Midnight Spider-Man #1
(W) Phillip Kennedy Johnson (A) ScieTronc
A young Peter Parker is transformed into a hideous spider hybrid by the ruthless Oscorp Corporation in their pursuit for eternal life. When Oscorp begins to use the secrets unlocked by his mutation to create more human-animal hybrids, Peter embraces his grotesque new form to stop them.
The veil is about to lift on Marvel’s Midnight Universe and the buzz is infectious! With more than one million copies collectively ordered, Midnight Spider-Man #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and ScieTronc, Midnight Fantastic Four #1 by Benjamin Percy and Kev Walker, and Midnight X-Men #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Matteo Della Fonte are poised to be blockbuster launches, paving the way for long-term, interconnected storytelling that will define the bold new line. All three debut issues hit stands on October 7, the only Marvel comics released that day. That coordinated launch continues with all three issue twos, arriving on November 18. Today, fans can peek ahead with the reveal of additional issue two variant covers.
Bringing greater clarity to the variant cover collecting experience, the Midnight line will debut all-new ongoing variant cover programs. Each MIDNIGHT series will feature recurring themes across Covers labeled A-E, along with additional variant covers. Covers revealed today include:
Blending the power of Marvel Comics storytelling with the thrills of horror, Midnight is a bold, interconnected new Universe that completely reimagines the Marvel mythos through a horror lens. In the debut issues, readers will witness the cursed fate of mutantkind, the gruesome transformation of Peter Parker, and the twisted lengths the Fantastic Four are willing to go in the name of scientific discovery.
Pick up Midnight Spider-Man #1, Midnight Fantastic Four #1, and Midnight X-Men #1 at your local comic shop next week and stay tuned for more reveals during the Marvel Comics: The Midnight Hour Panel at New York Comic Con on October 9!
Adventures of Superman: Book of El #12
(W) Phillip Kennedy Johnson (A) Scott Godlewski
THE FINAL BATTLE FOR TOMORROW! In the final chapter of the Book of El, Starchild and Red Son are reunited with the surviving heads of the House of El to save existence from a man driven beyond madness—to godhood—by grief. If Superman lives up to the legends, he’ll find a way to save the universe from Kryl-Ux and save Kryl-Ux from himself. The heartrending, inspiring conclusion of Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s vision for Kal-El.
TONIGHT’S VERY SPECIAL GUEST STARS – THE MARI/EL UNIVERSE! To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of THE MUPPET SHOW…we bring you a crossover no one saw coming! Join EISNER-winning writer and one of the world’s greatest Muppet fans CHIP ZDARSKY along with a cadre of Marvelously talented creators as they unleash The Muppets’ trademark chaos on the MARVEL UNIVERSE. ROWLF THE DOG kidnapped by MOJO? KERMIT THE FROG, MISS PIGGY, FOZZIE BEAR, SPIDER-MAN, BLACK PANTHER and EMMA FROST to the rescue? DR. BUNSEN HONEYDEW and BEAKER experimenting with GAMMA RAYS and PYM PARTICLES? What could go wrong? Find out in this epic tale told in the MIGHTY MARVEL MUPPET MANNER! The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe #1 is a hell of a lot of fun that leaves us wanting more.
Growing up I appreciated the Muppets but wasn’t a die-hard fan. There were some aspects that I enjoyed and some I found irritating and outright cheesy. But, that’s the Muppets, right? The loveable bizarre characters have been around for 50 years and enjoyed by generations. Most importantly, they’ve delivered laughs and allowed individuals to escape the grind of life. The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe #1 continues that while having the Muppets join some of Marvel’s characters to take on Mojo along with a series of shorts, and it works really well.
With the main story by Chip Zdarsky and Pete Woods the Muppets need the help of Marvel’s heroes to find Rowlf who has been dognapped by Mojo. When you think about it, it’s the perfect setup and concept and actually makes sense. With the story there’s a solid blend of action and humor, mixing the seriousness of Marvel’s heroes with the insanity of the Muppets. Zdarsky and Woods nail the concept with a balance that can be enjoyed by a wide range of individuals. It’s hard to not appreciate Fozzy Bear and Spider-Man going back and forth or Gonzo admitting that Deadpool was too crazy. And all of it weirdly just works, not feeling forced at all and a hell of a lot of fun. Woods’ art feels like it’s a nice in-between of what you’d expect in a Muppet comic and a superhero comic from Marvel, making the characters blend nicely and not feel out of place. The story delivers some solid laughs and moments and at the same time picks on and needles superhero tropes (the story involves the multiverse).
