Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Mothman: The Cookie...?
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Meanwhile...
The above image is the first half of one of Weissman's Obamastrips, in which the president is confronted in his bedroom by the ghost of President James A. Garfield. Speaking of Garfield, guess what I am doing this weekend...? One of my least favorite things to do! I'm pretty excited about where I'll end up this time, however, as I'll be within walking distance of President James A. Garfield's house. Sweet, huh?
Hopefully it won't interfere too badly with my EDILW posting schedule, as I really should get started posting this year's "Super-Endorsements" series, seeing as how the election's like, days away now...
Comic shop comics: October 24 Mudman Vol. 1
The only comic book-comic book I was planning to buy was Brandon Graham's Multiple Warheads: Alphabet to Infinity #1, which I also failed to pre-order, and which the shop also failed to order a rack copy of.
I spent a good half-hour browsing the hell out of the shop, though. I didn't see anything on the new rack that was cheap enough to justify an impulse buy (Mike Norton's The Curse GN looked pretty alright, but was about $15). I pawed through the 50-cent bins. I scanned the shelves for a reasonably-priced trade. I bemoaned the fact that they stopped carrying manga, as a $8-$12 digest always served me well as a desperation-buy on such weeks.
But I left with only the Mudman trade, which was actually kind of ironic. To me.
See, I wanted to read Mudman in serial format, and had planned on buying the first issue in its comic book form when it was first released, but my shop at the time didn't order a copy—they only pre-ordered Image Comics, never got any for the rack. I asked them to see if they could get me a copy, and they said they'd look into it, and never did.
So I quit going to that shop (Not just because of that; that happened pretty much constantly there, and all I was ever guaranteed able to get would be DC and Marvel books). Today I finally got to read Mudman #1...but not another new Image series I wanted to read serially.
Ah well.
So, it's super-late as I type this (11:50 p.m.!) and I've got some other writing to do before bed, so I'm gonna just do this real quick, and bullet point-like. Here are a few thoughts on Mudman Vol. 1:
1.) It includes the first five issues of the series, and yet costs only $10...or $2 an issue. Like the recent trades for Glory, Prophet and Saga, that is a hell of a bargain, of the you'd-almost-be-crazy-i>not-to-buy-it variety. I recommend all four of those books, by the by.
2.) The title character seemed to have the same powers as Batman villain Clayface, although he doesn't use them the same way in the book at all. He can turn into mud, he can throw mud and he can create a mudslide to ride on, like Iceman does with ice bridges, but he doesn't change shape or stretch and such. At least, not in these first five issues. It really weirded me out late in the volume where he fights a trio of "mud rats," little mud men that attack him, and they resemble exactly the Clayface from Batman: The Animated Series.
3.) The characters are set in the real world, and references are made to the Batcave, Flash Thompson and Jimmy Olsen; both our protagonist Owen and his older sister wear sweatshirts with Supemran's S-shield on them. I find that sort of thing super-weird; when superheroes refer to other superheroes the way we might refer to superheroes.
4.) Art, dialogue, coloring, lettering—everything on this book is absolutely perfect. Even the costume design on the title character; it looks vaguely Geo-Force-esque, which is perhaps appropriate.
5.) While much of it is standard fare of the teenage superhero origin variety, the fact that its British and, like, set in Britain gives it a more unique flavor. So even the more generic bits at least have an exotic accent.
6.) Perhaps it was the allusions to DC superheroes, but it got me thinking about The New 52. Like, here is a brand-new, likeable young superhero with pretty unique powers and a net costume having all-ages, no-doctorate-in-continuity-required adventures; a hero who seems perfectly toyetic and easy to adapt into a cartoon a TV series a video game or film franchise. Grist doesn't really reinvent the wheel at all, just presents a new wheel in a sincere and straightforward way, buttressed by a high degree of craft.
How hard would it have been for DC to go to Paul Grist and say, "Hey dude, got any new superheroes you'd like to share with us?" when they launched the New 52. Like, instead of 52 pre-existing characters and franchises, what if they had, like ten or five or two or even one brand-new character? (One they could, perhaps, share with the creator, so there's an incentive for those creators to share). DC does occasionally introduce new characters and concepts, or at least they did as recently as a few years ago (I'm thinking of Monolith and Bloodhound off the top of my head...although if you said who, I suppose that sort of explains why the closest we saw to a new character in the New 52 was the return of the once-new Resurrection Man from about a decade or so ago).
Similarly, "Marvel NOW!" is just creative team shuffling and a branding effort; same old heroes and teams of heroes.
Creating new superheroes isn't rocket science, yet it's still relatively rare when we see one from any publisher. Mudman is somewhat unique in that he's a new character who isn't an off-brand, analogue version of the sorts we most often see in non-Big Two comics. He reminded me of Ultimate Spider-Man, on account of being a 15-year-old with superpowers, and a bit of the Jaime Reyes version of Blue Beetle, but he's not a knock-off of either, or meant to be a stand-in for them. (I'm thinking of the heroes of Superbia or Incorruptible or The Boys and the dozens of other types of deconstructionist comics that use Not-Superman and Fake-Batman characters).
