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Another month, another issue of Previews. Shall we dig in?

CIVIL WAR: THE RETURN
Written by PAUL JENKINS
Penciled by TOM RANEY
As the Civil War rages, two of the universe’s greatest heroes are confronted with pasts they can’t leave behind in two heart-rendering tales. On Earth, the Sentry confronts his inner demons as the shadows of past and future battles tear him apart. Within The Negative Zone, the walls of 42, are pulled back to reveal the return of one of the Marveldom’s greatest heroes…now face-to-face with a Universe they no longer recognize.

Nothing like milking a concept. I don’t think this series will ever end…

ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #38
Written by MIKE CAREY
Pencils and Cover by PASQUAL FERRY
“GOD WAR”
It’s battleground Earth as the God War between Halcyon and Acheron comes crashing down on New York! The Fantastic Four stand as our last, best hope against Ronan the Accuser, who has passed the irrevocable sentence of death to the Earth. Not to be missed! Part 6 (of 6)

A thoroughly underwhelming series. The Ultimate universe is starting to show it’s age…

ULTIMATE POWER #1 DIRECTOR’S CUT
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Pencils & Cover by GREG LAND
Go behind the scenes on the crossover of the decade! This bonus edition reprints ULTIMATE POWER #1, plus extras!

Why? Granted, the first couple of Director’s cuts that Marvel did were semi-decent, seeing as how they reprinted books that had sold out, back when Marvel was enforcing their strict “no overprint” policy. Now these books are regularly scheduled and usually feature nothing more than a couple of pages of sketches and a few pages of script. These have become complete wastes of money…

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #104
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Pencils and Cover by MARK BAGLEY
CLONE SAGA
A double-sized spectacular brings to a close the incredible “Clone Saga.” Everything has led to this moment, as a battered and beaten Spider-Man faces off against the ascendant master of many arms: Doctor Octopus, in the greatest battle of the web spinner’s young career. The life of Peter Parker and those he loves will never be the same—a true turning point for the Ultimate wall-crawler! Part 8 (of 8)

This has been a fun book, but really, how much more can the status quo change? The Ultimate universe has strayed far away from the original concept of series where new readers can jump on without having to know years worth of continuity. When will editorial decide that things need to be “snapped back”?

FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #16
Written by PETER DAVID
Pencils and Cover by SCOT EATON
There was a time when Deborah Whitman was falling for Peter Parker. Now, he’s falling for her—to his death, that is! It’s chaos in the sky, and spiders can’t fly… especially when they have the Vulture to worry about! Can Spider-Man make amends with Deborah before his extensive list of enemies grows by one? And what role does (extra) ex-flame Betty Brant play in the proceedings: friend or foe?

Deb Whitman and Betty Brant. Can Chrissy Snow or Glory Grant be far behind?

SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #34
Written by ROBERTO AGUIRRE-SACASA
Penciled by SEAN CHEN
Cover by CLAYTON CRAIN
While Spider-Man bounces back from the brutal beating he received at the hands of the Rhino, the Black Cat takes it upon herself to deliver a little payback. Of course, since he outweighs her by a few tons, Felicia Hardy might need some help.
Calling...the Puma! It’s revenge, feline-style, in this third issue that spotlights the women in Peter Parker’s life post-unmasking!

Isn’t this guy’s run done yet???

ULTIMATE CIVIL WAR SPIDER-HAM CRISIS (FEATURING WOLVER-HAM) #1
Written by J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Penciled by MIKE WIERINGO, MIKE ALLRED, JOHN SEVERIN, NICK DRAGOTTA, ARIEL OLIVETTI and JIM MAHFOOD
Cover by MIKE WIERINGO
You asked for it, you got it! Quite possibly the most important comic ever! A life-changing event that will change the way you look at yourself and the world around you! Spinning out of the page of CIVIL WAR -- and every other top-selling comic crossover event you can think of – it’s ULTIMATE CIVIL WAR SPIDER-HAM FRISIS (FEATURING WOLVER-HAM)!!! He’s little, he’s pink, he knows how to bring home the bacon. He’s Spider-Ham – and he’s about to embark a kaleidoscopic, time-spanning, universe-shifting journey that will prove just how big a pig he really is. Guest-starring: Iron Ham, Deviled Ham, Fantastic Ham, Green Ham, Ant-Ham, Ultimate Captain Ham, Hambit, Hamneto, and everyone’s favorite Sorcerer Supreme -- whathisface? You know, the guy with the blue tights and red cape…Mustache…Man-servant named Wong? -- anyway, you know who I’m talking about. He’s in it, too. And Wolver-Ham – did I mention him?

