Comix Connection

Looking Forward to Looking Back, Vol. 15

2010-02-08T15:47:00.005-05:00

Holy Katz N Jammerkids! It's been a couple weeks now since I've had a chance to do a new post! In my posting absence though, I decided I would work these posts in a direction other than merely relaying information on what classic comic material is available, but I wish to also discuss why the availability of this classic comic material is important as many of you visiting our site may have no experience with the material I cover. And that's okay. Many readers may have no interest in these old comics and strips at all, which is also fine. But... if you're really interested in comics and in where comics as an art form are going then you really should take time to read and learn a bit about where the comics have been and how the medium of comics has progressed and become this thing we know it to be today.

The actress, Lauren Bacall, once said of old movies that "only when you've seen a movie does it make a film an old movie. If you've never seen or tried a classic film, then it's still a "new" movie. I not only agree with her, but I think the notion can be applied quite easily to "old comics" too. In every volume I've allowed myself to discover of books such as Little Nemo or Krazy Kat or Bringing Up Father, I have found an experience that was not only enjoyable but the material was fresh and new! After all, I didn't grow up in the early 1900s, the Teens, or the Twenties, but the comic strips from those days are vastly appealing as the gags and the comedy is still intact, the artwork is just as spirited and often mesmerising, and I often learn something of not only this art form's past but the past of us as a collective people and nation. Just the same, I didn't grow up reading the adventure comics or strips of the Thirties, Forties, or Fifties, but I admire the art, the storytelling, and the heroism those stories had to offer readers. These works are now considered timeless because their best qualities remain intact for readers today. I find the material in these books is gratifying for the cost, I appreciate the restoration efforts that go into them, and I also like to think in some way I am helping to preserve the early days of an art form that has survived long enough to now have a history. A history that deserves to be explored. Fortunately, for us modern readers that exploration is possible with all of the various reprint efforts by publishers today.

So in the weeks ahead, I'm going to endeavour to cover a lot of comic ground and spotlight artists and strips and comics that deserve your attetnion, or if you're already familiar with them, maybe then a second look. There have been substantial efforts in the last twenty plus years to bring comic readers a selection of the best that the early days of this medium had to offer, but for these efforts to continually thrive these works need exposure to new readers and not just us who already appreciate the look back.

Stay Tuned! Comix Connection Counter Monkey Joe's updates on new collections and look back at comics appreciation begins next Monday!

We survived DEATHSTORM 2010

2010-02-07T15:14:00.003-05:00

Yes, we're OPEN today at both stores! C'mon in!

And, no we do not trade comic books for surplus milk, bread or eggs.

COMIX CONNECTION IS CLOSED FOR THE DAY!

2010-02-06T10:21:00.001-05:00

Sorry, folks but both Comix Connection stores are closed today! It's just too crazy out there with no signs of letting up for several more hours. Check with us tomorrow, we'll see what happens. Why don't you spend the day getting your collection in order? Or not. Whatever. Just don't come here.

New Artist Jam site

2010-02-05T17:19:00.003-05:00

Check THIS SITE out!

It's COMICTWART! Artist Mike Hawthorne and a slew of other artists including Francesco Francavilla, Declan Shalvey, Tom Fowler, Mitch Breitweiser, Patrick Stiles, Ramón Pérez, Steve Bryant, Mitch Gerads, Ron Salas, Andy Kuhn, Dan McDaid, Evan "Doc" Shaner, Urban Barbarian, Chris Samnee, and Nathan Fairbairn have set themselves a weekly task: to all render a drawing of the same character. So fa they've done Zorro, the Rocketeer and Torpedo 1936 (Luca Torelli). Go check out all the amazing drawings in many different styles. Kepp it up guys, it's very entertaining!

Post Number 1701

2010-02-04T14:31:00.002-05:00

This is post #1701, so it should be about STAR TREK, but it's not.

With the imminent approach of DEATHSTORM 2010, I give you THIS, a link to a website with pictures of Calvin's wildest snowmen ideas made into reality! pretty cool, eh?

If any of you guys make something like these, SEND ME YOUR PICTURES! I will post them here and send a bit of store credit your way. Bonus points if you work one of our shirts into the display.

(Hat tip to Rich Spidle for the link!)

Just STOP

2010-02-03T15:28:00.002-05:00

I thought THIS was a nice piece of internet fluff.

Other than that, I got nuttin'.

Our 22nd Birthday Sale!

