News (page 5)

Justice League Dark (updated with cover)

The third Justice League to appear in DC’s brave new world is Justice League Dark. This is a title that was rumoured by Bleeding Cool before all this rearrangement stuff started, but it’s only now that we get details. EW has a profile on DC’s new supernatural books/teams – material that would have once sat within Vertigo – and one of those is the JL Dark.

• Justice League Dark, what DC terms “a band of supernatural heroes” — John Constantine, Deadman, Shade the Changing Man and Madame Xanadu (wouldn’t it be cool if they really were supposed to be a band?) – written by Peter Milligan.

Peter Milligan should certainly be a safe pair of hands on these characters (a line I used about Jurgens on the JLI), but it’s not these characters with this writer that worries me. It’s these characters as a Justice League team – hell, as any team for that matter – that worries me. I honestly don’t really see how that team is going to work as a unit.

There are certainly other supernatural characters (Blue Devil, Zatanna, Zauriel, or any of the Shadowpact survivors) that would work better on a team. Deadman and Xanadu are interesting (her last Vertigo series was brilliant), but Shade the Changing Man has always left me cold (I’d prefer The Shade from James Robinson’s Starman). As for Constantine? I don’t know, as with so much to do with his reboot we’ll just have to wait and see.

Updated: The DCU Source have posted the above cover and have listed Mikel Janin as the artist. Mikel Janin was the artist on the “Anger” Green Arrow/Ragmen section of the last 80-Page Giant. The posted image isn’t by him, but Janin identifies the artist on his DeviantArt page as Ryan Sook.

Looks like we’ve got another black-haired woman on a JL cover – the fishnet gloves do at least suggest Zatanna and she does have previous with Constantine. There is a huge slew of mystical/dark books in the Source post. I happy that Resurrection Man has been, erm, resurrected, but I’m nervous about how well a lot of these titles are going to do.

We are now at four Justice League books and counting – Justice League, Justice League International, Justice League Dark, and Young Justice (the Johnny DC/Earth-16 cartoon tie-in).

Dan Jurgens JLI interview at Newsarama

New JLI writer Dan Jurgens has given his first interview about the post-Flashpoint title to Newsarama. As many be expected from such an early interview details are vague and it concentrates on his opinion of the JLI and on the general tone of the series. This will be a “Justice League! International style” and will be a “clean break and fresh start” from the Generation Lost series (to be fair that description can be applied to almost every post-Flashpoint title).

Newsarama: Dan, what attracted you to writing the Justice League International?

Dan Jurgens: It’s the Justice League! International style, yes, but it is still a vehicle for some of DC’s best heroes, which as part of this new launch, is tremendously appealing.

I’ve always been drawn to books that allow for a wide range of stories that have a chance to be big in scope, and the JLI certainly fits that description. Plus, it’s a chance to continue to lift Booster Gold’s profile, which we’ve been working on the past few years.

He said that some of the “old assumptions” which we may have about the group will be challenged. Jurgens has written the JLI before, he was the first post Giffen/DeMatteis writer on Justice League America, so he knows the characters quite well. I see him as quite a safe pair of hands on this title. That old JLA series was more serious than the traditional JLI, but it was really good until the “Death of Superman” storyline hit.

Jurgens was also asked about the anonymous black-haired woman on the JLI #1 cover, but he did say she wasn’t either Wonder Woman or Donna Troy.

More Justice League + JLI details emerge (updated)

DC have released more details about their Justice League line of titles. This includes the announcement of a third Justice League International volume (and the first to actually have a first issue – the others were rebrandings). It was assumed that this series would have been written by Justice League: Generation Lost‘s Judd Winick, but that is not the case.

The new series will be written by Booster Gold writer Dan Jurgens with art by Aaron Lopresti (one of the three Generation Lost artists). It appears that DC have merged the Generation Lost and Booster Gold books (given the presence of Jurgens and Lopresti and the prominent position of Booster on the cover).

