WIZARD WORLD PHILADLEPHIA: DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

PHILADELPHIA -- Dynamite Entertainment kicked off the second day of Wizard World Philadelphia programming with its first-ever convention panel on Saturday morning.

Below are highlights:

* Dynamite announced a Blackbeard comic book in association with Haxan Films, creators of The Black Witch Project. The comic will be written by Robert Napton, with Haxan's Eduardo Sanchez, Gregg Hale, and Jamie Nash.

"I was honored. They came into our offices for a meeting," said Dynamite's Nick Barrucci. "They pitched five projects and all five projects had a reason to happen, but I wanted to build the relationship slowly."

"He was a pretty trippy guy," Sanchez said of the character. "Everybody know him as a notorious priate, but most of his life is a complete mystery. We started doing research. While he could be a bad person if he chose to, there were a lot of interesting things about him that you could put a twist on the story. He never killed anybody who wasn't fighting back.

"We're portraying Blackbeard as a guy who opposing any kind of oppression at all. not going to slack on the action side of things."

* Brian Reed Red Sonja: "We killed her. She's dead and now I have to clean that up."

* Barrucci defended Dynamite's use of variant covers, saying it helps get retailer shelf space.

* The Xena/Army of Darkness mini-series will be expanded to eight issues, and Barrucci said he's contemplating an ongoing Xena series.

Barrucci said writer John Layman is working in video games but is hoping to get him back.

* Joe Rybandt said that Lone Ranger will be monthly from July through the end of the year. "Twelve, 13 and 14 are all completed," he said.

Barrucci added that Lone Ranger and Tonto #2 is ready to go.

* Barrucci said he is "dying" to do a Green Hornet comic book.

* Barrucci said there will be another Project Superpowers #0 in September that will serve as a primer and launch three new series.

Jim Krueger and Mike Lilly, who has signed an exclusive with Dynamite, will team on the first series, Black Terror. Alex Ross will be doing covers.

The other series will be Death Defying 'Devil and Masquerade.

In 2009, the main series will return with a new #1.

* Barrucci said action figures are planned for the fourth quarter of 2009.

* Brandon Jerwa is returning to Highlander for an oversized two-parter early next year.

Barrucci is targeting October 2009 for an ongoing Highlander.

* Jim Krueger said he loved the Green Lama character. "I loved that he makes sandwiches for everybody," he said.

* Reed said he hadn't thought of Red Sonja since seeing the movie when he was 14, and then was approach by Michael Avon Oeming to co-write the book. "Then ideas started to click," he said.

Reed said the idea of killing her went through easily.

Red Sonja #35 will explain her death.