Via MTV:
Robert Downey Jr. does a have a cameo as Tony Stark/Iron Man in the movie as part of Marvel Studios' effort to depict the same Marvel Universe on film. He will share a scene opposite General Ross.

William Hurt is a consummate actor and a closet (until now) comic book geek. Both of which explain his excitement in revealing a bit about one surprise scene he shot for this summer's "The Incredible Hulk."

"I have a scene with Iron Man, with Robert Downey Jr.," the Oscar-winning actor told MTV News Friday at the Sundance Film Festival. "It's a funky scene."

For those who haven't heard the news, superhero house Marvel Comics is aggressively cross-pollinating its superheroes, most likely in preparation for an eventual "Avengers" movie. That means Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury will make a cameo appearance in May 2's "Iron Man," and ol' metalhead himself will drop into "Hulk." Little has been said about the scene — until now.

"I don't know how it'll work," Hurt admitted, saying it was a thrill to appear as General Thaddeus Ross during Downey's scene. "I know it's weird [to work with a character from another movie], and to know it's a device. We did something; I don't know what that's going to be like [to watch]."

In town to unveil the cross-generational romantic drama "The Yellow Handkerchief" to a packed theater of weepy, applauding moviegoers, Hurt was happy to discuss the transition from making that independent film to one of the year's most anticipated blockbusters. "[Marvel] has a lot of guts," he said of the June 13 flick that recast all the characters of 2003's "Hulk." "I hope the film works. I have no idea, because it's so out of my hands now."

Still, Hurt has one particular scene — and several plot revelations — that he can't wait to watch on the big screen.

"Liv Tyler, I play her father, General Ross," he explained. "There's a scene, and during that scene there are a number of things happening. [Hulk] has beaten Abomination, and then there's a crowd that gathers around, and they realize that he's beaten Abomination. That Abomination was the one who was killing for just the joy of killing; Hulk is not the one.

"It's the moment of turn," Hurt added, "when society's relationship with Hulk stops being so stupid."

Unlike Ang Lee, director Louis Leterrier (the "Transporter" films) is intent on laying off the "Hulk as misunderstood monster" angle, thereby making him more heroic. "I want to see the relationship between Hulk and a world that realizes he's not the villain," Hurt said. "Hulk and [Tyler's Betty Ross] have their moment, and the crowd realizes he's not the bad guy."

While Edward Norton has perfected his portrayal of such good-guy/bad-guy conflict in films from "Fight Club" to "American History X," Hurt can't comment on his co-star's performance. "I don't know. I only have two scenes with him," he sighed, sounding a bit disappointed. "That's not enough to get a whole taste of it."

He is convinced, however, that the reboot flick is fully unrelated to Lee's initial installment. "I saw that film. This is, stylistically, a completely different film. They just don't relate," Hurt insisted.

Hurt said Norton worked hard behind the camera to keep the new flick from either becoming too cerebral or falling back on a "Hulk! Smash!" mentality. "[Norton did] a lot of writing, and came up with a lot of ideas. I can't relate them now, because there's not enough time, but he had a lot of ideas."

The script, which was penned by Norton, along with writer Zak Penn, "has to do with the fact that [Banner's] conscience still exists in a body that is a manifestation of power and is greater than his own ability to control it — and how he's learning that relationship," said the veteran actor, who can currently be seen in the awards-season favorite "Into the Wild." "Because that's what's happening to us. That's the central metaphor for all of us, that we're learning these powers — technological powers, whatever — that we don't know if we have enough conscience to control in a wise way yet. And that's what he's doing.

"[Hulk] is managing to save his humanity inside that, while people like General Ross can't," he said of the tension between Bruce Banner and the man who wants to take him down. "That's a main theme throughout many of the comics, and in 'Hulk,' it seems to be [primary]. ... I love him."

