C2E2 2013: Day One – YOUNG AVENGERS #8 Cover, DC Class War, 100 BULLETS is Back

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME COMIIIIIIIIIICS!!!! We’ve got your round-up of all the cool announcements, events, and happenings of this weekend’s C2E2 in Chicago.

The first day of a con is usually a bit light on panels and news. It’s more about getting the lay of the land and comfortable with your surroundings so that when all of the things happen at once on Saturday, you can quickly escape to where you need to go.

It’s also the time to do stuff like this.

iFanstaff Jim and Ali fight to the death in Avengers Arena.

The Marvel booth, as it usually is, was buzzing with activity. Loud music, promos and trailers for their various summer projects, signings, general merriment. Speaking of Marvel things to be merry about: Jamie McKelvie’s cover for Young Avengers #8 was released this afternoon as an exclusive on CBR. If you’re loving Young Avengers, it’ll make you giggle with glee. If you don’t love Young Avengers, something may be wrong with your happiness gland and you should probably get it checked out by a doctor. Regardless, check out the sweet, sweet cover.

In an interesting turn of events, DC Comics does not have a booth on the show floor this year. This made me sad because DC has one of the squishiest convention booth carpets and the best swag. The absence of the booth did not go unnoticed–a fan asked why the publisher passed on a booth at the DC All Access panel. Don’t worry. There were a lot more interesting things being talked about at the panel. Moderated by VP of Sales Bob Wayne, the panel gave fans an overview of what’s coming up in the new DCU. Here’s the scoop:

Kyle Higgin’s Nightwing has Dick moving to Chicago and looking for the man who murdered his parents, Tony Zuko (no relation to Danny Zuko… yet).

An upcoming cover to All-Star Western suggests Jonah Hex is headed back to Gotham City and Arkham Asylum.

Batman ’66 looks fantastic and will feature Killer Croc because awesome!

Because DC loves me and wants me to be happy, the upcoming arc of Swamp Thing by Charles Soule will take place in the Scottish Highlands and feature a whiskey tree. As in a tree that spouts sweet, tasty scotch for all the wonderful Scotsmen, until things get horribly macabre.

In a DC Class War, two new teams of teen superheroes are being introduced. Franco and Art Baltazar, of Tiny Titans fame, are writing The Green Team, about filthy rich kids with infinite resources having fun and saving the day. On the other side of the tracks is The Movement, written by Gail Simone and drawn by Freddie E. Williams. The book blends dark, twisty humor with robust characters, something Simone is fantastic at.

But the biggest, most buzzable news of the panel is 100 Bullets is back. Before you cry “Before Watchmen” and start ranting all over the web, both Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso are back to tell this story, based on an idea Risso had in the euphoria of Spain winning the World Cup a couple years ago. The comic, published by Vertigo, will center on Brother Lono and is, according to Azzarello, “not what you expect.”

The floor was opened up to questions and my right eye started twitching. The most notable thing about the Q&A was that no one asked when Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain or Wally West were coming back.

And that’s all the news that’s fit to print! Come back tomorrow and we’ll have the recap of C2E2 Day 2!