Ya know, I know some people may look back at this comic fondly, because it reminds them of their childhood and all, but this was a pretty lame series based on a pretty lame concept. Yeah, I get the joke. It’s a pig. Who dresses up as Spider-Man. Ha. Okay.

SPIDER-MAN: REIGN #2 (of 4)
Written by KAARE ANDREWS
Pencils and Cover by KAARE ANDREWS
A searing vision of Spider-Man’s future, brought to you by rising star Kaare Andrews (INCREDIBLE HULK).
They’re whispering about it on the streets. He’s back. Come down from the mountain like a righteous wraith of vengeance, dispensing rough justice and then swinging off into the night. For Mayor Waters, who rules over the Big Apple with an iron hand, this is a public relations nightmare -- and it’s got to be dealt with pronto. Luckily for him, he has a contingency plan for this type of situation -- and it’s sitting right there, in the Vault. Six hard men, with axes to grind. All Waters has got to do is wind them up and point them.

Yeah, it’s getting harder and harder to care here…Makes me wonder though, is JMS still thinking about doing a Spider-Man: The End series? I remember him mentioning it a few years back when he introduced the Spider-Man costume with the vest or leather jacket and crap. Just curious, cuz this sounds like a Spider-Man: The End series to me also…

ALL-NEW OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE A TO Z: UPDATE #1 (of 4)
Written by JEFF CHRISTIANSEN, STUART VANDAL, RONALD BYRD, SEAN MCQUAID, MARK O’ENGLISH, MIKE FICHERA, ANTHONY FLAMINI, ERIC J. MOREELS, MICHAEL HOSKIN, CHRIS BIGGS, MADISON CARTER, RICH GREEN & AL SJOERDSMA
Cover by TOM RANEY
What’s the origin of M-11 the Human Robot? Who are the members of the Circus of Crime? What are the powers of Spider-Man 2099? Who are Digitek and Garko the Man-Frog? Who was Cage’s first costumed foe? Find the answers to all these questions and many more here, as the Official Handbook continues to visit not just the Marvel Universe proper, but all related universes beyond! This one has something for everyone! New characters getting their first Handbook coverage? Freedom Ring, Death’s Head 3.0, Nextwave and more – CHECK! Older characters not covered in 2000s Handbooks? Arcade, Circus of Crime, Graviton, Ikaris, Impossible Man, In-Betweener, Tiger Shark and more – CHECK! Older characters that never had a Handbook entry before? Bug-Eyed Voice, Human Robot, Thundersword and more – CHECK! Major characters getting massive expansions and updates to reflect their new status? Norman Osborn, Quasar, Storm and more – CHECK! Entries for major events, technology, pantheons and alien races – and for characters from different countries, deepest space, other realities, dimensions, and past and future eras – covering more of Marvel’s universes than ever before? Contest of Champions, Digitek, Badoon, MC2’s Fantastic Five, New Universe’s Mark Hazzard, Japanese Gods, the M’kraan Crystal, Spider-Man 2099 and more – CHECK! These updates will ship quarterly in 2007!

I hope Marvel will also do some more of the updates the way they used to, with each issue focusing on a particular group or character. I always found this format a little to scattershot for my tastes, but they’re still great books.

GHOST RIDER FINALE
Written by IVAN VELEZ
Art by JAVIER SALTARES & MARK TEXEIRA
Cover by JAVIER SALTARES
The original creative team unites to complete an issue eight years in the making! In early 1998, GHOST RIDER #93 ended with a shocking cliffhanger: the death of Dan Ketch, the Ghost Rider’s human host! But the book was canceled prematurely, prior to the release of the series finale in GHOST RIDER #94 – which had already been written and was almost entirely penciled. Now, the final fate of Dan Ketch is revealed at last! With Blackheart deposed, the Ghost Rider is now lord of the Nether Realm. What does he intend to do with his power? And will the other Dark Lords – like Belasco, Pluto and Hela – allow him to keep it? This special edition also includes GHOST RIDER #93 and other bonus material!

Oh boy! Marvel is reduced to printing a book that nobody gave a shit about eight years ago. Imagine the tens of Ghost Rider fans who have been bombarding JQ’s e-mail with petitions and letters begging him to finally cap off this historic series! Yay fucking yay.

