.

So, this weekend in Anaheim (home of Disneyland), the D23 Expo is taking place.

Dedicated to All Things Disney, this show will feature Marvel Comics for the first time, with  appearances by Joe Quesada, Kevin Feige, and Marvel creators.

Joe Quesada will be hosting a panel on Sunday, at 10:15 AM.

Friday morning, Disney hosted their annual “Disney Legends” ceremony, inducting eleven members.  Mark Evanier has commentary and video.

When the Kirby verdict was announced, I immediately wondered if any Marvel creators had been “legendized”.  The official site doesn’t show any (not too suprising, given the recent acquisition), although Carl Barks, Floyd Gottfredson, and Al Taliaferro have been honored in the past.

I hope someone pulls a “Batgirl” and questions Mr. Quesada about the “legends” of Marvel, and how Marvel honors their contributions to Marvel’s legacy.  Given the concentrated nature of the fan-fest at “The Happiest Place on Earth”, it is very unlikely.  So I’ll ask them here!

• Why are there so few “created by” credits in Marvel comic books?

• What compensation has been paid to those creators once a movie has gone into production?

• Does Marvel pay royalties for all reprints?  Does this include images used in merchandising, such as the posters sold in the Marvel Print Store?

• If Marvel is such a great company with so many recognizable characters, why do they lack “created by” credits?  Or is this a tacit admission that Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and The Demon are better than Spider-Man, the Avengers, Deadpool, Iron Man, and Wolverine?  That Marvel characters are unworthy of attribution (although they have made millions at the box office)?  [Click the names for credits.]

• Do you feel that Marvel’s reputation among creators has been tarnished over the various copyright lawsuits?  Do you feel that creators would be hesitant to create new characters for Marvel, when there exist other, more lucrative alternatives?

Oh, and Cedalion?  Nanos gigantium humeris insidentes, and all that.

Yesterday marked the first day at the official offices for DC Entertainment West, in Burbank, at a swanky new building called The Pointe. How swanky? It’s got an extra “e”on the end for super-swank. DC’s SVP Hank Kanalz was very excited about the day:

I cannot describe the excitement we all have on day one. Positively electric!

And well he should be. After looking at a series of pictures he tweeted, you can see that the DC West Coast office, complete with archives and bullpen, is now the new and shiny HQ for all things DC. Let’s take a tour, shall we?

The shiny outside.

Lobby and hallway. Holy crud, is this an office building or an enclave of Trappist monks?

The pantry.

The library.

Kanalz’s office door.

Get used to this view: this is where freelancers will go to say “I’m here to see so-and-so.”

The men’s room.

Still empty production offices, aka “bullpen.” Just what will they be producing here? Hm…

The opening day lineup.

Just as the New York offices once held a statue of Clark Kent, the new offices include movie costumes.

The epochal day was celebrated with a hearty lunch!

We’re impressed with Kanalz’s photo skills and enthusiasm. And impressed at these amazing offices. But sad that he missed the other neighborhood landmark — the abandoned Chadney’s across the street. At least Dimples is still open.

It’s a week of changes for DC. The last remnants of those who are moving West have packed up shop, and the WildStorm offices in La Jolla are closing for good, ending nearly 20 years of history, innovation and comics.

To mark the event, an alumni lunch was held. Apparently the turnout was insane. The final group shot awaits, but above is a sampling, with Hank Kanalz, John Nee, and Carla and Jim Lee. Jim Lee tweeted:

The final WildStorm lunch. So many alumni came from near & far for our last meal together @Kanalz @johnnee @Joke2far

And a video of the gathering for the photo.

Bittersweet for many.

Any now the new, fully staffed DC Entertainment takes shape in Burbank. Meanwhile, the New York offices are under construction, consolidating from 5 floors to 2 or 3.

The balance has shifted.

Seeing as how it was somehow unearthed by Bleeding Cool, there is no way of knowing where this video featuring all of DC’s major editorial players save Geoff Johns talking about the relaunch was created for. It’s definitely aimed at consumers, but the actual venue we may never know. Or it may never have been released.

The video shows Dan DiDio, Jim Lee, Eddie Berganza, Bob Harras, and special guest star Grant Morrison each uttering the word “new” about 30 times each. Our impressions is that they want us to know that this is a NEW initiative and a NEW way of doing things. It’s NEW.

Commenters at Robot 6 go a little heavy on the subtextual relevance

“Things that seemed stale and boring have been revitalized” [shot of Babara Gordon as Batgirl] Fxxx whoever put together those images. Fxxx them.

Also “plugged into feelings people are having right now” [zooms in on the bare chest of Juggalo Hot Topic Harley] What? Feelings in their pants?

This strikes us as a little too deep. BUT see the next post.

It’s been a furious few weeks of action here at Stately Beat Manor and around the comics intertubes as everyone scrambles to cover the DC Relaunch and What It Means. I’ve been as obsessed as anyone, although some of the fruits of my labor have yet to be posted. And of course, San Diego Comic-Con is just around the corner (less than four weeks) so things are about to get even busier and even crazier is such a thing is possible.

And it is.

