Henry10MARVEL SOLICITATIONS JANUARY 2008
October 18th 2007 10:48
Ah, good old Marvel Solicitations! Just when I have nothing to post about, they come along like clockwork to save me. Behold, the wondrous bounty that awaits in January 2008!
ULTIMATE HUMAN #1 (of 4)
I haven't been enthused about the Ultimate Universe for a good long while, and the prospect of Jeph Loeb becoming its chief architect doesn't inspire me with confidence. But this miniseries, despite it's rather odd name, looks pretty awesome. It's got Warren Ellis and Cary Nord on the creative team, and both of those guys know how to deliver. And then there's the concept - Iron Man fights the Hulk. That's it, really. Iron Man vs. Hulk, Hulk vs. Iron Man, repeat over the course of four issues. Sounds like a winner.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #549-551
Yep, you read that correctly - Amazing Spider-Man three times a month. Here is what they've done - they've cancelled the superfluous Spider-Man titles, made Amazing thrice-monthly, and grabbed a bunch of talented guys like Dan Slott, Marc Guggenheim and Bob Gale to write it on a rotating schedule. Not only that, but it sounds like a lot of the dross heaped on the character of late is being jettisoned. Straczynski got about as close to ruining Spider-Man as is possible, but thankfully he is gone, and I am confident of brighter days ahead. This book will be one to keep an eye on.
SPIDER-MAN: WITH GREAT POWER... #1 (of 5)
What a great idea! Those familiar with Spider-Man's comic book origin will recall that there is a long period here where Spider-Man is a national TV superstar. That's never really been explored before, but they're finally getting to it in this minseries. Peter Parker as a media sensation has a hell of a lot of mileage to it, so it could be really good. Just one thing - the writer is David Lapham, who is by his own admission 'not a continuity guy'. I hope it doesn't contradict anything to egregiously, because that will really spoil my enjoyment of the whole thing.
CAPTAIN AMERICA #34
It's time for a shiny shiny new Captain America. Complete with gun, knife, and oh-so-edgy water canteen! Who is it? Could it be Angry Cyborg Bucky aka The Winter Soldier? Probably. What I do know is that this title still kicks ass, even without the presence of its namesake character.
INCREDIBLE XXXX #113 (Note: Not Actual Title)
No, it's not a comic about crappy beer from Queensland. This is the Title Formerly Known As Incredible Hulk, but it's apparently undergoing a mysterious name change. Why? I don't know, but the answer could lie just below...
HULK #1
Oooh, Jeph Loeb! And lookie, a Red Hulk. It's intriguing, I will admit, but Loeb has a very dodgy record of late. It only took him one story arc to become the worst Wolverine writer of all time - let's see how long it takes him to ruin the Hulk! I give it one issue. (And a big BOO at Marvel for launching a Hulk spin-off. One title per character please!)
WWH AFTERSMASH: DAMAGE CONTROL #1 (of 3)
The Damage Control minis from the late 80s were fun. Dwayne McDuffie wrote them, and he's writing this, and he's still really good. So this should be good too. Read it!
YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #1 (of 6)
Apparently Allan Heinberg is too busy to write more Young Avengers, but for some reason he is oh-so-special and Marvel won't just hand the characters off to another guy to take over. So what we get instead is a series of one-off stories where each issue focusses on a single character, each by a different writer. Expect these to be fairly inconsequential character pieces. They may be good, of course - Ed Brubaker is up for the first one, and he's The Man right now. But I don't care either way - the characters bore me shitless, to be honest.
THE TWELVE #1 (of 12)
STRACZYNSKI ALERT!!! STRACZYNSKI ALERT!!! STRACZYNSKI ALERT!!!
This comic features the work of J. Michael Straczynski. You have been warned.
X-MEN #207
This is the final part of Messiah Complex, the first X-Men crossover in a decade. The details are sketchy so far, but by all reports this is going to shake up the X-Titles pretty majorly. I'm looking forward to that - the books have been fairly static since Grant Morrison left. It promises the death of at least one major character, though, and that I'm not so keen on. Marvel (and DC as well, for that matter) are far too eager to bump characters off meaninglessly, and it just means that some other writer will have to resurrect the character down the road. We'll see how this one goes, but I'd prefer it if Marvel just put away their Killin' Stick for a while.
NEW EXILES #1
Hooray, Chris Claremont is still working! This is the relaunch of Exiles, from a solid lower-tier super-hero title into a full-fledged Chris Claremont book. I'm not so sure this is going to work. The general feeling I get is that the hardcore Exiles fans have despised Claremont's work so far. And I don't know if the big guy has got a large enough fanbase to carry a non-X-Men title these days. Anyway, the concept is pretty much what Exiles used to be - just expect 100% more Mind Control, thinly veiled lesbianism, and BDSM undertones. I expect to enjoy it immensely, but I'm a Claremont Zombie.
ESSENTIAL MARVEL SAGA VOL. 1
In the "What the Fuck?" file, it's Essential Marvel Saga! Marvel Saga was a strange comic - it attempted to tell the story of the Marvel Universe in one title, weaving the various books into a single chronology and explaining where every comic fits in relation to the other Marvel books. I love it, but it's playing to a pretty specific niche, really. If your one of those nerds who just loves fitting the pieces of the Marvel Universe together you'll love it. Most people won't, and it really doesn't sound like it'll be a big seller to me. A very odd choice.