IRON MAN: HYPERVELOCITY #1 (of 6)
Written by ADAM WARREN
Penciled by BRIAN DENHAM
Cover by ADAM WARREN
A single, grueling night of high-speed, mechanized mayhem finds Tony Stark and a new, uniquely improved version of the Iron Man armor caught in the crossfire between the bleeding-edge technology of an insurgent mecha subculture and the massed hardware of an elite “cape-killing” paramilitary force. Besieged by ballistic missiles, supersonic jihadi LMDs, seductive viral avatars and cyberdrug-addled roboravers, Iron Man must push himself far beyond his technological and biological limits to survive the onslaught of ultra-tech war machinery...
Writer Adam Warren (Livewires) delivers the fast-paced, tech-laced narrative, and artist Brian Denham renders the action in high-contrast “technoir” realism, with Guru eFX adding vibrant colors to the mix.

Another “who gives a shit?” book. I guess if you’re a fan of Adam Warren you might, but I don’t see that big a demand for his work. To each their own I guess…

MYTHOS: GHOST RIDER
Written by PAUL JENKINS
Paints and Cover by PAOLO RIVERA
A fully-painted recounting of the origins of Johnny Blaze, the man the world knows as the Ghost Rider! What would cause a man to barter his soul with Satan, becoming an unholy Spirit of Vengeance in the process?

Man, they’re just gearin’ up for that big movie, huh? Gives me a big chubby…

MS. MARVEL SPECIAL
Written by BRIAN REED
Pencils and Cover by GUISEPPE CAMUNCOLI
Once upon a time, Carol Danvers was a novelist. This morning, at the New York Public Library, a child with the ability to turn anything he imagines into reality has begun to read Carol’s sci-fi epic “Binary,” based loosely on her own life amongst the stars. Within minutes, the library is overrun with visions from Carol’s book and soon all of New York City is threatened! Brian Reed (Ms. Marvel, New Avengers: Illuminati) and Giuseppe Camuncoli (Captain Atom: Armageddon) team up for this one-shot special guest-starring Simon “Wonder Man” Williams and re-introducing one of Ms. Marvel’s oldest threats!

Huh? Wouldn’t this work better as a two issue arc of the regular series? Or was this a planned annual that Marvel decided wasn’t special enough? Or is Marvel trying to burn off inventory before cancelling this book (which is my guess…)

NEXTWAVE: AGENTS OF H.A.T.E. #12
Written by WARREN ELLIS
Pencils and Cover by
STUART IMMONEN
To all those who HAVEN’T been buying NEXTWAVE– Thanks a lot, jerks! This is the last issue! To all those who HAVE been buying NEXTWAVE– YOU RULE!! Do not miss this pulse-pounding conclusion to the greatest work of western literature EVER! Hamlet? Horrible. War and Peace? What-a-joke! The Great Gatsby? The Great Lame-by, maybe. Those works are going to be moved to the Bad Section of your local bookstores after this issue comes out. Don't miss this or you won’t know what your children’s children are reading in school.

Final issue? Was this planned, or did this series just get the axe due to low sales? I don’t see JQ or Marvel dumping a Warren Ellis series because of sales, so I wonder if they had planned this. If that’s the case, why wasn’t this marketed as a limited series? Or is Marvel playing the “we’re gonna relaunch it as season two with a huge marketing push!” card again? I don’t imagine the books sales are as low as say Runaways or She-Hulk was, and I don’t see scheduling issues like Young Avengers or Astonishing X-Men. Of course, I could be wrong and this could just be a big hoax, which would follow the logic of this book pretty closely. Either way, I can’t say that I really give a shit, mainly because after the first few issues, I found this series repetitive and unfunny. Too bad, as I really wanted to like it…

SHE-HULK #15
Written by DAN SLOTT
Penciled by RICK BURCHETT
Cover by GREG HORN
PLANET WITHOUT A HULK: Part 1 of 4
Now that the ILLUMINATI have shot the HULK into space... Who's going to fight all of his bad guys? Enter SHE-HULK: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.! Spinning out of events from CIVIL WAR and PLANET HULK, the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D. is shipping She-Hulk off to Hulk-related hotspots around the globe-- where she'll be taking on villains from A-Z! Or, in this case, from the Abomination to Zzzax! That's right, gamma-fans, it's the Emerald Amazon in her most ACTION-PACKED ADVENTURE EVER! AND IT ALL STARTS HERE!

