Secret Invasion: “The Marvel Universe will not be the same.”

Entertainment Weekly has “an exclusive early peek” at Secret Invasion #1, the first issue in a summer mini-series from Marvel Comics. The series, which will run for eight issues, three of which might actually come out on time, is set to depict the payoff to a storyline that writer Brian Michael Bendis has been spinning for years. The Skrulls, a race of extraterrestrial shape-shifting bad-asses who have been kicking around the Marvel Universe since 1962’s Fantastic Four #2, have apparently infiltrated every corner of the Earth’s infrastructure and, now that they’ve been found out by the super-team the Avengers, they’re ready to announce their intentions to the world.

In an interview with EW’s Nisha Gopalan, Bendis promises that, when Secret Invasion ends, “[t]he Marvel Universe will not be the same.” Gopalan counters, “That’s what everyone says about an event comic!” To which Bendis replies:

Well, we’ve proven over time that House of M, Civil War, Secret War — none of these did leave the universe the way it was. The criticism going into Civil War is that it’s going to be a draw: Captain America’s dead and Tony Stark is running the world. That wasn’t the way it was when we started. These are big things for the characters. So on that note, we can only stand by our track record.

And y’know what? Their track record lately has been good, despite what the peanut gallery over on the Newsarama forums would have you believe. In the past few years, when Marvel has promised big change, they have delivered (for better or worse). Cap is dead, Iron Man is ruling the world, the mutant population is down to a little bit less than 200 worldwide, and Spider-Man isn’t married anymore (but he isn’t divorced, and he isn’t a widower; his marriage just never happened, thanks to Mephisto).

This is one comic that I won’t be missing, because I can’t wait to see if Marvel has the balls to keep shaking things up. And you, even if you’re a casual comics fan, should not miss it either. Marvel makes nearly every mini-series it puts out a self-contained affair (they’re always looking to pull in new readers, of course, plus they’re trying to think ahead to the eventual trade paperback release), so you should be able to jump on board even if you haven’t read anything in a while.

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Geek Force FiveCast 004 (Video)

The fourth episode of a semi-regular show/podcast from GeekForceFive.com. Today, we cover 1) Viddler co-founder Rob Sandie’s birthday; 2) This week’s issues of the Amazing Spider-Man and the Mighty Avengers; 3) Pac-Man on the iPhone; 4) 1,000 albums to hear before you die; and 5) Ben’s man on the boat.

If you’d like, you can subscribe to the show as a podcast via PodShow.com.

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Incredible Hulk Trailer Smashes Onto the Interweb

The teaser trailer for The Incredible Hulk is now available for viewing online, and it is every bit as cool as the teaser teaser I mentioned in Monday’s FiveCast seemed to suggest it would be. Comic Book Resources suggests that this is a “restart for the franchise” but I don’t see anything in this trailer that completely disavows all knowledge of the previous film. I don’t see how you can completely ignore that film, imperfect as it was. It came out too recently.

Newsarama has a good (but poorly written) summary of which versions of the Hulk this trailer suggests the new film is borrowing from:

From the looks of the trailer, The Incredible Hulk borrows some from the version of the Hulk as established in Marvel’s Ultimates (as well as nods to the television series): a man on the run from a government that sees him as a living bioweapon, a hunger for more creatures like the Hulk to fight for world powers, and Banner ultimately conceding that he is the only thing that can stop the Abomination.

As I’ve mentioned before, I am very excited about the possibility of a Hulk film that nods to the television series. So far, so good on this one, Marvel.

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Marvel Editor-in-Chief Answers Fan Questions at MySpace

Joe Quesada, the much-maligned editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics—he single-handedly destroyed Spider-Man, or so sayeth fandom—is returning to the realm of Internet Q&A after a prolonged absence. Comic Book Resources reports that Joe Q’s first “MyCup O’ Joe” column will appear on March 21 on MySpace. His previous columns had been hosted by Newsarama.com, but it appears as if the two sides have had a falling-out. The columnists at Newsarama were among the most vocal critics of Quesada’s plan to erase the marriage of Peter Parker (Spider-Man) and Mary Jane Watson. Quesada, who has long said that a married Spider-Man just isn’t as interesting as a single Spider-Man apparently knows how to hold a grudge. Because, seriously, he’s going to post a column on comics at MySpace? I don’t know about you, dear reader, but I only go to MySpace to communicate with close friends and to pimp my Website. When it comes to MySpace, I get in and I get out. It’s not a place that I think to go for news. It’s not a place that I want to hang around at.

I think Joe Quesada is one of the most talented artists working comics today (when he actually puts out work, that is), but I’m not a huge fan of some of the decisions he makes as a businessman. I won’t fault him for erasing the Spider-Marriage—traditional comic book characters are supposed to be forever frozen-in-time, after all—but I do take issue with boneheaded moves like this one. MySpace? Seriously, Joe, why? I’ll read your columns, because I have always loved them, and because I crave the latest Marvel scoop, but I can’t help but think that there are better options out there.

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Geek Force FiveCast 001 (Video)

The first episode of a semi-regular show/podcast from GeekForceFive.com. Today, we cover 1) What GeekForceFive.com is; 2) Accidental AppleTV Purchases; 3) Lost Dueling Analyses; 4) The Beatles on iTunes; and 5) The Incredible Hulk Teaser Teaser.

You can watch the video here, and on a couple of other video sharing sites across the Interweb. And, if you’d like, you can subscribe to the show as a podcast via PodShow.com. I hope to get it listed in the iTunes Store soon, as well.

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