It’s that time of the month again, and that means the Marvel and DC September 2023 solicitations have dropped! There’s a huge number of books all vying for your attention, many of which are continuing titles, while others are entirely new and desperate to get in front of your eyeballs.
September alone sees the launch of countless new solo titles, a return of Strange Academy through a three-part mini-series, Chip Zdarksy and Tini Howard’s “Gotham War”, and even a new line-wide Star Wars event called “Dark Droids”.
Of all those offerings, here are the 10 entries I think are some of the most exciting superhero titles to be dropping that month, and why they’re worth your attention.
10. Uncanny Spider-Man #1
The Fall of X is fast upon us, with August 2023 seeing the release of many new x-series’ first issues. However, it’s in the September 2023 solicitations that we get our first look into Si Spurrier’s third and final instalment of mutant mayhem, Uncanny Spider-Man.
Following Kurt Wagner, a.k.a. Nightcrawler, as he retreats from Krakoa, readers will see how he handles the Fall of X one Bamf at a time. Looking to put the swashbuckling, high-spirited charm back into his misadventures, Nightcrawler heads to New York to dole out mutant justice.
Part one of a five-part limited series, this is everything Spurrier has been building to since Way of X #1 – now joined by the incredible Lee Garbett on art. For those that have followed along so far, this is the thematic crescendo of the run; for those that felt like Spurrier’s Kurt was missing some of the joy found in previous depictions, well, he’s been saving it for this!
9. Miles Morales: Spider-Man #10
Under Cody Ziglar and Federico Vicentini’s pens, Miles’ ongoing title has taken the top spot amongst Spider-people titles for many fans recently. And now, fresh out of Carnage Reigns, Miles finds himself under threat once again, as new villain Hightail joins the fray!
Aside from establishing an incredibly fresh and dynamic identity for the series – both in the visual sense and that of character voice – the highlight of this run so far has been the effort made to build out a cast all of Miles’ own. Arc one saw him face off against new villain Rabble, a young woman with an army of killer drones and a penchant for spite, and now he’s set to face off against his very own speedster.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man has proven to be such a success in large part due to its bursting creativity. Seeing that Marvel’s September 2023 solicitations show no signs of that slowing down, it’s hard to argue that the Ultimate Spider-Man’s ongoing title doesn’t deserve a spot on this list.
8. Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham #1
Having read Batman consistently since I started reading comics close to 13 years ago, it takes a lot to get me excited about a new adventure with the Dark Knight. Chip Zdarsky’s been doing some great stuff over on the main title recently, but as you may notice from its absence from this list, the “Gotham War” event in September isn’t lighting my fire.
Something that did catch my eye however, was the return of living legend Rafael Grampa to DC Comics – and as none other than artist and writer this time around. Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham #1 was a rare surprise in the DC September solicits, as Grampa takes readers on a four-part prestige series where Batman decides ‘to kill off the Bruce Wayne identity for good and embrace the cowl full-time’.
This series promises to be a gorgeously rendered tale, diving into the psychology of the character and the character of Gotham in a really sustained way. Should Grampa really explore his own, singular vision of the character, then I have a hint of a feeling that this could go down as one of the great Batman stories…
7. Immortal Thor #2
Al Ewing has been creating some of the best Marvel comics of the last decade. X-Men Red is easily my favourite ongoing x-title, and is arguably one of the best portrayals of Storm and Magneto in decades. His work on The Ultimates (2016) is stupendously strong and equally underappreciated, and of course, there’s Immortal Hulk – a book that deserves all its praise.
Then, Martin Coccolo joins the fray – fresh off of turning in a no-holds-barred performance on Banner of War and subsequently following that up with a delightful stint on Deadpool that might’ve been some of the best comedy in comics I’ve read in years.
All this to say, this a team primed to create an all-time classic with new series Immortal Thor. If ever there was a team with the qualifications to weave beautiful mythologies and spin tales of the physical, emotional, philosophical and mythological in equal measure – it would be them.
6. Blue Beetle #1
For those unaware, the team behind September’s Blue Beetle #1 recently wrapped on their mini-series Blue Beetle: Graduation Day (soon to be collected just in time for the movie). And no, that’s not snark aimed at the nature of corporate synergy – it’s actually an acknowledgement of the successful marriage between damn good comics and a damn good publishing strategy.
Josh Trujillo, Adrian Gutiérrez and Wil Quintana return to the character they’ve already nailed once before, this time with the promise of “Scarab War”. Building on the emergence of a Green and Yellow Beetle (Nitida and Dynastes respectively), Jaime’s world just got a whole lot bigger. He’s going to have to manage new friends, a new job, new responsibilities and the looming threat of war – everything you need to make a great teen superhero story!
5. Incredible Hulk #4
This week, Incredible Hulk #1 debuted in stunning form, ushering in the Age of Monsters in such a creepy fashion that Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Nic Klein are uniquely suited to crafting. So, any time a new issue is confirmed, you can be sure this title will be at the top of my pull list.
