[THEME MUSIC]
 Hello Mighty Marvelites.
I'm CB Cebulski,
your Editor in Chief.
And thank you for joining
us at virtual San Diego.
Now welcome to Hall
M. This is the one
stop shop for all
of the greatest
news about Marvel Comics.
We're going to be running
through everything
that's going to be happening
throughout this year.
You don't have to wait in line.
You don't have to
fight for a seat.
All you gotta do is
sit down and listen.
Now to take us through
this summer's big event,
starring the Avengers
and the Fantastic Four,
editor Tom Brevoort is going
to walk us through Empyre.
Take it away Tom.
 Hello quasi San
Diego convention.
I am Tom Brevoort,
Marvel's Executive Editor.
We are here for the
Marvel Empyre portion
of our Next Big Thing panel.
Joining me today, on the left
and right theoretically--
I can't see them because
we're all remote.
--are the writers of Empyre.
On one side-- pick a side--
is the author of
Guardians of the Galaxy,
and The Immortal Hulk,
and many other fine titles
available at a
comic shop near you.
Mr. Al Ewing--
 Hello.
These are my real curtains.
[LAUGHTER]
 --and on the other side
somewhere, Mr. Dan Slott.
 Hello!
 Folks we are--
when this airs-- when
this comes to everybody,
people will have seen the
first two issues of Empyre.
But just as a quickie
introduction and setup,
what can you tell folks about
Empyre, what's going on,
and where we are?
 It's the Kree,
it's the Skrulls,
it's the Cotati as
you have read by now.
And it's Earth.
And they're all coming
together in a quite
literal war of the worlds.
Except Mars isn't involved.
We left them out.
 War of the Moon.
 War of the Moon, yes.
Yeah, no.
This is-- the Kree
and the Skrulls
have come together at last,
after millennia of war.
DAN SLOTT: And
they're now flying
under one flag and one ruler.
AL EWING: Oh, yeah.
That ruler would be
Hulkling, the young Avenger--
new Avenger-- fan favorite.
He is now-- he's
taken the destiny
we always promised for him.
He is leading both the
Kree and the Skrulls.
And the big question is,
is he just a figurehead
for the powers that be?
You know, just like a
human flag to unite under?
Or is he something more?
Is he like a real
king in waiting?
And the people they're
fighting against
are the previously peaceful
plant people, the Cotati,
who used to share a
planet with the Kree
before the Kree massacred them--
not a bright spot
in their history.
And now they want payback.
They've got violent.
They've succumbed to some
new violent thoughts.
And they're taking it
out on the entire galaxy.
And Earth is right
in the middle of it.
 Dan, over in the
Empyre Fantastic Four 0--
we did the two zeros
to lead into this.
And in that zero we introduced
a couple of characters that
are of import, both
to Empyre itself,
and to the Fantastic
Four going forward.
What can you tell me about
who these people are,
and why they're so important?
 By this point in time,
you have met Jo-Venn
and N'kalla who are
the Kree Chronicle
of Blood and the Skrull
Requiem of the Shapeless Soul.
These two beings are the living
histories of the millennia
of the Kree-Skrull conflict.
And there is more to
them than meets the eye.
And they are going
be insanely important
to the future the Fantastic
Four and to the Empire.
 I actually want to
switch us off right now
to talk for two seconds about
some people who aren't here,
but who are integral
to everything
we're doing at Empyre.
So I want to give both of you
the chance, for the next couple
of seconds, to
enthuse about the work
that Valerio Schitit and Marte
Gracia are doing in visualizing
all of this stuff.
AL EWING: Valerio is amazing.
Like, every page of this landing
in my inbox is, like, you know,
a new delight.
And some of the vistas--
I have not been easy on him.
I'll confess that right now.
But some of the
vistas and massive,
like, action packed shots
and beautiful sweeping,
like, settings and--
And then the other
thing it does great
is those tiny little
moments for motion.
And there are quite
a lot of those.
There's a lot of
emotional beats in that.
There's a lot of, like--
I mean, if I were to say which
emotions, that'd be a spoiler.
But we get a lot of them.
We get most of them.
I'd say we get, like, a
decent collection of emotions.
And Valerio just-- everything
that guy [INAUDIBLE]..
He's the master.
 He has redesigned the Cotati.
He's designed whole
new looks for the Kree
and the Skrull Empire.
He's designed
spaceships, battlefields.
He's-- Al, you are
throwing everything
in the world at Valerio.
You're throwing him Avengers,
and all the Fantastic Four,
and surprises.
This is everything you
want out of a Marvel event.
 Iron Man suits--
design the new Iron Man suit.
I said to him one morning--
 Have they seen that yet?
Have they seen the by--
 No.
 --because they're
only up to issue 2.