And when Hurt makes a statement like that, he isn't just another Hollywood actor hopping on the superhero gravy train. "I believe in Hulk. Absolutely. That's why I did the movie," he revealed. "I'm a Hulk fan, and he was always my favorite. I keep asking my son why he's both of our favorites. I read the comic books, but he's a real fanatic. I didn't even know he was a fanatic for Hulk until after I agreed to do the film — and we're father and son."

Ultimately, with actors like Norton, Tyler, himself and Tim Roth (as Abomination) on set every day, Hurt said he was amazed at how small the massive film felt. "The interesting thing about making 'The Incredible Hulk' was how audacious they were in having such a hugely expensive movie, but at the same time creating this sense right at the core — for me, Liv and Ed — that we could experiment," he grinned. "You're on a hell of a budget, and you're on a hell of a time schedule, and you know this. But when you get inside the little tight circle of the hurricane, there's a very small space of great freedom.

"I was tremendously grateful to Marvel for letting that happen, because sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes a studio film is just pure anxiety; accountants and everybody saying, 'Oh God, oh God, I'm going to get fired,' but that wasn't the case here," said the star, looking forward to the cinematic return of the gamma-fueled antihero. "It was an immense production. But once you got into your scene, it was relatively free."

Iron Man director Jon Favreau said he would like to direct a film adaptation of The Avengers. This would be a crossover to fictional universes in other upcoming Marvel films such as The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Captain America. He also explained that Marvel has told him that "they're pretty clear on wanting to do it with the actors who’ve established the roles or to not do it at all." He continued, "I think it’s a good idea if you use the characters established in the other franchises that then come together for an event. It was later stated that Zak Penn, writer of the scripts for X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Elektra was to write the movie's script.

Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow is a direct-to-video animated film produced by Marvel Comics. This is one of several Marvel Comics properties that will be released on DVD by Lions Gate Entertainment. The DVD is currently targeted to be released in July 2008.

Civil War tore the Marvel Universe apart, pitting hero against hero, friend against friend. Captain America lay dead, felled by a sniper's bullet. The Skrulls' Secret Invasion was uncovered — heroes have been replaced by alien shapeshifters for decades. In this, the hour of the Marvel Universe's greatest upheavals, five heroes from another era appear in the center of New York City!

The strangers claim to be the Invaders, costumed heroes of World War II — Captain America, Bucky, Namor, the Human Torch, and Toro. How will two Avengers teams — one government sponsored, the other fugitives from the law — react to these mysterious strangers? Can the Invaders be who they claim to be? And what does their appearance in the year 2008 portend? These questions and more will be answered in Marvel's twelve-issue maxi-series Avengers/Invaders from creators Alex Ross, Jim Krueger, and Steve Sadowski!

In the planning for over two years, Ross and Krueger are planning on pulling out all the stops! Steve Rogers, the original Captain America, back in the modern day Marvel Universe. Iron Man, confronting the personal demons that have haunted him since Rogers' death. The young and angry Namor, meeting his older, wiser, more cautious self. Can two Avengers teams — the Mighty Avengers and the New Avengers — learn something from the heroism and nobility of the heroes of the World War II generation, the Greatest Generation? Or will some Avengers see this as an opportunity to upset the balance of history?

Artist Steve Sadowski is no stranger to team books — or to working with Ross and Krueger. Sadowski's work on Avengers and DC's JSA prepared him well for tackling the Golden Age-meets-Modern Age story of Avengers/Invaders. Plus, Sadowski worked with Ross and Krueger on their Earth X tie-in books. Wrapped in painted covers from Alex Ross, this maxi-series will be a visual treat.

Avengers/Invaders will shape the Marvel Universe for years to come! Don't miss what is certain to be one of the most talked-about comic events of 2008!

"In light of the events of Civil War and Tony Stark's own guilt over the death of [Captain America], the meeting between those two heroes is going to be an emotional jackhammer. One that will rip through the story."
— Writer Jim Krueger

Avengers/Invaders, a 12 issue crossover by Alex Ross, Jim Krueger and Steve Sadowski, will begin in May.

