Marvel Preview Review for August Part 2 of 3

Part 2 - in which Greg gets his Franken-Castle

AVENGERS & THE INFINITY GAUNTLET #1 (of 4)
Written by BRIAN CLEVINGER Penciled by BRIAN CHURILLA Cover by HUMBERTO RAMOS
The evil THANOS has acquired the Infinity Gems, granting him control over the entire universe. He’s destroyed half the population of all worlds. The only force standing in his way? THE AVENGERS! But how can a ragtag group of heroes and villains (!) overpower the unstoppable? Check out the non-stop, pulse-pounding, white-knuckling action brought to you by Brian Clevinger (Atomic Robo) and Brian Churilla (Rex Mundi, The Anchor)! 40 PGS./ $2.99
Jim: We have the Thanos Imperative and now we have this series. I’m confused by these type of series Marvel is throwing out there, what is the point?
Lee: I’m with you on this one. What is this about? It sounds like the Infinity Gauntlet 20 years later. Since I read the original, I’ll probably pass on this version.
Greg: They’re all agers and serve as a back catalog, but I think the real use is it gives them a chance to test drive new writers. I’m actually interested in this cause I love what Clevinger’s done with Atomic Robo.

SHADOWLAND #2 (of 5)
Written by ANDY DIGGLE Penciled by BILLY TAN
DAREDEVIL #509
Written by ANDY DIGGLE & ANTONY JOHNSTON
Penciled by ROBERTO DE LA TORRE
SHADOWLAND TIE-IN!
SHADOWLAND: BULLSEYE #1
Written by JOHN LAYMAN Penciled by SEAN CHEN
SHADOWLAND: MOON KNIGHT #1 (of 3)
Written by GREGG HURWITZ Penciled by BONG DAZO
SHADOWLAND: POWER MAN #1 (of 4)
Written by FRED VAN LENTE Penciled by MAHMUD ASRAR
SHADOWLAND: BLOOD ON THE STREETS #1 (of 4)
Written by ANTONY JOHNSTON Penciled by WELLINTON ALVES
SHADOWLAND: DAUGHTERS OF THE SHADOW #1 (of 3)
Written by JASON HENDERSON
Pencils by IVAN RODRIGUEZ
Jim: Dear Marvel, I f**king hate you. See I don’t follow a lot of your books but Daredevil has been a series that I enjoyed for the most part. It was a solid stand alone title and was still a $3 book. Now we started Shadowland. I was leery, but that an odd extra add-on mini-series for an extra $4 was something I could stomach for five months. Now we get to August and I see you are asking me to buy an additional five books for $4 each. Do I at least get dinner and a movie why you try and have sex with me??? Come on man. Seven books to get the whole story after I was locked into just following Daredevil. Screw it, I’m dropping Daredevil and not getting Shadowland and I’ll read reviews and buy the trades down the road on sale if they are any good. Sincerely Jim.
Lee: Wow. Really? Ummmm, I not sure I have anything to add after that. Ummm, yeah. Maybe less coffee before picking Marvel books. That’s a good step in the right direction.
Jim’s got a point though. Daredevil was the only stand alone book left and now that even done. So, if I want to read Daredevil, I am now committed to 20 books, not counting the Daredevil main book. I guess I’m done with Daredevil.
Greg: Dear Marvel, Jim doesn’t mean it. He gets this way when his Legion comics are terrible. I don’t understand the fuss here. This isn’t Daredevil tying into a major event. This is a major event based in Daredevil and done by the creative team. I’ve enjoyed the creative team’s run, so I’ll probably pick up the mini series and maybe the DD book during the crossover. I doubt you’ll need to read Blood on the Streets to understand the main book, just like you didn’t need to read Superman Blackest Night to understand that. Clam down guys.

