Marvel's September previews reviewed

Despite their best efforts to get out of the serial comic book publishing business with rather random 33% price hikes throughout their line, Marvel will still be int he publishing business come September of this year. And what will they be publishing? You can see everything here, and you can listen to me mouth off about it here:


ESSENTIAL SUB-MARINER VOL. 1 TPB
Written by STAN LEE, ROY THOMAS, RAYMOND MARAIS & ARCHIE GOODWIN
Penciled by WALLY WOOD, GENE COLAN, JACK KIRBY, JERRY GRANDENETTI, BILL EVERETT, DAN ADKINS, WERNER ROTH, MARIE SEVERIN & JOHN BUSCEMA
Cover by JOHN BUSCEMA
Ten years after the last issue of the Golden Age's SUB-MARINER COMICS, the Avenging Son finally claimed a monthly feature in TALES TO ASTONISH, the entire run of which is presented here! Namor's on an undersea quest, braving the Seaweed Man, the Demon of the Diamonds and other oceanic oddities for the power to protect his kingdom from his perennial would-be usurpers: Attuma, Byrrah and Krang! But even if he reclaims his crown, Puppet Master and the Secret Empire want him as their puppet king! Plus: Namor learns secrets of his past, but does his future lead only to...Destiny? Guest-starring Daredevil, Iron Man and the Hulk! Collecting DAREDEVIL #7, TALES TO ASTONISH #70-101, TALES OF SUSPENSE #80, IRON MAN & SUB MARINER #1 and SUB-MARINER #1.
504 PGS./All Ages ...$19.99

Fuck yes.

Um, that’s all I really have to say about this.


HULK #15
Written by JEPH LOEB
Pencils & Cover by IAN CHURCHILL
Variant Cover by ED MCGUINNESS
The battle you've been waiting for: THE RED HULK VS. WOLVERINE.
Plus: Deadpool! Elektra! Punisher! Vs. X-Force! All this and a shock ending that will have all of Marveldom twittering! Superstars Jeph Loeb and Ian Churchill continue the action packed part 2 of CODE RED!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

Woah, woah, woah, Ian Churchill? When did this start? Has this been going on for a while? I just sort of assumed the saving grace for Loeb’s Hulk run, the reason people were buying it despite Loeb’s scripting and the extra-dollar cover price was the presence of Ed McGuinness.


Hercules looks wrong to me wearing so much clothing.


I always like images of Iron Man’s mask that make it look sad.


Skottie Young draws a nice web-line.


MARVEL MYSTERY HANDBOOK: 70TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
Written by MICHAEL HOSKIN, RONALD BYRD, ANTHONY FLAMINI, STUART VANDAL, KEVIN GARCIA, JACOB ROUGEMONT, DAVID WILTFONG & SEAN MCQUAID
Cover by MITCH BREITWEISER
As the Marvel Universe celebrates 70 years of the world's greatest comics, journey back to where it all began -- OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE style! Featuring the greatest characters of Marvel's first year -- a year that not only gave us the Sub-Mariner, the Human Torch, the Angel and Ka-Zar, but also THE TWELVE's Black Widow, Phantom Bullet, Electro, Mister E, Dynamic Man, Phantom Reporter, Fiery Mask, Master Mind Excello and Laughing Mask! Also featuring a host of oddities from Fletcher Hanks' Whirlwind Carter to Taxi Taylor! Plus: an introduction by Timely comics scholar Dr. Michael J. Vassallo!
64 PGS./Rated T+ ...$4.99

Man, it is a good time to be a fan of Golden Age superheroes.

Now if only JMS and Weston would finish up The Twelve…


THE MARVELS PROJECT #2 (of 8)
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Pencils by STEVE EPTING
Cover by STEVE MCNIVEN
Variant Cover by STEVE EPTING
Variant Cover by GERALD PAREL
The award-winning and best-selling team of Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting bring you CHAPTER TWO in this definitive tale of the origins of the Marvel heroes. As 1940 hits the world is already changing -- The Human Torch is on the run, The Angel makes his masked debut, The Sub-Mariner stalks the surface-worlders who have targeted his people -- and a young soldier named Nick Fury saves a German scientist from the Nazis and leads him to the USA. The battle-lines drawn in this race to create superhuman weapons of mass destruction still reverberate today in the Marvel Universe -- as this epic espionage thriller continues to unfold and reveal new twists!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

So, is this going to be, like, Brubaker doing a Marvelized version of All-Star Squadron? Because that would be awesome. Actually, it sounds pretty awesome as is. Too bad that it’s at the wait-for-trade price point. I guess I’ll look forward to reading this in…fall of 2010…?


