AOM 12-2022

AGENTS OF A.R.C.A.N.A. #49

Plot by NX01A

Written by GRANT MORRISON

Art by JEROME OPEÑA

Theme Song: All I Want For Christmas - MINOR KEY! ft. Chase Holfelder

'INFINITIVE GAUNTLET' Part 12 'ALL I WANT'

•It's a beautiful Christmas morning at snowy Manse Harnkess. BOG BOY rips open the presents proud MAN-THING got him. The SCARLET WITCH introduces AARKUS the VISION to the customs of mistletoe while DOCTOR VOODOO and ELSA BLOODSTONE enjoy eggnog and each other in a cozy corner. DOCTOR STRANGE can't keep CLEA and AGATHA HARKNESS from arguing whether to have a traditional Earth Christmas lunch or a Faltine Yule feast.

•It's a perfect Christmas. That's why it's wrong.

•Bog Boy may be the equivalent of six years old but children soon tire of perfection, and after playing with all his toys, he sees through the glamour cast over the adults by the bad man in smelly robes reading from a creepy book.

•The imaginary fir and holly and ivy and mistletoe and poinsettia feel real even to those creating them, and Bog Boy's plant army is all that stands between Earth and mad mage ABDUL ALHAZRED opening a gateway to the darkness between the stars!

32 PGs./ Rated M...$3.99

AGENTS OF FURY #28

Plotter: MARVELL2100

Writer: CHRISTOPHER PRIEST

Artist: STEFANO CASELLI

“THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE” PART IV

Desperate to keep her secret, Sen. Sharon Kelly sets a trap for Nick Fury using two of his agents as bait! Nomad and Diamondback are being held hostage by Kelly to draw Fury out from hiding. She has enlisted the help of Howard Stark and Joe Broke-It and if everything goes as planned, the biggest threat to her political career will be eliminated and she'll be one step closer to becoming President! She used Fury to kill her husband and now he needs to die as well!

Elsewhere, Nomad and Diamondback are sitting in a room surrounded by armed guards and under constant surveillance. They know they don't have much time before they die so they begin to tell each other their true feelings. They joke about how it took their pending death to finally admit they care for each other. Just then, Susan Storm walks into the room and looks them over carefully before she leaves. Jack and Rachel look at each other, confused by what just happened.

Suddenly, alarms ring throughout the complex as armed personnel scramble into position. This is it Kelly thinks from her office while looking out the window into the night sky. Tonight is the night that Fury dies and a new chapter begins as she is set to become the most powerful person in the world! Next Issue: She Ain't Who You Thought She Was!

32 PGS./Rated T+...$3.99

AMAZING FANTASY #33: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA

Written by MALCOLM JONES & RONALD D. MOORE

Plot by MARVELL2100

Art by SALVADORE LAROCCA

THE EXILED

Adm. Adama and Col. Tigh have sent Hotshot, Redwing, Kat and Racetrack on a desperate mission to find more supplies for the fleet! With tensions high and reserves quickly dwindling, it's a very precarious time for the colonists. Everyone is on edge and one small spark can ignite an inferno! If they don't find new resources soon, this could be the end of their search to find a new home!

Thousands of lightyears away, Sharon and Helo continue their quest to find their daughter Hera. Starbuck and Apollo have agreed to help in their search but what hope do they have of finding a lone infant in a wide open galaxy? Worse, they aren't even sure if she is alive! Suddenly, alarms begin ringing throughout their stolen Raptor! Dradis has picked up a Cylon Raider and it's headed straight at them!

Elsewhere, Kat has picked up readings on a planet that possibly contains source of Tylium! She has picked up signs of life and water as well. They send their findings to Galactica and prepare to land. Hotshot and Redwing step out of the Raptor first to find breathable air, water and plenty of vegetation. They've also located enough Tylium to power the fleet for years. It's almost too good to be true and it looks like it's about to become a nightmare as a group of Cylons begin to emerge from the forest! Next Issue: I, Robot!

