Marvel is having a press conference today, at noon eastern time. It’s at Midtown Comics in New York City. So — what’s it about?

Well, here’s what we do know: it’s the culmination of those “Do you fear…” teasers from last week, starring Spider-Man, Cyclops, Captain America, the Hulk and Thor. According to Marvel themselves, it’s the “biggest comics event of 2011,” and smart money would say that Matt Fraction is involved. From his Twitter yesterday (adjust your reading for Fraction-esque self-deprecation):

there’s this thing happening on tuesday. and i can’t be in new york to be a part of it so i had to shoot a video. both it and i are awful.

Also, remember that “Architects” press release from a couple of weeks ago?

·       Matt Fraction, writer of Thor, Invincible Iron Man, and a top secret upcoming event

There’s also this video, from Marvel.com:

So, there you go: it’s a 2011 event (maybe Marvel’s return to Civil War/Secret Invasion-size events after taking the last year off?), it’s probably written by Matt Fraction and it has something to do with fear. Who in the Marvel Universe deals with fear? Mr. Fear and Scarecrow are maybe a bit too on the nose (and the latter’s name is a bit too closely associated with his DC counterpart). Daredevil was the man without fear; now Black Panther is. Hmm. Man-Thing? You may have heard that whatever knows fear burns at his touch. Boy, would that be great if Marvel held a huge, well-hyped press conference to announce a major project involving Man-Thing.

EDIT: As helpfully pointed out in the comments by Rich, Phobos — Ares’ son from Secret Warriors — also means “fear” in Greek mythology. Well, that’s pretty solid.

Well, whatever it is, we’ll know more at noon, and will be covering the heck out of the whole thing on the main page. Feel free to speculate in the meantime!

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark injuries continue: First, Natalie Mendoza, who plays Arachne, was hit on the head by a rope at the first preview and suffered a concussion that put her out for about a week. Not too long after that, Kevin Aubin, an aerialist, broke both his wrists in November during a presentation, and then, in a separate incident, while rehearsing the show, another actor broke his foot.

Following the news about the musical being delayed yet again, there are a plethora of news reports are coming in about yet another accident, this time involving a major scene. It happened during the middle of second act when a cable was reported as to have  snapped. The as-yet unidentified actor fell into the pit in front of the stage, which is about twenty feet down. Reports from the scene claim audience members heard screaming, followed by a shout for someone to call 911. The show was eventually canceled.

BroadwayWorld spoke to an eyewitness about the accident. “The person taken away was the person playing Spider-Man at the time. He tried to get up and stagehands told him not to move.” The witness went on to saying, “I was in the audience and I’m an NY EMT. Although I am not involved with the care of the patient they didn’t use a back-board and collar so they don’t suspect spinal injury.”

The show’s producers were not immediately available for comment.

Fables #100
Written by Bill Willingham & Mark Buckingham
Illustrated by Mark Buckingham, Bill Willingham, Steve Leialoha, Andrew Pepoy, Dan Green, Chrissie Zullo, Dave Johnson, Adam Hughes, Kate McElroy, J.H. Williams III, Joao Ruas, with Lee Loughridge, Dave Stewart & Todd Klein
Published by DC/Vertigo

I’ve read Fables three previous times – v. 1, because I’d heard many good things about it; v. 5, as a gift to me; v. 7 as a comped copy – and I’ve always enjoyed the book very much.  If you’re coming in late, Fables tells of fairy tale characters after their happily ever after, when a war drove them from their homelands and they all (and I mean all) settled in the mundy world, often in (or near to) New York City. It’s a dark fantasy, with strong character work, excellent artwork, and creative twists.

I haven’t read the series regularly out of little more than resistance to indefinite series commitments. I can’t count how many comic book series I’ve walked away from in mid-run due to … wanderlust, mostly, wanting something different after a time. So I mostly stick to self-contained books or constrained runs of titles; but I’ve dabbled in Fables, always enjoyed it, just never kept up with it. The series 100^th issue continues that trend, and reminds me again – maybe it’s okay to leave a series in mid-run as long as I enjoy my time with it.  Maybe Fables deserves a longer look.

For a 100^th issue focused on a long-standing conflict, Fables #100 manages to be welcoming to new(ish) readers. Certainly, some plot specifics flew by me, but it’s a big fight, a birth, and a flight – all fairly timeless dramas, all delivered with professional aplomb. A variety of back-up features in the extra-length issue provide frivolity and levity, mixed with just enough danger to remind readers of the continually unfolding drama.  The writing captures the variety of voices and unfolds the story in a striking fashion, juggling its ensemble cast comfortably; the art’s dynamic and laid out very well. The result’s a blast of an adventure comic.  As I’m continually reminded.

