LUCIDMEDIA

Lucid Comics – Febuary 11th 2009

Written by Adam A. Donaldson Wednesday, 11 February 2009 15:43

New York Comic Con

Dark Horse Panel

The Dark Horse panel started off with a celebration of The Goon, Eric Powell’s mob enforcer/zombie fighter turns 10 years old this year, and the publisher has all sorts of things planned in celebration. “I never thought we’d get past 10 issues, let alone 10 years,” said Powell, who began the series at Avatar before self-publishing and eventually being picked up by Dark Horse.

First, The Goon will come out with its anniversary issue on March 4th, with a new cover that plays on the art on the front of the very first issue. It’s the first part of what Director of Publicity Jeremy Atkins called “Goon Year,” which will include three new trades collecting the early years of The Goon. In other anniversary news, Usagi Yojimbo will commemorate 25 years with the reprinting of some of the older graphic novels later this summer.

There are also big plans in the making for Dark Horse’s flagship books. Their best-seller, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, will be forced to take some time off in June due to Executive Producer Joss Whedon’s busy schedule working on Dollhouse. In its place, Tales of the Vampires will return in a one-shot, which will tie into the current story arc in Buffy about the rising popularity of vampires and dwindling support for the Slayers. Becky Cloonan (American Virgin) and Vasilis Lolos (Last Call) will be collaborating on the project, which is scheduled to hit the racks on June 3rd.

Hellboy continues to be a big deal thanks in no small part to a successful film release last year. The latest Hellboy miniseries, The Wild Hunt, will also be taking a hiatus due to its creator’s hectic schedule. The series will take a break between issues 4 and 5 this July, just in time for the release of the first issue of the new B.P.R.D. series, 1947. A Sir Edward/Edward Grey series called Witchhunt is also on the way in 2009, with the possibility of a second Lobster Johnson miniseries to be released later this year if everything comes together. As for Umbrella Academy, Atkins says that “I think the end will catch a lot of people off guard.”

As for new projects , Dark Horse plans to launch the provocatively titled Werewolves on the Moon: Versus Vampires this summer. Matt and Shawn Fillbach (Roadkill, Maxwell Strangewell, Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures) with Dave Land (Star Wars: Infinities - The Empire Strikes Back) came up with the story which will feature art by the Fillbachs. The three-issue miniseries is exactly how it sounds: werewolves and vampires fighting for control of the dark side of the moon. The other big project is Beasts of Burden from Milk & Cheese creator Evan Dorkin, which is about a group of stray dogs and cats fighting the supernatural in the woods around the town of Burden Hill. Jill Thompson will return to paint the award-winning series.

Marvel Dark Reign Panel

A number of big announcements came out of the packed house at the Marvel Dark Reign panel. First on the minds of Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada and marketing master Jim McCann was the announcement of new tie-ins. Jonathan Hickman and Sean Chen were announced as the team behind Dark Reign: Fantastic Four. Additionally, Hickman and Dale Eaglesham were tagged as the ones to follow-up Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s run on Fantastic Four when it comes to an end later this summer.

Jeff Parker will write the further adventures of The Hood in Dark Reign: The Hood, which will be drawn by the character’s co-creator, Kyle Hotz. The Anti-Venom, Zodiac and Mr. Negative will also get their own miniseries. The big news though is the return of the Young Avengers under the guidance of Paul Cornell (Captain Britain and MI:13) and his Young Avengers Presents collaborator Mark Brooks. The miniseries will focus on the re-introduction of the Young Avengers as a team, and feature the introduction of Norman Osborn’s Dark Young Avengers

In other Avengers news, Brian Michael Bendis, who was on the panel, said that the next story arc of New Avengers will focus on the search for the new Sorcerer Supreme and the return of Dr. Strange. Over in Dark Avengers we’ll learn the reasons why Sentry is an Osborn-backer in issue #3 and why Doom’s going along with the former Goblin in issue #4. And although he’s not currently an Avenger, look for Thor to start getting caught in the middle of Dark Reign soon. Then in Mighty Avengers #23 we’ll learn what the story is behind the return of the Scarlet Witch.

In other books, Quesada says that Amazing Spider-Man #595-599 will show us what life is like for Harry Osborn now that his father runs the super-powered world. In Captain Britain look for a Doom and Dracula fight on the Moon and later the Black Knight will reclaim his ebony blade. Punisher writer Rick Remender added that Frank Castle will be ratcheting up the body count as he fights the new world order of Norman Osborn. And in the X-Men books, Matt Fraction says that we’ll soon be checking in with Magneto and that Emma Frost’s involvement in the Dark Illuminati will strain her relationship with Cyclops. Plus, there are apparently top secret plans involving S.W.O.R.D.

And naturally, since this was Dark Reign panel, the question came up about Marvel big events, and whether or not we can have a rest. According to Quesada, it may be time to take a breather, but the writers, artists and editors have been working hard to get to this point. “We really did have a plan in place for a while,” Quesada said. “What’s great about Dark Reign is that it’s pushing our characters in new directions […] Everyone’s getting to know what it’s like to be Peter Parker.”

DC Nation Panel

DC Comics Executive Editor Dan Didio certainly knows how to take his lumps. At the DC Nation panel, he stood before the standing-room-only crowd, many of whom with a bone to pick about the none-too-clear conclusion of Final Crisis. Fortunately, he brought a helpful flow chart to show how Final Crisis and Batman: R.I.P. should be read. But naturally, Didio and the other DC executives, writers and artists, including the legendary George Perez, wanted to talk about the future. And to illustrate the point that the Green Lantern story “In Blackest Night” will be the biggest thing to hit the DCU this year, Didio wore every colour of Lantern t-shirt.

Unfortunately, Final Crisis confusion wasn’t the only thing upsetting fans. One fan asked if there could be no more stories involving characters travelling through space, time, or alternative Earths. Others complained about All Star Batman and Robin, the Battle for the Cowl, and the Milestone characters’ integration into the main DC Universe. (Although another fan answered his question “Why?” with, “Because Milestone rules, that’s why.”) Oh, and does death mean anything in the DCU? The atmosphere was occasionally antagonistic, but I have to say the Didio handled himself well, and he tried to steer the crowd into the number of new developments happening at DC.

Again, the big news was Blackest Night, which will begin with issue #0, offered for free on this coming Free Comic Book Day. Didio also did his best to push The Brave and the Bold, which will feature a team-up between Booster Gold and Magog, an issue about the Milestone characters and another about the Red Circle characters before J. Michael Stracynski takes over the book later in ‘09. In other news, Kid Flash, AKA: Bart Allen, will be back in a big way and he’ll have a major part to play in the Flash: Rebirth miniseries by Geoff Johns. Additionally Greg Rucka will be on Detective Comics for 12 to 14 issues; there are currently no plans for new All Star titles; and Batman/Superman will continue despite the fluctuating events in the main Batman titles.