32 PGS./Rated T+...$3.99

BLACK PANTHER: KING OF WAKANDA! #41

Written by MALCOLM JONES

Plot by MARVELL2100

Art by ADI GRANOV

T'Challa arrives in N'Gabo to meet his rival, President Marcus Zulu and his backer Moses Magnum with only Okoye at his side! This is a diplomatic meeting between the two nations to ease the rising tensions. N'Gabo has changed much since it's defeat at the hands of Wakanda, investing heavily into bio-technology. With the help of Magnum, another one of T'Challas' rivals on the Hellfire Clubs Inner Circle, Zulu has brought his country on the brink of becoming a global power and threatening the stability of the African continent.

But Zulu didn't invite T'Challa to give him a view of his improved military. He asked him to come to N'Gabo so that he can show him the heads of the leaders across the region and around the world who have come to do business with him and have signed new treaties. N'Gabo will become to Africa what Wakanda did not: A protector and a symbol of power! A leader who can unite the continent and bring prosperity after centuries of imperialism brought ruin to its' people!

T'Challa laughs and Zulu and Magnum! "You invite me here to boast about how great you are! You are both such little men!". Angrily, Zulu moves towards T'Challa only to stop dead in his tracks when Okoye steps forward. Magnum tells Zulu to calm down, there is no need for hostilities on such a beautiful day. They asked T'Challa to come so that Wakanda can be a part of the new Africa that they are building. T'Challa tells them that this "new" Africa looks a lot like the Africa that was under imperial rule and walks away.

Once aboard their ship, T'Challa asks Okoye if she got any readings. From what she can tell, there is a lot of material and tech that would be used for creating bio-weapons, something similar to what the Americans did in WWII. They are looking to create their own super-soldiers! There was something else that has her puzzled. There was another reading. Someone else was in the room using cloaking technology so that they would not be seen. The interesting thing is that the genetic readings are very similar to T'Challas'!

32 PGS./Rated T+...$3.99

CAPTAIN AMERICA #49

Plot by EXCITER

Written by FRANK MILLER

Art by SEAN GORDON MURPHY

Prelude to World War Z!

“PERFORMANCE EVALUATION”

For the past two years, Arkady Rossovich has enjoyed establishment favor as the “official” Captain America (since CAPTAIN AMERICA #26!). They’ve covered up for his numerous misdeeds and ethical failings, while simultaneously smearing his rivals like Bucky Barnes as criminals. But now there’s a new boss in town…

Helmut Zemo has been elevated to U.S. Secretary of Defense (see NO MORE THUNDERBOLTS #1) and has finally gotten around to looking into the true identity of the so-called Sentinel of Equity. As it turns out, given his family history, Zemo isn’t a fan of the communist Soviet super soldier “Omega Red” - nor of his largely non-Aryan team of “Avengers.” Of course, the animosity is mutual. So when Arkady is called to the Pentagon, he’s prepared for a trap. But can anyone be prepared for Ares, the god of war?

Ares, another claimant to the mantle of Captain America, respects Zemo’s bold and aggressive approach to foreign policy. He’s entered an alliance with the new Defense Secretary based on the shared goal of revitalizing a United States that has grown fat, weak, and entitled. Step one: give the people a Captain America that they can respect - and take an axe to Omega Red!

Plus: A Frontlines Op-Ed by Sally Floyd: “Gateway Serum: How Steve Rogers Normalized Hate and Paved the Way for Helmut Zemo’s Ascension.”

32 PGs./Rated T+ …$2.99

DARK INTELLIGENCE #19

Writer: ED BRUBAKER

Artist: STEVE EPTING

Plotter: MARVEL2100

“TRUST NO ONE!”

