Marvel's September previews reviewed

Secret Wars tie-ins will still dominate Marvel's comics this September, based on their solicitations, but the end appears to be in sight, as the seventh issue of the eight-issue series is solicited, and many of the many, many tie-ins seems to be concluding. The next month or two (That is, October and November) should be particularly interesting, as that's when Marvel will start rolling out the new titles of their new status quo.

Worth noting in this round of solicitations are a new round of "True Believers" (Marvel's name for $1 reprints of important first issues/advertisements for trades), featuring their female characters (including Princess Leaia) and the fact that they'll be ramping up Star Wars output and publishing their first official, direct tie-ins to the new movie that opens this winter (with Greg Rucka tapped to be the first writer to write about the post-Return of the Jedi era in the new continuity/canon/whatever).

For the full solicitations, you can as always click here; for my "commentary" you can stay right where you are. Just maybe scroll down a little, and continue to do so as you read.

You know how it works.

AGE OF ULTRON COLORING BOOK
Penciled by BRYAN HITCH, BRANDON PETERSON, CARLOS PACHECO & MORE
Cover by BRYAN HITCH
Unleash your inner colorist on page after page of Ultron! The Avengers' deadliest foe is back like never before — in glorious black and white! The Adamantium menace has ravaged Earth and imposed his ruthless robotic rule. Only a few of Earth's Mightiest Heroes are left standing as they mount a desperate bid to save the day. And it's up to you to put the hue into humanity's last hope! The most exciting pages of Age of Ultron — featuring the incredible line art of Bryan Hitch, Brandon Peterson, Carlos Pacheco and more — are assembled here, just waiting for you to decorate with pens, pencils and crayons. Spent your life waiting for a pink Ultron or a purple Hulk? Then feel free to paint the (destroyed) town red! Just be sure to stay within the lines...or perish!
72 PGS./All Ages ...$7.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-9524-5

The mind reels. I had a friend who once expressed a desire to purchase all of the Essential Fantastic Four volumes and color his way through those with colored pencils, so I know there's at least one person who has thought about doing something similar, although if you really want to color Marvel superheroes, I'd bet you $8 you can find some cheaper coloring books than this.

I wonder why they credit the pencil artists, but not the writer or writers....surely the words are still in there, right?

I also wonder why they didn't alter the cover, so rather than Hawkeye holding a bow and arrow in the reflection in Ultron's forehead on the cover, he's holding a crayon.

A-FORCE #5
MARGUERITE BENNETT & G. WILLOW WILSON (w)
JORGE MOLINA (a/C)
• The EXPLOSIVE finale to the first adventure of Marvel's mightiest team of Avengers: A-FORCE!
• Though She-Hulk and her team have unmasked the traitor in their midst, the villain won't rest until their utopian island is RAZED.
• As the horrors of Battleworld bear down on Arcadia, what sacrifices will the members of A-Force make to save their home...and each other?
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99
*SECRET WARS SERIES

The more I learn about A-Force, the more fascinated I become with the Jill Lepore reaction to the first issue, and G. Willow Wilson's reaction to Lepore's reaction. One thing Wilson argued (illogically, I think) is that Lepore really needs to read the whole thing to be able to properly comment on the comic (which is kind of bullshit, on account of the fact that the publisher considers each issue discreet units to be sold and read in that manner). I can't imagine Lepore's opinion would have been that much different if she did read all the way to the end, as it's hard to imagine watching the Marvel super-ladies fight flesh-eating zombie versions of Marvel heroes somehow transforms the comic in a way that transcends all of her criticisms of it (valid and invalid).

While I write for a couple of fairly well-read websites devoted to covering comics, I am not in charge of any of them. If I were, I think I would have tried my damnedest to convince Lepore to review each issue of A-Forces for one of those sites...

AGE OF APOCALYPSE #4
FABIAN NICIEZA (w) • Iban Coello (a)
Cover by GERARDO SANDOVAL
• The philosophy of Apocalypse has always been "let the fittest survive," but by its ultimate extension, that would only leave one person standing! As mutants fall from the shocking release of a devastating plague, who will live and who will die? And if Apocalypse falls, who will rule in his place...?
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99
*SECRET WARS SERIES

As hilarious as this cover is, it occurs to me that it's exactly what the cover to an Age of Apocalypse comic book should look like, isn't it?

