With the release of Uncanny Avengers earlier this month, Marvel Comics ushered in the time of Marvel NOW! Don’t call it a reboot, Marvel Comics has enacted this relaunch initiative to provide new jumping on points for readers. It’s also an opportunity to shuffle creators from long standing runs to new titles and characters. If you’re anything like us, you want to keep track of them all, and due to the spread-out nature of Marvel NOW!, it’s gotten a bit tricky. This isn’t like the DC Comics reboot with The New 52, which rolled out new number one issues over the span of one month (And we provided a handy guide for you then). Rather, Marvel has teed up a launch schedule of their new titles to roll out from November to March 2013.
Now, we know that some titles won’t be relaunching with number one issues, like Wolverine & The X-Men and Journey Into Mystery, rather just adopting the Marvel NOW! banner. But there are over 20 new series to keep track of and it dawned on us that we weren’t quite sure what was coming out when and so, we give you: The Definitive Guide to Marvel NOW!
| Art | Title | Creative Team (Writer/Artist) | Launch Month |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Uncanny Avengers | Rick Remender & John Cassaday | October |
 |
A+X | Jeph Loeb, Dan Slott & Dale Keown, Ron Garney | October |
 |
Deadpool | Gerry Duggan, Brian Poeshn & Tony Moore | November |
 |
Iron Man | Kieron Gillen & Greg Land | November |
 |
All-New X-Men | Brian Michael Bendis & Stuart Immonen | November |
 |
Fantastic Four | Matt Fraction & Mark Bagley | November |
 |
Thor: God of Thunder | Jason Aaron & Esad Ribic | November |
 |
X-Men: Legacy | Simon Spurrier & Tan Eng Huat | November |
 |
Captain America | Rick Remender & John Romita, Jr. | November |
 |
Indestructible Hulk | Mark Waid & Lenil Yu | November |
 |
FF | Matt Fraction & Mike Allred | November |
 |
Avengers | Jonathan Hickman & Jerome Opeña | December |
 |
Thunderbolts | Daniel Way & Steve Dillon | December |
 |
Avengers Arena | Dennis Hopless & Kev Walker | December |
 |
Cable and X-Force | Dennis Hopeless & Salvador Larroca | December |
 |
Morbius: The Living Vampire | Joe Keatinge & Richard Elson | January |
 |
New Avengers | Jonathan Hickman & Steve Epting | January |
 |
Uncanny X-Force | Sam Humphries & Ron Garney | January |
 |
The Superior Spider-Man | Dan Slott & Ryan Stegman | January |
 |
Savage Wolverine | Frank Cho | January |
 |
Young Avengers | Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie | January |
 |
Secret Avengers | Nick Spencer & Luke Ross | February |
 |
Nova | Jeph Loeb & Ed McGuiness | February |
 |
Guardians of the Galaxy | Brian Michael Bendis & Steve McNiven | March |
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I think Iron Man by Kieron Gillen and Greg Land is missing from the list.
Thanks – it’s there now
You mean, it’s there NOW!
I am very glad that this is here, and that I did not have to make it.
Sweet
Wow — I mean Now! That is quite a list.
Wasn’t too sure about some of these books when hearing about them piecemeal, but I am counting 12 books I would at least give a chance to ,if not out right get excited about. I mean, Guardians of the Galaxy by Bendis alone, gives me hope for a better future for mankind. Waid and Yu on Hulk, Gillen and McKelvie on YA and the mighty Hickman running Avengers… So much potential, so little money to invest in it.
Well done Marvel, you have defeated me and my wallet once again.
As a long time Marvel guy, I would be livid if they did a reboot. I like Marvel’s history the way it is. Keep that nonsense over at DC.
I’m probably in the minority here, I think marvel has handled this all wrong. While I respect the change of creative teams and some sweet new ideas like Avengers Arena, I think marvel should have just swallowed their pride and did a full on line relaunch like DC.
When I got back into collecting about 2 years ago I was strictly a marvel collector, after the new 52 I find myself with a larger DC pull list than marvel.
I think marvel could have pulled this off. With new number 1’s of smaller titles like X-23 and Ghost rider. Re introduce the marvel universe! New origins, new characters! I think it would have worked.
That being said with the 25ish new Marvel Now titles coming out, I’ll only be pulling maybe 6 or 7 of them.
For what it’s worth, I agree with you.
