- Brian Michael Bendis Leaves Marvel for DC Comics

Brian Michael Bendis, one of Marvel’s most prolific writers, is moving over to DC Comics. The news broke this morning via a tweet from DC Comics, which read, “We are beyond thrilled to welcome Brian Michael Bendis exclusively to the DC family with a multiyear, multifaceted deal.”

In case any True Believers (as Marvel fans are known) were in doubt, the writer’s reply confirmed the news: “This is real. I love you all. Change is good. Change is healthy.”

HUGE WTF! Never would've imagined it! Potential to be a great change for writer and publisher, but Bendis is spotty with his use of characters and history. After DC spending so many years burning their own books, it's tough to gauge if it's what the comics need right now. We shall see!

Bendis switching sides is in no way surprising with the way Marvel is treating its books, customer base, and veteran writers/artists. Marvel has really gone down hill as of late and this crusade to uproot the old and replace with bland/unlikable noobs is utter lunacy. Half of their writers see themselves either as auteurs or social commentators, while their artists produce work less visually appealing than a $2 hentai commission.

I bought every issue of Secret Empire new from my comic shop about 2 weeks ago for 33 cents an issue. It was a waste of money.

Everyone wants to make whats going on in Marvel about politics or feminism, but all of that is secondary to the fact that they have handed over their books to petulant children, producing books with storylines and social commentary equal to what one could find in the notebooks of an anxty upper-middle class teen's notebook in 1992.

I'm very behind in my comics, but from what I've seen so far of Rebirth, I'm firmly in DC's corner at the moment. I have been a Captain America fan for like 20 years, and after what Marvel has done to him, it feels closer to Cap to read Superman than it does what Marvel is putting the Captain America name on.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths leaves Earth to watch superheroes fight in space for a month:

- Thanos versus Guardians of the Galaxy: Guardians of the Galaxy #25
- Fantastic Four versu Ego The Living Planet: Fantastic Four #235
- Silver Surfer versus Nebula: Secret Defenders #10
- Drax versus Thor: Warlock and The Infinity Watch #21

To be fair, though. Bendis was a frontrunner and proponent for all of those things. Not sure that's the reason to walk away.

- DC Officially Launches New Cover Design

Rebirth is officially over.

Starting with December’s titles — the first batch hits 12/6 — DC Comics is dispensing with the Rebirth banner that’s topped its main line of comics for the last 18 months or so.

In its place is a sharply designed, colorful left-corner box that displays the company’s logo; adds the word “universe”; provides the issue, price and rating info; and includes an emblem signifying the star of the book.



Welcome change!

- Action Comics celebrates issue #1000 by bringing back the red trunks

One thing that will immediately jump out to fans is the return of the red trunks to Superman’s costume. Originally derived from the look of circus strongmen, the red underwear-over-tights look had become an object of derision over the years and was erased from Superman’s outfit as part of DC’s 2011 New 52 reboot. The no-trunks look stayed throughout the more recent reboot of DC Rebirth, only to now make its triumphant return for the big Action Comics anniversary.



Feelgood story of 2018. Finally... The Trunks have come BACK to Superman!

- Exclusive: Bendis To Write Superman, Revive Jinxworld, And Oversee New Custom Imprint At DC Comics

Bendis will contribute to Action Comics #1000 on April 18, after which DC will release his 6-issue miniseries Man of Steel starting May 30. Published on a weekly basis, Man of Steel will include art by such comic book luminaries as Ivan Reis, Evan “Doc” Shaner, Ryan Sook, Kevin Maguire, Adam Hughes, and Jason Fabok. Check out this first look at the original pencil art for four of the six covers for Man of Steel...

While keeping as much secret as he could, Bendis was willing to give us a little hint about what to expect from the miniseries. "The Man of Steel story will debut a huge new villain, a blockbuster villain who connects deeply to Superman’s origin story and to his birthright," Bendis revealed. "We’re going to dig in very hard, this is one of my goals, to be a additive to Superman as possible. The characters we debut right away, including this new villain, will send ripples of horror across the entire Superman family and beyond!"

Not the most obvious fit, but not a big surprise when you think about profile and Byrne's influence in past Bendis projects. Not sure horror and villains from Krypton are what's needed right now, but it'll be interesting to see how it unfolds. A whole lot more info and chat in the article.

Damn they're giving Bendis the keys at DC. I don't blame him for leaving Marvel as it is a mess right now.

