Not that it's an uneventful month at Marvel, or anything, as they are still publishing a ton of comics, the vast majority of which are out of my price range (I'd like to read about a half ton of these comics, but will in actuality only purchase and read...let's see...two, trade-waiting the rest of the ones I have any interest at all in).
It looks like there will be a Spider-Man event dealing with various alternate dimension versions of Spidey ("Spider-Verse"), which could well allow Marvel to have the original back in action and keep the Superior Spider-Man an ongoing concern...at least for the time being.
And there are so many damn Deadpool comics there might as well be a Deadpool event going on. I counted five (Deadpool #34 and #35, Deadpool Bi-Annual #1, Hawkeye Vs. Deadpool #0 and Deadpool Vs. X-Force #4), for a grand total of $25 worth of Deadpool in the month of September.
Oh, and Wolverine is apparently "dying." Again. There will be a gazillion variant covers for Death of Wolverine #1-#4, and two of those will feature Deadpool.
You can see Marvel's complete solicitations for the month of September by clicking right here; you can read on for my thoughts regarding what seemed to be of interest to me this time around (Also? Jokes, but almost exculsively bad ones).
FELIPE SMITH (W) • DAMION SCOTT (A/C)
“LEGEND”
• Is ROBBIE REYES racing towards eternal damnation?
• The birth of the BLUE HYDE BRIGADE
• A blazing hot trail comes to an end.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
Hey look, Damion Scott! Still drawing this series! I like Damion Scott (even if that cover's a little hard to make heads or tails of). And I liked the first issue of this series; the first trade collection, All-New Ghost Rider Vol. 1: Engines of Vengeance will be available this same month.
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (W) • MAHMUD ASRAR (A)
Cover by SARA PICHELLI
• Dimension-hopping is something of an X-Men rite of passage and it’s about time the All-New X-Men took the plunge!
• I guess you don’t always have to travel Miles away to visit a new place…
• But will the web they find themselves tangled in Ultimately bring about their end?
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99
This cover and this solicitation copy seem to say the exact opposite thing, regarding whether Ultimate Spider-Man is coming to the Marvel Universe to join the X-Men or if the X-Men are going to the Ultimate Universe to meet Miles. I'm assuming the copy's right, as that makes more sense, Miles Morales not being a mutant and all (at least, not that I know of).
While this looks like it will likely be fun, I can't help but think of that Joe Quesada quote about the two Marvel universes never crossing over, because that would mean that they were officially out of ideas. What's this, like, the fifth time that's happened now...?
RICK REMENDER (W) • CARLOS PACHECO (A/C)
The Tomorrow Soldier part 3! The MARCH to AXIS continues!
• Zola unleashes the hyper-mutates on New York!
• Jet Black and Falcon vs Zola to the death!
• The Red Skull’s long game revealed, as the road to AXIS begins here!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
No idea what might be going on in this title, but I like that cover.
CYCLOPS #5
GREG RUCKA (W) • TBA (A)
Cover by ALEXANDER LOZANO
• Still weeks away from pick-up by the Starjammers, Cyclops and Corsair look for help getting off a hostile planet elsewhere
• Continuing the trend, would-be rescuers might not be what they seem.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
Marvel has no idea who is going to be drawing this comic book that will be shipping in three short months, which means they haven't started drawing it yet. So I'm sure it will look great!
DEADPOOL BI-ANNUAL #1
PAUL SCHEER & NICK GIOVANNETTI (W)
SALVA ESPIN (A)
Cover by DAVID NAKAYAMA
• When Deadpool is hired by WaterWorld to protect their theme park from activists, he has no idea he’s going to wind up face to snout with Brute Force—protectors of the environment! Look ‘em up! That’s right—they’re real!
• Written by star of The League and NTSF:SD:SUV Paul Scheer and Nick Giovannetti, this is one issue sure to make a splash*!
*This joke was not written by them.
40 PGS./Parental Advisory …$4.99
I can't believe they're publishing a comic called Deadpool Bi-Annual and aren't using Bi-Beast as the antagonist.
