Marvel Comics solicitations for November 2007

Oh man November's going to be a great month for comic book fans. Here are some previews that Marvel just released. More should come in either later tonight or tomorrow.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #32
Written by Ed Brubaker
Pencils & Cover by Steve Epting
THE EPIC DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA STORY CONTINUES!
The Falcon and Black Widow hunt together! Can they save the Winter Soldier from becoming a tool of the Red Skull again? And if they do, will he just go kill Tony Stark? And what of Agent 13, Sharon Carter, who shot the final bullets into her true love, Steve Rogers, and has seen her life fall apart since then? Those answers, much action, and more! From the Eisner Award-Winning Best Writer Ed Brubaker and Fan-Favorite Artist Steve Epting, who brought you the biggest selling comic of the year!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

THOR #5
Written by J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Pencils and 50/50 Cover by OLIVIER COIPEL
Variant 50/50 Cover by J. SCOTT CAMPBELL
Thor has searched far and wide for his Asgardian brethren, seeking each of them out across the length and breadth of these United States…but he was never prepared for what he finds next! But alas, where there is Thor, there must also be…
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #545
Written by J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
Pencils & 50/50 Cover by JOE QUESADA
50/50 Cover by MARKO DJURDJEVIC
“ONE MORE DAY” PART 4
The riveting conclusion to the most-talked about -- and controversial -- comics event of the year. Brought to you by J. Michael Straczynski and Joe Quesada. Brace yourself, Spidey fans, after this, nothing will be the same for Peter Parker!
The stakes have never been higher. At his darkest hours -- and he's had plenty -- Peter has always had one shoulder to lean on, one person who'd remind him who he is, who he was, and who he can be. Now he's about to lose that person. What will he do...what would you do, if you only had "One More Day?”
48 PGS./Rated A …$3.99

AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE ANNUAL #1
Written by DAN SLOTT
Penciled by TBA
Cover by JIM CHEUNG
AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY!
You have been granted clearance to Camp Hammond's most sensitive files.
For the first time anywhere, witness the hidden origins of the GAUNTLET, ARMORY, MVP, and HARDBALL. Also, learn some of the Initiative's most hi-tech secrets. And meet the team from America's 2nd State, Pennsylvania, as they battle FLAG SMASHER and the forces of ULTIMATUM! How will Philly react to the Initiative's all-new take on the LIBERTY LEGION?
Jump on here for the next chapter in Marvel's big breakout series!
48 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

IRON MAN: DIRECTOR OF S.H.I.E.L.D. ANNUAL #1
Written by Christos Gage
Penciled by HARVEY TALIBAO
Cover by JIM CHEUNG
S.H.I.E.L.D. has a problem, and her name is Madame Hydra. The leader of the world's deadliest terror organization is also the lawful ruler of Wolverine's old stomping ground: the island nation of Madripoor. Unable to depose her openly, S.H.I.E.L.D. sends in its best man to secretly take her down. His name? Stark...Tony Stark. But with his Extremis powers blocked and his Iron Man armor hovering in orbit for emergencies only, can the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. survive against enemies like Bloodscream and Roughhouse, who've nearly killed Wolverine himself? Wizard's 2007 Writer to Watch, Christos Gage (Iron Man), and in his stunning Marvel debut, artist Harvey Talibao (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic), bring you a roller coaster ride of action and espionage that will change Madripoor forever!
48 PGS./Rated A …$3.99

WORLD WAR HULK: AFTERSMASH
Written by GREG PAK
Art by RAFA SANDOVAL
Cover by GREG LAND
World War Hulk is over. But the Aftersmash has just begun. Heroes and monsters rise and fall as the events of "World War Hulk" reverberate through the blasted ruins of New York City with goliath impact in a massive story featuring the Warbound, the Renegades, Heroes for Hire, Iron Man, Tom Foster, and Damage Control. And yes, smashing will be involved.
64 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

MIGHTY AVENGERS #7
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Penciled by MARK BAGLEY
Cover by FRANK CHO
The Ultimate Spider-Man super-team of Bendis and Bagley reunite and just in time for the Avengers’ biggest problem ever!!! A Venom virus hits the city of New York!! A Venom virus!! The entire city of New York turns symbiote. Plus, Wonder Man gets a much needed makeover. All this and Tony Stark gets himself a green-skinned present in a body bag.
32 PGS./Rated A …$2.99

NEW AVENGERS #36
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Pencils & Cover by LEINIL FRANCIS YU
Hey, I don't know if you read the solicitation for Mighty Avengers but a Venom virus has gone off in New York City. That means the whole city!! That means the New Avengers have turned symbiote. Oh yeah!! Plus, Wolverine has a bone to pick with Spider-Woman about a little green-skinned something. Oh, and the Hood isn't wasting any time setting himself up as the kingpin of all super-villains.
32 PGS./Rated A …$2.99

NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI #5 (of 5)
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS & Brian Reed
Pencils & Cover by Jim Cheung
The Illuminati get together for the first time since Planet Hulk and the Civil War to deal with the shocking reveals in NEW and MIGHTY AVENGERS. But not everyone in the cabal is who they say they are. Its a throw-down drag-out that opens the door to the Marvel event of 2008!! WHO DO YOU TRUST?? Do not miss this important chapter in the saga!!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

Marvel Characters - Henry Pym

Henry "Hank" Pym has multiple aliases. His first one that he took over was Ant-Man, which not only allowed him to shrink down to the size of an ant, but he was also able to, through a helmet he made, talk to the ants and command them to do whatever he wishes. Soon after he took over the name Ant-Man, he was joined by another shrinker - the Wasp, who would later become his wife. The two, along with Iron Man and Thor, would later be known as the people who founded the Avengers.

