“Rectify” Is a Quiet Marvel

> Daniel was convicted of a brutal but ambiguous crime. Now that he’s out of prison, everyone wants clarity. Credit Illustration by Tomer Hanuka In the first episode of “Rectify,” Daniel Holden (Aden Young) is released from death row, and he gives a speech to journalists and protesters gathered outside the prison. Rather than assert his innocence or talk about justice, he offers a zigzagging meditation on the nature of fatalism. “I had convinced myself that kind of optimism served no useful purpose in the world where I existed,” he explains, in an underwater monotone, as the protesters look on, baffled. “Obviously, this radical belief system was flawed and was, ironically, a kind of fantasy itself.” Humbly, as if ending a philosophy seminar, he concludes, “I will seriously need to reconsider my world view.” For three years, “Rectify” has been a small marvel, an eccentric independent drama, filmed in Griffin, Georgia, and airing off the beaten track as well, on Sundance. With its skewed insights into carceral cruelty, “Rectify” took the slot that “The Wire” used to occupy: it’s the smart crime drama whose fans have trouble persuading others to watch, because it sounds too grimâ€"or maybe too good for you. It’s a frustrating dynamic that has haunted other dramas without cowboys or zombiesâ€"“The Leftovers” and “The Americans” come to mindâ€"but “Rectify” ’s reputation for difficulty is misleading. The show’s dreamy pace makes it a satisfying high, like a bourbon-soaked bob down a river on a humid day. It’s a show about the way that time gets distorted; it’s one that distorts time, too. As with many structurally daring series, it’s joyful, because its insides match its outsides. It’s also, more straightforwardly, a gothic mystery about small-town secrets. When Daniel was in his late teens, he was convicted of the rape and murder of his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Hanna. He served nineteen years, most of them in solitary confinement. The crime itself was a foggy, ambiguous incident that involved psychedelic drugs; two boys testified against him, and, under pressure, Daniel confessed. DNA cleared him of the rape but not of the murder, so plenty of localsâ€"and, at times, Daniel himselfâ€"suspect that he did it, because he was found cradling Hanna’s naked corpse, which he’d decorated with flowers. But Daniel’s younger sister, Amantha (Abigail Spencer), never lost faith in his innocence, and she’s been sleeping with the liberal Jewish lawyer she lobbied to work on his behalfâ€"the big-city Reuben to her Norma Rae. Everyone involved wants clarity, now that Amantha’s faith has paid off. No one gets it. The murder case is reopened and leads down alarming paths. Few people want to face the uglier facts, including the knowledge that Daniel was raped in prison, multiple times. While he was on death row, his father died and his mother remarried, so he has two new stepbrothers, Ted, Jr., and Jared, who is still in his teens. In some ways, Daniel is himself an adolescent, prone to self-indulgent, self-destructive whims. In isolated Paulie, Georgia, he’s a distinctly odd figure, a socially awkward autodidact who meditated and read obsessively in his cell. He speaks in an off-kilter, whispery style, making even sympathetic neighbors uncomfortable. His mannered intellectualism marks him as an outsider, queer in several senses, as much as any suspicions of criminal guilt do. The one person who truly gets him is Ted, Jr.,’s wife, Tawney, a sweet born-again Christian who is desperate to save Daniel, and with whom he develops a dangerous chemistry. Their flirtation takes place, however, largely through elevated conversation about Thomas Aquinas and Buddha, forgiveness and humility. And, in fact, a lot of the pleasure of the show is in the dialogue, which favors the stuff that Daniel jokes is not “gallows humor” but “lethal-injection humorâ€"it’s more humane but less funny.” “It felt good to use the telephone that wasn’t smarter than me,” Daniel tells his sister, about a pay phone. His companion on a road trip tells him, “Everything that happens between men and women is written in mud. And butter. And barbecue sauce. Paula Deen said that to me in a dream I had one time.” Ted, Jr.,’s boozy koan: “First you hate it. Then you like it. It’s called beer.” While the talk takes its time, the plot moves fast. The first season covers six days in six episodes, and climaxes in two crimes, one committed by Daniel, one against him; by the fourth and final season, currently airing, only a few months have passed. Several of the best episodes are one-offs, featuring characters we never meet again. In one, Daniel drifts into the orbit of an antique dealer named Lezlie, a Pan-like anarchist, who invites anyone who is not a gentrifying yuppieâ€"the class he regards as ruining Paulieâ€"to party at