Justice League International (vol. 3) #1

Credits: Writer: Dan Jurgens; Penciller: Aaron Lopresti; Cover Artist: Aaron Lopresti; Inker: Matt Ryan; Letterer: Travis Lanham; Colourist: Hi-Fi; Cover Colourist: Hi-Fi; Editor: Rex Ogle
Solicitation copy:With the growing presence of super beings around the world, the United Nations resolves to create a new group called Justice League International. Batman, Booster Gold, Green Lantern Guy Gardner, August General in Iron, Fire, Ice, Vixen and Rocket Red are charged with promoting unity and trust – but can they reach that goal without killing each other first?
Published:7 September 2011
Length:32 pages
Cost:$2.99

The line up appears to be the Generation Lost line-up of Booster Gold, Fire, Ice, Batman and a Rocket Red (don’t know if its Gavril or Dimitri) – no Blue Beetle however. They are joined by Vixen, August-General-In-Iron (leader of the Great Ten), Guy Gardner, and a black haired woman. Quite frankly she could be Wonder Woman, Donna Troy, Gypsy, or a new character.

Individual Books

Spinning out of JL #1 will be a line of superhero titles although it isn’t immediately clear whether these are all JL members of not. The announced books include:

Aquaman #1 by Geoff Johns (script) and Ivan Reis (art)
Captain Atom #1 by JT Krul (script) and Freddie Williams II (art)
Flash #1 by Francis Manapul (script/art) and Brian Buccellato (script)
Fury of Firestorm #1 by Ethan Van Sciver (script) and Gail Simone (script)
Green Arrow #1 by JT Krul (script) and Dan Jurgens (art)
Mister Terrific #1 by Eric Wallace (script) and Roger Robinson (art)
Savage Hawkman #1 by Tony Daniel (script) and Phil Tan (art)
Wonder Woman #1 by Brian Azzarello (script) and Cliff Chiang (art)

It’s interesting to see several artists/writers (Francis Manapul and Ethan Van Sciver) buddied up with more experienced scripters and other titles written by artists/writers (Tony Daniel and Dan Jurgens) who are only writing. It’s also interesting to see that JT Krul on Green Arrow is the first “surviving” per-Flashpoint writer announced.

No James Robinson on Hawkman (as it had been accidentally announced at convention last year). He’s been one of DC’s pool of writers for a few years now so I assume he’s on something else entirely.

JL digital pack

DC have announced in a letter to retailers and in a blog post that Justice League #1 issue will be available in a special digital pack. The issue is oversized so its normal price will be $3.99 in print and online. However, DC are putting out a special sealed $4.99 combo pack which contains the regular print comic and a coupon for the digital version.

This is something that I’ve seen suggested by fans a number of times and is a sensible loss leader from DC’s point of view. However, I know that some retailers are very nervous about the day-and-date move so I wonder if they’ll bother stocking an item which could potentially direct future sales online and away from their stores.

The full text of that section of the letter reads:

To clarify from my last note, we will be at “price-parity” for same-day digital. No DC digital comic will be cheaper than its physical counterpart at launch. Same-day (a.k.a. “Day/ Date”) parity pricing is for the first four weeks of release; thereafter, the digital titles will follow our standard pricing, with $2.99 comics dropping in price to $1.99, $3.99 comics dropping in price to $2.99, and so forth. Keep in mind that our goal with our 52 new #1s will be to ensure that the physical comic book is more compelling than ever!

Additionally, we will be offering you an additional special “combo pack” for Justice League. This is a Diamond-exclusive $4.99 physical polybagged JUSTICE LEAGUE comic which will contain a redemption code for a digital copy on the inside cover. So consumers will have three main ways to read Justice League beginning August 31st – $3.99 physical, the $4.99 combo pack, and $3.99 digital. As mentioned above, after four weeks the digital-only price drops to $2.99, per our standard price for oversized digital titles.

Justice League #1 by Johns and Lee

USA Today (retweeted by @DC_Nation) has just confirmed that Geoff Johns and Jim Lee will be taking over Justice League post-Flashpoint. The news was scooped what Bleeding Cool had announced Bleeding Cool a few hours beforehand.

Justice League (vol. 2)

From the USA Today article:

Starting this summer, the publisher will re-number its entire DC Universe of titles, revamping famous characters such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and others from its 76-year history for a more modern and diverse 21st century.

