To help build hype ahead of their first X-Men New York Comic Con panel in years, Marvel leaked word of a new Rogue & Gambit series, and at the con, they shared more details.

Rogue & Gambit is due out in January. It's written by Kelly Thompson (Jem & The Holograms, Hawkeye) with art from Pere Perez (Faith, Deadpool versus Punisher) and covers by Kris Anka (Captain Marvel, Uncanny X-Men). The book was announced as a limited series, but at the panel, Marvel's folks strongly hinted that it could be stretched into an ongoing.

The pair have been flirting with each other almost since Gambit's introduction in 1990. They were a couple on the '90s X-Men animated series, and have been around each other for every major life event, at least for Rogue. Most recently, Gambit has been a recurring character in All-New Wolverine, after his period as a mentor to Laura in her previous comic. Rogue has been leading the Avengers Unity Squad in Uncanny Avengers, where she died one time but got better, and then she beat the hell out of the Red Skull to get Professor X's brain out of his head.

Interestingly, this book was announced at the same time as the new Legion series. There is some shared history there: Gambit and Rogue's first kiss took place as the world was being hit by a wave of destructive energy from the M'kraan Crystal following Legion's accidental murder of his father, which kicked off the Age of Apocalypse. With Marvel's attention to X-Men history during the Resurrxion relaunch, it's unclear if the timing and pairing of these announcements was meant to draw that reference out.

Read the full Den of Geek NYCC Special Edition Magazine right here!

Coming off a dominant $819 million global box office run, Wonder Woman has wrapped her Golden Lasso of Truth around pop culture in a big way.

However, soon set to ride the Wonder Woman movie momentum is Annapurna Pictures'Professor Marston & the Wonder Women, a biopic telling the fascinating tale of the trio who created the character back in 1941.

Professor Marston & the Wonder Women Trailer

Professor Marston & the Wonder Women is making one last sell to the moviegoing public before its October 13 release with a final trailer.

While the trailer mostly recaps what was covered in previous clips, we also get to see how the aftermath of Wonder Woman's creation yielded a public stigma for the professor and “esteemed psychologist,” William Marston (Luke Evans), amongst his professional peers in academia – all of whom would have probably flipped their lids if they knew the truth about his romantic life with his creative muses in wife Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall) and student Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcote).

On a humorous sidenote, we’re also treated to a scene in which Oliver Platt plays pioneering comic book publisher M.C. Gaines, who, acting on behalf of his company All -American Publications (which would later be merged with DC Comics), gives Marston sound advice regarding the pretentious early name he conceived for his character when pitched as “Suprema the Wonder Woman.”

Another Professor Marston & the Wonder Women clip has arrived. This one depicts Luke Evans's William Marston in front of a panel of temperance-teeming 1940s-era folks, explaining the Amazonian story origin of his would-be comic book icon, Wonder Woman, in a way that declares the feminist ideals that inspired the character. He notably includes a contemporary-topical reference, possibly to the last election cycle, in which he also declares his hope that the character – whose origin and agency is independent from men – can inspire women to create their own destiny, even prospectively become President of the United States.

While Professor Marston & the Wonder Women has already released trailers showcasing the romantic intrigue in its depiction of Wonder Woman creators William Marston, his wife Elizabeth and Olive Byrne, a new clip puts into context the inconceivable nature of the character's genesis.

Indeed, 1940s sensibilities may have been the obvious impediment to Wonder Woman's rise, but the trio's discussion addresses the ironic idea that the would-be fictional feminist icon bears an origin story – starting with one man landing on an island full of buxom Amazon women in dominatrix outfits – that sounds like something straight out of a male fantasy. It’s enough for an initially incredulous Elizabeth to declare, "Nobody will ever publish this."

The full Professor Marston & the Wonder Women trailer has arrived. While this past June's teaser clip (which appropriately debuted with Wonder Woman,) only hinted the intrigue that this biopic centering on the superheroine's creators, the full trailer spells it out rather clear...

Starting with the formation of the polyamorous relationship between Dr. William Marston, his wife Elizabeth and his student Olive Byrne (clearly the muse for the character's look), we start to see how the character of Wonder Woman is an extension of their gender-norm-redefining reality, manifesting as heroic comic book exploits that came across to laypeople as "violence, torture and sadomasochism."

The film seems to parallel the double-life of Wonder Woman herself with that of Dr. Marston, who initially published the comic under the pseudonym "Charles Moulton."

Professor Marston & the Wonder Women's first teaser trailer debuted with the June 2 release of Wonder Woman. While short on substance, some dialogue can be heard, hinting at the historical (gender-norm-centric) societal implications that the trio of Dr. William Marston, his wife Elizabeth and his student Olive Byrne will face upon their 1941 collaborative creation of the most important female superhero of all time in Wonder Woman. This aspect is compounded by the fact that William, Elizabeth and Olive secretly maintain a polyamorous relationship.

Additionally, the teaser sends you to the URL professorm.movie, which, for now, is a bare-bones viral promotion site for the film, showcasing an intriguing comic-book-style portrait of the cast and clickable word bubbles that play lines from the film.

Read the full Den of Geek NYCC Special Edition Magazine right here!

Professor Marston & the Wonder Women Release Date

Professor Marston & the Wonder Women arrives on October 13, 2017.

Professor Marston & the Wonder Women Poster

Here's everything else we know about Professor Marston & the Wonder Women...

Professor Marston & the Wonder Women Cast

Professor Marston & the Wonder Women, centers on the life of Dr. William Moulton Marston, a Harvard psychologist, lawyer and inventor who also went on the create one of the world’s most famous and venerable comic book superheroes in Wonder Woman (under the nom de plume Charles Moulton). The film's primary trio consists of Luke Evans as Marston, Rebecca Hall as his wife and professional peer Elizabeth and Bella Heathcote as Marston’s former student Olive Byrne, who attains a unique connection to the couple.

Indeed, the focus of Professor Marston on the creative process in which Wonder Woman was conceived will manifest through William’s relationship with wife Elizabeth and Olive, with whom the couple engages in a polyamorous relationship; one that would ultimately prove enduring. Moreover, William drew inspiration from Elizabeth and Olive during the process of creating Wonder Woman, imbuing the character with confident and autonomous attributes that would be considered feminist at a time (the early 1940’s) before such a concept was even widespread.

However, the crux of the film seems to be the societal predicament that William’s comic creation placed upon the threesome. While publicly having to defend Wonder Woman from contemporaneously alarmist accusations of sinister gender-identity influences that would lead girls on a path to sexual confusion, the Marstons and Olive had to maintain a tight balance to keep their polyamorous relationship a secret, lest it be made public and validate the homophobic seeds that were already sowing from the mere concept of a female comic book superhero.

Connie Britton, Maggie Castle, Christopher Paul Richards, Allie Gallerani, Chris Conroy and JJ Feild also co-star in the film.

Professor Marston & the Wonder Women Crew

The intriguing Wonder-Woman-related film project will be the directorial and written brainchild of Angela Robinson. Her body of work includes films such as the 2004 action comedy D.E.B.S., 2005 Lindsay Lohan-starring Disney reboot vehicle Herbie Fully Loaded, a television run with The L Word and individual episodes of Charlie’s Angels (2011 reboot) and True Blood.