 Yeah.
[LAUGHTER]
TOM BREVOORT: Valerio
is a fabulous designer.
And he's done so many
designs that we've actually
been including them in the backs
of all of the issues of Empyre
as we've gone along.
So people here will have seen
the first two issues worth,
but there's actually four
more issues worth of designs,
and character interpretations,
and ships, and equipment,
and everything.
He really went to town in
a big way on all of this.
 And this is now
the look for the Kree
and the Skrull from now on.
 Oh, yeah.
 If, of course,
they survive Empyre.
And don't forget about Marte.
 Indeed.
Marte, his colors, they
kind of leap off the page.
I mean, like I was saying,
you've got these huge battles,
you know, everybody kind
of expertly picked out.
You've got, like, in space--
you've got the-- yeah,
well you're in space,
so you get, you know,
beautiful sunsets, beautiful
sort of interstellar vistas.
And just brings it
all out-- brings it
all to life in a
way that-- you know,
you look at the original
art and it's fantastic.
But that-- Marte just
brings that extra dimension
to it, that extra, like,
layer of beauty to it.
 Yeah.
They both have felt very
engaged and involved
in this story in particular.
By a complete fluke, the first
Marvel comic that Valerio ever
read was the
Fantastic Four Annual
that had Bel-Dann
and Raksor in it,
who have been big
background players
in the set up for Empyre.
And so to him,
this is very much--
- We killed them.
- Yes.
[LAUGHTER]
 I mean--
 One of the other things
we wanted to touch on just
briefly, just to give
a little tease Al, is,
you know, we have
announced that we're doing
the Immortal She-Hulk--
AL EWING: Yup.
TOM BREVOORT: --as one
of the Empyre epilogues.
So without, you know, giving
anything away or so forth--
clearly this is a place where
it's an opportunity for you
to bridge between what you've
been doing in Immortal Hulk
and what's been going on
with Jen Walters in Avengers.
But what can you say
about this that won't
reveal anything too hairily?
 Well as Immortal
Hulk readers know,
when we kind of intersect
with the rest of the Marvel
Universe, and sort
of touch on it,
it's usually in the form of
these big 30 page specials.
So readers can sort of have
a little something extra.
And sort of see how, you
know, the story we're telling
in the main
Hulk-verse intersects
with the rest of
the Marvel Universe.
And this is one of those.
This is basically-- how does all
of the stuff we've been doing
in Immortal Hulk-- the
nature of gamma radiation,
the Green Door, all this
stuff with the Below-Place
and the One Below All.
How does all that tie-in to
scientist Jennifer Walters?
How does-- what's Jennifer
Walters' experience of that?
How does what she goes
through in Empyre--
how does that tie-in?
And, you know, by the
end of Empyre, readers--
maybe readers who haven't
been picking up Immortal Hulk
are going to have
a few questions.
Readers who have been
picking up that book
are going to have
a few questions.
This book is going to have
the answers to the questions
they will have.
And I can't tell you what
those questions will be yet.
[LAUGHTER]
 Or the answers.
 But you'll have them.
 But both the questions and
the answers will be there.
Dan-- yeah, over in FF
and in your zero book,
you also introduced a
new Elder in the Universe
who's kind of a
pivotal character.
What can you tell us--
I mean, people will have already
read the zero at this point.
But we're not done with
the Profiteer just yet.
What else can you tell us about
how she fits into the scheme
of things going forward?
 The Profiteer only
cares about one thing--
making profit.
She wants to-- at
the end of the game--
she wants to have the most toys.
And that is all she cares about.
And her biggest meal
ticket, to date,
has been supplying the arms for
both the Kree and the Skrull.
So everything that
happens in Empyre
is going to have a big effect
on her, what she's up to,
and we are going to see her
in the Cosmic book some more.
By the very end of Fantastic
Four Fallout, which will come
at the end of Empyre, you will
also see major ramifications
for the Fantastic Four,
for the Marvel Cosmos,
and for the Marvel Universe--
the entire Marvel Universe.
If you are in the
Marvel Universe,
you will be affected by
Fantastic Four Fallout
of Empyre issue, because that's
how big everything in Empyre
is.
Oh my God.
 So I can buckle it up.
[LAUGHTER]
 All right.
We're-- we've run
through most of our time.
But just for a last
sort of summation--
obviously, people
are now getting
to experience this story.
We're a little-- coming out
a little later than we'd
anticipated thanks
to all the stuff
that's going on in the world.
But, you know, as we
move into the real heart
and the spine of the story,
you know, what's your take?
What do you hope people take
from it and get out of it?
And, you know, how would you
summarize the experience--
all of that kind of jazz.
What do you got for me?
