Geek of Oz

I'm not usually a big fan of events. It doesn't matter who's writing it or what characters are starring in it, I always walk away at very least a little disappointed. So naturally I came into 'Battle of the Atom' with skepticism. Even with Brain Micheal Bendis' current flawless runs on 'All New X-men' and 'Uncanny X-men' I've been hurt too many times before to dive into a new event without any reservations. And I was right to be a bit nervous, as 'Battle of the Atom' is a highly entertaining albeit confusing affair. Marvel's 'Battle of the Atom' hardcover collects the entire 'Battle of the Atom' event (All New X-men #16-17, Uncanny X-men #12-13, Wolverine and the X-men #36-37, X-men: Battle of the Atom #1-2 and X-men #5-6). Although Brian Wood and Jason Aaron script their usual X-men series for the event (X-men as well as Wolverine and the X-men respectively), it's obvious that this is very much Bend...

The battle begins in March with our first look at Marvel's latest event, Avengers VS X-Men. Who will reign supreme? Who will be left licking their wounds? X-Men may be a scrappy bunch but I've got my money on The Avengers.  Check out the official press release and some beautiful art by Frank Cho and the return of the Scarlet Witch.

ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #1 Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS Penciled by SARA PICHELLI Cover by KAARE ANDREWS (Cover will be POLYBAGGED) Variant Cover by SARA PICHELLI I was a massive fan of the original Ultimate Spider-Man run which lasted for 133 issues and nearly 10 years. Following its "cancellation" and rebirth I decided not to get it, partially for monetary reasons but also out of some stupid brand of protest which is almost exclusive to we geeks "I love it so much that I refuse to get it because of changes made". I'm sure we've all done this at one point or another. In fact, I'm quite sure that there are many of us out there doing the exact same thing in retaliation to the DC relaunch and Lucas' latest changes to Star Wars. But, I digress...

In big news from the House of Ideas, Mark Bagley is confirmed to return in March to Brian M. Bendis' Ultimate Comics Spiderman. Bendis and Bagley were the original creators of USM and currently hold the record for the longest run for one creative team. These were the glory days for USM, a time that I'd be happy to revisit. In equally exciting news, Mr Bendis revealed via Twitter that fan-favourite artist Chris Samness will be on art duties for Ultimate Comics Spiderman #155.

The good folks at Marvel have supplied us with a preview of the upcoming Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #15 written by superstar writer Brian Michael Bendis with art by Ultimate Comics débutante Sara Pichelli. I have the entire run of Ultimate Comics but jumped off at the time of the relaunch. Needless to say,  I'm kicking myself now...

I'm not sure why, but I just keep getting interviews with some of the biggest names in comic books. Some say it's because of my devilishly good looks, to this my wife says 'nay! It's far more likely to be out of pity but either way, I'll take it. Read on for our chat about digital comics, medical opinions on event fatigue and Crocodile Dundee. So here today I present to you the current writer of Avengers, New Avengers, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man and the massive smash hit Scarlet, Mr. Brian Michael Bendis.