News (page 10)

JLA comics news from NYCC

New York Comic Con is well under way and there are details of future JLA storylines floating out from the various DC panels.

From the DC Universe panel ( CBR / Comics Alliance ):

CBR quoting James Robinson: “Out of all that [JLA #50 featuring the Crime Syndicate] we get a new villain, but one of the ramifications for that is that Supergirl in the Justice League will be Dark Supergirl.”
The plotline after the Crime Syndicate story will be the Shadow War which is a sequel to “The Dark Things” and picks up the White Lantern prophecy/command for Jade/Obsidian.
CBR quoting James Robinson on the “Shadow War”: “You’ll see Obsidian become a really cool hero in a way he’s never done before.” Robinson added that “One of the first things [Eclipso] does i murder the Spectre.”
There will be a Congorilla one-shot.

The usual “slips” were evident. Dan Didio let slip that Cyborg will be re/joining the JLA (Comics Alliance) and James Robinson inadvertently let slip that he’s doing a Hawkman series when Ian Sattler actually meant for him to announce his Congorilla oneshot (CBR).

Young Justice premier details

Details about the premier of the new Young Justice cartoon series have been announced as part of the press release for the New York comic con. The series will debue in November 2010 as a special hour-long event on Cartoon Network, however, the series proper won’t start its regular schedule until 2011.

The details were contained within a description of the Young Justice panel:

Young Justice Video Presentation and Q&A — Join the league! Fans were given their first glimpse of Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Superboy, Miss Martian and Artemis this past July at Comic-Con International: San Diego. But this panel will offer far more than just a glimpse, as producers Brandon Vietti (Batman: Under the Red Hood) and Greg Weisman (Gargoyles) answer questions from fans and show footage from this highly anticipated series. A one-hour special event of Young Justice will premiere in November 2010 on Cartoon Network, and the series begins in 2011. Young Justice is produced by Warner Bros. Animation and is based upon characters from DC Comics. Room 1A14

You can find the full run down on all the panels and entire press release at The World’s Finest.

Two All-Star Superman videos

MTV have put up the first trailer for Dwayne McDuffie’s adaptation of Grant Morrison’s All-Star Superman as part of the DC Universe direct-to-DVD line.

The trailer is interesting and they obviously have tried to hit iconic beats from the series, but I’m not quite as excited about this one as I have been for some of the their other releases. If I think there is a single problem it is that the trailer makes it look rather similar to the Death of Superman – i.e. a Superman who dies – feature from a few years ago.

All-Star came about after a chance meeting between Superman and Grant Morrison. Grant and Mark Waid talk about their meeting him in this clip from Respect! Films and Sequart’s documentary Talking with Gods – a new documentary about Grant’s work.

What do DC’s plans mean for a JLA movie

DC is reorganising (again) which has prompted a new round of press interviews that touch on the possibility for a Justice League movie. What has effectively happened is that DC Entertainment (DCE) – WB’s new multimedia exploration and holding company – is being slowly wrapped around the traditional DC Comics publishing company. DC Comics remains in New York as the traditional comic-book print-publisher we all know and love, but it is now only a focused subsidiary of the larger DCE. Many of DCs non-print activities (digital publishing, movie development, etc) have been elevated to the parent division in Hollywood.

All that means that DCE have had to come up with a coherent plan for how they want to manage the torrent of intellectual property coming out of DC Comics. We’ve heard rumours that this plan existed and that’d it’d be announced in spectacular fashion, but that still seems some way off. Diane Nelson, the head of DCE, has commented to IGN about their overall approach to getting DC’s characters into movies and TV shows,

For example you might find that a Batman or Superman or Wonder Woman or… Green Lantern, though you could argue we have some work to do before Green Lantern has the same meaning to a broad audience that the property means to comic book fans… but in each of those, you might find there are different expansions into different forms of storytelling that can happen, not so much concurrently, but you can have a layered approach to how those properties can come out.

[...]

Equally I think it’s important to distinguish that… People make an assumption that we’re going to mirror Marvel’s strategy, for example with Avengers. We do have a very different attitude about how you build a content slate. And it isn’t necessarily about connecting those properties together to build into a single thing. We think we’ve got great stories and characters that will lend themselves to great standalone experiences, and that’s the way we’re focusing on it.

What she seems to be saying is that they are going to let the characteristics of the individual properties dictate how they are managed and exploited rather than use a single house style. That last paragraph doesn’t explicitly rule out the Avengers approach – the launching of several individual moves followed by a collective sequel – but it does down play it as a factor.

Remember Justice League is one of those properties just as Batman, Green Lantern, and Superman are. Maybe the best approach to a Justice League movie is just to do a Justice League movie without worrying about binding it in the baggage from a half-dozen other potential franchises.