At least DC took a chance and tried a bunch of new titles. This just looks like more of the same Marvel with a new banner.
@TheRealVenom: I also would have liked to see Marvel Now be a more-definitive re-whatever. While I’m enjoying all the Marvel books I’m currently reading and really looking forward to many of these new ones, I think the piecemeal approach to announcing the new titles and the multi-month roll out feel a little like Marvel is hedging its bets.
But @Patient957, what makes you think this is more of the same? From a creator standpoint, I think the shuffle is really playing to everyone’s strengths. And since AVX put some long-running threads to rest, I think this might really be a new phase for the Marvel Universe (we’ve been in what was essentially a post-House of M status quo for a while now).
And Bendis has been dropping hints about growing problems with the Marvel timestream, so I wouldn’t be surprised if “NOW!” ends up taking on even more meaning in a year or two.
I wasn’t interested in a Marvel reboot so the NOW! approach is OK with me.
The flexibility in the launch date seems to allow for a natural conclusion of all the current series so that’s also fine. I do agree that trying to make an event of this scattershot approach seems kinda ludicrous, but it’s going to boost sales so there is no harm in that.
The new 52 were only able to bring me on with Batman, Batwoman and Wonder Woman but just because they are brill titles. In no way the event was able to shift any of my buying habits. And, by the way, Batman doesn’t read as a fresh reboot. The weight of its history is all there. Could have been a #541 or a #875 and it would have made no difference. Even more so Batwoman which just seems to carry on from the previous series. Wonder Woman is a proper reboot, ok.
P.S.
I hate the concept of Avengers Arena with all my guts. The writer seems capable, the artist is good, but the concept disturbs me deeply.
I really disagree. There is nothing wrong with Marvel’s origins and history. The only problem is the writers either do not care or do not know how to write comics that the average person can understand. If you really want a new beginning do it as a Renewed approach to story telling. Any history that is referred to needs to be explained. Every book should be a story on its own, even if it is part of a larger story.
When I was a kid I could pick up an issue of Spider-man, The Avengers or the Hulk and follow what was happening. There was either a flashback or it was revealed in the dialog or in some other way. Also artists were a larger part of the story telling, they were not just illustration for the writer’s script. If Marvel really wants to get fans back into their books this is the key, not a re-boot.
@kenochalek I’m sure some great books are going to come out of the creator shifts, but that is all I really see here. Going down the list I just see avengers and x books. Sure they are bring back Nova and Guardians but otherwise its nothing new. It should just be called the great creator shuffle. I give DC credit for taking risks and giving smaller characters their own books. Granted a bunch of these titles have been cancelled, but at least they gave it a shot. They really tried something different. I don’t see that with Marvel Now.
@Patient957 There are several “minor characters” books. X-Men: Legacy, FF, Thunderbolts, Red She-Hulk, Morbius: The Living Vampire, Avengers Arena, Journey Into Mystery (a Sif book!), Young Avengers, Winter Soldier, Scarlet Spider and I’m sure there is a few more depending on what you consider a minor character.
@filppod most of the books are not specifically new to Marvel Now. They were already there being released only some of them are now being renumbered and some are not.
@Patient957 True, but still relevant to Marvel’s willingness to try minor characters on books. They already did so before NOW! and they are not reducing it… now. No pun intended.
I agree as well…i buying so much more of DC…and the pricing keeps me coming back for more.
Thanks for doing this!
No Red She-Hulk? Technicality, I know, but they slapped the Marvel NOW! tag on it.
As the opening of the article says, this is only a list of the new series.
@conor stated, “…As the opening of the article says, this is only a list of the new series.”
Noted, but the headline is inaccurate, misleading and down right false.
In truth, it shouldn’t be called a ‘Definitive Guide to Marvel NOW!, but rather “A Guide to the New Series of Marvel NOW!”
Not as catchy mind you, but needs no buried caveats.
@Kmanifesto; They’re not buried, they are right there at the top of the article.
@conor – This article had eight sentences to ‘prove’ the headline. The headline was proven incorrect in the seventh sentence.
Yes, making a disclaimer in the next to the last sentence in your (Ron) article that negates your headline constitutes a ‘buried’ caveat’.
@Kmanifesto: Sorry, no. The words in the article that appear above the chart explain what the chart is. Nothing buried or hidden about it.
Conor stated, “…The words in the article that appear above the chart explain what the chart is.”
