Another month goes back, another two more months to look forward to of boos, books, books. So, should you be able to tear yourself away from Civil War #4 (hopefully arriving today at comic shops), here’s the month of December, brought to you by the House of Ideas.
So maybe lists of five was a little overzealous, maybe groups of three might format better? Three is a magical number, just ask Grant Morrison.

Best Three Reasons Not to be Spider-Man – Marvel’s Not So Merry Whipping Boy won’t be having a cool yule this year. SPIDER-MAN: REIGN #1 (OF 4) Look no further than the cover to see how miserable Spider-Man going to be. A future told tale about how he’s kicked to the curb (their words, not mine). From the solicit: They finally did it. Kicked them to the curb. The “capes and tights” crowd — there’s no place for them in the Big Apple anymore. Peter Parker? He can’t even remember what it was like to don the red and blue and swing through the night sky. Doesn’t want to, anyway. After all, there’s nothing left to fight for, is there? Aww, come on now… there’s always awesome art by Kaare Andrews? FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #15 It took him awhile, but it looks like Friendly Neighborhood is now firmly within the current Marvel Universe, which means no easy days for Spidey. Looks like the Vulture is determined to take down Spider-Man, even if he has to fight in a bookstore to do it. A little strange and not the epic woe that we’ve come to expect, but it’s Peter David! Spider-Man will be having a miserable time, but in a wacky kind of way. From the solicit: And stuck right in the middle, dodging hardcovers, is poor Deborah Whitman, author of a memoir detailing her tumultuous relationship with Peter Parker. Whoever invented that old saying about words not hurting as much as sticks and stones obviously hasn’t lived a day in the webslinger’s boots! See? SPIDER-MAN AND POWER PACK #2 (of 4) From the solicit: Featuring the Amazing Spider-KID?!? Power Pack has a brand-new member… and he’s not too happy about his current situation! Will the Power kids be able to help Spidey find a way to get himself back to normal before all heck breaks loose? Even trapped as a kid, Spider-Man just can’t catch a break. The Power Pack minis have actually been pretty good, good recommendable kid fare as well as getting smarter each time around.Best Three Civil War Developments – No Civil War book this month, but that doesn’t mean the war machine doesn’t keep movin’!

BLACK PANTHER #23 Black Panther and his new wife can stay neutral no longer! They’re coming off the sidelines and getting involved and Wakanda is sure to have a huge impact on things. My guess is that it will become an asylum for heroes who don’t want to register, not only giving Wakanda a very sizable superpower strength, but since Storm has fought against the Mutant Registration Act in her day, I don’t see them really being with Iron Man on this one. IRON MAN/CAPTAIN AMERICA: CASUALTIES OF WAR ONE SHOT From the solicit: In the midst of Civil War, Captain America and Iron Man meet secretly, one last time, to see if there’s any hope of working things out before further tragedy occurs. Is it me or is this sounding a little less than political and a little more personal? This special one-shot promises to get inside the heads of our opposing generals, so to speak, and show us how ‘once the closest of friends and staunchest of allies’ could wind up at each other’s throats. CIVIL WAR: WAR CRIMES ONE-SHOT I wasn’t misreading or even dreaming up the idea that Marvel wanted to play both sides of the Civil War conflict fairly, right? They didn’t want it to be a mater of good guys and bad guys, but more greys? Then how do you explain going to Wilson Fisk? From the solicit: Wilson Fisk, the incarcerated ex-Kingpin of Crime, has a deal to propose to Iron Man: he’ll use his underworld connections to help track down Captain America and his anti-Registration underground in exchange for consideration on his sentence. But can the Kingpin be trusted, or is he playing a deeper game? My vote is on deeper game. All this an a little on how the supervillain community is faring under the SRA. Again, my vote? Not well.Best Three for Your Bookshelf – And what makes a better X-Mas gift than a TPB? All those folks who say they’re waiting on the trade better pony up.

