Marvel Collector Corps - Box 2 : Ant-Man

Marvel Collector Corps - Box 2 : Ant-Man

The second Marvel Collector Corps box has finally arrived, featuring the hero of next week’s sure to be blockbuster smash, Ant-Man! Back in February, we broke the news that Marvel and Funko had teamed up to bring us, the fans, 100% completely exclusive collectibles t-shirts and accessories valued at over $50 through a bi-monthly shipping service and once again they did not disappoint!

Much like the first Avengers box, a beautifully rendered Scott Lang Ant-Man image graced the top of the box with Ant-Man and Marvel markings screaming around the outer edges. The inside flap contained great moments in Ant-Man comics history, which featuring Yellowjacket, Wasp, Stature and more!

Upon opening the top flap, once again the first two pieces of swag greeted me in the form of a Marvel Collector’s Corps patch and pin, this time both featuring Ant-Man.

Lifting the inner flap where the patch and pin were positioned, the Exclusive Ant-Man Pop! Vinyl figure was displayed; a helmet-less Ant-Man alongside Funko’s smallest figure to date, miniature Ant-Man!

Nestled to the right-hand side of the Pop! Vinyl figure, were two Funko bobble-head Ant-Man figures. My luck brought me both Ant-Man and Yellowjacket!

Below the vinyl figures, an exclusive Variant Edition of Ant-Man #5 was tucked underneath …

And directly below was another fantastic exclusive T-shirt to round out the box!

After my ups and downs with Loot Crate and NerdBlock, I’m loving the items arriving through the Marvel Collector Corps. In just one month, August will bring another set of exclusives tied to this summer’s epic comic event Secret Wars for Box 3! To sign-up for the Marvel Collector Corps, visit www.collectorcorps.com today!

Questions or Comments? Sound off below, or find me on Twitter as @ArchangelEZE and for more exciting news and reviews, follow NGP on Facebook!

Until next time True Believers,

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Captain America: Civil War Begins Production, Full Cast Revealed

Production on Captain America: Civil War  has begun in Atlanta.  The full cast list has been unveiled, and it seems to have more Avengers than Age of Ultron did. 

Here's the official synopsis for Civil War;

The cast includes Chris Evans (Captain America), Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Sebastion Stan (Winter Soldier), Scarlet Johansson (Black Widow), Don Cheadle (War Machine), Anthony Mackie (Falcon), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Paul Bettany (Vision), Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), Paul Rudd (Ant-Man), Emily VanCamp (Agent 33), Frank Grillo (Crossbones), William Hurt (General Ross), Daniel Bruhl (Baron Zemo), and Martin Freeman (who's role is still unknown).  A handful of these are worth noting ...

This movie will mark the introduction for Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther. It will also be the first time Paul Rudd will be seen along side the rest of the Avengers after Ant-Man releases later this year. William Hurt will return as General "Thunderbolt" Ross, his only other appearance was 2008's The Incredible Hulk. And lastly, Civil War will introduce Daniel Bruhl as Baron Zemo. 

With a cast this massive, Its surprising this isn't considered an Avengers movie. Rumor still suggests Spider-Man will make an appearance once he's cast, but no news on that for the time being.  And with Hawkeye and Ant-Man finally in the same movie, maybe we'll get this classic scene ....

-Lando McFly

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The Weekly Pull : The Astonishing Ant-Man

The Weekly Pull : The Astonishing Ant-Man

Much like the Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man has never been a huge power player in the Marvel Universe. At least not before getting the cinematic treatment and the best writing teams in the business. I love that Marvel has the courage to branch out and give their lesser known heroes a chance to shine in the spotlight, and the risk has shown significant reward. Characters like Rocket Raccoon, Falcon, Groot and The Inhumans are rapidly gaining popularity, and with the recent release of the Ant-Man trailer starring Paul Rudd, alongside his new ongoing series by Nick Spencer and Ramon Rosanas, I have a feeling Scott Lang will be no exception.

