WIZARD WORLD CHICAGO: MARVEL COMICS' ULTIMATE PANEL

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Michael Turner is joining Jeph Loeb for Ultimate Wolverine, a new mini-series announced by Marvel Comics at its Ultimate panel at Wizard World Chicago on Saturday.

Turner briefly joined Loeb at the panel as it was revealed the mini-series will deal with the origin of Ultimate Wolverine.

"I feel like a little kid right now," said Turner, just a month removed from back surgery due to a recurrance of cancer. He added that it was "really cool" to be able to do something that will have a lasting impact on the character, and that half the series will be set in the past and half in present day.

How will Ultimate Wolverine differ from the Origin mini-series?

"Origin was more like a Dickens novel," Loeb said. "I felt like I was reading David Copperfield more than a guy who went 'Snikt!' This is more balls-to-the-wall."

Loeb is also exploring Wolverine's history as the new writer of the Marvel Universe Wolverine title. Asked about the appeal of the character, he said compared Wolverine to Batman in that neither say much, both have a duality and that both carry around broken hearts because women close to them either leave or die.

In other notes from the panel:

* Loeb on Ultimate Power, gave the tag line, ³Some characters will live, some will die and some will be changed forever." The changes will be seen immediately in Supreme Power and then in Ultimates 4.

* Quesada explained why Ultimates 2 #12, originally the final issue, is 36 pages of story, and why #13, the new final issue, is 22 pages.

* Mark Millar's original script for #12 was 36 pages, with both Millar artist Bryan Hitch requesting extra space. Quesada said it was decided to go with 44 pages, which was then split into two 22-page stories, with the extra 13th issue.

Millar's revised script then came in at 26 pages, with Hitch saying he needed 36 pages to draw it.

* Loeb said colorist Christian Lichtner has joined the team for Ultimates 3 and will be adding digital color over Joe Madureira's pencils, giving it a "painted look." A slide was shown of Black Panther fighting Venom.

* Ultimate Vision, by Mike Carey and Brandon Peterson, will launch in December.

* Quesada said that Damon Lindelof was on break from Lost and is finishing the remaining issues of Ultimate Hulk/Wolverine. Loeb, who worked with Lindelof on Lost, said he is especially sensitive to how the book is received. Leinil Yu, the new artist on New Avengers, will finish Ultimate Hulk/Wolverine.

* Loeb said that Madureira taking on Ultimates 3 wasn't because of money -- he's had much success in the viedo-game industry -- but was really ego driven.

"He's basically taking the attitude of, 'If Bryan Hitch is the benchmark for what art is judged by, I'm going to raise the bar,'" Loeb said.

Asked if he will be doing more of the "Spectrum" titles with Tim Sale -- i.e. Spider-Man: Blue, Daredevil: Yellow, Hulk: Gray -- Loeb said he wants to do a Captain America: White after Sale's exclusive contract with DC Comics is finished.

Loeb and Quesada danced around the possibility of an Ultimate Thor mini-series, leaving hints there might be one. Loeb said they would ned to fight an artist with "a really powerful painted style."

Asked why certain characters haven't been seen in promotional art for Ultimates 3 and Ultimates 4, Loeb said the team wil go through changes at the end of Ultimate 2, possibly due to "the Grim Reaper."

* Asked about Grant Morrison's Marvel Boy showing up in Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways when readers were led to believe he was an Ultimate character, Quesada said he was being cagey and never actually specificed what universe the characted was in.

* Another Ultimate Iron Man mini-series written by Orson Scott Card remains on the horizon. Quesada said that Card wants to finishing writing the series before it is illustrated. Pasqual Ferry is still the artist.

* Loeb answered "yes" to if the Ultimate Taskmaster will ever show up and again on Ultimate Defenders, but added "Be careful what you ask for" regarding the Defenders.