It’s an awkward title, but it has pretty art. Text-free preview of the August releasing debut below.
Your First Look At ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES #1
Marvel is pleased to present your first look at Ultimate Comics Ultimates #1, from the critically acclaimed creative team of Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic! Iron Man, Hawkeye, Nick Fury & Thor are back together after the monumental events of Ultimate Comics Fallout! One of the biggest villains that ever faced the Ultimate Universe has returned. But with a teammate out of action, can the remaining members save the world as they struggle to find their place in the Ultimate Universe? Ultimate Comics Universe Reborn kicks off this August in Ultimate Comics Ultimates #1!
ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES #1 (JUN110620)
Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Usually we here in Australia get things last, but for some reason we got this first, in January 2010 and the DVD release in December, although the series was originally supposed to air on iTunes. Well, it did, but was pulled off after 3 episodes for some reason but has now been released on DVD in America too. Created in conjunction with America’s BET network, it stars Djimon Hounsou as the titular hero, Kerry Washington as his sister (and future Panther) Princess Shuri, Alfre Woodard as U.S government agent Dondi Reece and Jill Scott as Storm from the X-Men (and his future wife).
I’ve never been a huge fan of the classic character, but his comic series lately has been great, as he’s taken over protecting Daredevil’s old haunt of Hell’s Kitchen in New York. Written by novelsit David Liss, it’s the only Marvel title I’m buying regularly.
This DVD is broken down into 6 chapters, for about 2 hours of fluid motion comic animation goodness. Marvel also have motion comics based on Iron Man: Extremis, Astonishing X-Menand Spider-Woman available.
This series is based on the Who Is Black Panther? arc form a few years ago by writer Reginald Hudlin and artist John Romita Jr.
It begins in 5B.C when invaders try, and fail, to get in to Wakanda and we are introduced to their never say die attitude and advanced technology.
Taking things to the present, we see Stan Lee (well, hear) as an arrogant general in the White House and learn that Wakanda has never been invaded, and have a flashback to 1941 as a fresh faced and oddly voiced Captain America tries to do so.
Classic Panther baddie Klaw is the main antagonist here. He soon recruits Batroc the Leaper, here reimagined as a less lame and agile French hitman, and Cannibal, an imprisoned man who becomes a woman (yep) to get revenge. Klaw wants T’Challa, the current Black Panther dead, as Klaw killed T’Challa’s father 15 years earlier, but was left with one less hand. Igor, otherwise known as the Radioactive Man also shows up and causes earthquakes. Klaw also gets help from the Black Knight (who is loaned from the church) and his handy Pegasus who leads the troops with a speech about a “holy crusade.” Hudlin does a great job with these villains, and not having them show up in their whacky costumes (well apart from Juggernaut, who’s stuck in his) and not really using their codenames, keeps it all more grounded than a traditional superhero story would be.
The animation is generally fluid and doesn’t look stilted, like you may imagine for a motion comic. The colours work well, from the dust and dirt of Wakanda’s past to its hi-tech gizmos, and New York streets. At times the faces resemble the work of cover artist Dave Johnson, and that’s good.
Adding to the cameos, Cyclops, Wolverine and Nightcrawler show up as they battle Juggernaut, before Klaw recruits him. If surviving an assassination attempt/invasion from warlord Mbutu wasn’t enough, the Queen Mother keeps pressuring him to get married and provide a royal heir, prodding him to get together with “that nice, mutant girl.” Classic. That’d be Storm by the way, and we also see how they first met as children. An army of Dethloks made from dead U.S soldiers also show up in the midst of the chaos.
Yes, there’s a lot happening, but the story starts small and builds to a great final battle and Hudlin never allows the burgeoning cast to get out of his control. Really, all most people will know about Black Panther is that he rules Wakanda and it’s the only place in the world that has the powerful mineral, vibranium. Hudlin builds the world here though, giving depth to the nation’s culture and politics, but not in a dreary way. If you’re new to the character, or the Marvel Universe at large, this is an entertaining entry, and does well to present some usually goofy villains in a more streamlined, modern way.
It also has a pretty cool theme song and Juggernaut colliding head on with a rhino, and throwing a cow at a jet, to boot.
There are no extras on this Oz DVD release, besides trailers for the Astonishing X-Men, and Iron Man: Extremis motion comics which both look visually dazzling. Below is the opening credits sequence.
Opening on July 22 is Captain America: The First Avenger, and here’s the second trailer showing Chris Evans in skinny phase (which doesn’t look so bad now) and bulked up, Nazi fighting phase. This looks better than Thor.
The patriotic, shield slinger also got a new poster.
