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Comics Relief: SDCC 2015 News Round-Up

With all the big news about comic book-inspired movies and TV series, it’s easy to forget that Comic-Con also had a ton of announcements made from all the major publishers about actual comics themselves, and this year there seemed to be more than usual. In this special post-SDCC 2015 edition of Comics Relief, we’ve collected as many of the major announcements from each of the major publishers for your reading pleasure (minus Image Comics, who made all their big announcements a few days before at Image Expo). So let’s get started, shall we?

DC Comics

Announced late last year was the final part of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight trilogy, which began with the classic The Dark Knight Returns and continued with The Dark Knight Strikes Again. This time around, Miller is returning as writer alongside Brian Azzarello. At SDCC, DC announced that Andy Kubert would be illustrating the book, but that Miller himself would be providing covers and some interior pages. Each issue will come with an extra “mini-comic” focusing on side characters from the story, from various creative teams.

Flash: Earth One and Aquaman: Earth One 

DC’s series of Earth One OGNs that tell modern retellings of their iconic characters’ origins will continue, with both Flash: Earth One and Aquaman: Earth One announced for 2016. Writer J. Michael Straczynski will tackle Flash, with Francis Manapul taking on Aquaman on both the writing and art.

Batman ’66/Avengers

No, not those Avengers. Instead, these will be the 1960s British television Avengers, John Steed and Mrs. Peele. The campy crossover doesn’t have a creative team or release date as of yet, but DC did assure fans it would be arriving sometime next year.

Multiversity Too and Batman: Black & White

At Saturday’s Multiversity and Beyond panel with Grant Morrison, the prolific writer announced Multiversity Too, a series of OGNs set in the various new Earths he created for DC’s Multiversity series.

“I’ve always wanted the infinite multiverse of DC to come back,” said Morrison. “The multiverse we set up in 52 had 52 universes and that didn’t seem like enough so we managed via The Multiversity to sneak an infinite multiverse through the back door.”

The first Multiversity Too book will be about The Flash. Morrison also announced a series of Batman: Black and White OGNs as well.

Convergence Spin-Offs

Convergence may be over, but its effects will continue to reverberate thoghout the DC Multiverse. At SDCC, the publisher announced three new series spinning out from the events of Convergence, including Superman: Lois and Clark, a book featuring the pre-Flashpoint versions of the Superman and Lois Lane, and their now 9-year old son Jonathan. Superman: Lois and Clark comes out on October 14, written by Dan Jurgens with art by Lee Weeks, the same creative team behind Convergence: Superman. (Hmmm…books using characters from the old Multiverse?)

Also spinning out of Convergence is Telos, written by Convergence writer Jeff King and drawn by Carl Pagulayan and Jason Paz. Telos features the main villain of Convergence as he travels across time and space, looking for any clues to the mystery surrounding his origin.

Finally, there is Titans Hunt, which seemingly will restore the original Teen Titans characters to the New 52 continuity. Or are they from the pre-Flashpoint DCU? It’s not entirely clear, but that is definitely Donna Troy, Lilith, Aqualad and other classic Teen Titans not seen since the New 52 began. This one is brought to us by the creative team of Dan Abnett and Paulo Siqueira.

Milestone Returns To DC Comics

Earth-M will be an all-new imprint of ongoing comic series and graphic novels featuring characters from Milestone Media, which were all created and published by DC in the early ’90s. Denys Cowan, Reginald Hudlin, Geoff Johns and Jim Lee will all work on unspecified Earth-M comic projects. One of the “blank” worlds in the New 52 DC Multiverse will be given to the Milestone universe.

Justice League: Gods and Men

This will be a series of six one-shot issues that tie-in to the current Darkseid War that is going on right now in the pages of Justice League, each focusing on a different member of the team, and how the conflict on Apokolips affects each leaguer differently.

Batman – Armed with the godlike power of the Mobius Chair, the Dark Knight has taken on the role of Metron and plans to use the infinite knowledge of this device to turn Gotham City into a completely crime-free zone!

Superman – Corrupted by the weird energies of Apokolips’ fire pits, Superman has been turned into an angry, violent brute. And only one man can possibly save him: Lex Luthor.

Green Lantern – Oa has been conquered and transformed into a Parademon factory and the Green Lantern Corps is no more! Only Hal Jordan remains to follow a distress call from the last active Lantern seen fighting on Oa: John Stewart.