Around this time, he took on a new alias - Giant Man, which as the name suggests expands his size rather than shortens it. However, he more than often put on the Ant-Man helmet when times were needed. He later quit the Avengers, though would shortly come back with yet a new alias - Goliath, which had the same powers as Giant-Man did, but just with a more original name.

However, the good times didn't last - He would soon have an exhaustive breakdown, and was later known to beat up his wife and thus was forced to quit the Avengers. Despite this, it seems like his temper is dissapearin.

Marvel announces Killraven

Well, this isn't the greatest story, though none-the-less I'll say what it's about. Well, apparently Mars has no woman, so they go down to Earth to conquer it and find them. Soooo, Earth needs heroes, and that's what they get. In the upcoming, five part mini-series, a new team of apparent Avengers will come to save the day!

Marvel also revealed that the new heroes will be based off of already developed ones, including Captain America (shown below), Iron Man, Hawkeye, Thor, and possibly others.

Expect to see this new series sometime next year...

Marvel Characters - Captain America

Real name - Steve Rogers
First appearance - Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941)

First appearing in 1941, Captain America is one of the first characters that Marvel ever created, and certainly the oldest character that to this day is still popular. The captain has enhanced strength thanks to a super soldier serum that the United States government enjected into him in hopes of being able to create a super soldier. It was a success. However, a nazi (note that this takes place in the 40's) spy found out about this new serum, and the opposing forces destroyed the testing area, making it clear that Steve would be the only human that would be enjected with the serum. Many people in the future tryed to duplicate the serum, though they usually end in failure.

Well, back in the 40's, Captain America and his team member Bucky Barnes have had many successful victories, defeating enemies including the Red Skull. Now they were set to go on a mission to seize Baron Zemo, who stole a British plane to escape. Both Captain America and Bucky lunged onto the plane, though Steve slipped off of it and fell down into the icy cold water, seemingly killing him. Bucky stayed on, though the plane self-exploded, thus killing Cap's partner.

Far into the future, the Avengers are searching for Namor, a man who lives under water, who also helped Cap way back when. While searching for their enemy, they come across Cap's frozen body, and brought him out of the water. While in the water, he did not age. When brought back onto land, they were miracuously able to revive him back to life.

Confused and trying to get acustomed to this new way of life, Steve accepted the Avengers' offer to join their team, and soon became one of the greatest heroes of this era, just as he was back in the 40's.

However, once all super heroes were required to join the government and let everyone know who they were, cap and a gang of other super heroes went underground, and after years of being in a seemingly unbreakable bond, Steve Rogers became Tony Stark's (Iron Man) greatest enemy for not obeying the law.

At the end, Steve Rogers understood, after causing great destruction with a large super hero fight, that he deserves to go to jail. Soon later, after going to another jail, he was shot and killed.

New Avengers #33 images

Above is the cover for the upcoming issue. For images of the first 8 images, click the link below.

Link

Mighty Avengers #4 preview

IGN just put up a new preview of the upcoming Mighty Avengers #4 which will be released on July 25. Feaured are 7 pages and the cover.

Check it out here!

Review: New Avengers #32

The 32nd New Avengers was released this week, and I hurried over to the comic book store to pick it up. The New Avengers are now heading back to the U.S. via a plane, and the team are suspecting each other of being a Skrull. If you're looking for a comic with plenty of action scenes, then look elsewhere, because this issue has barely any of it until the very end (but even then it's not much at all). I enjoyed the issue, and while the art may seem out place, it's still good none-the-less. - 8/10

Comic reviews - Thor #1, New Avengers/Transformers #1, Fallen Son #5, Gunslinger Born #6

I just got the four aforementioned comics at the comics book store, and with that said I'm going to do a mini-review for each one of them.

Thor #1
Alright, the remake of the original Thor series has been a very anticipated event. How was it? Well, to be frankly, it wasn't as good as I had hoped. There wasn't very much dialouge, though beyond that, the art direction is simply outstading. It was quite enjoyable, though overall I just hoped for way more words. The good thing though is that it's cheap for only $2.99. - 7/10

New Avengers/Transformers
It's kind of funny that they made this comic. It was obviously just a cheap way to get money, and I thought that it'd be pretty stupid. Luckily, the writing is good, and the art is pretty snazzy as well. I had low expectations for this comic, though overall it was quite enjoyable. It's very neat to see my favorite comic book heroes and some of the most classic Hasbro characters ever meat. - 8/10

Fallen Son #5 - Iron Man
This ranks among the best of the Fallen Son series, which has been falling short of the expectations of fans. The main subject of the comic is the funeral of Captain America, though the very ending of the book is quite surprising. It's also good to see the soft side of Tony Stark. The art is pretty good, though I did have a few minor gripes: The flashback scenes were usually good, though the one where they showed Captain America yelling "Avengers Assemble" seemed a little off with some of the characters featured, notably the Hulk. - 9/10

The Gunslinger #6
Obviously, this is the best in the books mentioned, and maybe the best of the series so far. Every month The Gunslinger delivers a great and serious comic that is based off of Stephen King's classic novels. As always, the art is amazing, and probably better than any other comics out at the moment, and the writer truly makes the comic feel like a Dark Tower book. - 10/10