NOTE: The individual opinions of each Roundtable contributor are their own, and is not representative of anybody but that contributor.
Jeph Loeb & Joe Madureira on board for THE ULTIMATES 3 [Details: Here]
JASON BEREK-LEWIS: I feel terrible for whomever inherits this title from Millar and Hitch. They have made THE ULTIMATES so much their own, that I just can’t see someone else coming in and doing the title justice.
It won’t be THE ULTIMATES without Millar and Hitch.
Having said that, the book has been a cash cow for Marvel, so I can’t see them letting it die.
IAIN BURNSIDE: Personally, I’m going to wait and get the HC as I’m doing with all of the Ultimate titles, so it’ll be a long, long time before I can find out what their work is like. Loeb is very, very hit and miss with me usually… usually more miss than hit, to be honest. And I don’t think I’ve ever actually read a comic with this Madureira fellow on art. So there that is… Incidentally, Wikipedia rather helpfully tells you how to freebase crack.
ANDY CAMPBELL: Same with me. I do find it funny that Loeb will be writing THE ULTIMATES right after this SUPERMAN/BATMAN arc with The Maximums, who he created to make fun of the Ultimates. Praise the almighty dollar!
PAUL SEBERT: Mark Millar gets the first run on the Ultimates after making fun of the Avengers in THE AUTHORITY…
Loeb gets a run after making fun of them in SUPERMAN/BATMAN…
I think I see a trend here.
Press conference for SPIDER-MAN: THE OTHER… [Click: Here]
KEVIN MAHONEY: Um, didn’t we learn that big inclusive Spidey stories that try and shock readers don’t work way back in the ’90s? And PAD talking about how he had to rush to get his part done. That’d worry me if I were his editor. I still have some unspent Clone Saga bile, and maybe that’s coloring my judgement, but this does not sound like a great idea.
DC reveals the creative team for 52/One Year Later [Details: Here]
KEVIN MAHONEY: The 52 build-up is doing the exact opposite to me. I know the writers/editors in DC don’t want anything to get out about INFINITE CRISIS. I think that’s admirable. But when the leaked info on the covers of 52 is more substantial than the actual story, I wonder if the hype is all for nothing. We know it’s about a missing year, barring not mentioning a soon-to-be dead character, I can’t see a decent reason to be totally closed mouthed on the subject. I mean if you really don’t want to leak anything, why announce 52 at all?
PAUL SEBERT: I’m a big fan of practically all of the tallent involved but… 1 weekly series with four different writers sounds like the potential for a major league mess logistically.
TIM SHERIDAN: I’m kind of jazzed about 52. I’m glad they are getting everything in order now. It’s good that DC is not wasting time and they are taking care of this project. Makes it seem like it’s a story they want to mean something, rather than something they are just putting together for a quick (or year long) buck.
Garth Ennis talks about the return of Ghost Rider [Click: Here]
KEVIN MAHONEY: Oh dear lord! There’s another Hitman story due… in JLA CLASSIFIED?! Was that a flying pig I just saw drifting past my fourth floor window? I thought so. That’s cooler than the not too shabby Ghost Rider anouncements.
PAUL SEBERT: Hey… a new Hitman story sounds great to me.
Crispin Glover wants to play Joker in the next Batman movie, studio not so
keen [Details: Here]
KEVIN MAHONEY: Wasn’t Crispin Glover Satan in the old school occult fantasy-cop drama Brimstone? No wait, that was John Glover. John would make a better Joker in my opinion.
TIM SHERIDAN: Crispin Glover scares me on many many levels, and not in a fun Joker way. And besides, I don’t think it’s worth casting or campaigning for a role until the script has been at least started. That said, they should get writing soon!
Picture of Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor in Superman Returns [Click: Here]
KEVIN MAHONEY: Detective Mills?! It’s her pretty blonde head… in a purple and green suit of armor!
