WWC'07 Kibbles and Bits

Here is where I go through the news that came out of this weekend's Wizard World Chicago and rant snarkily about it.

• Mattel to come out with "Marvel Legends-like" versions of DC heroes: I have already warned my wife that I will be buying more toys. She is accepting but not all that happy.
• Matt Wagner's Madame Xanadu series to deal with her "love affair" with the Phantom Stranger: I remember an issue of the '80s Spectre series where it was hinted that she was getting it on with the title character. Sheesh! This lady sure gets around!
• Yet another Silver Surfer Mini-Series in the Works: You can't swing a dead cat at Marvel with out hitting a book there with the Silver Surfer in it. Who does he think he is? Wolverine?
• DC Announces yet another "Countdown" tie-in series: 1. I was in NEPA this past weekend, at my friend Jeff's house and he told me that DC announced at WWC that they were turning all of its titles into "Countdown to...(said title), I.E. Countdown to All-New Blue Beetle. He was totally joking but I completely believed him. Yes, the idea sounds silly, but not so wacky that they wouldn't do it. 2. Could the concept be anymore derivative? Let's list the books the plot borrows from: Contest of Champions (Hero fighting hero), Crisis on Infinite Earths (select team of heroes only the person selecting them knows why they are selected), Secret Wars (heroes forced to fight heroes because of one enormously powerful man), Planet Hulk (gladitorial like combat),etc.) 3. That being said, it still sounds cool to me. I always want to know what the Green Lantern on Earth-5 looked like. (I hope DiDio wasn't teasing with that) 4. So, some of the 52 Universes will be based on "Elseworld" stories. I don't know what I think of that. I think I'd prefer the multiverse and Elseworld's be separate. 5. "not all the heroes are going to emerge from the arena alive.". That Dan DiDio. The Grim F'n Reaper.
• Kirkman and Liefeld to work on Killraven:  I went from mild excitement to total apathy in the span of three words.
• Genndy Tartakovsky on Cage!: This could quite possibly rock harder than anything else announce at the Con. Just get the whole series in the can before you even dream of soliciting it.
• Fans "shouldn’t be surprised if a third weekly series launches after the completion of Countdown": A roomful of monkeys are now writing it. It's already a better story than Countdown.
• DC Announces a Kids Line: This is good news. I only wish that one of the books wasn't a toy tie-in.
• Millar and Hitch to take over Fantastic Four: Congratulations, Marvel, your flagship title has just become a bi-yearly.
• Alex Ross and the "Return" of Captain America: Got to love Marvel marketing. They release a promotional image, which I would love to have posted here but VOX won't let me, centering on Captain America as painted by Alex Ross with the word return posted over the chest. Even though you can see what looks like Sub-Mariner's and Bucky's arms to either side of him, and flam in the back, Marvel damn well knows that people will be saying that this means Alex Ross is bringing back Cap from the dead. So they get months of internet buzz for a new Invaders series. Evill Geniuses, them Marvel boys. Don't get me wrong. I wish it Alex was bring Cap back to life. But don't get your hopes up.
• Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash, long rumored to be a movie, comes to comics instead:  That Ash! He's a comic company hopping slut, isn't he? First, he was in bed with Marvel with the Marvel Zombies and now Wildstorm? What a himbo!