THE UNBOXING - MAY 2015

Four books comprise my haul this month, beginning with AVENGERS: ULTRON UNBOUND, a trade from Marvel which collects a few issues of the Roy Thomas AVENGERS WEST COAST run featuring Ultron, star of this month's summer blockbuster, AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON.

Also from Marvel is the pulp-influenced SKULL THE SLAYER, a series which lasted eight issues in the seventies but somehow had three writers across that span. I've always wanted to read this short-lived series, given its influences from the likes of Doc Savage and Conan the Barbarian.

Marvel also brings out SPIDER-MAN: THE COMPLETE ALIEN COSTUME SAGA VOLUME 2, continuing their apparent to effort to collect all the pre-Venom stories featuring Spider-Man's symbiotic costume. Volume 1 was released last year and I procured it in August. This book features some overlap with SPIDER-MAN EPIC COLLECTION: GHOSTS OF THE PAST, but also has plenty of unreprinted material as well from the sister magazines, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, MARVEL TEAM-UP, and WEB OF SPIDER-MAN.

Last up, from DC, is DEATHSTROKE THE TERMINATOR VOLUME 1: ASSASSINS. I've greatly enjoyed Deathstroke's appearances in the Marv Wolfman/George Pérez NEW TEEN TITANS, so I figured I'd give this Wolfman-scripted series, turning the character into a nineties anti-hero, a look. For those interested, volume 2 is also available for pre-order.