7.) Anyway: I liked this. And for just $10, it seems like an pretty easy comic to pick up and see if you do as well.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Wednesday Comics vs. The New 52: Hawkman
Monday, October 22, 2012
Meanwhile, at ComicsAlliance...
As you may have heard, on October 11 the Cleveland-based Siegel & Shuster Society officially unveiled their Superman statue and permanent exhibit at The Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, celebrating the world's first and greatest superhero's point of origin.
It's a short drive from where I live, so I attended. And I wrote about it for ComicsAlliance; click here for some photos, a verbal tour of the exhibit and rundown of what went down during the ceremony.
Admittedly, I was somewhat disappointed that the statue itself looked like this...
...instead of something more on the scale of, say, Superman's statue of his parents from his Fortress of Solitude*...
...or that huge bronze statue of Superman the grateful citizens of Metropolis erected after Superman died fighting Doomsday...
If someone asked me to design it, I probably woulda went with Superman holding a car aloft in the pose from Action Comics #1, but the one they went with certainly suits getting-your-picture-taken-with-Superman a lot better.
It's a pretty nice exhibit though, and a great thing for the city of Cleveland to have; I thought it was cool that they showed the support they did, with the mayor coming out and some speeches and proclamations made by both the mayor and his office and City Council. The timing of the unveiling was perhaps unfortunate, as it fell on the Thursday before New York Comic-Con. I don't know if that's why we didn't see anyone from DC or any of the writers or artists to work on Superman comics over the years there, but it may have been.
Oh, and I was on the news that night.
If you watch the video here, the one accompanying the story by News Channel 5, the local ABC affiliate, you'll see a certain bald, bearded, be-cardiganed blogger...not once, but twice!
Here, have some screenshots:
(I'm harder to spot in the one above; that's me in the red in front of the big, blue column in the background there)
Producers of Man of Steel II, or any future superhero films filming on location in Cleveland (You know they shot parts of Avengers in Cleveland, and that film seemed to be pretty well-received!), please note: I am more than happy to stroke my beard or lean on posts in the background of any crowd scenes you want to put in your film.
*Imagine how awesome it would have been if they had, like, millions to work with, instead of thousands, and could have erected giant twin Superman statues like that, with the original Shuster design standing next to the eventual "standard" Superman design that was ultimately used, holding aloft a spherical map of Cleveland instead of a globe of Krypton...!
It's a short drive from where I live, so I attended. And I wrote about it for ComicsAlliance; click here for some photos, a verbal tour of the exhibit and rundown of what went down during the ceremony.
Admittedly, I was somewhat disappointed that the statue itself looked like this...
It's a pretty nice exhibit though, and a great thing for the city of Cleveland to have; I thought it was cool that they showed the support they did, with the mayor coming out and some speeches and proclamations made by both the mayor and his office and City Council. The timing of the unveiling was perhaps unfortunate, as it fell on the Thursday before New York Comic-Con. I don't know if that's why we didn't see anyone from DC or any of the writers or artists to work on Superman comics over the years there, but it may have been.
Oh, and I was on the news that night.
If you watch the video here, the one accompanying the story by News Channel 5, the local ABC affiliate, you'll see a certain bald, bearded, be-cardiganed blogger...not once, but twice!
Here, have some screenshots:
Producers of Man of Steel II, or any future superhero films filming on location in Cleveland (You know they shot parts of Avengers in Cleveland, and that film seemed to be pretty well-received!), please note: I am more than happy to stroke my beard or lean on posts in the background of any crowd scenes you want to put in your film.
*Imagine how awesome it would have been if they had, like, millions to work with, instead of thousands, and could have erected giant twin Superman statues like that, with the original Shuster design standing next to the eventual "standard" Superman design that was ultimately used, holding aloft a spherical map of Cleveland instead of a globe of Krypton...!
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Marvel's January previews reviewed
Come January, Marvel will still be rolling out its "Marvel NOW!" not-a-reboot-but-a-rebranding-effort-to-make-their-line-more-appealing-to-new-readers promotion come January of next year.
If you'd like to read about all of their publishing plans for January, you can see their full solicitations at Comic Book Resources or ComicsAlliance. And if you'd like to read me talking about them, well, you've come to the right place!
ALL-NEW X-MEN #5
Brian Michael Bendis (W) • Stuart Immonen (A/C)
...
• The first story of a new era comes to its conclusion.
• One of the original X-Men will be forever changed!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99
ALL-NEW X-MEN #6
Brian Michael Bendis (W) • DAVID MARQUEZ (A)
Cover by Stuart Immonen
...
• David Marquez (Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man) takes the artistic reins for 3 issues!
• Brian Bendis further defines the future of the X-Men!
32 PGS./Parental Advisory ...$3.99
Wait a minute, if the idea here is that the very first team of X-Men has traveled forward in time to meet the current X-Men, wouldn't that make them the very least able to support the adjective "All-New," of, like, all of the X-Men teams ever...?
This here is one of several of the "Marvel NOW!" series that sound more like mini-series than ongoings, as these X-Men can't stay in the present forever...although, according to the way Marvel time-travel works, once you time travel, you create an entirely new time-line, right? So these X-Men can stay in the present forever, and replace the dead or screwed up versions of themselves...?
I don't know.
