Solicit Commentary - April 2010

So April is just around the corner folks and with it a bevy of new solicits. Seems to be a pretty big month and I’m excited for it, lets check it out!

Image Comics Solicits for April 2010

DC Comics Solicits for April 2010

Marvel Comics Solicits for April 2010

Image Firsts

A great little idea by Image to reprint first issues of their best selling comics. Though I admit this is an odd idea since a lot of these comics are long out of touch with their earlier days it’s still an ice idea and for only a buck I’ll be picking up most of these. Especially Invincible #1 for sure. I already have Spawn #1 so no need for that but hey I’m really hyped to pick up all these firsts.

Haunt #7

Capullo is taking over for good with #6 but hey this is where he starts drawing the series on a regular basis and that is awesome. I’m excited as all hell for Haunt right now as it’s looking to be one of the best ongoings of the year at this rate. With top notch art and some great stuff ahead I can’t wait for more. Also that’s a cool cover by McFarlane.

Image United #4

Uh-huh…sure this issue will make it out on time. Sure. With issue 3 having hit a delay (From what I hear McFarlane and Silvestri have yet to do anything for it) I’m questioning if this issue will really make it out on time either. Not that I’m surprised mind you but still, hard not to feel saddened.

Now I like the solicit because it sounds like things are getting epic now. Up until now Image United has been very simple but if Kirkman can kick this into overdrive it will be great.

Spawn #202

UGH…why does TMP solicit these issues when they never are going to make it out anytime soon! Come on this is just stupid and annoying. No way we’ll get that many issues by April. I doubt we’ll even get issue #200 by April! Now I have nothing to say about the solicit itself, it sounds all right but that’s it.

Cowboy Ninja Viking TPB

I’ve heard a lot of good things about this series and apparently it was so good it got turned into an ongoing from a mini. Impressive. I’ll definitely give the first collection a read and see how it fares.

Elephantmen vol. 3: Dangerous Liaisons HC

I’ve been interested in the Elephantmen series for the longest time. I heard about it when the ongoing series was first out but I always kind of just would look at it from afar and ponder over if I’d buy it or not. Now I regret not getting on earlier and I’ve been looking for a good jumping on point. I think I’ll start picking up the collection books and go from there.

Jersey Gods vol. 3: Thunder Road TPB

Well this looks awesome-wait…collects…issues 10 and 12? Waitaminute waitaminute! #10 (released earlier this week!) is the conclusion to the arc The Abandoned…so why is it being put in with a different arc? I’m so confused…I hope this is some kind of weird typo or something.

Invincible #72

Conquest is back? And it’s a rematch with Invincible? My heart just stopped for a moment with the pure awesomeness that solicit contains. I am so pumped for this story arc I cannot wait for it. This is going to be epic, the stuff legends are made of! Easily one of my most anticipated story arcs of the year! Oh and did I mention that I love Conquest?

Magdalena #1

With an awesome team like this it’s hard to resist this upcoming series. Still I’m not a big fan of the series and I can’t really afford to add a new ongoing right now so for now I’m going to be passing on this, but it sounds cool.

Angelus #4

Kind of a simple solicit, not much to talk about except for this mini sounds like it will continue to rock.

Pilot Season: Hardcore #1

I love that cover so much, but the story sounds okay at best. I’m not sure if I’ll be picking this up or not but it does look cool at least and I do like the idea. Definitely going to keep my eye on this one.

Witchblade #137

Another guest star, huh, I wonder if Cyber Force will be showing up next. Well I’m not familiar with Necromancer so I don’t have much to say on this issue really. It sounds like a lot of wicked fun though and I’m always up for that!

Brightest Day #0

I officially have no interest in Brightest Day. Sorry folks but you won’t be seeing a review out of this one from me. Nope. Looks like a boring 26 issue waste of your money.

Green Lantern #53

Hope you don’t mind us spoiling Blackest Night for you all! Everyone makes it out just fine, all the Green Lanterns, the New Guardians, everyone is peachy! UGH.

