Comics: Marvel’s female ‘Thor’, IDW’s ‘TMNT/Ghostbusters’ and ‘Edward Scissorhands’ for October

It’s a big week of announcements, and there’s just going to be more of these in the lead-up to Comic-Con International San Diego next week. Yet the one that seems to have captured the media’s attention this week is the announcement of a new female Thor, mostly because the initial reveal came on the daytime talk show The View.

Meanwhile, IDW bring us Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters, and Edward Scissorhands as a brand-new licence.

Remember: all the news and new titles announcements can be heard on our weekly podcast, where we talk about our reactions in more depth. We’ve just turned 100, and show no signs of slowing down!

Thor

The biggest announcement is the new series Thor, due out in October from writer Jason Aaron and artist Russell Dauterman. From Marvel’s press release:

The now “unworthy” Thor (Artist: Esad Ribic)

This October, Marvel Comics evolves once again in one of the most shocking and exciting changes ever to shake one of Marvel’s “big three” – Captain American, Iron Man and Thor – Marvel Comics will be introducing an all-new THOR, GOD OF THUNDER. No longer is the classic male hero able to hold the mighty hammer, Mjölnir, a brand new female hero will emerge will who will be worthy of the name THOR. Who is she? Where did she come from and what is her connection to Asgard and the Marvel Universe?

“The inscription on Thor’s hammer reads ‘Whosoever holds this hammer, if HE be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.’ Well it’s time to update that inscription,” says Marvel editor Wil Moss. “The new Thor continues Marvel’s proud tradition of strong female characters like Captain Marvel, Storm, Black Widow and more. And this new Thor isn’t a temporary female substitute – she’s now the one and only Thor, and she is worthy!”

Series writer Jason Aaron emphasizes, “This is not She-Thor. This is not Lady Thor. This is not Thorita. This is THOR. This is the THOR of the Marvel Universe. But it’s unlike any Thor we’ve ever seen before.”

THOR is the latest in the ever-growing and long list of female-centric titles that continues to invite new readers into the Marvel Universe. This female THOR is the 8^th title to feature a lead female protagonist and aims to speak directly to an audience that long was not the target for Super Hero comic books in America: women and girls.

Thor is clearly being marketed as a big deal for the publisher, in an environment that is constantly facing questions around the promotion of strong female characters.  While some may question this as a cynical marketing move (especially given the platform for the initial announcement), the All-New Marvel NOW! has actually gone a long way to promoting a diversity of female headliners, including the well-received Ms. Marvel from G. Willow Wilson, Kelly-Sue DeConnick’s Captain Marvel and the excellent She-Hulk.Last year, the all-female cast of the ironically named X-Men (initially by Brian Wood and now Marc Guggenheim) was a clear statement about the iconic status of the women in the roster.  Indeed, other titles such as Hawkeye have given equal emphasis to their female characters as co-leads, rather than simply forgotten “sidekicks”/legacy characters.

Marvel also publishes Elektra, Black Widow and Storm ongoing monthly titles, and Thor is another positive step towards a diverse Marvel universe and potentially attracting more women readers to the monthly titles. Now all we need is a female-led film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Perhaps this new Thor will find her way into the films, with a third Thor standalone film undoubtedly on the way after Avengers: Age of Ultron.

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters

IDW got a fair bit of attention with their massive crossover earlier this year, mashing up The X-Files with the Ghostbusters, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and The Crow. With the Ghostbusters series now over, IDW have gone for a more low-key crossover, a 4-issue Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters mini-series from writers Erik Burnham and Tom Waltz and artist Dan Schoening will hit shelves and digital devices in October. The news and images come via CBR’s exclusive reveal and the IDW website. From the solicitation:

“When a new invention goes haywire, the Turtles are sent to a whole new type of New York City. One with a whole lot more ghosts… and Ghostbusters! The two teams will have to learn to get along quickly, because a new foe from the Turtles past has followed them and aims to conquer NYC!”

We’re also incredibly pleased to see our friend Tristan ‘T-Rex’ Jones highlighted on a subscription-only variant cover (via CBR).

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Edward Scissorhands

Finally, there’s a new Edward Scissorhands mini-series, set several decades after the movie in which Johnny Depp “make-a me cry”.  The press says it all:

In castle just outside a sleepy suburban town, a brilliant inventor created Edward Scissorhands…but left him tragically unfinished. Two generations of exile have left Edward digging through abandoned experiments, but once he wakes up a creature left buried, he discovers he isn’t the only one missing a vital piece. As Edward tries to fix a grave mistake, he comes face to face with a teenage girl who was sure he was only myth… despite the stories her grandmother told her, about the man she could never touch.

This one is coming from Kate Leth and artist Drew Rausch. The covers below are from Gabriel Rodriguez and Gabriel Hardman.

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