That’s right, True Beleivers! Never since the team up of Spider-man and the cast of SNL has a blatant marketing scheme been brilliant comic genius. Stephen Colbert of the popular Colbert Report will be swinging with Spidey in Amazing Spider-man #573.

For awhile Marvel has stated Colbert was a candidate for the presidency in the Marvel Universe, but besides some background Easter eggs this was not anything major. Hopefully now we’ll see Colbert in a more prominent role in Marvel.

Mark Waid, one of the issue’s writers and comics legend, spoke to me about the project:

“It was a blast to write–the best note I ever got on a script was from the Colbert camp, who said simply “We’re having a nerd-gasm!” and asked for zero changes! So, apparently, if you love Colbert as much as I do, we nailed it!”

Pick up this title if you love America!

Daniel Shows Us The Way!

I was skeptical. Fabian Nicieza really defined the character and brought him to the zany, fourth dimensional limits we all have come to expect from this character. Daniel Way’s run of Wolverine: Origins was lackluster, having what seemed like a single fight taking five issues.

I read those Wolverine issues, and I swear that this Deadpool is almost from a different writer. This new Deadpool is on par with Nicieza’s. What I mean is Way’s previous Deadpool read like watered down Nicieza, almost what Way thought Deadpool should be written like. But this Deadpool from the new Secret Invasion tied-in series is brand new and rustic old.

If you are a fan of Deadpool, I highly recommend this continuation. This series was always one that recognized the craziness of comics, and having a reality check from time to time again is essential for us nerds. Plus, reality checks are always best accompanied by big guns and pop culture references.

Marvel’s Monkey Business

No seriously, what where they thinking? There is a lot to be said for premise based writing - pitching a concept or gimmick and running with it, fleshing out the story and plot as you go. Many comic projects begin with the premise - Captain America fights so and so, etc. But this premise?

Marvel Apes is clearly following the success of the alternate universe stories of Marvel Zombies. But the stark difference between these series is not the cheap gimmick - the heroes as X. No, the main difference is that Marvel Zombies was done, dare I say, more artfully? Read the rest of this entry »

Marvel’s big secret has been unveiled - I think. The black-and-white image I previously posted will deal with Marvel’s upcoming Dark Reign branding stories. Basically, titles will have “Dark Reign” printed on the cover and they will deal with this new phase of the Marvel Universe.

Personally, this isn’t as exciting an announcement as I thought it’d be. We don’t really know what Dark Reign is, and the other two mysterious ads in comics recently were not linked to this event. I think the biggest news was Bendis’ stating he’s finished with Mighty Avengers after issue 20.

Regardless, I hope Dark Reign or whatever the conclusion of Secret Invasion is called will bring some slower pace to the Marvel Universe and allow stories to be told for awhile without being hijacked for crossovers.

For the past few months Marvel has been running black and white ads of mysterious characters holding guns in several of their titles. There are no words or indication as to what this campaign is marketing, and the internet has been begging for answers. However, tonight we may find out what’s going on.

Marvel released a press release and image today:

“What is this mysterious image? Learn the answers to this and many more exciting 2009 plans as Marvel makes their jaw-dropping presentation at the Diamond Retailer Summit tonight. And check Tuesday for in-depth interviews on all of the major announcements being made!”

So far there have been little actual hints as to what this project might be, or who the characters involved are. I could be these are new characters, or new interpretations of old characters. The ads give a noir feel to this mystery, so it’s possible we are looking at a super human crime thriller? Your guess is as good as mine, at least until tonight.

For British Eyes Only

Many people don’t pay attention to a series after the first issue. The marketing departments of big companies hype the launching of the first book, but never really follow up. What I mean is that each issue deserves attention, and while a series looses its popularity as it goes on, comic readers should follow the entirety of a series, not just the first issue.

So how is Paul Cornell’s Captain Britain and MI-13 doing since it’s first issue?

This is the British book and practical in terms of the Marvel Universe. We needed this book to address what the British super heroes are doing during the Skrull invasion. The Marvel universe is a universe of implications, where one thing from one comic can affect the course of another. The excuse for this series is to explore Bendis’ Secret Invasion implications, but also slightly addresses issues presented in Cornell’s Wisdom, the newer Nick Fury’s Howling Commandos miniseries and in my mind, the end of Marc Guggenheim’s Blade run. Read the rest of this entry »

For those of us wanting a quick refresher course on Deadpool before his new series begins in September, Marvel has set up the Deadpool Saga online, a quick comic designed to explore Deadpool’s history in the Marvel Universe. Take a look if you are interested.

p.s. I’m heading off to San Diego Comic Con, so I’ll be sure to update as the week unfolds.

The San Francisco Treat

Subscriptions be praised! Somehow, by “accident” I’m sure, the much hyped X-Men milestone comic was released two days before its typical Wednesday release date. This issue was written by Ed Brubaker (The Death of Captain America) and Matt Fraction (Punisher War Journal) and focuses on the X-Men now that there are only 198 mutants left in the world and forced to flee to San Fransisco as it has denied the Super Human Registration Act.

This issue did a great job of setting up the future of the X-Men and mutants, and hopefully those humans now dealing with losing their mutant heritage and powers. Magneto is hooked up with the High Evolutionary and with two those two together, who knows what could become of the X-Men. Personally, I want the mutants to come back through some experiment of the High Evolutionary, but I feel confident now that there are enough new items to explore to keep the different X-titles fresh for awhile while Marvel decides what to do.

X-Men is about surviving in spite of hatred and bigotry, the minority being exploited and eradicated by ignorance. It might seem like with mutants, who symbolically stood for African-Americans and most recently homosexuals, could not stand for the same things there are only 200 mutants around, but now there is potential to look at what happens when the ignorant are close to winning, what would happen if the little guy were about to be overwhelmed. The best part is, we’re going to see that story told with giant robots and crazy battles with a cast of colorful characters.

Plus I’m also looking forward to learning more about Pixie’s involvement in the team.

It may seem a bit hasty to do a retrospective on a series still being released, but the third trade paperback of the series Punisher War Journal has just been published and the regular writer is soon to leave the comic, so I figure there is enough material to look at to make a fair assessment. I also think it’s good to examine the series as the comic media is goo goo for writer Matt Fraction. Is their undying praise justified?

In some way, it is. The idea of the Punisher, the bad ass human who fights crime with large guns and explosives, began in a super hero comic. But, as time progressed and Marvel became more “realistic”, Punisher fought human foes, and costumed vigilantes appeared less and less. Matt Fraction’s Punisher War Journal puts Frank Castle straight into the heart of the Marvel Universe in all its absurd glory.

From becoming the new Captain America to shooting the Rhino, the Punisher has gotten back to his roots as a vigilante out to fight vigilantes. Couple this nostalgic take on Punisher with the beautiful art of Ariel Olivetti that could give Alex Ross a run for his money and this is a great, fun series. There’s action, crossovers, humor, and character development - all the thing Marvel fans read comics for. Read the rest of this entry »

Marvel Goes Bananas

People thought it was a joke. After the success of Marvel Zombies, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada keep insisting that the next alternate reality of Marvel heroes would be of a simian variety. Still, people scoffed. Quesada sure showed them.

Set for release September 3rd, Marvel Apes #1 will hit shelves with a slew of other Marvel titles featuring “Monkey Variants.” This follows the success of Arthur Suydam’s zombie covers which replicated famous Marvel covers.

Good idea? Shameless gimmick? Brilliant marketing? Seeing as no real plot details have been released, the only way to see how this series pans out will be to wait until September.

images courtesy Marvel