I’ve been debating if I should read Green Lantern after Blackest Night and it’s still up in the air at this point. I’d love to read it for the art alone honestly but I can’t really see any reason to read it outside of that so I probably won’t.

The Flash #1

Similar to Green Lantern I want to read Flash only for the art. I know damn well it’s going to be a gorgeous looking book. But the story from the solicit sounds boring and I can’t say I give a damn at this point.

Detective Comics#864

David Hine is writing Batman, that alone makes me want to read this issue. While I’m confused as to what happened to Greg Rucka I’m still curious about this story, it sounds awesome. But I hope Detective Comics doesn’t fall into a pit of fill-in writers at this point.

Streets of Gotham #11

Okay, seriously how long can you drag out this Zsasz storyline? I just don’t get it, every solicit has been exactly the same! Batman and Robin team up with Abuse to take on Zsasz! Tell me more DC, please! Ugh…other then that I’m looking forward to more Streets of Gotham…

*Note: This was before I read Streets of Gotham #8 and saw that Mike Benson was doing a 2-parter. Not cool, DC. NOT COOL!

Batman Black and White: Arkham Asylum

MUST. HAVE. NOW.

That is just awesome in 10 ways from Sunday. My only real complaint is why is this a Black and White statue? I would have worked better in color but I still love it so I must have it!

Siege #4

This is one of those instances where a solicit pisses me off. This is the most lazy goddamn solicit I’ve seen in a long time. “Everything changes, holy shit it’s epic, OMG!” god I despise these solicits. If anything this makes me unexcited for Siege #4 and I bet anything we’ll get a stupid cliff-hanger ending that will make me need to buy 20 other goddamn books.

Mighty Avengers #36

Already said my thoughts on the Avengers cancellation, but I wanted to mention the only Avengers book I’m reading that I am really hopeful gets a reboot. Slott is really hitting his stride with this book and while it’s poetic for it to go out with one of the biggest Avengers villains, I really hope it gets a reboot.

Now it also sounds like Slott is having to cram all of his other things into this like Pym Space as well as a marriage that I’m sure he would have normally waited a long time to get into it all but instead has to end it right here which is frustrating. I hope he can make it work.

Thor #609

Okay, this sounds absolutely awesome. I am considering picking up this issue just for this fight with Clor, sounds epic as all hell! Can’t wait to see how this one plays out.

Siege: Young Avengers

Not cool, Marvel! Not cool! You can’t announce a Young Avengers one-shot, getting my hopes up, and then not tell us who the team is or teasing what happens in the solicit. That’s just wrong! My heart is crushed now…I hope you’re happy!

Deadpool Corps #1

Rob Liefeld drawing Deadpool, joy to the world for everyone but me. Now I guess this is an ongoing series now since it doesn’t say anything about being a one-shot…awe damn, a 4^th Deadpool ongoing? I sure hope not…

Ultimate Comics Spider-man #9

Oh hell yes I am very excited for this issue! The return of Lafuente as well as Spider-woman, it doesn’t get much better then this! Now I am hoping Bendis follows up on Johnny having a crush on Spider-woman in this issue because that is one of the most twisted and hilarious things he’s done in a while. Can’t wait to pick this one up for sure.

Avengers: The Origin #1

A great creative team and this looks to be an interesting mini. Now I’m not sure it’s all that necessary, everyone knows the origin easy enough but I guess it could make some cool moments for Avengers fans. Maybe I’ll pick up the collection if I hear good things.

Marvel Zombies 5 #1 and #2

I officially despise the Marvel Zombies. Even with Fred Van Lente on writing the series is just dead by now and there’s no praying for a resurrection. Even with Machine Man kicking ass in this mini I don’t give a damn. I’m avoiding this one like the plague.

World War Hulks #1

They actually did it. Marvel actually made a comic title so lazy and idiotic it makes me facepalm so hard I broke my nose. I mean…World War Hulk is an okay title, not great but decent…but to lazily just add an S at the end is pathetic. As for the comic itself? It sounds like shit and I hope it burns upon being printed.

