Nick Spencer

Since Marvel revealed that Captain America, Steve Rogers was a Nazi --- I'm sorry, "agent of HYDRA" --- last year, we all knew it would blow up eventually, and earlier this year the publisher announced plans for a summer event titled Secret Empire. Today, Marvel spilled some of the beans on what exactly Secret Empire is and how it will impact the heroes of the Marvel Universe.

With Civil War II done and dusted, Marvel has its eyes on the next big event to change everything forever. The publisher has shared teasers for an upcoming storyline titled "Secret Empire," but no further information has been revealed. Given the current storyline in Captain America: Steve Rogers, in which Rogers has been rewritten as a secret fascist, and the events of the original "Secret Empire" story, in which the US government was infiltrated by extremists at the highest levels, it seems likely that the new "Secret Empire" story will see Rogers' HYDRA insinuate its way further into the Marvel Universe --- and the groundwork has been laid with the appointment of a new director of SHIELD in this week's Marvel comics.

This month, in Marvel’s March solicitations, we've got some surprising returns, a most welcome homecoming, and the Marvel Comics debut of one of the best superhero cartoonists in the business today.

Check out the best crime comics in 2016, including our critics' picks and the comics you voted the runner up and winner in this category!

The weekend numbers are in, and Marvel Studio's latest, Doctor Strange, is a hit! It takes the now classic Marvel origin formula and gives it a fresh coat of mystical paint while expanding what we know about the shared universe and offering innovative solutions to world-ending problems. Comic books outside of the Big Two superhero universes are full of stories about magic, demons and alternate dimensions and we've put together a list of five of the best independent titles for you to try next.

Every month, comic publishers release their solicitation announcements to provide information to readers and retailers on comics that are coming out in three months’ time, but there’s so much information dropped at once that a lot can slip through the cracks. This month, in Marvel's January solicitations, it's all about the big returns, with some fan favorite heroes and villains showing up, a critically acclaimed character getting a second chance, and love in the air in the Spider-Verse.

Nick Spencer and Jesus Saiz shook the Marvel Universe when they revealed that Steve Rogers, one of the publisher's most beloved heroes, was secretly a deep cover HYDRA agent working to undermine the Avengers and bring about a new HYDRA regime. Marvel has now provided us with a first look at the upcoming Captain America: Steve Rogers #7, which kicks off a new arc appropriately titled "Hail Hydra."

Morning Glories is a science fiction teenage drama comic from writer Nick Spencer and artist Joe Eisma, published by Image. Starting in 2010, this series has fifty issues to its name, with another twenty or so to come. Morning Glories deals with teenagers attending a prep school who have to deal with a monster in the basement, secret twins, time-travel, cryptic messages, homicidal teachers, backstabbing classmates, and one of the most mind-bending, confusing, and amazing stories in comics today.

Last week, I stated confidently that The Maker’s team of New Revengers from the pages of New Avengers was the most obscure assembly of supervillains into one group, citing little known characters such as Asti and Skar as proof. It now seems that team may have held the distinction for one whole week, as this week’s issue of The Astonishing Ant-Man by Nick Spencer and Ramon Rosanas has potentially outdone them with a team I like to call Lang’s Eleven. Admittedly there are only ten members, but it sounds better with Eleven, and Nick Spencer’s Sinister Six in Superior Foes of Spider-Man only had five members, so I feel like it works.

Steve Rogers is certainly the man of the hour at Marvel right now; star of one of the biggest superhero films yet, and he's just returned to his old role as Captain America working alongside Sam Wilson who also shares the title. This week saw the release of the new ongoing series Captain America: Steve Rogers by Nick Spencer and Jesus Saiz, which spins out of the events of the recent Avengers Standoff crossover. However, the issue contained a huge revelation about Steve Rogers' upbringing that may change how we look at the Sentinel of Liberty forever! Spoilers for the issue follow. If you want to read the book unspoiled, don't read this article; but if you need to know what everyone is going to be talking about this week, carry on.