GHOST WRITES

Tag: marvel-comics

Amalgam-Tober Day 7: Harley “The Clown” Wilson

It took me a weird amount of time to come up with this one, seeing as the idea seems so obvious now that I have. Both crazy, both lethal, a shared love for black and red color schemes with a knack for clownery and a complete dominance over 2016’s pop culture landscape (seriously how many Harley Quinn and Deadpool costumes were sold in 2016? One billion? Two?) – Deadpool and Harley are a perfect amalgamation. Both of them also never really had a fair shot during the original Amalgam Universe, yeah they do have amalgam versions of themselves, but neither had yet to be as immensely popular as they are now.

The design for this one was maybe the easiest time I’ve had with one of these while also coming out the cleanest. The two costumes already compliment each other so well it felt hard to mess up. I tried out some more action poses, especially trying to incorporate a big mallet into the final piece but it quickly became clear to me that I wanted this to be precise, clear and clean.

For a character biography I don’t have anything super clever. Harley Wilson, a young woman who wants to follow her fathers footsteps and join the army, is forced to become a government psychiatrist, treating soldiers and POWs alike when she doesn’t get accepted into the army for being “too weak”. Jealous and envious of her clients, she becomes enamored with two of the most brutal soldiers who’ve ever lived; Logan Wayne and Creed Quinn. She slowly loses herself in this obsession and, with inside knowledge of the government’s now-disbanded Weapon X program, obtains a vial of both their blood and injects it into herself – giving her great healing abilities.

Now, with her obsession of the two men at an all time high and her powers finally giving her the power to do anything she’s ever wanted. She tracks the two men down and tries to befriend them, knowing full well they’re now mortal enemies. This is where I want to mirror some of their main-line-continuity counterparts; Darkclaw is completely irked by her, in the same vein that Logan is irked by Wade – But The Hyena is smitten by the attention and kind of takes her under his wing like Joker does Harley. This also creates a fun dynamic where Hyena has this sidekick with him that – while sharing his obsession for Darkclaw – does not share his bloodlust, and will always avoid killing Darkclaw if Hyena gets too close (I also imagine that sort of ends in a similar way that the mainline Harley and Joker ends with her becoming more of her own character and splitting from Hyena).

This is one of my favorites I’ve done just because it’s so perfectly simple. The design and the backstory just came out in one go and I really enjoy that. Thanks for reading and hope you come back for tomorrow’s entry.

October 7, 2025
Amalgam-Tober Day 6: The Knight Without Fear

I made a promise to myself when I started this project that I’d try to include as many “new” characters as possible in these amalgams. I wanted to focus on those that didn’t even exist yet when the original Amalgam Universe was born. What I didn’t realize was that I was going to include characters this new. But after reading the freshly released “One Cold Day In Hell” by Charles Soule and Steve Mcniven, the inspiration was hard to ignore.

I have been really struggling with Amalgamizing (is that a word? It is now!) Batman and Daredevil. The two just belong together, they just… fit. They are pieces of the same puzzle. You’ve probably seen the many posts comparing the two and how they should swap names since bats are blind and use echo location similar to Daredevil and Batman is just a guy jumping around rooftops so he should be a Daredevil yadda yadda yadda – and no matter how baseline that idea might be, it is kind of fun to explore. But it all just felt a little too obvious. I needed an angle, and after reading “One Cold Day In Hell”, I had my angle.

“CDIH” – as I will now be referring to it as – is a Dark Knight Returns pastiche. The old hero returns for a final outing, inspiring the next generation alongside a young girl. There is obviously more to either story but it boils down to the same thing and both books do it very well. So, as an homage to an homage, I pushed together two of the most iconic pieces of Frank Miller imagery and Steve McNiven’s tweaked Daredevil design and created today’s AmalgamTober entry.

I started off the design with a much more frail looking figure akin to Matt’s appearance in “CDIH” but quickly realized that I was just drawing Daredevil with a bat on his chest. Thus I switched to that more bulky and square Old Man Bruce design, it needed an extra element to drive home that this is Matt and Bruce together and not just a weird Daredevil design. An unintentional comparison that this color scheme and design evokes is that of the original Batman designs drawn up by Bob Kane, who shared a similar red suit and big belt. Now I’m not a big fan of Bob Kane, so don’t take this as an endorsement, but I did sort of lean into it as a fun nod.

Finally I also added the blindfold around his eyes. I always enjoy a Daredevil design that forgoes the eyes on his helmet, it adds to the whole blind justice angle that makes the character interesting as well as making him just generally stand out among his many, MANY, peers. It adds a level of fluidity to the piece that I like, not to mention that I couldn’t get the angle of the eyes right and just kind of gave up!

I hope you enjoy today’s piece and I hope you check out “Daredevil: Cold Day In Hell” – which I assume will be collected early next year in trade?

October 6, 2025
Amalgam-Tober Day 5: The Absolute Immortal Mindfucker

A rare three-way-multi-dimensional Amalgam, The Absolute Martian Mindfucker is an amalgamation of The Hulk, Martian Manhunter and his Absolute counterpart. When I started off this amalgam, I wasn’t planning on touching on the Absolute version of the character. I had originally started off just combining Bruce Banner and J’onn J’onzz; the transforming that both characters can do, while juxtaposing the involuntary and grotesque nature of The Hulk with the voluntary and often more “cool” nature of Martian Manhunter really attracted me to this combination but then when I started thinking about backstory more pieces fell into place and I realised just how perfectly this could work.

An alien, whose homeworld has been destroyed, is sent out into space as a last ditch effort of survival. On his search for a habitable world he finds Earth, a planet entirely similar to his original home world, including a little spot beaming with the exact radiation that made his home so fertile. Once landed, he finds a barren land of orange sand and dead shrubs, with the only signs of intelligent life being the man-made towers of steel, echoing a strange noise – a countdown. Confused by the new sounds and sights surrounding him, it takes the Martian a few moments to realize there’s a strange creature running at him. Bruce Banner, a human man who holds life sacred so much he’s willing to sacrifice himself to save this alien life-form . The man screams something in a language alien to the martian before pushing him down to the ground as a blast of green light and smoke rips past them. Both of their senses erupt, their bodies are torn to shreds and remade on the spot as gamma radiation courses through their bodies – they change.