Deadpool and Cable #25

Going, going…aaaaand gone. My sanity has just shattered into a million pieces and I’m ready to beat my head into the wall until there is nothing left. Seriously, Marvel? Deadpool isn’t in enough comics? We needed to put him into ANOTHER? ANOTHER?! They even bump Cable’s name back behind Deadpool’s, when it’s Cable’s ongoing! That’s just total bullshit.

Nemesis #2

I’ve been debating on collection waiting this or not, but it sounds too good to pass up so I’ll be adding it to the pull list real soon. Or at least I think I will. Knowing me I’ll be debating getting this or not until the day before issue #1 hits the stands. But it sounds awesome so I’m hopefully going to pick it up.

Infinity Gauntlet Premier HC

Whoa, I did not see this one coming. I’ve heard a lot of great praise for this storyline and I’ve been wanting to see what all the fuss is about. I’ll definitely be picking this up to see as I’m really excited to check this story out.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii Review

My first game system was a Gameboy, and the first game I played on it was the widely popular Super Mario Land. Since then I’ve had a great history with the plumber but I’ll admit I’ve sort of lost interest in his more recent games.

Nintendo set out to reclaim the lost nostalgia that fans had for the classic series with New Super Mario Bros. on the DS and now they are trying to work that magic again for Mario’s first 2D platforming game on a console since Super Mario World. With that in mind it’s hard not to have some high expectations for Nintendo’s latest Mario hit.

So will this game be an instant classic or get lost in the nostalgia? Let’s find out!

All right lets start with my first nitpick of the game. The title. “New Super Mario Bros. Wii” just sounds like a mouthful. Why not Super Mario Bros. 4? It is the spiritual successor to the old 2D games so I can’t see why they wouldn’t just go with the obvious title. Unless Nintendo is planning on making more games like this, I can’t see why they went with such weird title.

Now that I have that little complaint out of the way, let’s talk about the story. Or uh…I guess what I can consider a story. So big shocker, Peach gets kidnapped (I know, I didn’t see it coming either!) and you’ve got to rescue her. Now while the story is nearly non-existent I would like to comment on the ending.

The ending is surprisingly nice and well done. Sure it’s simple but it carries all the charm the Mario franchise has had all these years. It’s sweet, fun and hilarious all at once making for a great way to end the game. So good work on one end there Nintendo.

Now when I mention the story I should also mention the characters. It was great seeing the Koopalings after all these years. I honestly thought they where lone gone to never show up again but seeing them here was great and I loved seeing them all again. I have a long history with these troublesome kids so seeing them again just was a real treat and I hope they show up again. Also seeing them alongside their little brother Bowser Jr. was also great.

I did appreciate how Nintendo gave the Koopalings and Bowser Jr. new battle designs rather then just going with the same designs they’ve had in prior games. Each Koopaling battle feels different from the last (well, most of them at least, not all I admit) and is a fun, even though easy, fight.

Now about the 2 forgettable 2 Toads that accompany the Mario Bros. if you’re playing with all 4 players, I’ll admit I wish Nintendo hadn’t been so generic with this. While I know there weren’t many other characters that would work as well, it just seems so lazy to go with 2 random Toads.

Now for the look of this game, Nintendo did a great job. While most of the time it’s hard to notice the detail since Mario is so small compared to other games but when you get a real good look at the design, the style and the graphics it really is great stuff and the colorfulness that’s so popular with the franchise shines beautifully here making for a great looking experience.

Now the music is another solid part of Mario Bros. Wii. While the music itself never gets amazing, some fun remixes of classic tunes and one hell of an epic final boss fight song all make for a great listening experience as well.

Now I wanted to get all of that out of the way first since I don’t have too much to say on those parts of the game. Their all solid and do a good job of doing what they should. Now we can get to the meat of the game, the gameplay.

