WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020
MARVEL COMICS' INFINITE DESTINIES
Marvel Comics has announced Infinite Destinies, its next chapter in the Infinity Stones saga.
Here's how Marvel describes the event:
"The Infinity Stones have played a key role in some of the Marvel Universe's most-defining moments, and now theyfve returned in the hands of Marvelfs most popular new characters. The chase for the powerful Infinity Stones will play out in Infinite Destinies, launching this summer.
"In a series of eight annuals, each installment will pair Marvel's biggest heroes like Captain America and Iron Man with some of Marvel's newest heroes and villains including Star, Amulet, and more. These exciting new additions to the Marvel mythos may or may not possess one of the sought after stones -- but the real question will be who will be holding them in the end, and what will it mean for the future of the Marvel Universe?"
"We've had a wave of incredible new characters over the last few years, and Infinite Destinies will shine a light on eight of them," editor Nick Lowe said. "We'll discover new aspects of these heroes and villains in adventures with our the most archetypal Marvel heroes."
Writer Jed MacKay and artist Ibraim Roberson kick things off in Iron Man Annual #1. When Iron Man learns about the strange people who kidnapped and tortured Miles Morales, he has to look into it. What he finds out about the Assessor and especially Quantum will shock him.
"The Infinity Stones have found new homes -- as people," MacKay said. "Infinite Destinies is the next chapter in the story of the Infinity Stones and the people they've bonded with -- and the powers in the Marvel Universe who are taking interest in these powerful new players."
Writer Gerry Duggan and artist Marco Castiello will then turn the focus on the fugitive known as Overtime in Captain America Annual #1. After breaking out of death row when the Time Stone chose to bond with his soul, Overtime was gifted powers he barely understood. Now, thanks to Captain America... his time is up.
Each annual will also contain a chapter of "Super-Spy vs. Super-Spy," a story following Nick Fury as the Agent of Nothing and Phil Coulson as the Agent of Mephisto -- two brothers-in-arms who will face off and reunite for the first time since Coulson's death.
MARVEL COMICS' NEW WARRIORS
Marvel Comics has released details, imagery and video from New Warriors, the series that launches on April 15.
Created by writer Daniel Kibblesmith and artist Luciano Vecchio, the classic New Warriors of the 1990s will reunite to introduce the New Warriors of 2020.
"I wanted to have teen characters who felt as 'now' as the New Warriors did in 1990,h Kibblesmith said. "The New Warriors have been zeitgeist characters from the beginning, you get edgy skateboarding Night Thrasher in the '90s and the Reality TV team in the 2000s, and now in 2020, we have New Warriors who have never grown up without the Internet, and one character who appears to essentially live inside it."
To watch the trailer for New Warriors, CLICK HERE.
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Following is a rundown of the new members:
TRAILBLAZER: A regular kid scooped up into the world of teenage super-heroing. Her "magic backpack" is actually a pocket dimension with seemingly infinite space, from which she can pull out useful or random objects -- itfs not always under her control. She claims to get her power from god, but "not the god you're thinking of."
"Trailblazer wants to help people, but she doesn't think of herself as a super hero -- yet," said Kibblesmith. "The Marvel Universe is a reflection of our own, and when a new law gets put into place, it affects people in unforeseen ways."
SCREENTIME: A meme-obsessed super teen whose brain became connected to the internet after becoming exposed to his grandfather's "experimental internet gas." Now he can see augmented reality and real-time maps, and can instantly Google any fact. Does this make him effectively a genius? He sure acts like it does.
"The word 'screen time' is only ever used in a sort of restrictive sense, and because we're doing a story about teenage rebels, a lot of the names are about teens fighting against labels that are put on them," Kibblesmith said. "So with Screentime, we liked the idea that he has infinite screen time."
SNOWFLAKE AND SAFESPACE: As psychic twins, Snowflake, a cryokinetic, can materialize snowflake-shaped shuriken projectiles for throwing. Safespace can materialize pink forcefields, but he canft inhabit them himself, the reflex only works if hefs protecting others. Theyfre hyper aware of modern culture and optics, and they see their super-heroics as "a post-ironic meditation on using violence to combat bullying."