ARROW agents Jason Strongbow and Monica Chang have been pulled from the RED DEATH murders for a new assignment: Track down and arrest form Director of SHIELD and now rogue agent, Nick Fury! ARROW Director Clay Quarterman wants Fury and his team captured before the elections begin in a few months. But unknown to Quarterman, Presidential candidate Sen Sharon Kelly is behind the push against Fury because she's hiding a secret that Fury knows and she wants him dead!

Weeks into their search, Jason and Monica discover a lot of disturbing information about Fury and surprisingly Sen. Kelly! Jason wants to report what they've to Quarterman but Monica tells him they shouldn't talk to anyone yet. The information they've found puts them in a lot of danger and they have to be careful about who they trust! Jason agrees but tells her that with what they know, they have put a target on their back. There's one person he knows that can help them, the only thing that they have to do is get out of the country alive!

32 PGS./Rated T+...$3.99

DEVIANT #12 \*Giant-Size Final Issue!\*

Plot by NX01A

Written by AL EWING

Art by JOSÉ LADRÖNN

Theme Song: Dick Dynamite and the Doppelgängers - Creatures from the Sky

'OPTIMISTIC REPLICATION'

•God Eternal KRONOS stands ready to exterminate the entire Deviant race. He also stands thanks to the body he inhabits, that of brain dead RANSAK the REJECT. With all the reality-warping cosmic energy flowing through that brain, maybe Ransak's consciousness isn't as rejected as we'd thought. Good thing mind master GHAUR is able to breathe on the embers, turning the spark into a flame!

•The battle rages within and without! Ransak and Kronos do psychic battle for control of the mind while THENA, SERSI, the mutant-Eternal-Asgardian hybrid AXE, Warlord KRO, KARKAS, LUCIAN the BLACKWULF, BROTHER TODE, and a legion of Eternals and cosmic-empowered Deviants fighting side by side assault the body!

•Even if they defeat Kronos, how will the Eternals deal with a million Deviants with cosmic power rivaling their own?

•Coming next year... ETERNAL!

64 PGs./ Rated M...$5.99

THE ENIGMA CORPS #1

Plotted by CaptainUniverse

Written by Jim Krueger & Alex Ross

Art by Iban Coello

“FUTURE'S END”' Part 1: "To You, In 15,000 Years"

Agent Jill Harper's relatively normal life as an Agent of A.R.M.O.R. is forever turned upside down as a group of refugees from various alternate futures lead by a man named Prince Wayfinder of Ithacon emerge from The Nexus of All Realities seeking asylum from the combined forces of...Mephisto and The Magus?! But while her bosses rush to figure out what has brought about such a nightmarish alliance between the Lord of Lies and the Head of the Universal Church of Truth, Jill finds herself thrust into the role of caretaker for their new guests in order to keep them out of trouble, something easier said than done as Wayfinder, Aleta Ogord, Iron Lad, Cosmic Ghost Rider and Thundra follow May "Mayday" Parker a.k.a. Spider-Girl in her pursuit of her wandering little brother Benjamin and Wayfinder's slightly malfunctioning mechanical helmsman Alkinoos, who is dead set on bringing the boy back to his parents! Even if it means killing Cassie Lang! Meanwhile, Iron Lad's future self Immortus makes his first move against Mephisto and The Magus!

32 PGS./ Rated T+...$3.99

F² #16

Written by KIERON GILLEN

Plot by CAPTCLEGHORN

Art by JAMIE MCKELVIE

“TOGETHER AGAIN … FOR THE FIRST TIME!”

It’s war between the dimensions. Or more accurately, war between realities with different numbers of dimensions. Reed Richards has cobbled together the secret of where the mass goes when the Pym family shrinks. Turns out that the excess is converted to dark matter which can’t be seen because it’s an eight-dimensional construct. Johnny and Wyatt have discovered that time is the one dimension which really doesn’t exist in anything but a complete 11 dimension realm (turn it up to 11, amirite?) and the TVA may just hold the secret to stopping this interdimensional conflict.

