2010 July
What are you reading?
Adam Strange Archives Vol. 1
Welcome to another round of What Are You Reading. With JK Parkin in the midst of San Diego Comic-Con madness, I’m taking over the WAYR duties for this week. Our guest this week is blogger, noteworthy critic and Newsarama contributor Matt Seneca.
Find out what Matt’s been reading (he’s got a long list), and be sure to include your own current reading list, after the jump …
- July 25, 2010 @ 01:00 PM by Chris Mautner
SDCC ’10 | John Byrne’s Next Men return at IDW
Next Men
IDW Publishing announced yesterday that John Byrne’s Next Men will return with new stories in December.
“When John started working for us three or four years ago, two things happened, and have been happening pretty much every month since then,” said IDW’s CCO/Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall. “I’ve been asking John about doing new Next Men comics, and fans have been e-mailing me demanding that we do new Next Men stories. Happily, after all this time, John is going to quiet us all down and do just that.”
Debuting in 1991, Byrne’s Next Men originally ran for thirty issues and a standalone prequel graphic novel, 2112. Next Men ceased publication in 1995 and left fans with a cliffhanger at the end of issue 30.
IDW has previously collected the existing Next Men material, in two black and white “Compleat” volumes and oversized Premiere Edition hardcovers, the third volume of which will be available in stores in September.
- July 25, 2010 @ 12:42 PM by JK Parkin
SDCC ’10 | Peter David writing episodes of Young Justice cartoon
Young Justice
Peter David has announced he’s writing several episodes of Young Justice, the much-anticipated Cartoon Network series based on the DC Comics title he worked on for nearly five years.
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to reconnect with the characters,” he wrote this morning on his blog, “even if there are some differences between the guys I wrote and the new incarnation. I would love to tell you all about my first episode, but I’m afraid that it’s … oh, what’s the word … Secret.
Fans of the DC Comics series, published from 1998 to 2003, will undoubtedly recognize the not-so-subtle allusion to Secret (aka Greta Hayes), the incorporeal “mist girl” introduced in the 1998 “fifth-week” one-shot Young Justice: The Secret. She, Wonder Girl and Arrowette joined the original Young Justice line-up of Robin, Superboy and Impulse.
We know from the sneak peek that the animated series will focus on a six-person team of Robin, Superboy, Kid Flash, Miss Martian, Artemis and Aqualad. However, in the words of producer Greg Weisman, that is “really just the tip of the iceberg.” The cartoon will feature a 16-member Justice League that mentors the teens plus, judging from the character sheets, appearances by characters like Speedy/Red Arrow and Mary Marvel.
- July 25, 2010 @ 10:06 AM by Kevin Melrose
SDCC ’10 | Marvel Studios regains film rights for the Punisher
“Frank Castle is under the roof of Marvel Studios now and we hope to bring him into the fray shortly.” As our sister site Spinoff is reporting, that’s what Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced to the crowd during the Marvel movie panel at the San Diego Comic-Con last night. This appears to mean the Punisher is now as much a potential part of the Marvel “Cinematic Universe” as Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, Thor, and the rest of the Avengers gang.
Previously, film rights to the Punisher had belonged to Lionsgate, which made two Punisher movies — 2004′s The Punisher, starring Thomas Jane, and 2008′s Punisher: War Zone, starring Ray Stevenson. The latter film was the source of much behind-the-scenes controversy, with Jane departing the franchise and rumors of strife with director Lexi Alexander. Like the Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider, Blade, and Daredevil films, Lionsgates’ Punisher movies were made outside of the control of Marvel proper. (As was, of course, the infamous Roger Corman-produced, Dolph Lundgren-starring version from 1989.)
Feige’s brief statement appears to be the only info about the Punisher making his Marvel that’s out there, so it remains to be seen exactly how and when he’ll join the fray.
- July 25, 2010 @ 07:01 AM by Sean T. Collins
SDCC ’10 | Abin Sur corpse at the Warner Bros. booth
With the Green Lantern film in production and a panel in San Diego yesterday to promote it, Warner Bros. also brought out the dead to get fans excited. Abin Sur might not have survived the crash that brought him to Earth, but that doesn’t mean he has to miss Comic-Con. Take a look at pictures of Hal Jordan’s predecessor after the jump.