What has me so excited about the listing in the September 2023 solicitations though is two things: the first is a cameo from the wonderfully supernatural Marvel Comics character Man-Thing. Second, is the announcement that this issue and next will be drawn by guest artist Travel Foreman!
Under normal circumstances, the loss of Klein on art would stir only disappointment in my heart. But, for those that have read the New 52 Animal Man run, you know just how perfectly suited Foreman is to spine-chilling body horror comics like this run of Hulk. Seeing this in Marvel’s September 2023 solicitations was like Christmas come early, and that feeling is more than likely to repeat next month too.
4. Venom #25
Venom has been on a roll recently. After the revelations in issue #10, each additional piece of the temporal puzzle Al Ewing has been building adds layers upon layers of intrigue to events. In this current arc, during Marvel’s Summer of the Symbiotes, Eddie Brock is on a crash course with destiny as he attempts to rewrite his own future.
Venom #21 dropped recently, and treated readers to a masterclass in how to deconstruct and reconstruct a character with a history as long and complicated as Venom’s within one 20-page fight scene. It was a remarkable evolution of the series and of the character, even when you compare things to how they began at the start of this run. And the best part? This train just keeps going; this time, in the direction of Doom!
The September 2023 solicitations confirm that not only is Venom #25 an oversized anniversary issue, but in it Al Ewing (alongside a bevy of artistic powerhouses like Cafu, Ken Lashley, Sergio Dávila and Julius Ohta) will stack Eddie Brock up against the Latverian monarch himself, Doctor Doom. Symbiote fans will not want to miss this.
3. Birds of Prey #1
Unveiled earlier in the month, as Kelly Thompson gradually revealed to fans the lineup of her new team book, Birds of Prey will return to the stands with a new run.
Written by Thompson, and drawn by the phenomenal Leonardo Romero, the newest volume of Birds of Prey brings together an unlikely team: Black Canary, Cassandra Cain, Big Barda, Zealot and… Harley Quinn? Assuming the plots will be as unpredictable as the lineup, this new team is set to deliver some of the most off-the-wall stories across the whole of the Dawn of DC.
Stamped with a seal of approval from Birds of Prey legend Gail Simone, and hot off Thompson’s historic 50-issue long run on Captain Marvel, this series has all the signs of a classic in the making. I for one will not be missing the moment.
2. Wonder Woman #1
Speaking of unexpected announcements, Tom King and Daniel Sampere take over Wonder Woman in September. With a lead-in story in Wonder Woman #800 (out now), readers have already met King and Sampere’s new addition to the Wonder-mythos, Trinity. That is, Wonder Woman’s 19-year-old daughter.
To say fan speculation and commentary has been active since the news broke would be an understatement. Some are weary of a new entry into Diana’s supporting cast, given the already large number of characters that have to fight for the spotlight. Others have seemingly embraced Trinity, civilian name Lizzie, with open arms and fan art galore.
For my money? Anything with King’s name on it deserves to be read. On a formal and technical level, there are few in the industry quite as accomplished as him. On a character level, I’m fascinated to see what he does with Diana. King has had little opportunity to write the Amazonian Princess so far, but his early comments that he wants to write the character that his young daughter admires and looks up to fills me with immense hope.
As for Sampere, his work lives in the upper echelon of working creators. Back-to-back, knock-out works – Future State: Aquaman, Action Comics, Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths – that all manage to render their characters exactly as brilliantly and majestically as you imagine them in your head have earned Sampere an instant buy from me.
1. Avengers Inc. #1
If you noticed a theme emerging with Al Ewing, then you’ll be rewarded having reached the top spot. Avengers Inc. takes a class-A creative team (with Leonard Kirk hot off the character-driven epic of Sabretooth) and matches them with a can’t miss premise.
Topping out the September 2023 solicitations is a new title, which will run alongside MacKay and Villa’s ongoing (and fantastic) Avengers run. In it, the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) and Victor Shade, an old persona of Vision’s, must team up to solve a mystery. Ewing illuminates matters in the Marvel press release:
‘AVENGERS INC. takes the beating, buzzing heart of the original Avengers, teams her up with an undead mystery man with an identity so secret even he doesn’t know it, and sends them both out to solve the most amazing, fantastic and uncanny whodunnits the Marvel Universe has to offer’
Al Ewing, ‘Avengers Inc.’! Wasp Leads a New Team in Solving Mysteries and Avenging Murders
It’s like if the modern master of continuity decided to take two of the most criminally underserved Avengers and drop them into their own version of X-Factor Investigations. Which, if you know me, is like a dream come true of a book.
Topped with a gorgeous and atmospheric cover by Daniel Acuna, Avengers Inc. #1 is going to be the can’t miss book of September 2023.