This is where my original plan for this character started to diverge. I was planning on taking Martian Manhunter’s origin – Where J’onn meets a kind earth scientist who passes away due to shock from the whole ordeal – and sort of interject Bruce Banner’s origin in the middle of it. Bruce would save J’onn like he did Rick Jones in the original story but die in the process instead of turning into the Hulk. J’onn would then take his place and become Bruce Banner. But then why was there a Hulk? I tried out designs for a skinnier hulk that resembled a Martian (Heavily inspired by Darwyn Cooke’s Martian design from “New Frontier”) but they all came out looking incredibly dull. Not being an Amalgam of anyone but more-so an entirely new character in some iterations while looking too much like J’onn and not enough like Hulk in others.

That’s where Absolute Martian Manhunter comes in. I realized that literally merging the two characters, instead of one becoming the other, would work much better for what I wanted to do. The idea that this Martian would essentially take over Bruce’s body really appealed to me, but instead of being this mental presence guiding Bruce like the Absolute version does to John, my version actually physically takes over when he needs to. It also helps that the Absolute Martian Manhunter has a few physical characteristics that are much easier to smush together with the iconography of the Hulk.

Which brings me to the Immortal parts of this character. Beyond the body horror elements that I implemented, I also want to use some of the motivation from Al Ewing’s time on the character. Ewing imbued the mythos of the green giant with a thick layer of environmentalism – putting the character on a crusade against all those in power who oppose his mission to save the earth. This is the last piece of the puzzle that is the “Absolute Immortal Mindfucker”. With the entire death of his home planet burned in his psyche, the Martian inside Bruce grows increasingly angry at the state of humanity and how careless they are with their planet. Not only does this add a really interesting layer to this character, it also creates that similar tension between Bruce and his inner personality (being the Martian in this iteration instead of the Hulk) that has defined the Hulk mythos.

It took a lot of retrofitting but I’m really happy with the final result. Getting to adapt a more recent creation like Absolute Martian Manhunter is exactly why I so enjoy doing these and I highly recommend reading Deniz Camp’s and Javier Rodriguez’ book if you haven’t done so already! (as well as Immortal Hulk – duh!). Thank you for reading and I hope you check back here tomorrow!

October 5, 2025
Amalgam-Tober Day 4: Blue-Spider (Jaime Morales)

Now this is the real reason I combined Peter Parker and Ted Kord for yesterday’s Amalgam. While those two ultimately fit together very well, putting their legacies together fits even more perfectly. Jaime Reyes’ Blue Beetle and Miles Morales’ Spider-Man are incredibly similar characters. Both young men who stumble on their bug-related-powers by accident, both bilingual, who use their love for anime to make big awesome swords.

While this is a Miles and Jaime Amalgamation first, I do also want to take some parts of Peter Parker’s Spider-Man mythology and mix that into the history of the Blue Spider-Scarab. Mainly I want to take the whole Ezekiel Sims character and kind of turn him into this universe’s Dan Garrett (The Original – Original Blue Beetle). Here’s the mythical history of the Blue Spider-Scarab; Years prior to the first boom of meta-humans, an interstellar race of super-engineers created the Spider as a weapon – a suit that functions both for the Offensive side of combat as it does the Defensive. But when a battle sends the weapon hurdling towards earth, a man finds it and gains the powers of a spider. Battling lowlife thugs and gangsters in the shadows of his city, The Blue-Spider tries to do his best in his battle against evil, but in an age without supervillains, this first Blue-Spider’s career does not go on for long, going down in myth after removing the Spider-Scarab from his body. Yet, the myth is enough to inspire people years down the line; A group of scientists try to recreate the Spider using a synthetic formula injected into a real life spider. But when the Spider escapes and ends up biting a young Ted Parker, Ted reignites the Blue-Spider moniker and dons his very own blue suit.

Years down the line, Ted, now a mega successful inventor who runs Parker Industries to fund his superhero career, is visited by the original Blue-Spider, who tells him all about the original Spider. But Ted’s investigation is cut short when the Spider-Scarab is stolen from his office.

Cut to; Jaime Morales’ cousin gives him a strange, blue, glowing Spider “Paperweight” for his 15th birthday. Jaime’s cousin, Alfonso, works at Parker Industries as a technical consultant and being a little fed up with the job, took Ted’s Spider right from his desk, assuming it’s just some rich guy’s piece of junk. But that night, the spider grants Miles powers beyond his wildest imagination. Now, alongside Ted Parker, Jaime becomes the Blue-Spider!

The design was pretty easy. Miles’ suit is really quite simple, with the chest Spider and Webbing being the only two things that make it a “spider” suit. Taking into account the alien-origin of the suit I decided it’d be best to use Jaime’s suit as the base and put those aforementioned elements from Miles’ suit on top of it. I changed the thick scarab on Jaime’s chest into a spider, as well as the back scarab and had the legs wrap around his body from both sides. I enlarged the beetle eyes into something more akin to the big classic Spider-Man goggles and then added a webshooter to the suit.

While the idea and design were pretty easy, getting the final piece out was a struggle. I could not settle on a pose or style. I had him hanging, jumping, fighting and sticking to walls but all of those poses meant I had to sacrifice necessary details of the suit. That’s why I ended up with quite the boring pose at the end.

Thank you for reading all of this – it’s the longest character biography I’ve given these drawings thus far – and I hope you check out tomorrow’s post as well.

October 4, 2025
Amalgam-Tober Day 3: Blue-Spider (Ted Parker)

When I decided to put Peter Parker together with Ted Kord I did it for a few reasons; One has to remain a mystery till a later date, one is the general bug themed nature of both characters but the more interesting reason is Steve Ditko. Many know Ditko as the creator of Spider-Man, which is without a doubt his biggest creation at Marvel, but it’s lesser known that he is also the mind behind Ted Kord’s Blue Beetle (among other characters for Charlton Comics, who all migrated to the DC Universe after the latter bought the former). I’ve always been interested in putting these characters together beyond just “They’re both evil” or “They both wear red”, and getting to mix in the real life history of comics into these is always a plus.

Obviously today’s piece is based on Spidey’s first appearance on the cover of Amazing Fantasy #15 (drawn by Jack “The King” Kirby funnily enough – not Ditko himself) – an idea I had when I stumbled on the Marvel Redraw account on twitter (does that mean I also amalgamated two art challenges into one?). I combined the titles of “Amazing Fantasy” and “Mystery Men Comics” (in which the original Blue Beetle debuted) but kept most of the overall cover design the same.

The design really came out pretty quickly; I kept the overall color scheme of Ted Kord’s suit while shifting the usual Beetle design on his chest into something more spider-like and making the eye goggles visually similar to that of Spidey’s lenses. Obviously I had to keep a little bit of webbing on the chest because it can’t be a spidey design without webs.