Marvel Comics on Thursday issued a checklist of upcoming titles involved in the Spider-Man: Back in Black event.

Not all books will be labeled under the "Back in Black" umbrella.

MARCH

* Amazing Spider-Man #539

* Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #18

* New Avengers #28

* Sensational Spider-Man #36

APRIL

* Amazing Spider-Man #540

* Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #17 Granov 2nd Printing Variant

* Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #19

* Marvel Spotlight: Spider-Man

* New Avengers #29

* Sensational Spider-Man #35 Crain 2nd Printing Variant

* Sensational Spider-Man #37

* Spider-Man Family #1 Kirk 2nd Printing Variant

* Spider-Man Family #2

* Spider-Man: Back In Black Handbook

MAY

* Amazing Spider-Man #541

* Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America: Spider-Man

* Friendly Neighborhood

* Spider-Man #20

* Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Annual #1

* New Avengers #30

* Sensational Spider-Man Annual #1

JUNE

* Amazing Spider-Man #542

* Avengers: The Initiative #3 *

* Blade #10

* Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #21

* New Avengers #31

* Sensational Spider-Man #38

JULY

* Amazing Spider-Man #543

* Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #22

* New Avengers #32

* Sensational Spider-Man #39

The World Has Changed:House of M panel:



The New X-Men' status quo is changing after the House of M. Craig Kyle and Chris Yost from X-23 are taking over after Nunzio DeFillippis and Christina Weir. Their first arc deals with the repercussions of HoM and how that affected the younger mutants. Editor Mike Marts said that HoM "demands a line-up change." "X-23, Surge, Hellion, Rockslide, Mercury, Elixir, and Dust " are on the new lineup...

Marts says "You have to read all of House of M, then House of M: The Day After and New X-Men # 20, both in November," said Marts. "Then you'll understand why all these characters were chosen to be a part of the New X-Men." He also said none of the present characters are going to any of the other Marvel Universe superteams, nor or any getting solo series...

Marvel Editor Andy Schmidt said Excalibur will be restarted featuring some of the classic line up from writer Chris Claremont and artist Michael Ryan. The line up includes: Captain Britain, Nocturne, Pete Wisdom, and Dazzler.



X-Factor is also returning this November spiraling from the success of the Madrox limited series and out of events from House of M. The series will be centered in the District X region with a darker tone than the original book...



There will be an X-Men/Power Pack limited series starting in October from the Power Pack team of Marc Sumerak and Gurihiru...

The House of M variant covers for # 6 are by Greg Land, #7's are from Sal Larroca, and #8's from Chris Bachalo...

Starting with Uncanny X-Men 464 new creative team is Chris Claremont and Chris Bachalo...

Whedon and Cassady will stay on until Astonishing X-Men #25

Exiles # 69 - #71 is about Beak returning to the mainstream Marvel Universe, but when the Exiles return, its the House of M. Also in Exiles issue # 71, a member of the team will die...

The Pulse # 10 by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Lark is going to be the most closely tied in to the House of M. If people want the full story on House of M, this is the issue to buy...

There are some plans for the X-Statix, but nothing that can be announced yet...

There are no plans for the Man-Thing after its appearance in House of M...


Joe Quesada, Orson Scott Card, Brian K. Vaughan, and Brandon Peterson on the Ultimate Marvel panel:



Concept art was shown featuring Silver Sable, Havok ,and several other characters. Quesada mentioned that Ultimate Silver Sable was in the upcoming Ultimate Spider-Man video game and that the game was penned by Brian Michael Bendis. There was no mention of if she would show up within the pages of any Ultimate Universe comic book.

Teaser art was featured from the final part in the Warren Ellis Ultimate trilogy, Ultimate Extinction. The piece shown was a black and white Galactus looking helmet. Brandon Peterson is tapped to pencil the series... he teased "The Silver Surfer is there, but not in the way you might expect.

"It's not just going to be a Fantastic Four thing," Peterson continued. "It's an entire Ultimate Universe thing with all the major players coming together to team up. Galactus will not be a big guy in a purple suit. We have a really realistic take on Galactus. The scope of the series is huge - as in actual astronomical units being described in the script I had to draw."


