As the licensing machine revs up for the May 4 premiere of The Avengers, fragrance company JADS International — the company behind such brands as Sulu Pour Homme, Slave Leia Perfume and Shirtless Kirk Cologne — has rolled out scents inspired by Captain America, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Thor, Nick Fury and even Loki. Sorry, Hawkeye, you’re out of luck.

The Avengers Cologne Set boasts “four unique fragrances”: PATRIOT, Mark VII, SMASH! and Worthy; you can probably piece together which name goes with which hero. Loki, meanwhile, gets Mischief Cologne (“Made to Rule”), and Fury has Initiative Cologne (“Activate the Initiative”).

Check out the details below, or on the JADS website.

PATRIOT Cologne
A cologne that pays homage to the confident, stand-up-to-bullies, hard working average Joe in every man. PATRIOT Cologne is both reserved and sexy; like a symbol on a shield or a moniker on a motorcycle helmet. Fresh notes of green lime and white pepper are the first to hit with dry oak wood, sandalwood and tequila accords finishing the adventure. Perfect for any time or place, PATRIOT Cologne puts the Novus Mundus in your strong, sensuous hands for you to embrace and discover.

PATRIOT Cologne
Your Attack Plan.

Mark VII Cologne
A resolutely sophisticated cologne forged from the sea, the sun, the earth, and a touch of devil-may-care whimsy. Transparent, aromatic, and modern in nature, Mark VII combines mandarin, neroli, nasturtium and jasmine layered with light patchouli to create a contemporary expression of “I don’t play well with others” confidence; leaving you always ready for whatever a genius, billionaire, playboy-philanthropist might encounter along the way.

Mark VII Cologne
Armor Up.

SMASH! Cologne
Very unusual and rare materials have been brought together to create a woody aquatic cologne evoking both a serene sense of timeless freedom and a single-minded, unbridled passion for life. Yuzu, bergamot and tarragon create clean, clear top notes along with unexpected accords of water lily and nutmeg. SMASH! then carries an intense woody drydown enriched with Indian sandalwood, vetiver, musk and sharp cedar. Complimentary to a full range of emotions, it wears well no matter where—at work, the lab or an evening out on the town.

SMASH!
Be Angry.

Worthy Cologne
This woody citrus cologne is a unique, meaningful combination of bergamot, frozen ginger and wheatgrass blended with a hint of fresh natural grapefruit and layered deeply with aromatic cypress. Basenotes are possessed with sensual, seductive tones of dark amber and cedarwood, protecting and enhancing a deep, dry masculine (dare we say almost God-like?) musk.

Worthy Cologne
Possess the Power.

Infinity Formula Cologne
Colonel Nicholas “Nick” Fury. Paratrooper, Ranger, Weapons and Demolitions Expert, Aircraft Specialist and Pilot, Green Beret. Veteran of every US War and Military Conflict since WWII. Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. “The single most powerful, most important organization on the planet Earth.” And the only human strong enough to bring together a group of remarkable people who would fight the battles no one else could.

Infinity Formula Cologne.
Face danger with something dangerous. Activate the Initiative.

Mischief Cologne
Possessed of Superhuman strength, Genius-level intelligence, Mystical powers, Telepathy, Flight, Clairvoyance, Therianthropy, and Teleportation … who could blame you for becoming the greatest trickster of them all? So wear your crown of baleful maleficence with pride; let mirth and mayhem stand ready at your side, anticipating your every command. Test their mettle knowing you have nothing to fear; you are Mischief and you were made to rule.

(via ComicBookMovie)

Guillemin is a designer based in France who has also dabbled in comics. Check out his website for examples of his design and comics work.

Ghostface Killah

Legal | Composer Jack Urbont is suing rapper Ghostface Killah of the Wu-Tang Clan and Sony Music Entertainment for illegally sampling the theme to the Iron Man animated series from the 1960s. The theme was used on two tracks from the 2000 album Supreme Clientele. Killah, who sometimes goes by the alias Tony Starks, had a song in the 2008 film and appeared in a deleted scene on the DVD. [Rolling Stone]

Digital | In Maps & Legends co-creator Michael Jasper shares a breakdown by percentage of where their sales are coming from, noting almost half of their sales are through Barnes & Noble’s Nookbook Store. [Michael Jasper, via The Beat]

Digital | The Globe and Mail looks at how electronic publishing is changing the way authors tell stories: “The Next Day is a graphic novel about people who have attempted suicide. Once it is posted online in September, you’ll be able to click your way through it according to your own preferences about how it should unfold.” [The Globe and Mail]

Image Comics

Publishing | Multiversity Comics talks to Image Comics publisher Eric Stephenson about some of the company’s recent successes, the diversity of the company’s lineup, and same-day digital releases: “I’m on record as saying the print market is different from the digital market, and I personally think it’s unfair to penalize people who want to buy digital comics in the vain hope that it will drive more people to comic book shops. The people who want print comics are going to buy print comics. There is another audience that has no interest in hoarding boxes of comics, that is more satisfied having this stuff on their iPad or their laptop or their phone. I don’t see how that audience is any less valuable than the print audience. From a creative perspective, a publishing perspective — we’re in the business of telling stories. If people want to read those stories in a format other than print, we can either stick our heads in the sand and pretend it’s a fad, or we can acknowledge that this is the 21st century and adapt to the demands of the changing times.” [Multiversity Comics]

Publishing | The Al-Masry Al-Youm looks at Egypt’s growing publishing industry, highlighting Division Books, a graphic novel publisher founded earlier this year by Marwan Imam and Mohamed Reda. Imam says that Egypt is “hungry” for a comic book market. Division’s first graphic novel comes out this month. [Al-Masry Al-Youm]

His Face All Red

Creators | Robot 6 contributor Sean T. Collins talks to His Face All Red creator Emily Carroll. [The Comics Journal]

Conventions | In addition to being available online, tickets for October’s New York Comic Con are now available from several New York and surrounding area comics retailers. [Medium at Large]

Conventions | The Monitor profiles Omnicon, a convention held in McAllen, Texas. [The Monitor]

Events | Andrew Farago, curator of the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco, will speak on the significance of graphic novel adaptations of classic literature at the Steinbeck Festival on Aug. 4-7 in Salinas and Monterey, Calif. [The Sacramento Bee]

Reviews | Colin Smith looks at the roles of women and minorities in the latest issues of Fear Itself and Flashpoint. [Too Busy Thinking About My Comics]

Elric: The Balance Lost

Hello and welcome to What Are You Reading? Today our special guest is Kelson Vibber, Flash fan and proprietor of the Speed Force blog. To see what Kelson and the Robot 6 crew have been reading, click below.

*****

Carla Hoffman

Iron Age #1

I read …. uhm. Well, despite what the covers may tell you, I read Iron Age #1. Yeah, it may look like Avengers or Captain Britain, and you might have bought both covers by accident, but yeah. The red banner at the top is what is supposed to clue you in that this is Iron Age #1. I also re-read Iron Age Alpha to make sure this was an Iron Man story that’s just going to take us on a little tour of the Marvel Universe through time travel and yep, that it is. Strangely, it’s kind of an anthology from what I can tell: Alpha sets us up for the bomb: an old man who once went by the name The Phantom (this one) wants to take one last potshot at Tony Stark. He gets one of Doctor Doom’s time platforms, dials up a strange assortment of 70′s era Marvel heroes and then… well, he pulls the Dark Phoenix out of the time stream and then she blows up the Earth. Oh, villains. So the next issue is Tony Stark traveling through time to talk to a couple people on the Phantom’s list and kind of doing some eighth step work with them. He helps Hank Pym and Captain Britain work through some of their issues, as well as his own, and they are an interesting set of vignettes that should be some old school fun as well as quiet character development. Still, boo on you Marvel for making those covers rather misleading. Boo.

