Marvel's March previews reviewed

I have no idea why Mike Allred, who seems like a pretty busy guy between Silver Surfer and Art Ops, is doing a cover for Deadpool--maybe the cancellation of Batman '66 means he's got room in his schedule for an extra cover a month elsewhere now?--but I like Mike Allred and I like bees, so I'm going to go ahead and use that at the top of this post about Marvel's March solicitations.

It looks like a relatively quiet month at Marvel, with no really big events (some Avengers thing with a vague-ish title following the previous month's Avengers comics with vague-ish titles that make me wonder what the hell it could be about is all). There are no big new launches  and no cancellations. Their variant theme/scheme seems to be "Women of Power" variants, in celebration of Women's History Month; from what info they've released so far, those appear to simply be portrait-style covers featuring lady characters, and/or lady artists, but I guess we'll find out if it's more unified than that as more images surface (If you look closely at all the solicits, you'll notice several are by "TBA").

For the complete listings of what Marvel intends to publish in March, check out this post at Comics Alliance. To see what I think is worth mentioning, you can just hang out here for a few more minutes...

BLACK WIDOW #1
Chris Samnee & Mark Waid (w) • CHRIS SAMNEE (a/C)
...
S.H.I.E.L.D.'S MOST WANTED!
The Eisner Award-winning team of Mark Waid and Chris Samnee are taking Black Widow on the lam! Natasha has spent years gathering secrets, and when some of the darkest ones begin mysteriously going public, no one is safe. With her betrayed former confederates at S.H.I.E.L.D. on her heels and a lifetime of training and ingenuity at her disposal, Natasha's out for answers in a knock-down-drag-out tale of action and espionage! Hidden enemies, old friends and unusual allies collide, and all eyes are on Black Widow. The chase is on!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99


Great to see Marvel assigning a top-notch creative team to Black Widow, maybe their number one most recognizable female superhero thanks to Scarlett Johansson and...well, more movies than I can count at this point. Four, maybe...? Or has it been more than that already...?

Anyway, Marvel completely rejuvenated Daredevil and made it a clockwork-regular sales performer simply by assigning Mark Waid to it and pairing him with a series of fantastic artists, the last of which was Samnee. So Waid/Samnee is a pretty perfect team for any character in need of a push, I imagine.

HOWARD THE DUCK #5
CHIP ZDARSKY (W) • JOE QUINONES (A/C)
THE EPIC CONCLUSION!
• A cosmic battle to end all battles with Howard in the middle! Can he put an end to THE COLLECTOR once and for all with the help of the Guardians of the Galaxy and Silver Surfer?
• Seriously, I'm asking you. I'm on, like, page 12 of this script and I. Am. Stumped.
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

I lost track of this book after the first issue and the onslaught of Secret Wars, but intend to return to it eventually. I really like the fact that its solicitation copy is amusing, which is a good sign as to whether or not the book itself is funny.

Replace "a ride" with money, and that's pretty much every job in customer service, isn't it...?

INTERNATIONAL IRON MAN #1
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (w) • ALEX MALEEV (a/C)
...
Who is Tony Stark, really? Since learning that he was adopted as a baby, this question has cast a shadow over Stark's life. Now, it is time to uncover what his legacy truly is, a journey that will carry Tony into new directions as a man and as a super hero. Alongside his strange new quasi-ally Doctor Doom, Iron Man will discover new things about the Marvel Universe he didn't know existed before! A character deconstruction from Bendis and Maleev along the lines of their award-winning DAREDEVIL run!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

Wait, wait, wait...Tony Stark was adopted?! Does that mean Howard Stark wasn't his real father? Because they have the exact same mustache.

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #7
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (W) • MIKE DEODATo (A/C)
WOMEN OF POWER VARIANT COVER BY KATE NIEMCZYK
"THE WAR MACHINES" PART 2!
• War Machine and Iron Man team up to stop a brand new threat to the Marvel Universe... like only they can. All this plus more hints to next summer's insane Marvel blockbuster event.
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

Oh good, there's going to be another Marvel blockbuster event in the near future. I was beginning to worry they might take some time off after Secret Wars, their biggest event in...ever? I think ever, in terms of its overall page-count, length of time it took to tell and disruption of Marvel's publishing line-up. So that's a relief. I just hope that Brian Michael Bendis gets to write it, because that dude is so good at writing Marvel event series. (Um, that was sarcasm, in case you haven't read all of Marvel's event series since House of M or so, which can be neatly divided into two piles: Godawful messes and those that were somewhere between pretty okay and excellent. Bendis is responsible for all of those in the first pile, except for the Mark Millar-written Civil War.)