When asked "Why weren't Shanna and Black Panther rebooted in Ultimate line?", Joe Q said "The Ultimate Line is intended to be more in line with the movie line. When we tried to do an Ultimate Daredevil to coincide with the movie, we ended up with basically the same character. That's why with BP and Shanna, when we found ourselves going down the same road, we decided they should remain in the regular universe."

Joe Quesada plugged again the fact that major announcements containing the Ultimate Universe would be forthcoming in the next three to four weeks and everyone should "stay tuned."


Other Marvel Universe panel info:
Joe Quesada has signed a new multi-year deal with Marvel Comics that has him not only wearing the Editor-in Chief hat, but also Chief Creative Officer, Publishing.

“Over the next couple of years, my ultimate goals will remain further growing Marvel Comics’ leadership position and expanding our mainstream presence. I want comics to have the same consumer prominence as movies, TV and novels and in doing so continue to grow Marvel Comics as among America’s premiere storytellers,” said Quesada.

New creators on Iron Man, Daredevil and Thor, as well as the New Avengers artist and Incredible Hulk writer, will be announced soon. The new Thor book won't launch until next year.

Punisher #25-30 pit Frank Castle against the NYPD.



Marvel Comics revealed a new six-issue Moon Knight series will begin in February. Moon Knight: The Bottom is written by Charlie Huston, with art by David Finch. Huston, 37, is an author of such books as Caught Stealing, Six Bad Things and the upcoming Already Dead.

"This is Charlie's inaugural comic work," Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada said. "Charlie's are the best scripts I've ever seen coming from someone who hasn't written comics before."

The book will be set firmly in continuity and will feature Marc Spector as Moon Knight. "But it moves the story forward," Quesada said.

Another Mary Jane series written by Sean McKeever will start in November or December.

Fantastic Four: First Family, a six-issue series, will launch in January, written by Joe Casey, with art by Chris Weston

"We go back and explain a lot of the early stuff," Casey said. "There a lot of firsts, like the first time Reed Richards kissed the government's ass, which he seems to do a lot now."

J. Michael Strazcynski's Book of Lost Souls will be published in October, with art by Colleen Doran.

New Thunderbolts #13-14 is a meeting with the New Avengers

New Avengers- Finch's last arc will feature Ronin and then Frank Cho's arc on New Avengers will feature Spider-Woman



The original numbering on the She-Hulk will be relaunched in October, but will soon revert to cumulative numbering with a #100 issue (combining the original series, Sensational & the most recent series)

Cloak and Dagger would be seen in the pages of a Runaways arc beginning with issue # 9. The New Avengers will also be featured in that arc....

Luke Cage will appear in six issues of Black Panther.

Quesada said to look for some Iron Man-related mini-series

J. Michael Straczynski said the move of Supreme Power from MAX to Marvel Knights won't impact the title's contents creatively.

"The story isn't going to change, the characters aren't going to change and the tone isn't going to change," he said. "The only thing that will change will be the imprint."

Straczynski said there won't be any crossovers between the Marvel and Supreme Power universe, but there might be Marvel Universe-like characters in Supreme Power.

Secret War will conclude in November, and Dan Buckley said a hardcover is targeted for February or March

The panel ended with Quesada teasing a project. He said last year at Comic-Con he was asked if there was any one writer he could have come work on a Marvel Universe project, who would it be, and then flashed "The King" image without further explanation.

news:
Yesterday Marvel Comics held a Press Conference to discuss some of its upcoming plans concerning the mega-crossover event, House of M. The series is set to shake up the status quo in the Marvel U. On hand to talk about the saga was were Brian Michael Bendis, Joe Quesada, Tom Brevoort, Mike Marts, John Dokes, and David Gabriel.

The panel began with writer Brian Michael Bendis giving a summary of what the House of M is supposed to be and where Marvel is with the initiative so far.