I also read Fear Itself #4, where Tony’s alcoholism is a symbolic sacrifice to the All-Father. I know some people are burnt out on event books, and I know the Distinguished Competition has so much stuff going on right now that just reading comics can be a chore, but if you can’t find the joy in Captain America coming to the rescue in a big red-white-and-blue colored parachute, or the quiet heartbreak of Black Widow in the background as she’s consoled by Nick Fury, or just the awesomeness of the Hulk-Thing-Thor fight to come, then I simply have no idea what to tell you. Yeah, I know you have so many books to read and yeah, you’re still not caught up on issue #2 or yeah, I know you hate event books and they are so confusing, but let me tell you: you are missing out.

To make sure I was being fair, I also read Flashpoint #3. I fully admit that my Distinguished Colleague is a far better man to sort all this info out, but this book is sadly not for casual reader. You gotta be in it to win it with Flashpoint, which is sad because I thought the ‘Project Superman Revealed!’ part of the story was fantastic. A lot of emotion and thought came through on those pages, and I might have to go hunt down the tie-in Project Superman issues if they’re anything like this. Andy Kubert’s artwork is phenomenal and while highly stylized, I’d say he’s selling this book as much as Geoff John’s ever-winding story-writing is. It doesn’t work well as something to pick up, and I’m still kind of lost in the great milieu, but there are moments that break free of The Big Event banner and remain entertaining and thoughtful regardless of trappings. Good job, comics.

Brigid Alverson

Luz

I just got an advance copy of a truly remarkable nonfiction graphic novel: The Next Day, which tells the story of four people who survived suicide attempts. It’s illustrated by John Porcellino in a very simple, almost childlike style. The four stories are told in parallel, starting with the suicide attempts and then flashing back to their earlier lives. The last part of the book, which tells of their lives after their rescues, is the most interesting but also the shortest. Porcellino and the writers, Paul Peterson and Jason Gilmore, pack a lot of story into this slim volume, but I wish they had included more details about each person’s life after the attempt. Still, it’s a very moving and thoughtful book.

Another advance copy is Luz Sees the Light, a children’s graphic novel that conveys a serious message—we need to start preparing now for the energy shortages of the future—in a lighthearted way. It would be easy for Claudia Dávila to get all preachy, but she keeps it at a kid’s level and never gets too apocalyptic—in fact, one of the characters is a survivalist who comes off as a bit nutty. Luz is 12 years old and a pretty normal kid; she loves ice cream and lusts after an expensive pair of designer sneakers, insisting that her mother drive her to the mall to see if they are in yet. But peak oil impinges on her life in a number of ways, from blackouts (which turn into block parties) to high prices for imported food that force her family to change their diet—and eat rabbit, to the horror of her vegetarian neighbor who has a pet bunny of his own. This book started out as a webcomic, which is still up at Transmission X, but Dávila has really reworked it and developed both the characters and the story.

Chris Mautner

Favorites

I was honored recently to be asked to take part in Favorites, a zine edited by Craig Fischer of the Panelists blog and featuring a host of respected critics and writers talking about their favorite comics. The zine is an offshot of Team Cul de Sac, an art project designed to help raise money to fight Parkinson’s disease (which Cul de Sac creator Richard Thompson suffers from). Brigid wrote a bit about the Favorites project here.

Anyway, I finally got my contributors copy the other week and wanted to take a moment to say what a great read it is. There’s a number of smart, well-written, short essays by folks like Jeet Heer, Joe McCulloch, Abhay Khosla, Johanna Draper Carlson, Andrew Farago, Jim Rugg, Tom Spurgeon, Caroline Small and many, many more. It’s not available for sale quite yet — Fischer’s selling copies at various cons and should have information on how to order a copy on the Team Cul de Sac blog soon — but I urge anyone interested in good writing about comics and/or helping to make a difference to pick up a copy once they become available.

JK Parkin

Batman: Knight of Vengeance

Carla mentions above that she might want to check out the Project: Superman Flashpoint spinoff, but if I was going to recommend one Flashpoint mini to pick up to Carla or, well, anyone, it would have to be Flashpoint: Batman Knight of Vengeance. I read the first two issues this week, which see the 100 Bullets crew getting back together — writer Brian Azzarello, artist Eduardo Risso, colorist Patricia Mulvihill and letterer Clem Robins. And they are fantastic; I’d even recommend them to someone who wasn’t interested in the rest of the Flashpoint event. All of these creators are fairly awesome on their own, but when they get together — wow. Now I think I need to go dig out my 100 Bullet trades again …

Kelson Vibber

I read the first issue of Elric: The Balance Lost this week. When I first heard that BOOM! was going to be launching an Elric series, I was somewhat interested, but not certain I’d pick it up. It wasn’t written by Michael Moorcock himself, and besides I hadn’t enjoyed his most recent Elric novel nearly as much as his earlier works. But then I read the preview they released for Free Comic Book Day, and I was hooked.

The story spans at least four worlds in Moorcock’s multiverse, and four incarnations of the Eternal Champion: Elric, last ruler of a dead empire, who wields the black sword Stormbringer and absorbs the souls of those he kills so that he can live; Hawkmoon, champion of a distant future Earth who defeated the conquering empire of Granbretan; Corum, last of a dead race who fought to protect the humans who inherited his world; and Eric Beck, a game developer living in a world not unlike our own. The first issue establishes all four characters and the worlds they come from, so that new readers unfamiliar with Moorcock’s work will understand the basics, and shows each world threatened by the tipping balance. Elric finds himself in a world overrun by chaos, while Eric Beck’s more familiar world is beginning to shift too far toward order. By the end of the issue, Eric finds himself drawn into the adventure. It’s one of the most effective first issues I’ve read in a while, managing to mix exposition and action and end on a hook that makes me feel like the next issue will jump straight into the story.

The Unwritten

The Unwritten continues to hold the spot as my favorite ongoing series. The latest issue is essentially a caper, with Tom, Lizzie and Savoy trying to infiltrate the auction of author Wilson Taylor’s estate. It’s got all the twists and turns in terms of allegiances, who has the upper hand, and who *thinks* they have the upper hand, that you’d expect, and in the end it manages to both answer some questions about Tom Taylor’s origins and call into question some of what we thought we knew, all while setting things up for the next phase of the story. I’ve always been a sucker for stories about stories, which I’m sure is why Sandman resonated so well with me when I finally started reading it, but The Unwritten tackles the concept from an entirely different angle, focusing on the way stories — whether history, fiction, propaganda, or the stories we tell ourselves to justify our actions — shape the world.

Of course, as a DC reader and a Flash fan, it would be virtually impossible to avoid Flashpoint. I’m reading the main series and six of the tie-in miniseries. Of those, the ones I’m enjoying the most are Frankenstein and the Creatures of the Unknown, Kid Flash Lost, and Citizen Cold. The first issue of Frankenstein is crazy World-War II action featuring the Frankenstein monster and lawyer-friendly versions of Dracula, the Wolfman, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and features Frankenstein personally killing Adolf Hitler with a sword. It’s hard to go wrong with that. Citizen Cold feels like a return to the glory days of the Geoff Johns/Scott Kolins run on The Flash, only with everything shifted around to make Captain Cold the protagonist. It’s interesting to see how little has changed in Central/Keystone City when the rest of the world is vastly different. Kid Flash Lost feels more like a continuation of The Flash Vol.3 than Flashpoint does, except better. It’s faster paced, despite the fact that the main character has lost his speed for the duration. It manages to justify some of the odd choices from “The Road to Flashpoint” that just came out of nowhere. Most importantly, Sterling Gates really understands Bart Allen’s personality in a way that I never really saw in Geoff Johns’ Teen Titans or Flash runs (though there were glimpses of him in Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds).

