Happy 616 Day, True Believers. In honor of the 616 Universe, I thought I’d take this opportunity to give you some suggestions for current ongoing series from Marvel that you should consider adding to your Pull List. And next week, I’ll be doing the same for Marvel Collected Editions.
Now, all of these suggestions are either good entry points for readers looking to get back into Marvel Comics, or serve as introductions to characters/creators you’re not that familiar with.
So let’s get started.
OK. It’s no surprise that I started this list with Daredevil, right? But hear me out. We’re only three issues into this run as of my writing this Substack, and they’ve been fucking great. Sales numbers have been strong. Each issue has gone to a second printing. The buzz in the comic community keeps getting louder. And with the run being so new, it’s a perfect jumping-on point.
The first arc has Matt Murdock starting a new position as a law professor, so you’re starting fresh right as he does. The villain is also a brand new creation of writer Stephanie Phillips and artist Lee Garbett, so new or returning readers are learning who this mysterious Omen is right alongside longtime fans, with all of us on the same level playing field.
And let’s talk about what Phillips and Garbett have done with these first issues. I was admittedly not at all a fan of the previous run by Saladin Ahmed. I didn’t feel like he really understood or had a passion for these characters. So I was very nervous about who would be taking over the title next.
In walk Phillips and Garbett who absolutely fucking nail the first three issues. New characters are introduced and they feel like a perfect fit for this corner of the Marvel Universe. Legacy characters, meanwhile, feel familiar and right at home in Hell’s Kitchen.
The art is awesome, with Garbett really having a knack for that kinetic and graceful action you want from Daredevil that gets bloody and brutal at exactly the right moments. Of every book on this list, Daredevil by Phillips and Garbett is by far the easiest to jump into right now.
Next up is the new Captain America ongoing series written by Chip Zdarsky — one of my all-time favorite writers and, not for nothing, a Daredevil alum. Shocking, I know. Now, if you’re familiar with Chip Zdarsky’s writing style, I probably don’t even need to sell you on this. You’re already reading this book, or at least planning to.
But here’s my pitch. Steve Rogers is an inspirational and aspirational character. We aspire to be like him because he represents the best of what not just Americans can be, but what human beings can be. He inspires us to be better than we are.
Zdarsky gets this. Yes, the Canadian gets Captain America. What’s more, he recognized the need to modernize the character. And not in a way that changes who Steve Rogers is or who we want him to be. But in the challenges he faces in this modern world.
Remember, in the Silver Age of comics, Cap was in the ice for just about 20 years before the Avengers found him. A lot can change in 20 years, but for the most part, a lot of the people he knew and loved could still be alive. Technology will have advanced, but not to the point of going from the family sitting around the radio on Saturday afternoons to people watching Netflix on their iPhones, or you know, having fucking iPhones.
But we’re about 80 years from when Cap went into the ice, now. That shift is so much more massive than it was when the character was being written in the 1960s. So Zdarsky has Captain America being thawed out post-9/11, thanks to the ever-shifting Marvel timeline. That’s a very different world in so many ways than what he remembers.
The first arc of this run starts off with Steve’s first mission with the military after coming back, because he’s a soldier. That’s all he’s ever known, so it would make sense that he returned to the only thing he knows before just joining up with the Avengers right out of the ice. And it’s what happens in those first issues that sets up not just Zdarsky’s entire run, but directly leads into this summer’s Armageddon event.
We’re 11 issues in, so this is an easy series to catch up with and I can’t recommend it enough.
The Punisher by Benjamin Percy with art by Jose Luis Soares. Issue #5 actually comes out tomorrow (6/17/26), so this is another series that is ridiculously easy to catch up with. And damn, is it fun.
If you’re a fan of classic Frank Castle, this is the book for you. It actually spins directly out of Percy’s 5-issue Red Band miniseries from last year. It was a great miniseries that I definitely recommend reading, but even if you don’t, everything you need to know is laid out in the first few pages of this new run. You’re not going to feel lost at all.
The series kicks off with Frank feeling this intense, agonizing pain in his skull — not the one on his chest — every time he commits an act of violence. Obviously, that’s a problem for Frank — one that he’s going to have to solve quickly.
