Marvel plans to introduce this monkey with guns, apparently drawn by Frank Cho, at Marvel.com on Monday.  In the announcement, Marvel asks, “Who is One of the Most Exciting New Characters of the Century?”  Since this was the art included, I guess they think it’s this guy.  Now, I don’t know if this works like “collector’s item first issue!” where if you have to TELL people it’s a collector’s item, then it’s probably not.  In any case, if you like Frank Cho or monkeys in a suit and tie, you may want to tune to Marvel.com on Monday and find out who this fella is.

Update: The character is named Hitman Monkey.  He’ll debut in a digital title this December and first appear in print in February’s “Deadpool” No. 20.

- Matt Price

There was some controversy over the new Captain America’s choice to carry a gun, back in Captain America #34.   Some retailers at the time expressed concern about it.  Now, Marvel’s released a provocative new promo, one in their series of promos with the title “What Price Victory?” promoting the upcoming Siege storyline.

Norman Osborn is being held at gunpoint by the new Captain America in the image.  Osborn has been responsible for a lot of the bad things that have happened to Marvel’s heroes in the past year, as Osborn himself was lionized following his part in stopping the Skrull invasion.   Siege looks to be a return to the classic Avengers lineup of Thor, Captain America and Iron Man.  But I wonder if New Cap’s use of a gun might play into his stepping aside from the Captain America role, allowing a return of Steve Rogers?

(Of course, in Reborn right now, Steve Rogers isn’t quite ready to take over anything – but we’ll see how that story progresses, as well!)

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

- Matt Price

Marvel Comics’ Black Widow began as a Soviet spy, introduced as a foil for Iron Man in 1964’s “Tales of Suspense” No. 52. While her first few appearances saw her as an antagonist to Marvel heroes, she’s since joined with them, even leading the Avengers for a time.

The Black Widow, aka Natalia Romanova or Natasha Romanoff, will be played by Scarlett Johansson in next year’s film “Iron Man 2.” Marvel is doing its best to catch up readers on the character before the film, starting this week with the comic-book series “Black Widow: Deadly Origin.”

“Deadly Origin” is written by Paul Cornell, who wrote an acclaimed revamp of “Captain Britain” for Marvel Comics and is known for his work as a writer on the “Doctor Who” television series. The art is by Tom Raney.

“A hidden enemy is killing everyone our heroine, Natalia, has ever been close to: romantic partners, friends, people she was kind to in passing,” Cornell wrote on his blog at Paul Cornell.com. “The first issue has guest appearances by Wolverine, the Winter Soldier and Joe Stalin, flashbacks courtesy of John Paul Leon.”

Several of Black Widow’s earliest appearances, in “Tales of Suspense,” “Amazing Spider-Man” and “Daredevil,” as well as her own solo story in “Amazing Adventures,” are collected in the hardcover “Sting of the Black Widow.”

The Black Widow also pops up in two hardcover collections from Marvel slated to come out before “Iron Man 2.” The first, “Iron Man: Deadly Solutions,” collects the first seven issues of writer Kurt Busiek and artist Sean Chen’s work on the title in 1998.

“I’d assume the decision to reprint it has something to do with the second Iron Man movie coming out, and maybe the way my run has a fair amount in common with the movies — Pepper Potts as a major character, the goatee, the ‘smart’ house — or because they want Iron Man/Black Widow material out at the moment, and there’s not as much as people might think,” Busiek wrote at his Web site, Busiek.com.

Several of Black Widow’s solo appearances will be collected in the premiere hardcover “Black Widow: Web of Intrigue,” slated for a March 2010 release. This collection will include the George Perez-drawn Marvel Fanfare Nos. 10-13 from 1983, as well as Bizarre Adventures No. 25, and the graphic novel “Black Widow: The Coldest War.”

Writer Devin K. Grayson wrote a Marvel Knights miniseries starring the Black Widow in 1999, with a sequel, co-written by Greg Rucka (“Whiteout”) in 2001. In 2006, sci-fi novelist Richard K. Morgan wrote a Black Widow miniseries titled “Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her.”

Speaking at Comic-Con International in San Diego this summer, Johansson played close to the vest with how the Black Widow character would develop in the “Iron Man 2” film.