Thanks for checking out today’s Amalgam and I hope you check back tomorrow for another!

October 3, 2025
What To Read: Daredevil: Born Again

We live in a day and age filled with comic book adaptations. Movies starring our favorite superheroes, villains, anti-heroes and pulpy characters seem to pop up every month, tv shows adapting cult classic independent books are released so fast you can barely keep up with it and every now and again they even try to adapt the books we love for the stage (to middling success). Yet the stories that inspire these films and shows often get overlooked. The books that breathe life and color into these – often inferior – adaptations are sometimes completely ignored when a major studio gets their claws into them, a trend that frustrates me endlessly. That’s why I’m starting this series, where we look at upcoming comic book adaptations and discuss the books that inspired them, so you know what to pick up next time you’re in your local comic book shop.

Today we will be looking at Marvel Studios’ latest straight-to-streaming series “Daredevil: Born Again”, a continuation of the original Netflix show that released in 2015. With the episodes that have released so far we know a little of what to expect, but for those who want to know more, this list is for you.

Spoilers for the first 3 episodes of “Daredevil Born Again” from here on out!

Daredevil by Charles Soule

If you want to be prepared for “Born Again”, you need to start here. Charles Soule’s time on the Daredevil title is without a doubt the foundation on which this new season is built, not only introducing you to new-comers like Muse, but it’s also the book that kick-started Wilson Fisk’s reign over New York City, a storyline which will slowly make its way into the MCU in Born Again.

Charles Soule’s run is quite wonderful; After Mark Waid’s took Matt into a lighter and more colorful direction in his critically lauded run on the character, Soule proceeds to rip Matt back into darkness, into the shadows of Hell’s Kitchen all the while sporting an amazing black suit and a gritty new personality. Especially that last part seems to have inspired “Born Again” at least a little, as we know Matt is going to go through some rough shit at the start of the season, dictating his personality for the entire rest of the show.

But it’s not just Matt’s MCU path laid out by Soule’s time on the book, it seems like Wilson Fisk might just be inspired by Soule as well. Soule took Fisk and his dirty operations out from the city’s seedy underbelly and brought him to new levels of power by making The Kingpin of New York City its newest mayor. We obviously saw Fisk becoming the Mayor of New York in the show’s first episode and I’m excited to see how the show tackles his new rise to power. One of my favorite moments from Soule’s time on the book (that I will refrain from spoiling) happens after he’s appointed as New York’s mayor so I truly hope the MCU will do this storyline justice.

The most obvious hint towards a possible Soule adaptation though is Muse’s inclusion in the show. The artistic serial killer introduced by Soule and Ron Garney is making his on-screen debut in the new show, setting the stage for what I can only assume to be some gore-y mayhem.

Soule’s time on the character is a wonderful return to tone, perfect for anyone who loves the Netflix Daredevil series and wants more of that gritty feel. Soule brings a unique flavor to the book with his background as a real lawyer, perfectly balancing the work of Matt and the work of Daredevil into an exciting saga filled with amazing art by a stellar line-up of artists.

Daredevil by Chip Zdarsky

Unlike most of these lists I write, this is mostly a pretty chronological list of books I’m recommending. After Soule quit his time on the Daredevil title came Zdarsky, taking over the saga of Matt Murdock and running with it in a new yet familiar direction. Zdarsky’s Matt is still gritty, still that catholic boy grown up wracked with guilt and anger, but he’s also just sort of beaten down. He’s tired, hurt and broken. All of which catches up to him in a major way when he faces a gang of low-tier street thugs and makes a mistake he can’t turn back. Trailers for Born Again have suggested that Matt will make a similar mistake early on in the show which is where the similarities between these two takes on the character start.

While Soule started Fisk’s reign over New York as Mayor, Zdarsky is the one who fledges it out into the same territory I expect from the MCU. While this might not be super important yet, I can’t imagine this stuff won’t be touched upon later in the show. Maybe that’s in the show’s next season set to release next year or it could be touched upon in other shows / movies as the street-level saga of the MCU starts to take shape.

Zdarsky’s time on the character spans multiple books making it a little bit more difficult to read the entire thing in one go. Essentially, this story is split up over 3 parts; starting with Daredevil (2019) issue #1 which ends and leads into “Devil’s Reign” – the 7 issue event with plethora of tie-in issues that connect to it- and finally ending with 2022’s Daredevil run. Those first two parts are most important for those who wanna get ready for “Born Again” and the future of the MCU. Many of these similar lists will tell you to skip that last part of Zdarsky’s saga as its magical “Hand” focused story might put off those looking for a gritty crime drama, but personally I have to disagree. If you wanna experience Zdarsky’s voice for Matt to its fullest, you need that last stretch to fully make it all make sense, it brings the entire thing together and wraps up one of the most satisfying runs the character has ever had.

The show also includes a bunch of minor characters from Zdarsky’s run; We know we’ll see Cole North in the show, a rough and tough cop who comes after Daredevil in Zdarsky’s run but quickly learns the importance of his role as the Devil Of Hell’s Kitchen. The show’s version of Bullseye seems inspired by Zdarsky’s run as well, with Poindexter donning a suit inspired by Checchetto’s design and newly introduced character Daniel Blake reminds me a lot of Zdarsky creation Butch Farris.

Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis

Now we skip back in time to the early 2000s, way before either Zdarsky or Soule took over on the Daredevil title, before the character had appeared on Netflix and even before Ben Affleck donned the red leather on the big screen. Before all of that we had Brian Michael Bendis’ phenomenal run on the character.

The Bendis era is amazing. It’s Bendis at his best as he effortlessly seemed to create a narrative that spanned 50+ issues without ever taking a breather or having a fill-in issue to pad for time. He draws in from all corners of the Marvel Universe – which he seemed to be running during the early 2000s – to create his own little cohesive street-level world within this larger universe of capes and tights.

The only reason this series isn’t higher on this list is because I just don’t see that much of it factoring in during the MCU’s“Born Again”. Some of Bendis’ storylines might be adapted later on (though I expect that to be more-so a season 3 or 4 story than a season 2 plot) but for now not all of his 50+ issues are exactly important if you want to immerse yourself in the world of the MCU show. What is important to read though is the White Tiger arc, a storyline the show has taken major inspiration from in episode 2 and 3. Sure, there are some differences the show has made that fans might not be entirely agreeing with, but if you want a glimpse at the story of Hector Ayala in the comics, this is the book to pick up.

