SDCC: Marvel’s ‘Next Avengers’ Preview
DC’s not alone in its efforts to branch into direct-to-DVD animation, and Marvel showed off a preview of its next project at Comic-Con.
That would be Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow
Tagged: Avengers
The Weekly Haul: Comics Reviews for July 26
Wait a second, reviews of actual comic book? Isn’t Comic-Con going on?
Yes and yes. I made it to the comics shop a bit belated this week on account of the San Diego craziness, but apparently real comics came to real comic book stores this week, although it was an understandably small batch. That being the case, it’s a somewhat truncated Weekly Haul this time around.
Book of the Week: X-Files #0
Comic adaptations are always tricky, as the art can go too far into trying to perfectly recreate actors and the writing can fall flat. But this issue reads and looks just like a classic episode.
Scully and Mulder investigate a series of weird deaths, where victims have no signs of injury or illness. Turns out there’s something playing the possession game, which puts the heroes into a fun game of chess with the invisible adversary.
It’s strong throughout, but the final reveal is a doozy, making it a must-read for fans.
Runners Up:
Daredevil #109 — This arc is (finally) all about Matt getting his life back on track, but of course he can only do so while bringing some gangsters, the FBI and the CIA down on his head. A tense read, as Matt and his crew pull themselves further into danger’s path with each page.
Invincible #51 — Lots of daddy issues surface as Mark shows Oliver the superhero ropes and they each get a new costume (in a sequence fairly ripped out of The Incredibles). A few big plot developments, but mostly this is Robert Kirkman doing the teenager-as-superhero thing better than it’s been done since Ditko’s Spider-Man
SDCC: Stan Lee and Grant Morrison Panel
Thursday morning at San Diego Comic Con, the marquee comics panel was Virgin Comics’ discussion featuring Stan Lee and Grant Morrison.
Before the discussion started, a brief video was screened showcasing Morrison’s MBX, a new motion capture cartoon that retells an ancient Indian Myth.
“I think today there’s an obsession with war,” Morrison said, as he explained that although MBX is a 10,000 year old Indian Myth, it will function as a lens through which to explore many of today’s pressing global issues.
The discussion was moderated by Sharad Devarajan, the CEO and publisher of Virgin Comics.
Morrison is known for being charismatic and engaging during discussions like this, but it was almost startling the degree to which Stan Lee’s presence overshadowed Morrison’s. Throughout the panel Morrison gave due deference to the gravity of Lee’s body of work.
The Weekly Haul: Comics Reviews for July 17, 2008
A couple disappointments and a near no-show from DC aside, this was a pretty good week in comics, especially outside of the mainstream superheroes.
Still, this week more than anything is just a little whisper, as all eyes are on San Diego for next week’s Comic-Con. All the same, books came out, so on to the reviews…
Book of the Week: Mice Templar #5
Last issue, it started becoming clear that writer Bryan J.L. Glass was veering away from the expected route of the young protagonist realizing his great destiny and triumphing over evil.
This issue, any and all signs of the archetypal fantasy narrative have been thrown clear out the door. Paradigms change in a big way for Karic, and to write anything about it would be to spoil the fun.
Mike Oeming is once again top-notch on art, and really the only question left is how many times the creative team can keep raising the bar.
Runners Up:
Captain America #40
Cap sees the big fight between Bucky and the new impostor (the old Nomad), but the real bout to watch is that between Sharon and the Red Skull’s daughter. Ed Brubaker uses his skil with pacing to tell both stories at once, using each to heighten the drama of the other. And the ending? An out-and-out punch in the stomach moment.
Omega the Unknown #10 — The weirdest Marvel series in a good, long while finally ends, with Jonathan Lethem and Farel Dalrymple taking a bow with a nearless wordless denouement that comes straight out of David Lynch’s oddball mind. It’s a fitting conclusion to the series, which was enigmatic for the whole trip.
