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Comics Relief: Marvel Previews 45 New Comics, DC’s Big Move, & Santa Claus: Year One

There’s more Marvel news than you can shake a stick at in today’s edition of Comics Relief, as well as news on Mike Mignola’s latest book for Dark Horse, Grant Morrison’s latest (very) classic hero he’s chosen to tackle, and a video showcasing DC Comics big move from NY to LA (which included 100,000 comics) . But first, the big All-New Marvel relaunch awaits. Read on for details…

Marvel Gives Details On 45 All-New Series

Although they’ve been teasing new books for a few weeks now, this week, Marvel really opened the floodgates, and revealed 45 of their upcoming 60 new series that are launching as part of ‘All New, All-Different‘ Marvel this fall, once Secret Wars wraps up.

The biggest changes are in the Avengers line, with the previously announced All-New, All-Different Avengers by Mark Waid and Adam Kubert, featuring a team of mostly new heroes taking the spots of iconic Avengers like Spider-Man, Thor and Ms. Marvel. There’s also New Avengers by Al Ewing, featuring former Young Avengers Hulkling and Wiccan, along with Squirrel Girl, Hawkeye, Songbird and Sunspot. Then there’s Uncanny Avengers from Gerry Duggan and Ryan Stegman, which is comprised of Spidey (the Peter Parker version), old man Steve Rogers, Brother Voodoo, Quicksilver, Rogue, and yes, even Deadpool.

On the mutant side of things, we’ve got Extraordinary X-Men by Jeff Lemire and Humberto Ramos, featuring Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Iceman, Magick, young Jean Grey, and Old Man Logan. A deadlier team of mutants will form in Cullen Bunn’s Uncanny X-Men, which will star Magneto, Mystique, Psylocke, Sabretooth, and Fantomex. All-New X-Men will feature young Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, Angel, X-23 Wolverine trading in the school for a VW bus on what looks like a mutant road trip. So much for the rumors the X-Men would be leaving Earth behind.

Of course the big Marvel news surrounds our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, who is becoming a globetrotting corporate CEO, as Peter heads up Parker Industries with his “bodyguard” Spider-Man; meanwhile Miles Morales is picking up the slack for the whole “teen angst” Spider-Man by staying put in New York…even if the New York he’s from is from a totally different universe. You can check out the full scoop on Marvel’s 45 new books by reading our story here. 

Rick Remender Leaves Marvel To Focus On Creator-Owned Work

Speaking of Marvel, one writer who has made a name for himself writing mostly for the House of Ideas over the past eight years or so has been Rick Remender, who wrote such incredible runs on titles like Uncanny X-Force and Uncanny Avengers, to focus on creator-owned work. It makes sense given that it was his own creation, Fear Agent, that really propelled Remender to high accolades in the first place.

In a statement on his website, Remender said, “Marvel enabled me to provide for my family as it grew, as my two children appeared into the world, and for that I am indebted and eternally grateful. They offered me their biggest flagship titles, they paid me well, and allowed me to sleep knowing my family could afford a doctor visitshould one be needed, and this was not the case for most of my adult life.”

He added, “Here’s to a year of creator-owned comics.” Although just what those books are going to be remains a mystery for now. [Rick Remender via CBR]

DC Debuts Their New Burbank-based library of over 100,000 comics

DC Comics recently made a huge move from their New York offices, which they’ve kept in Manhattan for over seventy-five years, to Burbank, so as to be closer to their parent company, Warner Brothers. Now DC has uploaded a video that showcases the big move in detail, showing their new library which contains over 100,000 comics, some 95% of the books DC has published since the company’s creation in 1935. There is also all kinds of other material at the library besides comics, including props from DC-inspired movies, TV shows, and more. You can check out the video below. [Hollywood Reporter]

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Comes To BOOM! Studios

One of the biggest toy and TV properties of the ’90s was Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and as with all things ’90s, it’s making a comeback, starting with the comics world. (Although they never really went away; they are currently on their 22nd season. Who knew?) Mighty Morphin Power Rangers will be returning to comic books via BOOM! Studios. In an agreement with franchise owner Saban Brands, BOOM! will launch the new series which will focus on the ’90s era team.