“Is that where Batwoman’s victory comes in, by pointing out what a wankbreak Batman is, letting him look like a freak in comparison to her well-adjusted normal life?”: This Mindless Ones review of Batwoman #0 focuses on what the plot—Batman dressing up in a variety of terrible disguises to follow Kate Kane and Batwoman around for, like, weeks—says about Batman and what a deeply, deeply weird weirdo he is. (Via Dirk Deppey, who I stole that scan from; I think that is my new favorite image of Batman)

‘Tis the season: At The Hooded Utilitarian, Richard Cook collects a bunch of cover appearances by Santa Claus through the decades.

His own private WildStorm: Tom Spurgeon bids farewell to DC’s WildStorm imprint by remembering some of his favorite books from the once influential publishing line.

Suck it, “Graphic Novels”: T. Hodler demonstrates that the term “comic book” is far more popular than the term “graphic novel” …with graphs!

Batman & Robin v. 2: Batman vs. Robin
Written by Grant Morrison
Illustrated by Cameron Stewart, Andy Clarke, Scott Hanna and Dustin Nguyen
Colored by Alex Sinclair and Tony Aviña
Lettered by Pat Brosseau and Jared K. Fletcher
Published by DC Comics

I can’t imagine anybody without a moderate to strong understanding of Batman lore appreciating this book, but I certainly enjoyed it.  Morrison plays Batman, now Dick Grayson, and Robin, now Damian Wayne, off one other very well, with effusive banter and effective touches to underscore the respect they’ve gained for one another.  The plot is lightning fast, so be prepared to keep up.

The first half, with Morrison’s favorite obscure Batman and Robin analogues, Knight and Squire, and a slightly shoe-horned-in Batwoman manages to stay (just barely at times) this side of coherent, with too many characters jumbled together a little too quickly, but it’s a decent if forgettable yarn.  I’ll give it points as a clever thematic tie-in to the Blackest Night event without actually referencing the event at all.  The second half, which has Robin dealing with his mother and her “influence”, is stronger, more focused, more couched in Batman lore.  It also builds around a stronger emotional core.  You need to know Dick Grayson’s Nightwing/Teen Titans history at least cursorily, as well as Damian’s parentage, to really appreciate it, but most casual fans have requisite knowledge.

Both artists, Cameron Stewart and Andy Clarke, suit the series well.  Each provides clean artwork, detailed to carry the story but never cluttered with lines, and they lay their pages out effectively.  The result is a good-looking, fast-moving series, smartly written and recommended for interested readers.

Some sad news to pass along late this Friday — veteran colorist Adrienne Roy has passed away at age 57.

Roy’s comics work included a 16-year run on Detective Comics (as seen above), a 15-year run on Batman and a 14-year run on New Teen Titans. Her obituary states that she had battled cancer for the past year. Donations may be made to the Hero Initiative. Her full obituary can be found on The Beat and CBG.

In case you missed it among the other big Brian Michael Bendis-centric news of the day, Variety reported early Friday morning that Melissa Rosenberg, the screenwriter who adapted all of the Twilight movies for film, is developing a TV series version of Alias for ABC — titled “AKA Jessica Jones” — with an aim towards getting in on the schedule for fall 2011.

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When I had finished reading the very last page of Picture This, Lynda Barry’s book exploring the questions “Why do we stop drawing?” and “Why do we start drawing?,” I found myself desperately curious about another question entirely: “Where does publisher Drawn & Quarterly suggest this book be shelved?”

As you may have noticed, most books (and an awful lot of graphic novels) include among the fine print on their title pages or back covers suggestions for libraries and book stores regarding where the book belongs. These often include Library of Congress or Dewey Decimal system subject numbers, and/or a numbered list of subject headings.

For example, looking at a few books laying around my office, Brecht Evens’ The Wrong Place is suggested “Social Interaction—Comic books, strips, etc.” and “Identity (psychology)—Comic books, strips, etc.” I love looking these up, in part because it reveals what the publisher thinks of the book and how it should be classified and, to some extent, sold.

