Tag: John Romita Jr

Quick Hits | Rest in peace, KC Carlson

Plus: Rob Liefeld, Neil Gaiman, DSTLRY, convention news and more!

Former Superman and Legion of Super-Heroes editor KC Carlson has passed away. His wife, Johanna Carlson-Draper, reported the news on her blog.

A longtime comics fan, Carlson came into prominence as an editor at DC in the early 1990s, working on Legion of Super-Heroes, its sister title Legionnaires, Who’s Who in the DC Universe, Zero Hour, the Superman titles and collected editions of V for Vendetta and Sandman, among other titles. In addition, he also worked in comics distribution for Capital City and for mail-order retailer Westfield Comics as a blogger.

“Sad to hear of the passing of KC Carlson, one of the gentlest effective editors DC had in my decades,” wrote former DC executive Paul Levitz. “KC had a love for comics that came out in all his work in the field, in all his writing about comics, and in the open encouragement he offered creators. He did a stint guiding the Legion after my second run, and while it wasn’t to my taste (what parent likes the approach of adoptive ones to their kids?), it’s a time many Legion fans recall fondly.”

We offer our condolences to Johanna for her loss, as well as KC’s other family, friends and fans.

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Marvel plans to reboot ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ in April

Joe Kelly, Pepe Larraz and John Romita Jr. will helm a new ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #1 next year.

Joe Kelly’s tenure on Amazing Spider-Man will extend beyond “The 8 Deaths of Spider-Man,” the storyline currently running in the title. Marvel has announced that John Romita Jr. and Pepe Larraz will join the writer on a new Amazing Spider-Man #1 next April.

According to Marvel, the new title will feature “classic” Spider-Man storytelling, featuring Peter Parker, his new girlfriend Shay, the redeemed Norman Osborn and “the greatest supervillains in all of pop culture.” Batman may have a thought about that last one …

“Even though this is a new #1, I don’t think of it as a ‘restart’ per se,” Kelly told Polygon. “I’m writing the next chapter of the story of one the world’s greatest characters, lucky enough to follow in the footsteps of the folks before me. After that sinks in, I spend a lot of time thinking about what I love about Spider-Man and his cast, what stories resonated with me at different times of my life, and how I can synthesize all of that into something that works with what came before but breaks new ground. I’m fascinated by the internal lives of these characters and exploring new territory there — Peter’s youth is interesting, for example, the days before he was “puny Parker” in high school. At the same time, I feel a drive to take bold, unexpected swings in order to see how Spider-Man deals with Marvel-sized curve balls. Pressure makes diamonds.”

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Godzilla returns to the Marvel universe next year in a series of one-shots

‘Marvel vs. Godzilla’ sees the kaiju facing off with the Fantastic Four, Avengers and more for the first time in decades.

Following a series of reprints of the 1970s series and a line of variant covers, Marvel and Toho International have announced Godzilla vs. Marvel, a series of one-shots arriving next year.

Each issue will feature the king of monsters and other kaiju facing off with the Avengers, X-Men and, right out of the gate, the Fantastic Four. Godzilla vs. Fantastic Four #1 by current FF writer Ryan North and artist John Romita Jr. will pit the Fantastic Four against Galactus and his newest herald, King Ghidorah. Godzilla and the Silver Surfer will team up to try and save the world.

“We approached them initially for our reprints, but a while after those conversations, it was clear that both of our teams were excited to do more together,” Marvel Editor in Chief C.B. Cebulski told The Hollywood Reporter. “These crossovers started coming together over that time, in direct collaboration with Toho, and we felt the perfect time for them was for Godzilla’s 70th anniversary next year. We’ve been thrilled to work with them on these, and we hope this will be a sign for more exciting projects to come.”

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Thunderbolt Ross faces off with Doom in Benjamin Percy + Geoff Shaw’s ‘Red Hulk’

The One World Under Doom tie-in series begins in February.

