Declaring – somewhat tongue in cheek -- that “the only questions will be coming from me,” Marvel editor Nick Lowe brought a talk-show format – or perhaps a parody of it – to the “Make Mine Marvel” panel late Saturday morning at the New York Comic Con, desk and cups of water included.

The panel featured Lowe interviewing several prominent Marvel creators, all of whom, with one major exception, being established prose authors who had in the recent past jumped on board the Marvel flagship.

The biggest news came at the end of the panel when celebrated author Orson Scott Card (Ultimate Iron Man) announced that Marvel would be doing adaptations of Card’s classic novels Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow.

As detailed right here earlier, illustrated by Pascual Ferry, and written by Chris Yost and Jake Black, the books will debut in the fall of this year, with Game coming out first and Shadow hitting stores a month later.

Card was extremely enthusiastic about the project, saying it will provide “the franchise look for all Ender’s Game material to come.”

“Marvel does such fantastic work. I feel like I’m in so much better hands than I’ve ever been,” he said.

But that was at the end of the panel. To kick things off initially, Lowe brought up to the stage Jonathan Lethem, author of the acclaimed novel Fortress of Solitude and the Marvel series Omega the Unknown.

Talking that series, Lethem cited the huge influence the original Omega series from the 1970s, written by Steve Gerber and drawn by Jim Mooney, had on him as a child.

“I identified with it so overwhelmingly. It was as if someone was mind-reading my own life,” he said. “It made me paranoid. ‘Marvel is watching my life.’”

Lethem also stressed the importance for him of making the book come out on a monthly basis, to the point where he and Marvel made sure he had several scripts completed before the first issue came out.

Lowe noted that Lethem’s novels were usual set in a firm reality that had a touch of fantasy, whereas Omega seemed to be the reverse. Lethem said he wanted to justify the hoopla of working on a Marvel book by “slowing the comic down,” making it quieter than some of the other superhero comics on the stands. To that end he brought artist Farel Dalrymple on board because of his ability to “look as though he had gone to the local café and drawn the people around him,” not to mention his skill with detailed cityscapes.

Next up was crime author (The Blonde) and Cable writer Duane Swierczynski. In between talking about his affection for the crime genre (“it’s wish fulfillment”) and past book projects about alcoholic drinks, Swierczynski said the idea of writing about “a big super-tough guy with a baby” – the combination of hardcore action and the tender, nurturing side of the character -- as very appealing. “That’s a nice little conflict for a comic,” he said.

Swierczynski jokingly referred to the character’s convoluted history as “very clear-cut,” but added he’s an interesting character, summing up the thrust of the book as “Messiah and daughter.”

“If you stick to the core of the character, it’s not too bad,” he said.

As far as future plans go, Swierczynski said that issue six will see the story move back to the present day to see what Cyclops has been doing since the series started.

Swierczynski is also taking over Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction’s The Immortal Iron Fist title after the 16th issue, a situation he likened to “coming after Bob Dylan.” Nevertheless, he said he plans not to reinvent the wheel for the series. Indeed, the 17th issue will start one second after the last one, and include a new wrinkle that, the writer promises, will ruin Iron Fist’s day.

Acclaimed Fantastic Four and Ultimates artist Bryan Hitch was next, and Hitch and Lowe talked about the artist’s work on The Authority, with Hitch unequivocally stating that his work on the series is what jump-started his career.

“I started being me and stopped thinking about how other people would approach the characters,” he said.

Talking about his working relationship with Mark Millar, Hitch said for The Ultimates; the pair knew the story from the start, right down to certain lines and sequences. “It was set up within an hour of talking to each other,” he said.

For Fantastic Four, however, they are working on three issues at any given time, so that it’s a “rolling thing instead of a stop and start.” Hitch seemed very positive about the progress of the book, saying “It’s the most fun I’ve had drawing comics.”

Initial report

At Saturday morning's Make Mine Marvel panel at the New York Comic Con (look for a full report later today), Editor Nick Lowe and author Orson Scott Card jointly announced that the acclaimed writer's Ender's Game novels as a series of comics.

The series will be illustrated by Pascual Ferry, which will run parallel to the novel series, and will catch up to the latest novel Ender's Shadow.

Marvel will be creating the franchise look for all Ender's Game material from here on out, Card said.

Marvel just does such terrific work," Card enthused, adding that when the movie finally comes to pass, it will be based on the Marvel vision of the property.

Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow will debut in fall of 2008, according to a slide shown at the presentation.

The design work on the flash suit, Card noted, was designed with an eye on an eventual movie, that is, it's designed in a manner to clearly show the face of the character/actor.

The series will be written by Chris Yost with Jake Black as a story consultant. The deal will be similar in nature to Marvel's with Stephen King on the Dark Tower comics, with Card overseeing all details.

Ender's Game will start one month, with Ender's Shadow beginning just a month after, so there will be two series running for a period of time. Each series will be either five or six issues.

Card spoke to Newsarama more about the Ender's comics in a video interview, and here is a preview.

Here is a look at more art Marvel showed at their panel…