Lucid Comics: July 30th
Written by Adam A. Donaldson
Thursday, 31 July 2008 13:02
San Diego Comic Con
 | While a lot of people turned up at SDCC to see what was new in film and TV projects like Watchmen, Twilight and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, let us not forget that the third word in the title of the show is “comic.” And as such, there was quite a bit of comic news coming out of the Con, the biggest gathering of its kind in North America. At the X-Men panel, Marvel’s first of the convention, various writers and editors of the X-Books gathered to talk about ongoing developments with Marvel’s Merry Mutants. First, don’t expect an end to the mega-X-crossovers anytime soon as the panel announced “X Infernus” or as described by Marvel marketer Jim McCann, “Inferno 2,” which is said to involve the return of the character Magik. Meanwhile, fans can look forward to the “Manifest Destiny” storyline following the team’s permanent move to San Francisco and the fate of Kitty Pride, who was last seen in Giant Size Astonishing X-Men #1, will be addressed in Uncanny X-Men #504. |
Comic Con also brings together people, especially in strange pairings, like the Stan Lee and Grant Morrison panel. “I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” said Lee. “All these new writers, especially writers like Grant, are making me look good. I’m getting a lot of credit, and I don’t mind.” The pair talked about the “Marvel Method” in that a writer comes up with a story and the artist draws it before going back to the writer for dialogue. “You don’t have to do as much work,” Morrison joked. Comics being more collaborative than other types of writing make it, “nice to work off someone else’s artwork.” Lee is currently constructing a new universe of heroes for Virgin Comics, while Morrison is deconstructing the DC Universe in Final Crisis.
Speaking of DC, the publisher kicked off their slate of panels appropriately enough with Superman. Supergirl’s new creative team of Sterling Gates and Jamal Igle, along with Action Comics writer Geoff Johns and Superman writer James Robinson and artist Renato Guedes talked about this fall’s “New Krypton” crossover, which will see Kryptonians declaring Earth as their own, before the panel opened up the floor for questions.
DC had two panels for “the Nation.” In Thursday’s gathering, editors’ were met with a wide range of emotion from jubilant (Kevin Smith appearing to announce a Batman miniseries) to lukewarm (reaction to Trinity and Final Crisis) to down right nasty (booing at the mention of replacing Batman at the end of “Batman: R.I.P.”).
At another panel, DC announced that they’d be integrating the Milestone characters created by Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis and Derek T. Dingle in the 90s. In the fall out of Final Crisis, there will be a new Flash book called Flash: Rebirth, which will be done by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver. But the bigger news from DC’s second panel, as broken by Newsarama, was that Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert would be teamed together in January of 2009 for a Batman story entitled, “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? Which is a wink and a nod to Alan Moore’s popular “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?” storyline in Superman in the 80s.
 "What if Kirby drew the Fantastic Four alongside a Ditko Spider-Man and a Buscema Silver Surfer?" | Image Comics had an ambitious announcement of their own: Image United. The miniseries, which will bow next year, brings together six of the studio’s founders for the first time. Marc Silvestri, Erik Larsen, Jim Valentino, Rob Liefeld, Whilce Portacio, and Todd McFarlane will all draw their own creations with the newest Image partner, writer Robert Kirkman, supervising the project. "The Image United title has a couple of meanings," Silvestri said. "One is based on the characters because they're uniting in a crossover for the first time ever. And the other is the uniting of the Image partners, the original Image guys with the exception of Jim Lee because of his DC obligations. We're all getting together and making some magic happen." |
"This is the single biggest event in Image's history,” added Liefeld. “It's an event that no one has attempted before, involving top creators drawing their most famous creations. What if Kirby drew the Fantastic Four alongside a Ditko Spider-Man and a Buscema Silver Surfer? Or a Gene Colan Iron Man drawn next to a Kirby Thor? That's what this is. And what makes it bigger is that people never saw this coming. They believed we would never work together again." For Dark Horse, a whole slate of new projects and new developments for existing titles were announced for the next year, and in some cases, beyond. In the realm of Hellboy two new projects, a spin-off of B.P.R.D. 1946 and a one-shot featuring Big Red written and drawn by Mike Mignola, are on the table. For Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dark Horse released the slate of writers for the next several arcs which includes names like Jeph Loeb, Jane Espenson, Brad Meltzer and, of course, series creator Joss Whedon. In the meantime, fans can look forward to Gerard Way’s sequel to Umbrella Academy this November. |  |
