If there’s one thing Marvel has proven over the last several years it’s that Iron Man is as popular as ever. With the character’s succes in movies come a renewed level of interest in his comic book exploits as well.

Fortunately, Marvel isn’t resting on its laurels and keeps turing out great stories for its major characters, Iron Man included. Now, with things heating up in the Marvel U and Tony Stark having problems, a new Iron Man is coming to take matters into his (or her) own hands.

That’s the story in Marvel’s upcoming Invincible Iron Man #518. The story, from writer Matt Fraction and artist Salvador Larroca, concerns “the Spymaster’s rampage within Stark Resilient and that incident’s bloody end. The Mandarin is throwing everything he’s got at Tony Stark including amped up super villains. With a big target painted on his back, can Tony Stark make it out alive? Can the new Iron Man save him in time?”

I guess we’ll see when Invincible Iron Man #518 hits comic shops, the Marvel Comics app, and Marvel Digital Comic Shop on June 6. In the meantime, check out some previews for the comic after the break.

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If there’s one thing that send waves of excitement through comic book nerds everywhere it’s epic battles between superhuman combatants. So you can imagine how excited comic book fans will be when two groups of these titans meet to do battle for the fate of the entire Marvel Universe.

Let’s just say it’s going to be epic. Want to know more? Of course you do.

Here’s all the scoop from the official Marvel press release:

From the powerhouse creative team of Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Aaron, Matt Fraction, Jonathan Hickman, Ed Brubaker, John Romita Jr., Adam Kubert and Olivier Copiel comes a groundbreaking event pitting Earth’s Mightiest against the X-Men with the entire Marvel Universe at stake. Cyclops and his team believe the arrival of the Phoenix Force will save mutantkind, but Captain America is convinced it will destroy the world! But who is right?

Who indeed? Check out an image of the first cover after the break. Look for Avengers vs. X-Men to hit store shelves on April 3.

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When you happen to be one of the biggest comic book and media companies in the world and you have all these characters you’ve created over the years, it must be difficult to figure out what to do with all of them. Well, if you’re Marvel, it seems like they’ve found an answer: have them fight each other.

Much like they did during the “Civil War” event from a few years back, a bunch of characters from the Marvel U, The Avengers and X-Men specifically, are being pitted against each other in a brand new upcoming comics event.

Here’s all the scoop directly from Marvel:

The Avengers and X-Men have learned that the all-powerful embodiment of both death and rebirth known as the Phoenix Force is on a crash course for Earth…and it needs a new host to unleash its immeasurable power. But what is the shocking decision tied to the Phoenix’s return that will pit the Avengers against the X-Men? And when good friends become bitter enemies, what does this mean for the future of the Marvel Universe?

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One of our favorite comic book writers, Matt Fraction, has a new series coming out from Marvel and we are, of course, excited to bring you a preview of it today. The new comic, called Defenders, takes the superhero genre and bends it in a brand new and very fun way.

But don’t take our word for it, here’s the official scoop from Marvel:

When the impossible is everywhere and the very fabric of reality is threatened by insanity, the world needs more than super heroes…they need Defenders! Enter Defenders #1, from the top-selling creative team of Matt Fraction (Fear Itself, Invincible Iron Man, Mighty Thor) and Terry Dodson (Uncanny X-Men), as Doctor Strange assembles a new team of heroes to face a new kind of threat that will leave readers shocked.

Doctor Strange, Iron Fist, Namor, Red She-Hulk, Silver Surfer and more of your favorite Marvel Heroes will band together exploring corners of the Marvel Universe you never knew existed for missions so deadly they have to be kept secret. Once a Defender, always a Defender – no matter the cost or sacrifice.

Fraction is joined by artist Terry Dodson and to help get you as excited as we are, check out poreview pages for the comic after the break. Look for Defenders #1 in comic shops on December 7.

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That’s right comic book fans, it’s that time of the week again. New comics time!

New comics are out tomorrow from our friends at Marvel and, as always, we’ve got some we’re really interested in reading. Among the new ones coming out, we’re looking forward to Carnage #5, Deadpool #39, Wolverine #11, Iron Man 2.0 #6 and Secret Avengers #14.

As with most weeks, new comics out on Wednesday, so hit your nearest comic book store for best selection as many people may thing today is new comic book day this week.

Don’t know where your nearest comic store is? Use this handy guide to find one.