The rest of the comic is a series of shorts from writers Mackenzie Cadenhead, Ashley Allen, Chef Paul Carmichael, Kyle Starks, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, and Adam F. Goldberg and art by David Baldeon, Paco Medina, Mike Henderson, Athila Fabbio, and E.J. Su. All of these nail the assignment, each delivering good punchlines and most importantly will put a smile on the face of readers. Each story matches up Muppets with Marvel heroes in what feels like a series of skits you’d see on the Muppet show. And it leaves us wanting more. Animal + Wolverine = the ultimate team up. Each story has a little bit of a different style in the art and some go for heartfelt tales while others deliver laugh out loud moments.
The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe #1 is fun, a lot of fun. Not only could it get me to laugh a lot but it also delivered that childlike escape where I can just sit and not care about what’s going on around me. It’s a perfect mix of Muppets and Marvel and shows off a love of both. Most importantly, it left me wanting more. While this is a one-shot, hopefully it’s not a one and done and we can see more team-ups in the future.
Story: Chip Zdarsky, Mackenzie Cadenhead, Ashley Allen, Chef Paul Carmichael, Kyle Starks, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Adam F. Goldberg
Art: Pete Woods, David Baldeon, Paco Medina, Mike Henderson, Athila Fabbio, E.J. Su
Color: Yen Nitro, Mike Atiyeh Letters: Joe Caramagna
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle
Infernal Hulk vs. Wolverine #1
(W) Phillip Kennedy Johnson (A) Jonas Scharf
THE MARCH TO HULK WAR RUNS THROUGH WOLVERINE!
When the X-MEN learn the location of mutants abducted and corrupted by INFERNAL HULK, the deadliest X-Man vows to free them… by the most violent means necessary. THE MARCH TO HULK WAR begins, as the FATHER OF HORRORS faces the Marvel Universe’s perfect killing machine: INFERNAL HULK VS WOLVERINE!
The darkness is coming.
On October 7, Marvel’s newest storytelling initiative, the Midnight Universe, makes its debut with a unified launch of three bold new titles: Midnight Spider-Man #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and ScieTronc, Midnight Fantastic Four #1 by Benjamin Percy and Kev Walker and Midnight X-Men #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Matteo Della Fonte. The three debut issues—the only Marvel comics released that day—will usher in a creator-driven line where some of Marvel’s most acclaimed modern talents are given free rein to reimagine the world’s greatest heroes in chilling and daring new ways. Fans can get their first taste of what awaits with the new Midnight Universe Trailer, featuring never-before-seen artwork from all three titles.
With boundaryless storytelling and rich interconnected mythology, the Midnight Universe offers an exciting entry point for new readers while giving longtime fans a thrilling new take on their favorite heroes. In Midnight Spider-Man #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and ScieTronc, Spider-Man discovers that with great power… comes something monstrous. In Midnight Fantastic Four #1 by Benjamin Percy and Kev Walker, a scientist’s curiosity accidentally unleashes ancient terrors upon the world while also transforming himself and three others in strange and horrifying ways. In Midnight X-Men #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Matteo Della Fonte, the X-Men’s battle is no longer one of acceptance, but of survival…and blood.
Check out all of the covers for the debut issues of each series!
MIDNIGHT SPIDER-MAN #1
Written by PHILLIP KENNEDY JOHNSON
Art by SCIETRONC
COVER A STEVE BEACH REGULAR COVER – 75960621681900111
COVER B RYAN STEGMAN MIDNIGHT BLOODBATH VARIANT – 75960621681900121
COVER C PEACH MOMOKO MIDNIGHT SPECIAL VARIANT – 75960621681900131
COVER D SKAN MIDNIGHT HORROR HOMAGE VARIANT – 75960621681900141
COVER E JEEHYUNG LEE MIDNIGHT GALLERY VARIANT – 75960621681900116
COVER F CLAYTON CRAIN 3-PART CONNECTING VARIANT – 75960621681900151
COVER G PEACH MOMOKO MIDNIGHT SPECIAL VIRGIN VARIANT – 75960621681900117
COVER H ERIC CANETE VARIANT – 75960621681900161
COVER I INHYUK LEE VARIANT – 75960621681900171
COVER J INHYUK LEE VIRGIN VARIANT – 75960621681900118
On Sale October 7
MIDNIGHT FANTASTIC FOUR #1
Written by BENJAMIN PERCY
Art by KEV WALKER
COVER A KEV WALKER REGULAR COVER – 75960621680200111