It's amazing that Batman: The Animated Series, one of the most iconic superhero cartoons of our time, had yet to be collected on Blu-ray as of this weekend. That all changed during the show's 25th anniversary panel at New York Comic Con where it was announced that the series would be remastered for its long-awaited Blu-ray collection.

WB publicist Gary Miereanu confirmed the news. While no formal release date has been set for the Blu-ray collection, Miereanu said it would be out "later in the year" in 2018. It should be noted that at least one bit of Batman: The Animated Series is already on Blu-ray. The Mask of the Phantasm animated movie was released on Blu-ray last July.

Some details about the Blu-ray collection still remain unclear. The series was previously released as four separate box sets on DVD. It's not been confirmed whether the same will be done for the Blu-ray release or if this will just be one massive collection. We also don't know if the collection will also come in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format. 

As soon as we know more, we'll update this piece. Until then, how about you check out our list of the best Batman: The Animated Series episodes ever produced?

Read the latest Den of Geek Special Edition Magazine right here!

For those of us who enjoyed Ender’s Game in our youth, Orson Scott Card’s latest entry into that universe, Children of the Fleet, which hits the market on October 10, 2017, is a long-awaited sequel in a way that Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide never really could be. The joys of battle school, color coded armies, whip-smart kids, and rites of passage are what make the original novel so compelling, and while Card’s new novel is not exactly inhabiting the same world Andrew Wiggin left, the spirit of the story remains intact.

Children of the Fleet tells the story of Dabeet Ochoa, a highly intelligent but somewhat arrogant young lad of 11 years who desperately wants to transcend the stifling confines of his gifted school in Indiana for the glories of Fleet School, the new name for Battle School where the International Fleet trained its soldiers in Ender’s time. These days, the station situated at the L5 Lagrange point is where the future leaders of colonies are trained to navigate the difficulties of life on the barely habitable planets left behind in the wake of the Formic Wars.

While that might not sound as exciting as teaching battle strategy with zero-g maneuvers in the game that dominated life in Ender’s time, the book acknowledges the difference by making the war games less important for the social status of the children themselves. Instead, the “armies” are now “teams,” emphasizing how different life would be for children being trained more as administrators and managers than soldiers and generals. The hierarchy within the team is now based on parental history in the Formic Wars rather than army standings.

Dabeet’s own parentage is somewhat in question, especially since having a family member in the Fleet is a prerequisite for admittance into Fleet School. Interestingly, Dabeet doubts his own mother’s story of his important father who was supposedly in the Fleet but who, by all indications, was a fiction invented by his mother to maintain status in her own community. The truth of the matter as it unfolds is one of the more compelling aspects of Dabeet’s story, and it informs many of the decisions that are made around him.

The political situation that appeared in the Bean-centric “Shadow Series” is also present here, providing the motivation for the antagonists in Children of the Fleet. Representatives of countries that are fighting for autonomy as Peter Wiggin and Julian “Bean” Delphiki work on forming the planet-wide hegemony involve themselves in Dabeet’s life in surprising ways, and the central conflict revolves around Dabeet working to overcome his self-centered mindset to bring his schoolmates together against an enemy that would see Fleet School fall.

Fans of the games in the battle room will enjoy the new twists that Card has in store as Dabeet, who is completely unskilled in zero-g maneuvers, figures out inventive ways to assist his team. The actual battles with other teams are disappointingly understated, but the strategy involved still excites the imagination and appeals to the reader’s sense of nostalgia for Ender’s frozen leg shields and other innovations in the battle room.

One familiar character, now aged, that appears in this novel is school administrator Hyrum Graff, who takes an interest in Dabeet and opens his eyes to how meaningless his excellent test scores are. While some of the verbal interplay between the great minds can be a bit heavy at times, especially in the opening chapters, it sets the stage for Dabeet’s evolution from a self-important loner to a grateful friend to those who take most of the book to warm up to him.

While reading Children of the Fleet, there’s definitely the sense that you can never really go back to Battle School. Everything is covered in a thin layer of dust, including the battles themselves, the interactions between children on the station, and even the somewhat disconnected motivations of the enemy. There are some wonderful moments of tension as the children work against incredible odds in the hidden recesses of the station, and the references to the legacy of Ender and Bean are great for those who have read Card’s earlier novels; however, it’s still but a shadow of the original.

Children of the Fleet is a worthy successor to the world of Ender’s Game and provides a glimpse of what Andrew Wiggin left behind when he began his journey towards becoming a speaker for the dead. Dabeet is an appropriately complex protagonist inhabiting a slightly muted but no less familiar world, and his transformation during the course of the novel is enjoyable to behold. Fans will enjoy returning to Card’s land of child prodigies, a character type the author knows so well, and will perhaps look forward to more tales of the colonization of the galaxy through Dabeet’s eyes.

Children of the Fleetgoes on sale on October 10, 2017.

At the Sunday Conversation with Dan Didio at New York Comic Con, Didio and one of his guest panelists the legendary Keith Giffen announced a new twelve issue maxi-series starring a brand new version of the Inferior Five.

“Before you start applauding,” Giffen told the gathered DC fans. “It’s not that Inferior Five. It’s sort of a crossover of Stranger Things and Twin Peaks.”

When referring to the original Inferior Five, Giffen was talking about a classic team of parody heroes introduced by DC in Showcase #66 (1966) and created by E. Nelson Bridwell and Joe Orlando. The Inferior Five were silly versions of super heroes that mixed parody with slapstick humor. The team graduated to its own series which lasted for ten issues before being resurrected years later in a reprint title that lasted a whopping two issues.

This new Inferior Five shares only the name with the original series. Jeff Lemire will provide dialogue for the title while Giffen will be writing and drawing.  When asked to describe the book, Giffen said, “It’s basically about five kids in a small town. It’s post Invasion!, so it’s 1988. It’s people relocated from the war and destruction, and people move into the town and don’t realize that’s there’s a scientific location underneath.”

Giffen was referring to DC’s 1988 crossover Invasion!, a series that saw a cadre of alien races invade the Earth only to be repelled by DC’s pantheon of heroes. According to Giffen, Dan Didio was supposed to co-write the new Inferior Five, but backed out because, as DC’s head honcho put it,, “Lemire just had better ideas than me.”

In addition, each issue of Inferior Five will feature a five page back up written by Lemire starring Peacemaker. Peacemaker is a soldier turned vigilante that was published by Charlton Comics in the 1960s and purchased by DC in the '80s in the same deal that brought Blue Beetle and the Question to DC. Lemire will be writing and drawing the Peacekeeper feature.

So Inferior Five, Peacemaker, Giffen, and Lemire. It seems DC will be digging into its back catalogue which keeps the comic shelves interesting and fresh. Inferior Five will debut in June 2018.

Read the full Den of Geek NYCC Special Edition Magazine right here!

The comic world suffered a shattering loss when Len Win, the co-creator of Swamp Thing and Wolverine, passed away last month at the age of 69. It was announced at the Conversation with Dan Didio panel at New York Comic Con that DC will pay tribute to Wein later this winter when it publishes the Swamp Thing Winter Special, a one shot event book that will feature Wein’s final story.