The first book to be released under this new era: Justice League No. 1, out Aug. 31, a series by writer Geoff Johns and artist Jim Lee that reunites the famous lineup of Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Wonder Woman and Aquaman.

Johns promises a focus on the interpersonal relationships within DC’s trademark superteam. “What’s the human aspect behind all these costumes?” he says. “That’s what I wanted to explore.”

This should be really good – some of the highlights of Blackest Night were the Barry Allen and Hal Jordan interactions. This will be the second volume to be called just Justice League – the post-Crisis on Infinite Earth series was also called that before it was rebranded as Justice League International (there is a still a previously announced JLI series lurking around somewhere). The JL series launches in the same week as Flashpoint #5.

Updated 01/06/2011: A second USA Today article included more details on the JL series:

Guided by writer Geoff Johns and artist Jim Lee, Justice League will begin its first year with an updated secret origin reflecting DC’s new initiative, giving the group a reason for coming together that it lacked when the league first appeared in 1960. And while it will ultimately boast 14 members, at its core will be DC’s A-list do-gooders: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern and Aquaman.

The original image that DC released was a crop of the above image and didn’t show the Flash or Cyborg.

Revamp? Reboot?

This is also a revamp. Jim Lee from the article:

This was a chance to start, not at the beginning, but at a point where our characters are younger and the stories are being told for today’s audience.

In a letter to Comics Retailers DC goes into a bit more detail on the changes:

We are positioning ourselves to tell the most innovative stories with our characters to allow fans to see them from a new angle. We have taken great care in maintaining continuity where most important, but fans will see a new approach to our storytelling.
Some of the characters will have new origins, while others will undergo minor changes. Our characters are always being updated; however, this is the first time all of our characters will be presented in a new way all at once.

A new approach to storytelling? This could very well be as major as the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths reboots or as minor as the post-Infinite Crisis relaunch. I do have concerns about what the status quo will be. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I was struggling with my more pessimistic tendencies on this one. I’ve see too many relaunches and reboots at DC before. I hope it will be brilliant, I know the people involved should ensure that, but we’re really going to have to wait and see how this one plays out.

Day and date digital

The reason for the relaunch given in the article is a complete, linewide shift to day-and-date digital distribution. I read all of Generation Lost digitally so I’m use to it, but they will have to do something about the price point. $2.99 for a digital comic is too high if you don’t have some sort of download to hard-disc option – it’s just too much money to lock into one company’s digital vault.

Prediction for the next few years: Comixology will be bought by somebody big, really big. Given that Amazon bought Audible I could well see them making a play for Comixology, if the digital comics market continues to expand.

Marvel’s take on DC’s Universe

In the latest Cup O’Joe CBR talked with with Marvel editor Tom Brevoort about what he thought of DC’s hush-hush plans for September. While he’s not being in on the loop himself, Brevoort did at least comment on the methods behind relaunches:

It seems like, from what we can suss out from what’s being said out there, that rather than being something like The Heroic Age, this is closer to a Heroes Reborn or what was rumored to be happening 25 years ago with “Crisis.” The idea was that they’d somehow remake the DC line, and everything would start over fresh as a new entry point. In terms of the reason why we’d do a coordinated launch such as Heroic Age, it’s because releasing a number of titles at once around a common theme gives you a certain amount of critical mass. It gets some attention for what’s going on both in the hobby market and out in the larger world. The more stuff you have going on at once, the bigger and more important it all seems to be.

I liked his comments about how anything that shifts more comics is good for the industry. He also commented on DC’s tendency to “tear it all down” and to reboot characters:

I think there’s definitely value in doing that, or at least keeping your eyes open towards it. I don’t think of it in terms of “tearing things down,” though. I think that’s more of a DC thing than a Marvel thing in that DC, a couple of times over the last 25 years, has done a story that restructures their continuity to the point where almost on a month-by-month or year-by-year basis, you can’t be sure what the bedrock of these characters is. For years, the founding members of the Justice League were slightly different people. Wonder Woman was one of them or not, depending on where you happened to be in the flow of things. They’ve managed that as well as they could. They were dealing with whatever the particular need was at that moment, but in the long-term, it kind of makes it difficult to trust the veracity of the stories you’re reading.