JLA Solicitations for December 2010 (updated)

DC Comics have released the first JLA solicitations for December 2010 as part of their Brightest Day preview on The Source. The conflict with the Crime Syndicate continues in JLA and the Dark Supergirl who was foreshadowed in Justice League of America (vol 2.) #48 makes her reappearance on a fantastic variant cover by David Mack. In Generation Lost Captain Atom gets another glimpse of the future. The solicitation makes reference to a Wonder Woman appearance which is interesting considering that the Greek Gods have altered reality around her (the JMS arc) and that the she killed Maxwell Lord the first time around – it could be a continuity nightmare, but the Generation Lost guys seem to be facing it head on.

Updated: to add JLA/The-99 #3 and Power Girl #19 which were included in DC’s full solicitation.I’ve included Power Girl as it features the JLI on the cover. The League are also mentioned in the Supergirl solicitation.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #52
Written by JAMES ROBINSON
Art by MARK BAGLEY, ROB HUNTER & NORM RAPMUND
Cover by MARK BAGLEY & ROB HUNTER
1:10 Variant cover by DAVID MACK

With Washington, D.C. in the hands of The Omega Man and the full extent of his horrific power revealed, the JLA is forced to make a difficult decision. Is there no choice for the World’s Greatest Heroes but to team with the World’s Worst Villains – the Crime Syndicate – in order to save both Earths? How will this desperate action be affected by Ultra Man’s betrayal of everyone. . . and the reappearance of Dark Supergirl?
Retailers please note: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.

On sale DECEMBER 22 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US

JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST #15-16
Written by JUDD WINICK
Issue #15 art by JOE BENNETT
Issue #16 art by FERNANDO DAGNINO
Covers by DUSTIN NGUYEN
1:10 Variant covers by KEVIN MAGUIRE

DC’s biweekly JUSTICE LEAGUE event continues!
In issue #15, the world blames the Justice League International for the recent Chicago death toll and the death of a hero. As our team deals with the fallout, Captain Atom returns from a dark future with information on Max Lord’s ultimate plan – and Wonder Woman plays a major part in it!
In issue #16, the Creature Commandos have attacked the JLI and one of the team lies dying. Meanwhile, Power Girl swears vengeance on the JLI for her friend’s death, but Batman suspects foul play.
Retailers please note: : These issues will ship with two covers each. Please see the Previews Order Form for more information.

Issue #15 on sale DECEMBER 8
Issue #16 on sale DECEMBER 22
32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

JLA/THE 99 #3
Written by FABIAN NICIEZA & STUART MOORE
Art by TOM DERENICK & DREW GERACI
Cover by FELIPE MASSAFERA

The first-ever meeting between DC Comics’ Justice League of America and Teshkeel Comics’ the 99 continues! Hawkman joins three members of The 99 on a flight to Brazil where earthquakes and devastation suggest the existence of another Noor Stone and another new addition to the 99’s team! Can Hafiz harness the stone’s power before he destroys everything? And why is Firestorm acting so . . . oddly?

On sale DECEMBER 29 • 3 of 6 • 32 pg, FC $3.99 US

POWER GIRL #19
Written by JUDD WINICK
Art and cover by SAMI BASRI

It was bound to happen what with her participation in JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST – Power Girl relies on the JLI to help her turn her recent fortunes around! But how will that sit with her current teammates in JSA ALL-STARS?

On sale DECEMBER 22 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

Ice fever

On their blog DC’s Brian Cunningham (editor of Justice League: Generation Lost) has shared a page of Aaron Lopersti’s pencils from Justice League: Generation Lost #12 showing a rather spiky Ice (above). Cunningham comments:

For those of us that read the Super Friends series in the 1970s where Ice was originally introduced as Ice Maiden, we all know how absurd her origin was. With Gen Lost #12, writer Judd Winick provides Ice with a credible and tragic origin that does not negate what we already know. And the consequences of this new origin are pretty explosive, as Aaron Lopresti’s amazing art shows.

It’s a dramatic new look – if it indeed is permanent. Which leads Troy Brownfield on Blog@Newsarama to quibble about the use of the name Ice Maiden insisting that it’s actually an earlier character whio appeared in the Super Friends comic book and then he takes issue with the similarity to the Water Blast Iceman action figure. He’s not entirely wrong on either account, but his central thesis is against the darkening of such likeable character and I entirely agree with him there.

However, Ice’s back story and character have been played with before – it’s what led to her getting killed in the first place. The Overmaster came along bolstered her power making her more regal and detached. She rebelled against him and was killed. Ice then resurrected before Blackest Night, but its that fear of dying again that’s pushing her character development in Generation Lost. Alan Kistler does a sterling job setting everybody by right by running through Ice’s many looks and permutations.

What I find interesting is the note about “how absurd her origin” is in Cunningham’s quote. It’s not any more absurd that a society of immortal Amazons sending an bathing-suit wearing ambassador to “Man’s World” or a Norse god being punished by being cast out of Asgard as a crippled mortal doctor. There is an implicit absurdity in superhero comics – it’s part of the fun – but, it undermines the internal integrity and logic of the stories if you try to fight it too much.

Baltazar and Aureliani Young Justice interview

Our commenter Len has brought to my attention an interview that Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani gave to Comic Book Resources a couple of weeks ago. Baltazar and Aureliani have been the writers behind the popular Billy Batson Jonny DC title and are moving across to write the in-continuity adventures of Cartoon Network’s incarnation of Young Justice.

