Welcome back Nerdhawks! Being a nerd myself, my desk is cluttered with many different things. A mouse that has over fifteen buttons resting on a World of Warcraft mousepad, noise canceling headphones with a microphone, and of course lots of comic books. Which brings me to today’s topic, we’re going to be talking about “The Stack.” No not the stack as it refers to Magic: The Gathering, but the stack of comic books that takes up a permanent residence on my desk. Einstein once said “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” As one of the biggest proponents for this lifestyle, I keep a healthy stack of comics around for those long loading times or just something to browse while waiting in queues.
My stack is an ever changing pile of must reads and this month consists mostly of Marvel’s Secret Wars stories. These all take place on the planet created out of many different sections of other Marvel universes held together by the iron will of its God, Dr. Doom. With it’s infinite possibilities and crossovers galore, Secret Wars is the canonical restart of Marvel Comic’s storylines and it is amazing to see how the characters are attempting to make sense of what has happened. The Secret Wars storyline follows a group of Avengers who, after escaping the destruction of their worlds in galactic life rafts, are left stranded on Battleworld. Upon their arrival to Battleworld, Doom offers them a chance to surrender, but before he is able to destroy them for their refusal, his Sheriff Dr. Strange teleports these Avengers across Battleworld, costing him his own life at the hands of Doom.
Which brings us to the newest issue, #6 where two different incarnations of Spiderman, with the help of Doom’s daughter Valeria, discover the source of the infinite power that Dr. Doom has obtained. The issue finishes with a preview page of the next issue which shows dozens of Marvel heroes fighting a massive Doom in an interstellar battle. I can’t wait to see how the series finishes in the next two issues and the awesome battle that is about to ensue.
Although Secret Wars still has another month of issues to be released, stories from the post-war era are already being released, and they are just as exciting if not more than their pre-war counterparts. My picks this week are Sam Wilson: Captain America #1 and #2. This story takes place in the wake of Secret Wars events and wastes no time to get into the action. Captain America #1 picks up with the new shield-bearer, Sam Wilson struggling to gain public approval in the midst of being exiled by S.H.I.E.L.D. and the previous Captain, Steve Rogers.
This new Captain America is just as political as the Hitler punching Rogers, but is now focusing his agenda on issues at home instead of fighting Hydra and communism abroad. The first issue concludes with the Cap’ showing off his skill with the iconic shield on a vigilante group attempting to kidnap immigrants crossing the border near Arizona. As the last member of the Supreme Serpent’s team falls, Captain America is confronted by his former friend Steve Rogers and an airship full of armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. To save you all from spoilers I won’t dive too much into issue #2 except to say that it shows the story of how the void between the two Captain’s, old and new, was created.
The Marvel stories are picking up some serious momentum and it will be exciting to see the characters emerge from Secret Wars in the next few months. Keep an eye out for the conclusion of Secret Wars and the new Iron Man and Thor stories, those are sure to be good ones.
