As yet another year passes into the mist it is time once again to visit the top comic book related stories from 2014.
In less than a month, Marvel will put one of its favorite heroes to sleep. Wolverine, the hairy, Canadian bundle of muscle with the claws, will die on October 8 (just in time for New York Comic-Con), when the comic book The Death of Wolverine wraps up.
There might be some questions as to why Marvel would want to kill one of its most popular characters and the face of the X-Men franchise. And there may be some queries as to how one kills someone who's immortal.
Here then, is a brief guide to the death of Wolverine:
Why is Wolverine dying? I thought he can't die?
Wolverine's death may come as a shock to people who aren't all that familiar with what's going on the Marvel comic universe. Most people know Wolverine to be the mutant with claws, but his real mutant ability, something that X-Men movies have made very clear, is that he has the ability to heal himself and is therefore immortal.
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9. Breaking News: Supergirl's Getting a TV Show
Looks like the Man of Steel isn’t the only Kryptonian you’ll soon be seeing on screen.
Yes, the news of its development broke a few weeks ago, but today it was made official. As reported this morning, Berlanti Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television, will be producing a Supergirl television series for CBS, which has given the show a series commitment.
If the Berlanti name sounds familiar to you, it should. It’s the production company of Greg Berlanti, the Executive Producer of both Arrow and the upcoming The Flash. He’ll serve as Executive Producer of Supergirl as well, along with Ali Adler and Sarah Schechter. As for what fans can expect from the show, it sounds like Berlanti and team will be keeping pretty faithful to the comics:
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8. Vampirella: The Queen of Vampires
Vampirella was originally presented as an inhabitant of the planet Drakulon, a world where a vampiric race lived on blood and where blood flowed in rivers. Drakulon orbits twin suns that were causing droughts across the planet, marking certain doom for Vampirella and her race. The race of which Vampirella was born, the Vampiri, were able to transform themselves into bats at will, possessed superhuman physical attributes, sprout wings when required to fly, and drink blood.
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7. MULDER & SCULLY UNCOVER THE PAST IN THE X-FILES: YEAR ZERO
In the 1940s, a shadowy informant known as “Mr. Xero” directed the FBI to a number of paranormal cases that would soon be classified as “X-Files,” which were reserved for the improbable and unexplainable. When faced with an eerily similar “Mr. Zero” in the present, Agent Mulder resolves to uncover the truth about who this mystery person is and their connection to these cases.
The multi-talented veteran Karl Kesel (FF, Superboy) makes his debut at IDW as the writer on the series. Vic Malhotra (The X-Files: Conspiracy: The Crow) andGreg Scott (The X-Files: Season 10) will be splitting art duties with Malhotra providing the art for the 1940s sequences and Scott drawing the present day storyline. Covers will be provided by Season 10’s Carlos Valenzuela, with pulp-novel-inspired subscription variants by Robert Hack (Doctor Who) and a retailer incentive cover by Eisner Award-winner Francesco Francavilla for the first installment.
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6. Frankenstein: Comics Greatest Monster
Dr. Frankenstein’s monstrous creation has a long history in literature and film, crafting an enduring legacy that has informed popular culture since the world’s most famous monster rose electrified off the slab in 1818. Mary Shelley’s classic creature has a long history in comic books as well. Some of the greatest creators comics have had to offer in each era of sequential storytelling have gotten their crack at some iteration of the Frankenstein’s Monster. From classic gothic atmospheric horror, to humor, to adventure, there have been many attempts to find comic book success through the exploitation of the not-so-good Doctor’s creation. Here are some of the more memorable comic series that have featured the most fearsome icon in horror fiction.
The History of Frankenstein at Marvel Comics
With the loosening of the Comic Code in the early 70s, Marvel Comics was eager to add their own pantheon of monsters to their already growing stable of superheroes. Looking to exploit the marketability of the Universal characters, Marvel turned their attentions to the most recognizable of horror icons, including Frankenstein. The first Marvel character that utilized the Frankenstein name appeared in X-Men #40 by writer Roy Thomas and penciler Don Heck. This version of the classic creature was sent to Earth by aliens in the nineteenth century to scout for an invasion. The X-Men defeated the creature and while this particular battle won’t go down in history as one of the merry mutant’s greatest struggles, it did inform Marvel that their universe was ripe for such classic monster action.
