Siege: Storming Of Asgard Heroes And Villains #1 is a one-shot that goes over in more detail about all of the players in Marvel Comics' The Siege event. The bios are purportedly framed and written by H.A.M.M.E.R. agents. This comic actually has all the info one needs to be fully briefed about all the details of the recent happenings of the Marvel Universe, such as the White Queen and Namor teaming up and rebelling against Normal Osborn, or how Steve Rogers' return is not publicly known yet, or that there are 5 Avengers teams (sorry if I've spoiled things). My gripe is that this one-shot should have been released before all other issues on the Siege event. Other than that, it may actually help in sorting out all the Siege-related titles, miniseries and crossovers that have been or will be, published.

DC Comics is at it again, aggressively protecting its copyrights. You can barely upload a Minutemen scan of the title without it being deleted soon after. That's what happened to my Batman #694 post. I did take pains, so I hope you'll be satisfied with this update.

I must say issues #621 and #622 could not have been more different as day and night (noticed the covers?). As I mentioned previously, Dan Slott is the weakest of those who have handled the Gauntlet storyline, and issue #621 certainly confirms it. He's not bad; he's just so...so middle-of-the-road neutral, as if he is scared of treading on sensitive issues, like the sexual chemistry between Spidey and the Black Cat, for one. Only Michael Lark's great artwork rescues #621 from the bland box--he has this ability to capture Spider-Man in motion at odd moments--unfortunately, Slott does not give that much action to work with. Issue #622, on the other hand, with Fred Van Lente and artist Joe Quinnones soars. Marvel editors must have heard all the complaints about poor Slott. Where he (Slott) was dull and boring, Van Lente is funny and inspired. And the bonus story by Greg Wiseman and artist Luke Ross more than hold its own with the main feature. What else can I say? Yes, the Amazing Spider-man is back on track. Oh, and these are high quality Minutemen scans.

2000 AD is a multi-awarded, long-running and still-ongoing weekly British science fiction-oriented comics anthology that serializes a number of separate stories each issue (called a "prog") that has been at the cutting edge of contemporary pop culture since it’s first publication by IPC Magazines in February 26, 1997. IPC, later Fleetway, continued to produce the title until 2000, when it was bought by Rebellion Developments. Due in part to its weekly publication schedule, it is one of only a few comics to surpass 1,600 issues. It is most noted for its Judge Dredd stories, and has been contributed to by a number of artists and writers who became renowned in the field internationally, such as Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Bryan Talbot, Brian Bolland, Garth Ennis and Mike McMahon.

Spider-Man: With Great Power... is a five-issue comic book limited series from Marvel Comics written by David Lapham and illustrated by Tony Harris, which premiered on January 9, 2008. Starring Marvel's flagship character, it takes place in between two single panels found in Amazing Fantasy #15, Spider-Man's historic first appearance. By focusing on a time period usually brushed aside in many retellings of the classic origin, writer David Lapham and artist Tony Harris are able to take what is basically a page's worth of story and turn it into a funny and insightful examination of Spider-Man's formative days, focusing on the period between the accident that gave Peter Parker superhuman powers and the murder of his Uncle Ben. It was published under Marvel's Marvel Knights imprint in order to avoid any links to current continuity. One of those rare occasions when an idea that would seem to be quite long shot somehow comes together and works beautifully, no doubt because of Lapham and Harris.

Ultimate Power is a nine-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics that ties the Supreme Power universe into the Ultimate Marvel universe and is written by Brian Michael Bendis, J. Michael Straczynski and Jeph Loeb with art by Greg Land. Ultimate Power which takes place between Volumes 2 & 3 of the Ultimates, signifies the first complete Ultimate Universe crossover that effectively integrates all current ongoing series. Ultimate Power is also the first crossover that spans another already extant Marvel Universe. Its creators have hinted that events chronicled in the miniseries would have lasting effects on status quo in both universes. One notable effect is the absence of the Ultimate incarnation of Nick Fury from his home reality, as he is given over to the custody of the Squadron Supreme in the series finale. This absence is already present in the Ultimate Spider-Man story arc "Death of a Goblin", where Carol Danvers has taken Fury's place as the commanding officer of S.H.I.E.L.D. This compilation includes a so-called "Director's Cut" for Ultimate Power #1 which was released much later and which in the scan is nothing more than a sketchbook. I reserve any other comments, save to say that you'll either love it or hate it.

