Heads Up: Marvel Comics Previews – August 2012

Being a comic fan can be tough. With so many publishers printing more and more books, canceling titles and starting new ones, it can be daunting when you head to the comic book shop on a Wednesday to know exactly what’s coming out.

The current system of presenting and ordering comics three months ahead of their release as set forth by the sole comics distributor, Diamond Comics, doesn’t make it any easier either. We’re not a fan of that system, we think it’s slowly strangling comics to death, but we realize it’s a harsh reality of how the industry works and we definitely don’t want you to miss out on any of the cool comics being published.

And so, as opposed to regurgitating the list of comics solicited in Previews each month, we present to you some of the highlights of things you probably won’t want to miss out on.

SPOILER WARNING in order to get people to order comics, the publishers have a funny habit of revealing what’s happening in the books. If you don’t want anything at all to be spoiled, then you’ll probably want to skip this post and take your chances with your pre-orders and/or your shopping.


We’ve already gotten a bunch of glimpses of books to come this August from Marvel. Here’s a quick rundown:

Guardians of the What Now?

 

With the 6th issue of Avengers Assemble, it appears that Bendis is writing the Guardians of the Galaxy into the story.  Wait a minute. Bendis writing Guardians of the Galaxy? That seems awfully familiar

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #6
Brian Michael Bendis (w) • Mark Bagley (a/C)

• Thanos is claiming Earth as his own!
• The Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy team up to bring the Mad Titan some cosmically-charged pain!

32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

 

It’s AvX…or is it?

It’s listed as an AvX tie-in, but by the description of Uncanny X-Men #17, it sure doesn’t seem like Kieron Gillen is playing along. Or is Gillen doing as he did with Fear Itself over on Journey Into Mystery and molding the crossover to propel is own story? Hmmm

UNCANNY X-MEN #17
KIERON GILLEN (w) • DANIEL ACUÑA (a/C)
AVX TIE-IN!

• The climactic end to the X-Men’s greatest stand against Sinister!
• The culmination of everything Sinister has planned since Uncanny #1!

32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Where In The World is…Charles Xavier?

Just recently I was talking with some friends who are into comics and we wondered, given all the AvX brouhaha, where the hell has Charles Xavier been? Well it looks like he’s jumping into the fray with this issue of Wolverine & The X-Men.  An issue, by the way, that doesn’t feature Chris Bachalo or Nick Bradshaw on art, rather Jorge Molina. I’ll let that one sit…

WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN #15
JASON AARON (w) • JORGE MOLINA (a)
Cover by STUART IMMONEN
AVX TIE-IN!

• Logan leads his own team of classic X-Men into battle!
• The Jean Grey School sees its first graduate!

32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

The One, True Anniversary Issue

It’s Spider-Man’s 50th anniversary, and with issue #692, Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos give us the anniversary special issue we’ve been waiting for! 64 pages of Spider-Man fun as Slott and Ramos are joined by other great comic creators like Dean Haspiel and Joshua Hale Fialkov.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #692
DAN SLOTT (w) • HUMBERTO RAMOS (a/C)
Spider-Man Decades variant covers by Marcos Martin

• Special 50TH Anniversary Issue!
• Join us for a once in a lifetime event: the one, true 50th Anniversary Issue of the Amazing Spider-Man.
• A special over-sized issue harkening back to the legend the legend that started it all!  Get ready for an all-new tale about a different kind of power and responsibility…
• Plus original stories by Dean Haspiel, Joshua Hale Fialkov & Nuno Plati!

64 PGS. all-new content/Rated T …$5.99

Cullen Bunn Rising

In addition to the news of Bunn taking over Venom (as mentioned above), taking over Wolverine from Jason Aaron recently, and his work on Captain America & INSERT CHARACTER NAME HERE, it appears that Bunn is beginning his ascent at Marvel:

I can’t recall Ed Brubaker ever co-writing an issue of Captain America before. Could this be the beginning of the end of Brubaker on Captain America? Is the classic Marvel co-writer handoff beginning with this issue?