The Sabretooth War team of Benjamin Percy and Geoff Shaw are moving to a new front, as they put the Red Hulk under the thumb of the new sorcerer supreme Doctor Doom … and as you can imagine, that doesn’t really work for Thunderbolt Ross.

Red Hulk #1 arrives in February, right around the time the character will make an appearance in the fourth Captain America movie. It’ll tie into Marvel’s bigger publishing initiative, One World Under Doom.

“When I learned about the One World Under Doom event, my mind immediately went to Thunderbolt Ross,” Percy said. “A global takeover would not be tolerated by a man who bleeds red, white and blue (but especially red). And his experience—as a soldier in the field, as a military strategist in the war room, as a walking weapon of mass destruction—would make him someone Doom would target well before he made his move.”

So Ross is Doom’s pick for his secretary of defense — I can think of worse choices. At least he’s qualified, right?

“I proposed a story in which Ross would be kidnapped by Doom and forced into a ‘Think Tank’ prison in which he would test out various war-time scenarios,” Percy said. “That’s where we begin: in a book that does not give you a second to breathe. It moves and moves and moves with constant action and tension.”

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Marvel marks 60 years of Daredevil next month

Saladin Ahmed, Aaron Kuder, Ann Nocenti, Stefano Raffaele, D.G. Chichester and more will contribute to the oversized ‘Daredevil’ #8.

Marvel will celebrate the 60th anniversary of Daredevil next month in Daredevil #8, an oversized issue featuring multiple stories by past and present creators who worked on the title.

And there’s a lot to look forward to in the anniversary issue. It will include a main story by Saladin Ahmed and Aaron Kuder, who relaunched the title last year and cast Matt Murdock as a priest, as he continues to battle demons based on his own seven deadly sins. Other creators contributing to the issue include Ann Nocenti, D.G. Chichester and Erica Schultz, who have written Daredevil in the past, as well as the two artists I most associate with the character: John Romita Jr. drew the main cover, while Frank Miller did a variant.

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Mary Jane hits the Jackpot in the upcoming ‘Gang War’ crossover

At NYCC, Marvel reveals more details about the upcoming storyline that springs from ‘Amazing Spider-Man.’

Today at the New York Comic Con, Marvel shared more about the upcoming Gang War crossover that’ll run through Amazing Spider-Man and related titles.

The crossover, which kicks off in December after a month of set-up in November, was first announced this summer at the San Diego Comic Con. The story will feature the gang lords of New York, including the Owl, Hobgoblin and Mr. Negative, as well as factions like AIM and Hydra, waging war against each other. It’ll be up to two Spider-Men, Peter Parker and Miles Morales, as well as She-Hulk, Spider-Woman, Daredevil and more, to stop them.

At NYCC, Marvel announced that Mary Jane Watson will get involved in the war, starring a Jackpot one-shot by Celeste Bronfman and Joey Vazquez. It features a cover by Pablo Villalobos, and it hits stores on Jan. 17:

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Spidey and friends face a ‘Gang War’ this winter

Marvel’s big winter event will find Peter Parker, Miles Morales, Luke Cage and all of New York caught in a war between gang lords, Hydra, AIM and more.

Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski, Executive Editor Nick Lowe, Amazing Spider-Man writer Zeb Wells and more were on hand in San Diego at Marvel’s Next Big Thing panel to announce Gang War, a crossover event springing from Wells’ work with John Romita Jr. on ASM.

The gang lords of New York, including the Owl, Hobgoblin and Mr. Negative, as well as factions like AIM and Hydra, will wage war against each other, and it’ll be up to two Spider-Men, Peter Parker and Miles Morales, as well as She-Hulk, Spider-Woman and Daredevil to stop them.

The event will cross into Amazing Spider-Man and Miles Morales: Spider-Man, while Daredevil, Spider-Woman, Shang-Chi and Mayor Luke Cage will star in spinoff minseries.

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Saladin Ahmed + Aaron Kuder will take over ‘Daredevil’ in September

Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checcetto’s run ends in August.

With Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checcetto’s epic (and Eisner nominated) run on Daredevil coming to an end this summer, Marvel has announced that Saladin Ahmed and Aaron Kuder will take over the title in September.

“I wanted to only take this job on if I felt like I had a new, unique take on Matt and on Hell’s Kitchen,” Ahmed said. “And so that’s at the center of this… him and his world, but it’s the Marvel Universe. What I’ve really enjoyed in talking with other editors, other offices, is finding ways through these first couple of arcs we have planned to keep this centered on Matt, keep this centered on his people, in his world, but to bring (in a very organic and surprising fun way) some familiar Marvel figures that I think are going to blow people’s mind when they pop up on the page!”

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Slugfest | Groo goes wild in a new miniseries

Plus: Batman Beyond, more Birdking, Thor vs. M.O.D.O.K., the return of ‘Fire Power,’ Hellfire Gala fashion and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. Hit the links for more information.

Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier will reunite for Groo: In the Wild, a new miniseries that kicks off in July.

The duo is joined by letterer Stan Sakai and colorist Carrie Strachan for a story that sees the barbarian and his dog looking for food. Things go downhill from there, in typical Groo fashion.

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Spider-Man’s gonna have a busy Fall

Marvel reveals more about the upcoming ‘Dark Web’ event, plus Gold Goblin, Hallow’s Eve and more.

As the temperatures cool down, the Spider-Verse will heat up — in San Diego this week, Marvel shared details on several Spider-Man related titles and events that will keep the wall-crawler busy through the end of the year.

First let’s talk about Dark Web, the Spider-Man/X-Men crossover event spearheaded by Zeb Wells that involves the Goblyn Queen and Chasm, aka Ben Reilly. The story will begin in “prelude” issues throughout November (in Amazing Spider-Man, for example), followed by December’s Dark Web Alpha #1 where Wells will be joined by Adam Kubert to kick things off in earnest. From there, the story continues in Amazing Spider-Man as well as various tie-in one-shots and limited series.  

Marvel released the cover for Dark Web Alpha, by Ryan Stegman. Here’s his line art:

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‘Amazing Fantasy’ #1000 celebrates 60 years of Spidey

Neil Gaiman, Kurt Busiek, Dan Slott, Ho Che Anderson, Rainbow Rowell and more contribute stories to the anthology one-shot.

For the 60th anniversary of Spider-Man, Marvel will return him to his roots with a new issue of Amazing Fantasy featuring stories by Neil Gaiman, Kurt Busiek, Dan Slott, Jim Cheung, Olivier Coipel and more.

Amazing Fantasy #1000, which takes its name from the comic where Spider-Man first debuted, Amazing Fantasy #15, will be a giant-sized anthology one-shot. The stories will “explores the past and future of Amazing Spider-Man storytelling in tales that leave a profound impact on the Spider-Man mythos and showcase why Spidey is one of the most beloved heroes in history,” according to Marvel.com.

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Marvel will preview Wells/Romita Jr.’s ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ on Free Comic Book Day

Following the release of a new ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ #1 in April, Marvel will showcase the new creative team’s work with a free issue in May.

Marvel has announced more details and revealed covers for two of their three Free Comic Book Day titles for 2022.

Last year’s Spider-Man/Venom FCBD title previewed the “Beyond” era of Amazing Spider-Man, where Ben Reilly and the Beyond Corporation took over the Spider-Man name from Peter Parker and Marvel re-introduced a “writer’s room” approach to the comic. With the Beyond era wrapping up soon, Zeb Wells — one of several writers currently writing the title — will team with the legendary John Romita Jr. for a relaunch of Amazing Spider-Man. And Marvel will offer a preview of their run in this year’s Spider-Man/Venom FCBD title.

In addition, like last year, Marvel will preview the work Al Ewing, Ram V and Bryan Hitch are doing on Venom. Here’s a look at the main cover by Romita Jr. and the variant cover for the FCBD issue by Jonboy Meyers. Is this the first time we’ve seen a variant cover on a Free Comic Book Day title? I can’t recall that being a thing before.

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