Dearest readers,
One of the all-time crossover arcs in the Marvel Universe was Avengers vs X-Men, a massive event that has had lasting effects on the characters, teams and story arcs ever since. A great summary (with many spoilers) is available at Wikipedia.
Much of the story is available in trades Avengers vs X-Men on Amazon
…but I prefer reading on Marvel Unlimited. Here is a clickable list of links to the books that make up the story in order.
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Until next time,
Excelsior!!!
Greetings crime fighters -
Avengers Arena (Wikipedia) is an amazing series that is the comic book equivalent of a Netflix Original! In a reality-tv-style on Murderworld run by the villain Arcade, 16 young heroes fight in a kill-or-be-killed scenario. The full 18 issue run is now available on Marvel Unlimited.
Hello super fans,
Thor proved to be a powerhouse at the box office, and with Marvel’s announcement that Thor is losing his hammer, it seems like a great time to cover some important appearances of the character on Marvel Unlimited.
From his first appearance in Journey Into Mystery #83 on into his own modern volumes and membership in the Avengers, Thor’s played a pivotal role as a powerful “God” in the Marvel universe. A number of mini-series and crossover arcs concentrated on Thor and characters from Asgard. The Marvel Wikia has a great article on his alter ego, Donald Blake, with a nice explanation of how Thor became Donald Blake (and not the other way around as first shown). This is an early silver age story that was retconned in 1983 (Thor #337).
From the Description of JIM #83
Introducing...the Mighty Thor! The most exciting super hero of all time! When the Stone-Men from Saturn invade Earth, only the lame Dr. Donald Blake can stop them -- but he stands no chance, not until he strikes a wooden stick on the ground and finds himself transformed into Thor, God of Thunder! Watch as Thor learns how to wield his hammer in battle! Only this new hero can save the Earth from being conquered!
Thor has such a wealth of appearances and incredible stories, it would be hard to pick the best among them to do story arc link lists, so suggest your favorites in the comments and the top picks will be done in an upcoming post! Here are a few popular early issues: Avengers #1, Thor #126 (continued numbering from Journey Into Mystery #125), and Thor #165 (Galactus).
Do you have favorite silver age Thor stories? Please share them in the comments below! Amazon has great trade paperbacks for Thor, including the Essential Thor Volume 1 for less than $10. Check out their full offerings today!
Until next time,
Excelsior!!!
Article resources included: Stack Exchange on Thor, Marvel Wikia on Donald Blake (Earth-616), Bleeding Cool Best Thor Issues and Comic Vine (many pages).
Greetings Mutant Lovers,
All-New X-Men has been a fun ride thus far and now the first 20 issues are available on Marvel Unlimited in case you’ve wanted to sample the title without spending a penny.
Click the image or hyperlink below to see the list of issues available on Marvel Unlimited.
All-New X-Men on Marvel Unlimited
If you love Jean Grey, you’ll enjoy teen Jean and the rest of the teen mutants learning to deal with both their own powers and the ramifications of seeing their own futures turn out in ways they couldn’t have imagined.
Many of the early story arcs are available on Amazon.com for great prices, click here to search for All-New X-Men and support this blog at the same time.
Until next time,
Excelsior!!!
All-New X-Men Wikipedia Dump
Following Cyclops's escape from prison after the war with the Avengers, he, Emma Frost, Magik and Magneto begin a crusade against mutant persecution, freeing mutants who are being held prisoner after their powers have manifested, violently striking out at the humans responsible at the same time.
As the other X-Men bemoan their inability to strike back at Cyclops's actions without triggering a mutant civil war, a frustrated comment by Iceman about how the past Cyclops wouldn't tolerate his present self's actions inspires Beast to take action; he travels back in time to the early days of the Xavier Institute shortly after Professor X has taken a leave of absence and Beast's younger self was about to temporarily leave the X-Men for the first time to recruit their assistance, informing them that Cyclops must come to the future to stop himself from committing mutant genocide.
Read more at Wikipedia's All-New X-Men article.
Dearest Heroes (and Villains!) —
By now you’ve probably read all about the Marvel and Netflix marriage, or so you thought; however, there are some really cool things that many people have missed out on:
GPAnalysis data on a 9.2 Hero for Hire #1:
Per Latintimes.com:
"Daredevil" will run for 13 episodes and is slated to premiere in 2015 on Netflix. This new show will be followed by four additional Marvel series about the characters Iron Fist, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. These will lead into a unified series called "The Defenders."
Now is a great time to read up on these characters with Marvel Unlimited, but the most classic stories of Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Jessica Jones are not on Marvel Unlimited, so I’d recommend getting into any of the wonderful trade paperbacks on Amazon using the links below.
Daredevil on Amazon
Iron Fist on Amazon
Jessica Jones on Amazon
Luke Cage on Amazon
Defenders on Amazon
The Defenders is available on Marvel Unlimited. Click the image below to go to issue #1 for free reading with a subscription.
Are you looking forward to these Netflix series? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Until next time,
Excelsior!!!
