Marvel's November previews reviewed

ADAM: LEGEND OF THE BLUE MARVEL #1 (of 4)
Written by KEVIN GREVIOUX
Pencils and Cover by MAT BROOME
An unstoppable super-villain attacks New York City--and the Mighty Avengers fall before him! Where did Anti-Man come from? And who can stop his overwhelming rampage?! Now Iron Man races to find the only man who's ever defeated Anti-Man--THE BLUE MARVEL...a hero the world hasn't seen since 1961! Will Tony Stark uncover the truth behind Blue Marvel's disappearance...and will Blue Marvel ever recover from it? Kevin Grevioux (NEW WARRIORS) and Mat Broome (The End League) join forces to create Marvel's newest powerhouse super hero!

Cool codename, terrible costume.

Also terrible? This title. Was Blue Marvel deemed too clear and straightforward, so they decided they needed something two or three times longer, preferably with a colon?

The creators talked about the project with Comic Book Resources here.The concept is pretty interesting, although it reads exactly like an element in John Ridley and Georges Jeanty’s 2006 miniseries The American Way, and I’m kind of surprised neither the interviewer nor Grevioux mentioned it.

I don’t mean to suggest that Grevioux lifted the idea form Ridley or anything, and it really just seems like a single part of a bigger story in both cases, but it’s certainly a pretty noticeable coincidence.



Is it just me, or does Brian Hitch draw a tiny, tiny little thing?


INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #7
Written by MATT FRACTION
Art & Cover by SALVADOR LARROCA
“Iron Man/Iron Man/Does whatever an iron can!” Hmm, doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. The Invincible Iron Man! The Amazing Spider-Man! It’s the team-up to beat the band! And you can only read it in the pages of the fan-beloved, critically acclaimed INVINCIBLE IRON MAN by the white-hot team of Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca!

Hmm. I have no idea how this is going to work out. However you feel about the Spider-Man reboot within the Spidey books, it's hard to argue that there's anything at all positive about it in terms of Spidey interacting with the rest of the Marvel Universe. Given the pivotal roles both of these characters played in Civil War, the everything happened but no one, even the participants in the events, remember the specifics, seems particularly unconvincing. So, good luck making sense of this mess, Matt Fraction! I'm eager to see the results, provided I don't get sick of the “white-hot” art of Salvador Larroca by then.


PATSY WALKER: HELLCAT #4 (of 5)
Written by KATHRYN IMMONEN
Penciled by DAVID LAFUENTE
Cover by STUART IMMONEN
Hellcat is still on the case, tracking the missing heir of an Eskimo witch coven. But hot on the trail of Pete the Yeti, whose rocket powered spruce is making her life difficult. But with the aid of a giant magical wolf named Manslayer and a giant talking Mayan calendar made of stone, she just might survive her trek through the last frontier. If she doesn’t drown in a wave of snow bunnies first.

Part of me wonders if Immonen might not being trying a little too hard—this solicitation is so full of crazy things that it sounds like elements of two or three different manga series jammed into a singly synopsis of a 22-page book—but part of me thinks "Rocket-powered spruce? That sounds Awesome!"

The latter part is bigger than the former.



PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL ANNUAL #1
Written by SIMON SPURRIER
Penciled by WERTHER DELL'EDERA
Cover by DAVE WILKINS
“IF I DIE BEFORE I WAKE...”
Welcome to the Helter Skelter Club—psychedelic hangout of every costumed wannabe, z-list villain and spandex tryhard in NYC. Its retro-tastic owner – Captain Pepper – has been up to his paisley-print elbows in bad business, but now he’s caught the attention of one decidedly ungroovy vigilante...Artist Werther Dell’Edera (Loveless, X-FORCE) and writer Simon Spurrier (Gutsville, GHOST RIDER) cordially invite you to witness Frank Castle facing Trial By Weird, in a kaleidoscopic killfest featuring super hero groupies, brain-sucking Nazi midgets, scale replicas of the Devourer Of Worlds and lots and lots of ninja teddies.