 I mean, I can tell you what
I'm looking forward to most,
both now and what I'll still be
looking forward to when you're
watching this, which is
the reaction of readers
to that shock ending we talked
about at the end of issue four
and the resolution of it.
I am very, very much looking
forward to the reaction
of readers to that.
And that's all I'll
say about that.
 Definitely.
Definitely.
 This is about the FF.
This is about the Avengers.
And as much as the Kree-Skrull
Empire is going to change,
as much as the Marvel
Cosmos is going to change,
these characters are
going to walk out with--
things are going to happen.
You're going to want to
follow what's coming up next.
And you're not going
to want to miss this.
This is very important.
This is like-- this is when
an event means something.
Stuff happens.
Things change.
Hearts and minds-- empires.
You know--
 That's the whole thing.
 --love, hate--
 That's the whole thing.
 --teams, family--
 It's a meal.
 --everything.
 It's a full meal.
 It's oh my God!
 Yep.
[INAUDIBLE]
 All right.
 All have glasses and beards.
How did that happen?
[LAUGHTER]
 Oh, OK.
That, you know--
I want to thank everybody
for being here, for coming,
for reading Empyre, particularly
under the slightly more
difficult conditions
that it is to do.
Please stay safe.
We want you to read Empyre,
but we want you to do to be
healthy and hale as you go.
Enjoy the rest of the
virtual San Diego Convention.
And we'll see you in the pages
of Marvel Comics every week.
Good bye.
 Wow!
Now I've read all the
issues of Empyre already,
but that got me so excited.
So thank you Tom, Dan, and Al
for walking us through Empyre.
The first two issues
available in comic shops now.
But as we've covered the
Avengers and the Fantastic
Four, there are lots of other
teams in the Marvel Universe
that we need to cover.
So let's go to the world of
the Merry Mutants with Jordan
White, Tini Howard,
and Gerry Dugan,
who are going to take
us through this fall's
big X-Men event, X of Swords.
 Hello everyone.
My name is Jordan D White.
I am the Senior Editor in
charge of X-Men over at Marvel.
And with me are two amazing
writers that I work with.
First of all, Tini Howard
who writes Excalibur.
 Hello.
JORDAN WHITE: And also,
Gerry Dugan who writes
Marauders and Cable.
 Hello Comic-Con.
 So thank you guys
for being here.
Now both of you are working
on X of Swords with me.
Now X of Swords is this
massive, epic X-Men crossover
that crosses over
into every book
that we're publishing
in the X-Men line.
And it comes out
of this whole Dawn
of X status quo with Krakoa that
Jonathan Hickman has lovingly
set up for us and that
all of us have been
running with for the past--
oh gosh-- not quite a year,
but getting close to a year
since he started.
And it's a story that has grown
out of all of the track he laid
down and then all the track
that you guys have laid down,
especially, Tini, some
of the stuff you've
been setting up in Excalibur.
So Tini, what can you
tease for us about what's
coming up in X of Swords?
Especially considering that
some of it, like I said,
grows straight out of Excalibur.
 Sure Jordan.
Well, let's see--
X of Swords is obviously really,
really close to my heart.
I've been working with
Jonathan and Jordan
really closely on making
sure that everything
that's coming out of it--
everything that you
guys are going to be
experiencing as part of it is--
feels both really exciting and
also like a natural extension
of some of what we've seen
in House of X and Powers
of X. And John and I
are just going forward.
A lot of it just came out
of stuff that, you know,
it was all just, like, really
natural storytelling stuff.
Like, Jonathan and I
just kind of realized
that we were both trying
to tell similar stories
about certain characters.
And that we could
bring them to a head
together in this huge event
that also just kind of is going
to blow the world of
what Mutants have been
dealing with so far wide open.
It's absolutely weird.
You guys know I like weird.
[LAUGHTER]
It comes out of a lot of my
love for a lot of things people
have seen in Excalibur.
The idea of magic,
not just as a thing
that lets you fly around and
shoot fireballs or whatever,
but magic as the idea
of a cultural practice.
And the idea of--
the ideas of, like, being
a knight of something,
being representative
of something,
you know, what it
means to hold a sword
and fight for something.
That's all stuff
that we're going
to explore in X of Swords.
It's going to be really exciting
character work too for a lot
of your favorite characters.
They all have some
fun stuff coming up.
JORDAN WHITE: So X of Swords,
like we said, is a crossover.
So it's not the kind of event
that a lot of times Marvel
will do where there's a main
book and then tie-in books.
This is a story that
goes into every title.
So every part of it
connects to and is
a chapter of this main story.
There's 22 chapters
to this giant epic.
So Gerry, you work on Marauders
and Cable, both of which
are going to have
issues of this.
But how did you enjoy
collaborating on this?
