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. If you would like to see the entire list of Marvel titles solicited for July, 2010, you can find them here.
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.
The Big Story: Fear Itself: The Nightmare Continues (In a Good Way)
Fear Itself #4 sets us right in the middle of Marvel's big event.
The blockbuster Marvel event of the year continues!
AFTERMATH: the heroes reel in the wake of last issue's shocking finale. Thor finds himself unwelcome in two homes. Steve Rogers makes the decision of a lifetime. And Iron Man prepares to make the ultimate sacrifice. Every move the heroes make just serves to make The Serpent stronger– and the feat he accomplishes in this issue will rock the Avengers.
In addition to the main series, your Fear Itself checklist includes…over twenty-five tie-ins. That's including the latest installments in regular ongoings like Avengers Academy #16, Uncanny X-Men #540 and #541, as well as special Fear Itself branded limited series like Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force #1 (of 3) by Rob Williams and Simone Bianchi.
Those Other "Events"
Meanwhile, Joe Casey and Nick Dragotta set off on their own villainous Vengeance, an "epic event" making its mischief in the shadows of Fear Itself.
When MAGNETO of the X-Men tries to rescue a young Mutant on the run, he accidently kicks off a series of events that will shake the very Marvel Universe to it’s core! Who are the new TEEN BRIGADE?! Who are the Brotherhood and what do they want with the YOUNG MASTERS OF EVIL?! And how is the RED SKULL pulling the strings from beyond the grave?
The Iron Age event by Jan Van Meter and Elliott Kallan continues with its second issue, and this one's all about the time travel conundrums.
Trapped in the past, Iron Man must team with The Human Torch to get back to the future – but DOCTOR DOOM stands in their way! IF they survive, can Stark warn Johnny of his eventual demise? SHOULD he? Killer Robots! Broken Hearts! The Battle of Gettysburg! This one’s got it all!
X-Men Schism, touted as a truly monumental X-event, launches in earnest with issues #1 and #2 both hitting shelves in July.
The X-Men event of the decade starts here! It’s never been a more dangerous time to be a mutant. Even with their numbers at a record low, the world refuses to trust mutantkind…and after a mutant-triggered international incident, anti-mutant hatred hits new heights. Of course it’s at this moment, when the mutant race needs most to stand together, that a split begins that will tear apart the very foundation of the X-Men. From superstar writer and Marvel Architect Jason Aaron and a full roster of comics’ top artists, this is an X-tale that will reverberate for years to come! Come October, the X-Men landscape will be irreparably changed.
New #1s and Retitled Favorites
It's likely true of every month, but July sees a rush of new #1 issues, including Rob Williams and Matthew Clark's Ghost Rider, Brubaker and McNiven's Captain America #1, Greg Pak and Mirko Colak's Red Skull #1, and Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera and Marcos Martin's Daredevil #1. But the big one? Bendis and Bagley back together for an Icon creator-owned called Brillaint.
July also sees the renaming of the regular Captain America ongoing to Captain America and Bucky #620.
Movie Tie-Ins:
You'll be seeing a lot of Steve and that Odinson boy. Nature of the thing.
Redacted: Shadowy Figures in the Spotlight (an oxymoron perhaps):
All the hammers of Fear Itself are in full swing this month, with a number of characters embracing their roles as the Serpent's Worthy acolytes. Promotional images have already made it apparent that characters like the Hulk and Juggernaut will enlist, and those two pop up quite a bit throughout the summer months. But there are a few additional hammer-wielders featuring prominently, though only in silhouette. Process of elimination and attention to the appropriate titles make it pretty simple to identify them, but we won't spoil them here. That said, even if you do deduce the name, you'll have to dig well beneath the solicited previews to get a glimpse of their new character designs.
Looking at characters like Hulk and Juggernaut in their Worthy forms does lead to comparisons between Fear Itself and Blackest Night. While we're not seeing dead characters reanimated to torture our heroes, the Worthy do exhibit that whole zombie vibe, even if their jaws aren't dangling. If we're honest, it might be a little more compelling. But it's early yet and apples are apples. Oranges are oranges.
Characters to Watch Out For:
Captain America. Thor. Juggernaut. Magneto. Ben Grimm. Matt Murdock.
Major Titles of the Month:
Fear Itself #4. Brilliant #1. Captain America #1. Vengeance #1. X-Men Schism #1 and #2.
Want more? Check out the complete list of comics solicited by Marvel Comics for July, 2011
Find us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to our RSS Feed
Some rights reserved.
Zero interest. Can’t wait for yet another event to subvert my regular series with banal event-itis. Now back to your regularly scheduled mundanity.
@Grandturk Zero interest in… all of Marvel’s output in July?
@conor Almost most of it, if you look at the sheer amount of Fear Itself tie-ins.