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5. 30 Days of AXIS
The Red Skull has declared World War Hate, using the potent telepathic abilities he pilfered from the deceased Charles Xavier to establish a “Red Supremacy” in the former mutant haven of Genosha, capturing and tormenting the Children of the Atom. In order to defeat this madman, the two teams that battled one another during AVENGERS VS. X-MEN will have to put their differences aside and unite.
Every day between now and October 8, Marvel.com and our social channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and Google+ will release a new exclusive piece of AXIS content, from writer Rick Remender providing insight into the featured characters, first look art by Adam Kubert, and excerpts of dialogue from Remender’s scripts.
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4. Marvel Comics 75 Years of Cover Art Hardcover Book
Commemorate 75 years of Marvel Comics with this beautifully illustrated Marvel Comics 75 Years of Covert Art Hardcover Book! Packaged in a slipcase with a fun cover featuring Wolverine and the Hulk, this book spotlights the most iconic covers along with concept art from all over the world. Featuring the likes of Spider-Man, Iron Man, and The Avengers, as well as the writers and artists who gave them life, including Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, the 75 Years of Cover Art book brings together the most beloved Marvel characters like no other has done before. Spreads include blown-up versions of the beautiful comic art capturing every detail while captioning facts and information about each cover's artist, storyline, and history. 320 pages.
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3. Marvel 75: The 90's -- A Decade in Armor
The 90’s came in hard and rough on the denizens of the Marvel Universe, and one need look no farther than the characters who turned in their spandex and unstable molecules for harder-edged armor for confirmation of it.
Over 10 years, heroes whose costumes had taken on a pleasing familiarity stared down the challenges facing them and decided when the going gets tough, the tough don shiny metal. Once the strict province of Iron Man and his ilk, the armored look became en vogue for even the most traditional of stalwarts in the 90’s.
The choice to armor up in the 90’s came with a price tag, of course. The armor rarely, if ever, simply supplemented the heroes’ abilities. Instead they came borne of tragedy or forced the characters to sacrifice something about them that made them unique. The acceptance of armor also marked a rejection of some aspect of themselves.
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2. Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo 2014
Our panel on the 60th anniversary of Godzilla, the 50th anniversary of Gamera and other assorted topics (such as Godzilla 2014) were discussed by the panel as well as the audience members. The number of audience members were down from last year. We were in a much bigger room and, which is the unfortunate part, further away form the stairs, elevators and escalators. The problem was probably caused by the scheduling error in which the Comikaze organizers had to reschedule us an hour earlier as they had our moderator, Jessica Tseang scheduled on two panels at the same time. I am guessing that this was the only meeting room available.
Still, we had an enthusiastic audience and a good discussion. All agreed that the Legendary Pictures/Warner Bros. Godzilla was much better than the abomination of 1998.
Following the panel, I managed to sell many copies of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan, so the trek more than paid for itself.
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1. X-Men Favorite Wolverine To Be Killed By Marvel Comics
Wolverine may be one of the most famous faces in Marvel's X-Men, but he's not going to survive the experience. In September, the comic book publisher will be killing off everyone's favorite angry mutant in a four-issue mini-series appropriately titled "Death of Wolverine."
As just revealed over at Entertainment Weekly, the series follows up on recent events in the character's life: he's lost his mutant healing factor, and over the summer will get involved in an arc called "3 Months To Die." The logical conclusion of that arc? Death.
The series will be written by Charles Soule, who currently works on a number of titles for the publisher including "She-Hulk" and the recently launched "Inhuman." It'll be drawn by Steve McNiven, who previously took on a decidedly different end for the Canuck when he worked with writer Mark Miller ("Kick-Ass") on "Old Man Logan." That series posited a future where pretty much every superhero had died, while Wolverine had taken a Clint Eastwood style vow of non-violence.
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