CAPTAIN AMERICA #16
ED BRUBAKER & CULLEN BUNN (w) • SCOT EATON (a)
cover by STEVE EPTING
• Discordian cells attack American interests all over the world!
• Shock journalist Reed Braxton is turning the public against the Sentinel of Liberty.
• But if Reed Braxton is dead, who the heck is that on LIVE television?

32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

Nothing like a weekly series featuring Deadpool to help make your mark.  Bunn delivers what could be a fun romp through the Marvel Universe filled with wise cracks and lots and lots of killing.

DEADPOOL KILLS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE #1-4 (of 4)
CULLEN BUNN (w) • DALIBOR TALAJIC (a)
Covers by KAARE ANDREWS

• What if everthing you thought was funny about Deadpool…was actually just disturbing?
• What if he decided to kill everyone and everything that makes up the Marvel Universe?
• What if he actually pulled it off? Would that be FUN for you?
• The Merc with a Mouth takes a turn for the twisted in a weekly horror comic like no other…

32 PGS. (EACH)/Parental Advisory …$2.99 (EACH)

SO MUCH ALAN DAVIS (Not that I’m complaining)

The only other creator who’s as prolific as Cullen Bunn at Marvel in August is Alan Davis!

WATCH as he illustrates a cross over between The Mighty Thor and Journey Into Mystery!

BE AMAZED as he writes AND draws the annuals for Daredevil and Wolverine!

MARVEL as we get a taste of more ClanDestine!

THE MIGHTY THOR #18
MATT FRACTION (w) • ALAN DAVIS (a/C)
VARIANT COVER BY Stephanie Hans

Everything Burns: Prologue!
• 50th Anniversary Thor Special!
• The Aesir/Vanir War! The darkest time in Asgard’s past revealed! A history so dark it was seared from the pages!

32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

 

JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #642
MATT FRACTION & KIERON GILLEN (w) • ALAN DAVIS (a/C)
VARIANT COVER BY Stephanie Hans

Part One of EVERYTHING BURNS

• Rebellion against Asgard! The start of the second Aesir/Vanir war!
• What dread power has the Vanir harnessed to stand against Thor?
• Loki’s mischief is revealed. Will he or Asgardia survive?
• Thori’s unconventional plans to counter everything burning.

32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

DAREDEVIL ANNUAL #1

ALAN DAVIS (w) • ALAN DAVIS (a/c)
VARIANT COVER BY ALAN DAVIS

Marvel Tales by Alan Davis Part 2
• The return of a menace from the past sets Daredevil, Doctor Strange and the ClanDestine on a collision course!
• Continues in this month’s Wolverine Annual #1!

48 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99

WOLVERINE ANNUAL #1

ALAN DAVIS (w) • ALAN DAVIS (a/c)
VARIANT COVER BY ALAN DAVIS

Marvel Tales by Alan Davis Part 3

• A debt owed to a dead man causes Wolverine to seek the truth behind the mystery of the rogue member of the ClanDestine family called Vincent!
• The finale to the tale started in FF Annual #33 and DD Annual #1!

48 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99

Remember Steve Skroce? I do.

 

Man, the Cable ongoing series in the late 1990s was great. Mainly written by Joe Casey and Jeph Loeb, it featured such great artists, like Steve Skroce, who for a short while in like 1997, was the hottest artist in comics.  Find out why by checking out this classic collection of some just good ol’ quality Cable comics.

CABLE CLASSIC VOL. 3 TPB

Written by JEPH LOEB & LARRY HAMA
Penciled by DAVID BREWER, STEVE SKROCE, IAN CHURCHILL & ADAM KUBERT
Cover by STEVE SKROCE

The chronicle of the mighty mutant cyborg known as Cable continues under superstar writer Jeph Loeb! First, it’s the debut of the grotesque Marrow — but what has become of her fellow Morlocks? Next, Cable teams up with Wolverine, Cyclops and Phoenix to battle the techno-organic threat of the Phalanx! Then, Cable, Storm and Caliban take on Apocalypse’s former flunkies, the Dark Riders — but the identity of their new leader Genesis shocks Cable to the core! And finally, when the end of the world looms, and an Age of Apocalypse beckons, who will Cable reach out to for support — and what hidden truths will he reveal? Collecting CABLE (1993) #15-20 and WOLVERINE (1988) #85.

