Your 2020 Predictions, Part Two: Eight Against a World!
Time to swing into the next batch of your comic industry predictions for 2020 where we’ll see who was right, who was wrong, and how many typos your pal Mike can mak. Er, make.
One thing I should have noted at the outset, as brought up by reader William, is that…yeah, the pandemic threw bit of a wrench into things (to put it incredibly mildly). Like, as you may have seen with my running gag in the last installment that predictions with even a slight chance of being true were just right off the table. I mean, I suppose it’s obvious, but it’s best that I bring it up, anyway.
So, all that aside, let’s see how our next batch of entries did…and don’t forget, I’m still looking for your 2021 predictions!
Turan, Emissary of the Fly World, buzzes in with
“1. Jim Steranko will, at least once during the year, assure us that HISTORY OF COMICS VOL. 3 will be published soon.”
I was going to dismiss this out of hand, but frankly I wouldn’t put it past ol’ Jim to, in fact, claim such a thing. But far as I can tell, no…but I did find this tweet where he says IDW is doing a hardcover collection of 1 and 2 in a single volume. That’s kind of neat. I have them both myself…haven’t looked at them in…a long time, but I seem to remember enjoying the density of information contained within. (NOTE: just checked Diamond’s database to see if that hardcover was in the system yet, and it is not.)
“2. Guillermo del Toro will announce his intention of adapting some comics series or other into a movie. A few months after this, he will give an interview in which he will describe his plans for the movie, and show the interviewer some character designs he has drawn. We will never hear of the movie again after that.”
Not that I was able to find (but set me straight if I’m wrong). However, I did find articles about Ron Perlman being willing to reprise the Hellboy role for a third film in his series, even despite the attempted reboot. Weird.
“3. Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment will announce that it has licensed some comics series for a movie adaptation. A few weeks later, there will be an announcement of a writer hired for the project. We will never hear of the movie again after that.”
Well…apparently they’re attached to Blackhawk, but that’s old news. That press release is from 2018, and I’d swear on a stack of Limited Collectors’ Edition #C-36 from 1975 that they originally optioned it back in the ’80s. I didn’t find anything newer, though Amblin TV is involved with Resident Alien (announced in 2019, I think).
JohnJ jumps in with
“Superman’s identity as Clark Kent will remain known to the public throughout 2020 or as long as it takes Bendis to tell 2 stories.”
Harsh, if maybe not entirely inaccurate burn on Mr. Bendis there, but, BMB has wrapped his run on the book, and very surprisingly, the revealed identity remains status quo! I would have bet he’d put everything back in the box before he left, but nope, it’s still out there. Points for you, JohnJ! I hope the next creative team just leaves it as is.
“The Eternals will become known as the ‘shredded abs’ Marvel movie that America has been waiting for.”
That actor’s abs have definitely been the talk of the internet in relation to this film (sometimes, unfortunately, insultingly towards said actor). Whether the abs in question are the main talking point about the film, I’m not sure…a Googling of “Eternals” brings up Wiki articles and trailers and such. “Eternals abs” brings up all the muscled-body discussion you could ever want, and it sure seems like a lot of it. I’m giving you a half-point because it does appear to be a major topic of interest in relation to the film, but I don’t know that it’s jumped from internet chatter to nationwide demand for ripped-ness in our Marvel flicks.
“J. Phoenix will not win the Oscar for Joker, losing to Adam Sandler!!!”
Okay, last time I brought up the Joker film and its Oscars, I screwed it up entirely, so this time I am going to research first, answer second.
[TEMPUS FUGIT]
Mr. Phoenix did indeed win the Oscar for Joker. Sorry, Mr. Sandler!
Voord 99 keeps holding my hand with
“1. The Eternals will come out three days after Donald Trump loses the presidential election, will receive discussion about how its vision of endless struggle between two tribes fits into the new political landscape. This will especially be so if Trump refuses to admit that he lost the election and claims that It was stolen by Amy Klobuchar or whoever the victorious Democratic candidate is.”
I presume you meant the movie, but The Eternals comic came out one day after Mr. Trump lost the election. You were close! (And I completely forgot about Klobuchar. Look, it’s been a long year.)
“2. Either Marvel, DC, or both will have at least one story based around climate change.”
I don’t recall one, but I just tried to search “marvel climate change” and there’s a climate scientist named Kate Marvel. Go figure.
I did find that <cite>Doctor Doom #1 addressed the issue, but that was in 2019. Also in 2019 was this Super Sons graphic novel dealing with climate change. A search on the “climate change” tag on DCComics.com only brings up that one book.
So…I can’t find any references to anything in 2020. Not saying there weren’t any, but if there were they didn’t get any news stories written about them, I suppose. Again, if I’m wrong, let me know.
