ComicNerd

If you ask the average Joe in the street to name a comic or creator then you would probably find that nearly all the people you ask could name one, Stan Lee.

He is the one man comic army famous for creating such incredible superhero characters as Spider-man. Yesterday the Spiderman shared his front cover with incoming president Barak Obama.

But now Stan Lee is about to create a new superhero that may become as big a story as Obama-man, he has announced that he is to pen a new superhero who will be openly gay.

The new superhero Thom Creed, will be a high school kid who enjoys all that usual high school stuff such as being on the basketball team

Like so many other characters, he will struggle to keep his superhero alter ego a secret, unlike other superheroes he will also struggle to keep his sexuality from becoming public knowledge.

According to Lee, the character is based on the Perry Moore novel Hero.

Lee did not give any indication what powers the new gay hero will have; we assume he will be able to spot a fashion emergency at six miles. But apart from that, he declined to give out any information about what the storylines may entail.

If anyone could make such a character work then we can be sure Lee is the man for the job.

There were lines around the block yesterday in cities across the country; these were not people waiting anxiously to buy Rolling Stone’s concert tickets, or even to see the latest Will Smith blockbuster sci-fi movie.

These lines of people were waiting anxiously to enter comic stores to purchase the latest blockbuster release The Amazing Spider-Man #583.

Perhaps a better title of this particular huge selling release would have been The Amazing Obama-Man #583, as the fuss and excitement revolves around the other variant that features in coming president Barack Obama giving a big thumbs up to an upside-down Spiderman.

The publicity in the national press and TV has been astonishing, as it seems that journalists simply cannot get enough of Obama and this news story with him depicted with Spiderman was a journalist’s no-news Wednesday dream come true.

Midtown Comics in New York’s prestigious Times Square even had to bring in a nightclub security man with a name right out of the Sopranos, Bronko Spaleta, to help control the swelling crowds.

This despite the freezing conditions gripping the Big Apple, apparently the line stretched for a full block.

It seems that Obama-man has already achieved super-hero status without even spending one day in the White House.

Much anticipated Stephen King spin-off The Stand: Captain Trips will be available from Marvel as a limited series in hardcover. It will only be available from direct market retailers.

The release will make its stand on March 10 at an advance release which will commence at 9PM EST – creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and creative artist Mike Perkins have gathered together the complete Stand: Captain Trips into the unique collection.

There will be two new covers one courtesy of Lee Bermejo and there will even be a gatefold version by Mike Perkins. There is expected to be a lot of coverage for the launch both from hobby publications and regular press sources.

Marvel say they will but putting their full marketing force behind the launch with a wide array of promotions. The company said it wanted to market it direct through those outlets that made the series a success in the first place.

They want to thank the fans by giving them the choice of the impressive gatefold or the regular cover for their collections. After the launch on the evening of the 10th the release will go nationwide on the morning of the 11th, from regular comic outlets and some online retailers.

So this is your chance to grab the whole story at once and catch up with the Campion’s in their full epic virus ridden adventures in one collection.

Did you read this series?  What did you think of it?  Would it be worth it to buy the whole shebang?

Marvel loves hardball, it seems.   First Iron Man 2 just about lost Jon Favreau, then Terrance Howard, who was going to play War Machine was booted and now it looks like we might be losing Jackson as (dead-ringer in the ultimate universe) Nick Fury.

What’s the story Marvel?  You can’t go to Hollywood and blanket treat all of the players like you do your fans – doing what you want and expecting them to just deal with it, laughing away complaints to the bank.  There have been some questionable decisions going on over there (ahem, Marvel Apes anyone?) – but this should be a no-brainer.  Jackson’s likeness has been used as Nick Fury in the ultimate universe for years now – you had him play a freakin cameo in Iron Man!  You have got to be out of your minds to lose Jackson.

On the other hand… perhaps Mr. I’ll-take-anything-as-long-as-it-pays-Jackson saw Favreau’s public bid to rile up fans succeed in Marvel accepting terms they otherwise wouldn’t have agreed on to keep fans happy and ensure loyalty in Iron man 2’s opening – and decided to try the same strategy to negotiate more money.  Hollywood is just as commercial as comics – and maybe Marvel will learn that they should have got Jackson into contract before locking him into a role via a cameo.

One never really knows.  I think we can all agree on one thing, though – any price negotiated is better than seeing this in the next round of Marvel flicks:

Source: Mania

Fresh on the heels of its total domination of last year’s sales figures. Marvel are starting off this year with another huge attack on the 2009 sales charts Secret Invasion: War of Kings has already ripped through Diamond and are completely out of stock.

You may be lucky enough to locate one if you trawl through your local retailers. But all is not lost as the company announced that there will be a second printing variant available.

Scribes, DnA, aka Andy Lanning and Dan Abnett as well as image creator Paul Pelletier are aiming for a huge super hero event. The Inhumans need to get back to Kree in the aftermath of Secret Invasion.

But there can be not escape for the Skrulls who must face their wrath. Who knows just how Shi’ar Empire and Vulcan will react. There will be a new version of the cover penned by Pelletier as well as other new art.

Fans will need little encouragement to take in the new variant edition of this blockbuster saga that managed to crush the opposition scoring 8 out 10 of 08’s best sellers.

And if that’s not enough to keep you clinging to the edge of your seat, remember that War of Kings: Darkhawk is on its way to our grubby little fingers in February