Flashpoint #3

As for Flashpoint itself, it continues to remind me a lot of Geoff Johns’ first Flash story, Wonderland. The first two issues didn’t really grab me, but things are picking up with the third as it moves beyond exposition and into rising action. Maybe it’s just me, but in a five-issue miniseries, shouldn’t you be done with setup in the first issue, not half-way through the third?

Other comics I’ve read recently: Farscape is moving toward the conclusion of its year-long story about the invasion of the Uncharted Territories. It still feels a bit too much like New Jedi Order, with the arrival of an unbeatable enemy and the wholesale demolition of large chunks the universe that had been built up by four years of the TV series, but it’s continuing to hold my interest. And Tiny Titans #41, the All-Flash issue, was a welcome counterpart to the grimness of Flashpoint: Legion of Doom and Grodd of War.

We got to see the first episode of the Iron Man anime at New York Comic Con, but it was subtitled, not dubbed. Now Marvel has posted a clip of the dubbed version on their website, so you can hear for yourself what the voice actor playing Tony Stark sounds like.

The anime will start running on the G4 network on July 29.

No trip to Hollywood is complete without buying a map to the stars’ homes. Now you can do the same thing for New York City superheroes in the Marvel Universe. Only – thanks to Dorkly – the map is free. They tell you where to find your favorite heroes’ hangouts, but the best part is that they also have photos of the real life buildings that inspired the fictional ones and/or reside at their addresses.

Wilson

Hello and welcome to What Are You Reading?, our weekly round-up of … well, what we’ve been reading lately.

Today our special guest is the legendary Gilbert Hernandez. Known best as the co-creator of Love & Rockets, his other works include Sloth, The Troublemakers, Chance in Hell and Yeah! with Peter Bagge (which is being collected by Fantagraphics)

To see what Gilbert and the Robot 6 crew have been reading lately, click below.

*****

Tom Bondurant

This week I started Essential Iron Man vol. 1, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy it (I’ve already gotten Vol. 2, an impressive chunk o’ book) — but wow do the writers love the word “transistor.” Everything in the golden-trashcan suit is transistor-powered. Heck, everything Tony Stark owns is transistor-powered. I’m waiting for the Smurfs to show up and say, “dude, you’re getting way too much use out of that one word.”

Finals Crisis: Rogues' Revenge

I also caught up with Final Crisis: Rogues’ Revenge, the 2008 miniseries which reunited everyone’s favorite Flash foes with writer Geoff Johns and artist Scott Kolins. Originally I skipped the miniseries because Johns and Kolins’ Rogue work never really grabbed me, but this time the paperback was pretty inexpensive. Besides, I figured it would probably play into future Johns-written Flash stories. Essentially, the Rogues kill their way out of a situation they killed their way into. These aren’t particularly likable crooks, like in Secret Six or Suicide Squad, and Johns and Kolins don’t apologize for them. Rogues’ Revenge is a decent noir story, so I suppose it’s a credit to Johns and Kolins that they’ve remade the Rogues from hallmarks of the shiny Silver Age into noir protagonists. It’s a brutal little tale, told bluntly and efficiently, but it didn’t do much to change my feelings. The Rogue spotlights were never my favorite issues, and this was a three-issue version of those one-issue flashbacks, offering some background on the larger Flash arc. Not a bad digression, but I still prefer the good guys.

Finally, speaking of spotlights, Batman Beyond #4 (written by Adam Beechen, penciled by Eduardo Pansica, inked by Eber Ferreira) looks mostly at Terry’s friend Maxine, ace hacker and all-around source of support. Of course, by the end of the issue she’s asked to make a choice which will surely have devastating consequences not just
for her, but for Batman and his allies. Another devastating development comes after Nightwing’s secret identity is revealed, and Terry has to go old-school to mitigate the damage. Pansica and Ferreira’s styles are certainly different from Ryan Benjamin’s usual work on the series, but in this case it makes sense. When Nightwing appears, he looks like something out of the Chuck Dixon era. I really enjoyed this issue, and I think Beechen has a good handle on these characters and their world. It’s a nice hybrid of DC-Animated continuity and extrapolations from the current Bat-books. However, it’s turning into its own thing, which looks like it’ll be a lot of fun to follow.

Michael May

Black Widow: Deadly Origin

I read the Black Widow: Deadly Origin collection by Paul Cornell, Tom Raney and John Paul Leon. As much as I like Black Widow, I’m not that familiar with the intricate details of her long continuity outside of general knowledge like “she used to be a bad guy and dated Daredevil and Hawkeye for a while.” Cornell’s put all that together in a way that makes sense without letting the massive history bog the story down. Deadly Origin isn’t just an exercise in continuity-cleaning, it’s an action-packed spy story (complete with a killer, Bond-esque teaser opening) that also has something interesting to say about Black Widow and the people in her life. I’ve been interested in Cornell for a while, but I think this is the first thing of his that I’ve read so far. It certainly won’t be the last.

Art-wise, I enjoyed both John Paul Leon’s flashback sequences and Tom Raney’s drawings in the modern-day adventure. I’ve been a big fan of Leon’s since his Milestone days and Raney’s got a great knack for facial expressions (among other things) that very much sells the emotionally draining journey that Black Widow travels in this story.

Gilbert Hernandez

The new comics I always enjoy are by R. Crumb, Dan Clowes, Richard Sala and Charles Burns. I haven’t seen Burns’ and Sala’s new books yet but I did read The Bible by Crumb, which I found tedious only because of the subject matter and Wilson by Clowes. That was hard to get through because the protagonist is so supremely hateful. Well executed, though. Except for Sala, those other guy’s comics only come out every five years or so, so I’m usually looking at reprint collections for my fix. I look forward to the complete Dick Tracy and whatever nutty 1940′s/50′s stuff Fantagraphics and IDW put out. No new mainstream stuff.

Uncanny X-Men First Class #5

Apparently at Taco Bell you don’t have to decide between food or comics (insert your own beefy lawsuit joke here). The fast food chain has teamed up with Marvel to provide four different comics with its kids meals.

According to Marvel, each book includes an 11-page story with a one-page Mini-Marvels backup story. Each cover is a reprint from an existing Marvel title. Looking at who’s doing the comics, it may be worth a run to the border; I’d brave a burrito for the team behind Atomic Robo‘s take on Iron Man vs. MODOK alone. (Speaking of which, colorist Chad Fidler posted some pages from the Iron Man comic online).

Here are the details:

X-Men

11-page story:
· Writer: Alex Zalben
· Artist: Tom Grummett
1-page backup by Colleen Coover
Cover by Roger Cruz, a reprint from Uncanny X-Men First Class #5

Fantastic Four

11-page story:
· Writer: Paul Tobin
· Artist: Craig Rousseau
1-page backup by Colleen Coover
Cover by Steve McNiven, reprint from Marvel Knights 4 #1.