Marvel’s Tom Brevoort Disses DC
Safe to say there isn’t a lot of love lost between Marvel and DC these days, with that writers’ spat over Secret Invasion
Now over at Marvel’s Cup o’ Joe column at MySpace, editor Tom Brevoort has gone straight middle school on the other New York comics giant. In addition to previewing some Secret Invasion pages, Brevoort writes:
I want to announce that I’m not at all interested in replacing Dan DiDio at DC after he is booted three weeks ago, and I haven’t taken many secret, high-powered meetings with key DC and Warner’s executives, who’ve long admired my great success with Civil War and Secret Invasion and New Avengers and so forth. Dan’s doing an excellent job over there, and I’m sure I couldn’t raise their market share by 10%, 15% or 20%. Despite the fact that many top-selling, exclusive Marvel creators have called me up in response to the rumblings to let me know that they’d love to work on a DC project for me if I was running things over there and begging me to consider it, I’m not remotely intrigued by the possibility. If called, I will not answer; if I answer, I will not parley; if I parley, I will not accept the job; and if I accept the job, I will not work very hard. So there’s no truth to the wildfire speculation that links me at the hip to that position, and makes me the obvious next choice to sit in that chair. Just to make that all perfectly clear.
Ouch. I’m sure it’s all in good fun for Brevoort or Marvel, but that has to sting for DC, which has had some serious struggles lately. And, as someone who was at Heroes Con watching DiDio as those rumors came to a head, let’s just say he didn’t look like a happy guy.
Are Marvel and DC still playing softball against each other? If so, this year I’d watch out for the cleats.
Interview: Brian Bendis on ‘Secret Invasion,’ TV and Marvel’s MMO
Among comic book fans, Brian Bendis has become a household name as the architect of Marvel Comics’ "Ultimate" universe, the writer of countless stories involving just about every character in the publisher’s stable and the author of a long list of well-regarded, creator-owned projects such as Powers, Torso and Jinx.
Credited with making a host of third-tier characters relevant and merging the many worlds of the Marvel Universe into a more manageable landscape, Bendis is currently scripting Secret Invasion, Marvel’s latest, massively marketed crossover event that has readers guessing which of their favorite characters are actually shape-changing Skrulls in disguise.
I spoke with Bendis during a signing event at the recent Wizard World Chicago convention. The long line of fans that curled around the Marvel booth, through the aisles and around several other booths was a testament to both the massive list of projects Bendis has authored, as well as his genre-spanning appeal among fans. Those in line offered up everything from issues of Bendis’ long-running, creator-owned series Powers to issues of Daredevil and Secret Invasion, and many identified themselves as members of Bendis’ popular message board community, Jinxworld.
COMICMIX: It’s been a while since we’ve talked, Brian… I’m glad I could catch you for a few minutes.
BRIAN BENDIS: Yeah, this is our inaugural ComicMix interview. I’ve never been on the site before.
CMix: Well, let’s get right to it, then, as I don’t want to take up too much of your time with everyone in line here. First off, with the recent Secret Invasion reveal of Spider-Woman, Jessica Drew, as a Skrull, how does that reflect on all of the Spider-Woman stories you’ve been telling for the last few years? You’ve been building a fairly complicated history for the character, after all…
BB: It reflects perfectly, because I was writing her knowing this. It wasn’t like someone surprised me with it. I knew from the first issue of New Avengers that she was a Skrull. But the reveal and the reaction to the reveal, it was so genuine and it was a real relief. I did feel bad, though. There were a few Spider-Woman fans on my boards, one of whom had spent thousands of dollars on original art from the issues I had written. They showed me the art, and they were amazing, but the whole time I was like… Oh, no…
But the whole point is surprising people. You can’t start whispering to one person or another. Only about four people in Marvel knew that was the way things were going to play out.
Dennis O’Neil’s Moving Words
Sunday afternoon. Two hundred and four days left before he gallops on back to Texas and that consarn brush that always seems to need clearing.Listen, I want to make an offer… George and Laura, if you need help moving, just give me a call. I can be at the White House in five or six hours and, sure, I’m not as young as I once was, but I can still lift a box or two, and I’ll be more than happy to buy the pizza.
