Friday, July 22, 2011

Marvel Preview Review for September Part 2 of 2

Continued from yesterday...

UNCANNY X-MEN #543
Written by Kieron Gillen
Pencils & Cover by GREG LAND
FEAR ITSELF TIE-IN.  No one can stop Colossus! The Juggernaut has become Kuurth, Breaker of Stone, one of the Worthy. Now more powerful than ever, one of the X-Men’s greatest enemies rampages through San Francisco. To stop him, Colossus makes a deal with the demon lord Cytorrak—the being that imbued Juggernaut with his power. Can this deal be one Colossus can back out of at the fight's end? Prepare for the clash of two unstoppable forces! Part 4 (of 4).  32 PGS./ $3.99
Lee: As a fan of pointless hitting and punching comics… yes, I loved the Red Hulk… my inner fanboy thinks this will be great. JuggerColossus v. ThorHammerNaut. What’s not to love?
Greg: Gillen's run on X-Men has been really really strong so far, including the first chapter of this story arc. Looking forward to seeing how this story wraps up.

ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #1 & #2
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Penciled by Sara Pichelli
Covers by Kaare Andrews
(Issue #1 Cover will be POLYBAGGED) Issue #1 Variant Cover by Sara Pichelli
32 PGS. (each)/$3.99 (each)
ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN #1
Written by Nick Spencer
Penciled qnd Variant Cover by Paco Medina
Cover by KAARE ANDREWS (POLYBAGGED)
The biggest mutant cover-up has gone public as the true history of the x-gene is revealed. As an identity crisis rocks the mutant world, the mistrust between man and x-man gets deeper. But a bigger question remains: who are the X-Men? Nick Spencer and Paco Medina make their thunderous Ultimate debut in one of the most anticipated series yet!  32 PGS./ $3.99
Lee: And, even though I am interested, the Ultimates line has become the poster child for how to ruin a franchise. I am sure USM will be good. It always has been, but the second #1 in how many years is getting old. The same can be said of the UXmen. Was the last series even finished? I like Spencer so I will give it a chance but Marvel needs to decide what they are doing with these books.
Greg: Screw the DC reboot, this is what I'm excited about. I think this relaunch is a tacit acknowledgment of how badly messed up Ultimatum was. Now, we've got a bunch of interesting creators with strong visions taking over these books. Easily the most interesting creators on these books aside from Bendis in ages. Death of Spider-Man was super strong and Ultimate Fallout's first issue was amazing. I'm really excited to see if these other guys can build on that.

JOHN CARTER: A PRINCESS OF MARS #1 (of 5)
Based on the Novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Adaptation by Roger Langridge
Art by Filipe Andrade
Cover by Skottie Young
Captain John Carter finds himself on a strange new world where he must fight for his very life - and for the heart of a princess! Edgar Rice Burroughs' legendary novels come to life in this actionpacked, all-new re-envisioned adventure! Meet the Tharks, terrible warrior race of Mars! See Woola, the scariest guard dog you'll ever lay eyes upon! Gasp as John Carter battles the great white apes of Barsoom! And hold your breath as he first lays eyes upon the woman who will change his life forever - the proud and beautiful Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium! 32 PGS./ $2.99
Lee: Didn’t Dynamite just do this series? Is JC in public domain these days? I wouldn’t think so. Anyway, I have faith in Langridge to make this great. And hopefully the art won’t be as…. gratitous shall we say… as the last series.
Greg: I don't know who Dynamite put on that book, but this is a really strong creative team. Worth a look.

CASANOVA: AVARITIA #1 (of 4)
Written by MATT FRACTION
Pencils & Cover by GABRIEL BÁ
From the writer of Marvel's smash hit FEAR ITSELF and the artist of the best-selling book Umbrella Academy comes the FULL-COLOR rebirth of the coolest comic of all time -- CASANOVA IS BACK and NOW YOU can see what everybody's been talking about. THIS ISSUE: The world's sexiest and savviest superspy kills his way from dimension to dimension in a high-stakes, action-packed adventure that cannot be described in a mere hu-man "solicitation." !!! 32 ALL-NEW FULL-COLOR PAGES. 40 PGS./ $4.99
Lee: Love me some Casanova. This is great stuff and you really should be reading it.
Greg: YES YES A THOUSAND TIMES YES. This is a great book and the new coloring scheme they've been using has done a great job of keeping the original feel of the book while looking way better. Can't wait for this.

