January 12, 2012
DC has announced the second wave of the New 52, with more details at USA Today. They’ll be adding six new series in May, and dropping six after #8 to keep the total at 52. Update: CBR interviews Bob Harras about the focus of the new books.
First off, I don’t think keeping it at 52 is a great idea, because the first time they change their line-up to feature 51 books, or 52, or anything else, people will read way too much into it.
Anyway, the canceled books:
- Men of War and Blackhawks. War books are a tough sell these days. No surprise.
- Mister Terrific. A gamble from the beginning, and the only praise I’ve heard about it is from the skeptic community for portraying an atheist in a positive light.
- Static Shock. After all the effort DC went to to get Static (the only Milestone character they seemed interested in), what went wrong?
- Hawk & Dove. The series’ biggest selling point was Rob Liefeld. Make of that what you will.
- O.M.A.C. This always seemed to me as a — I don’t want to call it a vanity project — but basically, a chance for Dan Didio to have fun writing something. My guess is they didn’t really expect it to sell, but positioned it as an ongoing just in case people liked it.
And the new books, after the cut. Read the rest of this entry »
August 28, 2011
A few bits of info have come out of Toronto this weekend.
The Justice Society returns in a James Robinson/Nicola Scott series set at an unspecified time period on Earth-2.
A the New 52 Panel, Francis Manapul explained that they want to make the new Flash series “introspective and at the same time, a kick-ass action book.” Newsarama’s report adds that he “came up with some incredible death traps for him to overcome, with more than just his speed.”
Francis Manapul and Yanick Paquette (Swamp Thing) also appeared on a Drawing the New 52 panel, in which Manapul talked about his approach to redesigning the Flash’s Rogues, explaining, “It’s about making the characters interesting, and also making them a legitimate [threat] to Flash. Not just about their powers.”
July 19, 2011
One of the things that frustrated me about DC Comics’ post-Zero Hour “soft” reboot was the 10-year sliding timeline. Not that it existed, but that it crammed everything from DC’s Silver Age (1956) onward into a timeline tied to the first appearance of Superman, 10 years ago.
It always seemed to me that it would free things up if they’d just allow the characters to be different ages. Let (for instance) Barry Allen and Oliver Queen be a decade older than Superman, and let their super-hero careers have started earlier. They can still have worked together in the Justice League. Superman launched the age of super-heroes in the real world, but he doesn’t have to have done so in the fictional world. Especially when you have a whole Golden Age worth of characters who started their careers decades earlier.
Of course, the Golden Agers introduce another problem: If DC keeps them tied to World War II, but keeps the rest of the timeline sliding at 10 years ago or even 20 years ago, the gap keeps widening. It makes it increasingly hard to explain…
- Why is the original Justice Society still alive and (relatively) fit? (Magic and the speed force have both been cited.)
- Why are their children in their 20s and 30s? Did they all wait until they were over 60 to have kids?
- Why weren’t there any major super-heroes between 1950 and 10 years ago? And more importantly, why weren’t there any major super-villains or cosmic threats during that time?
You can mitigate this a bit by rearranging some of the Silver Age characters to be older than Superman, as I suggested — or by letting Superman himself be older — but eventually DC would have to bite the (speeding) bullet and disconnect the JSA from one end of the timeline or the other.
So.
Now that details of the Superman relaunch are out, DC has clarified a bit of their latest timeline juggling. Read the rest of this entry »
June 9, 2011
DC has officially announced 48 of the 52 comics being relaunched in September. The remaining books are sure to include Action Comics and Superman, and covers have leaked featuring Superman, Supergirl and Superboy. It seems a safe bet that unless one of the younger heroes is headlining Action, that wraps up the 52 series.
Conspicuously absent from the DC Reboot (from a Flash fan’s perspective): Justice Society (of the JSA roster, only Mr. Terrific has appeared so far) and the second Flash book, Speed Force, announced by Geoff Johns last summer.
While Barry Allen headlines The Flash and Bart Allen appears as Kid Flash in Teen Titans, there appears to be nowhere in the initial wave for fans to read about Wally West or Jay Garrick.
Factor in the emphasis on younger heroes, the implication that Barry Allen is still learning the ropes in the new series, and the focus on keeping things simple for new readers to figure out, and you have to wonder whether Jay and Wally even exist in the new DCU.
I asked as much on Twitter, and The Flash co-writer/artist Francis Manapul replied:
It’s neither a confirmation nor a denial, but at least the writer working on the new book wants to keep them around, if the higher-ups allow it.
Reportedly there are more series planned for the following months. We know, for instance, that Batman, Inc. will relaunch in 2012 after a hiatus to allow Grant Morrison to work on another project, and we know that Batman Beyond will be back, though it’s not among the 52 books announced for September.
