It might be interesting if while Scott was going for Frost, Jean went for Warren, since he used to flirt with her like crazy when they were kids. He's certainly angsty enough after all his Apocalypse/Metal Wing crap, and I'm sure Scott wouldn't disapprove of Warren as much as he would for, say, Wolverine. But, I doubt that would happen.
As usual, more solicits mean another round of checkpoint style complaining and ranting! Do be warned!
- Anyone who reads NEW ULTIMATES ("new" is one of the most overused title add-on's, BTW) written by Loeb and, after ULTIMATES 3 and ULTIMATUM doesn't go in expecting to read the worst jibberish that can possibly be written in modern day comic books, then you're very, very gullible or have a very short memory. If you're in the mood for a well drawn train-wreck, like a JERSEY SHORE for comic books, then it'll be a hit.
- I still find it hilarious in an odd way that ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN a few years after I ditched it has become a de-facto Team Book, with Iceman, Human Torch, Shadowcat and Spider-Woman all but living with Peter. I imagine they bail his "tuchus" out a lot.
- DEADPOOL is now in 4 solo books a month, not counting his HANDBOOK, which I SO will be getting, because I am a Handbook nerd. Deadpool's sales have actually remained consistent for 2-3 titles, but Marvel is starting to overwhelm the market with him, as everyone with eyes and memory knew they would. Rather than maintain the slow build with his bubble of popularity, they choose to inflate it until it bursts. And this is a company that allows stories criticizing Wall Streeters who do that same thing, only a larger scale? Oh, well. Enjoy the fame while it lasts, Wade. You'll need years to rest like Ghost Rider, Venom, and Punisher did any time now.
- Not to be undone, WOLVERINE is still in about 5-6 titles a month, with a few of them being solo's and naturally Iron Man will be all over again.
- Unsure what the point is of X-FACTOR FOREVER. It appears to be a flashback tale featuring the original X-Factor, who were basically just the "founding five" X-Men until the Peter David era. It seems set in the late 80's (or very early 90's, like 1990-1991) when Warren first became Archangel and Cyclops hadn't thrown his son Nathan (which he had with Jean's clone, Maddie, who he married) into the future yet. Marvel seriously cannot expect large sales for a story set in a continuity that was maybe 20 years prior; if it sells above X-MEN FIRST CLASS all the way through, that might be an accomplishment. Still, I liked Panosian's art in AGENTS OF ATLAS and Louise Simonson has had some great tales in her heyday, so I might try it. The designs are obviously inspired from the Quietly ones from NEW X-MEN, which doesn't fit their late 80's looks. Considering the X-Men line has been stretched thin and not all side books sell well, I question the wisdom of this. Granted, if Marvel editorial had any grasp of history, they wouldn't have Deadpool in 4 titles until they knew he could maintain 2 for a year.
- 5 issues of ASM plus WEB and other side titles; Spider-Man's also a franchise that cannot sustain as many books as it used to, but Marvel seems to have missed the hint.
- It was inevitable that THOR got a spin-off, but SIF? Hmm.
- SIEGE #3 naturally has a bombastic pledge in the solicit, and we know that no Marvel event issue has ever lived up to them, and it makes me wonder why they bother. Now, I'll likely read this, but I am under no delusions that Bendis will write a story that doesn't end like absolute crap and he has written nearly every character wrong. I figure if I am going to spring for one SIEGE book, it may as well be the main one.
- MIGHTY AVENGERS looks good, with Ultron. Curious if it will serve as an epilogue of sorts from ANNIHILATION CONQUEST, whether Jocasta will still have her programmed "urges" to rebuild Ultron like she had in the late 90's in IRON MAN, or what. At any rate, Ultron's a big Avengers villain and I look forward to Slott's take on him. I also will be shocked if Coipel can get in 4 issues without a delay, especially if the issues will have more than 22 pages in all of them. Lenil Yu he isn't.
- The last two FRONTLINES have been crap, so let's go for a fourth and just retitle it. Brilliant.
- I think NEW AVENGERS #63 sort of kills an earlier story in which Luke Cage was seemingly dying. Guess he doesn't. Man, they don't even cut Bendis a narrative break, and he's their bread and butter.
- AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #34 looks terrific; more Gage goodness, Jorge Molina filling in for Sandoval (who may be on ULTIMATE SECRET now), and Taskmaster vs. Captain America. To be blunt, Taskmaster needs some genuine wins to add to his new rep. The last time he defeated any impressive opponent was his own mini at the start of the decade where he tossed Iron Man around. He did "beat" Skrullowjacket and Stature once, but that doesn't really count. The last two opponents he fought solo were Deadpool and Moon Knight, and he was humiliated by both. Considering his DC counterpart, Deathstroke, would probably be allowed to beat Wonder Woman with a bo-staff, that's unacceptable. Still, I don't expect Taskmaster to beat Captain America. The best he can do is hold Cap to a draw, or at least beat some Avengers near Steve so that the loss doesn't effect his rep, which has only recently recovered thanks to Gage. I mean the Hood was literally using all of the fans talking points against Taskmaster in the last issue: he's just a copy-cat who always runs from a fight. It's time that's changed.
