The Marvel Universe is under attack by monsters! The only way they can be stopped is with the combined forces of The Avengers, X-Men, Inhumans, Guardians of the Galaxy and Champions. But who has Unleashed these monsters and why? We’ll have to read to find out!
Along with all of Marvel’s heroes, Monsters Unleashed will feature as many of their giant monster characters as possible. Many of them haven’t been featured since the early 60’s when Jack Kirby did monster stories in the pages of Strange Tales.
Written by Cullen Bunn and drawn by a roster of some of Marvel’s top artists, Monsters Unleashed looks like it could be a monster of a comic event. Sorry for the pun) Each issue will be drawn by different artist, which should mean that not only will it come out bi-weekly but also on time. A problem that many big stories like this often share. There will also be a series of one-shots which tie-in to the main story. Each of these will be character/team specific and labelled with a “.MU” after the number.
As stories with many tie-ins can get confusing I have put together Monsters Unleashed Reading Order Guide. Not only does it contain the reading order but also a list of tie-ins, release dates and creative teams too.
Happy Reading!
Do I Need To Read The Tie-Ins?
The quick answer is: no. If you don’t want to you don’t have to. You’ll get a full story if you read Monsters Unleashed #1-5. But if you want to extend the story then the tie-ins are the way to go. Start with the characters/teams you enjoy and then read more of them if you’re enjoying what you are reading.
Monsters Unleashed #1 (of 5)
Written by Cullen Bunn. Art by Steve McNiven.
Available January 18th.
Avengers #1.MU (tie-in)
Written by Jim Zub. Art by Sean Izaakse.
Available January 25th.
Spider-Man/Deadpool #1.MU (tie-in)
Written by Joshua Corin. Art by Tigh Walker.
Available January 25th.
Monsters Unleashed #2 (of 5)
Written by Cullen Bunn. Art by Greg Land.
Available February 1st.
All-New X-Men #1.MU (tie-in)
Written by Jeremy Whitley. Art by Carlo Barberi.
Available February 1st.
Uncanny Inhumans #1.MU (tie-in)
Written by Paul Allor. Art by Brian Level.
Available February 15th.
Monsters Unleashed #3 (of 5)
Written by Cullen Bunn. Art by Leinil Francis Yu.
Available February 22nd.
Doctor Strange #1.MU (tie-in)
Written by Chip Zdarksy. Art by Julian Lopez.
Available February 15th.
Champions #1.MU (tie-in)
Written by Jeremy Whitley. Art by Ro Stein and Ted Brandt.
Available February 22nd.
Monsters Unleashed #4 (of 5)
Written by Cullen Bunn. Art by Salvador Larrocca.
Available March 1st.
Totally Awesome Hulk #1.MU (tie-in)
Written by Bryan Edward Hill & Leah William. Art by Ty Templeton.
Available March 1st.
Guardians of the Galaxy #1.MU (tie-in)
Written by Chris Sims and Chad Bowers. Art by David Baldeon.
Available March 8th.
Monsters Unleashed #5 (of 5)
Written by Cullen Bunn. Art by Adam Kuburt.
Available March 15th.
After Monsters Unleashed
Spinning out of the events of Monsters Unleashed is a brand new ongoing series of the same name. This will be written by Cullen Bunn and will have art by David Baldeon.
The series started in April 2017.
Monsters Unleashed Collected Edition
For those who prefer to read comics in a collected edition, the below releases are what you should track down.
Monsters Unleashed
Collects Monsters Unleashed #1-5.
Monsters Unleashed Battleground
Collects Avengers #1.MU, Spider-Man/Deadpool #1.MU, All New X-Men #1.MU, Champions #1.MU, Doctor Strange #1.MU, Uncanny Inhumans #1.MU, Guardians of the Galaxy #1.MU and Totally Awesome Hulk #1.MU.
Will You Be Reading Monsters Unleashed?
Will you be reading monster filled story? Did you find this reading order guide helpful? Let me know in the comments below or via Facebook or Twitter.
I was curious as to if Vol 2 will have tie ins? They have already released 2 issues in VOL 2.
Great question! At this stage it just looks like the new Monsters Unleashed series is just an ongoing series, so unless there is a crossover with another series in the future it should be relativity self-contained.
After reading last week’s MU comics, it became very clear to me that MU#3 should be read BEFORE Doctor Strange.MU#1, since the latter happens after the events in the former.
Thanks for the heads-up, Breno. I’ve updated the list 🙂