by George Nelson
 
Visitors at the Pittsburgh Comicon this weekend just might find themselves on the WB's reality show Beauty and the Geek. "It's been going very well," said Toby Ross, a casting director for the show, currently recruiting for its third season. Ross said show representatives were already coming to Pittsburgh when they found out about the convention. Pittsburgh, she said, is a "great place" for casting shows.
 
"It's been great just for the sheer numbers," she continued. "I think it would be good for any show, to be honest." When looking for guys for the show, she said they wanted ones with fun personalities but who are also intellectual or technically savvy, "or guys who are into gaming or computers or some sort of genre like that."
 
During the convention, which ran Friday through Sunday, April 21-23, in Monroeville, Pa., comics creators discussed several upcoming projects: 
 
Writer Brian Michael Bendis covered a wide range of topics during his Saturday panel at the convention, including plans for New Avengers and Ultimate Spider-Man.
 
Bendis, who said he asked Marvel for a list of Avengers that could die during the "Avengers: Disassembled" arc that led into New Avengers, said he was surprised to see longtime member Hawkeye on the list and chose him for the impact his death would have on the team. However, he also promised that "sometime you’ll see Clint Barton in some way." No Marvel book will be "more screwed up" than New Avengers by "Civil War," he said. Also, what happens after "Civil War" will be as good as what takes place during the arc. Jessica Jones' crush on Peter Parker back in high school will also be dealt with "just at the wrong moment for all of them."
 
New Avengers, focusing on Spider-Woman, will give a taste of the character's upcoming monthly title. The book, which Bendis is doing with Daredevil collaborator Alex Maleev, will be "very dark, adult, and sexy," and more of a spy hero book than a super-hero title.
 
In Ultimate Spider-Man, there will continue to be interaction between Spider-Man and The X-Men due to Peter and Kitty dating. In the upcoming annual, Daredevil, Moon Knight, and Punisher will appear. The relationship between Spider-Man and Daredevil will continue to be somewhat antagonistic, he said, noting that the close relationship between the two in the mainstream Marvel universe always bothered him. "Daredevil would be completely annoyed" by Spider-Man, he said. He also said Ultimate Kangaroo would appear in the annual. He also praised series artist Mark Bagley, who he described as "an amazing talent."
 
In addition, he reported there may be some news to report soon on the potential Powers movie. "Something interesting happened in the last week so we’ll see what happens," he said. Bendis, who also said he recently completed the screenplay for Jinx, questioned the wisdom of using comics work to try to get to Hollywood, on the presumption that it's something better. "I've been there. It's not better," he said, noting that when working on the Spider-Man animated series for MTV, one executive questioned, "Does it have to be a spider?"
 
Bendis said his dream project remains the Daredevil/Batman crossover "that I screwed up by opening my mouth at a convention." 
 
George Pérez told the audience at his Sunday panel that he finished his final pages for Infinite Crisis last Wednesday, April 19. "I am very, very happy to say goodbye to Infinite Crisis," said the artist on the original Crisis on Infinite Earths. "I did far more work on that book than I ever intended." He added that he wanted "nothing to do with 52" following Infinite Crisis.
 
Pérez said he recently received the plot and has begun work on the new Brave and the Bold monthly for DC with Mark Waid, "a far cry from November" when they were originally expected to begin "but when I was ready they had Mark on 52."
 
Pérez also said he enjoyed doing the recent JSA story featuring the Earth-2 Superman. "I'm very proud of that because I finally got to draw the Superman I grew up with," he explained. "I got to exercise and deliberately draw the Golden Age Superman to look like the Max Fleischer/Joe Shuster/Wayne Boring/Curt Swan era of the character."
 
Pérez said he expects to stay on Brave and the Bold for at least a year, but there are discussions about his possibly doing Legion of Super-Heroes after that. LSH, he said, was one of his favorite books to read but, ironically, one of the few super-team books he has never done. "That seems like an old sin that needs to be atoned for," he said.
 
Although he is eager to reunite with Titans collaborator Marv Wolfman,"the gold standard by which I measure any collaborative process," resuming work on the Games graphic novel seems unlikely. "I would like to do something new … I’ll work with Marv in a heartbeat," he said. DC, he continued, "wants me to be part of its new front, not just there to replay past glories."
 
The new Heroes for Hire series spinning out of Marvel’s "Civil War" will provide a "street-level" perspective on the event, said Jimmy Palmiotti, who is writing the book with Justin Gray. Palmiotti said the script for the first issue has been approved and Billy Tucci was expected to begin illustrating it this week.
 
