Slave Labor Graphics’ deal with Disney is resulting in some strange deals. For example, Comicon.com’s PULSE has an article on the new Tron series, that’s apparently already shipped its first issue. What? Missed that one.

As for Marvel, SuperHeroHype.com reports that the Sub-Mariner movie is going to be directed and REWRITTEN (what x 2?) Johnathon Mostow. His previous work? Most recently, Terminator 3. I hope he’ll have time, around the demands of directing Terminator 4. How can it fail? After all, the listed writers previously wrote the stunners Catwoman and The Net 2.0 (a direct to video sequel).

Captain America #21
written by Ed Brubaker, art by Steve Epting

If you haven’t heard the praises of this book yet, you’ve been living under a freaking rock. Basically, since issue 1 the Winter Soldier’s been running around, making Cap’s life into off-the-walls hell, initially by fighting him, and then later with the revelation that he’s actually Bucky. But now that Bucky’s memories are coming back together, he’s been going after the people that’ve brainwashed him and made him into a killing machine for the last few decades. At the very end of last issue, that trail FINALLY crossed with Cap’s, bringing the two of them to the same place at the same time.

Even though this is supposed to be part 3 of 4 in the storyarc, this should be a big issue, because Cap and Bucky haven’t yet had a chance to speak to one another – at least, not since Bucky’s mind started really healing, and it looks like they’re about to get a chance to at least fight side-by-side, if nothing else.

Basically, the Winter Soldier is badass, Brubaker writes a fantastic Cap, Brubaker also writes intelligent and excellent stories, and Epting sells these guys in the serious situations and makes the costumes work damn well. As much as I dig Ultimate Cap’s outfit, Epting makes normal Marvel U’s Cap look just as believeable.

Last but not least – We’re not being dragged down with Civil War crossovers, keeping the book from being published during the delay months, or taking us away from the wonderful, hard-hitting stories they’re telling month after month. I suppose eventually the registration issues will catch up to us, but for now, the book is keeping on steady course for awesomeness.

Holy Hannah, there is a crapload of Marvel news overflowing the news sites from all the info blabbed at Baltimore’s Retailer Summit. Let me cut straight to the talking points, most linked to full-length articles of their own. There are some serious whoppers (Thor! Whedon! Mary-Jane’s tombstone! Last of the Mohicans?) in here, all the way to the end, so please please please read through, at least until you reach Marvel’s Guiding Light crossover. (Am I kidding? You’re dying to know, aren’t you. Because I’m probably not. Read on after the jump.)

[Read the rest of this entry…]

The preview pages of The Mighty Avengers can now be viewed online, thanks to ¡Universo Marvel! There’s 7 pages total, counting the splash page as the 2 pages it will be in print. Clicky, clicky for the preview.

So… Just asking, who else finds Wonder Man’s old red-trenchcoat duds a little odd looking in the current day?

There’s a lot of sites out there with transcripts (or approximations thereof) of the DC Nation panel, and the vast majority of it seems to be rehashing old knowledge and witty banter.  That said, there were at least a couple nuggets of knowledge worth gnawing on:

• New (?) Terra shows up in Supergirl #12 (issue to be drawn by Amanda Conner), and this will be the Terra on the Titans East team coming up in Teen Titans, which will be led by Deathstroke.
• A Terra miniseries is still coming, but after that Supergirl appearance
• Cassandra Cain (the recent Batgirl) will also be on Teen Titans East
• A General Zod more like the one from Superman II will be showing up somewhere, sometime
• Brave & The Bold will be a team-up book, with issue #1 starring Batman & Green Lantern, #2 with Supergirl, Green Lantern, Batman, & Blue Beetle, #3 will have all of them, plus a backup with Lobo & Adam Strange
• All 3 heroes in space in 52 will not be returning… so based on the previous bit, it seems that Adam Strange will probably still (unsurprisingly) remain in space
• The upcoming 5 issue extension of Manhunter will lead into an upcoming Wonder Woman story
• Diana Prince will show up in 52, somewhere, sometime
• Ambush Bug will be in issue #24 of 52, as will Checkmate, Suicide Squad, and Martian Manhunter
• There will be a Nightwing annual in early ’07
• Is Roy Harper becoming the Red Arrow, a la Kingdom Come?  “Not really.”
• Seven Soldiers will be coming out next month, they tell us yet again
• Meltzer is writing 14 issues of JLA total, including issue #0
• Despite the fact that we’re getting an All-Star Batgirl, and despite the fact that there’s nowhere to get Barry Allen stories, there are no plans for an All-Star Flash book

Sources: ComicBookResources, Comic News International, Newsarama

Captain America scribe Ed Brubaker joins artist Billy Tan on Uncanny X-men for the 12-part series, “Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire“. Basically, Vulcan (the other Summers brother) resurfaced, left Earth, and is hell-bent on seeking revenge on the Shi’ar for killing his mother and making him a slave. Of course, the X-men must stop him.