This book is so much fun! I wish The Thing had lasted too, but it seemed kind of redundant with this book floating around. How about an anthology of the two books? Kind of a “Tales to Astonish” type thing, with each series getting twelve or fourteen pages a month, with the occasional full issue cross-over? Listen to me Marvel! I your new marketing machine!!!

SILENT WAR #1 (of 6)
Written by DAVID HINE
Penciled by ROY ALLAN MARTINEZ
Cover by JOHN WATSON
SON OF M told how Quicksilver stole the precious Terrigen Mists from the Inhumans and how Black Bolt retaliated by declaring war on humanity. Now that war is about to break loose as Gorgon leads a terrorist attack on New York. Old friends become deadly enemies when the Fantastic Four are forced to defend their city against the Inhumans.

No doubt featuring Bishop and The 198. Jesus, who keeps giving David Hine work? At least he’s consistant…

SQUADRON SUPREME: HYPERION VS. NIGHTHAWK #1 (of 4)
Written by MARC GUGGENHEIM
Pencils and Cover by PAUL GULACY
It had to happen: The ultimate throw-down between the two stars of the smash hits "Supreme Power" and "Squadron Supreme:" Hyperion and Nighthawk.
But what could draw these two heroes into the biggest of all smackdowns? Nothing less than genocide. In this ripped from the headlines story, Marc Guggenheim (Wolverine, Blade) and comic book legend Paul Gulacy (Master of Kung Fu) explore the real-world tragedy that is going on right now in Darfur, Africa. The most thought-provoking and action-packed book you'll read all year!

I thought that Civil War was supposed to be “The most thought-provoking and action-packed book you'll read all year!” How silly of me…Anyways, I could really care less. This went from a book that I really wanted to like, to a pretty cool book, to a book I read out of inertia, to a book that I buy out of inertia, but don’t really read cuz I don’t care enough about what’s been happening to remember where all the characters are.

THUNDERBOLTS #110
Written by WARREN ELLIS
Penciled by MIKE DEODATO
Cover by MARKO DJURDJEVIC
Variant Covers by LEINIL YU
“Faith in Monsters” Part 1 of 6
Venom, lethal protector! The enigmatic Moonstone! Bullseye, the man who never misses! Songbird, mistress of sound! Chen Lu, the Radioactive Man! Swordsman, master of the blade! The mystery man called Penance! And Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin! They’re America’s newest celebrities, ready to take to the skies at a moment’s notice in pursuit of those secret, unregistered superhumans hiding among us! They’re the All-New, All-Deadly THUNDERBOLTS—making the world a safer place for ordinary people one would-be costumed hero at a time! In the wake of CIVIL WAR, Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato present a dark and disturbing take on Marvel’s most wanted, where the line between hero and villain is difficult to find—if it exists at all!

Interesting direction here. Wonder if Warren Ellis is planning on doing more than six issues. Of late, he has been a hit-and-run creator, sticking around for an arc or two and then moving on to something else. There used to be a time when I despised Warren Ellis’ work, and skipped most of it. Now I’ll at least give his mainstream stuff a chance before I make up my mind. His run on Ultimate FF last year was excellent, one of the best runs on any FF title I’ve read. Okay, maybe not better than Lee and Kirby’s Galactus trilogy, but then, what is? Too bad Ellis’s Galactus trilogy ended so damn weakly. Seventeen issues of build-up, and then Galactus (or whatever he was called) just up and leaves? Boy, talk about anti-climatic. Anyways, I’ve found I like some of his stuff, such as when he actually writes character stuff now, but some of his other stuff still leaves me scratching my head. And what’s the deal with using Green Goblin and Venom? Norman Osborne should be dead, and Venom should be forgotten about. Blech.

EXILES #90
Written by CHRIS CLAREMONT
Pencils and Cover by
PAUL PELLETIER
A new era for EXILES begins here! Legend Chris Claremont (UNCANNY X-MEN) starts a run that will have Exiles fans talking for years to come. And he’s not the only one joining up, as X-Woman PSYLOCKE joins the team as well. What is she doing there? How will the team deal with her arrival? And what new villains plan on destroying every world in existence?!

The Chris Claremont era has finally begun! This could be a really fun book, like when Judd Winick and Tony Bedard wrote it, or it could be the most convoluted piece of trash this side of Extreme X-Men. And can’t he write anything without Psylocke?