I find his comments interesting as their a considered appraisal of where he things his Distinguished Competition have gone wrong in the past and are heading next. We fans can guess all we want, but its interesting to hear this sort of analysis from somebody who’s actually in the same game as DC.

Are we in the [JLA] Dark?

Something is afoot with the DC Universe. The Flashpoint crossover shows a DC Universe that is radically different from the one we know. Aquaman’s Atlantis and Wonder Woman’s Amazons are locked in an all out war that has virtually destroyed Europe, Africa is under the control of Gorilla Grodd, Batman is Bruce Wayne’s father, and it is Cyborg not Superman who is America’s greatest hero.

The Flashpoint World Map (via The Source)

Only Barry Allen and Booster Gold remember the old world and there is a lot of story to cover before the series wraps with Flashpoint #5 at the end of August. August is a five-week month and the Flashpoint conclusion is the only book shipping in the fifth week. Not only that, but a suspicious number of ongoing plotlines, arcs, and stories are wrapping immediately beforehand. DC looks like they are deliberately clearing the decks for whatever comes after Flashpoint and that has ignited a firestorm of speculation and rumour.

Comics Alliance have a good run down of the evidence for some sort of thresh hold event and detail a dozen different conclusions/story breaks that are happening in August. These include:

The infamous J. Michael Straczynski arcs for Superman and Wonder Woman, “Grounded” and “Odyssey,” conclude after being taken over by Chris Roberson and Phil Hester respectively.

“Rise of Eclipso” wraps up in Justice League.

Batman: Gates of Gotham ends, and Batman gets a fill-in issue discussing an “identity crisis” for Dick Grayson, implying he might leave the Batsuit in September.

Scott Snyder, Jock and Francesco Francavilla’s excellent “Black Mirror” storyline concludes in Detective Comics.

“Reign of the Doomsdays” wraps up in Action Comics.

[etc]

What does this mean for the Justice League? Well this is the Justice League solicitation for August:

Justice League of America (vol. 2) #60
Credits: Writer: James Robinson; Penciller: Daniel Sampere; Inker: Wayne Faucher; Colourist: Andrew Dalhouse; Letterer: Rob Leigh; Cover Penciller: Ivan Reis; Cover Inker: Joe Prado; Cover Colourist: Peter Steigerwald; Variant Cover Artist: David Mack; Editor: Rex Ogle and Eddie Berganza
Solicitation copy:In the aftermath of “Eclipso Rising,” the team faces an uncertain future. Be here for a tale of love, friendship and heroism when this incarnation of the JLA must decide whether they have anything left to offer the DC Universe. And the mystery of Jesse Quick’s wavering speed powers is solved in a revelation that will shock everyone.
Published:17 August 2011
Length:32 pages
Cost:$2.99

It certainly sounds like an end or break point.

A few weeks ago Bleeding Cool announced that they’d discovered that DC’s next big thing was called “The Dark”, but they had to admit that they didn’t have a clue about what it was. Then Newsarama’s blogger Graeme McMillan, among a piece on the desensitizing escalation of destruction levels at DC and Marvel, observed that:

and JLA is, I am now convinced, running the secret lead up to whatever that “The Dark” launch is going to be for DC

Which sort of makes sense. The entire [arc ref="Eclipso Rising"] arc features villains and heroes who are tied to the Shadowlands – the vestigial primordial chaos left unilluminated when the creator commanded “let there be light”. And that certainly would fit the bill for something described as “The Dark”. (Let us also remember that James Robinson has stated that he’s working on an upcoming Shade series of some sort.)

Now Bleeding Cool have fuelled that suspicion with another rumour:

But I do have the first title for whatever Dark may be.

Justice League Dark.

This is post-Flashpoint, folks.

We’re talking an A-list creative team as well.

All very believable, but the conspiracy theory engines got dialled to eleven when DC themselves announced that Geoff Johns and Jim Lee would on Saturday, June 11 at the Hero Complex Film Festival in Hollywood for an “exclusive on-stage conversation” regarding the future of Superman. The date is important as it’s before the September solicitations which is when DC will have to spill the beans on while titles are available for order in September.

Could Geoff and Jim new the new A-list creative team on Justice League Dark? We’ll find out on June 11th.