Because, again, it's not
just you two and Jonathan,
it's also a bunch
of other writers
who we've got working on this--
Leah Williams, Vita Ayala, Ben
Percy, Ed Brisson, Zeb Wells.
I'm sure I'm forgetting someone.
Who am I leaving out?
 Yeah.
It's been so much fun.
You know, we've been
very collaborative.
Writing comics is often
a solitary effort.
But that has not been the
case so far on Krakoa.
We have our private
secret meeting rooms.
And we have been
consistently cooking up
story threads for all
these books to interweave.
I think the charm
of this for me is
that I'm getting to
work closely with Vita,
and Ben, and everyone.
And you're going to
not just see some
of the X-Men in
new writers hands,
you're also going to
see new names on books.
I'm getting to co-write
with Ben on X-Cow--
or I'm sorry, on
X-Force and Wolverine.
And Ben's co-writing
my Marauders' issues
and Vita's got a
standalone Marauder story.
So we're definitely singing into
the mics like the E Street Band
on this one.
And it's been a lot of fun.
 Absolutely.
I can't wait for people to
see what actually happens.
So it's called the X of Swords.
Tini, that name comes
from tarot cards.
 It does.
 What can you
tell us about that?
 Well, I have to
say as a person that
loves weird symbolism, I
was just tickled by the way
that Jonathan has leaned
into the X and 10.
And, like, really early on--
I've talked about this before.
I felt like the way
I encouraged my,
you know, my work game in
Krakoa was less like here's
a book with a bunch of
cool X-Men I want to write,
and like here's a
part of Mutant culture
that I would like to shepherd.
And I really, really early on
attached to certain characters
as part of that who
are now a big part
of the story of X of Swords.
So it's-- I don't know.
A lot of it-- a lot of the
work we do in [INAUDIBLE]
is like nothing I've
ever done as a writer.
It's really, really freeing,
especially when you're working,
you know, on things,
you know, that are not
your own characters, and
things you have to shepherd,
and have fans and stuff.
It's really, really freeing
to get to just, like,
sit around with the
other X writers.
And, you know, to have had
this event that I'm doing with
Jonathan not form out of,
like, you know, what felt like,
you know, like mandates or
assignments and more of just
what kind of felt like
Jonathan and I being,
like-- so we're both--
we both want to
tell the same story.
Right?
Like we're both working
toward the same story,
but just from different angles.
And we kind of realized that X
of Swords is where a lot of it
was leading.
If you know the tarot at all,
you know that the Ten of Swords
is the end of the
suit, which means
it's, like, all the suits--
it's a journey.
And the Suit of Swords,
if you're a tarot reader,
it does not end--
it does not end well.
 To give them just the
smallest bit of tease,
what character has the best bit
so far in this entire story?
Who is your choice for best
moment in the book so far?
 As the person that has
been writing Marauders,
I'm very excited for this story
because of Storm's part in it.
Finally, you know, there is
a super, super cool story
that we've been dying to tell.
When you see Russell Dauterman
and Matt Wilson's cover
for Marauders you'll
understand why
I'm so excited about
this story for Storm.
We should show that cover.
I'm going to show that cover.
 All right.
Let's do it.
GERRY DUGAN: Look at--
they put the X of
Swords logo in the back.
That's the halo.
JORDAN WHITE: It's
pretty amazing.
Tini, how about you?
 We're all very excited for
the story that has developed
for young Douglas Ramsey.
He's, you know-- like, look.
There's a part of you that
like, Betsy, Apocalypse.
Because, like, I
love writing them.
And their stories are
so important to me.
And there are some
characters that--
I don't even want to say--
that I'm excited to write.
But I don't want to spoil it.
But I'll say this--
the room has lit up every time
we start talking about Doug's
story in X of Swords.
It can be the earliest,
sleepiest, most worn
out video call, and the
second we start talking
about the Doug story
everyone's like, (EXCITEDLY)
and this happened.
We all-- [INAUDIBLE] fans are
going to have a great time.
 Very true.
 Agreed.
If I had to pick,
I mean, I probably
would say I'm most excited about
something with Captain Britain.
So--
 That email you sent and we saw
some good art the other night.
 We did.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
 That's even better
than I imagined it.
[LAUGHTER]
Wow.
- Terrific.
 And you know what?
Just another example of how
X-Men are family books--
this whole visual that Jordan
and I are geeking out about
that you'll see from
an artist that I'm not
sure if we can discuss yet--
it came out of an idea
that I was chewing on.
And Leah Williams was like--
it was just, you
know, I don't know
what I'm doing here, and
this and that, and the other.
And just [INAUDIBLE].
And she was like, what
if we did it this way?
And that's, like, so much of
how our books get written.