WOLVERINE #50
Written by JEPH LOEB
Penciled by SIMONE BIANCHI & ED MCGUINNESS
Wraparound cover by SIMONE BIANCHI
"EVOLUTION,” PART 1
A DOUBLE-SIZED SPECIAL 50TH ISSUE! WITH SPECTACLAR WRAPAROUND COVER BY BIANCHI!
Superstar Jeph Loeb (Batman: Hush) is joined by future superstar Simone Bianchi for the biggest, best and, quite possibly, last battle between Wolverine and Sabretooth! These sworn foes have been locked in an endless grudge match that goes back longer than either can remember -- or even imagine. The key to victory is eons old, and it’s certain to rock their world. Think you’ve seen Marvel’s fiercest go toe-to-toe before? Those were just warm-ups. Also featuring a 12-page backup story “PUNY LITTLE
MAN,” by Loeb and superstar Ed McGuinness (Superman/Batman): He’s big, he’s green, he’s mean, and he just got his mitts on Logan. Now THIS is gonna hurt.

Marvel is offering this as both a regular version and a black and white version? Why? Jiminy Crickets, I’m sick of all these variants. That, and anytime I see Jeph Loeb’s name, I have to wonder if the series will ship/end on time. His work load seems much heavier at Marvel then it was at DC, and we know how late Superman/Batman became. Of course, I also understand that he had a lot of outside considerations involving his family that probably accounted for much of the delay, so I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. For now…but between Wolverine, Heroes, Ultimates 3 & 4, Onslaught Reborn, Ultimate Wolverine and a new Spider-Man title, I wonder if that’s a little much…

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: ATLAS ERA HEROES VOL. 1
Featuring Marvel Boy, Human Torch, Captain America & Sub-Mariner
Written by STAN LEE
Penciled by BILL EVERETT, JOHN ROMITA, CARL BURGOS, RUSS HEATH & WAYNE BORING
Cover by CARL BURGOS
As the ’50s dawned and the Atlas Era was born, the day of the Nazi-stomping super hero had passed, and in its place came a new style of hero reflective of the changing times. Heroes born of bizarre atomic science that battled otherworldly alien menaces, and patriotic poster boys that battled back the Communist hordes.
Marvel Boy: Rejecting the tyranny of Earth’s governments, scientist Dr. Matthew Grayson built an experimental spacecraft and traveled to the planet Uranus with his infant son, Robert. In this incredible environment, young Robert developed marvelous powers of telepathy and superhuman strength, combined with a pair of amazing photonic wristbands. These astonishing powers made him Marvel Boy, cosmic protector of the solar system!
The Hero Revival: The year was 1953, and with fear of Communism clutching the nation’s attention, Atlas Comics publisher Martin Goodman tapped Stan Lee – along with artists John Romita, Bill Everett, Carl Burgos and Russ Heath – to stage a revival of the most-famous super heroes of the era. Bursting onto the pages of YOUNG MEN, the Human Torch, Captain America and the Sub-Mariner made their explosive return to the comics scene!
The inaugural volume of a line collecting the exceptionally rare 1950s appearances of Captain America, the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner, Marvel Boy, the Black Knight and more, ATLAS ERA HEROES VOL. 1 is just the first peek into a historical bridge between the Golden Age and the Marvel Age of Heroes no fan should be without!
Collecting MARVEL BOY #1-2, ASTONISHING #3-6 and YOUNG MEN #24-28.

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: WARLOCK VOL. 1
Written by ROY THOMAS, MIKE FRIEDRICH, RON GOULART, GERRY CONWAY & TONY ISABELLA
Penciled by GIL KANE, JOHN BUSCEMA, TOM SUTTON, BOB BROWN & HERB TRIMPE
Cover by GIL KANE
As the 1970s dawned, Marvel Comics marched into a new era. An era whose heroes increasingly reflected the turmoil and social unrest of the time. And as Marvel’s heroic pantheon evolved, a newly christened hero debuted to herald that new era: Adam Warlock!
Mixing super-hero action with equal parts social consciousness and allegory, writer Roy Thomas and artist Gil Kane, in some of the most accomplished work of his career, launched Warlock on a wild ride across the cosmos to Counter-Earth! Hastened by the High Evolutionary to be the savior of this parallel planet, Warlock, armed for the first time with his soul gem, must do battle with the evil Man-Beast for the very planet itself!
Featuring guest-appearances by Dr. Doom, Reed Richards and no less than the Incredible Hulk, this volume of never-before-collected stories is one you won’t want to miss, and you can bet your pet rock on that!
Collecting MARVEL PREMIERE #1-2, WARLOCK #1-8 and INCREDIBLE HULK #176-178.

