SDCC 2014 Live Blog

Even though I’m not at San Diego Comic-Con, it doesn’t mean I can’t share my thoughts on each day’s announcements.  With so much news being broken, I’ll stick to the ones that interest me alone.  Make sure to bookmark this page as I’ll be updating it throughout the week as more news is released.

Sunday

MARVEL’S NEXT BIG THING PANEL

News released was a new creative team on Cyclops (John Layman and Javier Garron) starting with issue 6, an Original Sin Annual, and S.H.I.E.L.D. #1 from Mark Waid, Carlos Pacheco, Alan Davis, Chris Sprouse and a host of other artists.  Sounds like they could be rotating artists by story arc.  The book will pull in any heroes it needs to tell the story.

MARVEL’S WOMEN OF MARVEL PANEL

Marvel assembled many of their female creators to hold court at SDCC this afternoon.  The overall theme was that if you want to make comics, there is nothing stopping you from doing just that.  It is possible to become employed by Marvel.  It’s hard, but it can be done.

Also, a new series for Spider-Woman was announced.  The creative team will be Dennis Hopeless and Greg Land.  The cover caught my eye for including a character who looked a lot like Silk (the mystery woman who was just introduced in Amazing Spider-Man).  A quick inquiry to Hopeless on Twitter revealed that it is indeed Silk on the cover.  I’m hoping she becomes a supporting character throughout the book.

Saturday

MARVEL STUDIOS PANEL

No future Marvel movies announced, but we did hear details regarding Ant-Man.  Evangeline Lilly will be playing Hope Van Dyne (Wasp?) and Corey Stoll will be playing Darren Cross aka Yellowjacket.  Yellowjacket will start as a college of Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and be the featured villain.

Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer showed the team partying in Avengers Tower.  At one point everyone (including War Machine) tries to lift Mjolnir to no avail.  Captain America is able to nudge it slightly.  Then the party is interrupted by Ultron!  For the full rundown on the teaser, check out Screen Rant.

The panel did end with Josh Brolin coming out holding the Infinity Gauntlet!  And Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is set for a July 28th, 2017 release date.

UPDATE:  There is now footage from the Marvel Studios panel

THREE NEW STAR WARS COMICS FROM MARVEL LAUNCHING 2015

Fans have been waiting for Marvel to reveal what they had planned for the Star Wars line of comics after getting the rights back from Dark Horse.  Today we get the announcement of three new ongoing titles starting in 2015.

Star Wars by Jason Aaron and John Cassaday, Star Wars: Darth Vader by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca, and Star Wars: Princess Leia by Mark Waid and Terry Dodson.

Now this is a killer creative lineup to launch their Star Wars line.  Which makes sense.  All three writers are currently attending the creative retreat summits, where plans are pitched and formalized for the entire publishing line.  So who better to trust?  Now I have to add the Star Wars books to my increasing long reading list.

GAL GADOT AS WONDER WOMAN FIRST IMAGE

Warner Brother kicked things off by showing a teaser trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and brought out Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, and Gal Gadot.  The trailer hasn’t been released online yet (when it does, I will add it to this post), but we do have our first image of Gadot as Wonder Woman.

UPDATE: There is now footage from the Batman v Superman panel

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY ANIMATED SERIES

Marvel will be adding to its already deep roster of animated shows on Disney XD with Guardians of the Galaxy.  The plan is for the team to guest-star on Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble, and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.

I haven’t been the biggest fan of the Disney XD cartoons.  They are really geared towards kids, with how they add so much humor and overall tone of the shows.  But I give Marvel credit for turning the Guardians of the Galaxy into a full-fledge franchise.  Maybe after I see the Guardians of the Galaxy movie next week I will get excited for the cartoons.

BATMAN VS ROBIN AND JUSTICE LEAGUE: GODS AND MONSTERS COMING FROM DC ANIMATION

DC Animation hasn’t disappointed when it comes to their animated movie slate.  And now with some of the movies tying into one another, they have started building their own shared universe.  Along with the already announced Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, we will also have Batman vs. Robin and Justice League: Gods and Monsters in 2015.

Batman vs. Robin will be loosely based on the comic storyline Batman: Court of the Owls.  Not sure how pitting Batman versus Robin ties into the Court of Owls.  I guess we’ll have to wait and hear more news on this as it comes out.  Justice League: Gods and Monsters will be an original story by Bruce Timm and has no relation to the comic of the same name.

Friday

TRAILER FOR SEASON 3 OF ARROW

WB released a trailer for the upcoming season 3 of Arrow.  It starts with a recap of season 2 and then gives glimpses of what’s to come.  One observation is that Starling City could be undertaking a name change.

I cannot wait for this and The Flash to begin this fall.

UPDATE:  During Saturday evening’s Warner Brothers “A Night of DC Entertainment” Panel, it was revealed that the main reoccurring villain in season 3 will be Ra’s al Ghul.  Al Ghul has played an offscreen role through seasons 1 and 2, so the next logical progression is to have him step out of the shadows.  Casting is still underway but WB expects the character to debut early in season 3.  There is now video for Season 3 with the Ra’s al Ghul tease included at the end

UPDATE 2:  There is now footage from the Arrow Season 3 panel

MOCKINGBIRD JOINING SEASON 2 OF AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.

During the Marvel Television panel, it was announced that Bobbi Morse aka Mockingbird would be joining the cast.  For those who don’t know, in the comics Mockingbird is a former love interest/ex-wife of Hawkeye.

