Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man movies are definitely on the way! Marvel made it official at SDCC. Guardians will warp into theaters August 1, 2014. From the concept art revealed it appears the Guardians will be the more recent version of the team featuring characters like Rocket Raccoon and Drax.
courtesy Marvel.com
Fans at SDCC saw test footage from Ant-Man director Edgar Wright. No word on a release date or confirmation that this will be the Eric O’Grady version of Ant-Man. Fans hope original Ant-Man Hank Pym may appear in an Avengers sequel but Pym has plenty of other heroic aliases (Giant-Man, Goliath, Yellowjacket) to use.
Anne Hathaway is winning huge praise from director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale for her performance as Selena Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises. Nolan even said Hathaway’s Selena Kyle deserved the opportunity to star in a Catwoman solo film. Bale reportedly said that Hathaway “has the toughest job on the film because the Catwoman role has been defined previously.”
Catwoman: Nine Lives of Femme Fatale Poster by Brian Bolland courtesy DC Comics
Catwoman is one of the most iconic female characters in comic book history. I was inspired to collect some of Catwoman’s greatest “cuts” as the world waits to see how Christopher Nolan and Anne Hathaway will portray her in The Dark Knight Rises.
Television: As a little kid I raced off the school bus so I didn’t miss a moment of the Batman television show. I loved Julie Newmar as Catwoman. The dramatic purrs on words were part of the show’s camp but Newmar embodied the conflicted bad girl you hope would change her ways for Batman. Eartha Kitt only played Catwoman three times but what an impression. Kitt played Catwoman with a harder, dangerous edge. That cat would do a lot worse than scratch!
Movies: Michelle Pfeifer’s Catwoman was a deadly kitten with a whip in Batman Returns. Tim Burton’s origin for Selina was very different from the comic books but Pfeiffer made it work. This secretary turned feminist avenger was a deadly mix of empowerment and sex appeal.
Comics: Bob Kane created The Cat as a socialite turned catburglar villain for Batman. Selina Kyle developed into an antihero with love/hate romantic relationship with Batman. In the 1990’s writers took Selina’s character into dark territory. Modern creators interpretted her disguise and life of crime as a response to a history of abuse. Selina became an avenger of women on the streets of Gotham City.
Catwoman: The Dark End of the Street courtesy DC Comics
The Dark End of the Street, Crooked Little Town, Relentless, and Wild Ride show Catwoman as a vigilante antihero in modern crime noir tales. During this era Selina takes in an ex-hooker and junkie as a protogee in her war on crime. The look in these collections are similar to the style Anne Hathaway has in photos on the set of The Dark Knight Rises.
Trail of the Catwoman marked Selina’s return to her infamous persona after a long absence with a new costume. Selina hunts a serial killer targetting the streetwalkers of Gotham City.
When in Rome is Catwoman versus the Falcone crime family. This is a sexier colorful tale of the cat burglar on a mysterious adventure in Italy.
Hush is one of my all time favorite Batman epics. The Dark Knight and Catwoman’s twisted relationship is at this most romantic and intense during this year long mystery in which a new villian uses Batman’s greatest enemies as pawns in a mind twisting game. Jim Lee’s Catwoman is perfect.
Cover Run: The DC Comics Art of Adam Hughes courtesy DC Comics
I have to give Adam Hughes praise for his portraits of Catwoman. Cover Run includes many of his iconic DC covers starring the femme fatale.
DC Comics The New 52 Catwoman title has been the target of praise and controversy. Legendary scribe Ann Nocenti is set to take over from Judd Winnick. Nocenti is famed for her powerful femme fatales in other books so this could be a continued era of greatness for DC’s most infamous anti-heroine.
Yes, I left out the Catwoman movie starring Halle Berry. Great actress. Unique take on the character. Nuff said.
DC Comics shared this look at Bryan Hitch’s variant cover to Batman #12. This issue by Scott Snyder and guest artist Becky Cloonan is an epilogue to The Court of Owls storyline and begins the next arc: the return of the Joker!
I love this cover by Bryan Hitch who recently ended his decade long Marvel exclusive deal. I’d like to see Hitch take on more of DC’s icons. Hitch is also working with Jonathan Ross on America’s Got Powers from Image.
Brace yourselves longtime Marvel fans! Sweeping changes: New books. New creative teams. Final arcs for favorite creators and…cancelled books. Marvel NOW! means new beginnings and endings this October. The Marvel solicitations reveal the huge changes coming.
Avengers #31 marks the final arc by Brian Michael Bendis with Iron Man finding a signal leading to “one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in Avengers history” while New Avengers #31 by Bendis sees the return of one of their deadliest foes.
Rick Remender picks up previous storylines (before the AvX crossover) in Secret Avengers #32 and #33 as a new Masters of Evil attack and The Rise of the Descendants featuring the debut of a hero corrupted: the Black Ant.
