A lot of interesting news in comics lately, here are a few tidbits.

This surprised me, but is actually (maybe) a fantastic idea. Mary Jane Watson, Spiderman’s long time love and (sorta) ex-wife is joining the supporting cast of Invincible Iron Man with issue 4. Will this be a long time addition or is it more of a stunt? How will this affect Mary Jane’s role in Spiderman?

Although, with MJ being sidelined the last few years in Spiderman, this is actually a great idea for keeping her in a larger role in the Marvel universe (of course I’d totally be down for an MJ ongoing in the current Marvel Comics universe). Will she be working for Stark, friends, or a potential love interest (I could do without the latter)? The issue hits stands in December and we will discovery the direction they take with MJ. Ironically, if MJ and Tony become love interests, it was Tony’s actions that ultimately led to the end of Spiderman/MJ marriage and the rewriting of the Marvel Universe’s history (long story, see: Civil War)

December will not be nearly as friendly to DC Comic titles as five ongoing will be coming to an end by the end of the month. According to Comic Book Resources, these titles include Lobo (pictured left), Doomed, The Omega Men, Gotham By Midnight, and Justice League United.

Doomed is expected to conclude with issue #6 in November, with the rest meeting their end in December. Neither Doomed nor The Omega Men even reached 10 issues, such a short amount of time to find its footing and an audience. Years ago, these ongoings would have had a much better shot. Could these characters be retooled (or in Lobo’s case, maybe bringing him back to his pre-New 52 style and roots)? There is still a lot of potential for these characters and I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of them.

I’m not sure how I missed this announcement, but Joss Whedon will be writing a new comic series for Dark Horse Comics, The Twist. Of course Dark Horse is the home of Buffy, Angel, and Serenity comics.

Whedon described the series to EW, stating “It’s a Victorian thriller about a meek chambermaid who is fed to a dark horror — but instead of dying, she returns, with knowledge, power, and rage she can neither deny nor control.” The character will launch in a 6 issue mini series, with unlimited potential for future material. Buffy meets steampunk? I’m totally down for that.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 10 #4
Official Description: Getting help from Dracula seemed like a good idea, until he stole the Vampyr book—and Xander! Now Buffy, Spike, Dawn, Willow, and Giles must save Xander and retrieve the book before it’s too late. Dracula has already begun to study how the lack of magical rules can work in his favor… The team from Angel & Faith takes over Buffy! Executive produced by Joss Whedon! Nicholas Brendon (Xander) joins Season 10!

I love it when Buffy-verse cast members join the writing team for issues. Who better to get into Xander’s head then the actor that brought him to life for so many years. The team of Christos Gage and Rebekah Isaacs continue to impress. After a stellar “season” of Angel & Faith, it is great to see them steering the main ship. Was surprised to see the team reintroduce Dracula, but I’m intrigued by the direction they are taking with the “big bad” caliber villain who has never reached that status in either the Buffy TV series or comics. It would be great to see him as a real threat.

The issue will be published by Dark Horse Comics on June 18th, 2014 from writers Christos Gage & Nicholas Brendon, along with artist Rebekah Isaacs, and of course executive producer Joss Whedon.

Following Buffy the Vampire Season 10? Enjoying the reintroduction of the classic vampire?

Check out these Buffy the Vampire Slayer related trade paperbacks for sale…

Angel & Faith #3
Official Description: Angel has found everyone is going to the same person in London’s Magic Town for advice-and it’s decidedly not him. But she is someone Angel can take partial credit for . . . And the pixie menaces have stepped up their muscle with another lady from Angel’s past. Meanwhile, Faith is screwing up. Again. Season 10 has just begun-don’t miss a second! Will Conrad (Serenity) returns to the Whedonverse! Executive produced by Joss Whedon!

Wednesday saw the release of Angel & Faith #3 in the Buffy-verse Season 10 from Dark Horse Comics, writer Victor Gischler, and artist Will Conrad. I really can’t believe how fast it feels like this season is going I’m two issues back on both Buffy and Angel and we’re only 3 issues in apiece. I should stop writing right now and get to the store (my box is likely overflowing).

Are you caught up on the new “seasons” of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel & Faith? How do they compare to seasons 8 & 9?

Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD has been getting better with every episode. The cast is gelling with each other and everyone plays a roll. The mysteries of Agent Coulson’s return from the dead and Skye’s mysterious past are front and center and building, along with the question of who is The Clairvoyant (aka the first season’s “big bad”).  Now we have news that Thor‘s Lady Shif (Jamie Alexander) will be joining the mix in an upcoming episode. Will The Clairvoyant end up being tied to Asgard? Does Lady Shif hold the key to who he might be? Will anyone else from Asgard end up visiting our Government sponsored Scooby Gang? I’d love to also see Thor: The Dark World‘s Fandral (Zachary Levi) show up. It has been too long since we have seen Levi on the small screen.

