Site Updates Archive!

Another Full House of Classics!

Still no new comics on my half of the site so…

FEAR ITSELF continues with AVENGERS ACADEMY #15 which sees the rookie heroes deployed to the Battle of Washington DC where madness reigns!

DEFENDERS #111: We learn way too much about Marvel’s version of Satan!

THOR: HEAVEN & EARTH #2 puts Thor in a bind as he faces a suicide bomber with a theological grudge!

THE CAT #3 has the Pre-Tigra heroine fighting modern pirates!

TALES TO ASTONISH #97! Hulk versus the Living Lightning! Subby a prisoner of the Plunderer!

X-Man-Fan Anthony Silvestro chronicles the classic Claremont run with X-MEN #145-147 wherein Doctor Doom joins Arcade to trouble the X-Men!

PeterS

This week's pretty cosmic

Another empty week for new issues for this column.

T Vernon continues with AVENGERS #314 where Nebula's scheming makes the universe disappear except for 1 room with the Avengers, Spider-Man and Sersi in.

The Ultimates start as they mean to go on with #1-2 where they change purple Galactus The Devourer into golden Galactus The Lifebringer.

The slightly-New Avengers continue their 1st adventure with #2-3 where a game of pass the Eye Of Agamotto ends with the team fighting demons and Iron Fist seemingly meeting the ascended Ancient One.

Webmaster Julio has synopsised the Deadpool & Wolverine movie here.
And we send (only slightly late) birthday wishes to Hugh Jackman.

--RobFJ

A Full House of Older Classics!

No new comics for me this week so…

The God of Thunder is represented by the miniseries THOR: HEAVEN & EARTH #1 wherein Thor bullies a helpless Loki for the dumbest reasons!

FEAR ITSELF continues with HERC #6 wherein powerless Hercules finally faces his enemies Hecate and Kyknos, Son of Ares—too bad he’s been turned into stone!

DEFENDERS #110: The tormented hero Devil-Slayer at last comes to a reckoning in his final appearance in this book!

TALES TO ASTONISH #96! Hulk clobbers the High Evolutionary’s New Men! Subby duels with the Plunderer!

X-Man-Fan Anthony Silvestro chronicles the classic Claremont run with X-MEN #143, Kitty Pryde meets an N’Garai for Christmas, and #144, Cyclops versus D’Spayre!

PeterS

Everything changeth

I've no new issues this week so it's straight into ...

... AVENGERS #313 from T Vernon which finishes the title's involvement in Acts Of Vengeance. And the issue is more about the West Coast Avengers than the New York branch.

It's all change in my backup streams this week:-

I've finished following the Infinity Gems and Adam Warlock through the Ultraverse so I'm going back to following Young Avenger America Chavez, which in this case means her stay in the Earth-616 Ultimates.
Which begins in 2015's AVENGERS (2015) #0 which intros them and several other Avengery titles in the post-Secret Wars multiverse.

My filling in the gaps in the New Avengers/Mighty Avengers/Avengers Initiative titles is over too, and I'm moving over to the Age Of Heroes Avengers titles. 2 of them are almost completely undocumented here:-
In AVENGERS ACADEMY #1-2 6 teen superchar victims of Norman Osborn's Dark Reign are given the chance to become superheroes. Or is it to prevent them from becoming supervillains?
And NEW AVENGERS (2010) #1 continues the adventures of nearly the same team as the Dark Reign version. Except with the addition of Thing!? And Dr Strange is back with mystical trouble.

--RobFJ

Thor Faces Some Classic Villains! And We Meet the Cat!

The brand new IMMORTAL THOR #16 sees a quartet of old-time baddies returning in force to bedevil the God of Thunder: Radioactive Man, Cobra, Mister Hyde, and the Grey Gargoyle!

Before she was Tigra, she was The Cat! So we begin our survey of Tigra’s career with THE CAT #1, featuring her origin!

FEAR ITSELF continues with HERC #5 wherein the depowered Hercules fights monsters in a fantasy hellscape that was once Brooklyn! [Supply your own anti-New York joke here.]

DEFENDERS #109: Valkyrie versus the Enchantress—and a million other sub-plots!

TALES TO ASTONISH #95! Hulk takes a perilous space flight! Subby tries to evict an underwater city!

