Category: Books

NOVA Blasts Off

 

Nova #1 courtesy Marvel

Marvel will launch a new NOVA into the Marvel Now with a superstar team but it will a brand new kid under the helmet. At New York Comic Con the publisher revealed Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuiness will helm a brand new Nova series. Sam Alexander is the new Human Rocket. Fans will now see the beginnings of the kid who debuted in Avengers vs. X-Men.

Nova #1 courtesy Marvel

“We’ll be seeing the origin of Nova and how he is learning what it’s like to be a super hero,” Loeb shares. “He’s first got to learn about the responsibility of being hero. The responsibility that comes with the helmet.”

Nova #1 courtesy Marvel

Nova is one of Marvel’s space-faring heroes but this series will be down to Earth for now.

  “We want to see Nova in an environment that we can relate to—our own planet—but there’s something cosmic about being out there,” the writer explains. “It’ll be where the adventure takes him.”

Nova #1 courtesy Marvel

New to Nova? Richard Ryder became a member of the Nova Corps – an intergalactic police force that originated on the planet Xandar. No word on what will happen to Richard Ryder, the Dick Clark of Marvel. Ryder was created in 1966 but remained a teenager for several decades including his stint in the New Warriors in 1990’s. Ryder is trapped in an alternate universe.

Nova is a concept like The Defenders. Every few years Marvel tries to revive it. I don’t get it but Marvel is doubling down on its cosmic characters. With a Guardians of the Galaxy movie in development and a new series by Brian Michael Bendis – hopes are high for this new version of Nova who may join the Guardians on the big screen.

By Editor

Clark Gregg for SHIELD TV Pilot

Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson in The Avengers courtesy Marvel

At New York Comic Con Marvel announced Clark Gregg will reprise his role as Agent Phil Coulson in the SHIELD live-action television pilot by Joss Whedon. Gregg played Coulson in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor and The Avengers.

The actor is the voice of Principal Coulson on the Ultimate Spider-Man series.

Maybe the clever agent used his life model decoy in the his encounter with Loki in The Avengers? Phil Coulson recently joined the Marvel comic universe in the Battle Scars mini-series.

By Editor

ARROW Fights Deathstroke!

courtesy The CW, an IGN exclusive first

  The CW recruit DC Comics’ ultimate assassin for their new take on Green Arrow . Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke the Terminator will appear on an upcoming episode of Arrow.

  In this week’s first episode there was a glimpse of the classic mask in a scene on the island where Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) was stranded before returning to Starling City to become a vigilante.

  Here’s a first look at the assassin courtesy IGN who says to watch for Deathstoke (played by Jeffrey Robinson) to appear in the fifth episode of Arrow. Could this mean Oliver was trained by Slade on the island during those missing five years?

The showdown in Starling City is next month.

Kelly Hu plays China White in the second episode. Watch for the Huntress to appear in multiple episodes as a love interest.

By Editor

American Vampire Team Go Deep With THE WAKE for Vertigo

courtesy DC Comics

  The minds behind American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest reunite for a new Vertigo limited series next year. Scott Snyder (Batman) and Sean Murphy (Joe the Barbarian, Punk Rock Jesus) create The Wake for Vertigo Comics, an underwater sci-fi story.

  “I couldn’t be more excited about The Wake!” Snyder tells the Source, “This is a story Sean and I have actually been developing together for more than a year, a big, twisted, sprawling science fiction and horror epic, all of which begins with a single, terrifying discovery at the bottom of the ocean. It’s one of the most ambitious stories I’ve ever done, and there’s no one I’d rather be creating it with than Sean Murphy. Sean’s a great friend and we had a blast together on American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest; luckily, he’s also one of the industry’s brightest new stars, someone with unrivaled abilities as a world-builder—every scene he draws is so fully realized, so richly imagined, it’s hugely inspiring working with him, and I’m grateful to him for signing on to be my partner at the end of the world, here.”

