Of those 8 are carried over to the first 3 months of 2021:Generally Hachette announce in 3 blocks of 4 months (Jan-Apr, May-Aug & Sep-Dec) The first of those blocks would normally be due nowish. We know Jan-March so that leaves April. Maybe 3 of those 36 slots will go In April, and one of them is likely to be SW to tie in with May 4th. The Old Republic and Original Marvel Years were the 2 SW Epics NOT to be originally scheduled in 2020 so it will PROBABLY be one of those; Old Republic is the one that usually appears earlier in the year and volume 4 is the next one due.
2 Conan
1 SW
5 MU books of which:2 earlier twice a year books - Hulk 5 & X-Men 7
2 other X books - X-Factor 3 and X-Force 7
1 once a year MU book - Doctor Strange 4
It's a reasonable assumption, but not a certainty, that the announced by Marvel but not confirmed elsewhere X-Men 7 Fate of the Phoenix will go in April. Which leaves 1 slot.
Thanks to our old friend, the Marvel Cinematic Universe schedule, we can have a VERY good guess at the identity of this other April book:
February 12 2021 The Eternals
May 7 2021 Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
November 5 2021 Untitled Spider-Man: Far From Home sequel
February 11 2022 Thor: Love and Thunder
March 25 2022 Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
34 Epic slots left, 17 per block of 4 months
4 of those, 2 each in each of the remaining blocks of 4 months, will be Conan. The Original Marvel Years appear to be in sequence, so 3 & 4, and I don't know enough about the Dark Horse Conan to speculate what the next 2 volumes will contain.
30 Epic slots left, 15 per block of 4 months
4 of those, 2 each in each of the remaining blocks of 4 months, will probably be Star Wars
One of the Star Wars WILL be Original Marvel Years having skipped 2020
Another is LIKELY to be The Menace Revealed 3, which also missed 2020 but only has one more to go
That leaves 2 from the following:
Tales of the Jedi 2 - which only started in 2020Take your pick!
The Clone Wars 4
The Empire 7
The Rebellion 5
Legacy 4 - which only has one volume to go, containing the Legacy II series.
26 Epic slots left, 13 per block of 4 months, essentially 3 MU Epics per month
Right, here we go, this is what we're really here for. By my reckoning there are 25 MU Epics in progress (We assume Iron Fist, Black Widow, Black Panther & Ms Marvel are finished and Venom was a one shot) 9 of those are usually, but not always, twice a year. So it would take 34 slots to do everything in a year
6 of them have a 2021 release already (either carried over from 2020 or deduced from the Marvel Cinema schedule) and are unlikely to have another. 6 from 34 is 28
Earlier FF & West Coast Avengers both unexpectedly had two releases in 2020 so I would think both are unlikely to appear in 2021. 2 more off, 26. With 26 slots left, how conveient.
Now of course it won't work out quite like that: Marvel might fancy a reduced schedule, plus there's the demands of crossovers and any media tie ins which we haven't foreseen. And who knows what knew titles they might launch on a whim?
So let's get started: of the twice a year volumes we're expecting 2, earlier and later, for the following titles - numbers in the titles main volume are in parenthesis, the fraction represents what portion of the presumed Epics are remaining
1 Iron Man (332) 9/20?3 twice a year volumes have had their earlier volumes eliminated, by virtue of already being scheduled or having 2 in 2020: we expect just later volumes here:
2 Thor (502) 10/23
3 Amazing Spider-Man (441) 12/26 (To Clone Saga)
4 Avengers (402) 14/28
5 Captain America (454) 9/22
6 Daredevil (380) 10/21
7 Fantastic Four (416) 14/25 2 earlier volumes in 20203 MU volumes have had their volumes eliminated, by virtue of already being scheduled or having 2 in 2020: we expect no further releases in 2021 for these titles
8 Hulk (474) 13/24 Incredible Hulk v5 Who Will Judge The Hulk?
9 Uncanny X-Men (544) 9/19 (To Mutant Genesis) X-Men v7 The Fate Of The Phoenix
Doctor Strange (183, 81, 90) 7/13 Doctor Strange v4 Alone Against EternityThat leaves 2 MU titles with regular releases we expect to see in 2021