CAPTAIN AMERICA: WHITE #1 & 2 (of 5)
JEPH LOEB (w) • TIM SALE (A/C)
...
THE SUPERSTAR CREATIVE TEAM OF SPIDER-MAN: BLUE, HULK: GRAY, AND DAREDEVIL: YELLOW BRING THEIR MAGIC TO AMERICA'S #1 HERO
ISSUE #1
• From his re-awakening in the present day to his days on the battlefield during World War II, follow CAPTAIN AMERICA as he recalls a special mission during THE BIG ONE!
• It's 1941 and the HOWLING COMMANDOS are just looking to kick back and relax...
• But CAP and BUCKY are about to make their night a whole lot worse!
• The EISNER AWARD-WINNING team of JEPH LOEB and TIM SALE reunite to tell a shocking story of CAPTAIN AMERICA AND BUCKY!
• Extra-sized issue featuring CAPTAIN AMERICA: WHITE #0
64 PGS./Rated T+ ...$4.99
ISSUE #2
BULLETS! BOMBS! EXPLOSIVE REVELATIONS!
• CAPTAIN AMERICA AND BUCKY are ready to lead the HOWLING COMMANDOS, but are the HOWLING COMMANDOS ready to follow?
• Things go from bad to worse and only Bucky can save the day!
• Will a shocking appearance from an old ally turn the tide of battle?
32 PGS./Rated T ...$3.99

Hey, I remember this series! Announced a billion years ago, sometime after Loeb and Sale's second year-long Batman series and their Superman For All Seasons, it was to be part of their "color" series for Marvel. I read Spider-Man: Blue and rather hated it, and then read Hulk: Gray and Daredevil: Yellow sometime later in trade. I recall liking Gray okay, but man, I can't recall anything at all about Yellow. So I guess it wasn't terribly memorable...?

At any rate, the best part of each was seeing Tim Sale draw stuff, and I imagine this series will give him another opportunity to do just that. I mean, I want to see Tim Sales Dum Dum Duggan, so I imagine everyone else on earth must too, right?

I wonder how the Loeb/Sale Marvel comics sell, in general. Their two big Batman series–The Long Halloween and Dark Victory–seem to have become evergreens, if not modern classics, and I rarely see a comic shop or book store that sells superhero collections that doesn't have at least those two books in it (if not their other handful of collections featuring their work on DC characters).

On the other hand, I don't think I've ever seen collections of Blue, Gray and Yellow out in the wild. Does that have something to do with their Marvel work not being as well received as their DC work, with Batman being more popular than those other guys, or the holiday theme a grabbier one than the random color theme of the Marvel minis, or is it merely a matter of Marvel's trade program being so goddam awful compared to DC's...?

Anyway: Captain America: White is finally coming out.

I'm not so sure it should be coming out at the same time that Marvel has a black man in the role of Captain America, but no one asked my advice...

Just out of curiosity, did the female Ghost Rider on the far left of this cover, the one with the mask covering just her nose and face, pre-date Mad Max: Fury Road...? Because her mask looks a lot like that worn by the main bad guy in the movie.


GREENBERG THE VAMPIRE TPB
Written by JM DEMATTEIS
Penciled by STEVE LEIALOHA & MARK BADGER
Cover by MARK BADGER
Oscar Greenberg is not your typical vampire. He doesn't drink human blood, for one. He's a successful author — albeit prone to writer's block. And he's a good son, who's kept his secret from his dear old Mama. Oscar's also very much in love with Denise, the vamp who turned him. Their happily ever after might actually last forever — unless someone comes between them. Someone like Arthur Keaton: Vampire Hunter, who also happens to be Denise's brother! Then there's the demonic Lilith, who's long had designs on Oscar. She'll go to great lengths to seduce him, in a bid to usher the world into a new age of wanton lust. Can true love conquer all, even for the undead? Rediscover a forgotten tale of fangs, family and infatuation! Collecting MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL #20 and material from BIZARRE ADVENTURES #29.
104 PGS./Mature ...$15.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-9791-1

I have never heard of this character. Which seems weird, given how often even the smallest character to ever appear in a Marvel comic book resurfaces somewhere or other now and then.