M.O.D.O.K: REIGN DELAY
Written by RYAN DUNLAVEY
Pencils & Cover by RYAN DUNLAVEY
Down on his luck, MODOK moves back into his parent's house in Erie, Pennsylvania and discovers that his family, old classmates and apathetic locals can thwart his plans for world conquest better than any super hero. Featuring obligatory guest appearances by Norman Osborn and some Canadian mutant super hero you've probably never heard of.
40 PGS./One-Shot/Rated T+ ...$3.99

I went to college in Erie, Pennsylvania. I would probably buy this simply because I would be curious to see the Erie of the Marvel Univrse, but it’s also by the artist Action Philosophers and Comic Book Comics, two great series I love.


PET AVENGERS CLASSIC TPB
Written by STAN LEE, STEVE DITKO, MARY JO DUFFY, SCOTT EDELMAN, PETER GILLIS, STEVEN GRANT, BRUCE JONES, LARRY LEIBER, WILL MURRAY, FABIAN NICIEZA, GREG PAK, LOUISE SIMONSON, DAN SLOTT, MARC SUMERAK & ZEB WELLS
Penciled by JACK KIRBY, STEVE DITKO, JUNE BRIGMAN, BOB BUDIANSKY, ANDREA DIVITO, CHRIS ELIOPOULOS, GIL KANE, VAL MAYERIK, TAKESHI MIYAZAWA, MICHAEL NETZER, DON PERLIN, JAVIER SALTARES, PAUL SMITH & SKOTTIE YOUNG
Cover by KARL KERSCHL
The Falcon, the Two-Gun Kid and many another will tell you: A hero's best friend is his animal sidekick! A teleporting dog, a winged horse, a bouncing cat...and lookit the cute puppies! All part of the Marvel Universe animal kingdom showcased in this offbeat collection! Lockheed gone solo! The origin of Zabu! The Super-Apes triumphant! Magic; super-science; and squirrels, squirrels, squirrels! Featuring rarely seen early work by Fabian Nicieza, Greg Pak and other present-day Marvel headliners! Collecting material from THING #4, CAPTAIN AMERICA #220, KA-ZAR THE SAVAGE #14-15, X-MEN UNLIMITED #43, MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #72, SPEEDBALL #6, MARVEL TALES #100, MARVEL SUPER-HEROES #8, AMAZING FANTASY #15, FANTASTIC FOUR #94, NEW DEFENDERS #150, NEW MUTANTS ANNUAL #4, FRANKLIN RICHARDS: HAPPY FRANKSGIVING, NEW WARRIORS #2 and JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #57.
208 PGS./ Rated A ...$24.99

I’m not sure about the title and/or branding on this thing, but it looks like a whole lot of fun. I wonder if I’ll have an extra $25 to spend in September…? If there are any Marvel PR people in the reading audience, I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that I’m always more than happy to accept review copies.


Hey is that…I mean, it looks like… Nah, couldn’t be.


SPIDER-MAN: THE CLONE SAGA #1 (of 6)
Written by HOWARD MACKIE & TOM DEFALCO
Penciled by TODD NAUCK
Cover by PASQUAL FERRY
You’ve been asking for it...and now it’s here: THE CLONE SAGA!!! Marvel’s most controversial event of all time returns with a vengeance, presenting the Clone Saga as it was originally intended to be told! From the minds behind the crossover that changed comics forever and the artist that introduced Spider-Man to President Obama, it’s six issues of twists and turns that will shock fans old and new alike! Be here as Peter Parker’s worst nightmare begins again...now with an ending you have to see to believe!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

I’ve read this paragraph over and over again, and I’m still not entirely sure I understand it. Is this just a six-issue What If? miniseries…?


Hey look, Paul Pope draws the Marvel Universe! This is the cover for that Marvel version of Bizarro Comics that was announced something like 29 years ago now. I wonder if I'll have the will power to wait for the trade?


WAR MACHINE #10
Written by GREG PAK
Penciled by ALLAN JEFFERSON
Cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA
A DARK REIGN TIE-IN! For the last nine issues, Norman Osborn and James Rhodes have attempted to destroy each other's most precious hopes and dreams – all without ever seeing each other face to face. But now everything comes to a head as Iron Patriot and War Machine finally throw down! And this ain't just another show fight, kids -- by the end of this issue, only one armored giant will remain standing! Find out why ComicBookResources.com says, “Little did I know how far Greg Pak would take this concept...this issue proves that it refuses to let itself be overlooked. It won't sit quietly in its little corner and play nice.”
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99

Hmm. I thought this was a mini-series for some reason. I guess not…?