More info on what’s reviewed after the jump!
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What has come before: It really doesn’t matter.

I have nothing bad to say about Alan Davis's covers. That logo, on the other hand...

Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s aborted run on Fantastic Four was ambitious, yet disappointing. With their final issue, they joined the ranks of extraordinarily talented creative teams (JMS and Mike McKone, Jeph Loeb and Carlos Pacheco, Chris Claremont and Salvador LaRocca, etc.) that, for one reason or another, proved unable to fill Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s Galactus-sized shoes. When I heard about the incoming creative team, I was indifferent at best. I am unfamiliar with writer Jonathan Hickman’s previous work, and Dale Eaglesham’s art has always been solid, but has never fostered any sense of fannish loyalty in me. Still, since I have been fascinated with these four heroes for a long time, I felt compelled to give them a chance and picked up their first issue, despite the retro 70′s logo and the Alan Davis cover (I adore Davis, but his awesome covers have graced some awful comics).

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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.

Final Crisis #7 Cover

Not a terrible week in comics this week. Not a whole lot of really big releases, but a few interesting end of arc issues are worth  noting. And guess what? I’ll be noting them right here. So don’t move. Here comes your Weekly Previews!

Final Crisis #7

This is the one issue that will probably overshadow everything else put out by any publisher this week. Finally, DC is finishing up their universe-changing event, Final Crisis. Did they really kill Batman? Are the heroes going to be able to defeat evil (yes)? Make sure you pick up this issue, DC fans, cause you will be talking (and probably bitching) about this issue for years to come.

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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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Ultimate Hulk Annual Cover

Over the past few months, Marvel has been pushing out a bunch of Ultimate annuals to prepare its readers for Ultimatum. These annuals have been of varying quality. Spider-Man and Fantastic Four/X-Men annuals were pretty decent. Ultimate Captain America annual was… well… not. The much delayed Ultimate Hulk Annual came out this week and is, unfortunately, grouped into the latter category. Apparently Jeph Loeb‘s annuals… well… suck. One would think that the writer for Ultimatum would write better tie-ins, but that’s a complaint for another post.

The Ultimate Hulk annual actually seems to focus much more on Zarda, Power Princess herself, of Squadron Supreme. The beginning of the issue focuses on Captain America’s analysis to Tony Stark about whether she is cut out to be on the Ultimates or not. The rest of the issue features her encountering and fighting in the Hulk.

Click through for the rest of my review.

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Happy new year, dear readers. Sure, tomorrow is Friday and many of us have to go back to work just one day before the weekend, but hey, comics come out tomorrow, so that’s good news, right? Apparently, releasing comics on Christmas Eve is not a problem, but New Years Eve is a different story. But I digress. Just in time to help you get over your hangover or the shock that it is suddenly 2009, here’s what you can look forward to when you make your trip to the comic shop this week.

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Secret Invasion #8 Cover

I had two editorials floating around in my head and I had thought about doing them separate. Then, I realized that both ideas tied together quite nicely. One was on the end of Secret Invasion. The other, the beginning of Ultimatum. What is even more interesting is the fact that this is a perfect time to be talking about both of these major stories. Secret Invasion just altered the Marvel Universe in interesting and crazy ways and Ultimatum is set up to do the same in the Ultimate Universe. And, as my title suggest, both events are “game changers”.

Game changers are always interesting, no matter what subject you are talking about. In sports, the game changer makes you stand up and cheer or shake your head in disbelief. When we’re talking about episodic story telling, like in comics, we get much the same reaction. Some marked issue 8 of Secret Invasion as a sign of great things to come. Others felt that we are in for a bunch of… well… bullshit.

So why do writers plan the “game changer”? Well, look no further than Joe Quesada‘s own explanation in this past week’s “Cup O’ Joe“, where he said the following:

But the truth of the matter is, we wanted it to be more unpredictable. Being unpredictable, I believe, leads to better storytelling. It’s not clichéd storytelling. Again, we get or characters in a place that readers don’t necessarily expect, get their backs against a wall, and see what happens. Look, at the end of the day, I think that’s what leads to great storytelling—put your characters in a place that readers never saw coming.