"Just to start off, the House of M miniseries is technically an Astonishing X-Men and New Avengers crossover that birthed itself into a legitimately giant Marvel Universe miniseries that affects more than just the two books it was initially set to affect," Bendis began. "We're gathering here to talk about the long-term ramifications the miniseries will set the stage for. What we're the most happy about is the new kinds of stories we'll be able to tell after this miniseries. We're setting the stage to make a change that allows a lot of writers to tell a great many new kinds of stories."

"House of M involves all the mutants, all of the Avengers - past and present, and is NOT a What If ...? story," Bendis continued. "There have been a lot of rumors on the internet, that think this story is not actually happening in the mainstream Marvel universe, but it is and we are NOT putting the world back the way we found it!"


HOUSE OF M #1 COVER

Then the floor was opened up to a series of questions and answers.

QUESTION: One concern we've been hearing is the amount of comics involved in this whole House of M event. It's huge - the checklists seem to have tons of comics involved. Is it going to be necessary to buy every book that has something to do with HoM or can you just get the main House of M miniseries and leave?

BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS ANSWER: The plan is basically that you'll hopefully be picking up the main title, and that there are so many ideas put forth in that title, you'll be interested in seeing what happens to the key characters next after this story. Like if you like what just happened to Spider-Man or dig the Iron Man armor and want to see what's next, you'll get the next part or their miniseries.

If you're so inclined to buy them all, you will get this massive epic - like a giant miniseries you might see on TV. In fact it reminded me a lot like TAKEN, the recent miniseries from the SCI FI channel. Of course you can just read the main House of M and the pieces that interest you most. I guess all you really have to read though is the main miniseries which is important and necessary to understand the rest.

JOE QUESADA: The event is designed like the larger Marvel events of the past three or four years. We don't want to force our readership to buy every title to get the whole story. It's the law of diminishing returns once you ask this of readers too many times, they gravitate against it. But to get the full experience you want to get the crossover issues. Our advice is, we'd love you to buy them all, but, at the end of the day, you should buy what you like and what you can afford!

This event is really something we planned and it's also a lot of fun. Plus there will be huge ramifications to be carried on through the entire Marvel Universe and felt through all the titles across the board. The way it's laid out, it's almost impossible not to buy the next part.


QUESTION: You're promising ramifications and big endings, what can you tell us of those?

BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS: You truly haven't seen it before - that's for sure! It's the kind of thing -

MARVEL: It's Daredevil! He's responsible!

[laughter]

BENDIS: There were a great many writers involved with the birth of this kind of idea. We showed it to a lot of writers and said, 'Does this excite you as much as it does us?' What you'll get is new kinds of Marvel stories, we're always looking for ideas to birth these new stories and ideas, instead of just repeating the same stories a million times. We are looking for new stories not just for the summer, but beyond - for the chance to really do things that haven't been done before.

QUESTION: What do you learn from writing a big event like Avengers Disassembled that helped your creative process for House of M.?

BENDIS: Don't kill Hawkeye.

[laughs]

QUESTION: Would you do that again if you had the chance? Kill Hawkeye?

BENDIS: If I had to do it all over again, I'd do it. You never go out to purposely piss people off or shock people, but when it's telling itself, you can't shy away from the story. It always looks worse than you imagine. You can't shy away from stuff. You have to let the story happen. There were things I thought people would get pissed off about, but didn't; and things that did piss off, that I have no clue why.

The cool thing about this job is that we're constantly learning. Everything you do, you learn from writing. It is such an organic process that it has a constant fear that comes with it, but it's also like an excitement because you're always doing something you haven't done before. This is true definitely not only from books I've written, but events that have come before. You learn the lessons of history and what worked about one event or another. What I'm most happy about in HoM is the aftermath. You see things that happen in any company where the event IS spectacular, but the aftermath is disastrous. I'm very proud of what Tom, Mark, Joe and Dan have put together as stories to be told afterwards. It made the whole process worthwhile. That's what I've enjoyed the most about HoM - as we've looked at what has gone on in the past and in history and we try to improve upon it.

