The Bum’s Rush #66

WARNING! None of the news or rumors you see here in The Bum’s Rush should be considered FACT until it actually happens. It might never happen. How do you know I’m not just making all this crap up? I could, you know. You’ve been warned!

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San Diego Comic-Con International – No New Tales To Tell?

Well, the San Diego Comic-Con, one of the biggest comic book conventions in the world, has come and gone. The show had its biggest year ever, boasting record-breaking crowds. On Saturday afternoon on-site ticket sales actually had to be stopped when the fire marshal became concerned that the San Diego Convention Center was reaching capacity. For all intents and purposes, it was a madhouse.

Of course I didn’t have any first-hand knowledge of any of this. I was attending the show virtually, visiting all of the major comic news sites every half hour throughout the weekend and watching as the news poured in. By the time all was said and done I had a 2-inch stack of printed material gathered from places such as Newsarama, Comic Book Resources and The Pulse. On Sunday night I sat down with my mammoth pile of comic and movie news and began to pour through an endless stream of panel reports, interviews with creators and rumors from the show floor. I didn’t finish the stack until Monday night.

And after all my reading and research and caffeine I discovered something a little disturbing – there really wasn’t a whole lot of new and/or interesting news. Most of the panels consisted of reiterating or expanding upon previously released stories, some of which were over a year old. Yes, there were some fairly major announcements, but not as many as one might expect to come from the Con of Cons that is San Diego.

Still, the summer convention season has grown quite a bit in the last several years and there are more big-deal comic conventions than ever before. Perhaps the industry is merely adapting to this growth, choosing to spread their big announcements out over the long con-season rather than spilling all the beans at San Diego. After all, Wizard World Chicago hits in less than two-weeks and the Big Two (Marvel and DC Comics) were already teasing about announcements to come at that show.

My point is… uhm… what was my point? Ah, screw it. Let’s get on with the news I did dig up shall we?

Start The Violence

For me the most exciting announcement of the weekend had nothing to do with Civil War, One Year Later, 52, Superman, Brian Michael Bendis or the Big Two at all. Nope, it was all about Dark Horse’s announcement of a brand-new graphic novel called Empowered. Why, you ask? Simple, I say… it’s created, written and drawn by Adam Warren, one of my top five favorite creators in the entire comic industry!

Warren’s writing is smart, his dialogue is sharp, his ideas are insane and his knowledge and satire of pop-culture is second to none. I cannot fathom why he is not one of the top tier writers at either Marvel or DC right at this very second. And his artwork is gorgeous. He’s probably one of the most kinetic storytellers alive.

I first encountered his work when I read his fifth Dirty Pair mini-series ((based on characters created by Haruka Takachiho) from Dark Horse, Fatal But Not Serious. From that moment on I knew I would read anything and everything Warren did. I followed him from Dirty Pair to his excellent and underrated Elseworlds one-shot, Titans: Scissors, Paper, Stone to his excellent turn writing, and occasionally drawing, Gen 13 all the way through to his latest work for Marvel Comics, Livewires. In recent years he has done more writing than drawing, notably on Gen 13 and Livewires (though he did do some art for both books), and though I love his writing I longed to see him both write and draw a book of his own once more.

And now my wish has come true in the form of Empowered, a series of original 250-page graphic novel collections, which star a hard-luck super-heroine who’s the laughing stock of the superhuman community. The book started out as series of short, connected comics done as sketches for fan. Soon enough the stories, along with the cast, became larger and more complex. Scans of the work began to circulate through email to a small number of creators, editors and friends throughout the industry, some of whom worked for Dark Horse and the company eventually contacted Warren about publishing the comic.

The first book is due out in early next year and Warren is already halfway through a second, which may see release sometime in the summer of 2007. So you can keep yer unmaskings and yer exclusive creator contracts and yer over-hyped-mega-event-crossovers. The most anticipated book of 2007 for me is Empowered!
 

A Piece O’ The Action

Go ahead. You can say it. I am made of magic. Not only did I accurately predict that Richard Donner and Geoff Johns would be the new writing team for Action Comics, I was also dead-on about their run being announced at San Diego! … Okay, fine. Donner and Johns on Action wasn’t that big of a secret as it has been the subject of rumor and debate for months now. And as for the official announcement, it was only natural that DC would wait until the biggest show of the year to say anything. I am ashamed.