Lex Luthor – At last, Lex Luthor, the new ruler of Apokolips, can do what he never could accomplish on Earth: hold the fate of a world in his hands. But his one failure from the “Darkseid War” continues to keep him from the peace he craves – and only a crazed Superman can help him get it!

The Flash – The Flash takes on the role of death’s harbinger, the Black Racer. And the beneficiary of his first visit is Aquaman!

Shazam! – Instead of accessing the powers of the old gods, Billy Batson now commands the combined powers of the New Gods like Highfather, Mantis and others trapped within the Source Wall. And that’s power that no mortal should possess!

Marvel

Spider-Man/Deadpool

How did it take this long for this book to become a reality? Marvel’s two resident wise-crackers will finally share a comic together this year, announced at the Cup O’ Joe panel at SDCC. This new series will by written by Joe Kelly and illustrated by Ed McGuinness. It’s not specified if the new team-up book will be an ongoing or miniseries. No release date was given other than Fall 2015.

Spidey

Ths one will be an all-ages, in-continuity Spider-Man title by Robbie Thompson. The series will be set during Peter Parker’s high school years, and is set to come out in October. It’s meant to be an entry point for younger readers into Spider-Man’s world.

Star Wars: Vader Down and Chewbacca

Marvel announced two more Star Wars books at SDCC, inlcuding one featuring everyone’s favorite Wookiee in an new five issue mini-series in the same vein as Princess Leia and Lando. Chewbacca will be written by Gerry Duggan and illustrated by Phil Noto, and will feature Chewie trapped on a strange planet, helping a young girl in need.

Marvel Comics also announced an upcoming crossover event between the ongoing Star Wars and Darth Vader books called Vader Down. In this story, Darth Vader will be forced to face the entire might of the Rebel Alliance alone, after he crash lands on a planet. The Alliance – including heroes Leia, Han, Luke, and Chewie – decide they cannot pass up the opportunity to rid themselves of their most fearsome foe.

The story will kick off in the oversized Star Wars: Vader Down #1, then continue in the pages of Star Wars and Darth Vader, where the story will be told by ongoing series writers Jason Aaron and Kieron Gillen, and artists Mike Deodato and Salvador Larroca.

Blade

Marvel’s first successful cinematic superhero returns to comics in a new series by Tim Seeley and Logan Faerber.  The ongoing series will feature Blade teaming up with his teenage daughter, a newly introduced character named Fallon Grey, a popular 16-year-old who learns that she’s Blade’s daughter when supernatural danger finds its way to her rural hometown. (Blade meets Buffy?)  Her father Blade will serve as her Watcher Giles mentor. The series will launch in October.

Unbeatable Squirrel Girl

The first Squirrel Girl series by Erica Henderson and Eric North just launched it seems, but with All-New Marvel in play, it’s getting a chance for an new #1 issue all over again.  The comic is a continuation of the current Unbeatable Squirrel Girl series, and will also launch in October.

Dark Horse

Legend of Korra

This is a continuation series to the popular Nickelodeon show, which itself was a follow-up to Avatar: The Last Airbender, will be coming soon and written by Korra co-creator Michael Dante DiMartino. Co-creator Bryan Konietzko will consult on art for the series, which is planned to be released as three graphic novels. It will focus on the romantic relationship between the two female lead characters Korra and Asami, which was made official in the season finale.

Twist

What do you do after writing and directing two of the biggest movies of all time? You make a comic about a female Batman in Victorian times, apparently. The creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is going back to his role as proponent of strong female characters with this six issue mini-series, due sometime in 2016.

IDW

ROM: SpaceKnight and Micronauts

Good news, Gen-Xers; two popular toy lines that had equally popular comics at Marvel back in the seventies, ROM: Spaceknight and Micronauts, are both getting a new lease on life in comics…just not at Marvel. At SDCC, IDW announced both would be coming out as new series in 2016. No creative teams or a release date were given, just the news that both would arrive in 2016.

G.I. Joe: Cobra World Order

Along with SL Gallant, longtime Marvel G.I. Joe writer Larry Hama returns to the book he helped make a hit, with this new event series.  The event will run bi-weekly for eight weeks starting in October.

Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Another example of a crossover title I’m shocked took this long to happen, Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be co-published by IDW and DC. The book tells the story of what happens when the Turtles and the villainous Shredder get transported to an alternate universe by General Krang. (Does this mean there’s an Earth-TMNT as part of the 52 Earths?) James Tynion IV will write this six part mini-series, with Freddie E. Williams II doing the art. TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman will provide variant covers, as well as other artists associated with both characters.

Which comic has you most excited? Let us know in the comments below.

 

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