CHARLES SOULE (W) • STEVE McNiven (A/C)
Variant COVER by Joe Quesada*
Sketch Variant COVER by Joe Quesada*
75TH ANNIVERSARY VARIANT BY ALEX ROSS*
Variant COVER by SCOTTIE YOUNG*
Mortal Variant COVER by ED MCGUINNESS*
Deadpool Party Variant by Pasqual Ferry*
Deadpool Party SKETCH Variant by Pasqual Ferry*
Artist Premiere Variant BY TBA*
*Issue #1 only
IT’S THE BEGINNING OF THE END – 3 MONTHS TO DIE ENDS HERE!
• The beginning of the end is now here … THE DEATH OF WOLVERINE!
• THREE MONTHS TO DIE, the loss of Wolverine’s healing factor--all led to this, the single most important X-Men event of the decade.
• Logan has spent over a century being the best there is at what he does...but even the best fade away eventually.
• Over the years, Logan has been a warrior, a hero, a renegade, a samurai, a teacher—and so much more. But now, the greatest X-Men hero will play a role he’s never played before in this special weekly event brought to you by industry superstars Charles Soule and Steve McNiven.
Issue #1 - 48 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99
Issue #2-4 - 40 PGS. (EACH)/Rated T+...$4.99 (EACH)
Yeesh. Look at this monster of a solicitation. While they didn't show every variant cover, I can't imagine that there's one better than Scottie Young's, posted above.
I'm pretty curious about this simply because I can't understand why Marvel's making such a big deal out of it, particularly given the fact that no one can possibly believe Wolverine is going to be "dead" for very long...not even as long as, say, Captain America or The Human Torch long. Savage Wolverine doesn't need him alive and kicking, but what about Wolverine and Wolverine and The X-Men, and the Avengers books and the entire X-Men line, which has been reorganized around warring factions lead by Cyclops and Wolverine, the latter of whom stepped in to fill the role of the also temporarily dead Charles Xavier...?
Also, didn't Jason Aaron totally just kill Wolverine within the last few years? I distinctly remember reading a graphic novel called Wolverine Goes To Hell, which, if I recall correctly, was about Wolverine going to hell, a place people go when they die.
JASON LATOUR (W)
ROBBI RODRIGUEZ (A/C)
VARIANT COVER BY Greg Land
GWEN STACY: SPIDER-WOMAN!
• In one universe, it wasn’t Peter Parker bitten by the radioactive Spider, but Gwen Stacy!
• She’s smart, charming and can lift a car-- Just don’t tell her Police Chief father!
• How is she involved in Spider-Verse? Seeds of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #9 are planted here!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
So I'm guessing Edge of Spider-Verse is a weekly series leading up to Spider-Verse proper, with each issue focusing on a different alternate Spider-Person...? This one looks kind of promising, and will have art by the excellent Robbi Rodriguez. I kinda like what we see of Spider-Gwen's costume here too, in its simplicity; it looks like something I'm almost certain I've seen ads for in a Marvel comic, come to think of it.
MIRACLEMAN #10
THE ORIGINAL WRITER (W) • RICK VEITCH (A/C)
Variant Cover by JOE QUINONES
Variant Cover by MICO SUAYAN
• Mike and Liz Moran are now parents to a talking newborn miraclebaby. Their surprises have just begun.
• Two strange alien figures are tracking the subjects of Project Zarathustra. Who are they and how are they connected to Miracleman’s origin?
• Johnny Bates fights back against Kid Miracleman, making a decision that will have epic repercussions.
• Including material originally presented in MIRACLEMAN (1985) #10, plus bonus content.
48 PGS./Parental Advisory…$4.99
NOTE: This issue will be Poybagged
So I thought this goofy "The Original Writer" business was just something Marvel was doing in regards to respecting Alan Moore's wishes to not have his named used in the promotion of the book. That is, that they were just saying "The Original Writer" instead of "Alan Moore" in the solicitation copy, and that they wouldn't put Moore's name on the covers. But I saw a copy of the first trade collection in my local library the other day, and was surprised to see "The Original Writer" on the title page too.
That shit is bananas.
I like the fact that they're polybagging a comic book that's almost as old as I am; wouldn't want any spoilers to get out!
