Marvel Solicits for August 2013

Nope, not even Art Adams can save that
Cap costume!

Marvel is getting all my money these days, and August seems likely to keep the streak alive. Here is what caught my eye! 

INFINITY #1 (of 6)
JONATHAN HICKMAN (W) • JIM CHEUNG (A)
Cover by ADAM KUBERT
Blank Variant Also Available
Design Variant by JEROME OPEÑA
Generals Variant by IN-HYUK LEE
Hero Variant by ARTHUR ADAMS
Hero Sketch Variant by ARTHUR ADAMS
Variant by MARKO DJURDJEVIC
Variant by SKOTTIE YOUNG
The oversized kickoff to the year’s most anticipate Blockbuster summer event, changing the way you view the Marvel Universe!
• The outbreak of war on two fronts: Earth and Space, with our heroes torn between them.
• The world-shattering return of Thanos!
• Includes material from FREE COMIC BOOK DAY: INFINITY
56 PGS./Rated T+ …$4.99
Retailers: Check the Marvel Mailer for news on Infinity Launch Parties!

Geez, I want to like this, but Hickman’s work is almost always too complicated for me. Hearing that this will be a huge, sprawling crossover like Fear Itself doesn’t make me think this concept will be any simpler. 

AVENGERS #17
JONATHAN HICKMAN (W) • STEFANO CASELLI (A)
Cover by LEINIL YU
“ALL QUIET”
The Avengers recruit more members to deal with the soon-arriving threat to Earth.
The Builders enter the Marvel Universe.
The Finale of the Prelude to INFINITY: Part Four.
32 PGS./Rated T …$3.99

17 issues in, and we’re just finishing the PRELUDE? Seriously? That’s insane, right? And the worst part is, I have no idea what the current story is even about!  

AVENGERS ARENA #13 & 14
CHRISTOS GAGE & DENNIS HOPELESS (W)
KARL MOLINE & KEV WALKER (A)
#13 COVER BY KALMAN ANDRASOFSZKY
#14 COVER BY MIKE DEODATO JR.
#14 8-bit Variant by MATTHEW WAITE
TWO KEY ISSUES: THE HUNT FOR THE MISSING TEENS! PLUS: THE START OF OUR NEXT BIG ARC “BOSS LEVEL!”
• Issue #13: Hank Pym searches for the kidnapped Avengers Academy students…by the special guest creative team of AVENGERS ACADEMY’s Christos Gage and Karl Moline!
• Issue #14: It begins here, the last story arc of Season One! The contestants have fought one another, now can they put aside their feuds and battle Arcade?
32 PGS. (EACH)/Rated T+ …$2.99 (EACH)

Sold! Christos Gage gets to come in and clean up after Avengers Academy, plus it stars Hank Pym! This has me even more certain that Avengers Arena is going to end up being a virtual reality deal. No way would they kill off all these characters. 

AVENGERS A.I. #2
SAM HUMPHRIES (W) • ANDRE LIMA ARAUJO (A)
Cover by DAVE MARQUEZ
ARTIST VARIANT BY ED MCGUINNESS
• The return of the Sentient Iron Man armor!
• Dimitrios -- a powerful super-intelligence with an axe to grind against humanity -- strikes...!
• What secrets does the powerful Alexis hold for the Marvel Universe? Is it your bank account balance, your email password, your secret journal entries?
• There’s nothing about your life that artificial intelligence cannot use against you! BEWARE!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

I like the concept and the team, but I’m not sold on Sam Humphries yet. Is his stuff any good? Too bad that sweet Sean Chen-designed Iron Man armor is evil now! And why the heck is Jocasta not on this team? 

HUNGER #2 (of 4)
JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV (W) • LEONARD KIRK (A)
Cover by ADI GRANOV
• The fallout from AGE OF ULTRON rips open a dangerous rift in the universe!
• Prepare for a hunger so strong, that no universe is safe.
• Is this the beginning of the end?
• All the details will be revealed when Age of Ultron #10 hits stands everywhere!
• PREVIOUSLY SOLICITED UNDER THE CLASSIFIED NAME OF AGE OF ULTRON #10 UC
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

Galactus, is that you? I mean, “Hunger” in purple, who else could it be? Is Fialkov a big enough name to get a Galactus story this soon, though? 

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TEAM UP #2
CHRISTOPHER YOST (W) • MARCO CHECCETTO (A)
Cover by PAOLO RIVERA
SIBLING RIVALRY BEGINS HERE!
• Because you demanded it! Parker versus Parker! The Superior Spider-Man Versus Scarlet Spider!
• Kaine has come to New York to check on Peter’s ‘superior’ behavior, not realizing Doc Ock has taken over Peter’s life. But Ock sure knows who Kaine is...Kaine, the man who once KILLED Doctor Octopus. And now it’s payback time.
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

I’ve said it many times; this book is Marvel Team-Up. I’m legally obligated to support team-up books. Plus, look at that cover! I’m not happy I have to follow the story over to Scarlet Spider, though. I don't think I'm going to do it. I’ve been ignoring Kaine for a long time; I’m not going to stop now!

