February 2010 Solicits

Ultimate Mimic from Ultimate X #1 looks great. Too bad Loeb is writing it. :(
 
The point of relaunching the ULTIMATE line was because sales were lagging and it was felt that creatively, the line could not support 4 titles (USM, UXM, UFF, and ULTIMATES). So barely six months after the relaunch, what do we have? 4 Ultimate titles, with Bendis writing two, and Loeb writing UXM and UFF merged into "UX". Yes, this is what I love about aged editors hurled into the 21st century. Their inability to see reality smacking them in the face and so much as wince, much less adapt. And of course, "9 years in" isn't exactly "hurled" to anyone under 40, but...

Apparently, Ultimate Spider-Man is now a team book, with Spidey rooming and teaming with hangers on from the X-Men and the Four; I guess that fits Bendis' usual theme of Spidey being the most useless hero ever. Which, after some 125+ issues of material, is rather awkward.

All Marvel can think of is "relaunch, relaunch, relaunch" with something that struggles. Who needs an EIC? A parrot will do. Not even a real parrot, a parrot simulation. "AWWK! RELAUNCH! RENUMBER! UP COVER PRICE! AWWWK! RELAUNCH! RENUMBER! UP COVER PRICE! AWWK!" :o
 
Dread said:
The point of relaunching the ULTIMATE line was because sales were lagging and it was felt that creatively, the line could not support 4 titles
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I don't think it was the idea of four titles in general as much as those specific permanent titles. Ultimate X-Men, in particular, was a creative dead-zone.

Not that whatever Loeb does will be an improvement.
 
CaptainCanada said:
I don't think it was the idea of four titles in general as much as those specific permanent titles. Ultimate X-Men, in particular, was a creative dead-zone.

Not that whatever Loeb does will be an improvement.
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The problem was Ultimate was supposed to be, "hey, kids! Jazzy new comics!" only it was now 8-9 years later and thus it cannot be new, and has it's own crushing continuity. The entire premise was a bit of a temporary one. Especially now that many readers and writers have focused back on 616.

Loeb is writing the worst comics known to man that still are ordered pretty well (even if they do slip). If there was any proof about retailers having no taste, as well as the "silent majority" of fans, this is it. Loeb is the Liefield of the 2000's (who has written comics too...ghastly comics).

The best sellers of the Ultimate line are USM and Ultimates. Anything else is B list even if Bendis is on it, and readers know that.
 
Well Luckily Ultimate Comics Avengers has always been on top 10 Marvel sold comics and on top 20 Marvel+DC comics sold monthly, and this series doesn't even support with variant covers that peolple would pay buckloads of. Just look at Ultimate Comics X... There already promoting it to have like 4 variant covers, thats Loeb's comics sales helper right there. People sucked into buying variant covers. x_X I really hope Millar is true that he can get some issues double-shipped since we're 1 month delayed with the rest of the Ultimate comics. I mean the guy already has people drawing the 2nd and 3rd arc. :) (out of 4)
 
Drz said:
Well Luckily Ultimate Comics Avengers has always been on top 10 Marvel sold comics and on top 20 Marvel+DC comics sold monthly, and this series doesn't even support with variant covers that peolple would pay buckloads of. Just look at Ultimate Comics X... There already promoting it to have like 4 variant covers, thats Loeb's comics sales helper right there. People sucked into buying variant covers. x_X I really hope Millar is true that he can get some issues double-shipped since we're 1 month delayed with the rest of the Ultimate comics. I mean the guy already has people drawing the 2nd and 3rd arc. :) (out of 4)
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The problem is that Ultimate Comics: Avengers should be selling much higher since it is essentially the true Ultimates 3. On the bright side, it appears that sales might be stabilizing rather quickly.
 
Yeah i know. :( I'm sure Millar is also aware that the sales aint as bright but yeah. Atleast all issues so far have sold out. :thumbsup:
 
Drz said:
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/091117-marvel-february-2010-solicitations.html

More previews for you gentlemen and ladies. :D Is Vengeance of Moon Knight anything cool/good? I mean for a random noob like me this seems so Batman rip-off especially since Moon Knight also has a Scarecrow villain lol. =P I checked out the first issue like a few months ago but it didn't feel that spectacular at all...
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The Moon Knight relaunch was better in the beginning when Finch was doing the art. :(
 
Drz said:
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/091117-marvel-february-2010-solicitations.html

More previews for you gentlemen and ladies. :D Is Vengeance of Moon Knight anything cool/good? I mean for a random noob like me this seems so Batman rip-off especially since Moon Knight also has a Scarecrow villain lol. =P I checked out the first issue like a few months ago but it didn't feel that spectacular at all...
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Lots of good stuff. I'm particularly looking forward to all of the Agents of Atlas minis and the Pet Avengers special. I'll probably give Doomwar a try too. Not really interested in the X-Men or the Black Panthers, but Doom being badass = awesome.
 