RUNAWAYS VOL. 2 HC It took me awhile, but I finally got into the swing with Runaways and boy, am I glad I did. Probably one of the most honest books out there, they make being a outcast teen more interesting and exciting that the X-Men do right now. This will be one of those wonderfully oversized books (like the vol. 1) that really make the artists like Adrian Alphona shine. Collects RUNAWAYS (VOL. 2) #1-12 and the Runaways/X-Men team-up from FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2006. SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE VOL. 2: THE NEW GIRL DIGEST This should really be in the best three reasons to BE Spider-Man list, but it would be a very small one. Probably just this book, which if you havent had the chance yet, go ahead and take a flip through. It’s surprisingly like the Spider-Man of yore, girl problems, nerddom and great responsibility all seen through Mary Jane’s perspective. Always dead on with characterization, always a good read over lunch or at the bus stop, I could go on and on about how good Mary Jane Loves Spider-Man is. But instead, I’ll just recommend the trade. Collects SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE #6-10. MOON KNIGHT VOL. 1: THE BOTTOM PREMIERE HC I don’t want to discredit Charlie Huston, but David Finch’s artwork is so tight on this book it doesn’t even need word bubbles. From gritty street to gruesome beating to gut-wrenching misery each nearly pure black pages sets you right into this horrible world that the light of Khonshu has to shine through. Definitely worth the premiere hardcover version if only for the artwork alone. Also note that the book comes in two slipcovers, one of which is one of those ‘let’s pretend were a normal book at Borders’ styles with the big lettering. Collects MOON KNIGHT #1-6.Best Three Sharable Books – You want to get people reading comics? Here are a few issues that should be passed around.

GHOST RIDER #6 I think the movie trailer looks incredibly cool, and probably so do a lot of people. And all those people are going to ask their local comic store the same thing: ‘What’s Ghost Rider’s deal anyway?’ Definitely cool looking but with an popularly obscure origin, Daniel Way is giving us his version in #6. From the solicit: How did Johnny Blaze end up in Hell, anyway? It’s simple, really: He died. And when he died, his eternal soul–long promised to Hell in exchange for “saving” Crash Simpson–descended into the Pit, taking the Ghost Rider along with it. This is the story of how and why it all happened. Pencils and cover by horror legend Richard Corbin, so get ready to inform the masses. MARVEL ADVENTURES THE AVENGERS #8 Marvel Universe getting you down? All this Civil War and political ramifications just too much? Ever just want to get back to basics with heroes and villains? God bless Marvel Adventures, an entire line of titles as interesting and exciting to the younger set as they are to the big kids. Of all of them, I think I like the Avengers one the best, with the Fantastic Four coming in a close second. Why? It’s simple. From the solicit: The Wrecker. The U-Foes. The Juggernaut. What do these villains have in common? They all hate the mighty Avengers. See? That’s all. No secret motives, no higher purposes, just ‘We hate the good guys and are going to slug it out for a few pages, wanna see?’ It’s like candy. NEW EXCALIBUR #14 I didn’t get this book at first. It really seemed to have no connection to the original title, the characters were this weird mish-mosh of people with no real reason to be together and the stories weren’t even really X-Related. Until I saw the ‘All Ages’ rating at the bottom and it all clicked. It’s an adventure book. It doesn’t need to be an X-Men title, just some characters who generally come from there as to lure in readers. The characters don’t have to have a particular reason, they just have to do a bunch of cool things to keep the readers’s interest. And the book hits all those nails on the head, so if you’re looking for an X-Men book for someone who really doesn’t know too much about them and doesn’t seem the type to be hooked in by Brubaker’s or Carey’s books, give them New Excalibur. It’s a great starting book. From the solicit: The Juggernaut isn’t as unstoppable as he used to be, and he plans on changing that! The Juggernaut travels to Asia to recover the Cytorrak Gem! But does that mean that the Juggernaut of old will return?!Best Three Moments of Legend – Things to tell the grandkids you own. Or owned before your mother threw out all your comics.