Nobody does the grit, the angst and the violence of Daredevil better than Bendis, leaving his mark on the character forever, infusing any adaptation off the character with that little extra something that makes Daredevil stand out from the rest of the Marvel universe.

Honorable Mentions

Since the Man Without Fear has such an incredible track record in comics, with an unrivaled amount of classic and critically acclaimed runs under his name, I think it best if I give you all a little run down off other amazing Daredevil stories you should check out, even if they might not tie in with the new show’s story as much as the previous entries have.

Obviously the show takes its title from the seminal “Born Again” arc by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, which might be one of Daredevil’s greatest and most classic stories ever told. Yet the show and the book truly don’t bear any resemblance to each other, with the story instead being the main inspiration for the Netflix show’s third season. Still, picking up “Born Again” cannot do you any harm, it is a truly astounding read and I dare you not to fall in love with Miller and Mazzuccchelli’s work instantly.

Since I put Bendis’ run on here I do also feel like checking out Brubaker’s follow up run is a good idea. Not only do the two stories directly lead into each other, but the book also features the death of Foggy Nelson, a major plot point in the MCU show as we’ve come to learn. If the rest off the book is adapted into the show as well remains to be seen, but no matter what the book is still very solid and the perfect supplement to Bendis’ time on the title.

One of the show’s newest additions to the Daredevil world is that of Kristen McDuffie, whom Matt decides to set up a law-firm with in the show after Foggy’s supposed passing. Kirsten is heavily featured in Mark Waid’s run on Daredevil which – and I understand I am repeating myself here, but Daredevil just has this many hits under his belt – is another modern day classic run on the character.

There are many more incredible Daredevil titles for you to revel in, and I certainly hope you do check out more once you’ve gotten through this list, but for now these are all the books I think you’ll want to read as you dive in Matt’s return to the small screen. Are there any titles you think I’ve missed? And how are you liking the MCU show so far? Let me know in the comments or on my socials and be sure to follow us as to not miss any Daredevil coverage (and believe me, there is more on the way)

March 13, 2025
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man – What’s Next?

The two episode finale of “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” left us with many exciting cliffhangers and set-ups for next season, some obvious and others less-so. Where do we think these storylines could lead to and can we uncover more hidden storylines if we look to the comics for leads? Let’s talk about it.

Before we can really start I do have to say that I won’t be discussing the obvious; Yes, Norman will become Green Goblin. Yes, Lonnie will turn into a more comic accurate Tombstone. Yeah, I also saw the symbiote and Yes, Doc Ock will get his tentacles. Sure, those things are exciting but they’re not super fun to talk about compared to the outlandish theories I have cooked up, hence I’m not touching on them.

Spoiler warning for Season 1 of “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man”

Taskmaster

Last year, way before the show came out, even before we got any official trailers or promo material, I wrote a speculative article on the series trying to piece together what we could expect from its first season. One of my more outlandish theories from that article was a surprise appearance from none-other than Taskmaster, one of Marvel’s most iconic bad guys and a fan favorite for many. Now we obviously didn’t see Taskmaster in the show’s first season but the ending of episode 10 weirdly enough made me more certain we’ll see the skull-faced bad guy in the second season.

See Taskmaster is connected to one of the show’s minor characters; Jeanne Foucault, who we see teaming up with Daredevil at the end of season 1. Jeanne, going by Finesse in the comics, is a gifted Polymath, being able to copy anyone’s fighting abilities in an instance. Obviously these powers are very similar to that of Taskmaster, often implying that he’s Jeanne’s biological father in the comics. Now obviously her inclusion does not have to mean Taskmaster will show up next season, but the fact that the show opted for Jeanne instead of someone like Blindspot, who’s an actual Daredevil sidekick in the comics, leads me to believe Taskmaster has at the very least been discussed by the show’s creative team.

Imagine how cool a team-up episode would be where Daredevil, Finesse and Peter have to face Taskmaster? Tell me you don’t wanna see that!

The Future of W.E.B.

One of the final scenes in season 1’s finale ended with Harry Osborn establishing W.E.B, a tech company set up to help young scientific minds fund their brilliant ideas. We see a list of potential names to join the organization including Ned Leeds; a classic member of Spider-Man’s supporting cast with a headache-inducing amount of lore and retcons to his name – including being the Hobgoblin, and Max Dillon; better known as classic Spider-Man bad guy Electro. Also included are a bunch of the show’s crew members and a wide-array of minor characters from the comics. While those latter additions to the list are far from household names, there is a shared link between some of them; G.I.R.L.

No, that doesn’t mean they’re all girls, it’s actually an acronym for the “Geniuses In Action Research Lab”, another enterprise focused on honing the skills of young scientific minds (though this one only focused on female members). This group is founded by Nadia Van Dyne, daughter of Hank Pym and known as the Unstoppable Wasp in the comics. I’d love to see Spidey team-up with another bug-themed do-gooder and the inclusion of Nadia would be another fun way for the show to differentiate itself from the sacred MCU timeline. I’d also enjoy seeing the W.E.B team face off against the G.I.R.L group as the two strive for scientific dominance.

Fallout of War

Now what you might forget as a viewer is that “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” is basically a “What If…” episode expanded into an entire show. It might be a bit of an unconventional one but the show does explore what would’ve happened to Peter’s life had he not joined team Iron Man during the events of Civil War. While the show never addresses the Sokovia accords and subsequent fallout of the new superhero laws in detail, Civil War is alluded to on several occasions, so much so that I wouldn’t be surprised if the show delves much deeper into this “What If…” in subsequent seasons.

The inclusion of General Ross and Iron Man are my main reason for thinking we might be getting more down the line. Not only is their appearance in the show a sort of random addition, as neither character really interacts with Peter’s story at all, mainly being used as a tool by Norman, but the show also reiterates their importance in the season’s finale. Norman specifically mentions both characters in his speech to Octavius in jail as if the writers really wanted you to remember their inclusion in the show.

We also saw the actual Accords in the show’s final episodes and Cap makes a very minor appearance in the hallways of Oscorp, posing for a picture with Norman that’s hung on the wall for all of his visitors to see. To me it’s clear that the show keeps reminding the viewer that the superhero Civil War happened so people keep it in the back of their minds once season 2 or 3 continues developing the scenario.