Wein was working on a new Swamp Thing mini-series when he passed, and DC will present his script along with artist Kelley Jones’ pencils of Wein’s final tale in Swamp Thing Winter Special. The same comic will also features another story by current Batman scribe Tom King and superstar artist Jason Fabok.

“The book will contain unlettered artwork by Kelley Jones along with Len’s final script,” Didio told the emotionally moved New York crowd. “Len was very dear to us and Swamp Thing is one of my favorite characters.”

Of course, Wein co-created Swamp Thing with Bernie Wrightson back in House of Secrets #92 (1971). Swamp Thing became one of DC’s most famed horror characters, particularly after Alan Moore took on the muck-encrusted monstrosity, a publishing event that become the harbinger of the Vertigo age of comics. Other than possibly Wolverine, Swamp Thing is Wein’s most beloved creation so it is fitting that Wein’s vital career closes with one last journey to the swamp.

Read the full Den of Geek NYCC Special Edition Magazine right here!

At the end of the Supergirl season 2 finale, we were teased with a flashback to Krypton's destruction, as a cultlike group sent a mysterious baby to Earth, promising it would "reign." It was soon revealed that wasn't just a turn of phrase, but that the Supergirl Season 3 villain is, in fact, Reign, a character created by Michael Green, Mike Johnson, and Mahmud Asrar who has made a handful of appearances in recent DC Comics.

The Reign of the comics is one of five genetically engineered "Worldkillers" and she's the one who first reveals the fate of Kara's homeworld to her. She tries to enlist Kara in her plans to conquer Earth, but as you might expect, Kara is having none of it. There's really not much else to say about this story (which you can find in Supergirl: Last Daughter of Krypton), and the character didn't make many more appearances in the comics, which should leave lots of room for interpretation when she makes it to TV, where she'll be played by Odette Annable. We spoke with Ms. Annable as well as executive producers Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller during roundtable interviews at San Diego Comic-Con, and they told us a little bit about what to expect from the Supergirl Season 3 villain.

"We think [Reign] is a villain unlike any we’ve ever had on Supergirl in the past," executive producer Robert Rovner says, "She comes with a very specific agenda."

"Reign is a Worldkiller," Odette Annable says. "She was bio-engineered in a lab, she was sent to Earth from Krypton much like Kara and Clark. She's different than any other villain that you'll see on Supergirl in a way that she has her own agenda. She's not out to kill everybody. She's not out to rule the Earth. Her reasons for dispensing justice are very specific and you'll see that story unfold throughout the season."

Right there that already sounds fairly different from the Reign of the comics, who was a relatively one-note (albeit high-powered) villain. To be perfectly honest, Reign's story didn't really sound like one that could sustain an entire season of TV, but it looks like the show is going to show a very different side of the villain. "I hope [the audience] is going to be endeared to her a little bit," Annable says. "It's always nice to resonate with a villain...you might not side with them, but maybe you can see why they do what they do. Hopefully, that will be the case with Reign as well. We've got a whole season to tell this story, so I'm particularly excited about sharing this heartbreaking tale. It really will be powerful and strong, and I think she's going to be one of Supergirl's greatest matches. She's not just, 'I'm bad and I want to kill everybody.' She's got a reason why she's doing it. I think that's what fans will find really different and hopefully really like."

"We’re diving deeper into this villain than we have with the other ones," Robert Rovner promises, perhaps alluding to how much freedom they have to create this character because of the relative scarcity of her source material.

Since Reign has only made a handful of comic book appearances, the producers and Ms. Annable have a tremendous amount of freedom in terms of creating her for the screen. "I do know that we will, in terms of look, the costume's not going to be the same—she wears basically nothing in the comics—so I'm very grateful for that," Annable says. "You know, I'd rather not be in hours and hours of makeup. If we were going to try to match what's in the comics, that would be the case. So we're doing our own spin on things, much like what they do on the other shows, which is really nice."

Executive producer Jessica Queller says that "the central question of Supergirl Season 3 is what does it mean to be human" and that question will be posed "to every main charactre including Reign." She also teases that "Reign is going to have an unexpected connection with Lena Luthor."

Read the full Den of Geek NYCC Special Edition Magazine right here!

In the world of comics, licensed properties are usually very nomadic. A video game or TV show can move from company to company over the course of several years. It shouldn’t be shocking when one of these agreements end, but there are some relationships that go on for so long that the property and publisher and synonymous with each other. For instance, it was a big deal when Dark Horse lost the rights to Star Wars comics, even if it was an understandable change due to Disney’s role.

Now it’s the end of the long-running partnership between Archie Comics and SEGA’s Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Universe, and Sonic Mega Drive have all been cancelled out of nowhere. Well, almost nowhere. It's been months since the last release of any Sonic-related comics. A real shame, since Sonic the Hedgehogwas only a few issues away from hitting #300.

Here’s the word from Sonic’s Twitter:

After 24 years of memorable storytelling, SEGA of America will conclude their Sonic the Hedgehog publishing partnership program with Archie Comics. This does not mark the end of Sonic in comics, but signifies SEGA of America’s decision to take a different direction for the series that will be announced at a later date. SEGA would like to thank Sonic’s amazing fans for their loyalty and passion over all the years. SEGA looks forward to providing more information soon.

That’s pretty harsh. Archie has been releasing Sonic comics so far back that the early issues were based on the Jaleel White-voiced cartoons to the point that Sonic even fought a robot Steve Urkel in one issue. Over the years, fans had to endure the dark period where Ken Penders was in charge of the creative process, followed by Ian Flynn taking over and turning the series into something truly enjoyable. In the end, there were roughly 500 Sonic-related comic issues released until the sudden end and that’s nothing to laugh at.

Fittingly, they didn't waste any time. SEGA have announced a partnership with IDW Publishing, known for doing comics based on such properties as Transformers, Ghostbusters, My Little Pony, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Considering the Turtles made a cameo during the earliest Sonic comic days, it amuses me that they'd end up under the same umbrella so many years later. While there was initially no word on the creative team(s), IDW had mentioned speaking to fan-favorites in order to make plans.

Now we know that Ian Flynn will indeed be returning, as it should be. This is excellent news, as not only is he a fantastic writer, but he won't have to deal with cleaning up Ken Penders' mess. Seriously, he deserves an award for that alone.

The new series will begin in April 2018 with a four-part, weekly event kicking it off. Flynn will be writing, but the artists haven't been announced yet.

Gavin Jasper is pouring out a chili dog in remembrance. Follow him on Twitter!

New York Comic Con! “The super bowl of all cons!” exclaims Ming Chen of AMC’s Comic Book Men. “Really?” I said, “You don’t think San Diego is bigger?” “San Diego is more of a spectacle and less about conning,” Chen shrugs. 

We were lucky enough to kick off our four-day extravaganza of NYCC with a sit-down interview with the Comic Book Men. Three out of the five joined me; Ming Chen, Michael Zapcic, and Bryan Johnson.

“Do you guys get to con at all today?” I inquired.