208 PGS./Rated T …$24.99

ISBN: 978-0-7851-5972-8

 

Comments

  1. Just on first blush, not a big fan of the Professor X action pose in the Wolverine and the Xmen cover.

    Also, Cable is like the 90s in microcosm. Sooo many pouches.

  2. Cullen might be rising, but I’ve yet to be impressed with anything he’s done (with the exception of his independent work, which is fucking awesome.

  3. Could there really be a Guardians of The Galaxy / Avengers movie for Avengers 2?! That line up for Assemble is like the movie cast plus the Guardians. The POTW podcast this week could be right and at the very least, it adds further speculation.

  4. Wasn’t Drax killed by Thanos during the “Thanos Imperative”, and on that note how the hell did Thanos come back?

  5. Regardless of Uncanny X Men 17 status as not a AvX crossover, that cover still looks amazing to me. I noticed that for the two annuals (Daredevil and Wolverine) list the story being called Marvel tales that the two annuals are parts two and three but where is part one??

  6. Ah crap, I really hope Brubaker doesn’t stop writing Captain America.

    • Why? It’s been YEARS, and it’s gotten very boring.

    • according to you, Josh. It’s been a really fun, much more classic Marvel super hero style comic. He just needs a regular artist again, like when Steve Epting and Mike Perkins drew it.

    • I think Mr Brubaker is burnt out on Cap.. he wrote the best cap ive ever read but its over.

    • I’m really enjoying his work on Winter Soldier, but it’s because those stories are the kind of Brubaker Cap stories that I like.

    • Its true that Ed’s been on Cap for years but the majority of his run wasn’t even really about Cap. Vol 5 was mostly about Bucky and the supporting characters (sharon, Sam etc). That being said, theres no reason why Ed cant take this volume in another direction with Stever Rogers as the star. I actually like the direction this vol has taken so far, way more light hearted than the previous run but what if this followed Steve on his duties as head of National Security? And showing him having to juggle and balance being Steve Rogers the top cop and Captain America. There’s plenty that can be done with this character and I think Brubaker is the one to do it.

  7. That Amazing Spider-Man cover makes me cry on the inside.

  8. I think I just filled the cup.

  9. Joshua Hale Fialkov writing Spiderman sounds interesting.

  10. Guardians of the Galaxy? Thank god! Just bring them back and keep them around in the marvel universe as supporting characters! I don’t care who’s on the team or who’s supposed to be dead.

    I seriously didn’t remember if Xavier could walk of not.

    That Thor cover just made me order some Journey into Mystery trades. I really hope the movie’s success doesn’t make them re-age Loki.

  11. I want to know how Cullen Bunn has now become one of the hottest writers at Marvel.

    The Sixth Gun is a great book but I didn’t think it would get him to write almost everything at Marvel given this pace.

  12. I hope that Deadpool series doesn’t suck because I’ve really been liking Deadpool lately. His own series has been pretty cool and he’s a great part of Uncanny X-Force. The banter between him and Wolverine is fantastic.

  13. Still waiting for them to announce Hickman on Silver Surfer.

  14. Ron, what’s wrong with JORGE MOLINA? I checked out his deviantart page & it’s pretty cool.

  15. Not sure how much a celebration of 50 years of Spider-Man that book is. I was a Spider-Man fan for years, but none of the creators that I associate with the character look to be involved.

  16. I will be buying and/or reading most, if not all of that.

    Thank you both, subscription account and public library.

  17. The Wolvie and the X-Men cover looks more like Stroman than Immonen. I know Immonen likes to reinvent himself, but I am NOT a fan of the Stroman generic-pose and deformed face.