Or - “Much Ado About… Something…”

It’s one of the most talked-about series in years… The final nail in the coffin of the Status Quo (at least until the next big series shakeup), the foundations of a new Marvel Universe, and the entire series has been filled with moments that you thought they couldn’t top. Marvel has set expectations incredibly high with this series, and after the lukewarm response (not to mention the lukewarm stories) of “House of M,” it’s a chance to show that they’re the industry leader for a reason. You’ve read about it, debated it, complained vehemently about it, and now it’s here. And frankly, it’s not a moment too soon… What’s the verdict?

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Or - “What The Heck Do I Call A Dead Character NOW?”

There’s an inherent pitfall to the way I do my reviews. My rules are simple: I pick some titles to go over, stick ‘em in a pile by my comfy chair, and review them, in roughly chronological order. Scan the good bits, babble incoherently, then enjoy a Milk-Bone in a commie-free world. But when a book comes out that has spoilery material, it quickly becomes a topic of discussion, and makes me feel like I’m behind the curve when I get ’round to it. Case in point? Civil War: The Return, a book so loudly, roundly, and universally pounded, that it feels like insult to injury for me to cover it here. That said, since CW: TR’s own writer has called it a “massive waste of time and money,” (though it should be noted that he was possibly joking. It’s hard to tell with Jenkins…), what harm could one more voice do? After all, no matter how bad it is, I’ve read “Sonic Disruptors.” Voluntarily…

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Black Panther and his bride Storm have jumped into Marvel’s Civil War, siding with Captain America and the Anti-Registration renegades. Now they are preparing for their greatest battle against the Thor Clone, or is it Clone Thor? Maybe it should be Bizzaro Thor? Meh. Still going to be one hell of a battle.

Marvel has sent us a four page preview of Black Panther #25. Who is going to get the smack-down and who will survive?

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Or - “The Only People Who’ll REALLY Stay Dead Are Thomas & Martha Wayne…”

It’s an exciting world right now in comics… For the first time in years, it seems like change is occuring organically, as part and parcel of real stories, with real character development, rather than as a sales ploy. Even though I don’t necessarily appreciate everything Marvel is DOING with Civil War, ya gotta give them credit for what they’re trying to do: Something Different. That’s the raison d’etre for this issue, not just as a Civil War tie-in, but as a statement that finally puts to rest one of fandom’s old chestnuts, the concept of “Bucky Dead.”

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Three of the Civil War one-shots have sold out at Diamond according to Marvel comics. Civil War: War Crimes, Winter Soldier: Winter Kills, and Iron Man/Captain America; Casualties of War will all be reprinted in Civil War: Casualties of War.

The Black Panther Civil war tie-ins will also be collected in Black Panther: War Crimes which will include Black Panther issues #21-23.

Black Panther: War Crimes will be available February 7, 2007 for $4.99.
Civil War: Casualties of war will be available February 14, for $6.99.

The Marvel Civil War series has been one filled with controversy, delays, and a storyline that fans have been wanting more of. Marvel is answering by beefing up Civil War #7 with six additional pages, and it won’t be increasing the cover price.  However, when you look at the shipping schedule below, you’ll notice the final issue won’t be hitting stands until February 21, 2007.
Can’t wait for Civil War #7 to hit the stands? Major Spoilers has a sneak peek at the cover.

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Word is out that the West Cost will be seeing a delay in many titles due in part to the New Year holiday, Gerald Ford’s funeral (which closed post offices on Tuesday), and the crappy weather. Civil War #6 is the big issue most were waiting for, and now thanks to the grinding of the universe, many will have to wait longer.

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That’s the question Marvel Comics posed to Major Spoilers readers when they sent us the cover to Fantastic Four #544. The cover features the Human Torch, The Thing, Storm, and Black Panther in what looks like the new team up following the events of Civil War. Click the image to embiggen.
What do you think?

Marvel Comics has let us know that Civil War:  Choosing Sides was so popular with fans, that the book will be going back to press.  The second printing will feature a new variant cover by Gene Colan.  Gene Colan is well known for penciling characters such as Daredevil, Captain American and Howard the Duck.

