Marvel: House Of Ideas NYCC Panel Back On Track With Cheese

John Odum reports from the Marvel: House of Ideas panel at New York Comic Con 2017:

Friday’s Marvel: House of Ideas panel may have felt like therapy for editor Nick Lowe, following the much-discussed fireworks the day before at the retailer breakfast. In fact, the House of Ideas panel was about as antithetical to the prior one as it could be — not just because it was a light and jolly affair, but also because retailers themselves weren’t really a big part of the equation. It was largely focused on Marvel’s digital comics, particularly their digital-only or digital-first content.

Lowe and Assistant Editor Alana Smith were joined by panel hosts Ryan Penagos (“Agent M”) and Lorraine Cink of Thwip! The Big Marvel Show on YouTube.

And a no-conflict zone it was — fun, loose, and lighter than air.

The panel was also joined by Jeremy Whitley, writer of the digital Thor vs. Hulk – Champions of the Universe comic. Whitley explained the meat-and-potatoes story of the two heroes being pit against each other in various settings by a new female Elder of the Universe named “The Promoter.” One might wonder if things don’t get awkward between the Promoter and the Grandmaster at Elders’ picnics. Whitley also pitched the issue #4 appearance of Moonstone, which will set Thor against various other iterations of Thors; some from Thor history (such as Thunderstrike), some new.

The team of Penagos and Cink breezed through Marvel’s digital offerings, in particular the Venomverse stop-motion series of YouTube videos, Frank Tieri’s Cosplay in a Cab mini-features, and the Quick Draw series created by Judy Stevens and Jason Latour that focuses on artists, looking at the process and featuring interviews.

The conclusion of Comixology original/digital-first comic miniseries Immortal Iron Fists was also highlighted, in which Danny Rand trains a young, new teenage female Iron Fist.

The crowd pleasers were the games, though — including Superhero charades, and a game where audience members try to guess whether a given word is a species of alien in the Marvel universe, or a type of cheese.

Not a panel for those looking for exclusive reveals or deep discussions, but much fun was had by all without any doubt.