Posted in: Comics, NYCC | Tagged: Comics, dejah thoris, dynamite, entertainment, james bond, NYCC, red sonja

NYCC '15: Red Sonja, Dejah Thoris And Other Changes For Dynamite

Published Fri, 09 Oct 2015 11:30:14 -0500

By Adam Wolfe

Dynamite Entertainment is in the midst of a soft reboot on three of their major female characters, Red Sonja, Vampirella, and Dejah Throis. Appropriately, their panel consisted of Marguerite Bennet, writer of Red Sonja, Frank j Barbiere, writer of Dejah Thoris and The Precinct, and Nancy A. Collins, writer of Vampirella (who joined us via a phone call held against a microphone.) With them was Keith Davidsen, the charming marketing manager for Dynamite, and the lovely Rachel Pinnelas, their associate editor. This dynamite team (get it?) provided some real tantalizing stuff for what Dynamite Comics has in store for us. So without further ado let's get right too it.

Starting with Red Sonja, Bennett claimed she loves the character simply because she "can't be tamed, and wont be tamed." She lives in a "vicious" world but insists on being "more fun than that. Benett loves Sonja's ability to overcome her harsh environment and thrive in it, rather than be bogged down by it. She wants a create a book that will make us laugh and be scared, which she considered pure "entertainment." Benett has also expressed interest in digging deeper into mythological beasts and creatures to have Sonja overcome new challenges. She event went as far to say she had a panel redone, because the monster slaying felt rehashed.

Bennet also leaked a bit of the new plot for the new direction. The king has died and the throne has been offered to Sonja. She declines as she feels she would be a terrible queen, and does not want to be anchored to the job. When she returns to her lands after a brief sequester, she finds they are indeed unified. However, this unity has come at a terrible price. Sonja now must clash against her own people, as they have become what Bennet described as "iron age Nazis." Bennet also let us know that the chain mail bikini is not gone forever, and will return to Sonja for a very special occasion.

Dejah Throis is the wife of John Carter, however writer Frank Barbiere thinks that just the tip of her iceberg. He feels as though she is a great character who has always had to live in the shadow of her husband. Now with her own book, Dejah will be flushed out in a way we have never seen before. It will provide readers with a new "perspective" without having to look through the "lens of John Carter." Barbiere says this story is about Dejah finding her "identity" as a character, and is something the reader can do along with her. Her look has been revamped as well to be a badass, sci fi, alien princess. The biggest shocker was the confirmation that John Carter is now a stay at home dad!

Barbiere is also working on his new book The Precinct. The story centers around a steam punk universe. Mort is a cop with a mechanical arm and a no bullshit attitude. His partner, Jo, is from the alchemist academy and is constantly trying to show Mort there is more to life than steam and bullets. The two must put aside their difference to solve the mystery of giant steam driven monsters who have appeared around the city and begun slaughtering people. Barbiere described it as a sort of "Hellboy meets Final Fantasy." He also assured us this is not a "reprinting of old steampunk ideas" but he has added his own twist and flair that many lovers of "pulp" will enjoy.

From what I was able to gather from the phone panelist, the new Vampirella will be building off the old, while breathing in the new. Vampirella has lost her red…umm…" top" white collar outfit, and has moved onto more traditional monster hunting gear. Though we were assured like Sonja, the classic look will come back at a very key time for her life. What readers can expect here is a mix of classic horror movies, and lots of Hollywood references. Nancy put it best as she said it will be "campy, and vampy." (as an aside, it is confirmed she is still a vampire from space, Nancy was quite adamant about keeping that origin intact.)

Other upcoming titles include:

007 comic series to be launched in November. Warren Ellis is the writer on the project and it is said to have a gritty, dark tone to them just like the original Ian Flemming novels. Davidsen made it a point to say "if you love the Daniel Craig Bond, you'll love this." From what I can tell on the cover art, this imaging of Bond looks very much like Mr. Craig.

Doc Savage will be launching in December.

Grumpy Cat will be getting his own book, with her (that's right, it's a she) brother Pokey who seems to be a lot less grumpy.

Seduction of the Innocent the title of the comic says it all. A big F U to Fredric Wertham (well deserved.) A horror story that is said to push "all kinds of envelopes."

And finally, last but not least Devolution by Rick Remender. This project seemed to be super hush hush, but from what I gathered we have a post-apocalyptic world where the human race is turning back into cavemen, and the rest of the world is following suit.

That's a whole lot of content from Dynamite and I for one can't wait to get my hands on it all.

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