Writer Jason Aaron tries a trite plot device--Wolverine has a girlfriend--and surprisingly pulls it off; it is funny, inspired and hits the nail bang on the head. But that's not all; artist C.P. Smith (Wolverine Noir) hits a homer in this one. I have this to say about him: he is a master of texture and mood. A nice, welcome respite from all the mindless action and gore.

Ever since Jeph Loeb presided over the near destruction of Marvel's Ultimate Comics brand with Ultimatum, Marvel has been slowly relaunching Ultimate titles in a bid to restore it to its former lofty, independent, continuity-free status. Thus we have Ultimate Comics Spider-Man and Ultimate Comics Avengers. Now we have this new bi-monthly ongoing title, written by--and I'm scratching my head--none other than Jeph Loeb. Well, perhaps it's for the better. Maybe he can make amends. Even though there's a kind of somehow-read-it-before patina to issue #1, it is, after all, just the first issue. What does grab you is the detailed, granular artwork by Art Adams. Hope he stays on. And hope Loeb stays clear of that big crossover event mindset prevalent among Marvel writers (I won't mention Bendis--oops!) and focus instead on Jimmy Hudson, or whoever may be the protagonists here. Minutemen scan.

After the inter-title, Ultimatum crossover event, Marvel Comics' entire Ultimate imprint has been relaunched under the "Ultimate Comics" brand; in my Ultimatum Requiem Compilation (posted in Avaxhome by yours truly), Ultimate Comics Spider-Man is this brand's very first title to be released. With Eisner Award-winner Brian Michael Bendis on board to set the tone and guide the title to newer and bolder directions, apparently all the recent efforts have come to fruition. There's more balance in the presentation and portrayal of Peter Parker's dichotomous life, the characters are more believable and cast interaction is livelier than ever. As with other current Spider-Man titles, notably Web of Spider-Man, there's genuine added depth to the villains, unlike before where they are at most two-dimensional gloating punching bags for Spidey. An interesting and strong series.

It's the Ultimate Avengers rebooted as Ultimate Comics Avengers, with original Ultimates writer Mark Millar and Avengers Forever artist Carlos Pacheco on board. After the Ultimatum cataclysm things in the Ultimate Universe are again shaking up. Let's keep our fingers crossed. By the way issue #5 isn't due until March! Minutemen scans save for issue #4 which consists of high-quality extra-large page scans.

Mass Effect: Redemption is a four-issue comic series published by Dark Horse that fleshes out the events leading to Mass Effect 2, the blockbuster science-fiction action role-playing game released just at the end of January, 2010 developed by BioWare Edmonton, with assistance from BioWare Montreal, and published by Electronic Arts. The comic series is written by BioWare Lead Writer Mac Walters, scripted by John Jackson Miller, and drawn by Omar Francia. It was announced on July 21, 2009, and the first issue was released on January 6, 2010. The first issue is also available to those who order the Mass Effect 2 Collector's Edition. Intended an integral part of the game, the comic which is currently just into its second issue, seems okay in so far as game spin-offs go, but interest and excitement for the game and during its release caused issue #1 to sellout. Understandable, because Mass Effect 2 has been the most uniformly praised and critically acclaimed game thus far (also one of the best-selling--3.9 million copies of the game have been sold as of February 9).

Best of UK: Prey is the sixth installment of IDW Publishing's Best of UK series. Following along the same lines of Generations, IDW Publishing has begun a series of Marvel UK reprints focusing on collections of stories similar to, but not necessarily the same as, those previously published by Titan Books. The first of these was Target: 2006, immediately followed by several series under the moniker Best of UK. All Minutemen scans.