Cosmic Madness 2018 First Round : Marvel Comics Region
Welcome to the first round of Cosmic Madness!
Here we have the Marvel Comics region, featuring several big players! From titles that focus on one character -- like Old Man Logan, Vision, and Hawkeye -- to event books that put the entirety of the Marvel Universe in peril -- like Civil War and Secret Wars! Personally I perish the though of having to choose between Planet Hulk and Daredevil: Born Again.
Now all you have to do is pick which titles you want to win in each contest. The first round of voting will go from March 14-17, with the second round kicking off on March 18.
All the info you need, including the complete bracket and info about the contest, is available at Cosmic Madness HQ! Now GET TO VOTING!
PLANET HULK
Written by Greg Pak
Illustrated by Carlo Pagulayan, Aaron Lopresti
A whole new world of hurt! Betrayed by Earth's heroes and exiled into outer space, the man-monster Hulk has landed on the distant planet Sakaar, ruled by the tyrannical Red King. Sold into slavery, Hulk becomes the Green Scar, the planet's mightiest gladiator - but his new masters get more than they bargained for when he forges a bond of brotherhood with his fellow fighters: crafty insectoid Miek, the horrific Brood, wise rock-man Korg, shadow warrior Hiroim, noble-born rebel Elloe and her loyal guardsman Skee. Together, these gladiators start a revolution that could change their entire world - or destroy it. It's savage sci-fi fantasy by award-winning writer Greg Pak, guest-starring the Silver Surfer!
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: Hey, if your friends shot you into deep space and left you for dead, you’d be mad too! Planet Hulk originally appeared in INCREDIBLE HULK issues #92-105 in 2006. It all started when the Illuminati shot Hulk into space in an attempt to ease their own problems. Of course, The Hulk lands on a savage alien planet, with barbarian tribes, a corrupt emperor and deadly woman warriors! Let the smashing begin! And Hulk smashes his way all the way to the top, hence the name Planet Hulk.
VS.
DAREDEVIL:
BORN AGAIN
Written by Frank Miller
Illustrated by David Mazzucchelli
"And I - I have shown him ... that a man without hope is a man without fear." The definitive Daredevil tale, by industry legends Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli! Karen Page, Matt Murdock's former lover, has traded away the Man Without Fear's secret identity for a drug fix. Now, Daredevil must find strength as the Kingpin of Crime wastes no time taking him down as low as a human can get.
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: Could have picked a variety of Daredevil books. The Bendis run is great. The Brubaker run is great. The original Frank Miller run is great. But this is one of Rusty's all time personal favorites. It’s one volume too and self contained so that makes it a little easier. It was originally published as issues 226-232 of the Daredevil series in 1986 and Frank Miller came back to really finish what he started a few years previously. It’s a Kingpin story. It’s a Karen Page story. It’s a Hell’s Kitchen story. And it’s awesome.
WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE??
CIVIL WAR
Written by Mark Millar
Illustrated by Steve McNiven
The landscape of the Marvel Universe is changing, and it's time to choose: Whose side are you on? A conflict has been brewing for more than a year, threatening to pit friend against friend, brother against brother - and all it will take is a single misstep to cost thousands their lives and ignite the fuse! As the war claims its first victims, no one is safe as teams, friendships and families begin to fall apart. The crossover that rewrites the rules, CIVIL WAR stars Spider-Man, the New Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and the entirety of the Marvel pantheon!
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: Want to know where the modern Marvel universe starts? I say right here. Civil war was a 7 issue mini-series published in 2006 and was really the first big huge annual event that Marvel did. Tons of crossovers. Tons of titles. Tons of characters. It was big and it set the stage for all the Marvel annual events to come. Sides were chosen. Battles where fought. And the Marvel Universe was never the same. Whose side are you on?
VS.
IMMORTAL IRON FIST
Written by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction
Illustrated by David Aja & Various
Experience a new kind of Iron Fist story, steeped in legends and fables stretching back through the centuries! Orphaned as a child and raised in the lost city of K'un Lun, Danny Rand returned to America as the mystical martial artist Iron Fist - but all his kung-fu skills can't help him find his place in the modern world. After learning the legacy of the Iron Fist holds more secrets than he ever dreamed, Danny is invited to fight in a tournament against the Immortal Weapons. At stake is the life of his friend, the legacy of his father and mentor - and the future of K'un Lun!
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: Matt Fraction and David Aja again. They created the modern Hawkeye and they get credit for creating the modern Iron Fist. Another somewhat throw away character that has been totally revitalized. They tell how Iron Fist came to be and all about the lost city of K'un Lun. They even goes back centuries and tell you the history of the Immortal weapons. Forget the tv show. Read this.
WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE??
SECRET WARS
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Illustrated by Esad Ribic
The Marvel Universe is no more! The interdimensional Incursions have eliminated each and every alternate universe one by one. And now - despite the best efforts of scientists, sages and superhumans - the Marvel Universe and Ultimate Universe have collided...and been destroyed! All that exists in the vast empty cosmos is a single, titanic patchwork planet made of the fragmented remains of hundreds of devastated dimensions: Battleworld! And the survivors of this multiversal catastrophe all bend their knee to Battleworld's master: Doctor Doom! What strange creatures inhabit this world? Which familiar faces will return? And what happens when Battleworld's domains go to war? The Marvel Universe is dead - and the victors of the Secret Wars will determine what comes next!
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: If Civil War is the start of the Modern Marvel universe, then Secret Wars is its end. Interdimensional Incursions have eliminated each and every alternate universe one by one. The Marvel Universe and Ultimate Universe have collided...and been destroyed! All that remains in the vast empty cosmos is a single, planet made of the fragmented remains of hundreds of devastated dimensions all ruled by Doctor Doom! An absolutely fantastic comic and concept that brought back many old series. Old Man Logan. X-Men Inferno. Siege. Marvel Zombies. In a tournament that aims to combine some of the best stories ever told, how can you not vote for the title that did it all by itself?
VS.
VISION
Written by Tom King
Illustrated by Gabriel Hernandez Walta
The Vision wants to be human, and what's more human than family? So he heads back to the beginning, to the laboratory where Ultron created him and molded him into a weapon. The place where he first rebelled against his given destiny, and imagined he could be more - that he could be a man. There, he builds them. A wife, Virginia. Two teenage twins, Viv and Vin. They look like him. They have his powers. They share his grandest ambition (or is that obsession?): the unrelenting need to be ordinary. Behold the Visions! They're the family next door, and they have the power to kill us all. What could possibly go wrong? Artificial hearts will be broken, bodies will not stay buried, the truth will not remain hidden, and the Vision will never be the same.
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: We had to get a Tom King book on the list. Know who he is? He writes Batman. He writes Mister Miracle. He wrote the Swamp Thing Winter special that just came out a few weeks ago. He’s probably the hottest new writer in the last 5 years! And Vision is what really drove him to national prominence. It got him the Batman jig! Which is probably one of the five best jobs in comics. Anyhow Vision did start it all. The Vision trying to be a normal human? The vision trying to lead a normal family life? Not you’re normal superhero book and Tom Kings not your normal writer. Breathing life into a family of synthezoid’s. As only Tom King can.
WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE??
HAWKEYE
Written by Matt Fraction
Illustrated by David Aja
Fraction. Aja. Hawkeye. Kate Bishop. Cars. Guns. And videotape. The breakout star of this summer's blockbuster Avengers film, Clint Barton - a.k.a. the self-made hero Hawkeye - fights for justice...and good rooftop BBQs! And with ex-Young Avenger Kate Bishop by his side, he's out to get some downtime from being one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes!
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: Hawkeye the useless guy with the bow and arrow, reinvigorated into the superhero that everyone can relate to. It’s a guy, in this case Hawkeye, trying to live his life as normally as he can and running into problems. Hawkeye’s got girl problems. Hawkeye’s got landlord problems. Hawkeyes got bad guy problems. Hawkeye’s just got problems. Matt Fraction and David Aja are able to create a type of comic that had never been seen before. And if you look at the Marvel books being produced today. Numerous, numerous titles have their art and storytelling style based on this title. They’re not as good. But if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Hawkeye wins.
VS.
OLD MAN LOGAN
Written by Mark Millar
Illustrated by Steve McNiven
Millar. McNiven. Wolverine. It doesn't get any better than this. The only way writer Mark Millar (Wanted, Kick-Ass) could top his all-time classic Wolverine tale "Enemy of the State" was to take it to the future -his Civil War brother in arms, Steve McNiven, handling the art duties! Fusing the dystopian super-hero elements of the X-Men's "Days of Future Past," the wild and wooly futurescapes of Mad Max, and the tragic pathos of Clint Eastwood's archetypal Western heroes, Millar's tale finds Wolverine at a crossroads with who he really wants to be and who he really is.
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: It’s a Mark Millar book. It’s a Steve McNiven book. They also teamed up on Civil war which we already talked about. It features a Venom Dinosaur! Yes a Venom Dinosaur. Coolest Venom ever. But most importantly it features a Wolverine more badass (if that's even possible) than the Wolverine that Marvel fans had grown to love!