The Sidekick Report - New Year, New Comics pt. 2

Last week we looked at what DC Comics have up their sleeves for the coming year, so today we'll examine what the fine folks at Marvel have in the works for the start of this new decade. Now they've got a lot of books coming out, but again for the sake of my sanity and yours we'll focus on three titles today.

Marvel will have their work cut out for them this year. 2009 was indeed the year of the 'Blackest Night'. Many have speculated that DC stands to gain even more ground on Marvel this year, unless they come up with something BIG. Marvel has promised that this will indeed be a big year for their characters, and that while 2009 was all about doom and gloom in their books (Dark Reign, Necrosha, etc) 2010 will see the return of "The Heroic Age".

Siege
The all-encompassing event that it seems will deliver the kill-shot to Dark Reign and the beginning of the good times is entitled "Siege". Series writer Brian Michael Bendis calls Siege an event "7 years in the making".
 

Siege #1

Norman Osborne, the who's "Dark Reign" has transformed the Marvel Universe, has decided that it's high-time to invade Asgard, the kingdom of Norse Gods that Thor hails from. In the first issue, he has conspired with the god of mischief Loki to frame the Norse Gods for the deaths of thousands of people at a football stadium. With that incident, Osborne has the authority he needs to invade Asgard.

I was pleased with the first issue; we'll see how the story unfolds from here. It may get difficult to follow as it branches out into almost every other conceivable Marvel title over the next few months. How it will all end is uncertain at this point, but most believe Siege will end with the demise of Norman Osborne, and the reunification of the newly-resurrected Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man, all working together again just like in the good ol' days! You can also expect that Siege will try to build momentum for Thor's character leading up to the release of his live-action movie in 2011.

New Ultimates
In the coming year, Marvel will expand their Ultimate Comics line, with the launch of "New Ultimates" in March, written by Jeph Loeb. It's interesting that Marvel would look to Loeb to write this book, since his last crack at the characters within the book (Ultimates 3) left many disappointed. He is a top notch writing talent though, so this could be a chance for him to stick it to all the naysayers. Landing Frank Cho as the series artist won't hurt the book's chances either!

Nemesis
The Marvel title that I am really looking forward to, despite not hearing too much about it, is called "Nemesis", also due out in March. It's written by Mark Millar, and Steve McNiven is handling the art. Here's the solicitation provided by Marvel:

"CIVIL WAR? Nothing. KICK-ASS? A warm-up. What if the smartest, toughest costumed bad ass in the world was totally evil? Meet Nemesis. He's systematically been destroying the lives of every police chief in Asia, and he's now set his sights on Washington, DC. Between you and me, the police don't have a chance. Do not miss the book that EVERYONE will be talking about by the creative team that made CIVIL WAR the biggest book of the decade."

See, that's the problem with wearing white...

Wow. It sounds like this character has a lot of potential, but is Marvel getting in way over their heads by saying Civil War and Kick-Ass pale in comparison to this story? Time will tell, and hopefully Millar and McNiven can back those claims up.

So that's a very brief look at some of the Marvel titles coming our way in 2010. Talk to your local comic shop to see what else they would recommend, or what they are personally excited about in the coming year. You may be surprised, intrigued, or horrified by their answer. Especially if what they are looking forward to is "finally getting a girlfriend". Silly comic book store worker!

I kid, I kid.

- Kevin

Kevin Hickey and Rob Sinnott are the owners of Stadium Comics in Brampton, Ontario. Check them out on their website at www.sidekickcomics.ca or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/stadiumcomics