Foraging For Comics: The November Marvel Solicits

The House of Ideas adds on some new rooms in Scorpio month. Let's see what they got...



ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #25
Written by MARK MILLAR
Pencils & Cover by GREG LAND
"TOMB OF NAMOR"
Q: Who's buried in Namor's Tomb? A: The Fantastic Four are about to find out! Fathoms beneath the sea, the quartet explores the lost continent of Atlantis-and find more than they expected! Especially Sue.... Part 2 (of 3).

Okay, if Ultimate Namor is like a thousand years old, doesn't him going after a teenaged Sue open up a whole lot of creepy doors?

FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #2
Guest-Writer REGINALD HUDLIN
Pencils & Cover by MIKE WIERINGO
"THE OTHER: EVOLVE OR DIE" Part 4 (of 12)
The second month of "The Other: Evolve or Die," starts here! Spidey faces his biggest threat yet - a foe so insidious that he can't hope to handle it alone. With friends like Reed Richards, Stephen Strange and Hank Pym, he won't have to. But can even the world's greatest minds change the course of fate? And if they could, would they dare?

Hudlin is my "iffy" writer for this crossover. If the overarcing theme of the crossover doesn't hook me in October, I may sit this month out.

MARVEL MUST HAVES: SPIDER-MAN & THE BLACK CAT #1-3
Written by KEVIN SMITH
Pencils & Cover by TERRY DODSON
Before the long-awaited ending, get caught up on the beginning! The mysterious disappearance of an old friend brings Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat, to New York in search of answers, and a certain web-slinging ex-lover of hers is following the same trail. How long will it take before they do some...catching up? Plus: An 8-page preview of the eagerly anticipated issue #4! All wrapped up with new covers by Terry Dodson!

$3.99 for 96 pages ain't bad, but aren't these filling up quarter bins across the country anyway?

GHOST RIDER #3 (of 6)
Written by GARTH ENNIS
Art & Cover CLAYTON CRAIN
"THE ROAD TO DAMNATION"
Hot on the heels of the rogue demon, Kazaan, the Ghost Rider has his first run in with another bounty hunter from the other side: a demon named Hoss whose neck is redder than his soul is black. But it's the sultry archangel named Ruth who both had better worry about.

Archangelic T&A. Wonderful. (There are no angels named Ruth, incidentally.)

MARVEL KNIGHTS 4 #24
Written by ROBERTO AGUIRRE-SACASA
Penciled by VALENTINE DE LANDRO
Cover by MIKE ALLRED
The reality-shredding insanity begun last issue with the Impossible Man's return to Earth amps up with the arrival of the Fantastic Four's evil twins, sudden growth spurts for Franklin and Valeria, and a...Deus Ex Machina appearance in the mighty FF tradition?! Will the FF survive this meta-adventure? Probably--but will Marvel Comics?

Hee. Nice cover homage.

AMAZING FANTASY #15
Written by DANIEL WAY, DAN SLOTT, GREG PAK, ROBERT KIRKMAN, & ROBERTO AGUIRRE-SACASA
Penciled by PETE WOODS, NICK DRAGOTTA, JEFF PARKER, SAL BUSCEMA, KHARI RANDOLPH & TAKESHI MIYAZAWA
Cover by PETE WOODS
MILESTONE ISSUE: In the tradition of the original Marvel classic that debuted everyone's favorite wall crawler, we introduce a new generation of heroes in this 48-page special featuring five new stories by our hottest new writers. Will lightning strike twice? Is Marvel's next superstar in these very pages? A guaranteed blast of comic book fun!


Nice idea, but putting Spidey on the cover when he's most likely not in the book isn't very kosher marketing.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #13
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Pencils & Cover by STEVE EPTING
As "The Winter Soldier" arc rockets toward its senses-shattering conclusion, Cap's allies come to his aid in the hunt for the man he believes may actually be his one-time partner. Featuring special guest appearances by both Iron Man and the Falcon! You can't miss this issue, as red-hot creative team Brubaker and Epting up the ante one more time!

Falcon just looks awful with a goatee. Or is that a vandyke? Ah, who cares, it sucks either way.

FANTASTIC FOUR: THE WEDDING SPECIAL
Written by KARL KESEL
Penciled by DREW JOHNSON
Cover by GENE HA
A true Collector's Item celebrating one of the greatest events in comics history - the marriage of Reed Richards and Sue Storm! Hard to believe they tied the knot 40 years ago... and it certainly doesn't seem that much time has passed to Reed and Sue themselves when a special evening out gives them a chance to look over their entire life together - past, present and future - in an all-new 30-page story by Karl Kesel and Drew Johnson. Also included as an added bonus: Reed and Sue's original 1965 wedding extravaganza, guest-starring the Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man and a cast of thousands - an epic that could only be told by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby! So, like all great weddings, this Special mixes something old (The original Lee/Kirby FF Wedding Spectacular) with something new ("The Life Fantastic" by Kesel/Johnson) - even though there's nothing borrowed, and the only thing blue will be any fan who misses this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Very cool, although the cover could use another go-round.

NICK FURY'S HOWLING COMMANDOS #2
Written by KEITH GIFFEN
Pencils & Cover by EDUARDO FRANCISCO
The worst-case scenario has come true. Merlin-the world's most powerful sorcerer-has escaped from a high-tech S.H.I.E.L.D. installation. He's not happy, and-after being encased in crystal all these years-none too sane. It's up to the scariest batch of heroes you've ever seen to take him down...if they can. Monster action the Marvel way! Don't miss this exciting second chapter featuring The Living Mummy, Warwolf, The Zombie, Nina Price (Vampire by Night) and more creatures than you can shake a wooden stake at.