Cool – a new mini-series from Howard Chaykin revealing a ’50s set team of Avengers with a cast as diverse as Sabretooth, Nick Fury and Kraven. Yep, that could work, and Chaykin’s the right creator for the concept.
Marvel Announces AVENGERS 1959!
Spinning out from the pages of New Avengers, Marvel is pleased to announce Avengers 1959 #1 (of 5), a brand new mini-series from comics legend Howard Chaykin, this fall! An unique team of super powered individuals of the post-World War II era including, Sabretooth, Kraven the Hunter and Namora, must combat threats in New York, Madripoor, and everywhere in between!
“I’m grabbing what feels like a brass ring here, with the opportunity to do an untold story of the lost years of the Marvel Universe,” explained Chaykin. “In a follow up to the sensational stuff laid out by Brian Bendis in NEW AVENGERS, we’ll follow Nick Fury and his Avengers around the world as they track down and take down super powered survivors of the Third Reich–as their ever effort is countermanded by a mysterious agency with a dark agenda of its own.”
Can the team save the day without tearing each other apart and who else will join the ranks of Earth’s Mightiest? Get the full story behind Nick Fury Nick Fury led Avengers Initiative as they trek across the globe saving the entire Marvel Universe from peril, only in the action-packed Avengers 1959 #1 (of 5)!
Yay! Another Marvel text-free preview! This time from Frank Cho! Yay again! Seeing Rogue on the battlefield sure would be distracting wouldn’t it?
Your First Look At X-MEN: SCHISM #2
Marvel is pleased to present your first look at X-Men: Schism #2, from Marvel Architect Jason Aaron and superstar artist Frank Cho. The blockbuster X-Event of the summer continues as Sentinels threaten to wipe out all of Mutantkind! It’s up to Wolverine and Cyclops to band the X-men together and tackle the threat head-on, and with tensions boiling – one of them will go too far. Find out this July the fate of mutantkind remains unclear in X-Men: Schism #2!
X-MEN: SCHISM #2 (MAY110679)
X-MEN: SCHISM #2 CHO VARIANT (MAY110680)
Written by JASON AARON
Art and Cover by FRANK CHO
Variant Cover by FRANK CHO
Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC – 07/04/11, ON SALE – 07/27/11
So, after the Schism mini-series finishes, Wolverine and Cyclops go their separate ways with their own teams and each will get their own ongoing title too. Maybe to show your support for either one, you could buy this great new Cyclops statue from Bowen Designs or this Comic-Con exclusive Wolverine bust.
If you want to know how the Ultimate version of Spider-Man AKA Peter Parker dies in this week’s polybagged Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #160, then don’t read this.
If you do want to see a sneak peek at the upcoming Green Lantern animated series from the Cartoon Network, look below. It looks like simple CGI, but maybe the finished product will be better.
Opening on July 22 is the Captain America film starring Chris Evans as the titular hero and Aussie actor Hugo Weaving as bad guy Red Skull. Below are some new pics showing the characters, plus Cap with his Howling Commando team mates.
What a crazy time to be a superhero fan hey? First, DC Comics announce that they are relaunching 52 superhero titles in September, and mow Marvel’s longest running series, Uncanny X-Men is ending, but at least they’ll carry on with the same continuity. Two new series follow the upcoming X-Men: Schism mini-series that kicks off next month that will show teammates Cyclops and Wolverine fighting. Literally.
After Schism Comes X-MEN: REGENESIS!
Marvel is pleased to announce X-Men: ReGenesis, a bold new direction redefining the X-Men franchise! X-Men: ReGenesis kicks off this fall in Uncanny X-Men #1 & Wolverine and the X-Men #1 and its ramifications will send shockwaves throughout every X-Book and the Marvel Universe! Prepare for the X-Men’s new dawn as former allies head off in different directions, taking with them your favorite X-Men characters. Following the unforgettable outcome in X-Men: Schism, mutantkind will be asking one another “Who will you follow?” and their answers may surprise you! Never before have there been TWO teams calling themselves the X-Men and never has anyone had to choose a side. Guided by their different ideologies, each leader has their own mission for saving their species, but is only one of them right?
This October, Marvel Architect Jason Aaron and superstar artist Chris Bachalo launch Wolverine And The X-Men #1, assembling a team led by Logan himself with a line-up that nobody will see coming. Then, in November, history is made with Uncanny X-Men #1. From the superstar writer Kieron Gillen and artists Carlos Pacheco & Greg Land, new leadership rises with a renewed, refocused, and re-imagined group of Uncanny mutants.
“Years of X-Men history have been leading to this. X-Men: ReGenesis will affect our entire line leading up to a major conflict coming up in 2012!” said Marvel Editor in Chief, Axel Alonso. “This is just the start of what we have planned for the X-Men. Next summer all eyes will be on mutantkind – we guarantee it!”
