Alternate Cover: HeroesCon/WWPhilly news roundup

Every comics fan knows that summer is a good time to be a fan. It's when most of the cons run, and as a result, we get all the big announcements for the next year. Although I can't be there on account of being on the wrong side of the Atlantic with too little cash to make it to the opposite side. I can at least follow the announcements and write about them. Here's a selection of the interesting news from both HeroesCon and WizardWorld Philly, both of which were held last weekend:

Dark Reign: The List

A selection of (potentially interlinked) one-shots in which Norman Osborn attempts to take on the big guns of the Marvel Universe, from his current position of power. The creative teams on these books are big - often the title's regular creative teams - so they're sure to be important in the grand scheme. The most promising, though, has to be Adam Kubert and Dan Slott on Spider-Man. Kubert's recent return to Marvel has already seen some stellar work, and a Kubert-illustrated guest appearance by Spider-Man in a recent Wolverine issue had me hoping he'd one day get the chance to do a proper book starring the character. Seeing him paired up with Slott, and so quickly, is the best part of that.

Boom! Studios partnering with Disney

Disney's attempts to get back into the comics industry have been rather stop-start over the last few years, but having delivered some entertaining results in the form of The Incredibles and The Muppets licences, Boom! Studios have extended their coverage to Disney's classic stable of characters, acquiring the rights to both Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse comics. Whether they'll sell to actual kids of just nostalgists is debatable, but either way it'll be nice if they can make the economics work to keep them around and diversify the shelves a little.

Longbox Digital Comics

Officially announced as an "iTunes for Comics" service, Image studio Top Cow and the aforementioned Boom! Studios are already signed up. Prices will start at 99 cents per comic, and unlike Marvel's Digital Comics Online model, you won't need an Internet connection to utilise your subscription, meaning the files can be ported between devices. The software, developed by Rantz Hoseley, will be released later this year for PCs, although the plan is to bring to service to other devices in the future - including games consoles!

Wednesday Comics in USA Today

DC's new experiment, Wednesday comics - a 12-issue anthology of single-page, large format strips is going to have its first instalment featured in USA Today, with the remaining issues featured online. It's a great idea for getting comics into the hands of the masses, and whether or not it has any long-term effects on readers, it certainly isn't going to hurt.

There are more announcements, of course - James Robinson and Mark Bagley announced as the new team for JLA, the Black Cat returning to Spider-Man, and horror writers taking on the Marvel Zombies for a new series - but these are the big ones.

And if you disagree, why not use the comment form to tell us what you think were the biggest announcements to come out of this week's conventions?

James writes Alternate Cover every Monday at Den Of Geek. His previous column can be found here.