2010-02-03T06:30:00.001-05:00

ANNOUNCING:

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 27th

and SUNDAY FEBRUARY 28th

ALL BIN COMICS ONE DOLLAR EACH

WHILE THEY LAST!

BE THERE OR BE SOMETHING THAT RHYMES WITH "AIR"

Manager Jared's Weekly Matchup Poll #19

2010-02-02T12:02:00.001-05:00

So...who would win? They both fight real good and they have weapons!

Online Surveys & Market Research

Don't forget to tell us why you voted the way you did in the comments section! Its easy, free, and commitment free!

(Descriptions of characters powers retrieved from Wikipedia.)

A few words from Calvin & Hobbes creator Bill Watterson!

2010-02-01T12:35:00.002-05:00

This might be the first time CALVIN & HOBBES creator Bill Watterson has spoken to the press in fifteen years!

I think some of the reason "Calvin and Hobbes" still finds an audience today is because I chose not to run the wheels off it.

I've never regretted stopping when I did.

Read the entire brief article HERE!

I'm always glad he created what he created. CALVIN & HOBBES is still one of the best newspaper comic strips EVER.

Two titans of the comic book world to visit Central Pennsylvania this week!

2010-01-31T14:59:00.004-05:00

Boy, it's a banner week for comic fans... look who's coming to Dickinson College on Thursday! Art Spiegelman!

Thanks to artists like Spiegelman, comics have moved beyond red-headed stepchild status into a grudging respectability. What’s more, the number of comics being published in a given year — from superheroes to manga to art books to reprints of classic strips to online comics — is staggering.

That sea change and how it came about will be one of the main topics of discussion when the cartoonist comes to speak at Dickinson College's Anita Tuvin Schlechter Auditorium in Carlisle at 7 p.m. on Thursday. The event is free. For more information, visit www.clarkeforum.org or call 245-1875

Spiegelman is best known for “Maus,” a memoir of both his father’s experiences in Auchwitz concentration camp and the pair’s own difficult relationship.

Spiegelman’s talk, entitled “Comix 101.1” will also look what the art form has to offer readers and why it shouldn’t be ignored.

Read Chris Mautner's entire article at pennlive.com.

And also on Thursday, there's Chip Kidd at the Whittaker Center in Harrisburg!

Recognized as an American master of contemporary book design, USA Today describes Kidd as “the closest thing to a rock star” in graphic design today.” His book jacket designs for Alfred A. Knopf have helped spawn a revolution in the art of American book packaging. His work has been featured in Vanity Fair, Eye, Print, Entertainment Weekly, The New Republic, Time, Graphis, New York, and ID magazines, and he is a regular contributor of visual commentary to the Op-Ed page of The New York Times.

For more info, read the listing HERE!

Isn't it funny how they're both in town on Thursday? Wouldn't it be cool if they met at a diner after their respective speeches? And wouldn't it be cool to sit in on that conversation?

Free Comic Books In May!

2010-01-30T07:25:00.001-05:00

That's right, it's only a bit over three months until this year's Free Comic Book Day 2010, the coolest annual event in the entire universe! Be at either Comix Connection location on SATURDAY MAY 1st from 10AM to 9PM and scoop up your THREE FREE COMIC books from our selection of over 30 great titles. There's something for every taste:

Here's a complete list of the comics that will be available:

Archie's Summer Splash! #1
Doctor Solar/Magnus

Fractured Fables
G.I. Joe #155 1/2

Iron Man/Thor
Mouse Guard/Fraggle Rock
Shrek & The Penguins

The John Stanley Library
Toy Story
War of the Supermen #0

Sonic: The Hedgehog
Worlds of Aspen
Fearless Dawn

S.E. Hinton / Fame
Bongo: Free-For-All
Irredeemable #1

DC Kids Mega-Sampler
Del Rey Showcase
Green Hornet #1

Weathercraft!
The Overstreet Guide
Library of American Comics #0

Artifacts: First Look
Love and Capes #13
Iron Man: Supernova

The Tick #1
Oni Press Free-For-All!
The Sixth Gun #1

Radical: Bigger Books!
Atomic Robo
Freedom Formula: Speed Metal

Stuff of Legend/Mortal Instruments
Owly And Friends

There will also be free sample packs of the new Marvel Collectible Card Game for everyone:

AND, this year's free Marvel Heroclix game piece of WAR MACHINE (while supplies last):

Read more about Free Comic Book Day 2010 at the FCBD website!

(And yes we will be running some sort of awesome sale, and there will be surprise guests and whatnot. Details will be announced closer to FCBD 2010!)

