Over at Comics Alliance, Laura Hudson has a great interview with Axel Alonso and Jeanine Schafer about women in comics. Although Alonso may seem like the marquee name there, being EiC at Marvel, the interview is all about Schafer for me; she comes across really well, and much more willing to see past simplistic idea of how to “fix” the problem, but instead seeing things in a more nuanced way:

In following the discourse about women and minorities in comics, the one thing I see brought up so often is the idea that people don’t see gender. “Oh, I don’t see gender,” they say, “I just want good stories.” There’s an idea that actively looking to hire women is counter-intuitive to good stories; the simplified version of this is “hire good writers, regardless of gender.” Of course, I agree that the people we hire need to be good at this, first and foremost. But what this argument misses, in implying (and sometimes outright stating) that actively hiring people with different life-experiences is somehow creatively bereft, is that having a variety of viewpoints is the best way to not only tell better stories, but to grow your market, so that you can continue to tell those stories.

On a totally practical level, being a woman there are things that I will be more attuned to than one of my male colleagues, and vice versa. So I always feel like I’m learning and growing as an editor and as a story-teller the longer I work here, because it forces me out of my head. A room with a group of people who are all passionate about different things with a shared goal of finding the perfect intersection of those passions is my kind of writers’ room!

Not all women are going to agree on what stories they like. Just like not all men will. Or all minorities. But having different voices gives us a well-rounded group of books that speak to a variety of people; without it, it’s akin to someone talking to himself and in this particular economy, that will spell our doom.

Seriously, go and check out the interview. Really worth reading.

What lies ahead for Image Comics in 2012? Well, according to president Eric Stephenson, it’s “the best work by big names and big names to be, on books they own,” and he goes even further:

If you are a fan: You are in for one hell of a year. If you are a retailer: This is the future your customers are looking for, not a snake eating its own tail for diminishing returns every month.

Besides the projects we already know about – Brian K. Vaughn’s return to comics with Saga, illustrated by the spectacular Fiona Staples, the latest Brubaker/Philips series Fatale and Jonathan Hickman’s The Manhattan Projects – Stephenson offers these teases for other things to look forwards to: (more…)

We’re going a little international with today’s offering, but I think you’ll find the cover star more than a little familiar. He is, as the song goes, a real famous cat all dressed up in red. And, no, I don’t mean Captain Marvel. (more…)

One of the things that I enjoyed about Defenders #1 yesterday – because I am a wonk that way – was this:

“This” being the return of the ad taglines on the bottom of certain pages. This isn’t the first time this old Marvel practice from the 1970s has been revived in recent memory; way back in… 2008, I think? Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley did it in Mighty Avengers #10, except they used actual examples from the 1970s: (more…)

Something that’s pretty much died out in recent years – recent decades, really, as video and then DVD and blu-ray made movies available for audiences to rewatch at home – has been the comic book adaptation. Comic fans of a certain age probably share my fond memories of comics based on movies like Alien, Blade Runner and even the Star Trek and Star Wars adaptations. So, imagine my surprise when, while re-reading old Legion of Super-Heroes issues the other night, I saw this in one of the publishorial columns:

And then, a month later:

Now, this comic clearly didn’t happen. But why? I reached out to Marv Wolfman, who sadly didn’t remember what happened to the project. Part of me cynically thinks “Maybe someone at DC realized how weird a Lethal Weapon comic would have been for 1980s DC,” but presumably if it got far enough to have a creative team attached, that has already been addressed. So, internet! If anyone out there knows more about this never-seen project, get in touch! The world wants to know what it missed.

On the DC blog, the Source, co-publishers Jim Lee and Dan Didio, along with editor-in-chief Bob Harras and Batman editor Mike Marts offer tribute to Jerry Robinson, who died last night. Marts seems most appropriate to quote:

Jerry Robinson was an innovator, a pioneer in storytelling. His artwork was always astonishing, but his contributions to the Dark Knight mythology go far beyond art.

I remember watching Robinson on a panel at San Diego a few years ago; even though he was in his late eighties, he seemed as engaged and interested in what was happening in comics as creators half his age. It still kind of blows my mind that he co-created a manga series in 1999, to be honest. Comics need more Jerry Robinsons; he’ll be missed.

We’re in the second week of the month! The holidays haven’t managed to kill us just yet, despite their best attempts (Seriously, I can’t be the only one who’s had a surreally stressful and busy week, right?), so let’s keep barreling along with the Yuletide covers by clicking through to see what festive treat lies in store today!

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Did you know that Defenders/Invincible Iron Man/The Mighty Thor scribe Matt Fraction wrote a short comic— illustrated by Nathan Fox — for this month’s GQ magazine (the “Men of the Year” issue, with Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake on the cover), about the fateful May 2 raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound? It’s true, and now you can read it online at GQ‘s website, complete with an online bonus — embedded (so to speak) commentary from both Fraction and Fox.

As he’s routinely shown to be in our Fear Itself chats, Fraction’s quite honest when talking about both the experience of researching the comic and his own feelings on handling the subject matter. Says the writer: “In the end I wanted to see OBL face the ultimate sanction. Fifteen minutes trapped in the room where he knew he was going to die. F*ck it. Maybe one day I’ll be more evolved.”

