It’s a New Year, and we are ready for more of I’M JUST SAYIN’! Time to do this thing for Twenty-Ten!

And Stan bless us…EVERY one!

A finale that was hardly a finale, Daredevil gets ready to do something stupid and Clone Saga #3. That’s in this edition of I’M JUST SAYIN’ – where the #1 Rule is RESPECT THE COMICS!

Iron Fists, Armed Monkeys, Multi-armed ping pong and the 800-Number of Fate RETURNS – all here in this, the 75th edition of I’M JUST SAYIN’. C’mon in and get with this!

Of course, the rest of this miniseries may make up for this lackluster kick-off, but if you ask me, this is exactly why you don’t mess around with Marvel continuity, and this is exactly why a story like SPIDER-MAN: CLONE SAGA – with no sign of a WHAT IF…? banner, mind you! – has all the appearances of a waste of time and paper for any and everyone involved. WHAT HAPPENED IS WHAT HAPPENED, and that must be respected. Because sometimes, even with the most flawed of storylines, there are some things that were executed the right way the first time around.

Hey everybody – we’re back with another edition of I’M JUST SAYIN’, and to open, I’d like to make the following plea to Marvel Comics: either stop giving Greg Land work or make him draw.

NEWSARAMA.com has been reporting on the upcoming SIEGE event quite a bit – how funny would it be to find out that everything since AVENGERS #500 has been nothing but a massive stall so that Bendis could learn how to write a superhero story?

I wonder if that’s how each Editor in Chief at Marvel winds up with the job, or is that just wishful thinking for some of our more…PASSIONATE fans out there? Mr. Q – I’m lookin’ in your direction, buddy…

We’re back with our latest edition of I’M JUST SAYIN’ – got some more comic talk for ya and the latest CHI-TOWN SHOUT OUT, right here!

I don’t doubt for a second that when he wrote that sequence, Grant Morrison was more than happy to let you the reader plug in whatever you think the “sexy disco hot” music was that the Professor clicked on during his twisted little display. I couldn’t help but imagine Lady Gaga when I read that scene myself, and that’s mainly because for me, there’s no avoiding her. We’re only allowed to listen to Top 40 Pop stations at work, so yeah…that’s me tied to that chair with a growing ball of molten violence brewing in my gut. And if you don’t think it’s that big of a deal, being forced to listen to a Lady Gaga track every twenty minutes, consider this: five days out of the week, my ears itch and it burns when I hear.

LOS ANGELES – The Walt Disney Co. said Monday it is acquiring Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing characters like Iron Man and Spider-Man into the family of Mickey Mouse and WALL-E.
Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters. Many of them, including favorites such as the [...]

I have to say – considering the only thing that’s supposed to have changed since NO GOOD REASON came about, is that a single marriage was lifted out of history like a stain from a laundry detergent commerical – it’s interesting to me that any such explanations are even necessary. Ah well – in any case, maybe I can at least give credit to the Brain Trust where it’s due, for FINALLY presenting us with a scenario that necessitates a single Peter Parker, even if it took roughly eighteen months to do so. Because after all, what man gets so discombobulated at the sight of HIS OWN WIFE, that he then proceeds to get completely hammered and sleep with his roommate? Not only do I have the answer to that question, but I use the word “kerfuffle” for the first time in my life. Come get your click on!

Two years ago this week, our generation of comic book creators lost one of its best in Mike Wieringo. Newsarama.com’s David Pepose takes a moment to remember the one called ‘Ringo in his blog, which you can sample by CLICKING HERE.

Basically, this doesn’t break from anything you’ve read or heard of Spider-Man in the last year and a half, so I guess this was the kind of anniversary issue that one would expect of post-BND Amazing Spider-Man, because that is what you get here. Marvel remains committed to what they did in ONE MORE DAY, so much like everything else since the magical reboot, it felt like a breath of fresh air to those who support it, and a tired, unnecessary re-tread of days gone by to those who don’t.

So once again, we summarize: DC Comics = RIGHT NOW. Marvel Comics = RIGHT NOW, founded upon WHAT CAME BEFORE, leading into WHAT COMES NEXT. That’s why there are Spider-Man fans, myself included, who continue to wait for Baby May to return. That’s why the concept of the Illuminati seemed like such an ill fit. That’s why I thought the premise behind “The Murdock Papers” was flimsy and contrived. That’s why Mr. Q has a disguise, a false driver’s license and a crossbow packed away in a nondescript post office box across the Canadian border, along with maps to the homes of Mark Millar, Brian Michael Bendis and Joe Quesada…

…oops.

I mean, doesn’t anybody realize just how big of a reason this is, as to the question of why comics have been able to hang with radio, TV, movies and video games through the decades? My point is this, comic book heads: you may not be able to afford an X-Box. You may not be able to afford a car. You may not even be able to afford a night at the movies. Even in 2009, cable television might be a luxury. But you should ALWAYS be able to afford a comic book, and you should ALWAYS be able to afford AS MANY COMIC BOOKS AS YOU WANT!

…or is it just me?

When I read about this, all I could think of was “awwwww crap. I don’t want to see Iron Fist in THUNDERBOLTS – I wanna see him in HIS OWN BOOK!” And I’ll tell ya, I’d like to think I wasn’t the only one who had that reaction. Marvel had something truly special with THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST, and as much as I realize that newer monthlies have a much shorter shelf life these days, it doesn’t seem worth it to me that, from the looks of things, Marvel seems willing to let this one go on the gamble that at least SOME readers will follow Danny Rand over to a comic that has, by and large, been rendered redundant by DARK AVENGERS. Sigh, and sigh AGAIN.

A quick word about Michael Jackson seems in order, along with a few recommendations from my readings this week – we’re back with another edition of I’M JUST SAYIN’… right here!

Marvel’s too busy promoting their new X-Men & Teen Tony shows on Nicktoons, but don’t you dare miss their BEST series adaptation YET! You WANT some of this. You NEED some of this. It’s the Spectacular Spider-Man, and he is BACK!

Big things are happening at the Nexus, and this week we talk a little about X-MEN FOREVER, CAPTAIN AMERICA #600 and a timely new crossover courtesy of Bongo Comics & THE SIMPSONS – but the one I wanted to really talk about this time was SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #200 – also, don’t forget I’ll be at the Eastville Comedy Club this Saturday night and I would love to see you there! But for now, come on in!