Marvel Comics in July 2005: What Are You Buying?

[randomguy]

Courtesy of our good friends at Comic Book Resources (http://www.comicbookresources.com/):

Marvel Comics in July 200 (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=5112)5

What are you going to pick up?

[rggkjg1]

HOUSE OF M #3 and #4
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #21
WOLVERINE #30
FANTASTIC FOUR #529
PUNISHER #23

i think i'm going to drop ultimates 2 after issue 6. its a great series, but i never really cared for the avengers or the characters that make up the avengers. i'll hopefully come back if we see an ultimate invaders arc, but no ultimate invaders series please. i like the break for astonishing x-men though, it gives me time to hopefully save some money towards comics. i may get ultimate fantastic four, only if the cross over is about the ultimate fantastic four crossing over into the regular universe. the solicitation is pretty vague but hints at it.

[Condiment King]

[$3.99] Daredevil 75
[$2.99] G.L.A. 4
[$2.99] Runaways 6
[$2.50] Ultimate Fantastic Four 21

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

Warning: sarcasm levels in the following post may overload some computers temporarily. If problems occur, reading approximately a week's worth of the Family Circus (http://www.familycircus.com/) should correct the sarcasm overload.

We apologize for any problems you encounter in advance.


HOUSE OF M #3 (of 8) :
The last page of this issue will blow your minds and crack the Internet right in half! Has someone called the Department of Homeland Security (http://www.geekandproud.net/terror/) about this? That sounds like it could be, like, SERIOUS or something.


HOUSE OF M #4 (of 8):
The fate of the entire world rests on the shoulders of one young girl, the newest of new mutants, Layla Miller. She is about to become the most important person in the Marvel Universe and this is her first appearance. "Most important person" in a Arana/X-23 kind of way, or "most important person" in a Blue Beetle kind of way? There's kind of a difference -- one leads to death, destruction, and much gnashing of teeth and fanboy agony. The other leads to an 80-page comic for a dollar written by 3 guys where someone gets shot in the end. In the head!!!!!!

Ultimate Fantastic Four #21 threatens to cross-over with the "official" Marvel Universe. I say they're just lifting the old "Flash of Two Worlds" story from the 50's, since Mark Millar has finished ransacking the old Marvel stories for everything they're worth and is now moving to the works edited by Julie Schwartz. In another 30 years, we're going to need the Ultimate Crisis in Marvel, just you wait.

New Daredevil vs. the Punisher mini-series. Who says Marvel doesn't do daring, innovative, and fresh new comics any more? At least this one's done by David Lapham of Stray Bullets (and Detective Comics) fame. However, given a choice, I think I'll buy another Stray Bullets TPB over another DD/Punny throwdown.

The Defenders gets the Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire treatment. As much as I like these guys, I'm waiting for the inevitable trade. I mean, Rogue and Gambit got trades, and those monthly comic sales were TERRIBLE. I think the key to getting a trade is to sell billions of copies or sell 15; the former means Marvel can get people can double-dip, while the latter may mean you'll get a second shot at the bookstore market or something.

See above, apply to Hulk: Destruction mini.


New Thunderbolts #10: Everything you thought you knew could very well be WRONG! Oh, good, I was getting worried that I might have known something about the Marvel Universe correctly.

OK, sarcasm mode off. These are the things I'm probably going to pre-order, minus snark.

I passed on the Combat Zone comic series, but I may give the TPB a shot (pun not intended).

New Marvel Visionaries HC that spotlights John Romita, Sr, and will include the famous "Face it, tiger...You just hit the jackpot" scene if I'm not mistaken.

New Captain America Vol. 1 TPB. This collects the first 7 issues (!) of the new Brubaker/Epting series which I've been holding off on. Tres cool.

Other than that, it's Runaways, as usual, along with the finales of GLA and Livewires and the penultimate issue of Spellbinders.

-- Ed/Ace

[randomguy]

I think if I were more personally invested in Marvel, I'd be really concerned by these solicitations. As it is, though, the most I can do when reading them is chuckle with amusement. I mean, "crack the internet in half?" Honestly.

Anyhow, going down the line...

