Sneak Peeks: Titles Shipping 4.23.08 (Part III)

Thanks to Marvel, we have the following previews from Thor #8, Uncanny X-Men #497, Young Avengers Presents #4, Wolverine: First Class #2, Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #35, and Marvel Illustrated: Picture of Dorian Gray #5. These titles are scheduled to be in shops next Wednesday.

You may find some spoilers in the following images. You have been warned.


THOR #8
COVER BY: MARKO DJURDJEVIC
WRITER: J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
PENCILS: MARKO DJURDJEVIC
INKS: DANNY MIKI and CRIMELAB STUDIOS
The God of Thunder keeps sizzling off the stands! Part two of a two-part arc by writer J. Michael Straczynski (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN) with sumptuous art by DAREDEVIL cover artist Marko Djurdjevic sees the mighty Thor ruling over a newly glorious Asgard and all its people! But what danger has risen on the horizon of its American heartland surroundings? And how will Thor equip himself to face it??
Rated T+ …$2.99

UNCANNY X-MEN #497
COVER BY: MICHAEL CHOI
WRITER: ED BRUBAKER
PENCILS and INKS: MICHAEL CHOI
“DIVIDED WE STAND”
In the wake of Messiah CompleX, there are no X-Men…Something strange is going on in San Francisco and Archangel gets pulled into the middle of it. Can Cyclops and Emma Frost save him and get out alive? And Wolverine, Colossus and Nightcrawler’s road trip takes a turn for the dangerous.
Rated T+ …$2.99

YOUNG AVENGERS PRESENTS #4 (of 6)
COVER BY: JIM CHEUNG
WRITER: PAUL CORNELL
PENCILS: MARK BROOKS
INKS: JAIME MENDOZA
The Vision is going through changes. He's a passionate man. And an impulsive one, if his decision to go and visit Stature at her Initiative training camp is anything to go by. He's got some important things to tell her. But will getting intangibly stuck halfway through her body while A.I.M. are attacking put a damper on his ardour?
Rated T+ …$2.99

WOLVERINE: FIRST CLASS #2
COVER BY: LEONARD KIRK
WRITER: FRED VAN LENTE
ART: ANDREA DI VITO
The good news: Kitty's managed to figure out Wolverine's birthday and has arranged a surprise candlelight dinner with the love of his life, Mariko Yashida, as his present. The bad news: The reason Wolverine never tells anybody about his birthday is that every year on that date Sabretooth shows up to dice him into cutlets. And Kitty has put Mariko within Sabretooth's grasp!
All Ages …$2.99

MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #35
COVER BY: GRAHAM NOLAN
WRITER: PAUL TOBIN
PENCILS: DAVID NAKAYAMA
INKS: CORY HAMSCHER
A MODEL DAY: 75% of the Fantastic Four positively agree that it's GREAT to judge an international beauty pageant, but what's Sue to do during the festivities? Well, how about unearthing that the pageant is actually sponsored by A.I.M. in order to smuggle high tech battle robots into the country? Or how about teaming up with a certain long lost model from Marvel's past, and then picking a fight with those battle robots? Yeah, Sue keeps busy in this one.
All Ages …$2.99

MARVEL ILLUSTRATED: PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY #5 (of 6)
COVER BY: GERALD PAREL
WRITER: ROY THOMAS and OSCAR WILDE
PENCILS and INKS: SEBASTIAN FIUMARA
Dorian is now leading a bizarre double life with his daytime demeanor at dire odds with his nightly existence of decadence and debauchery. But events may be catching up to Dorian as he is stalked through the foggy London streets…by a man out for vengeance. It's the penultimate chapter of Wilde's strange and compelling masterpiece.
Rated T+ …$2.99

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Review: Q&D - 3.26.08

Daredevil #106: Ed Brubaker continues to write a Matt Murdock that you feel for. How do you move on with your life when everything you smell reminds you of the woman you can't see? It's hard for people without enhanced senses. For Matt, it's even harder to stay sane. Guest artist Paul Azaceta beautifully illustrates Brubaker's story of three of Matt's friends coping with his pain.