 By Editor

 

 

The “Other” Avengers vs. X-Men Death

Wolverine and the X-Men #17 courtesy Marvel

  Lights appeared all over the world as a result of the events in Avengers vs. X-Men #12. This week a light went out in Wolverine and the X-Men #18. The death of an icon earlier in the series deserved all the media attention and fan frenzy it received. I want to take a moment to remember the young mutant who was brutally killed this week. This death was more heartbreaking and had more of an impact on me. It hurt to see that final panel.

 This week’s issue shows life for the students and staff of the Jean Grey School as they wait for the outcome of the final battle with Dark Phoenix Cyclops. Jason Aaron and Jorge Molina are pitch perfect with action scenes, humor, teen drama at the school dance – with Lockheed as dj – and kids’ reaction to that final moment of AvX.

 Aaron brings several storylines at the school to a head amid the impact of the AvX event. You feel importance of AvX in this issue. You can sense the kids’ fear and hope over the outcome and their future. It’s been a year of thrills, laughs, friendships built and tested. Then Jason Aaron delivered a sucker punch to the gut with a shocking death that hurt but will propel the series and kids forward.

By Editor

Superstar Team for New Superman Book

Superman by Jim Lee courtesy DC Comics

2013 is Superman’s 75th Anniversary and fans have reason to celebrate. The Man of Steel by Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan will hit the big screen. Scott Snyder and Jim Lee will team up to launch a brand new Superman book.

“As a huge fan of Scott’s writing, I’m looking forward to drawing Superman as much as I am reading Scott’s story as it unfolds,” Lee told The Source, “Scott’s crafted a truly epic yet personal story which will demonstrate without a doubt why Superman remains the most iconic hero of the modern age. 2013 is gonna absolutely rock!”

“I’ve loved Superman since I was a kid, and to be working on him now, with the great Jim Lee, is simply too thrilling for words. It’s a dream come true for me on every front,” said Snyder . “I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll just say it’s the Superman story I’d write if I only ever got one chance to write the character. It’s an exploration of everything I love and am fascinated by about him. Like Court of Owls for Batman, it’s a character piece for Clark – it’s going to challenge him to his core. And it’s definitely epic in scope, with huge action and drama – the biggest and most earth-shaking action I’ve ever done. Can’t wait to see what you all think of it. Couldn’t be more grateful or excited to get the chance to make this one!”

By Editor

 

Mary Jane, Harry Osborn in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN sequel

Amazing Spider-Man #641 courtesy Marvel

    Will Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker “hit the jackpot?”

   Variety reports Sony is in talks with Shailene Woodley (The Descedants, The Secret Life of An American Teenager) to play Mary Jane Watson in The Amazing Spider-Man sequel. Director Marc Webb is back to direct. According to the story the search is on for an actor to play Harry Osborn, Peter’s best friend and eventual enemy and an unspecified villain. The report says an option is Max Dillon aka Electro.

   I hope the producers continue to keep Norman Osborn off camera and in the shadows until a final film. I would love to see Dr. Michael Morbius aka Morbius, The Living Vampire as a villain in the tradition of the Lizard from the first film.

By Editor

 

Bloody and Brilliant Batgirl

Batgirl #13 courtesy DC Comics

  Gail Simone delivers a gripping showdown with a new villainess and sets the stage for Barbara Gordon’s “reunion” the Joker in Batgirl #13 this week. Knightfall is Simone’s most twisted of the the new rogues gallery she’s crafted for Batgirl.   Knightfall is in many ways the kind of vigilante Bruce Wayne could have easily turned out to be. Part of Simone’s brilliance is that all the enemies she’s created this past year are damaged just like Barbara.

  Batgirl suffers in this issue. She’s beaten, gutted and bleeding but Barbara won’t back down. The Batgirl/Knightfall fight is brutal. What I love is that Barbara is determined but not cocky. Batgirl knows she could be one slip away from dying but Barbara knows if she can save a victim it’s worth the suffering.

  This issue is a prelude to Batgirl’s role in the Death of the Family crossover. In a scene that’s eerily similar to that horrible moment in The Killing Joke, a member of Barbara’s family is attacked by the Joker’s enforcers.

  Barbara’s reunion with the Joker will be chilling and thrilling but Simone is looking beyond that showdown as we seen all the new enemies from the past year gathered into what could be Batgirl’s own version of the Sinister Six.

By Editor