Mockingbird is a perfect addition to the show.  Being an expert in hand-to-hand combat and possessing no powers, it should be easy to showcase her without increasing the show’s special effects budget.

UPDATE:  There is now footage from the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Panel

MARVEL’S SPIDER-VERSE PANEL

Not much was revealed during the Spider-Verse panel as far as secrets to the big Spider-Man crossover.  However, a few tie-in mini-series were announced that raised eyebrows.

First up we have SPIDER-VERSE TEAM-UP from writer Christos Gage and artist Dave Williams, accompanied by additional stories by various writers and artists.

The other mini-series is SCARLET SPIDERS starring Kaine, Ultimate Universe Jessica Drew, and an alternate-reality Bein Reilly.  The creative team on this is Mike Costa and Paco Diaz.

I am definitely interested in the Scarlet Spiders book, especially with a version of Ben Reilly being featured.  There is a problem that involves clones, so Spider-Man sends his own team of clones to deal with it.

MARVEL’S  AVENGERS NOW! PANEL

Two new titles are launching out of the Avengers NOW! initiative.  One is Captain America and the Mighty Avengers from the creative team of Al Ewing and Luke Ross.  The other is Angela: Asgard’s Assassin from co-writers Kieron Gillen and Marguerite Bennett with art by Phil Jimenez and Stephanie Hans.

I have been enjoying Ewing’s writing on Mighty Avengers so I will be following him as he transitions the team to a new #1.  This time, Sam Wilson will be leading the team as the All-New Captain America.  I wonder if there will be any tension from Luke Cage over leadership.

With Angela being featured on the Avengers NOW! promotional image, it was only a matter of time before she got her own series.  With her connection to Thor, Loki, and Asgard, this book can go any number of directions.

Thursday

COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES EP. 79 – SDCC 2014

Greetings!  This week is San Diego Comic-Con and all the breaking news and announcements on new books and projects.  We will discuss them all, and even find some time to review this week’s books and give our KLIQ’s of the Week.

 

MARVEL: AVENGERS & X-MEN AXIS PANEL

The biggest news from this panel was a new OGN (original graphic novel) called Avengers: Rage of Ultron from Rick Remender and Jerome Opena.  The OGN will be in-continuity and have huge repercussions throughout the Marvel universe.  Teases include new status quo’s for Ultron and the Avengers, along with Starfox getting some limelight.  It is set to come out April 2015, just in time for Avengers: Age of Ultron.

SPOTLIGHT PANELS ON SCOTT SNYDER & DAN SLOTT

If you were curious to learn details from writers Scott Snyder and Dan Slott regarding their time working in comics, then these separate panels were for you.  These more intimate panels focusing on creators always intrigue me.  It’s nice to hear stories from their point of view and discuss what their work process is like, and what motivates them.

“ALL-NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA: FEAR HIM”  INFINITE COMIC

FROM DENNIS HOPELESS AND SZYMON KUDRANSKI

Ever since Dennis Hopeless stated in a panel at Heroescon that he had another project lined up after Avengers Undercover ended, I’ve been curious to find out what it is.  He’s said on Twitter that it will be a totally different project than the ones he has done in the past.

Could we have found out what that project is today?  During Marvel’s “House of Ideas” panel, they announced the Infinite Comic All-New Captain America: Fear Him which will be written by Hopeless with art from Szymon Kudranski.

All six issues of the series will be released at one time.  Release date is October 2014.  Is this the series Hopeless was referring to, or could there be another book yet to reveal?

Wednesday

MARVEL STUDIOS CLAIMS SIX DATES ON THEIR CALENDAR UP TO 2019

Earlier in the week, Marvel Studios announced release dates for five more movies, running all the way to 2019.  Then, after Sony pushed Amazing Spider-Man 2 from 2016 to 2018, Marvel swooped in to claim that date to take their tally up to six movies.  There have been no titles given to these six films, but one can imagine that we should get a few names during SDCC.

Could we hear of movies for Hulk, Captain Marvel, or Black Panther?

SONY ANNOUNCES DATES FOR SINISTER SIX AND AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 3

Amazing Spider-Man 3 was originally set to come out June 10, 2016.  Now it has been pushed back to an unspecified date in 2018.  Sinister Six will come out November 11, 2016.

I wonder why Sony has decided to push Amazing Spider-Man 3 back so long.  And why have Sinister Six be in-between?  Unless Spider-Man is involved in Sinister Six, that will be a long time to go without a Spider-Man movie.

‘ARROW’S ROY HARPER ADOPTS FAMILIAR PERSONA IN SEASON 3

Entertainment Weekly reveals that in season 3 of Arrow Roy Harper will take the codename Arsenal.  Below is an image of what Roy will look like as Arsenal.

I’ve gotta say, Roy’s outfit looks even more badass than Oliver’s.  It’s just something about the way the red and black mesh together to give off a badass vibe.  We see Arsenal holding a bow, but we know from the comics that with the name Arsenal, Roy is a master of many weapons.  I wonder if we will get to see him use other handheld weapons like a gun.

IMAGE EXPO

For the first time, Image Comics moved their annual Image Expo to the halls of SDCC to announce 12 new comics launching in the next year.  You can read all about them here.

A few of the comics caught my attention:  Rick Remender and Sean Murphy’s Tokyo Ghost, Becky Cloonan and Andy Belanger’s Southern Cross, and Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen’s Descender.

Unless something else breaks between now and my bedtime, I’ll see you all back here tomorrow for Day 2!  Remember to bookmark this page to stay up-to-date.