Are there plans for Wally West and Jay Garrick in a second wave of launches? Have they been wiped from existence? Are they still around, sitting on the back burner, waiting for someone to use them? Are their fans (OK, Wally’s fans) still willing to wait after years of false starts, broken promises, and generally being jerked around?
Update: Dan Didio has this to say about the Justice Society (thanks, @SpeedsterSite):
AS for JSA, we have decided to rest this concept while we devote our attention on the launch of the three new Justice League series. As for other characters and series not part of the initial 52, there are plenty of stories to be told, and we’re just getting started.
So it sounds like the “back burner” approach, at least with Jay and the JSA.
July 14, 2010
DC announced that Marc Guggenheim (Flash: The Fastest Man Alive — Full Throttle) will be taking over Justice Society of America after its crossover with the Justice League finishes. In an interview with CBR, Guggenheim says:
Jay Garrick will be the center of the universe here. Whether he turns out to actually be mayor, well, you’ll have to continue to read the book. I think it will be interesting to watch Jay evolve and grow as a character.
Shane Davis will provide the covers. The interior artist hasn’t officially been announced, but Guggenheim tells Newsarama, “I’m equally thrilled to be working with Scott Kollins.”
Update: Newsarama interviews Guggenheim on the move: He’d been in talks to do an “inventory arc” for JSA, and then Bill Willingham left and the editor asked him if he wanted to take over the series. (I find it interesting that where, in the old days, they’d do an inventory story, or an inventory issue, in case the book was running behind…now they seriously talk about an “inventory arc.”)
Update (July 19): DC’s October solicitations confirm Scott Kolins as the new artist.
Tip of the shiny hat to Wayne Lippa for spotting the Kolins reference.
June 17, 2010
One aspect of the upcoming JLA/JSA crossover is that Liberty Belle will be moving from the Justice Society to the Justice League as Jesse Quick. Check out this this variant cover for Justice League of America #46:
Wow!
I’ve mostly lost interest in the current Justice League series. From what I’ve seen of it, the book has been too focused on shuffling the roster and supporting crossovers. And after the Cry For Justice fiasco (though I get the impression that the worst of it was editorially decreed), I’d made a conscious decision to avoid James Robinson’s run.
But you know what?
I think I’m picking up this comic, if I can find a copy with the variant cover at a reasonable price.
Jesse Quick + Liberty Belle + Francis Manapul. Seriously.
Update: Francis Manapul has posted the uncolored artwork.
Justice League of America #46 arrives in stores June 30.
April 26, 2010
Newsarama’s Vaneta Rogers interviews James Robinson about his Justice League of America run and the upcoming crossover with the Justice Society. He talks about the team dynamic and some of the new characters joining the roster, including the team’s new speedster…Jesse Quick, who will be moving over from the JSA to the JLA by the end of the crossover.
Newsarama: Her encounter with her father during Blackest Night explains why she chose this costume and identity now, but why do you think it works for her to join the Justice League?
Robinson: Well, you’ll have to read the story to see how it happens. But what I like about her joining the Justice League is there’s a natural link between the Justice League and the Justice Society because of her marriage to Hourman, which we can play upon. There’s a natural organic link between the two teams now, which is good.
February 5, 2010
The two-hour Absolute Justice airs tonight on the CW at 8:00 PM / 7:00 Central.
January 19, 2010
More Flash news from The Source: a new video preview of “Absolute Justice”, the Geoff Johns–penned Smallville episode airing February 5.
Comic Book Resources has taken some screencaps of the trailer, including two which show off the Justice Society’s resident Flash, Jay Garrick. He doesn’t appear in the episode himself, but we get several close-up views of that painting of the Justice Society spotted last month…plus there’s Clark looking at Jay’s helmet in a display case. It really is a clear view of the wing design.
November 21, 2009
The CW’s latest promo for Smallville includes clips from February’s two-hour Justice Society episode, “Absolute Justice” (originally two separate episodes, “Society” and “Legends”). In addition to glimpses of Dr. Fate and Sandman, there’s the Justice Society conference table, Alan Scott’s Green Lantern ring, and a view of a painting (by Rodolfo Migliari) showing a dozen past Justice Society members:
It’s hard to tell exactly who’s in it, especially in the back, but the Flash’s red shirt stands out clearly. Toyriffic has more screen caps and a list of the characters pictured.
Smallville has generally done its own thing as far as continuity is concerned, which makes it interesting that they appear to be working an entire previous generation of heroes into the mythology.
(Thanks to @BubbaShelby for bringing it to my attention, and for allowing me to use the screencap!)