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #103 From the solicit: The record is broken for the longest continual run by a creative team in Marvel history! Wow! In this day and age, you have to admit that’s pretty commendable right there. Bendis has written the book consistently through highs and lows and Mark Bagley is a machine with getting his books in on time, getting better and better with each issue. And they keep things rolling along as another terrible secret is revealed about who is behind ‘ the worst thing to ever happen to a beleaguered Peter Parker’. Worst thing ever? Never thought about ranking a list, but not a bad idea… JOHN ROMITA JR. 30TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL Not only does this cover a great deal of the man’s illustrious 30 year history of artwork, but it also includes a new short story written by goth hero, Neil Gaiman. Pin-ups, sketches, an interview with JR JR himself, along with other well-wishers, this looks pretty cool to pick up. PTOLUS: City by the Spire #1 It’s been a long, twisted road for the Dabel Brothers, doing fine work in the fields of fantasy but not really having a place to publish it. All gone now as Marvel has taken them under their wing and it helping them put out a ton of stuff for the holiday season. Anita Blake, Orson Scott Card’s Red Prophet, the Riftwar Saga, tons of popular fiction is coming to full color life. Ptolus, Monte Cook’s personal baby, is a fantasy setting the size of a metropolis phone book developed by legends in the D20 RPG industry. Written by Monte Cook himself, this is going to be a labor of love. From the solicit: Sheva Callister is a former adventurer and treasure hunter who is supposed to be retired after the death of her partner, Parnell. Aren’t they all?Best Three ‘Oh ho?’ Books – Little tricks and twists that make gives you something to think on and look forward to

BEYOND! #6 (OF 6) From the solicit: In the aftermath of last issue’s shocking events, the winner of the game claims a reward from the cosmic entity behind it all, starting a tragic chain of events that will forever alter the Marvel Universe. They said that Beyond! was going to tie into current continuity and I’m sure interested in how they’re going to pull that off. The Beyonder can do a lot of things… DAREDEVIL #92 From the solicit: Matt Murdock finally comes face-to-face with the person who’s been manipulating his life since he was thrown in jail, and you’ll be stunned by the revelation! Considering how good this book has been under Brubaker’s hand, I think they just might be right. I mean, the internet won’t break in half, but I just could be stunned. MARVEL 1602: FANTASTICK FOUR #4 (OF 5) From the solicit: But Atlantis is not under the sea in 1602. With both Doom and the Four from the Fantastick at his doorstep, what will King Namor do? Oh! That’s kind of cool. I’m up for Atlantis being at the edge of the world, and here I thought it was going to be Atillan. I’m a sucker for Namor, but this book has really taken the theme Gaiman set down and ran with it.Best Three Ways for the World to End as We Know It! – Because it wouldn’t be Marvel if EVERYTHING wasn’t at stake at some point.

X-MEN: PHOENIX – WARSONG #4 (OF 6) Because with the Phoenix Force involved, someone has to die. From the solicit: Something in their heads has set the Cuckoos off to annihilate everything in their way! Is it the Phoenix?! Or something even more sinister?! Don’t ever use the word ‘sinister’ with the X-Books unless you mean it, so if Mister Sinister shows up, things are bound to get interesting. Our chance of survival: Pretty good. If Sinister is really involved, it’ll just threaten some DNA. ZOMBIE #4 (OF 4) in the big World Threat Down, Zombies have risen rather high in the ranks. From the solicit: But will Simon have the guts — and the brains — to survive a no-win situation? With a mysterious zombie plague spreading like wildfire — and threatening to consume all of New York — he’d better! Good thing this is a MAX book! The stunning conclusion of another zombie apocalypse. Our chances of survival: Not so good, as this is a Max title. ULTIMATE POWER #3 (of 9) So big it could only be called Ultimate, it’s a crossover event that would be really boring if everyone just got along. From the solicit: A battle beyond all expectations! It’s the alien invaders—the Squadron Supreme—versus the combined might of The Ultimates, Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate Spidey…for the fate of the world! Our chance of survival: I’d get an insurance claim.Best Three Empty Spots on the Shelf Where the #1 Used to Be – #1 on a comic book are like lower back tattoos on college chicks. Everyone knows it’s kind of slutty but you just can’t help but stare…