I will admit to feeling some guilt about the amount of coverage being given to the DC Relaunch. I know it has been diverting my attention from far more enjoyable and lasting comics news — small press, indie cartoonists and delightful ephemera. And that is part of the problem — personally speaking, the new DC books are not aimed at me as a reader — I know I will check them out, in some capacity, but it’s not where my main reading interests lie. But you can’t deny it’s a Big Story.

Part of the reason for the relaunch is for DC to gain the #1 publisher spot, and there no doubt that they’ll do that in September. It’s possible that all the media attention the Relaunch is getting will adhere to the “rising tide lifts all boats” principle that has marked much of the history of the direct market. But, perhaps more likely, it will suck all the air out of the room and leave smaller publishers struggling even more for the retailer dollar. DC’s aim is to bring back lapsed readers and gain new readers, not just claim every dollar in the marketplace, but whether that can even happen is the question that everyone is debating nonstop.

My own interest is a little more dramatic. The DC relaunch is in many ways the other shoe that people have been waiting to hear plunk down ever since Marvel and DC both announced their massive changes two years ago. There is no “business as usual.” This could be either comics Ragnarok or the dawn of the new business model. That a new business model will arise is obvious. Whether it can be developed by will alone, remains to be seen.

In the meantime, I’ll try not to get too carried away in my coverage. The ephemera is still the best part of the day. To that end, I’m trying to switch over more quick hit things to my Tumblr, which also links up to my Twitter and so on. That, like the direct market, is sort of evolving as we go.

BTW for all you haters out there, I’m taking questions on my Tumblr, so give it your best shot!

Today’s cover image is from SMASH COMICS #1, and I don’t know if James Kochalka had seen this when he wrote MONKEY Vs. ROBOT, but it proves that this eternal struggle has raged for eons with no clear winner. This first issue came out in 1939 and the covers features Bozo the Iron Man by an artist named George Brenner about whom little information is available on the internet. SMASH was published by Quality Comics, the outfit which employed the Iger-Eisner studio, and produced such characters as Blackhawk, Torchy and Doll Man.

If a cover like this were to appear today you’d expect it to be on a book from Pigeon Press or PictureBox, presented as some deconstructed pastiche of corny commercial comics – whoever he was, Brenner was hardly a draughtsman., but his work presents the directness that you only find in indies these days. And yet although Bozo is hardly a household name among comics folks, of course, Grant Morrison had a plan to resurrect Bozo, and other versions of this Golden Age character have appeared in recent James Robinson comics and so on.

What do you all think? Is Bozo the Iron Man ripe for a relaunch, perhaps in the DCnÜ?

DC Entertainment is an important part of the Warners stable, and although they won’t be headquartered on the lot, they are getting offices in a swanky new building just up the street, THR reports. An unnamed number of employees will be moving into the second floor of The Pointe, at 2900 Alameda Ave., conveniently located between the Warners lot and the Disney lot and catty-corner to NBC.

Warners inked a 10-year lease on behalf of DC in April. The deal for 35,000 square feet with landlord Worthe Real Estate Group is valued at roughly $16 million, according to sources with knowledge of the Burbank office market.

The headquarters will accommodate staffers from the company’s offices in New York and San Diego. Some have already made the move to Los Angeles and others are expected to relocate by August. However, DC Entertainment’s publishing division, DC Comics, will remain at the company’s 1700 Broadway offices in New York.

DC employees who have already made the move — including editors Mike Carlin, Adam Shlagman, Sean Ryan and Pornsak Pichetshote — have been working in the older 3400 Riverside Drive office.

Although head Diane Nelson will have an office at the new building, she’ll also have a spot on the lot. The building will house DCE employees who cover management, film, TV, interactive and consumer product development, a.k.a DC Direct.

It’s notable that this story — leaked by the real estate company which owns the property — is the most substantive that has yet been written about the West Coast DC offices — who they are, what they are doing and where they are going.

Although the first two projects of the DCE era — Wonder Woman and Green Lantern — haven’t been gangbusters, these characters are here to stay at Warners.

Meanwhile, back at the box office, GREEN LANTERN debuted at #1 with $52.6 million, less than THOR and even X-MEN: FIRST CLASS. As the Times put it: “An all-hands-on-deck effort by Warner Brothers to turn “Green Lantern” into a box office superpower fizzled over the weekend.” With a budget of a reported $300 million, dreadful reviews and a big Friday-to-Saturday drop-off, GL’s task as the advance guard for a new generation of movies based on DC characters has been made much more difficult.

The film did best among older males, Icv2 writes:

As might be expected for a comic book movie that apparently had some trouble transferring its comic market popularity to mainstream audiences, Green Lantern’s opening weekend moviegoers were primarily male (64%) and older (63% over 25, with just 19% under 18 in spite of the film’s “PG-13” rating). Green Lantern could get a bounce on Father’s Day, and might finish better than the $52.7 million estimate, but the drop-off from Friday’s $21.6 million to Saturday’s $16.8 is quite troubling. After getting off to a strong start at Thursday midnight shows (see “Green Lantern Solid at Midnight Shows”), which helped fuel Friday’s numbers, it appears that those most interested in seeing the film saw it right away, and that word-of-mouth did help the film sustain its solid opening day. Audiences gave the movie a mediocre “B” CinemaScore.

GL was also the latest in the ongoing fizzle of 3D films, with 2D showings outpacing the 3D versions, part of a national trend that will hopefully spell the end of this 3D craze. (For the record we made a point of seeing GL in 2D.)