QUESTION: You mentioned event will allow Marvel to tell different types of stories. We've seen espionage recently, what other types are you talking about?

BENDIS: It would spoil things a little to give it away. Let's just say we're putting the main Marvel characters in a position they've never in before and watching them deal with it emotionally and physically. Plus there are some new types of villains to pull out of the story. Something like this can't help but be interesting to new readers or the more classic readers.

QUESTION: Is it revamping genres or similar to DC's recent Countdown miniseries?

BENDIS: It's completely different from the DC ones. Different animals with different goals for what they want. Nothing feels like it needs to be fixed at Marvel and this isn't anything like that. This is more along the lines of here's a story that birthed itself out of Marvel continuity of years past an Av Dis; from there the wheels turned and a question like 'What if a Villain like Magneto put the screws to things and the world didn't get put back the way it was?' was formed.

QUESADA: People are speculating that we're fixing things or setting the clocks back. We're in no way doing that. Everything after this is a new take and spin.

TOM BREVOORT: We're making entirely new mistakes.

MARVEL: This gives us the chance to Kill Hawkeye all over again.

[laughs]

QUESTION: Is this actually happening to the mainstream characters? Like we saw Age of Apocalypse and Heroes Reborn but things were kind of the same afterwards ...

BENDIS: We aren't those stories.

One of the things I'm most proud of and that surprised some people is how emotional the story is. I can't speak for the other events and what they tried, but I'm very happy with how emotional the story turned out and the quality of the artwork and such. We can't be compared to anything that has come before. I haven't really seen this before you get excited and nervous.

QUESADA: With the other crossovers, things were normal afterwards. With this, things will definitely be quite different afterwards.

QUESTION: You said that this event will change the Marvel of the future, so if I hate the House of M, am I screwed reading Marvel Comics for the next ten years?

BENDIS: When we say "change" there are certain mega and micro events to change. It doesn't mean all of the comics will be radically different, but it is a world where now some things may be. It's not like Wolverine will now be blue and that's what his story will be about. There are things going on in the Marvel Universe, but something has happened now and characters are dealing with it in these new kinds of stories. We LOVE the Marvel Universe, and we're not turning it on its head because we think we know better. This is a love letter to every single Avengers and Magneto story.

QUESTION: How many issues is this?

BENDIS: 8 issues biweekly; the is opposite of the feeling you've been getting from Secret War. It's almost like a machine gun - every two weeks, *boom, boom, boom,* it's big.

QUESTION: In light of recent issues how many issues is this again?

ANSWER: laughs

QUESTION: The order cut off date is next week. Is this looking like Ultimate numbers or Avengers Disassembled numbers or something like that? Is it meeting expects?

BENDIS: The only thing we can say is its surpassing all expectations so far. Everyone here has a really big smile. Olivier Copiel killed on this. It will really put him on the map. I am so happy with him! I can't even tell you how great it is, and he doesn't even speak English!

[laughs]

QUESADA: Yes, he does!

BENDIS: Have you talked to him lately?

QUESTION: Where's the writing aspect coming from?

BENDIS: I'll tell you how it all started. After AV Dis, I kind of muttered to Joe, 'Hey you know Magneto is here and Wanda is here and Peitro is here, and this could really screw the X-Men and Avengers at the same time.' From there, the idea was put forth to a lot of the writers saying, 'hey if we did something like this, would it excite you or annoy you?' A lot of guys said, 'I'm in. I have something I can do with this!' From there, it built.



For the aftermath of House of M, we did the same thing where we all got together and plotted out what would be a very tight and profound aftermath to this and asked again, 'If we do this are you excited or upset?' And a lot of really talented guys jumped in to carry the torch. That's the most fun part of it for me, because writing such a solitary endeavor. I'm usually alone in my basement, like I am now, and to have others jump in and be a part of this and see the value of it dramatically is the best part of House of M.

