 UPDATED with panel art: Marvel held their last Comic-Con panel of the weekend Sunday, a catch-all Mondo Marvel program about all things going on at the House of Ideas...
Panelists included Jeph Loeb, J. Michael Straczynski, Brian K Vaughan, Rob Liefeld, Robert Kirkman, Greg Pak, Daniel Way, Jeff Parker, and others.
The panel began with ex-DC exclusive writer Jeph Loeb riffing and ribbing on DC a little. Loeb hosted the panel, replacing Joe Quesada, who had been called back to New York. Loeb ran through the slideshow for Marvel, noting that his friend, Ed McGuinness will be providing a variant cover for Amazing Spider-Girl #1.
As Loeb moved through the slides, he turned the floor over the assembled creators, giving them the opportunity to talk about their projects, and showcasing new art from upcoming projects.
"Bendis tries to mess me up, and then I try to mess Jeph up in turn," Straczynski said in regards to the writing relationship on their upcoming Squadron Supreme/Ultimate Universe crossover Ultimate Power.
Loeb continued hinting that not everyone from each universe will be returning to their respective homes after the mini-series. Loeb also noted that, timeline-wise, Ultimates 3 (with Joe Madureira) will be set before Ultimate Power, and Ultimates 4 (with McGuinness) will be set after Ultimate Power - "For reasons that will be made clear," Loeb said.
 
In talking about his and Rob Liefeld’s upcoming Onslaught Reborn (Nov. debut), Loeb said that the story's origin is based on "No More Mutants" coming from the Scarlet Witch in House of M, which results in the rebirth of the creature from the original storyline.
Onslaught is reborn with memories, Loeb explained, and as such, he remembers that all his plans for domination were thwarted by a little boy named Franklin Richards, and as such, he sets out to find and kill the son of Reed and Sue Richards.
Loeb noted the personal nature of the project reminding fans that a portion of the proceeds and the creator’s fees will go to the Sam Loeb Scholarship Fund, in honor of his late son. Loeb also said that the storyline will allow him and Liefeld to go back to their Onslaught story and answer the questions they weren't able to answer.
 
Moving through the Ultimate Spider-Man slides, Loeb's announcement that Ultimate Gwen Stacy returns in USM #98 was met with a smattering of boos from the audience. "We'll be sure to tell Mr. Bendis about that," Loeb joked.
Speaking on his upcoming Nov.-debuting limited series Bullet Points (with Tommy Lee Edwards art), Straczynski again explained how the story will explore how the entire Marvel Universe will be changed as a result of the scientist who gave Steve Rogers the Super Soldier Serum was killed 24 hours earlier. The ripple effects move through the entire timeline of the Marvel history.
    
The panel gave a first look at Mike Carey and Brandon Peterson's Ultimate Vision mini-series, which will flow directly from Warren Ellis' “Ultimate Gah-Lak-Tus’ trilogy.
Update: Mike Carey gave Newsarama this bit of info about the five-issue limited series.
"Our story takes place in the immediate aftermath of Ultimate Extinction, with the Vision about to launch herself into space again to carry on her mission elsewhere. But it turns out there's some unexpected and terrifying fallout from the battle against Gah-Lak-Tus that only she can deal with, so she has to stick around for a while and finish the job."
 
The panel also gave a first look at Salvador Larroca's rough designs for Warren Ellis' newuniversal, the first issue of which is due in December.
  
In time for the team's 45th anniversary, Alan Davis' Fantastic Four: The End will debut in November, giving a possible ending of Marvel's first family of heroes.
Grant Morrison's entire New X-Men run will be collected in The New X-Men Omnibus, coming in December.
Speaking of Agents of Atlas, writer Jeff Parker said that there will be a great destiny awaiting Jimmy Woo and his team at the end of the mini-series. Additionally, Parker said that fans should keep their eyes open in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Mojave base that appears in the series, as a character that plays a role in what Pak is doing on the Hulk makes an appearance.
"Jerk!" came a call from the crowd, as a slide showing the identity of the character who died in Runaways came on the screen. Vaughan said that issue #19 of the series will show the repercussions of that character's death, as the rest of the team tries to put their lives back together.
Talking about upcoming issues of Wolverine: Origins, writer Daniel Way said that after #5, Wolverine's targets in his quest for blood, "Will multiple exponentially. He's been looking for a need in a haystack, but now, he'll be looking at a whole lot of hay that needs to be cut."
In speaking about the upcoming Blade series, writer Marc Guggenheim said that each issue will have two stories, one set in the present, and one set in the past.
 
