Marvel's X-Men office held a panel on Sunday at WonderCon to announce this year's summer X-Men event as well as talk about all things X. X-Men Editor Axel Alonso stated that it was appropriate to be making the announcement in San Francisco since that is the current home for the team.
In attendance were Axel Alonso, Sr. Editor of the X-Men books, and Matt Fraction, writer of Uncanny X-Men. Before the panel began, Matt Fraction had a personal announcement to make when he declared his friendship to Axel Alonso and asked Axel to be his Forever Friend in return, which included a pair of bracelets that Matt had bought with his and Axel's names on them. When Axel gushingly agreed by saying "You had me at bracelet", Matt completed the little ceremony by presenting the bracelet with Axel's name on it to him and tying it on his wrist.
With that touching moment being done, the panel moved to a series of slides with discussion about things that were coming up for the X-books as well as that eagerly anticipated special announcement that was to come, which you can read more about by following the link inside this article.
Comic fans from the Bay area know that the one comic book event to look forward to is WonderCon, sister convention to San Diego's Comic Con. Each year, the bay area is bombarded with Comic fans of all ages and types for one of the best gatherings of Comics, Sci-Fi and gaming in all California.
For three days, fans of all things comics, sci-fi, and gaming gather at the Moscone Center in San Francisco to attend panels, seek out missing comics to complete their collections, talk to some of their favorite stars and hear what's coming up, and tons of other things that make a comic fan's heart go pitter-patter. WonderCon 2009 was certainly no exception.
Attendance to WonderCon was significantly higher this year than in the last couple of years, which is honestly a little surprising considering the economic times we live in. I suppose it just goes to show you that nothing will keep a comic fan from getting their geek on.
Over at Newsarama, a discussion has started about the 9 to watch for in 2009. This is going to be a five-part series focusing on comic characters, comic creators, comic series, movies and television shows. Their first installment is up focusing on the 9 comic book characters that they believe the comic fan should watch for in 2009. While there are some ho-hum predictable characters on the list, there are a few surprising choices. Check it out!
For every Marvel or DC book being published, there's always going to be a need for DDP Comics or Zenescope. For every issue of Amazing Spider-Man that Marvel creates, there's books like Cerebus and Madman. Just like people come in many shapes and sizes, there are a diverse range of comics being produced that appeal to different tastes. So, why is it that everyone knows about Spider-Man while it takes the hard core comic geek to tell you who Madman or Cerebus is? The biggest reason is that Spider-Man is produced by Marvel, one of the big companies, while Madman and Cerebus are self-produced or produced by smaller companies who don't have the fan following that Marvel and DC have.
Ocassionally a story would be more popular among fans and the general public if only the fans knew the story was out there. That is something I hope to provide with this column as each week I bring focus to an independant title that I feel deserves some recognition.
For every Marvel or DC book being published, there's always going to be a need for DDP Comics or Zenescope. For every issue of Amazing Spider-Man that Marvel creates, there's books like Cerebus and Madman. Just like people come in many shapes and sizes, there are a diverse range of comics being produced that appeal to different tastes. So, why is it that everyone knows about Spider-Man while it takes the hard core comic geek to tell you who Madman or Cerebus is? The biggest reason is that Spider-Man is produced by Marvel, one of the big companies, while Madman and Cerebus are self-produced or produced by smaller companies who don't have the fan following that Marvel and DC have.
Ocassionally a story would be more popular among fans and the general public if only the fans knew the story was out there. That is something I hope to provide with this column as each weekk I bring focus to an independant title that I feel deserves some recognition.
As many of you know, Marvel Comics have liscensed the series of Ender's Game novels written by Orson Scott Card. What many of you may not know, Orson Scott Card is a well-documented opponent to not only homosexual marriage but gay rights in general. As adaptations of Orson Scott Card's work, the Ender's Game comic series leaves the reader in a bind, especially when the adaptation is being handled by writers of Marvel's mainstream titles like X-Force and X-Men: Legacy.
In this article, I will provide you with information on Orson Scott Card that you may or may not know and will leave you to decide for yourself if purchasing a comic like the Ender's Game adaptations is a good idea or not.
Thanks to a report from Newsarama.com, Dan Didio had a few things to say about the future of Superman and the Superman titles following the conclusion of New Krypton.
For starters, DiDio said that Superman turn Action Comics over to new characters, and in his own book, the Man of Steel will be headed into space - on a trip that some may see as one way.
"In his own book, "Superman," there will be a dramatic turn as the hero leaves Earth and it seems like he's leaving for good," DiDio said." We'll follow his adventures in space more so than his adventures on Earth, and that's a big and exciting thing. We're also bringing back one of the old-time favorite titles of DC Comics, "Adventure Comics." It will be back with a new No. 1 and with new stars but old stars at the same time. It'll be pretty easy to guess who will be the stars of Adventure Comics if you know who the title was most identified with..."
