Dave Farabee here, and as we’re once again in the wake of a big ol’ comic convention, I’ve got enough announcements to choke Comet the Superhorse.
A lot of this stuff was already broken by AICN Comics’ own Ambush Bug, who was actually hobnobbing with the stars at WizardWorld Chicago. His report can be found here and has more attention paid to booth babes. I’ll be dispensing the news in “just the facts” form, though, and I’ve got all kinds of smaller announcements that need airing. I didn’t go to the con, instead swiping all this stuff from such delightful sites as Newsarama, The Pulse, Comic Book Resources, Silver Bullet Comics, and Millarworld. The links in the announcements will take you to their source articles, so click ‘em, damn you.
CLICK ‘EM!
*Winner of Wizard’s fan film awards.
*Brian Michael Bendis has re-upped his exclusive with Marvel. Details.
*Devil’s Due Publishing will be releasing STRONGHOLD, a new three-issue miniseries written by Phil “THE ATHEIST” Hester. Details.
*Click here for the SPAWN ANIMATED teaser shown at Comic-Con.
*THE EXTERMINATORS is a new series coming DC’s Vertigo line featuring art by Tony “THE WALKING DEAD” Moore. Newcomer Simon Oliver writes and the series will be a darkly comic look at mutant insects and the misfit exterminators out to cleanse them. Details.
*Warren Ellis on the GLOBAL FREQUENCY TV show: “It's my current understanding that the bittorrenting of 'GLOBAL FREQUENCY' has rendered it as dead as dead can get as a TV series. It seems that people in high places did not take kindly to the leak. I have no further details, so don't ask.”
*A recent Garth Ennis interview revealed plans for one last Hitman story: “I miss Hitman a lot. Preacher finished when it was supposed to, so there are no regrets with it- but Hitman could have gone on a lot longer. John McCrea and I are actually doing four issues of JLA Classified, featuring what is effectively the “lost” Hitman story, the one that we never had space for in the monthly. Writing Tommy and the boys again was sheer joy.” Details.
*November sees Alias Comics collecting the SNAKE PLISSKEN CHRONICLES four issue mini that previously existed at CrossGen comics and Hurricane. Follow-up Plissken projects likely. Details
*IDW Publishing, soon the be relaunching TRANSFORMERS, will also be publishing collections of pre-existing Transformers comics (including some Dreamwave Transformers projects that never made it to print). They’ll also be producing a $1.99 comic that’s a “best of” series of previous TRANSFORMERS outings and TRANSFORMERS: EVOLUTION, a sister series that features standalone, out-of-continuity stories by established pros. Details.
*Details on the Grant Morrison/Jim Lee relaunch of WILDCATS, tentatively planned as 12 issues and titled “Worldstorm”.
*After much industry furor and speculation, Wizard has announced that it will not be challenging Shelton Drum’s Heroes-Con with a WizardWorld Atlanta convention in ’06. Details.
*Brian Vaughan will be writing at least one version of the screenplay adapting his EX MACHINA to film (recently optioned by New Line), while series’ artist Tony Harris will be working on production design. Details.
*Artist Tony “ADRENALYNN” Daniels has signed a two-year exclusive with DC Comics. Details. His first project will be a three-part arc on TEEN TITANS.
*Marvel will intro a new hero, Vegas, in October’s two issues of AMAZING FANTASY. Series will be set on the Western fringes of the Marvel Universe, opening in Austin, Texas. Karl “HUMAN TORCH” Kesel writes, newcomer Italian artist Carmine Di Giandomenico draws, Tony “STARMAN” Harris provides covers. Details.
*Chuck “NIGHTWING” Dixon will be launching his own line of comics through Shooting Star Comics in 2006. Titles will include the creator-owned AKOTA, WARGOD OF THE LOST (“…a barbarian adventure story about the first people to cross the Bering Strait into North America 30,000 years ago”) and AIRBOY '42: BEST OF ENEMIES, a prestige one-shot featuring the Golden Age hero, Airboy. Details.
*Josh “Dead @ 17” Howard will be writing a four issue supernatural thriller, BLACK HARVEST, for Devil’s Due Press. Details.
*Danger Girl returns in DANGER GIRL: BACK IN BLACK, a four issue mini scheduled to begin in November. DANGER GIRL co-creator Andy Hartnell writes, newcomer Nick Bradshaw draws, and original DANGER GIRL artist J. Scott Campbell provides covers. Details.
*Scott “MARVEL TEAM-UP” Kolins has re-upped his exclusive with Marvel. Details.
*THE IMAGE COMICS Hardcover, a tenth anniversary collection originally solicited for 2002, is allegedly finished and has been rescheduled for November 2005. Participants include Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino. Details.
*Alias Comics’ miniseries LULLABY, which featured a kids’ lit. analogue to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Red Riding Hood, Pinocchio, Jim Hawkins, etc.), will spin-off into an ongoing series in September. Details.
