Dynamite has big plans for the rest of 2021. The publisher’s ComicCon@Home panel moderated by Vincent Faust was filled with details and announcements on titles featuring flagship characters.

Dynamite

The Dynamite panel began with writer and film producer/screenwriter Rodney Barnes (Killadelphia), who discussed two exciting projects. First, The Army of Darkness 1979 with artist Tom Garcia takes a cue from classic films like The Warriors, offering readers a glimpse at the rough atmosphere of NYC in the ‘70s. Look for variant covers from Jason Shawn Alexander and Arthur Suydam.

“I’ve always loved the films and I love the books. And, you know, for me, tackling a project that has horror and comedy elements in it, I’ve never really done that before,” said Barnes. “So I’m looking forward to the challenge. I mean, the book itself is pretty out there as Ash is, and I just hope the fans really dig it.”

Dynamite

Second is a James Bond tale that puts 007 into a seedy high stakes international crime network ripped from the headlines. According to Barnes, Bond is up against a sex trafficker and the international underworld.

Dynamite

Barnes shared, “Loved the books, love the movies, and, you know, all the different iterations of Bond, and it’s just a challenge, you know, being able to have that international flair and a big story and a big character in a big story that’s very passionate about the subject matter….just a big honor to be a part of that world and that character.”

Writer David Avallone (Bettie Page, Drawing Blood) talked about Elvira Meets Vincent Price and the fun that ensued channeling two legends of horror and film. Juan Samu is on art and Dave Acosta returns for covers on this one.

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Avallone explained why the Elvira/Vincent Price team-up works.

“The opportunity to pair her up with Vincent Price, which was suggested by Elvira…Price is such an indelible character. And he’s like Elvira. He’s just one of those people who is a joy to write because it’s so easy to imagine him in any given situation. And like Elvira, he’s sort of got endless good humor and you can sort of put him into anything. And he is a charming guy, charming host, and a charming character. So writing him in Elvira is sort of like writing a Hope and Crosby movie.”

Dynamite

Jimmy Palmiotti (Harley Quinn, Jonah Hex), who is currently writing Invincible Red Sonja for Dynamite with Amanda Conner, shared what fans can look forward to and what the future holds for the flame-haired warrior. Moritat is currently on art.

“Amanda and I kind of write it how we see it. And then we wait for you guys to tell us, well, you really can’t do that,” Palmiotti joked. “And that is our daily fun thing, what we can get in trouble for.”

Palmiotti shared that the creative team may be changing in future issues, with the writer going solo on the script and with a possible new artist. Moritat is set for six issues, and Palmiotti noted that until he knows who the next artist is, he won’t know the direction of the book.

“It’s not like I’m sitting on a story and hoping to find an artist that fits it. The way I’m surrounding this is I have to see who the artist is,” he explained. “I’m going to talk to them and I’m going to find out what that person has an interest in drawing and then work from there.”

Finally, Fred Van Lente revealed details on his upcoming Dynamite books. First, the DIE!namite (Vincenzo Carratu on art) crossover book, which stars characters such as Ash from Army of Darkness, Red Sonja (complete with Evil Ernie powers and now the leader of the undead), and General Battle Fields.

It’s just stupid fun and I love it and it’s super gory and crazy and the fans seem to really be responding to it, which is awesome,” Van Lente said.

The “mish-mash” book continues to introduce new characters, like Vampirella’s sister Pantha.

“They fight like cats and bats,” Van Lente quipped.

Jennifer Blood is also set to appear in the series, but the Garth Ennis vigilante creation will break out in her own bloody book with Vincenzo Federici on art.

Miss any of The Beat’s earlier ComicCon@Home coverage? Find it all here!