SDCC DAY 3 RECAP: IT’S THE END FOR AN ULTIMATE STORY

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Day 3 of San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) gave fans an overload of excitement. There were many announcements that shocked and awed! Even without a “Marvel Studios Hall H), Saturday didn’t defer the overwhelming fandom waves taking over San Diego. Granted, they did have a tremendous lead-in.

Friday night at 8pm PST (11pm EST), The 37th annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards ceremony took place. For anyone unfamiliar, it is the equivalent of the Oscars in the comics world. It was a very deep lineup of nominees which reflects the vast creativity happening in the comic industry. Here are the list of winners (credit: Comic-Con.org):

BEST SHORT STORY: “Spaces” by Phil Jimenez, in DC Pride 2024 #1 (DC)

BEST SINGLE ISSUE/ONE-SHOT The War on Gaza, by Joe Sacco (Fantagraphics)

BEST CONTINUING SERIES: Santos Sisters, by Greg & Fake, Graham Smith, Dave Landsberger, and Marc Koprinarov (Floating World)

BEST LIMITED SERIES: Best Limited Series: Zatanna: Bring Down the House, by Mariko Tamaki and Javier Rodriguez (DC)

BEST NEW SERIES: Absolute Wonder Woman, by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman (DC)

BEST PUBLICATION FOR EARLY READERS: Hilda and Twig Hide from the Rain, by Luke Pearson (Flying Eye)

BEST PUBLICATION FOR KIDS: Plain Jane and the Mermaid, by Vera Brosgol (First Second/Macmillan)

BEST PUBLICATION FOR TEENS: Lunar New Year Love Story, by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham (First Second/Macmillan)

BEST HUMOR PUBLICATION: Processing: 100 Comics That Got Me Through It, by Tara Booth (Drawn & Quarterly)

BEST ANTHOLOGY: Godzilla’s 70th Anniversary, edited by Jake Williams and others (IDW)

BEST REALITY-BASED WORK: Suffrage Song: The Haunted History of Gender, Race, and Voting Rights in the U.S., by Caitlin Cass (Fantagraphics)

BEST GRAPHIC MEMOIR: Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir, by Tessa Hulls (MCD/Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM—NEW: Lunar New Year Love Story, by Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Pham (First Second/Macmillan)

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM—REPRINT: The One Hand and The Six Fingers, by Ram V, Dan Watters, Laurence Campbell, and Sumit Kumar (Image)

BEST ADAPTATION FROM ANOTHER MEDIUM: The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, adapted by Manu Larcenet (Abrams)

BEST U.S. EDITION OF INTERNATIONAL MATERIAL: The Jellyfish, by Boum, translated by Robin Lang and Helge Dascher (Pow Pow Press)

BEST U.S. EDITION OF INTERNATIONAL MATERIAL—ASIA: Tokyo These Days, vols. 1–3, by Taiyo Matsumoto, translated by Michael Arias (VIZ Media)

BEST ARCHIVAL COLLECTION/PROJECT—STRIPS:  Thorn: The Complete Proto-BONE Strips 1982–1986, and Other Early Drawings, by Jeff Smith (Cartoon Books)

BEST ARCHIVAL COLLECTION/PROJECT—COMIC BOOKS: David Mazzucchelli’s Batman Year One Artist’s Edition, by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)

BEST COMICS-RELATED PERIODICAL/JOURNALISM: The Beat, edited by Heidi MacDonald and others

BEST COMICS-RELATED BOOK: Tell Me a Story Where the Bad Girl Wins: The Life and Art of Barbara Shermund, by Caitlin McGurk (Fantagraphics)

BEST ACADEMIC/SCHOLARLY WORK: Drawing (in) the Feminine: Bande Dessinée and Women, edited by Margaret C. Flinn (Ohio State University Press)

BEST PUBLICATION DESIGN:  David Mazzucchelli’s Batman Year One Artist’s Edition, designed by Chip Kidd (IDW)

BEST DIGITAL COMIC: My Journey to Her, by Yuna Hirasawa (Kodansha)

BEST WEBCOMIC: Life After Life, by Joshua Barkman, https://falseknees.com/comics/24ink1.html (False Knees)

BEST WRITER: Gene Luen Yang, Lunar New Year Love Story (First Second/Macmillan)

