NYCC | Saturday round-up

With Saturday sold out, and wireless providers taxed to the limit — thank you, Twitter and live-blogging — it’s no surprise that the second day of New York Comic Con was brimming with publishing announcements:

• Marvel rolled out plans for expanded digital content, including an original Spider-Woman motion comic — billed as the publisher’s first “all-new in-continuity” work using motion-comics technology — written by Brian Michael Bendis and directed by Alex Maleev, a motion-comics adaptation of Astonishing X-Men #1-10, and a five-issue online series called Dark Reign: Made Men. (On Friday, Marvel announced the online-exclusive miniseries War of Kings: Warriors.)

• Marvel’s nine-year-old Ultimate imprint will be canceled and relaunched as Ultimate Comics, which will feature four series. The flagship title, renamed Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, will continue to be written by Bendis but will be illustrated by David Lafuente. Artist Stuart Immonen is moving to New Avengers.

Powers, the creator-owned series by Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming, will relaunch with another Issue 1 under the Icon emblem.

• Yen Press has picked up the license to Kiyohiko Azuma’s popular slice-of-life comedy Yotsuba&!, which had withered at ADV Manga.

• Insanely popular webcomic Penny Arcade will move to Del Rey with Penny Arcade, The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade: The 11.5 Year Anniversary Edition, a 208-page hardcover edition set for release in February 2010. Dark Horse published the first Penny Arcade collection in 2006.

• DC Comics confirmed that writer Greg Rucka and artist J.H. Williams III will take over Detective Comics with Issue 854 for a run that stars, at least initially, Batwoman. Rucka said Williams will be on the title for “12 issues, guaranteed.”

The publisher also revealed the composition of the Bat-Family of titles in the wake of the “Battle for the Cowl” crossover: Detective, Batman, Batman and Robin, Batgirl, Batman: The Streets of Gotham, Red Robin, Outsiders, and Gotham City Sirens.

• Longtime fan-favorite writer Keith Giffen is relaunching Doom Patrol for DC Comics, and reuniting with Justice League International artist Kevin Maguire for Metal Men back-up stories in each issue.

• Artists Dale Eaglesham and Gabrielle Del’Otto have signed exclusive contracts with Marvel. Eaglesham will join writer Jonathan Hickman on Fantastic Four.

• Although this was actually confirmed at Friday’s Dark Horse panel, it bears repeating here: Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson will expand on the animal characters introduced in the Dark Horse Book of Hauntings short story “Stray” in a four-issue miniseries called Beasts of Burden.

• IDW Publishing announced on Friday (but, again, worth repeating here) it will relaunch Fallen Angel, by Peter David and J.K. Woodward, and release a new Zombie V Robots series, by Chris Ryall and Ashley Wood. The publisher also will collect Chris Eliopoulos’ Desperate Times, and release a “definitive color hardcover edition” of John Byrne’s Next Men.

Publisher panels

Marvel Digital [CBR]

Cup O’Joe [CBR]

DC Universe [CBR]

Batman: Battle for the Cowl [CBR]

Zuda Online [CBR]

Dark Horse/Star Wars [Newsarama]

Radical Publishing[Newsarama]

Wildstorm [Newsarama]

CMX [Anime Vice]

Yen Press [Anime Vice]

Del Rey Manga [Anime Vice, Japanator]

Vertical Publishing [Japanator]

Bandai [Anime Vice]

FUNimation [Anime Vice]

Watchmen [CBR]

DCU Online[CBR]

Marvel Animation [CBR]

BET/Black Panther [Newsarama]

Interviews

Brian Michael Bendis talks Ultimate Spider-Man: Requiem [CBR]

Bryan Lee O’Malley, on Scott Pilgrim [CBR TV]

Mark Millar discusses Ultimate Avengers [CBR]

Millar and McNiven expand the “Old Man Logan” finale [CBR]

Bendis, on his early career, his Marvel work, the Spider-Woman motion comic and more [CBR TV, Part1 and Part 2]

Jeph Loeb chats about Ultimatum and relaunching the Ultimate line [CBR]

Bendis and David Lafuente, on Ultimate Comics Spider-Man [CBR]

Geoff Johns talks Adventure Comics [CBR]

James Robinson, on Superman: New Krypton [Newsarama]

DC’s Ian Sattler discusses Final Crisis: Aftermath [Newsarama]

Keith Giffen chats about the new Doom Patrol [CBR]

Jeff Parker, on Dark Reign: The Hood [CBR]

Jonathan Hickman and Dale Eaglesham discuss Fantastic Four [CBR]

Craig Kyle and Chris Yost, on X-Force: Sex and Violence [CBR]

Evan Dorkin, on Dark Horse’s Beasts of Burden [CBR]

Radical Publisher Barry Levine details Oblivion and other projects [CBR]

Aspen’s Frank Mastromauro, Frank Hernandez and Micah Gunnell talk about Dellec [Newsarama]

Colin Wilson, on Star Wars: Invasion [CBR]

Tom Taylor, on Star Wars: Invasion [CBR]

Eaglesham talks about his new Marvel-exclusive contract [CBR]

Heroes star Milo Ventimiglia, on his love of comics [Newsarama]

Robot 6′s coverage

Friday round-up

A relieved Rucka shares a little about Batwoman

Young Avengers vs. Young Masters of Evil

Putting the band back together

Choice quotes from Spiegelman, plus the Internet & comics

Yen Press snatches up Yotsuba&!