Having been kicked in the shins by "Avengers Disassembled", I'm uninterested in House of M and all of its tie-ins, which is nice for my wallet, since they comprise most of this month's output.

I've decided to take a page out of the book of Augie DeBlieck and drop all but one of my Marvel titles (Runaways), effective as of this June. That means I'll be reading New Avengers, Black Panther, The Invincible Iron Man, Captain America, Young Avengers, Daredevil, The Punisher, Supreme Power, Astonishing X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four, and Ultimate X-Men in TPB form as quality warrants (some of those are still kinda iffy). Hopefully, that'll free up some cash and allow me to experiment more.

Runaways (and the upcoming She-Hulk relaunch) I will continue to buy in single issues to support the book. You should do the same, because Runaways is awesome and it will totally rock your socks. Buy Runaways or I will track you down and kick you in the shins.

Young Avengers appears to be a debuting a new, young, female Hawkeye. That's either a great idea or trouble just waiting to happen. Maybe both. Using the standard crappy naming system for the Young Avengers, she'll probably be named "Hawkette", or "Arrow Gal", or something similiarly silly.

This is the annual "Ultimate Starts" month, where all the Ultimate titles get a modest push. I'm not terribly intrigued by most of the Ultimate books this month, though I will admit to being extremely curious as to how Brian K. Vaughan is going to handle Ultimate Magneto. Up until this point, Ultimate Magneto has been an embarrassingly two-dimensional villain, so hopefully Vaughan will do some interesting stuff with him.

Is it just me, or is that Kaare Andrews Amazing Spider-Man cover really, really bad? Spider-Man looks... weird. Check it out (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/preview.php?image=solicits/marvel072005/big/ASM522_COV.jpg). See for yourself.

Speaking of covers, cover of the month goes to Marvel Team-Up and Scott Kollins, for the hilarious image of an elephant sitting on Daredevil, Spider-Man, and Moon Knight. Second place goes to the gorgeous cover of Runaways #6, with a sprawled-out Nico. You can see it yourself when you buy it. Which you will do, because you want to be loved and respected by your peers and admired by women every time you go out on Saturday night.

I normally wouldn't care about a new Daredevil/Punisher miniseries, but David Lapham means I'll probably look into it as a TPB. Nice to see another writer addressing the events of Bendis' run, also. I'm sure Defenders will rule, but it's another TPB purchase.

It's Defenders month in Marvel Milestones. Should be fun. Giant-Size Spider-Woman is, admittedly, also kinda cool.

I asked for a Marvel Visionaries: John Romita Sr. book a few months ago in one of these solicitation threads, and I got it. Awesome. This might be worth a pick-up. Next in line (hopefully): Jim Steranko.

Is it just me, or have Marvel's TPB prices gone up? $20 for a six issues of New Avengers seems abnormally high. That's about six bucks more than the cost of the individual issues. Odd.

I'm modestly interested in Combat Zone, so I'll wait for the reviews. Dan Jurgens art helps. I'd be happier if some of the proceeds were, y'know, actually going to Iraq in some form or another.

Finally, Marvel reprints Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, which is pretty cool. Secret Wars is gloriously melodramatic and silly, but it's also very fun, with lots of explosions and fights and fanboy moments galore. It's nice to see it back in print.


"Most important person" in a Arana/X-23 kind of way, or "most important person" in a Blue Beetle kind of way? There's kind of a difference -- one leads to death, destruction, and much gnashing of teeth and fanboy agony. The other leads to an 80-page comic for a dollar written by 3 guys where someone gets shot in the end. In the head!!!!!!I think it's "most important person" in a "Bendis shifting his focus onto a pet character" kind of way. See also: Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Jessica Drew.

[the panther]

Two titles for the month of July:

Marvel Knights 4 #20 - I really like this series. (Obviously, since I'm still getting it.)
Ultimate Iron Man #3 - The first issue was good. I'm just painfully awaiting #2 and #3 now.

With Astonishing X-Men on hiatus, that's all I'm getting.

[Chad Bonin]

Well, I now have an even greater reason to believe House of M makes mutants and humans swap places.