Most of the books I review here tend to fall under a catch all like “comic books, strips, etc.,” and libraries and book stores end up putting them either in their own, dedicated “graphic novels” section, or else somewhere under the “741″ number in Dewey. But sometimes they are so specific that I wonder if the publishers aren’t sometimes being sarcastic—Tim Sievert’s That Salty Air, for example, included “Oceanic Revenge” and “Seaside Heartbreak” which made me imagine a bookstore with sections that specific. What’s that? Oceanic Revenge? Yes, it’s over there on the left; right between Marine Justice and Sea-going Wickedness.

Where does Picture This belong? Certainly under a “Comic books” or “Art” subject, but more specifically? Memoir? Manifesto? How-to? Aesthetics? Art Therapy? Self-Help? Outsider art? Craft? Folk art? It belongs under them all, really. In the Dewey Decimal system, the argument could be made to put this in plenty of different places in the 700s (arts and recreation), though parts of the 800s (literature), 300s (social sciences), 400’s (language) and 900s (which includes biography) could claim it as well.

I can think of no better example of the potency of Barry’s Picture This than the fact that it defies, if not breaks, the Dewey Decimal system—we need a brand-new number to put on the spine of this book.
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From the “stop me if you think that you’ve heard this one before” department: the opening of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, the biggest-budget Broadway musical in history, has once again been delayed, according to Variety, moving from Jan. 11 to Feb. 7. Previews will continue as previously scheduled. Reasons cited included the injury suffered by Natalie Mendoza — the production’s Arachne — and other setbacks. Mendoza suffered a concussion when hit by a piece of stage equipment.

Well… not really sure what else to say about the whole thing at this point, other than did you catch Peter Parker singing “Boy Falls From the Sky,” the Bono and The Edge-written song from the musical, in this week’s Amazing Spider-Man #650? That was pretty cool.

Barbara Gordon was the niece of Jim Gordon, police commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department. After her parents died, Uncle Jim adopted her and she quickly started calling him “Dad,” as he’d always been more of a father than her own had been. But despite their close relationship, there were tensions. Barbara showed far too much interest in the activities of superheroes and vigilantes for Jim’s liking and he did not want her becoming a cop. A teenager with gifted intelligence, Barbara graduated college before she was 18 and checked out the police academy and FBI. Although she was skilled in martial arts, had detective instincts and was adept at computers, Barbara was too short for field work and refused to have a desk job. She was determined to work the streets and take down criminals one-on-one, even attempting to contact the hero Black Canary for advice, since she admired the woman.

While attending a costume party dressed as a female version of Batman to annoy her father, Barbara wound up fighting the criminal Killer Moth. The public labeled her “Batgirl” and she decided to begin a career of crime-fighting. Batman watched over her while Robin provided her with equipment, having deduced her true identity. After a few adventures, Barbara proved herself and the Dark Knight revealed his true identity to her, offering her further training. Although she worked with Batman and Robin on many occasions, Barbara considered herself an independent woman and often operated alone.

After a few years, Barbara retired and soon afterward she was dealt a crippling injury by the Joker. Her life altered, she became a different style of hero called Oracle. Years later, the vigilante called Huntress began using the Batgirl identity until Batman put a stop to it, not wishing his symbol to be worn by someone he didn’t approve of or trust. The mantle passed on to Cassandra Cain, a girl trained to be a warrior from birth by one of Batman’s own teachers.

Most recently, Cassandra Cain has left Gotham to pursue a new life. She left her costume with Stephanie Brown, a young woman who had operated as the vigilante Spoiler for years and had even briefly acted as Robin. With Barbara Gordon as her mentor, Stephanie has proven to be a worthy Batgirl in her own right, becoming the one hero in Gotham who emphasizes hope rather than darkness and grim resolve.

This week, DC released the trade The Greatest Batgirl Stories Ever Told. With that in mind, let’s take a look at these different women and the uniforms they’ve worn. As usual, we’re focusing on the mainstream comics and not on alternate Earths and such.

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“Any of you remember the ‘Comics Code’ in America, effectively shutting down the most creative comics artists in the US in the 1950s…?”: Writing for The Comics Journal, Roland Kelts discusses the just-passed “Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s revised bill to amend the Youth Healthy Development Ordinance–a piece of legislation otherwise known as the ‘non-existent youth’ bill.” It’s an opinionated piece, and a great starting point for learning more about the potentially chilling legislation, and many of the ironies surrounding it.

Speaking of manga…: David Welsh suggests some of the year’s best manga, in the hopes that Eisner judges are listening.