He's not in it to help other people, he's in it to help himself," Robert Kirkman said about the new Ant-Man, adding that he and artist Phil Hester are trying to put three issues' worth of stories into each issue, by using many pages with 16 grids. "A lot of words, a lot of pictures, and I guarantee you that your legs will fall asleep if you read it while you're on the toilet."
In time for the team's 45th anniversary, Alan Davis' Fantastic Four: The End will debut in November, giving a possible ending of Marvel's first family of heroes.
 
Asked to speak about his forthcoming Dr. Strange mini-series with artist Marcos Martin, Brian K Vaughan said that the limited series will feature the good doctor trying to solve his own attempted assassination, and, "From the pages of Daredevil, Night Nurse as his Watson, since no one demanded it."
Loeb said that he was talking with Marvel this morning about continuing his Wolverine run past #55, and announced that issue his and Simone Bianchi’s first issue [#50] will feature a 12-page back up by Loeb and Ed McGuinness pitting Wolverine against the Hulk.
Loeb said that the story will hearken back to the first appearance of Wolverine in the Hulk #181.
Speaking of the new Ghost Rider ongoing series, Way said that Johnny Blaze, "being an idiot, does it wrong, just as he does everything wrong," in regards to his escape from Hell. "Maybe I misspoke, he escaped from Hell to go into a new kind of hell," Way said, adding that Blaze accidentally brings something back with him from Hell.
As far as the involvement of Dr. Strange in the series, Way said that, as he sees it, Dr. Strange is the mystic police chief of the Marvel Universe, and Ghost Rider represents a huge problem for him.
 
 
As a slide for Ultimate X-Men #75 appeared, Kirkman said that Ultimate Cable will be a thorn in the side of the X-Men, and the issue will kick off a host of changes for the team, from membership to even where they live.
Part of Parker’s X-Men: First Class limited series will feature the first team taking the vacation that Professor Xavier had long advised them to take. The team, Parker explained, goes to Florida, where they meet the Lizard. "The stories won't push your continuity buttons," Parker said, "Or at least not too much."
The panel them moved to the audience Q& portion…
Way said that he will explain how Johnny Blaze got to be Ghost Rider again, and is looking to make is as simple as possible. The explanation, he said, should be coming up in issue #5.
When asked if they will be addressing the final, but yet unpublished issue of the last Ghost Rider series, Jim McCann said that they have all the art, the plot, and there is a plan.
As to why the Hulk is in the Onslaught Reborn series, Loeb said that there is a plan and a reason why, and it will be made clear.
”Something's in the works," Greg Pak said in regards to the Hulk's return to Earth. "In ‘Planet Hulk’, you see him smashing and bashing things, and that's not likely to change anytime soon." Issue #100 will feature a look back at Earth, and, according to Pak, may give some hints as to what's going to happen in regards to the Hulk and a possible return to Earth.
Loeb reiterated that the tone of Ultimates will change slightly when he takes over the property with Ultimates 3, noting that no one does that "hippie, commie pinko, I hate America stuff as well as Mark [Millar]" joking that "he probably made the book more popular than it should have been."
Vaughan said that, for the foreseeable future, Runaways will be fairly self-contained as a series, but noted that the team is currently appearing in Runaways/Young Avengers which both he and Allan Heinberg consulted on.
When a fan mentioned that Joe Quesada has mentioned [in New Joe Fridays] that he would like to see Loeb follow him as Editor-in-Chief, Loeb quickly said, "He drinks a lot...it's a terrible problem."
This was followed by JMS who asked if he was named E-i-C of Marvel tomorrow ("I couldn't take the pay cut," Loeb interjected) - what he would do. "I couldn't do it better than Joe”, said JMS.
Finally, asked Will The Hood ever see his own series? Vaughan replied, "Maybe."
 
End of updated report...
Newsarama's Comic-Con International '06 Coverage is brought to you by Miramax Films’ RENAISSANCE. In theaters this fall.
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