Marvel Adventures The Avengers #26
Cover: Leonard Kirk

You can barely make him out, but Wolverine is standing in the corner of the dugout. That’s as close as he gets to the latest issue of ‘Marvel Adventures the Avengers’.

And we can all thank God for small favors as this story is especially dreadful, even by Marvel Adventures’ standards.

From Marvel (preview): “It’s the bottom of the ninth, the Avengers are down by two, two strikes down and bases loaded. The stakes for the Cosmic Pennant have never been higher. How will Galactus call this one? Okay… we admit. We have no idea what’s going on in this story. Kirk drew the cover, and now Parker has to come up with something. THAT’S GOOD COMICS!!!” On sale July 16, 2008.

GeNext #1
Cover: Doug Gregory Alexander

Chris Claremont continues the storyline he began in the ‘X-Men: The End’ trilogy, chronicling the next generation of X-Men.

Luckily it’s not as verbose as one might expect coming from Claremont.

And while Wolverine only barely cameos on the cover, it is a safe bet he will make an appearance later in the run.

From Marvel (preview): “You asked for it, X-Fans, and now, you got it! Marvel.com asked you what Chris Claremont’s next project should be. You, the fans, said you wanted to know what today’s new generation of X-Men would be like if the Marvel Universe aged in real-time! Who are the children of the X-Men? And what happened to the original team, Professor X, and Magneto after over 30 years of conflict, victories, and tragedies? Now, at last, the answers arrive as beloved X-Men scribe Chris Claremont reveals an all-new generation of mutant teens!”
On sale May 14, 2008.

Avengers/Invaders #1
Cover: Alex Ross

Awesome cover by Alex Ross (see larger version here) featuring Wolverine as part of the New Avengers.

Unfortunately, no Wolverine on the inside.

All in all, a very auspicious start to what promises to be an interesting series.

From Marvel: “The original Invaders (Captain America , Bucky , Human Torch , Toro , and the Sub-Mariner) return in a twelve issue maxi-series by the award winning team behind EARTH X, Justice and Project Superpowers .The greatest super-team of World War II finds themselves transported from the battlefields of the Second World War to a future they never imagined! Now, the Invaders find themselves confronted by two teams of Avengers who want desperately to believe these heroes are who they say they are, while Tony Stark faces his greatest challenge since the Civil War as he must deal with the ‘return’ of Steve Rogers. Confronted by a world they barely recognize, the Invaders will have to show two teams of the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes just what kind of power, courage and sheer determination it took to defeat the forces of unrelenting evil in the Twentieth century. In fact… they may just have to do it again in the Twenty-First. ” On sale May 7, 2008.

I’ve decided to unveil a new category: Covers — issues that only feature Wolverine on the cover, but not in the story itself. For the inaugural post, we have two issues, one from last week (March 26) and one from this week (April 2)…

Marvel Atlas #2
Cover: Staz Johnson

From Marvel: “Your only guide to Marvel’s Earth concludes! Antarctica, Africa, the Middle East, and North, Central and South America are highlighted as the Marvel Atlas plans your trip to Wakanda, Atlantis, the Savage Land, Sky Island and the U.S.A. (home of a super hero or two)! Visit the realms of the Black Panther, the Initiative, Omega Flight, the Sub-Mariner, Ka-Zar and more…” On sale March 26, 2008.
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Young X-Men #1
Cover: Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson

From Marvel: “In the wake of Messiah CompleX, there are no X-Men and young mutants Rockslide, Blindfold and Dust are alone and directionless. Until the day Cyclops recruits them to hunt the new incarnation of the Brotherhood – and kill them. Joined by a pair of new recruits, the young X-Men learn a hard truth about the world post-Messiah CompleX: sometimes old allies make for deadly enemies.” On sale April 2, 2008.
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X-Force (Vol. 2) #1
‘Angels and Demons, Part 1′
Writer: Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle
Artist: Clayton Clay

Update: X-Force #1 Commentary Track by Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle from ComicBookResources.com

I have mixed feelings about this series.

I think there is a real need for a black ops X-Men group. Especially a black ops group run by Wolverine. But the setup of this series isn’t working for me. Cyclops is building a team of killers and won’t even let Wolverine choose the lineup. And the betrayal of X-23 by Cyclops is simply unconscionable. Plus, the painted artwork by Clayton Clay doesn’t feel right for this series. And these lame purple costumes reek of a future toy line.

So I starting thinking about the old Mission: Impossible series with Phelps flipping through photographs of potential team members in the opening credits every week. That’s how I imagined this series working, with Wolverine pulling together a different lineup for every job. A different lineup that showed just how good a strategist and tactician Wolverine is.

If you agree, send Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada a letter demanding that I be put on ‘X-Force’ immediately.

It’s worth a try…

From Marvel (preview): “There are lines that the X-Men have sworn never to cross. But after the shocking events of ‘Messiah CompleX,’ Cyclops realizes that some enemies need to be dealt with permanently… and the X-Men can never know about it. Enter Wolverine, Warpath, X-23 and Wolfsbane… X-Force.” On sale Feb 13, 2008.

Wolverine #62
‘Get Mystique, Part 1′
Writer: Jason Aaron; Artist: Ron Garney

I was not expecting much out of this ‘Messiah CompleX’ epilogue. In fact, I was just plain dreading it.

But I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised.

This is a terrific first part by writer Jason Aaron (with a clever twist and a fun and interesting flashback). And the artwork by Ron Garney is top-notch for this gritty (and quite sandy) run.

Highly recommended.

Newsarama: Jason Aaron and Ron Garney on Wolverine #62
Comic Book Resources: The Mystique of Revenge, Aaron Talks Wolverine

From Marvel (preview): “In the searing aftermath of ‘Messiah CompleX,’ Wolverine has just one thing on his mind: revenge. But who is the focus of his rage, and what dark secret does he share with them? And how far over the edge is Wolverine willing to go to get what he wants?” On sale February 13, 2008.

New Avengers Annual #2
Writer: Brian Bendis; Penciler: Carlo Pagulayan

I’ve said this before and I’ll likely say it again. I really used to like this series.

The Hood storyline seemed like an honest attempt to shift the New Avengers into the real world of guns, crippling wounds and death.

But comic books being what they are (especially at Marvel right now where deaths and cataclysmic world events can be wiped away with ‘magic’), the real world of guns, crippling wounds and death failed to materialize. And because of it, I felt tremendously let down.

Though, the issue did feature a pretty funny Wolverine line, “Hungry.” Heh.

From Marvel (Preview): “Continuing directly from the pages of NEW AVENGERS #37: The Hood’s gang of super-criminals takes the fight right to the Avengers’ door!! Its wall-to-wall action and the end of an era for one Avenger and a major defection for another. This double-sized issue ties into or wraps up threads from Civil War, World War Hulk, both Avengers titles and the upcoming Secret Invasion!!” On sale January 30, 2008.