Todd Allen has a detailed analysis of how it all rolled out:

The expectations coming out of Warners were pretty clearly to replicate an Iron Man level franchise. The rationale seemingly was “if Marvel can do this with a B-character, so can we.” And they dumped a rumored $100 million into making this into a megahit. The first question might be “at what point did this project look like it was gelling enough to warrant that kind of marketing,” so we may just have out of control expectations driving the project before the first script was written.

And Nikki Finke gets the jump on the blame game:

Hollywood is expecting director Martin Campbell to be made the scapegoat: he’s already publicly suggested he won’t be back if there’s a sequel. Some point to Geoff Johns, DC Entertainment’s chief creative officer who also writes the Green Lantern comics and was integrally involved (reputedly even the deciding vote) on every big decision. And he’s respected but also controversial in some quarters. But Warner Bros execs Jeff Robinov and Greg Silverman should have made sure this movie was much better than a score of only 21% positive on Rotten Tomatoes (compared to Thor’s 77% and X-Men’s 87%). Looks like there’s plenty of blame to go around. “I’m not going to tell you this is the greatest movie,” a studio exec admits to me about why the film wasn’t better. The problem sounds like it was filmmaking by committee.

All of this very much leaves the state of DC Entertainment’s West Coast office of great interest to industry watchers. While the print relaunch in September has been getting the headlines of late, it’s the Hollywood connection that’s DC’s real value to Warner Bros.: an entire West Coast development office has been in place for months, featuring all the editors shipped over from the New York offices, busily developing ideas for adaptation to various media. Green Lantern was the biggest and most obvious choice to make inroads on expanding the WB superhero portfolio beyond The BIg Two, but this has to be seen as a setback.

While some may be quick to point the finger at Johns (director Campbell has already washed his hands of the whole thing), I’d like to point out that Warners has a pretty good track record for screwing up things that did not have a fierce, powerful guardian like Joel Silver, Christopher Nolan, or J.K. Rowling:

• Following the first two Batman movies, the series went off the rails with Joel Schumacher and bat-nipples culminating in the legendarily nauseating BATMAN AND ROBIN.

• STEEL. Nuff said.

• CATWOMAN. Ugh.

• While SUPERMAN RETURNS can rightly be pointed to as a baffling remake, it was far better than the horrifying ideas that Warners batted around in the interim: Nicolas Cage, McG, Superman vs Batman, and so on.

• Maybe that Jack Black Green Lantern would have had more broad appeal? OR…maybe not. Robert Smigel was interviewed about it at Vanity Fair:

Well, for a lot of people, the version that was made didn’t work. That’s what makes your comedic version such a curiosity.

I haven’t seen it, so I can’t speak to how the movie itself works. I know that when the idea was pitched to me to do a comedy about Green Lantern I did a quick review of the specifics of Green Lantern. And I thought, Well, of course this could be a comedy. Basically just the premise that the wrong guy gets the ring and can do all kinds of goofy visual jokes—because the visuals are so potentially ridiculous. What appealed to me about it on a comedic level was that, in order to be a superhero, this requires no physical skill or talent. All it requires is owning this ring. Automatically, that’s a comedic premise. I was told they’re doing it as a comedy; that’s the way they’re going, so I didn’t really think about whether this was wrong thing to do. I just knew that this was the movie they were making, and when I thought about the potential as a comedy, I felt like, yeah, I can do this.

• JONAH HEX. Brrrrrrr…

Of course, there have been great hits at WB like Harry Potter, The Matrix, Batman, and now the Hangover films. All of these have strong producers behind them.

As I said in my review, GREEN LANTERN wasn’t quite as bad as that 24 percent on Rotten Tomatoes suggests, but it is also clearly not a movie that someone made from love—but rather a corporate exercise in selling soda and toys. Despite this, Warners isn’t going to give up on superheroes. The money from the BATMAN movies alone will guarantee that they’ll keep looking for the next pot of gold. And Disney/Marvel’s ongoing success with their comics franchise movies means that WB has to keep trying, if only because these two studios are insanely competitive.

Scuttlebutt suggests that director Campbell will be tagged with GL’s disappointing returns, despite the fact that he was never really attached to it. But that’s Chinatown. Johns still has many allies and friends, including Diane Nelson, so we’ll see how that rolls out. I think the onus is really on Warner Bros. itself to take a deep look inside and ask itself why they make so many crappy superhero movies.

A veil — or vow — of silence has descended over DC Tower concerning the hows, whys and wherefores of Flashboot, leaving comics pundits and readers to merely twiddle their thumbs, froth with rage, start saving the $155.48 they’ll need to buy all 52 rebooted DC titles, or, as unlikely as it sounds, even post on the internet. Last night Jim Lee tweeted:

I have no news about September. There’s a plan and it will roll out in coming months. I’m on rt now to find out what ppl do at nite :)

…and that’s about all we’ve heard. Creators involved in the reboot have dropped a few hints, but know better than to say anything on pain of not getting paycheck.