The “YFNSM” prequel comic that Marvel has been publishing also established that this version of Peter is a bigger fan of Cap than he is off Tony, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the show decides to retroactively make Pete a member of Team Cap, especially since the webhead is definitely in conflict with the Sokovia Accords as a masked vigilante. I’d love to see what Peter would do once Cap is the first Avenger he meets instead of Tony and if he would join him in a fight against Iron Man.

Future Villains

Now the show has set up a whole heap of exciting new adversaries for Spidey to face next season with the obvious inclusions being more Doc Ock, Green Goblin and a Venom of sorts, but the show planted many more seeds for the future of Peter’s rogues.

The show gives us a bunch of future bad guy material in episode 4 and 5 by establishing a crew of criminals looking to buy some of Octavius’ gear before being apprehended by the cops. These characters obviously included The Unicorn, who I don’t expect to see much more of, but it also included characters like Mikhail Sytsevich; father of the original Rhino in the comics. While this could mean his son Aleksei vows to take revenge on Spider-Man for putting his father away in prison, he does also sport a very bulky body himself, perfect for a Rhino suit in the future? Someone on the crew who does get their comic accurate costume already is Dmitri, better known as the Chameleon, the groups getaway driver. He dons his iconic white mask later on in the season while helping the 110th find Octavius’ gear.

While the 110th is obviously led by an increasingly scary Lonnie Lincoln now, the group does also include another well known Marvel bad guy; Bulldozer. Bulldozer is normally a part of the Wrecking Crew (who we saw in She-Hulk previously) alongside Wrecker, Piledriver and Thunderball. If we’ll see those three pop up in the 110th later on as well remains to be seen, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Lonnie goes to look for more super-powered allies after discovering what Ocatvius’ gas did to him.

One of the show’s final teasers and one that puzzled me the most was that of Nico Minoru, as she used her previously hidden magical abilities to conjure up a spell. Now it wasn’t entirely clear to me what her spell was going to do but it obviously has something to do with her mother. Nico has sort of mystified me in this show, her inclusion is fun and I get that the series wanted to differentiate Peter’s supporting cast from other adaptations, but putting in the biggest member of one of Marvel’s most interesting titles, a character with such a well-established back story and identity, seems on purpose. While we don’t know what happened to Nico’s parents, we do know her story is much different from her comic book counterpart, yet I wouldn’t be surprised if the show manages to align the two versions a little more in subsequent seasons. For those who don’t know, the original Runaways story establishes Nico’s parents as villains working for an evil cult-like organization called the Cabal. I’m guessing “YFNSM” ‘s version of Nico’s mom is lost somewhere in a magical realm and Nico is desperately trying to get her back, but once she manages to do so, her mom will have turned in some way, either voluntarily or possessed by something on the other side (Mephisto?? We did see a hint of him in her Tarot deck…).

Whatever or whoever will appear in the shows upcoming seasons remain to be seen (though we did get an exciting Gwen Stacy reveal on Twitter today), but if the response to season 1 is any indication, fans will love whatever happens!

There were many more exciting reveals in “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” and I’d love to hear what you are most excited to see happen next! And what did you think of the show’s first season. Did you love it? Hate it? Let me know! Be sure to follow along as I can promise the Wall-Crawler will be discussed much more in the future!

March 3, 2025
Thrillers Or Spectacle: The MCU Dillemma

Marvel Studios’ latest cinema release, “Captain America: Brave New World”, is the umpteenth film in a long line of projects developed by the movie-conglomerate to disappoint fans. While there are many factors to consider in the film’s critical failure – some just and others unjust – one of the most prevalent points I keep hearing online is the unmet expectation of an “Espionage Thriller”. People seem to be champing at the bit for a gritty spy flick that takes the bureaucracy of the Marvel Universe and runs with it to create a tense, world shattering, conspiracy that only the heroes of this world can fix. That craving has been prevailing for years now while films and series released under the MCU banner promising to deliver on this specific genre more often than not end up being quite bad. We’ve seen it with “Secret Invasion”, a spectacular misfire that tried to turn the gigantic comic book event of the same name into a small scale conspiracy story to little success, and before that we also got the solo Black Widow film that seemed to be interested in relighting this gritty fire missing for so long. While that movie certainly isn’t as bad as “Secret Invasion” was, it definitely wasn’t great either; quickly falling back into the studios’ worst habits and turning into a generic action film with forgettable set pieces. So why are MCU fans still hung up on this genre if the studio can’t seem to ever get it right? Why do they think Feige and his creative partners are even capable of making a film of that kind?

Well before we can even answer that question I say we need to take a step back and ask a bigger question instead; “Has Marvel ever made a real espionage thriller?”. I say Yes and No. You see the MCU and its hordes of fans have been chasing one high ever since 2014, hoping to fill the “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” sized cavern left by the studio. A movie so good it might end up being a negative for the MCU in the long run. “The Winter Soldier” was something so incredibly fresh, so invigorating and cool, that fans have elevated their standards to such a degree that any and all attempts at recreating the magic have fallen on deaf-ears. But, and pardon my bluntness, do MCU fans really know what they’re talking about? Or have they been chasing an unachievable high left by a film that never even really existed in the way they remember? I think so. See I agree that“The Winter Soldier” is good, it’s a tense mystery filled with great action, but any great Espionage Thriller needs that bit of realism embedded in it to create stakes. It needs to grip you, relate to you and the fears you have about the world. It needs to take from real world issues and use that to create something gripping and tense. It needs politics, an identity, maybe a little anger aimed at the world as it is. But “The Winter Soldier” has absolutely nothing to say about anything besides a surface level “good vs bad” narrative. Sure, inspired by actual political thrillers from the past like “All The President’s Men” and “Three Days Of The Condor”, “Winter Soldier” might make you feel like you’re watching something meaningful, but it’s only ever an emulation of said genre rather than actually trying to be it.

The MCU is maybe one of the most apolitical worlds you’ll ever see on the big screen, where any real world conundrum about race or war or equality or every other very basic surface level political interest is reduced to a minor hurdle in the road to a large world ending threat or even ignored all together. I can’t remember the last time one of these movies actually used it’s heightened – super – version of reality to put a mirror up to the real world, not even using it’s super-powered foundation as an allegory for real world problems, which is probably one of the MCU’s most apparent short-comings given that almost every comic book that’s even come close to being lauded a masterpiece by general readers builds entire narratives around that exact enhanced mirror. It seems Feige and the upper-creatives at Marvel Studios are desperate to say as little as possible, often only saying things when convenient for them rather than for any artistic reasoning.