Now getting the basics of gameplay out of the way I of course have to mention the set up. It’s classic Mario, you run right and jump. Not too much to really say on this, it’s solid Mario platforming and Nintendo gets it right. Especially with the holding the Wii-mote sideways use which feels as classic as ever.

Nintendo does a solid job of implementing the motion control into the game. It’s only for specific parts of a level, like controlling a search light as you travel on a floating boat, or leaning a platform left or right. Also it comes into play but giving Marvel and extra spin move in the air, also activating the Copter Mario. So overall Nintendo did a great job making this a game that implements the Wii controls nicely.

Supposedly Nintendo was going for Contra hard difficulty with this game. A funny goal but not one they came close to achieving. This game is indeed a solid challenge but as far as difficulty it’s anything but unbeatable. But I’ll admit compared to the usual breeze easy games we’ve gotten from Nintendo in the past the harder difficulty was very welcome as I love a good challenge.

Now as for the difficulty for other players, I’ll admit right now if you’ve never played Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario World you’re going to get your ass kicked in some places. Nintendo definitely made a game for the hardcore fans that can handle this kind of difficulty. Even I died a lot and found myself repeating levels again and again.

For those unlike me and my friends who can’t jump 3 turtle shells and then use a fire flower to precisely hit a piranha plant before I land on the pipe they gave the Newbies a Super Guide. Now I didn’t even get the Super Guide available until the final level so I can’t speak for all levels but from what I’ve seen after trying it out, it’s a great idea.

You can take over at any time during the level to finish it as Luigi which is really cool. Only real downside to it is that Luigi moves at a snails pace so if you, like me, love to blaze through these levels then you’re going to end up sitting around for an annoying amount of time.

Now I should mention the 4 player co-op since it’s something the game is heralded for. I’ve played it with a few friends and while it is fun to get to play Mario with all my friends at once, at the same time it adds an extra layer of difficulty. This can either be from your friends being jerks or accidentally jumping around on each other.

Still the co-op is a lot of fun and of course my biggest complaint there is that Nintendo isn’t making this game online. That is total bullshit and I find that unacceptable. This game would be so much more fun if I could get online and play with my friends in an all out 4 player match. Nintendo really missed the ball on that one.

Though now we get into some of the flaws of this game. Its biggest flaw is also a part of its strength and that’s it simple Mario fun. While as a Mario game, this is one of the best out there now. Even going so far as to surpass the original game I think. Though as a game in general they could have done so much more with it. It stops at good when it could have easily hit greatness.

My first point is how they go with the generic 8 worlds, Mushroom Kingdom, Desert, Ice World, etc. It’s the same damn thing we got from prior games and it’s annoying to see Nintendo so blatantly copying past worlds. Nintendo can do better then this and there’s no excuse for such boring and stupid recycling.

My biggest complaint is how this game really does try at times. There are some levels that feel incredibly inspired, unique and interesting and I loved them. Levels where you jump from floating globes of water and jump along the backs of flying manta rays. These levels are exciting and incredibly fun, but sadly they are too far and few throughout the game.

It almost feels like this game had 2 developers. One was a young excited new developer who wanted to really give the Mario franchise some exciting twists, the other was a bored old guy who’s been there for 20 years and knows how to program a simple Mario game with his hands tied behind his back and he developed 80% of the levels.

In all honesty there’s nothing wrong with the levels, their all decent to fun but they feel too familiar. I’ve played these levels before and I know this terrain all too well. It honestly feels like half the time they weren’t trying to do anything new they where just eager to pump out more levels.

To be fair you can skip a few of the levels on your adventure through the map which is nice if you, like me, are in a hurry to get to the last castle. I beat the game at first without beating all the levels, then went back and beat the ones I skipped and it’s really cool that I can do that since it rings true to another beloved Mario Game, SMB3.

But again most of the levels are just so average and decent when they could have been exciting and new and much more fun where I feel like Nintendo just didn’t want to give us a fully new experience which is sad seeing what they could have done with the more exciting levels if they’d tried harder on the average levels.

