Comic Book Resources

Blackest Night vs. Siege: Place your bets!

Blackest Night #7

Siege #2

They say nice guys finish last, but when event comics will finish is anybody's guess. The demands of a high-profile series around which entire shared universes revolve can play havoc with scheduling. Naturally, editors and publishers love to maintain the artistic quality and consistency (and sales levels) provided by the big-name writer-artist teams that tend to lend such books a sense of "this is a big deal." On the other hand, they need to get books out on time so that other series whose storylines depend upon what happens in the event can proceed as planned -- and so that they don't end up alienating retailers and readers. But these same readers and retailers can end up just as irritated if they get the sense that the creators are being rushed, or if fill-in artists aren't up to snuff. It's a tough row to hoe.

With his front-row seat for a variety of events this decade, including Avengers Disassembled, House of M, Civil War, and Secret Invasion, Marvel Executive Editor Tom Brevoort knows this better than anyone. So it was with an obvious mix of boldness and trepidation that he made the following prediction on his Twitter account:

It's height of hubris time: I'm willing to bet that SIEGE will wrap up before BLACKEST NIGHT does.

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Bendis reveals new projects, plot points in weekend Twitter-thon

Siege #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel

Very busy writer Brian Michael Bendis became an even busier writer this weekend. With little fanfare -- it "happened by accident" -- Bendis spent over an hour on Saturday answering reader questions via his Twitter account.

The 125-message micro-interview cost him some followers, irritated Warren Ellis (not really), and was eventually cut off by Twitter, but by the time all was said and done some interesting info had hit the Internet courtesy of his tweets.

First up, Bendis spilled the beans on a trio of upcoming projects with familiar collaborators:

* Bendis and his Daredevil: Wake Up partner David Mack will reunite for a new Hornhead project, Daredevil: End of Days, next summer. The project was first announced in February 2007, with Bendis and Mack as co-writers and art from Alex Maleev, Bill Sienkewicz, and Klaus Janson. (Daredevil will also appear in New Avengers #60.)

* "If the stars allow," Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos will reunite for a new Alias miniseries next year. It could be a MAX series "if the content needs it.

* Look for a creator-owned crime project from Bendis and his Daredevil and Spider-Woman collaborator Alex Maleev next summer.

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The Fifth Color - Forward Into the Past Jan 2010 Marvel Solicitations

It's like looking back and seeing the tide recede.  You turn and think, 'Wow, that's a lot of water back there, all going backwards... I wonder what's going to come next?'

We have three major plotlines coming to fruition or at least the first blossom of a long road ahead:  the Siege, Fall of Hulks (wait, wasn't this War of Hulks?), and the start of the new era of Captain America.  No one is surprised that Steve Rogers is back in the old costume, but what he does next will have to rock the foundations of the Marvel Universe as did his passing.  2010 will one of those years we'll look back on as a point of interest on the Marvel superhighway, but for now, we can plan our trip along it's crazy, windy route and hope for a next rest stop along the way.

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Marvel's 'Siege' trailer from today's retailer summit

It's amazing what you can find on YouTube these days ... according to the person who posted it, it is "Marvel's Secret trailer that was shown to us at the Diamond Retailer Summit in Baltimore tonight." Not sure how long this will be up or if it's supposed to be out there yet, so check it out while you can:

Read more about Siege over on the main CBR site.

Bendis: Dark Reign-ending Siege starts in December

Siege: The Cabal

In an extensive interview with Attack of the Show's Blair Butler, Avengers writer Brian Michael Bendis confirms that Marvel's "Dark Reign" storyline will come to an end with a "big Marvel event" called Siege. It starts in December with a one-shot called Siege: The Cabal, which is followed in January by a four-issue Siege series.

Michael Lark will draw the Cabal one-shot, while Olivier Coipel will draw Siege. Both are written by Bendis. He says the storyline will bring a "seismic shift" in the Avengers titles on the level of what happened in Avengers: Disassembled and will reunite Thor, Iron Man and Captain America.

Siege was just one of several subjects Butler asked Bendis about; he also talked about Powers, various Marvel films, Fortune & Glory's 10th anniversary edition and much more. Check out the second part of the interview below (he talks about Siege at the very end) and go here to find the first half.

Also be sure to check out Dave Richards' interview with Bendis on Dark Avengers over on the main CBR site.