MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Last year Marvel had hit titles with Moon Knight and Hellfire Gala while DC’s success came from their Batman event Fear State. Sales (according to Comichron) last summer were the highest they’ve ever been in the last 25 years.
Publishers plan to maintain that momentum with their slate for this year. Here are the books that Comic Book Guy JV is excited for:
1. Devil’s Reign (Writer: Chip Zdarsky. Artist: Marco Checcheto.) – Marvel hits the ground running with this Daredevil-centric event (two issues are out already); Mayor Wilson Fisk aka Kingpin takes revenge on DD by outlawing all superheroes in New York. Zdarsky/Checcheto’s Daredevil has been a compelling read and their expert storytelling appears to have translated well to the rest of Marvel’s heroes.
2. The return of Saga (W: Brian K. Vaughan. A: Fiona Staples.) – The critically-acclaimed sci-fi Image series returns after a hiatus of four years. The extra-sized Issue 55 gets released this January (at its regular price!). Fans will be delighted to get reacquainted with this beloved cast of characters and the last half of their journey.
3. Batman: Killing Time (W: Tom King. A: David Marquez.) – This March DC comes out with a special Batman limited series headlined by A-list creators King and Marquez. Timed with the new movie’s release, the series is set during the earliest years of Batman’s career and involves Catwoman, Riddler, and Penguin, all key characters from the film. This is a series to whet everyone’s appetite for Matt Reeves’ vision of the Dark Knight.
4. Miracleman: The Silver Age (W: Neil Gaiman. A: Mark Buckingham.) – Ever since Marvel got the rights to the Miracleman character, the publisher promised that Gaiman and Buckingham would finally finish the long-awaited series (thirty years in the making!). With a recent announcement that Marvel will be publishing the Miracleman Omnibus (collecting the Alan Moore run) and hints that the character will be joining the Marvel Universe, the chances of this title getting a release date this year are very high.
5. Destiny of X (Various Creators.) – Not so much a title as the next phase for the X-Men’s Krakoa saga. House/Powers of X mastermind Jonathan Hickman has left the X-titles in the expert hands of Al Ewing/Stefano Caselli (X-Men Red), Kieron Gillen/Lucas Werneck (Immortal X-Men), Si Spurrier/Jan Balzuda (Legion of X), and other major talents.
