Category: Sneak Peeks

Timeline added

Did you know the first 17 issues of the original New Warriors series all took place over the course of 6 months? Introducing the New Warriors Timeline, tracking the passage of in-universe time.

I worked this up a few months ago, and figure it’s time to unveil it. It’s very much a work-in-progress but it’s something I’ve always wanted to have here. Dig in and be sure to add any comments, corrections, etc. You’ll find it in the Menu on the left under Misc. but it’ll probably get its own category eventually.

Meanwhile, artist Ramón Pérez (his graphic novel adaptation of the late Jim Henson’s Tale Of Sand unproduced screenplay is highly recommend) has been posting tantalizing peaks at his cover to the new New Warriors series on his social media accounts. Here he is inking on Tumblr, and here is coloring on Instagram.

Slott & Gage on the old New Warriors

Marvel.com recently posted an interview with Avengers: Initiative writers Dan Slott and Christos Gage about the roster of the newest New Warriors team, consisting of former members Justice, Rage, Ultragirl, Slapstick and Debrii. Some excerpts:

Slott on Justice:

“Vance is a complex character, but above all he’s a man of principle and a true hero. He’s proud to be both a New Warrior and an Avenger. The man’s got many facets. He joined the Initiative to be there for the young recruits, the way [Captain America] was there for him. But even Steve Rogers fought the system and became Nomad when he didn’t agree with what was going on. Maybe it’s time for Vance to take a chapter from that book. Maybe that’s the kind of person the kids need looking after them?”

Gage on Rage:

“Rage is young, much younger than he looks. He clearly [feels the New Warriors got] a raw deal from the public and the government. There’s [also] some regret there. Maybe he feels things were left unsaid [between him and] those who passed away.”

Slott on Slapstick:

“I think that Steve Harmon is starting to realize that being Slapstick is more than having toon-like powers. It might also mean having toon-like thoughts. And that’s kinda dangerous. Would you want your friends acting like Bugs Bunny in real life?”

Gage on Ultragirl:

“We’ll see in [Avengers: The Initiative #12] that Ultragirl has a lot more to her involvement with the Initiative than just her feelings for Justice.”

Gage on Debrii:

“See Avengers: The Initiative #12!”

For more on each character plus two pages of Avengers: The Initiative #11, read the full article.

Skrulls vs. Power Pack announced

Marvel Comics assistant editor Nathan Cosby announced last week on his Hey! Kids! Comics! blog at Marvel.com that the publisher intends to release a new mini-series called Skrulls vs. Power Pack.

Details were limited but it seems likely that this will be the next mini-series in the ongoing run of all-ages Power Pack mini-series. No release schedule was announced but it will probably follow Power Pack: Day One, which concludes in June. No creative team was announced, although there is a look at four sketches for a potential cover.

Despite the Skrull connection, the book will not tie into Marvel’s next big summer event Secret Invasion. This will be the first time the Power Pack kids will be starring in their own mini-series without a co-starring Marvel hero since the 2005 Power Pack mini-series by Marc Sumerak and GuriHiru.

To read the full blog posting, which includes an amusing ‘appearance’ by Katie Power and the ability to vote on your favorite cover sketch, click here.

To read previous Hey! Kids! Comics! blogs with Katie Power appearances, click here, here and here.

Nova Week Wrap-Up at Nerdage

Time once again to play catch-up from the last week of New Warriors news.

The Nerdage blog concluded its Nova Week theme with more interviews and articles:

  • Nova Prime Page webmaster Doug Smith Interview Part 3 and Part 4
  • Heroes for the 90s, an article about Nova in the New Warriors
  • Reviews on What If? Annihilation and Nova Annual #1
  • Nova editor Bill Rosemann Interview with a sneak peak at a page from Nova #11 by Paul Pelletier. Rosemann confirms that Pelletier’s run will be 2 issues (#11 & 12) and that Wellington Alves will return for a 3-issue run. No news yet on whether Alves will be the new regular artist or if someone will take over with issue #16.
    • Excerpt:
      • Rosemann: “Currently, a vicious virus is racing through Nova’s system. What’s fun about that (for readers, at least) is exploring the question: What good is the ability to soar through space and hurl massive force beams if your own body is betraying you? You can see how that fight is taken to it’s ultimate level in Nova Annual #1, on sale next week. Then he’ll confront the afore-mentioned Warlock in March and April. Will he help Nova in his current quest to take down the techno villains known as the Phalanx? After that…yeah, it’s time for Galactus and the Silver Surfer! What can our Human Rocket do against a giant who eats planets? You’ll have to come along for the ride in May to find out!”
  • Nova Gets First Annual article from local newspaper The Oklahoman, which hosts the blog Nerdage
  • New Warriors volume 2 writer Jay Faerber interview where he talks about his time writing Nova and the New Warriors
  • Podcast reviewing Nova Annual #1

Nova Weekend Part 3: Mahmud Asrar

CBR’s Nova Weekend wrapped up this past Sunday with an interview with Nova Annual #1 artist Mahmud Asrar. Four preview pages are included.