I still haven't decided if the Avengers Arena covers are homages or rip-offs...I'm assuming this one, unlike that for the first issue, is obvious enough to be an homage or parody. They still make me uncomfortable though.
AVENGERS: THE ONCE AND FUTURE KANG TPB
Written by ROGER STERN, JIM SHOOTER, DANNY FINGEROTH & STEVE ENGLEHART
Penciled by JOHN BUSCEMA, STEVE DITKO & MARK BRIGHT
Cover by JOHN BUSCEMA
The Sub-Mariner has joined the Avengers! And they'll need his superhuman strength and aquatic expertise when they make a shocking discovery beneath the waves of Jamaica Bay, deal with a new Yellowjacket and clash with the unimaginable cosmic power of the Beyonder! But when the Avengers' time-hopping nemesis Kang the Conqueror returns — a whole Council of Kangs, in fact — can Earth's Mightiest Heroes escape the deadly realm of Limbo, dispatch the threats of the Space Phantom and Growing Man, and triumph over their futuristic foe? And what parts will Ravonna and Immortus play in the battle? Plus: The Avengers and West Coast team up to uncover a traitor in their midst! Guest-starring the Molecule Man, the Silver Surfer and Freedom Force! Collecting AVENGERS (1963) #262-269, AVENGERS ANNUAL (1967) #15 and WEST COAST AVENGERS ANNUAL #1.
280 PGS./Rated T ...$29.99
I love that title. Have they done Kang stories entitled "Kang of Kangs" and "All The Kang's Men" already...?
DAREDEVIL #22
MARK WAID (W) • Chris Samnee (A)
Cover by Paolo Rivera
• Daredevil teams up with the ALL NEW Superior Spider-Man!
• Yes, America, we've heard your calls! Stilt-Man Is BACK! Better than ever thanks to some last minute help from Doctor Octopus.
• The Eisner and Harvey Award winner for book of the year continues to baffle all of us here at the House of Ideas!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99
That's a rather generic superheroes-just-posing cover from Rivera, who usually crafts smarter and more distinct pieces, however since they're fighting the Stilt-Man, I guess they are actually attacking his crotch in this image, so that's kind of cool.
DEADPOOL: KILLUSTRATED #1 (of 4)
Cullen Bunn (W) • Matteo Lolli (A)
Cover by MICHAEL DEL MUNDO
• Deadpool has already killed every hero in the Marvel Universe.
• He isn't through.
• This time...Deadpool's gonna take most famous characters in classic literature!
• YOU NEVER KNEW HOW BADLY YOU NEEDED THIS SERIES!
32 PGS./Parental Advisory ...$2.99
Given the literary mash-up craze, the premise of this series is...well, it's actually kind of brilliant.
I don't understand why the title isn't Deadpool: Classics Killustrated, as the joke doesn't seem as straightforward as it would be if it were more direct. The Classics-less title seems timid and afraid to offend/entice legal action.
I also don't understand why Marvel didn't offer Kate Beaton one million dollars to draw a variant cover, as she does a hell of a Moby Dick and Captain Ahab (I'm not so sure about her Deadpool, but I'm sure it would be pretty awesome, based on how awesome all of her other drawings of other people are).
FANTASTIC FOUR: ISLAND OF DEATH TPB
Written by TOM BELAND
Penciled by JUAN DOE
Cover by JUAN DOE
Marvel's First Family investigates a long-kept secret, bringing them to the island of Puerto Rico — face-to-face with an old nemesis and a creature known as el Chupacabra! Then, it's a return trip to the tropics, and the Human Torch is bringing his good buddy Spider-Man! What has turned the island of Vieques' tranquil bay into...a giant radioactive monster?! Plus: There's no such thing as a relaxing vacation. When the monstrous evil genius M.O.D.O.K. hatches a plan involving genetically enhanced monkeys, our heroes will be up to their ears in it! Guest-starring Dragon Man and the mysterious figure known only as...El Vejigante! Collecting FANTASTIC FOUR: ISLA DE LA MUERTE!, SPIDER-MAN & THE HUMAN TORCH IN...BAHIA DE LOS MUERTOS! and FANTASTIC FOUR IN ATAQUE DEL M.O.D.O.K.!
136 PGS./Rated T ...$16.99
All of the comics collected in this are really good, and this is well worth the price for Doe's amazing artwork alone (But the scripts are fun and funny, too!). If you didn't read the single issues off the rack, I'd highly recommend this.
I think all of 'em were published in both English and Spanish versions...or as flip-books with both versions...? I can't remember exactly, now. So I wonder if this will include two versions of both stories.
Anyway, the FF, Spider-Man, classic FF foes, Chupacabras, monsters and M.O.D.O.K.!