 | IDW was playing off the anticipation of J.J. Abrams’ new Star Trek by announcing a new slate of Trek comics including new works from John Byrne like the two-issue Star Trek: Romulans – The Hollow Crown, a follow-up to Assignment: Earth and a new series tentatively called Crew, which will follow the adventures of an early Federation starship crew. The publisher’s other big license is Transformers, which is gearing up next year’s sequel to the live action film with a mini called Transformers: Destiny. Also, look for the Dinobots to get the spotlight in Maximum Dinobots and the origin of the Transformers will be revealed in Transformers: The 13. Other smaller publishers got a chance to show they have cooking. BOOM! Studios announced that the Farscape comic they’re launching will be written by no less than series’ creator Rockne S. O’Bannon. “It’s all canon,” O’Bannon said in a video played at the panel, adding that he envisioned the series of four-issue mini-series as being “season five” of the show, after The Peacekeeper Wars. But amongst the jubilation and success of another sell-out event, there are a number of people that wonder if maybe the event’s gotten too big. In an interview with Publishers Weekly, Comic-con director of marketing and public relations, David Glanzer said that SDCC organizers are aware of their growing limitations. “Well the show was sold out, but we’re never happy when people can’t attend. That’s not good,” he said. “Obviously when we max out space and attendance that leaves us with flat income. Everything else, hall rental and everything else is going up in price. And like I mentioned to Heidi [MacDonald] earlier, we’ll probably look to augment our income by adding sponsored signage around the Hall.” |
| The other question is on the matter of discussion about whether or not the Con will stay in San Diego, or move on to a larger venue somewhere else. Glanzer responds, “We would love to stay here; we love San Diego and it would make things so much simpler if we stay here. When we signed our last agreement with the city to stay through 2012, we knew we would have to forego growth for a few years. Now there is the possibility of the expansion of the Convention Center by the city. That’s something that wouldn’t just be just good for comic-con but would be good for the city as a whole. They could book shows simultaneously and other things. But we haven’t seen much movement from city on plans to expand the convention center.” |  |
Also In the News
 | The Legion joins Smallville Amongst comic-related media announcements as SDCC was the appearance of another DC icon on the television series Smallville. Along with the regular status of Green Arrow and Doomsday (*sigh*), Clark will be visited by friends from the 31st century: The Legion of Superheroes. Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl will all be played more or less as they appeared in the comic, though updated and reconfigured to fit into the Smallville mythos, according to the episode’s writer, Geoff Johns. “I've known the Smallville writing team – Todd [Slavkin], Darren [Swimmer], Brian [Wayne Peterson] and Kelly [Souders] – for a long time,” Johns told Newsarama. “I had an idea for an episode, so we all had lunch. And I pitched them the idea of bringing the Legion of Super-Heroes to Smallville. And we're off and running.” Johns will join fellow Superman comics writer Jeph Loeb in going from penning the Man of Steel’s printed adventures to his small screen ones, Loeb was a staff writer on Smallville for two years. | |
Cloak and Dagger Coming Back Marvel announced a big little comeback at SDCC, and it had nothing to do with Secret Invasion. (Or it might, Marvel’s pretty mum on what’s what in regards to how that whole thing’ll turn out.) Yes, Cloak and Dagger, the super-couple that could, are getting their own title for what will be, I believe, the fifth time. Demand for the pair has apparently been high since they both made and appearance in Runaways, as well as their small roles in mega-crossovers House of M and Civil War. What’s interesting though is that the new Cloak & Dagger will be one of the few mainstream comics to be done by a female creative team; the series will be written by former Marvel editor and blogger Valerie D’Orazio and will be pencilled by Irene Flores. |  | |
Reviews
 | Uncanny X-Men #500 Ed Brubaker & Matt Fraction and Greg Land & Terry Dodson Marvel Comics Now that’s how you do an anniversary issue: new set-up, big battle, old villains, odd hints and occasional bouts of hilarity and social commentary. I continue to think that moving the X-Men to San Fran is one of the most inspired developments in the X-Books in recent years and Brubaker and Fraction take advantage. For while the X-Men and other mutants are getting a safe haven, they fall victim to the politics of the city; having to green up their new HQ and having to put up with an artist treating Mark 1 Sentinels as some kind of pop art in a local exhibit. Oh yeah, Magneto’s (kind of) back and naturally the Sentinels go haywire forcing the X-Men to get suited and booted. It’s fascinating to follow the story as Land’s art becomes Dodson’s and only noticing it on a superficial level; it has no effect on the action, you just notice that Emma Frost is bustier. This is a very promising start for a new X-era. |