COVER B RYAN STEGMAN MIDNIGHT BLOODBATH VARIANT – 75960621680200121
COVER C BEN HARVEY MIDNIGHT SPECIAL VARIANT – 75960621680200131
COVER D E.M. GIST MIDNIGHT HORROR HOMAGE VARIANT – 75960621680200141
COVER E JEEHYUNG LEE MIDNIGHT GALLERY VARIANT – 75960621680200116
COVER F CLAYTON CRAIN 3-PART CONNECTING VARIANT – 75960621680200151
COVER G BEN HARVEY MIDNIGHT SPECIAL VIRGIN VARIANT – 75960621680200117
COVER H LEINIL FRANCIS YU VARIANT – 75960621680200161
COVER I ROD REIS VARIANT – 75960621680200171
COVER J ROD REIS VIRGIN VARIANT – 75960621680200118
On Sale October 7
MIDNIGHT X-MEN #1
Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Art by MATTEO DELLA FONTE
COVER A DIKE RUAN REGULAR COVER – 75960621668000111
COVER B RYAN STEGMAN MIDNIGHT BLOODBATH VARIANT – 75960621668000121
COVER C SKAN MIDNIGHT SPECIAL VARIANT – 75960621668000131
COVER D BJÖRN BARENDS MIDNIGHT HORROR HOMAGE VARIANT – 75960621668000141
COVER E JEEHYUNG LEE MIDNIGHT GALLERY VARIANT – 75960621668000116
COVER F CLAYTON CRAIN 3-PART CONNECTING VARIANT – 75960621668000151
COVER G SKAN MIDNIGHT SPECIAL VIRGIN VARIANT – 75960621668000117
COVER H ALESSANDRO CAPPUCCIO VARIANT – 75960621668000161
COVER I ITO VARIANT – 75960621668000171
COVER J ITO VIRGIN VARIANT – 75960621668000118
On Sale October 7
The darkness is coming.
On October 7, Marvel’s newest storytelling initiative, the Midnight Universe, makes its debut with a unified launch of three bold new titles: Midnight Spider-Man #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and ScieTronc, Midnight Fantastic Four #1 by Benjamin Percy and Kev Walker and Midnight X-Men #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Matteo Della Fonte. The three debut issues—the only Marvel comics released that day—will usher in a creator-driven line where some of Marvel’s most acclaimed modern talents are given free rein to reimagine the world’s greatest heroes in chilling and daring new ways. Fans can get their first taste of what awaits with the new Midnight Universe Trailer, featuring never-before-seen artwork from all three titles.
With boundaryless storytelling and rich interconnected mythology, the Midnight Universe offers an exciting entry point for new readers while giving longtime fans a thrilling new take on their favorite heroes. In Midnight Spider-Man #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and ScieTronc, Spider-Man discovers that with great power… comes something monstrous. In Midnight Fantastic Four #1 by Benjamin Percy and Kev Walker, a scientist’s curiosity accidentally unleashes ancient terrors upon the world while also transforming himself and three others in strange and horrifying ways. In Midnight X-Men #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Matteo Della Fonte, the X-Men’s battle is no longer one of acceptance, but of survival…and blood.
On October 7, Marvel’s newest storytelling initiative, the Midnight Universe, makes its debut with a unified launch of three bold new titles: Midnight Spider-Man #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and ScieTronc, Midnight Fantastic Four #1 by Benjamin Percy and Kev Walker and Midnight X-Men #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Matteo Della Fonte. The three debut issues—the only Marvel comics released that day—will usher in a creator-driven line where some of Marvel’s most acclaimed modern talents are given free rein to reimagine the world’s greatest heroes in chilling and daring new ways.
Get a first look at all three debuts!
Midnight Spider-Man #1
Midnight Fantastic Four #1
Midnight X-Men #1
Marvel continues to pull back the curtain with the covers for Midnight Spider-Man #3, Midnight Fantastic Four #3, and Midnight X-Men #3, all arriving on December 16.
The new artwork offers a glimpse at the darkness ahead from Reed Richards’ ruthless pursuit of knowledge and Peter Parker’s gut-wrenching transformation to the holy war erupting in the shadows between mutants, humans, and Empyres! The newly revealed covers tease even more of what’s to come, from Cyclops, the last of the X-Men, taking a young mutant under his wing to the unimaginable horrors of Oscorp’s experiments and the Fantastic Four’s daring journey into the cosmic unknown.
Read on to learn more!
MIDNIGHT SPIDER-MAN #3
Written by PHILLIP KENNEDY JOHNSON
Art by SCIETRONC
COVER A STEVE BEACH REGULAR COVER
On Sale December 16
THE PARKER INCIDENT!
