MARVEL COMICS -Warren Ellis & Adi Granov's Iron Man will be hitting the stands once every six weeks. -Mark Waid & Mike Wieringo are leaving Fantastic Four at the conclusion of the current storyline to work on a secret Marvel project. A new team for FF is signed, but yet to be revealed. -Joe Casey & a mystery artist are prepping a Fantastic Family mini-series to hit stands around the time of the FF movie (currently slated for July). -Michael Lark is exclusive to Marvel for two years, and will debut as part of the Daredevil What If? issue in December. -Ultimate Iron Man is in the works, with Andy Kubert pencilling. The writer is yet-to-be-revealed. -Speaking of Ultimate stuff, Bryan Singer WILL be writing Ultimate X-Men. Scripts have been turned in, but they won't produce them until they get a bunch in. -More Ultimate stuff. Ultimate Nightmare #4 is pushed to December, #5 hits in January, and Ultimate Secret #1 will see release in March. -Also in March, Brian Michael Bendis & Oliver Coipel will helm the Marvel cross-over "The House Of M". -Frank Cho's Shanna The She-Devil series will be 6 or 7 issues long. -Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev's last Daredevil issue will hit in December 2005. -The very, very late Spider-Man/Black Cat & Daredevil: Father series are getting closer to stands. Seriously. -Brian K. Vaughan's Runaways returns in February. -She-Hulk is getting relaunched in May. -With the relaunch of Captain America, Captain America & The Falcon will either phase out Cap's involvement (leaving it called The Falcon) or get cancelled.
DC COMICS -February sees I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League in JLA: Classified from Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis & Kevin Maguire. -Grant Morrison's epic Seven Soldiers launches in February with #0. -Hard Time is on hiatus after January, to get relaunched with a "second season".
First, thanks for the report, second, I'll believe the Spidy/Black Cat issue when its on the shelf. I really wish Marvel would stop with the Ultimate stuff. I'd rather they focus their efforts in the Marvel Universe, I know and love. Shame about Waid leaving, I've been picking up FF since his 60 cent issue. Big shoes to fill there since the book has been red hot for awhile. I don't have much faith in the Family Fantastic mini-series, mainly due to the fact it almost killed Waid's run and the FF movie. Terrible, terrible idea with that one.
"All faith reguires is giving into the possibility of hope."
Great report, Freeway. Thanks for the info...I was scouring the web looking for reports. There's a ton of great stuff down the road that I'm really looking forward to from Marvel.
Ellis is the perfect guy to take over the revamped Iron Man (first issue tomorrow). Take time to fill out great stories with great art and I'll happily wait six weeks an issue...as long as that time-frame is maintained and it doesn't slip further. Ultimate Iron Man sounds cool, too; it's much more of a production to power-up and fly the armor, and I'm intrigued to have the character fleshed-out.
Daredevil: Father - I have no belief whatsoever that this will see the light of day until it's on the shelf, just like A Fan said. Ditto for SM / BC.
House of M - looks like Wanda's "Disassembling" of the Avengers will also be used to explain / rationalize the fake Magneto / Xorn of Morrison's New X-Men penultimate story, with the real deal coming back to make it right (could Magnus even be the mystery Avenger member?) Hopefully this will tie everything together finally.
Ultimate X-Men - I enjoy much of BK Vaughan's work in Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina, but I've been bored to tears by his work in UXM. Singer could give it the jolt the franchise has needed since Millar left.
Cap & Falcon - As a huge Cap fan, I'll be glad to no longer have to collect this title once he's taken off the cover. There's some interesting stuff here, but Priest's story is just completely going over my head. It makes Azzarello's Superman seem downright coherent by comparison. Let Brubaker take Captain America to where he needs to be in his own flagship title, and concentrate on that. Marvel needs a strong, popular Cap more than ever.
Bendis & Maleev leaving Daredevil? Sad, sad day. But we still have a year to go before that happens. Guess BMB cannot write EVERY Marvel title.
"Remember, it's not a lie if *you* believe it." - George Costanza
The main flaw with the current Ultimate titles is this: No unified creative direction. Beforehand, you had Ultimate Spider-Man as the flagship and Ultimates & Ultimate X-Men tied into each other and were referenced in Ultimate Spidey. With the delays with Ultimates and the constant time-jumping in Ultimate FF, nobody knows what's going on or when.
616 has the same problem, but now they're finally cleaning house with continuity. Sorta.