Another thing about the difficulty is it’s all over the place. A good example of that is world 8.  The first level is pretty intense and you’ve got to be moving constantly but then the second level is really easy so it’s jarring for the player to have one level so hard then one level so easy.

A big gripe I have with this game is Yoshi. Now I was really excited that this game had it where you could ride Yoshi. That was my favorite part of Super Mario World, saving him and taking him with me through all the fun levels was excellent and I loved every minute of it.

So imagine my excitement when I see Yoshi on the cover, very prominent, hinted at being a key part of the game…then he’s in like 10 or so levels of an 80 level game. I see Yoshi on the cover, I want my goddamn Yoshi! Even worse, he can’t come with you after you beat the stage. That I don’t get at all, what the hell? Was Nintendo afraid he’d break the game by making it easier? Newsflash, the Copter Shroom already does that.

No it was total bullshit that Yoshi got the shaft like this. My favorite Mario character and he barely gets a cameo in this game. No excuses, Nintendo. Don’t put a character on the cover and make him look like a big deal when he’s hardly there.

Now for the bosses. All the bosses are the Koopalings, along with Bowser Jr., Kamik and Bowser himself at the end. Each Koopaling fights you twice per world and I enjoyed simply seeing them, though the fights on the other hand weren’t so great. Most of them where pathetically easy, by World 6 I expected a real challenge but he was the easiest of them all!

Only 2 of the Koopalings are ever a challenge, Iggy and Ludwig Von Koopa. Iggy is a challenge because of his pet Chain Chomp chasing you everywhere as you desperately try to jump on Iggy without getting eaten, and Ludwig Von Koopa is simply hard because you have to time when you hit him. Other then that the bosses are all cakewalks.

I did love the 3 Bowser Jr. Boss battles, even if they where easy like the rest of them. They where the most unique and memorable fights (next to the final boss that is) as they involve you using a Koopa-Copter, hitting Bowser Jr. with his own bombs and it’s just really fun and I wish we’d gotten more of them.

While I’m on Bowser Jr. I should mention the airship stages you fight him in. While this only happens 2 times, they are all incredibly fun and really bring back the nostalgia of Super Mario Bros. 3 with how epic it really is. I loved it.

Now the final boss was just…amazing. I honestly don’t want to spoil it, it was so good. All I can say is it is easily one of the most memorable final boss fights in Mario history and it blew me away at how great it was.

I want to mention the map part of the game. Straight out of Super Mario Bros. 3 the map stage is interactive as well with the game. From you going to houses to get 1-ups or more power ups it’s great. Also though you can run into enemies on the map and you have to fight them which was just great since there is an awesome incentive to do so which makes it even more fun.

The map is more like SMB3 then Super Mari World which I think was a good choice by Nintendo. It’s fun, interactive and does more then just serve as the hub to pick what level to do which is great.

I did love the mini-games for power ups and one-ups. Really fun and creative things that again feel like a call back to SMB3. Nintendo made collecting power ups fun which isn’t as easy as you’d think.

Now for something that’s as popular in Mario as the plumber himself, the power ups. We get 3 new power ups but I’ll be honest, I only like 1.

The Penguin suit is okay for the ice world but everywhere else it feels out of place and stupid. While I get what they where going with, the Raccoon leaf would have been a thousand times better.

The Ice flower was a neat power up but because it can’t kill enemies, you have to throw them; it can get a little hectic trying to throw ice blocks when in a heated situation so it’s just okay.

I love the Copter Shroom, it’s just so awesome. While I’ll admit it makes everything a lot easier I still love it because it’s just so helpful and so much fun to use. If Nintendo keeps anything from this game, I hope it’s the Copter Shroom because it’s easily the best of the bunch.

Really I think Nintendo missed a huge chance with this game though in the power ups department. For one they didn’t bring back the blue shell from New Super Mario Bros. DS which was easily my favorite part of that game. But even more so why not bring in all the power ups? Yeah! Mega Mushroom, Raccoon Ears, Tanooki suit, all of them!