“But Ghost, The MCU is built on a foundation of social commentary, didn’t you see Iron Man! He hates weapons!” I hear you yell at your digital screen, and yes, Iron Man certainly tries to say something about… war I guess? That making weapons is bad… unless you use the weapon yourself? I think that’s what Iron Man tries to say, I can’t be sure though as any meaningful – though very confusing and muddled – message you try to squeeze out of the first Iron Man film is in fact buried underneath a thick layer of genuine US Military propaganda. I know I’m far from the first person to have spoken about this but Marvel has on numerous occasions (including on the production of “Iron Man”) actively worked with the US Military for their films, including giving the Department Of Defense final say on the film’s script in exchange for access to real military equipment for the film’s production. Marvel traded their entire artistic integrity just to pay a little less. A spineless decision for a quick buck.

Now I don’t want to get ahead of myself here but… I feel like we’ve sort of found ourselves at the root cause of this issue fairly quickly. It’s money, because of course it is. I know, I know, what a boring conclusion to come to, but I can’t help that we are living in a world built atop a foundation of currency over humanity. When you make art with the sole purpose of making money from it, you’re gonna end up saying nothing, because saying something means you’ll undoubtedly step on someone’s toes – and that person is not paying for a ticket to see your next film about a purple guy trying to kill a spider-guy. You can only make billions by making movies for everyone, which means you have to also appeal to everyone, thus saying nothing in the process. Because if you didn’t appeal to everyone, you’d end up only making hundreds of millions of dollars at once, and who’d want that when you could be making a billion instead?

There is honestly only one MCU project that I believe dares to say something even remotely controversial ; “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” (coincidentally a project independent from Box Office numbers since it’s a streaming series not a cinematic release) A story all about a black man becoming Captain America, this show simply couldn’t not make a statement about race and what it means to be black in America. By mirroring the real life vitriol Sam Wilson (and in extension Anthony Mackie) got for portraying the new Captain America, this show was the only thing actually willing to take a stand against that hate and by adding Isaiah Bradley to the story the show also managed to use that enhanced mirror I mentioned previously to create a really solid series. Sure, the political commentary isn’t all that scathing and falls on deaf ears for a lot of its run time, but even a small step in the right direction will get you to where you need to be eventually. Yet then, when it’s time to give Sam his own solo film, when it’s time to put Isaiah on the big screen and to continue making that same statement, the studio instead flops over into something else, a spineless film about nothing. Absolutely nothing. In a time where elections are maybe the most important they’ve ever been, Marvel studios makes a film about the president turning into a big jello pudding hulk. A sad display of cowardice but one also not all too surprising given their track record.

So no. A political espionage thriller isn’t happening. Not now and maybe not ever. But is there still room for a thriller of any other sort? A tense and grounded story focusing on a smaller scale adventure for any of the heroes in the MCU? Honestly, I’m not so sure about that either.

Post-Endgame it’s been apparent that the once king of blockbuster film-making just isn’t what it used to be. While pre-Endgame Marvel movies certainly didn’t all hit, the general reputation of the MCU felt untouchable, hit after hit after hit, billions coming in at the box-office, it really felt like the MCU had the formula down. But post-Endgame the conglomerate seems to have slipped a bit. With their focus shifting to bigger and bigger slates of films and tv, the overall cohesion of the Universe slowly seemed to disappear and with it quality seemed to slip a little more as well. I wouldn’t say everything has gone to shit, that we’re watching an unmitigated disaster spin out of control until it reaches its inevitable whimper of an ending, but I do think the studio has, in an attempt to course correct, started relying too much on big spectacle moments to make up for poor critical reception, and those spectacle moments will end up leaving no lasting impact.

Yes, putting Red Hulk in your movie and then marketing his inclusion like crazy might compensate for the lack of audience investment in this world in the short-run, but it’s not gonna be a sustainable solution. You will run out of these characters eventually, there’s not an endless supply of glup-shitto’s in the Marvel Comics vault, and when you do, audiences will realize there’s nothing left for them in this universe, no cohesion, no stakes, no dynamics they love between characters they stan on twitter! Just a universe mistaking cameos for spectacle.

That same mistake is also what’s causing their Thriller problem – or lack-thereof I should say. Yes, you can give us a story about The Leader pulling the strings behind the US government as an all out world-war is set to break out, but if the stakes can only conclude in a big smash fest between Captain America and Red Hulk well then you kind of lose the tension you’ve been building (now a weak script and massive reshoots don’t help this case either but my point still stands). Same with “Secret Invasion”, which has arguably the worst finale of any Marvel project ever made with that god awful fight between Giah and Gravik forever stained upon this universe. Thrills can come from more than just bad Dragonball battles, more than power-scaling and smashing action figures into each other, especially when your entire story depends on tension on a much smaller scale!

So can Marvel make Thrillers anymore? Probably! But there has to be some change before any of that can happen. The studio needs to take some risks. I know big studios don’t like taking those these days, but risks are what is going to get butts in seats in the long run. Risks make the audience engage in your stories and risks are how you build a franchise out. And yes that might cost money, yes you might not hit a billion with every movie you make, but you will have an audience left after your big expanding universe reaches its 20th year anniversary.

February 18, 2025
4 Fantastic Yet Underrated Fantastic Four Comics

The year of The Fantastic Four has officially started. Yesterday’s incredible teaser trailer for “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” ushers in the start of an exciting few months of promo – both on screen and on the page. But as we get ready to see Marvel’s First Family finally portrayed on the big screen for a third – and hopefully most successful – time, I’d love to shine a light on some of the best books this team has to offer. The Four have many astonishing titles under their name, critically acclaimed books from some of the biggest writers comics have ever seen. But over the course of their 60 year history they’ve also had so many incredible smaller books that don’t get put into the spotlight as often. That’s what I want to focus on today. The books that deserve the spotlight just as much as those aforementioned critically acclaimed runs. Let’s dig in!

Fantastic Four: Full Circle

“Fantastic Four: Full Circle” is nothing short of breathtaking. Made as a sequel to maybe the most famous Fantastic Four issue ever written – “This Man, This Monster” – Full Circle is a glorious mix of vintage sci-fi mixed with hypercolored modern comic making. Written and Illustrated by the legendary Alex Ross, this book is a clear labor of love; love for the Fantastic Four, love for the Silver Age, love for Kirby and love for Ben Grimm specifically.