Shocked and appalled to learn superheroes are still solving their problems with violence:

- Captain Marvel versus Thing: Captain Marvel #26
- Deadshot versus Enchantress: Suicide Squad #6
- Hawkman & Captain Comet versus Sinestro: Secret Society of Super-Villains #5
- Black Panther versus Thing: Fantastic Four #52
- Black Panther versus Ulysses Klaw: Fantastic Four #53
- Wolverine versus Black Panther: Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions #3


Feels like it's been a long time since either of the big two were hitting homeruns, but it's definitely a chance to freshen up and do something different. Should be interesting.

- ROBERT VENDITTI TO GIVE HAWKMAN WINGS IN JUNE

This June, Robert Venditti (THE FLASH, GREEN LANTERN, HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS) continues his exclusive agreement with DC by writing a new HAWKMAN ongoing series with artist Bryan Hitch (THE AUTHORITY, JUSTICE LEAGUE).

“Hawkman is one of the richest, most storied characters in comic book history, a cornerstone of the DC Universe,” says Venditti. “His adventures have taken him from ancient history to the far-flung cosmos, and everywhere in between. It’s been too long since he had a series of his own, and I’m excited to bring him back to the DC Universe.”

Spinning out of the events of DARK NIGHTS: METAL and HAWKMAN: FOUND, Carter Hall resumes his role as an explorer of the DC Universe’s ancient and unknown. As Hawkman, Hall is on a quest to find out the true nature of his many incarnations throughout time, but he quickly finds out that elements from those past lives want to keep that secret hidden at any cost.

“Hawkman has one of the most amazing visuals in comics,” explained Hitch. “He’s the greatest warrior in all of the DCU, and with such a robust history to (literally) draw on, the sky’s the limit for how far we can take this.”

HAWKMAN #1 arrives in stores and will be available for digital download on June 13. For the latest information on HAWKMAN and all other DC news, check out the website at www.dccomics.com or the DC YouTube channel.



Biggest story in comics in years! Bah gawd, Hawkman's back!

If you want to seem cool to your Injustice pals, start boning up on guys like Bronze Tiger and Orion. You'll be way ahead of the curve of pretending to know all about them.

- Bronze Tiger & Vixen versus Stalnoivolk: Suicide Squad #43
- Jessica Jones versus Scorpion: Alias #23
- Captain Marvel versus Superman: Action Comics Annual #4
- Superman versus Orion: Action Comics #586

- Marvel's FANTASTIC FOUR Are Back



Marvel Comics Editor-In-Chief C.B. Cebulski appeared in a video to make the publisher's big announcement, teasing the company's "four tenets" of publishing. He also explained Marvel's "Fresh Start" initiative. Then he dropped the bombshell.

"The first family is returning to Marvel on a monthly basis," said Cebulski. Writer Dan Slott and artist Sara Pichelli will launch the new Fantastic Four title, which features the four original members.

Chip Zdarsky's Marvel 2-In-One ongoing will continue alongside the relaunched Fantastic Four.

Then the FF show up to scoop Hawkman's comeback heat! If you've never had the pleasure of knowing and loving the FF, I really hope Slott will deliver. He's got in him! It'd be a shame if it's anything less than a return to the classics, though. He does like to lean into the shithead stuff.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths went to infinity and beyond in April and everybody died. Oh well.

- Fantastic Four versus Gladiator: Fantastic Four #249
- Nova & Drax versus Annihilation Wave: Annihilation #1
- Iron Man, Thor, Firelord & Sub-Mariner versus Thanos: Infinity Gauntlet #4
- Hulk & Drax versus Thanos: Infinity Gauntlet #4
- Vision, Sub-Mariner & She-Hulk versus Thanos: Infinity Gauntlet #4
- Thor, Doctor Doom & Firelord versus Thanos: Infinity Gauntlet #4
- Wolverine versus Thanos: Infinity Gauntlet #4
- Scarlet Witch, Cyclops, Vision & Iron Man versus Thanos: Infinity Gauntlet #4
- Cloak versus Thanos: Infinity Gauntlet #4
- FIrelord & Drax versus Thanos: Infinity Gauntlet #4
- Terraxia versus Iron Man: Infinity Gauntlet #4

- The Green Lantern Relaunch by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp Focuses on Hal Jordan's Life as a Space Cop - Comic-Con 2018



DC Comics are relaunching The Green Lantern comic series this November with acclaimed writer Grant Morrison (Batman, All-Star Superman) and artist Liam Sharp (The Brave and the Bold: Batman and Wonder Woman) taking lead hero Hal Jordan back to his classic roots.