Invincible Iron Man

from Taco Bell's Iron Man comic

11-page story:
· Writer: Brian Clevinger
· Artist: Scott Wegener
1-page backup by Colleen Coover
Cover by Brandon Peterson, reprint from Invincible Iron Man #2

Avengers

11-page story:
· Writer: Joe Caramagna
· Artist: Derec Donovan
1-page backup by Colleen Coover
Cover by Scott Kolins, reprint from Marvel Team-Up #4

Top panel, L-R: Joe Casey, mainstream comics

I’ll tell you what else… I’m actually seeing things in [work for hire] comics now that I was doing seven or eight years ago. Not just techniques, but actual ideas. I love me some Fraction, but seeing that Tony Stark wants to “change the world” by manufacturing a car that isn’t dependent on gasoline and runs on a possibly limitless energy source that only he can provide… where have I seen that before? Grant Morrison, of all people, had the confidence and the grace to name check me in a Wired magazine interview when it comes to whatever minor contribution I’ve made to the “corporate” angle in modern comics, but he seems to be the only one. And there are other little things I see here and there that I recognize as having done myself, ten years ago. Things that are so specific, I know where they came from, I know it’s not just coincidence. Now before certain people go crazy because I dared say that… no one should read this as me being at all bitter, because I actually think it’s fine. Let ‘em all pick at the bones of the carcasses I chased down and slaughtered in the field… I’m on to the next kill. I certainly did it with the creators that I dug when I was a newbie. It’s just weird to be on the other side of it. Any creators out there who don’t think we all share the same ideaspace are deluding themselves.

But, y’know, it all adds up to one thing for me, personally… mainstream comics have become so boring that I can barely stand it. There are a few exceptions. Morrison‘s work still gives me a helluva charge, Allan Heinberg‘s a favorite (when he’s able to carve out the time to write comics), but it’s mostly lot of insanely talented creators at Marvel and DC and elsewhere just boring the shit out of me as a reader and as a fan of comics. I hope that doesn’t come across as a slam on anyone’s work, that’s just my honest reaction to a lot of what’s out there right now. Most of it, I’ve seen it all before. Some of it, I’ve done myself…! But more than anything, that’s what gets me off my ass to bust out a plethora of creator-owned material… to try and shake things up a little. Maybe I’ve done it before, to varying degrees — I guess that’s a matter of opinion — but I’m more than a little curious whether or not it’s possible to do it again with these new books. On a pure showmanship level, I’m calling out all of the comic book-creatin’ motherfuckers stuck out there in the mainstream wilderness… saying, “Let’s put some swing back into this thing!” Let’s give all the bloggers and the podcasters stuff they can really sink their teeth into. There are amazing online writers out there that are dying for something good to write about in the mainstream arena, not to mention the podcasters that want to talk about comics in a more in-depth way, but seem to have less and less to talk about.

–Man of Action’s Joe Casey, comics writer of long standing and supervising producer/story editor/head writer of the forthcoming Ultimate Spider-Man animated series from Disney/Marvel, calls it like he sees it regarding the dearth of new and exciting ideas in superhero comics. I think we can all agree with the last part of this quote, at least — will no one think of the bloggers???

This quote comes from a lengthy, extraordinarily juicy interview with Casey by the Comics Reporter’s Tom Spurgeon, the kick-off to his annual Holiday Interview Series, one of my favorite comics Christmas traditions. Be sure to read the whole thing for Casey’s as-per-usual no-holds-barred thoughts on the death of WildStorm, work-for-hire comics vs. creator-owned comics (such as Officer Downe, art from which by Chris Burnham is shown above), work-for-hire animation vs. creator-owned animation, his work on Dark Reign: Zodiac and Superman/Batman, making a living in comics, and much more.

Deadpool Team-Up #884

February!  Love is in the air!  Presidents are in the air!  The holiday season is done with, and we can all look forward to a bright new year.

Or not, as Marvel is bringing you this future month (and I do quote from THUNDERSTRIKE #4 (of 5)‘s solicit)  “scenes of excessive action and angst in the mighty Marvel manner”.  Angst!  Not just fear, anxiety or strife, but angst in the mighty MARVEL manner!  That’s right, other guys!  You don’t do trauma like we do trauma!

Really, it looks like February is just going to be promoted as a downer with a lot of terrible things happening to good people and then Captain America takes on some pigeons.  But it can’t all be doom and gloom, can it?  Can there be a prevailing mood for books during certain seasons?  Does the House of Ideas have a post-holiday melancholy?  And if so, what’s Deadpool doing in the bathtub?  Please, join us as we click for more information below and look at Marvel’s menu for February 2011.

As you cruise down the list of Marvel’s licensed comics (more Orson Scott Card goodness, Halo for the fans) we get to two Ultimate issues on this list for this month.  Ultimate Doom #3 and Ultimate Captain America #3.  Hrm.  Suspiciously missing is Ultimate Spider-Man, I wonder where he could-

*gasp!*

-OH MY GOD. He’s dead!  He’s gone!  The book is over, pack it up, turn of the lights, we’re going home.  No solicitation, it’s been canceled?  No, because press releases over the past few weeks have stated that while, yes, you’ll believe a spider can die, that storyline will kick off in February with “a prelude in Ultimate Spider-Man #153 and going into high-gear with Ultimate Avengers vs New Ultimates #1“.  So, what’s the deal?  Where’s my terrible red-print-on-black-background announcement in my online solicitations?  Sure, it’ll be the cover of the Previews catalog next week, but couldn’t you scare up a token announcement for what might possibly be the worst and most unimaginable thing to ever happen to Peter Parker since he died during the never finished The Other!  Or during the Avengers Disassembled period of Spider-Man comics!  Or… you get the idea.

Actually, they’re saving all their death knells and solemn tones of hyperbole for Amazing Spider-Man! Let’s go about this in a numerical fashion because there’s a Point One in here throwing off my whole number groove.  AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #654.1 is the jumping on point for new readers and a recap of current events, plus the introduction of the all-new Venom host: “Witness the birth of a new Spider-Man in the start of a brand-new story arc!”  Hrmm.  Sure, they say that the new guy is showing up Peter Parker and he has to go turn to someone in his darkest hour, but… In AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #655, “Awakenings” has Spider-Man making a choice — a PROMISE.  Right before this big promise?  Venom comes back into play in the Spider-Man books.  I’m just saying, based on only this information, Peter Parker could be wearing the old black costume and working with the symbiote again.  I mean, that’s some angst in the mighty Marvel fashion…

Another form of Stryfe to show the reader is the surprise return of Cable & Deadpool again, the series that pops up every now and again.  Last seen back in April with issue #25, Duane Swierczynski comes on back with another shot at current X-Men events long after we’ve moved on.  In DEADPOOL & CABLE #26, Deadpool’s verklempt over the loss of his former buddy book co-star and decides to go take up a lost project of Nathan Summers: Rumekistan, the troubled and totally fictional European country that Cable once tried to turn into a Utopia on earth.  If you read the series, this is a rather pleasant little call back and you might get a warm feeling from the return of a fairly entertaining juxtaposition of mutant utopian politics and slapstick ultra-violence.  Otherwise, HEY GUYS DEADPOOL’S ON THE COVER!  I have no idea if this is a now yearly series or they just like hauling it out every now and then.

It looks like War Machine...

For a more personal and better spelled idea of strife, let’s look at Iron Man, shall we?  Now, I know Marvel is going to throw as many types of Iron Man books out there as they can to lure in as many kinds of readers as possible.  There’ll be a kids’ Iron Man book, a continuity laden Iron Man book, a more high tech story with Iron Man, a Iron Man and guest star kind of book, that sort of thing.  If they only put out one book a month, then that’s only one issue of revenue and if they put out a bunch of books… you get the idea.  But never these books shall meet, you just choose the one you like the best and read that one, leaving the more movie style Iron Man book or the reprints of older Iron Man issues to people who’d want to read that instead.  War Machine is finally going to jump in as a bigger part of the ongoing title’s cast and it’s about time, if you ask me.  The public knows who Rhodey is, Pepper freakin’ Potts has armor now, why not Tony’s best buddy?  Only here’s the deal:  he’s not getting his own book.  He’s not getting a mini or one-shot called “War Machine” or “Jim Rhodes: War Machine.”  No, it’s called IRON MAN 2.0.  There’s going to be a three issue lead-in to an ongoing series of the same name.  From the solicitation:  “when Rhodey has to face a mysterious enemy he can’t shoot, can’t bomb, can’t even see, he’s going to be forced to evolve…or die. Find out why War Machine becomes Iron Man 2.0 in the 3-part launch arc of this all-new ongoing series!”