Marvel does a great job recapping events and setting the stage for the future of Ant-Man in this first relaunch issue, briefly covering the bases outlined in the cinematic trailer regarding Lang's criminal past, daughters health, broken marriage and acquisition of the hero mantle - all without spoiling any of the backstory. From a readers perspective, and unfamiliar with the character myself, this was huge. I was given just enough information to get me pumped to learn all of the backstory details, while jumping into a new adventure with a character written in such a way that made Paul Rudd a believable choice when I was originally apprehensive of the casting.

 

The premise of the story finds Lang out of a job and looking for work amongst Marvel’s elite and finds himself applying for a position in San Francisco as the bodyguard of The Superior Iron Man, Tony Stark (heroes have bills to pay too, you know). Despite his lack of bodyguard experience and underwhelming power set, Lang is given the opportunity to compete against the other younger, faster and stronger candidates in a training gauntlet in attempt to earn the position. Clearly outgunned, Lang resorts to skills from his criminal past to outwit and cheat the competition, earning him the favor and proving his eagerness to succeed despite his methods.

Although one of the largest arguments toward Marvel is their pricing structure, it becomes a point of importance if you’re looking to follow key story arcs and cinematic tie-ins. This initial Ant-Man #1 is priced at a hefty $4.99, however it’s importance to the universe is far greater than the $3.99 Ghost Rider or Deathlok books that (currently) hold no footing in the big picture. If you’re looking to wet your palate before the cinematic release of Ant-Man this summer, give this book a try.

4/5 Toast Rating 

We’ll see you next week for my review of Jason Aaron and John Cassaday’s Star Wars!

Do you have a comic, graphic novel, comic event or storyline you’re itching to read or learn more about? Sound off in the comments below, find me on Twitter or let us know on the New Geek Protocol Facebook page!

Until next time True Believers,

-ArchangelEZE

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The Weekly Pull : The Superior Iron Man

The Weekly Pull : The Superior Iron Man

My initial post for this weeks edition of 'The Weekly Pull' was a review on Marvel's newly resurrected Ant-Man series. However, upon reading, I discovered that there was a strong underlying connection to Tom Taylor and Yildiray Cinar's Superior Iron Man run and felt a little back tracking was necessary this week for both myself and the loyal readers into the life of Tony Stark ...

I'll be the first to admit that I've never really seen the appeal of Iron Man pre-cinematic universe. He's always been a B-list character in my mind alongside the likes of Daredevil, Luke Cage and Black Panther and I never truly understood why he was such a power player and considered one of "The Big 3" in the Marvel Universe. I know the guy has money, I get that, but he's such a pretentious prick that I've always felt that he was only a member of the Avengers thanks to his cash flow, which just happens to be one of the reasons I'm really digging the vibe in Taylor and Cinar's, The Superior Iron Man run.

With this fall’s AXIS event coming to an end, (check out my review of The Red Supremacy & Inversion) The Superior Iron Man follows an inverted Tony Stark to San Francisco where his inner darkness is being unleashed upon the unsuspecting citizens in the same vein as 1979’s “Demon in a Bottle.” Currently three issues into it’s rebranded Avengers Now title, we find Tony invested in his ego as he releases a new version of his Extremis technology (created by Warren Ellis in 2005 that ran for a six-issue arc, and cinematically portrayed in Iron Man 3) to the San Francisco population via a free mobile app promising "beauty, perfection ... and possibly immortality."

However, all good things must come to an end and when the free app trial period ends, Stark's true motives are revealed to the tune of $99.99 per day to retain the benefits. Marvel editor-in-chief, Axel Alonso explains :

"What you're seeing in Superior Iron Man is a Tony Stark who’s seen both his worst and best impulses all let loose. It is Tony, but he’s going to be in a zone now where he’s never been. He's more ambitious, cunning, egotistical ... all of those quantities are unharnessed. He has a vision for the world. I like to think his position is defensible — controversial, but defensible."

