Geek Corner – The Latest And Greatest In All Things Comic Books

Lot of cool stuff coming out of the DC Comics and Marvel worlds. From The Year of the Villain to a Spider-Man that is “Far From Home” and into many universes there is some fun news that you need to check out.

Into The SpiderVerse:

The Academy Award Nominee for Best Animated Feature Film, SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, swings onto Digital February 26 and on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, and DVD on March 19 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Sony Pictures Animation. From Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the uniquely creative minds behind The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street, the film offers a fresh vision of the Spider-Man universe with a groundbreaking visual style that’s the first of its kind.

 

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, a film that has grossed over $350 million in theaters worldwide to date, introduces Brooklyn teen Miles Morales, and the limitless possibilities of the Spider-Verse, where more than one can wear the iconic mask. “One of the most rewarding experiences in recent months has been to hear that children are telling their parents that they see themselves in Miles, or that they want to grow up to be like Spider-Gwen, anyone can be a hero. Thats why we made this film, and we hope that feeling of empowerment is something that both audiences young and old can take away,” say Directors Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman.

The out-of-this-world voice cast includes Shameik Moore as Miles Morales alongside Jake Johnson (“New Girl”) as Peter B. Parker, Hailee Steinfeld (Bumblebee) as Gwen Stacy/Spider-Gwen, Mahershala Ali (Green Book) as Miles’ Uncle Aaron, Brian Tyree Henry (“Atlanta”) as Jefferson Davis, Lily Tomlin (“Grace and Frankie”) as Aunt May, Luna Lauren Velez (“How To Get Away with Murder”) as Rio Morales, Zoë Kravitz (“Big Little Lies”) as Mary Jane, John Mulaney (“Big Mouth”) as Spider-Ham, with Nicholas Cage (The Croods) as Spider-Man Noir, Kathryn Hahn (Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation) as Doc Ock and Liev Schreiber (“Ray Donovan”) as the villain Kingpin.

SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE arrives filled with engaging bonus materials that are fun for the whole family and give fans even more of the unique comic book style action that they loved in theaters with over 90 minutes of bonus content. In his very own original short,  Spider-Ham: Caught In a Ham, fan favorite Spider-Ham defeats his greatest foe, delivers sidesplitting puns, and get sucked into another dimension! It actually can get weirder! Don’t miss the thrilling Alternate Universe Mode where fans can view the film in an entirely new way to discover alternate scenes, plotlines, characters, and more with the filmmakers as their guide. Also included is The Spider-Verse Super-Fan Easter Egg Challenge, where fans are challenged to find every single Easter Egg hidden within the Spider-Verse (and there are a lot of them!).  Explore the character design in the visually stunning film including specific looks at the now-iconic Spider-Ham character as well as the classic villains who inhabit the Spider-Verse. Additional special features include a celebration of the diversity in the film and the idea that anyone can wear the mask in a feature called We Are Spider-Man, a featurette called Spider-Verse: A New Dimension, where fans can hear from the artists and filmmakers who pushed the boundaries of the comic book artform to create a visual experience unlike anything done in animation before, a showcase of all the amazing fan favorite characters featured in the Spider-Verse and the actors who bring them to life, and  a touching tribute to comic legends Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, who originally created the Spider-Man character. Other bonus materials include two lyric videos featuring “Sunflower” by Post Malone and Swae Lee and “Familia” by Nicki Minaj and Anuel AA (feat. Bantu).

Year Of The Villain

DC announced that they will release an exclusive original comic, DC’S YEAR OF THE VILLAIN, on Wednesday, May 1, as comic book retailers nationwide prepare for Free Comic Book Day, Saturday, May 4. Available for only 25 cents, DC’S YEAR OF THE VILLAIN spotlights several of DC’s most infamous super-villains, in stories written by celebrated authors Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV and Brian Michael Bendis.

This exclusive 32-page comic will feature breathtaking art from Eisner Award-winning illustrator Alex Maleev, Jim Cheung and Francis Manapul, with an original cover by acclaimed artist Greg Capullo. Hardcore fans will also want to contact their local comics retailer right away to check availability of any one of three beautiful variant covers by Maleev (Lex Luthor) and Cheung (the Batman Who Laughs), as well as popular cover artist Stanley “Artgerm” Lau (the Cheetah).

Following the events of Snyder and Tynion’s JUSTICE LEAGUE, Lex Luthor takes a major step forward,  assembling his Legion of Doom for the final push to replace Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the League as the rightful leaders of not only mankind, but the universe itself, hoping to harness the power of Perpetua, the first being to be imprisoned within the Source Wall, now newly freed in the events of JUSTICE LEAGUE ANNUAL #1. Perpetua’s storyline and Luthor’s plans to rid the universe of heroes will continue to escalate throughout the rest of 2019.

On Free Comic Book Day, Saturday, May 4, DC will showcase its upcoming young reader imprints—DC Ink (young adult) and DC Zoom (middle grade). At no cost, fans can get their hands on exclusive early looks at UNDER THE MOON: A CATWOMAN TALE (DC Ink) and DEAR JUSTICE LEAGUE (DC Zoom).

A Spider’s Journey

Peter Parker and his friends go on summer vacation to Europe, where Peter finds himself trying to save his friends against a villain known as Mysterio. To go with the movie Hasbro recently revealed three exciting new Marvel Spider-Man products ahead of New York Toy Fair inspired by the upcoming film, Spider-Man: Far From Home. The products include the Web Gear Spider-Man Figure, Web Burst Blaster, and Web Cyclone Blaster. 

An exciting SPIDER-MAN feature figure from SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME! Imagine swinging into web-slinging adventures like PETER PARKER when he suits up as the amazing, wall-crawling hero, SPIDER-MAN. Available at most major retailers.

Imagine swinging into the newest SPIDER-MAN adventure with the SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM  HOME SPIDER-MAN WEB BURST BLASTER. Kids can play out the action of SPIDER-MAN facing down villains and criminals. Kids can load the included web fluid canister into the blaster, to imagine blasting enemies with bursts of web fluid, or use the refillable water cartridge to blast water! Includes blaster and web fluid. Available at most major retailers.

With the all-new SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME WEB CYCLONE BLASTER, kids are ready to swirl webs like SPIDER-MAN! Load the included can of web fluid or switch to water mode and soak your opposition with the included water canister! With the SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME WEB CYCLONE BLASTER, kids can imagine catching criminals in their web with 3 different modes of web fluid play, plus water blasting! Includes gauntlet, water canister, and a can of web fluid. Available at most major retailers.

Super Sons

Jon Kent and Damian Wayne are opposite in every way except one—they are the sons of the World’s Greatest Heroes! To uncover a global conspiracy, this unlikely dynamic duo will need to learn to trust each other and work together to save the Earth. But who is the mysterious Candace? And what secrets does she hold that could be the key to everything?

The polar ice caps have nearly melted away, causing devastation to coastal cities. Erratic, deadly weather forces everyone inland, tearing families apart. Earth is facing its greatest crisis—and Superman and Batman are nowhere to be found.

From New York Times bestselling author Ridley Pearson (Kingdom Keepers) and artist Ile Gonzalez comes the first original graphic novel in an epic three-part series that follows the Super Sons of Superman and Batman as they struggle to find their place in a rapidly changing world!

Also this spring, DC Comics is launching an all-new middle grade graphic novel imprint, DC Zoom, that will star Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and many more fan favorite DC Super Heroes. The new imprint launches April 2, 2019 with the release of Super Sons: The PolarShield Project, the first installment of a multi-part series by New York Times bestselling author Ridley Pearson.