So that leaves writers NOT involved with the relaunch. Or writers who are too big to fear a lost paycheck, like J. Michael Straczynski, who was asked about the relaunch on his Facebook page and responded with with his usual candor. Of the most note — to us anyway, even allowing for JMS’s own involvement — is that perhaps that SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE success was the push that Dan DiDio needed to pull the trigger on a long simmering plan. SEO, as it’s known, posited a newer, younger, no continuity Superman, and has been an GN hit for DC. Here’s what JMS wrote:

When Dan DiDio comes out to the West Coast, we tend to get a bite for dinner to discuss projects, ideas, books and just hang. Dan is a great guy and an energetic speaker, chockful of ideas and aspirations for DC. As part of that, he shared repeatedly on and off for really more than a year his dream of rebooting the DCU and starting over.

So I felt confident that it was coming soon (which is one reason why I felt there wouldn’t be a problem in the long run leaving the monthly books, since most of the things done in Superman and Wonder Woman would be erased by the reboot anyway, so ultimately it didn’t matter whether I stayed or left. I just couldn’t say anything at the time because I wanted to respect Dan’s privacy and his desire to do what he thought was right when he thought it was right to do it.

To a degree, I think the success of Superman: Earth One was very helpful in showing that you could reboot a major character in a very personal sort of book and have it become a real hit (27 straight weeks and counting on the New York Times Bestseller List for graphic novels).

That said: end to end, top to bottom, front to back, this is Dan’s dream, and he’s fought long and hard to make this happen. I think it’s absolutely the right move at the right moment in history. If you think about how well the Flash, Green Lantern and Atom were rebooted during the Silver Age, those books made the characters more contemporary, personal and relevant to the 70s. Imagine how much poorer the comics world would be without those reboots, if there had never been a Hal Jordan, or a Barry Allen.

Taking that approach to rebooting the majority of the DC line is a gutsy move on an unparalleled scale, and I think Dan deserves a massive round of applause for making it. The business part of the comics business has been languishing for the last several years, with decreasing sales and media attention. Something this big, this brave, is exactly the shot in the arm it needed. There’s a saying in some of the British special forces: “Who dares, wins.” I think this was and will be seen in future as a winning move.

Good on him for doing it.

[Earlier today we ran an essay by longtime Beat contributor Mark Coale on The DC Flashpoint Reboot. In it he stated he was going to stop reading DC entirely. In the interests of fairness, we reached out to find readers who are excited about the changes. We’ve gotten several great responses and we’ll run them over the next day or so. And yes we’ll get back to non-DC news very very soon!}

As someone who has been a very staunch and passionate DC Comics fan, I’m very much in favor of the DC “reboot.” I started reading DC books around the time of Crisis on Infinite Earths but really started to prefer DC over Marvel in the late 80’s/early 90’s when it seemed as if Marvel stopped speaking to me on a fan level. As I matured as a person and a comic fan, I began to identify with the “core” JLA members (especially Superman) more than I had as a youngster. I immersed myself in DC lore and would consider myself a reasonable expert on DC Continuity. As such, I’ve come to realize that “expert status” can be a detriment to attracting others to share in my passion/habit and am very much open to this measure as an initiative to attracting more people to the party.

Ultimately (no pun intended), I just want great stories and art to tell those stories. I’m not concerned anymore with continuity that “violates” stories I’ve already read as long as the core tenants of the characters stay true (Superman – last son of a dead planet, has a weakness to kryptonite, always does the right thing), than I am if Superman references the last or the last dozen times he’s stopped Lex Luthor from completing his plans. It’s fun to have those for some frame of reference, but they shouldn’t be the elephant in the room preventing the best authors and artists from presenting the best stories that appeal to a wide audience. These aren’t some indie band playing to a small group of people in a dingy bar. It’s Superman, and his story should be accessible and available to all people across all races, colors, creeds, etc. That’s the only way the character will stay active and viable to future generations, which I hope will be the case.

I’m excited about the possibilities of seeing these characters tweaked and/or reinterpreted for the current generation. I’m sure there will be some hits and some misses, but I appreciate that the powers that be at DC are attempting to keep the media form viable and I will keep supporting characters and stories I like. I also realize that there’s the possibility that the stories told with these characters will no longer speak to me and if that’s the case, so be it. I will always have my mountains of back issues to read through and hopefully others will find something they like in these concepts I’ve enjoyed reading about since I was a teenager and into adulthood and middle age.

Having become friends with the owner of the comic shop I frequent, I do worry about his long term prospects for staying in business with the “day and date” electronic availability of the books, but I’ve worried about being able to get my weekly publishing fix for years and this is just the latest “threat” to that stability for how I like to experience my habit. I’m hoping that print can co-exist with digital going forward, but progress is progress and if keeping the publishing “locked” to the direct sales market is killing the industry, then I’m all for finding a way to keep it alive and hopefully expand it.

I’m wishing the creative minds at DC the best of luck with this and I will definitely be sticking around to see what they can do. I hope they don’t let what I think will be the vocal minority of “fans” on the internet (most of whom are lapsed readers anyway it seems) deter them from what I believe are exciting long range plans for the DC universe to continue well after I’m dead and gone and my kids and grandkids are reading them (whatever platform that will be on at that point!).