MOCKINGBIRD #1
CHELSEA CAIN (w) • KATE NIEMCZYK (a)
Cover by JOELLE JONES
...
BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT! Now in her own ongoing series!
Bobbi Morse is Mockingbird, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most versatile, most in-demand agent!
But a string of missions gone wrong indicate that something strange is lurking within S.H.I.E.L.D.'s own medical and recovery network. How far will Mockingbird have to go in order to solve this puzzle box and get to the truth? Bestselling author Chelsea Cain teams with newcomer Kate Niemczyk.
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

Now how come Marvel can launch a fucking Mockingbird series, based almost entirely on the fact that the character is part of the ensemble cast of Marvel's least critically-acclaimed TV show, but DC can't publish a fucking Supergirl comic?

In fact, DC canceled their existing (albeit dumb and terrible, but still) Supergirl comic a few months prior to the debut of the Supergirl TV show, whereas Mockingbird hasn't had her own comic in...ever? Is it ever? I know she had a shortlived book with Hawkeye for a while there, but has she ever had a solo series? She was dead for like ten years and no one cared.


NEW AVENGERS #8
AL EWING (W) • GERARDO SANDOVAL (A)
COVER BY JEFF DEKAL
A STANDOFF tie-in!
• The New Avengers are a global rescue force – but what happens when they have to rescue someone...
from S.H.I.E.L.D.?
• Answer: THIS MEANS WAR! And the beginning of the three-part conflagration that changes EVERYTHING!
• PLUS! The traitor -- REVEALED! And the twists keep coming! Who -- or WHAT -- is the AMERICAN KAIJU?
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

What is American Kaiju? I don't know, an awesome phrase that I'm kinda shocked no one has ever put to use anywhere before.

In the past, if you asked me I'd rather get knocked out by Luke Cage or Iron Fist, I would have chosen Iron Fist, as he knows kung fu, and therefore might have the skills to take me out with, like, a nice, gentle nerve pinch or something, rather than just bludgeoning me with super-strong fists to the face. But seeing the pair's differing styles of hauling guys they've knocked out away, I think I would no pick Cage. His enemy gets a nice, comfortable ride on his big shoulder, while Iron Fist is just dragging his guy down the street.

...

Does Luke need to go up a few styles in his suit, or is that the style now...?


SCARLET WITCH #4
JAMES ROBINSON (W) • MARGUERITE SAUVAGE (A)
COVER BY DAVID AJA
...
• In order to confront a new enemy, SCARLET WITCH must journey to a magical realm called the WITCHES ROAD.
• The path is full of dark surprises lurking around every corner -- Wanda must keep her wits about her to survive.
• But will a surprise visit from a long-lost relative make Wanda lose her way?
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

Marguerite Sauvage?!?! What she's doing over here in the Marvel solicits, rather than drawing Bombshells or a relaunched Wonder Woman for DC for something? DC didn't let Sauvage go, did they? Because she's one of--if not the--best artists they've got drawing things for them.

I have very little-bordering-on-zero interest in this character, but I think if I were to try an issue, it would be this one.

THE UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #6
RYAN NORTH & CHIP ZDARSKY (W) • ERICA HENDERSON &a JOE QUINONES (A/C)
...
PART ONE OF "ANIMAL HOUSE," A CROSSOVER WITH HOWARD THE DUCK!
• Squirrel Girl and Howard will team up against an enemy that neither Squirrel Girl (who has defeated Galactus) or Howard the Duck (who has defeated... uh... well, listen, I'm sure he's got other qualities) could take down on their own!
• Will they fight over a trivial misunderstanding? Will they band together against a common enemy? Will Squirrel Girl say "duck!" to mean "lower your head" but Howard will misinterpret it as a call for his attention, leading him to get hit on the head by something?
• At least ONE of those three questions will be answered with a "yes" in this issue!
• CONCLUDED NEXT MONTH IN HOWARD THE DUCK #6!
32 PGS./Rated T ...$3.99

I wonder how they will collect this...? Will both chapters of each appear in both Squirrel Girl and Howard The Duck trades...? Because I read the former in trade (and it's one of my favorite comics; I know I haven't reviewed it here yet, but Squirrel Girl is the best and you should all read it), and intend to read the latter in trade at some point, too.

X-MEN '92 #1
CHRIS SIMS & CHAD BOWERS (w) • ALTI FIRMANSYAH (a)
Cover by DAVID NAKAYAMA
...
The X-Men of the 90s are back! Continuing from the hit Secret Wars series starring the X-Men of a more EXTREME decade. With Cassandra Nova defeated, the X-Men have taken in all the young mutants she had rounded up and are officially reopening the Xavier School for Gifted Children...but being responsible won't stop them from having crazy adventures! Especially when Omega Red shows up with the (Formerly) Soviet Super Soldiers!
32 PGS./Rated T ...$3.99

Congratulations to my fellow Comics Alliance contributor Sims on getting a new ongoing monthly out of the book he co-scripted with Bowers as part of Marvel's Secret Wars event. Don't tell him, but I've only read the first issue of the miniseries so far. I thought it was pretty good, though.