Unless the question was about, like, a new climate change-themed superhero would suddenly turn up. “He’s here…Hockey Stick Man, teaching the public how to read historical data graphs!”
“3. DIE will resume after Stephanie Hans recovers. It will continue to be (a) wonderful and (b) creepy and depressing.”
Honestly, I wasn’t aware anything was wrong with her. But Die did come out in 2020, and readers were excited about it, so I presume 1) she’s better, and 2) it’s retained the expected quality.
Bruce Baugh breaks in with
“1. This version of Legion of Super-Heroes will either be defunct by the end of 2020 or clearly on its way out.”
Still hanging in there, no reboot in sight! It’s a Christmas miracle!
“2. Kieron Gillen will do more roleplaying game writing, which will be good, and will be involved in a comics adaptation of someone’s cool RPG setting, which will also be good.”
He’s doing that Warhammer 40K comic for Marvel…okay, that’s tabletop wargaming, not role playing, but, you know, it’s within Clan Spittel distance.
Yes, I know that’s from the Fantasy setting, not 40K. It’s the closest thing to “spitting” I could find. Oh, wait, are Snotlings still a thing?
“3. Before it folds, LSH will have a story involving the Legion of Swamp Things, all the plant-equivalent elementals from the various worlds of the United Planets.”
A long time ago, there was a letter in either Legion of Super-Heroes or Swamp Thing (can’t remember which) where someone asked if there was a Swamp Thing in the 30th century, and the editorial reply was all “what a great idea, maybe we can address it in a future issue” and I’M STILL WAITING, DC.
“I am less serious about one of these suggestions than the other two.”
Ah, I knew you were kidding about those Legion ones.
William Burns toasts me lightly with
“1. 2020 will be remembered in popular culture as the ‘Year of Tumbleweeds’ with lavish hardcover reprints of the strips, an all-star movie in production, and TK Ryan memorialized as one of the twentieth century’s greatest comics geniuses. Holding out against the ‘Weedhead’ movement dominating America’s comics stores will be Mike Sterling.”
“Weedhead,” how dare you.
What Mr. Burns is referencing is, of course, my recently rediscovered curiosity about the Tumbleweeds comic strip, which, alas, has not caught on with the rest of the world. Sure, it still has its fans, but Tumble-Mania has yet to take over the world. Though honestly I would die if there were a Tumbleweeds movie.
“2. Echolands by JH Williams and Haden Blackman will finally appear.”
Apparently your decade-long wait will be just a tad longer!
“3. Superman will die or get married or something.”
He definitely did something. Did a few things, across many series. (His big ID reveal came at the end of 2019.) Managed not to die or get married again or anything, far as I recall!
Dean cleans up with
“1. Alan Moore will get bored with retirement and announce a new hyper-niche project through a little-known publisher.”
I didn’t see anything, but perhaps the publisher is so little-known I missed it!
“2. New Legion of Super-Heroes title.”
Technically the Future State Legion book was announced in 2020, so a hit, sort of? Not, like, a second ongoing title running concurrently with the first, but it is a new comic!
“3. Death’s Head: The Movie, yes?”
No!
Dario Delfino dares
“1) Hickman’s X-Men will get even better, particularly for those reading from the beginning.”
Haven’t been reading it, so I can’t speak to it myself, but boy folks were into that “X of Swords” crossover event, so let’s just call this a hit, shall we?
“2) Year of the Villain will have a Supes-Apex Lex battle that will be awesome.”
I’m sure there was something in the Bendis Superman comics but darned if I can recall any of it. Which, um, probably speaks to its awesomeness. Or my failing brain. Someone with better recall, feel free to chime in.
“3) Disney will test the waters with a non-canonical Star Wars/Marvel crossover comic; probably leaking the rumor to gauge reaction before the actual announcement. The comic’s success could fuel rumors of a movie for years.”
The fact that it hasn’t happened yet probably means that Lucasfilm, or somebody, had some kind of “no crossover” stipulation in place. Otherwise we’d totally have Doctor Doom versus Darth Vader or something goin’ on. Which, by the way, I would buy a million times over.
Thom H. helps himself with
“1. The X-Men relaunch will hit a point of diminishing returns and Hickman’s big mutant crossover will fizzle.”
Some of the series have started dropping in sales, but the previously mentioned “X of Swords” event bumped everything up quite a bit! So, hmm, half point for you. Collect those points for big savings!
“2. Ryan Sook won’t be able to keep up the art chores on Legion of Super-heroes, and we’ll get a fill-in artist/issue sooner rather than later.”
We did have an issue or two that had a ton of artists as kind of a special event…don’t know if that counts as “fill-ins” or not. U-Decide!
“3. Strange Adventures will be awesome and beautiful, and it will rightly collect accolades from across the internet.”
