This week we have a bunch of great Trades. We’ve already read them all. You should go to your local comic book retailer and buy them all like we did. If you don’t we shall find you and feast on your brains.

• VENOM: DARK ORIGIN
• DARK REIGN: ACCEPT CHANGE
• PASTY WALKER: HELLCAT
• THOR VISIONARIES: WALTER SIMONSON VOL. 3

HEY GANG!

It looks like this week most of our Trades revolve around origins, back stories, 1st appearances and ‘year one’ adventures. So in honor of that I decided to pick this week to debut the cover of my own upcoming ‘year one’ book (click on the image on the left to check it out!)! So while you’re waiting for Nelson:Year One to hit the shelves be sure to pick up these great books available now!

•PUNISHER: YEAR ONE
•THE IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN
•POWER PACK CLASSIC VOL.1
•AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL VOL.5: MAYBREAK
•MARVEL ADVENTURES THE AVENGERS VOL.9: THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’

See ya next week,
Nelson

Hey Guys,

In honor of all the FANTASTIC Trades that are available this week we lit up the 'ol Baxter Building. If you're in Manhattan stop by this historic landmark on your way to your favorite comic shop!

•MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE FANTASTIC FOUR VOL.2
•SPIDER-MAN: NEW WAYS TO DIE
•ADAM: LEGEND OF THE BLUE MARVEL
•CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI13 VOL.2: HELL COMES TO BIRMINGHAM
•X-MEN: THE END TRILOGY
•IMMORTAL IRON FIST VOL.4: THE MORTAL IRON FIST
•DARK REIGN: DEADPOOL/THUNDERBOLTS
•ESSENTIAL DOCTOR STRANGE VOL.4
•RUNAWAYS VOL.8: DEAD END KIDS

José Moiron of Sleepy Hollow asked us the following, "Hey, How do Premiere Hardcovers get made?"
 
Answer: First, there’s a big meeting where people come in fancy suits and everyone wears nametags. Then they pull out all these charts and spreadsheets and show powerpoint presentations. They use big, fancy terms like, “Our market research analysts show an uptick of growth in our key demographic of potential buyers.” THEN just when he can’t take any more, Alex Starbuck, editorial assistant to the stars, jumps up and screams, “NO!” then he knocks down all the charts and easels, kicks over the overhead projector and says, “We should do this, because it’ll be freakin’ AWESOME!” Then he proceeds to draw what he envisions the cover to look like on the shirt of one of the other attendees. After everyone stops feverishly applauding and cheering, the drawing is transferred to paper and given to an artist to carefully try and recapture all the energy and creativity in Alex’s original sketch. Then the book goes to print, gets shipped to comic retailers and eventually ends up in the hands of Marvel fans all over the
world.
 
Click on the image to the left and see a comparison of Alex’s original sketch and the final product.
 
And if you think that’s something you should see how we come up with the ideas for the Essentials!
 
 
Thanks, and keep those questions coming!
 
Nelson

PS: Also out this week:

SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE: SOPHOMORE JINX
CAPTAIN AMERICA: FIGHTING CHANCE – DENIAL
ULTIMARE ORIGINS
MS. MARVEL VOL.6:  ASCENSION
UNCANNY X-MEN: LOVELORN
SHE-HULK VOL.9: LADY LIBERATORS

HI Gang,
Sorry for the late post! In honor of the release of ESSENTAIL THOR VOL. 4, I decided to take a trip to Asgard and completely forgot about the time difference. I thought today was Friday of last week! (Man, interdimensional jet lag sucks!) Anyway, I’ve been having a real great time here. I’ve been doing all the tourist-y stuff: took a trip to the palace and saw Odin’s ‘Odinsleep chamber,’ took a safari and saw some ice giants (they’re nasty!). And I actually got my picture taken with Loki! He’s a lot taller than I thought.
 
