Cap starts barking orders and even I'm feeling intimidated.
***Spoilers below***

Journey Into Mystery: "So, Mephisto walks into a bar..."

Is Journey Into Mystery coming out biweekly? Because I feel like I either just read or reviewed an issue. Not that I'm complaining, mind you--just curious. We seem to be gifted with the writing of Mr. Gillen of late and that's not at all a bad thing. Issue 628 offers yet another detour on the heels of #627's flashback.

Here, Mephisto takes some time out at an Earth bar in the middle of all of the Fear Itself goings on to unburden himself of some of his recent observations and troubles. In the process, Gillen takes us on a brief tour of Hell and the many devils that run it as well as what passes for an all-encompassing "heaven"--the Infinite Embassy. In both locations,

Behold The Mighty Trons, Guys

This promo image for the lineup of "The Mighty" is a tease for the final issue of Fear Itself, as members of the Avengers get powered up by hybrid Starktech/Asgardian weapons, and get all swagged out in neon piping. I suspect that like the Serpent's hammers, the weapons will seek out the users, perhaps based on an emotion. Hope, maybe? No, the last thing Wolverine inspires in anyone is hope. But in that case, why doesn't Cap get one? Also, interestingly (to me) by contrast to the servants of the Serpent, the majority of the heroes get bladed weapons. That's kind of a cool mean of differentiation, although I have trouble buying Ms. Marvel cutting someone in two.

Fear Itself Book Six and Journey Into Mystery #628 are available now. Fear Itself Book Seven hits October 19.

Related Posts:
Marvel Tag-Team Review: Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1
Marvel Advance Review: New Avengers Annual #1

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Tags Fear Itself, Fear itself friday, Journey Into Mystery, Kieron Gillen, Marvel Comics, Matt Fraction, Richard Elson, Stuart Immonen

With today's release of Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1, we thought we'd let two of our comics writers duke it out with their takes on the new Spidey, Miles Morales. Did they both like it? One hate it, the other love it? You'll just have to read on to find out.
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Tags Brian Michael Bendis, Marvel Comics, Sara Pichelli, Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man

Hawkeye – a fan favorite character known as much for his wit as his talent with arrows – is making the leap to the big screen next year, but first, writer Jen Van Meter is taking him solo. Specifically, as the lead in a five issue miniseries called Avengers: Solo. To find out more, we chatted with Van Meter about the arrowed Avenger, why he’s going up against the villain formerly known as Paste Pot Pete, and whether she’ll be collaborating with her better half, writer Greg Rucka:

MTV Geek: Just to kick it off, what's the main idea of Avengers Solo?

Jen Van Meter: The pitch title was "Pathfinder," because I can't hear Hawkeye's name without thinking of the J.F. Cooper character, and because I wanted to evoke for myself that sense of a guy in unfamiliar terrain, learning how to move in a new environment.

The main idea is that some very ordinary people -- bank tellers, law students, teachers -- have been caught up in something that is dangerous and truly evil, and Hawkeye has committed himself to helping them, alone. He's not sure that he's the best person for the job, but despite having reasons for not trusting the superhero community, they come to trust him, and he's going to let them down.

Geek: Clearly, Hawkeye is the star here… What draws you to him, as a character?

JVM: I love his combination of rakish, brash bravado and straightforward honesty. His skill set is so much fun, and his sense of adventure makes him a delight to write. He's also kind of a novelty for me because so many of the costumed characters I've written are marked by some real distinction between who they are in and out of costume, so to speak. Read more...

Tags Avengers: Solo, Jen Van Meter, Marvel Comics

The Twitter Giveaway train keeps on rolling with this awesome collection of PDP Marvel clip cases for the iPhone 4! Each case features; "Satin grip coated cases, protects from drops and scratches, full access to all ports, buttons and cameras, slim design, without compromising durability."

The giveaway includes:

- One Marvel Silver Surfer Nosegrab iPhone 4
- One Marvel Hulk Brick iPhone 4
- One Marvel Amazing Spiderman iPhone 4
- One Marvel Magneto Explosion iPhone 4
- One Marvel Wolverine Red Rage iPhone 4
- One Marvel Iron Man Bling iPhone 4
- One Marvel Captain America Shield iPhone 4

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Tags Apple, iPhone, Marvel, PDP, Twitter Giveaway

Casanova Quinn is coming back to break your brain. Delightfully surreal, and way, way smarter than you, Matt Fraction’s scifi espionage opus is back for a third series. I’d say the triple dip’s title – a reference to the Latin word for “greed” – was a clear indication that the author was just doing this for the money, if it wasn’t clear that love is infused into every single panel of this book.