ULTIMATE HUMAN #1 (of 4)
I haven't been enthused about the Ultimate Universe for a good long while, and the prospect of Jeph Loeb becoming its chief architect doesn't inspire me with confidence. But this miniseries, despite it's rather odd name, looks pretty awesome. It's got Warren Ellis and Cary Nord on the creative team, and both of those guys know how to deliver. And then there's the concept - Iron Man fights the Hulk. That's it, really. Iron Man vs. Hulk, Hulk vs. Iron Man, repeat over the course of four issues. Sounds like a winner.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #549-551
Yep, you read that correctly - Amazing Spider-Man three times a month. Here is what they've done - they've cancelled the superfluous Spider-Man titles, made Amazing thrice-monthly, and grabbed a bunch of talented guys like Dan Slott, Marc Guggenheim and Bob Gale to write it on a rotating schedule. Not only that, but it sounds like a lot of the dross heaped on the character of late is being jettisoned. Straczynski got about as close to ruining Spider-Man as is possible, but thankfully he is gone, and I am confident of brighter days ahead. This book will be one to keep an eye on.
SPIDER-MAN: WITH GREAT POWER... #1 (of 5)
What a great idea! Those familiar with Spider-Man's comic book origin will recall that there is a long period here where Spider-Man is a national TV superstar. That's never really been explored before, but they're finally getting to it in this minseries. Peter Parker as a media sensation has a hell of a lot of mileage to it, so it could be really good. Just one thing - the writer is David Lapham, who is by his own admission 'not a continuity guy'. I hope it doesn't contradict anything to egregiously, because that will really spoil my enjoyment of the whole thing.
CAPTAIN AMERICA #34
It's time for a shiny shiny new Captain America. Complete with gun, knife, and oh-so-edgy water canteen! Who is it? Could it be Angry Cyborg Bucky aka The Winter Soldier? Probably. What I do know is that this title still kicks ass, even without the presence of its namesake character.
INCREDIBLE XXXX #113 (Note: Not Actual Title)
No, it's not a comic about crappy beer from Queensland. This is the Title Formerly Known As Incredible Hulk, but it's apparently undergoing a mysterious name change. Why? I don't know, but the answer could lie just below...
HULK #1
Oooh, Jeph Loeb! And lookie, a Red Hulk. It's intriguing, I will admit, but Loeb has a very dodgy record of late. It only took him one story arc to become the worst Wolverine writer of all time - let's see how long it takes him to ruin the Hulk! I give it one issue. (And a big BOO at Marvel for launching a Hulk spin-off. One title per character please!)
WWH AFTERSMASH: DAMAGE CONTROL #1 (of 3)
The Damage Control minis from the late 80s were fun. Dwayne McDuffie wrote them, and he's writing this, and he's still really good. So this should be good too. Read it!
YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #1 (of 6)
Apparently Allan Heinberg is too busy to write more Young Avengers, but for some reason he is oh-so-special and Marvel won't just hand the characters off to another guy to take over. So what we get instead is a series of one-off stories where each issue focusses on a single character, each by a different writer. Expect these to be fairly inconsequential character pieces. They may be good, of course - Ed Brubaker is up for the first one, and he's The Man right now. But I don't care either way - the characters bore me shitless, to be honest.
THE TWELVE #1 (of 12)
STRACZYNSKI ALERT!!! STRACZYNSKI ALERT!!! STRACZYNSKI ALERT!!!
This comic features the work of J. Michael Straczynski. You have been warned.
X-MEN #207
This is the final part of Messiah Complex, the first X-Men crossover in a decade. The details are sketchy so far, but by all reports this is going to shake up the X-Titles pretty majorly. I'm looking forward to that - the books have been fairly static since Grant Morrison left. It promises the death of at least one major character, though, and that I'm not so keen on. Marvel (and DC as well, for that matter) are far too eager to bump characters off meaninglessly, and it just means that some other writer will have to resurrect the character down the road. We'll see how this one goes, but I'd prefer it if Marvel just put away their Killin' Stick for a while.
NEW EXILES #1
Hooray, Chris Claremont is still working! This is the relaunch of Exiles, from a solid lower-tier super-hero title into a full-fledged Chris Claremont book. I'm not so sure this is going to work. The general feeling I get is that the hardcore Exiles fans have despised Claremont's work so far. And I don't know if the big guy has got a large enough fanbase to carry a non-X-Men title these days. Anyway, the concept is pretty much what Exiles used to be - just expect 100% more Mind Control, thinly veiled lesbianism, and BDSM undertones. I expect to enjoy it immensely, but I'm a Claremont Zombie.
ESSENTIAL MARVEL SAGA VOL. 1
In the "What the Fuck?" file, it's Essential Marvel Saga! Marvel Saga was a strange comic - it attempted to tell the story of the Marvel Universe in one title, weaving the various books into a single chronology and explaining where every comic fits in relation to the other Marvel books. I love it, but it's playing to a pretty specific niche, really. If your one of those nerds who just loves fitting the pieces of the Marvel Universe together you'll love it. Most people won't, and it really doesn't sound like it'll be a big seller to me. A very odd choice.
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