his ramshackle house. In another, Daniel gets a ride from a stranger and steals some goats. There’s a strong sense in “Rectify” that, when your memory has been rendered spongy and your safety shattered, each event might last forever or be gone in a flash. Perhaps the standout episode is “Donald the Normal,” from Season 2. In it, Daniel finally leaves town. He takes a bus to Atlanta, then puts on nice clothes and goes to a museum to see a beautiful painting that he knows only from a book. Throughout “Rectify,” the claustrophobically close-knit Paulieâ€"where the local waitress sleeps with both Daniel and the politician who framed him, and where Hanna’s brother glares at Daniel’s family in the supermarketâ€"is portrayed as near-enchanted in its isolation. Any mention of a larger Southern city (even from the former Atlantan Amantha, who has a liberal hipster’s condescension for her home town) makes it sound as distant as Mars. At the museum, Daniel is approached by an attractive older woman, played by Frances Fisher. “What do you think?” she asks. “I think I’ve looked at this painting in a book for so long that somehow my brain has trivialized it,” he says. “And as I stand here in front of the real thing I feel, if anything . . . disappointed.” She’s charmed by the alien quality that others find so creepyâ€"his formal speech, his lack of boundaries. She invites him to lunch with her book-club friends. These are sleek, rich city women. He tells them that his name is Donald and that he owns a bookstore in Alabama. This experiment in reinvention falls apart fast. Daniel has cuts on his forehead and cheeks, the remnants of a beating that put him in a coma. And, bright as he is, he can’t improvise a life he never had. He finds himself faking a conversation about a book he hasn’t read, something with a “pitiful” protagonist. “This bread, um, is excellent,” he says, trying to change the subject. “The panini bread?” one of the women asks. “Yes, um, the pallini bread,” he responds. “It’s . . . unusually fresh.” It’s a heartbreaking slip, a class error that locks him out of a whole world. The book-club women get into a conversation about a story that Daniel >has read, Tobias Wolff’s “Bullet in the Brain,” and which he’s memorized. His lunch companion can’t believe it: “It would be torture to memorize.” No, he explains: it was a calming task, back during “a period in my life when I was having some difficulty dealing with the passing of time in a traditional sense.” Because Wolff’s story deals “with the bending of time,” memorizing it helped him bend time as well. References like this get at the show’s fearlessness in taking art seriously, not merely as a distraction but as a bridge between strangers, a way of reframing the world. Still, it would be an exercise in solipsism without the larger, more grounded ensemble, particularly Daniel’s opposite number, Ted, Jr., who becomes both his bully and his victim. As played by Clayne Crawford, Ted is a strutting, insecure shit-kicker, a high-school tough kid gone to seed. A salesman at the family car dealership, he’s the yuppie type Lezlie disdains, or, at least, he aspires to be: he and Tawney share a McMansion decorated in pastels. When the bank won’t give him a loan for a sketchy scheme involving leasing auto rims to black customers, he mortgages the house, despite Tawney’s resistance. When things fall apart, he gets scary. In another story, Ted might be a cartoon villain: the abusive husband who, at one point, confesses to something so close to date rape that it’s a distinction without a difference. (Crimes on “Rectify” are like that: violence so ordinary that no one reports itâ€"and, when someone does, the justice system makes it worse.) But the show sees Ted’s side, too. Like Daniel, he is a man humiliated by loss of control, with few coping skills when he’s been abandoned. In “Rectify,” anyone who feels something for others, however painful, must be redeemable. In the final season, Tawney and Ted, Jr., go to therapy, heading toward divorce. Daniel, who has been legally “banished” to Nashville, lives at a halfway house and gets an artist girlfriend. The crime is on the verge of being solved. If “Rectify” has a flaw, it’s one that so many humane shows develop in their final stretchâ€"a Tawney-like desire to save everyone, simply because these are characters we’ve loved for years. In one scene, Amantha, recognizing that an old enemy is helping solve the mystery of Hanna’s murder, asks, “Is there anyone left to hate?” Daniel wryly refers to himself as Humpty-Dumpty, but he’s often more like Kimmy Schmidt: he’s strange not because his capacity for wonder has been shut down but because it’s almost too open. As the finale approaches, it’s not the show’s problem that I’ve found myself wanting some ugly to stay ugly. Perhaps I will seriously need to reconsider my world view. >♦ "