JLA Solicitations for August 2011

Something is afoot in the DC Universe. August sees the Flashpoint crossover double-shipping and Flashpoint #5 is the only DCU comic out that week (August 24th). Furthermore, many of the DCU titles carry descriptions (CBR, Newsarama) that sound like the end of major plot lines – even when those issues are not specifically marked as “final” issues. The main JLA title is one of those and features a one issue “Rise of Eclipso” postscript with artist Daniel Sampere. How this will play out isn’t known, but we do get a gorgeous Ivan Reis cover.

The lack of normal DC issues on August 24th doesn’t stop DC stuffing in a few reprints and this includes the beautiful JLA: Heaven’s Ladder by Mark Waid and Bryan Hitch. Their JLA run started spectacularly, but for one reason or another Hitch wasn’t suited to the monthly schedule and eventually left DC to create The Ultimates with Mark Millar. Millar also features in the newly solicited collections as several of his JLA stories from the Grant Morrison era have been added to the softcover release of JLA Vol. 1 (rather annoying if you’ve already bought the expensive JLA Vol. 1 Deluxe hardcover).

Oddly Young Justice seems to have been forgotten from DC’s normal comic book solicitations, but it is listed on their website (despite them getting the writer’s name wrong). This is the first YJ ongoing issue (not issue #0) to be written by YJ producer Greg Weisman and series writer Kevin Hopps.

Reprints

DC Comics Presents JLA: Heaven’s Ladder #1

DC Presents JLA: Heaven's Ladder (Preview)

Credits: Writer: Mark Waid, Ron Marz, 000, and 000); Penciller: Bryan Hitch, GL #1, 000, and 000); Inker: Paul Heary, GL #1, 000, 000), Andy Lanning, 000, and 000)
Solicitation copy:The powerful graphic novel from 2000 is reprinted, along with GREEN LANTERN #1,000,000! When the Earth is wrenched from its orbit and transported into a massive alien craft, The Justice League quickly begins an investigation to discover the identity of the culprit and his scheme. Earth’s greatest heroes soon learn that an eons-old race of scientists on the verge of extinction is acquiring planets in the hopes of finding a homeworld. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash and The Atom must save these disparate worlds while aiding the godlike race in their quest. And in the story from GL #1,000,000, also illustrated by Bryan Hitch, Kyle Rayner must adapt to a challenge in the 857th century when a rampaging interstellar menagerie is set loose. During the struggle, Kyle learns that there’s a traitor among the future JLA!
Published:24 August 2011
Length:96 pages
Cost:$7.99

Trade Paperbacks

JLA Vol. 1 TP

Credits: Writer: Grant Morrison & Mark Millar; Artist: Howard Porter, John Dell, and Oscar Jimenez; Cover Artist: Howard Porter & John Dell
Solicitation copy:The legendary 1990s JLA series written by comics mastermind Grant Morrison (FINAL CRISIS) with stunning art by Howard Porter and others is now collected in trade paperback, including issues #1-9 and JLA SECRET FILES #1. The action begins as the JLA reunites to stop the Hyperclan, who have come to Earth posing as a new group of Super Heroes. But as their true nature comes to light, only the World’s Greatest Super Heroes can stop them! Standing side by side, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Green Lantern and the Martian Manhunter take on alien posers and come to realize that Earth needs a protectorate made up of only the mightiest icons. This new trade paperback includes several issues written by Mark Millar (Kick-Ass, Ultimate Fantastic Four) that were not collected in the hardcover JLA DELUXE EDITION series.
Published:28 September 2011
ISBN:1401233147
Length:256 pages
Cost:$19.99

Justice League of America: Team History TP

Credits: Writer: James Robinson; Artist: Mark Bagley & Rob Hunter; Cover Artist: Mark Bagley & Rob Hunter
Solicitation copy:Now in trade paperback! In this first volume collecting stories by James Robinson and Mark Bagley from issues #38-43, the JLA is reborn with a new roster of heroes: Batman, Green Lantern, The Atom, Green Arrow, Donna Troy, The Guardian, Cyborg, Mon-El, Starfire and Congorilla. Also in this volume, the BLACKEST NIGHT darkens the skies over the Justice League. Can the team get it together in time to survive the return of the undead, villainous Dr. Light?
Published:14 September 2011
ISBN:1401232604
Length:192 pages
Cost:$17.99