Interesting use of semantics because the “words in the article that appear above the chart” would also be called the “last two sentences of the article”. One of which negates the claim made in the headline.
For the record, I’m not stating or wanting to suggest that the headline-negating sentence was on purpose in order to mislead, just merely pointing out a headline that used the word ‘Definitive’ when, in fact, it is not.
Oh this is only a list of NEW series? I thought I was reading a definitive list here…
@kmanifesto: Who cares? I mean really, who freaking cares? That many comments because you didn’t think the headline was semantically accurate? Are you kidding? If the so called “buried caveat” was in the first sentence would you be okay with this? I mean what are you insinuating anyway? That the ifanboys were trying to hide something? Congrats on uncovering this grand conspiracy!!! And not even ONE comment to thank the ifanboys for providing such a helpful guide. Seriously? **COMMENT MODERATED** You’re the kind of person who would argue the pronunciation of nuclear while the bombs were falling.
On a different note, thank you ifanboys for doing this. I was honestly a little unclear about what the actual Marvel NOW! titles are and this really helped.
Two X-Force teams. Hrm.
Gotta give credit where it is due. A lot of these Marvel Now titles have made me very reenergized for marvel comics in general.
Oh a Guardians of the Galaxy book. I think I’ll give it a go. Along with Indestructible Hulk, Deadpool, Fantastic Four and FF.
It’s curious how Marvel went about it… Can’t see why Hawkeye and Gambit are considered Marvel One-minute-ago.
This list is for new series only, that’s why Captain Marvel isn’t on that list.
FYI…If I remember a recent Mark Waid tweet correctly, Daredevil will join the Marvel NOW! come issue #23.
I guess all titles are going to switch to the NOW! banner to one point or another.
Is Jeff Parker still writing for Marvel?
17 books I’m gonna at least give a try, 10 I’m actively excited for.
I’m super glad they didn’t go for a reboot. Using the coninuity only when it helps and ignoring it elsewise. That’s the Mighty Marvel Manner.
Is Savage Wolverine replacing the regular Wolverine title?
I’m completely thrilled Marvel chose this approach. Especially the way they have decided to space things out. usually after a couple of issues you know if you want to stick with a new title or not. This really gives you an opportunity to try somethign new almost every week, and by the time you’ve read 2-3 issues and made your mind up, you can drop and something else new is coming out that you can try without having to dip further into your wallet. Love the strategy, especially the bit about not throwing the baby out with the bathwater and scrapping everything.
While there is a lot of potential for a large number of these books I’ve decided that any title that is $4 an issue and double ships will not be added to my pull list. Which is, sadly, most of the titles above. If the books are as popular as I expect I’ll probably pick them up in trade buy my monthly comic budget can’t handle $16 bucks a month for just two titles.
You are not alone in this perspective.
I will still buy a few of those, but double shipping is hard to stomach, especially at $4.
I’d gladly buy more Marvel titles if they didn’t double ship. There are way more Marvel titles I am interested in than I can afford.
@filippod – I’m with you. Even if you purchase your books through a discount service, the Marvel NOW! books, in addition to the other titles I’m reading, start to add up.
I admit DC’s New 52 felt desperate, but desperate only in the sense that were desperate to save the industry. Marvel NOW! has the air of a ‘get rich’ scheme or a ‘get it while the getting is good’ take on the industry.
So much interesting stuff and so little i’m going to buy..
I will probably trade wait on quite a few of these
So, if I stop reading Marvel THEN now, because I’m waiting for Marvel NOW then, will I still understand all the THEN that was then when NOW becomes now? I wouldn’t want to waste money now on THEN when THEN is all going away later in the NOW, but I know that NOW is going to be now eventually, and right now I’m looking forward to NOW so much I’m as into THEN as much as I was before. Time travel is so confusing, even when it happens in one direction, a second at a time.
A second concern: Will Uncanny Avengers still be Marvel NOW when Guardians of the Galaxy comes out, or will it have become Marvel THEN by then? I mean, six months is a long time for NOW to stay new, y’know?
Sorta like the “New” 52?
This all seems…..familiar
http://youtu.be/qzO4BSTnkgg
To me, this is going to be really similar to the New 52. Buy a bunch of books for a while, then pick and choose what stays on my pull list after a few months. I started the New 52 off with like 30 books, then after a month it went down to 20, now its down to about 10. So, I’ll try some Marvel Now books, but in the end I know that only a few are going to stick around.