They’ve really run out of shit to reprint, haven’t they? I can’t wait til the Team America Archives comes out!

CHAMPIONS CLASSIC VOL. 2 TPB
Written by BILL MANTLO, JOHN BYRNE & JIM SHOOTER
Penciled by JOHN BYRNE, BOB HALL & GEORGE TUSKA
Cover by ERNIE CHAN
Demon-gods, alien monsters and killer bees – it only goes to show that Angel, Iceman, Hercules, Black Widow and Ghost Rider did more before #17 than some teams get done by #50! The short-lived super-team squeezed multiple mayhem into mere months of masked marvelry! Featuring the Stranger and the Stilt-Man! Magneto and MODOK! The world reign of Doctor Doom! The Sentinels and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants! Guest-starring Spider-Man and the Avengers! Plus: destined for the pages of Punisher War Journal...Rampage! Collecting CHAMPIONS #12-17, IRON MAN ANNUAL #4, AVENGERS #163, SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP #14. and PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #17-18.

Because some guy in Billings Montana asked for it! Jesus…

Now, onto the DC side…

BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #214
Written by Christos N. Gage
Art and cover by Phil Winslade
A crooked financier is supposed to testify against his equally crooked boss — but he’s been intimidated out of making it to court by the one man he fears more than Batman…Deadshot!
On sale January 31 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • FINAL ISSUE

Lets see…We have two regular Batman books, Batman Confidential which tells early stories of Batman’s career featuring today’s hottest creators, All Star Batman which tells early stories of Batman’s career featuring today’s hottest creators, mini-series galore which tell early stories of Batman’s career featuring today’s hottest creators, and of course, this book, which was originally started to tell early stories of Batman’s career featuring today’s hottest creators. According to DC’s in-house dictionary, if you look up the word redundant, it says “See redundant.” Oh, wait, this series is finally being put out of it’s misery…Never mind, it’s all cool now…

52: WEEKS 35-39
Written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid
Breakdowns by Keith Giffen
Art by various
Backup features by Waid and various
Covers by J.G. Jones
Variant cover on WEEK 35 by J.G. Jones
The New Year begins with the deadliest day Metropolis has ever seen — and by the end of the month a villain will stand revealed, a hero will fall in the outer reaches of the galaxy…and the reveal of Supernova will deepen his mysteries even further.
WEEK 35: Art by Phil Jimenez & Andy Lanning, plus The Origin of Black Canary by Waid and Howard Chaykin.
WEEK 36: Art by Chris Batista & Jack Jadson, plus The Origin of Green Arrow by Waid and Tim Sale.
WEEK 37: Art by Patrick Olliffe & Drew Geraci; plus The Origin of Firestorm by Waid and Jamal Igle.
WEEK 38: Art by Shawn Moll & Jadson; plus The Origin of Red Tornado by Waid and Phil Jimenez.
WEEK 39: Art by Joe Bennett & Ruy Jose; plus, The Origin of Mr. Terrific by Waid and Dave Johnson.
Retailers: 52 WEEK 35 will feature two covers that may be ordered separately. Both covers are by J.G. Jones. Please see the Previews Order Form for further details.
52: A year without Superman; a year without Batman; a year without Wonder Woman…but not a year without heroes.

I dunno, I guess this book is getting better, but it still hasn’t totally hooked me like it has most other people. I think it’s the whole day-by-day thing that’s been turning me off. It seems unnatural and forced. Things that would naturally take only a day or so, seem to be stretched out over a week just to fit into the storyline. Getting’ better though…

JSA CLASSIFIED #21 & 22
Written by Walter Simonson
Art and cover by Simonson
Continuing the 4-part story by Walter Simonson that started in December’s HAWKGIRL #59! In JSA CLASSIFIED #21, find out where Hawkman's been since Hawkgirl returned to Earth, while the breakout of several high-powered prisoners of the Rann-Thanagar War brings Hawkman’s involvement in the war to its premature conclusion.
Part 3 of this epic tale ships two weeks later in issue #22! Struggling to defeat the powerful person behind the Rann-Thanagar prison break brings Hawkman and Hawkgirl back together after more than a year apart…and forces them into a situation that could turn the tide in the epic war!