X-Men: First Class #10: Jeff Parker loves me. Okay, I'm sure he doesn't. And until he posted this entry on his site, he most likely never even thought about me. But that's okay. Because this issue tells the tale of a Cyclops solo adventure. Want to know why Cyclops is the leader? Reading this story will help in unerstanding the character's origins. Craig Rousseau does an admirable job filling in for Roger Cruz this month.

Wolverine: First Class #1: Now this is a nice first issue. For someone like myself whose been an X-Men fan for a long time and remembers when Kitty joined the team (even if I wasn't an active reader at the time, joining the faithful at the end of the Dave Cockrum run just prior to Paul Smith starting), this is a look 'between panels' at the beginning of the friendship she shares with Logan. And if you're not familiar with Kitty Pryde and want to know why she would be teamed up with Wolverine, Fred Van Lente and Andrea Di Vito do an amazing job of answering that question, starting with this issue. You can't go wrong with this one.

Ms. Marvel #25: SKRULLS!!

Ultimate Human #3: This has been a gorgeous story. Cary Nord and Dave Stewart do wonders bringing Warren Ellis' script to life. They make a great team. The only nitpick I have is the majority of this issue told the origin of the Leader. Problem is, the origin story takes place in the past and after being in the present day for the first two issues, it was a little jarring being thrown into what's basically a flashback, cold, and at the beginning of the issue. But I guess I'm a little old-school where we would usually have the villain exclaim his triumph over our hero or heroes and we'd get the origin in a handful of panels. It still works here, don't get me wrong. And if that's the only thing I can bitch about, then really, this story's firing on all cylinders.

Sneak Peeks: Titles Shipping 3.26.08 (Part I)

Here are some pages from a few titles shipping next week, March 26, 2008. In this first batch we have Black Panther #35, Daredevil #106, X-Men: Legacy #209, Wolverine: First Class #1, Ultimate Human #3, Marvel Atlas #2, and New Warriors #10.

WARNING: There may be some spoilers in the following images.

A big thanks to Marvel for providing these previews.

BLACK PANTHER #35
WRITER: REGINALD HUDLIN
PENCILS: CAFU
INKS: FRANCIS PORTELA
BACK TO AFRICA
Out of the frying pan…into the fire! Their fantastic adventures in the interdimensional superhighway complete, the Wakandan Royal couple at last return to Wakanda -- only to find home is anything but sweet. With serious strife tearing apart his court, and one of the Panther’s greatest foes waiting to strike, is it too late for T’Challa to regain control of his kingdom?
Rated T+ …$2.99

DAREDEVIL #106
WRITER: ED BRUBAKER
PENCILS: PAUL AZACETA
INKS: PAUL AZACETA
MATT MURDOCK FACES A LONG NIGHT OF THE SOUL!
Reeling from the events of last issue, Matt Murdock struggles to come to grips with all the things we can't tell you about because they would spoil the ending of the previous arc. Drifting into anger and depression, Daredevil stalks the streets of Hell's Kitchen, looking for bad guys to take it out on…but is he really just taking it out on himself? By Harvey and Eisner-Winning Best Writer Ed Brubaker and special guest artist Paul Azaceta (CAPTAIN MARVEL, Grounded, Talent)!
Rated T+ …$2.99

X-MEN: LEGACY #209
WRITER: MIKE CAREY
PENCILS: SCOT EATON
INKS: JOHN DELL
MINDSCAPE SEQUENCE ART: BILLY TAN
Xavier and Magneto face-to-face again! With Xavier comatose and Magneto depowered, these old soldiers appear sidelined. But neither man has abandoned his dream. With the future of mutantkind in flux, how far will these men go to reclaim their place as firsts among their people? And what will happen to those who get in their way?
Fresh off their groundbreaking run on Messiah Complex, writer Mike Carey (X-MEN) and artists Scot Eaton (X-FACTOR) and Billy Tan (UNCANNY X-MEN) take on two of mutantkind’s most iconic figures as well as some of the most important moments in X-Men history.
Rated A …$2.99