MARVEL FIRSTS: WWII SUPER HEROES TPB
Written by BILL EVERETT, JOE SIMON, JACK KIRBY, WILL HARR, BOB DAVIS, PHIL STURM, OTTO BINDER, STAN LEE & MORE
Penciled by CARL BURGOS, BILL EVERETT, JOE SIMON, JACK KIRBY, MAURICE GUTWIRTH, JACK BINDER, HARRY SAHLE, AL AVISON, AL GABRIELE, SYD SHORES, CHARLES NICHOLAS WOJTKOSKI, MIKE SUCHORSKY & MORE
Cover by VARIOUS
In 1939, Timely Comics — precursor to modern Marvel — burst onto the scene with a wild and unmatched energy, populating the Golden Age of Comics with hundreds of new characters! Travel back to the Marvel Universe's embryonic beginnings, and relive the dynamic debuts of the Sub-Mariner, Captain America, Laughing Mask, Ferret, Dynamic Man, Marvex, Black Marvel, Blazing Skull, Patriot, Young Allies, Whizzer, Rockman, Jack Frost, Destroyer, Witness, Miss America and more — plus the Golden Age incarnations of the Human Torch, Angel, Falcon, Black Widow and Vision! Collecting material from MARVEL COMICS #1; DARING MYSTERY COMICS #1-3, #5 and #7; MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS #4, #13, #28 and #49; MYSTIC COMICS #1-2 and #4-7; RED RAVEN COMICS #1; CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #1, #6 and #13; HUMAN TORCH COMICS #4; YOUNG ALLIES COMICS #1; and USA COMICS #1-2.
456 PGS./Rated T ...$39.99
I sure would like to read this...and would happily buy it were it not at a fairly insane price point. If this were a black and white Essential, I'd be all over it. Oh well; maybe an Ohio library will buy this for their collection, and I'll remember to borrow it come next spring....
NEW AVENGERS #1
Jonathan Hickman (W) •Steve Epting (A)
Cover by JOCK
...
To prevent the collision of our universe with another, the Illuminati, led by the Black Panther, must assemble NOW! It's the most powerful and brilliant team in the Marvel Universe--The Black Panther, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Black Bolt, Mister Fantastic, Namor the Sub-Mariner and The Beast--against an infinite legion of parallel realities.
32 PGS. /Rated T+ ...$3.99
NEW AVENGERS #2
Jonathan Hickman (W) • Steve Epting (A)
Cover by JOCK
...
"EVERYTHING DIES"
• The Illuminati gather to plan for the death of Everything.
• Infinity gems, old wounds, lies, agendas and universal incursions.
• "It breaks hope -- it crushes what makes us decent and steals what little honor remains." --Black Swan
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99
Is it weird that the solicitations for the first two issues of the new, new New Avengers doesn't really mention the line-up of the team at all, but rather the line-up of the New Illuminati...? (Old New Avengers writer Brian Michael Bendis was often sticking the old Illuminati in Avengers-branded books, even when no members of the Avengers were sitting around the secret table, so I guess new writer Jonathan Hickman is keeping that Bendisian tick alive...?)
Or is the New Illuminati actually the new New Avengers line-up, and they're just calling the book New Avengers instead of New Illuminati, because "Avengers" is a more salable word in 2012 than "Illuminati" is...?
I don't know. I don't really care, either, as a twice-a-month, $4/20-page Marvel Universe book isn't for me, but it seemed like an odd way to kick off the new volume of what was once Marvel's most popular title.
PUNISHER: NIGHTMARE #1-5
A FIVE-PART, FIVE WEEK PUNISHER EVENT!
• A Special Forces soldier is injured and his family killed in the midst of a mob execution in Central Park, but this isn't Frank Castle. This time it's a young soldier named JAKE NIMAN, but the familiar story puts Frank on the path of punishment!
• As Jake Niman heals from his wounds, why is he growing strangely stronger?
• And who is the mysterious Johnny Nightmare?
• Bullets fly, anarchy reigns, allies become enemies, the Punisher becomes the punished, and no one is safe!!!
32 PGS. (EACH)/Parental Advisory ...$3.99 (EACH)
Notice something missing from the above solicitation...? Marvel didn't! The failure to mention any creators at all doesn't inspire confidence. Too bad. I generally like these weekly events/miniseries Marvel does, but this one's at the "Are you fucking crazy" $4/22 price point. As a weekly, the series should be available in a trade collection for about that price ($20) almost immediately.
SAVAGE WOLVERINE #1
Frank Cho (W) • Frank Cho (A/C)
...
Wolverine awakes to find himself transported to the Savage Land and labeled public enemy number one! With no memory of how he got there, and Shanna the She-Devil his only ally, Logan must unravel the mystery that slumbers at the heart of the Savage Land before it finds a way to kill him first. This January, Wolverine is all brawls, babes, and brachiosaurs, and you'll never see the end -- or the future of the Marvel Universe -- NOW!
32 PGS./Parental Advisory ...$3.99
Hey, this one is marked "Parental Advisory" instead of "T" or "T+"...does that mean Marvel finally let Frank Cho craw Shanna's nipples...? Because I'm pretty sure "nipples + Wolverine" is a can't lose formula for Marvel.
Anyway, this is another one of the several ongoing series Marvel has solicited as staring this month that sound a lot more like limited series...I wonder if they're pitching them all as regular monthlies simply because the market responds better to a new ongoing Wolverine series than it would to another Wolverine mini-series, and that in six to twelve months or so this will end and Marvel will announce a new Wolverine title with a new adjective...?
I have some suggestions: The Lone, The Wolfish, The Unshaven, The Stabby, The Extra-Stabby, The Totally Canadian, The Surprisingly Diminutive, The Not-so-Friendly Neighborhood, The Avenging, The X-Venging, The Randy, The Mincing, The Garrulous, The Slightly Tipsy, The Hirsute, The Shakespearean, The Victorian Dandy, The Pugilistic, Emo...