I’ve enjoyed it, and it looks like other folks out there are as well. So why not, you get the hit! I HAVE JUDGED.
Tom Cherry is the pits with
“After his appearance in the Jimmy Olsen maxi-series, Swamp Thong gets his own book and teams up Harley Quinn.”
I thought we all agreed to never speak of Swamp Thong again. Or Swamp Thang. HOW DARE YOU, SIR.
Surely that’s enough prediction shenaniganery for today. Come back next time when reader DK makes me reread Doomsday Clock #12 because I forgot what happened to certain characters in it. What fun!
Yes, Amblin optioned Blackhawk back in the ’80s, for a movie to be written by Dan Akyroyd. There was an interview with Aykroyd about this in either “Starlog” or its spinoff “Comics Scene.” He confirmed that a) he had been reading a lot of comics in preparation, b) the movie would be set during WWII, c) he would play Stan or Olaf, or maybe Chuck, and d) he had not actually written anything yet. I would not be surprised if he never did write anything.
There was never any indication of who might have played Blackhawk, but I can speculate. Around this time the Spielberg-produced TV series “Amazing Stories” did an episode in which an up-and-coming actor named Kevin Costner played a daredevil WWII pilot. It felt a lot like an audition.
“The fact that it hasn’t happened yet probably means that Lucasfilm, or somebody, had some kind of “no crossover” stipulation in place.”
That would seem to not be strictly true, as there was a “Star Wars”/”Phineas and Ferb” crossover. There was also a memorable episode of “Phineas and Ferb” entitled “Mission: Marvel,” in which Dr. Doofenschmirtz confused the Red Skull with Ghost Rider, Spider-Man confused Perry the Platypus with Howard the Duck (Hulk: “Well, he’s got a bill), and Major Monogram tried to be cooler than Nick Fury by wearing two eyepatches.
Oh, and there was also, long ago, a “Star Wars”/”Muppet Show” crossover. This included an episode of “Pigs in Space” in which Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, and C-3PO appeared. Many years later, there was also a special “Pigs in Space” installment with David Tennant as the Doctor. So, it has definitely been established that “Star Wars” and “Doctor Who” are part of the same universe.
“Oh, and there was also, long ago, a “Star Wars”/”Muppet Show” crossover.”
Certainly, Mark Hammill and R2-D2 and C3-P0 were guests on the Muppet Show and the skits were Star Wars-themed, but I’m not sure you can count that as a crossover. Would you also say the Muppets “crossed-over” with Rocky because Sylvester Stallone was on the show or James Bond because Roger Moore was on the show?
I forgot I made those predictions. Not sure why I was so down on Hickman’s X-Men. I recall not liking the initial spin-offs, but I really enjoy a couple of the current books (X-Factor, Hellions). Or maybe I was having a bad day a year ago.
There have actually been a handful of LSH issues where Sook only drew part of the issue, but I have to hand it to him — he’s really stuck in there, which is great. I love seeing him draw those amazing redesigns.
And DC has wisely made the LSH fill-in issues big events, as you mentioned, or matched the fill-in artists with Sook’s style. All-in-all, LSH ended up not being the scheduling disaster I thought it would become.
Strange Adventures is pretty great. I had no idea it would be about PTSD. I have a feeling I’m going to get really emotional about the last half of the series when it comes out.
Mark Hamill AND Luke Skywalker were both on that episode of “The Muppet Show.” They were treated throughout as separate people. That is a very different thing from Roger Moore just briefly assuming the James-Bond-crossed-arms-with-gun pose at the end of his rendition of “Talk to the Animals.”
Turan – I meant specifically that there might be a restriction in place preventing Marvel Comics from creating crossovers between their characters and the Star Wars universe. I don’t know that there is one, but like I said above, the absence of such crossovers is definitely noticeable.
Anyway, what’s with this “Doctor Doom versus Darth Vader” nonsense, gramps? The story that all the cool kids want is Monark Starstalker vs. Boba Fett.
Well, actually, Mike… :)
There have been a bunch of WH40K roleplaying games, too. The current one is Wrath & Glory, and I like it. I absolutely wasn’t thinking of Gillen doing anything Warhammer-y, but it 100% counts – he’s using stuff from the RPG as well as the war-games and fiction.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/249388/Wrath–Glory-Core-Rules
We didn’t deserve the glories of the Year of Tumbleweeds.
[…] BEHOLD! Part Three of mumblety-mumble of looking back at your predictions for the 2020 comics industry! (Here are parts one and two.) […]
Stephanie Hans broke … her leg? I think, and that messed her up for a while. Hence the delay in Die.
[…] internet web homepage. There have already been three parts to this year’s journal (one and a two and a […]