So another San Diego Comic Con has come and gone and as usual there were a myriad of announcements that hopefully will whet the appetites of potential customers everywhere. Here are some things that I am interested in seeing.
Superman Batman Movie. Okay, so I didn’t like Man of Steel, but I have hopes (I wouldn’t say high) for a silver screen blockbuster with Batman and Superman. Carrying on the fine tradition of World’s Finest, the two heroes are the most recognizable superheroes in the world, and seeing them meet, be at odds, and then work together to fight a common foe (which I hope will be Lex Luthor and the League of Shadows). It should be fun, wonderful summer fare.
Avenger 2: Age of Ultron. Ultron is a fantastic villain and one of the few that can legitimately give the entire Avengers team a run for its money. Name aside, it won’t be taking much from the mini-series (which is a good thing) and the evil robots vs people thing always makes for a solid story. Ultron was Skynet way before Arnold came on the scene.
Guardians of the Galaxy. The casting news for this flick was crazy! I have always been a fan of Marvel’s cosmic stories but I would never have believed you if five years ago you told me that the film-going public would know who The Collector, Nebula, and Ronan are.
JRJR on Superman. This was just a tiny bit of news that got me very excited. There is a chance that John Romita Jr will write and draw Superman. He has never worked on the character and his style would be perfect. I can’t wait to see this come to fruition.
Walt Simonson Ragnorok. Walt Simonson doing his own take on Thor? Where do I sign up?
Scooby Doo Meets Batman and Robin. The big two companies should have way more kids comics than they currently produce. They both have access to great properties are there is simply no excuse for the lack of diverse, all-ages products. Fans of the old Scooby-Doo cartoon will remember that the Dynamic Duo teamed up with Mystery Inc on quite a few occasions to foil the nefarious plots of the Joker and the Penguin. And yes, it was just as awesome as it sounds.
Hellboy Artist’s Edition. Artist Editions FTW. IDW has basically cornered the marked on brilliant collector pieces, and getting a chance to see Mignola’s original pages in all their full size glory is impossible to pass up.
Velvet. Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting together on their own hard hitting espionage story? Completely amazing and I can’t wait to purchase the hardcover collectors edition that will inevitably follow.
What did strike me this year was how little actual comic book news there was. Mostly it was all about movies, television shows, and video game announcements. I feel that a lot of comic book companies don’t make big announcement about new series or story lines because they would get drowned out by the fanboy screams of a Superman Batman movie.
Epting and Brubaker together again? They could be doing a cook book… and I wouldn’t care, I’d buy it anyways!!!
I have mixed feeling about JRJR on Superman. JRJR’s art works for me with Spider-Man and Kick Ass, but I didn’t like the look of the Marvel Now! Captain America. I don’t think his style worked with that character. I have the same feeling with Superman. JRJR isn’t the right fit.
Superman and Batman together again… for the first time… on the big screen. I want to love this, but Man of Steel and Dark Knight Rises really squashed my excitement for DC movies. If this was 1992, I’d be ecstatic. But right now I don’t know what to think. I just hope they make something good.
The Hellboy Artist’s Edition will be great, but the comic Hellboy In Hell was digitally lettered so the Artist’s Edition won’t have any lettering since it’s based on the original art boards. This will be the first time IDW is releasing such a volume and it will be in essence a picture book that you flip through but can’t read.
JRJR always does great larger characters. His Thor and Hulk are excellent examples and I feel he’d do a great, imposing Superman. JRJR and Dan Jurgens did a great story with Thor taking on Thanos. It will be re-released in November: http://www.amazon.com/Thor-vs-Thanos-Dan-Jurgens/dp/0785184651
Totally agree with you on Superman Batman movie, but we need to keep the hope alive Ed, otherwise the bad guys win. And you don’t want them to win do you?
Interesting. I wonder if it will affect sales? Or they could add a clear plastic page with the lettering on it (every second page) that way you would see the originals and you could still enjoy the story.
An overlay would work really well. It’s too early to tell and I’m sure Scott Dunbier will put together a great product.
I’m also excited for new Walt Simonson Thor material. Simonson could write a cook book… oh wait!… I used that analogy. Ok… let me rephrase. I really dig Simonson and his work on Thor was unbelievable. If he is doing new stories, count me in.
I like the use of the overlay in DD Born Again (AE). It was for the snow effect. But it added more to the reading experience. I’m sure they could do something with the lettering that is missing (or the reader could make up their own story).
Ultron was indeed around before The Terminator, but for movie audiences the robots vs. humans theme has been way overdone, especially in the past 20 years. I’d rather see Kang in the next movie — or even the Skrulls, the Kree, Dr. Doom, or Galactus (*not a cloud). Marvel has dozens of cosmic level villains they could use.
JR Jr’s style has really gotten too blocky for me. I like his early ’80s ASM run better…when he drew more like his dad. Anyway, I don’t think Superman should look anywhere near as large and imposing as the Hulk. How could he conceivably walk around the Daily Planet undetected? I’ll suspend disbelief on the spectacles but that’s about it.