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• Grant Morrison and Tony Daniel’s series-changing story arc “Batman: R.I.P.” starts in Batman #676.  They promise this will be big and lasting.
• You would think after last year’s World War: Hulk run, Marvel might have slowed down the Green Goliath’s publicity machine, nope… not with a major movie coming out this Summer.  Hulk fans have quite a few choices coming in the next few months: Hulk Versus Hercules: When Titans Clash, King-Sized Hulk #1, Giant-Sized Hulk #1.
• For those readers that are more classically minded (sci-fi that is), Bluewater Production continue it’s adaptations of films from the master special effects man himself with Ray Harryhausen Presents Flying Saucers Vs. The Earth
• Speaking of movie tie-ins, Marvel isn’t just pimping the Hulk… Iron Man has quite a few books coming out too: Iron Man: Legacy of Doom, Iron Man: Viva Las Vagas (written by Jon Favreau) and a second monthly Iron Man book, Invincible Iron Man.
• If you have been waiting for more Hong Kong Cavalier action, wait no more! Moonstone is releasing a 2-issue series Buckaroo Bonzai: The Prequel
• The big DC event that is coming up is Final Crisis, along with four mini-series, a Final Crisis Sketch book and it all starts in a 50 cent issue DC Universe: Zero.
• IDW continues their interpretive genius with an adaptation of Mack Bolan’s The Executioner in The Executioner: The Devil’s Tools.
• Boom! Studios is reviving an old game classic from the 80’s and 90’s with Blood Bowl: Killer Contract.  Blood Bowl was the original fantasy football league… with dwarves, elves and ogres.
• Marvel 1985, written by Mark Millar and Tommy Lee Edwards will take a different twist on Secret Wars and what happens when the Marvel Universe and our world collide.
• DC/Wildstorm: DreamWar will see the heroes of the DCU and Wildstorm Universe collide as they try to save both universes in this 6-part series (this is not related to Final Crisis)
• Dynamite brings even more Ash goodness with Army of Darkness / Xena: Why Not?
• Marvel is trying to bring back some of their espionage fans with Captain Britain & MI:13, which is directly to the Secret Invasion.
• DC is bringing forth two new Batman projects.  Batman: Death Mask, an original Batman tale in manga style, prestige format.  And Batman: Gotham After Midnight, a more horroresque Scarecrow story written by the man himself, Steve Niles .
• The soon-to-be-classic dark future horror / sci-fi tale Pogrom is out from Devil’s Due
• The Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs is a 4-issue series from Wildstorm that will be connecting the original Lost Boys movie with the sequel The Lost Boys: The Tribe.
• Mummy fans will get an eyeful with IDW’s The Mummy: The Rise and Fall of Xango’s Ax, this could be the beginning of a whole run of Mummy-related comics from IDW.
• NewUniversal fans will be excited (I am!) that Warren Ellis and Steve Kurth return to write a 6-part limited series NewUniversal: Shockfront
• A less-publicized project coming up from DC is The War that Time Forgot, placing many of DC’s “soldier” characters from many different times together on a dinosaur  riddled “land-o-the-Lost”-ish island by an unseen force.
• Legion Studios will blowing away all the horror fans out there with Wizard exclusive book Fallen Daughters, watch for that at Wizard World Chicago… it should rock!

Annihilation: Conquest #5 (of 6) (Marvel - Abnet / Lanning / Hana)

“ Can anyone stop Ultron? How did the evil android unite with the Phalanx? What are his secret plans? And have any of our desperate and divided heroes survived to fight back? It’s not too late to join the acclaimed team of writers Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (NOVA) and penciler Tom Raney (ULTIMATE X-MEN) for another chapter of what Wizard raves is “mystery, action and adventure on a galactic scale!”

Ultron takes further steps in his plan for universal domination as he moves in a direction that I don’t think anyone expected. In his search for the perfect machine organism, he finds that he may have been looking in the wrong place for decades. The real problem for the bad guys is that he’s found just what he’s been looking for. Now the real issue is how are Abnet and Lanning going to make this work out well for the good guys in one issue without making the conclusion feel rushed or shorting the story. I’ve enjoyed their work and I don’t want this to feel like one of those movies where the credits start to roll and the audience is thinking “What? It’s over!?! That ending blows!!” Which leads me to another point. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Marvel has plans to tie all their big crossovers together (WWH, Secret Invasion, and Annihilation) in one big Marvel U fracas. What ever they do, lets hope it beats the pants out of their World War Hulk ending.

