Marvel Comics March 2011 solicitations

Highlights from Marvel's March offerings

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: IRON FIST VOL. 1 HCWritten by ROY THOMAS, CHRIS CLAREMONT, LEN WEIN, DOUG MOENCH & TONY ISABELLA
Penciled by GIL KANE, JOHN BYRNE, LARRY HAMA, ARVELL JONES & PAT BRODERICK
Cover by GIL KANE
In 1974, nobody was kung-fu fighting like Marvel Comics, and at the forefront of the craze was Daniel Rand — the Iron Fist! A Himalayan expedition in search of the mystical mountain city of K’un-Lun left 9-year-old Daniel’s father murdered by his partner Harold Meachum and his mother dead. However, Daniel found the path to the K’un-Lun, and there he spent a decade training under its immortal inhabitants. After years of ceaseless tutelage, he became an unmatched master of martial arts and spiritual control; armed with the shattering power of the iron fist, he left immortality behind to set out into the Western world and avenge his parents’ deaths. Packed with wall-to-wall kung-fu action, Iron Fist runs a gauntlet through the Kara-Kai death cult and ninja adversaries, and into mystic dimensions where the battle must be fought with mind and spirit. But Iron Fist’s saga not only follows Daniel Rand’s quest for vengeance — it also introduces Marvel mainstays Colleen Wing and Misty Knight, guest stars the Marvel Bullpen, and brings together for the very first time the creative team of Chris Claremont and John Byrne! It’s the beginnings of a true comic-book classic that can only be called a MARVEL MASTERWORKS! Collecting MARVEL PREMIERE #15-25 and IRON FIST #1-2.

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: GOLDEN AGE
CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 5 HC
Written by STAN LEE & VARIOUS
Penciled by AL AVISON & DON RICO with JIMMY THOMPSON, CARL PFEUFER & VARIOUS
Cover by AL AVISON
The never-before-reprinted adventures of Captain America’s Golden Age exploits continue with four more amazing 64-page issues! There’s action aplenty with menacing monsters; sub-earth horrors; super villains out for revenge; and, of course, more than just a few of Cap’s World War II Axis enemies gettin’ a red-white-and-blue sock in the kisser! You’ll see Cap and Bucky grapple with Killer Kole, the reanimated murderer; battle the lovely and lethal Queen Medusa, ruler of towering sub-earth monster worms; go ten frames against the fifth column’s bowling alley of death; contend with the return of the super villains the Black Talon and the Black Toad; and fight crocodile-men. And in a special story written by Stan Lee, the dire threat of the Nazi is spelled out in no uncertain terms. To top it off, Cap’s tales are backed up by the Human Torch; the Sub-Mariner; Fighting Yank; and Roddy Colt, the war-bond-promoting boy hero also known as the Secret Stamp. Collecting CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #17-20.

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE AVENGERS VOL. 3 TPB
Written by STAN LEE
Penciled by DON HECK
Cover by JACK KIRBY & DEAN WHITE
Man, Thor, Giant-Man and the Wasp with a trio of former super villains, readers thought he’d gone mad. As it turned out, the only thing crazy about the adventures of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes was how insanely exciting the lineup of Captain America, Hawkeye, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch became! With super-sized conflict within the team and colossal menaces without, the drama made every issue a nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat extravaganza. Classic stories including battles with Kang the Conqueror, Doctor Doom, Power Man and the Enchantress, and Attuma will prove that the Avengers are the world’s preeminent heroes — while revelations like Captain America’s departure will test the team at its most fundamental level. But it won’t just be Cap’s Kooky Quartet against the world forever. In these pages, you’ll see also the return of Giant-Man and the Wasp, and Hank Pym’s transformation into Goliath! And with the first appearances of the Collector, the Swordsman and the Sons of the Serpent — not to mention the entrance of the Black Widow into the Avengers’ world — there’s no questioning this collection’s a MARVEL MASTERWORKS! Collecting AVENGERS #21-30.

DR. STRANGE: INTO THE DARK DIMENSION PREMIERE HC
Written by ROGER STERN
Penciled by PAUL SMITH, BRET BLEVINS & MARK BADGER
Covers by BRET BLEVINS & PAUL SMITH
Dr. Strange, the Master of the Mystic Arts, starts his day by curing a mystically cursed sword and ends it by overthrowing a dimensional dictator! The Sorcerer Supreme faces threats on cruise ships, military bases and alien planets — seeking
to restore the cosmic balance! And as the origins of the Dark Dimension stand revealed, Strange’s true love, Clea, heads the rebellion against her evil mother, Umar! Featuring the Black Knight and the Beyonder!
Collecting DR. STRANGE (1974) #68-74.

THING: LIBERTY LEGION PREMIERE HC
Written by ROY THOMAS
Penciled by JOHN BUSCEMA, SAL BUSCEMA, RICH BUCKLER, DICK AYERS, FRANK ROBBINS & DON HECK
Covers by JACK KIRBY Move over Invaders: It’s the Liberty Legion, America’s home-front super heroes of World War II! Miss America! The Whizzer! Thin Man! Red Raven! And more! But when things get tough, they may need some help from the future in the form of the Thing and the Fantastic Four! When Nazis threaten to rule the world, the heroes scramble to save the day! Featuring the villainy of the Red Skull, Brain Drain, U-Man and more! Collecting INVADERS (1975) #5-6, MARVEL PREMIERE #29-30, FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #11, and MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #20 and ANNUAL #1

AVENGERS PRIME PREMIERE HC
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Penciled by ALAN DAVIS
Cover by ALAN DAVIS
They were friends, brothers and teammates through all of Marvel's greatest adventures, but recent events turned them into the bitterest of enemies. In the wake of the siege of Asgard, Thor, Iron Man and Steve Rogers are brought together on the same side once more — but these great heroes can’t truly trust each other yet. They better start soon, because something only the Big Three can handle is tearing their world apart. This all-new, grand and dangerous adventure — uniting comics legend Alan Davis with Avengers scribe Brian Bendis for the first time — will catapult our heroes into the explosive Heroic Age! Collecting AVENGERS PRIME #1-5.