X-Man-Fan Anthony Silvestro chronicles the classic Claremont run with X-MEN #141-142, the epic “Days of Future Past!” With famous covers, too! Wow!

PeterS

The end of infinity

This is end of the Infinity Watch Annuals:-
Cfwd from last week is SPIDER-BOY ANNUAL where the 6 Ring-, sorry, Stone-Bearers finally get together, with Phil Coulson and Nick Fury Jr hot on their trail.
And new this week is AVENGERS ANNUAL where all of the above plus Captain Marvel and Thor fight Thanos who kills them all but gets defeated by 2 versions of Overtime.

T Vernon's AVENGERS #312 lands us smack dab in the middle of Acts Of Vengeance with Avengers fighting X-villains and the real villains fighting amongst themselves.

The last 2 issues show what Adam Warlock's been doing in the Ultraverse:-
In RUNE #7 Adam finally gets to meet Gemini ...
... but it isn't until ULTRAVERSE UNLIMITED #1 that they fight, and it ends with his return to the Marvel Universe.

--RobFJ

The Gang’s All Here!

No new comics for me this week so we return to the regular heroes we’ve been covering!

Our survey of the career of Jack of Hearts concludes with JACK OF HEARTS #4, his last solo appearance to date, wherein Jack must sacrifice his life to save a universe!

In THOR ANNUAL 1999, the God of Thunder finds love with a sorceress on a desert planet while Doctor Doom visits the underground city, trying to conquer this world!

DEFENDERS #108: The Non-Team ventures on a quest for the fabled Rose of Purity to save Valkyrie’s life!

TALES TO ASTONISH #94! Hulk goes to work for …the High Evolutionary! Subby teams up with…a cheesy Latin American dictator! Now there's a comedown!

FEAR ITSELF continues with HERC #4 wherein a depowered Hercules faces Hecate, an extremely powerful witch out of Greek Myth, now in Brooklyn!

PeterS

My internet woes

My internet connection has turned extremely unstable and slow. So much so that I've only been able (or dogged enough) to upload my review of new comic AVENGERS #18 (where everything turns out happily, even for the 'villain' Hyperion) for this week. And I'd already written this brief note before just-now getting an up-period long enough and fast enough to process the issue's character list function.

An engineer is coming Monday afternoon, so hopefully normal service will resume next week.

--RobFJ

Hulk and Other Matters of Life and Death!

The brand new INCREDIBLE HULK #17 forces Hulk to decide: the life of his companion Charlie or his own, while facing the monstrous Eldest!       

Our coverage of the FEAR ITSELF event continues with HERC #3 which starts small with the powerless Hercules battling some baddies: Man-Bull, Griffin, and Basilisk! It will get worse!

In SILVER SURFER/THOR ANNUAL ’98, the two heavy-hitters are captured by a godlike being trapped in Limbo who wants out!

JACK OF HEARTS #3: Jack, having learned his mother was an alien, visits her homeworld in time for a crisis that maybe only he can solve—at the cost of his life!

DEFENDERS #105: Dr Strange, Beast, and Mr Fantastic enter the Resurrection Stone to save the life of Vera Cantor, Beast’s girlfriend!

X-Man-Fan Anthony Silvestro chronicles the classic Claremont run with X-MEN #138, Jean Grey’s funeral, #139 with Kitty Pryde joining the team, and #140 featuring Wendigo!

PeterS

To infinity but not beyond

After the success of his ad hoc team in the Blood Hunt issues of Avengers, Captain America starts another crisis response team in Avengers Mansion in AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #1.

In AVENGERS #310 T Vernon completes the 3-parter which returns Gilgamesh to the Eternals where he miraculously gets better.

And BLACK SEPTEMBER #infinity completes the story of the Infinity Gems in the Ultraverse, leaving that universe changed and switching some chars between the Ultraverse and the Marvel Universe in both directions.

Plus I have the last 2 missing Avengery issues from the Dark Reign era:-
In MIGHTY AVENGERS #29 the Young(!) Avengers unmask 'Scarlet Witch' as (the female) Loki.
And in AVENGERS INITIATIVE #30 Nightmare possesses Trauma but Penance gets his memory back.

--RobFJ

Cap Faces Death!

Literally, as he fights Death knuckle to knuckle in the new CAPTAIN AMERICA #13!    