*Joe “BATTLECHASERS” Madureira, missing from the comics scene for several years as he worked on video game designs, has returned to Marvel where he’ll be working on an unnamed project with Jeph “SUPERMAN/BATMAN” Loeb. Both Madureira and Loeb have signed exclusive contracts, though Loeb will continue on SUPERGIRL for an undisclosed time. Details.
*Brian Bendis will co-write SPIDER-WOMAN: ORIGIN, a five-issue miniseries debuting in December, alongside Brian Reed, who worked on the ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN video game. The Luna Brothers (ULTRA) will draw. This will be followed by a new Spider-Woman ongoing series written by Bendis and drawn by Alex Maleev, who worked with Bendis on ALIAS.
*Brian Bendis has indicated plans for a follow-up to his Hollywood tell-all, FORTUNE & GLORY.
*Brian Bendis has written a pilot for the FOX network based on the first arc of his Marvel MAX title, ALIAS. It features Marvel Characters but is titled ALTER EGO to avoid clashing with the Jennifer Garner series ALIAS.
*Brian Bendis, Mark Millar, the Ultimate line, and Vertigo are all spoofed in this award-winning Wizard fan-film entry.
*DAREDEVIL’s new creative team will be Ed “CAPTAIN AMERICA” Brubaker and Michael “GOTHAM CENTRAL” Lark. They’ll take over after Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev’s run concludes, first issue debuting in November.
*X-STATIX will make a return appearance in the near future with X-STATIX: DEAD GIRL SPECIAL, produced by original series creators Peter Milligan and Mike Allred.
*Daniel “VENOM” Way will write and Steve “PREACHER” Dillon will draw the five-issue miniseries PUNISHER VS. BULLSEYE.
*Andy “LOSERS” Diggle and Kyle “THE HOOD” Hotz will produce the PUNISHER X-MAS SPECIAL in December.
*Reginald Hudlin, recently named Head of Programming for the BET network, will conclude his commitments on MARVEL KNIGHTS SPIDER-MAN and then leave the book.
*Gail Simone will write a new GEN 13 series for WildStorm with art by Talent “SUPERMAN: GODFALL” Caldwell. Jim Lee and J. Scott Campbell will provide covers.
*Grant Morrison will be overseeing the pending WildStorm relaunches as an editorial consultant even as he writes the new WILDCATS.
*WildStorm will launch a small line of fantasy-themed titles in 2006 under the banner of “Storm & Sorcery.” The line will launch with a crossover between a revamped DC property, “Claw the Unconquered” and Dynamite Entertainment’s RED SONJA. SKYE RUNNER will be another title in the line, written by Adam “LIVEWIRES” Warren and drawn by Ale “NINJA BOY” Garza. SKYE RUNNER will be set in the same universe as NINJA BOY.
*WildStorm’s THE INTIMATES will conclude with issue 12.
*Frank Miller and Jim Lee’s run on ALL-STAR BATMAN & ROBIN is currently planned to run 9 or 10 issues.
*HOUSE OF M: DECIMATION is the blanket title for the events, miniseries, one-shots, and general follow-ups to Marvel’s current HOUSE OF M series. Details.
*Michael “SOULFIRE” Turner will produce an unnamed six-issue project for Marvel as well as several covers.
*Artist Leinil “SILENT DRAGON” Yu has signed an exclusive contract with Marvel. His first project will be set in the Ultimate universe and pits Wolverine against the Hulk.
*There will be a new SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE miniseries from Vertigo in 2006. John Ney Reiber (BOOKS OF MAGIC) will write. Title is SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE: SLEEP OF REASON. Details.
*November will see Sean McKeever’s SENTINEL returning to Marvel as a five-issue miniseries. Details.
*Kazu Kibuishi, whose debut work was the graphic novel DAISY KUTTER, will see his new project, AMULET, released through children’s book publisher Scholastic. Scholastic is the publisher currently releasing the color editions of Jeff Smith’s BONE. Details.
*Moonstone Comics will debut their pending BUCKAROO BANZAI comic in December with a 16-page preview penned by the cult film’s writer and director. Details.
*Canadian entrepreneur Christian Dery recently won the rights to the properties of the bankrupt comic company Dreamwave in an auction. Dery has stated his intentions to bring back Dreamwave’s properties like WARLANDS and DARK MINDS. Details.
*Cellar Door Publishing has signed a deal to produce original graphic novels based on properties created by American McGee, best known as the designer for the video game AMERICAN MCGEES ALICE. Details.
*Darwyn “DC: THE NEW FRONTIER” Cooke has signed an exclusive contract with DC Comics.
*In November, DC will release a BEST OF THE SPIRIT collection spotlighting Will Eisner’s seminal creation. Neil Gaiman writes the intro.
*Jess Nevins, who’s written books annotating Alan Moore’s LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, has recently posted annotations for Moore’s TOP TEN: THE FORTY-NINERS. Annotations here.
