It’s the first New Comic Book Day of December, so let’s get into this week’s new releases!

Single issues:

In the heart of the Civil War event, a human story unfolds. A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, doing his best to do the job with honour – but is that possible anymore? A young, low-level super hero, trying to help his neighbours – but that’s not even legal any more. The two come together in a story that’ll test their commitment, ideals, hopes and dreams, by Hugo-Award-winning writer Saladin Ahmed (Miles Morales: Spider-Man, The Magnificent Ms. Marvel) and artist Ryan Kelley (Lucifer, Stranger Things). Featuring Captain America, Giant-Man, Maria Hill and more.

The latest in the Marvel Snapshots series – a series which tells the stories of the regular people and their lives of the Marvel Universe. You don’t necessarily need to read the previous instalments in this series (though you should, because they’re really good), but I would read Civil War before this!

The grand unveiling of The Union! A team of super heroes gathered from all over the United Kingdom, featuring Union Jack, Snakes, Kelpie, Choir, and their fearless leader, Brittania! But when disaster strikes on their first public debut, in the form of the invasion of Empyre, the fledgling team is immediately pushed to their limits!

From what my research has told me, Union Jack is the only existing Marvel character in this team, so you should be fine going into this one without much pre-reading. My only advice would be to read the Empyre series first, to understand exactly what is going on here.

From Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum, showrunners of the upcoming animated Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K. show on Hulu, comes a journey into the mind of one of the biggest heads in the Marvel Universe! M.O.D.O.K. is the ruthless and brilliant leader of the terrorist organisation AIM, outsmarting heroes and outmaneuvering his cutthroat colleagues gunning for his position… but when he begins to be haunted by memories of a family he never had, it leaves him unsure if he is losing his freakishly-large mind, or if perhaps there is a lot more to this enormous mind… or if there is something more sinister behind these visions.  

This one will be interesting, as this is written by the same team as the Hulu TV show! I would do a bit of research into M.O.D.O.K, just to get an idea of the character first, but it shouldn’t tie into any massive event!

Knull, god of the symbiotes, will haunt your nightmares as we celebrate the legacy of the House of Ideas with MARVEL TALES! This anthology series shines a spotlight on fan-favorite characters, features timeless stories and highlights some of Marvel’s most impressive talent from the past eight decades. First, superstar creators Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman introduce Knull in crucial chapters of their sensational reinvention of the Venom mythos! In VENOM (2018) #3-4, Venom and Miles Morales stand in the way of a symbiote dragon terrorising Manhattan – but what connects it to Knull? In VENOM: CARNAGE BORN, from Cates and Danilo Beyruth, a deadly cult resurrects the serial killer Carnage as an agent of Knull! And legendary artist Mark Bagley illustrates Venom’s fight for survival in VENOM (2018) #25, setting the stage for Knull’s imminent arrival in the epic KING IN BLACK!

If you’re interested in the new King In Black event, but have no idea who Knull is, then this is the comic to read!

DARKNESS REIGNS!
After a campaign across the galaxy, Knull’s death march arrives to Earth and, worse yet, he hasn’t come alone! With an army of hundreds of thousands of symbiote dragons at his command, the King in Black is a force unlike any Earth’s heroes have ever faced. EDDIE BROCK, A.K.A. VENOM has seen firsthand the chaos that even one of Knull’s symbiotic monsters can wreak – will he survive an encounter with the God of the Abyss himself?

Speaking of King In Black, here’s the start of the series! You will need to have read the last two years worth of Venom (it’s all by Donny Cates, so should be easy enough to find, but I’ll do a reading guide soon for those who need it!) but other than that, you’ll be able to get right in there!

The Fantastic Four have earned some much-needed time away from the job, and Reed has planned a – well, fantastic – old-fashioned family vacation to the Grand Canyon for some good rest, relaxation and team-bonding time. But Reed’s manic mind can’t quite disengage, and soon an obsessive side experiment he brought with him has all of them experiencing gruesome and terrifying side effects from his strange specimens. As everyone’s bodies begin to horribly go awry on a cellular level, it’s a race to solve their lethal affliction, all while stuck in a remote Arizona cabin with no help for miles.

You should be able to read this without having to read anything else first, as it’s a one-shot. But, be warned, it sounds like it’s heading into horror territory, so if you’re not good with horror, maybe sit this one out!