"[Snowflake and Safespace] are very similar to Screentime; it's this idea that these are terms that get thrown around on the internet that they don't see as derogatory," Kibblesmith said. "[They] take those words and kind of wear them as badges of honor...Snowflake is the person who has the more offensive power, and Safespace is the person who has the more defensive power. The idea is that they would mirror each other and complement each other."
B-NEGATIVE: A teen living vampire exposed to Michael Morbius's blood as a child in a rogue, but life-saving medical procedure. He still ages like a regular kid, but has all the abilities of Morbius. He's also obsessed with all the music and attitude of a "classic" long-past decades like the '90s, and the '00s.
"B-Negative is the goth kid," Kibblesmith said. "When he was a baby he got a rogue lifesaving blood transfusion, we assume, from Michael Morbius. And now he has a very similar look, and very similar vampire powers...B-Negative ages like a regular person -- or does he? -- and he definitely drinks blood -- or does he -- but designer/artist Luciano Vecchio took brilliant inspiration from the '90s Spider-Man cartoon and gave B-Negative the 'leech suckers' that the animated version of Morbius had on his palms."
SHADOW MAN VIDEO GAME
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Valiant Entertainment has announced a partnership with Nightdive Studios to develop a remastered edition of the classic action-adventure video game Shadow Man.
The remastered edition will be coming to Windows PC via the Steam and GOG platforms, as well as to the PlayStation, Xbox and Switch consoles.
"As part of our continued growth into the video game industry, wefre happy to bring Valiant fans this immensely popular Shadow Man character as the next title we release," said Dan Mintz, chairman and CEO of Valiant Entertainment. "Using this platform allows the Valiant fans to experience and explore the universe creatively."
The Shadow Man video game was originally developed by Acclaim Studios and published for the PC, PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Dreamcast console in 1999. The PC version of the game was published again in its original form by Nightdive Studios in 2014.
The title is being updated using Nightdive's proprietary KEX engine, which has been used to restore classic video games across all digital platforms including System Shock: Enhanced Edition, Turok, Turok 2: Seeds of Evil, Blood: Fresh Supply and Forsaken Remastered.
The Remastered version adds a host of features in addition to console support:
* 4K widescreen display
* Dynamic shadow mapping
* Dynamic per-pixel lighting
* Antialiasing, and other post-process effects
* Higher density of particle effects
* Refined art, audio, and assets
* Refined gameplay experience
* Reintroduction of missing content cut from the original game
* Xbox, PS4, Controller Pro support
* HDR Rendering
A new comic book featuring the character, from Cullen Bunn and Jon Davis-Hunt, is scheduled to launch on May 20.
ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT FIRST LOOKS
For covers and six-page previews of Zenescope Entertainment titles arriving in stores on Wednesday, March 25, click on the cover thumbnails or the links below for the individual titles.
BRIEFLY
BOOM!'S JULIET TAKES A BREATH: BOOM! Studios has announced a November release for Juliet Takes a Breath, from writer Gabby Rivera, artist Celia Moscote and colorist James Fenner.
Here's how BOOM! describes the book:
"Juliet Milagros Palante is leaving the Bronx and headed to Portland, Oregon. She just came out to her family and isn't sure if her mom will ever speak to her again.
"But don't worry, Juliet has something kinda resembling a plan that'll help her figure out what it means to be Puerto Rican, lesbian and out. See, she's going to intern with Harlowe Brisbane -- her favorite feminist author, someone whose work on feminism, self-love and lots of other things will help Juliet find her ever elusive epiphany.
"There's just one problem - Harlowe's white, not from the Bronx and doesn't have all the answers. Okay, maybe that's more than one problem, but Juliet never said it was a perfect plan..."
BOOM! FIRST LOOKS: For covers and three-page preview of Faithless II #1, arriving in stores on Wednesday, April 22 from BOOM! Studios, CLICK HERE.
MAY 2020 SOLICITATIONS
Below are solicitations posted for May. Click on the publisher's name for the full listings and check back soon for additional solicitations.
* AHOY COMICS.
* AMIGO COMICS.
* ARCHIE COMICS.
* ASPEN COMICS.
* BOOM! STUDIOS.
* DARK HORSE COMICS.
* DC COMICS.
* IDW PUBLISHING.
* MARVEL COMICS.
* ONI PRESS.
* TITAN COMICS.
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