- July 25, 2010 @ 05:00 AM by JK Parkin
SDCC ’10 | A roundup of Saturday’s news
Comic-Con International
Saturday at Comic-Con International in San Diego, once upon a time, was “big movie day” at the con … back before every day became big movie day at the con. Still, today somewhat lived up to its reputation for being eventful, as the Avengers assembled on stage, Green Lantern movie footage was shown and one poor fan was stabbed in the eye while attending programming in Hall H, where several of the big movie panels took place. The victim was taken to UCSD Medical Center, while his attacker was taken away by police after attendees detained him.
In happier news, here’s what was announced on the comics front:
• Marvel Editor-in-Chief and Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada confirmed that Marvel is “gonna be doing some CrossGen stuff.” CrossGen, which published numerous titles like Sojourn, Way of the Rat, Abadazad and Meridian starting 1998, went bankrupt in 2004. Disney bought their assets that same year.
Their titles covered many different genres, from fantasy to horror to detective stories. “I think with the CrossGen stuff you’re going to see us attempt a little more genre publishing, which I think is much-needed in our imprint,” Quesada said. No word yet on what properties they plan to bring back.
• Kurt Busiek announced that American Gothic, the urban fantasy comic announced at last year’s WildStorm panel, will now be called Witchlands. The series will be drawn by Connor Willumson. Busiek is also working on an Arrowsmith novel titled Arrowsmith: Far from the Fields We Know, which will include illustrations by Carlos Pacheco.
- July 24, 2010 @ 11:50 PM by JK Parkin
SDCC ’10 | DC’s Weird Worlds to feature ‘monsters as superheroes’
Garbage Man
DC Comics is putting the “weird” back into the DCU with the launch of Weird Worlds, a new title that will feature three characters — the first of which will be Aaron Lopresti’s Garbage Man. “Monster books, they’ve become horror books in the last fifteen years, but I want to get back to monsters as superheroes,” Lopresti said of the character. No word yet on when the book will come out or who the other two characters are.
- July 24, 2010 @ 11:15 PM by JK Parkin
Six by 6 | Six CrossGen series we’d like to see return in 2011
Sojourn
Today’s Marvel announcement, regarding its intention to utilize CrossGen’s concepts at least partially in an attempt to do “a little more genre publishing” in 2011, was rather lean in terms of details. But don’t think that stopped Michael May and myself from compiling a Six by 6 list of CrossGen series we’d like to see return (in some form) and the folks we’d like to see creating them. As always with these lists, we’d love to read your input for what CrossGen properties and/or creators you’d like to see return in 2011.
1. Sojourn. Remember when everyone loved Greg Land? I do, because Sojourn was my favorite CrossGen series and apparently a lot of other people liked it too since it was one of the last to be canceled by the spiraling company. Arwen was a gorgeous, badass hero with a cool dog and a quest to collect five shards of a magic arrow that could kill the evil sorceror Mordath. It sounds like standard fantasy stuff, but Land’s detailed, realistic artwork (no one accused him of tracing back then) brought it to life. He wasn’t solely responsible for its success though. Ron Marz’s writing elevated the characters and situations from genre cliches to honest tragedy and human stories. I’d love it if Marvel could get him back on the book. Land too, if he can still produce the kind of work he did back in the day. (Michael May)
- July 24, 2010 @ 11:07 PM by Tim O'Shea
SDCC ’10 | Chloe Sullivan to appear in Jimmy Olsen’s Action Comics co-feature
Back in 2007, there was talk of Smallville‘s Chloe Sullivan making the jump from the long-running TV show to the comics world. It ended up not happening at the time, but if you’re a fan of the character played for so long by Allison Mack, you’re in luck — Chloe will appear in the Jimmy Olsen co-feature that’s debuting in Action Comics #893 and being written by Nick Spencer.