ROCKET RACCOON: TALES FROM HALF-WORLD
BILL MANTLO (W) • MIKE MIGNOLA (A)
Cover by Steve McNiven
• Relive the early adventures of the furry, feisty breakout star of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY!
• Captain of the starship Rack ’n’ Ruin, chief ranger of Halfworld, Rocket protects the Keystone Quadrant!
• When the Toy War erupts, Rocket and his first mate Wal Russ must team with Bucky O’Hare!
• Can they triumph over killer clowns, defeat Lord Dyvyne and Judson Jakes, and cure Halfworld’s insane population, the Loonies?
• Oh, and Rocket’s a talking raccoon from outer space. We mentioned that, right?
• Collecting ROCKET RACCOON #1-4.
104 PGS./Rated T …$7.99

Just make sure Bill Mantlo makes money off this, OK Marvel?

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #6
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS & NEIL GAIMAN (W) • SARA PICHELLI (A/C)
VARIANT Cover by PAOLO RIVERA
• The blockbuster new series hits hard as Marvel’s newest superstar Angela comes right for the Guardians!
• Round one is Gamora versus Angela…with an entire universe at stake!
• All that and comics legend Neil Gaiman joins the award-winning Ultimate Spider-Man team of Bendis and Pichelli in this one-of-a-kind comic book event!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

I like the design, and I’m intrigued by Angela joining the Marvel U. But aren’t her powers pretty close to Gamorra? Two sword-gals on the same team seems to be above quota, doesn’t it?

IRON MAN #14
KIERON GILLEN (W) • GREG LAND (A/C)
MORE MIND-BLOWING REVELATIONS AS “THE SECRET ORIGIN OF TONY STARK” CONTINUES!
• Free at last, all IRON MAN has to do is fight a robot who can take over his armor at any time and avoid one of the universe’s greatest bounty-hunters...DEATH’S HEAD.
• An impossible choice at the edge of space will decide the fate of two worlds. Who lives? Who dies?
• And can TONY STARK somehow find a way to avoid his destiny...
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

What is it about Iron Man? I absolutely love any cover where he’s in a tight spot. Even Greg Land can knock it out of the park! 

FEARLESS DEFENDERS #8
CULLEN BUNN (W)
WILLIAM SLINEY (A)
Cover by MARK BROOKS
• New costume! New arc! New status quo I still won’t tell you about!
• Misty kicked ass in Valkyrie’s world, now it’s time to see how Valkyrie fairs in Misty’s.
• Guest staring Elsa Bloodstone!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

This book has not been as good as I’d hoped, but man, the covers are wonderful. Love the new costume for Valkyrie too.

 DAREDEVIL #30

MARK WAID (W) • CHRIS SAMNEE (A/C)
• When soars the Silver Surfer!
• What weird menace unites Daredevil with the Cosmic Rider of the Spaceways?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

If that cover doesn’t get you excited about comic books, we can’t be friends anymore. 

WOLVERINE #8
PAUL CORNELL (W) • ALAN DAVIS (A/C)
Artist Variant by TBD
8-bit VARIANT Cover by MATTHEW WAITE
PART ONE OF KILLABLE!
• It all starts here, the biggest Wolverine event in years!
• Wolverine thinks a cure has been found…but it’s in Wakanda, where he’s not exactly a welcome guest!
• Meanwhile, Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. are working on even bigger problems that Wolverine might have caused.
• Guest-starring Storm and Black Panther!
32 PGS./Parental Advisory …$3.99

Same as above. This is what comic books are all about!  Black Panther fighting Wolverine drawn by Alan Davis is a gift to the world! That’s a lot of pressure for Paul Cornell!

AVENGERS: ENDLESS WARTIME OGN-HC
Written by WARREN ELLIS
Penciled by MIKE MCKONE
Cover by MIKE MCKONE
The first in a series of all-new original graphic novels! An abomination, long thought buried, has resurfaced in a war-torn land. But now it wears an American flag. Faced with another nightmare reborn, Captain America will not stand for yet more death at the hands of a ghost from his past. Haunted by his greatest shame, Thor must renew the hunt for a familiar beast. At their side, an assemblage of allies united to end the threats no one of them could face alone. They are soldiers. Warriors. Comrades-in-arms. Mighty heroes led by a living legend, stronger together than apart. They are the Avengers.
120 PGS./Rated T+ …$24.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-8467-6
Trim size: oversized

I’m tempted to pick this up in hardcover, but Ellis is a real love-or-hate writer for me. I might need to see how snarky the tone is before I buy this one.

Obviously, I’m much more interested in Marvel’s books than DC these days. They seem to be leveraging their characters in a much more effective manner. (Seriously, Two Gun Kid and Iron Man’s sentient armor in the same month? The Impossible Man in FF?) Most of their artists are longtime favorites, and while the core Infinity story hasn’t intrigued me so far, the X-universe and the 2nd tier titles are rocking. I will be buying a ton of Marvel books in August. Clearly, these solicitations are GOOD.

(But let me leave you with one word of advice. DO NOT BUY THE AGE OF ULTRON COLLECTION. You will regret it!)