Share Marvel Unlimited Recommendations
David_D
Posts: 3,884
I recently rejoined Marvel Unlimited, and I know there are other users of that service, and now that it boasts of over 17K issues on offer, I thought it might be good time to hear and share some recommendations going, whether recent series worth reading, or hidden gems.
One I will start with-- a series I don't think I even noticed when it was getting published, but found and really enjoyed via MU.
Captain America and Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers. A Marvel Knights mini from 2010. Reginald Hudlin (who I didn't love on the main Black Panther series, but enjoyed here) and Denys Cowan, who I've enjoyed from back in the Question days. The WW2 Cap and Howling Commandos team up with the T'Chaka Black Panther, in his prime, and they fight Nazis. What's not to love.
One more team-up, that I did get in print back in the day, and the recent Daredevil season on Netflix put it back in my mind--
Daredevil Vs. Punisher: Means and Ends. From 2005. Six issue mini. Written and drawn by David Lapham, of Stray Bullets fame. I read it when it came out, so it has been awhile, but I remember it was great. And i think would be of interest to those that enjoyed their conflict on the show.
One I will start with-- a series I don't think I even noticed when it was getting published, but found and really enjoyed via MU.
Captain America and Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers. A Marvel Knights mini from 2010. Reginald Hudlin (who I didn't love on the main Black Panther series, but enjoyed here) and Denys Cowan, who I've enjoyed from back in the Question days. The WW2 Cap and Howling Commandos team up with the T'Chaka Black Panther, in his prime, and they fight Nazis. What's not to love.
One more team-up, that I did get in print back in the day, and the recent Daredevil season on Netflix put it back in my mind--
Daredevil Vs. Punisher: Means and Ends. From 2005. Six issue mini. Written and drawn by David Lapham, of Stray Bullets fame. I read it when it came out, so it has been awhile, but I remember it was great. And i think would be of interest to those that enjoyed their conflict on the show.
Comments
Generally curious.
http://www.comicbookherald.com/so-whats-the-deal-with-marvel-unlimited-offline-reading-part-2/
I can say, using it in wifi, as I do, it works great, and has steadily improved over the years I have off-and-on used it.
Marvel 1985 by Mark Millar and Tommy Lee Edwards
This is another one that I read on paper originally, when it was coming out back in 2008, but it is on MU. I have read a lot of Mark Millar, though I sometimes run hot and cold with him. Sometimes, maybe more than sometimes, he is a little too clever or sleek for his own good, and I enjoy his ideas, but don't always connect with his characters, or feel that there is an emotional core to this work, or anything he is putting on the line as a writer. Sometimes it is all a little too cool and packaged.
Not with this one. 1985 is one of my favorite things he ever wrote. It is a surprising, and unusual story that plays with the idea of Marvel characters, in the mid-'80s, crossing into the real world, and this event is experienced from the point of view of a comics reading 13 year old boy whose parents are getting a divorce.
This series came back to mind recently when watching Stranger Things on Netflix, as there are some tones in common, as well as the similar setting. And Tommy Lee Edwards, and the sense of weight and realness his art brings, is perfect. His world feels so real that when the real world is intruded upon by the fantastic, you really feel it. It's one of those hidden gems, and all 6 issues are on MU.
I got a year subscription back in January and maybe used it a dozen times. I hated the offline reading, trying to navigate through the app, and trying to update my reading list.
I liked the offline reading. I used mine at work where there was no wifi. You can pick five(IIRC) issues to read and it worked pretty slick.
Despite the app being a bit buggy I've thought about getting another subscription. If I do subscribe again I will wait for a sale first. I missed out on the one day sale a few days ago. I was expecting another SDCC sale(usually first month for a penny) but didn't see anything this year.
Sooooo much good content. It has impacted what I pick up off the rack at the LCS. I find myself passing on things that I would normally pick up on a whim, because I know it will show up on the App in a couple of months.
I'm also loving that I can pull up "key" issues and series to share with my kids without having to rummage around in the Comic Cave and dig through unorganized long boxes.
If you haven't read it yet (or in a long while) my recommendation is Alan Davis' Clan Destine. They have the original 12 issues from 94, the 2-part X-Men crossover(?), and the 5 issue mini from 2008. Can't go wrong.
Regarding offline reading; Over the weekend I downloaded 12 issues to read. Had no problems with 11 of them but one would not go past page 5 or so. This is on a 3 year old iPad.
"Run the mission. Don't get seen. Save the world."
These were a short run of fantastic, one-and-done stories by Warren Ellis and some fantastic artists (Jamie McKelvie, David Aja, Michael Lark, and others). Each of these stories have the cinematic urgency and big idea SF bent of some prior Ellis works, like Global Frequencies. They are all very different, and very different looking, issues of the Secret Avengers team solving a big, off-the-grid crisis in a single shot. I read them on paper at the time in single issues, but they are available on MU, and a great thing to go to if you want a great, single issue palette cleaner in the midst of some longer run you are reading.
Planet Hulk Incredible Hulk (1999-2008) #92 - 105
Hulk has been exiled to the war ravaged planet of Skaar; where he battles for freedom, and finds happiness and peace.
Originally it was used to take Hulk out of the picture for Civil War, but ended up being an epic story for the Hulk.
The next recommendation is Son of the Hulk
This was a 17 issue series that was overlooked by most, but is a great follow-up to Planet Hulk. Picking up the in the immediate aftermath of Plant Hulk, this follows one the survivors, Skaar Son of the Hulk. Instead of reading the disappointing World War Hulk read this and enjoy good more great comics.
The entire Greg Pak Hulk/Hercules run is great (except WWH, even Peter David had some not great moments during his tenure), and these two stories are a great place to start.
I should point out that I don't have a subscription right now, this was during the last free promo, in May I think. I was on an iPad 3.
I've added Planet Hulk to my MU "Library". It is in my reading queue, right behind the Robbie Reyes Ghost Rider series.
And wasn't kidding if you like Planet Hulk read Son of the Hulk. Greg Pak really got to tell a great multi-year Hulk family epic.
I'll even recommend Loeb's Hulk (2008-2012) series that followed the adventure of Red Hulk with a caveat. Loeb drug out the "mystery" of Rulk's identity way to freaking long. The Rulk stories are awesome fun, but the mystery plot was just stupid.