Comic Book News & Resources

Marvel Entertainment and Disney Interactive Media Group today announced that the first social game based on Marvel’s iconic characters, "Marvel: Avengers Alliance," is now live on Facebook. Developed by Playdom, "Marvel: Avengers Alliance" features a combat RPG experience with dozens of familiar Marvel super heroes and super villains, setting a new standard of production value and interactivity in a social game.

“'Marvel: Avengers Alliance' combines epic Marvel characters with Playdom’s industry-leading game mechanics to deliver a game that is sure to attract casual gamers and super hero fans alike,” said John Spinale, Senior Vice President of Social Games, Disney Interactive Media Group. “With this game, Disney is bringing one of the world’s largest entertainment brands to the largest social network, giving millions of fans an entirely new opportunity to engage with the characters they love.”

"We are thrilled to break new ground here, working with Playdom to create the first ever Facebook game to feature Marvel's super heroes,” said TQ Jefferson, Vice President of Games Production for Marvel. "With both a compelling story and Marvel's premier super team, The Avengers, leading the rest of our heroes in epic turn-based battles, 'Marvel: Avengers Alliance' allows us to engage fans and gamers in a way that we never have before. The future of Marvel games begins now."

With dozens of the most iconic Marvel characters available at launch, "Marvel: Avengers Alliance" offers players a tactical turn-based combat experience unlike any other social game. Players will have the opportunity to recruit some of Marvel’s most notable characters, including Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Widow and many others. Players can train their heroes to unlock unique abilities, and further customize abilities. Players can also square off against each other in player-versus-player combat, challenging their social graph to super-powered showdowns.

"Marvel: Avengers Alliance" takes place in the wake of a galaxy-wide disaster, known as the Pulse, which exposes Manhattan to attacks by Marvel’s most deadly super villains. Players are recruited as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., the secret espionage and peace-keeping organization of the Marvel Universe, to assemble and lead teams of super heroes with a mission to keep New York City safe from the clutches of such enemies as Loki, Doctor Doom and Magneto, as well as sinister criminal organizations like Hydra and AIM.

In the coming months, "Marvel: Avengers Alliance" will continue to expand with ongoing content releases. Players can look forward to new missions and storylines, additional super heroes, and upgraded abilities, plus new equipment, weapons, powers and costumes for unlock and purchase.

Social gamers and Marvel fans can join S.H.I.E.L.D and begin the adventure immediately: http://www.facebook.com/avengersalliance.

Now check out a behind the scenes video showing the making of "Marvel: Avengers Alliance."

"Marvel's The Avengers" hits theaters on May 4, and in anticipation of Earth's Mightiest Heroes assembling on the big screen for the first time we're bringing you the Essential Avengers. From accounts of the characters' epic stories from the original comics to looks back at the character with some of their most prominent creators both past and present and interviews with the designers of the heroes cinematic costumes, the Essential Avengers give you everything you wanted to know about the team, its allies and its enemies.

By Chris Arrant
 

She has no super powers or billion dollar suits of armor, but Black Widow is arguably the most deadly member of the Avengers lineup. Trained by the Russian government as a secret agent and assassin, Black Widow has faced off against many of the key Avengers such as Iron Man and Captain America before she broke free of her brainwashing and defected to America and the Avengers. Since then, she’s proven herself as a key ally for the Avengers as a whole as well as acting alongside Captain America and Daredevil.

Black Widow: Super Spy

“Black Widow’s visuals are fantastic from a design standpoint; she’s a stunning redhead in a skin-tight black battle suit,” explains current PUNISHER writer Greg Rucka, who wrote two Black Widow series in the past. “As a whole, she has a level of competence that’s hard to match. She’s a pro, and arguably the most highly-trained out of all the team. Add to that that she’s also one of the smartest characters in the Marvel Universe in a sly sort of way. There’s also an element of sacrifice to her character, of realizing what she had to give up to become who she is today.”

Raised in Russia during the Cold War, she was trained as a covert answer to Captain America, and with that she’s pushed herself into a class of warrior to stand toe-to-toe with super humans, mutants and monsters despite not having any powers of her own.