“Instead of the big, epic, 12-part stories, we’re focusing down on the everyday life of a space cop. Basically, it’s no more apocalypse-ending storylines,” Morrison told IGN over a phone interview along with Sharp. “The basic concept is that [Hal Jordan] is like a space cop that patrols a sector of the universe where anything can happen. We’ve made it more like a police procedural.”

Contender for most exciting announcement at SDCC so far! Morrison doesn't just do great work, he reads the play great. This is exactly what the big 2 icons need right about now. Sounds great!

DC's Dan DiDio Out as Co-Publisher



The industry veteran had served in the role since 2010. Dan DiDio is no longer with DC, THR can confirm. DiDio had served as publisher of DC alongside Jim Lee since 2010, following a six-year stint as VP executive editor, and, prior to that, VP editorial.

Pretty major personnel change! Especially for an abrupt, clean break. Will be interesting to see what changes.

Hindsight has been 2020 on Secret Wars on Infinite Earths:

- X-Men versus Magneto: X-Men #113
- Deathstroke versus Green Arrow: Green Arrow #62
- Batman Family versus Blockbuster, Metallo & Gorilla Grodd: Underworld Unleashed #3
- Batman versus Harley Quinn: Harley Quinn #25
- Deathstroke versus Birds of Prey: Birds of Prey #90
- Renee Montoya versus Richard Dragon: 52 #41
- Klaw versus Daredevil: Daredevil #237
- Blitzkrieg versus Storm: Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions #3

Comic shops and sports leagues were shut down in March, but Secret Wars on Infinite Earths kept swingin:

- Doctor Volt versus Plastic Man & Woozy Winks: Plastic Man #7
- Savage Dragon versus Spawn: Spawn #52
- Flash, Max Mercury & Johnny Quick versus Reverse-Flash: Flash #77
- Sabretooth versus New Mutants: New Mutants #75
- Sasquatch versus Champion of the Universe: Marvel Two-In-One Annual #7

Richard Sala 1955-2020

Richard Sala, whose tongue-in-cheek mystery/thriller comics — including The Chuckling Whatsit, Cat Burglar Black and Evil Eye — were like nothing else and everything else in popular culture, was found dead in his Berkeley, California, home last week. Sala was 65. No cause of death was announced and no information was available as to how long Sala had been dead before his body was discovered. His last Tumblr post was April 29: the beginning of a new serialized webcomic called Carlotta Havoc Versus Everybody. The webcomic had been announced on an Apr. 18 post at Sala’s blog, called Here Lies Richard Sala.

Incredibly shocked and saddened by the passing of Richard Sala. A great, singular style in the world of comics. Pulp and macabre. You might remember his Night Drive feature animated as Invisible Hands on Liquid Television -- one of my personal favourites. Really gonna miss seeing his work.

Batman Comic Book Writer Denny O’Neil Dies at 81

Dennis “Denny” O’Neil, best known for writing and editing Batman comic books, died on June 11 of natural causes. He was 81.

O’Neil wrote “Batman,” “Detective Comics” and “Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight” in addition to serving as an editor for DC’s Batman-related comic books from 1986 until 2000. Along with editor Julius Schwartz and artist Neal Adams, O’Neil helped to bring Batman back to his original, more ominous persona after the 1960s “Batman” TV series had a campier take on the superhero.

DC Comics publisher Jim Lee remembered him on Twitter as his “favorite Green Lantern writer to date.” Lee continued, “Denny was one of the earliest writers whose work and focus on social issues pushed comics to wider respectability & acceptance as an artform. Through his work & mentorship, he influenced generations of writers & artists.”

O’Neil was born on May 3, 1939 in St. Louis, Mo. and graduated from St. Louis University, where he studied English literature, creative writing and philosophy. He began his career in comics in the early 1960s as Stan Lee’s assistant at Marvel and briefly worked at Charlton Comics before he was hired at DC Comics in 1968.

Comics lost another giant a few days ago. Very sad news. A lot of great work throughout his long career as a writer and editor. The encompassing Batman origin The Man Who Falls was a childhood favourite.

Well I'm WAY behind, but I don't collect comics...anymore. But as the OP also inquired about figures, then I'm guilty as charged. I mainly focus on horror, creatures, and 80s/90s nostalgia, but my entire office wall is filled with my hoard. For the sake of relevance, I'll just start with this one small section. (Pardon the dust, I haven't done my July fix up yet)