“For the most part we’re stuck doing interviews, we’ve got a panel at the Hammerstein Ballroom, couple of roundtables and then they cut us loose but by then it’s 4 o’clock and the floor kind of starts to smell,” Zapcic explains. Chen on the other hand goes to the booths, walks the floors, and tries to “get all the free stuff.”

Watch the full interview here!

Comic Book Men Season 7 is about to air Sunday, October 22nd after the premiere of The Walking Dead. Chen has a new podcast called The Coral Sword, and Zapcic hosts a weekly podcast called “I Sell Comics” with Chen on Kevin Smith’s radio network S.I.R.: SModcast Internet Radio. Johnson hosts the popular award-winning podcast Tell ‘Em Steve-Dave, with Walt Flanagan and Brian Quinn of TRU TV’s Impractical Jokers.

Yet, they all (minus Kevin Smith and Johnson) still work at Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash. “Do people come into the shop looking for you?” I ask. “Yea, absolutely” Zapcic nods. “People come in wanting a sketch from Walt or a picture with Bryan, Ming… just to get a picture with the Comic Book Men. They’re always surprised to see either Walt or I at the counter. They’re like “Oh my god! You guys work here!” and we’re like… well yeah, we’ve got bills we got to pay.”

Before they had to be whisked away to their next round of interviews I asked them what they are personally geeking out about nowadays, their answer; Johnson: “Drug Cartels” Zapcic: “Rick and Morty” Chen: “Star Wars and Parks and Recreation.” With that their handlers gave me the wrap up sign and they were off. Thanks for talking to us guys! See you on AMC on October 22nd.

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Tom King isn't joking about wanting to write 100 issues of Batman before he's through with the flagship series. That shouldn't be too hard, considering that an issue of Batmancomes out every two weeks. In fact, the first third of his story has already come and gone, with issue #33 due out on Oct. 18. King still has a lot to say about the Bat, though, especially when it comes to his relationship with the Cat. 

At the DC Batman Spotlight panel at New York Comic Con, King reflected on his run, which began with the publisher's Rebirth relaunch last year, as well as where he's taking the story now that Bruce is engaged to Selina. Speaking of that momentous occasion in Batman #32 in which Catwoman said yes to Batman's marriage proposal, King revealed that he knew from day one that Selina would agree to marry Bruce. 

"If you look back at my issue 1, I knew I wanted to do 100 issues of this book and I wanted to focus on Bruce and Selina’s relationship as the core of the run," King said. Indeed, Catwoman has been in the background of King's story from the very beginning. She joined him on a suicide mission to Bane's Santa Prisca and he later cleared her name of a terrible crime she didn't commit. They even spent a romantic night on a rooftop declaring their love for each other. The marriage proposal finally came in issue #24.

King's writing on the series has been arguably at its best when exploring the relationship between the Bat and the Cat. The two-part story "Rooftops" and the short story "Every Epilogue Is a Prelude" are major highlights of the run. (I'm also a big fan of the Batman/Swamp Thing team-up in "The Brave and the Mold" and the two-part "The Ballad of Kite Man." Hell yeah.)

The writer also talked about what's in store for Batman and Catwoman now that they're engaged. "The next 77 issues are going to be so flowery and nice," King joked. 

"Batman in an apron flipping pancakes," fellow Batman writer Scott Snyder added during the panel. 

On a more serious note, King revealed that issue #33, which will be drawn by Joelle Jones, will kick off a 17-issue arc called "The Rules of Engagement" as opposed to the solicited "A Dream of Me" story, which King and DC made up in order to keep Selina's answer to Bruce's proposal a secret.

King said that the arc will feature a confrontation between Selina and Bruce's former paramour and mother of his child, Talia al Ghul. 

"I thought about Catwoman and Batman being engaged…and then I immediately thought about Catwoman and Talia in a sword fight in the desert…and it gets awkward," said King. 

Bruce's son, Damian, will also have something to say about his future step mom. 

"It drives him a little more crazy," King said with a smile. 

It's not every day that a writer decides to address Batman's love life, let alone in an 100-issue run, but then King isn't your typical wordsmith. He's already delivered an amazingly subversive run about the domestic life of The Vision for Marvel and is currently hitting it out of the park with a truly surreal take on Mister Miracle. Don't be surprised if King gets weird with Batman and Catwoman for the next 77 issues. 

Read the latest Den of Geek Special Edition Magazine right here!

Guys, Barnaby Bagenda is great. Omega Men might have been Tom King's breakout DC comic (shut up, it was!), but he wouldn't have been able to pull it off without someone who could mix the essential cartoonishness of the team with the horror that King was writing. Rob Williams has been doing well with the Squad, and there's every reason to believe it'll continue with Bagenda on art.

Suicide Squad #27 is the first part of "The Secret History of Task Force X." Here's what they have to say about the issue:

SUICIDE SQUAD #27 Written by ROB WILLIAMSArt by BARNABY BAGENDACover by STJEPAN SEJICVariant cover by WHILCE PORTACIO“THE SECRET HISTORY OF TASK FORCE X” part one! The next major storyline of SUICIDE SQUAD begins when Amanda Waller receives a mysterious communique confirming her worst fears: someone knows all her secrets. Task Force X. Maxwell Lord. General Zod. Everything. And the message came from…outer space?! Determined to identify and neutralize this unprecedented threat, Harley Quinn and the Suicide Squad boldly go where no sociopath has gone before!

Meanwhile, is it too much to hope that the mysterious communique from space is coming from Meta, and it's secretly Rac Shade letting the world know that his Vertigo period was caused by a psychotic break from running with the original Squad? What's that? It is? Fine, but that's still my head canon.

Check out the preview here:

Image 1 of 6

Get ready for a classic team of Spider-Man villains to make their return.

“We have the debut of a new Sinister Six in Spider-Man, the title starring Miles Morales,” Lowe said at NYCC. Lowe showed off some artwork that featured the new team consisting of Sandman, Hobgoblin, the Spot, Bombshell, the female Electro, and a mysterious black and gold villainous newcomer who will lead this new iteration of the Sinister Six.

“There’s a new Iron Spider,” Lowe announced. “We don’t know who’s in that costume. But when you find out, if you’re a Miles fan or a Spider-Man fan in general, it will blow your mind.” That’s some tease, but with the black costume, one really has to wonder if this Iron Spider is in any way symbiote related.

Whatever the case, Lowe promised that the return of the Sinister Six, “Is a big crazy story arc,” and that “We have some new twists on old villains but basically we grabbed the coolest villains and you have to wonder why they’re going after Miles.”

“The Sinister Six Reborn” will be written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Oscar Bazaldua. The arc begins in Spider-Man #234 and will no doubt be the greatest challenge in the career of Miles Morales, or as Lowe puts it, “It’s going to be very impactful in Miles’ life.” It all kicks off in November.

If you have any thoughts who this Iron Spider is let us know, but we’re just happy we have a major storyline involving The Spot.

Read the full Den of Geek NYCC Special Edition Magazine right here!

Wonder Woman is having her big year, and it’s not a moment too soon. In a political season that is almost as bleak as nuclear winter for the rights and dignity of women, Dr. William Moulton Marston’s creation of an Amazon princess turned fascist-destroyer is still what he always posited her to be: psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should rule the world. But what about Marston himself?