It’s the most gorgeous Fantastic Four book I own. A stunning work of art from start to finish with each page seemingly better than the next. I know I sound like a broken record here but what Ross does in this book is mind-blowing. My jaw drops to the floor with each flip off the page. I own the newly released Deluxe Edition of the book and I can’t recommend reading the back-material in there enough. The creative journey Ross has been on while making this book is inspiring and instills the entire book with a new level of beauty.

Plus it’s not like the story is bad either. It’s actually really good. An incredibly classic little thrill-ride that lets all members of the Four shine as they journey through the Negative Zone. Not since Kirby has the Negative Zone been portrayed with such life, exploring a unique new side of this staple of the Marvel Universe while never straying too far from what made it so classic in the first place. If you need something to scratch the itch left by the original Kirby and Lee works I highly recommend “Full Circle”.

The Thing (2021)

He’s the heart and soul of the Four. He’s the ever-loving blue-eyed Thing. He’s Ben Grimm. He’s the only member of Marvel’s first family who has his own solo series on this list! And that’s not for no reason. Walter Mosley and Tom Reilly’s Thing mini sets Ben on a journey across the globe (and beyond it) that quickly spirals into something much more cosmic. I love a book like this. An ever expanding story that unravels into all corners of the Marvel Universe, including appearances from a ton of other F4 characters.

If you’ve read “Batman Universe” by Brian Michael Bendis you sort of know what you’re getting with this book, an adventure across wacky worlds that sets its titular character completely out of their element. But whereas that book purposely strays away from the classic tropes of the Caped Crusader, this mini goes full on Fantastic, not only going for the wild intergalactic sci-fi characters and worlds that make the F4 who they are, but also the equally important character work. The entire thing (pardon the pun) is delightfully classic, with Tom Reilly’s art being the pulpy centrepoint.

Tom Reilly’s art is just stunning. He nails Ben’s look; This is that version of The Thing that the kids of the Marvel Universe love, The Thing who sells Action Figures and The Thing who’s lovable face is plastered on t-shirts. But it’s also the brawler. It’s also The Thing who makes the ground beneath his feet shake with every punch. He’s big and tough yet loveable. He’s perfect.

If you want to read a fun and breezy book about arguably one of comics’ most layered heroes, pick this up!

Marvel Two-In-One

“Marvel Two-In-One” is a strange book published in an even stranger time. Marvel seemed to be struggling with what to do with the Four given that their exclusion from the MCU (and subsequent inclusion in stories made by other rivaling companies) meant the studio behind Marvel couldn’t milk the cow completely dry – they’d have to share the poor aching bovine with other conglomerates. Thus, post Hickman’s “Secret Wars”, Marvel’s first family was banished from their publishing line-up. In-universe this meant Reed, Sue and their children had decided to leave this universe in order to rebuild the universe. Leaving behind Ben and Johnny, who believed they had passed during the Secret Wars event. With this in mind, Chip Zdarsky set out to write “Marvel Two-In-One”, A wonderful little book that sets out to explore the grief left behind by Reed’s sudden departure.

While the family might be split up in “Marvel Two-In-One”, it’s still a Fantastic Four book through and through. It’s got the exploration of different worlds that make the Four standout from the other more typical hero-types, it has family dynamics that are both fun and emotionally resonant, plus it even has all the heart you’ve come to expect from this group. Chip writes Ben and Johnny so incredibly well; They are well rounded characters, strained brothers-from-other-mothers whose rekindling is both satisfying as it is real. Sue has always been Johnny’s sister, but Ben really grows into Johnny’s big brother here.

It’s not like Reed and Sue aren’t present in the book either. The book introduces a plethora of different multiversal versions of Reed and Sue who help highlight the importance of the teams dynamic with one-another, cementing this book as a giant love letter to the Four as we wait on their return.

Their return to the Marvel Universe is touched upon by Zdarsky in his final issues on the title, which are both satisfying as they are bitter sweet. I feel this book’s biggest flaw is its corporate mandated end. Zdarsky could’ve written this for another 50 issues as he prepared to relaunch the main FF title but alas, the publisher had other things in mind. Thankfully there’s still these 12 exciting and beautiful issues left for you to delve into.

Silver Surfer: Requiem

Now to be fair, I know putting a solo Silver Surfer book on this list might not be entirely accurate to what I set out to do in this article but I felt like The Surfer is so ingrained into the Four and their lore that he’s basically a member of the team at this point (plus, The Four do heavily feature in this book). Written by J. Michael Straczynski and illustrated by Esad Ribic, this four issue mini focuses on the final days of Norrin Radd’s life as the power cosmic that gave him his powers turns out to be his undoing as well.

As I start this off I must say that I have truly no words to describe how much I adore this book. I read it for the first time when I was much-too-young to fully understand it, but as I have grown a little older I love it more and more. That is what I love most about “Requiem”, the fact that I know I haven’t fully wrapped my brain around the entire thing yet, I know there is so much more emotional development left to gain here that I’m simply not feeling yet. One day I will, One day this thing will tear me apart completely and leave me entirely breathless and that’s something I’m looking forward to very much.

Exploring all sides of Norrin Radd’s life, both on Earth as on Zenn-La, “Requiem” explores who the Silver Surfer is in such a beautiful way that I challenge anyone who reads this not to fall in love with the character. Frankly, his death might be the best place to start reading Silver Surfer comics, because no other book will make you feel for Norrin the way this one does. No book will make you understand why Silver Surfer might just be Stan’s greatest creation. No book will make you understand why we need Silver Surfer.

The book is an emotional ride from start to finish, exploring all corners of the Marvel Universe as it jumps from one beautiful character moment to the next. Requiem is wonderful. Truly wonderful.

I hope you decide to check out one or more of these books as we all anxiously await the release of“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” this summer. Make sure to follow Ghost Writes since we will be covering so much more of The Fantastic Four in the upcoming months (and beyond).

Make sure to let me know what you think are some of the most underrated Fantastic Four titles ever released!

February 5, 2025
Marvel Premier Format: Why Change A Winning Formula?

Last year DC comics decided to launch a new printing initiative focused on reprinting their most iconic stories in smaller formats more akin to that of a regular Manga Volume. The much talked about launch was met with wide appraisal and stunning sales that seemed to prove what many consumers had been saying for years; Cheaper and smaller comics will sell better when you put them in more convenient places to buy. It was truly a breath of fresh air in the comics industry, after years of seemingly unresponsive initiatives from publishers it seemed like audiences were finally being listened to and in return DC made a shitload of money. The Compact Comics Initiative seemed to be a win-win for DC and comics as a whole.