And the Disassembled ending may be used to explain a lot of weird shit happening around Marvel.
Priest posted something on his web site (also found on the Pulse) about CA&F not being canned, but the book changing after Brubaker takes over Cap. It might be a Falcon solo book or it might just morph into a new project he's pitching.
Originally posted by Freeway420And the Disassembled ending may be used to explain a lot of weird shit happening around Marvel.
SPOILERS: Hidden to protect those who may not have picked up the conclusion to Avengers: Disassembled (highlight text to read)
True, but I'm at least glad that they used it to explain some things that have bothered me for awhile, i.e. the Scarlet Witch's twins (which were revealed to be a figment of her imagination). It always bothered me that a robot would somehow have the ability to impregnate a woman.
I like when Dr. Strange asks if anyone's noticed any strange behavior in her, and Spider-Man replies with something along the lines of "Well, she dated a robot. What?! C'mon, if I dated a robot, you'd all talk about it behind MY back..."
I still feel that the whole motivation behind it was to try to match DC's "Identity Crisis" mini-series. Reminds me of when they countered DC's "Kingdom Come" with "Last Avengers Story." In both cases, Marvel put out a valiant effort, but still came across (to me at least) as Johnny-come-latelys who responded with weaker material.
Edit: Fixed HTML.
(edited by Deputy Marshall on 10.11.04 1212) 'Pro-Choice' Gene Snitsky says: "Her body...MY CHOICE!"
Let's compare, for a moment, the bit of retroactive continuity Marvel's been doing this year...
Spoiler Below: Highlight text to read
X-MEN: Magneto Is Dead...No Wait, He's Not. No Wait, It's Not Him... -THE SKINNY: Grant Morrison's New X-Men kicked off with Sentinels blowing up the island of Genosha. Magneto (and the Brotherhood) got control of the island from the UN after one of Marvel's big-ass crossovers. So, Magneto was on the island when it blew...and nobody ever found a body. Morrison kept saying "He's dead!". Around the same time, a mutant named Xorn joined the X-Men after they saved him. Xorn wore a metal helmet/mask because inside his head was a small star. Xorn eventually became a trusted member of the team and taught at the Institute. Then, the big ~SWERVE~ happened. Xorn turned out to be Magneto. Magneto went nuts, used a drug called Kick to amp up his powers and rampaged across New York City until Wolverine decapitated him. Jean Grey died during the battle. Then, when Chris Claremont's Excalibur started, it was revealed that the Magneto that died at New York wasn't really Magneto and that the real Magneto's alive and well. Oh, and Xorn turned out to be a real mutant in China, but the Magneto imposter was posing as him for some reason. I don't read the X-Men comics full-time, and shit like this is the reason why.
SPIDER-MAN: Gwen Stacy, Barefoot & Pregnant -THE SKINNY: Two young adults attacked Peter Parker & Spider-Man seperately, finding out that they are one and the same. At the same time, Peter got a letter from Gwen Stacy (from back when she went to Europe behind-the-scenes around Amazing Spider-Man #120) saying she had kids, Gabriel & Sarah. The kids think Peter's the father. They're older than they should be and coming to kill Peter...because Norman Osborn is their father. The Goblin serum in his blood (which gave him a healing factor) causes them to age rapidly. Gwen didn't want Norman to get to her kids, so she had them in Europe behind-the-scenes and hid them. So, the classic Amazing Spider-Man #121 & #122 had Norman toss Gwen off a bridge not only because he hated Peter Parker, but her as well. There's an issue left. When you look back at the contiuity of the 100-120 corridor of Amazing Spider-Man, the story fits in with a few minor quibbles. And for the curious, Gwen got tapped sometime around the classic Drug Issues (Amazing #96-98), and had the kids afterwards. There's no telegraphed "Gwen's in Europe!" line in any of the intersecting issues, but there's enough of a gap in between things for her to have gone and come back.