 | The X-Files #0 Frank Spotnitz and Brian Denham DC/Wildstorm So overall, this has been a very underwhelming week to be an X-Files fan. I won’t say disappointing per se, because most of us will take any X-Files, even rotten ones, over no X-Files at all. Now Spotnitz was number two on the show, so he knows the ins and outs of what makes a good story. It’s paced well and there’s significant foreboding but I wasn’t really feeling it, I was never really drawn into the story. Denham’s art is impressive. He certainly captures the look of Mulder and Scully with a portrait artist’s eye, and the mute colours of the book certainly say “spooky,” but otherwise things are very static. There’s just no fluidity, no pop to the images in the panels. The cover art for the next issue promises an appearance by the Lone Gunmen, so may be the book will pick up the pace with their help. Otherwise, the truth is still out there. |
 | Two-Face: Year One #1 of 2 Mark Sable and Jesus Saiz DC Comics Holy synergy, Batman! The interesting thing about reading Two-Face: Year One coming off of The Dark Knight is that it finds the perfect balance: it’s closer to the character’s comic origin, but at the same time it feels like Sable took the Harvey Dent subplot from the film and massaged it into a narrative on its own. And thankfully, the book is also true to its word. Batman is more a supporting character, while the repressed temper of Dent is explored more thoroughly. The book builds up to Dent’s transformation and it’s done expertly by Sable with thoroughly restrained pacing, but when Dent becomes Two-Face it seems like such an easy transformation. I’m guessing (and hoping) Sable and Saiz just wanted to finish off the first issue strong, but otherwise, this is a flashback worth revisiting. If you’re down with The Dark Knight, then check this out. |
New Releases
July 30th
Dark Horse
PIGEONS FROM HELL #4
STAR WARS: REBELLION #15
DC Comics
BATMAN: DEATH MASK #4 (OF 4)
BATMAN: GOING SANE
BLUE BEETLE #29
CATWOMAN #81
DC SPECIAL: CYBORG #3 (OF 6)
THE DOOM PATROL ARCHIVES VOL. 5
GREEN LANTERN #33
THE HUNTRESS: YEAR ONE #6 (OF 6)
THE JOKER'S ASYLUM: TWO-FACE
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA ANNUAL #1
REIGN IN HELL #1
SUPERMAN/BATMAN #50
TEEN TITANS #61
TRINITY #9
Image Comics
DYNAMO 5 #15
ELEPHANTMEN, VOL. 1: WOUNDED ANIMALS TP
FRANK FRAZETTA’S CREATURES #1
POPGUN, VOL. 2 OGN
PX! OGN - BOOK 1: A GIRL AND HER PANDA
TRANSHUMAN #3 (of 4)
Marvel Comics
BLACK PANTHER # 39
FANTASTIC FOUR: TRUE STORY # 1
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY MUST HAVE: LEGACY
HAUNT OF HORROR: LOVECRAFT # 2
MARVEL SPOTLIGHT: UNCANNY X-MEN 500 ISSUES # 31
MS. MARVEL # 29
NEWUNIVERSAL: 1959 # 1
SECRET INVASION: FANTASTIC FOUR # 3
SKAAR: SON OF HULK # 2
SKRULLS VS. POWER PACK # 1
SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY - EXTRA!! # 1
SPIDER-MAN: WITH GREAT POWER... # 5
THOR # 10
TRUE BELIEVERS # 1
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN # 124
WOLVERINE # 67
WOLVERINE: ORIGINS # 27
X-MEN: FIRST CLASS # 14
X-MEN: ODD MEN OUT # 1
Collections
CAPTAIN MARVEL: SECRET INVASION PREMIERE
ESSENTIAL FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 7
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE DEFENDERS VOL. 1
MINI MARVELS: ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS
THE ORDER VOL. 2: CALIFORNIA DREAMING
THOR BY J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI VOL. 1
August 6th
Dark Horse
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON 8 #17
DC Comics
COUNTDOWN: ARENA
DETECTIVE COMICS #847
FINAL CRISIS #3 (OF 7)
FINAL CRISIS #1: DIRECTOR'S CUT SPECIAL
THE FLASH: THE WILD WESTS
HAWKMAN SPECIAL
INFINITY INC. #12
JONAH HEX #34
MANHUNTER #33
NIGHTWING #147
ROBIN #176
SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE HOUSE OF SECRETS VOL. 1
SUPERGIRL #32
TANGENT: SUPERMAN'S REIGN #6 (OF 12)
TOR #4 (OF 6)
TRINITY #10
THE WAR THAT TIME FORGOT #4
Image Comics
To be announced…
Marvel Comics
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN FAMILY # 1
AVENGERS/INVADERS # 4
CABLE # 6
CRIMINAL # 4
ETERNALS # 3
FRANKLIN RICHARDS: SUMMER SMACKDOWN! # 1
HULK # 5
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN # 4
IRON MAN: VIVA LAS VEGAS # 2
KING-SIZE SPIDER-MAN SUMMER SPECIAL # 1
MARVEL ILLUSTRATED: MOBY-DICK # 6
MARVEL ILLUSTRATED: THE THREE MUSKETEERS # 3
MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE # 14
NEW EXILES # 9
NYX: NO WAY HOME # 1
PATSY WALKER: HELLCAT # 2
PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL # 22
SECRET INVASION: FRONT LINE # 2
SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE # 1
THE TWELVE # 7
ULTIMATE ORIGINS # 3
ULTIMATES 3 # 5
VENOM: DARK ORIGIN # 1
WOLVERINE: KILLING MADE SIMPLE # 1
Collections
DEAD OF NIGHT FEATURING MAN-THING
ESSENTIAL MAN-THING VOL. 2
FOOLKILLER: FOOL'S PARADISE
PUNISHER: WELCOME BACK, FRANK PREMIERE
SPIDER-MAN J: TURNING JAPANESE
SPIDER-MAN MAGAZINE
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