Marvel's January previews reviewed

Marvel Entertainment has some comics coming out in January of next year. In fact, they have a lot of comic books coming out in January of next year. And if you don't believe me, you can click this link, and you will see that I am indeed correct, and how dare you accuse me of lying about this rather important matter?

I'm almost tempted not to share my thoughts about some of those books with you now. Almost.

ALL-NEW INVADERS #1
JAMES ROBINSON (W) • STEVE PUGH (A)
...
“GODS AND SOLDIERS” PART ONE
• Eisner Award winner James Robinson (STARMAN, EARTH 2) returns to MARVEL, uniting with Steve Pugh (ANIMAL MAN, HOTWIRE, GEN-X) to create a unique, modern day take on the INVADERS.
• The KREE EMPIRE intends to conquer the universe using a weapon that will grant them an army of NORSE GODS.
• It falls to four heroes united by their past—CAPTAIN AMERICA, NAMOR, THE ORIGINAL HUMAN TORCH and the WINTER SOLDIER—who must now face the future and wage war against the Kree to save Earth.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

$3.99? $3.99?! You maniacs! I was really looking forward to adding this title to my pull-list! Welllll, I guess I'll just file it in my "Borrow The Trade From The Library, Someday" bank in my brain. Which is just as well, given how many disappointing Robinson-written comics there are, and the fact that the most recent Pugh art I've seen (in the new volume of Animal Man) hasn't been as good as other Pugh art I've seen (those Christina Ricci: Ghost Hunter comics for Radical, Shark-Man and the first volume of Animal Man).

Well, as a fan of Namor being a dick to other superheroes, I sincerely hope this lasts longer than, say, Fearless Defenders, but at that price point, it's hard to see an Invaders title lasting too too long...

Hey, by the way, where's Toro? Did they re-kill him somewheres, and I missed it, and/or read it and forgot about it...?

ALL-NEW X-MEN #22.NOW
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (W)
STUART IMMONEN (A/C)
...
“The Trial of Jean Grey”
The arrival of the original X-Men in the present sent shockwaves through the Marvel Universe, but we’ve only seen the effects on Earth. When alien races learn that Jean Grey, host of the destructive Phoenix Force, is back on earth, they do something about it. Now it’s up to the rest of the All-New X-Men and the Guardians of the Galaxy to save Jean Grey from twisted intergalactic justice! Don’t miss two of Marvel’s biggest franchises crossing over for the first time!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

I think you need more than one title to be considered a franchise, actually.

And hey, I didn't realize the All-Original X-Men had gotten new costumes, and that they were terrible costumes! Although I like that old snowman-look for Iceman...

Oh, and yes, I see that there is a ".Now" attached to the number of this particular comic book (as there is to quite a few other comics in this month's solicitations, but I'm pretending I'm not seeing it, and therefore will not be commenting on it).

INHUMAN #1
MATT FRACTION (W) • JOE MADUREIRA (A/C)
...“After the Fall”
After the fall of the Inhuman City Attilan and the explosion of the Terrigen Bomb, thousands of people across the globe with no connection to the strange super race have transformed into Inhumans! The transformations have given them powers that are dangerous and terrifying, making them targets. With Inhuman king Black Bolt believed dead, is there anyone for these new Inhumans to turn to?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Sooooooo, they're having Matt Fraction re-do Ultimate X-Men, but set in the mainstream Marvel universe, and with the word "inhuman" replacing "mutant"...? Huh. Okay. 

I don't really see how a Joe Madureira ongoing is the least bit feasible, but maybe this is just a one-shot...? 

Also, there are of course a bunch of variants for this, which I clipped the listings of, because who cares, but the image above is the Milo Manara one. I wanted to highlight it because I love the way Manera draws the female form, even clad in this weird, sheer, body-sock that self-sensors Medusa's nipples and lady bits. I particularly like the super-scary look on her face, and how he makes "long, prehensile hair" look horrifying rather than cute or fun; it looks like she's got 30 cubic feet of giant jellyfish tentacles on the back of her head. 

Hey, who's that big, bearded, hat-wearing guy on Kalman Andrasofszky's cover to Mighty Avengers...? Is Tom Brevoort joining the team? Jeez, they really are making everyone an Avenger these days...

