Here's your weekly roundup of comics news, from the secret of Mike Mignola's Hellboy plans to Dave Gibbons on Batman v Superman and Doctor Manhattan's return:
Warning: Contains spoilers for Civil War II #1.
Marvel is racking up the Civil War II bodycount
They did promise death. Marvel has launched its newest event comic, and what is an event (especially one pitting superhero against superhero) without some indiscriminate killings?
Following on from the preview on Free Comic Book Day, it seems that War Machine was definitely killed in his fight with Thanos, and things aren't looking too good for She-Hulk either as she flatlines at the end of Civil War II #1, which was released this week.
"As far as the story is concerned, Rhodey is dead," executive editor Tom Brevoort told Newsarama. "You've given me the opportunity to play the game where I tease that he may still be out there, but that's not what this moment is about.
"This moment is legitimately about Rhodey being down."
(So he'll probably be back soon enough, then.)
And apparently this is only the beginning, with Marvel teasing even more death.
The Civil War II miniseries is running bi-weekly so tune back in for more death and mayhem in issue #2 on June 15.
Dave Gibbons wasn't told about Watchmen characters' return
The iconic Watchmen characters are apparently a big part of DC Comics' 'Rebirth' plans, but it's news to co-creator Dave Gibbons.
During an event at MCM Comic Con, the artist and writer very briefly admitted that the publisher hadn't been in touch. "That's all I'm going to say," he told the audience.
He didn't have much nice to say about DC's movie plans, either.
"I feel that what's happening now with the DC characters in film, to my mind, is going in the wrong direction," said Gibbons. "I feel that what DC has done, especially with Batman v Superman, is they have really taken a misstep with it."
Mike Mignola explains his Hellboy holiday
Mike Mignola recently wrapped up his run on Hellboy in Hell, slowly shrinking down his grand plans for the series to a concise ten issues.
And now he's taking a break from Hellboy - and comics in general - to focus on his watercolours.
He told The Guardian about how he came to a surprising end of the series, and where his new artistic plans came from.
"So taking the year to do these paintings is a pretty natural transition," said Mignola. "It's kind of like stripping Hellboy out of it, stripping the storytelling out. That's one of the things I'm really kind of looking forward to, just saying, 'No, it's a picture of a guy. We don't have to know who that guy is. It's a picture of a building. We don't have to figure out what's going on in that building'. Really, I've never done it."
And he thinks we should probably stop holding our breath for a Hellboy 3 movie...
"Occasionally there are still some discussions about film or TV, but I'll believe it when I see it," he said. "There's nothing I can do to make those things happen. I constantly get those people saying, 'Are you going to make another movie? Make them do this! Make them do that!' I can't make them do anything!"
Metaphrog unveil their newest fairy tale
That fantastic Scottish comics pair Metaphrog are working on an adaptation of The Little Mermaid.
They have put out several graphic novels based on classic fairy tales, and Papercutz will be publishing their take on Hans Christian Andersen's bittersweet story (via ICv2).
Metaphrog's previous takes on fairy stories include The Red Shoes and The Little Matchstick Girl - ie the tragic ones.