@DublDownDrew (on Twitter)

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I think DC is going “all in” and will either be successful and double up or get burned. I’m not keen on the red-trunk-less Superman, but, unlike some fans, I’m not going to decry it before I try it. I’m not a huge fan of losing the history behind titles like Action Comics, Detective Comics, and Batman. Still, when all is said and done I think what will make or break this is what creative teams they have in place on books, the hype and interviews they can push before September, and if they can manage to ship things on a regular schedule. I’m fairly certain that Justice League #1 will be the biggest title of that month and be well beyond Fear Itself or Flashpoint because it is two huge creators on a flagship book and a #1 to boot. Still, I worry about Lee’s ability to put out a book monthly. I’m not as worried about the idea of stuff coming before “not mattering” as others since the idea that there’ll be a book with different colored Lanterns in it in September shows that things like the Sinestro Corps War and Blackest Night still happened. I’m much less excited by the de-aging of Superman and the almost undoubted loss of the Kent/Lane marriage than by a change in costume. Any other romance will seem lame for Superman because we know he is “meant” for Lois and having her try to find out who is all over again would be very frustrating. A Morrison Superman book would be a big hook though. I think the push into putting everything day-and-date digital is huge, but doesn’t mean much to me. The only way they could maybe get me for a little would be if the issues were cheaper than in stores, but I doubt that’ll happen, at least not for months after publication. I’m extremely curious to see what all these 52 books are. Books like Xombi seem destined for death. Also books like Power Girl, Zatanna, Secret Six, and such are definitely questionable going forward. It is interesting to try to figure out what will be coming out in September. I’m hoping for some good jumping on points with new creative teams, though there is the equal chance at jumping off a book.

Nick Fugate

St. Paul, MN

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As a comic book fan, having a title renumbered, even back to #1, is nothing new. Every time there’s an event book, or a celebrity writer that takes an interest in a character, you can usually expect to have to change your long-boxes around to accommodate new titles or numbers. Sure that makes sense from a marketing angle, but as fans, how many times have we seen these “new beginnings” quickly go back to “the same as before”, often readopting the old numbering? The exciting thing about what DC’s doing with their relaunching of titles is really the extent to which they’re doing it. Continuity, long the bane of any but the most rabid comic readers, never survived in the old system. Wasn’t Final Crisis supposed to have killed off half the world? Isn’t Huntress the daughter of Catwoman and Batman? Is the Green Lantern weak to yellow or wood, or neither? The nature of the medium is that new writers are going to pick up old characters and start making changes, and, as fans, we’ve always just been along for the ride. DC is acknowledging that yes, there are tons of convoluted back stories that are often so tied together that just rewinding one story isn’t going to be enough, and they’re doing something about it. And it’s being done intelligently- by having all reboots under the supervision of one editorial team they’re insuring that there’s going to be less redundancies or inconsistencies. At least for a while fans aren’t going to have to try and figure out such annoyances as where in continuity a story takes place, or which version of the back story is being referenced, or even smaller issues such as why Alan Scott is wearing his old costume in one JSA title and a new one in another (and where did his eye patch go?). By taking the renumbering and putting them in the hands of the people who write comics professionally and consistently, DC stands to not only breathe new life into their titles but also keep those titles breathing fresh breath for longer than the old system of event or celebrity driven false starts, and for that I’m excited.

– Cesare Venegoni

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Huntress the daughter of Catwoman and Batman? Is the Green Lantern weak to yellow or wood, or neither? The nature of the medium is that new writers are going to pick up old characters and start making changes, and, as fans, we’ve always just been along for the ride. DC is acknowledging that yes, there are tons of convoluted back stories that are often so tied together that just rewinding one story isn’t going to be enough, and they’re doing something about it. And it’s being done intelligently- by having all reboots under the supervision of one editorial team they’re insuring that there’s going to be less redundancies or inconsistencies. At least for a while fans aren’t going to have to try and figure out such annoyances as where in continuity a story takes place, or which version of the back story is being referenced, or even smaller issues such as why Alan Scott is wearing his old costume in one JSA title and a new one in another (and where did his eye patch go?). By taking the renumbering and putting them in the hands of the people who write comics professionally and consistently, DC stands to not only breathe new life into their titles but also keep those titles breathing fresh breath for longer than the old system of event or celebrity driven false starts, and for that I’m excited.

As a long time comics reader who has shifted from being a Marvel zombie to a DC Comics enthusiast the older I get, I’m definitely interested in what the company plans on doing with the reboot of the universe later this year. Frankly, I feel that a lot of the comics have gotten so far away from what the characters are about even as Geoff Johns has gone to great efforts to bring back all of the original characters like Barry Allen, Hal Jordan, Hawkman, Aquaman, etc. It was especially a concern as DC Entertainment has been trying to the big screen and it’s quite evident that it would be impossible for new fans of the characters to jump on board with all of the events and crossovers that’s become the norm in the comics. I highly doubt I’ll be buying all 52 new series, and like everything else, I’ll pick and choose based on the character and the creative team, but I’ve generally been happy with what’s been going on and if they can produce a Teen Titans or a Legion of Super-Heroes or a Justice Society of America comic that’s on par with the Green Lantern books I’ll be very happy. If they can get even more new people reading comics, even better. (And I have to add that DC Comics’ “drawing the line at $2.99″ has put them high up in my book in terms of giving them the benefit of the doubt.)