With that last teaser, one possibility is that Adventure Comics will be the new home for the Legion of Super-Heroes since that team's book is being canceled in the coming months.
Last week was a blitz of emotions all over America as Barack Obama became the first minority president of America. Well, technically he's still the president-elect until January when he's officially instated. All over the country, cries of elation and hope were exclaimed as the majority of America declared that they were ready for change.
However, closer to home for Californians and the LGBTQ community, another election decision took gay rights a huge step back with the passing of Proposition 8, a proposition that added an amendment to the state constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman only. Emotions have been running high as protests and other reactions to this decision have broken out. Now that I've had a couple of days to distance myself from the way I feel, I can't help but wonder, if this had taken place in comic books and Proposition 8 had been about defining marriage as being between two homo sapiens only, in other words, two normal humans, how would the X-Men and their mentor, Professor Xavier react.
In a follow-up to an article I wrote about Manhunter that you can read by clicking HERE, it is my sad duty to relay the following information. CBR News has announced that DC title Manhunter is being canceled once again. This is not the first time that the title has been canceled, and I sincerely hope that this is not a final cancellation.
"Manhunter" follows the heroic adventures of Kate Spencer, a lawyer turned superhero who repurposes the weaponry and armaments of captured or fallen villains to bring her own brand of justice to the DCU. The series has been called a superhero "Law & Order," with real-life events, issues and themes heavily informing the book's content.
Over a few months ago, I began a column that I intended to continue. Life started getting in the way, I disappeared for a few months, and well, I didn't get to continue the column...until today. My apologies, and if you want to check out the first installment of "Looking Behind the Mask", you can check it out HERE. So, without further ado, I bring you "Looking Behind the Mask 2: Superman"
What is it about masks? That small piece of mystery that allows the superhero to lead two separate lives. That secret layer of protection that allows the hero the opportunity to have a private life while also protecting those he loves. For some heroes, that secret identity, that mask, is a boon from a world that would relentlessly hound the hero for his help 24/7 if allowed. To others, the secret identity is an opportunity to fit into a world where they have reason to feel they don't belong.
So, for Superman, what is his reason for wearing the mask, and even more importantly, which identity, Superman or Clark Kent is the mask and which is the real identity hidden underneath?
Every once in a while, a book comes along that meets a particular market need or niche. It's a book that gets critical success and has a fervent and devoted fanbase, but it struggles because of low sales. It might even get canceled to only get a reprieve at the last minute, but the threat of cancellation never stops hanging over the title until eventually someone in the higher-ups of the company has to make a difficult decision and cancel the book for the last time.
There have been quite a few books that have met this "The little engine that could" scenario, but this is the first time where I feel that we as a community need to make sure that Manhunter doesn't become the next casualty. After the jump, I will give you guys a little information about what Manhunter is about and also give what I feel are compelling reasons why we should do whatever we can to make sure that Manhunter does not get canceled again.
The X-Men have been around for years, and the fans have made them one of the most popular comic franchises ever. But, ask any fan who they think are the top 50 mutants, you'd probably get a varied list depending on who you asked. Thanks to the efforts of some people at Comic Book Resources, a community of fans were asked to list their top ten favorite X-Men characters. Using a point system where a first place listing would give the character 10 points and so on, CBR ranked the results to give us a top 50 list. Be prepared to be shocked because the results will not be what you expect.
Northstar's Boyfriend Coming In January!
You guys may recall I was a bit cranky about Northstar and his lack of lovin' about a year and a half ago. In fact, at the time, I issued a challenge to Marvel to get him a kiss by June 2009 or I would declare him not really gay. I have not forgotten about this. However, when the X-men moved to San Francisco this year, we were teased with the existence of what looked to be Northstar's boyfriend (and manager), so I delayed judgment until we could see more. Since then, Northstar hasn't had a lot of major appearances, as there have been about a thousand major crossover events in the Marvel universe in the last six months, and each one tends to disrupt the normal storyline for most books, including the many X-books. So I waited. Our patience seems to have been rewarded! Artist Tim Fish revealed on his blog that his upcoming story in Nation X #2 (which comes out in Jan.) is a story about Northstar, and will feature Kyle, his boyfriend in an 8-page story. I'm not sure if an actual kiss is in it, but it's implied that there is some lovin' going on. Check out some sketches of Northstar, Kyle, and Aurora below, and we'll keep you up to date when we get closer to Jan. NATION X #2 1/6/10 [TimFishWorks]...