| “Rectify” | Quiet | Marvel |

Thank Very Much for Reading this Blog

Cort Lane Shares the Story Behind the Delightful Marvel/Funko Pop! Animated Shorts

Marvel and Funko have collaborated to create the first-ever Funko animated shorts, which are just so charming, cute and fun that you’ll want to watch them over and over again. Each of the three shorts â€" Spellbound, Bait N Switch and Chimichangas (that last premiering December 14^th) â€" are 90 seconds in length and feature some of Marvel’s most popular superheroes and villains, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Loki, Rocket, Groot, the Collector, Deadpool and Venom.

Of course, after viewing these shorts, we wanted to learn more about them and how they came about, so we got on the phone with Cort Lane, Marvel’s Senior Vice President of Animation & Family Entertainment. During the exclusive interview, we talked about how the idea for this collaboration evolved, how they decided on which characters to feature, which figures he’d like to see in future shorts, balancing the action and comedy, why they chose not to have any dialogue, and the future possibilities for these characters. He also talked about being a life-long Marvel fan, his journey to working at the company, and what’s it like to get to have a hand in developing and producing shows within the Marvel universe.

>

Image via Marvel

Collider: These shorts are just ridiculously cute and so much fun!

CORT LANE: Well, I’m glad you think so. Obviously, we feel the same. I do feel there’s really something special here.

Who came up with the idea for this partnership between Marvel and Funko, bringing to life the Marvel Funko Pop! figures?                     

LANE: This is going to sound very corporate, but I have these big summits, once or twice a year, for Marvel Animation, with all of the lines of business that we engage with and collaborate with, and we talk about what we’re doing with our franchises and our strategic plan, over the next five years. And the products people mentioned that they’re really excited about Funko, as a partner, and the aesthetic is really popular and has a huge fan base. As part of the creative conversation, we said, “Is there something that we could do there?” It brings in a broad range of Marvel fans and Funko fans, and it’s a really unique aesthetic. We’ve had a lot of luck with Marvel/Lego animated content. It drives a really huge audience because it’s special, it’s humorous, it’s different, and it’s got a unique aesthetic. We felt there was something similar, but really different here, too. Funko is even more stylized and cuter and funnier. That was earlier this year in the spring, and Funk was not only game, but they were very excited to do it, so we made it happen. Rarely do things go that well.

Anybody who has or gets one of these figures knows that you can’t just have one, as they become a bit of an addiction. Do you have a big collection of them, yourself?

LANE: I’ve just started because I’m collecting the figures in the shorts. But I have a much more expensive collective hobby, so I have to limit myself. I collect original comic art, and I have a lot of really expensive stuff from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. That limits me on starting new collections, or I’d be living in my mom’s basement.

At least they don’t take up a lot of room.

LANE: They don’t, but then you have to decide whether to leave them in the box or take them out of the box. I like to display them all together and create these scenes.

Is there criteria for deciding when to do a feature-length animated movie, a full animated series, shorts for Disney XD, or web shorts, and how did you decide how this project would be presented?

>

Image via Marvel

LANE: This was truly an experiment. The first one went live on November 30^th, and so far, the reception is huge. It’s very timely because I have another one of those big animation summits, starting on December 7^th, and I will tell all of the lines of business that we collaborate with how successful these are. And then, the conversation is really, what’s next? I think Funko is very open to it. I think there needs to be more, in some capacity. What that looks like, there’s a lot of work to do. The audience reception is phenomenal. If I’m ever having a bad day over the next several months, I’m just going to go back to the Facebook and read the comments because they’re so glowing. Fans love you, but they’re also your harshest critics, deservedly so. It’s rare when you work in a business where you create content for fans that the reception is so joyful, and that’s been kind of neat.

With so many characters to choose from, how did you decide which characters would be in these shorts?

LANE: It was really easy. It seems like it would be a hard choice, but we know the characters that are important to fans right now. As we were starting this, Deadpool had just hit really big. I love Venom and I know Venom is probably the favorite villain of most comic fans. We see that, in terms of the audience and the merchandise. Obviously, Iron Man and Spider-Man are really popular right now, and them teaming up seemed really organic because that’s a component of Civil War and everyone knows that Iron Man will appear in a new Spider-Man movie. So, those two connecting with each other and playing off of each other is important. And then, Rocket and Groot are so important for us. There’s the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel coming, and everybody loves those characters. Quite simply, it was very easy.

Are there any characters that you’re particularly looking forward to seeing or teaming up together, if you make more shorts?