Meanwhile, you have Tombstone and Jigsaw on the brink of an all-out war for control of the streets of NYC in the Kingpin’s absence. And I’ll say this, between the Red Band miniseries and this ongoing, I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed reading a book with Tombstone so much. Percy writes him not as a cookie cutter villain who fills in whenever the real Big Bads like Fisk or Bullseye aren’t around, but as someone to be legitimately fucking feared.
It’s brutal. It’s bloody. It’s fast-paced and action-packed. It’s everything you want a Punisher book to be.
Now, these next two are admittedly a little harder to catch up with, but I had to include them in this list because not only are they two of the absolute best books at Marvel right now, but they are both in places where you can jump in without it being mandatory to go back and do a bunch of homework with back issues.
The Infernal Hulk by Phillip Kennedy Johnson with art by Nic Klein is so fucking good. We are seven issues in and you could start at #1 and be just fine. However, the first act of PKJ’s saga started with 30 issues of The Incredible Hulk. I know, I know. That’s seems like a lot you missed, but trust me.
Everything you really need to know is explained in those early issues of Infernal Hulk. I 100% recommend reading the first part of the run if you have the time, because it’s fucking amazing. But even in that title, PKJ wrote it so that most issues out of those 30 could be a good jumping on point. I know that sounds unlikely, but trust me. It works.
In any event, the premise during this Infernal Hulk portion of the saga is that following his battle with the Eldest and the Mother of Horrors (fucking cool, right?) Hulk and Bruce Banner have been literally torn the fuck apart. Now this new, even more monstrous Infernal Hulk is about to decimate the 616 Universe.
And that’s been the vibe of this entire run. PKJ took a horror approach to Hulk. The whole saga has been about the monsters of the Marvel Universe and where creatures like Hulk fit into that world. The art is beautifully hideous, making each transformation from Banner to Hulk painful, tortuous and violent in ways we’ve never seen before. And this is all leading to a major event in 2027 from PKJ — Hulk War — which will serve as the epic finale to this saga.
It’s a fresh take on the entire mythos and is nothing short of operatic. If you can, read the first 30 issues of his Incredible Hulk run. But if you can’t, don’t let that stop you from jumping into The Infernal Hulk. It’s more than worth it.
OK. I’m going to start by saying that Jed MacKay’s Moon Knight has been the most fun I have had reading comics in the last 4 - 5 years. It’s been that damn good. I’ll get into the reasons why in a minute, but first I need to provide a little explanation because this one, while actually pretty easy to jump into, might be a bit confusing at first. Not in terms of story, but rather title.
See, Marvel has an annoying habit of constantly renumbering and retitling books, and Moon Knight is a prime example of that. Jed MacKay’s original book — titled Moon Knight — ran for 30 issues. Then Marvel decided to start again at Issue #1 and rename the series Vengeance of Moon Knight. Same creative team. Same story continuity. Just a new name and numbering. Then they did it again, this time starting with an Issue #0 and new name Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu. I know, I know. That one ran up to Issue #15, when, shocking literally no one who was paying attention, they did it again. Thus, our current leg of MacKay’s run — Marc Spector: Moon Knight — which is presently five issues in.
Yes, that’s a lot. And it sounds fucking insanely complicated to try and keep up with. But don’t worry. That’s why I’m here. The reality is, you can pick up with the five issues of this current leg of Moon Knight and hit the ground running. MacKay does an excellent job of making them new reader-friendly. Yeah, there might be a few things here and there that you don’t pick up on because you didn’t read a previous arc, but nothing will detract from the massive amounts of fun you’ll have reading this book.
The complexities of Marc Spector that make him such a compelling character — it’s like MacKay was born to write him. And the supporting cast of characters surrounding Moon Knight are not only interesting in their own right, but they all serve to highlight different aspects of Marc as a man struggling with who he is.
Second only to Daredevil, Moon Knight is my favorite character in all of comics. And Jed MacKay has a lot to do with that.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that this run features SOME OF THE BEST FUCKING ART YOU WILL SEE IN ANY COMIC BOOK TODAY. I shit you not.
Moon Knight was the book that really put Alessandro Cappuccio on the map as one of the hottest artistic talents in the industry today. It’s what launched him into doing Ultimate Wolverine. His art is fan-fucking-tastic.
In this current leg of the saga, Devmalya Pramanik has taken over full-time penciling duties and — Holy Shit — has he stepped up to the plate and delivered. His layouts are insanely creative and I genuinely can’t wait to see what he does with each issue.
