Thursday, January 21, 2010

Marvel Preview Review for March Part 2 of 2

Continued from yesterday...

HERCULES: FALL OF AN AVENGER #1 (of 2)
(W) Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (A&C) Ariel Olivetti
Agents of Atlas Back-up by Jeff Parker & Reilly Brown
When the most beloved Olympian of all time falls, who will mourn him? Acclaimed INCREDIBLE HULK artist Ariel Olivetti joins writers Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente for a two-part mini-epic that marks the end of an era and the beginning of something utterly unexpected for Hercules, the Lion of Olympus. Bring your hankies -- and your golden adamantine maces -- as an all-star cast including Thor, Namor, Namora, Snowbird, Alflyse, Bruce Banner, and of course, Amadeus Cho send off the Son of Zeus with shocking tales, smash-tastic action, bawdy tomfoolery, and heart-rending drama that will change the course of Marvel's marvelous mythological milieu... forever! Plus: There are some missions that require a woman's touch- so the rest of the Agents of Atlas hang back and let Venus and Namora go out and show their stuff! 40 PGS …$3.99

Jim: Not buying the death of Hercules. What I am buying is this should be a good read and is probably leading up to a re-launch and giving Hercules a #1 issue.
Lee: It’s all pointless hype but I agree that it should be good. But, I have to ask why this wasn’t in the regular series! It’s becoming ridiculous that more and more stories are being told in one-shots and separate mini series. There was a time when you could collect one title and actually get the entire story.

IRON MAN 1.5 #1 (of 3)
(W) Joe Casey (A) Barry Kitson (C) Brandon Peterson
An all-new adventure set in the movie world of IRON MAN and IRON MAN 2!When Tony Stark announced "I am Iron Man" at the end of the blockbuster Hollywood mega-smash, his life changed forever. When IRON MAN 2 opens, it's months later and the world is totally different. What happened during that time? How did Tony Stark put a new chapter in the history books? And how did Iron Man break and rewrite all the rules? Find out in this OFFICIAL in-movie-continuity story! 32 PGS …$2.99

Jim: Two points. First, why has Barry Kitson almost faded away after coming over to Marvel. Second, in-movie continuity story – really? Really? Maybe this can be handed out at movies to give people a sample of a regular comic book.
Lee: Gotta love movie season! But giving away free comic books at the theatres isn’t a bad idea.

LOCKJAW AND THE PET AVENGERS UNLEASHED #1 (of 4)
(W) Chris Eliopoulos (P&C) Ig Guara & Chris Sotomayor
Once upon a time, in a world of super heroes and villains, there lived a team of animals that saved the universe…and no one knew it. These creatures asked not for fortune or fame, merely to help the humans that pet them. But a new threat to the world has arisen, which only they know of, that could change everything…and kill one of them. 32 PGS …$2.99

Jim: One time is fun, two times is pushing it. With all big companies we have 20 times if the sales numbers hold and we will drive a fun concept and idea into the ground.
Lee: Again, I think you miss the point of these books. They are done enough to be beaten to death! This cannot be compared to Deadpool. It’s a humor title and we all know that humor titles aren’t your favorite. I for one like these series and the limited nature is perfect for me.

THE TWELVE: SPEARHEAD
(W) Chris Weston (C)Paolo Rivera
Europe, 1945: Captain America leads a mission to destroy the Nazis' missile program...and The Phantom Reporter wants in! An untold tale from Marvel's Golden Age featuring the forgotten heroes who would go on to become "The Twelve"!40 PGS./One-Shot …$3.99

Jim: Please let this be a prelude to the Twelve finally finishing. I really want to see the last four issues of that story. If JMS never finishes this story it will break my heart, but Squadron Supreme was left in mid story also.
Lee: This is just a depressing preview because I don’t think the story will ever be done. Notice that Weston is writing this? Yep, it official, JMS has moved on and we’re never getting an ending which is too bad.

BREAKING INTO COMICS THE MARVEL WAY! #1 & 2 (of 2)
(W) C.B. Cebulski With Brian Michael Bendis, Chris Yost, Marc Guggenheim, Stuart Moore, Mike Benson, Kathryn Immonen, Peter David, Jonathan Hickman, Mike Carey, Simon Spurrier, Kevin Grevioux & Frank Tieri
(A) Michele Bertilorenzi, Paul Davidson, Serena Ficca, Damion Hendricks, Christian Nauck, Joe Suitor, Tomasso Bennato, Thomas Labourot, Matteo Scalera, Stephen Thompson, Shaun Turnbull & Gabriel Hernandez Walta
(C) issue #1 by Matteo De Longis (C)issue #2 by Lost Fish
Want to know what it takes to break into Marvel Comics like these guys? Then look no further than this two-part book which is a must-have for anyone wanting to be a Comic Book Breakout Star! After traveling the globe and meeting scores of talented illustrators, intrepid writer, editor and talent manager C.B. Cebulski is giving twelve rising star artists the opportunity to do their breakout work at Marvel Comics! But not only will BREAKING INTO COMICS THE MARVEL WAY showcase the work of these up-and-comers, C.B. will also provide an insider’s commentary on how these artists got their work seen and what it was that landed them the gig. And with step-by-step submission information and a sample Marvel Comics script, these books are MUST HAVES for anyone interested in doing their breakout work and breaking into the comics industry!56 PGS …$3.99