“Top 10 Reasons Why I Should Direct ‘Iron Man III’”: Peter David would like to direct the next Iron Man flick (along with, I assume, plenty of other people), and he counts down the reasons why. I agree with #3; director Jon Favreau is one of those guys who was just active enough that when I was a film critic I’d find myself writing about him every once in a while, but never so often that I memorized the spelling of his last name. If someone  with the surname “David” were to direct the next one, imagine the seconds of film critics’ lives that would be saved….!

“This was the year where the worm turned, and those of us who bought crap by design—because it made us laugh—sobered up and realized that we’d actually become a target demographic”: Tucker Stone remembers the, um, “Year in Stank.” Can you match the panels of poorly-constructed superhero decadence to the comics they came from?

I hope it’s the cycloptic tree one: At DC’s Source blog, David Hyde teases that a Green Lantern will rejoin the JLA line-up next March, and asks fans to speculate which one.

“It’s the same idea of you’re riding your bike, and you love riding your bike, but then one day, it’s all about how you look riding your bike”: On the occasion of the release of her must-read Picture This, The Onion’s AV Club interviews Lynda Barry.

The more I see of the Ryan Reynolds movie they ended up making, the more I wish they woulda stuck with the original plan: Hey, remember when Jack Black was going to star in Green Lantern, and it was going to be a comedy? Digital Spy does…and so does Black. Maybe they can costume him like John Candy from Spaceballs to play G’Nort in a sequel…? Or hell, there’s always Hawkman…

BOOM! Studios has announced a couple of big names to join their publishing ranks — including a change-up to one of their Stan Lee superhero titles.

To start off with, in May, the publisher will begin releasing Michael Moorcock’s Elric: The Balance Lost. Moorcock, who has been attributed as a major influence for writers such as Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis, said in a press statement that “Elric is in inspired hands.” Chris Roberson — writer of Superman, Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love, as well as Starborn and Dust to Dust from BOOM! — will be writing the series.

Meanwhile, in another bit of news, it looks like Soldier Zero is getting a switch-up in its creative team, with Paul Cornell bowing off the book in Issue #5 and making way for Marvel Cosmic enthusiasts Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning.

“Paul’s simply a splendid fellow,” the duo said in a press statement. “We are delighted to be following in his footsteps on Stan Lee’s Soldier Zero. Paul generously shared his plans and ideas for where he saw the story going, and they are, as you might expect, far too good not to keep, but we’re also bringing lots of new stuff into the mix. Soldier Zero fans will not be disappointed!”

What do you think about this, Rama readers? You think DnA’s inclusion will make for a smooth transition, or do you think it’s a little too soon for a change in writer? What do you think about Michael Moorcock’s Elric finding a new home? Sound off!

You know, it seems like just last week that we were talking to J.M. DeMatteis about Booster Gold…but here we are again! Between this one, and tomorrow’s Dan Jurgens interview about Time Masters: Vanishing Point, we’re all caught up here at The Gold Exchange and looking forward to what promises to be an exciting new year for the character and the creators. Booster himself spent a lot of this issue bumming around thinking about old times…which of course means it’s time for us to talk about it.

The Gold Exchange: First thing’s first…how many graves does Ted have? For a guy with no actual corpse to bury, he’s got one outside time in the (now-destroyed) Vanishing Point and one here…I also feel like we’d seen one before that people pointed at when they were saying the Vanishing Point grave was not correct, continuity-wise…and then there’s that big-ass statue J’Onn made during “52″ that’s a monument to fallen Leaguers since the first Crisis.

J.M. DeMatteis: Ted has exactly 462 graves.

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So, Marvel is promoting a big announcement coming Friday morning. In fact, it may have been announced by the time you read this, and you’ve already hotly debated the relative scale and importance of whatever was announced. But as of this writing, it’s still unrevealed. And here’s what we know so far. On Thursday afternoon, Avengers/New Avengers/Ultimate Comics Spider-Man/Takio/Scarlet/Powers/am I missing anything? writer Brian Michael Bendis tweeted this:

ok, just got official word tomorrow morning marvel is making the best announcement of the year!! i am applauding already. boom!! (more…)

Written and created by Brian Andersen, art, colors and letters by the talented Celina Hernandez. For more So Super Duper go to:www.sosuperduper.com!

