SECRET WARS #9
Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Art by ESAD RIBIC
Cover by ALEX ROSS
Variant Covers by SIMONE BIANCHI, SKOTTIE YOUNG, SARA PICHELLI and FRED HEMBECK
Action Figure Variant by JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER
On-Sale – 01/13/16
Tag: marvel comics
Younger Than Yesterday…
Fans of artist Skottie Young can mount their hobby horses and wave their 10 gallon hats for the just revealed variant cover of Marvel Comics‘ 1872 #1 on sale July 1, 2015. I love Young’s “little kid” spin on the superheroes of Marvel. They rarely fail to make me smile. I hope his designs find their way into an expanded line of collector toys and figures.
The Secret Wars story, written by Gerry Duggan and drawn by Nik Virella, follows Steve Rogers (Captain America) as the sheriff of a small town called Timely (wink, wink) in the burgeoning American West of the 19th century. It joins the juggernaut of announced Battleworld warzones rattling the Marvel universe to shreds.
Other cover variations by artists Alex Maleev and Evan “Doc” Shaner reveal town casino kingpin Wilson Fisk, a gamma green “snake oil” elixir being brewed by a certain Dr. Bruce Banner, native American Red Wolf, and The Vision!
SkeletonPete Says…
Seems like time to put on an Ennio Morricone soundtrack, kick back with a shot of “rot gut”, and dig into a very different view of your favorite superheroes and villains.
Marvel Comics has just announced a new Secret Wars title to launch on May 20, 2015. Secret Wars: Battleworld #1 will be a limited series of 4-issues. This advance look promises pages packed with epic art in every panel and a multitude of heroes and villains in outre combinations and situations across Marvel’s blistering Battleworld.
Each issue will feature two distinct stories. Issue 1 is created by writers Josh Williamson and Ed Brisson, with art by Mike Henderson and Scott Hepburn. We’ll see the conjuring of Dr. Strange pack an extra punch when he melds his ethereal talents with the earthly power of The Punisher, and they’ll be a sky jamming mess of M.O.D.O.K. as Mr. Big Head enlists all the M.O.D.O.K.’s ever to do his bidding.
Enjoy the previews and grab a copy of the premiere issue from your local comic dealer when it hits the stands.
Since his cameo appearance at the end of the Guardians of the Galaxy film last summer Howard the Duck has been gearing up for a reboot into the 21st Century, and Marvel Comics is making sure you won’t have to go on an Easter Egg hunt to find him.
Brace Yourself…
This April, Marvel has a flock of 20 variant covers for their WTD (“What the Duck”) month, featuring the fine feathered character in all manner of permutations and situations. The collectors’ issues will follow the launch of book, Howard the Duck #1, manned by Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones, which will hit shops in March.
As a teaser, Marvel has plucked out these 4 variants that find Howard in artistic, cinematic and historic scenes inspired by Grant Wood’s “American Gothic”, Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”, actor Harold Lloyd’s daring exploits and the first Moon landing.
All-New Hawkeye #2 – WTD Variant Cover by Francesco Francavilla
Amazing Spider-Man #17 – WTD Variant Cover by W. Scott Forbes
Rocket Raccoon #10 – WTD Variant Cover by Rob Guillory
Uncanny Inhumans #0 – WTD Variant Cover by Christian Ward
Heres Marvel’s list of the additional books Howard will cameo on:
All-New Captain America #6
All-New X-Men #41
Ant-Man #4
Daredevil #15
Deadpool #45 (a.k.a. Deadpool #250)
Guardians of the Galaxy #26
Hulk #14
Inhuman #14
Legendary Star-Lord #11
Ms. Marvel #14
S.H.I.E.L.D. #5
Silk #3
Spider-Gwen #3
Superior Iron Man #7
Thor #7
Uncanny Avengers #4
Thanks to Ken Pierce of the PiercingMetal website for passing along Marvel’s info on these fun collector’s items.
Let’s Get Small…
Fans of DC Comics‘ Batman, Lil Gotham series have some welcome merchandise on the horizon. Scheduled for June 2015, a selection of seven characters will be brought to collectors by toy maker Kotobukiya.
Quite appropriately the Lil Gotham figures are – well – little. They average 2 inches tall and are made of soft PVC. They’ll be sold blind bagged, two to a package, in any one of six bright colors. Represented are Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Catwoman, Joker, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, all as envisioned by artist Dustin Nguyen.
Do You Believe in Magic in a Young Girl’s Heart…
New to Kotobukiya’s line of Bishoujo styled statues, which cast well known heroines in the playful “pretty girl” manga look, is DC’s Zatanna. The Mistress of Magic should be ready for her first reveal at the New York International Toy Fair.
SkeletonPete Says…
Kotobukiya is noted for their high quality ArtFX statues. They have licensed products that span the DC and Marvel Universes, Star Wars, Mass Effect and more. I’ve had the pleasure of photographing many of them on display at recent fairs and conventions. Please enjoy the gallery below.
