Broken Frontier

“What would you do with one more day?”

That question is vague without a context. Could it mean one more day of vacation? One more day in a weekend? One more day with a deceased loved one?

Marvel is using the phrase to promote the new event which starts this week in all of the Spider-Man books. The company is being purposefully vague with that slogan, not only hoping that it keeps fans guessing, but also keeps them talking about their guesses online.

If that was Marvel’s ploy, it certainly worked. Modems across the world were buzzing as Spidey fans tried to determine what was meant by that statement. They turned into thousands of Sherlock Holmes, scouring everything they could for clues.

One thing that set off a flurry of speculation was comments made by Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada. In interviews and speaking at conventions, Quesada repeatedly expressed his distain for the marriage of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. He thought a single Parker meant more avenues for interesting stories and that being married handcuffed creators in the types of stories they could tell.

From this, a vocal portion of the fan base guessed that a divorce was in the making as a result of the One More Day event. This would make Peter a bachelor again and add a failed marriage for him to be full of angst about. And we all know Spider-Man is better when his is full of angst.

However, Quesada has gone on the record as stating that a divorced Peter Parker would be worst that a married Peter Parker (In Quesada’s own words, 1,000% worse). This brought on another theory—Mary Jane will die in One More Day.

This also would make Peter single again, and mourning a wife has more pathos than mourning a failed relationship.

Next came Marvel’s 2007 Free Comic Book Day offering. Dan Slott and Phil Jimenez gave us a story where Aunt May was healthy, a new hero bearing a startling resemblance to Mary Jane called Jackpot is on the scene, and no one seems to know that Peter Parker is  Spider-Man.

This gave rise to rumor that One More Day will feature a continuity reboot. That Spider-Man will go back to the old status quo of no one knowing his identity, being hated for being a menace, and, perhaps, even being single again. This guess gained even more popularity when Slott and Jimenez were named as part of Amazing Spider-Man’s new creative team (more on this below).

Marvel has done nothing to reveal its hand. As a matter of fact, they have fanned the fires of the rampant speculation by releasing a teaser image of Amazing Spider-Man #545 with a one word tagline—“The End Of An Era”.

Why would Marvel be such a tease? Because the more the fans’ curiosity gets ramped up to a fever pitch, the more books that they sell. But, while we don’t know everything about the One More Day event, there are a few things we do know.

This will be end of J. Michael Straczynski’s six-year run on the title (as a matter of fact, this might be the “Era” that Marvel referred to as ending.) and he will be joined on art by the head honcho himself—Joe Quesada.

And there are some changes that we know will happen to the Spidey books after One More Day. Marvel is cancelling Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Sensational Spider-Man and bumping Amazing Spider-Man up to a three-times-a-month release schedule.

And the schedule will be kept by four teams of all-star creators. The first rotation will be Dan Slott, Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines and Morry Hollowell, then Marc Guggenheim, Salvador Larrocca and Jason Keith, followed by Bob Gale, Phil Jimenez, Andy Lanning and Jeromy Cox and finally Zeb Wells, Chris Bachalo, Tim Townshend and Antonio Fabela. Recently, John Romita, Jr. was added to the artistic mix. No writer was announced, probably because all the artists will rotate to work with a different writer as the months go on. Romita, Jr. will just jump in the mix.

  The first arc on the brand-new Amazing Spider-Man is called, appropriately enough, “Brand New Day”. But that brand new day starts this week as we start finding out what Spidey does with his One More Day.

Also out this week:

Captain America: The Chosen #1:

You might not think that Captain America and John Rambo have all that much in common, but they do. In various incarnations throughout various times of their history, they have shined a light on some of the shortcomings some people see in America. At other times and in other incarnations, they have portrayed a rather jingoistic representation of their home country. And now, they share a creator in common.

David Morrell first created John Rambo in the pages of his 1972 novel First Blood. The novel was adapted, with quite a few changes, into a series of highly successful movies starring Sylvester Stallone. Now, the Canadian-born author comes to comics as he provides us an out-of-continuity look at Cap’s final days for Marvel’s Marvel Knights imprint.  

David Morrell (W), Mitch Breitweiser (A), Marvel Knights/Marvel Comics, $3.99. Six-Issue Miniseries.

Lucha Libre #1:

Wrestling fans know of high-flying Lucha Libre style of wrestling through such masked professional wrestling legends as Mil Mascaras and Rey Mysterio, Jr. Some people might have become familiar with the Luchas through the 2006 movie Nacho Libre. Toy collectors might know it from the line of designer toys this series is based on.

