. We are big fans of the best Wolverine. And we were big fans of Hickman & Silva’s X-Men #5. A year after going in, Synch, Darwin, and Wolverine are coming out of the Vault. It’s been a long time.
X-MEN #18
JONATHAN HICKMAN (W) • MAHMUD ASRAR (A) • Cover by LEINIL FRANCIS YUINSIDE THE VAULT!
It’s been a long time since the team went into the vault. A long time.
Raising Voices
The Marvel’s Voices one-shots have been great anthologies highlighting marginalized creators of all backgrounds and deliberately making space for their work. This edition shines a spotlight on Black creators including established folks like Ho Che Anderson and Ken Lashley, and up and coming talent like Danny Lore and Stephanie Williams. This is an all-star cast who’s work can’t be missed.
MARVEL’s VOICES: Legacy #1
HO CHE ANDERSON, DANNY LORE, NNEDI OKORAFOR, TOCHI ONYEBUCHI, STEPHANIE WILLIAMS AND MORE! (W)
SEAN HILL, VALENTINE DE LANDRO, KEN LASHLEY AND MORE! (A) • Cover by TAURIN CLARKECELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH IN MIGHTY MARVEL STYLE!
Black Panther. Storm. Blade. Falcon. Ironheart. Luke Cage. Spectrum. And so many more. Marvel’s incredible legacy of black heroes gets the star treatment in this action-packed special! New and established creators take on their favorite heroes in a dizzying array of stories designed to inspire and uplift! The Marvel’s Voices program is your #1 stop for “the world outside your window” – don’t sleep on this one!
Unleash The Power
It’s the cult classic that everyone knows from crossing over with all those 80s X-Men events, Power Pack! This second volume collects the back half of their original series, as well as appearances and stories from the 80s to now. A fun collection for fans of Weezy and June’s beloved family.
POWER PACK CLASSIC OMNIBUS VOL. 2
Written by LOUISE SIMONSON, JULIANNA JONES, STEVE HEYER, JON BOGDANOVE, TERRY AUSTIN, JUDITH BOGDANOVE, DWAYNE MCDUFFIE, MICHAEL HIGGINS, SETH KRUCHOW, SHON C. BURY, JONATHAN HICKMAN, DEVIN GRAYSON & MORE
Penciled by SAL VELLUTO, JON BOGDANOVE, JUNE BRIGMAN, WHILCE PORTACIO, TOD SMITH, GRAY MORROW, MIKE MANLEY, ERNIE COLÓN, STEVE BUCCELLATO, TOM MORGAN, CHRIS WOZNIAK, COLLEEN DORAN, NEIL EDWARDS, NICK DRAGOTTA, MARIKA CRESTA & MORE
COVERS BY JON BOGDANOVE & JUNE BRIGMAN
Share the growing pains of Marvel’s super-powered siblings, Power Pack! Still getting used to their mixed-up abilities, Alex, Julie, Jack and Katie take on an old foe — with help from the New Mutants! But the Bogeyman becomes more monstrous than ever amid a demonic invasion that changes everything! The Punisher drops by, Franklin Richards returns and the Pack heads to space for a revelation-filled rematch with the Snarks! The kids struggle with peer pressure, pollution and puberty — and Alex goes through some very unexpected changes! But will the Powers’ powers ever go back to normal? Collecting POWER PACK (1984) #37-62, EXCALIBUR (1988) #29, POWER PACK HOLIDAY SPECIAL #1, POWER PACK (2000) #1-4, FANTASTIC FOUR (1998) #574, FF (2011) #15, POWER PACK (2017) #63, POWER PACK: GROW UP! and material from MARVEL SUPER-HEROES (1990) #6 and MARVEL FANFARE (1982) #55.
Annihilation Wave
Al Ewing and Juann Cabal have proven themselves to be the true successors to the DnA era of Cosmic Marvel. In Guardians Of The Galaxy #11 the team will weave their new mythology with that beloved era as Nova, Star-Lord, and Gamora face their trauma from the Annihilation War. And the Olympians are NOT happy about it.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #11
Al Ewing (W) • Juann Cabal (A) • Cover by Rafael AlbuquerqueTHE GODS ARE COMING!
