It’s time once again to review the most important comics-related headlines from the past few weeks (or at least, the headlines that happened to cross my radar).
News About DC and Marvel
- So how are we feeling about the trailer for that incredibly retro The Fantastic Four: First Steps, huh? Think we’ll finally get a good FF movie? At least they weren’t too embarrassed to say the name of the group this time.
- Captain America: Brave New World, featuring Anthony Mackie in the title role, is opening in theaters this Friday. It’s shaping up to be a big one, despite some incredibly weak attempts to generate controversy.
- This year’s Golden Raspberry Award nominees include quite a few superhero — or rather, supervillain — flicks, most notably Joker: Folie à Deux and Madame Web. Kraven the Hunter and The Crow were also inflicted with nominations.
- Superheroes and comics generally were not as well represented (or represented at all) at this year’s Oscar nominations, but several Marvel alumni — Sebastian Stan, Zoe Saldaña, and Edward Norton — scored noms for unrelated roles.
- Actor Hudson Thames, who voices Peter Parker in the new cartoon series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, made a headdesk-worthy remark about how glad he is that the series is not “annoying and woke.” It’s unclear what he meant by this because, as ThePopverse rightly points out, the series has already made such “woke” decisions as making Norman Osborn Black and adding the bisexual Asian hero Nico Minoru to the supporting cast.
- In news of interest to me personally, there’s a sequel in the works to Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville, which I wrote about here. The first issue of Fire & Ice: When Hell Freezes Over hits stores in April! Yay!
News About the Wider Comics World
- Celebrated cartoonist Jules Feiffer passed away on January 17 at the age of 95. In addition to his work in comics and editorial cartoons, he wrote multiple plays and illustrated the classic The Phantom Tollbooth.
- Better late than never: Dark Horse has finally dropped Neil Gaiman after renewed scrutiny of the multiple sexual assault allegations against him. Other publishers, including comics publishers DC and Titan, have not yet said whether or not they will continue to work with him.
- Marvel’s former editor-in-chief, Joe Quesada, is launching a new comic book company, Amazing Comics. They have already recruited such big-name talent as J. Michael Straczynski, Esad Ribic, Christopher Priest, and Garth Ennis to work on their opening slate of titles.