Marvel

The MoCCA Fest social scene is already jam-packed, but we wanted to alert you to this one, which takes place just around the corner from the Armory and leaves you plenty of time to get a signed book, have a brew and a bite, and then head off to wherever you next need to be. It's being co-hosted by the CBLDF and The Beat, and will feature tons of your favorite cartoonists, so come on by!

Please note that the Mad Hatter also has a patio so if the weather is nice we can stand outside and talk about comics! They are also giving us happy hour specials so even someone on a comics budget can have a good time. See you there!

What did Marvel send to our mailbox today?

Apparently Rick Remender and Tom Fowler are teaming up on Marvel's VENOM comic...and it looks INSANE. More insanity in the link.

Wow! Lots of great books coming out this month!

What is going on at Marvel's booth? What isn't? Signings, panels and givaways belowl.

It's incredible what some Disney marketing dollars will do. Marvel has been running a big promo for their Avengers/Thor/Captain America/Iron Man movie franchise gaggle where you try out to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent -- they were running it in Chicago at C2E2 but it didn't get the attention it has here in San Francisco where we were awoken this morning by someone slipping the above promo piece into our room at the convention hotel, the Marriot Marquis.

Intensive lab scene accompanied by anxious music? Check. Unsubtle reference to Avengers franchise in title? Check. The line "You don't know when to quit, do you?" Check.

Would you like Wolverine with that soy vanilla misto? Ubiquitous coffee chain Starbucks is expandingthe offerings in its Starbucks Digital Network, which allows latte-lovers to read free digital content in its stores. New offerings will include ESPN, The Economist, The New York Times, and Marvel Digital Comics.:

Marvel accidentally left these two books out of their solicitations, but any excuse to run some Sean Phillips art makes us happy.

The plot thickens, as Disney plans to expand it's kids magazine publishing business with new magazines featuring Phineas and Ferb, Cars 2, Thor and Captain America, Sam Thielman reports.

2003 wasn't so very long ago but in many ways it was a completely different age for comics. Nü Marvel was all the rage as comics were climbing out of the sales tailspin of the late '90s, and Bill Jemas and Joe Quesada reigned supreme at Marvel. Jemas in particular went off on some strange tangents. The Ultimate line may have been his signature achievement, but there were lots that aren't remembered so fondly, or at all, like Marvell -- a sort of satire of superheroes written by Jemas himself -- and Trouble -- a photo-covered "Gossip Girl" wanna-be that featured teenaged, randy versions of Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Hardly typical Marvel fare.

Maybe it's just the way Magneto says "Ma Vlast," but this version of the X-MEN: FIRST CLASS footage looks better than previous versions and has created a lor more enthusiasm than the Photoshop-lesson posters.