MIRACLEMAN BY GAIMAN & BUCKINGHAM #1 & 2
NEIL GAIMAN (W) • MARK BUCKINGHAM (A/C)
ISSUE #1 – Variant cover by JOE QUESADA
Variant cover by SIMONE BIANCHI
VARIANT JAM COVER BY JOHN TOTLEBEN, GARRY LEACH, ALAN DAVIS & RICK VEITCH
ISSUE #1
• Neil Gaiman and Mark Buckingham's Age of Miracles begins!
• Two years have passed since the decimation of London. Miracleman presides over mankind's Golden Age from atop Olympus. Pilgrims climb its miles-high peak to petition their new god. Each carries hopes that are pure. The motives they conceal, however...
• Miracleman explores Infraspace in the opening chapter of "Retrieval," but just what, or who, is he looking for?
• Including material originally presented in MIRACLEMAN (1985) #17, plus bonus content.
48 PGS./Parental Advisory ...$4.99
ISSUE #2
• John Gallaway rejected Miracleman's new world, rejected companionship, rejected love — until the night Miraclewoman visited him...
• The schoolyard rebels strut their stuff and debate the teenage idol of The Golden Age, Johnny Bates, in "Trends."
• Miracleman explores deeper into Infra-Space in "Retrieval."
• Including material originally presented in MIRACLEMAN (1985) #18, plus bonus content.
48 PGS./Parental Advisory ...$4.99

I was going to ask if this was the start of "new" material or not, but now that I read the solicitations' bullet points a little closer I see that these are indeed still reprints of old comics, with price-jacking-up "bonus" content.

I am curious about the re-numbering. Did the original comics and/or original reprints renumber at this point, or is Marvel simply taking advantage of Neil Gaiman's name to help sell some of these comics, and/or taking advantage of the fact that now they can name the writer who wrote them?

MRS. DEADPOOL AND THE HOWLING COMMANDOS #4
GERRY DUGGAN (w) • SALVADOR ESPIN (a)
Cover by REILLY BROWN
Howling variant by GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI
• The battle royale between Shiklah and Dracula for the Monster Metropolis...
• Oh, and did we mention that Deadpool's ghost is in this series?
• Because he is.
• Like...since issue 1.
32 PGS./Parental Advisory ...$3.99
*SECRET WARS SERIES

If I had married Deadpool, I"m pretty sure I would have kept my maiden name, since–woah, woah woah. Is that a werewolf with a Venom symbiote? Do the Eisner judges know about this comic yet...?

SECRET WARS JOURNAL #5 (of 5)
JEN & SYLVIA SOSKA, AARON ALEXOVICH (w)
ALEC MORGAN & DIOGO SAITO (A)
Cover by VANESA DEL REY
• Horror icons THE SOSKA SISTERS make their mighty Marvel debut in a twisted tale of demonic disease! Fortunately for the savaged citizens of the Wasteland, NIGHT NURSE is on duty!
• Audacious AARON ALEXOVICH also enters the hallowed House of Ideas with a superlative story of Doom's PR and Outreach robot extraordinaire, MILL-E: THE MODEL CITIZEN!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

Night Nurse and a robot Millie the Model, in the same comic? Sign me--er, nevermind. I'll wait for the trade.

"Icons" is a pretty srong word for The Soska Sisters at this early point in their career, but that's certainly a good "get" for Marvel. Don't care for that particular Night Nurse design–I like the one from Dr. Strange: The Oath the best, although I'd add a litle black domino mask–but it's Secret Wars, so it hardly matters what anyone looks like. Designs, like everything else regarding the temporary status quo, seem like they should be subject to change.

S.H.I.E.L.D. #10
MARK WAID (W) • EVAN "DOC" SHANER(A)
Cover by JULIAN TOTINO TEDESCO
• Howard the Duck side by side with SHIELD! Why a duck? Because Coulson knows a secret about Howard that could save the multiverse!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

Well, here's a pretty good test of how "gray" the audience for some Marvel comic books may be: Raise your hand if you're familiar with the gag referenced in the second sentence. (I can't tell you how disappointed I am that I couldn't find a clip of that scene on YouTube, and that I only own The Cocoanuts, one of my three favorite Marx Brothers movies, on VHS).

ULTIMATE END #5 (of 5)
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (a) • MARK BAGLEY (a/C)
ULTIMATE NO MORE!
• 2000 – 2015
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

Oh hey, why is Miles Morales looking back at the reader on the cover of this issue? It's almost as if he will have a different fate than everyone else in the Ultimate Universe but what could that possible be I have no idea?!

Okay, the real reason I posted that image? I wanted to ask who the tall guy with the cape was.