Marvel Press Conference – LIVE BLOG

As you may have heard, Marvel is holding a press conference today at Noon EST.  Conor and Ron are present at the press conference and will be LIVE Blogging the events as they happen!  So if you're interested in what's being announced, be sure to stay right here, and refresh often for the updates!

We hear that the press conference has something to do with these "Fear" themed promos we've been seeing the past week.  I guess we'll find out soon enough!

 

11:36 – Conor and I just sat down and were handed a nifty "PRESS" badge making us feel very special

  

11:44 – Conor just found out you can't rotate a photo on the Flickr iPhone app, so just tilt your head to the right.  [FIXED! – CONOR] The excitement is building as we await the press conference to begin!

11:46 – Agent_M from Marvel just told us that if anyone has any questions, they should Tweet @Marvel with their questions (add a "CC:@ifanboy" to your post!)

11:47 – Josh has arrived!  (finally)

11:51 – Conor says that if anyone is near Midtown Comics in NYC, to bring us some street meat.  Thanks!  

11:55 – Joe Quesada has arrived!

11:57 – C.B. Cebulski makes a rare NYC appearance as well! 

11:59 – Just one more minute til this all starts!  The seats are filling up!

12:00 – CORRECTION – it's going to start in a few minutes. Josh just got his press credentials despite our protests

12:01 – Shit just got awkwardly quiet

12:02 – Joe Q. just took the mic and started the press conference

  

12:06 – Joe just read a speech about how the world is filled with fear and we're not sure who to trust…even in the Marvel U. and started rolling a trailer for the Summer Event of 2011 – "Fear Itself"

12:07 – The creative team is Matt Fraction, Stuart Immonen, Wade Von Grawbadger and Laura Martin

12:09 – Joe speaks about how the Marvel Universe mirrors the real world and this event will blur the line between hero and villain and despair will increase in the world. 

12:11 – They rolled a video of Matt Fraction discussing the story about how the story should be relatable and the story is going to position the Marvel heroes versus the God of Fear.

12:12 – The Fear Itself Prologue comes out in March 2011, and Fear Itself #1 ships in April 2011

12:13 – Tom Brevoort takes the mic and explains that they've been building to this event for a while, after taking this last year off from big events, Fear Itself will be similar to Secret Invasion in terms of reaching across multiple titles and like Civil War in it's ambition. 

  

Ed Brubaker will be writing the Fear Itself Prologue coming out in March

12:13 – There was a secret that happened years ago, apparently, which when revealed will "Change everything"

12:14 – As all other events, you can read the Fear Itself series and enjoy it, or you can also read all the crossovers.  The X-Men are involved, Dracula is involved, Spider-Man is involved etc.  "No matter what level of involvement you choose, you'll be able to enjoy it"

Axel Alonso joined Brevoort to add that it's a major, extinction level event with interesting developments between characters you wouldn't expect.

  

12:16 – They've opened it up to questions – anyone have any? leave them in the comments below!

12:18 – They say they've been leaving clues about this event in books for the past few years – now begin the hunt to find them!  

12:19 – Agent_M asked questions from Twitter about characters like Captain Britain and Nightmare and Phobos, will they be involved – Tom B. said that it will reach alot of characters and you'll have to wait and see

12:20 – A fan asked if this is related to the Map of Time shown in Avengers and Tom B. said if you go back, you'll see several things related to that

12:21 – Another fan asked about the Heroic Age and if this is the end of that time and we're back to the "dark" heroes?  Tom B. said that despite that renewed heroism, this is another challenge the heroes will have to face.

12:22 – Joe Q. talks about how stories are the key – not whether they're dark or light, that its about building tension with good stories.  If they tell a good story, then hopefully the fans will enjoy it.  

12:23 – Another fan asks about the role of politics in this story, and Joe Q. says that this story is more about the tone of the story and current events than specific political views

12:27 – Axel stumbled while talking  and said "Super heroes pumping each other" instead of "punching" and Tom B. laughed.