As Peter Parker frantically searches for a way to reclaim his humanity, Oscorp hunts the emerging urban legend THE SPIDER-MAN in their first breakthrough on the path to a post-mortality future. Meanwhile, in Oscorp’s deepest, most top-secret labs, Doctor Octavius has used the lessons of the “Parker Incident” to engineer the world’s second synthetic mutant… a living horror that will make even Spider-Man obsolete.
MIDNIGHT FANTASTIC FOUR #3
Written by BENJAMIN PERCY
Art by KEV WALKER
COVER A KEV WALKER REGULAR COVER
On Sale December 16
FINDING THE HIDDEN WORLD!
The Four head to the Jornada del Muerto desert in New Mexico, where the first atomic bomb was detonated by Oppenheimer and the Los Alamos labs. And here they discover the residue of another world, left behind by a crack in the firmament.
MIDNIGHT X-MEN #3
Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Art by MATTEO DELLA FONTE
COVER A DIKE RUAN REGULAR COVER
On Sale December 16
NO MUTANTS. NO MERCY.
Weapons of Earthly and Heavenly construct. Realms that exist between old failures and the shiny new sins of expedience…
The all-new, all-disturbing Midnight Universe begins on October 7, and Marvel Comics has unveiled new variant covers for all three debut issues—Midnight Spider-Man #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and ScieTronc, Midnight Fantastic Four #1 by Benjamin Percy and Kev Walker, and Midnight X-Men #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Matteo Della Fonte.
Bringing greater clarity and consistency to the variant cover collecting experience, the Midnight line will debut all-new ongoing variant cover programs. Starting with issue #1, each MIDNIGHT series will feature recurring themes across Covers labeled A-E, along with additional variant covers. Covers revealed today include:
The heroes have lost their last chance to stop Infernal Hulk…except for Bruce Banner himself. As Hulk closes in on New York, Banner and Doctor Voodoo risk their lives and souls against a terrifying enemy. Failure will mean eternal enslavement and torment…but success could give them the only weapon that might bring victory against Infernal Hulk. Meanwhile, another secret weapon joins the fray…Charlie Tidwell herself, the skinwalker Lycana! The Infernal Hulk #10 is another amazing entry in the current Hulk epic, one that’s packed with important moments.
I’ve never been a big Hulk person. I’ve read some story arcs here and there but it’s never been a comic I regularly read or character I cared about. Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson has shifted that with an epic story (much like his vision for his time writing Superman) that takes the character and readers through a journey where you never know exactly what to expect. Johnson has taken the Hulk back to his horror roots, with an ancient being now controlling the Green Giant and raising an army of monsters to create a new Age of Monsters. The heroes have failed at every moment to stop this Infernal Hulk leaving the situation looking desperate with an unclear path to victory.
But through that destruction, Johnson keeps things focused not on the Infernal Hulk’s terror, but more importantly on the heroes who want to be anything but. At first it was Bruce Banner, hiding out with Betsy Ross, having lost his ability to become the Hulk and attempting to live a normal life. Johnson has now added Charlie Tidwell to the mix of heroes and weapons, a character who might really shift the battle. Together, we get a story of two individuals dragged into the situation and seeing a duty they have to do, not want to do.
But, even with two glimmer of hopes, Johnson also ramps things up giving us moments that echo the best zombie stories with overwhelming forces and those standing up against them with the odds not in their favor. It continues the feeling of desperation that has been a driver of this series, a pervasive feeling held by so many.
That feeling is helped by Adam Gorham‘s art who along with Matthew Wilson‘s colors and Cory Petit‘s lettering, creates a comic that’s steeped in emotion and horror. There’s a sense of overwhelming dread in multiple ways in the issue. Even the bright spots, Banner fighting a demon and the Lycana revelation, still are muted in same way, as if these might go away at any moment (and one might). Add in the ending, and you have an issue whose visuals add to the unknown as to who is gaining ground in the battle. The issue, and series as a whole, also continues to do an amazing job with the color, delivering a darker look but one that’s not all shadows. There’s a glow that has permeated the comic from early on, an almost fluorescent choice, that gives the comic a sickly feel. The lettering too continues to pack in the emotion and add to each moment.
The Infernal Hulk #10 is another fantastic issue of a fantastic series of a fantastic run. There’s till a whole other chapter still to come, and it’s building to be a doozy. Johnson continues to show he’s a master at long form comic storytelling, one that doesn’t feel decompressed, but one where each issue is packed with key moments. Mixed with some fantastic art, The Infernal Hulk continues to be the best comic Marvel is releasing right now.
Story: Phillip Kennedy Johnson Art: Adam Gorham
Color: Matthew Wilson Letterer: Cory Petit
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle
