THE UNBOXING - APRIL 2019

What's this? The Unboxing on Friday?! It's true, and the reason why will be explained in this very space... next Friday! But for now, after skipping the past two months, The Unboxing returns at last with three offerings from Marvel, and I think the wait was worth it!

First we have two trade paperbacks, starting with CAPTAIN AMERICA EPIC COLLECTION: THE SUPERIA STRATAGEM. Over the past few years, Marvel has been steadily plugging away at completing Mark Gruenwald's ten-year run on CAPTAIN AMERICA in a number of trade paperbacks. Currently, thanks to this new volume and the previously released Epic Collections SOCIETY OF SERPENTS, JUSTICE IS SERVED, THE BLOODSTONE HUNT, and STREETS OF POISON, plus the out-of-print Epic-in-all-but-name THE CAPTAIN, we've got issues 307 - 397 collected. That's ninety-one issues plus associated annuals and such, covering nearly the first seven years of Gruenwald's run. Gruenwald's final CAP issue was 443, so we've still got quite a ways to go, but at the very least it's safe to say that the "prime" material is pretty much all available at this point. (Though I love all of it and will happily snap up the rest of the run as it's released!)

Next is X-MEN: ONSLAUGHT AFTERMATH, and I cannot overstate how absolutely thrilled I am to own this book. Those who follow my X-Men Collected Editions chart know that this was the final piece needed to close the X-Men's 1990s gap. As of now, thanks to ONSLAUGHT AFTERMATH, EVERY. SINGLE. ISSUE. of UNCANNY X-MEN and X-MEN from the full decade of the nineties has been collected. I seriously want to do a little jig over this. It's been my goal for about the past five years to have that entire run of issues on my bookshelf, and now I can finally say that the mission is accomplished.

(Of course this isn't to say I won't re-buy some of this material as it finds its way into better collections -- upgrading from paperbacks to hardcovers, for example -- but the point is that for now, the goal is complete.)

And speaking of rebuying, our last book is one that I couldn't resist even though I've purchased all of it in various formats over the years -- comics when I was a teen, trade paperbacks and hardcovers as an adult... but now we have it here, all collected in one comprehensive and definitive oversized hardcover, just in time for a certain major motion picture it inspired: the THANOS WARS: INFINITY ORIGIN OMNIBUS. The name is an inelegant mouthful, but the contents are what's important here. This book collects all of Jim Starlin's early Thanos material, from his first appearance in IRON MAN #55, through his war against Captain Mar-Vell and the Avengers, and up to his dealings with Adam Warlock -- plus everything in between, whether Thanos-related or not. I've probably mentioned it here before, but for the record, Starlin's cosmic stuff at 1970s Marvel is among my all-time favorite comic book runs, and it's wonderful to see it get the high-end treatment it deserves at long last.

X-MEN: ROAD TO ONSLAUGHT VOLUMES 1 - 3

Volume 1: Paperback, 2014. Collects 1995's X-MEN PRIME, UNCANNY X-MEN #322 - 326, X-MEN #42 - 45, X-MEN ANNUAL '95, and X-MEN UNLIMITED #8.

Volume 2: Paperback, 2014. Collects 1995-96's UNCANNY X-MEN #327 & 328, X-MEN #46 - 49, X-MEN UNLIMITED #9, X-MEN/CLANDESTINE #1 & 2, and SABRETOOTH SPECIAL.

Volume 3: Paperback, 2014. Collects 1996's UNCANNY X-MEN #329 - 332, X-MEN #50 - 52, X-MEN UNLIMITED #10, X-MEN/BROOD #1 & 2, ARCHANGEL #1, WOLVERINE #101, and the XAVIER INSTITUTE ALUMNI YEARBOOK.

In 2014, Marvel enacted an ambitious plan to plug the gap between the AGE OF APOCALYPSE OMNIBUS and the ONSLAUGHT OMNIBUS with a series of three big trade paperbacks collecting every issue of X-MEN, UNCANNY X-MEN, X-MEN UNLIMITED, and other odds and ends which ran between 1995 and 1996. The result is a set of handsome books chock full of stories by various creators.

Volume one wastes no time, kicking right off with X-MEN PRIME, establishing the post-"Age of Apocalypse" X-universe. Then we have UNCANNY X-MEN 322, in which Onslaught's name is first spoken by Juggernaut -- though at that point no one, not even series writer Scott Lobdell, knew who or even what "Onslaught" was. X-MEN 42 through 44 follow, as writer Fabian Nicieza tells a story of Cyclops and Jean Grey and their roles in the fall of Magneto's space station, Avalon. Then it's back to UNCANNY for issues 323 and 324, featuring the debut of the mutant terrorists known as Gene Nation.

Next comes X-MEN ANNUAL '95 starring Jean and Beast and featuring my all-time favorite Mister Sinister story, by J.M. DeMatteis, Terry Dodson, and John Paul Leon. After this, it's a celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the "All-New, All-Different" X-Men in UNCANNY #325 and X-MEN #45, featuring a reunion between Colossus and his former teammates and a connection between Gambit and Mister Sinister, respectively. X-MEN 45 is also the final issue from Nicieza, who had been the series' scripter all the way back to #11.

X-MEN/AVENGERS: ONSLAUGHT OMNIBUS

Hardcover, 2015. Collects 1996's CABLE #32-36; UNCANNY X-MEN #333-337; X-FORCE #55 & 57-58; X-MAN #15-19; X-MEN #53-57, X-MEN ANNUAL '96; X-MEN UNLIMITED #11; ONSLAUGHT: X-MEN; ONSLAUGHT: MARVEL UNIVERSE; ONSLAUGHT: EPILOGUE; AVENGERS #401-402; FANTASTIC FOUR #415; INCREDIBLE HULK #444-445; WOLVERINE #104-105; X-FACTOR #125-126; AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #415; GREEN GOBLIN #12; SPIDER-MAN #72; IRON MAN #332; PUNISHER #11; THOR #502; X-MEN: ROAD TO ONSLAUGHT; and material from UNCANNY X-MEN #287, EXCALIBUR #100 & more.

I've been waiting years for this thing. For many fans, that statement is enough to raise questions about my sanity. But I can't help it; I have really, really strong feelings attached to the "Onslaught" crossover.

Earlier this year I wrote a bit about how much I love the year or so of X-Men comics that came between "Age of Apocalypse" and "Onslaught" -- and while, as an adult, I recognize the "Onslaught" event is not as impressive as I found it in my teens, there's still a lot to like about this book.

Some years back, Marvel published a SECRET WARS II OMNIBUS. I didn't pick it up as I really dislike that storyline, but the cool thing about the book was that it included all the various crossover issues -- and SECRET WARS II crossed over with pretty much every book in the Marvel line back then. So if one were to read the SWII collection, they'd essentially be looking at a time capsule of Marvel's continuity circa 1985-86. The ONSLAUGHT OMNIBUS provides a similar experience for the Marvel of a decade later. This book gives us a wonderful snapshot of Marvel's 1996 line, for better or worse: Noseless Wolverine. Shirtless Thor. "Joseph". Ben Reilly as Spider-Man. Teenage Iron Man. The Punisher with a ponytail. G.W. Bridge in command of S.H.I.E.L.D. -- and more. It may not all be to everyone's taste -- much of it isn't even to mine -- but the fact remains that this is, in a way, "my" Marvel. And because of that, I have very fond memories of all of it, even the stuff I don't (and didn't) like.

THE UNBOXING - SEPTEMBER 2015

I've got quite a variety pack this month! First, from Marvel, is something I've been awaiting for a long time. Call me insane if you must, but I have wanted an X-MEN/AVENGERS ONSLAUGHT OMNIBUS since around the time Marvel started collecting all the various nineties X-Men events in oversized hardcover format. For a while it seemed like this wasn't going to happen, as the X-Men OHC program skipped past "Onslaught" to "Zero Tolerance", then slowed down a bit. Furthermore, the full "Onslaught" event has already been collected in a line of trade paperbacks a few years earlier. But now, at long last, it's here. Watch this space for a full-length review of the book next week.

Next from Image, is RED ONE: WELCOME TO AMERICA, a graphic novel I picked up solely on the strength of Terry Dodson's artwork. I've been a fan of Dodson since his days on Marvel's GENERATION X, and while I haven't read everything he ever drew, I've picked up certain items here and there. I plan to cover RED ONE in a post next Spring.

And lastly, Dark Horse brings their collaboration with Dynamite on CONAN/RED SONJA. I don't talk much about "sword and sorcery" type stuff around here, but I'm a fan of the genre in some respects. I intend to write about this book as well next Spring, hopefully once Dynamite's companion RED SONJA/CONAN book is also released in a collected edition.

THE ROAD TO ONSLAUGHT

A love letter to the X-Men of the mid-nineties.

A few weeks back, in my review of WOLVERINE AND GAMBIT: VICTIMS, I noted that "...VICTIMS takes me back to high school and the year between 'Age of Apocalypse' and 'Onslaught', one of my favorite points in X-Men history." This bold statement elicited a comment from reader wwk5d, who said: "Interesting. That is probably one of my least favorite points."

I get this a lot, and I've seen the sentiment expressed often from many quarters. But it's just not the case for me. And don't get me wrong; I'm certain nostalgia plays a huge role in my opinion here. So much so that I'm going to ask you to bear with me as a provide a little backstory to hopefully explain where I'm coming from when I describe my affection for this era.

Although I had dabbled in the X-Men dating back to the Claremont/Lee X-MEN 1-3, I didn't become a regular X-reader until age fourteen with 1993's X-MEN #20, the issue whose cover teased the dramatic return of someone wearing a billowing purple cape. It wasn't Magneto, as readers were meant to believe, but Psylocke's former body possessed of a different character's consciousness (it's a long, long, long, long story -- and, perhaps tellingly as it pertains to the rest of this post, I was positively enraptured at that time by the mystery of Psylocke and her "twin", Revanche). In any case, the bait-and-switch tactic worked beautifully on me and from that issue forward I continued to pick up Fabian Nicieza's X-MEN every month.

THE UNBOXING - JANUARY 2015

A new year brings with it a new series of "Unboxing" posts, and we're kicking things off nicely with offerings from both Marvel and DC this month.

First we have WARLOCK MASTERWORKS volume 1 (paperback edition). I am a huge fan of Jim Starlin's Adam Warlock, and I own the hardcover version of the second WARLOCK MASTERWORKS volume, containing all of Starlin's work with the character (more recently reprinted in a non-Masterworks trade paperback edition). But I've never read the earlier Warlock material by Roy Thomas and friends, so this trade seemed like the best way to do that. Also, it has the dubious honor of being the final paperback Marvel Masterworks volume, as that secondary line has been officially discontinued.

Next from Marvel is X-MEN: THE ROAD TO ONSLAUGHT volume 3, the final installment in the series covering the full year of X-Material between "Age of Apocalypse" and "Onslaught". I will reiterate for the umpteenth time that, despite its many detractors, this was possibly my favorite period for the X-Men growing up, and I love that I now have that full year in my possession via three thick paperbacks. Next stop: ONSLAUGHT OMNIBUS!

ONSLAUGHT OMNIBUS ON THE WAY

I mentioned this in the comments on my X-MEN COLLECTED EDITIONS page a while back, but now we have enough information for a real post: Coming in July, filling a gaping hole in Marvel's oversize hardcover X-Men collections, is the long-awaited, highly anticipated ONSLAUGHT OMNIBUS:

Merry belated Christmas to all, says Marvel! The Collected Editions page will be updated with this info in the near future.