Using techniques developed by Jen Walters and Leonard Samson, the team assembles to find and rescue Hank Pym. Hank, as we’ve seen, has his own attack plan as well. But before the final battle is fought, the team faces the threat of Diablo the Demon from the Fifth Dimension.

The Dimension War continues.

32 PGs/ Rated T...$3.99

HAWKEYE AND SPIDER-WOMAN #15

Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN

Art by JEROME OPENA

Plot by FFJAMIE94

SYMBIOTIC DESTRUCTION CONTINUES

Iron-Eye fights his way through an army of Symbiotes as Necrid battles him one on one. But tragedy strikes as Clint meets his match and is slain by the Symbiote.

Spider-Woman watches as she is given her own Symbiote.

Now it's time for Jessica's black suit saga to begin...

Don't miss the heartbreaking chapter in the Symbiote event of the year...

32 PGs/ PARENTAL ADVISORY...$3.99

HULK IN COLLEGE #4

Plot by EXCITER

Written by ROBERT KIRKMAN

Art by MATTEO SCALERA

“FINALS”

The semester is ending, and there will be no extra-credit!

Professor Hulk has managed to liberate his student and secret daughter-from-the-future Lyra, who was under the mental domination of the Controller: a villainous mind-enslaver named Basil Sandhurst who was masquerading for years as Empire State University’s Dean of Students Kyle Beatty! How many alumni in positions of power does he already control?

As it turns out, the mysterious event that decimates men and turns women into merciless warriors in Lyra’s future began through the Controller’s actions at Empire State University. In fact, that’s what she travelled back in time to stop!

But when Sandhurst attaches over twenty of his control disks onto the enormous body of Professor Hulk in an effort to bend the mind of the astonishing academic to his will, can the Hulk’s top physics protégé, Uatu Jackson, and Lyra use their brains and brawn to save the day… and the future? They’ll get some surprise help from the frat bros of Gamma Gamma Kappa!

And hey, who was that super-intelligent janitor anyway? Find out here!

Your grade depends on it!

32 PGs./Rated T+ …$2.99

THE INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #41

Written by JOSHUA DYSART

Plot by MARVELL2100

Art by SALVADOR LARROCA

“THE TRIAL OF TONY STARK: PART IV!”

War Machine and Bethany Cabe defend Stark Enterprises against the the unprovoked attack by the Hammer Girls and their strike squad, the Iron-Busters! But how longer can they last when they are both out-numbered and out-gunned? Will there be a Stark Ent. left standing after a contentious court battle? Back to the trial, after the charged testimony from Tony Stark, the jury seems to be leaning towards an acquittal. But DA Kate Elsworth has one one card left to play. She calls on Howard Stark, founder and former CEO of Stark Ent. to the stand to testify against his own son!

32 PGS./Rated T+...$3.99

THE MIGHTY THOR #49

Plot by EXCITER

Written by ALAN MOORE

Art by MIKE MIGNOLA

Prelude to World War Z!

“TAKEN FROM ASGARD”

Overlooked. Ignored. Disrespected. For centuries, Amora the Enchantress believed herself to be both the most beautiful and mystically-gifted seductress in Asgard. Yet the Prince of the Realm, Thor, stubbornly and persistently refused her affections. Now Amora sees Thor’s widow, Sif, sitting upon Asgard’s throne as Queen and All-Mother… and it should have been her!

This is Amora’s opportunity to enact jealous revenge, for Sif is distracted by a pretender from Midgard and her misbegotten children, Magni and Modi Thorson, are left relatively unprotected on their third birthday (can you believe it’s been three years since their birth in THE MIGHTY THOR #13?). None question a visit from their grandfather Odin, the former All-Father turned wanderer. Little does anyone know, Odin has fallen under Amora’s mind-control spell! On Sleipnir, he spirits the boys of thunder away… and directly into Amora’s clutches!

Amora intends to present them to a real champion of Midgard: a man that is both self-made and of noble blood; a man who practices the proper respect for Teutonic Deities, who appreciates her gifts of mental subjugation, and who can teach Magni and Modi the true and oft forgotten ways of a Northman warrior. This man is Midgard’s undisputed master of evil…

Kids, meet your new father: Baron Zemo!