I mean it’s not like there wasn’t space for it. It’s a 2D Wii game for crying out loud. No way couldn’t they have added them. If they had then this game would have been much better.

Now before I wrap this up I need to mention a key part of this game and that’s the nostalgia to it. Lots of games have some nostalgia based to them, Sonic, Resident Evil, Street Fighter are all good examples. But Nostalgia can be a good thing or a bad thing.

When comparing this to another nostalgic game, no better game comes to mind then my favorite game of 2008, Megaman 9. Megaman 9 was both a celebration of the Megaman franchise and all it’s done before but at the same time was still a fun unique game that was distinguishable from prior games.

Whereas New Super Mario Bros. Wii is a celebration of all that once made the classic 2D Mario games great at the same time it is lacking in feeling totally distinguishable from it’s older brothers. In the end it’s trying so hard to remind me of SMB3 that it sort of loses it’s own identity in doing so.

I could play Megaman 2 and 3 and then play 9 and feel like I had 3 separate and enjoyable experiences. But I could play SMB3, Super Mario World and NSMBW and feel like I got a very similar experience with all 3 that weren’t all that easy to tell apart. NSMBW is trying so hard to be like it’s big brothers that it forgets it’s a new game and needs to do more to define itself for me and make it more memorable.

While there are a few levels and moments here and there at the same time I could just as easily put in SMB3 into my NES and have the exact same experience, minus the Yoshi. But he’s hardly there anyway. Nintendo made a great Mario game but in the run of games in general we’ve been here before and it was better back then since it was more interesting and original back then.

So while for a long time fan like myself I did love feeling the nostalgia of fighting Kamik again and stomping on the Koopalings I still think that it’s not trying hard enough to do it’s own thing. Had Nintendo put in that extra layer of more exciting new level design and more interesting new worlds I think this game would have been much better.

So time for my closing comments.

Longtime fans of Mario will find a familiar but fun game here that is up there with some of the best in the franchise. It’s got a fun difficulty, some great levels here and there and is all around a solid fun experience. If the developers had gone that extra mile it could be one of the best games out on the shelves right now, but they settled with just good and the product suffers for it. Definitely a solid fun experience that anyone with a Wii should get.

Score: 7.5 out of 10 

The Week Begins - January 22nd 2009

After a week of no comics I’m back and more Andrenn then ever. Lets get to this week of comics.

Jersey Gods #10

Written: Glen Brunswick

Art: Dan McDaid

Despite a one month delay I’m excited as always for more Jersey Gods greatness. Always one of the best titles out there I can’t wait to check the epic finale to The Abandoned and see how it plays out. My bet is on this being the most epic issue of the young series so far. Can’t wait to pick it up and see how it all plays out, definitely an easy pick for my most anticipated this week.

Batman: Streets of Gotham #8

Written: Paul Dini

Art: Dustin Nguyen

This story arc of Zasz and his evil reign over the abandoned children of Gotham seems like it may be running on for a little too long. But it’s by one of the best Batman writers of all time, Paul Dini so I’ll put my trust in him to still kick plenty of ass. As for the story in general I’m excited to read it, and I absolutely love that cover by Nguyen. Another highly anticipated read this week.

Mighty Avengers #33

Written: Dan Slott

Art: Koi Pham

Another anticipated read for me this week is the conclusion to this fun 2 part story. Slott’s giving us a fun Super Hero Team Up with this issue and it looks to be a lot of fun. I’m finally having a great time with this series and am excited to see more as well as the future issues as Mighty Avengers is really hitting it’s stride…damn shame it’s being canceled. I’ll have to enjoy what’s left of it.

Green Lantern Corps #44

Written: Peter Tomasi

Art: Patrick Gleason

Really tempted to pick up this issue, like I was the last issue last month. With Kyle’s death and resurrection (insert comic resurrection joke here) I’m really tempted to be reading GLC. But with a tight wallet it’s on hold for now, but hey, maybe something will change when I reach the shop this week.

