Marvel’s All New All Different Previews

Paul Reaume walks us through his thoughts on Marvel’s new title roster.

“I popped into Paper Heroes Comic Lounge this week to put a dent into my stack of Batman comics.  The store owner, Scott, threw a copy of Marvel’s Preview book into my bag, and I knew it would make for an interesting gander…maybe an interesting alternative to our usual ‘What Are You Reading’ articles.

All in all, I have mixed feelings about the All-New, All-Different line-up.  On the downside of the whole thing, I’m not a huge fan of having so many variants of the same title.  The biggest example being the number of Spider-titles.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Spidey as much as the next guy…but…we’ve got five “Spider” titles in this “new” and “different” line-up.  That’s not including Webwarriors, Silk, or the two team titles boasting our friendly neighbourhood web-head.  I think that’s my concern with the new line-up in general; the amount of character overlap between titles.  I even saw Venom on three different previews.  I guess I was just hoping for a little more variety in an All-New, All-Different roster.

On the plus side, however, I’m intrigued by some of the bold moves Marvel did make.  The amount of female headliners is really promising.  An all female A-force?  A female Star-Lord? Thor?  I think it’s awesome.  I’m also excited to see the now villainous Uncanny X-Men led by Magneto himself.  In fact, that may be the title that I am most excited about.

If nothing else, Marvel’s certainly shaken things up, and stirred up some hype.  Will this new line-up stand up to the success of Marvel’s previous rosters?  Time will tell.  It looks like there is a little something for everyone, even Howard the Duck.  Who doesn’t love Howard after all?  Those are just my thoughts though.

You can learn more about Marvel’s New and Different lineup here.

After you’ve done so, why not share your thoughts with us?

What do you think of the previews?

What titles are you most excited for?

The Essential Wolverine Vol. 4

“On a recent visit to Paper Heroes I saw that Scott had a number of big Marvel books for sale.  Immediately, my eyes fell on a stack of ‘Essential Wolverine’ books.  I couldn’t resist. Volume 4 covers Wolverine #70-90, and the cover was taken from #77, and issue I owned years ago.  I actually picked up Volumes 4 & 5 from Scott that day, and I’m so glad I did because I can’t seem to put it down!

As an artist I find that I get wrapped up in the artwork of a book the first time I look through it.  I have to actually remind myself at times to actually read the text and not just admire the artwork.  The issues of Wolverine featured in this volume were all written by the great Larry Hama.  Larry has done such a great job of capturing Wolverine’s character in a way that feels natural, and certainly sets the stage for writers who would follow.

The cranky Canuck is not portrayed as an aimless rampaging machine in these books.  In fact, Hama brings so many layers of Logan’s personality and motives that I actually appreciate him more having read these stories.  After Wolverine’s had the adamantium pulled out of his body by Magneto, his fellow X-men are rushing to get him emergency care.  His healing factor is going haywire, and he’s slipped into fevered dreams.  Professor X psychically enters Wolverine’s mind to help him stay in the world of the living.  As Logan is tempted to follow the light, Xavier warns that it will kill him.  With teary eyes, the canuckle head looks back and states, “Don’t you think I know that.”

Chills.

While this volume features some great artists, I have to commend Mr. Hama on his literary execution.  He’s helped me appreciate a character on all new levels, without stepping away from who the character is meant to be.”

-Paul Reaume

Dave’s Pick

I want to start by giving a little background of the dynamic duo behind this epic series. John Ostrander is in the my opinion the greatest thing to happen to comics ever! In every comic I have read of his from Suicide Squad to his Star Wars titles, he has always gripped me with his exciting, well researched stories and brilliantly crafted panels that highlight the emotion and thrilling action portrayed by the talented artists he works with. Now Jan is the only comic artist that has made my eyes tear up just by looking at a panel. There is a panel in Star Wars Legacy: War #6 that gets me every time I see it. The way she visually captures emotion is like none other as well. I even named by youngest Aayla, after Jedi Aayla Secura who was a creation of this pair.

Now that the brown-nosing is done onto to the comic. Dawn of the Jedi starts where no other Star Wars story has … AT THE BEGINNING! This is a galaxy that has no Jedi, no Sith, not even a Galactic Republic. This can be extremely challenging for Mr. Ostrander as he has TONS of Star Wars stories that happen in the “future” that he must be careful not to contradict. Thankfully the team has done TONS of research and carefully pre-planned the environment, planets and characters that we will see and it shows for sure.

From the planet Tython to the moons, Ashla and Bogan; and from their swords to the fact that the Je’daii try to keep the force in balance instead of following just the light or dark make these stories feel both new and familiar at the same time. I think my favorite aspect of Issue one is that the villains seem to be the Rakata from the video game Knights of the Old Republic (familiar) and that their Force-hound Xesh (new) is using a weapon called a force-saber (new) that looks like a light-saber (familiar) but really isn’t exactly the same. Another brilliant blend of new and the familiar is the name Je’daii for our protagonists. Not quite Jedi but we can see the natural evolution.

When Disney acquired Lucasfilm last year I was afraid that Marvel would get the license and it would be all over. Marvel has in fact been given the license but not until next year which will give them time to finish the current stories I hope! The force is indeed with this pair and if Marvel knows anything they will hire these two to give us many more stories set at the beginning of “A LONG TIME AGO …” PLEASE MARVEL PLEASE!

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the projects we’re working on that we forget to sit down and enjoy the books that inspired us in the first place.  It’s like a recharge of sorts, sitting down and catching up with some of your favourite heroes and villains.  This series of articles is intended to get us talking about those projects that inspire us, and keep us flipping pages.

Paul’s Pick

Lately I’ve been catching up on the Batman series. Truth be told, I’ve been really impressed with DC’s new 52.  The massive relaunch encouraged me to revisit some old favourites, and even pick up some titles I’ve never read before.  The Red Lantern Corps., All Star Western, both were captivating in their own way.  Still, the creative team of Greg Capullo and Scott Snyder has continuously left me in absolute awe.  I’ve always been a Batman fan, but the direction these two have taken the character into has given me a deeper appreciation for the man in the cowl.

I’m actually reading the Batman series from two different points in the series.  I’m picking up the currently releases (just picked up #27), and I’m also going back and picking up issues here and there to fill in any gaps I have in the series (just read #16).  I cannot praise the team enough on how this series is going, and how they’ve managed to bring one of the most popular characters in the industry to another level of appreciation.  When the team embarked on the “Zero Year” portion of the series, they gave us a look into Bruce’s younger more rash side.  While I”m reading both ends of the series I get to see the true contrast in these perspectives, and it’s brilliantly executed!

The Batman universe is a very extensive one ofcourse.  He’s approaching his 75th anniversary, I”m sure he’s racked up an impressive list of friends and enemies in that spread of time.  Snyder keeps finding ways of mixing many key elements from the universe we’re familiar with, and it serves well to keep the series grounded.  Capullo has pushed the envelope when it comes to his character designs, which I’m sure can be a tedious task when considering 75 years of fans and followers.  The series and everyone in it has been redefined in a way that honours the past while paving the way for  a very exciting future.