BUT, the true unsung hero of this book, from the very first day and more than 50 issues, is the incomparable Rachelle Rosenberg on colors. For my money, there is no better example of what a colorist can add to a book than the work she has done on Moon Knight for the last 4 - 5 years.
The glow of Moon Knight and his corner of the MCU, the way she brings the streets alive with vibrant colors, how she uses shadows and light to direct the eye and create this Neo-Noir atmosphere — it’s Fucking Marvelous. Pun very much intended.
Colorists don’t get enough love and that needs to change. Rachelle Rosenberg proves that, because this book would not be what it is without her contributions.
So, start reading this current leg of MacKay’s run. It’s a must-read, in my opinion. And if you want to go back and read the entire saga up to now, which I also highly recommend, here’s a little easy-to-follow guide.
Start with Moon Knight #1-30. Then Vengeance of Moon Knight #1-9, followed by Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #0-15. And that brings you up to our current ongoing — Marc Spector: Moon Knight.
Now go add some fucking Marvel books to your Pull List! And next week we’re talking about 5 Omnibus/Collected Editions to get your hands on.
We’re on to Issue #11 of this Substack missive, which means we take a look at my favorite Issue #11 covers from Daredevil’s past. Today we’re going to focus on two covers. This first one is a Marco Checchetto cover from the final days of the Chip Zdarsky run. Daredevil is partially silhouetted as he towers over Hell’s Kitchen in what I think is one of the best suit redesigns in comics in decades.
And then, a cover that started to get a lot of attention when it was announced that Muse would be featured in the first season of Daredevil: Born Again on Disney Plus, this is Daredevil #11 from the Charles Soule and Ron Garney run. It features the first appearance of Muse, though he is not on the cover. But the cover itself is still amazing. The mostly black and white cover, with Matt and Daredevil depicted as opposing forces and the blood splatter exploding across the cover as the two collide. Ron Garney did a phenomenal job with this one.
Sales for this issue were not just strong, but actually went up from issue #2. And the biggest reason for that is that those first two issues were fucking good. And after this week, I’ll bet numbers for issue #4 go up again. The story has been perfectly paced. Nothing feels rushed. The plot progression is smooth and makes sense. The way Spider-Man shows up for Daredevil and how he helps him — it’s exactly what their relationship should always be. It’s not just about the next cool team-up. It’s about the fact that even though they are different in so many ways, they have a connection and can empathize with one another. They remind one another of what their real strengths are when they go through periods of self-doubt. Daredevil’s Catholic Guilt and Spider-Man’s Parker Guilt unite them in a way that not a lot of other characters share. Phillips captures that perfectly in this issue.
Another subtle but great move made by Phillips is in that first meeting between Matt Murdock and Detective Forte. Rather than some drawn out scenes or heavy-handed exposition, Matt’s inner monologue offers up an insight about Forte just by listening to his pulse. All it takes is two sentences in Matt’s head and you learn so much about who this young detective is and that immediately makes him more interesting. Now you want to learn his backstory because Matt introduced it in a way that made the cop feel like a layered character who is important to the story, not just a background player.
We also get the return of Ben Urich, one of my favorite characters. His appearances is brief, but I’m hoping we get a lot more of him in the near future. And then there’s our villain — Omen. I’ve got to say, not only does the name fit the character, but the way in which he gets that name in this issue was fucking priceless. I loved it. And that character design? Holy shit. Lee Garbett’s art in this issue is so damn good and I love the way Phillips and Garbett are handling Omen. He’s like the shark in Jaws. His presence is always felt. You may not see him on every page, but when you do see him, it has IMPACT. He captures your attention and holds on like a death grip. And here they give us our best and clearest look yet at Omen but do it in a way that still doesn’t give us the answer as to who he really is. I love that. I certainly have my theory about who he might be, but I’m having so much fun with the way they are telling this story that I’m in no rush. In Phillips and Garbett, I trust.
The event we’ve been waiting for kicks off in this book — ARMAGEDDON. The foundation for this story goes all the way back to last year’s One World Under Doom. Specifically, what Doom did to Thunderbolt Ross in Ben Percy’s event tie-in. Then Chip Zdarsky built on that with his current Captain America ongoing series and the prologue to this event — Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon.