I think this makes the third Merlin to show up in Marvel's universe. There's the Merlin who gave Captain Britain his powers, the Merlin who showed up in Peter David's Captain Marvel, and this guy. I need a scorecard.

MARVEL TEAM-UP #14
Written by ROBERT KIRKMAN
Pencils & Cover by CORY WALKER
The team-up you thought you'd never see! Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker's INVINCIBLE bounces over to the Marvel Universe for a visit! Doctor Octopus is on the loose and Spider-Man is on the job with the help of INVINCIBLE. Also, the New Avengers make an appearance- - so don't miss this one-of-a-kind crossover event!

This is way cool. I hope they can do more of these crossovers in the future. Maybe X-Men/Wildguard?

RUNAWAYS #10
Written by BRIAN K. VAUGHAN
Penciled by ADRIAN ALPHONA
Cover by JO CHEN
"East Coast/West Coast"
Field trip! For the first time in their young lives, the Runaways leave Los Angeles, and travel to New York City to help their old friend Cloak find the villain responsible for putting Dagger in a coma. What big-time heroes will the kids encounter on their tour through the Marvel Universe...? Eisner Award-Winning Best Writer Brian K Vaughan continues to keep fans guessing in this highly acclaimed series! Part 2 (of 4).

What the fuck happened to Nico's pinky?


SHE-HULK #2
Written by DAN SLOTT
Penciled by JUAN BOBILLO
Cover by GREG HORN
"Cause & Effect"
Sure, She-Hulk would risk her life to bring Hawkeye back to life... but will she risk getting disbarred? Some stories are SO big, they crack the internet in half. This one? It's gonna seal it back up-and kiss it to make it better. Be there when She-Hulk and Hawkeye team up for a strange legal adventure... and somehow wind up fighting a giant robot.

Good copy. Cover's rather tame (and probably wrong from an archery standpoint).

CAPTAIN UNIVERSE / X-23
Written by CHRISTOPHER YOST AND CRAIG KYLE
Penciled by FRANCIS PORTELA
Cover by DANIEL ACUNA
Theorizing that a healing factor might give it the strength to repair itself, the Uni-Power attempts to bond with X-23. But the Uni-Power didn't realize just how powerful X-23's healing factor is-powerful enough to resist its attempts to bond. Can the Uni-Power convince Marvel's "wild child" to let her guard down?

The most gratuitous of the Captain Universe books by far.

NEW X-MEN #20
Written by CHRISTOPHER YOST & CRAIG KYLE
Pencils & Cover by MARK BROOKS
"CHILDHOOD'S END" Part 1 (of 4)
NEW CREATIVE TEAM! Red-hot X-23 writers Craig Kyle and Chris Yost and rising star Mark Brooks (ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL, AMAZING FANTASY) take the New X-Men in a bold new direction. Spinning directly out of House of M #8, the New X-Men deal with the changed world. Will X-23 join the team? Will the friendships persevere? Will the kids survive? No one is safe and not everyone will live through this incredible change in the status quo. Brace yourself, the rules have changed and the safety is off.

Oh, for fuck's sake, she's right on the damn cover, you've been pimping it for months, yes, she's going to join the damn team. The time for being coy has long passed.

X-FACTOR #1
Written by PETER DAVID
Pencils & Cover by RYAN SOOK
In the fallout from HOUSE OF M and following last year's surprise hit film-noir series--MADROX, a new mutant team is forged! X-FACTOR is an investigative mutant agency including Madrox-the Multiple Man, Guido-the Strong Guy, Wolfsbane-the shape-shifter, Siryn-the chorus girl, Rictor-the living earthquake, and GENERATION X's Monet-the pompous witch. Drawn together in the heart of District X, this rag-tag band of heroes has a lot of answers to find, and fast!
BONUS: A key player from HOUSE OF M will play a major roll in X-FACTOR! (No, it's not Wolverine-sigh)


Alls I can say is, hot diggity damn.

SHANNA, THE SHE-DEVIL PREMIERE HC
Written by FRANK CHO
Pencils & Cover by FRANK CHO
She's bold, she's beautiful, and she's your best hope of escaping the raptors nipping at your heels. She's Shanna, the She-Devil! Award-winning creator Frank Cho brings you Marvel's bodacious jungle girl as you've never seen her before: Reborn from Nazi science gone mad to battle her genetic destiny on an island full of prehistoric horrors. Trust us, Shanna has never looked this good...or acted this bad. Collects SHANNA, THE SHE-DEVIL #1-7.

Yeah, this deserved a hardcover.

X-FACTOR VISIONARIES: PETER DAVID VOL. 1 TPB
Written by PETER DAVID
Pencils & Cover by LARRY STROMAN
The name wasn't changed to protect the innocent, but everything else was as Peter David took over the series from the founding X-Men! Alumni of the X-Men, the New Mutants and the Avengers join refugees from odd corners of the X-Universe as the government's latest super-effort, but Mister Sinister and his Nasty Boys don't want this team to survive long enough to get its roster straight! Featuring the historic first meeting of the cast of Marvel Knights' Madrox! Collects X-FACTOR #71-75.

Nifty, but $16 for five issues is pretty steep. I could probably find the originals for less at a convention.

X-MEN DEADLY GENESIS POSTER
Penciled by MARC SILVESTRI
Inked by JOE WEENS
Colored by STEVE FIRCHOW
24" x 36"/FC ...$5.99

Good call on making this a poster; the image is striking.

That's all for this month. Full solicits are here. Happy hunting.