AVENGERS: Disassembled -THE SKINNY: Seemingly everything that happened that didn't make a lick of sense was because the Scarlet Witch lost control of her powers and went batty because she lost her kids, which weren't real. Considering her powers had to be controlled by sheer force of will (especially during the Kurt Busiek issues of Avengers), it makes sense. Earlier, after the Scarlet Witch & Vision had kids and the Vison got disassembled & rebuilt, the Witch had been used as a pawn in world conquest plots...TWICE (by That Which Endures and Ghaur). The Witch gradually went nuts and the kids began to fade out of existance whenever she wasn't around. It turned out that the kids were just fragments of Mephisto (Marvel's Satan). Mephisto came a callin' and reabsorbed the kids, killing them. Witchy went plum loco and went evil for a bit, then she was recaptured by the Avengers and was fine again. She even became leader of the West Coast Avengers and the death of Mockingbird (dying fighting off baddies to save her teammates) is eeriy similar to the death of Hawkeye. Wanda witnessed Mockingbird's death. Soon afterwards, the West Coast Avengers were disbanded. After the whole Onslaught mess, Wanda rejoined the regular Avengers and her powers seemed amplified, even being able to bring Wonder Man back from the dead...by sheer force of will (and love). Around this time, Agatha Harkness told Wanda that her mutant power was "to instinctively tap and manipulate the forces of chaos magic". While most of the stuff in the comics make sense, it hangs on the fact that Doctor Strange knows more about magic than Agatha Harkness...and that nobody would notice Wanda going plum loco again. Or ask where the hell she or Quicksilver were.
I don't think you can call it a spoiler anymore, since the book's been out for a few weeks now, but Avengers #503 was pretty damn cool to me.
I loved Spider-Man's line about Wanda marrying a robot, and I guess I'm the only person to think that Dr. Strange coming in and telling everyone that the is no such thing as 'Chaos Magic' and all they do is just stand around like it's going over their heads THEN let Dr Strange be the one to take her out was pretty dumb. I thought the book was called 'The AVENGERS', not 'Dr STRANGE'.
Which 'Magneto' WAS that that came to get her anyway. The 'Excalibur' Magneto or the 'Planet X' Magneto? Cause as far as I can tell, the current Magneto in Excalibur has never worn or seen THAT outfit.
Over all, it was a decent ending to a stale series.
Cerebus: RIP 1977-2004.
"What do you think it's like being created by a manic-depressive, paranoid schizophrenic, hypochondriac, misogynist with delusions of grandeur and a messiah complex?"
The thing that I'm looking forward to is the New Avengers line-up. Bendis has said that the end of Avengers #503 and Avengers Finale were the first "real" Avengers stories he's written. And the New line-up [Cap, Iron Man, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman I, Luke Cage, The Sentry & a mystery member] looks TIGHT. Hell, Spider-Man as a full-time Avenger could be cool. It could also suck. Who knows?? The fact that we're getting at least 5 new Avengers is reason for optimism.
Originally posted by CerebusI guess I'm the only person to think that Dr. Strange coming in and telling everyone that the is no such thing as 'Chaos Magic' and all they do is just stand around like it's going over their heads THEN let Dr Strange be the one to take her out was pretty dumb. I thought the book was called 'The AVENGERS', not 'Dr STRANGE'.
I felt the same way. It''s like how Amazing Spider-Man basically became a Strange book during those weird months with the Spider-Totem and all that crap. If Marvel writers have such a hard-on for the walking plot device that is Dr. Strange, then hell, why not put HIM in the Avengers or at least revive the Defenders.
Originally posted by CerebusI guess I'm the only person to think that Dr. Strange coming in and telling everyone that the is no such thing as 'Chaos Magic' and all they do is just stand around like it's going over their heads THEN let Dr Strange be the one to take her out was pretty dumb. I thought the book was called 'The AVENGERS', not 'Dr STRANGE'.
I felt the same way. It''s like how Amazing Spider-Man basically became a Strange book during those weird months with the Spider-Totem and all that crap. If Marvel writers have such a hard-on for the walking plot device that is Dr. Strange, then hell, why not put HIM in the Avengers or at least revive the Defenders.
Better yet. Give Dr. Strange his own book that they can cancel and relaunch every other month.
"Don't compare my arm...to your cheap arm!" -Edward Elric
Originally posted by Freeway420The thing that I'm looking forward to is the New Avengers line-up. Bendis has said that the end of Avengers #503 and Avengers Finale were the first "real" Avengers stories he's written. And the New line-up [Cap, Iron Man, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman I, Luke Cage, The Sentry & a mystery member] looks TIGHT. Hell, Spider-Man as a full-time Avenger could be cool. It could also suck. Who knows?? The fact that we're getting at least 5 new Avengers is reason for optimism.