BRIAN WOOD (W) • GREG SMALLWOOD (A)
Cover BY DECLAN SHALVEY
Personality variant by DECLAN SHALVEY
• Season 2 of MOON KNIGHT begins with a new creative team and a black-out!
• When the entire city is thrust into darkness by a threat, Moon Knight’s must use all of his weapons (and personalities) to defeat a new foe!
• Brian Wood (X-MEN, DMZ) takes the writing reins picking up from where Ellis left off pushing questions from MOON KNIGHT #1 back to the fore and amplifies them 100-fold!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
I don't envy these guys, particularly Wood, whose track record of writing comics anywhere near as good as most of Warren Ellis' comics is...not so hot.
Nice cover by...departing artist Declan Shalvey.
ALES KOT (W)
MICHAEL WALSH (A)
Cover by TRADD MOORE
“M.O.D.O.K. SUPREME EXTRAVAGANZA”
• M.O.D.O.K.’S ORIGIN STORY. YOU HEARD RIGHT.
• How do you know what we tell you here is true? You don’t. But you’re into it. Why? Because we love you. And it shows.
• Disco? Yes. Abandonment issues? Definitely. Was that a pun? Maybe. Is that a romance brewing? Are we still lying to you? CLAP FOR M.O.D.O.K.!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
Greatest cover of all time? Or greatest cover of all time?
It is a grave injustice that Moore is drawing the fuck out of MODOK on covers like this , but isn't also providing interior art.
NICK SPENCER (w) • STEVE LIEBER (A/c)
Still not CANCELLED!
• GANG WAR begins here. You know it’s a big deal because we put it in caps!
• Everyone gets in a big fight over the head of Silvio Silvermane. Lives are lost, feelings are hurt, and car keys get misplaced!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
Marvel has heard your wondering when they were finally going to cancel this book, and they are now incorporating it into their marketing. The fact that this is the beginning of a story arc means it's going to live past September, too. I guess the $1 increase must have saved it...?
I'll have to see the finished product in order to properly judge the cover, but, in general, I'm a big fan of the middle finger.
THOR: GOD OF THUNDER #25
JASON AARON (W)
ESAD RIBIC, SIMON BISLEY, RM GUERA (A)
Cover by ESAD RIBIC
Variant cover by MILO MANARA
Variant cover by SIMON BISLEY
Variant cover by RM GUERA
• Redefining the word “epic,” it’s the god-sized 25th issue of THOR: GOD OF THUNDER featuring an amazing artistic line-up!
• Young Thor vs. Frost Giants!
• The untold origin of Malekith the Accursed!
• King Thor’s granddaughters uncover a startling secret chapter from the history of the Thunder God!
• Thor deals with the shocking fall-out from ORIGINAL SIN!
40 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99
Hey, I wanna see Simon Bisley draw a Thor comic! This marks the first time I've wanted to read a Thor comoc since...how long ago did Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee quit making their Thor comic...?
SIMON SPURRIER (W) • ROCK-HE KIM (A/C)
• In the deserts of Afghanistan, X-Force has found a lead that could help them track down the villain who killed one of their own.
• But standing in their way is Britain’s own team of superhuman operatives: MI13!
• As the two factions come to blows, little do they know that a third player threatens to wipe them all off the board…
32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$3.99
I would totally by a trade paperback collecting all of the post-cancellation MI13 appearances.
MARC GUGGENHEIM (W) • HARVEY TOLIBAO (A)
Cover by TERRY DODSON
• With S.W.O.R.D.’s orbital headquarters, the Peak, literally hanging in the balance, the X-Men race into deep space to find the source of the new threat that’s emerged from the abyss.
• But little do they suspect that lurking in the shadows of the Acanti Skunkworks, a conspiracy is waiting to entangle them…
• And what’s worse is that it’s a conspiracy that has connections to the deaths of Rachel Grey’s family!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
What? They still haven't canceled this book yet? I just read the first two trade paperbacks collecting much of the first year of this series (not counting the "Battle of The Atom" crossover issues, which I previously read in Battle of The Atom), and by "just" I mean I just put down vol. 2 and sat down to finish this post within the last half hour, and I was shocked, shocked, shocked at what a godawful comic it is.
