What a news week this has been! No, I’m not talking about the never-ending stream of news coming out about men in power in the entertainment industry. While that’s certainly a conversation to be had, this article is recapping some of the big news that’s come out of New York Comic Con (NYCC) so far this weekend.
Marvel Up, Marvel Down
Marvel has had quite a bit of news from this con, and it started before the first attendees even streamed into the building.
Punisher is bumped
Due to the shooting in Las Vegas on Sunday, Marvel Entertainment made the absolutely right call in pulling the planned panel for their Netflix show The Punisher. While this was a rough shake for everyone involved with the show, there’s really no way Marvel or the show execs could responsibly continue with that panel in light of the tragedy on October 3. They covered well, however, by instead devoting a panel to the King of Comics himself, Stan Lee. This was the first panel to be bumped for the con, but not the last, which leads us to…
Marvel thought it would be a good idea to partner with a weapons manufacturer?
If you missed the uproar, here’s the deal. Marvel decided to partner with the aerospace and defense technology company Northrop Grumman for a special comic event. Announced last night, it didn’t take long for the comics true believers to point out the parallels of Obadiah Stane/Iron Man/Stark Industries and, you know, the entire plot of the Iron Man mythos being against mass weapons manufacturing. The backlash formed quickly, and soon Marvel and Northrop Grumman scrubbed any mention of a partnership from their social media, and the event announcement was canceled with Marvel releasing this official statement:
The activation with Northrop Grumman at New York Comic Con was meant to focus on aerospace technology and exploration in a positive way. However, as the spirit of that intent has not come across, we will not be proceeding with this partnership including this weekend’s event programming. Marvel and Northrop Grumman continue to be committed to elevating, and introducing, STEM to a broad audience.
Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada also commented on the snafu, saying the announcement was the first time he’d seen/heard of the project. Marvel, maybe you might want to clean up your chain of communication a little bit?
Marvel Comics
And in comics news, there are a few things to be excited about. The Weeknd is teaming up with Marvel to release a new comic, Starboy, based on the Weeknd’s album of the same name. Also announced was the possibility that mutant Queen of the Weather, Storm, may be returning to solo title action. Marvel’s Editor in Chief, Axel Alonso mentioned during the Marvel Legacy: X-Men panel that Storm’s return is now hinging on a matter of scheduling.
It’s a hard knock life
At least, it is when you’re a teenager, and you’ve just discovered your parents are murderously evil. Hulu premiered the official trailer for their new series on Friday night. Runaways is based off the titular comic series, created by Brian K. Vaughan and illustrated by Adrian Alphona (the same artist who also gave life to resident favorite, Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel). Earlier this summer Marvel had announced that the Runaways comic would return, this time helmed by Rainbow Rowell and Kris Anka. Peep the trailer below if you haven’t already.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6_0dJkjFAM
Can I just say, the voice over of not having to hide who you really are being laid on top of lesbian character Karolina Dean, as her powers activate and turn her into a walking rainbow is especially delightful?
Finally, Joseph Loeb gifted con attendees with a treat, showing them the first 20 minutes of footage from season five of Agents of SHIELD. The show is expected to premiere in December.
DC Up, DC Down
DC’s weekend has, thankfully, been devoid of any last minute scheduling changes due to real-world events or back judgment calls on partnerships.
Much Ado About Batman
One of the big events for DC Comics was the “Batman” panel, gathering an assortment of Rebirth writers to spill some details on everyone’s favorite flying rodent-themed crusader. Among the highlights were Cully Hamner talking about the Signal’s suit, Tom King discussing the end of his “War of Jokes and Riddles” arc, and James Tynion talking about Detective Comics. And oh yeah, Scott Snyder is teaming up with Sean Murphy to do another Batman story called “Last Knight.”
It’s all about the imprints
Vertigo is back, baby! Well, almost. On Thursday Jim Lee announced during the DC’s “Meet the Publishers” panel that the more adult-theme friendly comic line would be returning in August 2018, coinciding with the imprint’s 25th anniversary. The imprint launched such characters as Swamp Thing, John Constantine, and cult favorite The Sandman.
DC’s other imprint line, Young Animals announced three new titles. Deathbed (Joshua Williamson, Riley Rossmo), Eternity Girl (Mags Vissago, Sonny Liew), and Motherlands (Si Spurrier, Rachet Stott) are scheduled to launch in January 2019. Also announced was the crossover event, Milk Wars (no, you didn’t misread that name), which pairs Young Animal characters like Mother Panic with DC canon staples. The imprint was launched in 2016 and developed in collaboration with former My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way.
Doomsday Countdown
The anticipated event, Doomsday Clock (Geoff Johns, Gary Frank) is set to launch this November. DC has officially confirmed that the event is a Watchmen sequel and previewed the first six pages.
Image Comics Banner Year
The Trinity
No, they’re not making a Justice League trio. Image Comics announced three new titles for its publication this weekend. Analog (Gerry Duggan, David O’Sullivan), Infidel (Pornsak Pichetshote, Aaron Campbell), and Bingo Love (Tee Franklin, Jenn St-Onge). All titles are slated for a 2018 release.
Image released a video describing Infidel below, and you can bet your sweet biscuits we are going to have PLENTY to say about this title. (Same with Bingo Love, save the latter doesn’t have the potential to go horrendously awry.)
More comic television!
If your television schedule wasn’t already bloated enough with comic adaptations, Paramount Television has picked up the spy thriller Velvet (Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting). The plot follows the eponymous heroine, Velvet Templeton, a British spy who suspects her agency has been infiltrated, is sadly, totally right, gets framed for a hit, and now has to run for her life. Epting is listed as a producer for the series.
SO. MANY. TRAILERS.
I’m not even kidding. Trailers are to be expected at a con, but this year seemed to be overflowing with them. Whether it was for television, film, or digital platform, there was a trailer ready. Check out some of the highlights below.
Replicas
Pacific Rim: Uprising
The Tick
Future Man
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJaUfpbEYIU
And as a bonus, bloopers from Agents of SHIELD season four!
Talking ’bout Star Wars
A preview for the Looking for Leia project was shown this weekend, and our editor Gretchen has written all about it. Be sure to check it out!
