Bob Harras becomes Editor-in-Chief while the company is in big trouble. Bancruptcy looms, many titles are canceled outright (including New Warriors and Dr. Strange), and, following the Onslaught crossover, four of Marvel's core heroic books are turned over to Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld. Mike Deodato illustrates a lot of books this year. Peter David's Hulk, Warren Ellis' Excalibur, and the Waid/Garney Cap run continue into this year. Karl Kesel and Cary Nord begin a great Daredevil run. Onslaught is the big, multi-title event. Prices remain steady at $1.95 Direct / $1.50 Newstand. There was also a 99 cent line (with anthology & nostalgia offerings).

What's Missing? See the note on last year's category; my coverage is incomplete compared to earlier years. I've given up maintaining the What's Missing list. There's less output overall but still too many Unpluggeds and Unlimiteds and other one-offs to keep track of. Jeph Loeb's Cable (with Ian Churchill) and X-Force look like they might be good. The Punisher is working for the mob. The Crossing leaves behind an unrecognizeable group of Avengers (including Teen Tony and insect-humanoid Wasp). Spider-Man is still doing clone stuff. George Perez is still writing Silver Surfer.

New characters: Onslaught, Ozymandius, Bastion, Ultragirl