Even if they called it “Iron Man: Machine of War” we’d still get the point!  What is up with the decimals, Marvel?  And why is issue one of this mini-series $3.99?  Issue two is $2.99!

It gets better, my little angst monkeys, because then INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #500.1 comes out.  Again, a jumping on point for new readers, long time readers will want to pick this up as well because this is going to set the tone for Iron Man and his crew.  And then there’s the regular ongoing issue of INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #501. So, if you want to keep up with Iron Man, IRON MAN 2.0 #1 and #2 spin out of the current storyline, INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #500.1 recaps and introduces the new storyline and oh yeah, INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #501 gets you into the all new thrills and spills in the life of Tony Stark.  That’s… around $14 bucks of just current Iron Man continuity this month.  Not mini-series flavors, not age-appropriate titles to make the character relatable to the most people.  That’s just current continuity, read-these-to-know-references-we’ll-be-making-later comics.

Iron Man Legacy #11

Kind of makes me want to read IRON MAN LEGACY #11.  From their solicitation:  “THE ILLUMINATI versus THE PRIDE as “INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION” reaches its senses-shattering conclusion!…’NUFF SAID!”  ‘Nuff said, indeed.

Some of these solicitations do go on a little longer than they should this month.  A lot of them could be easily sold on their first lines alone.  Take for example HULK #30 by Jeff Parker and Ed McGuiness, “Ed McGuiness draws a special (and especially insane) issue of HULK!”  DONE. Do we need to know what kind of insanity?  Haven’t the Hulk books in general just been their own special sort of insanity?  Looking back at Loeb’s run on the Hulk books, wasn’t that the best-selling modus operandi of his stories?

Meanwhile, the first line of INCREDIBLE HULKS #622 lets you know that the Mighty Marvel Angst is front and center, “In the horrific tragedy of life sweepstakes, the Hulk has won the jackpot, time and time again.”  Yow.  By the way, Hulk fights against the Allfatheriest one of them all, so while still depressing in the House of Ennui style, there will also be a punch up.  DAREDEVIL: REBORN #2 (of 4) wants you to know that “Guilt-ridden and alone, the man who would be Daredevil turned his back on the life he once knew, and fled into the New Mexico desert.”  FANTASTIC FOUR #588 will have a whole “month seeing how the remaining members of the Fantastic Four, the extended family, other heroes, and prominent villains react to the loss of this legendary hero.”  Spidey will console a distraught Franklin Richards.  Marvel will also be canceling fan-favorite series “Your Brand New Puppy” and reveal that SANTA CLAUS ISN’T REAL.

Then there’s the first line of SUPERHEROES #11:  “Captain America knew something was odd when he spotted an entire flock of supposedly extinct passenger pigeons.”  Some days Marvel’s all-ages comics are like that melted marshmallow topping on your candied yams.

The winner: Thor #620

Awkwardly, Marvel has ravaged through the Thor title landscape, flinging bodies to and fro and decimating the rather plentiful line of books.  We’re just getting to the end of both IRON MAN/THOR and THOR: FOR ASGARD, then it’s just THOR #620 (no, I’m not counting Thunderstrike).  For a guy cited as the next Deadpool in over-saturation,  seeing us back down to one comic at the end of February seems a little over-kill.  And then of course there’s the sad state of Thor: the Mighty Avenger, fan favorite, reviewer’s darling, all ages fun and expertly drawn getting the axe this week.  Support has been overwhelming for a book I really didn’t read and hopefully, this will translate to sales for the doomed title.  There could be a last-minute Hail Mary and the efforts of the #SaveThorTheMightyAvenger hash tag on Twitter, the Facebook fan page, the articles and great rallying done by dedicated and snazzy fans could bring this book back from the brink, but really.  This is not the first time an off-beat book that was popular with comic readers got canceled to make room for more “accessible comics for new readers” or another Wolverine book.  The comic business loves the familiar and not the innovative.  Maybe in a few years, Thor: the Mighty Avenger will have that sense of nostalgia to it that gets us a new issue, like Cable & Deadpool get.  Maybe fans will give it a Spider-Girl break or it’ll continue in fits and starts of mini-series like Atlas does.  Maybe it’ll sell as trades as a staple comic like the Immortal Iron Fist.   Only time will tell.

PUNISHER: IN THE BLOOD #4 (of 5) starts out its solicitation: “Who is the gorgeous, leather-clad, burn victim romantically entangled with both the Jigsaw Brothers?”  I just wanted you all to know that I totally have an alibi.

In other news, the Astonishing X-Men title was originally announced way back when as the continuity-free X-Men book to cater to movie goers and those interested in jumping in with Marvel’s merry mutants without digging through back issues or pondering out the Ultimates line.  It had Joss Whedon and the man had the Midas touch, making it one of the most popular books for its time.  Personally, I still sell the first trade to those wanting a Whedonesque look at the X-Men and it serves pretty well as some fun reading with a mutant twist.  Then Warren Ellis took over and the book became more of a high-concept book, a Marvel Knights X-Men with elaborate art and a sci-fi mindset.  Not exactly for the new reader anymore, it seemed to elaborate at times on themes going on with the main title while shooting the rest of it off into space.

Astonishing X-Men #36

In February, Daniel Way gets to make his mark on the malleable title with ASTONISHING X-MEN #36. From the solicitation: “New series writer Daniel Way (Deadpool) is joined by superstar artist Jason Pearson to bring you a widescreen, mega blockbuster story filled with classic Kirby monsters, heart-stopping revelations and over-the-top action!”  I’m intrigued to see where this one will go after a few issues and what flavor of X-Men book we’ll be getting.

There will be a WOLVERINE #5.1, despite being only FIVE ISSUES INTO THE STORY.  I mean, come on!  It’s Wolverine!  How could you possibly not know what Wolverine is doing right now?  He stabs, he’s short and he’s on the X-Men and the Avengers.  He’s the best there is at what he does.  Done.  Why would you need a Point One issue for a book that is not only just five issues in, not only starting a new storyline in WOLVERINE #6 (“Once again, a mindless Wolverine is raging out control, a danger to everyone around him.”  Again, sounds like Tuesday.), but there’s also a WOLVERINE #1000 issue coming out packed to its 80-page brim with writers and artists telling all new stories and adventures.  Couldn’t the Point One story be added to this book?  Not that I don’t adore Jason Aaron’s take on Wolverine, I just don’t think it needs a #5.1 one to get it into the hands of new readers.

Long time no see PunisherMAX #10

In books returning from the dead news, PunsherMAX is back in February.  Now, I had no idea it was gone until I looked at when the last issue came out and that was back in July.  Well, whatever horrible thing the book was doing in that 6 month absence, it’s back now and cross your fingers that it’s really ongoing this time, for serious, because PUNISHERMAX #10 looks to continue to look into the obscene madness that only Jason Aaron could come up with in a battle of wits between the Punisher and Bullseye.  Also, while not in the mature range of literature, I would like to point out that Dan Jurgens’s run on Thor is finally getting some reprints in the form of the THOR: THE DEATH OF ODIN TPB.  This was a fantastic run that’s frustratingly difficult to get one’s hands on, plus it leads to the awesome Thor: Lord of Asgard run that ends with Michael Avon Oeming’s Ragnarok finale.  These are some great comics that didn’t come out all that long ago, I’m glad to see them return to the masses.