Captain America #19 courtesy Marvel
This month marks the end of fan favorite writers on marquee franchises. Captain America #19 sees the return of artist Steve Epting for Ed Brubaker’s grand finale issue. This is definitely the end of a major creative era for Steve Rogers. The Mighty Thor #22 is the final issue as Matt Fraction wraps up the Everything Burns epic and Kieron Gillen bids Kid Loki goodbye as Journey Into Mystery ends too. Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca ends their epic run on Invincible Iron Man with the final issue. The Jason Aaron penned The Incredible Hulk ends with #15. Jonathan Hickman’s epic run on Marvel’s First Family is over. Fantastic Four #611 and FF #23 are the final issues.
Marvel’s mutant titles are evolving too. Uncanny X-Men #20 is final issue and fallout of AvX but does this mean the end of Kieron Gillen’s time with the mutants? Marvel has said All-New X-Men by Bendis will be the new flagship X-book.
Uncanny X-Men #20 courtesy Marvel.com
Havok will lead the new Uncanny Avengers and the X-Factor #245 solicitation may be a clue as that he’s leaving Peter David’s book. It’s described as the last of five issues that will change the book and lineup. New Mutants will end with issue 50 this month. X-Men Legacy #275 will be the final issue. Rogue is joining Uncanny Avengers. X-Men, Wolverine and the X-Men, Uncanny X-Force appear to be continuing or starting new story arcs with no hint that the books are ending but stay tuned.
Marvel has said the Marvel NOW! relaunch will continue through February 2013 so we can expect more cancelled books and hopefully announcements of favorite creators on relaunched books.
Hellboy fans are in for a helluva time when the demonic hero returns in Hellboy in Hell #1 December 5th. Dark Horse Comics revealed the Mike Mignola cover and release date with the tease: DEATH was only the beginning.
The Wolverine is Hugh Jackman’s next solo film about the X-Man’s adventures in Japan is based on the story by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. The cast of is coming together according to reports from Superhero Hype, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.
Wolverine #2 courtesy Marvel
Will Yun Lee (Die Another Day, Elektra, Hawaii 5-0) is set to play Kenuichio Harada, the mutant son of a Japanese crime lord who becomes the Silver Samurai. Hiroyuki Sanada (The Last Samurai, Revenge) will play Shingen, leader of Clan Yashida, a powerful Yakuza crime family. Brian Tee will play Noburo Mori, the man engaged to a crime lord’s daughter and the woman Logan falls in love with.
Tao Okamoto will Lady Mariko, daughter of Shingen who falls in love with Logan. Rila Fukushima plays Yukio, a ronin assassin for Lord Shingen who later has a fling with Logan. Yukio is also famous for her adventures with Storm and inspired the X-Man to get a mohawk.
Ultimate Comics: X-Men #14 is out this week. Brian Wood takes the mutants into the Divided We Fall crossover fighting against a Sentinel controlled America. Kitty Pryde is thrust into a leadership role and sports a new look.
“Kitty’s new costume was an idea of mine that Jorge Molina kindly made into reality, and it’s entirely about supporting events in the story. It’s part of Kitty’s new no-hiding, no-label, no-codename philosophy—almost an anti-costume. For her to have anything else would be in opposition to the story. I generally like costumes when they feel real and are practical, that look like human hands made them. I don’t have total control over them, of course, these aren’t my characters, but whenever possible that’s the approach I’ll take.”
“She makes herself a good leader. At first, she decides this is what she wants and then goes out and literally takes it; she aggressively becomes this mutant revolutionary, this freedom fighter. And I’m using those terms in an old school, 20th century way, shades of Che [Guevara] and of Malcolm X—people out to reclaim power from the occupiers, nothing more. And before anyone starts getting alarmed at those references, they’re not meant to be literal.”
Ultimate Comics: X-Men #16 courtesy Marvel.com
Wood and Kitty take command in time for the Divided We Fall crossover with the rest of the Ultimate books. For the entire interview here’s the Marvel.com link.
This week is a major showdown Gladiator (Emperor of the Shi’ar) arrives on Earth to wipe out Phoenix Five and rescue his son in Wolverine and the X-Men #13 by Jason Aaron and Nick Bradshaw. Wait until he finds out what Wolverine did to Kid Gladiator? Marvel.com revealed some of Bradshaw’s kinetic and color packed pages.
Wolverine and the X-Men #13 courtesy Marvel.com
Emperor Kallark’s son known as Kid Gladiator has been at the Jean Grey School under the watchful eye of Shiar warrior Warbird.
Wolverine and the X-Men #13 courtesy Marvel.com
Warbird is part of Marjorie Liu’s Astonishing X-Men arc. past. This issue promises to reveal more of Warbird’s past and a date for Kitty Pryde?
Wolverine and the X-Men #13 courtesy Marvel.com
Here’s hoping Gladiator survives! Jonathan Hickman’s new Avengers series is said have a huge cast and he favors the old school cosmic epics so maybe Gladiator or Warbird might turn up on his book. And given the cosmic direction Marvel movies are going maybe we’ll see the Shi’ar Empire in an Avengers sequel or if a Guardians of the Galaxy movie happens?