Agent Carter is one step closer to becoming a reality as Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas (writers on Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse) have been chosen as potential showrunners. The pair created the supernatural comedy Reaper, which was very enjoyable in its early run. It is interesting to think where they might go with Agent Carter, as we learned in the Marvel One-Shot short that she will be the co-head of the newly formed SHIELD, along with Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper). Rumor has it that Hayley Atwell will return as Peggy Carter, but no word on if Cooper will reprise Stark or if we’ll see other familiar faces from Captain America: The First Avenger, including Dum Dum Dugan (Neal McDonough), Jim Morita (Kenneth Choi) or any of the other Howling Commandos.

On one hand, if the series gets made we’ll be able to visit some of the unseen Marvel history between the first Captain America and Ironman. But on the other hand, we already have a SHIELD series, do we really need a second one? I’d love to see a different side of the Marvel Universe, like Black Panther or Doctor Strange. But I guess both of them are rumored to be the center of future films. I guess we’ll see.

After 24 issues of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 25 issues of Angel & Faith, spinoff limited series for Willow and Spike, we are at the end of season 9! Issue 25 of Buffy is here and with it Dawn’s very existence is on the live along with the lives of Buffy, Xander and Willow who are fighting for their lives in the Deeper Well against the original vampire, the newly turned ex-slayer Simone, and the time bomb waiting to explode Severin. Who be making it to Season 10?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #25
Official Description, “The Core, Part V”: Buffy can’t ever just be a vampire Slayer, can she? Always, the world seems to want more, and as the lives of her loved ones are threatened, Buffy shows why she is the Chosen One. Whatever is thrust upon her, she can handle it! Er… sometimes with a little help from her friends. Executive produced by Joss Whedon!

The issue is published by Dark Horse Comics and was written by Andrew Chambliss with art by Georges Jeanty. It comes out Wednesday, September 11th!

Check out these Buffy the Vampire Slayer related trade paperbacks for sale…

The San Diego Comic Con has begun and with it we are being flooded with awesome geek news- from both the actual con and the lead up to it. Lets start with one of the biggest comic book movies that is currently in production…

Bishop (Omar Sy- pictured to the left in costume) has been confirmed to appear in X-Men: Days of Future Past! The time traveling mutant has been rumored to be part of the cast, but we did not get confirmation until this past week. With Day of Future Past‘s story involving time travel, he was a good candidate for a role, especially when you consider the other notable time traveling mutant and fan favorite Cable, has had his parents killed off before he could be born (Scott Summers is his father and a clone of Jean Grey is his mother- but the real Jean Grey raised him in the future in someone else’s body… yeah, we don’t have to get into the specifics. Maybe it is a good thing that Bryan Singer choose Bishop instead of Cable). I just hope Bishop’s role is not a cameo.

Lets stay on topic with some more Marvel Comics adaptation news. (SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!) Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD just keeps sounding better and better. First they got Joss Whedon on board to write and direct it. They put together an awesome writing/producing team of  Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon (Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible). Brought Clark Gregg’s Phil Coulson back to life after his tragic Avengers death. Put together a damn good cast with Ming-Na Wen, J. August Richards, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, and Elizabeth Henstridge. And now from the floor of the San Diego Comic Con and the show’s first public screening we have confirmation of the return of Agent Maria Hill (played by the wonderful Cobie Smulders). I am so excited for this show (premieres on September 24th). I just can not wait for the further adventures of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.

The Walking Dead premiered a first look trailer for season 4 and my jaw is still on the floor. The footage might be spoiler-y or it could just be misleading. We’ll have to wait for the show to return on October 13th to really find out. You can watch it here. The trailer gives us a first look at Lawrence Gilliard Jr as a very (and I mean very) different Bob Stookey than the one we met in the comics, along with Tyreese in a scene that looks like it is ripped from the comics but in a different location, Michonne on a horse, Rick and Tyreese ready to trade blows, and a bunch of new faces (both alive and getting eaten). We can’t be sure if this was footage from the first episode back or the first few episodes, but it looks like when The Walking Dead returns, it will waste no time in jumping back into the action and racing forward. For better or worse, there was no sign of the Governor in the trailer… We’ll have to wait and see what he might be planning.

Keep checking back as we try to round of the most exciting news coming out of San Diego and we’ll be giving away another DVD this week. What movie? You’ll have to keep checking back to see!

Everything in the past 22 issues has been leading up to this. All of Angel’s planning and his journey with Faith is coming to a head. Did the spell work? Has Giles been resurrected? The issue’s description does not lead on, but thankfully for us, the issue came out last week. I’ve really enjoyed how this series has played out and I hope that it ends as well as it has been. Big props to writer Christos Gage and artist Rebekah Isaacs. I know were only on issue two of the last arc, but I hope that we have some resolution to the “season’s” journey.

Angel & Faith #22
Giles’s resurrection has been pushed to the back burner while Angel and Faith tackle Season 9’s Big Bads—Pearl, Nash, and Whistler—who threaten to release boundless magic over the planet. Only the strong will survive!

Why are you still here? Go find out if Giles is back!