You know, I think
everyone in the X Room,
at some point or another during
the writing of X of Swords,
has reached out to me just to
be like, hey let's look at it,
like, this moment
where our books touch.
Let's both look at it
and make sure it works.
Or this through line,
I started this chapter,
but can you pick it up
again in your chapter?
And can you make sure that
you set this up for me?
And it's, like, that's how these
books have kind of been written
for, like, the past year.
But then, X of Swords is,
like, us really just vamping
and showing you guys how
good we've gotten at writing
these books as a team.
Like, it's-- we've been
practicing for a year to show
you guys how good we've gotten.
 I'm glad the writers all
feel like we're on the shores
of Krakoa singing "Kumbaya."
The artists are being asked
to draw some almost impossible
stuff that they are crushing.
I sent Stefano Caselli the
first page of Marauders 15.
And he didn't quit the book.
And I'm so happy that
he is going to draw
these almost impossible pages.
You know, Phil Noto been
turning in just incredible--
you know, it's hard
to top yourself
when you're Stefano
Caselli and Phil Noto,
but these guys are doing that.
And when you see the Russell
covers, and the stuff that Pepe
is doing, and, you know, RB now
drawing Excalibur-- you know,
everyone is hitting
on all cylinders.
And I know that, you
know, this is going
to land well with the fans.
I can't wait for you guys
to get your hands on it.
 All of the artists
that you mentioned
are doing great work right now.
There's a few others that I
should throw out the names of.
We definitely have Mahmud
Asrar doing some amazing work
on this series.
We've got Matteo Lolli doing
some great work for us.
We've got Carmen Carnero.
We've got Viktor Bogdanovic.
We've got Josh Cassara.
This is really some
of the best artists
that we've ever
worked with all coming
together to tell one story.
And it's going to be--
it's going to be a top
of the line package.
Like, honestly, I think
you're going to love it.
So--
 We-- the first, you
know, eight or so pages
of X of Swords 2 I--
we gave Pepe an
insane challenge.
Like, you'll understand
when you read it.
But, I mean, we just
asked him to create
us beautiful massive
things out of whole cloth.
And, I mean, I'm a person--
I love-- I love giving
an artist a vibe.
Like, I don't usually
give an artist a thing
and say there's a reference
photo of this one thing.
I'll say, like, here's 10
things I was thinking about,
and here's the playlist I
was listening to, you know.
I'm, like, I always
tell [INAUDIBLE] they're
ingredients, not prescription.
Like, please, you know--
and I feel like Pepe just
took that and somehow was,
like, oh, like, what was
inside your head but better.
He absolutely-- and
it's just incredible.
He has just birthed
galaxies for us.
I'm blown away.
I'm speechless by what Pepe
is doing on the main book
right now.
Getting to write some
of my first pages
in a Marvel Event
book and having them
[INAUDIBLE] those Pepe pages--
I'm OK with that.
 Thank you so much
for listening to us.
X of Swords starts in September.
It's going to be running
22 chapters all the way
through the end of November.
And like I said, check it out.
Pick it up.
It's going to be a good
time all the way through.
Now I'm going to throw
it back to CB, who's got
some more Marvel news for you.
 Hey now Jordan, look.
I know we're not in the offices
and we're working virtually,
but you gotta start
sending me those scripts.
I'm in the loop, but even
I didn't know the things
you just talked about
with Storm and Betsy.
As one of the world's biggest
X-Men fans, I need to know.
So get them over here buddy.
Now who's a big Spider-Man fan?
Let's introduce Nick Lowe,
Editor of Amazing Spider-Man,
who's going to walk
us through issue
850 and the return of one of
Peter's greatest arch rivals,
[BLEEP].
Take it away Nick.
 Thank you so much CB.
Hello San Diego.
Hello world.
Welcome to virtual Comic-Con
and the Marvel panel.
We are so excited to be here.
We have such a treat for
you Spider fans out there.
Today I am joined by
two Spider legends.
I am joined by Amazing
Spider-Man writer,
Nick Spencer.
Welcome Nick.
 Hey.
Thanks for having me.
 And also joining
us today, Marvel
artistic legend,
Mark Bagley, has
returned to Amazing Spider-Man.
Hello Mark.
 Legendary.
That's right.
Legendary.
[LAUGHTER]
 So thank you both
for joining us today.
Just in case anyone out there
is crazy and isn't already
reading Amazing
Spider-Man, I wanted
to give you a little
setup of how things are
going in Amazing Spider-Man.
Basically, they aren't going
well for Peter Parker at all.
There's a silver lining.
He's back together
with Mary Jane Watson.
He's back in school.
He's a grad student at
Empire State University.
He's studying under
Curt Connors a.k.a.
the Lizard.
The Lizard is his professor.
Ay-yay-yay.