LANE: That’s a really good question. I like the vibe between Hulk and Thor. That’s a big component of the next Thor film, so I think that’s one I’d like to see. I’m an old school Avengers fan, so I’m a big Hawkeye fan. I’d like to see Hawkeye playing off of either Captain America or Black Widow. I think Black Widow is the most kick-butt heroine out there, so I would like to see her, in some capacity. Those are some of my favorites, but obviously, I’m not the only decider. Funko has characters that they would like to elevate, and Marvel has characters that they would like to elevate, but there’s really no bad choices. It’s hard to pick, really. These first three shorts were the easiest to see opportunities. I think the next batch, if we do more, will be tougher choices.

"

| Cort | Lane | Shares | Story | Behind | Delightful | Marvel/Funko | Pop! | Animated | Shorts | Marvel | Funko | have | collaborated | create | first | ever | animated | shorts | which | just | charming | cute | that | you’ll | want | watch | them | over | again | Each | three | Spellbound< | Bait | Switch< | Chimichangas< | (that | last | premiering | December | 14th< | sup>) | seconds | length | feature | some | Marvel’s | most | popular | superheroes | villains | including | Spider | Iron | Loki | Rocket | Groot | Collector | Deadpool | Venom | p> Of | course | after | viewing | these | wanted | learn | more | about | they | came | phone | with | Lane< | strong> | Senior | Vice | President | Animation | & | Family | Entertainment | During | exclusive | interview | talked | idea | this | collaboration | evolved | decided | characters | figures | he’d | like | future | balancing | action | comedy | chose | dialogue | possibilities | also | being | life | long | journey | working | company | what’s | hand | developing | producing | shows | within | universe | p> < | a> Image | Marvel< | div> Collider: | These | ridiculously | much | fun!< | strong>< | p> CORT | LANE: | Well | I’m | glad | think | Obviously | feel | same | there’s | really | something | special | here | p> Who | partnership | between | bringing |   < | p> LANE: | This | going | sound | very | corporate | summits | once | twice | year | lines | business | engage | collaborate | talk | what | we’re | doing | franchises | strategic | plan | next | five | years | products | people | mentioned | they’re | excited | partner | aesthetic | huge | base | part | creative | conversation | said | “Is | there | could | brings | broad | range | fans | it’s | unique | We’ve | luck | Lego | content | drives | audience | because | humorous | different | felt | similar | even | stylized | cuter | funnier | That | earlier | spring | Funk | only | game | were | made | happen | Rarely | things | well | p> Anybody | gets | knows | can’t | become | addiction | collection | yourself | I’ve | started | collecting | expensive | collective | hobby | limit | myself | collect | original | comic | stuff | from | ‘60s | ‘70s | ‘80s | limits | starting | collections | I’d | living | mom’s | basement | p> At | least | don’t | take | room | They | then | decide | whether | leave | display | together | scenes | p> Is | criteria | deciding | when | movie | full | series | Disney | project | would | presented | div> LANE: | truly | experiment | went | live | November | 30th< | sup> | reception | It’s | timely | another | those | animation | 7th< | will | tell | successful | open | needs | capacity | What | looks | work | phenomenal | having | several | months | back | Facebook | read | comments | glowing | Fans | love | your | harshest | critics | deservedly | rare | where | joyful | that’s | been | kind | neat | p> With | many | choose | easy | seems | hard | choice | know | important | right | Deadpool< | probably | favorite | villain | terms | merchandise | teaming | seemed | organic | component | Civil | War< | everyone | appear | connecting | each | other | playing | There’s | Guardians | Galaxy< | sequel | coming | everybody | loves | Quite | simply | p> Are | you’re | particularly | looking | forward | seeing | make | That’s | good | question | vibe | Hulk | Thor | Thor< | film | school | Avengers | Hawkeye | either | Captain | America | Black | Widow | kick | butt | heroine | Those | favorites | obviously | decider | elevate | choices | pick | easiest | opportunities | batch | tougher | p> |

Thank U So Much for Visit this Article

Cort Lane Shares the Story Behind the Delightful Marvel/Funko Pop! Animated Shorts

Marvel and Funko have collaborated to create the first-ever Funko animated shorts, which are just so charming, cute and fun that you’ll want to watch them over and over again. Each of the three shorts â€" Spellbound, Bait N Switch and Chimichangas (that last premiering December 14^th) â€" are 90 seconds in length and feature some of Marvel’s most popular superheroes and villains, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Loki, Rocket, Groot, the Collector, Deadpool and Venom.