So it wasn’t much of a surprise, but it’s still exciting to hear about it straight from the horse’s mouth. The writing duo, along with artist Andy Kubert, will take over the book in October with issue 844 and are said to have an open-ended run. Donner is one of the main people responsible for my love of all things Superman, thanks to his inspirational turn as director of the original Superman: The Movie. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for the comic.

In related news, Donner officially confirmed that Warner Bros. would soon be releasing his version of Superman II which will include restored deleted scenes and an unfilmed scene that Donner created specifically for the new DVD from footage shot of Christopher Reeve’s and Margot Kidder’s screen tests.

A Mighty Big Waste Of Time

Marvel wasted no time in announcing a new Avengers title, The Mighty Avengers by Brian Michael Bendis and  Frank Cho. The book is set to launch late this year or early next year and spins out of the events in Civil War. Whoop-dee-crap.

Do we really need a second Avengers comic? I understand that Marvel could use one; they’re in the business of making money after all. But do we, as readers, need one? More importantly, do we need another Avengers comic written by Bendis? Doesn’t that guy have enough stuff to write already? It’s obvious that the more titles he writes, the more overextended his abilities become and the more his work suffers overall. Bendis himself said, “If I’m going to be the writer of both books, they both should feel very different.” Hey, here’s an idea – you want a different book? Get a different writer! It all seems so unnecessary.

But, as Frank Cho pointed out, at least leisure suit Wonder Man is coming back. Leisure wha…? I don’t even know how to respond to that.

Speaking of Frank Cho, in mentioning how he became involved with the book the artist revealed that he was writing and drawing a Black Cat miniseries and was beginning to play around with the idea of a sequel to Shanna, The She-Devil. No word on whether either of those books will see the light of day now that he is drawing Mighty Avengers.

The Busiest Writer In Comics… Next Year

Since becoming exclusive to Marvel Comics, Jeph Loeb has been announced as the writer on a host of new projects for the publisher. All of these books have two things in common – a) none of them are scheduled to hit shelves until at least the end of this year or the beginning of next because b) on almost every single project Loeb is teaming up with some of the slowest and least dependable artists in the industry. Spider-Man with J. Scott Campbell, Ultimates 3 with Joe Madureira, Ultimates 4 with Ed McGuinness, Onslaught Reborn with Rob Liefeld and so on.

Now Loeb has announced that he will be working on Wolverine with artist Simone Bianchi starting with issue #50. But that’s not until January and even then it’s only a six-issue run! Okay, I’m not trying to cast aspersions on Bianchi or compare him to the above artists, except maybe in level of skill. I’ve no evidence that Bianchi is either slow or unreliable. But still, six months lead-time? For a mere six issue stint? Isn’t that what mini-series are for? I’m trying to understand this because it seems like it’s becoming a little too common at Marvel – getting top name creators to work on a high profile character for a very, very limited run and announce it waaay in advance of the actual story. For all intents and purposes they are halting the book’s progress by six months, miring it in continuity that is half a year old.

I mean, look at the current Iron Man series. The first six issues of that book, done by a very high profile creative team, took two years to come out. In turn the current storyline in the Iron Man series (by the new creative team of Daniel & Charlie Knaupf and Patrick Zircher) is set before Civil War, Marvel’s current big summer event, in which Iron Man is probably the biggest player. Don’t get me wrong; the book has been excellent so far. It just strikes me as odd that the first Iron Man issue to tie into Civil War hits shelves just a month before the end of the Civil War mini-series.

But getting back to Wolverine, I might understand this move more if it were a book in desperate need of a sales boost. But it’s freakin’ Wolverine from crying out loud! Last month it sold almost 100,000 copies, good numbers by any standards for a 43rd issue surrounded by a number of big event books and several new series debuts. So where’s the sense? Why sabotage the flow of the regular series? And what about the current creative team of Marc Guggenheim and Humberto Ramos? Are they being unceremoniously kicked off the book in favor of the shinny new heavy-hitters? Do they get to come back in six months? Will they even want to? It seems to me that you could do just as well, and do less damage, with a high profile mini-series that is sure to get plenty of support and media attention anyway.

