This week on Multiversity Comics Countdown, our duo on the floor at New York Comic Con – Matt and Mocle – and myself go over the announcements of the con that were our favorites. With this being a con featuring a ridiculously large amount of huge announcements, this was a tough list to formulate, but between the three of us we managed to do it. Given that we all have wildly different taste in comics, this list has a lot of variety to it. But that just makes it fun, right?
Check out our choices after the jump.
10. Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso Teaming Up for a Secret Vertigo Project
Why I Love It: Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso proved themselves as one of the best teams in the business with their Pantheon level run on Vertigo’s “100 Bullets.” Then, they proved themselves as a versatile duo with the Batman story they contributed to “Wednesday Comics.” With this upcoming series, I’d wager that they’ll be able to keep their streak going, even without any details being announced yet. We’ll find out some time in 2011.
Why Matt Loves It: I recently did a Friday Recommendation on 100 Bullets, Azzarello and Risso’s first big team-up in the Vertigo universe. It was a sprawling epic that blurred the lines between several genres of fiction and told one of the most intriguing crime tales I’ve ever read. And now they’re going to do something else? Count me in, no questions asked.
8 (tie). Blue Beetle (Jamie Reyes) “Coming Back in a Big Way”
Why I Love It: While this doesn’t mean anything concrete necessarily, the fact of the matter is, Dan Didio said Jamie Reyes was “coming back in a big way.” This could mean any number of things, but we do know it’s looking like they’re making a TV show with the character, and if they did that why wouldn’t they have a comic with him as well? Even if it’s just a glimmer of hope for us die hard Jamie Reyes fans, it’s still more than we had before.
8 (tie). Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos Bringing Back “Alias”
Why Matt Loves It: Hands down this is my favorite Bendis book from Marvel comics. I’ve been bragging about it to the other writers for quite some time now, and I can only assume that this will mean they’ll all go find it and read it (if they haven’t already!). Bendis’ introduction of Jessica to the Marvel U was one the greatest things he wrote, and the entire story was all too short. This was the book I always felt he was more at home with (playing with a real world detective and allowing for flirtation with the superhero realm), and I am more than excited to see the gang get back together.
7. Squirrel Girl to Take Over as Nanny for Jessica Jones and Luke Cage’s Baby
Why Matt Loves It: The room was tense when Bendis and Marvel got ready to unveil the super nanny. We all thought this was a big practical joke on the readers, but now it’s true. So who better to nanny than Squirrel Girl? The room erupts in laughter and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t actually looking forward to this. New Avengers has definitely been Bendis having fun as a writer, so I can only imagine what hilarity will ensue and how good Immonen’s Squirrel Girl will look.
6. Jason Aaron and Ron Garney Re-Team for “Ultimate Captain America”
Why I Love It: Sure, sure, it’s a completely unnecessary book. We don’t really need an Ultimate Captain America book or even just another Captain America book. It’s likely a money grab. But with Team Weapon X on-board, it immediately becomes a must buy. I mean, Aaron and Garney work exceptionally well together, crafting stories that are simply badass but also get down to the core of the character. Plus, who isn’t excited about Aaron writing Captain America and Garney returning to a character he had previously excelled at?
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5. Marvel Announces Next X-Event – “Age of X”
Why Matt Loves It: The X-Men have been through quite some trials and tribulations recently, but Age of X certainly sounds intriguing. While no writers and artists have been announced, we did see a large set of silhouetted characters that allow for some obvious intrigue. Given the writers sitting on Marvel’s X-Panel when this was announced, I’m going to guess that the book will have some talent behind it. We’ll need to see more (and Marvel promised to do so soon), but the intrigue for it alone right now is enough.
4. Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly Creating Sequel to Previous Project, Bring “New York Five” to Vertigo
Why Matt Loves It: Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly make a fantastic team. Look at Local – there aren’t enough great things to say about that! The New York Four was an incredibly quaint little book that I was an immediate fan of before even finishing, and I’ve always wanted to see the character’s return. Now that they are, I’m quite excited to see what new story will happen and who the new character is. NYF wasn’t exactly a book that set itself up for a sequel, but it’ll be nice to read the characters again.
3. Nick Spencer’s Trifecta
Why I Love It: We’ve already talked about how great of a weekend Nick Spencer had, but what a weekend it was for fans of quality comics because of it! I mean, he is likely going to do something I’d never in a million years expect myself to do, and that’s buy a Supergirl comic. Not only that, but he and Barry Kitson paired up on any book means a purchase from me, and the fact it’s a new Iron Man book starring James Rhodes solidifies that decision.
The best Nick Spencer announcement for fans has to be his upcoming Image mini-series with artist Christian Ward, The Infinite Vacation. As he noted on the Image panel (via ComicsAlliance):
Spencer described the story as being “about a world in which moving into and out of alternate realities is commonplace, it’s a day-to-day thing that you do, it’s something you do for vacation, something you do for work… It’s about a young guy who is very much addicted to the infinite vacation and the many opportunities that it provides hm, but something happens that makes him question this life.”
The Infinite Vacation sounds nothing short of phenomenal, and something that will be both a challenging and thoughtful read. I for one can’t wait to read it in January.
2. DC, Marvel Announce Pricing Restructuring Going Forward
Why I Love It: Critics would say that these announcements were mitigated for a number of reasons. For DC’s announcement, they’d say “well, they’re dropping their comics to $2.99 but we’re losing the co-features and 2 pages of story.” For Marvel’s announcement, they would probably say “current books aren’t dropping to $2.99, only the new ones will be at the lower price starting January 2011.”
Well, the critics will never stop being critics. There’s just nothing you can do about them – some people are just hard to make happy. Myself on the other hand? Losing co-features is absolutely no big deal, as most of them were stories I wasn’t interested in anyways that were pushed upon me when I’m buying a book I genuinely like. Losing those to go down to $2.99? Please and thank you. Sure, losing a couple pages sucks, but I much prefer the $2.99 price point.
I do wish Marvel was a bit more aggressive, but I understand why not: from a business standpoint it would be a completely unnecessary move. Going forward having new titles be $2.99 will be nice, and will only make it more likely that I will buy their new books in the future. Solid call by the both of them in doing so.
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1. Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev Set to Redefine “Moon Knight” in New Ongoing
Why I Love It: Bendis and Maleev took Daredevil and skyrocketed him into the stratosphere again, turning him into a flagship Marvel character and one that was perhaps the critical epicenter for Marvel. With that in mind, why can’t they do the same with Moon Knight? I think this was my favorite move from Marvel at the con, and the reason why is because it was just so damn surprising. I hadn’t heard rumors of this, I never expected it…nothing. It was completely shocking, even to Matt and Mocle who had just interviewed Bendis the day before.
While Moon Knight has never been one of my favorite characters, I believe in the power of Bendis and Maleev. In their hands, I feel like he very easily could become one of my favorites.
Why Matt Loves It: Pure and simple, when this was announced I was floored. Marvel attempted to goof on us with a silly “I Am Moon Knight” set of teasers, but when good ol’ Marc Spector appeared followed by the names of Bendis and Maleev, I could barely even text David what was announced! Moon Knight has been a favorite of mine for quite some time, and I am MORE than excited to see him get an A-List writing and art team. I think Marvel really wants to do something with the character, as he is slowly growing in the Marvel U with appearances in Shadowland, Secret Avengers, and Heroes for Hire. Now Bendis will write him, assumedly like he wrote Daredevil? Count me in.