“We don’t know necessarily whether the character is villainous,” Johansson said. “She does have a dark past, and I think that she is very seductive and distracting and … we’re not sure exactly where she’s coming from and what her intentions are necessarily.”

Though “Iron Man 2” won’t focus exclusively on the Black Widow character, there’s a good chance the character could return in more Marvel films.

“I would love to see the character come back and, as I was saying, kind of reveal more about herself,” Johansson said.

Until then, Marvel fans can discover more about the character through the pages of Marvel’s comic books.

- By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

“Consumers in many locales have a choice of comic shops in which to buy their comics so we wanted to offer fans the same variety of digital storefronts to be able to purchase and consume Marvel comics,” said Ira Rubenstein, Executive Vice President, Marvel Digital Media, in a release. “It’s all about giving the consumer the best experience possible and the widest possible choice.”

Selected Marvel Comics will also be available for the PSP, and a selection is available online at Marvel’s Digital Comics Unlimited.  Of course, the chief distribution of Marvel Comics remains in print, in direct-market comic-book stores.

- Matt Price

Marvel Comics has provided a preview of “Mighty Avengers” 31, which features The Mighty Avengers, Young Avengers, New Avengers and more versus The Unspoken.   From Marvel’s news release:

Red hot writers Dan Slott and Christos N. Gage, along with fan-favorite artist Sean Chen, present the epic conclusion of the Avengers battle against the ancient enemy of the Inhumans! Hank Pym, newly named the Scientist Supreme, returns to Earth, but is his genius enough to help his Avengers allies turn the tide, after a lethal toxin turns many of the Avengers into a gang of mindless barbarians?

The issue goes on sale on Nov. 18.

The five finalists — from Los Angeles, New York, New Hampshire and Australia — will each receive $2,000 to expand their motion comic into a full-length story. These five, plus one additional “Wildcard” finalist, will compete for the grand prize of $10,000 and the opportunity to showcase their work across Marvel’s digital network, according to the release.

The winner will be announced Nov. 16, after a week of voting at aniboom.com.

Click past the cut to see the five finalists’ videos.

- Matt Price

Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at Aniboom

Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at Aniboom

Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at Aniboom

Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at Aniboom

Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at Aniboom

Matt Price and Kyle Roberts provide comic-book reviews for Incredible Hulk 602, Supergirl 46 and Justice League 38 in this week’s NewsOK Comics Podcast. It’s Hulk vs. Wolverine: The Next Generation in “Incredible Hulk” No. 602. The Hunt for Reactron ends in Supergirl 46. And James Robinson (”Starman”) begins his run on “Justice League of America” in issue No. 38.

Writer Andy Diggle (”Losers”) and artist Roberto De La Torre have a sellout on their hands with “Daredevil” No. 501, in which Matt Murdock accepts leadership of the murderous Hand ninjas.

This second printing features De La Torre’s interior artwork on the cover and will go on sale Nov. 25. Individual retail stores may still have first printings available.

- Matt Price

MTV Splash Page caught up with “Iron Man 2″ director Jon Favreau, who sadly says he won’t be available to direct the “Avengers” motion picture.

“They’ll have to [find a different director], because I’m not going to be available,” he said. “It’s something I’m being the executive producer on, so I’ll definitely have input and a say.”

Favreau adds whoever does direct “Avengers” will have to mix the technological world of “Iron Man” with the mythology-based world of “Thor.”

It’s too bad Favreau won’t do it – he’s been a great choice for “Iron Man” — but I’ll keep my fingers crossed for Marvel finding a director who will do an “Avengers” movie justice.

- Matt Price

Empire Online reports that Bryan Singer has met with Fox about possibly returning to the X-Men franchise.

“I’m still looking to possibly returning to the X-Men franchise. I’ve been talking to Fox about it,” said Singer. “I love Hugh Jackman. I love the cast.”

That indicates that Singer may be more likely to return to an “X-Men 4″ with the original film X-Men versus taking the helm of a reboot or an “X-Men First Class” set in the early days of Xavier’s school.

Click past the cut to vote on whether you think Singer should return to the X-Men.

