Source: www.newsarama.com and www.comicbookresouces.com
Mondo Marvel Panel
On hand for the panel are Marvel SVP – Creator and Content Development C.B. Cebulski; Arune Singh, Manager of Sales Communications; and writers Jeph Loeb, Brian Michael Bendis, Jim McCann, Dan Abnett, and Andy Lanning, and editors Mark Paniccia, Tom Brennan, and Michael Horwitz.
Cebulski began the panel by announcing several series: “Loki” for October by Roberto Sacasa; “Captain America and the Korvac Saga” by Ben McCool; “Captain America: Hail Hydra” in January; “Captain America: Fighting Avengers/ongoing,” an all ages series retelling his origin and new series; and Mark Waid returning to Captain America with “Captain America: Man Out of Time.”
“After Captain America’s defrosted, how does he react to the world?” Singh.
Then, two new Ultimate series came up, lead by “Ultimate Thor” in October by Jonathan Hickman and Carlos Pacheco. “It’s patented Hickman madness,” Paniccia said.
“Ultimate Doom” launches in December, by Brian Michael Bendis, completing his “Ultimate Enemy” trilogy.
Next up was “Strange Tales II” for next year, and Abnett and Landing on “Iron Man/Thor,” launching in November. “It’s a great opportunity to pair up characters who are the epitome of mystical legendry and the character who is the epitome of technology,” Abnett said.
“And we will be introducing Iron Raccoon,” Lanning joked.
“Who is the new Man without Fear?” Apparently, it’s Nova, as the teaser image and panelists made no attempt to hide.
“Power Man and Iron Fist” launches in January by Fred Van Lente and Wellinton Alves, which will feature the new Power Man in the role.
Cebulski then introduced “Rocket Raccoon and Groot” in January, featuring a cover by Mike Mignola and written by Abnett and Lanning. Lanning said he couldn’t say much about the series without revealing details of the “Thanos Imperative,” but would say “Groot will refer to himself as Groot, and Rocket will fire some unfeasibly large cannons.
Cebulski then opened the floor to questions.
Asked whether “Secret Avengers” takes place before or after “Thanos Imperative,” Abnett said, “They’re sort of side by side—[Nova] is commuting between one event and another.”
Abnett said that he enjoys using some of the more obscure cosmic characters, especially in a team setting. He would not directly answer the question about which heroes in particular he’d like to work with next, with Lanning concurring. Lanning added, though, “who would have thought only a couple years ago that we’d have a ‘Rocket Raccoon and Groot’ miniseries?”
Next question, will Sentry stay dead? “He’s always dead in my book,” Bendis said.
The origin of Nowhere will be revealed “the first chance we get to tell it,” Abnett said.
As to whether “Guardians of the Galaxy” will relaunch after “Thanos Imperative,” Lanning said, “They’re like Ross and Rachel at the moment—they’re taking a break.” Plus, he added, if there was a new series that would confirm they survive, which he’s not eager to do in the midst of the cosmic event.
Are there any other characters that you think right now should get more of a spotlight than they do?” “I’m just glad Mockingbird’s back,” McCann says. Bendis says he’s intrigued by the idea of Killraven coming into the Marvel Universe in the present. Loeb says he’s still surprised that they made the Hulk red and people bought it. Singh said he wants more A-Bomb. Cebulski said he could always use more Cloak and Dagger.
Asked about more “Nextwave,” Cebulski said, “Warren knows our door’s open whenever he wants to return to these characters.”
After praising Tom DeFalco, Brennan confirmed that “Spider-Girl: The End” will be Mayday Parker’s swansong for a while, as Araña becomes Spider-Girl in the new series. “You never know, though, she keeps coming back.”
Loeb said there would be a huge announcement Friday at 8:15 pm regarding Marvel and anime, and first scenes from the Iron Man Anime will be shown.
One fan was upset about Red Hulk, “I followed that book for two years and I have no idea what happened!” he said. “Did you mean for it to go down like that?” “Yes, that was what we intended,” Loeb said, adding that the creators always try to tell the best stories they can.
“I understand Galactus has to eat planets all the time, but why?” Abnett spun an answer about Galactus being a necessary force in the universe, but ended with, “I don’t know where this is coming from, I’m just making it up.”
“Those of you who are wondering where the mustache goes, I could answer that,” Loeb joked, “but I’ll throw this back to you: when the Thing goes back to Ben Grimm, why does he have a full head of hair?”
Asked about another crossover between Marvel and DC, Cebulski said, “Go to a DC panel tomorrow, tell them Marvel said yes, what’s your answer?”
When a fan asked about organizing various character appearances and events, Bendis talked about their editorial retreats. “We don’t write in a vacuum,” he said. “If Spider-Man’s going to be trapped under a mattress for several months, that’s going to have to be reflected somewhere.” Bendis added that micro-continuity has never fully matched up, including in classic comics, but the writers do take the big picture into account.
Asked about divvying up Avengers teams, Bendis said that he always knew there would be a Cap, Thor, and Iron Man series, and the others spun from there. Then, “you make yourself Luke Cage and say, who would I want on my team?”
Next came the lightning round of questions, though as things would happen the name didn’t fit.
When will Spider-Man and MJ get back together? “Read ‘One Moment in Time,'” Singh said, which begins this week in “Amazing” #638
Lanning asked, “Who would be interested in a ‘Cosmic Avengers’ book?” Lots of applause.
Will there still be an ongoing cosmic title after “Thanos Imperative?” “Stay tuned,” McCann said.
When asked about the character, Bendis said “you will see [Rom] Space Knight show up in a future Avengers story.”
Future plans for Squirrel Girl? “Ask Dan Slott,” Singh said. “He loves talking about her.”
“Illuminati will show up in Avengers #7,” Bendis said, “they will be outed to the world for doing something even worse than they did last time.”
Loeb said “Captain America: White” should be finished in time for the movie, and he and the artist recognize that there have been delays.
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