“There's nothing wrong with being a femme fatale super spy, but what makes Black Widow stand out is that she has no powers beyond her own natural, human abilities--and yet, she manages to hold her own amongst all these other immensely powerful, super-enhanced individuals,” says novelist Marjorie Liu, who wrote the BLACK WIDOW series for a time. “Not one of them would dare underestimate her. Why? Because she is extraordinarily intelligent and savvy, and a master strategist. Plus, she's gutsy as hell.”

Besides her lack of powers, Black Widow has an important distinction from her allies in the Avengers that’s often overlooked but speaks to the core of the character.

Black Widow ready for action

“The fact that she isn’t a super hero but a super spy really sets her apart from the traditional heroes in comics,” continues Rucka. “You can never completely grasp her true motivations for being where she is; she’s a dangerous, devastatingly good-looking red-head woman of mystery.”

Despite that mystery, she’s let a few people see behind the curtain and allied with heroes such as Hawkeye, Daredevil and most recently Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier. Although she’s starred in her own series from time to time, it’s her role as a supporting character that’s made her one of the most in-demand confidantes in comics.

“Part of what makes Black Widow work is that she’s mysterious and kind of a badass, and plays at a totally different level of proficiency than most others,” Rucka explains. “If you’re constantly exposed to that level of overwhelming skill, it loses that specialness. To have her show up every so often and deliver the goods, then go off to pursue her own thing adds to that mystique. “

Played in the upcoming “Marvel’s The Avengers” movie by Scarlett Johansson, Black Widow strikes a defiant pose even when standing shoulder-to-shoulder with patriotic heroes, Norse gods and technological titans. While some might attribute it to her fighting skill, it’s what brings her to the battlefield to use those skills that makes her an Avenger and a comics icon.

“Even in the company of all these super heroes, Black Widow is still one of the most dangerous women in the world,” points out Liu. “Not just for her physical prowess as a fighter, but because she's intelligent, ruthless, and never gives up. The strength of her will more than makes up for not being able to fly or see through walls. I find her endlessly fascinating, because there's a part of her that remains mysterious--and totally capable of the unexpected.”

By Ben Morse

The Sinister Six has returned like never before, and beginning with AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #682—on sale March 21—they will threaten not just the wondrous wallcrawler, but the entire Marvel Universe in Ends of the Earth.

As Spider-Man prepares to face his greatest foes with the stakes raised to a whole new level, we enlisted writer Dan Slott to take us on a guided tour though this rogues gallery, outlining their powers and motivation as well as pointing to his favorite stories detailing their depravity.

The motives of Flint Marko can be as difficult to grasp as the man himself when he employs his silicon-shape-shifting abilities. He has pursued base greed at times, worked in concert with the Fearsome Four as well as the Sinister Six in grabs for power, and even fought a misguided battle for a “daughter” not truly his when last we saw him.

An inability to pin down this grainy grappler in any sense of the word could prove a major handicap for Spider-Man as Ends of the Earth progresses.

“Sandman [is] the wild card,” says Dan Slott. “Here’s a guy who’s been a villain, then a hero, and then a villain again. His state of mind really does seem to shift a lot—like sand.”

For the moment, Sandman finds his fuel in attempting to forcibly reunite with his aforementioned “daughter,” Keemia, an event previously foiled by Spider-Man and that Doctor Octopus has assured he can make happen in exchange for assistance with his larger schemes.

“In the course of Ends of the Earth you will see Sandman operating on a level you’ve never seen before,” promises Slott. “This story will show Flint Marko at the absolute peak of his power.”

Spidey will have assistance in the form of his Avengers teammates, but Sandman has given the entire Fantastic Four fits in the past, and proven a challenge for groups of heroes in classic stories such as a Slott personal favorite, MARVEL TEAM-UP #1 from 1972.

“I’m a big fan of Spidey team-up stories, especially with The Human Torch,” notes the writer. “[MARVEL TEAM-UP #1] was one of the best. Our two heroes had to fight Sandman on Christmas. And what was Sandman doing? Trying to get home to see his mom. It [was] the first time that we saw Sandman’s soft side and realized there may be more to him than a petty super villain.”

Stay tuned every day this week for more from Dan Slott on the Sinister Six as we get set for Ends of the Earth, beginning in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #682 on March 21!