Master of Kung-Fu (125) 3/6? v4 prob April 2021 for film
West Coast Avengers (102) 4/8? 2 volumes in 2020
10 Silver Surfer (146) 8/14Plus SIX which all missed in 2020
11 Punisher (104/18) 5/9?
12 Defenders (152) 5/92 of the other X-Books have 2021 releases scheduled
13 Marvel Two-In-One (100) 4/5?
14 Sgt Fury 4/5? (it's complicated)
15 Moon Knight (38, 6, 60, 4, 4) 4/7? (MK is complete to end of it's v1 and may or may not resume)
16 Ant-Man 1/2
17 PMIF (50-125) 1/4
X-Factor (149) 7/11 X-Factor v3 The Angel of DeathLeaving 3 other X-Books needing scheduling
X-Force (129) 7/10? X-Force v7 Zero Tolerance
18 Wolverine (189) 9/15So let's get speculating on the probables.
19 New Mutants (100) 4/8
20 Excalibur (125) 4/8?
Quite frequently Epic will publish a sequence of books in order IE 1, 2, 3, 4 etc, which is especially true for the earlier books. That's a big guide for us then. There's also a growing number of 1 volume gaps needing filling.....
There are two things worth mentioning before we start that might influence the choices:
The first is, as I said above, there's a Spider-Man movie due in November. That will almost certainly demand at least one epic bt also represents an ideal point to launch another Spider-Man Epic
The second is the recent death of Denny O'Neill. This has resulted in some publicity for his work so I could see SOMETHING or SOMETHINGS Denny O'Neill related hitting. His Daredevil (194-226) & Epics 10 & 11 is largely unreprinted and there would be certain scheduling advances to getting a book of that out and delaying the remaining later DD volumes by a year. His ASM (207-223, Annuals 14 & 15) is probably out of Masterworks exclusivity by next year and we've been waiting for the finale to his Iron Man run (196 to 208, part of Epic 12 "Iron Monger" 196-214 & Annual 8) since Epic 11 was released in 2016
Iron Man(332) 9/20
1 - Earlier: Epic 5 is next in sequence - 47-60?
2 - Later: Epic 18 is next in sequence - probably called Crash and Burn 290-306, Annual 14 - but there's a maximum of 3 left at the end of Iron Man, which is going to last the presumed 7 years remaining on the Epic publishing program so these might get spaced out. Following Denny O'Neill's death, has the time for Epic 12 - 196-214, annual 8 - come at last?
Thor(502) 10/23
3 - Earlier: Epic 6 is next in sequence - 217-c240
4 - Later: Thor Epic 19 is one of the last epics to be released in 2020. Again 3 to go at this end of the run - the final one is out - could it be taking a break in 2021? Or leaping back to 13 and 337 upwards - The Simonson run? Get it in Epics before the Masterworks get there and complicate thing? 20, next in sequence looks something like 451 – 467, Thunderstrike 1, Thor Corps 1 – 4. What it WON'T be is 10 - 280 something to 302 as that's been in a Eternals Complete Collection in early 2021. We tried to get it to changed to the Epic but no success :-(
Amazing Spider-Man(441) 12/26 (To Clone Saga)
5 - Earlier: Epic 6 is next in sequence & one volume gap - 86-104. My feeling is this is a near racing certainty and, for reasons outlined below, is less likely to be connected to the film so is more likely to appear earlier in the year. The ASM Epics are very popular and by May 2021 there won't have been an ASM Epic for 14 months so I would pencil this in there on the schedule.
6 - Later: 2019's Epic 19 Assasin Nation closed a gap - the two prior and three following volumes were already out. So 2020's Epic was a jump out of sequence. 25 Maximum Carnage was almost certainly chosen because the Maximum Carnage trades were due at the same time. They could continued with 26 - which nicely buffers up to Clone Saga if predictions are acurate but Asm 16 273-288, Hooky Graphic Novel is a long standing gap. Else it's 23/24 with something between 361 and 377 or the 26 pre Clone Saga volume. Plus Denny O'Neill's death may raise the profile of a volume of his work. But I suspect the choice may ultimately be dictated by 2021's Spider-Man film and the identity of the villain: if we get the Hobgoblin, 16 could be in luck!
Avengers(402) 14/28
7 - Earlier: Epic 6 is next in sequence & one volume gap - 98-114. Another I'm nearly certain about.
8 - Later: 2020's 18 Heavy Metal was something of a surprise. 19 - 304-318, Annual 18 (Atlantis Attacks) and WCA 53-55 (Acts of Vengeance) would follow it and be nice - IIRC the Byrne written issues withing aren't bad- or 25 Bloodties - 367-368, Annual 23, X-Men 26, Uncanny X-Men 307 & Avengers West Coast 101-2 - would pick up the interupted sequence of Bob Harras books. Anything other than those two would be surprising to me.
Captain America(454) 9/22
9 - Earlier: …... Is a little difficult. 5 is MASSIVELY overdue 160-180something, all of the Secret Empire trade (169-176) and some of Nomad (177-186). 11 would be next in sequence after 2020's release of 190 but that's mainly already collected material.