As Professor Marston and the Wonder Women goes to great lengths to show, the man and women who breathed life into Princess Diana of Paradise Island is every bit as compelling as the superhero herself—albeit their costumed dress-up is not nearly so mainstream. But that is both the strength (and one of the few weaknesses) of writer-director Angela Robinson’s film. Arriving in sleek and unfussy Hollywood period piece wrapping, Professor Marston is a conventional love story about a fascinatingly unconventional set of lives. A set comprised of William Marston, his wife Elizabeth Marston, and who could be best described as his second wife, Olive Byrne. Together, they gave the world a story that will live for the ages while hiding behind their own masks for far too long

Framed around an interview between Marston and one of his many arch-nemeses—Catholic censors—Professor Marston spans much of the 1930s and ‘40s, and follows the journey of some rather untraditional family values that can nevertheless seem awfully wholesome when seated next to you at the dinner table. Picking up when William and Elizabeth are at the precipice of their greatest height and fall in academia, Marston (Luke Evans) is a professor at Tufts University when he becomes enamored with (and lustful for) one of his students, Miss Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcote).

His wife and intellectual equal, if not superior, Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall) initially feigns disinterest in her husband pursuing his biological needs. An iconoclast by necessity, Elizabeth has a Master’s from Radcliffe (the female equivalent of where only her husband was allowed to pursue a PhD, Harvard) and helps the good doctor in laboratory experiments, as opposed to staying in the kitchen. And as the film begins, they’re on the verge of major breakthrough: inventing the lie detector test. Hence how the deceptively wilting Olive Byrne becomes one of their first test subjects.

As things get complicated, Elizabeth’s early anger with Bill eventually gives way into a shared admiration for Olive, the forgotten child of a pair of historic feminist crusaders. More surprising still, this love for Olive is reciprocated to both parties, allowing all three fall into a kind of super-nuclear family. Granted this also pushes Bill and Elizabeth permanently off the academic ladder. But that’s alright, as Bill has the germ of an idea of being a writer and incorporating his passion for women—two women—into his stories. Well them, plus his thing for ropes.

The Wonder Woman creation myth is one of the most intriguing and eye-opening in comic history. Much of the truth about the apparent domestic bliss achieved by one man and two women (they told neighbors that Olive was a widowed relative) has only become public knowledge in the last few decades, just as has the feminist roots of Olive Byrne and her influence on Marston have become more well-known.

Yet Robinson curiously chooses not to focus on the salacious aspect of the man who invented the lie detector test while also being obsessed with bondage, then going on to dream up Diana Prince’s “Lasso of Truth.” Even when things get steamy in this movie, it’s treated as the most natural thing in the world, because it is natural for the truth found in these three highly educated people.

The choice also, however, leads to some rather straightforward storytelling that leans a little too often on biopic shorthand, from the passage of dates to the use of contemporary music for on-the-nose montage crosscutting. Nevertheless, these cut-and-dry narrative choices reveal curiously divergent tangents. As all three participants in the love story are extremely intellectual, most of their moments of passion and transcendence comes with cool, analytical consideration.

There can be nothing perverse about a polyamorous romance, but there is something slyly amusing and unsettling at the sight of their confessional declarations occurring while two-thirds of the triangle are judging the final corner’s answers via lie detector test. This especially backfires on Bill when his wife first asks if he is in love with his student, and the kindly professor discovered his wife is not quite as free-spirited as he had hoped.

As the players, all three give strong turns, with Evans cutting a figure as the most studly tweed-wearer you’ll ever witness. But as Marston was as much a showman as he was a rejected member of the northeast intelligentsia, there’s something appropriate about him having the kind of strapping charisma that all the characters in his comic books (and their eventual films) would come to enjoy. Heathcote is also suitably reserved and inward-looking as the “submissive” in the triumvirate that comes to dominate the other two’s decisions. But the one to walk away with the picture is Hall in a fiercely erudite turn.

Despite being the most forward-thinking of the three, and a woman who would become a breadwinner in the 1930s, she is the most reluctant to face the social fallout of forbidden love. In a movie that knowingly seeks comforting gloss to calm viewers into the Marstons’ sense of normal, there is nothing moderate about this perceptive performance. Hall’s fire and the overall rarity of mid-20th century lives lived to their fullest—behind locked doors—gives Professor Marston and the Wonder Women enough magic to elevate a fleet of invisible jets. The film too often can cordon off its queerness, removing sharp edges other filmmakers might throw themselves on, but the move also leads to a warm and ultimately affectionate film that shines a light on a remarkable story.

An irresistible movie about women and forward-thinkers driven by the superpower of feminism, Professor Marston makes the persuasive case that Wonder Woman has the greatest origin story of them all. And we’re not referring to Paradise Island, folks.

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women opens on Oct. 13.

Let's talk Outlander Season 4!

Yeah, we know. Outlander Season 3 hasn't even aired yet, but that doesn't mean we can't start talking about Outlander Season 4, right? Starz has already picked up Outlander with showrunner Ronald D. Moore for Season 4, which will adapt Diana Gabaldon's Drums of Autumn novel. 

Filming on Season 4 of Outlander has begun in Scotland! Here's the latest news...

Outlander Season 4 Cast

Maria Doyle Kennedy (Orphan Black) has been cast as Jocasta, Jamie's strong-willed aunt.

Ed Speleers (Downton Abbey) will play the role of Irishman Stephen Bonnet, a pirate and smuggler.

Will Frank and/or Jack Randall be back in Outlander Season 4? While neither character gets any serious mentions past the Voyager book, Ronald D. Moore recently told TV Guide about the possibility of Tobias Menzies return in Season 4 or beyond:

You never know. We've talked about it. There's always the possibility of flashing back and revisiting him in either role if we had a reason to. Diana in subsequent books kind of touches back to Frank for various reasons. We might do that. It really depends on how we break that in subsequent years.

In other casting Outlander Season 4 casting news, according to Entertainment Weekly, Starz has cast its Rollo, the wolf hybrid who joins the Fraser clan after being found by young Ian Murray and becomes a beloved member of the family. Yes, they are just as adorable as you would expect...

Move over, direwolves. You have some competition.

Though production on Outlander Season 3 is not yet finished, the producers wanted to begin training these Northern Inuit puppies as soon as possible for their Season 4 role. According to Starz: Rollo has a "penchant for getting into trouble, often sticking his large, wet nose into places it doesn’t belong ... The dog will play a key part in the adventure that lies ahead."

What does Gabaldon think about the all-important casting? She said:

They look cute, but tough. They should be just right to play Rollo when the time comes. They’d need to growl and look menacing on command, I think, and carry back prey of one kind or another to their master. I assume they wouldn’t let them catch things on camera … especially fish, of course.

Outlander Season 4 Release Date

Outlander Season 3 will be hitting Starz in September of 2017, so we wouldn't expect Outlander Season 4 to come around until at least September 2018. We'll keep you updated with any new information as we hear it.

Outlander Season 4 Plot

Outlander Season 4 will adapt Gabaldon's Drums of Autumn novel. Though we don't have an official synopsis for the upcoming season, we do have a synopsis for the book (via Gabaldon's official site). If you aren't into spoilers, avert your eyes...