–
Edward Douglas
New York City

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Why is it that the biggest news always happens right after a holiday weekend? 18 months ago, it was Disney buying Marvel after Labor Day; this time, it’s the biggest editorial readjustment at a superhero comics company EVER: DC’s just announced plan to launch 52 new #1 issues in September, with changed or adjusted characters, costumes and and origins. Here’s what you need to know, the confirmed and the speculation.

First, what we know: The whole new lineup will be announced on Monday, June 13th, when the Previews for that month is released. Until then, expect to see breaking news in national news outlets and on The Source.

As far as official word goes, USA Today has released another story, this one delving a bit more into why this is happening>. Dan DiDio: “If we can convince the people here [inside DC] we’re doing something brand-new and fresh, we have a good chance to really get the people outside on board.” The story is accompanied by the above photo of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee, the new JLA team, in a fisheye photo that makes them look like they have giant heads and little bandy legs. Not the most flattering look.

Kiel Phegley has done an impressive job of getting some secret stuff from shadowy figures. Here’s what they are saying will happen:

• A new title starring Superman written by Grant Morrison.

• Birds of Prey #1 – This new ongoing series will not feature the work of longtime “BoP” writer Gail Simone. In fact, many tried and true approaches to books will be getting a second look at DC in September.

• Teen Titans #1 – The new start for the teen team will be written by “Red Robin” scribe Fabian Nicieza.

• Justice Society of America #1 – Only one of a number of current titles that will welcome a creative team shift, the future of the original superhero team will apparently not involve current writer Marc Guggenheim.

• Wonder Woman #1 – Don’t expect the recent changes from writer J. Michael Straczynski to stick when the Amazing Amazon sees another new #1 hit.

• Green Lantern #1 – Even with a new #1, Green Lantern remains in Johns’ hands, and readers can expect the effects of major crossovers like “Blackest Night” to stay in place moving forward.

• Hawkman #1 – While fans have known a “Hawkman” series by James Robinson has been in the works since the writer mentioned it on a panel at New York Comic Con, Bleeding Cool’s Rich Johnston has been reporting the rumor that the book will be drawn by “Batman & Robin” and “Outsiders” artist Philip Tan.

• Aquaman #1 – No surprises here. The already announced series featuring the sea king by Johns and Ivan Reis will be part of the relaunch wave.

And here’s what Rich Johnston is reporting:

• Adventures Comics #1 starring Deadman; possibly by Ryan Sook

• Superman #1 possibly by Rags Morales.

• A new Green Lantern book with lanterns of many colors.

• Legion Lost, the Legion of Superheroes reboot

• OMAC, perhaps by Scott Kolins.

• Something called “Edge” and something called “Dark.” We’re calling it now: other books called “Blood,” “Dragon” one called “Girl and one called “Stacey.”

Okay. Now the fun part: THE INTERNET COMMENTARY. And dear lord there was a lot. And there will be more. AND MORE.

§ IGN, normally not the trendiest news site, although one of the biggest, offers 8 Questions About the DCU Reboot which are all pretty good, like: “Is There Still a Point to Earth One?” — the J Michael Straczynski-penned new, younger Superman original graphic novel was a shock bestseller, but does the whole “new alternate origins” series have a place in this new world?

They also ran a poll! And here’s how it looked last night at about midnight:

§ Michael Doran at Newsarama has MANY MORE QUESTIONS. 13 to be exact. but they are more concerned with the internal continuity along the lines of “Did Identity Crisis happen?” The other questions asked give you some idea of why this is a total headache for the newcomer:

Wally West still wears a modified Flash costume and bears the name because he assumed the Flash legacy in tribute to Barry Allen when he died in the original  Crisis  . If Barry never died, wouldn’t it be logical that Wally would have assumed a new identity ala Dick Grayson/Nightwing?

Will a new DCU still have four native Earthbound Green Lanterns, as John Stewart, Guy Gardner, and Kyle Rayner all gained their rings via “continuity events”?

And how about the whole two Batmen can of worms?

Again, Dick Grayson became Batman because Bruce Wayne seemingly perished in  Final Crisis, a line-wide shared continuity event.

If Bruce never was displaced in time by Darkseid, does Dick ever put on the cowl? The current crop of Batman titles are some of DC’s best-selling. How much is DC going to mess with something that’s currently working?

Head hurts.

§ Tom Spurgeon didn’t like it, no sir, partially over suspicions that DC has recently not executed their plans very crisply.

Overall, this sounds to me like that time when the older, dependable brother in a respected family gets sick of always being the source of stability and flips the fuck out and does something slightly nuts, with the knowledge that ultimately the family money takes care of him even if his crappy decisions goof up a few sets of lives tied into his own.

§ Don MacPherson gives it all some historical perspective:

Rebooting, restarting or retooling beloved super-hero genre characters doesn’t revise history for the reader, only the fictitious, two-dimensional figures in the comics themselves. The Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Young Justice cartoons are seen by a much wider audience than the readership of DC’s various super-hero titles. Does that make the incarnations and interpretations of DC’s characters in those TV the “real” versions? Does that render the comic-book continuity moot? Of course not. These are stories… fictional stories about men and women wearing spandex, capes and implausibly gaudy jewelry. While the approach to this promised reboot is different and more aggressive than what we’ve seen in the past, the actual practice is just business as usual, especially for DC Comics.

