Thoughts of Mine...: January 2010

It’s solicitation time again, with new books and collections for everyone from New readers to Long-time collectors.

The book I really look forward to are Chew: Volume 2 (best new series), the finale to all the siege books, Flash #1 & Brightest Day #0.

Please understand that this is not my TOTAL order (my total number of books for each month usually runs around 25 - 30 books), just the books that will be coming out that I'm excited for.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #630 Written by ZEB WELLS Pencils & Cover by CHRIS BACHALO “Half-Man, Half-Reptile...the Lizard will take over all of Earth unless Spider-Man alone can stop him!” With these words, Dr. Curt Connors, the man who would be The Lizard, ushered a new kind of villainy into Spider-Man’s life. Now a widower with a son in foster care, and working at the bottom of the pharmaceutical industry, Connors is a broken, shell of a man...how long will it be before a Lizard breaks that shell?! How will it affect Peter Parker’s date with Carlie Cooper?! How is THE BLACK CAT involved? Zeb Wells and Chris Bachalo reunite to bring you the next great Spider-Epic as The Lizard returns!

AVENGERS: THE ORIGIN #1 (of 5) Written by JOE CASEY Pencils & Cover by PHIL NOTO The true story of the Avengers is revealed right here! This five-issue extravaganza reveals previously untold details of the historic first meeting of Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, Ant-Man and the Wasp! You only THINK you know the full story. From Joe Casey (AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES) and artist extraordinare Phil Noto!

BLACK WIDOW #1 Written by MARJORIE LIU Art & Cover by DANIEL ACUÑA The deadly super-spy from IRON MAN 2, INVINCIBLE IRON MAN and CAPTAIN AMERICA in her own ongoing series! Natasha Romanoff is not a super hero. She’s not psychic. She doesn’t fly. And yet as the Black Widow, she manages to hold her own against a world of incredibly powerful enemies...and allies. But now someone has tried to kill Natasha...and almost succeeded. Injured gravely, almost beyond her ability to recover, Black Widow sets out to find her attacker...with no suspects and no leads. Who could be deadly enough to get the drop on Natasha? And what connections do they have to some of her closest super hero friends...? Plus, a backup detailing the deadly history of the Black Widow!

BRIGHTEST DAY #0 Written by Geoff Johns & Peter J. Tomasi • Art by Fernando Pasarin Cover by David Finch The biggest event in comics continues as BRIGHTEST DAY burns back the BLACKEST NIGHT from the writing team behind GREEN LANTERN and GREEN LANTERN CORPS – Geoff Johns and Peter J. Tomasi! And don’t miss the exciting DC Comics debut of red-hot cover artist David Finch (New Avengers, Ultimatum)! The effects that the already classic BLACKEST NIGHT will have on the DC Universe will be felt for years to come and this issue not only sets the stage for the new ongoing biweekly DC Universe book BRIGHTEST DAY, but also the next exciting era of the DC Universe!

DOC SAVAGE #1 On sale APRIL 14 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US Written by PAUL MALMONT • Co-feature written by JASON STARR • Art by HOWARD PORTER & Art Thibert • Co-feature art by SCOTT HAMPTON • Cover by J.G. JONES 1:10 variant cover by John Cassaday The Man of Bronze in his own series at last! Doc Savage is the target of a brazen attack on New York City! Tragedy will strike one of Doc’s compatriots, and someone may not survive the opening pages of “The Lord of Lightning! ” Written by Paul Malmont, national best-selling author of The Chinatown Death-Cloud Peril, with art by Howard Porter (JLA)! And don’t miss the hard-hitting JUSTICE, INC. co-feature, starring Richard Benson, the Avenger! When criminals abduct one of his own detectives, Benson’s icy heart sears with a rage hotter than any he’s ever known. “Worst Nightmare” begins here, written by crime novelist Jason Starr (THE CHILL) with art by Scott Hampton (LUCIFER)!

FIRESTAR #1 Written by SEAN MCKEEVER Penciled by EMMA RIOS Cover by STEPHANIE HANS Angelica Jones has been many things in her life. Daughter. Friend. FiancÈe. Mutant. Hellion. New Warrior. Avenger. And, most recently, cancer survivor. Granted a second chance at life, Angelica has only one question for herself: What do I do with it?

GARRISON #1 Written by JEFF MARIOTTE Art and cover by FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA Garrison may very well be the world’s most dangerous man. In a near future where everyone’s under surveillance, though, nobody knows anything about him – and federal agent Jillian Bracewell’s investigation into his identity could get her killed. Writer Jeff Mariotte (Angel, DESPERADOES) returns to WildStorm with this 6-issue action/adventure miniseries spectacularly illustrated by Francesco Francavilla (Zorro)!

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #25 Written by DAN ABNETT & ANDY LANNING Penciled by BRAD WALKERCover by ALEX GARNER He’s back...Thanos! How did he return? Why is he back? And what does the appearance of the galaxy’s #1 threat mean for our rag-tag band of universal protectors? Find out in the next issue of the comic that CosmicBookNews.com calls “Awesome. Amazingly, jaw-droppingly awesome.”