Now we have Ross a.k.a. Red Hulk deciding that Latveria is just the beginning. Any authoritarian regime or countries “pretending to be a democracy” are being invaded and subdued. The heroes of the world are gearing up to intervene but the United Nations is telling them to kick rocks. The world is a powder keg and we’re just getting started.
That’s a big setup but the scale of this thing doesn’t come at the expense of character. There’s a great moment between Bucky and Namor where they talk about the nature of war and does humanity ever learn a lesson from these conflicts. Then there’s a scene between Spidey and Iron Man that speaks to the core of who Spider-Man is as a hero. “If we’re all out there, who’s here?”
And, in what might be my favorite moment in the entire issue, the Avengers recruit someone with a “Big” power set. And when Wolverine is the one to describe his power levels that way, you know he’s not fucking around. And I couldn’t have been happier.
As much as I love this book and Chip Zdarsky’s writing, he isn’t doing the heavy lifting all by himself. Delio Diaz and Frank Alpizar on interior art with Jesus Aburtov on colors have delivered a fucking good looking book. Might just be my favorite depiction ever of Red Hulk. From top to bottom, this was an excellent kickoff to Armageddon. Can’t wait to see what’s next.
Sam Humphries and Geraldo Borges are knocking this out of the damn park. It’s got all the hallmarks of classic Crime Noir — deeply flawed protagonists, razor sharp dialogue, just the right balance between drama, humor and action, and a case that starts relatively small but builds to something way beyond what you were expecting. The dynamic between Jessica and Typhoid Mary is wildly entertaining. You can really feel the strain the whole story is putting on Jessica’s marriage with Luke. It’s got tension in all the right places. I really hope at the end of this miniseries we find out that Jessica Jones is getting a new ongoing series, similar to how that happened for Frank Castle after the Punisher Red Band miniseries. Because Jessica deserves another crack at an ongoing title.
OK. Not gonna lie, as much of a Kevin Smith fan as I am, I didn’t really think this was gonna be anything more than a throwaway issue with a few funny lines. And I love Kevin Smith’s comic book writing. I just, maybe stupidly, underestimated this book.
Holy shit, was it funny. I was laughing at every single page. It’s packed with tons of easter eggs for 80+ years of Marvel Comics lore and 8 View Askewniverse movies. The story is meta, creative and just fucking funny. Reading Marvel Superheroes reference lines or scenes from Dogma or Clerks, or Jay paraphrasing his own lines from Mallrats so they’re fit to print, but in a very clever way — I could not stop grinning.
If you’re not a Kevin Smith fan, you can skip it. Clearly. But if you like any of Smith’s films or his previous work in comics, and obviously if you’re a fan of Marvel, do yourself a favor and pick this one up. You’ll laugh and have a great time reading it, and that’s exactly what’s supposed to happen with comic books. It’s just fucking fun.
I liked this issue a lot. But I also see why it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. If you like your Thor calling down the lightning, smashing giants and trolls, knocking back barrels of mead and traveling the realms, this will feel a little slow for you. Hell, this whole arc kicking off the second half of Ewing’s run will feel that way. Because the man known as Sigurd Jarlson still doesn’tknow that he’s actually a god named Thor. But we’re getting to that, and the ending of this issue hints at a big step toward that shift. Street-level is not what most people think of when they think of Thor. I get it. But I do think the story has been entertaining and that Ewing is working toward something, and I’m still onboard.
Decent read. Not the strongest issue in the run, but it’s the first in a new arc that’s laying the groundwork for what’s to come. Not a ton of action because this time, we’re focused on the “Science Team” within the X-Men — Beast, Magneto, Xorn, Quentin Quire, Animalia and Ben Liu. They’re investigating a potential new mutant that popped up on Cerebro somewhere in Canada. While the discoveries they make will likely lead to some big confrontations down the road, this issue — and my guess next issue as well — is more about a team with strong analytical thinking but lacking in battle-tested mettle making it on their own without powerhouses like Cyclops or Psylocke. Not every issue is a home run. I’d say this one is a soft base hit.