The new lineup is kind of weird. At first the original idea that was the New Avengers would be all of the big-name Marvel heroes, sort of like the Justice League over in DC. But aside from Spidey and Wolverine, there isn't exactly a lot of star power amongst the newbies. Having a Spider-Woman along with Spidey might be a bit confusing for new readers, but I guess if this is the lineup that Bendis wants to use, though, more power to him. My dream Avengers lineup of Cap, Iron Man, Thor, She-Hulk, Wasp, Hawkeye, Falcon, Vision and Spider-Man will remain a pipedream, however.
The "mystery" member has stirred a lot of controversy, however. A recent sample cover for New Avengers #1 shows some guy dressed in a blue/green/yellow outfit holding what appears to be nunchucks. This started speculation that it's Night Thrasher, a redesigned Iron Fist or Daredevil in a 'mystery' outfit. DD would also fit a quote from a USA TODAY story which stated that the mystery Avenger would be a Marvel character who's had a movie. Then again, this is USA TODAY, so who knows if they're right. I've also heard rumours that the mystery Avenger might be Black Panther or (now this would be kinda weird) Blade.
Originally posted by Freeway420The thing that I'm looking forward to is the New Avengers line-up. Bendis has said that the end of Avengers #503 and Avengers Finale were the first "real" Avengers stories he's written. And the New line-up [Cap, Iron Man, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman I, Luke Cage, The Sentry & a mystery member] looks TIGHT. Hell, Spider-Man as a full-time Avenger could be cool. It could also suck. Who knows?? The fact that we're getting at least 5 new Avengers is reason for optimism.
The new lineup is kind of weird. At first the original idea that was the New Avengers would be all of the big-name Marvel heroes, sort of like the Justice League over in DC. But aside from Spidey and Wolverine, there isn't exactly a lot of star power amongst the newbies. Having a Spider-Woman along with Spidey might be a bit confusing for new readers, but I guess if this is the lineup that Bendis wants to use, though, more power to him. My dream Avengers lineup of Cap, Iron Man, Thor, She-Hulk, Wasp, Hawkeye, Falcon, Vision and Spider-Man will remain a pipedream, however.
The "mystery" member has stirred a lot of controversy, however. A recent sample cover for New Avengers #1 shows some guy dressed in a blue/green/yellow outfit holding what appears to be nunchucks. This started speculation that it's Night Thrasher, a redesigned Iron Fist or Daredevil in a 'mystery' outfit. DD would also fit a quote from a USA TODAY story which stated that the mystery Avenger would be a Marvel character who's had a movie. Then again, this is USA TODAY, so who knows if they're right. I've also heard rumours that the mystery Avenger might be Black Panther or (now this would be kinda weird) Blade.
Joe Quesada Variant Cover for New Avengers #1. It doesn't look like it's Blade or the Black Panther, and while having Iron Fist on the team WOULD make sense, having someone like him (or Daredevil) in a "mystery" costume would be dumb, since they have their movies coming out eventually and Marvel would want to pimp 'em.
Originally posted by Big BadIf Marvel writers have such a hard-on for the walking plot device that is Dr. Strange, then hell, why not put HIM in the Avengers or at least revive the Defenders.
Dear God, no. The last Defenders series was bad enough.
I can't even begin to guess who that is on Quesada's cover. However, there's other possibilities not brought up here:
1. Could be a red herring meant to throw us off. 2. They could play it up for a few issues that his actual identity truly is a mystery, then reveal it several issues down the line.
Regardless, any team with Spider-Woman in it can't necessarily be considered "elite."
Quesada's cover looks like it's begging for the tag line "One of these Avenger's will DIE!" I hadn't seen this one yet and it kind of dissapoints me because I remember reading somewhere that the 'mystery Avenger' was going to be Dr Strange. Then again, I also remember reading that he was gonna introduce his character ASH into the Marvel universe as the 'mystery Avenger'.
On another note, why hasn't he been practicing drawing? That cover's pretty bad compared to his other stuff.
Cerebus: RIP 1977-2004.
"What do you think it's like being created by a manic-depressive, paranoid schizophrenic, hypochondriac, misogynist with delusions of grandeur and a messiah complex?"
Another "mystery Avenger" candidate that I've heard is: Shang-Chi. But being an old "Power-Man & Iron Fist" mark, I kinda' hope it's Iron Fist. If so, then the new Avengers team needs to fight a revived Chemistro within the first 12 issues.