Could Marvel Comics be back as soon as April 22, 2020? Now, let me start by saying, I have not heard directly from anyone at Marvel nor have I heard from any other source about their return. However, I accidentally did some digging and found something rather interesting. Let me explain.

Each week at Weird Science Marvel Comics, I pump out previews, as well as reviews, for almost every Marvel Comic to come out each week. Now, before the comic hiatus happened, I already created previews for the week that never came out. This morning, I re-opened those previews to dust them off a bit and add some links to my new online comic shop through Amazon. My goal was to link each preview with the digital copy on Amazon and where to find it. As I was creating my links, underneath each comic I found had a Kindle release date through Amazon. See pictures below.

Every Marvel Comic preview that I looked up on Amazon was scheduled to release April 29, 2020. So, I decided to dig a bit deeper. I dove into our April Weekly Release article (which you can find HERE) on our site and looked at each and every comic released in the month of April. I discovered that EVERY MARVEL COMIC that was supposed to be released the week of the hiatus were all being released on April 29, 2020, on Kindle through Amazon. So, my next thought was, is everything just pushed off until the last day of April? Again, see picks below.

So, I opened up the May Solicits article (which you can find HERE) and started plugging in some issues that were supposed to be released in May. To my chagrin, they had actual dates listed for May. Different Marvel Comics are scheduled to come out each week in May unlike April having all digital comics released April 29, 2020. Nevertheless, I noticed that in the month of May EMPYRE was continuing and that the EMPYRE series was supposed to begin in April. In the month of May, EMPYRE #3 was scheduled to come out meaning that EMPYRE #1 and #2 would have to have come out in April at some point before. But when? After looking through Amazon Kindle what I realized was that EMPYRE #1 was scheduled to be released April 22, 2020, with EMPYRE #2 scheduled to come out April 29, 2020, and EMPYRE #3 scheduled to come out May 20, 2020, with a wave of EMPYRE titles sprinkled throughout the month of May.

Now, does this mean EMPYRE #1 is coming out this coming Wednesday? Who knows? However, it looks like it according to Amazon and Kindle. Now normally, I get previews every Friday from Marvel to push out for the following week. Currently, I have not been sent any previews. So, this could simply be Amazon releasing different dates for digital issues at different times towards the end of the month. Or, could it be Marvel releasing EMPYRE #1 this coming Wednesday on digital to kick things back off in the comic market? Again, who knows? I guess we will find out this coming Wednesday!

Again, let me reiterate that this is total speculation and no one from Marvel has said otherwise. This is something that I accidentally stumbled on while setting up the previews for whenever they would be released. But, I do know that everyone is excited for New Releases of Marvel Comics to come back and even if we can only get them digitally for the next couple weeks, it’s still better than no new titles at all.

Readers, businesses have had to make new adaptations to succeed and deal with the COVID-19 virus. But at some point, every business is going to have to find a way to function amongst this pandemic, including the comic industry. Schools have begun to finish their year online and different businesses that never thought they could work solely from home have found a way to do just that. Are you telling me that the comic industry cannot still create comics and get these amazing stories out during this pandemic just like every other business or organization has been able to do thus far? Groceries can be delivered to your house and I’m sure comics could/ and have before. Churches are functioning online. Heck, I can get my dog groomed without entering the vet. They take the dog from my car and bring it back to me when they’re done. Clothing, televisions, gifts, you name it and they can be shipped to you during this time. So, why not comics and trades?

My point isn’t to say we are done with Comic Shops, floppy copies, and trades. It’s quite the opposite. However, life cannot simply stop during a pandemic and it needs to continue in a SAFE way because this isn’t going away anytime soon. We need to find a way to adapt. Places like Disney World are shut down with no opening insight. People are losing money left and right including Comic Shops and Comic Companies. They need to find a way to create stories and get them to fans in a safe way and the online environment is the exact solution and platform to make that happen. However, it’s a temporary solution and only a temporary solution. Once things get back to normal, shops NEED to reopen and hard copies NEED to be created.

Maybe during this time, trades of these issues are created with few rare single issues for the titles in demand? Who knows? I don’t have all the answers. But, I do know if the industry is going to survive it needs to pump out new content now and adapt. And hopefully, that’s starting off this week in a digital format with EMPYRE #1!!! Well, thanks for the read every one and if you’re looking to get your hands on tons of amazing comics, why not check out my online Comic Shop on Amazon by clicking HERE. And while you’re at it, check out all of our Reviews HERE and Previews HERE. Thanks again for your support and please remember to stay safe, stay healthy, and read comics!