12:28 – Josh asked how long this has been in the making, Tom B. guesses 18 months to 2 years…Axel added that events and characters of the past year of X-Men tie into this

12:30 – I asked what the price point is, Tom B. said $3.99, but issue #1 will be oversized about 40 pages.  The other issues will be 22 pages, and maybe the last issue will run longer

12:31 – A Member of the press asked if the image of Captain America with the shattered shield was Steve Rogers or not, Tom B. vaguely answered to read Brubaker's story to find out…

12:33 – A fan asked how this relates to the "architects" of Marvel? Tom B. said that simply that Fraction is one of them and he's writing it.  Nothing to see here. Move along…

  

12:34 – A Marvel staffer asked if this wil have a longer affect to the status quo, or will it simply be something that they have to go through. Tom B. said that there will be a longing affect from this story and the characters will remember the events

12:35 – Joe Q. wraps up the press conference and announces that they will be providing a limited print of Immonen from Fear Itself for fans and he, Axel and Tom will be doing an impromptu signing for the fans in attendance.

Looks like that's a wrap!  Dissect away!

UPDATE – Marvel provided us with art from the press conference.

Here's the print that they handed out afterward:
 

  

The logo for the event:
 

  

A sketch of the event's supposed main villain, The God of Fear:
 

  

And finally, character one-sheets:
 

 

 

Comments

  1. Fear? I bet it has something to do with Ares’s son.

  2. Marvel really needs to come into the 21st century in terms of marketing and design. Just because it’s comics doesn’t mean it has to appeal the the lowest common demoniator. That’s a terrible banner. What’s with the marble? Puke.

  3. Fear, is this gonna be the next big event? I guess we’ll fin out

  4. @Pumatastic  You’re right, streaming a live press conference is so 20th century.

  5. Sorry. Just can’t take these house ads Marvel pumps out. Terrible.

  6. The suspense is killing me…

  7. Immonen and Von Grawbadger!  Sign me up.

  8. Secret Invasion 2?

  9. God of Fear. Told ya.

  10. I thought the Heroic Age was about cutting back on all the ‘despair’ stuff…

  11. I’m liking the sounds of this so far…

  12. I like the idea, and I like Matt Fraction

  13. So how long did the “Heroic Age” last?

    Maybe it’s just the description but it makes me think things are getting dark and moody again.  Possibly depressing.   But I suppose if the heroes defeat the God of Fear the victory is greater… I guess. 

  14.  “There was a secret that happened years ago, apparently, which when revealed will “Change everything”

    The Sentry’s not dead? Aaaaarghhh

  15. They  just mentioned that you only need the core book to get it… Yeah right

  16. I never want to hear “Change Everything” about a comic ever again.

  17. Not sure they needed a “press conference” for this.

  18. which when revealed will “Change everything”

    The Thing’s eyes — GREEN!
    Thor’s hammer?  A CROQUET MALLET!
    Mr. Fantastic?  Now Mr. Foontastic?

    That’s right, EVERYTHUNG CHANGES!  EVEN YOUR SPULLING!

     

  19. @gobo  Absofreakinglutely

  20. How is the God of Fear related to Thor?

  21. How many years has this been in the making?

  22. Slow clap @ChrisNesemean.

  23. Very very interested in a Fraction/Immonen book.

    Not very interested in Fear Itself. Dilemma.

  24. Why in god’s name they have to announce a day before a 21 book week?  My wallet will hate coming this summer.

  25. That marvel banner over another banner reveal next to the flat-screen of the same image was incredible. This alone has me excited for FEAR ITSELF!

  26. Franklin D. Roosevelt is the new member of the Fantastic Four! Or is Franklin Richards behind the Fear. So many Fs, so little time!

  27. I’d love to see a close-up of that slide over Tom B.’s shoulder.

  28. I’m sure this Marvel Fear storyline will be entertaining enough, but a big press conference? Really? I’m underwhelmed before they start!

  29. “They say they’ve been leaving clues about this event in books for the past few years “

    That just means they’re stringing together a bunch of loose ends.

  30. I ‘Fear’ that Marvel may have found a way to empty my pockets yet again.

  31. couple of things.  Can someone ask Tom to take of that hat?  Yeow.  Why bother opening it up for questions if all you’ll say is “wait and see” or “go back and look”.  I was excited about the announcement, but I’m not sure how excited I am for a fear/gods/magic sort of thing.  We just had the God event in Seige, we have the Magic based stuff in New Avengers….sigh

  32. oh wow. a polybagged issue of FF AND Deadpool? This is truly a landmark announcement.