§ Finally John Jackson Miller looks at what matters most to the bottom line: historical sales trends on these kinds of reboots

The numbers historically tend to suggest that renumbering alone, for its own sake, doesn’t do an awful lot beyond the first-issue effect sales boost unless associated with other elements, such as new creative teams, a new over-arching storyline, or other enhancements that impact a series across time. Kevin Smith’s Daredevil received a new #1 in 1998 and had major sales benefits that stuck for years; others tailed off more quickly. Amazing Spider-Man had preorders in the 60,000s up until its cancellation and replacement with Vol. 2, #1 in late 1998; sales indeed spiked, but even with Byrne, were back to the 60,000s within a year. The 1999 Incredible Hulk numbering restart, again with Byrne added, returned to the 40,000s where it had been by #6.

As you can see from the above, almost everyone is most het up about the reboot, with very little conversation about the whole simultaneous digital release — how it will effect retailers and so on. That will come, that will come.

Meanwhile it’s a lot to soak in. Maybe that Bible guy was right about the Rapture. Only he didn’t know it was just going to be the end of the DCU as we knew it!

The complete image of the new Johns-Lee rebooted JLA has surfaced (apparently at IGN) and it’s clear that we have a “Big Seven” of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg. Most of the new costumes involved higher collars. Superman has a new logo and no trunks over his tights. There are lots of other details, but when we mentioned earlier that these characters looked about the same, we meant it — these are tweaks on the traditional (Super Friends, licensing) looks for these characters, not huge changes.

Although, as several online pundits are pointing out, Green Lantern seems to be overcompensating for something his giant green crotch gun.

From around the Twitterverse, an array of reactions to DC’s news that they are rebooting their line in September and going to simultaneous digital release. New comics universes are a dime a dozen, but the digital news is really a game changer — it’s hard not to see every other publisher following suit quickly.

The next big announcement for this move would seem to be June 11, when Jim Lee and Geoff Johns are expected to “drop bombshells” at the Hero Complex Film Festival. Although HeroesCon, one of the bigger shows on the circuit, is this weekend, there are no official DC panels so no big announcements. Executive Editor Eddie Berganza is attending, however, so catch him on the bar and hope he didn’t sign an NDA.

Anyway, here’s some of the virtual bar talk:

Andy Diggle:

So is DCU continuity finally going to stop exploding? It’s been a while.

Ed Brubaker:

@andydiggle Yeah, is this is the end of constant events?

@ErikJLarsen

Call me silly but I don’t think the reason readers aren’t buying DC books is their issue numbers and lack of V-necks. I can’t help but think that DC is essentially rolling out New Coke. They’re admitting defeat and committing brand suicide.

Scott Kurtz:

The beginning of the end of what we once called “comics.”

Reilly_Brown

The functional problem with reboots: If you don’t go all the way to the beggining, you’re not REALLY rebooting……you’re just rewinding to an arbitrary point. Has Batman met Two Face? Catwoman? If so, then it’s not REALLY a reboot. It’s just a dis to the writers and artists of the past few years. If you DO go all the way back to the beggining, like the Ultimate U, THEN it’s a real reboot, BUT…… Then it could very easily turn into a much different story with much different characters than what people used to like.(The Ultimate line was full of that problem)

BRIAN M BENDIS

I haven’t been this excited since they announced morrison and lee were relaunching wildcats!! :)

Former DC digital VP Ron Perazza, whose last day was today:

Glad to see DC going day & date w/entire line. Digital publishing is critical at this point. To treat it as a second hit is to undermine it.

Retailer Chris Butcher sounds a very cautionary note.

Every one of the Marvel day-and-date digital comics releases sells fewer copies than comperable, non-day-and-date titles. Worrying trend.

Rob Liefeld

Bottom line, I don’t/won’t bet against @jimlee00 or @GeoffJohns0 not a good idea.

And finally, from the LA Times’ Geoff Boucher, who is hosting the Lee/Johns bombshell sesssion, a quip:

If DC wanted to real shock me, they’d restart all their titles but start at No. 2.

Also, on the digital topic, some analysis from Todd Allen:

Will this only be the superhero titles? What about Vertigo titles or non-superhero titles like Jonah Hex?
What price will these same-day releases be? The seemingly standard $1.99? The print cover price of $2.99? A premium of $3.99? If the price is higher than $1.99, will it eventually go down?

When you look at Vertigo, those titles have traditionally made their money in world of trade paperback collected editions, so digital may not be the priority. Ironically, Vertigo titles might have more appeal to the casual reader many super hero titles. However, when they make a point of calling out “superhero” titles, you get the feeling that’s the only thing that’s going for the “day and date” (simultaneous digital and print) release.

Traditionally, digital comics have been to comics retailers what kryptonite was to Superman — something to be feared and avoided. And DC’s Bob Wayne has been in the forefront of keeping retailers happy, to the point of shutting down many initiatives over the years that might have ruffled their feathers and caused them to order fewer DC Comics.

So it is on this day that it is Bob Wayne who has been called upon to write the letter to DC’s retail partners and inform them that the new digs are going to feature beautiful kryptonite flooring on the deck and patio: DC’s new world of comics will be released digitally at the same time as the print versions. Here’s what Wayne told them:

A LETTER ON THE DC UNIVERSE AND SEPTEMBER 2011

To our comics retail partners,

In the time I’ve worked at DC Comics, I’ve witnessed any number of industry defining moments. But today, I bring you what is perhaps the biggest news to date.

