SDCC 2010 – Brightest Day teaser image

It has begun. I have had rather insane deadlines to work through this week so I haven’t had chance to follow much of the pre-San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) news. Hopefully that should end not that the convention has started. It’ll be nice to sit back and watch the stream of information and news coming from San Diego – it surely can’t be too many years before conventions start streaming panels on the web (for a suitable fee, conventions are commercial ventures after all).

DC seems to have taken an interesting track this year in that they are pre-announcing many of their announcements on the Source Blog. These include J.T. Krul taking over Teen Titans, Paul Cornell’s Knight and Squire mini-series, and Marc Guggenheim taking over the Justice Society. That last one caught my interest as it starts with JSA #44 in October. It’s means that the current writer, Bill Willingham, has already done his final issue last month (JLA #40) as the JLA’s James Robinson is writing JSA #41/42 as part of the “Dark Things” crossover and JSA #43 as a coda featuring Obsidian and Alan Scott.

The biggest pre-SDCC tease has to be the latest in DC’s traditional teaser posters. This one shows Hal Jordan as the While Lantern lounging in the ruins of the White Lantern Battery (does look a bit throne like doesn’t it) while the stars of Brightest Day work around him.

• Ronnie Raymond and Jason Rusch are trying to unearth the Black Lantern Firestorm, possibly a reference to trying to discover the secrets behind the Firestorm matrix.
• Mera is running towards Aquaman‘s corpse while the new Aqualad stands by and Black Manta’s red eyes peer out of the shadows.
• Deadman fashions a tombstone saying “Rise”
• The Martian Manhunter is trying to start a fire, stoke one up, or put it out – it isn’t entirely clear. The smoke from which is manifesting as the face of the Anti-Monitior.
• Captain Boomerang‘s blood stained boomerangs are piled next to a Star City sign.
• Hawk and Dove carry the unconscious body of Jade. Does she die in the “Dark Things”?
• Hawkman and Hawkgirl are bound to a portal made from bones. Manhawks are streaming out of the portal.
• Yellow lighting in the background could be a reference to Professor Zoom.
• There is a shield at Jason Rusch’s feet that I don’t recognise.. Not sure what that is, but there are white lines radiating out from it, possibly a net or circuitry.
• That appears to be Hal Jordan reclining, bleeding in the shell of the White Lantern. In the background Guy Gardner and Ganthet and building something and there is a green coffin. Green Lantern John Stewart was an architect, I sure hope that isn’t him in the coffin (it wouldn’t do for DC to lose another non-white character).
• Missing at first glance is Maxwell Lord (then again he’s convinced the world he doesn’t exist so why should he be there) and Osiris (the lightning may be a reference to him and not zoom).
• The trident/harpoon that lies broken at Aqualad’s feet is Magog’s staff.