I wanted to ask about the format for “Young Justice.” Will these be done-in-one style stories or will there be a larger arc carrying through, sort of like with “Billy Batson?”

Baltazar: Each issue will be a stand-alone story, pretty much, but the stories will interconnect kind of. You can still read them individually though and you’d be fine. We’re trying to stay close to the cartoon, but [the comics] give the individual characters their time to shine in the issues. It’s pretty cool.

[...]

You guys mentioned the Justice League, and we know that they’ll be featured in the cartoon pretty heavily. They’ll be playing a pretty prominent role in training the Young Justice members and you’ll be seeing them a lot. Will it be the same with the comic book series?

Baltazar: Yes. [Laughs] It’s pretty much the “Young Justice” cartoon’s extended adventures. It’s going to rock. We got to see some stories of what they’re doing with the cartoon and I wish I could tell you everything. It’s amazing the amount of thought that went into this cartoon and everything involved with the cartoon is so good. And we’re going to try to bring all that to the comic. We’re going to try do as much justice to “Young Justice” as possible. This comic will be better than eating food. You don’t know if you’re going to want to go grab a burger or read “Young Justice.”

[Many thanks to Len for pointing this out. ]

Preview covers for upcoming JL titles

DC have released several upcoming JLA covers including the preview covers from Cliff Chiang and Kevin Maguire for Justice League: Generation Lost #10. Both show pretty major events including Batman’s arrival on the scene and the confirmation that Maxwell Lord is trying to prevent the Kingdom Come future coming true.

Last week DC also released Ethan Van Sciver’s cover to Justice League of America (vol 2.) #50 showing the JLA fighting the Crime Syndicate from the Anti-Matter Earth. Ethan even manages to make Ultraman and Super Woman look more evil and unpleasant than normal.

That particular image caught Bleeding Cool’s attention as the letters from the shattered “Justice League of America” sign around Donna Troy seemed to spell S.T.F.U. However, Ethan posted to the BC message boards that there wasn’t anything deliberate about the positioning.

Another poster asked him about the reference he’d used for Donna Troy and he responded with,

I grabbed the most recent available reference on Donna Troy, by Mark Bagley, I think, from a JLA cover he did. Unless I’m actually drawing the book, I follow the lead of the current interior artist. What he/she says goes!

(You may spot that the cover contains a colouring mistake – the colour of Donna’s lasso is yellow in this preview, but has been established as blue in earlier issues to make it distinct from Diana’s lasso – but, one assume that’s nothing to do with Ethan).

Young Justice’s target audience

Greg Weisman and Brandon Vietti have been interviewed by Comic Book Movie about the the upcoming Young Justice cartoon. They commented on the target audience for the show,

I think, from an economic standpoint, we have to hit boys 6 – 14 for Cartoon Network to sell their ad space or whatever, so if you think of it as a bull’s eye with concentric circles, that’s the bull’s eye we have to hit – but I’m not satisfied with that and I don’t think Brandon is either. A, we want boys and girls, so there’s a lot of great relationship stuff in this, there’s humor in this show – I mean, it’s a serious show, but there’s a lot of humor in it, there’s a lot of eye candy for little kids. I think little kids could enjoy this show, and some stuff will go over their heads, but they won’t know it’s going over their heads. There are a lot of explosions and guys in costumes, big villains and big events that are eye candy for the youngest audience, but there’s a lot of sophisticated stories for a teen audience, a college age audience, an old fart audience like me – and I certainly think any fan of DC comics in general is going to find a lot of great stuff from the 75 year history of DC comics to enjoy in the show.

They also revealed that Nolan North would be providing the voice for both Superman and Superboy as one is the clone of the other.

Keith Giffen on leaving Generation Lost

Keith Giffen, the original JLI writer and Generation Lost co-plotter, has spoken to Newsarama about his wish to reign back on his writing duties to make room for more penciling work. That shift has meant that he had to let something go and that unfortunately meant Generation Lost.

Nrama: Well that brings us to the next question, which is the “scheduling” explanation we got from Judd Winick for why you’re not doing Justice League: Generation Lost. Can you tell us what happened with that?

Giffen: It’s basically what Judd said. Look, it came down to what do I want to do more? And the stuff I’m doing now is what I want to do. I couldn’t pencil the projects I have coming up, and I couldn’t do what I’m doing on the Doom Patrol and Outsiders, while doing breakdowns for a book that were going to keep hitting me in this white heat. So it came down to, “OK, if you have to give up something, what do you want to give up?”

I’m not going to give up Doom Patrol. They’ll have to pry that out of my cold, stiff fingers. And I’m having too much fun with Booster Gold. And I’ve been wanting to get back to penciling. I had stuff I wanted to do more, and I really had to make a choice. And seeing as how the JLI was heading in a new direction, I don’t think I was really needed on the JLI book. So it really came down to, OK, it’s a re-envisioned JLI, and characters are going to move in this direction whether I’m here or not. So maybe it’s time to say goodbye.