  33. So there’s the rub. Immonan goes to Fear Itself and leaves New Avengers. So now I have to buy this. Excellent.

  34. Well, this seems like an easy miss to me. As well, holding a press conference for what is essentially a glorified solicitation is off-putting. Especially when the questions asked (the point of holding a press conference, really) are met with deferrals (“Wait and see”) or redirects. (“Good point… but it’s al about stories!”) If your point is just get the information out there and not have to deal with answering questions, holding a press conference seems to be counter to your plan.

    Josh, Ron good questions!

  35. how many issues is this thing?

  36. Ask if this has anything to do with the war of the worlds style robots tha we’ve seen pop up in Cap Reborn and Stark Disassembled.

  37. I do hope we get a Fear Itself tie-in entitled the Fantastic Phobos.

  38. Is anything going to happen with that celestial!? it’s been there for like 4 years!

  39. This sounds very interesting, but I don’t think it required a press conference.

  40. @georgeXjr  7 issues. I am so excited for this.

  41. What formerly popular B level character will die at the end of this?

  42. @bigben2012 Yeah, I’ll buy it. But I’m not going to get the tie ins for books I’m not already reading. Not hard. My wallet won’t be affected.

  43. So daredevil saves the day?

  44. @Jimmyf1982 good one. I’ll remeber that a year form now.

  45. I find I’m at a point where I need to remove myself from the marketing and pre-launch hype, because it only stands to color things in a negative light for me. Ultimately this is business as usual, and what I think of “Fear Itself” will be judged by the event once I’ve had a chance to read it through to the end. All the stuff about its “importance” or “extinction level threat” and all of that is just fodder for the search engines.
     

  46. @georgeXjr  I won’t be getting the tie ins either, except if they happen in a book I’m already reading.

  47. Yeah, same old stuff
    Which isn’t bad, per se, heaps of people liked Civil War, Secret Invasion, etc. and if thats your thing than good for you

    But didnt feel like it need a press conference.
    I was hoping for something that had direct involvement from each of the “Marvel Architects”, but oh well

  48. yeah, totally underwhelming. just another cross-over to rake in the $. Could care less.
    and what of “The man without fear?” seems like he’s the one to shine in this angle, but that would make too much sense.

  49. @PraxJarvin: I couldn’t say it any better myself.

  50. All I had to hear was “Matt Fraction, writer” and I’m already out. But hearing more of what this could be about and the weak press conference all together…..man this was so easy to pass. Nothing about this sounds interesting except that Stuart Immonen is going to make this stupid pretty. But this, and possibly War of the Lanterns, is the easiest events I ever had to pass up on.

    Also, I love how the live blog starts off so mundane and it’s about your phones. That’s pure ifanboy right there. Good work boys! 

  51. Not interested in the event. Interested in why Marvel seems to be pushing this so hard. Is the press conference a new thing for them? Is this because there are no cons to pimp this out at? Ah well. I will pass except if it flows into books I read regularly.

  52. This might be a good time for the reminder that there is, actually, not a prize for being the first to say that something that doesn’t exist yet will suck.

  53. I wasn’t feeling this.  I’l of course play the “wait and see” game when it comes out in April, but I didn’t get much to go by to get excited for this event.  I honestly don’t know why press conferences like these are needed for something simple as announcing your next event, especially when you’re ignoring or talking around the questions asked from the press and fans. 

    *grumbles and goes back to reading Green Lantern*

  54. What percentage of comments will be people logging in just to say they don’t care?

    It’s like waving somebody down to tell them you’re not speaking to them. 

  55. Attention comic book reading populace:

    These companies are businesses designed to make money! Please stop harping on them for doing that!

  56. @Jimski: How many people will we have logging in to say it’s stupid to log in saying about our opinions?

    I see three already on top of this comment I’m doing. 