Thor’s classic comic this week is MARVEL TEAM-UP #26, wherein the God of Thunder joins the Human Torch in battling Lava Men in a Hawaiian volcano!

TALES TO ASTONISH #93! Hulk versus the Silver Surfer! Subby versus a generic giant orange sea monster!

In his only starring miniseries, JACK OF HEARTS #2, Jack learns a shocking secret about his parentage!

DEFENDERS #104 focuses on new non-team member Devil-Slayer and puts him through severe mental torture over the fate of his wife!

X-Man-Fan Anthony Silvestro chronicles the classic Claremont run with X-MEN #135-137, concluding the epic Dark Phoenix Saga! And wrecking a logo!

PeterS

These issues are split between the Infinity Gems/Stones and Blastaar & the Negative Zone

New this week, MOON KNIGHT ANNUAL has the newly-back-from-the-dead hero helping the new bearer of the Mind Stone Colleen Wing against Nightmare.

T Vernon continues the story of the gravely-injured Gilgamesh in AVENGERS #309 where the team discover the Eternals' home Olympia has been moved to the Negative Zone by Blastaar.

My Ultraverse trail has brought me to the Avengers/Ultraforce crossover:-
In AVENGERS/ULTRAFORCE Grandmaster challenges Loki to 1 of his superpawn games, in this case Avengers vs Ultraforce, but it's all a trick to get Sersi and the Ego Gem close enough to take the 6 Infinity Gems from the Norse God.
In ULTRAFORCE/AVENGERS the 7 Gems combine as Nemesis who tries to create an amalgamated Marvel/Ultraverse until Black Knight splits the Gems apart with an alternate Ebony Blade, recreating both universes with some differences.

And in AVENGERS INITIATIVE #27 Taskmaster sends a lot of trainee cannon fodder to retake the Neg Zone Prison 42 from Blastaar's minions, and against the odds they succeed.

--RobFJ

The First Hulk Lives!

Brand new INCREDIBLE HULK #16 concludes the story of Enkidu, the first Hulk!        

Also new is IMMORTAL THOR #15 wherein Loki is banished, Thor returns to Asgard, and Dario Agger returns from the dead!

In his only starring miniseries, JACK OF HEARTS #1, Jack learns he is dying of his own superpowers, and the universe might die with him!

In DEFENDERS #103, Gargoyle returns to his haunted hometown while his non-teammates deal with the dead from his past!

FEAR ITSELF: FEARSOME FOUR #4: our oddball heroes (She-Hulk, Nighthawk, Howard the Duck, the Frankenstein Monster) must face their darkest fears to survive the night!

X-Man-Fan Anthony Silvestro chronicles the classic Claremont run with X-MEN #132-134, continuing the epic Dark Phoenix Saga where Wolverine goes berserk against the Hellfire Club!

PeterS

Loki and Sersi get about a bit

No new issues again this week, but Peter's done the latest Infinity Watch Annual.

In T Vernon's AVENGERS #308 the Avengers take gravely-injured Gilgamesh to the nearest other Eternal they know about, Sersi.

Sersi, Black Knight and villain Loki are involved in the next 2 Ultraverse issues.
Ultraforce fight a Frost Giant conjured up by Loki in their #10 while Sersi makes a deal with the Ego Gem.
Then in ULTRAFORCE/AVENGERS PRELUDE Loki and Sersi play mind games with the heroes.

'Meanwhile' in MIGHTY AVENGERS #27-28 Hank Pym unveils the Infinite Avengers Mansion while Quicksilver and US Agent tangle with the Inhuman Unspoken and Stature sics the Young Avengers and Ronin on Scarlet Witch who's really female Loki in disguise.

--RobFJ

Hulk Versus Thanos! Cap Faces Death!

The INFINITY WATCH event continues in INCREDIBLE HULK ANNUAL (2024) #1, pitting Hulk against Thanos for possession of the Mind Stone!    

Also new is CAPTAIN AMERICA #12 wherein Cap heads down the final stretch in his battle against the forces of Death incarnate!

And with THOR #502, we at the Marvel Heroes Library now have full entries for Thor’s entire epic first series, as Thor faces death by Onslaught!

In DEFENDERS #102, Nighthawk discovers a covert government agency conducting sinister experiments with psychic powers! 