Welcome,
If you’re a fan of X-23, you aren’t alone. For a character used in a cartoon, she’s grown into a beloved part of Marvel’s continuity. The story in Nyx is interesting, and well worth checking out. NYX stands for District X, New York City, also known as “Mutant Town.”
X-23 was created for the X-Men: Evolution animated television series before being brought into comics. X-23 first appears in episode #41 (season 3, episode 11) of the program titled "X-23."
X-23 Wikipedia Dump
A top-secret program is tasked to replicate the original Weapon X experiment that bonded adamantium to the skeleton of Wolverine. The project is taken in a new direction: Doctor Martin Sutter recruits renowned mutant geneticist Doctor Sarah Kinney to develop a clone of Wolverine.
Since the only genetic sample from Weapon X is damaged, Kinney is unable to salvage the Y chromosome. Kinney proposes the creation of a female genetic twin; her request is denied. Sutter's protege Doctor Zander Rice, whom he has raised after Rice's father was killed by the original Weapon X, is opposed to the idea. After 22 failed attempts at reconstituting the DNA using a duplicate X chromosome, the 23rd sample yields a viable sample to combine with an embryo. Although Kinney is allowed to proceed, Rice exacts revenge for her insubordination by forcing her to act as the surrogate mother of the specimen. For nine months, Kinney's every move is monitored; finally, she gives birth to "X-23".
Read more at Wikipedia's X-23 article.
Her first appearance is in issue #3 below, you can click the hyperlink text or the issue cover. Below you’ll find links to the collected editions on Amazon.
Until next time,
Excelsior!!!
Hello heroes,
Many of the Marvel NOW launches are now on Marvel Unlimited, and Cable and X-Force is one of my favorites.
The first 17 issues are online as part of MU right now, and you can see them by clicking the link above or the image below.
As a series, it’s got a nice long story arc and it features Hope Summers, a fun mutant that was the placeholder for Jean Grey (to me) until they brought her back from the past.
This volume ends its run at #19 and folds into the new X-Force series that started February 2014.
Until next time,
Excelsior!!!
Greetings comic book lovers,
A common complaint among diehard fanboys (and fangirls!) boils down to continuity. In fiction, continuity is the consistent existence (or explanation) of something, like the origin of a character, a superhero’s powers, or something as simple as the real name of a character. For decades publishers have altered aspects of characters quite a bit, but usually those changes were gradual or even outside-of-canon to fit a specific story. Important elements, like the fact that Spider-Man’s Uncle Ben died as a result of his inaction or that Superman comes from Krypton were unchanging. While most of us like a good parallel universe story, such as those in What If? it’s the reboots and renumbering that can be off-putting.
Retcon is short for retroactive continuity, meaning previously established continuity is changed, often disregarding other stories that would not work if the retcon had been in place. Sometimes the retcon occurs because editors or writers change and planned plots are abandoned. A recent post on Facebook reportedly shows a list plots by issue for Uncanny X-Men by John Byrne that extended more than a dozen issues past his last (#143).
There have been some really clever retcons, and more than a few that I loved to see happen. When Jean Grey was brought back because “Phoenix” wasn’t really Jean, I loved it. In fact, many of the back-to-life retcons are ones that fans love the most. The current All-New X-Men with teen Jean brought from the past into the present by Beast is a clever way to bring her back after her most recent death.
On the other hand, while I hated to see him die, the Colossus “death” retcon screamed “soap opera death” in every way.
Here’s a great list of retcons (as well as abandoned plots) from the website Comic Book Resources - a great site for a wide range of comics news.
Have a favorite (or most-hated) retcon? Anger about the New 52 or Marvel.NOW events? Tell me about it in the comments!
Until next time,
Excelsior!!!
Dig it. Captain America, one of the all-time great comic book heroes and an iconic symbol for the United States, Marvel Comics and fandom is back to all-time levels of popularity thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. With Marvel Unlimited, you can read many of the greatest stories about Cap, including the Winter Soldier arcs. Check out my friend Dave’s page at Comic Book Herald featuring a large reading order list of Captain America-related titles.
This story has it all: the end of a hero, the Red Skull, Winter Soldier, the Falcon, Black Widow, Sharon Carter and chaos gripping the American people! Mass insanity and even the “new” Captain America struggling to live up to the legacy of our fallen hero. Indeed, true believers, this set of issues will lead you through the excitement of this gripping story that will have you binge reading!
Captain America (2004) #25
Captain America (2004) #26
Captain America (2004) #27
Captain America (2004) #28
Captain America (2004) #29
Captain America (2004) #30
Captain America (2004) #31
Captain America (2004) #32
Captain America (2004) #33
Captain America (2004) #34
Captain America (2004) #35
Captain America (2004) #36
Captain America (2004) #37
Captain America (2004) #38
Captain America (2004) #39
Captain America (2004) #40
Captain America (2004) #41
Captain America (2004) #42
It was a classic within a couple of years of publishing, and only gets better with age. Enjoy!
