Welcome to your Halloween weekend edition of Comics Relief! In the spirit of the holiday, we’re giving out treats…treats in the form of some big fat SPOILERSÂ for some big upcoming comics from both DC and Marvel. First, find out just who exactly is behind the cape and cowl of Batman in the upcoming, hotly anticipated sequel to Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns….
Frank Miller, Brian Azzarello and Andy Kubert drop major Dark Knight III Spoilers
In recent interviews for the much-hyped Dark Knight III: The Master Race, Frank Miller, Brian Azzarello, and Andy Kubert have dropped a few fairly large spoilers. So if you want to wait a month until the first issue arrives, you might want to hold off reading any further.
Okay, still with me? It looks like in the world of DKIII, which is set six years after the events of The Dark Knight Returns, Bruce Wayne is dead. But there’s still a Batman, and that Batman is none other than Carrie Kelley, the former Robin. That’s right..she’s BatMAN, not Batgirl or Batwoman or anything like that. So is Bruce Wayne really dead in this comic? Writer Brian Azzarello laughed when asked the question, saying, “This is comics.When is anybody really dead?” Well, at least he’s not treating us like we’re dumb.
Some other interesting tidbits out of the DKIII press interviews: Wonder Woman has more than one child (the first is her daughter Lara with Superman from DKII) and that the titular “Master Race” are the tiny Kandorians from the bottle city, now full-sized Kryptonians. And they’re not all nice. Dark Knight III: The Master Race #1 hits comic shops on November 25th. [Comic Book Resources]
A Major X-Man Returns from the Grave in Extraordinary X-Men #1
The first previews for Extraordinary X-Men #1 have arrived, the first post-Secret Wars title for Marvel’s Merry Mutants, and from the looks of it, it appears like an old member of the X-Men has returned from the grave to join the team. Assuming, of course, this isn’t all just a red herring. But (Spoilers!) is that Storm having a pleasant conversation with Professor Charles Xavier? Fans know that Cyclops killed Professor X back in 2012’s Avengers vs X-Men, but considering how easy it is to bring that particular character back (the movies have already done it), there’s no reason he comics wouldn’t use the exact same explanation. You can see a preview of the page in question below: [Comic Book]
Double Take’s Ultimate Night of the Living Dead Comics sell out, and you won’t be able to buy a reprint
Bill Jemas, who helped put Marvel back into prominence in the early 2000’s with their Ultimate line of comics, recently launched a whole series of books coming from publisher Double Take. Based on the classic George Romero film Night of the Living Dead, the new publishing initiative is appropriately enough called Ultimate Night Of The Living Dead. Since launching, the single first issues of the ten zombie comic series have already sold out, including Z-Men, which is already being developed into a feature film.
Just like he did during his tenure at Marvel, Jemas is not making any second printings of these comics in an effort to drive up collectibility. Recently, the Hot Topic retail chain rejected selling the comics at their stores (not because of the blood and gore in the books, just the sex) so it’s possible the Ultimate Night of the Living Dead ten packs meant for Hot Topic locations are still available. It’s just a matter of being able to track them down…and then not getting price gouged for them on eBay. [Bleeding Cool]
Internet bullies force Cullen Bunn off Aquaman
People on the internet can be pretty mean. Case in point: writer Cullen Bunn, known for his work on Marvel’s Magneto and the upcoming Uncanny X-Men series, has announced that he’s leaving DC’s Aquaman with January’s issue #48. The announcement came during Bunn’s Reddit AMA, in which he actually admitted that his relationship with Aquaman ended some time ago, thanks to negative reaction from online fans.
During the AMA, Bunn said:
“There are a number of reasons I left Aquaman. I actually quit the book before my first issue even came out. The reaction from fans was brutal and disheartening even before they read my first issue. My editor (who is great) asked me to stick with it, so I did. The fan reaction didn’t improve. This was such a different take on the character, a lot of diehard Aquaman fans couldn’t accept it. I was accused of not taking [sic] about the book, but every time I did, I got hate tweets and hate mail. I don’t need that, and it kind of made me loathe the character. In the end, I think this wasn’t the right story to tell with Aquaman, so I felt it was time for me to move on. Someone else can come on and be a hero.”
Ouch. No replacement writer has been announced for Aquaman yet, although Bunn will continue at DC writing the ongoing Sinestro series. [Newsarama]
Lumberjanes Volume 3 Announced for February
Lumberjanes has been the indie hit of the past year, and although BOOM! Studios has announced cutbacks on new titles in 2016, don’t expect Lumberjanes to be among them. Just announced for next year is Lumberjanes Vol. 3 trade paperback. Written by Noelle Stevenson, Shannon Watters, and Faith Erin Hicks, and illustrated by Carolyn Nowak and Brooke A. Allen, this volume has our protagonists Mal and Molly sneak off in search of real adventure. It’s only a matter of time before they accidentally stumble into something more than they ever bargained for. The new trade will collect the Halloween special, issue #9 written by Faith Erin Hicks, and #10-12. The third volume is expected in February 2016. [Bleeding Cool]
William Shatner announces new comic book series for 2016
Nerd icon William Shatner has officially announced that he’s working on a continuation of his sci-fi prose novel-turned-comic book series Man O’ War. Titled William Shatner: Chronicles of War, the series is being developed as an 8-issue digital comic book series by LNL Partners, through the Shatner Singularity, their joint imprint with the actor.
Originally written in novel form in 1996, Man O’ War was adapted as a comic book in 2012 at BlueWater. The story concerns the first generation of humans born on Mars after space colonization begins in earnest. They look to rebel against the Earth’s government in a story said to be inspired by the American Revolution. LNL and Shatner are using that first volume as the basis for a multi-part storyline adapting other prose novels in Shatner’s series, as well as developing new stories as well. Although the focus right now is on the digital side of things, there are tentative plans for a print version sometime in late 2016. [Deadline]
Scott Snyder & Jock release teaser image for Wytches Vol.2
Scott Snyder and Jock’s Image Comics series Wytches was the breakout horror comic of 2016. Although the comic went on hiatus after issue #6, the duo have released a teaser image for Wytches volume 2 just in time for Halloween. The image reads “Pledged is still pledged.”  For readers of this series, they know what “pledged” means in the world of Wytches, and it’s not anything pleasant. You can check out the new teaser image below: [Comic Book Resources]
What do you think of today’s top stories? Let us know in the comments below.
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IMAGES: DC Comics/Marvel Comics/ Image Comics/ Double Take/ Singularity/BOOM! Studios