Welp, it’s that time of the year again, though I swore it came a little earlier than last time. Nope, not the impending holliday season, but Marvel’s Mighty Solicitation list! Do note the highly exciting classified items that will be sure to change the world as we know it one more time. Remeber kids, this month’s phrase is “This issue, EVERYTHING CHANGES!” as in the coming year, we’ll be seeing yet another all new, all different Marvel Universe. Excited? Let’s take a look…

Best Three Solicitation Gimmicks - There are certain tools and tricks of the trade Marvel employs to drum up business and February has them in high supply PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #4 Death has always been very very good to Marvel Comics. It’s a tried and true impact in comics that brings the storyline up a notch, puts readers on edge and, like it or not, sells issues. And as we all know by now (or at least those savvy enough to be reading Blog@Newsarama), not all the deaths can be Gwen Stacy’s delicately snapped neck or Phoenix’s great sacrifice. Most of the time, those chosen to die are people that the story could stand to lose and balance the impact with character importance. So, we salute you Punisher: War Journal #4 for giving us the Death… of Stilt-Man. From the solicit: Raise a glass, friends, and join us in this year’s MUST SEE funeral! Even Spider-Man’s gonna be there!. ULTIMATE X-MEN #79 Nothing like changing EVERYTHING to drum up readers to a title that’s had it’s ups and downs under Kirkman. And nothing says “This issue EVERYTHING CHANGES!” like, you guessed it! Death. After the rather unusual choice to bring Cable into the Ultimate universe, the X-Men may never be the same again; since this is the book that also killed off Beast, I don’t doubt a thing. Also, keep watch for the appearance of the Ultimate Shadow King. MARVEL 1602 HC - ALL-NEW PRINTING! A departure from the usual hype, Marvel’s really getting into this I guess “Bookshelf” edition style to their covers to reprint 1602 with the large-print, diminished-artwork cover. So this makes the hardcover, the softcover, and now a more acceptable version for those who want uniform TPs or those getting this at Borders. It’s great gimmick despite being redundant and I have to admit that the book looks kind of swanky. No special added content, just issues #1-8 in an oversized format.Best Three Issues We FINALLY Get to See - You heard about them long ago and now, the long wait is over!

DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER BORN #1 (of 7) Ladies and gentlemen, a book a year in promotion! Expect all the buzz you heard last year, just louder, as the incredibly in-depth and popular Dark Tower series by Stephen King is put to comic page by the House of Ideas. This is a tremendous coup for Marvel and is destined to bring it King fans young and old; after seeing the draw the Anita Blake fans, this should be pretty spectacular. Peter David is given the task of filling some pretty big shoes with King looking over his shoulder as they craft some early tales to Roland’s adventures. Due to the extreme marketability, expect two variant covers: a sketch from series artist Jae “Sumptuous” Lee and a little something special from Mr. Quesada himself. From the solicit: Be there for the very beginning of a modern classic of fantasy literature! FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #17 We’re getting back to that crazy alternate universe Uncle Ben that was seemingly randomly thrown into the mix a few issues ago, only to shoot the guest-starring alternate Spider-Man 2211 to stay in our universe. This was such a left field act that I, of course, had to know more and was promptly waylaid by the latest big even that had a crossover effect with the title. It’s sort of it’s lot in life, thanks to Civil War and The Other. ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #105 Speaking of strange events that drag you into the book, the fine tradition of “This Issue EVERYTHING CHANGES!” continues in the epilogue to the story they said couldn’t be done. Brian Michael Bendis brings it on home after the weird wild stuff that is the Ultimate Clone Saga. Every issue so far just keeps pulling these shocking revelations, one after the other and by the end of this thing, yeah. Things really will never be the same. From the solicit: Will Aunt May survive her heart attack? What plans does Nick Fury have for Gwen Stacy? Is Peter being drawn back to MJ, or will he stay with Kitty Pryde? What about the mysterious Spider Woman?Best Three Costume Craziness! - Don’t tell me you saw the Spider-Man 3 trailer and thought the MU wouldn’t be abuzz with Symbiote Fever