Of course, after viewing these shorts, we wanted to learn more about them and how they came about, so we got on the phone with Cort Lane, Marvel’s Senior Vice President of Animation & Family Entertainment. During the exclusive interview, we talked about how the idea for this collaboration evolved, how they decided on which characters to feature, which figures he’d like to see in future shorts, balancing the action and comedy, why they chose not to have any dialogue, and the future possibilities for these characters. He also talked about being a life-long Marvel fan, his journey to working at the company, and what’s it like to get to have a hand in developing and producing shows within the Marvel universe.

>

Image via Marvel

Collider: These shorts are just ridiculously cute and so much fun!

CORT LANE: Well, I’m glad you think so. Obviously, we feel the same. I do feel there’s really something special here.

Who came up with the idea for this partnership between Marvel and Funko, bringing to life the Marvel Funko Pop! figures?                     

LANE: This is going to sound very corporate, but I have these big summits, once or twice a year, for Marvel Animation, with all of the lines of business that we engage with and collaborate with, and we talk about what we’re doing with our franchises and our strategic plan, over the next five years. And the products people mentioned that they’re really excited about Funko, as a partner, and the aesthetic is really popular and has a huge fan base. As part of the creative conversation, we said, “Is there something that we could do there?” It brings in a broad range of Marvel fans and Funko fans, and it’s a really unique aesthetic. We’ve had a lot of luck with Marvel/Lego animated content. It drives a really huge audience because it’s special, it’s humorous, it’s different, and it’s got a unique aesthetic. We felt there was something similar, but really different here, too. Funko is even more stylized and cuter and funnier. That was earlier this year in the spring, and Funk was not only game, but they were very excited to do it, so we made it happen. Rarely do things go that well.

Anybody who has or gets one of these figures knows that you can’t just have one, as they become a bit of an addiction. Do you have a big collection of them, yourself?

LANE: I’ve just started because I’m collecting the figures in the shorts. But I have a much more expensive collective hobby, so I have to limit myself. I collect original comic art, and I have a lot of really expensive stuff from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s. That limits me on starting new collections, or I’d be living in my mom’s basement.

At least they don’t take up a lot of room.

LANE: They don’t, but then you have to decide whether to leave them in the box or take them out of the box. I like to display them all together and create these scenes.

Is there criteria for deciding when to do a feature-length animated movie, a full animated series, shorts for Disney XD, or web shorts, and how did you decide how this project would be presented?

>

Image via Marvel

LANE: This was truly an experiment. The first one went live on November 30^th, and so far, the reception is huge. It’s very timely because I have another one of those big animation summits, starting on December 7^th, and I will tell all of the lines of business that we collaborate with how successful these are. And then, the conversation is really, what’s next? I think Funko is very open to it. I think there needs to be more, in some capacity. What that looks like, there’s a lot of work to do. The audience reception is phenomenal. If I’m ever having a bad day over the next several months, I’m just going to go back to the Facebook and read the comments because they’re so glowing. Fans love you, but they’re also your harshest critics, deservedly so. It’s rare when you work in a business where you create content for fans that the reception is so joyful, and that’s been kind of neat.

With so many characters to choose from, how did you decide which characters would be in these shorts?

LANE: It was really easy. It seems like it would be a hard choice, but we know the characters that are important to fans right now. As we were starting this, Deadpool had just hit really big. I love Venom and I know Venom is probably the favorite villain of most comic fans. We see that, in terms of the audience and the merchandise. Obviously, Iron Man and Spider-Man are really popular right now, and them teaming up seemed really organic because that’s a component of Civil War and everyone knows that Iron Man will appear in a new Spider-Man movie. So, those two connecting with each other and playing off of each other is important. And then, Rocket and Groot are so important for us. There’s the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel coming, and everybody loves those characters. Quite simply, it was very easy.

Are there any characters that you’re particularly looking forward to seeing or teaming up together, if you make more shorts?

LANE: That’s a really good question. I like the vibe between Hulk and Thor. That’s a big component of the next Thor film, so I think that’s one I’d like to see. I’m an old school Avengers fan, so I’m a big Hawkeye fan. I’d like to see Hawkeye playing off of either Captain America or Black Widow. I think Black Widow is the most kick-butt heroine out there, so I would like to see her, in some capacity. Those are some of my favorites, but obviously, I’m not the only decider. Funko has characters that they would like to elevate, and Marvel has characters that they would like to elevate, but there’s really no bad choices. It’s hard to pick, really. These first three shorts were the easiest to see opportunities. I think the next batch, if we do more, will be tougher choices.