QUESTION: Why does IRON MAN look like a Gundam?

ANSWER: People like Iron Man's new armor, some think he looks like a Transformer, but there's a lot of effort to make Iron Man the Shining Knight of the future that he's supposed to be. I said it before, my cell phone can take a picture, but Iron Man still has to use these roller skates.

QUESTION: With this conflict the characters are thrown in will they be aware of it and trying to fight against it or immersed in it against their wills. Are the characters involved completely subjected to it?


BENDIS: That's one of the mysteries of the story. Issue three has some answers. We have a very tight first act. Issue #2 has 21 scenes in it, which for me is a miracle.

QUESTION: If this affects what happens from this point on, what about the past events and lives of these characters? How does that come into play? Does it still matter?

BENDIS: It's a very emotional book.

QUESTION: Who is Layla Miller?

BREVOORT: She's an all new characters. She is crucially important and crucially important to plans afterward for the House of M. It's early for us to talk about and speak about. You will want to watch her as things go forward. We have clear plans for her as the first in another of new characters.



QUESTION: About continuity ... titles go back and forth on how tight continuity is. Will this draw continuity together or break them apart by this ability to tell new stories? It sounds like each title and subject are separate universe with different relationships and world views. How does it work in the future?

BENDIS: It works the way it has worked in the recent past. If you look at last year in the case of New Avengers, which has Spider-Man and Wolverine; and characters turning up elsewhere - all the characters share the Marvel universe. This is the opportunity for a connection and crossover and to see the effects of one book on another. This is and will continue to be an element going forward. No one in his own little boxes after this - everyone plays with everyone else. That's one of the beautiful things about House of M and New Avengers and what we're doing. We are seeing what new elements can come out of this interaction.


What some people have the feeling of when we say we're going to try something new is that we will destroy something old, but this is the opposite of that. When we announced the Ultimates, the reaction was 'you'll destroy the main Marvel universe!' And now, here we are a few years later, and that's not the case. New doesn't mean destroying anything old. It's kind of a valentine to what Marvel was in the early '70s. We wanted to push forward and not retell old stories over and over again - all that can still be accomplished and all that can still be done; this is a love letter to what has come before us.

BENDIS: I actually would like to say THE PULSE newspaper is a fun little bit that I think people will really enjoy. We actually put out a newspaper together with all the writers writing articles containing bits and pieces about the series you will only find in this edition.

QUESTION: Is Layla Miller only new character?

BENDIS: Nope.

QUESTION: Why bring in new characters when there are so many existing characters who could be used?

BENDIS: We'll be using the old too. I have no qualms about using classic characters, remember I'm the guy who shoved Jessica Drew down your throats in New Avengers. You'll see both new and old characters all share the same spotlight. We'll see what the public likes.

QUESTION: Will Hawkeye in series?

BENDIS: [solemnly] He passed away - very suddenly.

[laughter]

QUESTION: Will there be lots of deaths?

BENDIS: I won't say no, because everyone yells at you; but I will tell you it's weird that in three months there was an inordinate amount of killing in all my titles, which of course most I'd written ahead of time. So even though it seemed I was being all Hannibal Lector-ish, it wasn't my intention. I did make a promise this year to be all about the creation and birth and the new, so you're seeing things like the reintroduction of Sentry to new villains from the House of M and New Avengers. I made a promise to create and not destroy.

QUESTION: How are you going to make sure the House of M does not have all eggs in one basket?

BREVOORT: We tend to go forward with stories and with ideas that we have confidence in; so it's not a questions of all our eggs in one basket. We have confidence in it as a story to excite readers and fans, but they are not the only books we're putting out that month. It's not that we feel less excited - the basket is no different than before House of M - this is just shiniest thing in basket this month.



QUESTION: Does THE PULSE Special have any word about the cover image that has been bandied about that looks like a photo of the King of Spain?

ANSWER: The King of Spain not the biggest villain in the marvel universe

[laughter]

QUESTION: Are there any new permanent books launch as a result?