MIRACLEMAN #1 & 2
THE ORIGINAL WRITER & MICK ANGLO (W)
GARRY LEACH, ALAN DAVIS, PAUL NEARY, STEVE DILLON & MICK ANGLO (A)

ISSUE #1 – COVER BY JOE QUESADA
Variant COVER BY JOHN CASSADAY
Variant COVER BY MARK BUCKINGHAM
Variant COVER BY JEROME OPENA
Variant COVER BY LEINIL FRANCIS YU
Sketch VARIANT BY JOE QUESADA
YOUNG VARIANT BY SKOTTIE YOUNG
CLASSIC VARIANT BY GARRY LEACH

ISSUE #2 – COVER BY ALAN DAVIS
Variant COVER BY ARTHUR ADAMS
Variant COVER BY MIKE PERKINS
Variant COVER BY MIKE MCKONE
Sketch VARIANT BY ALAN DAVIS

• KIMOTA! With one magic word, a long-forgotten legend lives again!
• Freelance reporter Michael Moran always knew he was meant for something more -- now, a strange series of events leads him to reclaim his destiny!
• Relive the ground-breaking eighties adventures that captured lightning in a bottle -- or experience them for the first time -- in these digitally restored, fully relettered editions!
• Issue 1 includes material originally presented in WARRIOR #1 and MIRACLEMAN #1, plus the MARVELMAN PRIMER. Issue #2 includes material originally presented in WARRIOR #1-5, plus bonus material.
ISSUE #1 – 64 PGS./Parental Advisory…$5.99
ISSUE #2 – 48 PGS./Parental Advisory…$4.99

Okay, this time I did not excise the listings of variant covers, just because I wanted to point out that holy shit that is a lot of variant covers.

I'm...not sure what I think about this series. Like, I've always wanted to read these comics, based on how much they've been talked about, but more in a, "Boy, I wish a trade paperback collecting them existed that I could buy," more so then wishing one of the Big Two would acquire the rights and spend a few years ironing out details so they could...well, shit, I don't even know what's going on here. I guess they're reprinting the originals from the Alan Moore period, at a super-high price point, and with Joe Quesada covers getting in the way...?

Also, what's with the "The Original Writer" credit? I assume that's Alan Moore (although he's not the original writer, since the character pre-dates him by a significant span of time), and that his name has been taken off for some reason, but that's...weird, and I don't really think a writer has the right to remove their name from their own work.

Like, I understand why he might want to, as his name would only help sell this more widely (and before anyone says anything like "Alan Moore needs to get over themselves, do note the continued presence of comics he wrote decades ago in best-selling lists; no Western writer has sold as many graphic novels for DC Comics as Alan Moore has). And I can certainly see wanting your name removed from a media adaptation, particularly when you have a co-creator whose name works just fine in a film's credit sequence, but I don't think it makes sense to remove it from comics you already wrote and are simply being republished.

I guess it's cool that Marvel would be doing that—I assume that's what's going on, but I don't really want to read a 12-part series on The Beat or something to learn for sure—to respect Moore's wishes, but I find it quite weird.

REVOLUTIONARY WAR: ALPHA #1
ANDY LANNING AND ALAN COWSILL (W) • RICH ELSON (A)
Cover by MARK BROOKS
Variant Cover by TBD
Part 1 of “Revolutionary War”
• Marvel UK’s greatest heroes come together for the first time in 20 years to face a threat that could destroy the world.
• Featuring Captain Britain, Pete Wisdom, Death’s Head II, Motormouth and Killpower, the Warheads and a host of British heroes.
32 PGS./ ONE-SHOT/Rated T+ …$3.99

This sounds fun, although I don't understand the numbering. There are two more comics in this months solicits entitled Revolutionary War, and while it sure looks like a miniseries, they're publishing each issue with a different sub-title, a #1 and referring to them each as one-shots, even though each solicitation notes that its "Part 1" or "Part 2" or "Part 2."

The price point makes it a wait-for-the trade book, but I'll certainly be eager to read that trade when it comes out.

Secret Avengers #14
NICK SPENCER & ALES KOT (W)
BUTCH GUICE (A/C)
HOW TO MA.I.M. A MOCKINGBIRD, Part Three
• The traitor at the heart of the group is revealed.
• Mockingbird faces a crossroads that threatens to tear her apart.
• Travel to the past. See the future.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Surely "To MA.I.M. a Mockingbird" would work better, sans the "HOW" wouldn't it...?

Although I'm not sure it's a good idea to include both a literary allusion and a pun in the very same story title...

THUNDERBOLTS #20.NOW
CHARLES SOULE (W) CARLO BARBERI (A)
C...
Issues # 20.NOW & #21 – “NO MERCY” Parts 1 and 2
GHOST RIDER JOINS THE THUNDERBOLTS! General Ross’s Thunderbolts were brought together to clean up problems no one else could…but what about when the problem is ON the team? The seemingly all-powerful madwoman called Mercy has gone too far, slaughtering innocent people to fulfill her twisted mission of mercy. Who can the team turn to to help take down this powerhouse? How about Johnny Blaze, the original Ghost Rider? Can he save the team before it all goes to hell? Or will he lead them there?
32 PGS. (EACH)/Parental Advisory …$2.99 (EACH)

Hmmm, I don't think Ghost Rider is red enough for this team. Get him a new jacket, STAT!