MORE RING BLING FROM DC!

2010-01-29T06:30:00.000-05:00

Check these out:

We can’t promise it’ll make you any faster, or that it’ll respond to your willpower, but hey — that’s what our imaginations are for.

But we can promise a way for you to get your hands on one. With BRIGHTEST DAY banner issues THE FLASH #1 and GREEN LANTERN #53 soliciting in the February issue of PREVIEWS, DC Comics is offering promotional FLASH and GREEN LANTERN rings to qualifying retailers.

Read all about it HERE at DC's blog!

And YES OF COURSE we will have lots of these!

We just received this email from Diamond Comics Distributors

2010-01-28T17:07:00.002-05:00

***** MARVEL COMICS DAMAGE ADVISORY
Dear Diamond Customer:
Due to a serious accident involving the truck transporting Marvel Comics titles from the printer to Diamond's Distribution Centers, several Marvel titles were damaged or lost.
As a result, orders for several Marvel titles that were scheduled to arrive on February 3 will not be filled in full.

The situation affects three groups of titles.

***** GROUP ONE
Customers will be allocated to approximately 80%-95% of their total ordered quantities on the following Marvel books.

PLATTSBURGH CUSTOMERS, PLEASE NOTE: While a significant portion of your orders for these titles (about 60%-90%) will ship to you on February 3, you will receive some quantities of these titles ONE WEEK LATER, on February 10.

ITEM CODE DESCRIPTION PRICE
DEC090501 INDOMITABLE IRON MAN B&W $3.99
DEC090497 INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #23 $2.99
DEC090503 IRON MAN MAGAZINE SPECIAL EDITION $6.99
DEC090432 SIEGE #2 (OF 4) $3.99
DEC090434 SIEGE EMBEDDED #2 (OF 4) $3.99
DEC090458 SPIDER-MAN NOIR EYES WITHOUT A FACE #3 (OF 4) $3.99
DEC090464 ULTIMATE COMICS X #1 $3.99
DEC090558 WOLVERINE SAVAGE $3.99
DEC090456 X-MEN NOIR MARK OF CAIN #3 (OF 4) $3.99

***** GROUP TWO:
Two titles -- INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #23 DEADPOOL VARIANT (DEC090498) and WOLVERINE SAVAGE DEADPOOL VARIANT (DEC090559) – incurred substantial damage and loss.
As a result, NO QUANTITIES of these titles will be distributed on February 3. These issues are being reprinted.

***** GROUP THREE
The following Marvel books will NOT be allocated by Diamond Distribution Centers.

PLATTSBURGH CUSTOMERS: You should expect to receive split shipments of your quantities of these titles, with approximately 80% or more arriving on February 3, followed by the balance on February 10.

ITEM CODE DESCRIPTION PRICE
DEC090564 CABLE #23 $2.99
DEC090460 DEADPOOL TEAM-UP #896 $2.99
DEC090433 SIEGE #2 (OF 4) DELL'OTTO VAR $3.99
OCT098180 SIEGE #2 (OF 4) QUESADA SKETCH VAR (PP #898) $3.99
DEC090459 SPIDER-MAN NOIR EYES WITHOUT A FACE #3 (OF 4) VAR $3.99
DEC090518 TORCH #5 (OF 8) $3.99
DEC090466 ULTIMATE COMICS X #1 A ADAMS FOILOGRAM VAR $3.99
DEC090468 ULTIMATE COMICS X #1 A ADAMS SPOILER LINE-UP VAR $3.99
DEC090465 ULTIMATE COMICS X #1 A ADAMS VILLAIN VAR $3.99
DEC090551 WOLVERINE WEAPON X #10 $3.99
DEC090457 X-MEN NOIR MARK OF CAIN #3 (OF 4) VAR $3.99

Marvel is working to quickly reprint the impacted quantities of each book. Quantities not received on February 3 should ship from one to two weeks of that initial ship date.

So it looks like we'll be getting MOST of these affected titles, then the balance of our orders a week later, so subscribers should be covered. Let's just hope everyone involved is OK.

Human Jumbotron!

2010-01-27T18:23:00.001-05:00

Human Jumbotron:

Human Jumbotron.

You're welcome.

Manager Jared's Weekly Matchup Poll #18

2010-01-26T05:14:00.001-05:00

Two titans this week. Battling for the hope of making it to round two!