Well, maybe I’m missing something. Maybe this will be the greatest six-issue run in the history of six-issue runs. Wait, what’s the story about? Oh, Wolverine vs. Sabretooth? Well, at least it’s original.

Whatever the case may be it certainly looks like Mr. Loeb is going to have one hell of a busy year… if the artists on his series actually produce any work that is.

On A Lighter Note

Last week Wildstorm announced that they had picked up the license for and would produce an ongoing series about Nightmare on Elm Street. Chuck Dixon will write the series, with art by Kevin West. It should come as no surprise then that at San Diego Wildstorm announced that they would also be publishing comics based on Friday the 13th (by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti and an artist to be announced) and Texas Chainsaw Massacre (by writers Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, with art by Wesley Craig). There were no details as to why Avatar Press, the previous publisher of comics based on those properties, is no longer publishing the books or how Wildstorm gained the licenses.

I’ll admit that, being a fan of slasher movies this is pretty cool news. Especially seeing as Wildstorm has lined up some pretty good talent to work on the books when they could have gotten any old joker, which all too often seems the case with some licensed properties. I’ve just got one question. Where’s the comic based on the single greatest slasher series of all? Yes, I’m talking about Halloween, folks. I don’t know about you but I personally think that the rest of those guys haven’t got a thing on Mike Myers (no, not that one… the other one). While Freddy is sometimes a little too goofy for his own good and Jason has been shown to have a softer, child-like quality (i.e. retarded), Mike Myers is totally hardcore. He spent two movies trying to kill his teenage sister! And another two movies trying to kill his 10-year old niece! Come on! He runs kids over with cars! He wears a William Shatner mask and still looks scary as hell! Screw it… I’ll write it myself.

Dead Is Dead, Except In Comics

Remember the end of Scarface? Where Tony was all coked up and blasting guys with his “leetle friend” until he got pumped full of enough bullets to take down an equally coked up, angry elephant? Well guess what? He lived! At least according to IDW Publishing he did.


Launching in December, the Scarred For Life mini-series, written by John Layman and drawn by Dave Crosland, picks up with Tony Montana awakening from a prolonged coma to find that the void he left in the Miami drug scene was quickly filled. From there he begins his deadly rise back to the top.

 

Another One Bites The Dust

Yet another of my favorite comics has been cancelled. On Friday writer Robert Kirkman announced that Marvel Team-Up would be ending with issue 25. Boo, I say.

Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun

Corey Lewis talked a little bit about Sharknife 2: Double Z, the upcoming sequel to his first graphic novel, Sharknife that came out in 2005. He promises more action, more story, more monsters and several brand new characters, as well as a new look for Sharknife and his nemesis, Orcasword. He also revealed that Sharknife’s origins and powers will be explored more fully in Double Z. Oni Press will publish the book sometime in 2007.

He Can’t Be Stopped!

Joe Casey, the man with a million ideas, revealed at San Diego that he would be releasing two brand new creator owned series through Image Comics, which is already home to his popular Gødland series.

The first book is an original graphic novel called Nixon’s Pals. The story revolves around Nixon Cooper, a parole officer for super-villains. When Nixon discovers that his wife is sleeping with one of his parolees he embarks on a desperate mission of revenge that may just mean the end of his career… and his life.
Chris Burnham will illustrate the book.

The second new title is an ongoing series, art by Andy Suriano, called Charlatan Ball. In this book failed stage magician Chuck Amok is yanked into another dimension to compete in a cross-dimensional, lethal magic competition.

Both books are set to debut in… you guessed it… 2007! Man, so much great stuff coming out in 2007.

Where does Casey get all these wonderful ideas anyhow? If I eat his brain, will I absorb his powers? Or will I merely end up in jail?

Because No One Demanded It

There were quite a few stories out of San Diego that left me scratching my head. Here’s a couple:

During the Todd McFarlane Productions panel on Saturday a fan asked McFarlane if he had any new ideas for comics. When McFarlane’s answer proved unsatisfactory the fan continued to question the creator of Spawn. Why, if he had enough time to work on toys, didn’t he put out a new comic? Do you want to do a book with me? Turns out that fan was none other than Robert Kirkman, creator of Invincible and
The Walking Dead and current writer of Marvel’s Ultimate X-Men. McFarlane told Kirkman to talk with editor Brian Holguin to get the ball rolling. “You convince him, he convinces me – you and me,” McFarlane said to Kirkman. But why!? Why, Kirkman!? Didn’t you read the last comic McFarlane created? Shouldn’t we be thankful he stopped there?