...
...I better stop now, or I'll be up all night thinking of Wolverine titles.
SECRET AVENGERS #36
RICK REMENDER (W) • MATTEO SCALERA (A)
Cover by ARTHUR ADAMS
• In The Core Venom and Valkyrie set out on a mission to kill Father.
• In New York The Master Mold rises and the only way to stop him is to kill The Torch!
• Black-Ant vs Hawkeye the final showdown!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99
Damn, Adams drew the hell out of that cover! The mention of "Black-Ant" makes me want to read this run on the book even more...Was anyone reading it....? Was it any good...? I hope Marvel collects it in an easy-to-find way. I have a hard time catching up on some of their series in trade, as they're kind of hard to figure out what's what and what's by who and what order they come in.
SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #1
DAN SLOTT (W) • RYAN STEGMAN (A/C)
...
THEN!...Peter Parker spent a lifetime living up to the responsibilities his powers foisted upon him but his Amazing story finally ended dramatically in the historic Spider-Man #700. NOW!...The new Amazing Spider-Man has arrived and he is better in every single way. Smarter, stronger...Superior.
32 PGS. /Rated T+ ...$3.99
So is Marvel just picking out adjectives at random now, or what...?
The new logo, as seen above in the Ed McGuinness-drawn cover, isn't exactly superior to the old one.
THUNDERBOLTS #3
Daniel Way (W) • Steve Dillon (A)
Cover by Julian Totino Tedesco
...
• The Thunderbolts are tearing their way through a bloody mission!
• But will even this crew approve of the team's NEWEST MEMBER?
• Yeah, that's right—the RED LEADER.
32 PGS./Parental Advisory ...$2.99
The Red Leader, huh...? Like the old Marvel Comics covers used to say: It had to happen!
UNCANNY X-FORCE #1
Sam Humphries (W) • Ron Garney (A)
Cover by OLIVIER COIPEL
...
THE DARKEST CORNERS OF THE MUTANT UNIVERSE: EXPOSED! The X-Men: sworn to protect a world that fears and hates them. UNCANNY X-FORCE: charged to deal with situations the X-Men fear and hate! Psylocke and Storm lead a new team of outcasts and scoundrels, including fan-favorite Puck, the villainous Spiral, and the mysterious Cluster. The first adversary to strike out from the darkness? X-legend BISHOP!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99
That's a pretty decent pitch for a the series in the second and third sentences. Or, at the very least, a nice distillation of what the title could/should be. Now that Cyclops' years-long slide from hero to anti-hero to villain (or anti-villain?) has apparently been completed, I was wondering if the very idea of a black-ops/wet-work X-team has lived past its usefulness, but I suppose we'd have to read a few issues of this before we can even begin to determine whether or not that's the case (It does strike me as sorta weird that almost the entire line-up has changed, and, while I don't know these characters as well as the others, it seems short on paid assassins and mercenaries).
I like the fact that they refer to Puck as "fan-favorite Puck." Even though his costume on the cover totally sucks.
I'm curious about Storm rocking the mohawk again, and I wonder if they will make that a story point. I doubt they'll do a whole issue about Storm changing her hairstyle and her teammates' reaction to the new look, but that's the kind of X-Men comic I'd like to read.
Despite liking artist Ron Garney's work a whole lot, and being quite intrigued by the apparent decision to cast Puck in a Wolverine-like, little Canadian bad-ass role, I won't be picking this up. Not only is it $3.99, it's apparently going to feature "X-legend" >snicker< Bishop, whom I find a generally repulsive character (As in, he repels me, not that he, like, grosses me out or anything).
YOUNG AVENGERS #1
KIERON GILLEN (W) • JAMIE MCKELVIE (A/C)
Variant Cover by BRYAN LEE O'MALLEY
...
Legacy isn't a dirty word... but it's an irrelevant one. It's not important what our parents did. It matters what WE do. Someone has to save the world. You're someone. Do the math. The critically acclaimed team of Gillen/McKelvie/Wilson (with added Norton Sauce) decide to reinvent the teen superhero comic for the 21st century, uniting Wiccan, Hulkling and Hawkeye with Loki, Marvel Boy and Ms. America. No pressure. Young Avengers is as NOW! as the air in your lungs, and twice as vital. It's the book that knows Hyperbole is the BEST! THING! EVER!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99
Killer creative team, affordable price point, only one issue solicited and a fucking Bryan Lee O'Malley cover...Gah, Marvel, I don't want to read more of your comics, why are you making this one so irresistible...?
Okay Marvel, I tell you what—if the O'Malley cover is, like, 50/50 and I can, like, buy it off the rack the week this issue comes out, I'll add this to my pull-list.
If you'd like to read about all of their publishing plans for January, you can see their full solicitations at Comic Book Resources or ComicsAlliance. And if you'd like to read me talking about them, well, you've come to the right place!
Brian Michael Bendis (W) • Stuart Immonen (A/C)
...
• The first story of a new era comes to its conclusion.
