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Marvel is pleased to present your first look at Alpha Flight #1 (of 8), from New York Times best-selling authors Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente and acclaimed artist Dale Eaglesham! Canada’s original super team is back in action – but can they survive the terror of Fear Itself? With their homeland gripped by fear, Alpha Flight has been named enemies of the state and their country has vowed to hunt them down! Can Guardian, Sasquatch and the rest of the team quell the influence of Fear Itself and restore order to the Great White North? The team faces its most daunting enemy yet – their own government – this June, only in Alpha Flight #1 (of 8)!

ALPHA FLIGHT #1
ALPHA FLIGHT #1 EAGLESHAM VARIANT
Written by GREG PAK & FRED VAN LENTE
Penciled by DALE EAGLESHAM
Cover by PHIL JIMENEZ
Rated T+ …$3.99
On Sale – 08/06/11

As usual, Marvel have something to say about their intellectual property…

Marvel is pleased to present your first look at Fear Itself #3 (of 7), from comics superstars Matt Fraction and Stuart Immonen! As The Worthy’s campaign of mayhem burns worldwide, Sin comes closer than ever at completing the one task her father never could – the complete conquest of the Marvel Universe! With Thor locked away in Asgard, will Captain America and the rest of the Avengers fall to the forces of Fear Itself? And what fate awaits the hammer that fell on Yancy Street? The tide of war runs blood red as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes learn the true price of the Serpent’s war this June, only in Fear Itself #3 (of 7)!

FEAR ITSELF #3 (of 7)
FEAR ITSELF #3 (of 7) IMMONEN VARIANT )
FEAR ITSELF #3 (of 7) CAMUNCOLI VARIANT
Written by MATT FRACTION
Penciled by STUART IMMONEN
Cover by STEVE McNIVEN
Variant Cover by STUART IMMONEN
Variant Cover by GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI
On Sale – 1/06/11

Christo Gage’s lead story begins in the aftermath of the riots that began in Fear Itself #1. Picking up on Speedball as he grapples with the immense guilt he still feels over the Stamford disaster… The one that triggered Civil War. Gage relies heavily on public opinion in the form of snapshot text windows from twitter and internet chat rooms to move the story forward. Though I enjoyed these, it was a bit overly expositional at first and slowed the action down quite a bit. Gage waits until the end of part 1 to make his point, as Speedball is about to be beaten down by an angry crowd in Stamford. So we now know that it’s not just non-powered humans that feel fear and powerlessness, but even superheroes! GOSH! – ED

Milligan’s second story feels like a slight breath of fresh air after the first, just some simple neo-Nazi action to take our minds away from all that fear and loathing! Although this story has no direct tie in to Fear Itself, the mention of the Red Skull near the end perked my ears and could be a possible link to his daughter. Milligan tackles The Home Front’s major theme through Jimmy Woo (move over Mark Lemar, we have the original 50’s throwback!) as a man torn apart, retreating from a world increasingly going wrong.

Chaykin’s third story is a simple one page, voice over led meet and greet with an un-happy J. Jonah Jameson, and I’ll give you 3 guesses as to who he blames for the riots! Finally Jim McCann’s fourth story There’s No Place Like Homeless takes us somewhere we haven’t been yet, to the common man on the streets of Broxton. We see the negative effect of all that has happened in this once sleepy, American town as an old man has to serve coffee to tourists to make ends meet. Apart from an awful pun title I quite enjoyed this segment, the lack of action leaves room for McCann to let his characters open up and we really come to see the state of contemporary Broxton. The story finishes with the tourists stampeding out to watch the gods leaving earth, ignoring an old man’s final heroic stand. If he was a little younger, he might just have headed to an internet chat room and ended up as a snapshot text window in Gage’s story.

The Home Front suffers from the fact that Fear Itself #1 didn’t begin with a wiz bang, but slowly built to a major event. Therefore, all this comic can do is give us a snapshot of the current state of affairs and the general mood of the public; whether that’s people on twitter sharing their views, or an old man serving coffee in a diner. Non-essential reading? Yes… But as Fear Itself gathers pace, some small gems might soon be contained in these pages.

Will Pond.

Marvel says:

Marvel is proud to present your first look at Invincible Iron Man #504, from the Eisner Award-winning team of Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca! Fear Itself has transformed the City of Light into a City of Stone! With chaos erupting worldwide, one of Tony Stark’s oldest, most dangerous enemies unleashes himself on an unsuspecting Paris. But why has this criminal mastermind lured the Armored Avenger half a world away…and what role do both play in the Serpent’s plans for the human race? Peer into the madness of Fear Itself as Marvel’s man of science collides with a monster made of stone this May, only in Invincible Iron Man #504!

