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On today’s Comic Book Club News, an unauthorized X-Men convention kicks off this Fall in Minnesota. Plus, Dynamite is releasing a Gargoyles Halloween Special, and The Sentry is returning to Marvel, with a twist. And as a follow-up, IDW Originals may not be in trouble after all.
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Episode Transcript:
An unauthorized X-Men convention kicks off next month.
Gargoyles gets spooky this Halloween.
The Sentry returns to Marvel.
This is Comic Book Club News for August 11, 2023.
Unauthorized X-Men Convention Coming This September:
Welcome to the X-Men! Hope you can afford the experience. Fans of Marvel’s mutants may be mutant massacre-ing their bank accounts as in September as Giant-Size Productions is launching a two-day-long convention called the Uncanny Experience in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Priced starting at $95, and going all the way up to a sold-out Omega Level Ticket for $550, the bespoke, unauthorized X-Men convention will be themed around the X-Men’s mansion, and will allow fans to immerse themselves in the world of Professor X and his students for the weekend.
In an interview about the event with Popverse, Chandler Poling, one of the men behind the convention, teased that fans will be able to practice in the Danger Room, attend karaoke with Dazzler, get initiated into the Hellfire Club by the White Queen, and even get a diploma from an iconic X-Men Professor at the end of the weekend: special guest Chris Claremont.
While the whole event is X-Men themed, it is not an official Marvel event, which Poling was fully open about. “We definitely don’t have Marvel’s blessing,” Poling told Popverse. “That would be a big license. Because we are a fan convention and we’re not technically using their intellectual property, we are under the radar, so to speak. They are aware of it. I know people that work at Marvel Comics that are coming as attendees, so they’re very much aware of it. But because we’re fortunate enough that an X inside of a circle is not a copyright image and we don’t necessarily use the word ‘X-Men’ in our marketing, we are a ‘mutant fan convention’, et cetera.”
Poling and company looked to other unofficial events like the Harry Potter-inspired LeakyCon for inspiration, and are hoping that if this limited to 500 attendees event is a success that they might be able to tour the Uncanny Experience around the country in the years to come. With X-Men comics back in the zeitgeist, and a mutant fan convention in the offing, this is definitely the Fall of X. You get it.
Gargoyles Halloween Special Coming From Dynamite:
Here’s an early Halloween treat for you: Dynamite is extending its Gargoyles line with a new Halloween special, appropriately titled Gargoyles Halloween Special.
The hit continuation of the classic cartoon series has so far run over two series, including the main one and a Dark Ages spinoff. Dynamite promises that this new Halloween Special will be an essential part of the ongoing story. Written by series creator Greg Weisman, with art by Bonesso Diego and letters by Jeff Eckleberry, the story finds the Gargoyles using Halloween night to travel the city safely — though of course, trouble stands in their way.
Via press release provided to Comic Book Club News, Weisman said, quote: “It’s the scariest night of the year, but that doesn’t scare Gnash, as he heads out for his first Halloween in Manhattan. With candy, new friends… and all measure of monsters waiting in the shadows, Gnash is in for a classic Gargoyles Halloween adventure.”
The 40-page issue will contain an extra-length, 28-page main story, and will hit stores on October 18.
The Sentry Returns With A Twist:
Since Paul Jenkins, Jae Lee, and Rick Veitch introduced The Sentry to Marvel in 2000, every subsequent series has been all about how to twist and change the overpowered character’s origin. And as announced by Marvel on August 9th, a new mini-series by writer Jason Loo and artist Luigi Zagaria looks to be no different.
Set after the events of the King in Black crossover, The Sentry is dead, a tricky position for a character anchoring his own series. The new mini won’t resurrect The Sentry — also known as Bob Reynolds — but it will gift his power to a slew of otherwise ordinary people.
Said Loo via release, quote: “This new chapter of the Sentry has an intriguing concept: on top of all the responsibilities and struggles a single person has to deal with in their everyday life, can one also handle the power of a MILLION EXPLODING SUNS? It’s a fun opportunity for me to create new characters that readers can see themselves in and bestow them these earth-shaking powers.”
Promising guest appearances by Misty Knight and Jessica Jones, the four-issue miniseries teases an investigation that will, quote, “change everything you think you know about the Sentry.” The first issue will hit stores on December 6th.
IDW Originals Maybe Not In Trouble, After All:
And in a follow-up to yesterday’s story about IDW possibly canceling a number of their original, non-licensed titles, things may not be as dire as the internet has speculated.
Bleeding Cool reports that while IDW Publishing declined to comment on the specific cancellation of Will Robson’s creator-owned book, the site has heard that after layoffs and restructuring at the publisher earlier this year, the line had grown, quote, “too unwieldy.” As a result, IDW decided to cut down on its Originals publishing line and offer the rights to books back to certain creators.
While this may not explain everything going on behind the scenes at IDW, it does seem like less odious news than what popped up on Twitter a few days prior, the first time that’s ever happened in the history of Twitter.
For Comic Book Club News, I’m Alex Zalben. And a sincere note of thanks to anyone listening to this show in our first full week. Thank you for tuning in, and yes, this is how I naturally talk.
Got tips or stories you’d like us to cover? Email us at comicbookclublive@gmail.com.
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