Comics On-Sale:

BLACK PANTHER: THE MAN WITHOUT FEAR #520
CAPTAIN AMERICA #619
CAPTAIN AMERICA #619 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT
CARNAGE #5
DEADPOOL #39
DEADPOOL #39 I AM CAPTAIN AMERICA VARIANT
DISNEY*PIXAR PRESENTS: CARS 2 #1
FANTASTIC FOUR: THE LAST STAND #1
FEAR ITSELF #2 2ND PRINTING VARIANT (FI)
INCREDIBLE HULKS #631
IRON MAN 2.0 #6 (FI)

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That’s right comic book fans, it’s that time of the week again. New comics are coming out from our friends at Marvel tomorrow and, as always, we’ve got some we’re really interested in reading.

Among the new ones coming out, we’re looking forward to Secret Warriors #27, Wolverine #9,  Secret Avengers #13, Deadpool #37 and FF #4.

As with most weeks, new comics arrive on Wednesday (that’s tomorrow!), so hit your nearest comics book store early for best selection.

Don’t know where your nearest comic store is? Use this handy guide to find one.

Comics On-Sale:
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #662
ASTONISHING SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #6
CAPTAIN AMERICA #618
CAPTAIN AMERICA #618 X-MEN EVOLUTIONS VARIANT
DAKEN: DARK WOLVERINE #9.1
DEADPOOL #37
DISNEY*PIXAR PRESENTS: CARS
FEAR ITSELF: BOOK OF THE SKULL #1 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
FF #4
FF #4 DJURDJEVIC CHARACTER VARIANT
INCREDIBLE HULKS #629
IRON MAN 2.0 #5 (FI)
NAMOR: THE FIRST MUTANT #10
ONSLAUGHT UNLEASHED #4
ORSON SCOTT CARD’S SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD #5
POWER MAN AND IRON FIST #5

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That’s right comic book fans, it’s that time of the week again. New comics are coming out from our friends at Marvel today and, as always, we’ve got some we’re really interested in reading.

Among the new ones coming out, we’re looking forward to Alpha Flight #0.1, Astonishing X-Men #38,  Deadpool Max #8, Uncanny X-Force #10 and X-23 #10.

As with most weeks, new comics arrive on Wednesday (that’s today!), so hit your nearest comics book store early for best selection.

Don’t know where your nearest comic store is? Use this handy guide to find one.

Comics On-Sale:

ALPHA FLIGHT #0.1
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #661
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #661 X-MEN EVOLUTIONS VARIANT
ASTONISHING X-MEN #38
AVENGERS #13 (FI)
AVENGERS #13 X-MEN EVOLUTIONS VARIANT (FI)
AVENGERS ACADEMY #14
CAPTAIN AMERICA: FIRST VENGEANCE #2
DEADPOOL MAX #8
FEAR ITSELF #1 2ND PRINTING WRAPAROUND VARIANT
GENERATION HOPE #7
GENERATION HOPE #7 THOR HOLLYWOOD VARIANT
HAWKEYE: BLINDSPOT #4
HERC #3 (FI)
HERC #3 X-MEN EVOLUTIONS VARIANT (FI)

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While Thor has hammered the competition in theaters, it looks as though this will not be the case for the console release of the tie-in game Thor: God of Thunder. Archaic visuals alongside punishing and repetitive gameplay place Thor: God of Thunder amongst the list of failed movie to game tie ins, though the story doesn’t directly coincide with that of the Thor motion picture.

Gameplay:

Thor: God of Thunder attempts to model itself around other successful action games such as God of War or Dante’s Inferno. Players make their way through specific pathways in levels where they hack and smash through redundant hordes of faceless drones.

Thor uses standard melee attacks alongside his powers of wind, thunder and lightning and hammer throws to defeat these enemies. The downside to these god powers is they aren’t exactly very powerful and Thor’s Odinforce (think of it like Mana or Action Points) quickly depletes, leaving him with only a few sparks to shoot off over the course of combat. The rest of the time, players can simply button mash the standard attack button until grapple options become available.

As mentioned previously, Thor combats larger enemies by actually climbing up them and attacking specific spots on their body to inflict more damage. This, much like the rest of combat, becomes quickly repetitive in finding a way to dodge enemies until they are stunning to where Thor must repeatedly beat their armor off of them to uncover their weak spot. Though different enemies have different spots that must be destroyed, the principal doesn’t change.

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Only a few weeks away, Thor: God of Thunder crashes down upon store shelves on May 3rd. But before the release of the game that coincides with, but doesn’t depend upon, the Thor movie, SEGA has released a special behind the scenes video for the game. SEGA has been doing everything they can to show the quality of this title before its release to help get the horrid aftertaste of Iron Man 2 out of gamers’ memories.