Columbia Pictures is looking at making a sequel to Ghost Rider, according to Variety.   Variety also runs down activity at all the studios now focusing on keeping their Marvel superheroes employed, and that includes a new version of Daredevil.   Fox is said to be “quietly developing” a new version of the blind superhero.

At Fox, Fantastic Four is getting a reboot, and “Silver Surfer” remains in the works, as do various X-Men spinoffs and sequels.   Sony has James Vanderbilt writing Spider-Man 5 and 6.  Universal has “Sub-Mariner” in development.    And Paramount’s distribution deal including “Iron Man 2″ and planned “Avengers”-based films continues for now.

If the studios let the properties lag in development limbo, Marvel can reclaim them – much like it reclaimed “Iron Man” from New Line, Variety writes.

As far as Ghost Rider is concerned, writer David Goyer (”Batman Begins”) is in talks to write the sequel.

Mark Steven Johnson was the director of both “Daredevil” and “Ghost Rider.”  While “Daredevil” took a bit of a beating from critics and some fans, the director’s cut is actually a pretty decent take.  And I like “Ghost Rider,” despite some of its cheesiness.  I think they did about what you could expect with that character.  It’s not been reported if Johnson will be involved with either of the sequels.   It appears  Cage would return as Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider, while it seems unlikely that Ben Affleck would return as Matt Murdock/Daredevil.

- Matt Price

This December from Brian Michael Bendis, Michael Lark and David Finch, it’s the Iron Patriot versus Doctor Doom!

The Muppets recreate the Robin Hood legend, Marvel’s Dark Reign continues, and Superboy discovers more about himself in this week’s comics.

Whether “Spectacular Spider-Man” returns for a third season is up in the air, after a recent report from IGN.com that Sony had returned the “Spider-Man” live-action rights to Marvel. It’s not known if Disney, which recently bought Marvel, will continue to produce the show, which airs on Disney XD. But fans can check out an entire season of probably the best modern animated take on Spider-Man in “Spectacular Spider-Man Season 1.”

“The Spectacular Spider-Man” animated series is based on the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man and is set during his junior year of high school. Supervising producer Greg Weisman (“Gargoyles”) takes the essence of the original “Spider-Man” tales by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and updates them for the modern era.

Josh Keaton voices Peter Parker and his alter ego, Spider-Man. He brings a healthy dose of fun to the character. This 13-episode set delights in the wisecracking, fun-loving Spider-Man that made the character so popular for so many years. The look is stylized, perhaps anime-influenced, but works well in the context of the show.

“Spectacular” Season 1 introduces modern takes on classic villains, including the Lizard and the Rhino, as well as Spider-Man’s supporting cast: his friend Gwen Stacy, his guardian Aunt May and his rival Flash Thompson. The show provides plenty of action but also shows Peter learning from life lessons, making it an entertaining program for younger and longtime Spidey fans.

— Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

Things light up with Torch #1, and it’s the end of the world as we know it in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #2. In Supergirl Annual 1, find out the origin of Superwoman and visit a day in the life of Linda Lang.

- Matt Price

Variety reports that Fox is rebooting the “Fantastic Four” film franchise.   Whether or not this will mean recasting is up in the air, but signs point to probably.

Akiva Goldsman will oversee the reboot as producer.  I still hold him partially responsible for “Batman and Robin,” but maybe that’s not fair. Michael Green, (”Heroes” and the upcoming “Green Lantern” script) will write the script for the new “Fantastic Four” film.

The first thing this brings to mind for me is, is this Fox making sure they have the characters in development so they don’t revert back to Marvel, now with the power of Disney behind them?  Maybe.

According to Variety, Fox controls “Fantastic Four” in perpetuity — as long as it continues making the films.  This is the same deal Fox has on “X-Men,” “Daredevil” and “Silver Surfer.”  So, I’d expect to hear an announcement on “Daredevil” someday soon as well.

- Matt Price

- No plans to move Marvel away from Manhattan

- No plans to change Marvel’s creative structure

- Possibilities to exploit Marvel characters more fully via Disney infrastructure.