• One of the original X-Men will be forever changed!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99
ALL-NEW X-MEN #6
Brian Michael Bendis (W) • DAVID MARQUEZ (A)
Cover by Stuart Immonen
...
• David Marquez (Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man) takes the artistic reins for 3 issues!
• Brian Bendis further defines the future of the X-Men!
32 PGS./Parental Advisory ...$3.99
Wait a minute, if the idea here is that the very first team of X-Men has traveled forward in time to meet the current X-Men, wouldn't that make them the very least able to support the adjective "All-New," of, like, all of the X-Men teams ever...?
This here is one of several of the "Marvel NOW!" series that sound more like mini-series than ongoings, as these X-Men can't stay in the present forever...although, according to the way Marvel time-travel works, once you time travel, you create an entirely new time-line, right? So these X-Men can stay in the present forever, and replace the dead or screwed up versions of themselves...?
I don't know.
AVENGERS: THE ONCE AND FUTURE KANG TPB
Written by ROGER STERN, JIM SHOOTER, DANNY FINGEROTH & STEVE ENGLEHART
Penciled by JOHN BUSCEMA, STEVE DITKO & MARK BRIGHT
Cover by JOHN BUSCEMA
The Sub-Mariner has joined the Avengers! And they'll need his superhuman strength and aquatic expertise when they make a shocking discovery beneath the waves of Jamaica Bay, deal with a new Yellowjacket and clash with the unimaginable cosmic power of the Beyonder! But when the Avengers' time-hopping nemesis Kang the Conqueror returns — a whole Council of Kangs, in fact — can Earth's Mightiest Heroes escape the deadly realm of Limbo, dispatch the threats of the Space Phantom and Growing Man, and triumph over their futuristic foe? And what parts will Ravonna and Immortus play in the battle? Plus: The Avengers and West Coast team up to uncover a traitor in their midst! Guest-starring the Molecule Man, the Silver Surfer and Freedom Force! Collecting AVENGERS (1963) #262-269, AVENGERS ANNUAL (1967) #15 and WEST COAST AVENGERS ANNUAL #1.
280 PGS./Rated T ...$29.99
I love that title. Have they done Kang stories entitled "Kang of Kangs" and "All The Kang's Men" already...?
MARK WAID (W) • Chris Samnee (A)
Cover by Paolo Rivera
• Daredevil teams up with the ALL NEW Superior Spider-Man!
• Yes, America, we've heard your calls! Stilt-Man Is BACK! Better than ever thanks to some last minute help from Doctor Octopus.
• The Eisner and Harvey Award winner for book of the year continues to baffle all of us here at the House of Ideas!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99
That's a rather generic superheroes-just-posing cover from Rivera, who usually crafts smarter and more distinct pieces, however since they're fighting the Stilt-Man, I guess they are actually attacking his crotch in this image, so that's kind of cool.
Cullen Bunn (W) • Matteo Lolli (A)
Cover by MICHAEL DEL MUNDO
• Deadpool has already killed every hero in the Marvel Universe.
• He isn't through.
• This time...Deadpool's gonna take most famous characters in classic literature!
• YOU NEVER KNEW HOW BADLY YOU NEEDED THIS SERIES!
32 PGS./Parental Advisory ...$2.99
Given the literary mash-up craze, the premise of this series is...well, it's actually kind of brilliant.
I don't understand why the title isn't Deadpool: Classics Killustrated, as the joke doesn't seem as straightforward as it would be if it were more direct. The Classics-less title seems timid and afraid to offend/entice legal action.
I also don't understand why Marvel didn't offer Kate Beaton one million dollars to draw a variant cover, as she does a hell of a Moby Dick and Captain Ahab (I'm not so sure about her Deadpool, but I'm sure it would be pretty awesome, based on how awesome all of her other drawings of other people are).
FANTASTIC FOUR: ISLAND OF DEATH TPB
Written by TOM BELAND
Penciled by JUAN DOE
Cover by JUAN DOE
Marvel's First Family investigates a long-kept secret, bringing them to the island of Puerto Rico — face-to-face with an old nemesis and a creature known as el Chupacabra! Then, it's a return trip to the tropics, and the Human Torch is bringing his good buddy Spider-Man! What has turned the island of Vieques' tranquil bay into...a giant radioactive monster?! Plus: There's no such thing as a relaxing vacation. When the monstrous evil genius M.O.D.O.K. hatches a plan involving genetically enhanced monkeys, our heroes will be up to their ears in it! Guest-starring Dragon Man and the mysterious figure known only as...El Vejigante! Collecting FANTASTIC FOUR: ISLA DE LA MUERTE!, SPIDER-MAN & THE HUMAN TORCH IN...BAHIA DE LOS MUERTOS! and FANTASTIC FOUR IN ATAQUE DEL M.O.D.O.K.!
136 PGS./Rated T ...$16.99
All of the comics collected in this are really good, and this is well worth the price for Doe's amazing artwork alone (But the scripts are fun and funny, too!). If you didn't read the single issues off the rack, I'd highly recommend this.
I think all of 'em were published in both English and Spanish versions...or as flip-books with both versions...? I can't remember exactly, now. So I wonder if this will include two versions of both stories.
Anyway, the FF, Spider-Man, classic FF foes, Chupacabras, monsters and M.O.D.O.K.!
