X-Factor is one of the few Marvel Comics series unaffected by all of the changes brought by Marvel Now! Thankfully Peter David is still writing the book and it will not be renumbered (for the time being… and hopefully not ever). The series just went through some of its own big changes in the five part “Breaking Points”, which saw Wolfsbane, Havok, Strong Guy, and Banshee leave the team for various reason. This left X-Factor Investigations with Madrox, Butterfly, Longshot, M, Pip The Troll, Polaris, Rictor, and Shatterstar.

That was until the last issue, when the team’s non-mutant “receptionist” Pip the Troll was shot point blank in the head. Will he survive? From the cover (top left) and description (below) it would appear that Monet is the key to Pip’s possible survival.

X-Factor #248
Official Descriptions: A familiar face hovers between life and death. The only one who can save them is Monet…but it will require reliving the most horrific experience of her life.

Marvel Comic’s X-Factor #248 features art by Leonard Kirk, with a cover by Dave Williams. It hits stands on Wednesday December 5th, 2012. Don’t forget, on Wednesday you can also pick up Avengers #1 and Deadpool #3.

Check out these X-Factor related trade paperbacks for sale…

Here we go, a new era begins for Marvel’s Avengers as they enter Marvel Now! with a new creative team, Jonathan Hickman and Jerome Opena, and a new number 1. Hickman has promised a large roster of heroes as part of the team and we can see from the covers above that it includes all of the movie Avengers (although they all look very different with their Marvel Now! makeovers) and an assortment of Marvel’s popular recent Avengers, including Wolverine, Spider-Man, Falcon and Spider-Woman.

Brian Michael Bendis had a long and very well done run with Avengers and New Avengers, but this shakeup is needed to keep things fresh and moving forward. I can’t wait to see which characters are a part of the book. While I think DC Comics handled their “New 52” reboot/rebranding very poorly from a fan’s point of view, I think Marvel has treated fans with respect during the creative changes that have come along with “Marvel Now!”. DC Comics should take note on how to not alienate your core group of fans.

Avengers #1
Official Description: The greatest heroes in comics together on one unbeatable team! Now shipping twice a month, the Avengers “go large,” expanding their roster and their sphere of influence to a global and even interplanetary level. When Captain America puts out his call – who will answer? Big threats, big ideas, big idealism – these are the Avengers NOW!

You can pick up the issue on Wednesday, December 5th, 2012 and you’ll have to pick it up fast because the Marvel Now! #1s have been selling out. I didn’t get to the store quick enough and I’m waiting for a second printing of All New X-Men #1 as we speak.

Back in 2009 we talked about Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks TV striking a deal to bring Stephen King’s Under the Dome to television, and after three years the project is finally happening! Out is DreamWorks TV and in is Spielberg’s Amblin Television along with CBS Television Studios and producers Neal Baer, Stephen King, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Stacey Snider and Brian K. Vaughan. The show is skipping the pilot stage and going straight to series with a 13-episode pickup slated to premiere in summer 2013.Under the Dome focuses on a small New England town that is cut off fromt he rest of the world by an invisible force field that causes ecological effects and a fight for control within the isolated population. It is perfectly suited for being adapted for television.

From out of the blue it looks like the potential DC Comic Booster Gold television series is still a possibility thanks to SyFy channel and Arrow showrunner Andrew Kreisberg, who is heading up the potential Gold series. IGN asked Kreisberg for an update on the project and he told them; “Booster Gold is going in in the next couple weeks before Christmas. We’ll see what happens from there. It’s such a different project even though they’re both DC Comics properties. Booster is much more candy and popcorn, being about time travel and changing the future and being a superhero who can fly. But they’re both super-fun projects. As a lifelong DC Comics fan, I am beyond blessed to be working on these projects with all these amazing characters.” There is so much potential for the series. Timecop meets superheroes with a lighthearted/comedic underlining. If they are allowed to use other DC characters throughout time it would be even better. Have Booster Gold travel to the golden and silver ages of the DC Comics universe and showcase different heroes and villains that are well known. I just hope that SyFy doesn’t hold it back and make the series take place in present day.