Kill Shakespeare #1 Written by Conor McCreery, Anthony Del Col Art by Andy Belanger Cover by Kagan McLeod, Belanger What Fables does for fairy tales, Kill Shakespeare does with the greatest writer of all time. This dark take on the Bard pits his greatest heroes (Hamlet, Juliet, Othello Falstaff) against his most menacing villains (Richard III, Lady Macbeth, Iago) in an epic adventure to find and kill a reclusive wizard named William Shakespeare. This debut— featuring a full 32-page story—will change the way you look at Shakespeare forever.

MAGDALENA #1 story Ron Marz art Nelson Blake II cover Ryan Sook The Star of the Forthcoming Feature Film Gets Her Own Series! The Magdalena has been the official protector and warrior of the Catholic Church for over two thousand years, sworn to defend the Faith with the Spear of Destiny against all manner of supernatural threats. However, Patience, the latest Magdalena, has seen through the hypocrisy of her masters and struck out on her own. When her old mentor comes to her with a mission to prevent Armageddon, will she be able to resist the call? From writer Ron Marz (Witchblade, Angelus) and the art team of Pilot Season: Murderer, Nelson Blake II, Sal Regla, and Dave McCaig. Featuring covers by Ryan Sook (Wednesday Comics)!

MARVEL HER-OES #1 Written by GRACE RANDOLPH Pencils & Cover by CRAIG ROUSSEAU High school equals: bad cafeteria food, bullies, gym class and...people with secret super powers? As if!! Janet Van Dyne’s no stranger to the pitfalls of teenage living, but it’s about to get a whole lot trickier now that she has powers of her own. It’s hard keeping a secret like that in high school, especially when it would be so easy to send some blasts in the direction of her nemesis and popular ice queen, Namora. Maybe Janet would get a break then. Too bad she’s stuck pretending she’s normal. Too bad she’s in this all alone... or is she? Jenny Walters has some anger issues herself, causing her to Hulk out! Turns out the school theatre isn’t the only place you’ll find some drama this year!!

S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN Penciled by DUSTIN WEAVER Cover by GERALD PAREL Historical Variant by DUSTIN WEAVER Black & White Issue Variant also available Leonardo Da Vinci was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. So was Issac Newton. So were Imhotep and Zhang Heng and Galileo and many other geniuses throughout time. They were the first heroes to defeat Galactus and the Brood and turn Celestials back. They saved the world long before Captain America or Iron Man were ever born, but what does this mean to our heroes of today? What does this mean to Nick Fury? Do not miss this Marvel Comics masterpiece that fans will be talking about for decades to come. All the insanity is courtesy of JONATHAN HICKMAN (FANTASTIC FOUR, SECRET WARRIORS, Nightly News) and DUSTIN WEAVER (X-MEN).

SIEGE #4 (of 4) Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS Pencils & Cover by OLIVIER COIPEL The Marvel blockbuster of the year!! This double-sized finale brings the Dark Reign to a shattering conclusion and brings with it the bombastic new HEROIC AGE. Every single page of this book is a shocker: Lives are changed. Heroes fall. Deaths. Revenge. Villain comeuppance. And when the dust settles, who will be in charge of the Marvel Universe?? You will find out here and only here. This is the one they will be talking about.

SIEGE: EMBEDDED #4 (of 4) Written by BRIAN REED Penciled by CHRIS SAMNEE Cover by ADI GRANOV SIEGE BLOCKBUSTER TIE-IN!! As the SIEGE of Asgard escalates to its final chaotic moments, one man must decide which is more important - living through the day, or getting the truth behind the story of the century!

DARK AVENGERS #16 Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS Pencils & Cover by MIKE DEODATO SERIES FINALE!!!

NEW AVENGERS #64 Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS Pencils by TIM GREEN II Cover by STUART IMMONEN SERIES FINALE!!!

MIGHTY AVENGERS #36 Written by DAN SLOTT Pencils & Cover by KHOI PHAM SERIES FINALE!!!

AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #35 Written by CHRISTOS N. GAGE Penciled by JORGE MOLINA Cover by DAVID YARDIN SERIES FINALE!!!

NEW AVENGERS: FINALE Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS Pencils & Cover by BRYAN HITCH In the wake of SIEGE, an ALL NEW shocking conclusion to the landmark NEW AVENGERS series. NEW AVENGERS is coming to an end...but not without a bang. For the first time ever, series regular Brian Bendis teams up with the superstar artist that reinvented team books for this generation...Bryan Hitch. The entirety of the Marvel landscape has changed and many Avengers do not know their place in it. But before they can move on, some very important loose ends need to be tied up. A.K.A. it's payback time!! All this and a bevy of super star artists stop by to pay tribute to the work they made famous over the course of this top-selling book.

