It’s time for your weekend edition of  Comics Relief kids! And today we’ve gathered news items on a variety of topics from the world of comics, with everything from Star Wars to the Walking Dead. First off however, we’ve got a bit of news in regards to creator Frank Miller’s return to one of his most beloved and iconic creations. And I don’t mean that Bat-guy. Read on for the details….
Frank Miller Announces the Name of his next Sin City Story
While Frank Miller has been out and about doing interviews for the upcoming Dark Knight III: The Master Race, he’s also managed to spill the beans on the return of another of his iconic properties—Sin City. While speaking with French newspaper Le Monde, he even name dropped the actual title of the new volume of his much loved noir saga and gave a synopsis on what it was about, saying the following:
“I just worked on several different projects, in quiet. The Master Race is one of them. But there is also a Sin City series, Home Front, a love story between an American federal agent and the Head of the French resistance network during World War II. I have always been interested in the Second World War — as far as I can remember, I was fascinated by this period. I also love clothes, the cars of that era. The fact that I chose to place the action of Sin City at this moment in time, lets me draw what I really want to.”
So when can fans expect Sin City: Home Front? No clue yet, but hopefully we’ll get a chance to see Miller’s latest opus sometime in 2016. [Bleeding Cool]
Marvel to release Star Wars Sampler in anticipation of The Force Awakens
Marvel Comics had tremendous success this year with their relaunch of the Star Wars line of comics. And with Star Wars mania at a fever pitch with the upcoming release of The Force Awakens, they’ve announced that it will be publishing a free one-shot intended as preview of its various Star Wars titles, in advance of the December 18 release of the new film.
The 56 page Star Wars Sampler will be released December 9, with previews from the first issues of the regular ongoing Star Wars and Darth Vader titles, as well as Princess Leia, Lando, Vader Down, and Journey Into Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Shattered Empire #1. Marvel’s idea behind the sampler is that it would be “perfect for distribution at movie theaters and other promotional events.” With everyone and their mother going to see The Force Awakens on December 18, it definitely couldn’t hurt. [Newsarama]
Gail Simone reveals details on the Shazam! project she almost wrote with Grant Morrison and Mark Waid
Captain Marvel, now just referred to as Shazam! at DC Comics, has had a rough time gaining any traction as a title in modern times—despite the fact that he once outsold Superman in his heyday. But it turns out there was once a plan to get some of comics biggest and best creators working together on a reboot of the Marvel Family (the Captain, Captain Marvel Jr., and Mary Marvel). Writer Gail Simone recently revealed, via her Twitter account, the details on a proposed Marvel Family reboot that would have come from herself and fellow comics superstars Grant Morrison, and Mark Waid. “The idea was, three features, rotating the lead story; Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., and Mary Marvel,” she explained. “Grant Morrison would write Jr., Mark Waid would write Cap, and I would write Mary Marvel.
“I mean, how freaking cool would that be? Mark Waid on Cap, Grant on Jr? That would be the best DC book ever,” said Simone. “That is one of the few real regrets I have for a project that didn’t quite happen.”
How and why DC passed on having this dream team work together is a mystery, but if the stars ever align for it to happen again, I suggest DC do the smart thing and jump on that idea this time around. [Newsarama]
Rob Liefeld to return to Marvel with mysterious new project
Images Comics founder Rob Liefeld—also known for his ’90s Marvel creations like Cable and Deadpool—has announced via Twitter that he’s working on a new “killer” project for Marvel Comics to debut sometime in 2016.
I have a KILLER Marvel project slated for 2016, that much I’ve been cleared to mention. When I can share details I will. Stay tuned…
— robertliefeld (@robertliefeld) November 5, 2015
Although Liefeld famously left the publisher in 1992 to form Image Comics, he’s returned to Marvel now and again over the years. So what could his new project be? While the safe assumption would be a project featuring Deadpool, a few years back Liefeld announced a reboot of the Marvel Sci-Fi property Killraven, with The Walking Dead’s Robert Kirkman.
The fact that he emphasized the word “killer” in his tweet could be a clue to that—or it could be Deadpool like everyone assumes. I imagine we’ll find out when the new year rolls around. Five issues were completed and are in the vault….could Kirkman have been persuaded to return to Marvel to finish out the series? Stranger things have happened. [Rob Liefeld via Bam! Smack! Pow!]
The Walking Dead and Manga dominate October Graphic Novel sales
While Superheros from Marvel and DC may rule sales when it comes to periodicals, when it comes to collected editions sold via bookstores, it is zombies and manga that rule. Specifically, The Walking Dead, who last month took four of the top twenty slots in the graphic novels and trade papaerbacks list. The rest was filled out by the likes of indie titles like Lumberjanes and Bitch Planet, with a fair share of manga like Naruto and others from Viz Media. Marvel and DC crept in there with their two biggest properties- the latest volume of Star Wars and Scott Snyder’s Batman. For the whole top twenty list, click on the following link: [ICv2]
Marvel Announces artist line-up for new Scarlet Witch series
The first issue of Marvel’s new Scarlet Witch series—the character’s first ongoing solo book in fifty years—is due to hit comic shops in just over a month. While we’ve know for some time that James Robinson was set to be the writer, the book’s rotating series of artists (outside of the first two issues’ Vanessa Del Rey and Marco Rudy) have been kept under wraps.
But now Marvel has revealed just who will be drawing the adventures of Wanda Maximoff following Del Rey and Rudy, and the all-star line-up includes Preacher artist Steve Dillon, as well as Annie Wu, Javier Pulido, Joelle Jones, Tula Lotay, Marguerite Sauvage, and Chris Visions. David Aja will continue to provide covers for the series. The first issue of Scarlet Witch comes out on December 9th. [io9]
Is DC planning something special when their New 52 titles hit issue #52?
The number 52 has become a special number over at DC Comics, ever since their successful weekly series 52 back in 2006. Since then, they’ve relaunched their Multiverse with 52 distinct world, and of course they famously rebooted their entire line of comics in 2011 with that same number of titles, known as “The New 52“, a name they kept for the line until this year. Of those 52 titles that launched four years back, only twelve are left: Justice League, Aquaman, Flash, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Action Comics, Superman, Batman, Detective Comics, Catwoman, Batgirl, and Green Lantern.
Will DC do something special when each of those hits issue 52 come May of next year? Right now, DC is getting trounced in the sales department by Marvel, so it’s possible that something drastic will be done when those 12 books hit issue #52. The folks at Bleeding Cool seem to think there could be a journey back in time to the moment the Flashpoint event created the New 52—maybe to fix things fans weren’t all that jazzed on in the new continuity? Whether this is just the folks at Bleeding Cool guessing or actual rumors is unclear, but one thing’s for sure: DC isn’t going to let those comics hitting that magic number pass without doing something to drive up sales.
IMAGES: Marvel Comics/ DC Comics/ Dark Horse Comics/ Image Comics
