Marvel’s Midnight Universe Has Been Unveiled and It's a Bit Underwhelming

I wrote just a smidgen ago about how Marvel was hinting about a new, “Midnight Universe,” that would feature Marvel with more of a horror bent. Many people, myself included, thought this meant a lot of beloved and cult creepy characters Marvel has would be featured in dark, edgy tales. Well, Marvel just started releasing details this week. We’re getting X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man…but evil/scary. Yawn.  Oh, and the X-Men are, of course, vampires because Marvel always has had a weird affinity for making the X-Men hang out with or occasionally turn into vampires (hey, Jubilee).

A twisted universe with no heroes and only monstrous versions of Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, the Werewolf by Night, and Blade or such could be such a cool concept. Instead, we’re just churning out another iteration of the biggest characters Marvel has—but spooky! This news has evaporated much of my interest in the Midnight Universe. The creative teams are quite good, which is the only thing that hasn’t utterly erased a cautious optimism I feel. Jonathan Hickman with Matteo Della Fonte on the X-Men book, Benjamin Percy and Kev Walker doing Fantastic Four, and Phillip Kennedy-Johnson with Scie Tronc—the first-ever Marvel book he’s done art for.

I sincerely hope the Midnight Universe is indeed Marvel’s horror-heavy answer to DC’s immense success with the Absolute Universe. I want all comic publishers to do well, big or small, because then the comic industry itself remains strong. Healthy sales benefit everyone, but I just don’t know if this Midnight Universe sounds particularly interesting or all that new. The X-Men have had plenty of interactions with vampires, and Spider-Man has been a more spider-like beast on numerous occasions, too. The Fantastic Four comic does intrigue me a bit, however, because Percy and Walker are a Hell of a good team. Basically, I will try the first issues of each of these series, and we’ll see what happens from there.

"Superman: The Warworld Saga," is an Epic Read!

"Superman: The Warworld Saga," is a hefty trade paperback that collects the entire big yarn of Superman going to Warworld to fight Mongul. That makes the story sound simple, but there is a lot to it. There are offshoot Kryptonians, Superman's powers seeming to be on the fritz, an alternate Universe trip, some characters from The Authority, and a deep dive into exploring just what makes the horrific conqueror Mongul function the way he does. The main thrust of the book is how no matter the odds, Superman is going to try to help people/aliens/etc.. Even if those very entities try to drain him of his powers, take advantage of his kindness, and so forth. He'll be there, inspiring hope.

A lot of comics leading up to Superman's time on Warworld and then fighting against Mongul while low on his usual abilities are collected in this big tome, and it is a saga for sure. I will say the, "Future State," issues at the end of the book read like slightly overlong epilogues to the main juicy entree of sorts, but everything before that is quite engaging and even those handful of issues make a nice little closer to this massive book. Seriously, I set this down on my bed one night while reading it and shifted my leg having forgotten it was there. It fell onto the floor with the loudest thump that my wife was worried I had fallen out of bed for a second.

There are a metric ton of skilled artists collected in, "Superman: The Warworld Saga," as this story encompasses multiple comics. Everyone does a great job despite a variety of styles appearing whether it's David Lapham, Ben Templesmith, Ian Churchhill, Dale Eaglesham, or a bunch of other folks. The almost sole writer (besides a little smidgen by Simon Spurrier) is Phillip Kennedy Johnson, crafting this epic tale across a bunch of series. Having one writer for almost the entirety of this saga helps give it a strong thematic voice that stays present throughout the whole TPB even as the art can change quite a bit across various collected books. Johnson and the many artists result in this being a stellar read I greatly enjoyed across the multiple days it took to finish this big ol' book. I would highly recommend checking out, "Superman: The Warworld Saga," whether you get it from your local comic shop, bookstore, or library. It's a fantastic collection!

5 out of 5 stars.

