Marvel’s Siege: The Death Watch
There’s an old saying that the two things certain in life are death and taxes. Since we’re coming up on the end of January and into the throes of the official tax season, we know that this is a certainty in our world! For the comic book world, where no one ever seems to have to pay taxes, death is always a certainty! When Marvel recently kicked off its dramatic new crossover event, “Siege”, savvy readers knew that someone, somewhere and at sometime would have to die in this epic event. How could they not? This is what it’s all been building to for Norman Osborn and the rest of the Marvel universe. His hand ever-reaching for more power, Osborn has launched an all or nothing assault on Asgard, home of the Norse gods. The odds are mighty, the forces powerful and the question about what will happen to Norman Osborn hangs in the balance! Who will not make it out alive?? Read more
Dark Avengers/X-Men: Exodus Delivers a Masterful Finishing Punch!
The battle between the Dark Avengers, the Dark X-Men and the Uncanny X-Men comes screaming into full daylight with the final and concluding issue of the Utopia storyline, Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus. Matt Fraction crafts an exciting and crackling ending to a story that can arguably be said to be the best of the Dark Reign tie-ins and stories thus far. Over the past couple of months Norman Osborn looked to turn his alliance with Emma Frost, first shown in Dark Reign: The Cabal, into a take-over and shut down of Scott Summers’ X-Men. Everything looked to be going his way, until now. Read more
Comic Book Releases for September 10th, 2009
Now that you’ve taken the Labor Day holiday to rest up and catch up on all those comics you keep meaning to get to during the regular work week, it’s time to get a fresh stack! There’s plenty to pick up in stores this Thursday, and the adventure and spandex-covered heroes are happy to oblige!
From Marvel this week, more pieces of Norman Osborn’s master plan for the world come into focus, as Dark Reign: The List begins with an Avengers one-shot. Norman’s not happy with the way things are, and this new arc proves it! Be sure to read Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus #1 before reading The List! Read more
Comic Book Previews for August 26th, 2009
The kids back in school this week aren’t the only ones starting a new term and a new direction, as this Wednesday gives us the highly anticipated debut of the Jonathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham creative team behind The Fantastic Four with issue 570. A new story arc also begins in Secret Warriors #7, as the Dark Avengers, Thunderbolts and Nick Fury’s Secret Warriors find themselves on a collision course, with Ares’ son the prize! New Avengers #56 promises some shocking action, as the events of the previous issue unfold with several heroes having their power drained. The Incredible Hulk #601 sees the return of the recurring title with a new world for Bruce Banner and company. Dark X-Men: The Beginning wraps up with issue three, bringing to a close the origin of this deceptive, Emma Frost-led team. Read more
Comic Book Previews for August 12, 2009
What could be causing part of the oppressive heat this summer, at least this Wednesday anyway? Those SEVENTY candles on the top of Marvel’s cake, that’s what! Happy birthday to the home of some of the most recognizable characters in pop culture today! With that, Marvel has a big birthday bash planned, with several powerful new releases this week!
First up for the birthday boys and girls is Marvel Comics #1: 70th Anniversary Edition. It starts here! The original Human Torch, Ka-Zar, and Sub-Mariner are all here, brought to you in a stunning new edition by some amazing talent in the industry today! That’s not all birthday fun! The Marvel’s Project #1 debuts, with this Ed Brubaker penned tale kicking off the ultimate origin story of the Marvel universe! Look also for the releases of Ultimate Comics Avengers #1 and Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1. Both of these titles will give us a post-Ultimatum look at the Ultimate universe. Look also for the continuation of the powerful Dark Avengers/X-Men crossover, Utopia, in Uncanny X-Men #514. Read more
Comic Book Releases for July 15th, 2009
The bright and sunny days of summer are about to get a lot darker! This Wednesday will see the release of DC’s universe-shattering event, Blackest Night. Spinning out of the Green Lantern mythos, Blackest Night will see the return of long and recently deceased members of the DC community, and the results will be devastating. That’s not the only major thing happening in comics this week! Read below to see what else DC and other comic book publishers have in store for us this week! Read more
Comic Book New Releases for July 1st, 2009
Before you rush off to that Fourth of July barbecue or picnic, be sure to swing by your local comic book shop this Wednesday and pick up these explosive issues from all your favorite publishers, guaranteed to cause plenty of fireworks on their own!
It’s finally here! For Marvel, the biggest release this week is certainly Captain America: Reborn #1. The book, with multiple variant covers, is set to be a bestseller, and Marvel has been relatively quiet on what impact this return will have on a Marvel universe currently dealing with the events of Dark Reign. On the lighter side, Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth debuts, with our anti-hero on a quest to retrieve his own head. Read the book to find out what that means! We can’t ruin all the fun! Not letting the boys have all the fun, Marvel Divas #1 drops into stores, focusing on four of Marvel’s lesser-used female characters. Also, don’t miss the second chapter in the Dark Avengers/X-Men arc Utopia; get Uncanny XMen #513 Wednesday! Read more
Sinister Spider-Man #1 = Slightly Silly Story
Marvel had a big week this week, releasing several new limited series as part of their overall Dark Reign story line. Perhaps too much of a good thing can only explain the silliness that is Sinister Spider-Man #1. Focusing on Venom AKA Spider-Man, this mercifully four-issue series will follow Mac Gargan, the man formerly known as the Scorpion who now wears the symbiote once housed by Eddie Brock, the man most people associate with the character of Venom, as he cavorts around New York on his own, apparently, hilarious misadventures.
Comic Book Releases for June 24, 2009! Major Events!
What a Wednesday! With a few new titles, some big events, and other major releases happening today, the last shipment of comics for June promises to keep comic book readers busy for quite awhile! Now that the full swing of summer is here, expect to see more big waves of releases coming throughout the summer months (as previewed right here, and here, and here at comicbook.com a couple of weeks ago *nudge, nudge*
DC Comics has a couple of big things dropping into comic book stores today, mainly in the Batman universe. Gotham City Sirens (cover seen above) spreads its wings and flies today, focusing mostly on the actions of Poison Ivy, Catwoman and Harley Quinn. Perhaps we’ll see some guest appearances from another DC female, as Batwoman takes over main player status in the pages of Detective Comics with issue 854’s release today. Wrapping up today is the Sgt. Rock mini-series Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion concluding with issue number six. Read more
Bubble Dwellers: Marvel Heroes We’d Like to See Used More!
Recently, IGN conducted a survey of their readers on which Marvel A-list characters they felt were the most overused/overexposed or any other “over” adjective they felt fit. Perhaps as coming as a shock to no one, the top two choices were Spider-Man and Wolverine.
Throughout the 1990’s especially, both Spider-Man and Wolverine were appearing in multiple books, some that they were anchors of and others, such as The Fantastic Four and The Avengers, had them on just because, hey, why not, everyone else was doing it! It was a marketing tool that may have helped fuel the media enterprises that both represent today, and because of that media exposure, they continue to make appearances, together and separately, in various comic books.
If all things are logical, and that’s usually the case when discussing comic books, you can’t have overexposed characters without having characters who perhaps don’t get the “page time” they deserve. Consider the following heroes who stand to have their profiles raised just a bit more. Read more