BEST WRITER/ARTIST: Charles Burns, Kommix (Fantagraphics); Final Cut (Pantheon); Unwholesome Love (co-published with Partners & Son)

BEST PENCILLER/INKER OR PENCILLER/INKER TEAM: Bilquis Evely, Helen of Wyndhorn (Dark Horse)

BEST PAINTER/MULTIMEDIA ARTIST: Eduardo Risso, The Blood Brothers Mother (DSTLRY)

BEST COVER ARTIST: Tula Lotay, Groupies (Comixology Originals), Dark Horse Comics, DSTLRY

BEST COLORING: Jordie Bellaire, Absolute Wonder Woman (DC), DSTLRY, IDW & more

BEST LETTERING: Clayton Cowles, Animal Pound (BOOM! Studios), DC, Dark Horse & more

HALL OF FAME: Judges’ Choices: Peter Arno, Gus Arriola, Steve Bissette, Wilhelm Busch, Lucy Shelton Caswell, Philippe Druillet, Phoebe Gloeckner, Richard “Grass” Green, Rea Irvin, Jack Kamen, Joe Maneely, Shigeru Mizuki, Bob Oksner, Bob Powell, Joe Sacco, Bill Schanes, Steve Schanes, Ira Schnapp, Phil Seuling. Frank Stack, and Angelo Torres.Voters’ Choices: Kyle Baker, Eddie Campbell, Roz Chast, Dan Clowes, Junji Ito, Todd Klein, John Romita, Jr.

Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award: L.A. Strong charity comic by Mad Cave Studios
Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award: Richard Blake
Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing: Don Glut and Sheldon Mayer

Spirit of Comics Retailer Award: Akira Comics, Madrid, Spain

On behalf of our team, congratulations to all of this years winners and nominees!

AS FOR SATURDAY…..

Marvel Comics: Ultimate Universe Panel came and delivered huge news to those in attendance. It was revealed that Ultimate Spider-Man #24 by Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto would be their final issue.

During the panel, Hickman stated: “This was everything that I pitched. Nothing has deviated. It’s been really nice to execute the plan well and everything culminates into this issue. Fans of the Ultimate Universe are going to love it. It’s been a real pleasure being the writer of ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN.” (Marvel)

As for the rest of the Ultimate Universe, they were officially put on notice. The Maker is back.

Ultimate Endgame #1 sees the return of the evil Reed Richards to a world he dominated. It will take a combined effort to stop the mad genius. Can these heroes pull it off?

Fans will have to wait until December 31st to see how this all plays out. Since their return, the new Ultimate Universe has been a huge hit. Seeing it reach an apex with such a huge event should only elevate interest in the ever changing world.

It was a strong way for Marvel to wrap up their weekend. The USM news overtook socials but one other publisher hit fans with an epic panel before closing down Saturday. 

IT’S ENERGON TIME!

Skybound Entertainment’s “TRANSFORMERS & G.I. JOE: All Out War in the Energon Universe“was one of the most anticipated events of SDCC. It did not disappoint!

With Robert Kirkman, Daniel Warren Johnson, Joshua Williamson, and Sean Mackiewicz lead the way with big news concerning the G.I. Joe Universe.

It was announced that artist Tom Reilly is newly signed as Skybound Exclusive. This news gave way to the next saga for the ‘Joes. The “DREADNOK WAR” starts with issue #13! Cobra Commander is being hunted and DUKE is his only hope?! The story is so HUGE, G.I. Joe will be shipping twice monthly! Get Ready!

The adventures of Darak and Solila weren’t to be outdone. Void Rivals #25 starts THE QUINTESSON WAR”. This also welcomes new series artist Andrei Bressan to the Sacred Ring for a truly game-changing tale!

After watching the trailer, there is no way fans left without immediately marking dates on the calendar!

Some other quick hits from SDCC:

• During BOOM! Studios “Slaughterverse” panel, James Tynion IV confirmed that SIKTC is “contracted through issue #100”. This means we’re getting a lot more of Erica Slaughter at the LCS. That’s never a bad thing!
• Dynamite Entertainment drops some monster news about a certain vampire slayer. They will be the new home for “Buffy, The Vampire Slayer” and “Angel”. Kelly Thompson will be writing both series!

Overall, Saturday capped off an amazing day of news. Hall H had some monster moments in its run, but for now, it’s all about the comics!

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