December’s Best of Marvel NOW! 2016

December’s Best of Marel NOW! 2016

I’m back with all those new Marvel NOW! recommendations! As the self proclaimed “Marvel” guy for Cosmic Comics! I’ve brought it upon myself to give you some of my favorites of the newest Marvel NOW! releases. Last month I dropped November’s best of Marvel NOW! 2016 so naturally as December comes to an end I had to give you December’s best of Marvel NOW! 2016.

I was hyped for a lot of December’s new #1’s but ultimately only picked three that really did it for me, but that’s only one less than November’s list, so that’s something. December’s best of Marvel NOW! 2016 only left out Guardians of the Galaxy Grounded, which I found would have been better if it was actually a Guardians of the Galaxy book. **SPOILER** the Guardians of the Galaxy are kind of disbanded at the moment, so Grounded ends up being a Ben Grimm book instead. The Marvel release dates have jacked up the timeline in the Marvel universe, if you had been reading Infamous Iron Man you would already know Ben’s story, which makes Grounded even less interesting. Not to mention that the Civil War II just released last week explained why there’s no Tony Stark, I’ll admit, Marvel kind of screwed the pooch on this one.

Anyways, with all of those missteps aside, here’s December’s Best of Marvel NOW! 2016:

Hawkeye #1

No, no, not THAT Hawkeye. It’s a joke that get’s pretty old after a while, but besides that running unfunny joke, the newest Hawkeye #1 doesn’t disappoint and makes the list of December’s favorites.

Kate Bishop returns to Los Angeles as Hawkeye, except this time, she feels she can do the most good as a private dick. Yeup, that’s right, Kate’s got her P.I. license and she intends to use it. I love Kate, I think she’s a great Hawkeye and I’m always glad to see her.

Kelly Thompson is kind of holding onto the coattails of the Fraction/Aja Hawkeye with this newest Kate, but who cares, the recipe works and it’s so fun to read. Kate’s notorious for wanting to do what’s best, but her experience leads her down the wrong path sometimes, Hawkeye #1 is no exception, it appears she may have stirred the pot a bit and made a few situations worse, and that’s not the worst of it, she’s oblivious to a  villain with revenge on her mind lurking in the shadows.

Star-Lord #1

Part of the Grounded series, Peter Quill finds himself… well grounded on Earth after the implosion of the Guardians team. Although the prince is half human, he’s more alien than local on this third rock from the sun.

Star-Lord, probably soon to be known as Earth-Lord, is brought to us by the funny and awkward Chip Zdarsky, the writer of the recent Howard the Duck book that I also really enjoy. I like Chip’s work, his sense of humor hits me in all the right funny bones, Zdarsky fans know and understand exactly what bone I’m speaking of.

While Chip’s sense of humor could obviously sell some books itself, it really helps to have a talented artist like Kris Anka penciling in some superb abs to sell just a few more issues. The story is a lot of fun, Zdarsky captures Star-Lord’s personality perfectly, and Anka pencils are spot on, making Star-Lord #1 one of my favorite books of December, but not THE favorite.

That title however is reserved my favorite lady in green.

Hulk #1

If you haven’t been reading Civil War II, you’re probably wondering where the Bruce Banner Hulk is, well, without giving away too much, the best hero in the Marvel universe took down the green monster with a single blow. I would love to spoil who it is for you, but Civil War II is really good and I think you should read it for yourself.

So Banner is dead. Dead dead. Like super dead. So this isn’t a Hulk book per se, but really more of a She-Hulk book. That’s right, Jennifer is rested and ready to take on the real world at a new law firm, except this time without being so… green. That’s a new thing for Ms. Walters and the uncomfortable anxiety it’s causing her is forcing up deep emotions, deep buried rage, and you wouldn’t like She-Hulk when she’s angry. Fortunately neither would Jennifer, that’s what calming cooking videos are good for.

She-Hulk is one of my favorite Marvel characters, toppled only by Hawkeye and Dazzler (who’s in Inhumans vs X-Men #1 by the way!), much like the latest Hawkeye #1 mentioned above I was waiting impatiently for She-Hulk to return in her own book, and thank the maker, Mariko Tamaki and Nico Leon’s Hulk #1 did not let me down. Easily my favorite book of December’s best of Marvel NOW! 2016, Tamaki makes She-Hulk vulnerable, but she’s still the street smart lawyer looking out for the little guy. There’s an air of unpredictability to the book, the feeling that Jennifer isn’t green because she’s afraid of what may happen when she transforms into the self she used to be so familiar with.

I absolutely loved Hulk #1, can I just say that again?

So there you have it, the lighter list of December’s best of Marvel NOW! 2016, filled with classic favorites with a twist. See you next month for January’s best of Marvel NOW!