Marvel Preview Review for August Part 1 of 3

For those who care - we are doing Marvel before DC this month.

Jim: Change is the only constant. I start with that homily because this month has two changes regarding Marvel. First there is not a single new series I’m adding to my list and I’m not ordering a single trade or hardcover collection. Second we are adding Greg to the panel of commentators to try and give Marvel a chance as I’m a harsh critic and Lee is just a critic of the entire long john set. Greg has some love left in his heart for Marvel, but he is young.
Lee: Yahhoooo. New blood. No pressure Greg but you’re supposed to be the positive spin guy. I wonder how long before Jim and I wear you down.
Greg: I’m sure we’ll be doing a preview reviews from the post apocalyptic future where Sentinels rule the earth and you’ve broken my spirit in very short order. In the meantime, FACE FRONT TRUE BELIEVERS!!!!

DEADPOOL #1000
Written by DAVE LAPHAM, PETER BAGGE, ADAM GLASS, HOWARD CHAYKIN, FRED VAN LENTE, ROB WILLIAMS & MORE!
Penciled by JEROME OPENA, PACO MEDINA & PHILP BOND, DAVE LAPHAM, PETER BAGGE, HOWARD CHAYKIN & MORE!
Cover by DAVE JOHNSON
Has it really been 100 issues since Deadpool #900? Who cares! Some of comics’ top creators take aim at the Merc with a Mouth in this massive 104-page special that pits the Deadpool against a cavalcade of baddies – including urban cannibals…underage hit men…mimes from outer space…and Lady Luck herself. 104 PGS./ $4.99

Jim: Maybe Greg can tell me, when does this joke get stale? Marvel was the one who started to make a joke out of numbering by having a book hit number 200 or whatever by counting up every appearance by a character or some such stuff. Next it was with Deadpool as a joke and recently we had Wolverine 900 and now this stuff continues on and on. Why not do a series where every issue is #1?
Lee: YIKES! If this is how we’re starting I don’t wanna be in the middle. All that’s gonna happen is I got shot at. I like Greg and all but I’m not taking a bullet for the boy. Good luck, welcome to the Marvel review. Yer on yer own.
Greg: I kind of like that they have made the fact that they are publishing so many Deadpool books as the basis for some of those very books. Its all very meta. I’m sure Grant Morrison would approve. Deadpool #900 and #1,000 are clearly jokes, so I’m ok with that. But I think somebody missed the point with Wolverine #900. In any case, that is actually a pretty good set of creative teams and I enjoyed Deadpool #900, so why not? Its just a one shot.

ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS 3 #1 (of 6)
Written by MARK MILLAR
Pencils, Villain Variant Cover by STEVE DILLON
Cover, Foilogram Variant Cover by LEINIL FRANCIS YU
Blade is back in a bad way and that can only mean one thing: vampires are afoot! Somebody is leaving behind a bloody trail of bite marks and Blade’s stake-ready to take them on. Could the mysterious figure donned in an iron suit have something to do with it? And who exactly is the new figure leaping around down in a devil costume? As the Avengers get deeper into black ops, there’s no telling who’ll be thirsting for blood and who’ll be next on the menu! 32 PGS./ $3.99

Jim: See Marvel makes their stuff impossible to follow. Is Ultimate Avengers now a series of mini-series or what the frell is it? I’m so glad I have stopped getting any Ultimate book.
Lee: Actually, this is probably the best way to run an Ultimate Avengers series. Marvel can put top name creators on it for a limited time. Each story is, for the most part, self contained and the reader isn’t committed for any length of time. I’m not sold on Dillon as a superhero artist but other than that, it’s fine.
Greg: I can’t help you here guys. The Ultimate universe has become a bit of a morass since Ultimatum and really only follow Ultimate Spidey. Well, hard to follow or not, at least Jeph Loeb isn’t writing it.

