Marvel's January previews reviewed

Marvel's turn! What have they got planned for January of next year? You can see for yourself here, or you can just read on and take my word for it...


SIEGE #1 (of 4)
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Pencils & Cover by OLIVIER COIPEL
Variant Cover by GABRIELE DELL'OTTO
Variant Cover by JOE QUESADA
Sketch Variant by OLIVIER COIPEL
Beginning with the ravaging affects of Avengers
Disassembled and following the aftermaths of House of M, Civil War and Secret Invasion, culminating with the evil Reign of Norman Osborn, the Marvel Universe has been left with its greatest villains holding more power and control than ever before. On the brink of madness, Osborn, in his final bid to take total control, targets the final obstacle in his mission...Asgard. Events are set in motion forcing our heroes to put aside the deep rifts that have grown over the past seven years. Opposing them stand a horde of evil that has begun to take down the gods of the Golden Realm! SIEGE will rock the foundations of every super hero, villain and team in the Marvel Universe. As an era ends, one word will ring above all others...”SIEGE.”
40 PGS./Cardstock Cover/Rated T+ ...$3.99

Hey, it's Marvel's next big tent-pole event storyline! Ever since they announced the name of this one, I've been wondering who exactly would be laying siege to whom, and I assumed it was either the Osborn-led bad guys or the good guys who would be the besieged and the siege-ers, but boy was I off.

I'm not really sure I quite get the premise of this, as going from America's Nick Fury to Ruler of Asgard seems like a pretty big promotion—Why not seize control of America or the UN first or something?—and I guess I wasn't aware that the Norse pantheon was really the be-all and end-all of power in the Marvel Universe. Is that a bigger deal than conquering Olympus? Or wherever the Celestials hang out? Or the Christian Heaven?

At any rate, it seems a little out-of-left-field-y to me, but then, I haven't been following the Bendis-written spine of the Marvel Universe since Secret Invasion ended. Maybe it's more logical in the context of the Bendis books.

On the surface, it doesn't sound too terribly appealing. Bendis tends to be pretty rotten at these sorts of stories, particularly when it comes to the endings. I hated the non-ending of Avengers Disassembled and House of M, but talked myself into Secret Invasion, thinking it had to be good, since it was supposedly the culmination of everything Bendis had written in the Marvel Universe so far and, well, that also just kind of meandered into another resolution-free non-climax. Now this is being promoted as the actual culmination of everything Bendis has written in the Marvel Universe so far and...well, I think I've learned my lesson (And now that his books are so damn expensive, I'm less likely to give him the benefit of the doubt).

Also, why is it Bendis' turn again already? I thought he and Mark Millar were taking turns with Marvel's big event stories? (Not that Millar's much better really, but he's at least better at the big, stupid action movie-like beats than Bendis is).


HULK #19
Written by JEPH LOEB
Pencils & Cover by ED MCGUINNESS

INCREDIBLE HULK #606
Written by GREG PAK
Penciled by PAUL PELLETIER

FALL OF THE HULKS: RED HULK #1 (of 4)
Written by JEFF PARKER
Penciled by CARLOS RODRIGUES

January's going to end up being a pretty big month for Marvel, I'd imagine. In addition to their "Seige" event storyline, which should at least theoretically be comparable to Secret Invasion in terms of sales, they've got this Hulk mini-event storyline going on. I'm kind of torn about it, since I like Pak and Parker (and McGuinness and Pelletier), but fear Jeph Loeb's scripting. I suppose I could just skip the Loeb parts, but I have to imagine he had some level of input in the event in general, and if there's a mathematic formula that can apply to this event—That is, something along the lines of Pak + Parker > Loeb—I haven't figured it out yet.

Loeb's presence in the Hulk line is what kept me from trying any of the Hulk books post-World War Hulk, and I imagine that will continue. Still, some of these books sure sound and look fun.


AVENGERS VS. ATLAS #1 (of 4)
Written by JEFF PARKER
Penciled by GABRIEL HARDMAN
Cover by HUMBERTO RAMOS
Variant Cover by GABRIEL HARDMAN
Spacetime is being selectively eroded by an unknown force. To stop the effect, the Agents of Atlas seek the help of the Avengers- and find a much earlier version of the team than they expected: Captain America, Iron Man, Wasp, Giant-Man and Thor are together again, with the atomic wildcard THE HULK!
40 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

Hmm. It looks like Parker will follow the current X-men Vs. Agents of Atlas miniseries with an Avengers one, which will be twice as long (And maybe oversized? Note the "40 PGS" up there). It looks like Marvel's going the Power Pack route with AoA for the time being, which suits me just fine.