Later on, Marvel decided that they too were going to jump on this bandwagon with their own line of smaller sized collections of some of their most iconic stories. The first wave of which is releasing this week, including the seminal Daredevil book “Born Again” and the first few issues of Ta Nehisi Coates’ run on Black Panther. Yet, while DC’s compact Comics Launch was hotly anticipated, it seems Marvel’s version isn’t off to such a hot start. I haven’t heard a single person mention these books coming out and I follow a sickening amount of people from the industry. No writer, nor artist, nor editor or journalist that I follow seems to be all that amped up for these books and quite honestly… I can understand why.

DC’s Compact Comics were a clear success. Their biggest and best stories for a good price of around 10 bucks and in a size that anyone can take along with them on trips or on their commute to work. It’s genius. Sure, It’s simple. But it’s genius. Yet a formula this simple seems like too much for Marvel Comics to wrap their head around, as they have seemingly decided to not learn a thing from their competitors’ success and instead just do their own baffling thing.

First off, Marvel has increased the price of these editions with 5 bucks, making their version of these Compact Comics a much steeper 15 bucks. This increase might not seem like a lot, but you’ll quickly figure out that every cent counts (especially these days) and that the increase seems to be for no logical reason at all. No, instead the price hike seems to be the result of an even dumber change made in sizing. DC’s format sports a nice 5.5” by 8.5” format similar to that of your standard paper novel, while Marvel’s version sports a much taller and wider size of 6” by 9”. That might not seem like much, but those half inches count for a lot.

People want to take this with them on the go. You want any random person, if they’re a comic fan or not, to see a book like this on the shelf and pick it up. Size and price are huge factors in this case, they might just be the most important factors. So I truly cannot imagine why Marvel ever assumed hiking both of these aspects up was such a good idea. Now your local 11 year old isn’t going to buy your Black Panther book anymore, he only got 10 bucks of allowance this month, thankfully there is a cool Batman book he can get for that price on the next shelf over. His Mom isn’t picking up your Daredevil book now either because it just doesn’t fit in her purse like her normal novels do. Luckily for her there’s a nicely sized Wonder Woman title on the shelf next to Marvel’s that does fit in her purse. These changes matter.

I’m obviously being a little silly here but my point is still clear. The Compact Comics had two huge selling points and Marvel has decided to just sort of ignore that in favor of something worse. Some might say that the price increase isn’t just because of the bigger format, since the book does also include quite some bonus material inside like Mazzucchelli pencils and Miller’s script for the Born Again book. While I’m really glad those extra pages are in there (The fact that Compact Comics got rid of such bonus material bugged me slightly) I don’t believe it should’ve had any real impact on the price. The Compact Watchmen edition included the entire 12 issue run, more than 400 pages, for the same 10 dollar price point as any other Compact edition while Born Again is 5 bucks more yet only has 300 pages. It just does not make sense, no matter how much bonus material is in there.

Yet my issues do not just end with the terrible price and size changes, I also think Marvel dropped the ball on their design choices here, mainly those hideous covers. Compact Comics have a very clear look. It’s color coded, sleek and stands out. The bright impact-like font pops out at you when it’s on the shelves and even the spines are eye-catching enough. Marvel opted for a different route. A very boring one. I do not know what the thought process behind the covers is, I imagine it’s an attempt to look more sophisticated since these books are “Premier”, but the end result looks more like a bland textbook you’d carry around in high school. Nothing screams excitement to me, there’s no action on display, no popping colors or iconic covers. Nothing about it is eye-catching. The stark white design and the badly faded out original covers slapped onto the front of the books are ugly and confusing. The thick red border at the bottom is plain and straight up boring to look at as it only highlights the confusing amount of different fonts thrown into your face. The spines are not nearly as striking as its competitors’ version, coming across as the more timid and scared little cousin of DC’s initiative. The cherry on top of this terrible cake is that horrible new Marvel Comics logo (Feige you will rue the day you started striving for brand synergy).

I get that Marvel is trying to hone in on a new sort of audience with these books, but I think they’ve forgotten that they’re still a comic book publisher. You can dress up the exterior as clean as possible, but once you crack open that book you will still see men in tights fighting evil villains and their henchmen. It’s okay to be a comic book, it’s okay to exude that fun energy that’s inside these books, that’s what they’re here for. If you’re trying to trick a different audience into buying your book this entire thing is gonna misfire in your face and you’ll be stuck with a few hundred boxes of “Premier” collections instead of the absolute success of the Compact line.

A big issue with this idea for Marvel is also the type of books they have. DC just has a better library when it comes to stand alone minis that make for great material for these sorts of Collections. Marvel doesn’t really have their own version of “Batman Year One” or “Watchmen”. They have iconic, long running story arcs that you can’t squeeze into a format like this. The general audience outside of comics have always had this belief that Comics are this impenetrable web of continuity while that really isn’t the case, but showcasing them the first few issues of a 25 issue long run isn’t gonna calm their fears on that front.

I get that this isn’t the fault of the format. It’s really nobody’s fault. But it is a shame that Marvel didn’t even try to find more than one stand alone book at launch. Born Again is a great pick for an initiative like this. It’s singular, it’s popular and it’s coming out at a time when the words “Daredevil: Born Again” are plastered on posters across the entire globe. That’s smart marketing, and something DC doesn’t have to benefit from – not yet at least. Marvel truly has the characters to rival DC. Yes, they might have Batman and Superman – characters who’s name will forever be ingrained into our collective consciousness – but ever since the MCU, Marvel has really made some minor characters into household names. An Iron Man Premier edition would sell just as well as one of Batman’s compact editions, trust me on that, you just have to pick the right Iron Man story.

Do I think this is gonna do well? Not particularly. Do I hope it’s gonna do well? Obviously. I love comics, the entire reason I started this page was to hopefully get some new people riled up about this industry the way I am, so if this initiative sticks I’d be happy to swallow my words. It’s not like everything is terrible about these books, the quality of the paper is really nice. The printing is wonderful and really does justice to Mazzucchelli and Scheele’s original coloring. Again, putting bonus material in there is lovely and a great way to get people familiar with the artists making this stuff behind the scenes, as they can often be overlooked by the general audience. I just hope Marvel manages to course correct over the next few months and have a nicer, more affordable set of books available come Christmas time.

What do you think of this new initiative? And are you planning on checking out any of the releases this week? Let us know on the socials and be sure to follow us as we’ll be delving into the future of Marvel’s Premier Collection and trying to find which books deserve to be published in this format as well.

February 3, 2025