ANSWER: Yes. All have letter "M" Somewhere in the title.


Tomorrow I'll include all the upcoming House of M tie-ins & mini-series as the start of the event nears.

press release:
George Pérez, the legendary artist who's contributed his talents to THE NEW TEEN TITANS, WONDER WOMAN, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, the upcoming DC SPECIAL: THE RETURN OF DONNA TROY, and much more, has signed a 5-year exclusive agreement with DC Comics.

"So many of my landmark successess have been with DC Comics, and I've developed so many long-lasting relationships with people there — it really feels to me like a family atmosphere," says Pérez. "I have great regard for what Dan DiDio's doing for the company as well. They made me a great offer, and it just seems like the place to be. I couldn't be more thrilled!"

"George is an incredible talent whose voice and vision helped define our world and his work will continue to shape the DC Universe for years to come," says Dan DiDio, VP — Executive Editor, DCU.

Some of Pérez's work for DC Comics may be found in these titles, all available for reorder:

• CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS

• THE HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE

• JLA/AVENGERS COLLECTORS EDITION OVERSIZED SLIPCASE

• THE NEW TEEN TITANS ARCHIVES VOL. 1

• THE NEW TEEN TITANS ARCHIVES VOL. 2

• THE NEW TEEN TITANS: THE TERROR OF TRIGON

• WONDER WOMAN: GODS AND MORTALS

• WONDER WOMAN: CHALLENGE OF THE GODS

In addition, issues of DC SPECIAL: DONNA TROY are available as follows:

• DC SPECIAL: THE RETURN OF DONNA TROY #1 is scheduled to arrive in stores on May 25.

• DC SPECIAL: THE RETURN OF DONNA TROY #2 is scheduled to arrive in stores on July 7.

Also, THE NEW TEEN TITANS: WHO IS DONNA TROY? is scheduled to arrive in stores on June 1.

Marvel Comics has released the cover to the first issue of the eight-issue House of M series by Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel. The cover is by Esad Ribic. House of M starts in June.

click here for a bigger image.

Marvel Comics released news today of a new series of six Dollar Digests. The digests will be 64 pages of black and white digests. The books will retail for $1.00 and may contain "abridged to fit format" stories of three classic Marvel Comics.

The first six digests will include Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the Hulk, and the X-Men. The digests are:

SPIDER-MAN: AMAZING FANTASY DOLLAR DIGEST
Collects AMAZING FANTASY #15, AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #1, #2

FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST FAMILY DOLLAR DIGEST
Collects FANTASTIC FOUR #1-#3

AVENGERS: ASSEMBLE DOLLAR DIGEST
Collects AVENGERS #1-#3

SPIDER-MAN: DOCTOR OCTOPUS DOLLAR DIGEST
Collects AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #3,#4,#5

HULK: HULK SMASH DOLLAR DIGEST
Collects HULK #1-#3

X-MEN: CHILDREN OF THE ATOM
Collects X-MEN #1-#3

These books will be on sale June 8th. The format will be digest size measuring 4 7/8 x 6 9/16.

As the Marvel Universe's New Avengers confront a huge jailbreak threatening the citizens of New York, the event poses new dangers for one of the team's most famous members, in Spider-Man: Breakout, a five-issue Marvel Comics mini-series.

Written by Tony Bedard and illustrated by Manuel Garcia & a cover by Mike Deodato, the mini-series will tie into both Spider-Man Month and the chart-topping New Avengers. Fans of that series who don't regularly buy books from the Spider-Man line, and Spider-fans who may not travel beyond Spidey's titles may be encouraged to do so by this exciting project.

Spider-Man: Breakout #1 will place the web-slinging wonder in the middle of the mass escape taking place in New Avengers, which sends some of Marvel's deadliest villains into the streets of Manhattan -- and when two warring cliques of these powerful cons face off, guess who swings between them? Find out April 20th, for $2.99. Click here for the Pulse's exclusive interview!