"

| Cort | Lane | Shares | Story | Behind | Delightful | Marvel/Funko | Pop! | Animated | Shorts | Marvel | Funko | have | collaborated | create | first | ever | animated | shorts | which | just | charming | cute | that | you’ll | want | watch | them | over | again | Each | three | Spellbound< | Bait | Switch< | Chimichangas< | (that | last | premiering | December | 14th< | sup>) | seconds | length | feature | some | Marvel’s | most | popular | superheroes | villains | including | Spider | Iron | Loki | Rocket | Groot | Collector | Deadpool | Venom | p> Of | course | after | viewing | these | wanted | learn | more | about | they | came | phone | with | Lane< | strong> | Senior | Vice | President | Animation | & | Family | Entertainment | During | exclusive | interview | talked | idea | this | collaboration | evolved | decided | characters | figures | he’d | like | future | balancing | action | comedy | chose | dialogue | possibilities | also | being | life | long | journey | working | company | what’s | hand | developing | producing | shows | within | universe | p> < | a> Image | Marvel< | div> Collider: | These | ridiculously | much | fun!< | strong>< | p> CORT | LANE: | Well | I’m | glad | think | Obviously | feel | same | there’s | really | something | special | here | p> Who | partnership | between | bringing |   < | p> LANE: | This | going | sound | very | corporate | summits | once | twice | year | lines | business | engage | collaborate | talk | what | we’re | doing | franchises | strategic | plan | next | five | years | products | people | mentioned | they’re | excited | partner | aesthetic | huge | base | part | creative | conversation | said | “Is | there | could | brings | broad | range | fans | it’s | unique | We’ve | luck | Lego | content | drives | audience | because | humorous | different | felt | similar | even | stylized | cuter | funnier | That | earlier | spring | Funk | only | game | were | made | happen | Rarely | things | well | p> Anybody | gets | knows | can’t | become | addiction | collection | yourself | I’ve | started | collecting | expensive | collective | hobby | limit | myself | collect | original | comic | stuff | from | ‘60s | ‘70s | ‘80s | limits | starting | collections | I’d | living | mom’s | basement | p> At | least | don’t | take | room | They | then | decide | whether | leave | display | together | scenes | p> Is | criteria | deciding | when | movie | full | series | Disney | project | would | presented | div> LANE: | truly | experiment | went | live | November | 30th< | sup> | reception | It’s | timely | another | those | animation | 7th< | will | tell | successful | open | needs | capacity | What | looks | work | phenomenal | having | several | months | back | Facebook | read | comments | glowing | Fans | love | your | harshest | critics | deservedly | rare | where | joyful | that’s | been | kind | neat | p> With | many | choose | easy | seems | hard | choice | know | important | right | Deadpool< | probably | favorite | villain | terms | merchandise | teaming | seemed | organic | component | Civil | War< | everyone | appear | connecting | each | other | playing | There’s | Guardians | Galaxy< | sequel | coming | everybody | loves | Quite | simply | p> Are | you’re | particularly | looking | forward | seeing | make | That’s | good | question | vibe | Hulk | Thor | Thor< | film | school | Avengers | Hawkeye | either | Captain | America | Black | Widow | kick | butt | heroine | Those | favorites | obviously | decider | elevate | choices | pick | easiest | opportunities | batch | tougher | p> |

Thank Very Much for Reading this News

X-MEN: PRIME Ushers in a New Era for Marvel’s Mutants

We’ve got a ton of Marvel Comics news in this, your weekend edition of Comics Relief! Aside from all the Marvel news, we also have the scoop on a major indie publisher getting in on the superhero shared universe, plus more comics announcements. Read on for all the details!

With the titles and creative teams announced now for the >X-Men RessurXion run (see our item down below for the final one), Marvel has announced thatâ€"in order to get the entire Mutant Renaissance goingâ€"they are releasing a one-shot special called X-Men: Prime. The name itself calls back to the team’s heyday, as X-Men: Prime was also the special that relaunched the team after >Age of Apocalypse in 1995.

X-Editor Daniel Ketchum said, “ResurrXion is all about embracing the [X-Men’s] original dream of coexisting with humans and fighting together to make a better world. All the books in some way, shape, or form, embrace that idea. We’re going to get back to flights, and tights, and capes, and all the classic X-Men tropes. We very much want to harken back to that era where it’s the most classic iteration of the X-Men.”