SPIDER-MAN AND POWER PACK #4 (of 4) Katie Power gets the symbiote suit. I could not make this up. I have kids come in and ask for Venom comics all the time and this just might be the issue I can hand to them without their parents giving me the evil eye. This will just have to be seen to be believed. From the solicit: Has sweet little Katie Power finally gone to the dark side…and if so, will she ever want to come back?! At least she’s not Carnage. SPIDER-MAN FAMILY #1 A new bi-monthly title from writer Sean McKeever, who’s phenomenal work over on Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane is one of my favorite books each month. Now we get a whole family out of him as we might just have another anthology series on our hands. This first issue promises us an all-new feature length tale starring our favorite alien costume. From the solicit: Also - A bonus all-new 10-page story featuring a special surprise guest! PLUS - A heaping helping of classic Spidey stories! AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #539 And in the most surprising announcement so far in this little list, JMS brings back the Black for Amazing Spider-Man! And since Mac Gargan (old Scorpion) was in possession of the symbiote suit last I saw, this should be a fine trick of closet space. The change is actually well timed for the next Spidey movie and I get that sinking feeling that the nature of the alien suit we’ve come to know and love just might evolve into something more fitting with the big screen adaptation. From the solicit: Get on board here, True Believer, as we gear up for an event that will forever change the life of your favorite web-slinger. There IS no going back.Best Three Issues That -CLASSIFIED - Books SO good, we’ll never know what in them! I’m going to make these guesses as Marvel sees fit to tell us they’re coming out in February

CIVIL WAR: FRONT LINE #11 (of 11) Hrm, my guess? This is the book to feel the shockwaves, not make them so don’t expect too much. Ben Ulrich is stuck watching in shock and awe as the Fifty States Initiativee goes through and Speedball is either finally put out of his misery or joins wit the not-as-dead-as-believed New Warriors to begin a guerilla effort to stop the madness… whatever form it takes. CAPTAIN AMERICA #25 I am hoping for a face-to-face confrontation with the Red Skull who reveals that the entire Civil War is part of his diabolical machinations to destroy what Cap loves best, America, by destroying it from the inside out from internal strife. Allow me my dreams. Bryan Hitch does an alternative cover, so something big is going to go down. IRON MAN #15 The likelihood of Tony waking up from a horrible dream, writhing on the floor until a little alien worm comes out of his ear or even being replaced by a younger version of himself are very slim. What can I say, I’m desperate to see Iron Man come out of this a hero. Let’s see… let’s put our money on coming to terms with the realization that infecting himself with the Extremis Virus has been at the heart of his aggressive and reactionary behavior and this issue starts or ends his struggle to break free of its control over him, parallelling his battle with alcoholism. Gerald Parel gives us an alternate cover and by the looks of things so far, expect that this issue EVERYTHING CHANGES!Best Three Books to Beat the Indecisive With - Something terrific out there you just haven’t picked up yet? Is your excuse ‘Oh, I’ll wait for the trade’? Wait no more!

ANNIHILATION BOOK 1 HC I’ll be honest, I am incredibly biased towards this overlooked series. Set up similarly to Infinite Crisis with tie-in mini-series to introduce the factions and a hefty prologue to get you started, it could seem a little overwhelming to readers unfamiliar with the cosmic heroes to begin with. Now, thanks to a full volume of Annihilation goodness, there is no excuse to miss out on the epicly scaled tale of valor and defeat. Collecting the Prologue and the Drax and Nova minis, fear missing that essential #3 no more! CIVIL WAR: THE ROAD TO CIVIL WAR TPB There are so many tie in books to the Marvel Event (in Seven Parts) that it can make the average head spin trying to keep up with it all. Multi-book crossovers can be a turn off for a lot of readers and while Civil War is still pretty readable sans all those extra titles, there’s nothing like offering people a little more. This gives up the Amazing Spider-Man issues that flesh out his big reveal, the Fantastic Four that hint with a big heavy stick at the return of Thor and New Avengers: Illuminati. NEXTWAVE: AGENTS OF H.A.T.E. VOL. 1 - THIS IS WHAT THEY WANT TPB Well, it’s what I always wanted and now that the series is coming to a close with #12, here’s a softcover look back at what was just a bunch of kicking and explosions. Were you wary of picking up the book? Did you miss out on that random issue, throw your hands in the air and wait for the trade? Did the hardcover trade just not do it for you? From the solicit: If you like anything, you will LOVE Nextwave! BOOM!Best Three Fine Ideas - Collections that just make sense