[PaQ]

[$2.99] House of M #3
[$2.99] House of M #4
[$2.99] New X-men #16
[$0.50] The Pulse: House of M Special Edition
[$2.50] Ultimate Fantastic Four #21
[$2.99] Ultimates 2 #7
[$2.50] Ultimate Spider-Man #79 (maybe)
[$2.50] Ultimate Spider-Man #80 (maybe)
[$2.50] Ultimate X-Men #61
[$2.99] MK: Spider-Man #16
[$3.99] Daredevil #75
[$2.99] MK: 4 #20
[$2.50] New Avengers #9
[$2.99] Runaways #6
[$2.99] Young Avengers #6
[$2.99] New Warriors #2
[$2.99] New Thunderbolts #10
[$2.99] Exiles #66 (maybe)
[$2.99] Exiles #67 (maybe)
[$2.95] Powers #13

TOTAL: $55.82

I really hate when series go from monthly to biweekly for a month. My list has 3 series doing that and that really adds up. I have a few maybes, USM has been underwhelming to say the least, and I'm trying to find the right time to jump on Exiles.. I'm just wary of what might happen to it due to House of M. New Warriors looks like fun and the last part of the Daredevil decalogue. Interesting month, and oh of course that little thing called House of M.

[Chad Bonin]

Am I, like, missing a function that tabulates what you're picking up?

[PaQ]

Am I, like, missing a function that tabulates what you're picking up? Nope, did it all myself with the trusty calc by my side. Left off the discounts and tax though.. I'd rather not face the fact of the price till I have to pay it. :sweat:

If only the Marvel solicits had release dates for the issues I could organize it more..

[Matt Hazuda]

Nope, did it all myself with the trusty calc by my side. Left off the discounts and tax though.. I'd rather not face the fact of the price till I have to pay it. :sweat:

If only the Marvel solicits had release dates for the issues I could organize it more..That is really annoying how they dumped the dates. PAQ's system works so well, the only improvement I made to it was to alphabetize my titles for organziation's sake. With that, here are my titles:

[$3.99] Daredevil #75
[$2.99] G.L.A. #4
[$2.99] Gravity #2
[$2.99] House of M #3
[$2.99] House of M #4
[$2.99] Marvel Knights 4 #20
[$2.99] Marvel Knights Spider-Man #16
[$2.99] Marvel Team-Up #10
[$2.50] New Avengers #9
[$2.99] New Thunderbolts #10
[$2.99] Runaways #6
[$0.50] The Pulse: House of M Special Edition
[$2.99] The Pulse #10
[$2.50] Ultimate Fantastic Four #21
[$2.99] Ultimates 2 #7
[$2.50] Wolverine #30
[$2.99] Young Avengers #6

Total: $45.37

More of the same. House of M isn't total overkill (thank god) and a 50 cent summary issue to explain everything is nice. GLA is darkly good and I'm hoping Gravity will be a fun mini. Decent month for Marvel.

[Bryangst]

What I will be buying:

HOUSE OF M #3 (of 8) $2.99
HOUSE OF M #4 (of 8) $2.99
FANTASTIC FOUR: HOUSE OF M #1 (of 3) $2.99
UNCANNY X-MEN #462 $2.50
NEW X-MEN #16 $2.99
SPIDER-MAN: HOUSE OF M #2 (of 5) $2.99
THE PULSE: HOUSE OF M SPECIAL EDITION $.50
CABLE/DEADPOOL #17 $2.99
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #21 $2.50
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #79 & #80 $2.50 (each)
ULTIMATE X-MEN #61 $2.50
NEW WARRIORS #2 (of 6) $2.99
X-MEN #173 $2.50
X-MEN: KITTY PRYDE - SHADOW & FLAME #2 (of 6) $2.99
ORORO: BEFORE THE STORM #2 (of 4) $2.99
NEW X-MEN: HELLIONS #3 (of 4) $2.99
X-MEN: THE END - HEROES AND MARTYRS #5 (of 6) $2.99

Total: $48.39 (without discount, plus the awesomeness of having no sales tax)

[Bowles]

Runaways #6 and maybe Ultimate X-Men #61 if I'm caught up by then. Also, BKV is writing it, so it's going to be good.

