I finally made it to my local comic shop, Twilite Zone Comics, today and picked up a handful of awesome books and got my copy of the All-New All-Different Free Previews Magazine. I already knew what was in it based on the leaks from earlier this week (Imagine that Axel Alonso, I saw the leaks and still went to the local comic shop). However, I wanted to reserve judgement until I had a physical copy in hand in case there was more to it than just the leaked images.
The Good
- As I mentioned in a previous post, it's awesome to see a new series for Dr. Strange by Jason Aaron. Though I guess it's a given based on the movie coming out in 2016.
- We're getting a new Deadpool. Or is it the old Deadpool? If you remember from Deadpool #250, he died during the Incursion of 1610 universe. Not sure how a healing factor brings you back from that.
- Ultimates #1 - I've heard lots of good things about Al Ewing though I haven't read any of his work, but I'll buy this purely for Kenneth Rocafort art. His work on Teen Titans is fantastic.
- Cullen Bunn still writing Magneto in Uncanny X-Men. His solo Magneto series is the best book that Marvel has been publishing over the past year.
- Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino on Old Man Logan. Not only are we getting in my opinion the best version of Wolverine, but we get it from this creative team. These two put out an incredible Green Arrow book at DC.
The Bad
- Everything comes with a side of Inhumans. Do you like Avengers? Cool, you'll also like this Inhuman that we added to the team? Is Beast you're favorite X-man? Great, check him out in Uncanny Inhumans. Want an edgy character that wears a hoodie? Super, you should read Warren Ellis' Karnak. Who? Oh he's this totes awesome Inhuman guy. Do you love it when the X-Men are down and out? Word. Now they're not only underdogs but now their entire existence is tangled up with the Inhumans.
- The O5 X-Men are still here. I liked the concept originally because I thought it was a cool way to bring Jean Grey back without some crazy retcon. I had assumed that somehow Secret Wars might be used to save her and get rid of the rest. Instead, they appear to be in the Mystery Machine solving crimes. I'll pass.
- Iron Man is the face of Marvel. Let me just offend lots of people right now. I don't like Iron Man. 616 Tony Stark Iron Man is boring. I would guess that most people buying an Iron Man comic these days assume that Robert Downey Jr. is in there somewhere. Unfortunately, he's not.
The Confusing
I mentioned above that I don't quite understand how Deadpool is back. He was killed during an Incursion. In the main Secret Wars series, Dr. Strange explained that Doom saved what he could and that is what became the domains of Battleworld. If that is the case, then wouldn't it make sense that the new Marvel Universe can only come from Battleworld? We know some characters make it out to the new Marvel Universe: Old Man Logan, A-Force, Miles Morales. However, from these handful of covers (granted, it literally is only a handful of covers) doesn't it seem like the 616 Universe was just recreated? Based on the Battleworld map, the only part of the 616 that survived is Manhattan and the Monster Metropolis. Did every character in the 616 make it to Manhattan? Will Reed Richards feel like a dumb ass when he hears about this and realizes if he had just stayed in the Baxter Building that his wife and kids would still be alive?
Maybe this will all be explained in the last four issues of Secret Wars. Though I have a feeling it won't be entirely resolved. We'll all just read Silver Surfer #16 where Norrin Radd will say something like, "With the Power Cosmic, just make everything the way it was, you know, before the Beyonders started messing with us. Oh, and save the remaining souls on Battleworld that are marketable and haven't been killed by Doom."