Grade: A

Series Grade: A

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WWH Aftersmash: Damage Control #1 (Marvel - McDuffie / Espin / Guru FX)

We don’t know if you heard…but Hulk came back to earth and made a HUUUUUUUUGE mess. Who’s S.H.I.E.L.D. gonna get to clean it up? DAMAGE CONTROL, the roughest, toughest dilapidated dirt dogs this side’a the universe. If anyone can clean up the aftereffects of WORLD WAR HULK, they can. But while they’re picking up the pieces, they find that the war…may not be over…

So, Damage Control is back, the question is: Do fanboys care? It has yet to be seen with very little being said about this revisit to the 90’s. The premise stems from the idea that there must be some organization that cleans up after the super-battles, someone who rebuilds the highways and bridges after giant robots attack, someone who cleans up if Dragon-man leaves a mess. The concept is solid and the original 4-part series (circa 1989) is classic. While I am a huge Dwayne McDuffie fan, this first issue really lacked content. There is a meeting between Anne-Marie Hoag (Director of Damage Control) and Tony Stark to set it up that Manhattan needs rebuilding post-World War Hulk. Damage Control assembles their team and a whole slew of heroes show up to help. Cameos include Daredevil, FF, the Initiative, Iron Fist and a new Black Goliath (Tom, Bill Foster’s son). The issue concludes with The Thunderbolts showing up to check on registration cards. Both the writing and art was fine, it’s just it felt short and uneventful. Here’s hoping issue #2 has more a jolt to it.

Grade: C+

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When readers first caught Damage Control Inc. in Marvel Age Annual back in 1988, no one though the idea could last twenty years… but from the company that couldn’t keep Bucky dead, you never know what is going to happen. In January fans will be treated to the World War Hulk Aftersmash limited series tie-in Damage Control #1. The series will be written by Fantastic Four uber-scribe Dwayne McDuffie. His present run on FF is one of the best things to happen to the flagship title in quite a while. Interestingly enough Dwayne was also one of the co-creators of the original segment nineteen years back. The series will be drawn by talented newcomer Salva Espin. For those fanboys who might not be old enough to know, Damage Control Inc. are the folks in the Marvel Universe who the government calls to do the clean up after major super-hero / villain throw-downs. Their not-so-well-known adventures have included cleaning up Manhattan after Galactus battled the FF / Avengers, replaced streets and infrastructure after Spidey downed the Rhino and they have legally gone after Doctor Doom for damages rendered. From Marvel - Luckily for Damage Control’s profit margin, WORLD WAR HULK created a situation in desperate need of their expertise. Jade Jaws flattened the island of Manhattan, but now with the monster subdued the clean up can begin. “It made sense to have a mini about people cleaning up the aftermath of WORLD WAR HULK, so we figured, why not call up Dwayne and ask him to write it” explains editor Nate Cosby. “He was good enough to say yes, I tried to help him with whatever insider Hulk info I could, he came up with the take on it, and voila, the Damage Control quiche you’ll be enjoying soon was baked.” This book should be a great fusion of action and comedy and with McDuffie at the helm, it should fly… put it on your pull list!

Check below for up-coming art!

Read the rest of this entry »

World War Hulk #5 (Marvel - Pak / Romita JR. / Janson / Strain)

Marvel’s blurb: “The millennium’s most massive Marvel smash-fest careens towards its cataclysmic conclusion! Four so-called Marvel “heroes” shot the Hulk into space. Their exploding shuttle destroyed his people and pregnant queen. And the Hulk has taught them what their arrogance has wrought. But now the Hulk faces the puny humans’ greatest champion. And as the terrible battle rages, who will stand revealed as the hero – and who will be proved the monster? Who knows the difference between vengeance and justice? And who will pay the terrible price of anger?”
Who pays the price? We do dear friends, we do. Lets forget to a moment that this book is months late and that we know Black Bolt is a Skrull, because this book allows you to time travel back a few weeks to before we knew that.

Let’s first get into what’s right with the book: First is that the Hulk is not a murderer. I kinda knew that already after the 40 years of back story, but it was confirmed again. The Hulk’s plan seems to suddenly change from wanting to kill the Illuminati, to watching them get severely beaten and blaming the destroying of Manhattan Island on them. We see that Bruce Banner/the Hulk still has a heart and it can be broken Second, the Hulk is the strongest one there is! Hulk is an unstoppable force, the finger of God. The only reason he gets put down by a red laser from a satellite(wtf, Marvel?) is because he chose to be put down. Also, the Hulk can be put down when he wants, but you can’t take him out…..ever.

Now for what’s bad. First, I think Marvel just screwed up the Sentry. He was a guy afraid to step out of his house, let alone use his powers for the biggest throwdown in Marvel 2007. It just seems like they had the character do a 180 to take down the Hulk because they didn’t have anyone else that could. Second, Marvel decided to put their girly pants on and not stick with the idea Illuminati are actually bad guys. NOOOOOOO we find that the real villain, the one who blew up Planet Hulk, is actually one of Hulk’s Warbound. Marvel, you big pussy! Third, it looks like you killed Rick Jones! You suck.