So, what’s Casanova about? I’ve read every issue – some of them twice – and I would be hard pressed to sum it up. Particularly as Fraction, and collaborators Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon, go out of their way to purposely contradict their own plot at every turn, creating an almost ouroboros-type structure to the series. The basic – initial – idea is that Casanova Quinn is the best thief on Earth… Until he’s switched to an alternate dimension, and replaces that world’s best superspy: Casanova Quinn. With me so far?

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Tags Casanova Avaritia, Marvel Comics, Matt Fraction

I’ll say this for the first ever New Avengers Annual: that Gabrielle Dell’Otto can draw like a mofo.

Seriously though, this is a gorgeous looking superhero comic, with some incredibly staged fights, excellent action, and awesome looking pin-ups that Avengers fans are going to desperately want blown up and put on their wall. Add in Ive Svorcina’s colors, and some killer lettering from Joe Caramagna (the “Go. GO. GO!” sequence in particular wouldn’t work without great lettering, for any of you doubting how important a letterer is to the comic book making process), and you’ve got a great, beautiful looking package.

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Tags Marvel Comics, New Avengers

Wanna catch Spidey slinging webs across the boards on the Great White Way? Well MTV Geek has got ya covered with our latest Twitter Giveaway!

One lucky retweeter can nab two tickets to see Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark on Broadway during the month of SEPTEMBER on a WEEKDAY performance.

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Tags broadway, Marvel Comics, Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, Twitter Giveaway

The last day of FanExpo was a little more relaxed than the packed crowds of the day before, but that doesn’t mean Marvel neglected to kick things up a notch. They saved their “Next Big Thing” panel for the last day, and though the crowd might have been slightly sparser, the news was anything but. The panel was once again moderated by Marvel’s Director of Communications Arune Singh, with Editor in Chief Axel Alonso, Senior VP C.B. Cebulski, Associate Editor Sana Amanat, writer Jonathan Hickman, writer Kelly Sue DeConnick, and writer Dennis Hopeless.

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Tags FanExpo Canada, Fantastic Four, FF, Marvel Comics

You’d be forgiven for not knowing what Crossgen’s title Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is, mainly because it was the last published comic from the flailing publisher. Taking a riff on James Bond, the idea was that the title Charlie Kiss was transferred from agent to agent, after the previous Kiss died.

Now, as part of their Crossgen reboot program, Marvel is bringing Charlie Kiss and company back to life, with writer Peter Milligan and artist Roman Rosanas, for a new, four issue mini-series. This time – as announced at Marvel’s Next Big Thing panel at FanExpo – the new agent is Alan McGrath, and he may find that his status as top agent Charlie Kiss will be very short lived. To find out more, we chatted with Milligan, and of course, started off with the obvious question:

MTV Geek: What’s the idea of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang… I know Robert Downey Jr. was great in it, but that’s all I’ve got so far.

Peter Milligan: We’re taking the basic concept of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and then running with it. It’s all the action and glamour – the death and sex and good stuff – of a James Bond style spy caper but with a dark heart and some modern twists. Read more...

Tags Crossgen, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Marvel Comics, Peter Milligan

As Saturday continued its trend of packed panels at FanExpo, Marvel moved their focus from the Ultimate Universe, to the X-Men. With the merry mutants in the middle of a "Schism" that will split their dwindling numbers into two teams, and new titles launching in the next few months (dubbed "X-Men: Regenesis"), it was a perfect time to catch up with the heroes. The panel was moderated by Marvel’s Arune Singh, with Editor in Chief Axel Alonso, Editor Jeanine Schaefer, Senior VP C.B. Cebulski, writer Jason Aaron, and that was it. Mean, and lean, just like The X-Men themselves.

“We’re up to issue four now, and there’s a lot of "Schism," if you’ve been waiting for some Schism,” said Aaron. “This is the biggest, nastiest Cyclops and Wolverine fight of all time. That Xavier and Magneto dynamic is in the past… This is the new dynamic. That all starts in Schism #5.”

Talking about the new Hellfire Club, Aaron said, “I’m just terrified of children, I guess. Obviously if you look at "Schism," children are very much parts of both sides of the battle. Those kids will stick around… They’ll be a lot of them in X-Men books going forward.”

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Tags FanExpo Canada, Marvel Comics, X-Men Regenesis