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. VOL. 3 HC
Written & Penciled by VARIOUS
Cover by JIM STERANKO
The MARVEL MASTERWORKS are proud to present the continuing adventures of Col. Nick Fury in the Swinging Sixties! Steranko’s last S.H.I.E.L.D. epic, “Whatever Happened to Scorpio?,” will dazzle you before we launch into a new era of adventures including a moon-busting space mission, a mind-bending trip Fury may never come back from and a sub-earth battle with Supremus! Then, Nick Fury faces one of his oldest enemies in the Hate-Monger (a.k.a. Adolf Hitler); the British invade as Steve Parkhouse and Barry Windsor-Smith offer the one-shot “Hell Hath No Fury;” and Hydra returns with its sights set on assassinating the S.H.I.E.L.D. director. It’s a cliffhanger that will shock and surprise you! Also packed with cool covers from the Colonel’s many S.H.I.E.L.D. reprint comics, and his appearance from MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #31, this Masterworks completes every fan’s classic Nick Fury library! Collecting NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. #4-15, AVENGERS #72 and MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #31  320 PGS./ $59.99
Lee: Masterworks aren’t for everyone and this is something of a mixed bag. Issue 5, ‘Whatever happened to Scorpio’ is the final Steranko issue and is a masterpiece. But the rest of the book is very hit or miss. And except for an issue with some of BWS’s first art, most of it is forgettable. I guess this is really only for completists.
Greg: This is crazy stuff, but at that price point, I'm going to have to hold off. But everyone should read Steranko's last issue, its incredible.

S.H.I.E.L.D.: NICK FURY VS. S.H.I.E.L.D. PREMIERE HC
Written by BOB HARRAS
Penciled by PAUL NEARY
Covers by MARK BRIGHT & JIM STERANKO
When the world peacekeeping agency S.H.I.E.L.D. goes corrupt to its core, it falls to one man to save the day: eye-patch-wearin’, cigar-chompin’ spymaster Nick Fury! Starring all your favorite S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, from Jasper Sitwell to Dum-Dum Dugan! And featuring the combined threats of the Roxxon corporation, the techno-terrorist organization A.I.M. and the never-ending evil of Hydra! Collecting NICK FURY VS. S.H.I.E.L.D. #1-6.  304 PGS./ $39.99
Lee: This is one of those books that I really want for nostalgic reasons, but I don’t know if I can justify it. I seem to remember it being pretty good. The problem is that the art was only ok because Neary is a good, but not spectacular artist. I’ll have to think about this.
Greg: Written by Bob Harras? Pass.

MARVEL GHOST STORIES GN-TPB
Written & Penciled by VARIOUS
Cover by GIL KANE
Ghosts of heroes and villains alike gather in this set of sinister stories! Legacies of two World Wars haunt Captain America and Ghost Rider! Evil travels through time and space to plague the Silver Surfer and the West Coast Avengers! Hellstorm, Prince of Lies, and Dracula, Lord of Vampires, confront ghosts almost as fearsome as they are! Plus: the eerie odyssey of John Kowalski, spirit at large! Guest-starring DEATH! Collecting CAPTAIN AMERICA (1968) #326, GHOST RIDER (1973) #12, HELLSTORM (1993) #6, SILVER SURFER (1968) #8-9, TOMB OF DRACULA (1972) #23, WAR IS HELL #9 and WEST COAST AVENGERS (1985) #41. 176 PGS./ $19.99
Lee: Ok, this collection is squarely aimed at long time readers like me. But, I can’t figure out any rhyme or reason for the selection of stories. It covers 3 decades, various genres, and an uneven, at best, assortment of writers and artists. I like the idea of the book, but the execution leaves something to be desired.
Greg: I'm glad this appeals to someone, cause that is a strange collection of stuff.

STRANGE TALES II TPB
Written by VARIOUS
Cover by KATE BEATON
Wolverine is the best there is at what he does — fighting in mutant-mixed-martial-arts tournaments, handing out relationship advice and eating hot dogs! Spider-Man issues the ultimate challenge to one of his deadliest enemies — an invitation to the prom! The Mighty Thor forges a powerful new alliance — with a cleverly disguised farm animal! Fear not, Friends of Old Marvel — you haven’t fallen prey to the illusions of Loki. You’ve simply discovered STRANGE TALES II! A band of the best and brightest talents in independent, alternative and online comics joins forces with the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for a sequel to the acclaimed STRANGE TALES anthology, one that critics are calling “better than any of the previous run” (Douglas Wolk, Time.com’s Techland). Hilarious, haunting and horrifying — sometimes all at once — it’s Marvel gone strange! Collecting STRANGE TALES II #1-3. 152 PGS./ $19.99
Lee: If you aren’t into fancy oversized hc’s like me, then this is the way to go. Strange Tales is just an excellent collection of really off kilter stories by indie creators. My personal favourite is the story about the group of skrulls playing poker with the Silver Surfer while Galactus devours their planet. And, they’re skrulls so of course they cheat. Great stuff.
Greg: This is amazing stuff and most of it is pretty entertaining. Kate Beaton drawing Marvel heroes is worth the price of admission alone.

Lee: Wow.  A whole month of feel goodiness.  I feel... feel... dirty.  Like I just lied to myself for two whole days.  Don't expect this to last.
Greg: Lee's negativity dragged me down in the first part, but I think I recovered nicely today. Its much better being nice, right Lee?

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