Here’s a teaser image, featuring both Jimmy and Chloe, courtesy of DC’s the Source:
Jimmy Olsen and Chloe Sullivan
- July 24, 2010 @ 10:39 PM by JK Parkin
SDCC ’10 | Fantagraphics, Disney to release Gottfredson’s Mickey strips [Updated]
From "Mickey Mouse Joins the Foreign Legion," by Floyd Gottfredson (June 1936)
Fantagraphics Books announced this afternoon from Comic-Con International, via Twitter, that it has partnered with Disney to publish the complete Mickey Mouse comic strips by Floyd Gottfredson, the cartoonist renowned for his defining work on the character. He is to Mickey Mouse comics what Carl Barks is to Donald Duck comics.
Gottfredson was 24 years old when he was assigned to the fledgling Mickey Mouse strip in 1930, and continued to work on it for the next 45 years. During his long tenure, he introduced such characters as the miserly Eli Squinch, Mickey’s nephews Morty and Ferdie Fieldmouse, Chief O’Hara and the Phantom Blot. Gottfredson retired in 1975, and passed away in 1986 at age 81.
Fantagraphics will begin releasing the collections in May 2011. No other details were announced.
Update: Douglas Wolk speaks briefly to Fantagraphics Publisher Gary Groth about the reprints.
- July 24, 2010 @ 06:21 PM by Kevin Melrose
SDCC ’10 | Scuffle over seats in Hall H ends in stabbing [Update]
Comic-Con International
Multiple reports are emerging out of Comic-Con International this afternoon of a scuffle over seats in Hall H, ending in a stabbing. The massive room, where many of the film presentations are held, was locked down, and a man led away in handcuffs by police.
Although details are scarce at the moment, Dread Central reports the fight erupted just as the Resident Evil: Afterlife panel was ending about 4:45 p.m. PST. The fight between two attendees allegedly broke out when one of them refused to change seats. According to Dread Central, one man stabbed the other in the eye with a pen.
The lockdown of Hall H means panels for Paul and Cowboys & Aliens have been delayed, leading the hotly anticipated Marvel Studios presentation to be pushed back.
Comic Book Resources is attempting to contact Elite Security, the San Diego Police Department and area hospitals for more details. We’ll update as more information is available.
Update: CBR has details from San Diego police, and photos of the suspect.
- July 24, 2010 @ 05:57 PM by Kevin Melrose
SDCC ’10 | Tokyopop, Yen Press and D&Q announce new manga licenses
Pavane for a Dead Girl
I’m going to lead with a new license announcement from the Tokyopop panel at Comic-Con International: Koge-Donbo’s Naki Shōjo no Tame no Pavane (Pavane for a Dead Girl), a story about a musical prodigy who makes a deal with the angel of death. Tokyopop’s Marco Pavia told me they have another new title as well, Ghost Face, by Min-Woo Hyung, the creator of Priest.
The other big manga news is that Drawn & Quarterly has the license for two Shigeru Mizuki manga, Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths and NonNonBā. (If you’re wondering why that sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because NonNonBā won the Best Album Award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival a couple of years back. This is very good news for those who like their manga on the literary side. And the D&Q folks had to be smiling pretty broadly after Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s autobiographical tome A Drifting Life took two Eisner awards.
Meanwhile, Yen Press announced a number of new titles, including Otoyome-Gatari (The Bride’s Stories) by Emma creator Kaoru Mori, as well as Highschool of the Dead, Aron’s Absurd Armada, Betrayal Knows My Name, and yet another arc of Higurashi When They Cry. They also revealed that Yen Plus magazine, which stopped print publication this month, will continue as an online anthology that will be free the first month and cost the reader $2.99 per month after that.
There was one bit of sobering news, a reminder that things are still not all they should be in the manga industry: Del Rey’s indefatigable marketing manager Ali T. Kokmen is no longer with the company. Ali is well-liked in the industry, and hopefully some smart manga company will snap him up soon.