I saw this, and I got all excited! Drawn by Walt Simonson! Then I realized that it was only two parts of a cross-over with Hawkgirl, which isn’t being drawn by Walt Simonson and I didn’t care anymore…*sigh*

TRIALS OF SHAZAM #5
Written by Judd Winick
Art and cover by Howard Porter
The red-hot maxiseries by Judd Winick and Howard Porter continues! Sabina, the Council of Merlin’s representative in the Middle East steps in and sabotages Freddy’s latest trial — succeeding in taking some power for the evil members who sponsor her!

Damn Judd Winick…

SCALPED #1
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by R.M. Guéra
Cover by Jock
Introducing SCALPED, an all-new monthly series by up-and-coming writer Jason Aaron (THE OTHER SIDE) featuring the gritty art of R.M. Guéra (Heavy Metal).
Fifteen years ago, Dashiell “Dash” Bad Horse ran away from a life of abject poverty and utter hopelessness on the Prairie Rose Indian Reservation in hopes of finding something better. Now, he's come back home to find nothing much has changed on “The Rez” — short of a glimmering new casino, and a once-proud people overcome by drugs and organized crime. So is he back to set things right or just get a piece of the action?
Also at the center of the storm is Tribal Leader Lincoln Red Crow, a former “Red Power” activist turned burgeoning crime boss who figures that after 100 years of the Lakota being robbed and murdered by the white man, it’s now time to return the favor.
Now Dash — armed with nothing but a set of nunchucks, a hellbent-for-leather attitude and (at least) one dark secret — must survive a world of gambling, gunfights, G-men, Dawg Soldierz, massacres, meth labs, trashy sex, fry bread, Indian pride, Thunder Beings, the rugged beauty of the Badlands…and even a brutal scalping or two.
For a dose of Sopranos-style organized crime drama mixed with current Native American culture, look no further than SCALPED!

This book actually sounds kinda cool. I haven’t decided if I want to try it out or not…hmmmmm…

Well, that about wraps it up for this issue of Previews. Much shorter than usual, but I had a revelation the other day while filling out my monthly order from Westfield. I just don’t really give a shit anymore. Yeah, there’s a couple of DC books that I’m interested in (Green Arrow, Teen Titans, Jonah Hex), but that’s about it. Plus, on the Marvel side, I’m getting really burnt out on Civil War and everything else. Instead of buying every Ultimate book, I’m gonna stick with what I really enjoy (bye-bye Ultimate FF, you better get your shit together Ultimate X-Men!) Other books that I’m planning on dropping out of boredom include: Avengers Next, Ms. Marvel, Hulk, Iron Man, Moon Knight (damn blatant Batman rip-off! Ask ROY, Franta or LLance!), Punisher, Squadron Supreme and Fantastic Four. I just don’t give a shit about these anymore, plus I gave up slavishly following Civil War. Most of the tie-ins have been crap anyways. Marvel’s side is pretty light this month, owing to all the Civil War crap being late. No Amazing Spider-man, Iron Man, Captain America, Avengers or Fantastic Four. Has that, in the history of Marvel comics, ever happened before? Anyways, going back to my epiphany, I never seem to have much energy to read my monthly stack ‘o shit these days. Sometimes I ask “Why bother?” And you know what? All the books I’ve dropped lately, I don’t even miss ‘em…

If you can, try to ignore the fact that each of 52's storylines are being stretched out to fit a week. Once you ignore the days of the week the book becomes much easier to enjoy.

They announced about a few weeks ago that NextWave will continue as a series of minis. This is probably because Immonen is gonna be too busy with Ultimate Spidey and they don't wanna use another artist (good call).

Oh, and Ultimate Fantastic Four RAWKS. The latest arc is the New Gods with balls. Thanos is Darkseid's daddy!

Actually, I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago at work and it's been sitting on my memory stick since then, so some information is a little out of date. I actually found it while I was downloading next months Previews to read at work...I didn't hear about mini-series, but I did see JQ say that the book may return sometime in the future...like they say about everything else...

And as far as 52 goes...meh. The book needs more...structure. Too many things pulling the story in too many different directions. I will be disappointed if when they wrap this series up the writers don't manage to at least tie some of the different storylines in together. At least then it'll feel like a complete narrative and not just a bunch of different mini-series lumped together in one book...

There are already several story elements linking the stories that will undoubtedly pull a majority of the characters together, if not all of them.

Much like NBC's Heroes but with much less foreshadowing.