MARVEL FIRSTS: WWII SUPER HEROES TPB
Written by BILL EVERETT, JOE SIMON, JACK KIRBY, WILL HARR, BOB DAVIS, PHIL STURM, OTTO BINDER, STAN LEE & MORE
Penciled by CARL BURGOS, BILL EVERETT, JOE SIMON, JACK KIRBY, MAURICE GUTWIRTH, JACK BINDER, HARRY SAHLE, AL AVISON, AL GABRIELE, SYD SHORES, CHARLES NICHOLAS WOJTKOSKI, MIKE SUCHORSKY & MORE
Cover by VARIOUS
In 1939, Timely Comics — precursor to modern Marvel — burst onto the scene with a wild and unmatched energy, populating the Golden Age of Comics with hundreds of new characters! Travel back to the Marvel Universe's embryonic beginnings, and relive the dynamic debuts of the Sub-Mariner, Captain America, Laughing Mask, Ferret, Dynamic Man, Marvex, Black Marvel, Blazing Skull, Patriot, Young Allies, Whizzer, Rockman, Jack Frost, Destroyer, Witness, Miss America and more — plus the Golden Age incarnations of the Human Torch, Angel, Falcon, Black Widow and Vision! Collecting material from MARVEL COMICS #1; DARING MYSTERY COMICS #1-3, #5 and #7; MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS #4, #13, #28 and #49; MYSTIC COMICS #1-2 and #4-7; RED RAVEN COMICS #1; CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #1, #6 and #13; HUMAN TORCH COMICS #4; YOUNG ALLIES COMICS #1; and USA COMICS #1-2.
456 PGS./Rated T ...$39.99
I sure would like to read this...and would happily buy it were it not at a fairly insane price point. If this were a black and white Essential, I'd be all over it. Oh well; maybe an Ohio library will buy this for their collection, and I'll remember to borrow it come next spring....
Jonathan Hickman (W) •Steve Epting (A)
Cover by JOCK
...
To prevent the collision of our universe with another, the Illuminati, led by the Black Panther, must assemble NOW! It's the most powerful and brilliant team in the Marvel Universe--The Black Panther, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Black Bolt, Mister Fantastic, Namor the Sub-Mariner and The Beast--against an infinite legion of parallel realities.
32 PGS. /Rated T+ ...$3.99
NEW AVENGERS #2
Jonathan Hickman (W) • Steve Epting (A)
Cover by JOCK
...
"EVERYTHING DIES"
• The Illuminati gather to plan for the death of Everything.
• Infinity gems, old wounds, lies, agendas and universal incursions.
• "It breaks hope -- it crushes what makes us decent and steals what little honor remains." --Black Swan
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99
Is it weird that the solicitations for the first two issues of the new, new New Avengers doesn't really mention the line-up of the team at all, but rather the line-up of the New Illuminati...? (Old New Avengers writer Brian Michael Bendis was often sticking the old Illuminati in Avengers-branded books, even when no members of the Avengers were sitting around the secret table, so I guess new writer Jonathan Hickman is keeping that Bendisian tick alive...?)
Or is the New Illuminati actually the new New Avengers line-up, and they're just calling the book New Avengers instead of New Illuminati, because "Avengers" is a more salable word in 2012 than "Illuminati" is...?
I don't know. I don't really care, either, as a twice-a-month, $4/20-page Marvel Universe book isn't for me, but it seemed like an odd way to kick off the new volume of what was once Marvel's most popular title.
PUNISHER: NIGHTMARE #1-5
A FIVE-PART, FIVE WEEK PUNISHER EVENT!
• A Special Forces soldier is injured and his family killed in the midst of a mob execution in Central Park, but this isn't Frank Castle. This time it's a young soldier named JAKE NIMAN, but the familiar story puts Frank on the path of punishment!
• As Jake Niman heals from his wounds, why is he growing strangely stronger?
• And who is the mysterious Johnny Nightmare?
• Bullets fly, anarchy reigns, allies become enemies, the Punisher becomes the punished, and no one is safe!!!
32 PGS. (EACH)/Parental Advisory ...$3.99 (EACH)
Notice something missing from the above solicitation...? Marvel didn't! The failure to mention any creators at all doesn't inspire confidence. Too bad. I generally like these weekly events/miniseries Marvel does, but this one's at the "Are you fucking crazy" $4/22 price point. As a weekly, the series should be available in a trade collection for about that price ($20) almost immediately.
Frank Cho (W) • Frank Cho (A/C)
...
Wolverine awakes to find himself transported to the Savage Land and labeled public enemy number one! With no memory of how he got there, and Shanna the She-Devil his only ally, Logan must unravel the mystery that slumbers at the heart of the Savage Land before it finds a way to kill him first. This January, Wolverine is all brawls, babes, and brachiosaurs, and you'll never see the end -- or the future of the Marvel Universe -- NOW!
32 PGS./Parental Advisory ...$3.99
Hey, this one is marked "Parental Advisory" instead of "T" or "T+"...does that mean Marvel finally let Frank Cho craw Shanna's nipples...? Because I'm pretty sure "nipples + Wolverine" is a can't lose formula for Marvel.