Anyway, the other great trade that came out this week was RUNAWAYS: DEAD WRONG by fan favorite artist Humberto Ramos. See you next week, or depending how traveling on the Rainbow Bridge works, I might even see you last week. I don’t know?!
Nelson Ribeiro

In honor of this week’s Trades I decided to dip myself in kerosene and take to the streets of New York City. Unfortunately, I don’t have a motorcycle license so I had to improvise. Luckily, I can do the meanest razor scooter tricks this side of Hell. I'm talking about switch foot blenders into bronco slides and the sickest boneless tailwhips WITH reverse wheelie pops you've ever seen. But it wasn’t enough. So I’ll be headed off to Purgatory -- I mean -- the DMV to get my class M license. And while I’m stuck there waiting here’s what I’ll be reading:
 
•GHOST RIDER: DANNY KETCH – ADDICT
•DEADPOOL: SECRET INVASION
•MARVEL ADVENTURES THORFEATURING DR. STRANGE, ANT-MAN AND CAPTAIN AMERICA

Let’s Ride!

Nelson

Hey Gang,
Looks like that due to some technical difficulties our last blog never got posted and fell through the cracks! And it’s a real shame too because it was written by editor extraordinaire Mark D. Beazley! (Did you know Mark paid his way through editor school by moonlighting as a comedian? Take that Wikipedia!) It was hysterical! Easily the funniest thing ever written for this or any blog. Maybe that’s why it never posted. We were so busy laughing we forgot to publish it! Anyway, just because you missed that blog doesn’t mean you have to miss this week’s trades!

•ESSENTIAL X-MEN VOL.9
•ULTIMATE GALACTUS TRILOGY
•THOR VISIONARIES: WALTER SIMONSON VOL.2
•YOUNG X-MEN VOL.2: BOOK OF REVELATIONS
•INCREDIBLE HERCULES: LOVE AND WAR
•WAR OR KINGS: ROAD TO WAR OF KINGS
•MARVEL MASTERWORKS:THE  AMAZING SPIDER-MAN VOL.2

 This week, in honor of SPIDER-MAN J: JAPANESE DAZE hitting the stores, I decided to deliver these books to Japan myself! It was great to see that even in the birthplace of anime and manga how popular the Marvel Universe is! Aside from asking me about the books, people were begging me for info on Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Anyway, I didn’t stay very long because I had a bad experience when I tasted Wasabi for the first time. (see picture) But I did manage to drop off these great titles (that are also available at comic retailers near you!):
 
• SPIDER-MAN J: JAPANESE DAZE
•NEW EXILES: AWAY WE GO
•X-MEN 2099 VOL.1
•PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL VOL.5: SECRET INVASION
•MOON KNIGHT VOL.4: THE DEATH OF MARC SPECTOR
•BLACK PANTHER: WHO IS THE BLACK PANTHER?
•X-MEN FOREVER ALPHA#1 (2 covers merge to form a poster!)
 
Well, I’m gonna need the rest of the week off to recover from jet lag.
 
See you,

Nelson

Heroes move around in a lot of different way. Some can teleport, some fly and others can run at blinding speeds. But did you know that there are some heroes who walk? That’s right, plain ol’ walking. And you can see them on Sunday.

This Sunday (May 17th) Is Aids Walk New York benefiting GMHC and other tri-state area AIDS organizations. It’s going to be a 10-kilometer walk that starts in Central Park. Along with thousands of other walkers, THE MIGHTY MARVEL MARCHING SOCIETY will be there doing their part. (You’ll be able to spot them because they’ll be wearing shirts just like mine!)

So go out and show your support. Give a donation. Even if it’s only the loose change you find in you couch. Every little bit helps.

For more info on the walk and to find out what you can do to help visit aidswalk.net

Howdy Pardners!
 
If y’all thunk we here at Marvel was in the business of makin’ comicy books you’d be wronger than a three legged mule at a carousel! Y’see, the House of Ideas is actually The Corrall of Chili! That’s why today we held, The GRAND CHILI COOKOFF. So varmints could put their recipes where their mouths are! Contestants included some of the meanest, roughest, toughest, desperados this side of the Rio Grande. They looked more like the sheriff’s most wanted
list than a gang of cooks. There was:
 
John Denning, Jody LeHeup, Darren Montalbano, Damien Lucchese, Peter Olson, Lauren Sankovitch, Jeanine Schaefer.
 
They stared each other in the eyes as they squared off to see who’d be the first ta flinch. Then like a gunshot the lids came off the pots and the towns folk came a stampedin’ like bulls in summer. Then when the smoke cleared there was just one standin. The meanest, toughest, rootin-tootinest, chili maker in all the west: Darren Montalbano. The rest o’ them rode off into the sunset with their tails between their legs swearin’ they’d be back next year and that there’d be a reckoning!