Comics Continuum by Rob Allstetter: Sunday, July 25, 2010

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SUNDAY, JULY 25, 2010

COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL: AVENGERS MOVIE

Marvel Studios unveiled its big guns at its panel at Comic-Con International on Saturday.

After segments on Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, the studio unveiled its logo and the actors for the Avengers.

Samuel L. Jackson, who plays Nick Fury, introduced the first segment, with Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Chris Evans as Captain America and Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man.

Downey then took over, introducing new cast members Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye and Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/Hulk.

He then introduced director Joss Whedon, who talked about how this project exceeded even his wildest dreams.

For a video of Jackson's introductions, CLICK HERE.

For a video of Downey's introductions, CLICK HERE.

For a video of Whedon's short speech and the team posing as one, CLICK HERE.

Look for much more on Thor and Captain America soon here in The Continuum.

COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL: MARVEL COMICS' CUP O' JOE

A new creative team on Hulk was among the highlights at Marvel Comics' Cup O' Joe panel at Comic-Con International on Saturday.

For highlights, CLICK HERE.

COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL: COWBOYS & ALIENS

Universal Pictures has released the first image from Cowboys & Aliens, the comic-book movie being directed by Jon Favreau.

Favreau and cast members Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell and Harrison Ford were featured a panel at Comic-Con International on Saturday.

Look for video from the panel soon here in The Continuum.

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COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL: NEXT MEN RETURN

IDW Publishing on Saturday announced the return of John Byrne's Next Men, picking up in December where the series left off in 1995.

Debuting in 1991, Next Men originally ran for 30 issues and a standalone prequel graphic novel, 2112. Next Men developed an all-new world of superheroes grounded in modern reality. The series quickly became one of the most critically acclaimed runs of Byrne's career, but ceased publication in 1995 and left fans with a cliffhanger at the end of #30.

IDW has previously collected the existing Next Men material, in two black and white Compleat volumes and oversized Premiere Edition hardcovers, the third volume of which will be available in stores on Sept. 1.

"When John started working for us three or four years ago, two things happened, and have been happening pretty much every month since then," said IDW's CCO/Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall. "I've been asking John about doing new Next Men comics, and fans have been e-mailing me demanding that we do new Next Men stories. Happily, after all this time, John is going to quiet us all down and do just that."

COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL: IMAGE COMICS

Image Comics partners Robert Kirkman, Marc Silvestri, Todd McFarlane, Erik Larsen and Jim Valentino were featured in a Comic-Con International panel on Saturday.

For highlights, CLICK HERE.

COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL: DC NATION

DC Comics staged its convention staple, DC Nation, at Comic-Con International with the usual Dan DiDio-led question-and-answer.

For highlights from the panel, CLICK HERE.

BRIEFLY

* Will Eisner's graphic novel A Contract with God is being adapted into a live-action feature film. Four independent directors are attached to direct one of the graphic novel's four adjoining chapters: Alex Rivera, Tze Chun, Barry Jenkins and Sean Baker. The film will be produced and adapted for the screen by Darren Dean, whose first feature Prince of Broadway about an illegal immigrant in contemporary New York City.

A Contract with God will be produced under the auspices of the Eisner estate. Bob Schreck, a 30-year veteran of the comic book industry and Michael Ruggiero, former head of original programming at STARZ, will serve as co-executive producers. Black Squirrel Films co-founder Tommy Oliver will serve as co-producer and Mark Rabinowitz, co-founder of indieWIRE.com, will serve as associate producer.