He's rooming with one
of his best friends,
Randy Robertson, but also
with supervillain Boomerang.
What?
It's true.
And I-- Randy and Pete
aren't the only people
who kind of hate Boomerang.
But it's not for the same
reason that he leaves all
the dirty dishes in the sink.
The Kingpin, who is the
mayor of New York City,
wants to kill the Boomerang.
But he wants
everyone's hands off
of his roommate Peter Parker.
Now why, you might ask.
Well, it is because of
someone named Kindred.
Kindred is a
mysterious new villain.
He's got bandages
all over his face.
He's got centipedes
that crawl all over him.
And not much is known about
this mysterious villain.
That's all going to
be changing very, very
soon, because he has big plans.
And they all start
with Sins Rising.
Nick, can you tell us a
bit about Sins Rising?
Where you came up
with the idea and kind
of what's in store for that?
 Well, you know,
Sins Rising really
does represent the
escalation of the next part
of our big Kindred story.
And, you know, Kindred
has been lurking
in the shadows and
kind of plaguing
Peter Parker's nightmares.
And now he's-- you know, he's
going to come to the surface.
And this is the first
part of this play.
And it involves resurrecting
one of my favorite Spider-Man
villains from the
classic Spectacular
Spider-Man run, the Sin-Eater.
So the Sin-Eater has returned.
He has been changed.
He has a whole new set
of powers and revelations
that we're going to be
rolling out over this arc.
And things are just going to
get worse and worse for Spidey
as the Sin-Eater makes his
presence felt in Peter's life.
 And what you have happening
there is just incredible.
I mean, Sin-Eater was
already a huge looming figure
in Peter's life as he is the
man who killed Jean DeWolff
and set off one of, like, most
classic Spider-Man stories.
And so having him back in
this new terrifying way
is just been incredible to read.
And I can't wait for
everyone out there to share.
But that's not the only rogue
that you have on the horizon,
because we're coming up
on Amazing Spider-Man
49, which is 49 of this volume.
But if you count up all the
issues of Amazing Spider-Man
it is also Amazing
Spider-Man Legacy 850.
And we are going to
pull out all the stops,
including bringing one of
Spider-Man's biggest villains
back.
Nick, can you tell us who it is?
And Mark, don't be too afraid.
OK?
It's pretty scary.
So be careful.
 Yeah it's the biggest villain
of them all for Peter Parker,
I think.
Norman Osborn, the Green
Goblin, will be coming back
into Spidey's life with
issue 850 and a little bit
just before.
So, you know, how that factors
into the Sin-Eater story,
how that factors into
the Kindred story,
you're going to have
to read to find out.
But Norman Osborn is a
major player in that story.
 This is not a story
to be trifled with.
Both Sins Rising, which puts
Peter through a gauntlet
that he's never
been through before
in any way, shape, or form--
and puts Spider-Man
in a corner in a way
that I've never read before.
And it all leads to number 850.
Now we are, like I said, we
are joined by Mark Bagley who's
rejoined the Amazing Spider-Man
team for the first time
in a long time.
 A long time.
 So long.
Was that the cretaceous period
that you last drew it, Mark?
I can't remember.
 I think the neolithic period.
[LAUGHTER]
 But Mark comes
back for Amazing
Spider-Man 45 and he dabbles
with us during Sins Rising.
But he is one of the legends.
He is joined by Ryan
Utley and Humberto Ramos
for the main story of 850.
But Mark, what is it like to
be back on Amazing Spider-Man?
 It's amazing.
Yeah, that was easy.
It's real-- for
me it's exciting.
I mean, I've drawn--
you know, I'm really known
for Amazing Spider-Man
back in the 90s and the
Ultimate Spider-Man.
But it's really been
20 years since I
drew Spider-Man regularly.
And it's been 30
probably since I
actually drew an issue
of Amazing Spider-Man,
because I am that old.
I really wanted to see what--
how I could handle it, because
back in the day I just--
I never felt like
I lived up to, you
know, John Romita,
and Gil Kane, and Ross
Andru, and Steve Ditko.
I just-- it was never my spot.
It never felt like I was there.
 That's crazy talk.
 I wanted to see if 30
years later I really feel--
because Ultimate,
Spider-Man, that felt
like it was all mine anyway.
But with this I wanted
to know if I was really
there, if I was still relevant.
You know, I've been
having a great time.
And I think I'm drawing
really well right now, so--
NICK LOWE: You are
drawing your butt off.
There-- like, every page--
I think, Nick, you said it once.
When Mark started
turning pages in, it--
can you remember what it felt
like to see Mark Bagley--
 Oh, you know, it's been one
of the best thrills in my career
really.
 That's great.