There are going to be some real relaxed, chair-sitting motherfuckers in this January's Marvel comics...


CAPTAIN AMERICA #602
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Penciled by LUKE ROSS
Cover by GERALD PAREL
The monthly CAPTAIN AMERICA returns with a bang! Where has the Captain America from the '50s been the past few months, and what part of our modern world has welcomed him? And what will Steve and Bucky do when an old enemy tries to become a revolutionary? TWO AMERICAS begins here! By best-selling writer Ed Brubaker with art by Luke Ross. Plus, the start of a Second Bonus Feature - NOMAD by Sean McKeever and David Baldeon!
40 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

Looks like Marvel is definitely going to be biting DC's more-than-22-pages-of-content-for-$3.99 model, at least for some of the books, and thank goodness for that. They're adding a $1 to the Cap monthly, but they're also adding a "Second Bonus Feature" (Just say back-up! There is no shame in being a back-up! That Archie Goodwin/Will Simonson Manhunter story was a back-up, and everyone loves it!)

For those of you reading Cap, is this particular feature a good fit? The character is obviously connected to the Captain America franchise, and while I'm not currently reading Captain America or the Nomad miniseries by the same creative team, it at least seems like the general aesthetic of the art and the focus of the stories are somewhat divergent. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Just wondering. I'm sure it's better than Marvel raising the price a $1 and not giving readers anything in return, so if it was a choice between 22 pages of Captain America for $3.99 and 22 pages of Captain America plus eight to ten of Nomad for $3.99, the latter has got to be preferable.


Oh, and it looks like Brubaker's next story arc will be called "Two Americas." Presumably this means the story will revolve around Captain America learning about what John Edwards has been up to while he was dead/unstuck in time/whatever, and deciding to track him down and punch him in his stupid face.



DEADPOOL #19
Written by DANIEL WAY
Penciled by PACO MEDINA
Cover by JASON PEARSON
“WHATEVER A SPIDER CAN,” PART 1
The X-Men? Pfft! Not really Deadpool’s style. Though he’s still committed to doing this “hero” thing, Wade’s more of a “lone wolf” kinda guy, out there doing his own thing. Y’know…thwp-thwp.
32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$2.99

Tch. Look at this shameless appeal for Chris Sims’ attention and affection…


This is a very nice cover.


MARVEL BOY: THE URANIAN #1 (of 3)
Written by JEFF PARKER
Penciled by FELIX RUIZ
Cover by MARKO DJURDJEVIC
A young man has travelled billions of miles through space in a rocket to help our world. But is Earth of the 1950's ready for a new super hero? Before he became the dark figure the Agents of Atlas call The Uranian, Bob Grayson raced through the skies as Marvel Boy! From the critically acclaimed writer of AGENTS OF ATLAS and FALL OF THE HULKS: ALPHA comes this all-new look back at one of Marvel’s first heroes!
48 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

Have I ever mentioned that I just don't get Marvel?

Their Agents of Atlas title isn't selling so great, so they semi-cancel it, demoting it to a back-up and replacing it on the schedule with a couple of crossover miniseries with more popular teams (The X-Men, The Avengers). Okay, that makes sense and is rather cool of them. But why push it with another Agents-related mini at the same time?

I suppose they could just focus on Marvel Boy as a character instead of as a part of Agents of Atlas, but it still seems close enough for me to wonder about Marvel's willingness to flood the market with more books than seem logical from my side of the comics publishing/comics buying relationship.

Oh well. I like Marvel Boy and I like Jeff Parker and this is probably oversized (48 PGS...$3.99), so I'll probably be buying this. Along with that other AoA mini. And Incredible Herc, where AoA will be running as a back up, so I guess I personally proved that putting out a bunch of AoA comics in the same month won't cause fans to read fewer of them.

(One more thing. I think I would have titled this series Marvel Boy: The Hero From Uranus. That is why I don't work in comics).


And the cover they chose for the trade collection is the stupid one nobody liked and which looks nothing like any of the pretty great art actually in the book. Sigh.