Character's Abilities:

Captain Marvel- Magically bestowed aspects of various mythological figures which include: vast super-strength, speed and stamina, physical and magical invulnerability, flight, fearlessness, vast wisdom and enhanced mental perception, & control over and emission of magic lightning.

Beta Ray Bill- Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and durability. Accelerated healing factor. Via Stormbreaker: Ability to control weather, Energy Projection, Flight.

Online Surveys & Market Research

Don't forget to tell us why you voted the way you did in the comments section! Its easy, free, and commitment free!

(Descriptions of characters powers retrieved from Wikipedia.)

I want one of these

2010-01-25T17:23:00.002-05:00

Check it out:

And this:

(Sent in by alert reader Tom Hayes!)

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID MOVIE!

2010-01-24T10:03:00.003-05:00

WOOO HOOOO:

If you're not reading these books, well, you're missing out on some high comedy. This movie looks great!

And of course we carry the books. You HAVE read them, haven't you?

OK, TWILIGHT fans

2010-01-23T07:40:00.000-05:00

RESERVE YOUR COPY OF THIS TODAY:

The first printing of Yen Press’s Twilight: The Graphic Novel will be 350,000 copies, according to the company. It will street on March 16th in hardcover for $19.99. This first volume will tell the story of the first half of the prose novel; the release date for the second half of the story has not yet been announced.

The graphic novel will use selected text from Stephenie Meyer’s original novel, paired with illustrations by Young Kim. The Kim art will be primarily in b/w, with color “interspersed throughout,” according to Yen.

Read the entire article here at the ICV2 website!

Let us know if you want a copy of this held for you when it arrives. Just ask your Friendly Neighborhood Comix Connection Counter Monkey and they will make sure you get one!

A tribute to Mark

2010-01-22T07:56:00.004-05:00

(L to R: The Wookie Jeremy, Shawn Skvarna, Mark Ruelius, Matt Horne, and Kevin, AKA The Guys, AKA The JLA.)

Longtime fan and friend Mark Ruelius passed away earlier this month. Sometime Comix Connection Counter Monkey Shawn Skvarna posted a thoughtful and heartfelt tribute on his blog about friendship and geeking out and comic books and loss. I asked him if I could share it with all of you and he gave me the go-ahead. Here's an excerpt:

Before Mark's passing I kept kicking around the idea of trying to help network others like The Guys who are sort of lost out there on their own looking for others to accept them for who they are. It's not an easy life, being a geek. It's also not easy or fun to be a geek on your own, having so much you want to talk about and share with others who are like minded. Even to have someone take the time to listen to a geek explain why whatever they geek out about matters to them can be an emotional experience that could be similar to baring your soul to someone. For that brief moment in time that person is willing to rip their button down shirt open to reveal the Superman S shield buried underneath, giving you a glimpse of the real person inside.

I know there were many times when Mark, Matt, Kevin, Jeremy or I would share with the rest of The Guys why something affects us one way or another. It was usually a bonding experience that would make the rest of us seek out whatever it was so we could understand or share in their passion. I couldn't tell you the amount of titles that one or all of The Guys have introduced me to. I just know my geekdom grew exponentially through them and when I look at the graphic novels or comics or dvds I've collected over the years, each of them is part of it. I realized how much Mark's influence was truly a part of my collections and life the other day when I took a moment to truly look at my collections. His presence is still here even though he's gone. But when I look to dvds like Smallville, Supernatural, and especially Chuck, I feel like he's still sitting there with me watching them and sharing in what made us love these shows so much. The same thing happens when I look at Superman Birthright and especially The New Frontier, a book that I read from cover to cover in one night or insomnia. It hit me hard to read a book that completely understood how incredible and important these heroes are to me. Plus, with the way that The Guys tended to try and watch out for each other, I think it hit me that New Frontier proved their friendship was something on par with superheroes helping to show people they've got their back and you aren't alone out there.

Go read the two posts by Shawn HERE and HERE. Those are very fine tributes, Shawn. Mark will be missed.

(P.S.: Ned and I and the Staff sometimes forget what a "safe haven" Comix Connection is for like-minded individuals to feel comfortable in and to strike up friendships with other fans during visits. We were touched by Shawn's words and hope that you all realize you can come here and make similar "connections" with each other. "We accept you, one of us." Thanks for reminding us of this Shawn.)

Because you can never get too much Jack Kirby

2010-01-21T17:35:00.002-05:00

Check THIS out, from the Jack Kirby Museum website!