The book’s protagonists will "live by the check," going after villains with an eye on turning them in for the reward or pursuing bail jumpers. "We're pretty much going to keep them involved with things that are going to bring them some income," he explained. The book's cast -- which initially will include Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, Paladin, and Shang Chi -- will be "a little bit of a revolving door," he added. "We're going to keep a real open mind and have fun with the group."
 
Palmiotti, who with Gray recently co-wrote two of the specials DC is publishing in conjunction with Superman Returns, will begin Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters once Battle for Blüdhaven concludes. Also, Palmiotti said Jonah Hex "is doing pretty well and they told us to do more." Upcoming artists include Tony DeZuniga and Phil Noto. "It's one of those books where we get approached by artists asking if they can do an issue," he remarked. Palmiotti and Amanda Conner also are working on a fall project he said they can't discuss yet .
 
Tucci said he was "floored" when he was offered Heroes for Hire. "It's funny because none of them really thought I would be interested in doing mainstream work and it’s always been a dream of mine," he remarked. He described Heroes for Hire as "one of the most original story concepts ever," going back to the Power Man & Iron Fist days. He also said he has never done just pencils for a book. "This is almost going to be like a luxury for me," he said.
 
Tucci also said he recently turned in the first draft for the proposed Shi movie, and this summer Avatar will publish the Shi/Lady Death crossover.
 
Illustrator Arthur Suydam said he wasn't surprised by the success of the Marvel Zombies mini-series, and reported he is still doing work for second printings of the five issues. "I knew it would click," he said, "because I've basically always said that this is what the mainstream comics should be doing with their characters: selecting the right writer, selecting the right artist, and then breaking some of the molds that have been established in the past."
 
Suydam also is working on the Cholly and Flytrap monthly for Image as well as a film for Paranoid Delusions, and has a new Art of the Barbarian special edition out.
 
Following a two-issue wrap-up of some of Kurt Busiek’s plotlines, Conan writer Tim Truman said he will be getting into an adaptation of "Rogue in the House." "It’s been a dream come true for me. When I was 12 years old in 1969 I fell in love with Robert E. Howard’s work," he said. Truman is also illustrating Conan and the Songs of the Dead by Joe R. Lansdale.
 
In addition to private commissions and some commercial illustration, artist Bob McLeod is working on a proposal for another children's book. In his first book, SuperHero ABC, McLeod created original super-heroes -- one for each letter of the alphabet and with its own alliterative phrase. "That kind of stuff is more what I’m interested in rather than serious super-heroes," he said.
 
New Avengers penciller Mike Deodato said he is enjoying working on the tile and with writer Brian Michael Bendis, even though Bendis puts in "6,000 zombies" to fight The Avengers. He said he isn’t sure how long he will be on the book. "I just heard from Brian that Marvel wants me to pick a title to do," he said. "I want to keep working with Brian."
 
American Flagg creator Howard Chaykin, currently drawing Hawkgirl, said the assignment is challenging because the character is a difficult one to draw. "I also felt it was important for me to really establish the identity of the city of St. Roche as an actual presence in the book as opposed to sort of a generic comic book city," he said.
 
Though they have occasionally worked on the same projects, Chaykin said the book is the first chance he and writer Walter Simonson -- whom he has known for 30 years -- have had to truly collaborate on the same one. "It's actually been very seamless, very smooth," he said. In addition to illustrating New Avengers #21, spotlighting Captain America, Chaykin said he is writing a mini-series for Marvel and writing and drawing a mini-series for DC.
 
In addition to his work as ongoing penciller on Green Arrow, Scott McDaniel reported he is working on a two-part JSA Classified arc written by Tony Bedard. The story will feature the original Hourman and his son, and the Batman villain Bane.
 
Firestorm readers will continue to see familiar faces in the book for a while, according to penciller Jamal Igle, including some from the John Ostrander era. Also, The Pupil makes his first appearance in #25 followed by the return of The Dollies the next issue, leading into the hunt for Martin Stein.
 
Mike Avon Oeming said he is pleased with the strong reaction Ares has gotten at Marvel, and confirmed that the character will be joining "a major Marvel team." He also said he has the next two years planned out for Red Sonja from Dynamite, and #12 will focus on Sonja’s origin.
 
Joseph Michael Linsner said he is working on a project for Marvel. The three-issue title, which he said will be "totally separate from regular continuity," will feature several of Marvel's most popular characters. After that he will be working on Dark Ivory.
 
In addition to creator appearances, the show featured its annual charity auction with organizer Michael George serving as auctioneer. Lots included a Wonder Woman sketch by Pérez and a Fantastic Four drawing.

 
Costumed attendees were also on hand, including this duo dressed as the Golden Age Green Lantern and his arch-foe Solomon Grundy.

 
Professional costumer Scott Crawford was on hand with his Aquaman outfit and other uniforms.