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!

Marvel comics have a unique philosophy when it comes to their super hero universe - everything that has ever been published is considered to have “happened” in the comics. But, while Spider-man’s actions in the 90s crossover event Inferno are part of the character’s history, the subsequent issues have absorbed that storyline and its implications fade away. While everything has happened, not everything is important. This way, new readers can easily jump into the current issues.

Secret Invasion presents a problem - the premise is that Skrulls have been invading Earth for years and almost everything in the Marvel Universe, mostly the works of Brian Michael Bendis (which are the flagship titles like New Avengers and crossovers), hold clues to who is a Skrull and what is going on. Read the rest of this entry »

Please Don’t Sue

Cape never got off his Man With Spider-like Attributes kick. These two weeks were sort of a “why not?” idea, and I figured if they were going to “crossover” with any hero, it might as be the one hero in comicdom who has teamed-up with the most heroes (including all the DC ones, too). I wanted to stretch this out as much as I could, so I threw in a Scarlet Man With Spider-Like Attributes and a Scrooge McDuck reference. Read the rest of this entry »

With Great Power Comes Great Marketability

According to Marvel, a new Spider-man cartoon will premier on CW’s Kids WB! at 10:00 a.m. EST on March 8. Read the rest of this entry »

Green Arrow/Black Canary #5 (DC) - Green Arrow’s son, Connor, is in a coma. Throw in the fact that a shapeshifter had been masquerading as the Emerald Archer, and good old Ollie’s had a rough couple of months. Now he’s got to reevaluate his priorities - starting with the wife he never actually married.

Brit #4 (Image) - Robert Kirkman’s Brit continues his mysterious journey with the help of his sister and cyborg companion. Read the rest of this entry »

The Brand New Day

Here it is! The restructuring of the Spider-man history so that MJ and Peter never got married! But how does this new day pan out for readers?

Peter still lives with Aunt May in Queens, their house not demolished. Harry Osborn was in Europe and returned, dating the daughter of a mayoral candidate and DA. Aunt May works at a soup kitchen and MJ is the super heroine (registered) Jackpot. Spider-man’s identity is known by no one and he is unregistered. And J. Jonah Jameson… you’ll have to read the last page and freak out like I did to find out.

We can see Dan Slott’s plot unfold and he does things with these characters that adds new life to them, like Aunt May working in the shelter and what happens to JJ. Mister Negative the crime lord’s plans are set up as well as a possible romance between Peter and Harry’s girlfriend’s roommate. Also you know the Spider-Mugger will resurface again later.

Slott is Marvel’s continuity janitor, so he’ll be able to manage this project. Yes, what is happening is troublesome for longtime fans, but hopefully this will be a House of M type thing where after a year the status quo will be returned.

For me, this is a slow week for comics. After going through the Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and Image releases, I don’t see much that I’m interested in. Granted, what is being released are books I’ve been looking forward to for awhile, but heck, I’m greedy. Next week is looking up, but lets take a glance at what is here this week. Also, remember, new comic day is back to Wednesday! Read the rest of this entry »

According to the BBC, Marvel Comics has teamed up with the UN to work on a pro bono comic putting the UN relief workers alongside Marvel’s greatest hero.

Comic companies do this every once in awhile, charity issues, like when all the companies did 9-11 issues or when Marvel made a special Armed Forces issue a few years ago. Yes they are gimmick comics, but if the benefit is legitimate, I think everyone should go out to buy them. It’s for a good cause after all. And I don’t know why, but it makes the super heroes more heroic.

Down Came The Rain

Peter Parker, the Amazing Spider-man, and Mary Jane Watson are no longer together. And it’s not just divorce or death - their relationship never happened.

J. Michael Straczynski is best known as the creator of the sci-fi show Babylon 5. But as on the beginning of the 2000s, Straczynski took up writing one of Marvel’s flagship titles, The Amazing Spider-man.

And when a writer has spent over 5 years on a title, they tend to leave their mark. It is not uncommon for writers to leave the characters in a difficult situation, a swan song that the new writer needs to write themselves out of. Brian Michael Bendis did it with Daredevil, exposing Matt Murdock’s identity to the world and locking the blind lawyer in Ryker’s.

Straczynski brought Mary Jane and Peter Parker back together after their relationship was strained, he exposed Spider-man’s identity to the world in the events of Civil War, and allowed an assassin’s bullet to put Aunt May into a coma. His final issue, Amazing Spider-man #545, left Peter and MJ to fight for Aunt May’s survival. Read the rest of this entry »

Merry X-Men!

For the big holidays DC and Marvel release one-shots that show their various super heroes in the holiday spirit.

The newest installment from the Marvel Bullpen was released just in time for Christmas and featured a team-up story with Spider-man and Wolverine, a look at The Loners during the holidays, and a world tour of the Marvel Universe with a reporter in search of the meaning of Christmas. Read the rest of this entry »