In this behind the scenes trailer, producers give some insight in to how the game’s combat will be structured. The main crux of Thor: God of Thunder’s action will rely upon his hammer as a melee weapon with the god powers acting as support. The thunder powers seeming will affect enemy statuses with stun effects, wind powers will help control groups of enemies and lighting will act as a damage dealing source. These powers also look to combine with Thor’s famous hammer Mjohnir as can be seen in some of the special attacks in the video.

The grapple system is also an interesting aspect to the game as it seems like a smaller scale version of Shadow of the Colossus. Players don’t just fight these enemies that tower over them. They must actually climb their way up to deal a fatal blow against their opponents. These gigantic fights help players feel like they are a part of the Thor world as these epic encounters are part of what makes Thor different from other “street level” heroes. While Spider-Man or Captain America may occasionally be forced to take on a gigantic monster or robot attacking their city, it is commonplace for Thor. It allows players to feel the power of the god they control on screen.

The only real red flag that comes up from the BTS video is the graphics of the Wii version. While the look of the PlayStation 3 and XBox 360 versions are not exactly mindblowing, the Wii continues to look farther and farther back in time in terms of visual quality as more time passes. As a result, the Wii version of Thor: God of Thunder isn’t a very pretty game at all.

Take a peek after the jump of Thor: God of Thunder and stick to the Flickcast for more news as it becomes available.

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That’s right comic book fans, it’s that time of the week again. New comics are coming out from our friends at Marvel tomorrow and, as always,  we’ve got some we’re really interested in reading.

Among the new ones coming out, we’re looking forward to Herc #1, Uncanny X-Men #534.1,  Deadpool Family #1, Annihilators #2, and Fear Itself #1.

As with most weeks, new comics arrive on Wednesday, so hit your nearest comics book store early for best selection.

Don’t know where your nearest comic store is? Use this handy guide to find one.

Comics On-Sale:
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #38
ANNIHILATORS #2
ANNIHILATORS #2 DAVIS VARIANT
AVENGERS, THOR & CAPTAIN AMERICA: OFFICIAL INDEX TO THE MARVEL UNIVERSE #12
AVENGERS: THE CHILDREN’S CRUSADE #5
CAPTAIN AMERICA: HAIL HYDRA #4
CARNAGE #3 2ND PRINTING VARIANT
DEADPOOL FAMILY #1
EMMA #2
FEAR ITSELF #1
FEAR ITSELF #1 BLANK COVER VARIANT
FEAR ITSELF #1 COMICSPRO VARIANT
FEAR ITSELF #1 FF 50TH ANNIVERSARY VARIANT

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Movies, TV shows, comics, everything is better with a trailer to promote it. So, with that in mind, we bring you a trailer for Marvel’s upcoming comic book series Fear Itself, written by Matt Fraction with art by Stuart Immonen.

Make no mistake, folks, this looks pretty cool. Plus, it just might give you some insight into upcoming Marvel movies and other projects. Pay close attention.

Before the video, here’s the official word from marvel:

Iron Breaks. Soldiers Fall. Gods Die.

Get your first look at the official trailer to FEAR ITSELF #1 right here! Comic luminaries Matt Fraction and Stuart Immonen deliver the most anticipated event of 2011, as Spider-Man, Captain America, Wolverine, Iron Man and the rest of Earth’s mightiest heroes find themselves embroiled in a war against the God of Fear…and at the center of a secret that will rock the Marvel Universe.

Check out the trailer after the break. Fear Itself hits comic book store shelves on April 6th.

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It’s beginning to look a lot like Asgard around here as we start to see more and more from our friends at Marvel featuring the God of Thunder, Thor. Earlier today we brought you more on the upcoming game featuring the character. Now, with the big screen Thor slated to drop soon, Marvel hasn’t forgotten the character’s comic book roots and is set to devote more pages to him with an all-new comic book series.

Written by the Eisner Award-winning Matt Fraction with art by superstar Olivier Coipel, this new Thor will usher in “a bold new era for the kingdom of Asgard. But when the Silver Surfer suddenly appears to herald the arrival of Galactus in the Odinson’s realm, can the combined might of Thor and his brethren push back the devourer of worlds?” I don’t know but I bet it will be one heck of a fight.

To get you prepared for this struggle, we’ve got some preview pages for the comic to share today. Looking at them you really get a sense that this story is going to be pretty epic.

Check out the preview pages after the jump. The Mighty Thor hits store shelves on April 27th.

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