[Bearpod91]

everythin in ultimate xmen, ultimate fantastic four, and ultimate spiderman.:D

[Redhood]

House of M 3
house of M #4
iron man house of M#1
fantastic 4 housse of M#1
secrets of house of M
mutopia x
uncanny x men#462
new x men#16
incredible hulk #83+84
spiderman house of M #2
the pulse house of M special
the pulse #10
cable/deadpool#17
ultiamte fantastic 4
ultimates 2#7
ultimate spiderman #79+80
ultimate xmen #61
ultimate iron man#3
amazing spiderman #522
arana#7
spiderman breakout #4
toxin#4
spidergirl#88
spiderman unlimited #10
marvel knights spiderman #16
wolverine #30
black panther #6
daredevil#75
marvel knights4 #20
fantastic 4 #529
defenders #1
new avengers #9
giant sized spiderwoman #1
hulk destruction #1
marvel team up#10
amazing fantasy #10
young avengers#6
official handbook of the marvel univers the avengers
iron man #4
new thunderbolts #10
marvel adventures #2
nightcrawler#8

big month especially with house of M

[Spider-Man]

Finally, Marvel reprints Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, which is pretty cool. Secret Wars is gloriously melodramatic and silly, but it's also very fun, with lots of explosions and fights and fanboy moments galore. It's nice to see it back in print. Can you point me toward any reviews or websites dedicated to this story? I haven't read Secret Wars but I want to read more into it before I decide to purchase this collection. If you or Clayface have any comments that'd be great because I find you guys to really know your stuff.

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,


Can you point me toward any reviews or websites dedicated to this story? I haven't read Secret Wars but I want to read more into it before I decide to purchase this collection.
Summary and review (http://members.tripod.com/%7EMitchellBrown/xover/marvel_secretwars.html), courtesy of Mitchell Brown's Comics Crossover Index.

Here's another one (http://www.geocities.com/marvel80s/files/secret_wars.html) from Jay's "Marvel in the 80's" website.

Those are the two quickest ones I could find, but both give a good run-up and summary of the comics from both business and storytelling perspectives. I'm sure there are sites that go into it in far more detail.

-- Ed/Ace

[randomguy]

Can you point me toward any reviews or websites dedicated to this story? I haven't read Secret Wars but I want to read more into it before I decide to purchase this collection.
It's an expensive collection, so I can hardly blame you for that.

Scott Tipton's Comics 101 column did a nice, long summary and review of Secret Wars (http://www.moviepoopshoot.com/comics101/52.html) that will probably give you a better idea of whether or not it's the story for you than I ever could.

Basically, it's a pretty silly, paper-thin story, but it was the very first company-wide crossover and in many ways the model for all that would follow. All of Marvel's most popular heroes and villains are in attendance, which is neat, and there's a whole lot of fun fanboy moments and neat action scenes. It's very much an 80's comic, and while it's not essential reading, it's pretty enjoyable if you can approach it from the right angle.

This week's Marvel Milestones, if you're interested, reprints one issue from Secret War (#8, the first appearance of Spidey's black costume). If you want, you could pick up that issue or flip through it in the store to give you a better idea of whether or not Secret Wars is for you.

[Ultra8]

Will Get:
ULTIMATES 2 #7
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #79 & #80
SPIDER-GIRL #88
HERCULES #4 & #5 (of 5)
LIVEWIRES #6 (of 6)
GRAVITY #2 (of 5)
AMAZING FANTASY #10
YOUNG AVENGERS #6
NEW WARRIORS #2 (of 6)
EXILES #66 & #67
POWERS #13
SECRETS OF THE HOUSE OF M

Maybe:
DEFENDERS #1 (of 5)
MACHINE TEEN #3 (of 5)
SPELLBINDERS #5 (of 6)
MARVEL NEMESIS: THE IMPERFECTS #3 (of 6)
RUNAWAYS #6
OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE: AVENGERS 2005
NEW THUNDERBOLTS #10

I'll most likey wait for the House of M TPB or just read it in the shop. Though I'm tempted by the FF,Hulk, Spidey, Pulse, Iron man tie-ins. As for Ultimate FF, odds are they'll wait till the last panel to show you the other FF(I'm hoping it's a different FF as apposed to the "official" FF), so I'll probably wait till the next issue before I decide to buy.