Marvel Preview Review for February 2011 Part 1of 2

Lee: Another month, another lam basting of Marvel. I know your busy Greg but maybe you should take over the picking duties.
Greg's innermost thoughts and feelings according to Wikipedia: FrankenCastleFrankenCastleFrankenCastleFrankenCastleFrankenCastleFrankenCastleFrankenCastleFrankenCastleFrankenCastleFrankenCastleMoreFrankenCastleWhycan'twegetmoreFrankenCastle...
Greg's REAL innermost thoughts and feelings via Wikileaks: OH NO LEE. I could never do that. You are too good at it. You are the best. I eagerly read your comments, then study them, then read them again, then analy... anazi.... study them some more. I can only hope to achieve your level of whit and comic knowledability someday.

AVENGERS #10
Written by Brian Michael Bendis Pencils & Cover by John Romita Jr.
The Infinity Gauntlet is back! And no power on the Earth can stop it! It is sentences like these that made Stan Lee invent the phrase: ‘Nuff Said!! Another pulse-pounding, Earth-shattering chapter from Marvel's blockbuster superteam of Bendis and Romita Jr! Plus: Another illustrated chapter of the oral history of the Avengers!32 PGS./ $3.99
Lee: Oh wow, the Infinity Gauntlet is back. YAWN. I’m sorry but the gauntlet holds no fear anymore. Heck, the Pet Avengers just beat Thanos and the gauntlet a couple of months ago. It’s hard to be threatening when a bunch of dogs and cats beats you.
Greg: I know its fashionable to bash Bendis around these parts, but these Oral History of the Avengers back ups have been great. More interesting than 90% of the back up comics we've been getting. If we HAVE to get $3.99 books, could we please get more inventive back up material like this?

ANITA BLAKE: CIRCUS OF THE DAMNED—THE INGENUE #2 (of 5)
Written by Laurell K. Hamilton & Jess Booth
Pencils by Ron Lim Cover by Brett Booth
Things go from bad to worse for Anita Blake when a visit to the morgue turns into a bloodbath! Best-selling author Laurell K. Hamilton’s beloved heroine turns up the heat in this count-the-corpses chapter that will leaves fans begging for more! 32 PGS./ $3.99
Lee: I just realized that unlike every comic taking place in the Marvel U, which possess a cover with either shirtless women fighting or women in their underwear, Anita Blake always has shirtless men on every cover. I’m not sure I believe it when Gwen says, “I buy it for the story.”
Greg: Forget all that, this is drawn by Marvel Mainstay RON LIM. I still can't get my head around that.

IRON MAN 2.0 #1 & #2
Written by Nick Spencer Penciled by Barry Kitson
Covers by Salvador Larroca
Spinning directly out of Invincible Iron Man! New mission! New armor! New Iron Man! Lt. Col. James Rhodes is War Machine…the single most advanced one-man weapon of conventional combat. But wars aren’t fought the way they used to be – and when Rhodey has to face a mysterious enemy he can’t shoot, can’t bomb, can’t even see, he’s going to be forced to evolve…or die. Find out why War Machine becomes Iron Man 2.0 in the 3-part launch arc of this all-new ongoing series! By breakout sensation Nick Spencer (Morning Glories, Action Comics) and the legendary Barry Kitson!Issue One – 40 PGS./$3.99, Issue Two – 32 PGS./$2.99
Lee: I like Nick Spencer and I think he’s doing some good work but I worry that he is going to burn out. He’s got three or four books going right now and I worry that a lack of focus could impact all his writings.
Greg: I just lament the state of the comic industry that we don't trust fans to make the connection between Iron Man and War Machine.

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #500.1
Special POINT ONE issue.
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #654.1
Special POINT ONE issue.
WOLVERINE #5.1
Special POINT ONE issue
Lee: Thank goodness I am not a retailer! If the Minus One numbering wasn’t bad enough, now you have POINT ONE issues. Where in the heck are you supposed to put those in the long box? And, don’t even get me started on what a stupid idea this is…
Greg: A heavily promoted continuity free jumping on point isn't a bad idea, but the POINT ONE numbering thing is. I read comics in the 90's and I can't figure it out.
Lee: And, just to single the ASM out for super special stupidity, don't you think if you have a "JUMPING ON POINT," the character in question SHOULD APPEAR ON THE COVER? Sorry, that's just me being nit picky.
Greg: Ah, its like Jim never left.

THUNDERSTRIKE #4 (of 5)
Written by Tom Defalco Pencils & Cover by Ron Frenz
SPECIAL READER ADVISORY--This publication contains scenes of excessive action and angst in the mighty Marvel manner and is not for the faint of heart! As if they didn’t have their hands full with a power-mad demigod who is determined to destroy Olympus and Asgard, Thunderstrike and Gruenhilda the Valkyrie are traumatized by an unexpected death when they suddenly run into one of the greatest super-menaces of all--Mangog, the merciless!32 PGS./ $3.99
Lee: YAHOOOOOO, Thunderstrike finally ended up on the cover…. Of course it’s just his back but at least he made the cover.
Greg: I love Mangog. He is probably my favorite Jack Kirby character that is not designed only for killing.

ARCADE: DEATH GAME #1 & #2 (of 3)
Written by Paul Tobin Penciled by David Baldeon
Cover by Chris Samnee
When the strange and deadly Arcade decides to rebuild his ruined reputation, he sets his sights on the members of the Avengers Academy and the Young Allies. But when one of his teenage victims escapes, is it a setback for Arcade, or all part of his master plan to turn the entirety of New York into...Murderworld? DEATH GAME starts here! 32 PGS./ $2.99
Lee: We’ve talked about marketing decisions so many times in the past that I should stop. But I can’t. So… who thinks this book is a good idea? Go on, don’t be shy, raise your hand? *chirp* *chirp*… I don’t think so either. You have two teams, Young Allies and Avengers Academy having a crossover IN A COMPLETELY NEW BOOK, and neither of their names appears on the cover! Let’s not even mention that there’s already an Avengers Academy book on the shelf this month, making that THREE books for one set of B list characters. I know Greg loves AA, but this is too much.
Greg: The title is because they cancelled Young Allies. So it couldn't be published in that series. Which is a shame, cause it was pretty good. Sadly, launching anything new in this market is next to impossible. It looks like a good creative team. I'll probably check it out.

MORE TOMORROW!!!!