This week Super Folk, Publishers Weekly’s superhero news summary, looks at all the announcements that came out of WonderCon over the weekend, including Marvel’s new X-Men series and a new Captain Marvel, more details on DC’s upcoming new titles, big news from IDW and more.
IDW Comes Up Big
Perhaps bolstered by its impressive sales figures in February, IDW came up big this past weekend at the WonderCon comics convention in Anaheim, California, with a series of major announcements concerning some well-known properties. Since the success of 2011’s The Rocketeer Adventures anthology series, IDW, via surprise guest Mark Waid, announced a new full-length Rocketeer story The Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom, the first since the late Dave Stevens’ (creator of The Rocketeer) Rocketeer Adventure Magazine in 1995. The new series, which will be written by Waid and illustrated by fan-favorite artist Chris Samnee, will feature Rocketeer Cliff Secord squaring off against shadowy government agencies, dangerous exotic creatures and even a new love interest. Waid, a fan of the original series, admitted that he saw the opportunity to write the Rocketeer as a “big responsibility,” but assured fans he would “try [his] hardest to live up to what Dave created.” The Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom kicks off in August. IDW also announced the release of Dave Stevens: Covers and Stories, a new black-and-white book containing rare and never before seen artwork, due out in July.
Also out in July is the debut issue of a new miniseries starring The Crow, written by John Shirley (who was the author of the original screenplay for the first “The Crow” movie) and illustrated by Kevin Colden. Coupled with that was news of The Crow creator J. O’Barr working on a separate new Crow book, which will be officially announced soon.
That same month, IDW will also hail the return of another popular hero, The Cape. The Cape: 1969, a follow-up to 2011’s The Cape, will be written by Jason Ciaramella and illustrated by Zach Howard and Nelson Daniel, and will tell the origin of the eponymous piece of clothing.
IDW’s next big announcement was the Fall release of reprinted and brand new Judge Dredd comics, a joint venture with Dredd’s original UK publisher, 2000AD. IDW’s Chief Creative Officer and Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall didn’t reveal any creators for the new series, but did admit to seeking out legendary Judge Dredd artist Simon Bisley.
Finally, IDW revealed a new Womanthology ongoing series, following the release of the highly successful Womanthology: Heroic Kickstarter project, started by artist Renae de Liz, featuring over one-hundred of the top female creators working in comics. The new series, which begins with a five-issue “outer-space” theme and is referred to as Womanthology: Space, will begin in September.
Marvel Reveals (Almost) All at WonderCon
With Spider-Man swinging around in outer-space in the “Ends of the Earth” storyline (beginning this week with Amazing Spider-Man #682) it seems only natural for Marvel to also send the Punisher into orbit with Space: Punisher, a new out-of-continuity miniseries from writer Frank Tieri and artist Mark Texiera that sends Frank Castle into deep space to deliver his lethal brand of justice on “wild twists of classic characters.” Space: Punisher launches in July. In other Punisher news, crime novelist Jason Starr will be writing Untold Tales of Punisher MAX, a five-part PunisherMAX series beginning in June.
Marvel also announced a new Spider-Man story featuring the classic Spidey foe, The Lizard. Writer Dan Slott admits to being inspired by the choice of the Lizard as the villain in the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man movie, out this summer.
After last week’s teaser image promised a new Captain Marvel series beginning in July, Senior Vice President of Publishing Tom Brevoort, at the publisher’s “Talk to the Hat” panel, revealed the new Captain Marvel is none other than Carol Danvers, formerly Ms. Marvel. The new female Captain Marvel series is written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and illustrated by Dexter Soy. Bervoort also brought to light a new X-Men book titled X-Treme X-Men, written by current Astonishing X-Men writer Greg Pak and artist Stephen Segovia and featuring a cast of reimagined characters, including the oft-maligned mutant Dazzler.