@Conor I’m guessing he is merely talking about what you’ve highlighted here and not Marvel’s full solicitations.
As for what I’m grabbing, I’m not sold on Fear Itself yet, though I dug yesterday’s Journey into Mystery so we’ll see if I get drawn in by Gillen’s tie-in.
I’m definitely in for the double shipping FF, and ASM. We’ll see on anything else. Daredevil seems cool.
@OttoBott Fear Itself tie-ins are barely half of what we’re highlighting here.
It just sounds like everything is going to be a tie in. And I’m not getting sucked into another event. I SWEAR IT!
I’ll be “Flashpointing” It as opposed to ahem, “Fear Itselfing” it. I may go back if I’m wrong about Bucky buying the farm again.
Also hilarious: There’s a Venom Flashpoint book. Total coincidence, but it sort of sent my brain into meltdown for a few seconds.
Not sure if this is spoilerish or just plain wrong, but wasn’t there a promotional imagine of Colossus putting on Juggernaut’s helmet? Is it possibly not Cain Marko swinging a hammer?
@conor Not here, just overall.
Overall as in “all of Marvel’s output in July.”
I’m looking forward to brillaint. I do get the impress that bendis just saw Primer and decided to write the superpowers version of that story
Is there going to be a DC, Image, Dark Horse, all indie, etc; articles to go along with this? Or is this all going to be Marvel related?
July is a pretty boring month for me in terms of Marvel. The sheer amount of Fear Itself tie-ins and minis make it frustrating for me as a fan. At least DC is trying to publish major books without getting it tied into an event. Cause if it isn’t Fear Itself, it’s Infestation, if it isn’t those two it’s Schism, if it isn’t those three it’s Death of Spider-man. Like, it’s waaaay too much if you just want to sit down and enjoy a comic.
I’m excited for FF though, partly cause it’s not tied into anything and partly because Black Bolt is back!
@TheNextChampion We will be covering other publishers, absolutely.
Boy I sure do like that Vengeance art you’ve been showing. Real purty.
Man, I sound like Slingblade.
A lot of potential with Fear Itself. Really hope that Fraction doesn’t screw the pooch on this one.
@TheNextChampion Agreed that the sheer number of FI tie-ins is overwhelming, but I’ll just focus on Fearsome Four, Defenders, FF one-shot and Spider-Man. And that’s a pretty solid-looking fireball Johnny’s holding. Anything with Johnny, whether a blast-from-the-past from Marvel’s Vault or a time-displaced Torch is for me.
Almost every Marvel book I read isn’t tie-ing in with anything. Am I living in some kind of bizarre alternate universe where I have no reason to complain?
Doom and Iron Man fighting and time traveling are always great stories. You guys should find all three David Michelinie stories that do it. Even the most recent one was a lot of fun.
@TheNextChampion I have the hardcover of the first 2 and the TPB of the 3rd 🙂
I’m interested to try out Ghost Rider, it seems like it could be cool. Schism looks awesome but then I’m a sucker for X-events so I’m probably going to enjoy it regardless hehe. Aaaand maybe I’m too optimistic/naive/just easy to please (judging by everyone else’s reactions I suppose…?) but I’m psyched for Fear Itself! I thoroughly enjoyed the first issue and Journey into Mystery was fun. Bring on the comics I say! To me, at least, the summer is looking to be full of fun reading times.
Now am I looking forward to how much money I’ll be spending? That’s a different story, and one we shall not dwell on here!
Daredevil should look pretty awesome. I might jump on board. Wiads Spider-Man issues where some of the, if not the best.
I’m done with Ghost Rider ever since the awesomeness of the Aaron run. It was so good that only a truly stellar team would make me want to revisit the characters now. However, I think there is a helluva lot of interesting stuff from Marvel this month. THe DD/Punisher relaunches, Brilliant, the second Cap book (could be a real rejuvenation for Brubaker I think) and the Casey book. My wallet hates me right now.
This is a new thing you guys are doing? I honestly wouldn’t’ve known. Everytime I check the site there are so many new articles that I get lost. And you’re going to be doing this for all the publishers?
I don’t want to sound mean, because I really like all you guys as people, and you’ve done some great work. But this is just too damn much advertisement. You’re turning to Previews now for content? I mean, c’mon, it isn’t enough that most of the articles now are just reiterations of Marvel/DC press releases with a “Whattaya thinka this?”-hook?
I love you guys for your in-depth analysis, not for knee-jerk first-look reactions. More and more articles are just about “Should I BUY this??? What MORE can I BUY??? TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD WANT TO BUYYYY!!!!!” I guess if your hit-counters go up more, then you have to keep doing this, but, damn, I liked the articles more when they were more like articles and less like ads.