Click through for the full report.   I talked to indie comics creator and comic-book retailer Rob Vollmar, of Norman, to get his reaction to this morning’s report:

“It’s hard to say exactly what the sum impact of Disney’s acquisition of Marvel might be but my initial reaction was not a good one. Disney’s corporate approach to creativity is diametrically opposed to Marvel’s ’shout-across-the-office’ style of doing business. We should expect, of course, better movies and cartoons using Marvel characters, but I suspect the impact on the publishing wing over the next ten years forward will not be a good one. Up to this point, Marvel enjoyed a certain freedom to experiment that gave them a creative edge over DC and I can’t see that freedom not being reigned in by Disney’s desire to maintain a squeaky clean image. More broadly, this is just one more step towards the fewest number of companies controlling the greatest percentage of creative activity in the US and, in principle, I think that is bad for creator and consumer alike.”

Any other local creators, retailers or comic fans who have thoughts on the deal, feel free to comment here at Nerdage or contact me at mprice@opubco.com.
- Matt Price

SAN DIEGO – Although she was excited to join the “Iron Man” franchise as the Black Widow, actress Scarlett Johansson admitted it was intimidating to see the skintight costume.

“I had a freak-out moment, but then it only lasted about a half a day, and then it’s like, ‘Suck it up,’” said Johansson, promoting the film at Comic-Con.

She said in “Iron Man 2,” the Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow character is “a bit of a shape shifter.”

One side is demure and covert, while the other is aggressive and tough. “She does have a dark past, and I think that she is very seductive,” Johansson said.

Johansson wasn’t sorry to see the slinky cat-suit go at the end of filming, but said she looks forward to getting a chance to wear it again, perhaps bringing the character back in future installments.

“The character remains quite mysterious in this film,” Johansson said. “This movie is not about dealing with the Black Widow identity. Hopefully, if the character continues on, whether that be through ‘Avengers’ or something like that, we’ll be able to explore more of her past.”

In the comics, “The Avengers” is a team of superheroes including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and others. Black Widow has been a member of “The Avengers” in the comics, and Marvel currently has an “Avengers” film scheduled for 2012. Jon Favreau, director of “Iron Man 2,” is attached to “The Avengers” as an executive producer, and Robert Downey Jr., star of “Iron Man” and “Iron Man 2,” is likely to reprise his role as Tony Stark/Iron Man in “The Avengers” film. All of those are positive reasons for Johansson to return, she said.

“I loved making the film (Iron Man 2),” Johansson said. “I loved working with Jon. I loved working with Robert … so for me to be able to bring something like this back and kind of develop the character is exciting,” she said.

- by Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

Diora Baird, who appeared in Wedding Crashers and has a role in the upcoming film Stan Helsing, auditioned for a role in Marvel Comics’ Thor movie, according to her twitter feed.

Rama’s Screen reported on the twitter scoop, in which Baird writes:

Had an audition for the movie Thor today. Character description was ‘pretty, but sturdy with muscle’. Damn type casting.

Natalie Portman has been signed for the Jane Foster role in Thor.  Could Baird have been reading for an Asgardian, perhaps Sif or the Enchantress?

- Matt Price

Wolverine’s not going to be out of the limelight anytime soon.

Hugh Jackman announced at the recent Teen Choice Awards that work has begun on a second “Wolverine” film, to be set in Japan.

Meanwhile, Wolverine is also very busy in animation. The second DVD of the animated series “Wolverine and the X-Men” arrived in stores last month, and selected episodes are available to watch online at Marvel.com or to download from iTunes. The series airs on Nicktoons.

An anime version of Wolverine is in development to air in Japan and the U.S. Also on the way is “Super Hero Squad,” which will co-star Wolverine, scheduled to air on the Cartoon Network.

“The great thing about Wolverine is that he can be in ‘Super Hero Squad’ and be for young kids, and he can be in ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ and be like in the middle range, and then he can be in (the direct-to-DVD PG-13 animated film) ‘Hulk Vs. Wolverine,’” said Chris Yost, a writer for “Wolverine and the X-Men.”

“You immediately think, ‘This guy’s got knives on his hands; he’s really inappropriate for children.’ But you know, children respond to it. Children love Wolverine, and there’s a good reason for that. He’s a hero. There’s more to him than just violence.”

