Highlights from Marvel's January solicitations

Let's get right in there, shall we?

* Warren Ellis kicks off the last part of his Ultimate Galactus trilogy by introducing... Misty Knight. Uh... yes. Well, best of luck to him, then.

* Mike Carey's Ultimate Fantastic Four/Ultimate X-Men crossover ends, followed by the first issue of Robert Kirkman's run. At this point I'm seriously considering dropping Ultimate X-Men - Kirkman's never impressed me in any capacity, and considering Bryan Singer's slated to follow him, the future looks bleak indeed. Still, on the off-chance that Kirkman might do something interesting, I'm still labeling this as "wait and see".

* Seems "The Other" has been expanded to a fourth month of Spider-book crossovers. Well, that's just another month I'm not reading "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man".

* Kevin Smith's "Spider-Man/Black Cat" miniseries promises to conclude. Strangely, the guy who writes the solicits seems very proud of the fact that the sixth issue has come out at all, promising a story that'll have us all debating and discussing. Personally, I think it's a little late in the day for that. If this story meant anything at all, its reprecussions would've turned up by now.

* Mike Oeming starts an "Ares" miniseries. Yes, Ares. I'm stumped too; another "wait and see", then.

* Bendis and Maleev's run on "Daredevil" comes to an end. I'd be leaving too, except the next team promises to do an even better job: Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. Happy happy joy joy. :)

* "X-Statix" is back with a five-issue miniseries. Welcome back, my darlings; I've missed you.

* A six-issue "Daughters of the Dragon" miniseries begins. I'd check it out, but the writing team is Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti and they're on my "Don't Bother" list.

* Conversely, Paul Di Filippo starts a five-issue "Doc Samson" mini, and my interest is piqued. Could go either way, of course.

* "Amazing Fantasy" continues the "Death's Head 3.0" story; the backup story running through this arc is revealed to be a Morbius tale by Steve Niles. No mention as to whether it's a revamp or not, but didn't we just finish a vampire story a few issues ago?

* Ellis begins his twelve-part "Nextwave" miniseries, and it strikes me as a little too acidic, a touch too tongue-in-cheek to enjoy. Ellis is very vocal regarding his hatred towards superheroes; so whenever he writes superheroes, it never turns out very well. I'll pass.

* The New Avengers go public. In issue #15. Hmm.

* Jessica Jones' baby is born in "Pulse" #13. I still don't care, even if "Jessica Jones and Luke Cage's life will never be the same again!!" If I had a Mandy icon from "Grim and Evil", I would use it here.

* Brendan Cahill (never heard of him) starts a six-issue miniseries starring Silver Sable, apparently in the superspy genre. Another "wait and see", though I'm not expecting much.

* "Astonishing X-Men Saga" promises "the entire story in one easily digestible 48-page one-shot!" If I didn't like AXM so much, I'd ask why it took twelve issues to tell a 48-page story, but I do, so bygones. :)

* "Exiles" #75 and #76 comprise the 2099 segment of the "World Tour". I can't wait. :)

* Paul Jenkins' "Mythos" miniseries begins. Apparently the remit is to retell the origin of Marvel mainstays, mixing movie and comics so it fits neither. And they claim it's the perfect jumping-on point for new readers from any camp. Whatever...

* Two Decimation miniseries, "Sentinel Squad One" and "X-Men: The 198", launch. They're both "House of M" follow-ups, which is a big check in the minus column, but they're written by John Layman and David Hine, respectively. I'm still very uncertain as to which books I'll be following, given that I've utterly rejected "House of M" - more "wait and see", then. Meanwhile, "Colossus: Bloodlines" (another Hine mini) concludes.

* Claremont's "X-Men: The End" begins its final six-part mini. Does anyone still care?

* "Supreme Power: Hyperion" concludes. "Nighthawk" doesn't, having been extended to six issues.

* Curiously, "Powers" #17 is solicited, even though #16 was delayed into January as well and #17 isn't on the Marvel catalog at all. *shrug*

And that's about it for my highlights. You can find the full solicitations text at Newsarama: http://www.newsarama.com/marvelnew/Jan06/Jan05solicits.html