Each week, Marvel is kind enough to provide us with a pile of comics for early preview and review. Every Friday we bring you previews of a few select comics from what Marvel sends us. Enjoy this weeks Marvel previews!

Cable #7 Bishop travels back to the present in search of information that will help him track down Cable and the mutant baby, only, he runs into a little road block known as X-Force! Cyclops wants him alive, but Bishop just might have one more trick up his sleeve…

Civil War: House of M #2 The chronicle of Magneto’s rise to power continues in Civil War: House of M #2. Along with others who have joined his ranks, Charles Xavier has aided in Magneto’s cause! Will their differences make them enemies as it did in our universe, or will it form an unstoppable alliance?

Punisher War Journal #24 With the earth’s mightiest heroes occupied by Secret Invasion Rampage decides it’s time to make his move. He’s seeking revenge on Tony Stark, S.H.E.I.L.D., and anyone else who has ever crossed him… Including Frank Castle.

Sub Mariner: The Depths #2 Don’t miss the latest offering from the Marvel Knights line! As a legendary sea explorer goes in search of a missing expedition in the Marianes Trench he finds someone… something that has been waiting for him: The vengeful Namor!

Venom: Dark Origin #3 “Amid the chaos, there comes a costume!” Eddie continues to free fall to his own darkness and Spider-Man shows up with a new, mysterious black costume from the Secret Wars! Check out this mini-series I have been enjoying and check back on Sunday for a review of the latest installment!

And that wraps up this weeks Marvel previews! Of course, all titles listed here will be hitting the shelves at your local comic shop on Wednesday! Enjoy!

Marvel Comics has given us a preview of Stephen Colbert’s Cameo in Amazing Spider-Man #573!

Marvel was kind enough to put all the info about the issue together in this nice little package:

Marvel is proud to reveal that Spider-Man and acclaimed television personality Stephen Colbert will join forces in an all new eight-page story featured in the extra-sized Amazing Spider-Man #573! Acclaimed writer Mark Waid and fan favorite artist Patrick Olliffe present Stephen Colbert, a candidate for the US Presidency in the Marvel Universe, teaming up with Marvel’s most iconic crime fighter. What could bring these two together? And what will it mean for both their futures? This issue also features a special Colbert variant by Marvel EiC and industry superstar Joe Quesada! Plus, don’t miss the stunning conclusion to the sold out “New Ways To Die” from the dream team of Dan Slott & John Romita Jr!

And I have to say, “New Ways To Die” has been really, really cool.  I would advise checking this out, for sure.

Set for release on September 30th from the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics, The Alcoholic chronicles Jonathan Ames’ semi-autobiographical descent into writing and alcoholism with a backdrop of his family life, relationships and various misadventures.

Illustrated by Dean Haspiel (who illustrated Michael Chabon’s Escapist), The Alcoholic is alternately poignant and hilarious, walking the reader through the life of the fictional version of Ames (named aptly “Jonathan A.”). Reminiscent of Craig Thompson’s Blankets in quality, tone, look and color (except the hero is struggling through sex, drugs and alcoholism instead of the coming of age conflicts of reality versus religion), this graphic novel is a must read for any fan of the growing literary wing of comic books.

The Alcoholic starts his drunken stupor to “feel cool” and lose the “nerd part” of himself, but continues his plunge into drugs and alcohol because it seems that that’s simply what writers do. Jonathan A. goes through a Hemingway stage where he gets into brawls, travels the road during his Kerouac phase, all the while descending further and further into despair. But as we watch this decline, we sympathize because Ames and Haspiel make it seem so reasonable and natural that we simply can’t help it.

The book grabbed me on a personal level from it’s disorienting opening (which is previewed here on the MTV blog) and involved me so much into the life of Jonathan A., that I almost felt that I was there, even when I didn’t want to be.

The graphic novel boils to a point after the events of September 11, 2001 and Jonathan A., looking for answers on the streets of New York, runs into Bill Clinton who offers him sage-like advice in the wake of the tragedy. After picking up the pieces of the lives of himself and those around him affected by the attacks, he runs into Monica Lewinsky at a book reading. It’s fine at first, but quickly turns awkward and hilarious, but the great thing about this book is that it can switch emotional gears on a dime. Right before these pages you’re almost ready to cry and then Ames hits you with this scene that DC Comics and Vertigo have graciously given The Huffington Post an exclusive look at:

When I saw that, I knew I had to share it with the readers of Huffington Post. It was funny and more than a little sad all at the same time.