Two new teams lead mutantkind into an all new era and will have everyone asking “Who will you follow?” – only in Wolverine & The X-Men #1 and Uncanny X-Men #1!
To find out more about X-Men: Regenesis, head over to Marvel.com!
Gee Marvel, that’s a pretty hardcore title, but I guess Carnage (think a red, even more psycho version of Venom) is a hardcore character.
CARNAGE U.S.A. – POPULATION DIE!
It’ a whole new meaning for “red state” as Carnage’s maniacal reign of terror continues, courtesy of the critically acclaimed creative team of Zeb Wells and Clayton Crain, in Carnage USA #1 (of 5)! With Carnage leaving a wake of bloodshed and lunacy throughout the nation, Spider-Man and the Avengers must go on a brutal hunt to capture Cletus Kasaday before the American heartland falls under his mass-murdering spell.
Buckle in and prepare for a violence packed adventure as Carnage, joined by a symbiote army, continues his vengeance fueled comeback. Destined to be the most mind-blowing cross country tour fans have ever taken, Carnage U.S.A. wants YOU this December!
Text-free preview pages below from July’s issue of the re-invented Fantastic Four series, featuring the return of Black Bolt; leader of the Inhumans (who live on the moon) and possessor of a great superpower (destructive speech, so he’s pretty much always silent).
BLACK BOLT RETURNS IN FF#6!
Marvel is pleased to present your first look at FF #6, from Marvel Architect Jonathan Hickman and artist Greg Tocchini! King Black Bolt makes his triumphant return to the Marvel Universe as the War Of The Four Cities continues! But what are the circumstances surrounding his mysterious return, and how will it turn the tides of the FF’s intense battle? Will someone stand in the way of King Black Bolt’s return to the throne? Cover your ears as the King of the Inhumans makes his vicious return to royalty, only in July’s FF #6!
The Joss Whedon directed The Avengers film opens next year. All we know is the cast and actors, but now we have a better idea of what the team members will look like, thanks to a promotional poster at the Licensing Expo 2011. Iron Man, Thor and Black Widow we’ve already seen on the big screen and their costumes don’t look much changed. Cap’s duds look modernised as is to be expected, and Hawkeye looks much cooler than he did in his bland Thor cameo. Hulk looks like every other time we’ve seen him. These may very well not be their final looks however.
95 mins. Yes, it’s our longest episode ever, but with good reason. It’s our X-Men special, in which we focus on the films, the cartoons and some forgotten TV appearances. Joined by Mat from popular podcast, Sequelcast we discuss the highs, lows and more of the merry mutants. Also, Jake Busey’s teeth, Paul Hogan and a heap of useless X-Men trivia to impress your friends.
Marvel’s yearly cross-overs have always been more epic than DC’s, and Fear Itself is a prime example of that, though DC’s current Flashpoint mini-series (the 2nd ish of which is now out) is getting grander in scope.
Below is a text-free preview of July’s instalment of Fear Itself, and if you’ve read last week’s 3rd issue, you’ll see the first bold steps of Steve Rogers reclaiming the Captain America mantle (just in time for his film in July), due to Bucky’s cybernetic arm being ripped off, possibly leading to his death. Oh, and The Thing looks set to join Hulk in being possessed by an evil Norse god. Yep, epic.
Your First Look At FEAR ITSELF #4!
Marvel is pleased to present your first look at Fear Itself #4 (of 7) from the chart-topping team of Matt Fraction and Stuart Immonen! The unthinkable has happened—Sin has dealt a crushing blow to Bucky Barnes, aka Captain America, unleashing her full fury on the Marvel Universe! With his country in flames, Steve Rogers enters the trenches, forcing the biggest decision of his entire life. And as the Marvel Universe hangs in the balance, Thor must finally confront the Serpent himself. Can the God of Thunder overcome the God of Fear, or will the Serpent prove that he is the one, true All-Father? The stakes have never been higher as the comic blockbuster event of the summer continues this July, only in Fear Itself #4 (of 7)!
Looks like DC’s not the only one with finishing long running series on the brain. Take it away, Marvel.
X-MEN: SCHISM Brings UNCANNY X-MEN To An End!
All things must come an end…even for the X-Men, and this October fans will bear witness the end of an era as Uncanny X-Men #544 concludes the long running series. It’s all come to this! Years in the making, the seeds of dissent finally bear fruit as the events of X-Men Schism tear the X-Men and the Marvel Universe apart! When the dust settles, the state of mutantkind will irreparably be changed forever. Don’t miss the historic final issue of the longest running X-Men title this October, in Uncanny X-Men #544!
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