When most people hear the words “comic book convention,” they imagine people wearing goofy costumes and trading comics. Well … those people would be right. But at the New York Comic Con this weekend at New York’s Javits Center, there was far more going on.
Thousands packed the convention center not only to meet the creators of their favorite comics, but to check out the latest in toys, games, and even movies and TV shows.
Dressed as anything from Princess Leia in her gold bikini to Batman villain Mr. Freeze, fans gathered to talk about the pop culture they love with the people who create it. Enormous lines snaked around the center just so people could get a glimpse of Stan Lee or Frank Miller, who were on hand to discuss new projects.
Marvel: Secret’s Out
With the death of Captain America and Tony Stark’s Superhero Registration Act, the Marvel Universe has been getting a lot of attention lately.
Along with a number of writers and artists, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada hosted a panel to discuss the Marvel Universe’s next big thing, “Secret Invasion.”
“Secret Invasion” is a limited series that brings the Skrulls, a shape-shifting alien race introduced in the Fantastic Four comics, down to Earth to secretly replace a number of heroes and those close to heroes to sow paranoia and try to take over Earth.
During Comic Con, Marvel handed out Skrull masks that many people wore throughout the show.
“Skrulls are going to show up in X-Factor, Spider-Man, Thor, they’re going to be everywhere,” Quesada explained to a room filled with hundreds of fans wearing the Skrull masks. The plot will tweak every major comic line and disrupt the lives of every hero in the Marvel world. He also announced the fall return of Deadpool to his own comic series with writer Daniel Way and artist Paco Medina.
DC keeps the crisis coming
DC Comics, known for its iconic and larger-than-life heroes, had plenty to say this year as its preparing to kick off another of its signature “Crisis” events.
While purposely vague, DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio told fans the upcoming series “Final Crisis” will be “the day evil won.”
“We plan to start from the ground and work up to the cosmic level,” writer Grant Morrison told the crowd at Sunday’s “Final Crisis” panel. “It’s not just a gimmick, it’s a major event in every book.”
Morrison, the popular DC author of “All Star Superman,” went on to discuss how his “Crisis” book will reflect trends in Western culture, saying, “There’s a lot of darkness and shame in the Western world right now and I wanted to have heroes that could face that for us.”
Promising the plot will “reposition the DC universe,” DiDio discussed plans to publish a number of miniseries and one-shot comics related to the event.
DC writers and editors also discussed a new weekly comic called “Trinity” that stars the three biggest names in the DC Universe, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, and a new Supergirl title for a younger audience in which she’s in the eighth grade.