Hardcovers

Justice League: Generation Lost Vol. 2 HC

Credits: Writer: Judd Winick; Artist: Aaron Lopresti, Fernando Dagnino, and Joe Bennett and others; Cover Artist: Dustin Nguyen
Solicitation copy:In this second JLGL collection featuring issues #13-24 of the twice-monthly series, the U.N. revokes Checkmate’s charter, Captain Atom is wanted for murder, and Blue Beetle is . . . dead? Don’t miss the second half of this can’t-miss epic!
Published:12 October 2011
ISBN:1401232833
Length:320 pages
Cost:$39.99

JLA artist Chris Wozniak’s home destroyed by tornado

Justice League artist Chris Wozniak had a narrow escape from the tornadoes that hit Alabama last week. The tornado event killed over 30 people in his town (Tuscaloosa), but Chris and his wife Debra escaped alive. The same cannot be said for their home which was “destroyed beyond words”.

If you’d like to help Chris and Debra you can find Paypal dontation details on the Facebook page they created to update people on their current situation.

A news video featuring Chris has been posted to Youtube by his brother.

Chris drew the Justice League America issues of the “Breakdowns” crossover and has the distinction of being the last artist of the JLI era (Justice League Europe #36).

[Via: Robot 6, Bleeding Cool]

Kevin Maguire’s DC Direct blueprints

A few years back DC Direct produced two series of Justice League International action figures based on designs by Kevin Maguire, the original JLI artist. At the time the blueprints for these were printed in Action Figure Insider (AFI) where they would have languished if they had not been discovered and posted to the internet by Jeff Nocomski of Poytress of Solitude. Those designs have now acquired a second lease of life after they were reposted by the Comics Alliance. I’ve reposted them below and have grouped them into their separate waves.

Series 1 (2008)

The first series comprised Batman, G’Nort, Ice, and Black Canary.

Face Details

Batman/Canary

G'Nort

Ice

Turnarounds

Series 2 (2009)

The second series comprised the Martian Manhunter, Fire, Blue Beetle, and Booster Gold.

Face Details

Beetle/Booster

Fire

Martian Manhunter

Turnarounds

Series 3 (unmade)

The blueprints show designs for Guy Gardner, Captain Marvel, and Doctor Fate. A drawn Rocket Red was shown on the figure card.

Face Details

Doctor Fate

Guy Gardner

Turnarounds

Captain Marvel

Doctor Fate

Guy Gardner

[Via: Comics Alliance]

New JLI title?

It is the project that cannot be spoken about, but for a couple of conventions now we’ve had comments from Judd Winick that he absolutely, definitely cannot talk about what happens next in terms of the JLI characters. Well Bleeding Cool had taken a punt at the Bleeding Obvious and have put up a rumour that there will be a new Justice League International title.

Whether it’s by Generation Lost writer Judd Winick, or the classic team of DeMatteis and Giffen, I don’t know. And those pesky Non Disclosure Agreements that DC creators are currently all signing are doing everything to prevent me for finding out.

But I am intrigued. And it’s not the only exciting Justice League book I hear has been scheduled. More soon…

Unfortunately they don’t give any other details so we’re no further forward than we had been before.

We do, however, have some idea of how long we’ll have to wait. Judd Winick (who has to be the front-runner for the writer position) has recorded a Don’t Miss podcast for iFanboy where he talks about this weeks Justice League: Generation Lost #24 and in that he speculates that we should hear something (one way or another) in about a month.

What did interest me more than the “confirmation” of the rumour was Rich’s comments about the old JLI title:

It was the book that stopped me being a Marvel zombie in my tracks and opened the door fully, for me, to the DC Universe.

His co-writer Mark Seifert expands on that:

Rich is completely right about Justice League by Giffen and DeMatteis being a gateway into the DCU for a lot of people. Sure, we all read DKR, and Watchmen (and GA: Longbow Hunters, and so on), but this was the book that drew us in on a regular basis and got us to branch out into other titles.

I was always a DC fan, but the comments ring true.