Check it all out here.

How many event comics can you get out of one storyline? I ask because, with yesterday’s announcement of Avengers Vs. X-Men, I found myself wondering one simple thing: What happens after this series?

I ask because, judging from the USA Today and Marvel.com pieces that broke the news, it sounds as if Avengers Vs. X-Men – itself a follow-on from Avengers: X-Sanction, which could now be considered Avengers Vs. An X-Man, I guess – is more about what happens before the Phoenix Force arrives, and who could be the host for the Force this time around (My not entirely serious suggestion? Army Ranger Marcus Jones. Didn’t all the hype from Battle Scars say that he was going to be a major new player in the Marvel Universe?) – which means that we’ll be due for another event book to explain what happens when the Phoenix Force hits Earth, surely.

Avengers Vs. X-Men may be described as “the biggest comic book event in history,” but just how possible is it that we should be expecting an even-bigger comic book event immediately on its heels?

In the latest DC New 52 creative shakeup, Paul Jenkins, currently the writer of Batman: The Dark Knight and DCU Presents‘ first six issues, will be taking over Stormwatch in March 2012 – but only for two issues.

Writing issues 7 and 8, as announced on DC’s The Source blog, Jenkins will be telling the story of inter-dimensional raiders coming to steal Earth’s gravity. Sounds like a “heavy” tale (I’m so sorry). On the blog, editor Pat McCallum said of the story:

“The Stormwatch crew can’t ever catch a break — no simple threats like bloodthirsty monsters or world-dominating supervillains to stop, it’s always some mind-cracking knot that Apollo, Midnighter and the rest of the crew have to untie,” says editor Pat McCallum. “This time out, Stormwatch have to solve the puzzle of dimension-stepping gravity miners, creatures so alien they’re not even technically alive. The last stand of humanity or, as Stormwatch calls it, ‘Monday.’”

No word on who will be writing the series with issue #9. Current series writer Paul Cornell announced he is off the book after issue #6 and won’t be returning on his Twitter account. He is staying on his other DC New 52 title, Demon Knights, however.

Brian Wood addresses the controversy over Dark Horse digital pricing:

Over the last few days Dark Horse was compelled to clarify what their digital plan was, in terms of pricing, correcting the perception that their comics would be sold digitally at $1.99, much less than the print versions.  I have access to the CBIA, a retailers forum, and the pushback was intense, and included overt threats of drastically lowered orders and even total boycotts of the line.  Did I mention everyone is bleeding?  I get the frustration… No sane creator, or publisher, wants to see comic shops hurt.  We all have emotional connections to them, to the idea of them, and we count owners and employees as personal friends.  We aren’t looking for digital to steal customers away from shops, but rather to be an additive thing, to be an additional source of income.  To simply switch a current print consumer to a digital consumer does not solve any problems!  It benefits no one at all.  It will not save us.

He mentions the idea that digital pricing is being kept artificially high out of fear of upsetting print retailers, saying that “the price that fair-minded readers WANT to buy digital comics at is starkly different from what’s they are currently set at,” which I think is entirely true.

I’m saddened by the idea – not put forward by Wood, I hasten to add, but by others online – that Dark Horse changed an initial plan to sell digitally at $1.99 in response to retailer upset; at the time of the official (misunderstood) announcement, I was excited to see what seemed to be Dark Horse following Archie’s lead in terms of day-and-date pricing and move into what feels like a somewhat delayed but ultimately inevitable future. Maybe one day…

Be warned, Santaphobes: You may find today’s Christmas Cover just a little bit disturbing. Click through… if you dare! (more…)

Patty Jenkins is out as director of 2013′s Thor 2, Deadline reports.

The Monster director is said to be leaving as a result of “creative differences,” though she may end up working on a superhero movie after all — just not, apparently, this one.

Jenkins was officially announced as the director of Thor 2 back in October, following a few weeks of speculation. Jenkins would have taken over from Kenneth Branagh, director of the original Thor. It would have been her first foray into the genre, and a rare example of a female director helming a superhero film.

A new director is expected to be chosen quickly, in order for Marvel Studios to make the previously announced release date of Nov. 15, 2013. Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman and Tom Hiddleston are all on board to return for the sequel.

Whoa.

Tucked at the end of an interview on CBR with Brian Michael Bendis about the near future of the Avengers titles is the relatively stunning revelation that he’s leaving the franchise at some point in 2012. The news comes the same day as the announcement of Avengers vs. X-Men, a 12-part 2012 Marvel event co-written by Bendis. Here are words from the man himself:

“I’m going to wrap up ‘Avengers’ and ‘New Avengers.’ At the same time the first storyline of ‘Avengers Assemble’ will be done. It’s a good time to move on to other things. Before I go, though, I’m ending things big. I’m in countdown mode. You know when you’re watching a show like ‘Breaking Bad,’ and every episode feels like the second to last episode? That’s where I’m at. I’ve been on the Avengers longer than anybody in the history of the book. When you take everything into account, I’ve written over 200 issues. I’m very, very proud of that, and what we have coming up this summer gives me the opportunity to go out on a high note. I know enough about showbiz to know that’s a great time to go.”