Put another one up on the scoreboard for DC’s Absolute Universe. This was a damn good book. Great pacing. Great use of flashbacks to give us a sense of who this version of Selina Kyle really is — she actually has a lot in common with the Bruce Wayne of the main DCU. If you’ve ever enjoyed a book, movie or TV series about a world-class thief who is about to get out of the game when mysterious bad guys pull them back in, you’ll like this book. The action really builds suspense and by the time we get to that final page reveal, everything feels earned. This is another example of why DC’s Absolute Universe is still going strong while the Marvel Ultimate Universe is fizzling out. Very much looking forward to Issue #2.
Shit, this is a loaded one. Ultimately, I enjoyed the story in this miniseries. Do I think it stuck the landing perfectly? No. Do I think it had some creative and cool ideas? Absolutely. But the real focus here, unfortunately, is not the quality of the story or art, but the absurdity of how this title was released.
Because the first issue came out in September of fucking 2023! The next issue took three months to come out, releasing in December of 2023. OK. That sucks, but I can deal with that. But now we go off the fucking rails, as issue #3 doesn’t come out for a whole year — December 2024. And then, the final fucking issue releases a year and a half later in June 2026. It took two and a half fucking years to put out four issues. And not one shred of an explanation from DC or writer/artist Rafael Grampa as to why. And I’m sorry, but the level of writing and art in this book, for me as a fan, in no way comes close to justifying the delays this book saw when you have insanely talented artists and writers putting out great books every month.
And look, if it takes Grampa three years to create this book, fine. But DC should never have solicited this as a bi-monthly series back in 2023 and they never should have put out the first issue that September because everyone involved damn well knew there was no way they were sticking to that schedule. All four issues of this title should have been completed before they ever even solicited it. Not to mention, I’m sure sales took a hit because you’re asking people to keep track of a title and remember what they read in the previous issue that came out a year and a half ago when some people have trouble remembering what happened in a book they read last month.
This was an epic failure on the part of all those involved. And the sad reality is I will never buy another single issue created by Grampa again. I’ll wait to see if the whole thing actually comes out and maybe read it once every issue is published and/or collected in trade. And I will be far more cautious when it comes to DC Black Label books in the future, so I don’t get burned again. In the end, I liked but was not blown away by how the series concluded. And I don’t honestly know if that’s just how I naturally would feel about the book or if my experience was sabotaged by DC’s publishing ineptitude tainting the whole thing for me.
Kind of a filler issue, bridging the gap between arcs. Focuses on the Turtles trying to help their mother acclimate to a new world. Not terrible, but definitely my least favorite issue since the renumbering.
The premise here isn’t exactly original. You’ve seen it in countless 80s and 90s movies — cop/good guy goes undercover inside a corrupt prison to uncover the conspiracy and root out the bad guys. They’re on their own. No one from the outside to help them. Everyone on the inside wants to kill them. Despite the tropes, this book is a fun read. Barbara Gordon gets to be a badass, and while no one expects her to die inside the prison, that doesn’t mean she can’t go through hell and come out the other side a changed woman — or at least one with some fresh scars to deal with when all is said and done. And the concept of their series fits nicely into the main plot of the Bat Family vs Vandal Savage in a fight for the soul of Gotham City. I’ll definitely check out Issue #2.
This has been of the best surprises in comics of late for me. Firestorm is not a character I ever really had any connection to or much familiarity with, but Jeff Lemire and Rafael de Latorre have created the perfect jumping on point with this series and instantly made all the characters feel relatable. You don’t need to know decades of lore, or really anything for that matter, in order to enjoy this book. You can jump right in and sink your teeth into a compelling story with strong characters and great art. Strong recommend on this one.
Now, here’s what I’m reading this week …
SPIDER-MAN: LONG WAY HOME #1
UNCANNY X-MEN #30
THE PUNISHER #5
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #31
WHAT IF … THOR GOT SPIDER-MAN’S SYMBIOTE SUIT #1
ABSOLUTE BATMAN #21
ABSOLUTE GREEN ARROW #2
ODIN #2
REDCOAT #18
SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN #48
DEATHSTROKE: THE TERMINATOR #3 (DC INFINITE ULTRA)
WONDER WOMAN #33 (DC INFINITE ULTRA)
ABSOLUTE FLASH #15 (DC INFINITE ULTRA)
LOBO #3 (DC INFINITE ULTRA)
BATWOMAN #3 (DC INFINITE ULTRA)
… and much more.
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