See the variant after the jump.

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Newlyweds Black Panther and Storm make a royal visit to the United States and land smack in the middle of Civil War.  In issue #23, the couple decide to join the fight, but who’s side are they on?

Marvel Comics has sent us the cover and a four page preview of Black Panther #23.  Take the jump to take a peek.

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Marvel Comics has let us know Punisher War Journal #1 has sold out. The company told us it is rushing back to the printer with a second printing that includes a Variant Cover by Young Guns Reloaded artist Ariel Olivetti. Punisher War Journal #1 Second Printing will be available on January 3, 2007 for $2.99.

In the wake of Marvel’s Civil War, the world has seen the debut of an all-new, all deadly Thunderbolts!  Comprised of some of the most dangerous foes in the Marvel Universe (Venom, Moonstone, Bullseye, Songbird, Chen Lu, Swordsman, Penance, and The Green Goblin) and under strict governmental control, this team is the best option the world has to bring in those secret, unregistered superhumans hiding among us that continue to defy the Registration Act. They’re making the world a safer place for ordinary people one would-be costumed hero at a time!

Marvel Comics has sent us a look at the variant cover to Thunderbolts #10.  This cover by Young Guns Reloaded Leinil Yu features a very lethal looking Venom.  Collect all of the covers to the first arc, and you will end up with an interlocking image of the most dangerous team ever assembled in the Marvel Universe.

Keep checking back here as we unveil each of the Young Guns Reloaded variant covers for the all new Thunderbolts.

Or - “How To Ignore Fourteen Characters To Revive One.”

I wish you all a “Happy American Day Of Eating Till Ya Nearly Burst…” I had far too much pie and far too little sleep, but I’m here and ready to rock. Since it’s Thanksgiving, I thought I might go over an interesting question: What are you thankful for when it comes to comics?

I’m thankful for Garth Ennis, for “Agents of Atlas,” for the return of Shang Chi and Mon-El and Nova. Hell, there are a lot of things right about today’s comics industry. Fascinating characters, excellent writers, plotlines that are complex and adult… I enjoy the hell out of a great many books on the stands right now, probably more than any time in the last 20 years. That’s what makes the negatives so annoying: excessive decompression of stories, violence as character development, and a “throw it at the wall to see if it sticks this time” approach to characters like The Creeper and Doctor Strange. I walked into this miniseries thinking “Hey, I dig the Young Avengers… I dig the Runaways… It has to fall on the side of good things in comics, right?” Wanna bet whether or not I was being naive?

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Or - “The Following Previews Have Been Rated D, for “Drain Your Wallet.”

Of all the things that I whine about regarding Civil War, the one aspect that doesn’t bug me is the insistence that it affects every single facet of life in the Marvel Universe. I’ve always thought that if you’re going to do a huge mega-crossover, you may want to have it affect somebody. I remember the days of the Infinity Gauntlet-War-Crusade-Jamboree, and how I kept seeing my guy Nova on the cover of the books, and hearing rumors that he died or something, but seeing little to no mention of it in New Warriors or his own book. I’d say being rendered into my component elements by a 9 foot purple guy would be worth comment, y’think? With “Choosing Sides,” we see some of the less obvious effects of the ongoing chaos on the denizens of the Marvel Universe. Are you sitting comfortably?

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Or - “You Are Somewhat Distracted By The Second-Person Narrative…”

As a sometimes-retailer, Marvel’s giant “Civil War” crossover is puzzling to me. Virtually all the issues of all the comics Marvel has printed in recent months have been affected, many of them forced to ship late for fear of tipping crucial plot points, and the entire continuity of the Marvel Universe has been tangled up together like the Giant Spaghetti Monster in the sky. As a reader, it’s maddening, as things happen that don’t get explained until weeks later (i.e. the revelation of the spoilery death in “Cable & Deadpool” that wasn’t explained until weeks later), and characters act in ways that frustrate, confuse, and irritate me. I hesitate to use the term “out of character,” because “out of character” is in the eye of the beholder (or in this case, the mind of the writer). This issue promises big things as The Sentry, Marvel’s most powerful man, picks his side… (more…)