Some excerpts:

Naturally, I knew about him but I hadn’t read any of the Nova series before. It’s funny because despite not having read his books I’ve always had this positive opinion about Nova since, to me; he represents everything that a superhero comic should be about. As soon as I was assigned to this job a friend gave me his copy of The Essential Nova as a gift which was very cool since it helped as reference, but most importantly I’ve had the opportunity to finally read Nova comics. I really feel Marv Wolfman’s concept of Nova is a great example of a true Marvel character.

Working on the Nova Annual was heaps of fun.

What I wanted to achieve was to do justice to the script while staying true to the character and his world as best as I could.

What makes him special is actually that he’s not a special person at all. He’s very much like you or somebody you know very closely. In essence that’s something I tried to capture with my work. A normal college kid who’s experiencing something out of this world in his life, when he’s also forced to face the goodness and hero within him. So when trying to convey these attributes I really didn’t have too much trouble since I could consider my youth similar in some senses. I was never the popular kid nor was I the discarded outcast.

I’ve also had the chance to humbly pay homage to John Buscema, one of my oldest and greatest influences, which was without doubt the most rewarding aspect.

Read the full interview and see the preview pages.

Nova Weekend Part 2: Paul Pelletier

Catching up from the weekend, CBR’s Nova Weekend series of columns continued on Saturday with an interview with Nova artist Paul Pelletier, who begins his run with issue #11. Seven preview pages are included.

Some excerpts:

I wasn’t too familiar with Nova, but I like the sci-fi adventure feel that this newest version of Nova has. I had tons of fun penciling Negation for CrossGen, so I figured this book could have some of that same flavor. I had heard great things about [writers] Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s writing on this book, which was a nice incentive for me to work on this title.

Besides the tight deadlines, everything about Nova [has] been great so far! I really enjoy working with Dan and Andy’s plots, and reuniting with [editor] Bill Rosemann has been a blast. I also get to work with my friend (and excellent inker!) Rick Magyar once again. All is good!

Read the full interview and see the preview pages.

Nova Weekend Part 1: DnA

Comic Book Resources is having a Nova Weekend theme of articles. First up is an interview with the Nova writing team of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, collectively nicknamed “DnA”. An uncolored preview of Nova #11 by new art team Paul Pelletier and Scott Hana is included.

Some excerpts:

“We wanted to send Nova on an adventure that was closely related to [Annihilation: Conquest] without actually binding him into the main event for its entire length — otherwise Nova’s book would have been engaged with Conquest for the best part of a year. But readers will learn that [Nova] issues #8-12 do in fact connect to the Phalanx invasion, and the final issue of Conquest will show how the two parallel stories dovetail.”

On Nova Annual #1:

“The Annual will see Nova fighting the ultimate struggle to retain control of his own mind and body. This will include not only explorations of where he’s come from but also shocking revelations of what his future might be.

“This is a big story, with lots of huge action, but also one with moments of quieter reflection. Without giving too much away, we’re going to revisit Nova’s origin (as a nostalgia fix for long term readers and for the benefit of newcomers), and we’re also going to glimpse his future. We think it’s a very special story, one that will delight and intrigue all of Nova’s fans, with some playful homages to the past and some genuine twists and surprises.”

“The annual is embedded in both Nova’s ongoing quest and the consequences of Conquest. And it pays off heavily into both, whilst allowing us a moment to re-define who Richard Rider is, what he stands for, where he’s come from and where he’s going. It’s pretty much essential!”

On Nova #11:

“Paul [Pelletier] is a fabulous artist and we’ve been fans of his for some time. His work on Negation at CrossGen proved he has the artistic chops to handle large scale science fiction stories and his excellent run on The Fantastic Four confirmed his abilities as an outstanding superhero artist. Working with Paul has made us up our game as we want to challenge him with more and more outrageous and extreme ideas and visuals. So far, he’s more than risen to the challenge and is knocking it out the park with every page!”

On Nova’s future:

“If you think that Conquest was a big challenge for Nova, wait till you see what’s on the horizon in the issues following. It’s big, it’s purple and it devours worlds!”

Read the full interview.

Pelletier & Maleev added to Nova team

Newsarama has posted an article revealing the new cover and interior artists for Nova. Beginning with issue #11, Paul Pelletier will begin his run as regular interior pencil artist, along with Alex Maleev, who will provide painted cover art. No word yet on the inker and colorist.

Pelletier is in the midst of a run on Fantastic Four with writer Dwayne McDuffie, and has previously worked on Exiles, She-Hulk, and G.L.A. for Marvel, Flash, Superboy and the Ravers, Green Lantern, and Outsiders for DC, and Negation for CrossGen. He has been working in the industry since the late 1980s with his run on the Ex-Mutants from Malibu.

Maleev is probably best known for his memorable run on Daredevil with writer Brian Michael Bendis. The two have reunited for the current HALO: Uprising mini-series. He has also worked on Sam & Twitch for Image and The Crow: Flesh & Blood for Kitchen Sink.