“We have big, big plans that will build on the core universe of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers,” said BOOM! Studios editor-in-chief Matt Gagnon. “We can’t give too much away just yet, but the story we’re kicking off with is vast in scope. Fans of BOOM! know we treat the existing properties we collaborate on with a focus on authenticity and quality.”

Next week at Comic-Con, BOOM! will be selling six double-sided, one-page Power Rangers comics by Mairghread Scott and Daniel Bayliss that will be contained in blind bags.

Each comic will focus on one Power Ranger and feature a pin-up image by artist Goni Montes (RoboCop) on one side, and a one-page comic written by Scott and Bayliss on the other side. The six comics are designed to be read as individual parts or can be stitched together to form one full story. [Hollywood Reporter]

Grant Morrison Gives Us the Gritty Origin Story Of…Santa Claus.

Grant Morrison has given us revolutionary takes on Superman, Batman, the X-Men, and just about every major superhero there is. Now he’s going even farther back in time (and further down the pop culture rabbit hole) by giving us the “definitive” origin story for….Santa Claus. Yup, Morrison is teaming up with artist Dan Mora (Hexed) for Klaus, a six-issue miniseries from BOOM!, which is set to debut in November (just in time for the Holiday season). Klaus will give fans the story we didn’t know about in regards to Father Christmas himself.

Klaus is essentially a Santa Claus origin story — Santa: Year One if you will — which reinvents Father Christmas as “a crusader against injustice and a rough-and-tumble, Conan the Barbarian-esque superhero.” The series was inspired by early Viking and Siberian Santa Claus mythology. Apparently the idea came to Morrison when working on All-Star Superman several years ago.

In an interview discussing the book, he said, “I had this notion way back. I was doing the All-Star Superman stuff, and I got so into Superman, so into his character, so involved with what we were doing. When I finished, it occurred to me that I’d really love to do this — with a character that wasn’t owned by a corporation. [Laughs] I thought about, ‘Who does everyone know? Who’s every kid’s favorite hero?’ I suddenly thought, ‘How come no one’s told the ‘Year One’ of Santa Claus?'”

Indeed, this feels like a no-brainer when you really think about it, and I’m glad it’s Morrison who’ll be at the helm of this one. [CBR]

Dark Horse Set To Debut Joe Golem Mini-Series From Mike Mignola & Christopher Golden

A few years back, Hellboy creator Mike Mignola collaborated with writer Christopher Golden for an illustrated novel called Joe Golem, which was set in a world full of monsters where a sizable portion of Manhattan sank into the ocean back in 1925; this all resulted in a “Drowning City” of skyscrapers rising out of the water, filled with all kinds of unknown dangers. Mignola and Golden are now bringing their pulpy, monstrous detective story to comics; Dark Horse announced this week that the two will be co-writing Joe Golem: Occult Detective, a five-issue miniseries with art and color by Patric Reynolds and Dave Stewart.

According to Dark Horse Comics’ press release, “Joe Golem is full of pulpy goodness, weird alternate history, monsters, and magic and it’s full of insanity you’re not going to find anywhere else.”

Of the comic, Golden said, “We’re telling the story of Joe Golem: Occult Detective, solving mysteries in the flooded streets of mid-20th century lower Manhattan with the ancient Simon Church, who’s keeping himself alive with magic and machinery at the same time he’s keeping Joe in the dark about his own origins. We want to immerse you in Joe’s world, what life is like in the Drowning City, and with issue one, we dive right in.”

The first issue of Joe Golem hits comic shops in November. [Comics Alliance]

Justice League: Gods and Monsters Prequel Series DC Comics’ First Daily Series

We’ve had monthly comics, then weekly comics, and now DC is preparing their first ever daily series, set to tie in to the upcoming Justice League: Gods and Monsters animated film. The comic, which is the first ever DC digital series to debut a new chapter every day, runs from July 1 to July 18 and will have chapters that focus on different characters and their origin stories. J.M. DeMatteis (Justice League 3000) wrote this new series, with artist Thony Silas doing the origin of the Justice League. Rick Leonardi provided art for theWonder Woman chapters, Matthew Dow Smith drew the Batman story, and Moritat featured on Superman chapters. The first chapter is available now. [Newsarama]

 

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