ULTIMATE VISION #1 (of 5) Interestingly enough written by Mike Carey. Totally not who I would have expected, so definitely worth a flip through in my book. I didn’t think the Ultimate Vision had much of a character, but five issues should prove me wrong. From the solicits: The Earth was saved from the Ultimate threat—Gah Lak Tus. But scientist George Tarleton has captured a piece of that awesome entity and plans to reactivate it for his own evil purposes. That’s going to be some pretty big evil purposes, but that all depends on how Ultimate Extinction turns out. NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI #1 (OF 5) From their brief one shot experience, the idea of the biggest brains in the Marvel Universe getting together to decide the course of the planet has intrigued a heck of a lot of people. In the one-shot, they didn’t seem too cohesive, but Bendis is back to show us all a little of how it all was supposed to work. From the solicit: Writers Brian Michael Bendis ( Avengers, Ultimate Spider-Man) and Brian Reed ( Ms. Marvel) have joined together with Jim Cheung (Young Avengers) to reveal this untold story of the Marvel Universe and the Illuminati’s actions affect today! I think there was supposed to be a ‘how’ in that last sentence, but maybe they’re really excited to let us know how important this really is. newuniversal #1 Promoted quite some time ago, this Warren Ellis’s take on everyone’s favorite quarter bin world. The series of one-shots they put out were pretty good all told, so I suspect this should be a grander vision of the same. From the solicit: But on a night like any other, the Earth is rocked by the most startling celestial event ever witnessed by the human race. The White Event. And from its wake, a handful of humans emerge as something more.Best Three Things You Should Have Seen Coming -

DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER BORN SKETCHBOOK Like the light of an oncoming train, the sketchbook for the adaptation of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series heralds the eventual release of the comics promised almost a year ago. Pretty exciting stuff and I really hope a FREE sketchbook gets the buzz back. And if not, hey! Free Jae Lee art? I’m there. From the solicit: In 2007, a Gunslinger will be born; will you be ready? ULTIMATES 2 #13 Finally! With Both Ultimates 3 already lined up, not to mention the Annual that came out a few week’s ago that was supposed to come after the end of the current series ‘season’ so to speak, this is something we’ve been waiting for. From the solicit: All the running plot lines come to their cataclysmic end in these pages as the Team Supreme puts everything they’ve got into a grand finale that will take its place alongside the finest comics of the past decade. WINTER SOLDIER: WINTER KILLS ONE-SHOT Again, another one of those things it took me some time to catch on to, but Brubaker has made the return of Buck Barnes a true comic event that has changed the Captain America title for the better. A mysterious figure through Cap’s book, it’s about time he got his own one-shot. From the solicit: Featuring guest appearances by the Young Avengers and some of the original Invaders, this Special issue is an action-packed character study that defines the Winter Soldier’s future place in the Marvel Universe.Best Three Yuletide Tidings – What would the month of December be without a holiday issue? Or three?

BLADE #4 From the solicit: ‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through Manhattan, not a creature was stirring ‘cause Blade had all stabbed ‘em! This issue: Blade goes after Santa Claus. I’m not joking. Apparently, he’s a vampire. WOLVERINE #49 A special double sized issue of Wolverine goodness! A holiday shopping Logan teaches a spoiled billionaire’s daughter the true meaning of Christmas when a suicide cult dressed in elf outfits threatens to blow a department store sky high. MARVEL HOLIDAY SPECIAL And last but not least, a little something for everyone this season with a 48-page holiday special. The Fing Fang Four, the Thing, Annihlus and the always popular much much more, just a little something for your stocking.The full list of December Solicitations for Marvel is this way. Do enjoy!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 20th, 2006 at 4:58 pm and is filed under Comic Books, Graphic Novels, Marvel, The Fifth Color. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.