Oh boy… here we go again. To say that One More Day was a controversial Spider-Man story is like saying that Sarah Palin is just somewhat misguided about her political views. OMD brought the comic book world crashing to its knees and crushed the hopes and dreams of an entire generation of nerds. I mean, if Spidey’s marriage can’t survive a little meddling from the devil, what chance do any of us have? However, you are almost able to forgive Joe Quesada for the bastardization of Spidey canon (I don’t acknowledge that JMS had anything to do with that story) because Brand New Day has been, for the most part, an enjoyable ride. ASM has, since OMD, been a pretty damn good comic book. And to find that kind of consistency from a large group of writers working on one book, pushing it out 3 times a month, is rather astonishing.

And then Quesada decided to pick at that slowly healing scab. Enter One Moment In Time. Even the title brings up horrific, sleepless nights caused by OMD. But enough introduction. Let’s see how the first issue of this thing holds up.

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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.

Ultimate Spider-Man #22 cover

So its been along time for me guys. I have a lot of things to do, but thanks to Mike (again) I have reopened the door into the comic book world. I haven’t posted for about 6 months but since I am reading a bit of Spider-Man again I might as well try to continue where I left off.

Before my hiatus from the comic book work I did three reviews of the progressing arcs of the Ultimate Spider-Man series, so I guess I’ll restart myself where I left. This arc of the series is called “Legacy.” The name of the arc will explain itself if you read it, but you can probably guess the reason behind it if you think of the only psychotic person with a son.

Catch the rest after the break (minor spoilers abound)

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Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 cover

In case you didn’t read Brian Reed‘s awesome mini-series Secret Invasion: Amazing Spider-Man, you won’t know that it was all about the new and seemingly familiar Jackpot of created in Amazing Spider-Man: Brand New Day. This year (or whatever time is between annuals), the Amazing Spider-Man Annual is focused on the one and only Jackpot and boy oh-effing-boy is it damn crazy.

Why? Because you finally find out who Jackpot is. You do. It’s quite a story… Thanks to good ol’ McGuggs…

BUT, before I give anything away, let’s take a jump and I’ll splurge all sorts of details…

**sp-sp-sp-spoilahs and mo-ah aftah tha break**

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I have to admit, when I heard about Spider-Man: Brand New Day, I was really upset about what was going to happen to one of my favorite comic book characters. I admit, I am pretty new to comic books, having only been reading for about 6 months now, and when BND started, I had only been reading for a couple of months. However, I had known about Spider-Man since I was a kid and always enjoyed the character.

One of my favorite things about Spider-Man has always been his relationship with Mary-Jane. Yeah, I’m kind of a girl about that kind of stuff, but depth of character is really important to me in comic books, and I feel that Mary-Jane really made Peter Parker a deep character. I particularly notice this relationship in Ultimate Spider-Man (which just happens to be one of my favorite comics). Brian Michael Bendis does an outstanding job writing this series. Not only do you care about Spider-Man and love him for being the hero, but you deeply care about Peter Parker and I, for one, really enjoy the more “personal” drama of the series.

This is where I see BND going a little off. Sure, there has been quite a bit of drama with Peter wanting to move out of Aunt May’s house and needed to make money. But the Peter Parker drama is very separate from the Spider-Man drama. And this, I feel, is a major downside to BND.

That being said, lately, I have started to really enjoy Amazing Spider-Man. First, the writing on this series is amazing. The wit, the inside-jokes and most of all, the way the writers write to the reader. Also, another big problem I have had with Brand New Day is the way the arcs have been left wide open. It seems like the writers will start an arc, write for a couple of issues, go to a new arc, and then in 6 issues, finally get back to the first arc. Lately, however, the writers have been tying up a lot of loose ends and bringing everything together. Now that I see the way the writers are planning the series, I see how things end up working out.

So, to sum up this compliant, I really want the ASM writers to bring some great Peter Parker drama into the stories and have that tie directly in to the Spider-Man drama. Is that so much to ask?