Many epic battles will be waged as part of Avengers Vs. X-Men, but when WIZARD OF OZ artist (and MAGNETO: NOT A HERO writer) Skottie Young got a chance to enter the fray with a variant cover of AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #1 exclusively for Midtown Comics, he discovered a unique angle to the cataclysmic conflict, as you can see to the right.

“Sometimes I get to the studio and realize I have a pretty great job," Young comments. "I get to turn 28 Marvel characters into fighting babies. Who gets to do that? Me! I'm just sad we couldn't make the actual event Avenger Babies Vs. X-Babies. Now that would be the event to end all events. I had so much fun on this cover and hope everyone has as much with it as I did.”

The Midtown Comics AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #1 variant cover will be available exclusive at both store locations on April 4, as well as through their web site.

Marvel.com can also announce exclusively that this image will be released as a 24x36 inch poster coming in June to your local comic book retailer!

Which team will reign supreme? Join the conversation on Twitter with #AvX!

For more on Avengers Vs. X-Men, please visit http://avx.marvel.com

ComicList: New Comic Book Releases List for Wednesday, March 7, 2012. This work, a list of the comic books, graphic novels, and other products that should be available in your local or online comic book shop next week, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License, and is © 2012 by Charles LePage.

This is the *preliminary* list and is not complete. The complete, and much more accurate, list will be published next week. This information is compiled from a variety of sources including Diamond Distribution and our friends at Things From Another World.

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Want more comics in the Marvel Comics App for iOS and Android? Your search is over! Check out these comics that just hit the Marvel Comics App and keep coming back every week for new additions to the growing library! That's right, we add new books every week to feed your need for super-heroic entertainment!



Don't have the Marvel Comics App? What are you waiting for?! Download it for iOS and Android!

Here's your official list of comic books hitting the Marvel Comics app today!

Digital Comics On-Sale This Week:
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1999) #680   
ASTONISHING X-MEN (2004) #47  
DAREDEVIL (1998) #66        
DAREDEVIL (1998) #67    
DAREDEVIL (1998) #68        
DAREDEVIL (1998) #69   
DAREDEVIL (1998) #70     
DAREDEVIL (1998) #71   
DAREDEVIL (1998) #72        
DAREDEVIL (1998) #73      
DAREDEVIL (1998) #74       
DAREDEVIL (1998) #75   
DEADPOOL CORPS (2010) #7      
DEADPOOL CORPS (2010) #8       
DEADPOOL CORPS (2010) #9      
DEADPOOL CORPS (2010) #10  
DEADPOOL CORPS (2010) #11      
DEADPOOL CORPS (2010) #12   
FF (2011) #15         
MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS PRELUDE: FURY’S BIG WEEK (2012) #4
MOON KNIGHT (2011) #7            
MOON KNIGHT (2011) #8            
MOON KNIGHT (2011) #9            
MOON KNIGHT (2011) #10
PUNISHER (2011) #7      
PUNISHER (2011) #8     
TWELVE (2008) #10         
ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES (2011) #7  
ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN (2011) #8     
VENOM (2011) #13.4       
WOLVERINE (2010) #6  
WOLVERINE (2010) #7
WOLVERINE (2010) #8
WOLVERINE (2010) #9
X-23 (2010) #1    
X-23 (2010) #2     
X-23 (2010) #3      
X-23 (2010) #4      
X-23 (2010) #5      
X-23 (2010) #6     
X-FACTOR (2005) #33          
X-FACTOR (2005) #34      
X-FACTOR (2005) #35       
X-FACTOR (2005) #36        
X-FACTOR (2005) #37         
X-FACTOR (2005) #38  

Digital Collections On-Sale This Week:
BLACK PANTHER: WHO IS THE BLACK PANTHER?
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA VOL. 2 - THE BURDEN OF DREAMS
DAREDEVIL MASTERWORKS VOL. 1
ENDER'S GAME: BATTLE SCHOOL
FANTASTIC FOUR MASTERWORKS VOL. 1
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN VOL. 7: IRRESPONSIBLE
WOLVERINE: WEAPOM X VOL. 1: ADAMANTIUM MEN

The Marvel Comics App for iPad and Android (as well as the iPhone, iPod Touch and all Android devices) is available for free from the iTunes or Andriod App Store. Individual comics are priced at just $1.99 each with new content arriving every week.