 As somebody that
was, you know,
reading those Amazing
Spider-Man [INAUDIBLE]
issues off the newsstand
when they were coming out--
you know, to be collaborating
with Mark on this
is really just one of
the biggest thrills
and honors of my career.
I'm over the moon about it.
 Mark, have there
been any particularly,
like, challenges, like,
that you've hit when you've
been drawing these issues?
Any characters that have
been, like, a surprise to you
as far as, like,
someone who was way
more fun to draw
than you thought
would be or something like that?
 Challenges wise was
following Humberto
Ramos and Utley having--
850 you know, we split it up.
And I'd never seeing
Humberto's pencils before
and they're amazing.
And his version of Norman
Osborn, the Green Goblin,
is just insane.
And I didn't really see it
before I started working
on my version, my section.
And once I saw his
I went, holy crap.
So I went back and actually, you
know, tweaked faces and worked
on it some.
I've never drawn the 616
Norman Osborn very much.
So I did a mini series, I think.
But he never showed up in
my Amazing Spider-Man run
in all the five or six
years I worked on it.
So that was kind of fun.
 But for anyone out there
who's Norman Osborn fan,
you've got to pick up this book.
Because the stuff
that happens leading
up to 850 and in 850 and beyond,
you do not want to miss it.
I don't want to spoil anything
for you, because we've
got so many surprises.
And I want you'd have the best
experience that you can have.
But, so, you've got to start
with Amazing Spider-Man 45
on sale soon, all the
way through number 850.
And then we start paving
the way for something
called Last Remains that
I don't even-- we can't--
Nick, we can't
talk about it yet.
We can't talk about it yet.
But that is also bonkers.
And there's so
much great in store
for Amazing Spider-Man fans.
Gentlemen, anything
else before we pass
the baton to the next people?
 You know, I just
want to say thank you
so much to everybody that's
been reading the book
and enjoying the book.
I mean, the response at issue
and in issue out to this
has been so fantastic.
And, you know, for
me-- look, I've
always said the same thing.
Writing Amazing Spider-Man
is my dream job.
And, you know,
getting to do this,
you know, every day for a
living is just so great.
So just, you know, thank
you all for giving me
the chance to do it.
 Spider-Man's always been my
favorite character and to be
back on it and,
you know, thinking
I'm doing a pretty good job on
it, having that opportunity.
I've been doing
this a long time.
It never gets old.
I don't take it for
granted for a second
that I do what I
love for a living.
And so to be working
on Spider-Man just
is like the icing on the cake.
So thank you.
Hopefully you don't stop
buying it because of me.
[LAUGHTER]
 They'd be crazy to.
So thank you both
for joining us.
Thank you Comic-Con,
people in San
Diego, people all over the world
watching this, Make my Marvel.
And I'm going to toss
this over to some--
some schlub is going to talk
to you about some other book.
So I guess go enjoy it.
All right.
Bye everybody.
 Bye bye guys.
 Thank you Nick, I don't
know why you have to be rude.
But enough of your
spider nonsense.
Let's talk about something
truly terrifying.
This October we have
a new comic coming out
called Werewolf By Night
written by Taboo of the Black
Eyed Peas and Ben Jackendoff.
In fact, we have Ben here right
now to talk to you about it.
Ben, welcome to virtual
San Diego Comic-Con.
Tell me a bit about Werewolf
By Night, what attracted you
to this project, and kind
of what makes Werewolf
By Night as amazing as it is.
 Yeah, I mean, what really
brought us to this project
was Red Wolf, actually.
The history of Tab with Red
Wolf and his love of Red Wolf
was kind of how we found our
ways with Werewolf By Night.
Because when we did the
Marvel 1000, actually
last summer, it was with
the Red Wolf one page.
And then when we were
asked to come in and work
with this awesome
character Red Wolf,
but bring him into the
Werewolf By Night world,
and create this
brand new character--
I mean, we were so excited.
We were like, wait.
We get to make a new
awesome Werewolf By Night
and also have Red Wolf in it?
And that was what really
brought us to this project.
And it was just--
I mean, from there
it's been such a joy.
It's been such an
amazing project.
 That's so incredible.
And it's so much, like, that
has to do with why this is such
a quintessential Marvel comic.
The personal connection, the
world outside your window,
finding ways to bring these
super heroic together with the,
like, just in everyday
life of a person.
And there is so much
action in this book.
And there's so
much, like, cool--
Scot Eaton is drawing his
butt off on this book.
BEN JACKENDOFF: He's amazing.
 Yeah.
Every Marvel hero is defined
by the Marvel villains
that they face.
Ben, can you tell us a
little bit about the villains
in Werewolf By Night?
 Yeah.
I mean, you know, in
creating these villains we--
Tab and I have this thing
of digital and analog.