THOR: FIRST THUNDER TPB
Written by BRYAN J.L. GLASS
Penciled by TAN ENG HUAT
Cover by JAY ANACLETO
Revealed for a new generation: the origin — and first year on Earth — of the God of Thunder! Who is the enigmatic Dr. Donald Blake? What is the secret that drives him to travel the world, seeking its challenges, and how does it connect him to the banished Prince of Asgard? Why has Thor been exiled to walk among mankind — and battle threats from beyond the stars? And before the entire saga is over, how will he react when confronted by the likes of Tony Stark, Reed Richards...and his devious brother, Loki? Witness the legend reborn with a modern touch by Harvey Award-winning writer Bryan J.L. Glass (The Mice Templar) and Eisner Award-winning artist Tan Eng Huat (SILVER SURFER: IN THY NAME)! Collecting THOR: FIRST THUNDER #1-5.

THOR THE MIGHTY AVENGER VOL. 2 GN-TPB
Written by ROGER LANGRIDGE
Penciled by CHRIS SAMNEE
Cover by CHRIS SAMNEE
Harvey Award-winner Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee continue their epic reimagining of the God of Thunder as Thor tests his might against the strange and powerful Sub-Mariner; uncovers the mystery of why he was thrown from Asgard, but has his efforts sidetracked by the awesome engine of destruction known as Fin Fang Foom; does battle with raging robots; and fights side-by-side with Iron Man, for the very first time! Pick up the book that ComicBook Resources.com says is “quite possibly the best new super-hero title of the year and is exactly what any lover of super heroes should be reading.” Plus: Relive classic early adventures of Thor from the inimitable team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby! Collecting THOR THE MIGHTY AVENGER #5-8 and JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #85-86.

FANTASTIC FOUR BY JONATHAN HICKMAN VOL. 3 TPB
Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Penciled by NEIL EDWARDS
Cover by ALAN DAVIS
Jonathan Hickman ushers the Fantastic Four into the Heroic Age! Reed Richards assembles a band of genius youngsters to help him speed up progress in mankind’s pursuit of tomorrow. Susan Richards travels between the newly discovered Four Cities as Earth’s diplomat to civilizations rumored to soon be at war with each other. Johnny Storm takes Franklin on a trip to the toy store — and runs into its peculiar proprietors: the irrepressible Impossible Man and the villainous Arcade! And Ben gets an earful from Val and her Future Foundation: We have a cure, and it will work. In short, it’s just another day for Marvel’s First Family! Meanwhile, a most fantastic, multiverse-hopping adventure unfolds as Reed, Ben and — of all people, Doom — are called to the rescue of his father, Nathaniel, the victim of a dimension defying mass murderer that won’t be stopped! But what part will Val and Franklin play in this strange plot? Collecting FANTASTIC FOUR #579-582


THING CLASSIC VOL. 1 TPB
Written by JOHN BYRNE
Penciled by RON WILSON
Cover by RON WILSON
It’s Ben Grimm — the ever-lovin’, blue-eyed Thing— on his own for the first time, and he’s clobberin’ everything in sight! The Inhumans! Wonder Man! She-Hulk! Spider-Man! The Fantastic Four! The Yancy Street Gang! The Puppet Master! And the uncanny Goody Two-Shoes! Plus: The Thing proposes marriage, and it's not to Alicia Masters! Collecting THING(1983) #1-10.


FANTASTIC FOUR: EXTENDED FAMILY TPB
Written by STAN LEE, ROY THOMAS, JOHN BYRNE, STEVE ENGLEHART, WALTER SIMONSON, TOM DEFALCO, DWAYNE MCDUFFIE, CARLOS PACHECO, RAFAEL MARIN & JEPH LOEB
Penciled by JACK KIRBY, JOHN BUSCEMA, RICH BUCKLER, JOHN BYRNE, ART ADAMS, PAUL PELLETIER & STUART IMMONEN
Cover by STEVE EPTING
For decades, Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch and the Thing have stood together as comics’ first family of super heroes! But even a family of heroes needs help, and the FF have often bolstered their ranks with friends and allies from throughout the Marvel Universe! Crystal! Medusa! Luke Cage! She-Hulk! Ms. Marvel! Spider-Man! Wolverine! Hulk! Ghost Rider! Ant-Man! Black Panther! Storm! Namorita! Witness the debuts
of the Fantastic Four’s fill-in members! Collecting FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #1, #81, #132, #168, #265, #307, #347, #384 and #544; and FANTASTIC FOUR (1998) #42.

ESSENTIAL CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 6 TPB
Written by VARIOUS
Penciled by VARIOUS
Cover by GIL KANE
Captain America and the Falcon continue their partnership against some of their greatest foes (the Red Skull, Arnim Zola the Bio-Fanatic and the Corporation) and some of their most bizarre (the Swine, Doughboy and the Vamp/Animus)! Featuring guest appearances by the Hulk, Nick Fury and Sharon Carter! Plus: the debuts of the Constrictor and the Super-Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.! And the origin of Steve Rogers! Collecting CAPTAIN AMERICA #206-230 and ANNUAL #4, and INCREDIBLE HULK #232.