ANITA BLAKE: CIRCUS OF THE DAMNED - THE CHARMER #4 (of 5)
Written by LAURELL K. HAMILTON & JESSICA RUFFNER
Penciled by RON LIM
Cover by BRETT BOOTH
ELECTRIC ANT #5 (of 5)
Written by DAVID MACK
Penciled by PASCAL ALIXE
Cover by PAUL POPE

Lee: Last month Gwen said the Anita Blake cover was creepy. So this month, we’ll give her options. She can choose between the hairless, but very muscular dude, on the cover of Anita Blake OR, she can choose the hairless dude with super-cool laser tits on the cover of Electric Ant. Now, we all know laser tits are obvious choice so to make it interesting Anita Blake actually has TWO hairless, but very muscular dudes, on the cover. So, do you think Gwen’s going for laser tits or a two-fer?
Greg: Taste would necessitate picking Paul Pope over Brett Booth on every day of the week that ends with a Y. Hey! Paul Pope! We got some indie talk in here! Aren’t we subversive!
Jim: Paul Pope is the superior artist, so he wins. Geez why are we talking about this again.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #640 & #641
Written by JOE QUESADA
Penciled by PAOLO MANUEL RIVERA & JOE QUESADA
Covers by PAOLO MANUEL RIVERA
Spidey Sunday Feature by STAN LEE & MARCOS MARTIN
Issue #640 & #641 Variant & Sketch Variant Cover by JOE QUESADA
Issue #640 Women of Marvel Variant by JELENA KEVIC-DJURDJEVIC
Issue #641 Women of Marvel Frame Variant by TBA
This is it! The startling conclusion to ONE MOMENT IN TIME! How did the world REALLY forget Peter Parker was Spider-Man? And what does the future hold for Peter & Mary Jane? Every question is answered, the past laid to rest, and Spider-Man swings into a new direction for the future! 40 PGS. (each)/ $3.99 (each)

Jim: The real thing wrong with this book is it is being written by Joe Quesada. Dan Didio has proven that executive editors should set direction and let their creators do their job. When the Executive Editor steps in and wants to write something who can say no to them. One More Day was a bad idea, but trying to explain sh*t away is not going to fix it, just writing good Spider-Man stories will generate fans to come back (not in my case, but others).
Lee: Aahhh, but here’s the rub. Greg is a Spiderman fan. Marvel lost you but gained him. And, based upon your current grouchy state I think they are happier to have Greg. I’m more annoyed by the 6 covers for the exact same book.
Greg: Y’know, Spider-Man is not bad right now, and I am ALWAYS happy to get comics drawn by Rivera, but it doesn’t help when you poke the wound One More Day left with a stick! I might be convinced if a better writer was handling this, but in my admittedly limited experience with Quesada’s writing, I doubt he has the finesse needed to not make this enormously frustrating. I’ll check it out for Rivera’s art, but this is a BAD IDEA.

SKY DOLL: LACRIMA CHRISTI #2 (of 2)
Written by ALESSANDRO BARBUCCI & BARBARA CANEPA
Pencils by GRADIMIR SMUDJA, AFIF KHALED & ENRIQUE FERNANDEZ
Cover by ENRIQUE FERNANDEZ

Lee: Ummmm, yeah. I read Sky Doll because it has this really intense plot about church and state and ummm some uummm science fictiony stuff…. And there’s lots of explosions. It’s really cool. I don’t buy just because of the cover.
Greg: Of course not. Its not that the cover keeps you company on lonely nights and whispers sweet nothings in your ear. They’re all out to get you anyway. You and Sky Doll will show them, yes, yessssss…..
Jim: Lee you have never even opened this comic. Let's face it the cover of this book is your friend and you have no clue what the story is about.

SPIDER-GIRL: THE END! #1
Written by TOM DEFALCO
Pencils & Cover by RON FRENZ
THIS IS IT! In a story spanning the history of the MC2 Universe, witness the battle you've been waiting for as Mayday Parker takes on her own clone, April! The fate of the Parker family hangs in the balance -- and so does an entire universe! The last stand of the Amazing Spider-Girl is here! 40 PGS./One-Shot/$3.99

Jim: So Matthew loves this series and I have to wonder if he likes the idea of this book or does he think it is just another one of Marvel’s “The End” books which have no impact on any “real” continuity for a series.
Lee: HEY HEY What’s going on up there? Blasting Greg is one thing but Matthew’s not even here to defend himself. Yeesh.
That said, I see why Matthew likes it. It isn’t crushed by continuity and you can actually read it with your kids which is more than 75% of Marvel’s other offerings. It’s solid, late bronze age storytelling.
Greg: Can you hear Matthew’s heart breaking? Kudos to Spider-Girl’s fans for keeping this alive so long and kudos to Marvel for publishing such a niche title. And Matthew should breathe a sigh of relief, at least Joey Q isn’t writing this to drive up sales.

To be continued...........