THE FLASH #1 Written by GEOFF JOHNS Art & cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL A BRIGHTEST DAY tie-in! Get in on the ground floor of DC’s next epic in the making! The Flash races out of BLACKEST NIGHT and into his own monthly title as the all-new adventures of The Fastest Man Alive start with “Case One: The Dastardly Death of the Rogues! ” Barry Allen runs back to his life in Central City, but when one of the Rogues turns up murdered under mysterious circumstances, it’s up to The Flash to not only solve this bizarre crime, but protect those that are still targeted by the elusive killer. Plus, don’t miss a peek into the future of the Flash universe in this special, extra-sized starting point issue!

THE LIGHT #1 (of 5) story NATHAN EDMONDSON art & cover BRETT WELDELE The new series from the writer of OLYMPUS and the artist of THE SURROGATES. In Oregon, a mysterious virus infects anyone that looks into an electric light. An abusive father blindfolds his daughter and together they escape town as people are burning alive from the inside out. A fierce, action-packed and gritty tale of survival, THE LIGHT is 28 DAYS LATER meets 30 DAYS OF NIGHT.

THE SPIRIT #1 Written by MARK SCHULTZ Art by MORITAT Co-feature written by Dennis O’Neil Co-feature art by Bill Sienkiewicz Cover by LADR÷NN The Spirit returns in an all-new ongoing series! Central City destroys everyone who lives within its borders...so it’s a good thing The Spirit already died once! International crime syndicate The Golden Tree wants to help Central City’s Octopus consolidate control over the underworld and the Spirit is the kind of mess the Golden Tree was created to clean up. They’ve offered the Octopus the services of one of their finest assassins to take his breath away for good – and the sight of this killer would get anyone’s heart pounding! This issue also features the debut of the eight-page THE SPIRIT: BLACK & WHITE co-feature, showcasing the industry’s finest talent. And who better to kick things off than DENNIS O’NEIL and BILL SIENKIEWICZ?

ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS 2 #1 Written by MARK MILLAR Pencils & Cover by LEINIL FRANCIS YU Some jobs are just too dirty for the Ultimates. For these, Nick Fury must gather the Avengers, a black ops team willing to do the missions that others won’t. What role will an infamous mass killer play in Fury’s plans? Find out here, as the Punisher returns to the Ultimate Universe! The blockbuster team of MARK MILLAR (ULTIMATES) and LEINIL FRANCIS YU (SECRET INVASION) presents the explosive beginning to ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS: CRIME AND PUNISHMENT.

Hardcover & Trades

CHEW, VOL. 2: INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR TP story JOHN LAYMAN art & cover ROB GUILLORY Tony Chu, the cibopathic federal agent with the ability to get psychic impressions from the things he eats, is on a bizarre new case. A newly discovered fruit takes Agent Chu to a remote island full of secrets, strangeness—and a shadowy killer with a particularly sinister appetite. Presenting the second storyline of IGN.com's pick for Best Indie Series of 2009 and MTV Splash Page.com's pick for Best New Series of 2009. Find out what the fuss is about in this latest a twisted and darkly funny comic about cops, crooks, cooks, cannibals and clairvoyants. Collects CHEW #6-10

Luckiest Boy Written by Scott Sava Art & Cover by Joseph Bergin III 13-year-old Russell Ranger is the unluckiest boy in the world. Nothing ever seems to go his way. Nothing good at least. One day, though, he meets a Leprechaun, who grants him one wish. So he wishes to be the Luckiest Boy in the World! Suddenly, his family wins the lottery, gets to meet his favorite football player, and even discovers Bigfoot. He's a worldwide celebrity. But something's not right. All of the good luck is going to Russ. But, that means all the bad luck is given to the rest of the world!

The Flash: Rebirth Written by Geoff Johns Art and cover by Ethan Van Sciver Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver, the writer/artist team behind the blockbuster GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH and THE SINESTRO CORPS WAR, create an explosive, jaw-dropping epic that reintroduces Barry Allen as The Flash in this hardcover collecting the fast-paced 6-issue miniseries. But how will this greatest of all Flashes find his place in the twenty-first century?

Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk Written by DAMON LINDELOF Penciled by LEINIL FRANCIS YU Cover by LEINIL FRANCIS YU It’s the unstoppable Hulk vs. the unkillable Wolverine in the biggest fight the Ultimate Universe has ever witnessed! S.H.I.E.L.D. head Nick Fury thought he’d killed the Hulk’s alter ego, scientist Bruce Banner. But now, the tower of rage and green muscle is rampaging across the globe. Fury has a long list of operatives at his disposal. But there’s only one man capable of doing this job right: Wolverine! With razor-sharp claws, unbreakable Adamantium bones and a healing factor that can shrug off wounds that would kill lesser men, Logan seems the perfect match for the Hulk. But in their first encounter, the Hulk shows him the meaning of raw power — by ripping Wolverine in half! Can either man survive this fearsome reckoning? And if so, will they ever be the same again? Collecting ULTIMATE WOLVERINE VS. HULK #1-6.