I will be getting Morbius for sure, and probably just the first 2 issues of Superior Spider-Man. The X-Titles I want to get but I think I will trade wait them.
I wish the list included a price and frequency of release. I do not want to pick up any $4, twice-a-month titles.
As far as I understand the double shipping is highly irregular. If I recall correctly Avengers seems to be the only properly biweekly title, while all New X-Men will only double ship for the first 6 issues. In general, they seem to be pushing the double shipping for many titles’ launch. In other words, it’s a mess and I hate it (the schedule and the double shipping, not the relaunch itself).
@MadCowDzz – According to Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso,
“…Most titles are staying the same price they are now, with many of the added-value features we offered during “Avengers Vs. X-Men.”
It’s not a ‘definitive’ answer, but I hope that helps.
… but yeah, price list is a good idea. Frequency is probably harder.
You can find most prices here, if you are interested: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=41685
@filippod where did you hear that X-Men was only double shipping for the first 6 issues? I was sorta intrested in trying that title out but got turned off by the double shipping, maybe ill try once that arcs done
@Neeks In some NYCC 2012 report, but I honestly don’t remember where.
Thanks for putting this list together. I’m completely lost about the Marvel NOW! movement. This helps a lot!
Two quick questions if you please!
1. Is Superior Spider-Man replacing Amazing Spider-Man? Or is it an additional spider title?
2. Where might I find details on the new Secret Avengers? Does it sound good or bad to anyone?
Thanks in advance for your time!
Yes Superior Spiderman will be replacing the Amazing Spiderman title and if you do a search on here i believe a past article was posted about Secret Avengers im personally not intrested in it but to each his own.
Thanks, Neeks!
To everyone complaining about Double shipping the titles i agree i am not a fan of this as well simply because it becomes expensive to enjoy a title you may really like. When its good though i dont mind as much to get more of what i like but at the same time i have to sacrifice another title i may want to read as well due to this process which is truly why i find it frustrating.
I especially was turned off by a personal experiance i had at Fan Expo in Toronto this past summer when i asked the question at the Marvel Now panel if they had any plans to consistently stick to a shipping quota for how many issues come out a month of a particular title or if they were planning on cutting back on alot of the double shipping.
In response they simply threw their writers under the bus saying its more so for their benifit to be able to tell stories faster and then yelled out to be able to enjoy more of their titles simply drop eveything else your reading that isnt marvel!! that followed by a cheering response from some people in the crowd. I felt sort of disrespected and ignored when my question was disregarded in such a way without being answered seriously. They are simply a corporation that wants to get more out of the writers they employ and make more money doing it, they run a buisness i understand it but at the same time its up to readers to be able to decide.
It’s just business to them. Double shipping big titles like Avengers or X-men is just more money in their pocket because they know people will still buy them. Personally I don’t have a problem with the double shipping aspect, but more towards double shipping 3.99 books. To me, that’s just overkill. If you have a book come out twice a month, it should be priced at 2.99. Charging a higher rate for a more frequent book just seems greedy, but like I said, they know people will buy it so they just keep doing it. It’s just their business model I guess.
and yet month after month after month the top 10 selling books continue to be $3.99 books regardless of publisher or shipping schedule.
Well, yeah. They are high seller books so obviously they want to make more money out of it. For an example, with Batman, that was originally a 2.99 book and now its 3.99 probably because it was selling so well, and DC wanted to make more from it. But the thing with DC is that they add more pages of content, justifying the 3.99 purchase. Marvel on the other hand just slaps a 3.99 price tag on an average 20 page book, just to get some the extra dollar out of the customer. But it’s all just business so whatever.
For anyone who says that the one dollar doesn’t make a difference, it sure does when you multiply it over something like nine titles, and have them all come out twice a month. If you’re picking up 8 to 11 Marvel titles that means you’re spending somewhere between 64-88 dollars a month for the same amount of content as you would for spending 22-33 at DC or Image. Why and wherefore?!
That’s why I prefer DC over Marvel. Pricing is fair at 2.99 while the 3.99 is also fair because it adds extra pages of content. With Marvel, they just put a 3.99 price tag on anything that they think will be a high seller, and they double ship numerous amounts of books, just to rake in the money. Don’t get me wrong, more of a good thing is awesome, but not when they are already a dollar too much to begin with. To sum up: DC pricing > Marvel pricing
I agree that DC’s pricing policy beats Marvel, especially in the long-term.
