He's keeping a running tally of all the continuity mistakes...
What has come before: Norman Osborn (formerly the Green Goblin, now the Iron Patriot) pretty much runs America. Clint Barton (formerly Hawkeye, now Ronin) seems to be more upset about this than anyone (even Spider-Man, oddly enough).
This comic dredges up some mixed emotions in me. I’ll get into it further after the break, as there are some spoilers contained herein.
Despite a small (and rather sad) contingency of Marvel people at this year’s Chicago Comic-Con (you may know this as Wizard World Chicago), there are still a couple of Marvel panels to report on. The first of which happened on Friday afternoon – the Marvel Ultimate Panel – involving news and discussion of the Marvel Ultimate Comics line. In attendance were Jim McCann, Marvel’s PR guru, Lauren Sankovitch, Associate editor (formerly with the Ultimate line), Mark Paniccia, Ultimate line editor, and Mark Millar, writer of many Ultimate books and co-creator of the Ultimate Universe.
The panel started a little late, as Millar walked in and said that he was “taking a poo”. To which McCann replied that they are only 3 minutes late, like many of their books. This pretty much set the tone for the rest of the panel, which was as much filled with witty banter as with actual news on the Ultimate U.
As the laughter died down, McCann said that this is the first panel where they can actually talk about a lot of the Ultimate stuff, now that Ultimatum #5 has finally shipped. The first book coming out with be, as many of you know, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man this Wednesday. Paniccia said that these are his favorite books and Sankovitch said that they are resetting the bar even higher now after Ultimatum. The panel members said look for some huge surprises in Spider-Man from the very first issue. There was also a general praise for David LaFuente’s art on the book.
We’re getting close to the monumental issue of #600 in the Amazing Spider-Man series and boy oh boy is this new arc, titled “American Son,” creating some great building blocks and also tieing Spider-Man into Marvel’s Dark Reign.
The thing about Dark Reign that is bugging me the most is how addictive it is. Seeing the bad guys doing bad things (primarily Norman Osborn) and getting away with it and having the good guys (ie. Ms. Marvel, the New Avengers, etc.) unable to do anything is like crack to me. I can’t get enough of the stuff. Chances are Brian Michael Bendis will cause me to overdose, but nevertheless, Spider-Man getting added to the mix perplexes me as I wait to see what the brilliant Joe Kelly writes up for this arc.
After a long hiatus (sorry about that), I’m finally back to bring you more previews of solicited comic books. This time, I’m showing you what to look forward to in August. And boy, is there a lot to be excited for. It seems like the comic book publishers decided that they wanted to get in on the summer blockbuster action and decided to pull out all the stops in August. Some of the biggest titles of the year look to be coming out, so let me break down some of the big ones to keep an eye on.
The Marvels Project #1
The Marvels Project is likely to be the biggest Marvel comic this year, if not the biggest comic of the year period. While Blackest Night over in DC land might overshadow it slightly, The Marvels Project is likely to be the critically acclaimed hit of the year. Much like the smaller, more story-based movie compared to the summer blockbuster, Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting are celebrating Marvel’s 70th anniversary in style, by retelling the origin story of the entire universe! With talent this great and a story to match, how could you not be excited to see what is in store from this limited series?
Batman: The Widening Gyre #1
While much of the DC fanbase will have their eyes turned towards the previously mentioned Blackest Night event, a little Batman book by acclaimed writer Kevin Smith is set to hit the stands. Set to be a 12-issue maxi-series, Widening Gyre will be 2 6-issue story arcs, separated by a 3 month publishing gap. According to Smith himself, the 3 month gap will allow him to start writing an on-going series about one of the characters he will introduce in Gyre. While some might be skeptical about whether the often-late Smith can really pull out this much writing, I have faith and hope, cause this sounds like a great series from one of comic’s top writers.
Daredevil #500
Nothing shouts “70th anniversary” like milestone issues. And dammit if Marvel hasn’t had their share of them this year. From Thor to Cap to Hulk to the up-coming Amazing Spider-Man, this has been the year of landmark issues (and the return to the original numbering). Add to that list Daredevil, which will hit issue 500 this August. What Brubaker has in store for us is anyone’s guess, but it is sure to be a doozey as he ends his legendary run on Daredevil and passes the reigns over to the capable Andy Diggle.
Incredible Hulk #601
Ok, so this isn’t a milestone issue, but the one after, so what gives? Why is this so exciting? Well, I’ll tell you. Greg Pak is returning to Hulk. Yeah, Jeph Loeb is still going to be fucking up the beloved character over in the Hulk book, but hopefully Greg Pak, the man who brought us the amazing Planet Hulk, can restore the green giant to his former glory.
Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #1 and Avengers #1
Speaking of Jeph Loeb fucking up beloved things, Marvel’s Ultimate line relaunches as Ultimate Comics in August with the debut of Spider-Man and Avengers. Fan-favorite Brian Michael Bendis continues his outstanding work with Spidy in the Ultimate universe (though, it might not be Peter Parker, if Loeb has anything to do about it). And even better, universe co-creator and certified badass Mark Millar returns to the Ultimate Line with Avengers, a book which is set to focus on groups or characters in the Ultimate universe (no, this is not replacing Ultimates). Millar has stated that each arc of Avengers will be like a mini-events, so this will be a book to watch. Honestly, I’m pissed at what Loeb is doing to my beloved Ultimates line and I disagree with the “relaunch” and renumbering, but with any luck, we’ll survive this editorial mistake and still have a good universe to enjoy.
Blackest Night: Superman, Batman and Titans
With Blackest Night starting in July, DC is set to start releasing their tie-ins to the universe-altering event in August. Can’t say I’m all too excited about the Superman or Titans tie-ins but Batman should be a book to watch. Not only is it written by the great Peter J. Tomasi, but it might just feature the supposedly dead Bruce Wayne as a Black Lantern. We’ll see when the series launches in August, but those following Blackest Night will probably want to pick up at least 1 of these tie-ins.
Amazing Spider-Man #601, #602 and #603
Coming off their own landmark 600 issue, the ASM crew is not slowing down. Starting at issue 601, Mary Jane is back!!! As a huge fan of MJ and one of many who were sorely disappointed at the breakup of one of comic’s most beloved couples, it is great to see that the Spidy writers are finally bringing her back. Likely, she will not be a romantic interest in Peter Parker’s life (at least not right away), but at least she’s back in the fold and the possibility is there. Here’s hoping we also get some more answers about what exactly Mephisto did at the end of One More Day.
Fantastic Four #570
Last but not least (seriously, any other month, an issue like this would be at the top of things to look forward to) is Fantastic Four #570. Why’s this such a big deal? Well, that would be because writer Jonathan Hickman is taking over the writing duties on Marvel’s first family. Not only has Hickman proven himself to be a great writer with his indie work and his outstanding work on Secret Warriors, he’s proven that he can writer the Fantastic Four like nobody’s business with his work on Dark Reign: Fantastic Four. I, for one, am looking forward to him bringing his unique voice to FF and hopefully continuing Mark Millar’s work at bringing the Fantastic Four back to the top of the Marvel line.
I hesitated when this series first came out. I mean, I love Brian Michael Bendis and Jonathan Hickman is pretty awesome too, but I wasn’t sure about it. We were coming out of Secret Invasion and I was mad at Marvel because Dark Reign sounded like another huge event–as far as I can tell, it doesn’t seem to be… yet–but after being into things a bit… I’m starting to like where things are heading. I don’t know about you guys, but I love seeing the good guys shake a little and sit and be scared every once and a while. Plus, it’s great to see everyone knowing there’s one main bad guy–Norman Osborn. But that’s all beside the point. Secret Warriors is developing a really cool story that is working behind the scenes of behind the scenes of the Marvel Universe, but what can you expect with Nick Fury heading the comic book?
Man, another incredibly slow week. Lots of comics are coming out, so make sure you actually look to see if your favorite is on the docket this week. However, not much in the way of new or groundbreaking issues to talk about. Still, I’ve got 3 to tell you about, so yeah, you should still stick around and read.
The biggest issue of the week will undoubtedly be New Avengers #50. You know when a milestone issue like this is hit, there’s going to be a pretty big deal made of it. Brian Michael Bendis is no different, of course, throwing the New Avengers right up against the Dark Avengers. This is a special over-sized issue (with a special, over-sized price of $4.99), so there will probably be some fun extras thrown in, and maybe extra story too!
Here we are again, solicitation time. Oh yes, those friendly comic book publishers have teased us once again with the issues that we are going to be drooling over in May. So stick around and see what I’ve picked out to spotlight for May, 2009.
Hard to believe that the comics based on Stephen King’s Dark Tower series are already in their 4 arc. It seems like just yesterday we were following Roland and his Ka’tet on their first adventure. The newest arc kicks off in May and you Tower fans are going to want to make sure that you have this series on your pull list.
Not sure why, but this title really intrigues me. I mean, it’s not jut Avengers, but Pet Avengers! Just sticking Lockjaw and Lockheed in the comic sells it to me. Then you create a character called Frog-Thor and you’ve hooked me. Sure, it’s probably going to be silly, and not really have anything to do with anything, but sometimes, you just need a goofy, fun comic.
An undeniably slow week in the comic world this week. While many of you will be picking up plenty of issues of your favorite series which are in the middle of the arc, there’s very little new stuff starting up. So, you may be buying a lot, but there’s not much new or exciting stuff to point out. Nevertheless, I’ve complied 4 books (all Marvel, sorry) that you might want to take a look at when you visit the shop this week.
So, it’s the last issue. Pretty much the only thing that makes this worth noting. Truthfully, the series has gone down hill lately and Ultimatum hasn’t really done much to make it better. But, still, being that it is the final issue, it is worth noting here.
Comic Book Hangover: No Product Placement in Comic Books!
