Broken Frontier

Joe Quesada welcomed everyone and apologized for the delay; he explained that nearly the entire Marvel group for that panel had been stranded in various locations due to weather problems and flight delays. Because of this, Quesada said that he and fellow panelist C.B. Cebulski would try to wing it...

First slide Quesada called up announced that Genndy Tartakovsky, best known for his work with the animated series Dexter’s Laboratory and Samurai Jack would be writing and drawing a Luke Cage series featuring the "old school" version of Cage complete with yellow shirt, chain belt and tiara.

The next slide announced a new Silver Surfer mini-series titled Silver Surfer: In Thy Name by Simon Spurrier with art by Tan Eng Huat

At this point artist and writer Rob Liefeld joined the panel and Quesada went on to announce that artist Cory Walker would be replacing Ariel Olivetti on Punisher: War Journal.

Quesada then turned things over to Liefeld as he announced that there would be a new Killraven series written by Robert Kirkman with art by Liefeld. Liefeld stated that this would be a new take on the classic character; that they would be making a fresh start and also that they would be firmly tying the character in to the Marvel Universe and fans could expect to see a number of Marvel artifacts such as Captain America’s shield, Iron Man’s armor and Thor’s hammer. The series is set to debut in mid-2008.

Only two other new series were then announced – the follow up to World War Hulk titled Aftersmash, and Penance: Relentless, a mini-series focusing on the former Speedball, with Paul Jenkins and Paul Gulacy as the creative team.

At this point Quesada opened the floor to questions.

One fan expressed confusion with the timelines between the Civil War stories and the World War Hulk books. Quesada stated that the timelines have been more fluid and, while they have been working on keeping the continuity straight, fans should not try too hard to force everything to fit into a strict time frame. He went on to add that Tom Brevoort probably had the whole timeline in his head but he had been one of those stranded due to the travel problems. Cebulski suggested the fan go to Brevoort’s blog and post the question there.

Several fans asked if the recent events in New Avengers would lead into some big event. Quesada cagily said that the recent revelations had certainly opened up a can of worms and fans should look to see something unfolding by the spring of 2008.

One fans wanted to know when readers might see more Young Avengers. Quesada replied that they were working on that but it was a matter of getting those involved to have some free space in their schedules.

The next fan asked about the late schedule on Ultimate Wolverine vs. the Hulk. Quesada responded that it would be finished soon along with Ultimate Iron Man.

Another fan noted that with Civil War and Punisher War Journal the Punisher had been a bit less violent and had veered toward more supervillain and superhero stories and he wanted to know if that would continue. Quesada responded in the affirmative as War Journal was designed to be superhero-y while Max was meant was meant to be street level.

The next questioner wanted to know the release date on the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby "lost" Fantastic Four issue. Again, neither Quesada nor Cebulski knew the exact date and the person who did was one of those stranded.

One fan noted that, with the result of recent events many of the "villains" in the Marvel Universe right now are former heroes and much of the conflict seems to be hero vs. hero and this fan wanted to know if that would continue. Quesada responded that all the heroes in the Marvel Universe had their dark sides that that, really, it was not a question of black and white – that many of the "villains" have a belief in what they are doing and can make a case for it.

Another fan wanted to know if there would be a happy ending to the Endangered Species story currently running through many of the X-Men titles. Quesada responded that the fan would have to wait and see.

There followed a couple of questions about the Ultimate Universe. One fans wanted to know when The Ultimates, vol. 3 would be out. Quesada and Cebulski said that they though the first issue would be out in December of 2007 but they were not certain. The next question regarded a number of jokes Quesada, Cebulski, and Liefeld had made throughout the panel about writer Jeph Loeb blowing up the Ultimate Universe. The questioner wished to know if the Ultimate titles were ending or being cancelled. Quesada indicated that the titles were not being discontinued and that there would be significant news on the Ultimate universe close to the end of the year.

One fan remarked that it seemed Marvel has not been introducing many new, original villains lately and he wanted to know if that was an editorial decision. Quesada responded that there will be some new villains coming in the near future.

The next fan asked for more information on the recently announced mini-series The 12 from J. Michael Straczynski. Quesada explained that it would be a 12 issue limited series focusing on 12 classic, old, Marvel characters but that it would also have ties into the current Marvel universe.

Another fan asked about a sequel to Kurt Busiek’s Marvels mini-series. Quesada responded that there was a sequel in the works

Another question was when readers could expect to see a new Captain Marvel series? Quesada replied that the new series would start in November and it would feature an "old School" Captain Marvel.

The next fan asked Quesada where he saw the Captain America series going. Quesada responded that he enjoyed the direction writer Ed Brubaker was taking and he felt that as long as Brubaker was writing that the series would go in a good direction.

Another fan inquired how far into the future events are planned? Quesada explained that things are loosely planned about a year and a half into the future on average. They keep it loose because schedules change.

The next person wanted to know who would be the new artist on Moon Knight. Quesada said that they could not make that announcement right now.

There were a great many questions and a large amount of debate back and forth between the panelists and fans regarding the future and fate of Mary Jane as well as Peter and Mary Jane’s marriage. While Quesada defended his statements in the past that he believes the marriage has limited the character of Peter Parker a number of fans defended the marriage. Quesada was also emphatic in response to one question that really did like the character of Mary Jane and had actively pushed the writers to make the marriage a happy one when, in the past, writers had a tendency to create a lot of strife in the relationship in an attempt to create dramatic tension. Quesada was also emphatic about expanding Peter’s supporting cast. He stated that the supporting cast had regrettably been allowed to shrink to the point that it was only Mary Jane and Aunt May. He stated that adding new characters to the supporting cast was a goal in the coming year.