Captain Marvel

Air Force Major Carol Danvers will receive a promotion this coming July in her new ongoing series "Captain Marvel."  This was probably the most resonating announcement made at WonderCon, held last week in Anaheim, CA, and one that was long, long overdue.

     

Covers by Ed McGuiness

Most commonly known as the Avenger Ms. Marvel, Carol Danvers also had a long stint as the interstellar Binary, and most recently as Warbird.  Not only a member of the Air Force, she also served with the C.I.A., and was even editor of Woman Magazine.

Interior art by Dexter Soy

Spinning out of the events of "A vs. X" Carol will become "Captain Marvel," and will be written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and pencilled by Dexter Soy.  Jamie McKelvie was in charge of her uniform redesign, which is a combination of her former costumes with a military touch to reflect her connection to the Air Force.

Design by Jamie McKelvie

This move will place Captain Marvel not only as one of the primary Avengers, but also as the flagship female character of the entire Marvel Universe.  As a long-time fan of hers, I hope she continues showing facets of her previous incarnations as Ms. Marvel and Binary, while building a solid follower base with her new role.

Welcome to Earth-Two

The second wave of "DC Comics - The New 52" titles is coming in May, and the most expected of them are undoubtedly "Earth 2" and "Worlds' Finest," featuring the heroes from a parallel universe where things took a completely different turn.  This week, DC Comics released the first set of character sketches designed by Jim Lee and Kevin Maguire:

    

Superman "Has endured the loss of his home world, and now the Last Son of Krypton must weather the death of his soul mate Lois Lane. Just how far can you bend the Man of Steel before he breaks?" - Editor Pat McCallum

Supergirl "Loves her adopted world with a passion, seeing how the people of Earth have adopted her and taken her to their hearts.  She is definitely the brightest light among this first group of Earth 2 heroes." - Writer James Robinson

    

The Batman of Earth 2 is "More ruthless, dangerous... the costume is familiar and yeah, there is a Wayne under the mask, but we’re looking at a man desperate to save the only family he has left. Earth 2 is about to become a very bad place to be a bad guy." - Editor Pat McCallum

Robin is “Assured as a detective, fighter, scientist, pilot and all around crime-fighter; she’s been groomed by Batman to be the perfect caped manhunter (or should we say manHuntress) when she grows up." - Writer James Robinson

Wonder Woman is "Already the last Amazon of this world and she is determined to avenge her sisters... at whatever cost." - Writer James Robinson

Welcome to Earth-Two

DC Comics announced a few weeks ago a second wave of titles that will be incorporated into the New 52 starting in May.  Among those titles there are two that expand the possibilities for stories beyond the confines of "our" universe: Earth Two and Worlds' Finest.

Art by Ivan Reis and Joe Prado

Art by Brian Hitch (Variant Cover)

EARTH TWO – Writer: James Robinson. Artist: Nicola Scott. Cover: Ivan Reis & Joe Prado.  The greatest heroes on a parallel Earth, the Justice Society combats threats that will set them on a collision course with other worlds.

“I’m excited and eager to let people know all the facts about the new EARTH TWO comic, but for now I have to remain vague.  Earth 2 is a world that’s very like our own, but at the same time vastly different. It has known great conflict and danger... a dark menace defeated but at a great cost both to the Earth and to its superheroes of that time.  Now, in the present as new menaces emerge to attack the Earth, new heroes must emerge too, learning to work as a team (or perhaps Society is a better word) while facing these new threats head-on. Who are these heroes?  Will their powers include speed, bestial fury, and maybe even green light? Wait and see.”

- James Robinson

Art by George Perez

WORLDS’ FINEST – Writer: Paul Levitz. Artists: George Perez and Kevin Maguire.  Cover: George Perez.  Stranded on our world from a parallel reality, Huntress and Power Girl struggle to find their way back to Earth Two. Perez and Maguire will be the artists on alternating story arcs.

“Nothing’s quite the same... the world they’re in, the rules of the game, the stakes... so Helena and Kara are facing dilemmas in WORLDS’ FINEST that are nothing like any version of either of their previous lives... learn the identities they used on Earth 2... watch why those change when they get here... and see the choices they face.  It’s a layered puzzle, pulling on the rich history of the DC Universe... but even more on the potential for explosively different lives in the New 52 universe... and over time, it’ll all pull together to affect the lives of so many.”

- Paul Levitz

Red Lanterns

I swear to God I didnt know! Just yesterday I was daydreaming about Atrocitus and company getting a series, and today DC announced through The Source that the Red Lanterns are getting their own book!

Red With Rage

"Over his six years on the book, Geoff Johns has brought so many cool new elements to the Green Lantern mythos, one of my (and I’m sure many other fans’) favorites being the other colors of Lantern Corps — from the Sinestro Corps War, to Rage of the Red Lanterns, Blackest Night and Brightest Day and everything in between, the introduction of the new Corps in the Green Lantern books have made for one heck of an epic story.  That said, we’re excited to announce that one of those Corps is getting their own book: RED LANTERNS, launching as an ongoing comic book series written by Peter Milligan in 2011"

The series will be written by Peter Milligan, and will star Atrocitus, Bleez, Dex-Starr, and many others. I am already drooling over this title, and can't wait to see whether we'll see guest spots for Mera or Guy Gardner who were also immersed in the red during Blackest Night; and what about the Butcher? I am sure we'll see it there as well!  More details at The Source. Thank you DC! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!