I think that anyone who read the end of Secret Invasion and information about what Dark Reign is going to be feels the sense of uncertainty. A sense of unpredictability. Personally, since this is an editorial, this made me so very excited for the next year of Marvel comics and beyond. I immediately decided that I’ll be buying New and Mighty Avengers. I had already decided that Dark Avengers is going to be sweet. So, what did Secret Invasion do for me? It got me into Avengers books. And that, my friends, is a good thing.

Ultimatum #1 Cover

On the other side of the Marvel pond, we have the Ultimate Universe, which just started the Ultimatum big event. It is hard to judge Ultimatum yet, because there’s only been 1 issue thus far, but it’s hard to get as excited as I did for Secret Invasion. And I really, really, really want Ultimatum to be awesome. I love the Ultimate Universe and it has seriously been going downhill recently (except Ultimate Spider-Man, of course. Love ya, BMB). So far, however, things are not looking good for Ultimatum.

First, the delays. I don’t know whether to blame Jeph Loeb for this or artist David Finch. According to what I’ve read, it is because the other Ultimate titles are not lining up correctly with the Ultimatum story and they are not quite ready for the end of Ultimatum. This is quite disappointing. Marvel did a great job keeping Secret Invasion on track, for the most part, and was able to immediately launch into the post-SI/Dark Reign world.

This brings me to my other problem with Ultimatum thus far: it is causing the end of 2 of the Ultimate books, Fantastic Four and X-Men. Now, of course, either one of these books (or both) could both be relaunched, as it is hard to imagine a Marvel universe without these characters, but as it stands right now, these books are gone at 60 and 100 respectively. So what does that leave? Spider-Man and the already announced Ultimate Avengers, which is less like Ultimates and more of a book that will focus on a bunch of different characters. This is not enough to keep this universe going. If this is the big game changer for the Ultimate Universe, it feels more like the game is going to be the end of the universe. And that would be a very sad day.

So, what’s my conclusion? Game changers are good. In fact, they are great. Whether you agree with the change or not, it helps keep things interesting. I was upset about Brand New Day at first. Now, I still don’t know if I agree with a lot of it, but at least Spider-Man is interesting now. In fact, it is one of the most interesting Marvel books right now. However, this game changing events need to be handled correctly and, unfortunately, this is not happening in Ultimatum.

Fantastic Four #561 Cover

Wrapping up their second arc of their soon-to-be-legendary run on Fantastic Four, Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch released issue 561 of Fantastic Four this week. And let me tell you, as expected, they finished things off with a bang. If you’ve been reading this blog long enough, you know I have a serious passion for this creative team’s run on this book. They are doing an outstanding job and I really hope they never leave (though, I know they will).

You may recall that we are finishing off the Death of the Invisible Woman arc this month. You also may remember that last month, we were left with the shocking realization that the Richards’ new nanny is none other than Sue Richards herself, from the future. On top of this, we find out that this group of time-traveling “superheroes”, known as the New Defenders, plan to use Johnny Storm and Doctor Doom to power an inert Galactus to bring all 8 billion people from the future to the present. Damn. How will this all end? Well, you will have to pick up the issue to find out, but hit the break and I’ll tell you if this issue is worth buying (hint: it is!).

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Marvel 1985 #6 cover

Well, Mark Millar has done it again. He’s taken a complete amazing series and stuck with it and made it god-damn incredible. I picked up Marvel 1985 #6 today thinking, “How in the hell is he going to end this series?” Well let me tell you, Mr. Millar pulled a fast one on us.

There’s all this chit-chat, jimmer-jammer on the web these days about how this series was going to end, and I’ve even spat an ending or two out from my own mouth trying to solve this giant mystery and I honestly didn’t see the series going this way.

But before I go into all the details, lets take a jump and get down to it.

**kaerb eht terfa sreliops**

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