And now for something completely different…
Last week, we mentioned crossovers – specifically, how Marvel’s movie division seems to be getting ready to emulate the comic book division’s old, old ploy and engage in crossovers. The trick, as I’m sure you know, is simple: take a lead character from one series and put said character into another. Comics have, as mentioned in the earlier column, have been doing crossovers for a long time, probably beginning with Sub-Mariner and The Human Torch hassling in the early 40s. I’m not counting DC’s Justice Society title, which assembled a small herd of super doers, because these guys and gal weren’t moving into each other’s magazines, but into a separate venue. (Does anyone know of any crossing over earlier than that of Subby and The Torch?)
It didn’t stop with the comics, even way back then. About once a year, Batman and Robin took over bad-guy-catching chores from the radio version of Superman for a week or two while the Man of Steel was indisposed and the actor who voiced him, Bud Collyer, took a vacation.
ComicMix Radio: Wind Down at Wizard World
We put the wrap on this year’s show with some fan comments on the event, a quick tidbit from Marvel on a new Young Avengers one shot and the story of one group of guys who turned this years trek to Chicago into a new publishing venture.
Come on, one more time – just for us? Press the button!
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The Weekly Haul: Reviews for June 26, 2008
Just for the fun of it, here’s one last story from Heroes Con (which I reported on extensively here and here). Nobody’s mentioned this, but simultaneous to the comics convention was another big event titled "Dub," basically a con for tricked out cars. One of the funniest things I’ve ever seen was a group of P. Diddy look-alikes gaping as a Heroes attendee strolled past in full manga gear (don’t know which character) and did a spinning kick/sword swipe right in front of them. I’m still amazed the weekend ended peacefully.
That aside, let’s turn to the week in comics, which was huge. HUGE. DC trotted out Final Crisis
Book of the Week: The Immortal Iron Fist #16
You can see the influence of Orson Randall, and it’s nice to see his presence linger on after his death. Danny’s transitioning into a more mature character, asking the big questions. It’s the natural result of the recent ground-shaking, and Matt Fraction’s a smart man for taking things in that direction.
There are lots of extremely well written little personal moments in this issue, between Danny and Misty, Jeryn, Luke Cage and a swarm of pint-sized karate students. But before things get too heart-warming, Fractioin ends with a game-changing reveal that’s shocking in part because of how well it’s set up, in part through brilliant page layouts.
The only question is how well the book will hold up once Fraction moves on.
The Runners Up:
Captain America #39
That sounds like something straight out of the dreadful muck of the ’90s, yet Brubaker pulls it off with ease, crafting another tense and dramatic issue with plenty of action. There’s also the continued subtle developments of Red Skull’s agenda, a nice moment for Sharon Carter and a quality fill-in artist for Steve Epting.
Daredevil #108
Comic Reality Bytes, by John Ostrander
Samuel Keith Larsen recently popped me a question on my message board that I found interesting:
“Remember back in the Death Of Captain Marvel, where Rick Jones asked the Avengers why they haven’t discovered a cure for cancer? To this day, given all the magic and super-science, there hasn’t been any good answer for why cancer hasn’t been cured in the Marvel Universe. If you were asked to write a story dealing with that topic, how would you answer the question?”
Well, I’d note that Captain Marvel was dead but seems to be feeling better these days. Same with Bucky. However, that’s beside the point – and the question being asked.
As I answered the question on my board, if I was approached to write a story such as Sam described, I’d probably not cure cancer but use the story to explore the problems with curing cancer and why finding a cure is so difficult. The question asks really about continuity – if Mr. Fantastic is so freakin’ smart, why can’t he cure cancer? Or AIDS? It begs the issue of consistency.
For me, there is a larger issue and it gets back to the basic purpose of storytelling – all storytelling, to a greater or lesser degree. As the rector at my church, the (sometimes) Reverend Phillip Wilson, has often put it, stories are the atoms of our society. We use them to tell, share, compare, illustrate, defend, and maintain our lives, our experiences, who we are as individuals, as communities, even as a nation.