Until next time,
Excelsior!!!
The merciless Kree and the shape-changing Skrulls have gone to war and Earth has been caught in the crossfire! Can The Avengers bring about an end to the fighting before humanity becomes a casualty of war?
This 9-issue story is a silver age classic that laid the foundation for Marvel’s cast of (regular) extraterrestrial beings that continue on through today. The Marvel Universe is filled with aliens from Alpha Centaurians through the Z’nox, with both benevolent and badass beings all in-between! Watch for the upcoming “Best of Symbiotes” for a great listing of issues on Marvel Unlimited covering everyone’s favorite modern Spider-Man villain.
Use the links below to get to individual issues on Marvel Unlimited.
Avengers #89 - The Only Good Alien Is A Dead Alien
Avengers #90 - Judgement Day
Avengers #91 - Take One Giant Step Backward
Avengers #92 - All Things Must End
Avengers #93 - This Beach-Head Earth
Avengers #94 - Behold the Mandroids
Avengers #95 - Avenger vs Inhuman
Avengers #96 - The Andromeda Swarm
Avengers #97 - Godhood’s End
A trade paperback of these issues is available from Amazon:
Until next time,
Excelsior!!!
Greetings crime fighters,
If you’re a fan of Marvel, you’ve undoubtedly been exposed to the vast array of alternate universes and timelines that have served as plot device for several decades. Whether in the pages of a “What If?” issue like the one linked below or as part of a bigger story foundation like the timelines where Days of Future Past and Cable began, alternate universes and timelines have become a powerful way to alter the mythos of long-established characters without damaging the integrity of our favorite backstories.
In the coming months, we’ll revisit some previous posts, both canon and non-canon, and introduce link lists for many more. Suggestions are welcomed, so be sure to send your favorite What If stories and multi-issue events.
Thanks to Marve’s Wikia, many of the alternate worlds presented have official Earth- designations, such as Earth-199999, the Marvel Cinematic Universe shared by the Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Thor and Avengers movies.
This Wikipedia article on the Marvel Multiverse gives an overview of the concepts and lists a few of the best-known universes. Unfortunately, the Official Marvel Handbook: Alternate Universes is not available digitally. That just adds more fun to us as we find and document the best stories of this type from the past 50 years!
To get started, go back and enjoy the Age of Apocalypse link list.
Until next time,
Excelsior!!!
Comic book readers,
This blog was created because of Marvel Unlimited and I’ve said ever since that they should be paying me because their search features SUCK. That being said, it’s still a wonderful service and right now you can subscribe and get your first month for just 99¢ so it’s never been a better time to sign up!
For more details, visit Marvel’s promotion page and announcement. The deal is in conjunction with SXSW’s interactive 2014.
Until next time,
Excelsior!!!
“This is far from my favorite Marvel event, but there are some important, lasting repercussions that come out of Chaos War. Trade reading order and an issue by issue checklist are included below for your reading pleasure.”Chaos War #1
Dearest comic book fans,
I love Fantomex - the costume, the backstory and his role in many pivotal plots of the last few years = pure awesomeness.
From the Marvel Universe Wiki:
| The product of a mating between his mother and a machine, Charlie-Cluster 7 was born in the World, a secret square mile of experimental micro-reality built by the military industrial complex. In the World, artificially evolved super-soldiers destined to serve mankind during the inevitable war between humans and mutants were bred and trained by the Weapon Plus Program. The World’s scientists heated up time itself until it flowed in all directions at once. Into this pliant, fast-moving substance, they introduced human test groups, whose genetic material was crudely spliced with adaptive Nano-Sentinel technology, and ran the result through half a million years of cyborg mutation in eighteen months. Charlie’s nervous system was extracted and mutated into the autonomous entity named E.V.A. The thirteenth of the Program's living “Weapons,” which counted among their earlier numbers the star-spangled Avenger Captain America as the first and the mutant hero Wolverine as the tenth, Fantomex was to serve together with Huntsman (Weapon XII), Ultimaton (Weapon XV), and others in the Super-Sentinels, a group of highly efficient mutant-hunters posing as a group of super-heroes modeled after Saturday morning cartoons. |
Here are some of the issues he’s appeared in:
New X-Men #128 (First Appearance)
New X-Men #143-145 (Origin Story, Not on Marvel Unlimited)
Weapon X #23 (Origin Story w/Wolverine)
Uncanny X-Force #5-7 (Deathlok Nation)
Uncanny X-Force #27 (Death, Not on Marvel Unlimited)
Until next time,
Excelsior!!!
Comic book fans,
The one true Black Queen has returned, and she wants nothing less than every soul of mutantkind...dead or alive.
Until next time,
Excelsior!!!
PS - Check out Amazon Prime - 30 day free trial - it costs you nothing and has a great collection of fantasy series and movies including The Avengers movie! There is no charge to your credit card if you quit within 30 days and the program also features free 2-day delivery on 100,000+ items in the Amazon catalog.
Nyx - Original Series Collected on Amazon