  57. seems a bit tough to bring in new readers when you create complex events that depend on you finding clues over several years worth of comics and different lines to get the whole story. Now i’m sure you’ll follow ok without the treasure hunt, but still…. To someone like me, who is not an avid Marvel U guy, this just sounds like a “you can’t possibly know enough about the marvel U to even slightly enjoy this event” kinda of thing, so i’m likely to pass. 

  58. @wallythegreenmonster

    having a bunch of clues in the books doesnt mean you need to pick them all up to enjoy the story

    the same way you dont need to catch all the clues to enjoys shows likes Sherlock or House

  59. negativity…overload…. so, uh, happy holidays, everyone!

    (Personally, I think streaming a press conference is a little more engaging than just another press release sent to all the sites. So good on Marvel for trying something different. The hype is… the same as it always is. I don’t find that positive or negative — it’s just what it is.)

  60. Cats can claim all they want that they don’t want this.

    I’ll bet that sales will say otherwise.

    I’m interested.

  61. I was expecting something completly different given that we have seen the fear itself teasers for the past week or so. I guess for that reason I was a bit underwhelmed of this announcement. But some interesting things seem to be going on here. i cannot recall Marvel annoucing an event is such a way before, streaming live at a comic hsop (I wouldn’t count announcements at cons), and wonder if they will continue to do this in the future. This format of announcments may be interesting to see with more to them, maybe a creator present, some sample pages.

    Also, anyone have an idea’s on the emphasis on the snake-like symbol at the end of the trailer?

  62. @Magnus  — Being grouped with Jim like that makes me feel like a star.  Thank you thank you!

    And, okay, substance.  I *really* like the combo of Fraction and Immonen.  Fraction’s a guy who tends to air on the side of being too wordy and having artists whose work is, ahh, less than dynamic seems to emphasize that weak point.  The addition of Immonen to New Avengers with Bendis (who has similar weak points) really took that book to a new level, in my view, because his work is so vivid it expresses a lot of character through action and obviates the NEED for a lot of that talk — plus improving it when it happens by having the ‘acting’ fit the story. 

    I’m honestly fascinated by the premise.  “What does your character fear?” is among the first question any good writing teacher/editor/beta reader will ask because it goes to the heart of what any character is about. 

    Now this is all just potential — it has to be executed — but the potential is there and I’m excited to see what’s next.

  63. @Jimski  If this were a regular ol’ review thread, or something reported off a release or a standard interview, I’d be inclined to agree. But Marvel pulling out the sturm und drang for its’ latest marketing opportunity is fair game, particularly in the wake of that rather tasteless “Architects” bit.

  64. @incredibledave  –i hear you and i understand that…I guess my point was that they aren’t helping gaining new readers when they appear to be making things even more complicated and creating more continuity layers that reach back over several years. 

  65. @Caroline – I saw your “fear” comments on Twitter, and I completely agree. While structurally this seems like it might be more in line with Blackest Night  (powerful entity arrives to threaten all heroes), the concept of heroes being faced with their worst fears can actually result in a fairly character-driven set of stories. As you say, fear — giving into fear and overcoming fear — actually defines character. So this *could* have some meat on it. It’s all in the execution. But I don’t really see anything to hate on at this point.

  66. Arrgh, that’s “Fraction tends to ERR” on the side of wordiness.  Arrgh.

    @Art — I’m thinking maybe the world in general needs to adjust its expectations re: corporate hype?  Even getting indignant about it just increases the conversation and fuels the hype machine.  maybe the best way to express that something didn’t make an impression is to move on.

  67. But, but, but I thought no more Marvel events for a long time?

     

  68. @ohcaroline  Can’t embrace that statement as a go-to solution. Consumers should always have a voice, even if it can be shrill.

  69. My only reaction to this was “crap, I’m going to miss Immonen when he absconds to whatever pocket-universe post-Big-Event artists live in.” 

  70. The funny thing is, despite all the bitchin that I will no way in hell buy this event book, I will probably in the end buy it anyways. Crap.

  71. I like the return of big events.  No politics please!

  72. I pretty much started picking up new series around the end of Seige, I have not been able to experience any of the huge comic events so I am all in for this. I probably won’t pick up all the crossover but I would like to delve pretty far into this as long as it is good.