In “Wolverine and the X-Men,” Wolverine must take charge of the X-Men after an attack on the X-Mansion scatters the team. “With ‘Wolverine and the X-Men,’ we had an opportunity to show you the X-Men’s world as we know it,” Yost said in an interview at Comic-Con International in San Diego. “We know the mansion, we know the Danger Room. … And then immediately the show’s turned on its head by the events of the first episode.”

The attack on the mansion in the first episode is what resets the world from the X-Men we know into a world that shares similarities with the “Days of Future Past” story line from the comic books.

“Everything blows up, and everything is different,” Yost said. “Wolverine’s now in charge, and Scott’s all brooding, and Jean (Grey) and Xavier are gone. It was a very conscious decision to show normal, and then get into what the show is going to be.”

“Wolverine and the X-Men” follows a long, epic journey in Wolverine’s attempts to reunite the team as they deal with mutant prejudice and the threat of Magneto.

“I believe there are things you can do in animation, like with ‘Wolverine and the X-Men,’ the scope and the epic scale of that story, you’re never going to see that in a movie, ever,” he said.

Yost also co-wrote the “Hulk Vs. Wolverine” script with Craig Kyle, and writes the character in the monthly “X-Force” comic book, also with Kyle. Yost said he considers himself lucky to have been able to chronicle Wolverine’s adventures in various media.

“With the DVDs, with the comics, it’s being able to show different sides of this character,” Yost said. “At the end of the day, he’s always a hero.”

- by Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

SAN DIEGO – The War Machine armor worn by James “Rhodey” Rhodes made its debut in a film clip shown at Comic-Con International, and “Iron Man 2″ co-star Don Cheadle got his first look at the armor along with 6,000-plus screaming fans.

“It was pretty incredible,” Cheadle said of the experience. “I hadn’t seen any of the footage cut together, I didn’t know what to expect. … And even as good as that looked, that’s still not the end result. That’s not totally finished. So it’s like, wow, it’s going to really be awesome.”

Cheadle replaces Terrence Howard as Rhodes in the “Iron Man” sequel set for next summer, but says there’s no bad blood between him and Howard about the change in roles.

“Terrance has been a friend for a while. I produced ‘Crash’ and put him in ‘Crash,’” Cheadle said at an interview at Comic-Con. “And, I was his friend before that, too, so he knew there was no beef. I didn’t snake a part from Terrance. He was cool with me.”

Cheadle said Howard was the first person to wish him good luck on the film, and by the time he came on, Howard “was already not doing the movie.”

Cheadle researched his role by checking out the comic-book history of Rhodes and War Machine. The character first appeared in the January 1979 issue of Iron Man and was created by David Michelinie and Bob Layton. Rhodes took over as Iron Man temporarily, starting with “Iron Man” No. 170 from 1983. Rhodes first donned the War Machine armor in 1992.

“I went back and looked at a lot of different (comics),” Cheadle said. “There’s so many different iterations of James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes in the comic books. It was hard to go, well, I want to be the one in 1982. It’s like, which one am I picking?”

Cheadle said he tried to go with the common denominator of Rhodes’ friendship with Tony and how it’s affected when Tony reveals to the world that he is Iron Man.

“I am in the military, and there’s a chain-of-command that I have to follow, but (Tony is) working outside of the military,” Cheadle said. “That was the strain, that was the tension that was between their relationship that drives the whole movie, for our characters.”

Cheadle said rather than try to match directly with what Howard did in the first movie, the filmmakers worked with him to create a performance that worked for the story in “Iron Man 2.”

“That’s why I liked how we kind of just dealt with it right up front, first scene, first moment that I was here on screen, say something about it and then just move on,” Cheadle said.

Cheadle said he had no trepidations about signing on to be in possible sequels or spin-offs from “Iron Man.”

“Well, what I know is that no matter what you sign, if the movie isn’t successful, it doesn’t matter how many movies we decide we were going to do, the public will say, ‘We don’t want any more,’” he said. “So, you want them to be successfulm and if they are successful, then, good, why wouldn’t you want be in more?”

