MARVEL: YOUR UNIVERSE (JUN088064)
Written by MADISON CARTER
Cover by TOM RANEY & SCOTT HANNA & JOHN RAUCH
Price: FREE!
On-Sale—8/27/08

This is what I like about Marvel. Free handbook material and a catch up of everything important that’s gone on in their universe that I need to know to get a better grasp of how awesome Secret Invasion is.

And it’s free. Did I mention that?

Marvel is proud to unveil the cover to Marvel: Your Universe, by fan favorite artist Tom Raney! Featuring a complete look at the major Marvel events of the last five years, as narrated by Watcher, this is your chance to catch up on everything! Is it all connected? What’s next? These answers and more arrive in Marvel: Your Universe!

Plus, Marvel: Your Universe contains preview material from the new Marvel Handbook hardcovers along with never-before-seen handbook material!

And did we mention that this 32 page must-read comic is absolutely free? That’s right True Believers, Marvel: Your Universe is your guide to comics’ most popular universe and absolutely free!

I would certainly get this on your holds now.

(On a sidenote, why the fuck is Howard the Duck on the cover?)

“MARVEL APES is the sensational simian mini-series of the season! It’s four issues of furry fury and feces-flingin’ fun! It’s all your favorite Marvel characters—as you’ve never seen them before! If you only buy one mini-series next October about intelligent, super-powered apes and monkeys – it must be MARVEL APES!”

“In some ways, Marvel Apes is a sprawling epic like Lord of the Rings, and the Gibbon is our Frodo— one small person dwarfed by the overwhelming forces that stand between him and his goal.”

-Karl Kesel, writer, Marvel Apes

I warned you all this was coming, so don’t act shocked when this appears as an “Are You Interested” in your hold at your local comic shop. I was hoping that maybe Marvel would realize just how not awesome this idea is and bail out at the last minute, but looks like they are pretty much invested in this idea and are moving forward with it.

Marvel Apes is a four issue limited-series in which Gibbon visits an alternate “Marvel Apes” universe, where all our favorite superheroes are apes. I would like to take a moment to reiterate how this idea came about: Some jackass yelled out the idea “Hey, you’ve done Marvel Zombies! Why not Marvel Apes?!” at a convention a few years ago and apparently the idea struck such a cord with Ol’ Joe that he’s making it a reality… Because, you know, it’s the next logical step after Marvel Zombies…

Maybe there is someone out there who really liked Planet of the Apes and really likes Marvel comics and this is their wet dream coming to fruition, but for the rest of you out there, I suspect you’ll do the sane thing and pass on this really lame attempt at something “new” and “refreshing”. I’m sure this will be over and done with soon enough and we will get more of what we really want in regards to an alternate-universe-mini-series, Marvel Zombies!

I love you Marvel, I really do, but c’mon…

For more than 50 years, MAD Magazine has been at the forefront of satirizing the most relevant issues and pop culture of the day.  Sometimes, they’re able to bring their hilarious brand of juvenile humor to both at the same time and it’s even better when they are able to infuse them with politics.

DC Comics, the publisher of MAD Magazine, has offered this site an exclusive look at next months issue, where pop culture and politics collide.  According to MAD, the most relevant issue today is Barack Obama, who will grace the cover in classic Alfred E. Neuman style.

This issue, sure to cause a row among the campaigns (except, perhaps McCain’s, MAD Magazine is well after his time), hits stands August 13th.  Readers of this site are privy to an advance look at the cover and a pair of movie posters that sum up the shortcomings of the candidates in the next election.

Without further comment, here they are:

This was originally published as an exclusive for The Huffington Post. You can find the original here.

The wonderful people at Marvel have provided Big Shiny Robot with a 6 page preview of Venom: Dark Origin #1! Check out the first few pages below and watch for a review this Sunday!

“On the unlikely day when an embittered, washed-up journalist met a spurned symbiotic organism from an alien planet, one of Spider-Man’s greatest enemies was born – a force of evil and vengeance like no other in the Marvel Universe – VENOM! But is it as simple as that? Discover the true, twisted roots that gave rise to a lifetime of malevolence for Eddie Brock…AND the symbiote! Writer Zeb Wells (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN) and artist Angel Medina (SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN) shed a little light on one of Marvel’s darkest monsters!”

The Skrull Kill Krew are back in Avengers: The Initiative #16 and Marvel has been kind enough to provide a 3 page preview for this Secret Invasion Tie-In! This issue hits shelves August 27th!

“For months you’ve heard one question over and over again: “Who do you trust?” Well we’ve got your answer right here, Earth-boy: TRUST THE KILL KREW! Yeah, that’s right, the SKRULL KILL KREW are back! And they’re ready to kill, maim, torture, and butcher every mother lovin’ Skrull out there! Also, back at Camp Hammond, ANT-MAN is in a giant world of trouble—the biggest kind of trouble the SECRET INVASION can dish out.” -marvel.com

UPDATED AGAIN: This site has it.

(As does this one, along with the Tron 2 footage as well).

UPDATE: It’s all gone now.  If anybody has a copy of the video, we’ll gladly put it up here.

Let’s see how long this lasts.

This looks interesting, but Jesus, Gambit sucks.

Marvel has provided BSR! a (sexy) preview of Thor #10, and so of course we are sharing it with our kick ass readers! You know the drill, click the thumbs for a larger version and watch for the full review on Monday!

Marvel has released a preview for the X-Men one-shot, Odd Men Out! You can check it out below by clicking the thumbnails below!

The kind folks at Marvel have provided a preview of the forthcoming Ultimate Spider-Man #124! Venom’s still back and a new villain shows up in NYC! Check back to Big Shiny Robot! on Sunday for a review, but until then, check out the first few pages of the latest issue!

Marvel Comics was gracious enough to provide us with a 7 page preview of the landmark 500th issue of Uncanny X-Men.

A review should follow on Sunday.

As always, click the thumbnail to see a larger version.