Marvel Preview Review for November Part 1 of 2

Lee: I’m sorry, there were way too many stupid covers to ignore so this isn’t a pick fest as much as it’s a snark fest!
Jim: Well often snarking is what we do best. I mean it is always easier to be a critic, then a creator, plus sometimes it is fun to be a critic and sometimes people earn the criticism.

THE MARVELS PROJECT #4 (of 8) Written by ED BRUBAKER Penciled by STEVE EPTING Cover by STEVE MCNIVEN Cover by STEVE EPTING
Project Rebirth begins! As 98 pound weakling Steve Rogers finally enters the picture, Nazi spies move in the shadows onto US soil...and the Angel comes close to finding the man who's murdering masked heroes. 32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99
Lee: Good news! We’ve hit all new blood and gore lows. This fine example of a man burning to death trumps many a gut-shot Punisher cover. As always, I wonder who approves this drivel.
Jim: See I’m reading this book and Lee is not. The guy burning is Jim Hammond the Golden Age Human Torch who is trying to be a policeman. So the cover actually makes sense.
Lee: That's true, I'm not reading this and I kinda assumed it was the Human Torch. But, it's not clear. If I didn't know better, it appears to be a burning policeman. Maybe, once the book is published, the text will clarify the situation.

ENDER'S GAME: COMMAND SCHOOL #3 (of 5) Creative Director ORSON SCOTT CARD Written by CHRISTOPHER YOST Pencils & Cover by PASQUAL FERRY
The end is coming... Ender has beaten everything the teachers of Battle School have thrown at him, but victory comes with a price. Because while many see Ender as humanity's only hope against the coming alien invasion...others see him as a threat. And Bonzo Madrid plans to eliminate that threat, permanently. 32 PGS./Parental Advisory ...$3.99
Lee: Then again, nothing screams buy me like young boys in towels beating each other up. Aaahh yes, it brings back fond memories of sunny days, and cold showers in juvie!
Jim: I never knew Lee had time in juvie, learn something new everyday. Certainly not a cover to draw in new readers.

ANITA BLAKE, THE LAUGHING CORPSE - EXECUTIONER #2 (of 5) Written by Laurell K. Hamilton & Jessica Ruffner Penciled by Ron Lim Cover by Harvey Tolibao
Best-Selling author Laurell K. Hamilton's thriller continues!Anita Blake has figured out mysterious businessman Harold Gaynor's endgame--and her role in it--and let's just say it ain't pretty. But now Gaynor has the animator dead to rights...and he's not all that particular about HOW he's going to make Anita realize his criminal plans. Is this the final count for everyone's favorite vampire hunter?32 PGS./Mature ...$3.99
Lee: Now for something at the complete opposite end of the spectrum, we have this wholesome titbit. I’m surprised Greg Horn wasn’t available to draw the cover!
Jim: Gwen read some of Anita Blake’s books and apparently they degenerate into soft core pornography, so this cover probably is at least true to the story, if not a picture of a fantasy for me in some distant future.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #611 Written by JOE KELLYPenciled by ERIC CANETE Cover by SKOTTIE YOUNG
Deadpool-Man, Deadpool-Man - does whatever a Deadpool can...spins a web any size - but not really...Deadpool's don't have webs. Look out! Here comes the Deadpool-Man! What force on Earth has brought the Merc with a Mouth and the Webheaded Wonder closer together than Quesada and Twitter? And how does it tie to the upcoming Spider story The Gauntlet?! And finally - WHO IS LADY STILT-MAN?! Joe Kelly (DEADPOOL CLASSIC; This issue of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN) and Eric Canete (IRON MAN: ENTER THE MANDARIN) bring you 2079's top Marvel Comic of the last 70 years (sorry, Dazzler #500)!32 PGS./Rated A ...$2.99
Lee: AWESOME COVER! Skottie Young has perfectly captured the ridiculous costumes of the nineties. I love the monster sized shoulder pad. Excellent. I’m serious, this is a good cover.
Jim: I agree, this is just an outstanding cover. Now I’m still not going to buy the book or read Spider-Man again, but great cover.

DARK REIGN: THE LIST - AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Written by DAN SLOTT Pencils & Cover by ADAM KUBERT
Norman Osborn has saved the best for last as he takes on the most personal item on his evil To-Do list. The violent tension between Spider-Man and Norman has grown for years and has been building to a boil for the last few months after Osborn's last defeat at Spidey's hands at the end of America Son. Norman can no longer put off what needs to be done. Plus, the story from Pulse #5 outing Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin to the world.48 PGS./One-Shot/Rated A ...$3.99
Lee: And to balance out the normal Skottie Young cover, we have the “bloody knife in chest” cover. Love this stuff!!!
Jim: Not so much a fan of this. I guess as the list has progressed I have the feeling this books are less and less relevant to what I want, which is the end of Dark Reign. Plus we know Spider-Man does not die, so any shock value is lost.