Anyway, this is another one of the several ongoing series Marvel has solicited as staring this month that sound a lot more like limited series...I wonder if they're pitching them all as regular monthlies simply because the market responds better to a new ongoing Wolverine series than it would to another Wolverine mini-series, and that in six to twelve months or so this will end and Marvel will announce a new Wolverine title with a new adjective...?
I have some suggestions: The Lone, The Wolfish, The Unshaven, The Stabby, The Extra-Stabby, The Totally Canadian, The Surprisingly Diminutive, The Not-so-Friendly Neighborhood, The Avenging, The X-Venging, The Randy, The Mincing, The Garrulous, The Slightly Tipsy, The Hirsute, The Shakespearean, The Victorian Dandy, The Pugilistic, Emo...
...
...I better stop now, or I'll be up all night thinking of Wolverine titles.
RICK REMENDER (W) • MATTEO SCALERA (A)
Cover by ARTHUR ADAMS
• In The Core Venom and Valkyrie set out on a mission to kill Father.
• In New York The Master Mold rises and the only way to stop him is to kill The Torch!
• Black-Ant vs Hawkeye the final showdown!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99
Damn, Adams drew the hell out of that cover! The mention of "Black-Ant" makes me want to read this run on the book even more...Was anyone reading it....? Was it any good...? I hope Marvel collects it in an easy-to-find way. I have a hard time catching up on some of their series in trade, as they're kind of hard to figure out what's what and what's by who and what order they come in.
DAN SLOTT (W) • RYAN STEGMAN (A/C)
...
THEN!...Peter Parker spent a lifetime living up to the responsibilities his powers foisted upon him but his Amazing story finally ended dramatically in the historic Spider-Man #700. NOW!...The new Amazing Spider-Man has arrived and he is better in every single way. Smarter, stronger...Superior.
32 PGS. /Rated T+ ...$3.99
So is Marvel just picking out adjectives at random now, or what...?
The new logo, as seen above in the Ed McGuinness-drawn cover, isn't exactly superior to the old one.
Daniel Way (W) • Steve Dillon (A)
Cover by Julian Totino Tedesco
...
• The Thunderbolts are tearing their way through a bloody mission!
• But will even this crew approve of the team's NEWEST MEMBER?
• Yeah, that's right—the RED LEADER.
32 PGS./Parental Advisory ...$2.99
The Red Leader, huh...? Like the old Marvel Comics covers used to say: It had to happen!
Sam Humphries (W) • Ron Garney (A)
Cover by OLIVIER COIPEL
...
THE DARKEST CORNERS OF THE MUTANT UNIVERSE: EXPOSED! The X-Men: sworn to protect a world that fears and hates them. UNCANNY X-FORCE: charged to deal with situations the X-Men fear and hate! Psylocke and Storm lead a new team of outcasts and scoundrels, including fan-favorite Puck, the villainous Spiral, and the mysterious Cluster. The first adversary to strike out from the darkness? X-legend BISHOP!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99
That's a pretty decent pitch for a the series in the second and third sentences. Or, at the very least, a nice distillation of what the title could/should be. Now that Cyclops' years-long slide from hero to anti-hero to villain (or anti-villain?) has apparently been completed, I was wondering if the very idea of a black-ops/wet-work X-team has lived past its usefulness, but I suppose we'd have to read a few issues of this before we can even begin to determine whether or not that's the case (It does strike me as sorta weird that almost the entire line-up has changed, and, while I don't know these characters as well as the others, it seems short on paid assassins and mercenaries).
I like the fact that they refer to Puck as "fan-favorite Puck." Even though his costume on the cover totally sucks.
I'm curious about Storm rocking the mohawk again, and I wonder if they will make that a story point. I doubt they'll do a whole issue about Storm changing her hairstyle and her teammates' reaction to the new look, but that's the kind of X-Men comic I'd like to read.
Despite liking artist Ron Garney's work a whole lot, and being quite intrigued by the apparent decision to cast Puck in a Wolverine-like, little Canadian bad-ass role, I won't be picking this up. Not only is it $3.99, it's apparently going to feature "X-legend" >snicker< Bishop, whom I find a generally repulsive character (As in, he repels me, not that he, like, grosses me out or anything).
KIERON GILLEN (W) • JAMIE MCKELVIE (A/C)
Variant Cover by BRYAN LEE O'MALLEY
...
Legacy isn't a dirty word... but it's an irrelevant one. It's not important what our parents did. It matters what WE do. Someone has to save the world. You're someone. Do the math. The critically acclaimed team of Gillen/McKelvie/Wilson (with added Norton Sauce) decide to reinvent the teen superhero comic for the 21st century, uniting Wiccan, Hulkling and Hawkeye with Loki, Marvel Boy and Ms. America. No pressure. Young Avengers is as NOW! as the air in your lungs, and twice as vital. It's the book that knows Hyperbole is the BEST! THING! EVER!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99
Killer creative team, affordable price point, only one issue solicited and a fucking Bryan Lee O'Malley cover...Gah, Marvel, I don't want to read more of your comics, why are you making this one so irresistible...?
Okay Marvel, I tell you what—if the O'Malley cover is, like, 50/50 and I can, like, buy it off the rack the week this issue comes out, I'll add this to my pull-list.