Bendis first took over the book in 2004 with Avengers #500, the first part of “Avengers: Disassembled,” a status quo-shaking storyline that led to the demise of the original Avengers volume and the beginning of the New Avengers era. Since then, Bendis has also written Mighty Avengers, the 2010 relaunch of Avengers, plus the new title Avengers Assemble, set to launch in spring 2012 to coincide with the release of the Joss Whedon-directed film.

Of course, this brings up a ton of questions, none of which have readily available answers at this point — who’s taking over Avengers? What becomes of Avengers Assemble? Will New Avengers, clearly a book defined up to this point by Bendis’ signature writing style, continue? And does this mean Bendis will be taking on something new in the Marvel Universe (not that he doesn’t still have a ton of projects in a variety of media that he’s working on)?

Either way, there’s no doubt the impact that Bendis’ historic run on Avengers has had. Polarizing at times, he’s taken book to new heights and helped make it into one of Marvel’s most bustling franchises, one that’s depicted in a hit Disney XD cartoon and the focus of a hugely anticipated live-action feature film this coming May.

The full interview, in which Bendis also discusses matters including Norman Osborn “wielding a power that you’ve never seen him wield before,” is here.

Well, now we apparently know what’s coming. Marvel.com has just revealed details of the 12-issue Avengers Vs. X-Men series, written by Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Aaron, Jonathan Hickman, Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction with art by John Romita Jr., Olivier Coipel and Adam Kubert:

The Avengers and X-Men have learned that the all-powerful embodiment of both death and rebirth known as the Phoenix Force is on a crash course for Earth…and it needs a new host to unleash its immeasurable power. But what is the shocking decision tied to the Phoenix’s return that will pit the Avengers against the X-Men? And when good friends become bitter enemies, what does this mean for the future of the Marvel Universe?

The book will ship twice monthly for its six month run, and according to Editor in Chief Axel Alonso, it’s “the biggest story we’ve ever told,” as well as one that will have a “a profound effect on every character involved—and [reshape] the Marvel Universe in its wake.”

Expect more details during tomorrow’s live event.

The news that Marvel’s It’s Coming teases will finally lead to some kind of revelation with tomorrow’s “Live Event” means that we’ll finally stand a good chance of finding out what is coming, why it takes five writers to act as midwife to its arrival, and most importantly of all, what is so important about Marvel in 1976. What’s that, you say? Why should we care about Marvel in 1976? Because of this teaser for the Point One oneshot: (more…)

Want to ask The Sixth Gun (and Marvel’s Fear Itself: The Fearless) writer Cullen Bunn something? Rush over to Reddit.com, where he’s doing an Ask Me Anything session – He started a day early, sneaky so-and-so, but he’s still answering questions as I type. Go and learn about his writing method, why you should be reading The Fearless and what he really thought of Fear Itself.

(Also, if you’re not reading The Sixth Gun, you really should; it’s kind of great. End of free plug.)

This is an absolutely fascinating – and, seemingly, financially insane – idea on how to drive the “new” digital comics audience into direct market comic stores:

Marvel Comics is launching a Digital Coupon scheme with their digital comics, redeemable for Marvel print comics. Buy a comic through the Marvel App and you will be emailed a link to download a $5 coupon with a link to their nearest comic shop. One per customer.

Retailers can then redeem the coupon code on the phone, and will receive a $5 credit from Marvel.

Yes, that’s right; $5 in print store credit – presumably only for use on Marvel products – in exchange for buying one digital comic, which could cost as little as 99 cents. I’m sure that there are all manner of catches that have yet to be revealed (If nothing else, $5 in credit for 99 cents spent doesn’t feel like it’s a metric that’s really going to stick around for that long before the cost-conscious Marvel decides to change it), but in theory, file it under “It’s just so crazy, it could work.” I really, really would like to see this being put into effect, even for a short trial period, just to see if it bumps up print sales – and then, if it does, watch to see what other publishers follow suit.

It’s not just halls that are decked in this sixth installment of Blog@’s Advent Calendar, as you’ll see as soon as you click through to discover just what comic cover awaits you… (more…)

Marvel has been teasing “It’s Coming” since Oct. 5, and after revealing the scantiest of details at New York Comic Con — namely, that Jason Aaron, Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Olivier Copiel, Matt Fraction, Jonathan Hickman, Adam Kubert and John Romita Jr. are all involved — appear to be ready to spill at least some of the beans this coming Wednesday, Dec. 7.

The publisher has scheduled an event on Livestream for 3 p.m. eastern on Wednesday, with no further information readily available at this time. Keep in mind, though, that it was just about this time a year ago that Marvel announced Fear Itself (following a similar round of teasers) — both the concept and the creative team — so it seems like a sound bet that we’ll have a much clearer picture of this Phoenix-related event after Wednesday.

Of course, Newsarama will have every detail for you as things develop, so keep it here at 3 p.m. on Wednesday.