DRUMS OF AUTUMN is the fourth book in the OUTLANDER series, following VOYAGER.  Here Claire and Jamie, with Jamie’s nephew Young Ian, seek to find a place for themselves in the colony of North Carolina, treading a dangerous line between Governor Tryon’s patronage and Claire’s knowledge of the brewing revolution in America, between the help of Jamie’s Aunt Jocasta, last of his MacKenzie kin (“MacKenzies are charming as larks in the field–but sly as foxes with it.”) and the unwanted obligations of her slave-run plantation.  As they find mountain land and begin to build their first cabin, their newfound life is bittersweet, with the thought Brianna–the daughter Claire has left behind, the daughter Jamie will never see–always near.

Outlander Season 4 Writers

Outlander writer Anne Kenney, who has been with the drama since Season 1 and wrote fan favorite episode "The Wedding" (and one of my personal favorites Season 2's "Useful Occupations and Deceptions") will not be returning for Season 4. The TV scribe took to Twitter to break the news...

Kenney wrote the second episode of the upcoming Season 3. We wish her luck on whichever show she ends up moving to next!

For information about Outlander Season 3, check out our news hub.

This article was originally published in the Den of Geek Special Edition Magazine. Click here to view the full issue!

DC’s Rebirth initiative has done wonders for their line of books, but one area that’s remained curiously unexplored is the supernatural. That will change in October when Ray Fawkes (Constantine) and Inaki Miranda (Catwoman) launch Ragman. The series will introduce Rory Regan to current DC continuity. We spoke with Fawkes and Miranda about the tone of the book and how much fun it is to draw a guy covered in semi-sentient rags.

Den of Geek:What drew you guys to Ragman?

Ray Fawkes: I’m kind of nuts about a lot of the DC supernatural characters. After Gotham by Midnight ended, and it came time for me to pitch things to DC, Ragman was one of the first characters I put forward. There’s a lot about him that I find really interesting. To me, the core of Ragman is that he’s one of the few heroes that comes from the same humble roots as the people he tends to defend. Emotionally speaking, I like building on that. Ultimately, the people he’s concerned about are the people down on the street. They’re the people he lives with, the people he’s always been around. To me, I find that really appealing and very unusual for a superhero.

Inaki Miranda: To me, it’s Ray’s premise and script. It’s my first exposure to the character, and I just loved it. What I got is a sense of superheroes, but at the same time [an M. Night] Shyamalan movie [like] The Sixth Senseor Unbreakable, moments where you can feel the grip of the character. That, combined with the action scenes, [made it] perfect for me to have fun. And then it’s playing with Gotham, my favorite city of all time.

DOG: Tell me about the feel of the book.

RF: It’s a horror story, because what we want to get into is the vulnerability of people who are in despair. Rory himself is suffering from PTSD from his service in the military, and his attempt to do what he thought was the right thing. We’re seeing it through Rory’s eyes, from the inside, where there’s suffering and there’s pain, and he has been given the power to see the creatures in the DC Universe who take advantage of that suffering. Some of them are supernatural. He’s going to deal with them.

This is not a lighthearted romp, but it is a superhero story, definitely.

IM: I approach it the same way. It’s very eclectic visually for me. There’s the superhero [story], but there’s also the horror atmosphere. It really has everything.

DOG: Ragman’s powers provide a lot of opportunities for inventive visuals. How wild are you getting with how you’re presenting the story?

IM: As much as possible. I feel really free with this book. This is an origin story, so we get to see throughout the miniseries an evolution of Ragman’s power. I think it’s issue four where you can see how moldable the rags are. I’m making him behave a little bit like a dark Spider-Man with the rags, jumping throughout the city. There’s no real limit to him.

DOG:What’s the craziest thing that we’re going to see from the first arc? What’s your favorite thing so far that you’ve worked on here?

IM: The double-page spread when you first see Ragman.

RF: Yeah. For me, I really enjoyed the different shapes Ragman takes. I think some of them are going to surprise the readers. Once Rory really hooks his mind into what he can do with the Cloak of Rags, Inaki did a good job of going nuts with what can happen. This is a character unlike anyone else in the DC Universe, and we’re really highlighting that. We’re celebrating it. I’m excited to see readers react to how far we go with it.

Ragman #1 will be in comic shops and online on Wednesday, Oct. 11.

The BOOM! Studios Power Rangers comics have played with the continuity of the series extensivly since they debuted but this might be the most insane thing they've done yet. In Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #20 by Kyle Higgins and artist Daniele Di Nicuolo takes the story back 1969 to meet "the original squad" accroding to IGN.

The names and character descriptions for each member are as follows.

• Igor – 21, male, Soviet KGB agent
• Jamie – 24, female, British singer/songwriter
• Terona – 21, male, war veteran
• Daniel – 18, male, student/protestor
• Grace – 21, female, head secretary at NASA and wannabe astronaut

We've got a look at the team here and they are beautiful.

Male Pink Ranger? Female Red Ranger? While these have been done in Power Rangers and Sentai before it's still great to see more of it.

This comic looks amazing. Long time fans will note that at least in terms of the show continuity this isn't the first MMPR team, that honor going to the Wild West Rangers. However, since that change in time didn't happen until season two of the original series it's safe to assume this is BOOM! once again changing things up in the comics verse. Plus, if Kimberly didn't travel back in time would the Wild West Rangers have ever happened?

We've got the cover for the issue here which gives us some clues.

Writer Kyle Higgins, speaking to IGN says the issue, "is going to take us back in time to explore a very different—yet familiar—team of Rangers: the ones that stopped a secret Moon attack during the 1960s. Who were the Power Rangers of 1969? What happened to them? And how do they fit into our current story? We're jumping into the Wayback Machine to the Summer of Love to meet a new cast of Rangers, some of whom will have a huge impact on the future of the Mighty Morphin team!"

Seeing how this ties into the main story will be fascinating. Cold War Power Rangers? Sign us up! The synopsis also teases a possible HUGE return.

Synopsis: An eye-opening new piece of Power Rangers history is revealed! Well before Jason, Zack, Kimberly, Billy, and Trini became Power Rangers, Zordon was forced to recruit Rangers to battle a foe who’s downright...psycho.

Psycho? Could these foes be the Psycho Rangers, the evil team of Rangers from Power Rangers in Space? That would be one hell of a twist to the mythos, that's for sure. We'll have to wait and see before we speculate furthur.

Issue #20 of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers goes on sale October, 2017.

In Russia, Megazord forms Shamus Kelley! Follow him on Twitter!  

The Children of Time movie adaptation has a screenwriter.

According to Variety, Lionsgate has hired Colby Day to adapt the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning science fiction novel from Adrian Tchaikovsky. Colby has previously worked on In the Blink of an Eye, a science fiction drama intertwining three stories.  It was fifth on the 2016 Blacklist of best unproduced scripts.

Children of Time is the story of a planet where spiders have evolved into a highly-intelligent, human-like species, following human scientist involvement. When the last remaining humans find the planet hoping to make it their home, the spiders have something to say about it.

Peter Kang and Meredith Wieck are overseeing the adaptation of Children of Time for Lionsgate.