EXCALIBUR CLASSIC VOL. 3: CROSS-TIME CAPER BOOK 1 TPB Everyone, at one time or another in my experience, read Excalibur. Most of them read this very storyline, which was random, strange and unlike any other book on the market. Fleshed out by Alan Davis’s art, Chris Claremont took deviated from his high soap style to bring a little comic back to comic books and this collection has been a long time in coming. From the solicit: Guest-starring nearly every hero and villain in the Marvel Universe – or very unreasonable facsimiles thereof! Magic, manga and more await ESSENTIAL MS. MARVEL VOL. 1 TPB Finally! The woman’s stepped up to become a huge player in the all new, all different Marvel Universe and a look back at the essential issues of Ms. Marvel has been long in coming. A good 24 issues are in here for the nice price of $16.99, the Essential series always a steal when it comes to an all new, all different way of back issue diving to learn more about a hot character on the scene. From the solicit: And the first appearance of the marvelously malicious Mystique! Huh! FRANKLIN RICHARDS: LAB BRAT DIGEST These things sell out in a week! Pure, undistilled fun stories in a Calvin and Hobbesesque flavor, kids go nuts for them and Fantastic Four fans follow suit. Never really overordered, Marvel puts them all in a handy dandy digest for your reading enjoyment and collect everyone out so far, up to and including “Happy Franksgiving!” out today. I was hopping they’d reprint the original issues, but a digest is even better.Best Three for My Buck - Stuffed in my pull box will be the following

LEGION OF MONSTERS: WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #1 They’re bringing back Werewolf by Night? Really? Could this be a ressurgence of the Marvel Horror line? Could a Midnight Suns reunion be in the works? Could my dreams be realized!? I’m picking it up for the Skottie Young Monster of Frankenstein story but staying for Mike Carey’s version of the wolfman as it looks like Jacob Russel’s due for a reboot. CABLE & DEADPOOL #37 They’re bringing back the Rhino! Last Deadpool and he tangled, he wound up as a keychain in one of many rather offbeat and funny series from the Merc with a Mouth. Normally, when something played for laughs comes along in a book these days, it gets ignored by the next writer who keeps the status quo of more real, more dark and more drama. Not Cable & Deadpool! And my favorite issues have always been the Deadpool centric ones, though they’re slowly winning me over with Cable’s recent machinations. I’m sold. THUNDERBOLTS PRESENTS: ZEMO - BORN BETTER #1 (of 4) I got into the Thunderbolts late in the game and I have to say, they just don’t write books like that anymore. The grand drama of it all, the extremes to which characters went to save everything as we know it, the moral dilemmas and edgy choices made, it was great. I’m not saying Warren Ellis won’t be incredible as the books takes yet another turn, but I’m kind of sad I’ll be saying goodbye to Baron Zemo. Apparently, I’m fearing not in February as Fabian Nicieza brings in a little 4-parter to close up some wounds in the character he really breathed some life into. From the solicit: He is the last of thirteen, taught for his entire life that he was born better. A Zemo by blood is a superior person. So then why has he always failed? A good question, best solved by time travel.The full list of February Solicitations for Marvel is this way. Enjoy!

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