Friday, July 23, 2004

San Diego Digest, Part 1: Comic-Con International is barely into Day 2, and there's already a boatload of news:

* Comic Book Resources has news that Grant Morrison will return to the JLA for at least one arc in Justice League Classified, a new series that will allow writers and artists to tell stories from any era in the team's history. Mike Carlin said Gail Simone's planned JLA arc with Jose Garcia-Lopez may end up in the new book, along with the I Can't Believe It's Not Justice League miniseries.
* CBR reports from Thursday's DC's "Batman: War Games" panel, where it was announced that Judd Winick will be the permanent writer on Batman, returning to the title with November's Issue 634.
* Newsarama reports the Disney panel demonstrates the increasing importance of comics to the House of Mouse. Disney showcased WITCH, which has sold more than 20 million copies in 71 countries, and Kylion, a futuristic space opera.
* Speaking of the "War Games" panel, group editor Bob Schreck gave a broad overview of the publisher's big cross-over.
* In its "War Games" coverage, The Pulse notes the announcement of Matt Wagner's 12-issue series, Batman: Dark Moon Rising,  and Dave Lapham's yearlong Detective arc, called "City of Crime."
* Newsarama has more on yesterday's Vertigo panel, including indication that the success of It's a Bird could lead to more original graphic novels from the imprint.
* IDW Publishing officially announced another Steve Niles series. This one's called Lurkers.
* Newsarama also covers DC's efforts to raise Dustin Nguyen's profile through the "Spotlight" panel (hosted by Jim Lee).
* CBR talks with B. Clay Moore about another new series, Battle Hymn, with art by Jeremy Haun and Ande Parks.
* The Pulse  has the winners of the eighth annual Friends of Lulu Awards, which were presented Thursday night.
* Variety's Bags and Boards checks in from the convention center floor.