Jim: Shhh…It’s a secret there is no “Marvel Way” anymore. Basically Marvel and DC recruit you from the minor leagues (Hickman and Remender) or you have a friend who brings you over from another industry.
Lee: I agree there isn’t a “Marvel Way” anymore but this is still a good book. Anything that helps people figure out how to get into the system is a good thing. I doubt it’s super insightful but it’s nice that Marvel tries to reach out to fans.
Jim: You meant reach into the fans. Reach into their pockets.

X-MEN: SECOND COMING
(W) Christopher Yost & Craig Kyle(A) David Finch(C)Adi Granov
The climax of four years of X-Men stories is the X-Event of 2010! What started in HOUSE OF M with the Decimation of mutantkind and erupted with the first new mutant birth in MESSIAH COMPLEX finishes here. In the epic crossover SECOND COMING, Cyclops’ faith pays off when Cable returns to the present with Hope, the girl he believes to be the mutant messiah. But will she be the savior or destroyer of mutantkind? We may never know, as she is the target of an initiative for mutant eradication unlike anything they X-Men have ever experienced. Many will be wounded. Several will die. Is Hope worth it? 48 PGS…$3.99

Jim: One day I hope Marvel finds a way to revamp the x-verse and it allows me to get back into it, as I enjoyed that material a lot when I was younger. This does not look like it will be it.
Lee: Yep, I stopped reading the X-verse years ago too. But, I’m not sure I’ll ever return. It just doesn’t hold the same thrill anymore.

MILLAR & MCNIVEN'S NEMESIS #1
(W) Mark Millar (A&C) Steve Mcniven
Civil War? Nothing. Kick-Ass? A warmup. What if the smartest, toughest costumed bad ass in the world was totally evil? Meet Nemesis. He’s systematically been destroying the lives of every police chief in Asia, and he’s now set his sights on Washington, DC. Between you and me, the police don’t have a chance. Do not miss the book that EVERYONE will be talking about by the creative team that made CIVIL WAR the biggest book of the decade. 32 PGS …$2.99

Jim: This has apparently been delayed over some issue regarding possible copyright things with the naming of stuff. I’m not a big Millar fan, but I will check out issue #1.
Lee: Millar's been on a roll lately with commercially successful books between Civil War, Old Man Logan, and Kick Ass so I'm sure this will be too. Now the merits of each story can be debated but no matter what we thought they were all huge hits.

PUNISHER NOIR PREMIERE HC
(W) Frank Tieri (P) Paul Azaceta (C) Dennis Calero
It’s the Roaring Twenties and mobster Dutch Schultz's iron-fisted reign is about to meet its greatest challenge. But will the greatest threat to his criminal empire come from Thomas Dewey and the government? Will it come from fellow mobsters like Lucky Luciano or Al Capone? No, it'll come in the form of a man sporting a familiar skull symbol and a gun in his hand. Because once the Punisher hits the scene, the mean streets are about to get a whole lot meaner. Collecting PUNISHER NOIR #1-4.112 PGS…$19.99
Jim: I have been very negative on Marvel this month (and others) but as the number one company I expect them to treat fans better and they have taken the tack of ripping off the fans as often as possible. Another example is Marvel used to produce some great hard cover collections of new stuff in 12 issue chunks and sell them for $30, $6 less then getting the monthly issues. Now we get 4 issue mini-series with just 22 pages for $4 a crack and the hard cover cost $4 more then the mini-series cost as single issues.
Lee: Hardcovers now cost more than the single issues??? I can’t believe I missed that. I was watching hc pricing for awhile then stopped looking so it’s my fault but still. This will definitely cut into the number of hc's that I buy.

Jim: Marvel has a lot of work to do in my opinion to get me back to being more of a Marvel fan. I’m still enjoying Hercules, Realm of Kings and some solo books, but the rest of the stuff needs to get a little better.
Lee: Well, you and I are in the minority when it comes to Marvel fans. Marvel still commands a huge market share and can force whatever drivel they want down our little fanboy throats. Adn they do.

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