More info on what’s reviewed after the jump!
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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.

War Machine #2 Cover

Alright, so I’m a little late on this one. Various factors have lead to me being a little behind on comics these last few weeks. Given that, I didn’t really intend to review War Machine #2. Then I read it and decided I needed to vent.

Why the frustration? Well, when I heard that War Machine (aka James Rhodes) was getting his own title, I was pretty excited. I can’t say that I really knew much about War Machine, but I like to see a secondary character given the chance to shine in his/her own title. Then we got a little preview of what an all War Machine title would be like when Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D was turned over to War Machine for a couple issues during Secret Invasion. And frankly, it wasn’t good. But still, I held out hope. Christos Gage wrote the Secret Invasion arc and Greg Pak would be penning the on-going, so I thought maybe Pak would speak through the character better. Just take a look and what he and Fred Van Lente have managed to do with Incredible Hercules. Unfortunately, through 2 issues, I can’t say that Pak has managed to find his voice.

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Wow. Usually, solicitations are the typical new issues of a series. Sometimes they are the start of an exciting arc, but mostly, there’s not a lot to get excited about. The few new series or mini-series are what are usually most exciting. This month, the comic book publishers (mostly Marvel) decided to pull out all the stops and bring out a bunch of really interesting stuff. Seriously, this post is going to be really long, as I have a lot to feature. So sit back, grab a drink and get ready to find out what comics are going to be making headlines as the weather starts to turn warm again.

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Incognito #1 Cover

This week marked the release of a comic that I have been waiting for since solicitations for December came out more than 3 months ago. It’s a book that is written by Ed Brubaker, one of the finest writers in the business today. Mix him in with Sean Phillips, who is easily the best pulp artist working and you have a sure-fire win. This is the creative team that are behind such great books as Sleeper and Criminal. But now, they bring you Incognito. And let me tell you, it was well worth the wait.

The hero (or should I say anti-hero) of our little tale is Zack Andersen, who was formally known as Zack Overkill, a terrorist super-villain who has been in the witness protection program for 3 years after testifying against his former boss, The Black Death, to put him behind bars. Now, Zack struggles to live a normal life, taking drugs from the government to suppress his superhuman abilities. As you can imagine, he is less than satisfied with his life and when he finds out that taking illegal drugs counteracts the drugs the government has been giving him, he starts to feel the power of his former… well, power… again. More reviewing after the break.

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Comic book fans are well acquainted with Kevin Smith. His films “Mallrats” and “Chasing Amy” contained oodles of great riffs on classic characters, and just about every year he stops in for wildly popular Q&A’s at the San Diego Comic-Con.

In 1998, Joe Quesada hired him to revive Daredevil, resulting in a popular run that re-established the character and led to mammoth, defining runs from Brian Michael Bendis and Ed Brubaker and opening the doors to let Hollywood writers such as Joss Whedon and J. Michael Straczynski to get runs on major comic characters. After acclaimed runs on Daredevil and Green Arrow, Smith became notorious for delays on his other comic book projects, one of which was delayed so long after only its first issue that it was finally canceled years later. But hot of the heels of one of his finest movies, Smith is back in the comic book world with a promising new miniseries, Batman: Cacophony.

*Minor spoilers after the break*

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Amazing Spider-Man #575 cover

This week wasn’t too huge for me, but I had one comic I was really looking forward to: Amazing Spider-Man #576. Now, I meant to write a review for #575 but… well, it just didn’t happen. Nevertheless, these last two issues were utterly fantastic and I’ll go and sum things up in a moment.

Writer Joe Kelly entered the Spider-Man brain trust last week beginning his two-part series, “Family Ties.” Focusing around Hammerhead and the aftermath of him being saved by Mr. Negative this mini-arc is building more and more of the sub-plot that is Mr. Negative (yea, I know all ASM is doing lately is building, but bear with me).

But let’s get into things after the jump and I’ll give you the run down.

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Some of you may be visiting the site today, expecting to see my Rapid Reviews for the week. I am sorry to disappoint, but I still haven’t finished all the comics from last week. The massive amount of releases combined with my busy school schedule and my total laziness led to falling behind. Luckily, this week there aren’t very many comics on my list, so I should catch up.

So, just to keep you entertained today before I do my weekly previews tonight, I thought I would post a little something personal. I’ve been reading the fabulous Fantastic Fangirls blog recently and got some inspiration. They have been writing their origin stories into comics as the first posts and I thought this was a great idea. Now, I could never hope to write as well as they do and I don’t really want to rip them off completely, so I am going to do my own little spin on this concept. I want to tell you why I read and love comics, and maybe a little more about myself.

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Captain America #42 Cover

Since issue #26 of Captain America, we have been deep within the epic Death of Captain America mega-arc. Covering three parts and 18 issues, Ed Brubaker has crafted one of the greatest comic book stories of the modern generation. This month, The Death of Captain America comes to a close and firmly plants Bucky as the new Captain America. You can think of this issue as finally closing the era of Steve Rogers, as sad as that may be.

Last month, you may remember, Captain America saved third-party candidate Gordon Wright from being assassinated by the Red Skull‘s daughter, Sin. And of course, Sharon Carter is trying to escape from the Skull’s clutches. All the while, Falcon and Black Widow are coming to rescue Carter.

It is all very epic and I’ll review this final chapter in The Death of Captain America after the break.

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Daredevil #111 Cover

*Channeling Ed Brubaker* Nick Nelson sat at his desk, determined to discover the correct words to express just how amazing Daredevil is. While not writing reviews for long, he felt that he could accurately convey the emotions he felt when reading this comic. He knew that what he wrote could, in the end, lead to someone spending their hard earned money. This, he took seriously.

OK, so I am a shitty writer when compared to Ed Brubaker. This is why you should be happy he writes Daredevil and not me. Nevertheless, I’m about to take on the daunting task of writing about Daredevil. Won’t you come along for the ride?

Below, I’ll break down this brand new arc and talk extensively about the awesomeness of Brubaker and Clay Mann.

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