“Iron Man 2″ is scheduled for release May 7. The collection “Iron Man: War Machine,” available now, collects Rhodey’s first appearances in the “Iron Man” armor. War Machine appears in an ongoing series from Marvel Comics, written by Greg Pak (”World War Hulk”). The first five issues of the current “War Machine” series are collected in “War Machine: Iron Heart,” released in July.

- By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

SAN DIEGO – Sequels often promise bigger, faster, more. “Iron Man 2″ is no exception, offering an introduction of even more heroes and villains from the pages of Marvel Comics. But, star Robert Downey Jr. says, the filmmakers also wanted the story to be a logical outgrowth of the events of the first film.

“We … tore our eyebrows out to try to find the best way to express the complexities of what really would happen (in this film),” Downey said. The filmmakers, including Downey and director Jon Favreau, wanted a realistic emotional take on what would happen to Tony Stark.

Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark.

“No sooner has he said, ‘I am Iron Man,’ than he is wondering what that means. And if you have all this cushion, like he does, and the public is on your side, and you have immense wealth and power, I think he’s way too insulated to be OK.”

Downey certainly had the public on his side at his recent Comic-Con International appearance, where about five minutes of footage from the “Iron Man” sequel were played for several thousand screaming fans.

When Downey appeared at Comic-Con two years ago to promote the first “Iron Man,” the character was a lesser-known Marvel Comics character to the general public. Now, “Iron Man 2″ is a hotly anticipated sequel that was many comic fans’ most anticipated panel of the convention.

“It all started here,” Favreau told the Comic-Con crowd, after walking out to riotous cheers as the song “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath played.

“Nobody cared before you guys did.”

Robert Downey Jr. at Comic-Con International (AP)

Fans got a look at Nick Fury, director of a shadowy government agency, portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson, who appeared in the after-credits sequence of “Iron Man.” Also making an appearance in the preview footage were Garry Shandling, as an anti-Stark senator; Don Cheadle as Jim Rhodes; Mickey Rourke as Russian inventor Ivan Vanko; Scarlett Johannson as the Black Widow; and Sam Rockwell as rival arms dealer Justin Hammer. Cheadle replaced Terrence Howard in the role of Rhodes. Fans at Comic-Con got the first look at Rhodes’ variant of the Iron Man armor, called War Machine.

And that’s not the only new tech in “Iron Man 2.” Vanko develops his own mechanized weapon and apparently has a grudge against Stark.

“I think the footage has tipped the fact that (Stark is) struggling with some sort of contamination of his own system,” Downey said. “And he has a very formidable guy saying, I don’t care what everyone thinks about you, I know that you come from a family of murderers and thieves and I’m going to take you out of your misery. And maybe he almost half wants that to happen.”

Hammer, meanwhile, appears ready to take on some of the arms work that Stark is refusing.

Kevin Feige, Robert Downey Jr., and Jon Favreau at Comic-Con panel. (AP)

“Justin Hammer is ready to step in and fill Tony’s shoes, and say ‘Hey dude, just let me do it for you.’ But if you look at Justin Hammer and you look at the way Sam Rockwell plays him, you’d be like, ‘Not you buddy. You are a jerk. I don’t trust you.’ And maybe he should have trusted him, or maybe he’s more trustworthy than Tony thinks.”

Stark’s problem in this film is his self-reliance. It worked for him in the first film, as he was able to build an armor that saved his life, but Downey said Stark has to learn he can’t solve everything simply by putting his mind to it.

“I think that’s the big lesson in this film, is that he has to utilize not only all of his own resources, but the resources of those close to him and then resources from somewhere he never ever ever could have imagined.”

“Iron Man 2″ is scheduled for release May 7, 2010.

By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman

The time-lost Steve Rogers, the original Captain America, is at the center of Captain America Reborn 2. Rogers has come unstuck in time, and jumps through his own personal history in the World War II era, reliving key moments, but unable to affect them.  Meanwhile, in the present, the new Captain America faces off against Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers.  Also, the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards finds a curious clue.

Writer Ed Brubaker, whose Captain America run has largely stayed out of the bigger Marvel crossover events, gets pulled definitively into Dark Reign in this issue.  The way Brubaker writes it, it’s as if it had been planned all along.  More is revealed about the Red Skull’s overall plan, and Osborn approaches Crossbones and Sin to get in on the deal.