32 PGs./Rated T+ …$2.99

NO MORE THUNDERBOLTS #4

Written by ALEX DE CAMPI

Plot by H-E-D

Art by CARMEN CARNERO & GABRIEL HARDMAN

Things sure have been strange in Washington DC ever since Secretary Zemo had his closed-doors meeting with the President.

The President has made a lot of… off brand appointments and executive orders.

And day by day, it seems to be spreading. To the Cabinet, to Congress, beyond.

More and more sing the praises of one man. Not the elected President, no. They speak of one man, one name.

Zemo.

Across the world, people look on in horror as the United States descends into the abyss of white supremacy. Nobody is more perturbed that his old employees, the fugitive THUNDERBOLTS.

But what can they do about it? They’re just glad they got out in time.

At least they’re safe, right?

…right?

Uh oh.

32 PGS./Rated T+...$3.99

PETER PARKER, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #23

Written by J.M.DEMATTEIS

Plot by CAPTCLEGHORN

Art by SARA PICHELLI

“HOORAY FOR PETER!”

Spidey and Man Wolf have been barely able to keep the Sinister Six from doing too much damage in the city, but the major problem is how to find and rescue Fisk’s hostages, Aunt May and J. Jonah Jameson. A small break is found when our two heroes manage to corner Adrian Toomes by himself on John Jameson’s third night as the lycanthropic Man Wolf. Toomes, also known as the Vulture is angry because his participation in the Six is due to Fisks keeping May Parker hostage. Can the three find a way to save the innocent hostages?

Maybe, but not everybody is in next issue.

“But he made too many enemies

Of the people who would keep us on our knees

Hooray for Peter Pumpkin

Who'll pray for Peter Pumpkinhead?

Oh my!”

32 Pgs./ Rated T...$2.99

SOJOURN #2

(CROSSGENESIS #10)

Written by MARKISAN NASO

Plot by H-E-D

Art by JASON MOHR

Rebellion!

The world of Quin has been conquered by the Sigil-bearing tyrant Mordath.

But he’s made a lot of enemies along the way.

The huntress ARWYN, who lost her family to Mordath’s evil, has become the unlikely hero of the cause.

She aims to reassemble the quintipartite Bow of Ayden, the weapon used to slay Mordath at the height of his prior reign of terror.

She’ll need to unite the people of Quin in the process – or die trying!

32 PGS./Rated T+...$3.99

SPELLBOUND #13

Written by VITA AYALA

Plot by H-E-D

Art by PEACH MOMOKO

“GOD-JEWEL” – Part One

FOREVER

In the beginning, there was Xorr.

Xorr was more than a planet, more than an empire.

Xorr was god.

Xorr’s dominion was as certain as the star it orbited.

But even stars die. Xorr would be eternal.

Forged in the fire of the supernova that birthed the Dark Nebula, the Black Galaxy – Xorr became something more.

Metaphor became literal, words given life.

Thus rose XORR THE GOD-JEWEL.

And Xorr would conquer. It divided its essence, birthing the BIO-GEMS, and with them as agents conquered the cosmos.

But then, call it a tragedy or a miracle, something remarkable happened. A lost, forgotten people called the Natter sacrificed themselves to shatter Xorr. The Bio-Gems slumbered.

The Universe forgot Xorr. But Xorr is not dead. And what is not dead can eternal lie. Now, the Bio-Gems are awakening. And in a distant corner of the universe…

XORR LIVES!