I was not familiar with Billy Tan before this arc, but I must say I quickly became a fan. He and inker Danny Miki have put together a book that is crisp and vibrant. His characters convey real emotion and his action scenes are fluid. For anyone unfamiliar with Ed Brubaker (and shame on you), he’s the current writer of Captain America and Daredevil and recently finished a six-issue mini, Books of Doom. He is currently one of the best writers in the field and Shi’ar is no exception. He’s put together a great and dynamix X-team: Professor Xavier, Marvel Girl, Havoc, Polaris, Nightcrawler, Warpath, and a mutant I was unaware of, Darwin. The team dynamic is excellent and has many moments of pure, unadulterated baddassitude. With most of the Marvel universe preoccupied with the evnts of Civil War, it’s nice to have a story that is seperate from that. This series gets my highest recommendation.

Parts 1-4 (of 12) already in stores.

Hero Squared #3
Written by Keith Giffen & J.M. DeMatteis, art by Joe Abraham

The setup so far: Milo’s self in an alternate universe is Captain Valor. But in this universe, Milo’s just a lazy, immature ass. Too bad Captain Valor’s universe got DESTROYED by Caliginous, his arch-enemy, because now he’s stuck here with Milo. In this universe, up until recently, Milo was dating Stephie. That is, until he hooked up with the Stephie from Captain Valor’s universe… who just so happens to be the super-villainess Caliginous. Got it?

All of last issue was spent in a therapist meeting for Milo, who dragged Captain Valor along for the ride. It was thoroughly entertaining, and while there isn’t always a lot that happened in each issue, it’s always rife with the classic “Bwa-ha-ha”-larity and meaningful characterization that Giffen and DeMatteis are so beloved for.

So, if you like the Super Buddies, or the recent Defenders mini they did, then this is the book you need to be reading. You’ll probably have to shakedown your comic shop guy if you want to buy one though, because I know my guy only orders two – one for me, and one for the other guy that reads it.

Of course, if you didn’t like their previous work, then I can’t really recommend this to you. It’s clearly too much for your fragile mind to handle. Go read something dark and gloomy instead, like the newspaper.

How ridiculous is it that every news site is running with “Brian K. Vaughan” headlines, when it’s the entire creative team leaving the book? I’d buck the trend, but I get limited space in that title bar. Sorry Adrian Alphona!

Yes, that’s right, Brian K. Vaughan AND artist Adrian Alphona are leaving the book with issue #24, leaving them with only 5 more issues to share with us. Read Vaughan’s own words HERE, from his site. To sum up, here’s a small excerpt:

“This was entirely my idea. While Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina have planned endings, I’ve always said that I hoped Runaways would last forever, long after I left the series. I never wanted Runaways to become a vanity book that was dependent on its original creators’ involvement; I wanted our kids to be able to eventually run away from us, and find new life apart from their ‘parents.’

“I can say with a great deal of confidence that these next five issues are the pinnacle of the series, and Adrian and I decided that the best thing for the Runaways would be to hand them off to new creators on this high note, rather than risk overstaying our welcome until we ran ourselves–and the book–into the ground.”

We won’t find out who the new team is until next week, but I don’t think anyone’s expecting to hear names that can outperform the series’ original creators.

Sadly, this comes not too long before Y: The Last Man will be ending (at issue 60, as he’d always intended). So what will Vaughan be doing with his free time?

Maybe more work on books like the new one he’s got coming out, called Pride of Baghdad. If you haven’t heard of it, you need to pay better attention. As the NY Times article/interview reiterates, the book will be arriving in stores on September 13th, and it provides the story of a group of lions that “escape a zoo in Iraq during an American bombing raid.” Sounds almost cute at first blush, but if you read the articles, it becomes clear that it’s nothing of the sort. I have no doubt it will be at least as deep, meaningful, and impacting as his previous work, if not moreso. More info available in his Newsarama interview.