From the article linked:

In 1969, Sheldon Feldner contacted Marvel Comics, asking if one of Marvel's artists would be interested in designing costumes for a production of William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar by the University Theatre Company at Santa Cruz at the newly-built Cowell College of the University of California at Santa Cruz.

As luck would have it, the Kirby family had recently moved to California, and Stan Lee recommended that Feldner contact Jack Kirby. Kirby designed the costumes and provided a drawing that was used on posters, handbills and programs at no cost to the students. The poster drawing was rendered onto large two-color posters by Robert Page of the UCSC Art Department. Page also adapted Kirby's color costume designs into black-and-white. Not only were color photographs taken of cast members in their costumes, but black and white photos were taken during the costume production.

Amazing.

Every single year my appreciation for the genius of Jack Kirby increases, and I love finding stuff like this that I've never seen. What a production that would have been!

Sonosheets!

2010-01-20T15:23:00.000-05:00

Alert reader Rich Spidle sent me a link to THIS PAGE featuring a selection of Japanese "Sonosheets" from the late 1960s-early 1970s! What's a sonosheet?

They're "cheap, flexible phonograph records printed on thin sheets of vinyl. Widely available from a variety of publishers, the most popular sonosheets featured theme music from TV anime, manga and tokusatsu, and they often came packaged inside booklets featuring colorful artwork."

Cool stuff!

Manager Jared's Weekly Matchup Poll #17

2010-01-19T15:39:00.000-05:00

This week I'm doing it a little differently. I think that with a little odd variety it will make the match ups a little more thought provoking and add a little fun as far as debate. So this weeks poll is really weird as we have Metamorpho and the Green Goblin square off!

The Contender's Powers:

Green Goblin- Superhuman strength, intellect, stamina, durability, agility and reflexes due to ingesting the "Goblin Serum". Regenerative healing factor. Uses goblin-themed weapons and a "Goblin Glider" which has a variety of offensive weapons as paraphernalia.

Metamorpho- Transmutation into a wide variety of elemental compounds.

Online Surveys & Market Research

Don't forget to tell us why you voted the way you did in the comments section! Its easy, free, and commitment free!

(Descriptions of characters powers retrieved from Wikipedia.)

Looking Forward to Looking Back, Vol. 14

2010-01-18T10:47:00.002-05:00

This week's edition of classic collected edition comics news may be my briefest one yet. In fact, this may be my only brief edition, and an exception in a way as the one book I have to boast about is actually an original graphic novel 25 years in the making and features 120 pages of classic, New Teen Titans action that reunite George Perez and Marv Wolfman!

Yes, Titans fans, the infamous unfinished original graphic novel, New Teen Titans: Games, is done and DC Comics has announced its release for the 4Th quarter of 2010!

Wolfman stated, “it’s all the regular Titans, obviously because the story was plotted back then it’s Troia, in that costume, Nightwing, Cyborg, Changeling, Danny Chase, Jericho, Starfire, and a number of others but they’re all there. This isn’t a big surprise. What this really is, is the uncovered story that had been done at the height of the Titans. And except for the actual dialoguing, that’s exactly what it is. Because as I said, George drew 80 of the pages back then.”

For more from Wolfman and Perez on their "lost" Titans tale, check out Comic Book Resources for interviews with both legendary creators about their return to the Titans.

After the Blackest Night...

2010-01-17T22:37:00.000-05:00

...comes the Brightest Day!

If you were starting to fear the DC Universe might not survive the calamity and horrror of the Blackest Night, well, have no fear. DC Comics announced on their blog, The Source, on Monday that following the events of their blockbuster series Blackest Night, they will kick off an event, appropriately titled, Brightest Day this April. This will first and foremost be a biweekly, 26-issue series, kicking off with Brightest Day #0, written by Geoff Johns and Peter Tomasi. Brightest Day will also be a unifying banner carried on many DC titles after Blackest Night, such as Justice League of America #44, as well as some new titles that debut that month, such as Flash #1.

For more details on this event and other DC Comics news for April, stay tuned for the new February Previews catalog, that will be in stores on January 27Th. I think what I'm most excited for in April is to see who will be alive after Blackest Night, will there be a fabled White Lantern, and when has Bruce Wayne been all this time?

To All Things an Ending...

2010-01-16T10:18:00.007-05:00

In the months before the first issue of Siege, we've been telling our readers at the shop that Siege was not just an event seven years in the making, but it's an event that will change the course of the Marvel Universe for the foreseeable future. If you need more proof of the change that is coming, here's an advance look at the February Marvel Previews solicitations for the Avengers family of comics that ship in April.

