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.
Batman #12 arrives August 8th.
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.
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.
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.
By Editor
Thanks to Comic Book Resources where you can find the full solicitations.
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.
I just wish we could get a new Hellboy movie!
By Editor
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.
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.
Thanks to Dark Horizons.
James Mangold is directing the film scheduled to begin filming next month in Australia.
By Editor
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.”
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.
By Editor
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.
Emperor Kallark’s son known as Kid Gladiator has been at the Jean Grey School under the watchful eye of Shiar warrior Warbird.
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?
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?
By Editor
Avenging Spider-Man #9 The all-new Captain Marvel debuts! Spider-Man teams up with Carol Danvers in her high flying new role.
Batman #11 The conclusion to the Court of Owls epic is here! The mastermind behind the secret society and its army of assassins is revealed. The final chapter of The Fall of the House of Wayne backstory reaches into the tragic past of Bruce’s family.
Bloodshot #1 A new series and new mission for the ultimate soldier reborn from military necessity cutting edge technology. A broken hit man is revived with nanites in his blood and revenge on the brain.
The Massive #2 Survivors of a global disaster sail the world in search of their missing crewmates. The Kapital crew make a resupply run to the new city that’s risen up from the sunken debris of Hong Kong. This is socially conscious sci-fi that thrills.
The Walking Dead #100 A milestone issue for the epic series that inspired the hit AMC series. Rick Grimes and his fellow survivors have fought zombies and the worst in humanity in a world gone to hell. This issue promises one of the darkest chapter in Rick’s life and one of the most violent acts in the series history.
Michael Fassbender (Prometheus, X-Men: First Class) will star and produce Assassin’s Creed based on the hit Ubisoft video game according to The Hollywood Reporter Heat Vision. The in-demand actor will play Desmond Miles, a man descended from a long line of assassins. The story takes place in modern and ancient times as Miles faces the Knights Templar.
By Editor