I think the superhero/villain-themed clubs are ultra-tired by this point, but I don't know if I have the willpower to resist any comic with a cover like that...



In this issue, Mary Jane and her friends get mixed up in Satanic magic and devil worship of the sort Dr. Strange advocates. I'm guessing.



WEAPON X: FIRST CLASS #1 (of 3)
Written by MARC SUMERAK
Penciled by MARK ROBINSON & TIM SEELEY
Cover and Variant by MICHAEL RYAN
Long before his memories were restored, the X-Man known as Wolverine spent years seeking to unlock the mysteries of his past. Some of those memories were best left forgotten. Join Charles Xavier as he journeys deep into Wolverine's mind on a quest for answers that will shed new light on one of the darkest periods of Logan's life -- his days in the Weapon X program! It's a brand-new look at the horrifying history of Marvel's most prominent mutant!
PLUS: Each issue features a 10-page back-up story featuring an important player from Wolverine's past! First up, an untold tale of Wolvie's arch-nemesis, the mutant madman known as Sabretooth!

Whuh…?

I don’t even understand what I’m looking at there. Is this a new series set in the X-Men: First Class and Wolverine: First Class continuity, which is actually kinda sorta “616” continuity…? Is this a safe-for-kids-and-by-the-way-better-than-all-the-other-X-books book, like the other two First Class books?

Because it doesn’t really sound like it, what with “memories best left forgotten,” “darkest periods of Logan’s life,” and, of course, “horrifying history.” The cover art doesn’t look as light-hearted as most of the other First Class covers have either.

And while Wolverine: First Class is a pretty dumb title, since he and Kitty are in the second class at Xavier’s, at least they are actually involved with a school. Where does the school/class come in with with Weapon X?

Weird.



WOLVERINE AND POWER PACK #1 (of 4)
Written by MARC SUMERAK & CHRIS GIARRUSSO.
Art by GURIHIRU & CHRIS GIARRUSSO.
Cover by GURIHIRU.
"All right, bub. Gimme my appearance schedule for October..."

"Sure, Mr. Logan! There's your regular solo title, of course. Plus, the usual line-up of team books."

"So that's just UNCANNY, ASTONISHING, NEW AVENGERS and X-FORCE. No prob."

"There's also your side projects. ORIGINS, FIRST CLASS, MANIFEST DESTINY, another FIRST CLASS..."

"Uh huh. Anythin' else?"

"Don't forget cameos! Possibly AVENGERS/INVADERS... maybe a SECRET INVASION appearance..."

"Hmph. Sounds like a light month to me. Think I got room for one more book. You got anythin' FUN?"

"Actually..."

Wow, this comic book is actually going to have to try rather hard to be more entertaining than the solicitation for it.



X-MEN: PIXIES AND DEMONS DIRECTOR'S CUT
Written by MIKE CAREY.
Penciled by GREG LAND.
Cover by GREG LAND.
In this issue, the young mutant Pixie tries to save her town from a mysterious evil. But when the baddies prove too tough for any one hero to handle, Pixie calls in a little help from her friends. Guest-starring Cyclops, Wolverine, Colossus and the rest of Marvel's mightiest mutants! This spectacular story features the work of acclaimed scribe Mike Carey (X-Men, Messiah CompleX) and fan-favorite artist Greg Land (Ultimate Fantastic Four, Ultimate Power) in a story that will usher in a new era for the X-Men! The future of mutantkind starts here, so be sure to check it out. Then, check out the exciting extras in the back for a behind the scenes look at how this astonishing tale was created! 40 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

I’m kind of curious about that last sentence, promising exciting extras about how this astonishing tale was created. I’m assuming they mean the art, because how comic scripts are typed up isn’t really all that exciting.

I wonder if this is a feature created for the express purpose of arguing that artist Greg Land does do more than trace some photo reference…?