PAUL SEBERT: Well I must say he’s got the hair for the part…
– Eisner Award winning cancelled writer Sean McKeever on the future of MARY JANE [More: Here]
KEVIN MAHONEY: Diversity is good. Chicks reading comics is good. Fun art is good.
IAIN BURNSIDE: McKeever is good. A daily dose of McKeever helps you work, rest and play. Or at least gives you something interesting to read in the bathroom while taking care of business. Important business it is too.
PAUL SEBERT: Let’s hear it for digest sales! While it’s obviously a title that plays better to the bookstore crowd than the dirrect market, I think MARY JANE is a really charming little book that’s a good alternative to superhero slugfests.
Mitchell Breitweiser signs exclusive Marvel contract [Details: Here]
PAUL SEBERT: Not very familiar with Breitwieser’s work… his pencils in the Drax previews look solid but… really I’m not sure if I’m going to run out to try this series.
Marvel editors have their very own Roundtable for HOUSE OF M [Click: Here]
KEVIN MAHONEY: They stole that concept from us (didn’t they?)! But lots of insight into Marvel’s editorial process. I’m still annoyed that THUNDERBOLTS chose to include itself in the HoM. I wish they hadn’t.
Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely provide cover art for new Robbie Williams album [Credit: Here]
KEVIN MAHONEY: Does that mean it will ship six months late with no explanation?
IAIN BURNSIDE: Can we make it not ship whatsoever? Can we just cancel his career due to low sales? Please?
PLASTIC MAN cancelled after issue #20 [Credit: Here]
PAUL SEBERT: The cancellation of PLASTIC MAN irks me to no small end. I mean this title won the Eisner Award for “Best New Series” in 2004 along with the awards for “Best Writer/Artist -Humor” and “Best Publication for Younger Audiences” and yet DC couldn’t figure out a way of effectively marketing this book? WTF?!
Mark Millar’s controversial THE UNFUNNIES book set to return [Details: Here]
PAUL SEBERT: Millar’s done a fair deal of respectable work… but I anticipate the return of THE UNFUNNIES as much as I do the next issue of YOUNGBLOOD: BLOODSPORT. Which is not very much.
RUMOUR: Damon Lindelof, co-creator of Lost, to write ULTIMATE HULK/WOLVERINE mini? [Details: Here]
PAUL SEBERT: Hmmm not surprising considering how many TV and movie writers they have working on comics these days. But really this has kind of gotten out of hand. I mean, it’s gotten so bad Marvel’s hired the creator of the Nickelodeon series Space Cases for it’s new Spider-Man book and DC has the scriptwriter behind Robocop II working on ALL-STAR BATMAN & ROBIN.
Anyway, I’m apparently the last person in the US to actually get around to actually seeing an episode of Lost so I can’t comment on the quality of Lindelof’s work. But I have to ask, isn’t Ultimate Hulk supposed to be like dead or something?
John Romita Jr. discusses the return of THE SENTRY [Click: Here]
PAUL SEBERT: Damn… Romita’s been on like every book this year. Did he have some kind of bet with Mark Brooks to see who could jump over the most titles in one year?
Grant Morrison explains it all [Explanation: Here]
PAUL SEBERT: “Well, the way I see it, Alex, images, ideas and characters derived from comic books now cover just about every available surface in the civilized world. X-Men cereal! The Incredibles pajamas! Sky High! What more proof do comics fans need that the rest of the world has – at least for a moment – stopped laughing at all the crazy shit we’re into?
Will we remain unsatisfied until every newborn babe has a Spider-Man logo tattooed on his head? Aren’t Marvel and DC characters on the sides of buses enough evidence that the whole world has fallen under the spell of comics? Does every man, woman, and child have to swear allegiance to Captain America’s shield before we finally accept that comics are already valid? How much more validation do summathese goddamn fanboys need, for crying out loud!!”
Bwahahaahaah… so true.
This my friends is why I love Grant Morrison.
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