Despite all the AAA Hollywood films and big name video games promoting themselves at New York Comic-Con, the announcements that always thrill me the most are about, well, new comics. So, you can imagine my excitement (read: girlish squeal of delight) when I read that Legendary Comics had announced 2 new titles coming from Guillermo Del Toro and Grant Morrison. Before you faint from the nerd-vapors, I should clarify that they’re not working on a comic book together; Morrison is working on an adaptation of Happy with RZA, though, but I digress.

Remember yesterday when we showed you the exclusive new Pacific Rim propaganda poster and teased the possibility of a graphic novel? Well, we only teased you because we like you, and it’s happening. The graphic novel, which will serve as a prequel to the film, is penned by the film’s writer Travis Beacham (Clash of the Titans) and provides valuable insight into the characters and the world of Pacific Rim. A three-part tale, the comic will cover the world’s history from the first attack up to just before the movie, and will delve into the hilariously named Stacker Pentecost’s (Idris Elba) journey from grunt to commander. Having a compelling comic book serve as a prequel for your film? In the immortal words of Robert Muldoon, “clever girl.”

Morrison’s upcoming work Annihilator, however, has a much more meta approach to Hollywood. The story centers around screenwriter Ray Spass, who, in a last ditch effort to save his career, is struggling to write a new studio tent-pole movie, Annihilator. That’s right, folks – get ready for some Hamlet-style play-within-a-play (or movie-within-a-comic-book) action. Spass’ film centers around the also hilariously named Max Nomax, a rebellious anti-hero who was rewarded for an epic struggle with an omniscient artificial life form known as VADA and his squad of murderous Annihilators with permanent exile to a haunted prison which orbits a supermassive black hole. And you thought your apartment was bad.

Back in the real world though, Spass receives a death sentence of his own in the form of a brain tumor and a metaphorical one in the form of looming deadlines. So, when Max Nomax mysteriously appears in the world of modern day Los Angeles with no memory of how he arrived there and a mission for Ray Spass that can determine the fate of the universe, you can Spass’ surprise. The answer lies in Spass’ tumor, of all places, in which Nomax’s lost memories are stored. Perhaps Detective John Kimble was on to something when he exclaimed, “It’s not a tumor!”

What do you think of Legendary’s new titles? Quemment below and let us know!

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