A preview of Nova #11, as well as the solicitation blurb, is included.

Read the full article.

Old vs. New

On Wednesday, Marvel.com posted an article taking a look at how the new New Warriors stack up against the old team. A preview of New Warriors #7 by Kevin Grevioux and guest artist Jon Malin is included.

Part one includes Wondra vs. Ultra Girl, Tempest vs. Firestar and Decibel vs. Justice. What do you think of the results?

Read the full article.

UPDATE: Part 2 was posted yesterday, revealing the speculated outcome of Blackwing vs. Darkhawk, Skybolt vs. Aegis, Ripcord vs. Microbe and Phaser vs. Nova. (Thanks PaxHouse!)

Read the full article.

Slott on the dark side of Slapstick

In a new interview with CBR News, writer Dan Slott addressed the surprise ending of Avengers: The Initiative #6.

“I’ve been seeing a lot of people saying things on the Net like ‘Slapstick would never do that!’ or ‘How dare you suck all the fun out of Marvel Comics. You’ve made Slapstick into another Penance.’

“I’m like, ‘Have you read the Slapstick miniseries?’ In issue #1, the whole reason Steve Harmon is in trouble at the beginning is because he sent a dead body to the faculty dinner at his school. In issue #2 he’s growing fangs and scaring the living heck out of small children by chasing them and saying he’s out to suck their blood. A few pages later he’s swallowing live ammunition, not rubber bullets, live .45 caliber rounds and using his cartoon powers to spit them at the villain of the story. He didn’t kill him but he is shooting at him in a crowded mall with women and children everywhere!

“Also for people who don’t know Slapstick, there was an issue where he thought he could get the girl of his dreams as Slapstick,” Slott continued. “He goes and he saves her and she’s totally enamored with him and it’s the first time as Slapstick that he looks down his pants. He then realizes, as Slapstick, he’s a cartoon and he doesn’t have any junk! So you’re Slapstick. You don’t have junk and you’ve been trapped on a military base surrounded by hot superhero chicks. I mean come on! This is a nut that’s ready to crack. Everyone has these rosy images of Slapstick but go back and read the original miniseries.”

The article also has a look at several pages from both Avengers: The Initiative #7 and Avengers: The Initiative Annual #1, both on sale this month.

Read the full interview.

Iron Man + Power Pack = Sumerak

CBR News wraps up its week-long look at Iron Man by interviewing writer Marc Sumerak about next month’s Iron Man & Power Pack mini-series. There is also a 3-page preview of the issue.

Some excerpts:

“We try to build each of the ‘Power Pack’ limited series so that it can stand alone,” Sumerak explained. “We want readers to be able to come in fresh and completely understand what is happening without too much continuity to catch up on. But as always, if you do go back and read the entire run, there may be a few nods to things that came before!”

“We’ve got a lot of action packed into these four issues!” Sumerak said. “From giant robots attacking New York to an all-out attack by Iron Man’s entire arsenal! There’s not going to be a whole lot of room for anyone to catch their breath. As with most of our ‘Power Pack’ limiteds, we start out with a few stand alone stories. Those will contain some plot threads that will weave together for the big series finale, which will be a two-part story in issues #3-4. Should be a real fun ride!

“Tony and the kids will be facing off against Ultimo, Speed Demon, Blizzard, Titanium Man, an entire army of Iron Man armors, a few mystery baddies… and maybe even each other before all is said and done!”

“We try to find a good balance between the Powers’ lives as super heroes and their lives as normal kids,” Sumerak explained. “It makes them a lot more interesting and relatable when they still have everyday problems to solve once the fighting is over. So expect to see all kinds of cool side stories in this series… including Julie’s campaign for class president against the meanest (and richest) girl at school, Irena Crumb!”

Read the full interview.

Scarlet Spider history lesson

Marvel.com has posted an article on the various characters who have taken the mantle of the Scarlet Spider, starting with the late Ben Reilly and running through to the current trio seen in the pages of Avengers: The Initiative. The article also includes a look at five pages of issue #7 by artist Stefano Caselli.

Read the full article here.

Nova in uncharted territory

Marvel.com has posted an article about next month’s Nova #8 with comments from writers Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning. The article also includes pages from the issue by guest-artist Wellington Alves.

Some excerpts:

“The action takes place on Knowhere, which is just about the wildest location in the universe,” reveals Lanning. “It’s an extra-dimensional meeting place that’s built inside…well, you’ll just have to read it to find out!”

“The Luminals are the premiere defenders of the planet Xarth, their equivalent of the Avengers,” explains Abnett. “They’ve defended their world for a long time against threats every bit as big as Earth’s supervillains. They never back down from a fight, as Nova is about to find out.”

“[Cosmo]’s kind of the law in these parts,” notes Lanning. “He likes to keep things running smooth and peaceful. Cosmo has a certain number of unusual features about him. He’ll be your best friend.”

Read the full article.

Marvel.com has also posted a preview of What If? Annihilation by writer David Hine and artists Mico Suayan and Rafael Kayanan.