Jack of Hearts joins Spidey in MARVEL TEAM-UP #134 as Jack’s medical condition threatens their college campus, if not the world!

X-Man-Fan Anthony Silvestro chronicles the classic Claremont run with X-MEN #129-131, beginning the epic Dark Phoenix Saga and introducing Kitty Pryde, Emma Frost, Dazzler, and the Hellfire Club!

PeterS

Decade by decade merry Marvel marches on

Nothing new this week.

In 1989 T Vernon's AVENGERS #307 ends the attack of the Lava Men and begins the storyline that will write wounded Gilgamesh out of the team.

It's 1995 in the Ultraverse in NIGHT MAN #22 and CURSE OF RUNE #3 where Loki acquires the Reality Gem and the Soul Gem.

And in 2009's MIGHTY AVENGERS #25-26 Henry Pym's team fight the Fantastic Four for a device to save their Pym Pocket HQ.

--RobFJ

More Thor! More Jack of Hearts!

Brand new GIANT-SIZE THOR (2024) has Thor and Hercules in a battle against an alien conqueror whose outstanding feature you would not believe so check out our entry!  

We pick up our survey of Jack of Hearts with MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #48 wherein he teams up with Thing…and the Yancy Street Gang…to defeat Machinesmith! The Yancy Street Gang?

DEFENDERS #101! After fighting Satan last issue, the non-team non-members kick back and relax in this very atypical issue!

FEAR ITSELF: FEARSOME FOUR #3 has our oddball hero group (She-Hulk, Nighthawk, Howard the Duck, the Frankenstein Monster) fighting the new Fantastic Four--Spider-Man, Gray Hulk, Wolverine, and Ghost Rider! Or are they?

TALES TO ASTONISH #92! Hulk goes missing! Subby fights another orange underwater monster!

X-Man-Fan Anthony Silvestro chronicles the classic Claremont run with X-MEN #127-128, concluding the exciting Proteus Saga.

More Gem/Stone stuff, plus lava and a stone amulet

New this week is another of the Infinity Watch Annuals. In WOLVERINE ANNUAL Apex and Multitude think the Soul Stone is telling them Wolverine has an Infinity Stone but really a soul wants to talk to him.

T Vernon's AVENGERS #306 gives us the origin of the Lava Men and why they really don't like the Avengers.

In the Ultraverse the 2 Marvel strands head towards a joining:-
In LORD PUMPKIN/NECROMANTRA #4 Loki picks up the Power Gem.
While in ULTRAFORCE #9 Sersi has found a new Infinity Gem.

AVENGERS INITIATIVE FEATURING REPTIL introduces teen Reptil in a tale which also involves Moon Boy (and Devil Dinosaur and the Savage Land).

--RobFJ

Thor Versus Zeus! A New Deal for Jack of Hearts!

The brand-new IMMORTAL THOR #14 sees Thor facing Zeus in a lightning-powered battle!

Jack of Hearts was a rather strange Marvel hero; we’ll be showcasing his solo appearances over the next few weeks, starting with MARVEL PREMIERE #44 which lays out his situation very nicely!

DEFENDERS #100! This milestone issue pits Defenders past and present against all the forces of Satan himself!

FEAR ITSELF: FEARSOME FOUR #2 has our oddball hero group (She-Hulk, Nighthawk, Howard the Duck, the Frankenstein Monster) fighting their own scary mutated versions!

TALES TO ASTONISH #91! Hulk versus Abomination…to the death! Subby in exile!

X-Man-Fan Anthony Silvestro chronicles the classic Claremont run with X-MEN #125-126, the first appearance of Proteus who will soon be causing a lot of trouble!

PeterS

The old orders changeth

New this week is AVENGERS #17 where the current team ask Storm to join them while they're taking a breather between Blood Hunt and an attack by Hyperion.

T Vernon continues the original series with AVENGERS #305 wherein Captain America reorganises the team yet again before they are attacked by Lava Men.

In the Ultraverse Loki continues collecting the Infinity Gems by getting hold of the Mind Gem in MANTRA #22.
Then ULTRAFORCE #8 adds another strand to the plot as Black Knight and Sersi transfer over from the Avengers in an issue billed as Count Down To Black September part 1.

Finally the AVENGERS INITIATIVE SPECIAL shows the Initiative beginning to the feel the effects of the transition from Secret Invasion to Norman Osborn's Dark Reign. And Hardball defects to Hydra.