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

SIEGE BLOCKBUSTER TIE-IN!!
The staggering conclusion to the SIEGE arc delves into the Hood's secret relationship with Norman Osborn and how it will affect the stunning outcome.

Plus the fate of the one they call Mockingbird! What you don't see in SIEGE, you will see here!!

32 PGS./Rated A …$3.99

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 Michael 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.

64 PGS./One-Shot/Rated A …$4.99

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

SIEGE BLOCKBUSTER TIE-IN!!
Series Finale!! What?! Marvel's number one ongoing series is coming to an end?! What could possibly happen in the last chapter of SIEGE that is so intense as to bring this crazy chapter in Marvel history to a close??!! Well, clearly we can't tell you here but there will be a funeral and the fate of Norman Osborn Will. Be. Decided!!

32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

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

SIEGE BLOCKBUSTER TIE-IN!!!
SALVATION Pt. 2 of 2 - "WWJVDD"
SERIES FINALE! While the Mighty Avengers are fighting on the front lines of SIEGE, can HANK PYM and JOCASTA stop the Avenger's greatest enemy, ULTRON, by themselves? Or will Pym-Space become the ultimate staging ground for a cybernetic-assault on all of reality? See SIEGE through the eyes of the Avengers with the most to lose!

The Dark Reign is ending, the Age of Heroes is coming, but before that can happen... there's a wedding? And more than one character is thinking, "What would Janet Van Dyne do?" We can't be any more cryptic than that. Trust us, you don't want to miss this one.

32 PGS./Rated A …$2.99

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

SIEGE BLOCKBUSTER TIE-IN!!
This is it: the series finale – and the end of the Initiative as we know it! Learn the fate of your favorite heroes, villains... and those who aren't quite sure what they are, but who are going to have to decide in a hurry!

Who will taste sweet victory? Who will know the agony of defeat? For some this is an end -- for others, a new beginning (which you'll be reading about very soon)! Camp H.A.M.M.E.R. is falling...and The Heroic Age is dawning!

32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

With so many titles ending one has to guess these books will be replaced by new titles. What will the Avengers line-up look like after the Siege? Will the adjectives or maybe just the numbering change? Will we finally have one true blue Avengers team? Will Avengers Initiative evolve into the Avengers Academy? What is Avengers: the Children's Crusade? So many questions... so many endings... but all of this is just the beginning of a new era for the team...

...and since that new era that dawns with the outcome of Siege, here's those solicitations too!

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.

40 PGS./Cardstock Cover/Rated T+ …$3.99

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!

32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

THUNDERBOLTS #143
Written by JEFF PARKER
Penciled by MIGUEL SEPULVEDA
Cover by ADI GRANOV

SIEGE BLOCKBUSTER TIE-IN!!
Round three of Thunderbolts vs. The Mighty Avengers! Here at the end of SIEGE, everything set in motion by Norman Osborn comes to a fiery resolution—like his prime black-ops force!

It's the cataclysmic end of an era – that sets
the stage for the next big chapter of the most unpredictable book ever!

32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

THOR #609
Written by KIERON GILLEN
Penciled by BILLY TAN
Cover by MICO SUAYAN

SIEGE BLOCKBUSTER TIE-IN!!
The Siege brings Ragnarok to Asgard! The Shining City of Thor and his brothers in arms faces destruction on the greatest scale it's ever suffered, at the hands of Norman Osborn and his Dark Avengers. But the Norse heroes have bigger problems, when THOR fights THOR!

The evil Thor clone has come to kill the God of Thunder and take his place. Even if Asgard survives the Siege…will Thor survive Ragnarok?!

32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

Marvel is also announcing a set of one-shots that will close out Siege and end the Dark Reign. These one-shots do not carry their final titles. (As a note, this strongly calls back memories of the death of Captain America. Remember then that Marvel simply referred to a series of "Fallen Son" specials, which then evolved into a mini-series called "Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America." Each issue focused on a different hero.)

Here are the book titles:

Fallen

Siege: Loki

Siege: Spider-Man

Siege: Captain America

Siege: Young Avengers

Siege: Secret Warriors

All of these titles will carry a $2.99 price point with the exception of "Fallen," which will be $3.99.

I know that's a lot of news to digest this weekend! Feel free to leave comments! This news is definitely discussion worthy! For more information, stay tuned for the new Marvel Previews magazine that will be in stores on Wednesday, January, 27th!