Long story short, this is a graphic novel of a literary caliber and tells a very sad, sweet story of a writer finding himself. Whether any of this stuff actually happened or not, it’s an engaging ride and represents the future of a significant portion of the medium.

(This originally appeared here at The Huffington Post)

Each week, Marvel is kind enough to provide us with a pile of comics for early preview and review. Every Friday we bring you previews of a few select comics from what Marvel sends us (except when this robot gets a nasty virus that shuts him down for 48 hours). Enjoy this weeks Marvel previews!

Captain America #42 The epic “Death of Captain America” saga comes to it’s dramatic conclusion as the New Captain America, Sharon Carter, The Falcon, and Black Widow have their final showdown with the Red Skull!

Daredevil #111 This is it, Lady Bullseye is finally here! But who is she? What does she want with Matt? Where did she come from? Marvel is saying this is a GREAT jumping on point for anyone wanting to get back in to Daredevil, and trust me, you do. Watch for a review right here on Sunday!

Deadpool #2 You all need to be reading the Merc with a Mouth’s new ongoing series! He’s crazier and more bad ass than ever and he might just be the only man able to save all of humankind from Secret Invasion… but what, exactly, does his plan entail?

New Avengers #45 Supposedly the Skrulls have been infiltrating the Marvel U for years, so wouldn’t that mean they were around for the infamous House of M? Find out what part the Skrulls played in this important piece of Marvel history!

That’s it for Marvel Previews this week! Be sure to check back right here on BSR! for some kick ass reviews tomorrow!

Greetings all! My apologies but there will be no Marvel Preview this week. Due to a lack of selection and a virus getting into my main systems leading to me having to recharge my power cells for longer than usual I will be unable to get them up this week.

However, fear not readers! I am sure we will have some good REVIEWS (including DD #111) up for you this Sunday, so be sure to check back then!

Arse-Bot out!

UPDATE: It appears we have our Marvel titles in at last! I will try to get some previews up for you all by tomorrow!

Also, it has been brought to my attention that apparently that tool Ryan Seacrest uses a similar sign-off as me (or, I guess I inadvertently used his). While I am still wondering how some of my fellow bots knew this bit of information, I will cease to use this “sign-off” none-the-less.

We’ve all seen movies like The Departed where a good guy has to go undercover and the world no longer appears as black and white as it once did. Its a great idea and has been used in many books and movies but, what happens when a villian has to go into witness protection and is stuck trying to be good day after day after day? Can you really live a normal life after years of knowing that rules don’t apply? What happens when two guys that have worked on some awesome comics and won all kinds of awards get together and try to think of something different? You get Icognito.

“Incognito is a project that I’ve been waiting to do for some time now,” said Brubaker. “Where Sean and I previously explored a good guy pretending to be bad and losing sight of the difference, Incognito is the flipside.  The story of a bad guy forced to be good, and what happens when he starts to go stir-crazy from the monotony of normal life.  It’s a dark look at good and evil and pulp and noir all in one hard-hitting package.”

If you don’t think this sounds fucking awesome, Marvel has been so kind as to give us a little preview of the awesomeness to come.

Yeah its awesome, but we are going to have to wait till December to read it.

For all you Enders Game loving bots out there, Marvel has released a preview of Pasqual Ferry’s Symbol Variant Cover for the Enders Game: Battle School #1 slated for release in October.

Mighty Avengers #18
Writer – Brian Michael Bendis
Artist – Stefano Casseli

Over the course of Marvel’s Secret Invasion storyline we’ve been introduced to Nick Fury’s team of young commando recruits, dubbed the Secret Warriors, a group who’s creation was necessitated by Fury not knowing whom he could trust. When in doubt, train some noobs and you’re guaranteed they’re not Skrulls.

This issue starts with Fury telling his young team (made up of Phobos, Yo-Yo, Druid, Stonewall, Quake, and Hellfire) that their first real mission will be a snatch-and-grab. The target is none other that the current head of S.H.I.E.L.D., Maria Hill. Not the piece of cake that some of the youngsters were hoping for, and the doubt about being able to pull it off is voiced by more that one of the team members, particularly Hellfire, a young “hillbilly” as Fury calls him.

Fury and his training methods are called into question by the team, with Fury being the pissy, war-hardened, ass-kicker that he is telling them that that’s how it is. If you don’t like it you’re welcome to head “back behind the 7-11 counter where you belong.” Nick, always the realist. The mission goes down with a twist or two and we see the team take a step forward in their progression to being full-on superheroes. I did have to pull out a couple other comics, Secret Invasion issues particularly, to figure out that this story takes place before the happenings of the SI mini-series. Good to know going in.