• The Olympian gods are returning to our universe – and they’re taking their exile at Peter Quill’s hands very personally.
• To stop them, the Guardians return to the place the team was born… but will facing their past in the Annihilation War help them survive their future?
• Everything changes in TWO…
Cable’s Getting Lucky
They’ve got a long history, a long history, but Cable and Domino are teaming back up. Each of them has gone through a ton in the Krakoan era separately, so it’s going to be a blast to see their new dynamic in Cable #6.
CABLE #8
GERRY DUGGAN (W) • PHIL NOTO (A/C)LUCKY TO MEET YOU!
Cable gets together with his – ahem – intimate friend Domino long before they ever met! Will it be a fortunate encounter? Or has Cable met his match?
Giant-Size Man-Thing
A giant book for a giant thing. Everyone’s second favorite swamp monster and favorite school yard joke gets collected in a 1,200-page tome filled to the brim with 70s swampy stories. Get in on the classic, unless you are afraid. Because, as you well know, all those who know fear burn at the touch of the Man-Thing.
MAN-THING OMNIBUS
Written by ROY THOMAS, GERRY CONWAY, STEVE GERBER, TONY ISABELLA, LEN WEIN, MARV WOLFMAN, CHRIS CLAREMONT, RALPH MACCHIO, MICHAEL FLEISHER, DOUG MCKENZIE & J.M. DEMATTEIS
Penciled by GRAY MORROW, JOHN BUSCEMA, RICH BUCKLER, JIM STARLIN, VAL MAYERIK, MIKE PLOOG, ALFREDO ALCALA, VICENTE ALCAZAR, RICO RIVAL, ED HANNIGAN, RON WILSON, JIM MOONEY, TOM SUTTON, JOHN BYRNE, DON PERLIN, GENE COLAN, LARRY HAMA & PAT BRODERICK
Covers by ARIEL OLIVETTI & FRANK BRUNNER Neither wholly plant nor animal, neither entirely self-aware nor totally non-sentient, the creature called the Man-Thing is unique, unchanging and alone — but none who encounter him can ever be the same again. Empathic by nature and drawn to fight evil, his shambling visage inspires fear — and whatever knows fear burns at the Man-Thing’s touch! Whether danger rises from the swamp or the city, the past or the future, outer space or the human soul, the Man-Thing awaits! Collecting ASTONISHING TALES (1970) #12-13, FEAR #11-19, MAN-THING (1974) #1-22, GIANT-SIZE MAN-THING #1-3, INCREDIBLE HULK (1968) #197-198, MARVEL TEAM-UP (1972) #68, MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE (1974) #43, MAN-THING (1979) #1-11 and DOCTOR STRANGE (1974) #41 — plus material from SAVAGE TALES (1971) #1, FEAR #10, GIANT-SIZE MAN-THING #4-5, MONSTERS UNLEASHED (1973) #5 and #8-9 and RAMPAGING HULK (1977) #7.
Gwenpool v M.O.D.O.K.: Dawn Of Just Ass
The Krakoan all-star, Gwendoline Poole, battles her first villain, a very large head in a floating chair. Jordan Blum and Patton Oswalt are the creative minds behind Hulu’s upcoming M.O.D.O.K., and this series promises to be a different monster entirely. Plus this Cully Hamner cover is just delightful.
M.O.D.O.K.: HEAD GAMES #3 (OF 4)
JORDAN BLUM, PATTON OSWALT (W)
SCOTT HEPBURN (A)
Cover by CULLY HAMNERM.O.D.O.K.’s visions of a life he never had are getting stronger. What is the lie, and what is the truth? And will M.O.D.O.K. be driven even more insane as he tears his mind apart in the pursuit of those memories?! Either way, with a recent hit put out against him and the unhinged mercenary known as GWENPOOL on his tail, M.O.D.O.K. has got to act fast to untangle the mystery within his head before Gwenpool finds a way to splatter his brains across the floor!