- July 24, 2010 @ 04:52 PM by Brigid Alverson
SDCC ’10 | Jughead goes noir, J. Torres gets Jinx
Jughead #203
The Archie folks have had a busy time at Comic-Con International, taking part in a number of panels in addition to their own. Two of the more interesting stories to emerge this weekend:
Jughead Jones, Semi-Private Eye: This is a four-issue story arc (Jughead, #202-205) that imparts a very different style to Mr. Forsythe Jones, as he prowls the mean streets in trenchcoat and trademark hat, looking to solve a mystery for a beautiful dame. (This cover, provided exclusively to Robot 6, suggests that ninjas are also involved, which veers away from the noir genre a bit, but hey, that’s innovation!) Alex Simmons, who recently won a Glyph Award for his work on Archie & Friends, will write the story. The first issue shows up in comics shops on July 28 and everywhere else on Aug. 10.
The return of Li’l Jinx: Now styling herself simply “Jinx,” this icon of my childhood is back. Li’l Jinx mainly appeared in one-page stories in the various Archie comics, but she seems to have had a low profile of late. The exciting thing about this is that J. Torres (Alison Dare, Lola: A Ghost Story) will be writing the stories. (Click here for some samples of Li’l Jinx in her glory days.)
Sam Hill graphic novels: Jughead may be having fun playing the hard-boiled detective, but Sam Hill is the real thing, a tough guy who got the job done, apparently, as his series only lasted for seven issues, ending in 1951. Since no Archie-owned character can be permitted to sit idle (watch for Katy Keene, Josie, and Sabrina revivals as well in the near future), Sam has been brought out of retirement and will star in his own series, with all new adventures.
Watch also for some streamlining of their digests, with the return of The World of Archie Double Digest and the launch of an Archie and Friends Double Digest (which will replace the Archie Pals ‘n’ Gals Digest) and Betty & Veronica and Friends Double Digest. And the much-discussed Life With Archie magazine, which features dual stories in which Archie is married to Betty and Veronica (in different worlds) will be on newsstands Aug. 10.
- July 24, 2010 @ 04:08 PM by Brigid Alverson
SDCC ’10 | Watch the DC Universe Online ‘cinematic teaser’
Black Adam vs. Green Lantern in DC Universe Online
WB Games, DC Entertainment and Sony Entertainment Online have released a five-minute trailer for its hotly anticipated massively multiplayer online role-playing game DC Universe Online. Called “Who Do You Trust?”, the short film — that’s what it is, really — is dark, compelling, action-packed and, frankly, downright amazing. And I say that as someone who doesn’t play video games.
Watch “Who Do You Trust?” after the break. DC Universe Online is set to debut in November.
- July 24, 2010 @ 01:22 PM by Kevin Melrose
SDCC ’10 | Marvel to resurrect CrossGen properties next year
CrossGen Comics
During this afternoon’s “Cup O’ Joe” panel at Comic-Con International, Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada teased the audience with an image of CrossGen’s original “Sigil” logo and the date “2011.”
The obvious implication was, of course, that the CrossGen comics properties, purchased in 2004 by Marvel’s new parent Disney, will be making a return next year. The question is, however, in what form.
“We’re gonna be doing some CrossGen stuff,” Quesada confirmed to CBR TV. He said that although Marvel does have a plan for the properties, “we’re not really prepared to talk much about it right now.”
“But we have started to work on some concepts based on the old CrossGen concepts, trying to strengthen them up, and eventually bring them to Marvel,” he said.
“It just offers us a wider variety of stories to tell than just the normal Marvel Universe kind of stories,” Quesada added later. “I think with the CrossGen stuff you’re going to see us attempt a little more genre publishing, which I think is much-needed in our imprint.”
Founded in 1998 by Florida entrepreneur Mark Alessi, CrossGen featured a line of titles in a variety of genres with a shared universe, or “Sigilverse,” with characters broadly linked by the Sigils they received. The first wave of comics launched in 2000 with the space opera Sigil, the fantasies Meridian, Mystic and Scion, and the “untold tales” anthology CrossGen Chronicles. Later additions included the Victorian detective series Ruse, the contemporary horror Route 666, the pirate adventure El Cazador, the fantasy Sojourn and the wuxia comedy Way of the Rat.
- July 24, 2010 @ 12:11 PM by Kevin Melrose