We’ve been at this for almost half a year, True Believers. When do we stop calling this the All New All Different Marvel universe? After all, the “Marvel NOW!” and “All New” half-ass attempts at relaunching titles and building readership both started petering out around this point. Can we just call this the Marvel Universe now and move on with it?

Or maybe just pump the brakes a minute, friends. Because it looks like we need one more Iron Man series. And one more series written by Brian Michael Bendis. And one more promise to “discover new things about the Marvel Universe” we never knew existed! And, what the hell. Alex Maleev and Paul Mounts? Count me in.

This week’s premiere, International Iron Man, puts Tony Stark on a quest to discover who his real parents are, and it begins with a flashback to his Cambridge days; a wealthy, beautiful woman; and Hydra goons gunning folks down in the street. Here we go.

Also new this week: Spider-Woman finally has her baaybee! The latest Apocalypse storyline (might there be a movie coming?) begins in the pages of Lemire’s Extraordinary! Power Man and Iron Fist bust some fiddle-faddling heads!

New Titles:
International Iron Man #1

Continuing and related titles
All New Inhumans #5
All New X-Men #6
Astonishing Ant-Man #6
Captain Marvel #3
Deadpool and the Mercs for Money #2 (of 5)
Extraordinary X-Men #8
Power Man and Iron Fist #2
Scarlet Witch #4
Spider-Woman #5
Squadron Supreme #5
Star-Lord #5
Starbrand and Nightmask #4
Uncanny Inhumans #6
Web Warriors #5

Holy Fuck, this is the ugliest cover I’ve ever seen! I was really afraid of what Sanford Greene would have in store in the actual pages, but his art is much less grotesque in the panels. In fact, its sketchy style is evocative of Sam Flores, or Eastman and Laird, and has the edge of Bachalo without all the color saturation and visual noise. The “Buddy Cop” story is an American institution, and this book mines every incarnation from 70’s exploitation, to 80’s and 90’s action-grit. David Walker nails Danny Rand as the freewheeling, lighthearted Riggs, to Luke Cage’s mature, cautious Murtaugh. I’ve always enjoyed seeing these characters, but I prefer them when they operate on the lower levels of New York’s daily crime, or simply outside of the global threats of masked egomaniacs like the Avengers deal with. This is not a new idea, but it is a wonderful example of pulpy crime fiction, and even though I grew up on stories like this, I am not too old for this fiddle-faddle. – RF

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