MARVEL FAIRY TALES GN-TPB
Written by C.B. CEBULSKI & DAVID SEXTON
Penciled by KYLE BAKER, JOÃO LEMOS, NUNO PLATI, TAKESHI MIYAZAWA & RICARDO TERCIO
Cover by WARREN KREMER
Re-imagining the greatest Marvel stories through folktales, myths and fables from across the globe! In Avengers, see Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and the rest of the Avengers as you've never seen them before with all-new interpretations of Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz. In SPIDER-MAN, Mary Jane fills the shoes of another famous red-head in this retelling of Little Red Riding Hood with super hero sensibilities! Will Spider-Man be able to save her on her way to Aunt May's house? And in X-MEN, it’s a re-imagining of the tragic origin of Professor Xavier and Magneto! In the ancient African tale, “The Friendship of the Tortoise and the Eagle,” dangerous circumstances cause two pals to take violently different life paths... Collecting AVENGERS FAIRY TALES #1-4, SPIDER-MAN FAIRY TALES #1 and X-MEN FAIRY TALES #2.
144 PGS./Rated A ...$14.99

I was thinking about these weird Marvel heroes/fairy tale mash-ups Marvel was publishing for a while during the week or two of the "OMG Disney bought Marvel!" news cycle.


This is a nice image, but doesn't quite seem right for an Oz book.


Namor looks surprisingly un-pissed off about everyone in New York checking out his ass.


I kind of hate myself for liking this cover so much. Maybe it's because it has Jubilee in her terrible, terrible "costume," but still manages to make it look like something not terrible to look at? I guess Colleen Coover will have a story in this Nation X thingamajig. Is she doing the Jubilee story? Huh, that kinda interests me in checking this out. Like, a little.


PUNISHER: GET CASTLE #1
Written by ROB WILLIAMS
Penciled by LAURENCE CAMPBELL
Cover by TIM BRADSTREET
Barracuda murdered Frank Castle’s old friend Yorkie, but death’s not going to stop him calling in one last favor. Across the Atlantic on a bleak Welsh mountain range, Yorkie’s old S.A.S. squadron have come home from Afghanistan with a little something extra, and Yorkie’s son is taking his life into his hands by spying on the deadliest soldiers in the world. This is where the S.A.S. put their new recruits through hell -- the perfect place for Frank’s unique brand of vengeance. But is he the hunter or the hunted?
40 PGS./One-Shot/Explicit Content ...$4.99

Woah, woah, woah...The Punisher versus the S.A.S....? And this isn't written by Garth Ennis? Is taht legal? I thought Ennis created the S.A.S. and owns the copyright for those characters?




...




You guys all realize I'm kidding, right?


PUNISHERMAX #3
Written by JASON AARON
Penciled by STEVE DILLON
Cover by DAVE JOHNSON
"KINGPIN," Part 3
Wilson Fisk's plot to become Kingpin of New York finally brings him face to face with Frank Castle, as well as drawing in a 97-year-old, shotgun-toting mob widow and a mysterious hitman known only as The Mennonite.
32 PGS./Explicit Content ...$3.99

They're not really calling this comic Punishermax, are they? There will be a space between the words Punisher and Max when it sees print, right?

Also, I do not care for that Dave Johnson cover, which is unusual, as Dave Johnson knows his stuff and I like his work. Hm.


STAR COMICS: ALL-STAR COLLECTION VOL. 2 GN-TPB
Written by BOB BOLLING, BEN BROWN, ANGELO DECESARE, LENNIE HERMAN, STAN KAY & DAVE MANAK
Penciled by BOB BOLLING, BEN BROWN & WARREN KREMER
Cover by Planet Terry, Wally the Wizard, Top Dog and Royal Roy return in this second selection of Star-studded sagas! Learn the Secret of the Space Warp! The fate of the Folkquest! The history of the world's greatest dog-spy and the lore of Cashalot! See Mister Invisible, Moorloks and more! Collecting PLANET TERRY #3-4, TOP DOG #4-6, WALLY THE WIZARD #3-4 and ROYAL ROY #3-4.
216 PGS./All Ages ...$19.99

Ha ha, nice placement of the laser-firing joystick thing, cover artist!


S.W.O.R.D. #3
Written by KIERON GILLEN
Penciled by STEVEN SANDERS
Cover by JOHN CASSADAY
Agent Brand, Beast, Sydren, Beta Ray Bill, Marvel Boy, Jazinda, Karolina and all the other aliens on Earth have been captured by Henry Gyrich and his “NO MORE ALIENS” agenda. Only one person can free them and save the world: Lockheed.
32 PGS./Rated A …$2.99

I was never the least bit interested in this title until I saw the cover for this issue. Is this the single best piece of art John Cassaday has ever produced? Don't be silly and think about it. That was a rhetorical question. Of course it is.


THUNDERBOLTS #140
Written by JEFF PARKER
Penciled by MIGUEL SEPULVEDA
Cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA
Thunderbolts vs. Agents of Atlas—round 2! The hunt down in the swamp comes to a head when one of the T-Bolts ends up dead! There's not going to be much time to cope either, because Norman Osborn needs his team of killers ready for a final mission—and this is what he's been saving them for!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99

See, and here's even more Agents of Atlas!