Marvel Comics October 2024 comic book solicitations are here! That means we got a look at what Marvel Comics October plans are. And as we see in the solicitations Marvel Comics October is being dominated by the Venom War event for the fall and winter. But while Venom War dominates Marvel Comics October publishing plans we got a lot of new comic books and potential debuts teased. Let’s take a look at the biggest takeaways from Marvel Comics October 2024 solicitations.
STORM HEADLINES SOLO SERIES
Storm is one of the characters that can be argued benefited the most from the Krakoa Era. She was always one of the iconic X-Men characters. That status went to another level during the Krakoa Era as Storm was one of the characters that carried the franchise during that period. Whether it was a member of the Quiet Council of Krakoa and Great Ring of Arrako, leader of various X-Men teams, and Voice of Sol on the Galactic Council, she had some of the greatest power in the X-Men. That is all without mentioning her Omega-level powers that have recently shown to make her a match for Thor.
With all of that in mind, it is no surprise that Storm would get her own solo title. She is one of the X-Men characters beyond Wolverine that can carry a title. This new solo title is also well timed now that along with her X-Men adventures she is joining the Avengers. So her exposure is probably at the highest its ever been at one point getting both the X-Men and Avengers fanbase around her.
This also puts a lot on Murewa Ayodele as the writer of the Storm series. Ayodele is still new to the industry having been around it for two years. Though Marvel has been giving him work to build his library of work over the years having worked on several mini-series and one-shots. Writing Storm will be a big “prove yourself” moment for Ayodele as there is a lot of great momentum for Ororo Munroe right now. This is the time to make the momentum is kept up and Storm gets established as an X-Men that can carry a solo ongoing title like Wolverine.
YET ANOTHER IRON MAN RELAUNCH
When it comes to relaunches there is no character that has gotten more of them for their ongoing title than Tony Stark’s Iron Man. The last major creative run that saw Iron Man as a top seller and critically well-received was Matt Fractions’ Invincible Iron Man run that ended back in 2012. That is run ended almost 12 years ago. Since then Iron Man has constantly been tossed around from one creative team to another. And that is no due to lack of big names staying away from Iron Man. Kieron Gillen, Tom Taylor, Brian Bendis, Dan Slott, and Gery Duggan were the writers of Iron Man since 2012.
But here we are again in 2024 with Iron Man’s 7th relaunch. For the latest relaunch writer Spencer Ackerman and artist Julius Ohta are being given the keys to Iron Man’s kingdom. Based on this selection compared to the other six relaunches Marvel has decided to go with an unproven writer in the comic book industry. That is not to diminish Spencer Ackerman credentials as he has an extensive writing history in various industries that include him winning a Pulitzer Prize in 2014 among other writing awards.
But the fact remains that comic books are a completely different animal that more than ever a creator with a proven comic book track record of quality has become as important as I ever has been. As an Iron Man fan I genuinely hope that Ackerman and Ohta provide the franchise with new life and are successful out of the gate. Iron Man’s history over the last twelve years doesn’t create a lot of hope but maybe fresh industry talent is what the franchise needs.
MYSTIQUE & BLADE SHOW MARVEL’S GREENLIGHT APPROACH
While Marvel is certainly not afraid to do relaunches every few month for franchises or characters over the last year we’ve especially seen a different approach taken. Rather than launching a bunch of ongoing titles more and more Marvel has been going with launching four to five issue mini-series. In terms of success in this approach can be up to Marvel. But no doubt over the last year we’ve seen less headlines about Marvel cancelling series for underperforming. Instead, Marvel has set the expectations right out of the gate that series will only be four to five issues.
This is once again seen in the Marvel Comics October 2024 solicitations as Mystique, Blade, Sentinels, and Ghost Rider join a market of other mini-series. Mystique, Blade, and Ghost Rider all stick out in particular as the three have their own vocal fanbases. With this mini-series approach Marvel is definitely trying to see if the fanbases can support longer mini-series or an ongoing. It is honestly a much better approach than they took in previous years.
And these prove it mini-series aren’t just for these characters that haven’t had much recent success. We are seeing it with Wolverine and Deadpool as well. Both characters, while extremely popular, have a bunch of different mini-series to go along with their respective ongoings. So it will be interesting to see if we get to the point where we don’t see many ongoings but rather mini-series that get turned into ongoings eventually.
ZEB WELLS AMAZING SPIDER-MAN COMES TO AN END
Marvel Comics October 2024 solicitations revealed we will finally see Zeb Wells’ Amazing Spider-Man run come to an end. There is no doubt that Wells can look back at his Amazing Spider-Man run as a success as it was consistently a top selling comic book for the entirety of this period. With so many major characters across Marvel and DC Comics finding it tough to become top sellers it is notable that Amazing Spider-Man stays in the Top 10, as we saw once again in the June 2024 comic book sales rankings.
That said, while I haven’t kept up with it monthly I have been keeping up with Wells’ run through Marvel Unlimited and this is definitely one my least favorite Amazing Spider-Man runs. There have been so many questionable decisions that no matter how Wells’ ends his run leaves a lo for clean up. There are certain things that Wells has dropped the ball. Specifically with how most of the cast, including iconic characters like MJ and Black Cat, have been treated as plot devices rather than actual characters.
This is what is most interesting about the end of Wells run. How much will set up a sort of reset and go unchanged by the end. It does seem that Wells will end on more of a goodbye than anything else. The big change will come from what appears to be a transitional run by Joe Kelly, who will be writing The Eight Deaths of Spider-Man. Just like Spider-Man Beyond was before Wells run, it wouldn’t be surprising if The Eight Deaths of Spider-Man will be used as a reset for whoever picks up Amazing Spider-Man sometime in 2025.
MORE DEBUTS IN ULTIMATE UNIVERSE
October will see even more major developments and debuts in the Ultimate Universe. With how young this Ultimate Universe is that is no surprise. Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Black Panther, and Ultimates specifically are all having major character debut, whether before or during, their respective October issues. Some of the teased characters are the Ultimate Universe versions of Doctor Strange, Cyclops, and Hawkeye.
Each of these characters are obvious additions to the Ultimate Universe. Though it looks like Peach Momoko, Deniz Camp, and Bryan Hill are going to use the opportunity of how all the Marvel characters origins were changed to give us knew versions of these characters. For at least Ultimate Cyclops and Hawkeye they appear to be completely different people, with Cyclops being female.
Different people assuming these iconic Marvel hero roles is part of the opportunity created by how this new Ultimate Universe started. The Maker changed so much that characters can debut in new forms or be different people all together. Taking that opportunity is what will make what the creators of this Ultimate Universe continue to stand out and be fan favorites.
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