The flashbacks to Cap’s past bring readers up to speed about what’s so great about the character Steve Rogers.  It works as a primer while seeming fresh. Meanwhile, the modern Cap, the former Bucky, shows how he’s grown as a hero through Brubaker’s run.

Artist Bryan Hitch’s art is solid, but really shines in the World War II era battle scenes.  Hitch is working with Butch Guice on the series, and the artwork is pretty seamless.

Reborn fits in well with the Captain America saga Brubaker has been chronicling in the regular title for more than 50 issues, and is a successful outing especially for those who have been patiently awaiting Steve Rogers’ return.

- Matt Price

Marvel has released another promo piece of art from its upcoming “Punisher RIP,” this one is labeled “Frankencastle” and has a date of November 2009 on it.  All the e-mail indicates is that it’s “Punisher like you’ve never seen him before.”

- Matt Price

Tiny Wolverine guest-stars as Kyle Roberts and Matt Price discuss big Wolverine’s absence in other Marvel titles this week. Also: Detective Comics 855 and a Blackest Night tie-in.

Marvel has released the Planet Hulk trailer that was first shown at Comic-Con International at San Diego. Stay tuned to Nerdage for much more about Planet Hulk and other animated Marvel projects.

- Matt Price

You can check out my report on the anime portion of the Marvel animation panel at NewsOK.

- Matt Price

The new team of Jonathan Hickman (Nightly News) and Dale Eaglesham (JSA) take over Fantastic Four with issue #570, and Marvel Comics has released a preview of that art.

- Matt Price

SAN DIEGO — Sam Rockwell said there’s some pressure coming into a high-profile project like “Iron Man 2,” but added that director Jon Favreau made the process very actor-friendly.

The actor, receiving great buzz for his role in the sci-fi film “Moon,” attended the “Iron Man 2″ presentation in Hall H of the San Diego Convention Center on Saturday and talked to reporters following the panel.

“It’s definitely nerve-wracking; the first one was such a big success,” he said of the pressures of “Iron Man 2.”  “But you find a home and realize there’s a reason you’re there.”

Rockwell plays a rival arms dealer to Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, in “Iron Man 2.”

“He’s kind of a Tony Stark wannabe,” Hammer said. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to take Tony down.”

Rockwell said most of his scenes in the film are with Mickey Rourke’s Ivan, who becomes the Whiplash character.

“I’m sort of a patron of evil,” Rockwell said. “Mickey is the main adversary.  I come to his aid.”

The comic-book Justin Hammer is an older British man. So Rockwell obviously took some liberties from that version of the character.

“I looked at the comics, but they wanted me to create something a little different,” Rockwell said.  He also said he decided against playing the character with an accent due to the amount of improvisation “Iron Man 2″ required.

Meanwhile, the fan and critic accolades keep coming in for “Moon.”  Rockwell, who described himself as a sci-fi fan, was asked about his Oscar chances for the film.

“It’s very flattering,” he said. “From their lips to God’s ears.  It’s very early in the year for that sort of thing.”

- Matthew Price

SAN DIEGO — Cort Lane of Marvel Animation, Masao Maruyama of Madhouse, Alex Yeh of Madhouse and writer Warren Ellis were on hand at the Marvel Animation panel to discuss Marvel’s forays into the anime world.

Clips were shown of the upcoming “Wolverine” and “Iron Man” projects, which will be written by Ellis.  Ellis indicated “Blade” and “X-Men” would be the other two properties developed for this project.

Lane said the project was “a re-imagining of key Marvel characters in the anime format.”

Yeh, translating for Maruyama, said the company was aiming for “a perfect marriage of traditional anime with Marvel characters.”

Ellis said he enjoyed the freedom, and money, he’d been given in animation.

“You get to do visual narrative with very few hurdles between you and the audience,” he said.

The Iron Man story will be set in Tokyo, Ellis said, and is about an unexpected clash of cultures and the history of weapon design.

Wolverine has its basis in the 1980s miniseries by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller.

Blade, a character Ellis said he’d never written before, would have ties to London and a more novelistic approach.

The X-Men was the final anime mentioned as being in development at the panel.

- Matt Price