Bendis seems to be regularly doing these one issue stories that tie into the overall Secret Invasion storyline, moving characters and situations forward, while still keeping things nice and tight and confined to one issue. Casseli is an artist I’m not familiar with, but his style fits. His anatomy is good, and his faces are especially expressive. I picked up flashes of J. Scott Campbell at times. A tasty little nugget of a story that fits nicely into the Secret Invasion arc.

You will nearly probably, almost most definitely, think this book kicks ass! –Slugtron

Marvel Apes #2
Writer – Karl Kesel
Artist – Ramon Bachs
Marvel Comics
Release Date: 9/17/2008

All right, if you read the Big Shiny Robot roundtable review of Marvel Apes #1, you remember that the general consensus was this title was quite possibly the biggest turd Marvel has dropped on us since…well, ever. Yep, issue #1 was that bad.

I can’t believe I’m saying it, but issue #2 was actually pretty good.

And not just “the first was so bad that ‘barely better’ is a big improvement” pretty good, but more along the lines of “hey this one threw some curves and hit some beats that I didn’t see coming” kind of good and the “this could actually be fun” kind of good.

I know…holy crap!

One key of course is going along with the totally cheesy premise of D-class simian character Marty Blank (aka the Gibbon) and hottie human scientist Dr. Fiona Fitzhugh ending up in an alternate universe where there are ape versions of the majority of Marvel’s cavalcade of characters. I haven’t forgiven Kesel and Bachs for the first issue when they laid the cheese and ape puns on nice and thick, but they spread it thinner in issue two, and I find I’ve accepted it, and even embraced it a bit.

I know…holy crap!

The first issue established Captain America as the alpha-ape of this alternate universe, and we see more of that in this issue. We start to get a sense that not only is he a tough, in-charge type, but he’s a bit of an ass. He even has a bit of a dark side. We find out that not only is he leading the Ape-vengers, but he secretly leads an ape version of the Invaders with the Torch, Sub-Mariner and Bucky making appearances. We also find out that the X-Men in this universe are rogues. Hunted by the other heroes even. So how do the X-Men apes fit into the story? And why is Cap leading a secret team? I won’t give that away, I’m gonna actually make you buy it to find out. I can already hear a collective “you’re yanking my crank! Is that an actual recommendation!?!?!” And to that I say “roger that.”

I know…holy crap!

Again…a weak first issue, but with this issue I’ve sipped the ape Kool-Aid (fruity banana flavor, natch), and I think I’m along for the ride. Have I gone ape-shit crazy? Maybe so. Maybe so. Let’s see if issue #3 maintains the level of this issue, or dips back to what we had in the first one. If I haven’t been shunned, banished, or declared incompetent, I might even be around to review it too.

Marvel Apes knows when to stop throwing feces at the reader, and when I say “feces” I mean bodily waste excreted from the anus! – Slugtron

Incredible Hercules 121
Writers – Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente
Artist – Clayton Henry

The buddy-pic adventures of Hercules and kid-genius Amadeus Cho continue as the pair look for some island R&R after saving the world over the last few issues. Even a god needs a vacation, right?

The aptly named “Love and War Part 1” has ample doses of both. Hercules and Prince Namor’s cousin Namora seem to be getting along quite well, thank you very much. They’re wrestling, comparing holds and generally moving towards gettin’ it on. Rarrr. Then they get interrupted by a band of Amazons. Don’t think Wonder Woman-type Amazon’s though, these are more angry, militant lesbian, rough and tumble looking Amazons. Short hair? Check. Tattoos? Check. Facial piercings? Check. Guns a-blazing? Check.

We’re getting the whole Greek family tree involved these days with Herucles. Brother Ares shows up, his daughter Hippolyta, and her daughter Artume (who’s leading the Amazons). They also pull in some others like Atlas. It’s a good start for a supporting cast. The Atlanteans add a nice counterbalance to the Greeks, and we even get an appearance from the number one son of Atlantis, Namor the Sub-Mariner.

Pak and Van Lente ably keeps the characters distinctive and individual. Henry has good sense of layout and line. The back and forth between Cho and Hercules is witty and quick. I was a bit surprised to see that Herc is being with less of what I call “Thorspeak.” Not a “thee,” “thy,” or “thou” escapes his mouth in throughout the book.

Overall a good read with a nice balance of humor, action and even some low-level nookie. Good on ya Herc.

If I were down to my last 3 dollars, I would still buy this book! –Slugtron