ComicList: New Comic Book Releases List for Wednesday, March 14, 2012. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License, and is © 2012 by Charles LePage.

This is a sneak peek of the 03/14/2012 ComicList. An updated version will be posted next week, and the complete, and much more accurate, list will be published in two weeks. This information is compiled from a variety of sources including Diamond Distribution and our friends at Things From Another World.

Full story »

The 407 age of comics begins here with a horrifying tale of unsuspecting movie goers caught in the middle of a fang on fang battle royale where only the fiercest blood-sucker makes it out alive – enter the cold-blooded saga of THE NIGHT PROJECTIONIST!

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Media Release -- San Francisco based comic book publisher, eigoMANGA announces its participation in the 2012 Game Developers Conference (GDC) to be held March 5-9, 2012 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. eigoMANGA will present at a panel at GDC's Localization Summit.

Full story »

By Marc Strom

Fans may not be familiar with the new White Tiger just yet, but that will change once she joins your Friendly Neighborhood Wallcrawler in “Ultimate Spider-Man,” beginning April 1!

The young super heroine will join Spidey, Iron Fist, and two more heroes as part of a special team-in-training that will form Peter Parker’s core supporting cast in his new animated adventure. But who is the White Tiger, and what brings her to this team of S.H.I.E.L.D. trainees?

White Tiger from "Ultimate Spider-Man"

“As a legacy heroine and the newest in a family of heroes to use the White Tiger name, Ava feels she has a lot to prove to S.H.I.E.L.D., to her teammates, and to herself,” divulges “Ultimate Spider-Man” Creative Consultant Paul Dini. “It's important to her that she excels at everything she does, as she plans on leaving the team someday as a full super heroine in her own right. She was Fury's fair haired girl until Spider-Man showed up, and she wants to show the newbie that despite his rep as a solo hero, he still has a long way to go toward earning her respect.”

“She’s really into S.H.I.E.L.D.,” elaborates Supervising Producer Cort Lane. “She would love to be the next Black Widow. She enjoys the S.H.I.E.L.D. training, and she thinks the Helicarrier’s the coolest thing in the world.”

The White Tiger doesn’t have a large history in the comics, but while she’s never typically been associated with the Webhead that freshness brought a new and interesting dynamic to the series.

“We wanted a young female voice on the team and while she is new, White Tiger proved to be the perfect choice,” explains Dini. “She's tough and smart, and her cat-like reflexes allow her to match Spider-Man leap for leap in agility. Also, Spidey's wisecracking attitude really rubs the more serious Tiger, a.k.a. Ava Ayala, the wrong way, which gives us a lot of character conflict when they are trying to solve a bigger problem. It's fun to make sparks fly when you're writing for two contentious teammates.”

And while Lane finds there’s “less pressure in keeping continuity for her” given her relatively shorter history in the comics, he promises viewers “will find over time that her origin is closely connected to the original White Tiger and is linked to the Marvel Universe in really interesting ways.”

“We were free to experiment with her powers, her history and her look until we came up with a character that fit the unique tone of our show,” echoes Dini. “That said, White Tiger is very much a heroine in the classic Marvel mode, and while she is new, there's something about her that seems very right in Spider-Man's universe. Cool powers, defiant attitude, compelling backstory, it's like she's been there all along.”

While Iron Fist, revealed yesterday as a member of Spider-Man’s super heroic supporting cast, provides a more calming influence on the group, White Tiger brings her own unique temperament to the mix.

“Like her namesake, White Tiger is tough, proud, and when the chips are down, will fight to the very end,” says Dini. “She's in there fighting it out side by side with the boys, or throwing them around if they get in her way. She's as smart as she is strong, and while brainwork comes easily to Peter Parker/Spider-Man, White Tiger is more focused and a much better student. You also get the idea that Ava has to work harder to keep the savage Tiger side of her nature in check. Without discipline, she could be one claw pop away from becoming Wolverine. That's why she is a bit of a control freak and a girl who pushes herself to be better than her teammates.”

Come back to Marvel.com later today to learn who else will join your Friendly Neighborhood Wallcrawler on "Ultimate Spider-Man," premiering April 1 on Disney XD!