  73. @aboynamedart   My point is that it’s counterproductive to complain about hype in a way that only adds to hype.  Have we learned NOTHING from Jersey Shore?

  74. whether or not it will be good or not, the problem is that in the end, like in all MEGA SUMMER EVENTS! is that nothing will be changed and there will be no long running consequences of any large scale, despite what they say. they say long-running impact on the Marvel U for EVERY crossover. wake up, it’s just another passable mini

  75. Just remembered another thought I had on the ‘fear’ topic.  Somebody speculated a while back that this event would end up being ‘Marvel versus the God of Fear.’  I mentioned at the time that this would be a cool bookend to the first big event of this era, House of M, which was all about exploring characters by giving them what they wanted.  This has potential to be the counterpoint of that.

  76. Count me as another person who logs in to say “not interested”.  Sorry, not a fan of Fraction.

  77. Despite the comments pro, con and indifferent,  it’s fun to see this sort of thing blogged live.  Thanks again for your efforts, iFanboy.

  78. Well at least it’s not Brubaker writing it, amiright fellas?  That would even cause ME to not buy it. 😉

    This will probably be cool.  With Immonen on art, you can’t go wrong.

  79. @Jimski  I’m interested, but Marvel needs to revamp their press conferences.  It played out like their panels at EMCC and SDCC.  Here is a tag line, maybe a couple images but we won’t even tease you with what the story will be about.  (Spoiler following) From what I could tell, the hero’s will be facing a “God of Fear” well we know its not Nightmare since he got off’d.  This could be pretty short since the Chaos King (God of Darkness and more) beat the crap out of any of the heros, that didnt have divinity.

    Also, doesnt this seem like a Marvel event, for their heroes to face off against Paralax and the Yellow Lanterns?  My vote is for Sinestro to destroy Cap’s shield.

  80. I’ll skip buying this event and spend it on the War of the Green Lanterns event instead, because I know I’ll probably enjoy that a lot more.

  81. @OhCaroline Your comment (RE: House of M) there has sold me on the concept of this event better than the press conference. Good job.

  82. Sounds pretty dull to me.  I figure it’ll be a bunch of characters falling to their knees crying out “WWHHHYYYYYYYYY!” on a splash page.  Issues will be delayed, things be the same.  I love Marvel.  I love Marvel.  It make me a little sad that as I get older, I enjoy the DC Universe more.

  83. Updated with art from the press conference.

  84. Sausage fest!

  85. I would read my own life if it was drwn by Stuart Immonen.

    @ohcaroline 
    OK, Now I totally notice it. You’re awesome.

  86. oh dude! shits about to get celtic 🙂

  87. I’d like to echo Tad’s comment, while I personally am not interested in this, thanks for the live blog of it guys, and further, thanks for providing us all a space to share our thought about it.

  88. Didn’t we just have a comic with “The King of Fear?”  Oh yeah – it was called “B.P.R.D.”  Skipping this one completely.  Thanks, but no thanks, Marvel.

  89. Would this be here if DC didn’t have FlashPoint coming out?

  90. I though Marvel was saying random names when Dracula was stated….but no. He seems to be a factor judging from the poster for the event being next to Cap, Tony, Thor, and others.

    What a random character to throw in there.

  91. It’s been awhile since Hulk has been involved in a company wide event.  I’m kind of excited about this.  I was surprised when I found an AP article about the Marvel press conference on Yahoo most popular news.  I’ll follow it in the books I already get and think about following the actual series.

  92. @ChicoFiesta  Yes. Marvel didn’t do any big events in 2009 and sales went in the tank. People complain about event books but they buy them. That’s why they are doing anothr big one.

  93. Of course we go right back to the status quo of selling books. I mean we always try something once and then immediately go back to the same routine. It’s not like they couldn’t do anything else to bring sales up. Marvel tried everything……in that they did nothing and quickly went back to the same routine.

  94. And likewise, we go back to the status quo about calling a comic company bad for doing something that will bring in profit for them. It’s not always tit for tat, in that an event like this is not always uninspired. This is true in the comics world, as well as every other medium. Blackest Night was an inspired linewide event, as was Civil War to an extent. It’s also like saying that Ghostbusters was an uninspired attempt to draw in revenue for the studios since it featured big stars and a huge budget, like any typical Hollywood popcorn summer flick.