One tidbit Ketchum dropped in the X-Men: Prime announcement was that the >X-Men: Blue teamâ€"which features the original five membersâ€"would add another female to the team. Considering that former X-23 and current Wolverine Laura Kinney is on the cover, I’d say she is a good bet to join the gang. For more from Ketchum on X-Men: Prime, plus sketches of the team’s new/old costumes, click on the following link: [Entertainment Weekly]

The last X-Men: ResurrXion title to get their creative team announced was the new >Cable series, but this week Marvel finally gave us the details. The new book will be coming from writer James Robinson, who wrote Cable for a stint in the ’90s, along with artist Carlos Pacheco. The new ongoing series will focus on Cable as a time jumping warrior. You can see preview artwork for the new series above.

According to Robinson, “Time travel is part of his make-up in almost every aspect of his history â€" no pun intended. This series will be Cable on a race against time to fix time. The reason Cable must take on this quest will reveal itself as the story and mystery unfolds, but he’s doing it for the sake of the Marvel Universe, which will fall apart if he doesn’t take action.” For more on the new Cable book, click on the following link: [Marvel]

For decades, publisher Fantagraphics was the ultimate anti-mainstream comics publisher. Home of such notable works as >Love and Rockets and >Eightball, you couldn’t find a cape and tights anywhere near a Fantagraphics logo. That changes in 2017 though, as the indie publisher has announced plans to launch a line of superhero books under the banner All Time Comics.

The new line was started by alternative cartoonist and writer Josh Bayer, created with his brother Samuel Bayer (director behind music videos like Nirvana classic “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and the not-so-classic remake of >A Nightmare on Elm. St).

The All Time line will have six individual but interconnected superhero stories featuring both veteran mainstream artists and some lesser known, indie cartoonists. The series launches this spring with Crime Destroyer #1, (for which you can see a teaser image for above), featuring the last art of longtime >Incredible Hulk artist Herb Trimpe who passed away last year. All Time Comics begins in March from Fantagraphics. For more info on the new line, be sure to click here: [CBR]

In anticipation of Danny Rand’s upcoming Netflix debut, Marvel has announced plans for a new >Iron Fist ongoing series, from writer Ed Brisson and artist Mike Perkins. The new series will debut in March and pick up where the Kaare Andrews 2015 Iron Fist: The Living Weapon series left off.

Brisson said in a statement, “Danny’s in a weird place. He’s questioning who he is and he’s pushing himself. He’s a person filled with self-doubt, but he’s always going to have his sense of humor about him â€" even if he’s using it to cover his own pain. He’s an outsider who’s always trying to fit in, trying to find a place where he belongs.”

Iron Fist will continue to star in the >Power Man and Iron Fist series, and will also take center stage in another title, Iron Fists, by Kaare Andrews and Afu Chan. The new Iron First hits in March, and you can see a teaser for issue #1 above. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Maybe as a way of cosmically balancing out the dark and sexy version of Archie, Jughead, and friends heading to the CW next year in >Riverdale, publisher Archie Comics is now teasing an even more wholesome version of their flagship characters. Archie Comics has posted a teaser image to their Facebook page featuring the outline of what looks like a tiny Archie Andrews and the words “Baltazar. Franco. LITTLE.”

Looks like the creators of Tiny Titans and Itty Bitty Hellboy Art Baltazar and Franco are coming out with a cute kid version of Archie and friends. The image features the heading “March, 2017”, so it looks like we won’t have to wait long for this one. You can see the new teaser image above. [CBR]

If you guessed that >Goosebumps creator R.L. Stine‘s upcoming work for Marvel was going to be centered around a monster type character, then you get a cookie and a gold star, as the publisher has announced R.L. Stine as the new writer behind their upcoming >Man-Thing series, a five-issue miniseries featuring the fearsome swamp beast.

Artist German Peralta will partner on the miniseries, and Stine will write the backup stories, which will have a new artist for each issue. The main story of the series will revolve around Ted’s attempt to escape his fate as the Man-Thing for good. For the full scoop on this new series, check out our full story right here: [Nerdist]

And finally, this week saw the release of >Wonder Woman ’77 Meets the Bionic Woman from Dynamite Entertainment and DC Comics. (You can read our review of issue #1 right here). The series had no shortage of artists who wanted to contribute art for the historic meeting of these feminist icons, and several produced covers for various retailer exclusives, including ’90s >Catwoman artist Jim Balent, Ben Caldwell, Mike McKone, Dan Parent, Andrew Pepoy, and J Bone. You can see each of the covers down below in our gallery. [Bleeding Cool]

Images: Marvel Comics / DC Comics / Dynamite Entertainment / Archie Comics / Fantagraphics