Looks like Bucky will be keeping his current costume design, at least for now (makes sense; it's quite visibly different from Steve's).

So it comes down to Hercules vs. Typhon? Makes sense, he's supposed to be a Pantheon-level threat by himself.
 
UNCANNY X-MEN #521
Written by MATT FRACTION
Pencils & Cover by GREG LAND
Special Variant by TBA
“NATION X”
What on Earth is Magneto doing on top of Mt. Tamalpais, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco? He’s not telling and the X-Men Psychics can’t get it out of his brain. But he’s been up there for days plotting something that will rock the X-Verse to its core. All this while Wolverine, Psylocke, Colossus and Fantomex take on the foes that have been plaguing the X-Men since the start of “Nation X”. Part 7 (of 8).
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99
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I hope to god Fraction is not trying to make Magneto into a saturday morning supervillain again. Please dont do it Fraction, we're so past that whole phase of his career.
 
That Marcos Martin Amazing Spider-Man cover looks amazing. Plus Michael Lark for #621 yay!
 
-Hmm, I wonder if I should wait to drop Incredible Hulk until WWHs starts or if I should just go ahead and drop during this whole Fall Of The Hulks deal that's building up to it

-Wow, I know now that I must've lost all interest in the X-franchise when the most appealing thing there is ****ing Pixie Strikes Back. Damn.

-More Pet Avengers, I hope their next opponents consist of a Celestial Army, and they win. Why? Because it assumes me. In all seriousness, despite the sourness some have towards I'm glad Pet Avengers is continuing.

-Maybe I'm nuts, but I am actually somewhat interested in the whole FrakenCastle Punisher stuff. Of course, I hate Punisher, so maybe a desruction of him is just appealing to me :O

-Hate myself for being excited for a event. Well, at least it's self-contained enough, I suppose :o
 
Well, Ms Marvel's done. Can't say I'm really that surprised. Hope she'll get something major again.
 
More Solicit thoughts/rants:

- Can you tell that 2010 is the year IRON MAN 2 is coming out? Y'know, because there are suddenly 5 or so Iron Man books again? Ah, poor, pathetic, predictable, greed-afflicted, wise-as-sack-of-cow-dung Marvel editorial...never change. :whatever: Their senior sales VP admitted that they have overexposed some characters during "events", yet Marvel continues. They haven't noticed INVINCIBLE IRON MAN starting to slip back to normal levels of sales. They won't be happy until there are as many anti-Iron Man fans as there are anti-Wolverine fans. Part of why Marvel probably doesn't run any "editor for a day" style contests for fans like DC once did in the 90's is because the winning schmoe might do too good a job. I truly wish I could be able to be oblivious to any sort of reality as many big two editors seem to be.

- Speaking of INVINCIBLE IRON MAN, it seems the Ghost, fresh from Osborn's Thunderbolts, will be causing trouble while Thor & Strange still go chasing around Stark in his own mind. Hmm. WORLD'S MOST WANTED at 12 chapters drug on at least 2-4 issues too long and hopefully this aftermath arc doesn't make that mistake. Stark needed some penance from his CW era but I am wondering if self-inflicted lobotomy was too much, a hair from being a Robert Baldwin/Emoball solution. Still, Fraction's all but managed to sell the book on Hill and Potts alone, so it should be good at least.

- Have to give Marvel credit for sticking with AGENTS OF ATLAS despite it's inability to sell above 20k for long. They'll have a 4 issue mini against the AVENGERS, which seems to be a time-travel story. I usually am iffy on those, but hopefully Parker makes it work, as well as delving into Bob Grayson some more. Meanwhile, MARVEL BOY: THE URANIAN gives Grayson a 4 issue mini. If the Agents never catch on with fans, it won't be for Marvel's lack of trying, at least.

- CAPTAIN AMERICA #603 has Brubaker & Ross back together on the main book, and it seems that Steve will be back as Cap but Bucky is still wearing his outfit, complete with mask. Basically, James Barnes is U.S. Agent, only with a costume that is virtually identical from the chest up. Part of me wonders if that Alex Ross costume of his would look better with a blue domino mask. I mean, both of them can't call themselves "Captain America" at the same time and it won't do to confuse fans. And that of course isn't including the Grand Director, who will be showing up. Methinks that the idea of Grand Director, who looks virtually identical to Steve, would have made a brilliant subplot with Steve still dead, but with Steve alive, that subplot has been killed in the cradle. Now it will be a typical "impostor" story instead of something more suspenseful. Still, if REBORN proves anything, it is that through sheer execution alone, Brubaker can make a stretched out, no-brainer event storyline with all the nuance of a body-slam more readable than it deserves to be, so this should probably be good. At any rate, it will be good to be reading Brubaker issues of the main CA title again. Even if rewarding loyal fans by making them pay more for it is Orwellian. If any EIC deserved their Marvel to go bankrupt on their watch, it is the tenure of Joe Quesada; he makes me wish for the humility of Jim Shooter (!). It won't, though, thanks to Disney.

