Although Wednesday morning began with a flurry of movie options, the big news from Comic-Con International’s “Day 0″ came from comics publishers. And curiously, two of the announcements involved crime fiction.

DC Comics teased next summer’s launch of Vertigo Crime, a “subimprint” devoted to mystery and crime stories. The line, headed by Will Dennis, will debut with titles from 100 Bullets writer Brian Azzarello and Scottish crime novelist Ian Rankin. More details are expected today.

Not to be outdone, IDW Publishing opened Preview Night with a press conference announcing that Darwyn Cooke (DC: The New Frontier) will adapt Richard Stark’s first four Parker novels as a series of graphic novels. The first title is expected in late 2009.

Going in a decidedly different direction, BOOM! Studios announced a deal for it to produce a line of comics and graphic novels based on Disney/Pixar and Muppet properties. The first title, a four-issue Incredibles series, will be written by Editor-in-Chief Mark Waid and debut next year. Cooke will provide the cover art.

Other convention-related announcements:

• Wildstorm has acquired the comics rights to Summit Entertainment’s upcoming action-thriller Push. The DC imprint will release a six-issue prequel, by Marc Bernardin, Adam Freeman and Bruno Redondo, with covers by Jock.

• Cartoon Network will produce animated movies based on Phil Hester’s Firebreather and Mike Avon Oeming and Bryan Glass’ The Mice Templar, both from Image. The cable network also is adapting Chuck Dixon’s IDW title The Vanishers as a live-action film.

• Writer Ed Brubaker (Captain America, Criminal) has teamed with White Rock Lake Productions to produce Angel of Death, a live-action series for Crackle.com, Sony Picture Entertainment’s online-video network. The weekly crime/revenge series will debut next year.

• Warner Bros. will release a pair of downloadable Watchmen video games, with more installments possible.

• And that flurry of movie news? Warner Bros. snapped up the rights to Rob Liefeld’s forthcoming Capeshooters, for Bryan Singer to produce. Hancock director Peter Berg will develop Hercules: The Thracian Wars, based on the Radical Publishing miniseries. Jenna Dewan and Luke Goss will star in an adaptation of Top Cow’s The Magdalena. And Summit grabbed Virgin Comics’ one-shot The Leaves.

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