Former Teen Titan cast member Terra, primarily known for her betrayal of the Titans in the classic
Judas Contract storyline, will be getting her own mini-series. Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti will write the book with art by the awesome Amanda Conner. Nice creative team… but Terra? Outside of that story who remembers her? Isn’t she dead? Who exactly was clamoring for this book? Why is her costume so damn ugly? Who are you? What’s going on here? Where did my pants go?

Another mini-series featuring an obscure character, Marvel announced they’d soon be releasing a six-issue Pete Wisdom series through their mature readers line, MAX, no less. Again I ask, who exactly was looking for a comic book about Pete Wisdom? Probably less people know who he is than that Terra chick we were just talking about. Though while I don’t necessarily understand how the series got the go-ahead or even why it’s being published as a MAX book which will surely lessen its audience I can’t help but be intrigued after reading what writer Paul Cornell had to say about the book. Not to mention that Trevor Hairsine will draw it. Hairsine, while not necessarily the fastest or most reliable artist, is certainly one of my new favorites.

Nic Cage and his son, Wes, will be teaming with Virgin Comics to produce a comic book based on an idea by Cage’s son. So… to get into comics you either have to work hard, bust your ass and be really damn lucky to boot or… you have to become a really bad actor. And/or the son of a really bad actor, I guess. That’s it… I’m changing my tactics.

The Book Most Likely Never To Ship Ever In My Lifetime Or Yours

Adam Hughes and Wonder Woman. The two go perfectly together. So it makes perfect sense that DC has hired Adam Hughes to do All-Star Wonder Woman series. Except for one thing. Adam Hughes hasn’t drawn a full issue of a comic book in almost TEN YEARS! He has a reputation as being a very slow artist when it comes to drawing sequential art! And hey, I’d love to see that book. Are you kidding? That would be great. But I can’t imagine, in my wildest dreams that this book will ever ship on any sort of reasonable schedule, if at all. I’m just curious to see how it plays out for DC.

Wrap It Up, B

I’m definitely running a little bit long here. There were a couple other things I wanted to talk about from the show, mostly movie news… uhm, let’s see –

Although no deals have been signed Bryan Singer says he is definitely intending to shoot a sequel to Superman Returns.

There’s going to be a Hulk sequel that, contrary to popular rumor, will actually be released in theatres. Louis Leterrier, who directed Transporter 1 & 2, has been signed on to direct… so it’ll probably suck.

DC announced a new direct-to-video animation initiative. They will be producing several direct-to-video animated movies based on popular storylines such as Superman/Doomsday, Darwyn Cooke’s
The New Frontier and the Teen Titans storyline, The Judas Contract. Creators of the original stories like Darwyn Cooke, George Perez and Marv Wolfman will be working on the films to ensure their faithful translations. Bruce Timm will be overseeing all of the films.

For even more info about the movie side of San Diego Comic-Con be sure to check out this week’s hilarious episode of The Weigh In, by Dana Place.

I’m out.

The Only Comics That Matter

Last Week –
Rush City #1 by Chuck Dixon and Timothy Green II

Silent Dragon TPB by Andy Diggle and Leinil Yu

Casanova #2 by Matt Fraction and Gabriel Ba

Daughters of the Dragon #6 by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti and Khari Evans

Rival Schools #2 by Corey Lewis

This Week –
Batman #655 by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert

Next Week –
Battler Britton #2 by Garth Ennis and Colin Wilson

Y: The Last Man #48 by Brian K. Vaughn and Goran Sudzuka

If you know of any interesting news, rumors, lies, etc. about comics and think I should know about it too just email me at thesuperleezard@yahoo.com.

Read more dumb crap written by me at www.livejournal.com/users/superleezard.

My semi-daily webcomic, Der Wundervolle Bean, will be coming to an end soon. But you can still check it out here www.livejournal.com/users/der_magic_bean.

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