"Avengers: Armageddon," #2 and, "Captain America," #13 are Two Comics by the Same Writer Yet Have Such a Tonal Difference

Chip Zdarsky is a fantastic writer. There are not too many folks writing comics at Marvel right now I get excited to pick up the work of, but they include Jed MacKay, Jonathan Hickman, and good ol' Chip. Last week, he had two comics come out that take place within the same Universe, a part of the same event (to a degree), and are just so different it is astounding. You've got the second issue of, "Avengers: Armageddon," which is full of geopolitical intrigue, arguments about how to utilize militaristic power in the name of affecting change, and so forth. Then, Captain America was brutally injured by the Red Hulk/Thunderbolt Ross before, "Avengers: Armageddon," and his comic follows him in some surreal iteration of Hell, leading damned souls and some demons to overthrow Mephisto. It's good, but weird.

One comic is doing an interesting take on, "Powerful hero questions why the other heroes do so little," concept, which has been riffed on by everyone from Alan Moore (Miracleman) to your friend who complains, "Why won't Batman just kill the Joker?" This questioning is being done with by a newer character, David Colton, who appeared in the start of Zdarsky's run on, "Captain America," in a flashback arc (to establish he's been around in continuity but just hasn't been seen much) and then got some extra powers due to a magical Origin Box from the Ultimate Universe...yeah, it is a bit confusing, comics can be wacky. It is still interesting and slightly grounded in reality with its exploration of if, "Might makes right," and how much justification America has to put its forces in other countries--be they superheroes or the military.

Meanwhile, we've got the same writer taking the, "Captain America," comic that had the same vibe but suddenly segued us into Hell. As for why Captain America went to Hell, Doctor Doom kinda ended up there too when he died in his recent, "One World Under Doom," comic (he's got some beef with the Devil, as past comics established) and used his magic to get Steve Rogers dragged down there too upon being mortally wounded. This is not a metaphorical or symbolic Hell, either; this is a literal Hell, full of mystical monsters and fire. The shift from, "Riffing on real-world politics with fictional superheroes," to, "Hey, let's take a big journey through Hell," brings some tonal whiplash for sure, but Zdarsky is a skilled enough writer that it isn't too jarring. Plus, again, comics can be wacky! Both comics are great reads, and this isn't a review so much as me discussing how strange comics can get. Chip Zdarsky knows how to spin a good yarn, though, and I congratulate him on his, "Stillwater," comic getting a T.V. series order, as well!

The, “Avengers,” Comic Has a Relaunch Incoming

When it was recently announced that a relaunch of the, "Avengers," comic was happening with Chip Zdarsky writing, my first reaction was, “Wasn’t this declared months ago?” You see, in my apparent ignorance, I thought the new, “Avengers: Armageddon,” comic which Chip Zdarsky is doing with artists Delio Diaz and Frank Allier, was the latest ongoing book about the Avengers, hence, you know, the book’s name. Apparently, it is merely a five-issue miniseries that will lead into the actual relaunch of, “Avengers,” this Fall. It will continue to have Zdarsky writing it but will feature Marco Checchetto on art. Why they did not make the Armageddon mini-series simply the first arc of this new series, I am unsure; comics, they never make sense, and that’s so fun!

Anyways, the latest true run of, “Avengers,” hits stands this November. Zdarsky is among a relatively small number of writers over at Marvel who are putting out stuff I dig (much of Marvel’s output lately is weak), so I am a bit excited to check this out along with its lead-in, “Avengers: Armageddon." I’ll put up with nonsensical series orders if the talent is solid, I suppose.

Marvel Has the X-Men Event, "DNX," Coming This Fall, and Maybe Too Many Events Occurring, Honestly

Comic-book companies (particularly Marvel and DC) love a big event every now and then. Some take up a bunch of the comic line, and others are a bit more focused. The X-Men have a new horror-styled event called, "DNX," just announced for this Fall. Featuring the tagline, "Evolution is contagious," it makes me wonder if Marvel is aiming for some kind of boost in the number of mutants as was happening pre, "House of M," before the number of mutants was drastically reduced and slowly started growing again to a level where they again work as, "hated and feared minority," without being outright, "Endangered," as they were for a bit.

At the moment, Marvel has a number of smaller events all planned or popping off at once for better and worse. As Bleedingcool discussed, "So that's DNX for the X-Men, Armageddon for Avengers, Death Spiral for Spider-Man and Venom, and Queen In Black for Venom and Thor… any more for any more?" They're being snarky, but have a point about, "Eventitis," as it is sometimes called. Marvel seems to be stuck either doing a single massive event or a bunch of small ones at a near-constant rate. DC, meanwhile, has been steadily gaining more of the comic market through a slow-and-steady growth of their massively popular, "Absolute," line and an event here and there, such as the recently concluded and generally inoffensively fun, "DC K.O." I'm not the head of either company so I am wholly unqualified to argue who is doing, "Better." I would say a lot more people are excited for DC comics these days than a lot of Marvel's output, however.

The last big X-Men event I gave much attention to was, "House of X/Powers of X," which led into an era of the X-Men and many mutants spending a lot of time living on the island of Krakoa before that all wound down with little of consequence to show for an epic start and whimper of a conclusion. That said, a lot of these events are about the journey, not the destination ("Flashpoint," was a ton of fun years ago and led into the ho-hum New 52). Will the, "Adventure," we have with DNX or any other Marvel event strike enough of a nerve that people will really dig them? We shall see, and in the end, the comics at Marvel almost seem like an afterthought with how much is undoubtedly riding on the Marvel Cinematic Universe and if, "Avengers Doomsday," and, "Secret Wars," will undo the general feeling of disinterest many folks have had towards the MCU since, "Endgame." It is going to be a pivotal 2026 for Marvel, that's for sure.

"Avengers: Armageddon," #1 Will Come With Promotional, "Magic the Gathering," Card

Here is some interesting marketing synergy. Marvel has partnered with Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast for assorted, "Magic the Gathering," promotions and is now bringing it in directly to the comics. You see, the first printing of the first issue of, "Avengers: Armageddon," kicks off an event series (written by Chip Zdarsky with art by  Frank Alpizar and Delio Diaz) and will have a special card that you can--I assume--use in your Magic games. I know almost nothing about, "Magic: The Gathering," as friends have tried to get me into it, but I always told them I spend enough hours and funds on my current hobbies not to need a new timesink and money pit. That said, I did play the virtual card game,"Hearthstone," some years ago, and when I was a wee lad, and only 151 Pokémon existed, I played that trading card game. Hence, I have some familiarity with trading card games and know Magic is a big one.

This promotion makes me wonder if the goal is more to get comic fans into Magic (nah) or to encourage Magic fans to try some Marvel comics (likely). I'm leaning more towards the latter as it is clever to have the card accompany the debut of a big new event. I could imagine someone who is really into, "Magic: The Gathering," buying the issue mainly for the card, but reading the comic and wanting to follow along with at least this latest big happening in the Marvel continuity (it helps Zdarsky is among the few writers at Marvel putting out stuff in the, "Main," Universe that I like and don't find drab along with Jed MacKay's work on Moon Knight). I could see the result being short-term success for the debut, but I wonder if there will be interest in the follow-up issues, depending on whether gamers read the actual issue. We shall see!