"

| X-MEN: | PRIME | Ushers | Marvel’s | Mutants | We’ve | Marvel | Comics | news | this | your | weekend | edition | Relief< | Aside | from | also | have | scoop | major | indie | publisher | getting | superhero | shared | universe | plus | more | comics | announcements | Read | details!< | p> < | p> With | titles | creative | teams | announced | the X | RessurXion< | em>< | a> run | (see | item | down | below | final | one) | Marvel< | thatâ€"in | order | entire | Mutant | Renaissance | goingâ€"they | releasing | shot | special | called | Men: | Prime< | name | itself | calls back | team’s | heyday | that | relaunched | team | after | Apocalypse< | 1995 | p> X | Editor | Daniel | Ketchum | said | “ResurrXion< | about | embracing | Men’s] | original | dream | coexisting | with | humans | fighting | together | make | better | world | books | some | shape | form | embrace | idea | We’re | going | back | flights | tights | capes | classic | tropes | very | much | want | harken | where | it’s | most | iteration | ”< | p> One | tidbit | dropped | announcement | Blue< | teamâ€"which | features | five | membersâ€"would | add another | female | Considering | former | current | Wolverine | Laura | Kinney | cover | I’d | good | join | gang | sketches | costumes | click | following | link: | [Entertainment | Weekly< | a>]< | p> The | last | ResurrXion< | title | their | Cable< | series | week | finally | gave | details | book | will | coming | writer | James | Robinson< | wrote | stint | ’90s | along | artist | Carlos | Pacheco< | ongoing | focus | Cable | time | jumping | warrior | preview | artwork | above | p> According | Robinson | “Time | travel | part | almost | every | aspect | history | intended | This | race | against | reason | must | take | quest | reveal | story | mystery | unfolds | he’s | doing | sake | Universe | which | fall | apart | doesn’t | action | [Marvel< | p> For | decades | Fantagraphics< | ultimate | anti | mainstream | Home | such | notable | works | Love | Rockets< | Eightball< | couldn’t | find | cape | anywhere | near | Fantagraphics | logo | That | changes | 2017 | though | plans | launch | line | under | banner | Time | started | alternative | cartoonist | Josh | Bayer | created | brother | Samuel | Bayer< | (director | behind | music | videos | like | Nirvana | “Smells | Like | Teen | Spirit” | remake | Nightmare | Time< | individual | interconnected | stories | featuring | both | veteran | artists | lesser | known | cartoonists | launches | spring with | Crime | Destroyer< | (for | teaser | image | above) | longtime Incredible | Hulk< | Herb | Trimpe | passed | away | year | Comics< | begins | March | info | sure | here: | [CBR< | p> In | anticipation | Danny | Rand’s | upcoming | Netflix< | debut | Iron | Fist< | Brisson< | Mike | Perkins | pick | Kaare | Andrews | 2015 | Fist: | Living | Weapon< | left | p> Brisson | statement | “Danny’s | weird | place | He’s | questioning | pushing | himself | person | filled | self | doubt | always | sense | humor | even | using | pain | outsider | who’s | trying | belongs | p> Iron | Fist | continue | star | Power | center | stage | another | Fists< | Chan | First< | em> hits | issue | [The | Hollywood | Reporter< | p> Maybe | cosmically | balancing | dark | sexy | version | Archie | Jughead | friends | heading | next | in Riverdal< | em>e< | teasing | wholesome | flagship | characters | posted | Facebook | page< | outline | what | looks | tiny | words | “Baltazar | Franco | LITTLE | p> Looks | creators | Tiny | Titans< | Itty | Bitty | Hellboy< | em> Art | Baltazar< | Franco< | cute | “March | 2017” | won’t | wait | long | p> If | guessed | Goosebumps< | creator | Stine< | a>‘s upcoming | work | centered | around | monster | type | character | then | cookie | and< | gold | Stine | Thing< | miniseries | fearsome | swamp | beast | p> Artist | German | Peralta | partner | write | the backup | each | main story | revolve | Ted’s | attempt | escape | fate | Thing |  For | full | check | right | [Nerdist< | p> And | release | Wonder | Woman | ’77 | Meets | Bionic | Woman< | Dynamite | Entertainment< | (You | read | review< | here) | shortage | wanted | contribute | art for | historic | meeting | these | feminist | icons | several | produced | covers | various | retailer | exclusives | including | Catwoman< | Balent | Caldwell< | McKone | Parent< | Andrew | Pepoy< | Bone< | gallery< | strong> | [Bleeding | Cool< | p> Images: | Entertainment | p> |

Thank You Very Very Much for Visit this Article