Later, at the “Next Big Thing” panel, Marvel announced that the Thunderbolts series will be renamed Dark Avengers in June. The new title, written by Jeff Parker and with art by Kev Walker and Declan Shalvey, will feature Luke Cage as the leader. Then, in Parker’s other title, Hulk, the entire Hulk family (Red Hulk, She Hulk, Alpha Flight and Machine Man) minus the Jade Giant will take on a pantheon of Mayan gods, just in time for 2012’s imminent apocalypse, in the upcoming "Mayan Rule." The new storyline, beginning in Hulk #53, is illustrated by Dale Eaglsham and kicks off in June.
On Sunday Marvel revealed that Brian Wood, indie comics superstar and longtime Vertigo writer, will helm both X-Men (with artist David Lopez) and Ultimate X-Men (with artist Carlo Barberi) beginning this summer. For the X-Men, Wood is taking a more action/thriller approach, while for Ultimate X-Men he's opting to focus more on the relationships and personal struggles of the mutants, especially Kitty Pride (aka Shadowcat).
Prior to WonderCon, Marvel announced a new three-issue limited series, Infernal Man-Thing, written by legendary 1970s Man-Thing writer Steve Gerber and illustrated by Kevin Nowlan. Though Gerber died in 2008, a previously unknown story he wrote was discovered, a story that will provide the kind of ending Gerber had always wanted to tell. Infernal Man-Thing #1 hits shelves in June.
Finally, Brevoort closed out the weekend teasing big plans for Marvel’s cosmic line of books, promising to “[make] it part of overall Marvel publishing.”
DC Dishes on New and Upcoming Titles
Instead of making high profile announcements, DC Comics spent much of the weekend touting its upcoming new titles, as well as discussing the upcoming storylines in its current books. First, at the “All Access Friday” panel which included Editor-in-Chief Bob Harras, Executive Editor Eddie Berganza and writer Batman writer Scott Snyder, additional details were given concerning Batman: Earth One and Superman: Earth One Volume 2, specifically an “uncool” Batman and “Liam Neeson from Taken”-esque Alfred for the former, and the first supervillain, Parasite, for the latter. Batman: Earth One is out in July, whil Superman: Earth One Volume 2 follows later this year.
Amongst the news of upcoming New 52 storylines, the panel unveiled a new look for Swamp Thing, designed by series artist Yanick Pacquette for an upcoming storyline. The design gives the titular character a more armored look, complete with an antler crown jutting from the sides of his head. Series writer Scott Snyder explained that over the years each Swamp Thing creative team gave the character their own look and that this one was meant to present their Swamp Thing as a “warrior king” and “the greatest most badass ever.”
Another notable upcoming title is Dial H For Hero, a revival of the old school silver age comics about a phone dial with the power to grant its dialer with a cornucopia of superpowers. The new series is being written by popular speculative fiction author China Mieville, who, despite being a lifelong fan of comics, is only now trying his hand at writing one. In an interview with sci-fi blog io9, Mieville talked about his dual approach to writing the book, taking a light-hearted, somewhat silly concept but adding, or rather highlighting, a sinister edge hiding just beneath the surface. Mieville also revealed some artist Mateus Santolouco’s sketches of the series “alter egos,” which give credence to Dial H For Hero as DC’s weirdest title.
Dynamite’s Universe Explodes in New Crossover
Last week Dyanmite Entertainment announced its first ever cross-over event, Prophecy, which will encompass characters like Vampirella, Red Sonja, Kulan Gath, and more, in a story centered around the 2012 Mayan prophesized end of days. The crossover, written by Ron Marz and illustrated by Walter Geovani, will be a self-contained story that focuses on being “classic comic book storytelling” with “big” action moments throughout. Marz explains that his favorite part of writing crossovers is just seeing all the different characters come together and interact against the backdrop of some colossal threat.
Spinning out of the Vampirella comic comes Pantha, a new ongoing series starring a sexy immortal Egyptian shape shifter who hunts the forces of chaos like prey. The new series, written by Brandon Jerwa and illustrated by Pow Rodix, promises to make Pantha a major player in the Vampirella universe, and will even be featured in the aforementioned Prophecy crossover. Pantha #1 debuts in June.