--RobFJ

Hulk Begins! More Black Widow!

The brand-new INCREDIBLE HULK #15 peels back the pages of time and shows us the first Hulk from ancient Assyria!

In BLACK WIDOW (2010) #6-8, a complete story in three issues, a sinister woman called Fatale is impersonating the Black Widow and having Nat take the blame for her crimes!

And there’s THOR #501 where the God of Thunder and his temporary replacement Red Norvell search for the lost gods of Asgard!

X-Man-Fan Anthony Silvestro chronicles the classic Claremont run with X-MEN #122-124, their first encounter with Arcade and Murderworld!

PeterS

Stones or Gems, what's the difference in any event?

The 2 new issues this week are both parts of events.

BLOOD HUNT #5 is the end of that event where Dr Doom saves the world but only by being given the mantle of the Sorcerer Supreme by Dr Strange. And of course he's not going to give it back.

MS MARVEL ANNUAL is the next issue in this year's Annuals event, The Infinity Watch. Kamala Khan meets Multitude, bearer of the Soul Stone, in an Atlantic City amusement park.

T Vernon's AVENGERS #304 only has 3 of the current team (prophetically missing Mr Fantastic and Invisible Woman) but guest stars Puma.

I continue to follow Loki in the Ultraverse looking for the Infinity Gems, leading into the Countdown To Black September event. He picks up something else useful in LORD PUMPKIN/NECROMANTRA #1 and gains the Time Gem in HARDCASE #23.

--RobFJ

Thor in the Dark! One Crazy, Fearsome Team-Up!

The brand new IMMORTAL THOR #13 has Thor, Loki, and Hercules facing Nyx, Goddess of Night, and things get pretty dark!

When Man-Thing is on the prowl in FEAR ITSELF: FEARSOME FOUR #1, who you gonna call? She-Hulk, Nighthawk, Frankenstein’s Monster…and Howard the Duck!

In BLACK WIDOW (2010) #5, Natasha has a final showdown with Imus Champion! I don't know who he is either!

Plus two firsts in TALES TO ASTONISH #90! Hulk meets the Abomination for the first time! Subby faces Byrrah for the first time (in the Silver Age at least)!

DEFENDERS #99 puts the heroes in a literal Hell on Earth!

X-Man-Fan Anthony Silvestro chronicles the classic Claremont run with X-MEN #120-121, the first appearance of Alpha Flight and their first battle with the X-Men!

PeterS

End of a Saga and an Invasion, but the start of an Ultraverse event

Nothing new this week because Blood Hunt #5 has been delayed to next week.

T Vernon's AVENGERS #303 ends the Super-Nova Saga by Reed Richards convincing him "This is not the planet you're looking for".

I'm following the Infinity Gems and Loki into the Ultraverse for the lead-up to Black September.
Thor pops in to GODWHEEL #3 to help end the mini-series. And where he goes can Loki be far behind?
In the RUNE/SILVER SURFER 1-shot Rune follows Thor home to Earth-616 and steals the Infinity Gems from the Infinity Watch. Silver Surfer sends him back with the Gems scattered across the Ultraverse.

And now my Avengers' series fill-ins have reached the end of Secret Invasion.
NEW AVENGERS #47 is mainly an unrelated flashback to the beginning of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage's relationship, long before Skrull-Jarvis stole their baby.
But AVENGERS INITIATIVE #19 shows the real end of the Invasion, after the end of the mini-series, where the Initiative and the Skrull Kill Krew stop the Skrulls taking revenge for losing the war.

--RobFJ

Cap Completes His Quest! Wolverine Gets Nuked!

The brand-new CAPTAIN AMERICA #11 sees Cap and his new companions meet the third mutant who will change the world!

All three issues of FEAR ITSELF: WOLVERINE are being added to the site together! Baddies hijack a Helicarrier with the capability to nuke New York City and only Wolverine is in a position to stop them!

Plus TALES TO ASTONISH #89! Hulk meets the Stranger! Subby versus an alien murder robot!

X-Man-Fan Anthony Silvestro chronicles the classic Claremont run with X-MEN #117, Professor X’s first battle with the Shadow King, and #118-119 wherein the X-Men face the little-known Moses Magnum in Japan!

PeterS