New Age News: Capullo to Haunt, Avengers Cancelled, Birds of Prey Returns and Video Games!

Since early last week there have been a few announcements I didn’t foresee being announced. Otherwise I wouldn’t be doing another New Age News so soon. Trust me. Now sadly for all you JLI fans I don’t have anything to say on the Generation Lost bi-weekly or really much else from DC with the exception of Birds of Prey. This will be a somewhat light edition but I haven’t been able to write much all weekend thanks to hurting my wrist so I’m just glad to be writing something at all! Now lets get to the news.

Capullo the Official Haunt Artist

Birds of Prey Reboot

Avengers Cancelled

Video Game News

Greg Capullo is Haunt’s new Artist

This one blew me away when I read it this morning. I honestly didn’t believe it when I saw it, but I read it right, Greg Capullo is the official artist of Haunt as of issue #6. Awe damn. Seems Ottley was getting a little torn between both books and when he knew he had to choose one he chose Invincible, a smart choice I figure.

So then Capullo was given an alternative as well, return to Spawn or draw Haunt. To be honest I loved Capullo’s run on Spawn but I can totally support why he’s not drawing the comic that helped make him famous. He drew Spawn longer then anyone else has I believe, and he turned in amazing work, but even legends like Kirby an Romita Sr. moved on from the books that made them famous.

So Greg Capullo drawing Haunt is excellent news for me. Now mind you I’ve loved Ottley’s work as of recently, he’s really grown to the book and he fits it beautifully so seeing him leave is sad. Hopefully he’ll still do a random one-shot every once in a blue moon and turn in some covers because his art works well with the series.

Still he left on his own decision which I totally respect. Not to mention I’d hate to see him leave Invincible even though I’ve enjoyed his work so far on Haunt. So at least I’ll still be getting my Ottley greatness, even if not twice a month.

All that and Greg Capullo is drawing a monthly again! YES! Capullo has done a random comic here and there, covers for Spawn and now layouts for Haunt but as far as a monthly gig he hasn’t had that in years. Seeing him drawing the book he’s helped make popular with his strong lay out designs is excellent.

I love Capullo’s art so seeing him on a monthly basis is great. Exactly what I love and I’m more then certain he’ll excel on Haunt. He’s already done a couple of great covers so seeing him tackle the interiors and pencils will be excellent, I can’t wait to see him on a monthly basis again after all these years.

So yeah I’ve been loving Haunt and this announcement just furthers my excitement for the series. Kirkman’s excellent and fun writing along with Capullo’s great pencils are sure to make a great comic each month and while I’ll miss Ottley the sheer fact that I’ll be seeing Capullo every month just fills me with so much joy.

Birds of Prey Returns

Silly DC, thinking you could keep a good team down. Now in all honesty I never read the last series of BoP. I heard good and bad things about it. Most of the good I heard was from Gail Simone’s writing so I figure that’s a good sign for this series since she’s the announced writer.

Then there’s Ed Benes on art…I just…I don’t know to be honest. I equate him to the typical bland DC artist. The style DC so boringly sticks with and never tries to change with new and exciting artists. He’s everything I don’t like about DC art that was left over for the 90’s. But at the same time I cant’ deny that as far as artists are concerned he can turn in good work, even if it’s not to my tastes.

Still I think I may check this out. It’s written by one of DC’s best writers and it stars some of their best characters in Gotham. Also seeing Black Canary there on a regular basis is really cool as well as seeing Oracle and Huntress along with her should be a lot of fun.

Now as for the shaded in characters my guess is that the bat-shaped girl is either Cassandra Cain (would be nice if DC didn’t pretend she no longer exists) or maybe Stephanie, but I don’t know why the hell they’d black her out when everyone knows she’s Batgirl.

Still this is a really cool reboot and when this new volume debuts, if I can afford it, I’d love to check it out.

Avengers Cancelled

All Right Marvel, I concede that I did not see this one coming. I expected that the main Avengers title would return with either a new #1 or renumbering, and I knew that Dark Avengers was doomed by issue #1 but I concede that I did not see you canceling all 4 titles. Touché, you win this one.