Nick Spencer won’t be taking over Supergirl with January’s #60 after all, according to both DC Comics and the writer himself. In a post ostensibly about Spencer’s ongoing title T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, on official DC Universe blog The Source, the following information slipped in: (more…)

The owls are not what they seem, in this strange, fun, interesting and–honestly?–sometimes a little violent kids’ adventure movie from Warner Animation. While the box art on the Blu-Ray Combo Pack tells viewers that it’s “From the Studio that Brought You ‘HAPPY FEET’”, this movie that centers around warring factions of owls is not nearly as kid-friendly as its flightless, arctic cousin. I watched it with my three-year-old niece and she was alternately rapt, bored or repulsed by the animation, the lulls and the violence that make up Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole.

The environmental subtext of almost every animated animal movie these days is something impossible to escape, and while it doesn’t beat you over the head in this movie as much as it did in Hoot a few years ago–the last big owl movie I can remember–it’s there on the extra footage, where one of the mini-documentaries is all about the plight of owls. These things always seem a little out of place in a kids’ film to me, and even though I’m a commie pinko leftist, it still stinks to high heaven of indoctrination.

While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the movie for most viewers, the part that both Gracie and I enjoyed the most was the Looney Tunes cartoon that’s included on the disc as a bonus feature.

Ben Affleck may have become a cocktail party joke after roles in Daredevil and Paycheck, but his return to the screen in Hollywoodland, combined with two of the most legitimately entertaining thrillers in recent years (those being Gone, Baby, Gone and The Town), have turned him into a filmmaker to be reckoned with. Between the roles in Daredevil and Hollywoodland, his friendship with Kevin Smith and his role as a comic book illustrator in Chasing Amy (reprised in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back), it’s likely that we’ll all see Affleck coming back into the comics or genre movie fold, so it’s worth taking note when something of his hits the theaters or home video, particularly when it’s something you really can’t help but like.

The Town is a complex and fascinating crime thriller, but one without pretense, making it more like one of the “Ocean’s” trilogy than something by David Lynch. And while many people may feel like the features are pretty bare-bones for a movie that was talked up early in the year as an Oscar candidate, I’m content just to hear Affleck’s thoughts on the film–let alone that he does the very rare thing of having a commentary track on both the theatrical AND director’s cuts of the film. John Hamm and Chris Cooper have great supporting roles in this picture, where almost every minor character is played by an actor who’s extremely talented, extremely famous or both. Check it out on DVD and Blu-Ray Combo Pack.

“Archie Gets Married and Goes to Hell”: Slate’s feminist/women’s issue blog Double X catches up with Archie’s possible-future marriages. You know, it didn’t occur to me until I saw this story, but these “Archie Marries ____” are basically Archie’s Dark Knight Returns. In a way.

I always hated Hitch’s: Maybe toss him out and put in Val Semeiks, and I can agree with Ben Morse’s “Five Favorite Martian Manhunter Artists” list 100% instead of just 80%. I do like the old Silver Age depiction of  J’onn Jonn’z where he basically just look like a mostly-naked green bald guy or, as read in the black-and-white Showcase Presents collections, a naked bald guy. (Semeiks, by the way, drew J’onn in JLA: Foreign Bodies, DC One Million and the underrated JLA: Incarnations series).

To him, maybe—I seem more kids dressed as superheroes than as boys with antlers at Halloween: “Jeff Lemire On Why Superheroes and Boys with Antlers are Equally Great”

God, I hope not: “Superhero fiction: the next big thing?”

Superman: Earth One
Written by J. Michael Straczynski
Penciled by Shane Davis
Inked by Sandra Hope
Colored by Barbara Ciardo
Lettered by Rob Leigh
Published by DC Comics

If you’ve been reading my ramblings for a while now, you’ve noticed that despite my general indifference to superhero comics, I’m a big nut for Superman.  There’s something very inspiring and exciting about the character, something I’ve never found in the derivatives who’ve followed his creation.  So understand that I looked forward to Superman: Earth One and only felt more thrilled when the sales numbers took off, the critical word came back strong.  And perhaps I got a little too excited.

Now, let me say up front, I enjoyed Superman: Earth One.  It’s solidly written, with passable insights into the characters and plenty of great action.  I enjoyed it, and I’m in for the sequel when it arrives.  In Superman: Earth One, if you missed the hype, writer J. Michael Straczynski reinterprets Superman for the modern era.  Forget what you know: Clark Kent is twenty-ish years old, he’s just arrived in Metropolis, and he’s like most of us at that age – full of promise, but unsure how to apply himself.

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