  95. @comicBOOKchris  Well said.  It really is amazing how consistently Marvel get villified on the internet. 

  96. I’ll be buying it for Immomen alone.  Fraction is often hit or miss with me, so I’m hoping that this storyline will be a hit.  It sounds like it could be a cool concept.

  97. “Marvel tried everything……in that they did nothing and quickly went back to the same routine.”

    What would “trying something” other than events have entailed? I cannot wait to hear.

  98. I’m sort of interested in this but the art directionof this campaign is a little weak. I get drawn in a little by the concept but then the design doesn’t hook me…

  99. Yes you’re right, I’m sorry I didn’t put much stock into Marvel this year. They did try to get more costumers without using events. Such as:

    Alienating fans with their press conferences.
    Alienating fans with claiming they’re going to drop prices and then quickly saying they won’t.
    Only having 5 random mini-series be a lower price then their actual selling series.
    Making most of their future series BE only mini-series.
    Cancelling fan-favorite series to create several other mini-series no one will buy
    Creating dozens of Deadpool series/mini-series and then forcing fans to ask which to cancel and then a day later say the fans vote don’t matter.
    Telling fans that their favorite creators don’t amount to much if they aren’t ARCHITECTS.

    They did so much to make sure they COULDN’T get better sales, they went back to the whole event well.

  100. @nextchampion…I don’t feel that Marvel did any of those things. Maybe that’s how you interpreted what they did, but I think you’re taking it way to seriously. Don’t worry they aren’t out to get you.

    I’m happy we are getting back to events. Call me silly, but they are interesting if well done. Heck, Civil War was what got me into reading comics after not having read them since Junior High School. Events, if done well, are the best things Comics has going IMHO; I loved Blackest Night, Civil War, Secret Invasion; I didn’t like World War Hulk, and Seige was a solid, if not spectacular, mini-event.

     

  101. @TheNextChampion  — you can’t change the nature of the beast. The Big 2 are going to be event driven companies as long as the industry stays at this level. If its something that you don’t like, don’t buy it. There are tons of different types of comics and publishers out there, that the creative direction of one company shouldn’t preclude you from enjoying comics. 

    if you have that much disposable cash that you are buying things you don’t like then i’ll send you my secondary pull list of things i can’t afford but still want…i’ll take the charity. =)

  102. @RocketRacoon: So…..NONE of what I said happened? Marvel didn’t do ANY of those things?

    Where have you been for the past….well the past year!? Under a rock!? 

  103. @nextchamp Marvel did things, and you interpret them as an evil maniacal plan out to get you the comic fan. I understand that certain books were cancelled because they didn’t sell. I appreciate the fact that marvel is a company that is for profit, and hence needs to do things that earns $ for their shareholders.

    Events generate revenue because people buy the books, you may not like it, but it’s a tried and true strategy that gets people to buy books, one of those people being me.

  104. @RocketRacoon: I’m not saying they’re evil. I’m saying that they’re doing stupid things to really get under the skin of fans. Hence why their sales plummeted. It doesn’t ALL have to do with not having an event this year. Heck, they had a crap load of ‘mini’ events to fill the gap.

  105. Joe Q refers to marvel as mirroring the real world, and I have often heard over the years marvel refered to as more real (as opposed to DC). What is this supposed to mean, is this cause Marvel has New York not metropolis? Or because marvel heroes are supposed to be more real (superheroes are not real). I’ve read a lot of comics over a lot of years and cannot figure this one out. Just in-case though I’ll keep checking for Skrull or Vampire invasions.

  106. @TheNextChampion  –there is an upside to events…sometimes they bring in obscure or 2nd tier characters to a large audience that would never discover them. For me with Brightest Day (i know its not really a true event but still) and its offshoot Generation Lost i’m discovering fun characters that have been obscure for quite a long time and its making my experience that much better. 

  107. @TNC  I’m going to go out on a limb and say that people who are paying enough attention to Marvel press conferences to be alienated by them are NOT the part of the audience that is causing a problem for sales.