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #504 (MAR110618)
Written by MATT FRACTION
Art and Cover by SALVADOR LARROCA
X-Men Evolutions Variant by BRANDON PETERSON
On Sale – 18/05/11

This is a really cool Loki story, full of classic Thorish mythology. The kind that makes you forget your reading a Marvel comic and not a fairytale. The kind that gets a story from A to B in a way that you couldn’t even have dreamed. Similar to the Russian fairytales Mignola uses in Hellboy, like the Baba Yaga who lives in a hut that stands on chicken legs… Or that guy who has his soul inside a needle, which is in an egg, which is in a duck, which is in a hare, which is in an iron chest, which is buried under a green oak tree, which is on the island of Buyan… In the ocean. I love Hellboy.

I’ve never read an issue of Journey Into Mystery before, but is it always so reflective of its title? It truly is a journey into mystery, and it’s given that little bit of reality needed by Loki being a kid. He speaks Thor-speak, but has a perfect amount of punk wit to remind you he’s the god of mischief, like a subtle Damian Wayne. The flash back to Fear Itself #1 from Loki’s perspective is also a great touch, he’s got shifty eyes so you know he’s planning something!

The art is dreamy, really matches the ethereal nature of the series. Wouldn’t say I’d like all my comics to look like this, but Asgard is certainly the place to have soft lines and more pencils than ink. There are certainly some great images that really let you sink into another world, which is why I read comics I think.

So, Journey Into Mystery is now officially added to my list. If you like journeys into mystery, then I suggest you do the same. It’s exactly what it says on the tin.

Joe Innes

Your First Look At FEAR ITSELF #2

Marvel is proud to present your first look at Fear Itself #2 (of 7), from comics megastars Matt Fraction and Stuart Immonen. The comic blockbuster of 2011 is here and fans and critics everywhere are asking “Who are The Worthy?” Seven hammers of unfathomable power have fallen to the far corners of the Earth and the race is on to see who will be the Serpent’s champions. With the Asgardians leaving the Marvel Universe to fend for itself, can the Avengers repel a foe that gets stronger the more he’s feared? The Marvel Universe’s worst nightmare comes true this May as the event iFanboy.com calls “a huge, epic story that is exactly the kind that comic books are made for” continues, only in Fear Itself #2 (of 7)!

FEAR ITSELF #2 (of 7) (MAR110612)
FEAR ITSELF #2 (of 7) IMMONEN VARIANT (MAR110613)
FEAR ITSELF #2 (of 7) McNIVEN VARIANT (MAR110614)

Written by MATT FRACTION
Penciled by STUART IMMONEN
Cover by STEVE McNIVEN
Variant Cover by STUART IMMONEN
Variant Cover by STEVE McNIVEN

On Sale – 4th May 2011

Matt Fraction is writing a comic blockbuster with movie blockbusters in mind, but it’s still great to read. With the release of Thor at the end of the month it’s apparent that fleshing out the father/son relationship between the two Asgardians is something that the film also shares (if the trailers are anything to go by). It sets up the series for old and new audiences alike, though Steve Rogers had much less of a role in this book, but I can imagine as the film release gets closer, he’ll step up to the wicket (or ‘the plate’ for all you yanks). Especially as he isn’t Captain America at the moment… OOOO, maybe he’ll start Captain America Incorporated!!

Immonen’s art is a safe bet. It does exactly as its told and doesn’t take any chances, while its impossible to fault something merely for being safe (as safe is still good right?) I do like things to be a little more interesting. I want my dragons to be unlike anyone else’s dragons, I want my panels to show more movement than just up and down, and left to right… Who am I kidding though? This is a mainstream comic mega-event. They’re not going to do anything to put people off if they can help it, and it still looks great, I’m just in a picky mood.

There was a worry amongst some, that Fear Itself would be the premature end of The Heroic Age, something many people welcomed after some dark days in Marvel comics. It’s safe to say though, that even with the real world issues Fear Itself touches upon, heroes do still seem to be heroes, and the tone does still seem to be light, and Fear Itself is still perfect escapism. At the heart of it, there is a villain whom is being awakened who will surely endanger the world. Who do you think might try and stop this villain if not for heroes? This was a great start to what promises to be a great read. One that I hope won’t ask me to spend ALL of my money, but may offer me more depth where I want it. You shouldn’t fear Fear Itself… because it looks quite good.

Joe Innes.

Fear Itself: Book of the Skull is released on Wednesday 16th March, 2011.

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