DAREDEVIL: BLACK & WHITE #1
Written by PETER MILLIGAN, RICK SPEARS & ANN NOCENTI
Penciled by JASON LATOUR, MICK BERTILORENZI & DAVID AJA
Cover by DAVID AJA
Daredevil, the blind avenger of Hell’s Kitchen faces a life changing decision when he is presented with the chance to see again. But at what cost will Matt regain his sight? Guest starring Bullseye! The Kingpin of crime, ever the Machiavellian mastermind, uses lawyer Matt Murdock’s quest for justice against him in a deadly money-making scheme. And the Man Without Fear finds himself embroiled in a gang war in Japan. All this and much more in this all-new, all-black-and-white one-shot in the spirit of the Mighty Marvel Magazines of yore, but ALL-NOW in style! 32 PGS./One-Shot/ $3.99
Lee: Let me start by saying I really do think this is a good idea. No snark. If any character can be done in b&W then it’s Daredevil! Remember when DC did this with Batman? They had all star writers and all star artists. It was b&w Batman by Jim Lee, Simonson, Bernet, Bisley and a host of excellent artists. So, Marvel lined up good writers and.. who the F* is drawing this book? Aja has done one stint on Iron Fist and while I liked his work he’s not a superstar. And the other two??? Good grief, where’s the hook to buy this if they put unknowns on it???
Greg: I’d actually check this out. Marvel’s put out B&W books for Ares, Shang Chi, and Dr. Strange and they’ve all been really fun, capturing that low-fi seventies vibe. And Aja is a phenomenal artist. If he’s not a superstar in the industry, he’s a superstar…. in my heart.
Jim: Aja is a very good artist and as far as I'm concerned I will buy a book for his art, but not just a part of a book by Aja. I'm with Lee, great idea, poor execution.

FRANKEN-CASTLE #20
Written by RICK REMENDER Penciled by MIKE HAWTHORNE Cover by SIMONE BIANCHI
“PUNISHMENT,” part 4 The Punisher and Wolverine must kill Daken! In hunting Dark Wolverine, Frank Castle has unwittingly given him the thing he needed most to complete his mission of retribution. On the rooftops of Tokyo, The Punisher, in a broken body, and his unwitting partner Wolverine, his healing factor negated, fight against a vengeful son reborn in the Exo-Mind! Dear lord is it going to get bloody. 32 PGS./ $2.99
Jim: I’m choosing Franken-Castle, because we added Greg into the comments section, you’ll understand very soon.
Lee: Yeah, Greg. Say something nice. I dare ya! I double dog dare ya!!!
Greg: OHMANYOUGUYS IBETFRANKENCASTLEISGONNAPUNCH DAKENSOHARDINTHEFACE ANDITSGOINGTOBETOTALLYSWEET!!!!1!11!!!!!!!

INCREDIBLE HULK #611
Written by GREG PAK Penciled by PAUL PELLETIER
Wraparound Cover by JOHN ROMITA JR.
Variant Cover by DALE KEOWN
THE HULK HAS RETURNED. And three years of epic storytelling explodes as GREK PAK and PAUL PELLETIER bring you the biggest conclusion imaginable--SKAAR, SON OF HULK, finally confronts the father who abandoned him at birth in pain and fire. It's the heartrending, senses-shattering climax to WORLD WAR HULKS--and the Incredible Hulks will never be the same! 40 PGS./ $3.99
Lee: So, if Marvel kills off Skarr (please, please, please) does this mean there’s one less minority in the Marvel U and they’ll be an uprising on the blogosphere? Marvel’s racist towards green people! They killed Jarella! She was green. They’ve been trying to kill the Hulk for 40+ years. It’s systematic repression of green people.
Greg: Shhh… Dan Didio is getting ideas about Brianiac 6…
Jim: It's Brainiac 5, and they already killed Martian Manhunter - green people - look out.

MARVEL UNIVERSE VS. THE PUNISHER #1 & 2 (of 4)
Written by JONATHAN MABERRY
Pencils & Cover by GORAN PARLOV
The creative team of Jonathan Maberry and Goran Parlov take you on a journey into the darkest territory in this Marvel Knights limited series.
A terrible plague has swept the Earth, turning everyone – human, hero, villain, god and monster — into sadistic cannibal predators. As Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Thing and other infected start a feeding frenzy, the world falls in a wave of insatiable violence. Now, five years later, one man hunts the wasteland that was New York City. One man stands against the hordes of monsters who hunt the night. He is the Punisher, the Last Gun on Earth. And he has an endless supply of ammunition. 32 PGS.(each)/ $3.99 (each)
Jim: Hey Joe, the Zombie series has been selling lot hotcakes even up to a fifth mini-series. The Marvel Universe vs The Punisher idea has not been beaten until it is dead yet so how about this… At least that is how I imagine the pitch went for this series.
Lee: Between Infinity Gauntlet 2 (Or is it 4?) and this Marvel is thin on new ideas this month. Need I remind people that Marvel did Punisher v. the Marvel Universe by Garth Ennis? Anyone remember that book? Oh wait. My bad, that was Punisher KILLS the Marvel Universe. Completely different. So that means this must be good.
Greg: As much as I love Gordon Parlov drawing the Punisher killing people, I’m guessing this will miss the point of what made the first Punisher kills the MU so entertaining.

The conclusion tomorrow!