I think it has been enough time for all of us to come back down to Earth after taking the magical carpet ride that was The Avengers this past summer. The second phase of Marvel Films’ master plan to conquer the world of comic book blockbusters and make DC Comics their simpering puppet is well under way with Iron Man 3 first out of the gate in May, Thor: The Dark World in production now with a release set for this November, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy fast approaching the start of filming in anticipation of their theatrical bows next year, and The Avengers 2…. well I’m sure the production offices are open and someone’s paying the electric and water bills.

Obviously people are now looking to the future and the elusive Phase 3 of the Mighty Marvel Movie Universe to see what the studio that is reaping the riches from bringing their four-color classics to the big screen the way they were meant to be seen has in store for us once The Avengers 2 inevitably reduces us all to quivering nerd puddles come May 2015. The only title in Phase 3 that has been announced so far is Ant-Man, which has Edgar Wright sitting pretty in the director’s chair and his frequent collaborator (and writer and director of 2011’s awesome sci-fi adventure Attack the Block) Joe Cornish co-writing the script with Wright.

Stan Lee, who almost singlehandedly (along with illustrators Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko) turned the fortunes of Marvel Comics around with his colorful and lucrative comic character creations, such as Spider-Man, The Hulk, The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, Iron Man, and Thor, and started a revolution in print and eventually television and film media which helped make him and the comic book industry a somewhat credible, facile establishment, with annual earnings reaching untold BILLIONS, turns 90 years old today!

Born in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in 1922 as Stanley Lieber, and growing up in poor squalor type surroundings during The Great Depression of the 1930s, Lee found his solace in plenty of books and cinema of that period, in particular the exploits of the characters made famous by old school actor Errol Flynn, best remembered for his portrayal of swashbucklers and Robin Hood. It led to Lee’s writing pastime, which then led to small time gigs where he wrote obits and press releases.

The Amazing Spider-Man #700
Written by Dan Slott, JM DeMatteis, Jen Van Meter
Pencils by Humberto Ramos, Giuseppe Camuncol, and Stephanie Buscema
Inks by Victor Olazaba, Sal Buscema
Colors by Edgar DelGado, Antonio Fabela
Letters by VC’s Chris Eliopoulos
Covers by MR Garcin, Steve Ditko & Marcos Martin, Humberto Ramos & Edgar DelGado, Oliver Coipel & Justin Ponsor, J. Scott Campbell & Edgar Delgado & Joe Quesada, Danny Miki & Morry Hollowell
Marvel Comics
Release Date: December 26, 2012
Cover Price: $7.99

This is IT, True Believer! The Amazing Spider-Man #700 is the LAST issue of Marvel Comics’ flagship title starring their most popular character. Now, I don’t want to incur the Twitter wrath of writer Dan Slott, so you won’t find any spoilers here, BUT you’ll get the nuts and bolts of if this issue is worth it or not.

Slott has been writing Spider-Man a loooooong time. And, like he himself stated, this story began way back with his earliest work on the title, about 100 issues ago. First, let me say, the lead up to this story has been pretty entertaining. Not mind-blowing, but very entertaining. This issue, however, does have some VERY mind-blowing moments. It’s a classic Spider-Man story that will have fans of the series recalling all of their favorite issues, as so many of them have been told at this king of break-neck, beat the clock manner.

The Avengers is smashing box office records Hulk-style around the world and The Dark Knight Rises looks to do the same when it opens in July, but the third of this summer’s heavily-hyped superhero blockbusters The Amazing Spider-Man is the one both thrill-seeking audiences and longtime fans of the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko creation will watching the closest.

Trailers and stills from the much-derided reboot released in recent months have been greeted with mixed reactions. Most of their vitriol directed at the movie centers on the look of the latest villain to oppose Spidey (this time played by Andrew Garfield) on the big screen: Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), the brilliant scientist whose quest to grow back his missing arm results in his transformation into the Lizard.

Marvel is bringing back some classic stories to a new generation with this new series of reprints, called From the Marvel Vault.

The first issue, From the Marvel Vault #1, features a team-up of the Human Torch and The Incredible Hulk. The two heroes must fight a villain who has captured the power of the Moon’s gravitational pull making him equal to Magneto. The story was originally crafted by artist Steve Ditko and writers Jack C. Harris and Karl Kesel. We have a first look at Incredible Hulk and Human Torch: From the Marvel Vault #1 for your perusal.

The good news is that the reprint is a buck cheaper at $2.99 than the new books on shelves. Most of these stories can be found in some graphic novel collection so is this new series necessary or just a money grab by Marvel? Let us know what you think. Scroll on down and check out the images and look for the issue on store shelves in June.