WOLVERINE: FIRST CLASS #1
WRITER: FRED VAN LENTE
PENCILS: ANDREA DI VITO
INKS: ANDREA DI VITO
Return with us again to the early days of the all-new, all-different, X-Men for all-new solo adventures of Wolverine and Kitty Pryde! The next generation of students has arrived at Xavier's School--Colossus, Storm, Nightcrawler, and the mysterious Wolverine--and with them, new teaching methods. Professor X pairs up green recruit Kitty Pryde with the been-everywhere, done-everything vet Logan, and neither of them are all that happy about it. But unless they learn to work together, neither of them will come back from their first mission together alive!
Rated A …$2.99

ULTIMATE HUMAN #3
WRITER: WARREN ELLIS
PENCILS: CARY NORD
Continuing the ultimate collision between Iron Man and the Hulk! Who is Peter Wisdom, and what does he want with Tony Stark and Bruce Banner? And why can’t either hero tap into the powers of their alter egos? Be there as Warren Ellis (ULTIMATE GALACTUS) and Cary Nord (Conan) unleash the fireworks at Ironworks!
Rated T+ …$2.99

MARVEL ATLAS #2
WRITERS: MICHAEL HOSKIN, STUART VANDAL, ANTHONY FLAMINI, and ERIC J. MOREELS
ART: ELIOT R. BROWN and VARIOUS
Your only guide to Marvel's Earth concludes! Antarctica, Africa, the Middle East, and North, Central and South America are highlighted as the Marvel Atlas plans your trip to Wakanda, Atlantis, the Savage Land, Sky Island and the U.S.A. (home of a super hero or two)! Visit the realms of the Black Panther, the Initiative, Omega Flight, the Sub-Mariner, Ka-Zar and more – brought to you in vivid life through the renderings of fan-favorite Eliot R. Brown (PUNISHER ARMORY, IRON MANUAL)!
Rated A …$3.99

NEW WARRIORS #10
WRITER: KEVIN GREVIOUX
PENCILS: PACO MEDINA
INKS: JUAN VLASCO
What is Night Thrasher doing while the New Warriors are trussing up super-villains? Where is he when his teammates are training hard for their next mission? And why is their leader nowhere to be found when the team is evading the clutches of the N.Y.P.D. Costumed Division? Night Thrasher reveals his plan to the New Warriors, but after his frequent disappearances, do they trust him?
Rated T+ …$2.99

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Preview: Wolverine: First Class #1

Wolverine & Kitty Pryde Embark On Their First Solo Mission!

The next generation of X-Men have arrived at Xavier's school, but will new student Kitty Pryde survive the tutelage of the mysterious Wolverine? Exploring the early days of the X-Men with the solo adventures of Wolverine & Kitty Pryde, Wolverine: First Class #1 kicks off a new ongoing series revealing secrets from the X-Men's past! From rising star writer Fred Van Lente (Incredible Hercules) and fan-favorite artist Andrea Di Vito (Marvel Comics Presents), learn about Kitty Pryde's first mission with Wolverine as the two enter a situation too deadly for any one mutant to handle! But can these two find a way to work together?

"The Wolverine and Kitty team up is one of the all-time great sidekick dynamics in recent comics history," says editor Mark Paniccia. "WOLVERINE: FIRST CLASS introduces that magic to a new generation of readers. Long-time fans will get sensational untold stories set in the one of the greatest eras of the X-Men."

Exploring in-continuity tales from the X-Men's past, Wolverine: First Class is a must read for all X-Men fans!

WOLVERINE: FIRST CLASS #1 (JAN082189)
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Penciled by ANDREA DI VITO
Cover by SALVADOR ESPIN
Rated A …$2.99
FOC—3/6/08, On-Sale—3/26/08

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