- I love how Marvel continues to stroke Gillen on THOR, even though he is only there to wrap up JMS' run that he was too important to finish while being seen as trusted enough to tow editorial line through SIEGE for THOR, and after the book will more than likely go to Matt Fraction. I pity the guy, I really do. Like how I pitied Dwayne McDuffie, stuck in the run between JMS and Millar on FF, whose run was supposed to shore things up between big-shots and which is mostly forgotten. Five years from now, anything Gillen does on THOR will be mistakenly attributed to JMS or Fraction. It was a shame because considering I never read anything Gillen wrote before, his debut issue of THOR was quite good; better than the last, I don't know, 2-4 of JMS'. He has what I call a "Gerald Ford Run", a run that is almost by accident, is very short, is mostly spent cleaning up the last guy's mess, and will only be fondly recalled in hindsight, and under-appreciated in present. Don't get me wrong, Fraction will be solid on THOR and he has enough of a name to carry it better, but it is kind of an insult that Marvel clearly has no faith in Gillen to carry the book for long. He'll really have no chance to write any of his own ideas for THOR between JMS clean up and SIEGE tie-in's.
- I planned on only reading Jeff Parker's THUNDERBOLTS run for the AGENTS OF ATLAS, but I may stick around with it for SIEGE, if only because two issues in have proven quite good. U.S. Agent vs. Scourge sounds excellent considering the reveal of who Scourge is with last week's issue, and could prove to be the first thing written with Walker in years that isn't just playing him for laughs because he's a Right Winger (which even Slott does).
- Part of me is bemused how Marvel is celebrating their heroines without the quiet omission that they literally have NO HEROINES of any standing who aren't either female versions of Male heroes or members on a team who have never carried their own book for very long. Granted, aside for WONDER WOMAN, DC really can't claim any different, but...at least they do have Wonder Woman. On the other hands, your odds of being raped, mutilated and killed for shock value as a heroine have become higher at DC than at Marvel, so I guess it cancels out (that, and Power Girl being her own one-woman boob joke). Quick, name me any Marvel heroine who is known for her mind.
- Great to see CAPTAIN AMERICA return monthly, editorial muck-ups with REBORN aside. I pity Luke Ross for having to make Steve Rogers, James Barnes and Grand Director look distinct in any close up shot since 2 out of 3 have the exact same costume and all 3 have the exact same cowl. And no, Barnes having no ears showing doesn't count; I'll hate having to look back at a panel for 3 minutes to find that to figure out he is talking. It'll be a mess unless they have some sort of obvious sticker on their masks. Still, once REBORN is past us and we've swallowed the bitter pill, it should be back to greatness for CA monthly.
- DOOMWAR will likely be pointless and unimportant. It has no tie-in's and is written by someone I have never heard of. John Romita covers are usually desperation ploys to get people to care about something if he doesn't also draw the interiors. Shame, if any villain could carry an event, it'd be Dr. Doom.
- THE MYSTIC HANDS OF DOCTOR STRANGE sounds like an erotic movie title, not a comic book. But then again, so did SECRET INVASION and GIANT-SIZE MAN-THING.
- More Jeff Parker! More AGENTS OF ATLAS as they fight some time-flung Avengers for whatever reason. Meanwhile, pleasantly amazed that Marvel Boy/Uranian is getting his own mini series. Surely Marvel can't expect it to sell beyond 12k. Still, their editorial board really loves the Agents and they're pumping them out almost as often as Deadpool lately despite a canceled title. If the Agents never catch on, it'll be on us fans and our retailers, not their efforts to support a noble franchise.
- MARVELS PROJECT will likely still be good.
- THE TWELVE: SPEARHEAD, a one shot featuring the characters and artist of THE TWELVE, the 12 issue mini JMS didn't feel like finishing after issue #8 and inked issues of #9 have popped up online like a Loch Ness Monster hoax for nearly 10 months. Marvel has some cajones expecting anyone to buy this considering they never bothered to ever finish THE TWELVE proper, even through a ghost writer. Hey, why not have Gillen wrap up for JMS there, too! If he has to mop up for the BABYLON FIVE-TARD for one book, why not another?
- BREAKING INTO COMICS THE MARVEL WAY sounds interesting. I'll save you $6 if you're an aspiring writer; publish your own indie comic, or write a successful screenplay or TV series. There is literally no other way to get in short of being an intern or delivering Bendis' child. No big two company accepts submissions, and while an artist has a portfolio, there is no way to quickly judge a writer's work without reading hours of scripts/stories. Even Bendis had to toil around the indie circuit for years before landing at Marvel.
- VENGEANCE OF THE MOON KNIGHT #6 will hopefully give us a good idea of the rest of the run. It's off to a better start than I expected.
- Looks like Magus isn't quite dead in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #24, which means that hopefully his victims (like Cosmo) aren't quite dead either? At any rate, looks good.
- NOVA #35's cover looks like the end of a rough battle, or the beginning of a superhero hot-tub party. At any rate, curious how Abnett & Lanning wrap up their big revamp of the Sphinx.
- REALM OF KINGS: INHUMANS #5 wraps up and I am curious if Maximus will revert back to full on villain again. To be fair, considering how many of the Inhumans are jerks in one way or another, him as king may not be THAT bad.