- DEATHLOK, the 90's throwback absolutely no one demanded (besides X-MAN and the CLONE SAGA) trudges along.

- It seems DOOMWAR will be about Dr. Doom seeking to plunder Wakanda, and it will involve the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, two Black Panthers, and...Deadpool, at the extreme risk of overexposure after less than a year after X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE. Considering T'Challa is an ally of the Four (as well as a former member) and is married/involved with the X-Men's Storm, it makes sense to involve both. But Deadpool? Random. At any rate, it is written and drawn by no one I have heard of, but the John Romita Jr. cover is nice. It'll depend on the week. Part of me thinks Dr. Doom should have some revenge on the Avengers for his arrest in MA.

- An ALL NEW HANDBOOK UPDATE A-Z? It's been about two years since they had that, and I'll nab every copy. I enjoy that stuff like any hopeless geek.

- STRANGE #4 claims it will end with Strange forever changed. Hasn't he been changed enough? The covers are very misleading, considering the art inside is very manga-esque.

- VENGEANCE OF THE MOON KNIGHT #5 furthers the storyline; the Finch covers are pretty good here. For those who have asked about this Hurwitz/Opena MK relaunch, as someone who read his last volume for 18-19 issues (and an annual), I can say this is pretty good. It's not as bleak/grim as the Husten launch nor is it as decompressed; I mean it took Husten's launch about 3 issues to get Specter out of a bedroom. It straddles the line between standard superheroism and grim SIN CITY vigilante stuff; the last volume made Specter so dark and psychotically violent that it reached parody. Opena's art is also pretty entertaining, with a decent little redesign of Moonie's suit. If the series has any dilemma, it is that Moon Knight has some crappy villains who keep coming up because he has no others. This isn't my favorite ongoing from Marvel but it's been one that for 3 issues I am fine reading, and hey, it's still $2.99! Heck, issue #2's scene with Moon Knight and Sentry, Marvel's resident insane superheroes, chatting it out was probably the best use of Sentry during DARK REIGN.

- THE MARVELS PROJECT chugs along, and whiles sales aren't quite holding up, the debut was pretty good and Brubaker is on to a fine story here. Can't wait for more Golden Age love from him.

- Having more PET AVENGERS in the form of a $4 one shot vs. another mini is probably a prudent way to deliver more of it to the small readership it has.

- MARVEL HEARTBREAKERS...well, it has been about 3 years since Marvel did a themed one shot for Valentine's Day (since "I HEART MARVEL", which was just a few months before CIVIL WAR). The stories don't sound so impressive, but if it is a slow week I could try it.

- For the life of me, I have no idea why Marvel won't let some of their low selling alternate universe die, i.e. HOUSE OF M and 1602.

- INCREDIBLE HERCULES #141 will be the finale of the "RAID ON NEW OLYMPUS" storyline and as usual the solicit sounds epic. This will be the "event" that I am the most jazzed about, since I expect Bendis to ruin SIEGE as he has ruined HOUSE OF M, and SECRET INVASION, and AVENGERS DISASSEMBLED. It is funny how one cover earlier in this story boldly has Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, and Wolverine united with Hercules and now this cover has them laid out at his feet as the battle ends. It's bemusing because, well, if you're going to take on evil Greek Gods, those three heroes are massively underpowered. Even Hebe, technically, is more than twice the physical strength of Spider-Man. That's like Superman leading a fight against evil Kryptonians and deciding to take along Nightwing, Catwoman, and Wildcat. Cool characters, but useless fodder in such a battle! If Hercules was limited to one X-Man, he should have tapped Colossus or something. At any rate, I'm psyched for this and will be nabbing every issue. More AGENTS OF ATLAS strips too!

- UNCANNY X-MEN FIRST CLASS #8 is another Banshee story, but it runs the risk of being quite stereotypical.

- Deadpool and Wolverine have 3 ongoings and are outdone by Iron Man this month. As well as Spider-Man, the resident king of having many titles.

- SWORD #4 apparently couldn't have a cover ready by now. Considering the premise for the series, the solicit could have just saved some type space by posting, "more stuff happens".