This is the Tony Stark of Avengers Now, and I for one couldn't be happier. I can't wait to see how the actions of this Superior Iron Man will ripple across the Marvel U, beginning with the astonishing Ant-Man ...

Stay tuned True Believers!

Do you have a comic, graphic novel, comic event or storyline you’re itching to read or learn more about? Sound off in the comments below, find me on Twitter or let us know on the New Geek Protocol Facebook page!

-ArchangelEZE

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Ant-Man Trailer is Full of Easter Eggs

I hope everyone caught the new trailer for Marvel's Ant-Man last night during the first episode of Marvel's Agent Carter. If you didn't catch the trailer you can find it below.

Reid Jones over at Moviepilot put together a list of all the easter eggs in this trailer check out the article and watch the trailer again at the top of their page.

I never thought they would make a movie about Ant-Man, I only know about him from the Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes animated series. Although I never thought Marvel would make a movie about Guardians of the Galaxy either and look how that turned out for them.

From the trailer, I am pretty excited for this movie even though I have been getting excited for anything that Marvel turns out these days. 

What are your thoughts from the trailer and the easter eggs? What did you think about Agent Carter? Let us know in the comments below.

As usual, May the Force Be With You!

- Da_Fettman

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The Weekly Pull : Marvel Cancellations & New Ongoing Series Announcements

The Weekly Pull : Marvel Cancellations & New Ongoing Series Announcements

A wave of Marvel Comics news hit the press last week following the major movie announcements slated through 2018. Many came as quite a shock, as they are arguably the most well written books Marvel is currently publishing. Unfortunately these titles don’t feature the heavy hitters and can’t compete for sales, so if any of your favorite titles are listed below remember to PRE-ORDER YOUR BOOKS!

We’ll start with the bad news first. She-Hulk is the first title to bite the bullet in early 2015 with January’s issue #12. Although it never charted high, the book received critical acclaim, which also helped keep Fraction & Aja’s Hawkeye title alive, which will also end it’s run with issue #22. Other titles on the early 2015 chopping block include Peter David’s All-New X-Factor, ending it’s run with issue #20, as well as All-New Ultimates that (not surprisingly) will end it’s current run with issue #12 given the fate of the Ultimate Universe.

However, the most shocking news is the cancellation announcement of The Fantastic Four, ending it’s run with a triple-sized issue #645. According to Bleeding Cool, rumor has it that the axe will fall due to :

“ … Disney’s highest single shareholder and Marvel CEO Isaac Perlmutter’s anger with Fox Studios over negotiations regarding the film-and-related rights to The Fantastic Four, that Marvel would cancel the Fantastic Four comic rather than provide any promotion, however small it might be, towards the Fox Studios film. Merchandise and licenses were scrapped and even Fantastic Four posters in the offices were pulled down lest Perlmutter see one and have his ire raised. It may not have been logical, but it was a decision born of personal emotion. It was steadied by sense.”

On a brighter note, 2015 will also bring about some exciting new titles! First up is the only re-launch title in the line-up, with Uncanny Avengers debuting a new issue #1 and a new team following the events currently taking place in Axis (which will be featured in next week’s Weekly Pull review of Axis: Book One : The Red Supremacy!). 2015 will also bring an Ant-Man solo book to the shelves to hype the upcoming Marvel Cinematic feature. This is an incredibly smart move on Marvels behalf, giving fans the chance to learn about the character long before his cinematic debut. The same strategy worked wonders for Guardians of the Galaxy, which published a good 2-3 story arcs before smashing the summer box office. Avengers fan favorite Squirrel Girl will also be receiving a series order branded as The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl to face off against DCs new tween take on Batgirl (which Demo Destroyer is thrilled about, if you can sense my sarcasm).

Finally, there’s also a little book that Marvel recently regained the right’s to from Dark Horse comics that will debut this January by Jason Aaron with art by John Cassaday : Star Wars. The series will follow the adventures of Luke Skywalker and company as they face the evil Empire in true Marvel fashion! Get hyped (you know Da_Fettman is)!

Until next time True Believers,

-ArchangelEZE

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