Wow, for such a downer of a month, there’s still even more going on in the ol’ Marvel Universe.  Some of it isn’t even angst driven!  So go ahead, take a look for yourself at the Marvel Solicitations for February 2011 and tell me what you like best!  Is it the new Marvel Girl mini-series that’s long overdue?  Is it The Thanos Imperative HC that collects what hopefully isn’t the last of Marvel’s cosmic goodness?  Greg Pak finally getting his hands on the Silver Surfer in his own titular mini-series?  Or dare I even say it, the return of ONSLAUGHT???  Buck up, True Believers and look forward to the future!

Director, Actor, Punching Bag

Iron Man 2 is still awesome.

It’s still a fun movie with all sorts of emotional beats and explosions and characters and lead-up and all those great things that, to be honest, make me read comics every week. If you pick up a monthly, you expect to see something of the character on the cover in the book, you expect to see him (or her) do something incredible and, by all rights, you should be interested in what the next issue is going to do. In a perfect world, I would be a millionaire with a unicorn and comics would always be recognizable, satisfying and leave you hungry for whatever is coming next.

Iron Man 2 worked almost as a film second, and a movie first because they devoted a lot of time to talk about the past and the future. Samuel L. Fury tries to get Tony Stark’s life back on track so they can use him for this “Avengers Initiative.” We go through an overwhelmingly Walt Disney-inspired piece for Howard Stark and the better future he saw when he put together the first Stark Expo. This is the continuation of something big, larger than life or even the life that the movie contained it in.

Settling down the the fanciest-schemanciest Blu-ray copy I could get my hands on, I wanted to see what it was like when you took this movie home. Did the lukewarm reception still come from the wide variety of audiences the movie tried to please? Or was it just not that great? Come with me and see.

So, for those of you playing at home, I purchased the FYE version of the three-disk Blu-ray (it comes with the feature, a whole disk of extras, then a DVD copy and a digital download). From what I could tell in a panicked search on Sept. 28 — I forgot the DVD was being released — this seems to be the most you could acquire in just pure, sweet content. The first disk displays the movie, a director’s commentary track and a fun little bit of technology called The S.H.I.E.L.D. Data Vault. This goes just an inch further in your movie-watching experience and shows off some of the movie’s Easter eggs and, in The Vault’s case, gives you some extra history on the Incredible Hulk movie and how it ties in to the Iron Man movies. Personally, I’m not a fan of reading text on a screen, but the Vault’s fully in character with tying the Super-Soldier program in with last-known intel on the missing Bruce Banner, PhD with that prototype of Cap’s shield we see pop up in Iron Man.   They also have, for the impatient like myself, Footage Scan Mode, which finds all the details they threw into the movie (OM Captain America’s shield?) and pops it out with a little display and a small text description. Did you know that the big tube-thing that Tony Stark made a new element out of at the end of the movie was a Prismatic Accelerator, possibly from Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. (“Potential Energy Group/Alternate Sources/United States”)? Thanks to the Footage Scan, I do, and I got a shot of the blueprints behind it.

Going through a movie you just got on DVD for the cool bits is tough. Searching in the background for that one shot of the Captain America comic might be a triumph for those with bigger screens, but when the Blu-ray already knows I want the details, pulls them out for me and lets me skip around through them? That’s rad. From the Stark Expo interface menus, the S.H.I.E.L.D. reports and background images, interacting with your TV takes on this immersive quality. I loved the computer interfaces from the movies and, while I still have to use a remote, the Blu-ray brings a little of that home for you.

Jon Favreau is a very honest commentator as well as a huge film geek. Over the deleted scenes on Disk Two, he notes that “If you’re watching deleted-scenes commentary, then you’re a real geek,” promising a little more inside-baseball as to what these scenes are used for and why they were removed. During the Making Of segments (poorly titled “Ultimate Iron Man,” which made me at least think there was going to be some sort of comic history involved), Favreau has fears and doubts. There are moments where he’ll be on-set with the cameras and admit that nearly losing Mickey Rourke from the project terrified him. That he felt they started too late in their development and two years for such an ambitious project would make everyone lose sleep, especially himself. His word is not law, and there are a lot of moments of him going out of his way to incorporate everyone’s input, from the cast to the crew. The composer gave notes to Tom Morello, who riffed some guitar tracks for the soundtrack. Mickey Rourke visited Russian prisons on his own time before they started filming, the choreographers and Scarlet Johanssen worked overtime for all of her stunts to make them as natural as possible. This movie was made in the mighty Marvel manner, with an idea shared between both writing and art teams to create the clearest picture they could come up with.

Maybe that’s why this movie wasn’t received as well as the first. Favreau in the behind-the-scenes portion calls it “fighting against a memory,” that the first movie was so popular, audiences remember it as something bigger than what they actually saw and so now they have to live up to something they didn’t even produce. The first Iron Man is arguably a perfect comic-book movie, with action and drama in just the right equal parts to be a recognizable brand, satisfying in story execution and leaving us hungry for what life is like now for Iron Man after his big reveal at the end of Movie #1. Movie #2 is the second issue; it gave you more plot that developed from the first, a bigger threat than what Iron Man defeated last time and something else to look forward to afterward: The Avengers. Perhaps this is some sort of new entertainment form we’re creating, some sort of movie-comic hybrid where it’s developed as you would a comic book but filmed for a mass audience in a more palatable format.

Whether or not we’re at the dawn of a new age and witnessing the birth of a new form of media — the Comovie! Movic! — I’d still recommend taking the time to get a copy of the DVD or Blu-ray and all its features. The movie is a much more friendly and inclusive process with all the time and details they took to present it to viewers. Who’s hungry for the next film?

If you’ve ever dreamed of working at LexCorp, Stark Industries or even Acme Labs, here’s the first step to making that dream come true — business cards. Fro Design Co. has created a print featuring business cards for Wayne Enterprises, Duff Breweries, Sterling Cooper, the Dharma Initiative and several other fictional companies.

Via

Carnage #1 variant by Patrick Zircher

Marvel was kind enough to share Patrick Zircher’s variant cover for the first issue of Carnage, which hits stands Oct. 13. The book pits Iron Man and Spider-Man against Venom’s crazier cousin, Carnage, by the creative team of Zeb Wells and Clayton Crain.

More info on the book, plus two more of its covers, can be found after the jump.

Marvel is pleased to present your first look at Patrick Zircher’s all-new variant cover to one of this year’s most anticipated titles, Carnage #1! This October, the superstar creative team of Zeb Wells and Clayton Crain usher in the return of one most popular and most deadly villains that the Marvel Universe has ever faced! Except, the insidious symbiote hasn’t returned just for Peter Parker, it also has its sights set on Iron Man. Can Iron Man and Spidey contain the maniacal Carnage on their own? Find out in Carnage #1 this fall!

CARNAGE #1 (of 5) (AUG100529)
CARNAGE #1 (of 5) CRAIN VARIANT (AUG100530)
CARNAGE #1 (of 5) ADAMS VARIANT (AUG100531)
CARNAGE #1 (of 5) ZIRCHER VARIANT (JUL108156)
Written by ZEB WELLS
Pencils & Cover by CLAYTON CRAIN
Variant Cover by CLAYTON CRAIN
Variant Cover by ARTHUR ADAMS
Variant Cover by PATRICK ZIRCHER
Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC – 9/23/10, On Sale – 10/13/10

Hasbro sent over images of the action figures and toys they’ll be selling at Comic-Con International next week, including Thor, Galactus, Spider-Man and Captain America figures. Some of them will be available on HasbroToyShop.com after the show.