DEATHLOK #1 (of 7) Written by CHARLIE HUSTON Penciled by LAN MEDINA Cover by BRANDON
In the not-too-distant future, war is a spectator sport, warriors die hard and live fast, and living larger than anyone is super-soldier Lieutenant Mike Travers. That is, until Travers hotdogs it on the battlefield and gets himself and his C.O., Luther Manning, blown to bits. The show must go on. Enter: Deathlok the Demolisher!!!32 PGS./Parental Advisory ...$3.99

Lee: Let’s stop talking covers and talk books. Huston did an amazing job revamping Moon Knight. That was one of the best books of the past couple of years. Now he’s moving on to Deathlok and I’m along for the ride. This should be very, very good.
Jim: I want to try this book out, but the $4 for 32 pages is causing me to pause and probably hold out for the trade.


FANTASTIC FOUR #573 Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN Penciled by DALE EAGLESHAM Cover by ALAN DAVIS
Adventures on Nu Earth! Ben and Johnny have big plans for a much needed vacation in the company of refugees from the future - booze, ladies, misadventures...and two stowaways named Franklin and Val.32 PGS./Rated A ...$2.99
Lee: While I’m not completely sold on the new FF, this is a beautiful cover by Alan Davis. Davis manages to perfectly capture the essence of the FF in one splash better than some artists do in 32 pages.
Jim: Alan Davis is a great artist and I enjoyed his book about the last adventure of the Fantastic Four a few years ago. Jonathan Hickman on the FF is actually working out very well so far.

HULK #17 Written by JEPH LOEB Pencils & Cover by IAN CHURCHILL
Superstars JEPH LOEB and IAN CHURCHILL bring you the final chapter of CODE RED. Is RED HULK strong enough to throw down with WOLVERINE, PUNISHER, DEADPOOL, the all-new RED SHE-HULK, and more? Find out, as new secrets are revealed as the stage is set for WORLD WAR HULKS.32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

Lee: Because that’s what the world needed! A RED She Hulk. Yeah baby, I sense more pointless hero hitting villain excitement in my future.
Jim: If I remember, Lee likes this book, where I have avoided it like the plague that it is. Loeb is a highly overrated writer.

ASSAULT ON NEW OLYMPUS Written by GREG PAK & FRED VAN LENTE Penciled by RODNEY BUCHEMI Cover by ADI GRANOV
Hercules! Spider-Man! Ares! New Avengers! Wolverine! Mighty Avengers! The Agents of Atlas! If there's a bigger event this fall, we don't know what it could be! At long last, the Prince of Power takes the fight to his villainous stepmother Hera and the forces of the Olympus Group -- just as she unleashes the most terrifying threat the Marvel Universe has ever seen! But first Herc has to gather together a star-studded strike force from the ranks of the New and the Mighty Avengers! First on the list: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN! But why is Everyone's Friendly Neighborhood fighting against Hercules? Has he joined the side of the dark gods? It's webs and wisecracks versus Olympian power in this super-sized one-shot! (There will be major property damage, we guarantee.) Plus: The iHerc team proudly welcomes our new INCREDIBLE HERCULES on-going back-up feature... THE AGENTS OF ATLAS, written by fan favorite scribe Jeff Parker! When the forces of New Olympus target Venus, will Jimmy Woo lead his team into the fray for or against Hercules' forces? 48 PGS./One-Shot/Rated T+ ...$3.99
INCREDIBLE HERCULES #138 Written by GREG PAK & FRED VAN LENTE Penciled by RODNEY BUCHEMI Wraparoudn Cover by ADI GRANOV
ASSAULT ON NEW OLYMPUS: Part 1 (of 4)A battle of god-like proportions begins...right now! For months, the signs have been all over the Marvel Universe... The tension has been rising... All pointing to a single question: "What is CONTINUUM?" The answer turns out to be so deadly, so horrifying, that it will alter the course of the MU forever -- unless Hercules and the New and Mighty Avengers can stop it in time... but standing in their way is the fighting-mad ARES, God of War! "And, in our backup tale, there's no love for Venus as Aphrodite's rain of pain continues to pour on the Agents of Atlas!"40 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

Lee: It’s books like these that make me hate modern collecting! Seriously, you couldn’t tell the story in the Hercules book? You have to add on a one shot? This is just another way to screw the fan. I don’t buy this but it saddens me that lots of people do.
Jim: Not sure what the point of the one shot is or why it is not part of the regular series.
Lee: Very odd, did you notice that Agents of Atlas is now a backup feature? Do the main series is cancelled????
Jim: Yes it did. It ended with issue #12, went to a two part Agents of Atlas vs X-Men (still to come out) and is now relegated to a back-up. It really bums me out as I have loved Agents of Atlas and hope that they make it back to their own series one day.

PART 2 Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you tomorrow it’s only a day away.