10 - Later: Cap ALSO has just 3 Epics left at the to end of his run - the final one is out - another candidate for a 2021 break? Next in line is Epic 19 411-4?? - see our discussion at the weekend which got a little complicated!
Daredevil(380) 10/21
11 - Earlier: Epic 5 is next in sequence - 87-107 and overdue having skipped 2020. Third near certainty.
12 - Later: Epic 16 is next in sequence - DD 301-309, Annual 8, Nomad 4-6, Punisher War Journal 45-47, Elektra Lives Again would seem likely. But maybe something c10 with the unreprinted Denny O'Neill stuff?
13 Fantastic Four(416) 14/25: Epic 19 - FF 321-333, Annual 22 - is the next in sequence to the last later FF release in 2019 and is a 1 volume gap. It looks VERY slight so maybe Sue & Read's appearances in Avengers 299-303 could bulk it up. It won't be a book covering the early Byrne issues as they're all recently Masterworked and have previously been Visionaried. But maybe a book covering the gap between Essentials & Byrne (208-232 and largely unreprinted) might be an outside chance.
14 Hulk(474) 13/24: Epic 15 "Ground Zero" 331-346 & Graphic Novel: The Big Change is next in sequence and much in demand as it starts the Peter David run
15 Uncanny X-Men(544) 9/19 (To Mutant Genesis): ….. Well it's not going to be 13 (199-209, New Mutants Special Edition 1, NM Annual 2, X-Men Annuals 9 & 10) as that's what Masterworks is printing in 2020 and prob 2021. It's UNLIKELY to 14 (210-219, Annual 11, X-Men/FF, X-Men/Avengers as that material will be Masterworks in 2023. 15's a possible - that'd line up nicely with X-Factor 3 out early 2020. 16 maybe, Inferno. 17's out. 18 is the Jim Lee 1 volume gap which I reckon is unlikely thanks to 6 issues worth showing up in New Mutants 7 Autumn 2020. I'm 50/50 on later X-Men missing out but I'd be tempted to have a few quid with the turf accountants on 11: 177-188, Kitty Pryde & Wolverine, maybe MTU 150: mostly unreprinted in paperback.
16 Silver Surfer(146) 8/14: Who knows? SS is random numbers. 2 & 8 are 1 volume holes. 2 straight after the Omnibus with the same stuff? Not sure I see that. 8 is before the 2020 release. Place bets now.
17 Punisher(104/18) 5/9?: Again, Who Knows? 1, 4 & 6 are 1 volume holes. 1 is one of 2 currently missing Epic 1s…..
18 Defenders(152) 5/9: … The other of which is Defenders. Having completed the end of the run in order (6-9) I expect them to return to the beginning. The Sub-Mariner #34-35, Marvel Feature #1-3, The Defenders #1-12 & Avengers #115-118
19 Marvel Two-In-One(100) 4/5?: Epic 2. Overdue, but the last of the material needed should be out of Masterorks exclusivity window now. 20-31 ish, Annuals 1&2, FF Annual 11, Avengers Annual 7
20 Sgt Fury 4/5?(it's complicated): Epic 2. Overdue. 20-40, Annual 1
21 Moon Knight(38, 6, 60, 4, 4) 4/7? (complete to end of v1): Epic 4 Fist of Khonshu 1-6, Marc Spector Moon Knight 1-?? ….. That's if they are going on to print these
22 Ant-Man1/2: Epic 2 oh we live In hope Tales to Astonish 60-69 Marvel Feature #4-10, Luke Cage, Power Man #24-25, Black Goliath #1-5, The Champions #11-13, Marvel Premiere #47-48 and material from The Invincible Iron Man #44
23 Power Man & Iron Fist(50-125) 1/4: Epic 4 PMIF 108-125 (finish) That looks a little thin so possibly Secret Wars II 2 ?
24 Wolverine(189) 9/15: Another Random book. But my money would be on either 3 - 31-??, the start of the Larry Hama run, or 7 - 76-86, Cable 16, ?? as a one volume gap and the next in sequence after 2020's release. Wolverine also has slightly more volumes needed than the presumed 7 year finish so could have a 2 book year coming soon
25 New Mutants(100) 4/8: Epic 3 - 32-46ish, NM Special Edition, Annual 2, X-Men Annuals 9 & 10: New Mutants has an early/late sequence in 1, 6, 2, 7 so 3 is to be expected this coming year
26 Excalibur (125) 4/8? Epic 5 is next in sequence and they've all ben in sequence so far. 59-75, annual 1 Round off the Alan Davies run. Any thoughts of jumping ahead will have taken a back set I imagine
No comments:
Post a Comment