Here's the official synopsis from Pan Macmillan:

The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age—a world terraformed and prepared for human life.

But all is not right in this new Eden. In the long years since the planet was abandoned, the work of its architects has borne disastrous fruit. The planet is not waiting for them, pristine and unoccupied. New masters have turned it from a refuge into mankind’s worst nightmare.

Now two civilizations are on a collision course, both testing the boundaries of what they will do to survive. As the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, who are the true heirs of this new Earth?

Read the full Den of Geek NYCC Special Edition Magazine right here!

While the major works of John Ronald Reuel (J.R.R.) Tolkien were adapted in an epic manner in contemporary film by director Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, years later, in The Hobbit Trilogy, a film is now in development that will cover another story connected to the influential author: his own life story. While the biopic, titled Tolkien, has been in the pipeline for a few years, things are now moving rapidly, with not only the appointment of director Dome Karukoski, but its main cast, which will be headlined by Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins.

Tolkien Biopic News

Colm Meaney will join the Tolkien cast, reports Deadline. He will play a crucial figure in the life of J.R.R. in Father Francis Xavier Morgan. An overseer of the Birmingham Oratory, Morgan was frequently cited in Tolkien’s memoirs as a profoundly influential figure in his life, specifically when it came to charity and forgiveness amidst the darkest of circumstances; themes that are reflected in his Middle Earth novels.

Meaney, a veteran Irish actor has seen and done it all on the screen and stage. Yet, he is best known to genre fans from the Star Trek television franchise as (transporter operator,) Chief Miles O’Brien, first recurring on Star Trek: The Next Generation (in the pilot,) and later crossing over to the main cast of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; a role that, astoundingly, lasted 12 years (1987-1999,) uninterrupted. He recently appeared on TNT’s young Shakespeare series Will as impresario James Burbage and before that, fielded a lengthy, fact-based, 2011-2016 run as the shady, yet enigmatic railroad entrepreneur, Thomas Durant on AMC's Hell on Wheels.

Tolkien Biopic Cast

Nicholas Hoult takes the biopic's title role, set to play one the 20th century's most celebrated authors. While Hoult has become a perennial blockbuster actor, playing Hank McCoy/Beast in the current X-Men films and was a catchphrase-coining standout in 2015’s apocalyptic franchise revival Mad Max: Fury Road, this prospective role in Tolkien won’t even be his first experience playing a famous author, having played the role of the reclusive J.D. Salinger in September’s Rebel in the Rye. Hoult’s historical role run will also manifest with December’s The Current War in which he plays Nikola Tesla opposite Benedict Cumberbatch’s Thomas Edison. Another reprisal of Marvel's Beast in X-Men: Dark Phoenix arrives in fall 2018.

Lily Collins has been cast opposite Nicholas Hoult in Tolkien, the J.R.R. Tolkien biopic. The news was broken by Variety, which revealed Collins will play Edith Bratt, the love of Tolkien's life. She was a central figure in his life during the horrors of the First World War and would eventually become his wife, who in turn inspired Tolkien to create the graceful elvin characters of Middle-earth, including Arwen, the character played by Liv Tyler in Peter Jackson's adaptation of Lord of the Rings.

Read the full Den of Geek NYCC Special Edition Magazine right here!

Tolkien Biopic Crew

Dome Karukoski will direct Tolkien, working off a script by David Gleeson (The Front Line, Cowboys & Angels) and actor-turned-writer Stephen Beresford (Pride). The Finnish director Karukoski is known for films from his home country such as 2017’s Tom of Finland, 2014’s The Grump and 2010’s Lapland Odyssey. With that creative crew set into place, casting for Tolkien is reportedly starting under the auspices of production company Chernin Entertainment at the behest of Fox Searchlight.

This, coupled with the rumblings about prospective star Nicholas Hoult was the first major movement on the J.R.R. Tolkien biopic endeavor since last fall, when the same trade reported that the project – then-titled Middle Earth– had tapped James Strong (Broadchurch, Downton Abbey) to direct, working off a script by a burgeoning screenwriter Angus Fletcher. However, the premise of the project in its current form as Tolkien seems to be the same, chronicling the author’s youthful experiences in which friendships, love, and an outcast status at school all lead to the horrors of the trenches in the First World War.

Tolkien Biopic Story

Tolkien explores the circumstances that shaped Tolkien into becoming the author of the world's most famous fantasy novels. The film will show how the marriage of young Tolkien to Edith Bratt was interrupted in 1914 by World War I. After deliberation, Tolkien enlisted, experiencing four years of the world-altering global conflagration. The experiences would become the inspiration for Tolkien’s conception of 1937’s The Hobbit; a mythology he would expand exponentially with 1954-1955’s The Lord of the Rings novel trilogy, along with several supplemental Middle-earth-based stories, many of which would be published posthumously under the editorial stewardship of his son Christopher.

Tolkien certainly has compelling source material to utilize in telling the iconic author's story, which was wrought in not only war, but a quirky romance. Moreover, it will be interesting for fans both casual and passionate to witness the events that drove a certain young second lieutenant in the British Army to conjure the magical, ethereal, quasi-medieval world of Middle-earth and weave the intricate details of its sprawling mythology.

Tolkien Biopic Release Date

The Tolkien production has yet to lock down any significant dates on the calendar. This article will be updated once that changes.

Daniel Kibblesmith is primarily known for his work as a writer on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Kibblesmith is no stranger to the fast paced and competitive world of late night comedy, which makes the comedic scribe perfect to take on one of the funniest and most farcical properties in comics with Valiant’s Quantum and Woody.

For those who have never had the pleasure of experiencing the adventures of Quantum and Woody, Quantum is a buttoned up, disciplined military man while Woody is a slacker who really doesn’t care much about anything. When the two gain super powers that only work when they bang their wristbands together, the pair find themselves as the unlikeliest super friends of all. And there’s also a goat.

Quantum and Woody were created by famed Black Panther and current Deathstroke writer Christopher Priest and Priest’s artistic partner on Black Panther MD Bright. There have been a number of incarnations of the duo, but soon, Valiant will be presenting a new volume of the pair’s misadventures. At New York Comic Con, we had the pleasure to talk with Kibblesmith about his arrival to comics, late night TV, Quantum and Woody, and of course, the goat.

Den of Geek: So what comics work have you had published before you landed Quantum and Woody?

Daniel Kibblesmith: I’ve been published in various anthologies before. I had some humor pages in Unity #25 and Bloodshot #25 for Valiant… I did a book for Heavy Metal called The Doorman. I did a digital only book for Valiant called Valiant High.

You come from the world of late night comedy…

Yes, for Stephen Colbert.

So how did you get involved with comics?

It comes from having a lot of passion and not knowing what’s going to hit. Trying to work the hardest you can on the things you love. When you do those things in parallel, sometimes you arrive at the same place. I started doing comics when I befriended then Valiant editor Alejandro Arbona. He was the one that recruited me for Unity #25 with other comedians. That’s how I got on Valiant’s radar. They asked me to pitch Valiant High, where I got to play with the Valiant characters and where I got to play outside continuity. Then in terms of writing on TV and on Twitter, people knew that I loved comics and was interested to doing more comics.