Now if there isn’t going to be a Mighty Avengers reboot, then I’ll be pissed. It seems Dan Slott has just really started hitting his stride with it. It’s taken some time but Slott really has engrossed me in Mighty Avengers and for Marvel just to cancel it and with the possibility of them not giving Slott his Avengers still really bugs the hell out of me.

I can understand why they made Dark Avengers an ongoing just for the Dark Reign Status Quo, but Mighty Avengers is the Avengers book fans have been clamoring for as it’s fun super heroic so to see it end and get no reboot would really be a jackass move on Marvel’s part.

I do sort of wish Initiative wasn’t getting canceled. Even though I stopped reading it long ago I still have a place in my heart for that series so seeing it get canceled is sad.

New Avengers getting canceled honestly shocked me. I never thought Marvel would even consider canceling New Avengers, easily their most popular of all the Avengers titles. Hopefully Marvel doesn’t shoot themselves in the foot with this one.

Now there’s also the idea of who could write the latest Avengers ongoing that everyone speculates will happen. My best guess is that it will just be more Bendis only with the core 3 heroes, Cap, Thor and Iron Man in an Avengers ongoing and hopefully leaving Slott to do his own thing with his original team still. That’s what I hope for.

Kevin brought up Ed Brubaker and I think that one could work but at the same time Brubaker’s been a pretty busy guy and I don’t think he’s ever handled the full roster of Avengers yet. Still he’s a great writer so maybe he could do it.

Speaking of Avengers, I hope that once Heinberg and Cheung wrap up their run of the Young Avengers that we’ll finally get a damn ongoing. My writer choice is Paul Cornell with art by none other then Mark Brooks. That to me is my Young Avengers dream team, make it happen Marvel!

In the end this is a pretty big move from Marvel and I’m interested to see where it all goes in 2010.

Zero Collection, Sonic, Megaman 10

Just some random Video Game News I wanted to quickly mention my glee over. Sorry for no links, but with multiple announcements it’s better just to mention the news this time around.

First my most anticipated announcement being a Megaman Zero Collection coming in April to Japan on the DS. I absolutely loved the Megaman Zero series, easily some of the best games out there on the GBA so seeing them all together in one DS cartridge has me super excited.

It’s also funny since just the other day I was figuring I should track down 1 and 3. I have 2 and 4 and I’ve played 1 and 3 but never owned them. Now Capcom is giving us a real treat with this collection. Anyone who missed this and has a DS owes it to themselves to get 4 of the best GBA games of all time in one place…assuming it comes to America that is. Makes it happen, Capcom! Or you’ll crush my heart…

Then there’s the announcement that Sonic is the only character in his upcoming 2D side scrolling HD adventure, Project Needlemouse (Mr. Needlemouse being Sonic’s original name from creator Yuji Naka…but I’m a nerd so I remember that crap) which is easily another highly anticipated game of 2010 for me.

Now I’ve come to like a lot of the characters in the Sonic cast, Tails, Shadow, hell even Big the Cat has a place in my heart. So seeing them all get ignored like this is a little sad but at the same time I’m just excited for a console 2D sonic game so as long as it’s the blue dude with ‘tude and no one else that’s just fine with me. Can’t wait to hear more on this game.

Then finally there was the reveal of the Robot Masters from Megaman 10. Now most of them turned out pretty good, even Pumpman (the name irks me but whatever) and especially Sheepman. The only one I don’t like is Strike Man. I expected something odd, but…a baseball? I had a hard time accepting Dustman as it is, but a baseball, that’s just stupid.

Still I’m excited as all hell for this game especially in the Robot Masters department, they all look really cool and it’s going to be exciting seeing them and what they do. Can’t wait to see more for this game.

So ends the latest New Age News. It’s been nice writing again but my wrist is still acting up so I’m not sure if I’ll be writing my usual long reviews for a little while. Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day, everyone!