Black, White, & Read All Over
Wolverine: Black, White & Blood is all about showing off fantastic artists, and the final installment is no different. Paulo Siquiera, Khary Randolph, & Leonard Kirk make up the team for this ultimate installment. The writers promise Japan, Australia, and the Savage Land in a globe-trotting adventure of violence.
WOLVERINE: BLACK, WHITE & BLOOD #4 (OF 4)
STEVEN S. DEKNIGHT, KELLY THOMPSON & ED BRISSON (W)
PAULO SIQUIERA, KHARY RANDOLPH & LEONARD KIRK (A) • Cover by KHARY RANDOLPHBRUTAL BATTLES WITH THE UNBREAKABLE MUTANT!
The bloody, brutal mayhem continues! Steven S. DeKnight makes his debut in the Marvel Universe as he teams up with Paulo Siquiera to put the best there is through his paces on a bloody trip to the SAVAGE LAND! Kelly Thompson teams with Khary Randolph for a heartfelt — and heart-pounding — episode in Japan! And Ed Brisson takes LOGAN back to the Outback with Leonard Kirk, where he’ll go up against the REAVERS!
Avenge Me!
Acts Of Vengeance is that good kind of dumb. Spider-Man fights a souped up Sentinel, Wolverine prepares for his battle with sentient cocaine, and Jim Lee draws ninjas. You know already if you are the target audience for this.
ACTS OF VENGEANCE: SPIDER-MAN & THE X-MEN TPB
Written by DAVID MICHELINIE, GERRY CONWAY, ARCHIE GOODWIN, JAMES D. HUDNALL, LOUISE SIMONSON & CHRIS CLAREMONT
Penciled by COLLEEN DORAN, ERIK LARSEN, TODD MCFARLANE, SAL BUSCEMA, ALEX SAVIUK, JOHN BYRNE, JOHN CALIMEE, ROB LIEFELD, JIM LEE & TERRY SHOEMAKER
Cover by TODD MCFARLANE
Loki’s villainous machinations pit Spider-Man and the X-Men against unfamiliar foes! Spidey has his hands full with powerful sparring partners like Graviton, Magneto and the terrifying Tri-Sentinel — but when a cosmic upgrade boosts his powers, the ruthless Doctor Doom puts the web-slinger in his crosshairs! Meanwhile, the X-Men take on the Mandarin — and Psylocke is transformed! Teeth meet claws when Wolverine battles Tiger Shark! Nitro and the Vulture target the New Mutants’ Rusty and Skids! And it’s tyrant vs. trickster when Apocalypse faces Loki! Plus: Alpha Flight tackles an unholy alliance of super villains — including Nekra, the Scorpion and the Owl! Collecting AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1963) #326-329, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN (1976) #158-160, WEB OF SPIDER-MAN (1985) #59-61 and #64-65, WOLVERINE (1988) #19-20, ALPHA FLIGHT (1983) #79-80, NEW MUTANTS (1983) #86, UNCANNY X-MEN (1981) #256-258 and material from X-FACTOR (1986) #50.
Elektra Has Pretty Hair
Listen, the heading says it all here. Look at that curly, ambiguously Greek, mane.
DAREDEVIL #27
CHIP ZDARSKY (W) • MARCO CHECCHETTO & MIKE HAWTHORNE (A)
Cover by MARCO CHECCHETTOENSNARED IN THE WEB!
• As New York begins to crack under the weight of Knull’s symbiotic assault, Matt Murdock has a crisis of faith in the most electrifying issue of Chip Zdarksy and Marco Checchetto’s groundbreaking DAREDEVIL run yet.
• BUT THIS TIME, they’re joined by none other than MIKE HAWTHORNE, spearheading a brutal story that pits Daredevil against the god-king of the symbiotes himself — KNULL!
Zachary Jenkins co-hosts the podcast Battle of the Atom and is the former editor-in-chief of ComicsXF. Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside all this.