Did you have to change your process to do comics?

It’s very much a day job and a night job. The Colbert Show is very regimented. We pitch news stories in a meeting and then our deadlines are immediate. It’s a different schedule and a different muscle. When you switch to something narrative, all the comedy comes out of personalities…it’s pretty much the difference between broad one-liners and observational humor that you do on talk show versus when the comedy comes from characters and situations. In the case of Quantum and Woody, with the characters clashing off each other.

Let’s talk Quantum and Woody, you’re starting with a new #1. Where are they when you’re picking them up?

It’s a new jumping on point for readers of the previous series. It’s the same Quantum and Woody and Goat from James Ausmus’ run. We join them a little down the road where they’ve grown completely estranged from each other. As estranged as two people in Quantum and Woody’s situation can be considering that they have to clang their wrist bands together to get their powers. But they’re not on speaking terms, and we find out in the first couple of issues, it’s because Quantum knew the identity and whereabouts of Woody’s birth father. He kept that from Woody maybe for selfish reasons, maybe to protect Woody. We don’t really know. That’s the fight that broke up Quantum and Woody and where we pick them up.

Where does the comedy come from in Quantum and Woody?

It comes from their characters. It’s like the biggest gift that '90s Quantum and Woody gave us. It’s the biggest gift Bright and Priest gave us. Their personalities were so complete right out of the gate. It’s like Peter Parker had such a complete personality. You recognize your best and worst self in them. It’s a buddy cop story, it’s an adult sibling story. It’s about two guys that literally can’t stand each other. It’s them bouncing off each other. Because their personalities are so complete, you can do any story with them. You can send them to caveman times and they’re immediately recognizable as Quantum and Woody.

I’m glad you mentioned Priest and Bright. It seems we’re living in Priest’s world now. The Black Panther film seems to have borrowed generously from Priest, you’re obviously playing in a sandbox he established, can you talk about Priest’s influence?

I discovered [Quantum and Woody] as an adult. It wasn’t until I read Ausmus’ Quantum and Woody and then went back and read Priest. It was shocking how ahead of its time it was.

It was Deadpool before Deadpool.

Yeah, it was, it was also Hawkeye before Hawkeye. The personality and the storytelling techniques. It wasn’t just self-awareness in the sense of breaking the fourth wall, it was self-awareness. It was aware of the role of this comic in the real world. It was incredible how ahead of its time it was.

Are there are any Valiant characters you also have the bug to write?

I don’t know if I’ll be allowed to, but doing Valiant High was a great way to play with the Valiant toy box. So off the top of my head, it would be Ninjak and Faith. Especially the idea of Ninjak with Faith because I love the idea of pairing the bright and bubbly super hero with the guy who takes things too far.

Does Mister Colbert know about this book? He’s a comic guy, right?

Yeah, he’s a comic guy. I don’t think he knows I’m doing this. When you watch The Late Show, there’s lots of nerd references. If he doesn’t know about it now, maybe he will soon.

So to wrap up, tell us something about the goat.

The goat we know and love is back. You do not find out what happens from the big cliffhanger in the previous series. When we last saw the goat, the big cliffhanger is not resolved in our first issue. The way we have been explaining it is, we have a plan for the goat. No one will be disappointed with the goat.

One last question. Everyone is looking for the next Deadpool, you have it. Who would you cast as Quantum and Woody?

Oh man, keeping in mind I have nothing to do with any of this. Taran Killam as Woody and Michael Jai White as Quantum. With me as the goat.

Quantum and Woody#1 arrives in December. Mr. Kibblesmith's children's book, Santa's Husband, is now available on Amazon.

Read the full Den of Geek NYCC Special Edition Magazine right here!

To say that Mallory Ortberg is funny is an understatement. The website she co-founded, The Toast, publishes offbeat, unique humor about academically varied topics like the habits of medieval monks and the politics of feminism. The Toast also occasionally hosts furiously funny takedowns of Kyp Durron, a dark Jedi from the Expanded Universe. 

So, of course, Ortberg would bring her unique sensibility to an official Star Wars story.

“An Incident Report,” her entry in the 40th Anniversary short story collection From a Certain Point of View, tells the story of Admiral Motti’s report after Vader Force-chokes Motti in the famous Death Star meeting room scene. At the panel showcasing the book at New York Comic-Con, Ortberg gushed about the “evil and banal” Imperial officer. 

Ortberg’s story is droll and crisply Imperial, all the more humorous because of the extreme nature of the situation. Vader’s Force powers are just a religious difference between himself and the other men around the table, after all. The articles Ortberg wrote before she did official Star Wars work also leaned in to the extremity of the characters’ situations. Long before the Starkiller Base drew comparisons to the Death Star and the jokes started about the saga’s increasingly dramatic superweapons, Kyp Durron was in on the trend. 

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An Expanded Universe Jedi, Kyp stole the aptly named Sun Crusher and destroyed an Imperial star system in revenge for the death of his brother, and then threatened to turn the weapon on any Imperial strongholds that remained. Han Solo eventually talked him down from the dark side. Han and Kyp’s father-son dynamic isn’t entirely dissimilar to the one we see with Kylo Ren in the Sequel Trilogy. As a fan of the EU, Ortberg had her own ideas about this story.

Durron, Ortberg said, was a war criminal who should not have been put back in Luke Skywalker’s custody.

Her essays are great because they combine the honest feelings of a fan whose feathers have been ruffled, but also use Ortberg’s trademark humor to create a new and astonishingly consistent Star Wars story. She makes insightful comments on the sociopolitical state of the galaxy far, far away, and clearly cares a lot about her subject. Another one of her essays shouts out the similarities between Kyp Durron and Kylo Ren.

Like the best pop culture work, Ortberg’s story in From a Certain Point of View is also a dialogue between a fan and the source material that drove her to write in the first place. As it turns out, one of my favorite lines in the collection is based on political writings from the real world.

Ortberg writes: “The point is, whatever conclusions you ultimately draw about the incident taking place between myself and Lord Vader during yesterday’s morning briefing, he was wrong, and trying to crush someone else’s windpipe doesn’t make you less wrong.” 

At the panel she mentioned that this idea was drawn from writer and philosopher Ayn Rand, who in 1966's Capitalism: The Unknown Idealwrote, “A gun is not an argument.” 

This is, obviously, one of those places where reference does not constitute endorsement. Ortberg plays around with Randian ideas in articles like these. Far more interesting to me is the fact that Ortberg drew on Rand as just one of the tools in her grab bag of information, adding some real-world philosophy to a rather lighthearted tie-in story. 

Ortberg also said at the panel that if she could write a Star Wars story from the point of view of one of the heroes, she would choose Mon Mothma. Mothma’s voice, “rich with sorrow and gravitas,” might be hard to translate to prose, Ortberg suggested. But judging by her From a Certain Point of View story, she would bring her funny, clever ideas to a Mon Mothma tale, too. From a Certain Point of Viewis a good way to kick off conversations about favorite characters in Star Wars and what different authors bring to the table. I pointed out some more of my favorites, including Ortberg’s, in Den of Geek’s review.

Read the latest Den of Geek Special Edition Magazine right here!