WonderCon Anaheim 2013 kicked off yesterday at the Anaheim Convention Center, with badges for Friday selling out at some point during the day. Saturday and three-day badges already sold out, so it looks like just Sunday is left if you were hoping to attend but didn't purchase your badge in advance.

There weren't a lot of announcements coming out of the show yesterday, and in fact I'm not completely sure what could be considered "WonderCon news" and what was just, um, news, but here's a round-up of stuff you may have missed from Friday:

• 2014 will bring a crossover between DC's two Earths, according to Earth 2 writer James Robinson. "If I'm talking about a big event that's happening in 2014, it's all these characters meeting each other," said Robinson, citing Crisis on Infinite Earths and the Justice Society during his spotlight panel in Anaheim. Robinson also said his goal was to make sure the writers involved in the event were invested in the story, and described himself as "the point guy" when it comes to the event, saying that Scott Snyder, Geoff Johns and Dan DiDio are also very involved. Earth 2 is also getting its own Batman, and the book will also feature the introductions of Starman (Ted Knight), Red Arrow (Earth 2's version of Green Arrow), Hourman, Wildcat, Mister Miracle and Big Barda in the future.



• Speaking of Scott Snyder, Friday brought more details about his upcoming ocean-based horror comic, The Wake, as well as Batman: Zero Year. Snyder said the Batman origin story isn't a rewrite of Batman: Year One. "What happened was other stories came along the way like Selina Kyle's history being different, James, Jr. would only be six years old...Gordon was different, the Falcone's were different." Snyder said when DC asked about doing a new take on Batman's origins, he had a moment where he realized, "I could rewrite 'Year One' for you and say 'Everything that happened happened' and make a poor imitation of it, or we can try to do something f-ing new...let's try to give you an origin you've never seen, characters you've never seen, moments you've never seen, tech you've never seen...a Gotham you've never seen before!"

At that same panel, artist Greg Capullo said he signed a new contract with DC that stipulates he's allowed to draw Batman, and only Batman, for as long as he wants.

• IDW Publishing and Jeff Smith are teaming up on Bone: Artist's Edition, which goes on sale this fall. The first volume will collect the second Bone story arc, "The Great Cow Race."

• Marvel announced Avengers AI, a new series by Sam Humphries and Andre Lima Araujo that features Hank Pym and a bunch of Marvel's robotic characters. The series spins out of the Age of Ultron miniseries. "Artificial intelligences are a product of human ingenuity, and although they are going to be going down their new path, they will remain a mirror to humanity," Humphries said "Understanding that and exploring that in ways that are going to be funny and touching and endearing are definitely going to be parts of this book."

• Jeff Lemire's previously announced 10-issue Vertigo miniseries, Trillium, got a release date at WonderCon -- it starts in August. Lemire shared a description of the series on his blog:

It’s the year 3797 and scientist Nika Temsmith is researching a species of strange life forms on a remote science station near the outermost rim of colonized space.

It’s the year 1921, and war-scarred explorer William Pike leads an expedition into the dense jungles of Peru in search of the fabled “Lost Temple of The Incas,” an elusive sanctuary said to have strange healing properties.

Two disparate souls separated by thousands of years and hundreds of millions of miles. Yet they will fall in love and, as a result, bring about the end of the universe. Even though reality is unraveling all around them, nothing can pull them apart. This isn’t just a love story, it’s the last love story ever told.

Lemire said the first issue will be 28 pages with painted artwork.



• IDW also announced Mars Attacks: Classics Obliterated!, a 48-page one-shot in which the alien invaders target classic literature.

• Daniel Way's last issue of Thunderbolts is issue #11; following that, Charles Soule will write two issues of the series.

• Two of DC's digital-only series are getting new creative teams: Nightwing writer Kyle Higgins and Venom artist Thony Silas will take the reins of Batman Beyond, while Avengers Academy writer Christos Gage and Superboy artist Iban Coello will take over Justice League Beyond.

• Dark Horse Comics announced via press release Blood Brothers, a "classic buddy action comedy" featuring two vampires. The comic is written by Mike Gagerman and Andrew Waller, with artwork by Buddy Cops artist Evan Shaner and covers by Juan Doe.