After years of relaunch after relaunch and event after event, #MarvelComics has finally started gaining speed again lately, under their new editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski. They've promised to stop with the relaunches, and to allow their creators to tell the stories they want to tell-- something that's been lost over the last couple of years. We do have a new event coming up-- #TheWaroftheRealms, but it feels earned as Jason Aaron has been slowly building up to it for almost 7 years now. I've been reading a lot of Marvel titles lately, and I've been enjoying all of them-- but there are couple that really stand out to be. Examples of comics that feel truly great. So, I figured I'd go over my 5 favorite Marvel Comics I'm currently reading, in order from great to best. These are by no means the only comics I'm reading, they're just the ones that I'm most excited to pick up every time I go to the comic book store. So, let's get started...
5. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
After a decade or so of some pretty out-of-character writing from Dan Slott (who has now taken that style to Tony Stark: Iron Man), it's nice to see Peter Parker back to the basics again-- no longer a sort-of genius billionaire, he's just a normal guy living in NY... who's also #SpiderMan. It's got the perfect blend of old and new, but most importantly, it feels like Spider-Man again. It's written by Nick Spencer, the guy behind Secret Empire... but also the one behind The Superior Foes of Spider-Man, The Astonishing Ant-Man, and Secret Avengers. He's a great writer who especially does well with comedy, which he brings in spades to this book. The main artist for the book is Ryan Ottley, doing his first ever Marvel comics work (he's most well-known for Invincible at Image Comics). His art style fits Spider-Man perfectly, it's energetic and bright, and is the perfect level of stylized for the character. But, he's also been joined by some other fantastic artists like Humberto Ramos, Chris Bachalo, and Michelle Bandini. Peter Parker hasn't felt like himself in so long that it's just so nice to read a Spider-Man comic that feels like a Spider-Man comic.
4. DOCTOR STRANGE
This one was the most surprising on this list. I picked up #DoctorStrange #1 mostly out of a desire to stay caught up with the character due to his prominence in the MCU, but I was surprised to find that it's actually a great book. Written by famous comic scribe Mark Waid (he's written the likes of Daredevil, Justice League, Avengers, Black Widow, Captain America, etc etc...) and drawn (mostly) by rising star Jesus Saiz, Doctor Strange really understands what makes the character tick. Jason Aaron's run was good, but his choice to "kill all magic" did result in Strange making a significant move down the power scale, and took away a lot of what we all want in a Strange book: weird, crazy magic. Waid's new run keeps Aaron's idea of magic having consequences, but returns Strange to his former glory in exciting new ways. He goes up against foes new and old, and Saiz's art is magnificent. It has a very realistic style to it, but it somehow works perfectly with the weirdness of Strange's world.
3. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
My opinion for the #GuardiansoftheGalaxy has fluctuated a good bit in the last couple of years. It's grown exponentially in the MCU ever since 2014 with Guardians of the Galaxy, and continued to do so with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. But, in the comics, there was an opposite effect: I slowly lost more and more interest in the Guardians over the last couple of years. The reason is simply that they were always trying too hard to be the movie Guardians-- a perfect example is when they relaunched the title in 2017 as "All-New Guardians of the Galaxy", but there was nothing new about them-- it was the exact same 5 team members, if anything they were more like their movie counterparts. I love them in the movies, don't get me wrong. But, I expect something different for their comics. And I'm happy to say that that's exactly what Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw have delivered with this new run. We're still pretty early on, but so far the story is really fresh and interesting, but the best part is the team. Star-Lord and Groot are still there, but it's packed with a whole new set of members-- Beta Ray Bill, Cosmic Ghost Rider, Quasar, and Moondragon. It's an exciting new line-up that teases a bold new direction for the franchise-- and one that I'm very excited to see play out.
2. DAREDEVIL
When Marvel announced that Chip Zdarsky would be writing #Daredevil, I was instantly skeptical. Don't get me wrong, Zdarsky's a great writer-- but wasn't he the one behind Howard the Duck? Sex Criminals? Spectacular Spider-Man? He's so known for lighter, more comedic comics, so how would he fit with a character like Matt Murdock? Boy, was I wrong to doubt him. So, so wrong. Daredevil #1 is AMAZING, and it'd be my favorite Marvel comic running right now if it weren't for the next one on the list. Zdarsky's writing is phenomenal, he's demonstrated an incredible understanding of what makes a great Daredevil story. It's so good, that's it even helped to fill in the void left by the Daredevil Netflix series. Marco Checchetto's artwork is nothing short of spectacular as well-- he nails the gritty, dark tone and does an amazing job drawing the action and expressions on characters' faces. So: if you are not currently reading Zdarsky's Daredevil, DROP EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING AND READ IT RIGHT NOW.
1. IMMORTAL HULK
I can't stop thinking about how incredible Al Ewing's #ImmortalHulk is. The idea to take the Hulk back to his earliest horror roots is nothing short of brilliant, and exactly the breath of fresh air the character was needing. The best way to describe this book is atmospheric. Reading it, I forget that anything else exists, it pulls you in instantly. It's intense, dark, and, well, creepy. Before now, I never thought the Hulk could be so unnerving. It reminds me a lot of Tom King's run on Vision, in how creepy it can be. This book has been pretty non-stop great since the start, at the time of this article's writing, I've read #13 issues of it. I'm very excited to see where this title goes in the future, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good horror comic-- or just a good comic in general. I'm confident this will go on to become a character-defining run for the Hulk or years to come.
But that about does it-- I'd love to hear what kind of Marvel Comics you guys are reading, and what your favorites are. Let me know in the comments below, thanks for reading, and I'll see you all next time.
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