Check’em all out after the jump …

*****

G.I. JOE 3.75″ SGT. SLAUGHTER Special Edition Figure
(Ages: 5 & up; Approximate Retail Price: $12.99 each; Available through HasbroToyShop.com, Booth # 3329 at San Diego Comic-Con)
Sgt. Slaughter returns to the G.I. JOE universe at Comic-Con in two different styles! The primary figure is styled with a USA tank top, whistle, non-removable hat, championship belt, baton and a microphone. The variant figure (sold separately), in the Triple-T styling, comes with a whistle, non-removable hat, machine gun, and a revolver. In addition to being available at Comic-Con, a limited number will be available on HasbroToyShop.com after the convention.

LITTLEST PET SHOP 2010 Collectors Special Edition Pet
(Ages 4 and up; Approximate Retail Price $8.99; Available through HasbroToyShop.com, Booth # 3329 at San Diego Comic-Con)
Inspired by 1970s mod, this LITTLEST PET SHOP hippo pet is ready to make its debut at San Diego Comic-Con in 2010. The vibrant pet features vintage metallic rainbow and star graphics. Complete with colorful packaging, this happy hippo is sure to be the shining star in any LITTLEST PET SHOP pet collection. This HasbroToyShop.com exclusive launches at San Diego Comic-Con 2010! In addition to being available at Comic-Con, a limited number will be available on HasbroToyShop.com after the convention.

MARVEL UNIVERSE IRON MAN 2 MIGHTY MUGG Special Edition
(Ages 6 and up; Approximate Retail Price $15.99; Available through HasbroToyShop.com, Booth #3329 at San Diego Comic-Con)
Hasbro worked closely with TONY STARK and STARK INDUSTRIES to create the ultra-hip vinyl collectible MARVEL UNIVERSE IRON MAN 2 MIGHTY MUGG figure. Styled after IRON MAN’s Mark VI armored suit, the figure features a retractable visor on its helmet and is highlighted in premium commemorative foil packaging. In addition to being available at Comic-Con, a limited number will be available on HasbroToyShop.com after the convention.

MARVEL SUPER HERO SQUAD 3-PACK Special Edition
(Ages 3 and up; Approximate Retail Price $12.99)
Marvel Comics fans have enjoyed collecting Hasbro’s hundreds of fun, uniquely styled MARVEL SUPER HERO SQUAD figures since the line’s introduction in 2007. At this year’s Comic-Con International, the MARVEL SUPER HERO SQUAD makes its San Diego debut with a special edition 3-pack from Hasbro that includes IRON MAN, the MAYOR OF SUPERHERO CITY, and DR. DOOM – in his bathrobe, slippers and holding a coffee mug[LM1] <#_msocom_1> ! In addition to being available at Comic-Con, a limited number will be available on HasbroToyShop.com after the convention.

MARVEL UNIVERSE 19” GALACTUS FIGURE Special Edition
(Ages 4 and up; Approximate Retail Price $59.99; Available through HasbroToyShop.com, Booth #3329 at San Diego Comic-Con)
Fans at Comic-Con International will be introduced to the massive MARVEL UNIVERSE 19” GALACTUS FIGURE packaged on a 27-inch blister card! Both the blister card and its special edition outer box are adorned with one-of-a-kind artwork by Joe Quesada, Marvel Comics’ editor-in-chief. The figure features a variety of lights and sounds and is Hasbro’s largest single-carded figure ever! In addition to being available at Comic-Con, a limited number will be available on HasbroToyShop.com after the convention.

MARVEL UNIVERSE 3.75” CAPTAIN AMERICA FIGURE Special Edition
(Ages 4 and up; Approximate Retail Price $9.99; Available through HasbroToyShop.com, Booth #3329 at San Diego Comic-Con)
Hasbro is excited to introduce fans at Comic-Con International to its special edition MARVEL UNIVERSE 3.75” CAPTAIN AMERICA FIGURE! This classic CAPTAIN AMERICA figure is styled in the character’s World War II gear, complete with a removable helmet and triangular, badge-shaped shield. The figure’s packaging features artwork by Joe Quesada, Marvel Comics’ editor-in-chief. In addition to being available at Comic-Con, a limited number will be available on HasbroToyShop.com after the convention.

MARVEL UNIVERSE 3.75” SPIDER-MAN FIGURE Special Edition
(Ages 4 and up; Approximate Retail Price $9.99; Available through HasbroToyShop.com, Booth #3329 at San Diego Comic-Con)Hasbro is offering its special edition MARVEL UNIVERSE 3.75” SPIDER-MAN FIGURE to fans at Comic-Con International! This is the first time the Spider-Man movie franchise styling will be featured in the 3.75-inch scale. In addition to being available at Comic-Con, a limited number will be available on HasbroToyShop.com after the convention.

MARVEL UNIVERSE 3.75” THOR FIGURE Special Edition
(Ages 4 and up; Approximate Retail Price $9.99; Available through HasbroToyShop.com, Booth #3329 at San Diego Comic-Con)
Hasbro is offering fans at Comic-Con International the opportunity to purchase its special edition MARVEL UNIVERSE 3.75” THOR FIGURE, which is designed in the styling of Marvel’s highly popular Thor: Ages of Thunder comics series. The figure includes THOR’S legendary hammer and features special edition packaging adorned with artwork by Joe Quesada, Marvel Comics’ editor-in-chief. In addition to being available at Comic-Con, a limited number will be available on HasbroToyShop.com after the convention.

MY LITTLE PONY 2010 Special Edition Pony
(Ages 3 and up; Approximate Retail Price $14.99; Available through HasbroToyShop.com, Booth #3329 at San Diego Comic-Con)
The popular special edition MY LITTLE PONY figure, available each year at San Diego Comic-Con, will have fans kicking it old “skool” in 2010. The exclusive pony features funky graffiti graphics, in addition to colorful “Pony Power” and “Pony Life” tags. This vibrant pony is housed in a unique package with two clear “peek-a-boo” MY LITTLE PONY silhouettes on either side of the box. This HasbroToyShop.com exclusive launches at San Diego Comic-Con 2010! In addition to being available at Comic-Con, a limited number will be available on HasbroToyShop.com after the convention.

STAR WARS DARTH MAUL & OWEN LARS COMIC 2-PACK Special Edition
(Ages 4 and up; Approximate Retail Price $14.99; Available through HasbroToyShop.com, Booth #3329 at San Diego Comic-Con)
Hasbro is offering STAR WARS fans the STAR WARS DARTH MAUL & OWEN LARS COMIC 2-PACK at this year’s convention. The item includes a reprint of the “STAR WARS: Visionaries” comic book and two 3.75” figures – DARTH MAUL and OWEN LARS – and will feature a special, limited edition outer package.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE Special Edition Doll
(Ages 3 and up; Approximate Retail Price $17.99; Available through HasbroToyShop.com, Booth # 3329 at San Diego Comic-Con)
Dressed for her debut in a funky pink hat inspired by her cat CUSTARD, STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE is making her first HasbroToyShop.com appearance at San Diego Comic-Con in 2010. The special edition doll comes with colorful removable fashions and chic accessories. This stylish STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE doll marks the re-introduction of the original 5” scale. The STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE doll and her cat CUSTARD are housed in a specially designed package that opens to display them for all to see! This HasbroToyShop.com exclusive launches at San Diego Comic-Con 2010! In addition to being available at Comic-Con, a limited number will be available on HasbroToyShop.com after the convention.