The idea of nature versus
kind of the digital world
and technology and how so
much of, you know, Native--
it's about being a
custodian to nature.
So in our kind of
opposition to that
was creating this
villain and industry
in this villain that basically
is the epitome of technology.
So, like, this Tetsu of the Iron
Man inspiration and the idea
of creating these kind of
cybernetic that are half
breed type creatures that
are in direct opposition
to Jake, who is a full werewolf,
that comes from the mysticism
of earth like shamanism
and, you know,
a lot of these kind
of natural elements.
And where, you know, our
villain, Dr. Eve Murkowski,
who we'll get to
know, is creating
these cybernetic
creatures and she's
on this path to trying to
find the perfect evolution
of what humanity will be.
And, you know, without giving
too much away of the story,
that really is what we
are looking at right now.
Especially-- you
know, how do we live
in balance with these
new technologies
that are being created?
Just like this, you know, where
we can all be able to talk.
And, you know, versus how do
we stay in touch with nature?
And how do we stay in
touch with, you know,
what has made us organic beings?
So it's the idea of the analog,
digital, organic versus,
you know, digital creation.
 That is so cool.
I mean, this book, it
is also one of the--
neatest things about
this book as well
is that, like a lot of
the best Marvel books,
it has its own flavor.
Like, there is some definite
horror going on here.
There is all kinds
of, like, body horror
and just, like, scariness.
Wait a second.
I'm getting word-- it's true.
We're now being
joined by Werewolf
By Night co-writer and
international pop star, Taboo.
 Thank you guys.
 Taboo, so glad to have you.
We were just talking about the
horror elements of Werewolf
By Night.
Can you tell us why that was
something that interested you?
 I'm a big fan of horror
films from the 80s and even,
like, I mean, 70s.
So I mean, I've not only
being a toy collector,
not only being a comic book
kid, I've also loved, like,
Clive Barker movies.
And, you know, I've
grown up with that style
of entertainment.
And it was cool to be
able to do it at a level
where it wasn't over the top,
but still implementing that--
keeping it PG
because, you know, I
wanted to make sure that my kids
can read it and enjoy it where
it's not like too much
cussing, too much craziness,
because I do have young kids.
I want them to be
inspired by the comic,
but also, like, feel
connected to it in a way,
because it is the story
of a lot of us kids
who are Urban Natives that want
to connect with their heritage.
And a lot of times
we're born in the city
and we really don't know a
lot about our native roots.
And so with me, like, learning
through my grandmother
about our culture,
it really helped me.
So applying, you know,
a little bit of, like,
the scary werewolf bit, but
also a little bit of a learning
experience about connecting
with your Native roots
or your Mexican culture.
And making it inclusive
for everyone because this
is not a Native American story.
This is just happens to be
that Jake is Native Mexican.
And it's a werewolf story.
It's a coming of age story
because he's a teenager.
And it's, like-- we always
call it the hormone monster.
Right?
 Hormone monster.
Yeah.
I mean, that really
is what it's about.
I mean, you know, when
you are a teenager and all
of a sudden you have all these
feelings and emotions that you
don't know what to do with,
well it's all this energy
that becomes the werewolf.
And I think that's
really what we've
been playing with with Jake.
And it's this,
you know, how he's
relating to himself and to,
you know, Molly his best
friend and his grandmother.
And now all of a sudden, you
know, the world that he's, you
know, kind of pulling back.
You know, the world
that he works in--
he's a janitor in this
large corporation.
And what is it that lurks
beneath the surface?
And that's something
we love to play with.
We love to play with
this duality of worlds.
 Well I think everyone
is in for such a treat.
Make sure you pick
up Werewolf By Night,
on sale this October, written
by Taboo and Ben Jackendoff,
drawn by Scot Eaton,
Scott Hanna, and colors
by Miroslav Mrva.
Thank you guys so much.
Thank you everyone
at virtual Comic-Con.
 And check out the
new album Translation,
Black Eyed Peas, out now.
Black Eyed Peas--
 Black Eyes Peas.
 [INAUDIBLE].
 Make My Marvel, and
we'll see you all soon.
 Fantastic Four,
Avengers, Spider-Man,
X-Men, Werewolf By Night.
You just got the most
incredible down-low
on some of the
greatest comics coming
out from Marvel this fall.
But that's just the
tip of the iceberg.
Captain America 25, Fantastic
Four Antithesis, Hulk Maestro.
All kinds of goodies
are going to be
on shelves in your
local comic stores soon.
So get down and check it out.
I really appreciate you joining
us here in virtual San Diego.
There is so much more coming.
Be sure to all check out
all the other panels.
Be sure to keep reading
your favorite Marvel comics.
And now, and as
always, Make My Marvel.
Thanks.
[THEME MUSIC]