Bind ups:

Strange changes for the Hulk! Doc Samson has a wild plan to separate Bruce Banner and the Hulk for good – but can Banner survive without his emerald alter ego? And can the planet survive a rampaging, Banner-less Hulk? As the Avengers battle the behemoth, a new team of Hulkbusters forms – and Bruce, seemingly free at last, finally finds happiness with Betty Ross! But two halves of a whole can’t stay apart forever, and the Hulk that returns is surlier, craftier – and gray! But if this is the Hulk, then who’s the long-haired green giant smashing up the American Southwest? And which longtime supporting character will meet their maker? Featuring the complete classic John Byrne run – and the status quo-smashing setup to Peter David’s multiyear epic!

Collecting issues from 1968 and 1982, previous volumes are: Man Or Monster?, The Hulk Must Die, The Leader Lives, In The Hands Of Hydra and Who Will Judge The Hulk?

The ageless enemies of the Eternals turn on Asgard! Beneath the ruins of Asgard, the Deviant villain Ereshkigal seeks a mystic means of saving her race from extinction – and finds instead a weapon capable of dissolving all reality! When the Eternals who would oppose her mysteriously vanish, Thor stands alone – to stop the entire Deviant race from dominating the world! Traveling to the Eternals’ home of Olympia and the Deviants’ city Lemuria and battling dinosaurs alongside Ka-Zar in the distant Savage Land, Thor must fight to preserve the future of both races! But when Gilgamesh the Forgotten One returns, the Eternals’ fate is revealed! Can Thor prevent the collapse of space and time and protect the world from annihilation? 

This is a new printing of an old bind up, and it hasn’t had the best reviews in the world. But, it doesn’t have any major universe tie-ins, so you can read this one with just basic knowledge of Thor and the Eternals.

The future comes knocking! With the original New Mutants off in space, the rest of the youth of Krakoa begin to take initiative and craft the tomorrow they want to live in. Armour leads an outreach party, seeking young mutants who have chosen not to come to Krakoa – beginning with Beak, Angel and their family! But what starts as a simple visit to check in on old friends goes dangerously wrong! In the face of a terrible tragedy, the New Mutants must soldier on despite the pain – but reality itself is beginning to betray them, and they’re losing hope quickly. Helping young mutants in crisis is becoming downright nightmarish. Can the New Mutants find a way to strike back and preserve a Krakoan future for all young mutants?

Another bind up from the Dawn Of X saga (event guide coming later in the month, for those who need it!) – but, essentially, you don’t need this if you have all of Dawn Of X. I’ll go into more detail in my event guide on specific team bind ups.

Charles Xavier is dead – killed twenty years in the past during a time-travel accident – and the world created by his absence is a nightmare! Apocalypse rules with an iron fist, ruthlessly enforcing his dictum that only the strong shall survive. But hidden in the long shadow of En Sabah Nur is a group of ragtag freedom fighters led by Xavier’s oldest friend, Magneto: the X-Men! When Bishop, last survivor of the true Marvel Universe, explains how the world went wrong, these embittered mutants and their tenuous allies must risk everything to put things right!

Another reprinting of an old bind up, with an updated reading order, so there’s no better time to jump onto this event! It even opens with Legionquest, which is the prelude for this event.

The end of an era! It’s poker night at Casa Danvers with Wolverine, Monica Rambeau, Spider-Woman, Hazmat, Jessica Jones and Ms. Marvel all in the game! But the fun ends as a cosmic conflict breaks out. And when EMPYRE unites the Kree and the Skrulls, Captain Marvel takes on a bold new role – as the Supreme Accuser, wielding the Universal Weapon! Carol has become Emperor Hulkling’s swift and necessary hammer of justice – but when she’s tasked to accuse a renegade soldier responsible for heinous crimes, she finds herself torn between two worlds! Carol recruits some of her staunchest allies to help bring down the hammer of justice! But with the end of a war, Captain Marvel must make a choice that will define her life – and the lives of those closest to her!

To read this, you’ll need to read Road To Empyre, Empyre, Captain Marvel: Re-Entry, Falling Star and The Last Avenger first.

And that’s everything coming out! What’s on your pull list this week? I’ve definitely got my eye on Age Of Apocalypse: Alpha and Captain Marvel: Accused!