If you want to abandon diversity & look forward to an ‘icv2 top 50’ of monthly comics, keep on ramping up prices & double-shipping.
@J-Sharp numbers are a bit exaggerated but it doesn’t change the substance of what he says: if you are a Marvel fan, price and double shipping quickly add up.
Just to make an example:
September 2012 sales:
– TOP 10 DC titles = 10 issues = $34
– TOP 10 Marvel titles = 12 issues = $48
That’s 14 bucks difference for just 10 titles and only two in the top Marvel 10 were double shipping.
If you aren’t looking forward to the new Deadpool, you hate America.
LOL
Hrm. Looking through that list leaves me with a mixed feeling. There are a lot of good creators doing books I don’t have much interest in reading. I’ll give them a try, but I doubt I will stick with them. I am already a little sour on Uncanny Avengers, despite generally favoring Remender’s work. On the up side, if Marvel keeps its line fit and trim like in the way this one seems to be… that is great news. Too many books flounder with middling talent and ideas that are put out there with no merit except to earn a paycheck. A tighter line will allow some better ideas to remain near the top, in theory. All in all, my reading habits won’t change much, and I may be picking up slighter fewer books in total from Marvel.
I loved Gillen’s run on JIM so was looking forward to them giving him one of the big titles but I won’t be picking up Iron Man because of the art. I can’t understand why they’re letting Greg Land anywhere near it especially if they’re after new readers off the back of the Avengers Movie and the upcoming Iron Man 3.
New readers, or readers that don’t know Land’s history of tracing, love his art.
LOVE IT!
Don’t ask me why
I tried all 52 DC books so I’m leaning towards trying all these out.
First thought: Sweet! I’m going to have all kinds of new awesome stuff to try out coming up soon!
Final Thought:…I have to wait a really long time for my Cosmic Fix…
Finally guys, I was sick of waiting for the (surprisingly up-to-date) Wikipedia entry.
I feel like it’s a lot of new names and arrangements and stories that take off from the last ones. Just look at the covers. This is not new reader friendly at all. With the New 52, I jumped on a bunch of books because the stories didn’t care about the old ones. I know these all will care about the past. Uncanny Avengers was fun but it was clearly the next story after AvX.
Glad to see that Marvel finally decided to get rid of Cap’s stupid pirate boots. It was cool in the silver age, but definitely not feeling it NOW!
Getting Uncanny Avengers, All-New X-Men (Uncanny X-Men, per Marvel Subscriptions), F4, Cap, FF, Avengers, New Avengers and UXF by subscription.
Also DD, Hawkeye, and Winter Soldier.
Getting Dark Avengers and Thunderbolts at retail.
That’s a baker’s dozen. Should fill up a short box fairly quickly.
Dropping ASM, Captain Marvel, Scarlet Spider, Venom, MUTA: EMH, Iron Man, Thor, Secret Avengers and WatXM.
Letting Cap and Blank, Defenders, and Fury MAX die of natural causes.
I’m so broke I’m dropping Langridge’s Popeye.
And finally dropping all DC.
Budget cuts NOW!
Also, I agree that price and frequency should be shown on this helpful chart.
Perhaps in the same column as the launch month.
You could list titles as semi-weekly or monthly, and abbreviate ‘double ships initially’ as DSI.
Thanks for the list.
Wow look at all those comics I won’t be getting. Might pick up a few trades though if I hear good things and/or flip through the trade to see the entire story arcs.
I’m gonna give Uncanny Avengers, Deadpool, Fantastic Four, All-New X-Men, FF, Avengers, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Indestructible Hulk and Thunderbolts a go. No where near as many as the 33 books are picked up the when DC launched The New 52. But at the moment I’m only getting Daredevil so it’s a big jump up. Oh and I was getting no comics at all prior to New 52 apart from Flashpoint which is when I started collecting.
When the new 52 launched I picked up 22 off the titles, by the 4th or 5th issues that number dropped to about 11 and now I pick up Batman, Swamp Thing, Animal Man and Justice League Dark. I expect history to repeat itself. Going to pick up 12 of the Marvel Now! titles to start and see how it goes.
I agree that is what is going to happen with most of us!
Are you guys planning to update this list as new titles are announced?
I’m hoping this can serve as a one-stop-shop for Marvel NOW info.
Considering the fact that Marvel’s own site is woefully incomplete.