Comics

Those guys at Marvel are crafty. They've been scheming their way out of bad trends for years now. First it was showing you could successfully raise prices on your bestselling titles (though the gleam may be coming off that one). Then when things started tanking hard, they manufactured AVX and structured it in such a way that it guaranteed huge numbers and hype. Credit where credit is due, AVX _has_ taken off since then, but Marvel's structure built in a failsafe for it. And now, their latest construction: The Neverending Relaunch.

Three new titles. A relaunch/reboot/facelift/makeover for the Marvel Universe. Hickman. Bendis. Remender. Wolverine, Spider-Man, Hulk, Cable and.... Jean Grey? We're going to have to really get in-depth with these new Marvel titles, you guys.

Marvel is going all cosmic in the movie world, and Thanos, a character created by Jim Starlin, is at the heart of it. The evidence is unavoidable. First it was the Thanos cameo at the end of the Avengers—supposedly thrown in because director Joss Whedon was a fan of the character and a cosmic storyline is integral to keeping him on board for Avengers 2.

Okay, granted it's kind of a smallish book not a comics periodical...but at 64 pages and $6.99, the latest issue of LEGO® NINJAGO isn't really a full-on trade paperback either. Thus its announced 425,000 copy first printing does put it in kind of a "tween" land as far as sales figures go. And yes it is a licensed product. but anyway you slice it 425K is a LOT of copies—and as the attached pr mentions, it's only up from 200K printings on earlier issues. Because, well, you know, kids love comics...and Legos.

While EW is rolling out Marvel comics secrets, it's also revealing the true multimedia triumph of Marvel these days: the way that studio head Kevin Feige and crew have truly been able to replicate the continuity obsession of the comics into a major motion picture environment. And now they're using short films as a kind of "Marvel Showcase" for the movies.

The other shoe has finally dropped at Marvel, where talk of a reboot or relaunch has been circulating for a while—it's more a soft relaunch and retitling of a number of key titles than a reboot. Probably because Marvel fans just wouldn't allow it. Details are dropped in EW's Hobbit-covered Comic-Con Preview issue, which presumably has a few copies floating around the office. The relaunch will run from October to February, starting in October with Uncanny Avengers #1 by Rick Remender and John Cassaday, making his return to regular comics pencilling. New titles will roll out every week, featuring new costumes, new back stories, and so on. According to MTV Geek, which has the most confident version of events.

We told you a little while ago that Filip Sablik had left Top Cow, and now it's revealed that he's joined BOOM! Studios as VP of Publishing and Marketing. CBR does his intro interview:

Didn't see that one coming. Whether it was the smartly rolled out launch, the srong opening line-up or just a lack of interest in Anderson Cooper's sex life, the announcement of the new MonkeyBrain Comics digital line caught the imagination of Twitter to the point where it was trending for much of the day; and also smartly, to take advantage of the excitement, comiXology and MonkeyBrain decided to launch early—all five of their comics are available now in comiXology.

Didn't see that one coming. Whether it was the smartly rolled out launch, the srong opening line-up or just a lack of interest in Anderson Cooper's sex life, the announcement of the new MonkeyBrain Comics digital line caught the imagination of Twitter to the point where it was trending for much of the day; and also smartly, to take advantage of the excitement, comiXology and MonkeyBrain decided to launch early—all five of their comics are available now in comiXology.

Well, well, well. This is gold rush time for new digital comics imprints/initiatives. Not only did MonkeyBrain roll out its lineup today, but we also have The Whole Story, a new portal for original graphic novels for some of the top indie creators including:

Tony Daniel had an odd hook early in his Detective Comics: the Joker having had his face cut off. The clown prince of crime disappeared into the wind, most likely in need of a face transplant (such things _do_ exist). His reappearance has been anticipated, but not fulfilled. Daniel announces he's leaving Detective, and what does issue for a teaser?

Marvel's newest teaser suggests that Jean Grey is coming back! That's right -- AGAIN