The First Two Issues of the Latest, "Incredible Hulk," Run Are Quite Entertaining

Not too long ago we had one of the best runs focused on the Hulk ever. Al Ewing and Joe Bennett's "The Immortal Hulk," was superb, and whatever came after it would unfortunately face impossible expectations and quite likely fail to measure up. That led to, "Hulk," by Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley. It limped to 14 issues and was marked by Cates simply quitting and Ottley remarking how it was possibly the last time he'd do a corporate book as opposed to his own creator-owned stuff. The series started off fun, at least, but we were left wondering what could have been by the sudden end. Thankfully, with just two issues it has become clear that this latest run of, "The Incredible Hulk," is a return to that lovely horrifying vibe of, "Immortal," while also being its own thing.

Phillip Kennedy Johnson is writing with Nic Klein on art and, "The Incredible Hulk," has made it clear we're in some creepy territory. There's a super-powerful dark monster summoning all the other creatures to come help it and the Hulk might be the only thing that can stand in the way. Bruce Banner and the Hulk are back to squabbling with each other as they often do, however, so that complicates any plans to stop the World from its latest cataclysmic threat. In this issue, we meet some folks rising from the dead with one of their leaders, Sister Sadie, spreading an eerie gospel to a bunch of somewhat-cognizant zombies. It is a bit humorous and quite creepy.

The Hulk works in many fashions. He can be heroic and hang with other heroes. He can even be comedic relief at times. For my money, however, I like when he is a terrifying force of nature that invokes more fear than joy in those who witness him. The Hulk is Bruce Banner's Id when you drill everything down to its most basic. He is rage and destruction incarnate. The only saving grace to the Hulk is there are sometimes things even more alarming and spine-chilling than him. Having a comic focused on the Hulk going up against other supernatural and horrifying monsters helps make this point clear. I'm all for it and based on these first two issues I think we're in for a wild and scary ride!

5 out of 5 stars (for both issues).

Checking Out Some Zombie Comics--"Dceased: Dead Planet," #3 and, "Marvel Zombies: Resurrection," #1

You like zombies? You like comics? Well, buckle-up and get ready for some fun via zombie-themed comics that both have really long titles. I'm talking about the latest DC mini-series in the, "DCeased," line, "DCeased: Dead Planet," and the first-but-kinda-second issue of, "Marvel Zombies: Ressurection." I liked both for similar reasons--they are clever, a little gruesome, but also quite funny.

"DCeased: Dead Planet," takes place a number of years after the first mini-series, with a grown-up Damian Wayne as Batman and Conner Kent as Superman returning to their original Earth after fleeing to one from another dimension in the hopes of actually curing a zombie plague. Things have gone quite awry, however, and the people left alive on this Earth are both the best and worst of humanity. Trevor Hairsine illustrates the nasty zombies quite well and Tom Taylor injects levity where needed--such as when Damian Wayne and Jim Gordon hug and observe if any villains had realized Bruce Wayne's biggest fear was emotional vulnerability they could've run him out of Gotham with a reassuring pat on the back. There is also a bunker full of DC's richest jerks who've managed to use their money and some questionable tech to stay alive, and it is hinted they will be quite an issue a bit later. It's good stuff.

"Marvel Zombies: Ressurection," is a new take on the, "Marvel Zombies," that were quite popular some years ago, and although this is the first issue, it actually is a follow-up to a one-shot that laid the groundwork for this series some months ago pre-pandemic with the same creative team on that comic as this one--writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and fantastic illustrator Leonard Kirk. I'm not as familiar with Johnson's writing as I am Kirk's artwork, but he gives us a solid yarn, discussing how the zombie virus seems to alter mutants and those with powers in ways a bit stranger than normal folk, and he keeps things light too such as with a sentinel that was reprogrammed to act and talk like British nanny for the Fantastic Four's kids--Franklin and Valeria. As with, "DCeased: Dead Planet," certain threats are foreshadowed and questions are raised (Franklin has mysteriously lost his powers and Spider-Man seems to know why but ain't telling) and thanks to Kirk the whole thing looks gorgeously disgusting.

"DCeased: Dead Planet," and, "Marvel Zombies: Ressurection," both provide quality zombie-related yarns thanks to great writing and artwork that fits the at-times gruesome scenes well too. I enjoyed reading both and would recommend checking each series and the issues that came before these out.
4 out of 5 stars (for both).