TRANSFORMERS AUTOBOT PROWL MIGHTY MUGGS Special Edition Figure
(Ages: 6 & up; Approximate Retail Price: $15.99; Available through HasbroToyShop.com, Booth # 3329 at San Diego Comic-Con)
The TRANSFORMERS Universe and ultra-hip vinyl collectibles collide at Comic-Con International when Hasbro introduces AUTOBOT PROWL as a MIGHTY MUGGS figure for the very first time. Designed in the character’s classic Generation 1 style – and equipped with his signature blaster – this product is highlighted in premium commemorative foil packaging. In addition to being available at Comic-Con, a limited number will be available on HasbroToyShop.com after the convention.

TRANSFORMERS AUTOBOT BLASTER Special Edition Figure
(Ages: 5 & up; Approximate Retail Price: $49.99; Available through HasbroToyShop.com, Booth # 3329 at San Diego Comic-Con)
You may want to look again, because what you thought was just a retro boombox is actually a “ROBOT IN DISGUISE!” Hasbro is excited to offer Comic-Con International attendees its TRANSFORMERS AUTOBOT BLASTER Special Edition figure. Designed in the character’s classic 1984 styling, this special AUTOBOT BLASTER figure includes its three cassette tapes/battle companions: STEELJAW, RAMHORN and EJECT. In addition to being available at Comic-Con, a limited number will be available on HasbroToyShop.com after the convention.

The Design Scene blog points us to these inspired Hello Kitty reinterpretations by designer Joseph Senior, whose MySpace page contains versions of the popular feline made up to look like Wolverine, Batman, Dr. Manhattan, Buzz Lightyear, Robocop, countless Star Wars characters and even Ugly Betty.

Iron Man suit for Little Big Planet

As promised, Marvel.com is unveiling the costumes you’ll be able to download for LittleBigPlanet, starting with this summer’s big movie star, Iron Man. They also confirmed that the costumes will work in the upcoming sequel to the hit PlayStation 3 game.

Check out a couple more pieces of art after the jump.

*****

Iron Man

Iron Man

Inspired by Fraction’s facetious tweets about the powers of each of the ten rings wielded by Iron Man villain the Mandarin (including making phone calls that never drop and the ability to TiVo three shows at once), Johns got the ball rolling. Below you’ll find their crossover conversation, tweaked slightly for clarity and featuring guest appearances by editor Steve Wacker and Avengers writer Brian Michael Bendis…

artist unknown (let us know in the comments)

Johns: @mattfraction What can the Mandarin’s rings do? Iron Man/Green Lantern xover…!

Fraction: @geoffjohns0 together, all of ‘em can save the direct market…! #LETSDOTHISTHING

Fraction [later]: wait weren’t me and @geoffjohns0 plotting our GreenLantern/IronMan xover in real tweettime? wasn’t mandarin getting a red ring or something?

Johns: Then Hal loses his ring, but finds one of Tony’s suits. And thinks it’s the coolest thing to ever pilot…

Fraction: Tony rebuilds a shattered power battery with repulsor tech and discovers he can make this weird ring do what he thinks…

Stephen Wacker: @GeoffJohns0 @mattfraction SinestrO.D.O.K.

Johns: And the SinestrO.D.O.K. Corps

Fraction: how big of a red ring would a red ring have to be to fit around fin fang foom’s neck like a collar? #blooddragon!!!AAIIEEEEEEEE

Johns: Fin Fang Foom you have great rage in your heart! Welcome to the Red Lantern Corps!

Fraction: “Pepper Potts, this is Carol Ferris. Carol, meet…”

Johns: “Hal? I was,um, just having a drink with…” “Tony. Tony Stark. I hear this ring belongs to you…but I can’t get it off.”

Johns: In the suit, Hal plays chicken with the Quinjet. The Avengers want to know who stole Tony’s armor.

Brian Michael Bendis: @GeoffJohns0 @mattfraction hey!! No quinjet or avengers unless i get some tie in/ spin off action!!

Johns: @BRIANMBENDIS @mattfraction Avengers/Green Lantern/Iron Man We last left Hal Jordan in Iron Man’s armor battling the Avengers…

Red Lantern Fin Fang Foom and the SinestrO.D.O.K. Corps alone make a real-world version of this imaginary crossover worth the price of admission, don’t you think?

Are the Young Avengers still hiring? If so, they should talk to Patrick Boivin‘s baby girl, who suits up into some famous armor and tackles a handful of scary bunnies in this really awesome parody video. The young hero even gets an endorsement from Iron Man director Jon Favreau.

Alan Aldridge's variant cover for Avengers #2

As wonderful as those “Iron Man By Design 2.0″ covers by animation artists Ronnie del Carmen and Bill Presing were, I think Marvel may have topped them this morning with two from legendary graphic designer Alan Aldridge and renowned animator and director Genndy Tartakovsky.

Aldridge, who’s widely known for creating illustrated lyric books for the Beatles, album covers for the Rolling Stones, the Who and Elton John, and the children’s book The Butterfly’s Ball, and the Grasshopper’s Feast, offers his psychedelic take on Iron Man for the variant cover for Avengers #2.

Tartakovsky, creator of Dexter’s Laboratory and Samurai Jack, and director of 2003′s Star Wars: Clone Wars, delivers a quirky clockwork Armored Avenger for Invincible Iron Man Annual #1.

Both issues will be released in June. See the full covers and solicitation text after the break.

Alan Aldridge's variant cover for Avengers #2

Genndy Tartakovsky's variant cover for Invincible Iron Man Annual #1

AVENGERS #2 (APR100547)
AVENGERS #2 ROMITA JR VARIANT (APR100548)
AVENGERS #2 IRON MAN BY DESIGN 2.0 VARIANT (APR100549)
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Pencils & Cover by JOHN ROMITA JR.
Variant by JOHN ROMITA JR.
Iron Man By Design 2.0 Variant by ALAN ALDRIDGE
Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC—6/3/10, On-Sale—6/23/10

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN ANNUAL #1 (MAR100546)
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN ANNUAL #1 IRON MAN BY DESIGN 2.0 VARIANT (MAR100547)
Written by MATT FRACTION
Penciled by CARMINE DI GIANDOMENICO
Cover by SALVADOR LARROCA
Iron Man By Design 2.0 Variant by GENNDY TARTAKOVSKY
Rated A …$4.99
FOC—6/10/10, On-Sale—6/30/10

Is the superhero genre a cinematic dead-end? Since Salon’s Matt Zoller Seitz made the case last week, the topic has been much on the minds of the comics commentariat. Recently, Tom Spurgeon, Tim O’Neil, Charles Hatfield and yours truly have all weighed in on the matter, focusing on aspects like the power of individual moments or performances vs. that of the story as a whole, the storytelling techniques mandated by Hollywood’s need to get a return on the massive investments required for the genre, the question of why fans get so worked up for the movies when they have any number of (usually superior) comics about the same characters to read, and personal film-by-film rundowns of the genre’s high and low points.

Of course, this was all before I saw Black20′s magnificent made-up mash-up trailer for Iron Man IV. Now, it’s possible that this is a parody of super-sequels’ tendency to over-stuff themselves with new characters, extra villains and half a dozen subplots. On the other hand, when you’re presented with an Iron Man movie starring Robert Downey Jr., Fred Gwynne, Jim Carrey, James Brown, Vanilla Ice, Carl Weathers, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Barack Obama, M. Bison, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, David Arquette, Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Don Cheadle, Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Johnny 5, who’s gonna complain? If you can make it through the 2:19 mark without laughing out loud, maybe you’re a superhero.

(Via Topless Robot)