Now, a lot of that is just the fact that the book seemed to be a low-priority one in the current X-Men line (Uncanny X-Men, All-New X-Men, Amazing X-Men, X-Force), and that the X-office saw fit to yank around the cast writer Brian Wood was able to use between issues), and the fact that it crossed over with the A books in the line within its first few issues, but it was a remarkably incompetent book, and though much of the art was pretty nice, it also changed every three issues or so...sometimes more frequently than that.
I've been so pleasantly surprised by so many X-Men comics of late that I was just not prepared to encounter one that was so bad again, I guess. Anyway, I'll have a super-long post about this shitty, shitty comic at some point in the near-ish future. In the mean time, I guess it's good that it's got a new writer? Hopefully it's found a reason to exist, too, but given how quick Marvel is to relaunch comics these days, I'm really surprised they haven't cancelled this book, retooled it with an actual premise and relaunched it as Jubilee and The X-Men or Storm and The X-Men or XX or whatever.
...
Hey, did I miss a Hawkeye solicit...?
No? Whatever happened to Hawkeye...? That was a real comic book that Marvel really published in the recent past, right? It seems so long since I've seen an issue. Did I just dream Matt Fraction and David Aja's Hawkeye...?
8 comments:
I always assumed the polybags on Miracleman were for the occasional nudity, so that no one could complain their kid was leafing through comics and saw breasts.
Hawkeye does seem to have fallen through the cracks lately.
And nothing could top that Skottie Young cover for the Death of Wolverine. Which...will probably last a whole three months.
Also in agreement that MM bagging is for the more-adult-than-usual-Marvel content.
Diamond's got Hawkeye #20 listed as coming out in August , which would mean it's in the current (print) Previews — and I don't remember seeing it there …
Moore's covers for Secret Avengers are cool, but Walsh — admittedly a dramatically different style — is killing it on the interiors. I'm a latecomer to, and now a believer in, that series.
Ellis and Shalvey are off Moon Knight? Well, there goes that.
Evan and Bram,
Ah. I guess that makes sense. Wonder if any kids or parents saw the first page of the last issue of SAGA and exploded...?
Sally,
Now that I've stared at it for a while, I think Young coulda made naked angel Wolvie hairier, but yeah, it's pretty perfect.
John,
Yeah. I imagine the new guys are gonna try and keep the same tone, but that certainly seemed to be a Moon Knight book a whole lotta people read for the creative team and not the Moon Knight.
@Bram & Caleb:
My shop told me September is when we'd see it. At least that's what Diamond told Criminal Records...
Grrrrrr, Marvel and/or Fraction: Way to harsh my boner for corporate cape comix.
also considering theres a perticularly graphic birth sequence in issue 9....and also a rather grim superhero battle in the future...
yeah bagging this comic is a good idea
I can't help but think of that Joe Quesada quote about the two Marvel universes never crossing over, because that would mean that they were officially out of ideas.
Quesada was making an idiotic pot-shot at DC when he said that, and so of course he said it without thinking (because it was trash talk against DC).
It was an incredibly stupid thing to say, because multiverse stories are fun and everyone knew that eventually if the Ultimate universe survived long enough there would be a crossover. But the swipe at DC at the time was too good for him to pass up on. (Remember that Quesada and Jemas were all into the "trash talking the competition" pro-wrestling vibe when Ultimates was launched - there was a whole bunch of juvenile immaturity going on as Marvel crawled itself out of bankruptcy with the Quesada/Jemas team).
I'm pretty curious about this simply because I can't understand why Marvel's making such a big deal out of it, particularly given the fact that no one can possibly believe Wolverine is going to be "dead" for very long...
I'm assuming that the plan is to leave him dead for a year. The big "event" stuff is to convince people that he's "really" going to be dead for a while. With the idea that they're telegraphing that maybe Wolverine is a bit overexposed and its time to put him on the shelf for a while and maybe when they bring him back he won't be in every single team book they've got.
Dunno - if that's not the plan then I can't fathom what Marvel is doing with this at all.
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