But now fans of Lucha Libre have a comic to call their own. The anthology comic includes three ongoing series: The Luchadores Five, Profesor Furia and the Luchadoritos. Each series deals with a different part of the Lucha Libre lifestyle, and is filled with humor, action, and more that it’s fair share of masked fighters. In other words, Lucha Libre should feel right at home in the comic book world.

Jerry Frissen (W), Various (A), Image Comics, $5.99. Ongoing Series.

Infinity Inc. #1:

Fans who pick up this book expecting to find new tales for the sons and daughters of the JSA will be sorely disappointed. This is not your father’s Infinity Inc.

Sure, some of the names are the same—Fury and Nuklon—but these characters spin-off from 52 as part of Lex Luthor’s Everyman project in that title’s pages. Once they were media darlings. They had everything. Now, more than a year later, their lives are in shambles. Now it’s up to the man who destroyed the Everyman project, John Henry Irons, the hero known as Steel, has to help them pull their lives back together.

The last time Peter Milligan wrote a book about heroes that were in the public eye, it was X-Force/X-Statix for Marvel. And that was, in my opinion, one of the best comics of recent years. Could we expect the same from Infinity Inc.?

Peter Milligan (W), Max Fiumara (A), DC Comics, $2.99. Ongoing Series.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #6:

Several months ago, Brian K. Vaughan left a book he created, Runaways, and left it in the hands of someone new. That someone was superstar writer Joss Whedon. Now, the shoe is on the other foot, as Whedon hands over the writing duties on the comic of his star creation, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to Vaughan.

Vaughan’s arc will focus on popular Buffy rival, Faith, as she takes on an assignment that only she can do. However, the tempermental Faith might not even want the assignment after the rigorous training Giles puts her through?

Coming from the world of TV, Whedon is not stranger to letting other hands have a shot at writing Buffy. But the comic version of Buffy couldn’t be in any better hands than Vaughan. We are the true winners in the trade of titles between the two men.

Brian K. Vaughan (W), Georges Jeanty (A), Dark Horse Comics, $2.99. Ongoing Series.

Zombie Proof #1:

It seems that every other week, I cover a Zombie-related book here. And each time I say just about the same thing, that the popularity of the genre is in the way it can be reinterpreted in a myriad of different ways. And the reason why I say that is because it’s true. This week is another example of that.

This series focuses on a man named Billy Bob Driwahl. Good ol’ Billy Bob was treated as the town nut job because he used to advertise a “zombie-proofing” service in the Yellow Pages. But Billy Bob has the last laugh because, now, the world’s being overrun by Zombies. He’s ready for them, but are you? If not, perhaps you’d better give Billy Bob a call!

J.C. Vaughn (W), Vincent Spencer (A), Moonstone Comics, $3.50. Three-Issue Miniseries.

Wolverine #57:

Marc Guggenheim’s arc on this title several months ago was some of the best writing on the character that I’ve seen in a long time. Then he was replaced on the book by Jeph Loeb, and the less said about that arc the better.

Since then, Guggenheim has garnered some attention for his writing, being hand picked to usher in the demise of the Bart Allen Flash over at DC. And even though Marvel has cancelled his Blade series, they have given him the reigns on two of their most important characters. His run on Spider-Man won’t start for a few months, but he returns to Wolverine starting this week.

If you missed Guggenheim the first time around, don’t blow this second chance. Especially considering that he will be reunited with his Blade co-conspirator, Howard Chaykin, next issue.

Marc Guggenheim (W), Scott Kolins (A), Marvel Comics, $2.99. Ongoing Series.

Lobster Johnson: The Iron Prometheus #1:

Mike Mignola’s tribute to the heroes of the Pulp Era finally gets a book of his own. But the Hellboy creator certainly isn’t making it easy for him (but, then again, nothing in the Hellboy Universe ever is easy).

Set at the right before the start of World War II, our hero and his allies have to stop a villain from fulfilling an ancient and deadly prophecy. That doesn’t sound too hard, right? Well it is when you find out the Lobster has to go through yetis, monsters, cannibals, mad scientists and threats from the world beyond to do it. It’s like I said, nothing in the Hellboy universe is ever easy.

Mike Mignola (W), Jason Armstrong (A), Dark Horse Comics, $2.99. Five-Issue Miniseries.

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William Gatevackes is a professional writer living in Mamaroneck, NY with his wife Jennifer. He also writes periodic comic reviews for PopMatters, is a weekly contributor to Film Buff Online and writes title descriptions for Human Computing’s Comicbase collection management software. Links to his writing can be found at his website, www.williamgatevackes.com.