The art is good, but it felt like the book was one big picture of red and orange balls of destruction. For what it was, it was very good. J.R Jr. has, to me, always been a great artist, but colorist Christina Strain made this look great!

So what’s next? I don’t have any plans to read any of Aftersmash, and I wasn’t going to pick up the Loeb / McGuinness Hulk:Red or whatever their calling it. But….the regular Hulk book, The Incredible Hulk, is going to keep it’s focus on the New Defenders. So the only Hulk fix I can get is by picking up another Hulk book. So dear readers, this may be the end of Hulk coverage on ThePullBox. Time and budgets will tell

Issue Grade: C+

Series Grade: B

New Avengers: Illuminati #5 (Marvel - Bendis / Reed / Cheung / Morales) - Marvels summary is “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!!” And so begins The Secret Invasion label… I hope it gets better. The description Marvel gives is as vague as the plot of the issue. Nothing really happens in this issue at all. Tony calls together the Illuminati one last time to tell them that Elektra was a skrull (readers knew this 3 months ago), while they are discussing the implications of this… Blackbolt attacks the other five, turns out he’s a skrull too… or at least is / was at some point in time… we don’t know if this goes back to pre Civil-War, during the Silent War, or during World-War Hulk. This completely opened-ended problem is supposed to make us feel paranoid and intrigued… and it just makes us wish there was more meat to it. After that, the remaining five members split up not trusting each other at all. I’m sure this will all be summarized in some issue coming up of Iron-man, Avengers or Fantastic Four. Unless you really have the itch to finish your run, keep you money and buy something else.

Grade: C-

Witness The Aftersmash of World War Hulk!

World War Hulk is over—but the Aftersmash has only just begun! In World War Hulk: Aftersmash, the surviving heroes must find a way to rebuild the war torn isle of Manhattan while a new hero seeks to follow the Hulk’s path…with a goliath impact! World War Hulk architect and acclaimed author Greg Pak teams with artist Rafa Sandoval for this special one-shot that lays the foundation for the future of Hulk’s world and the new directions for many of the WWH survivors. The Warbound, the Renegades, Heroes for Hire, Iron Man, Tom Foster, and Damage Control all seek to change course in their lives, but just how are their fates intertwined? This extra-sized issue also includes bonus material not found anywhere else!

As characters head in startling new directions, the effects of this one-shot will ripple throughout the Marvel Universe and into two all new series—World War Hulk Aftersmash: Warbound and World War Hulk Aftersmash: Damage Control. Just how do the survivors move on after World War Hulk? And is the war truly over?

The incredible answers smash on through to the other side this December in World War Hulk: Aftersmash!

Well, isn’t this a bizarre twist for Marvel, coming out of World War Hulk… which was maybe better than most thought it would be. This is the promo art for Hulk #1 (Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness). Talk about a powerhouse team… but a red Hulk? According to this month’s Marvel Previews “In this Startling origin epic, the breathtaking events that ended World War Hulk rocket into this brand-new Hulk title. When one of the Hulk’s oldest cast members is murdered, everyone turns to the team of Iron-Man, She-Hulk and Leonard Sampson to solve the grizzly case. All of the evidence points to the Hulk as the killer - but (CLASSIFIED)”. Also coming from Marvel WWH Aftersmash: Warbound and WWH Aftersmash: Damage Control.

World War Hulk #4 (Marvel - Pak / Romita Jr.) - Bash, Boom, Bang! That’s the sound of the Hulk taking on a demon empowered Dr. Strange. The bad news is, it’s just not enough to take down an amped up Hulk. The battle itself is thing of beauty in it’s destructive force. We once again see why John Romita Jr. is a legend in his own time. Matthew Peterson of MajorSoilers.com writes “Greg Pak is writing a tale with an energy that makes every scene feel like that moment where the roller-coaster drops out from under you and your stomach suddenly leaps into your neck,” and I could not agree more. His are the best Hulk stories since the Mr. Fixit days. I’m hoping that Marvel keeps him around after all the WWH things end.

I do have to voice some disappointment in this story in that it follows the Marvel formula of 4 issues of set up, 1 issue of big battle, then 1-year of outcome. In WWH #4 we see the Hulk cross a line that, frankly, I don’t buy. In all the crossovers, Marvel has been setting up that the Hulk still has compassion and will not kill. I guess that’s all shot out the window now. Consistency is good Marvel!!!

The issue closes with the obvious lead-in to Hulk vs. Sentry (really?)

Grade: B+