32 PGS./Rated T+...$3.99

UNCANNY X-MEN #49

Plot by NX01A

Written by KURT BUSIEK

Art by STUART IMMONEN

Theme Song: Dead Phoenix - We Are One

'SACRED ASHES' Part 3/Finale 'BE NOT AFRAID'

•The wreckage of Asteroid X has landed in a part of the Pacific Ocean so remote that the closest land is over two thousand kilometers away in any direction. This is where spaceships and launch debris go to die, and this is where the X-Men's lives begin anew. The PHOENIX FORCE is free of the undead body and twisted mind which corrupted it, and Asteroid X's safe splashdown is part of its gift.

•It took everything they had to defeat the VAMPHOENIX, and the X-Men are once again merely mutants. No Asgardian magic, no Cyttorak unstoppability, no psio-magnetic gestalts... At least the Phoenix restored JEAN GREY and PHENIX to their respective live bodies before it returned to the cosmos.

•With Asteroid X adrift but stable, the demon-mutant hybrid DEMUTANTS and animal-mutant hybrid XENTAURS decide to remain while the most of the surviving regular mutants just want to try and pick up the pieces of the lives they left behind to come to this supposed Utopia.

•And what is the surprise gift the CRIMSON PIRATES left behind?

32 PGs./Rated T+...$3.99

VENOM: AGENT OF SHIELD #2

Written by CHIP ZDARSKY and JONATHAN HICKMAN

Art by JUAN CABAL

Plot by FFJAMIE94

SYMBIOTIC DESTRUCTION CONTINUES!!!

Venom continues his war on Necrid's army. But he is given a helping hand; Deadpool comes to his rescue as he helps fight off the Army. But then the brutal moment occurs, Venom watches as Hawkeye is killed by Necrid.

Don't miss this chapter as Symbiotic Destruction reaches its most dramatic moment...

32 PGs/ PARENTAL ADVISORY...$3.99

AOM HOLIDAY SPECIAL #4

A very merry holiday anthology!

“CHRISTMAS IS BETTER WITH A SISTER!”

Story and Art by CHRIS GIARRUSSO

Plot by CAPTCLEGHORN

She’s a pest. She cries and has a smelly poopy diaper every time Franklin goes near her. And that’s all she does. She’s Valeria Richards, Franklin Richards’ kid sister. But it’s Christmas and when your superhero parents tell you to be a supportive big brother, you consider that they just maybe have a point.

It’s almost Val’s first Christmas and although she’s just starting to use and play with her stuffed animals, she really doesn’t have an appreciation for anything cool. Luckily, Franklin has his best buddy, H.E.R.B.I.E., thew robot who can do all sorts of stuff, some of which Franklin even understands. So Franklin and H.E.R.B.I.E. go on an adventure to find Val the perfect Christmas gift.

THE APOCALYPSE BEFORE X-MAS

By ZEB WELLS & JESÚS SAÍZ

•A fat man making his annual Yuletide trip around the world stops off at an ancient Irish castle when he senses a pure spirit, youthful within. This fat man has sucked the life from thousands of such spirits over the millennia to extend his own wretched existence and that of the flesh golems which pull his sleigh and make his infernal devices. Not this year. Never again. At the bottom of Cassidy Keep's main chimney, an assembly of powerful beings await the fat man who must surely follow the shining star of NIGHTCRAWLER's soul amplified by mutant might and Gaelic glamour. When Christmas morning dawns, many children and children at heart will have finally all had a good night.

•Coming next year: SUPERIOR X-MEN!

The Corporate Avengers in “CIVIL WAR ON CHRISTMAS”

Plot by EXCITER

Written by CHUCK DIXON

Art by CLAY MANN

Ferrero Rocher Wrapper Variant Cover

Junior Mints Peppermint Scratch ‘n Sniff Variant Cover

In the year 2099, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are the Publicly-Traded Corporate Avengers! But a schism forms between members of the team based on holiday observance: the Google Android celebrates Honda Days, whereas the Amazonian observes Toyotathon! With both manufacturers releasing hot new anti-grav sedans, SUVs, and minivans, the dispute between heroes seems insurmountable - and a physical altercation is inevitable…

64 PGs/ PARENTAL ADVISORY...$2 Turtle Doves