- CIVIL WAR's cover gimmick was covering the lower half of the cover. FINAL CRISIS' gimmick was covering the left and right sides. And SIEGE is covering merely the right side. Brilliant, or lazy?

- AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #33 looks pretty good, with combat on many fronts with Taskmaster's crew taking on the Asgardians and the Avengers Resistance taking on Hood and HAMMER. Christos Gage has forced a great title out of this, and it is a shame sales are slipping, because he's been very consistent in quality since Slott left. This will also mark the end of his first year as solo writer on it.

- SIEGE, the mini outright, continues. It's only 4 issues, but there'll be some one shots that tie in to it beforehand, so for all intents and purposes Bendis will have some 5-6 issues, plus his 2 ongoings that he writes, plus the one he "co-writes" with Hickman, to resolve it. I expect it to be dire rubbish of the highest order, and have to convince myself to bother for the good of the line.

- MIGHTY AVENGERS #34 also looks good, although I wonder why Thor would actually be fighting against the team? But, more Loki stuff seems natural in this title, since Loki effected this team the most beyond Thor. It is worth nothing the Mighty Avengers at least figured out something was amiss a LOT sooner than Thor did. Neil Edwards is the latest artist to take over for Khoi Pham, who apparently will maintain his streak of 2-3 issues before needing a break. Is it really worth calling him a regular artist when he does maybe 50% of any given arc (including covers)?

- THOR #607 continues SIEGE and Gillen's run on THOR, which will be my first introduction to his work.

- GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #23 seems to reveal that the "end" of the Magus was hardly as final as it seems. Oh, that tricky purple skinned scamp!

- NOVA #34's quote from AIN'T IT COOL NEWS is right; fans who don't read that SHOULD be ashamed of themselves. It all sounds quite interesting; Nova vs. Sphinx in an alternate realm, and who is his "true love"? Is it someone Abnett & Lanning are making up or someone else? Could it be Laura Dunham from his NEW WARRIORS days? Or Dr. Necker? Oh, the mystery! At any rate, excited to see how Nova's old arch nemesis is depicted after a near decade long stint in "limbo".

- I will likely try REALM OF KINGS: INHUMANS, although the IMPERIAL GUARD debut didn't impress me.

- Can Brian Reed still do a SON OF HULK ROK story since Skaar is technically in INCREDIBLE HULK now? Or did Hulk sprout a son in the Microverse, Mar-Vell style?

- Frankly, considering her low sales, it is amazing that MS. MARVEL made it 50 issues. That seems to be about the longest any book lasts this century; and most books die between issues #12-#36.
 
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Dread said:
They won't be happy until there are as many anti-Iron Man fans as there are anti-Wolverine fans.
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Thing there is: whatever some disgruntled internet types think, Wolverine remains a sales powerhouse rakin' in the dough month-in, month-out.
 
CaptainCanada said:
Thing there is: whatever some disgruntled internet types think, Wolverine remains a sales powerhouse rakin' in the dough month-in, month-out.
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That's only sort of true; WOLVERINE: WEAPON X #5 in Sept. 2009 sold 40k - less than half it's debut of 97k; by Oct. 2009 it had slipped to 38k. WOLVERINE: ORIGINS has slipped almost 15% in the last year. DARK WOLVERINE is Daken's book and even that has slipped 33% in six months. So while Wolverine does sell comics, the days of him being a perennial Top 10-15 presence are over, and have been for years. Marvel just doesn't see it.

(Numbers from ICV2.com)

In October '09, INVINCIBLE IRON MAN sold about 47k, which is quite good considering the price changed by a dollar. But that is still about 50% what the first issue sold.

Deadpool, at least to Marvel's credit, seems to be holding steady across 3 titles at about 35-42k a month. This will change when they further milk him, but for now he can at least handle some overexposure. I simply wish Marvel and DC could learn the art of "quitting while you are ahead" rather than seeing fit to pop every sales bubble they create by being overzealous.
 
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Dread said:
- Can Brian Reed still do a SON OF HULK ROK story since Skaar is technically in INCREDIBLE HULK now? Or did Hulk sprout a son in the Microverse, Mar-Vell style?
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Son of Hulk isn't focused on Skaar and hasn't been since Skaar went to Inc. Hulk. Hulk also had a second son up there named Hiro-Kala who was less like Hulk and more like Ciera... now, this was just kinda thrown at us recently, and the title's gone mostly to crap since Pak left, but Hiro-Kala could potentially be a great cosmic villain depending where his story goes. Being that Son of Hulk as an ongoing seems to be canceled, and this Realm of Kings mini is hitting the core cosmic scene, I could see them building him up now to be a major Cosmic threat to Nova and the Guardians.
 
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