Many of you have heard rumors that DC Comics has been working on a big publishing initiative for later this year. This is indeed an historic time for us as, come this September, we are relaunching the entire DC Universe line of comic books with all new first issues. 52 of them to be exact.

In addition, the new #1s will introduce readers to a more modern, diverse DC Universe, with some character variations in appearance, origin and age. All stories will be grounded in each character’s legend – but will relate to real world situations, interactions, tragedy and triumph.

This epic event will kick off on Wednesday, August 31st with the debut of a brand new JUSTICE LEAGUE #1, which pairs Geoff Johns and Jim Lee, together for the first time. (Yes, this is the same week as FLASHPOINT #5.)

We think our current fans will be excited by this evolution, and that it will make jumping into the story extremely accessible to first-time readers – giving them a chance to discover DC’s characters and stories.

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.

Dan DiDio, Bob Harras and Eddie Berganza have been working diligently to pull together some of the best creative teams in the industry. Over 50 new costumes will debut in September, many updated and designed by artist Jim Lee, ensuring that the updated images appeal to the current generation of readers.

The publication of JUSTICE LEAGUE #1 will also launch digital day-and-date for all ongoing superhero comic book titles – an industry first.

On Wednesday, June 1st, this initiative is expected to be announced in a nationwide feature article, and we’re hopeful the news will be picked up by media outlets around the world. Throughout the month we’ll reveal more details of our plans with articles in both the mainstream and comics press and on June 13th the Diamond catalog solicitations for all of the September titles will be released, followed by the June 29th street date of the print version of Previews.

DC Comics will support this initiative with an innovative mix of publicity, promotional efforts and retailer incentives designed to maximize your opportunity to increase your DC sales. We will discuss additional details of these incentives when we get closer to solicitation later in June.

We’ll be updating you more through email as September nears. But today, I hope your share our enthusiasm for this historic news!

Sincerely,
Bob Wayne
SVP, Sales
DC Entertainment

After a few weeks of buzz and speculation — or merely simple detective work based on the very final sounding August DC solicits — it’s been announced:DC is revamping its entire line this September with new versions of classic characters and 50 new #1 titles, USA Today reports.

JLA #1 by Geoff Johns will be the first book out, with art by Jim Lee, and reuntiing the original all star lineup of Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman.

In September, more than 50 more first issues will debut, introducing readers to stories that are grounded in each character’s specific legend but also reflect today’s real-world themes and events. Lee spearheaded the redesign of more than 50 costumes to make characters more identifiable and accessible to comic fans new and old.

“We looked at what was going on in the marketplace and felt we really want to inject new life in our characters and line,” says Dan DiDio, who co-publishes DC with Lee. “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.”

The new titles will all be available day and date on DC’s various online apps.

According to Lee, “We’re allowing people who have never bought a comic book in their lives to download them on portable media devices and take a look. Having the ability to give people access to these comics with one button click means we’re going to get a lot of new readers. We’re trying to set the table for the DC Universe’s future success and health.”

Well. Wow. The USA Today piece includes a bit of artwork that looks like the old characters…but you know what, that’s good!

More in a bit.

Here’s the Source post from David Hyde:
On Wednesday, August 31st, DC Comics will launch a historic renumbering of the entire DC Universe line of comic books with 52 first issues, including the release of JUSTICE LEAGUE by NEW YORK TIMES bestselling writer and DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns and bestselling artist and DC Comics Co-Publisher Jim Lee.

The publication of JUSTICE LEAGUE issue 1 will launch day-and-date digital publishing for all these ongoing titles, making DC Comics the first of the two major American publishers to release all of its superhero comic book titles digitally the same day as in print. DC Comics will only publish two comic books on August 31st: the final issue of this summer’s comic book mini-series FLASHPOINT and the first issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE by Johns and Lee, two of the most distinguished and popular contemporary comic book creators, who will be collaborating for the first time.

Together they will offer a contemporary take on the origin of the comic book industry’s premier superhero team. In the hours, days and weeks to come, we’ll have more news about the other titles. Tomorrow, we’ll hear from Co-Publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee about this momentous occasion.

Keep checking THE SOURCE for updates about the other first issues. This year, make history with us.

Continuing our big catch up on weekend reading for the elite.

§ Gary Groth comes out swinging at Jim Shooter for the latter’s historical revisionism on display on his blog over the matter of Jack Kirby’s artwork.

I can’t say whether Shooter’s mind was blown at this or any other time, but I can say with absolute certainty that nothing else in this scenario is true. That’s right; Kirby hadn’t sued Marvel. There was no lawsuit, no discovery, no documents produced, no legal maneuvering within a lawsuit, no demand by Kirby, enshrined in a lawyer’s letter or otherwise, that he receive sole credit for characters he co-created, and no demand that Lee receive none. It’s all a fiction. None of this happened.

A very young Beat was at at least one of the panels in question — the one with Alan Moore! — and vividly remembers the Jim Shooter incident. Unmentioned by either (as we recall it in our absinthe hazed mind) is Roz Kirby standing up and saying “Mr. Shooter that is just not true!” Truly one of the greatest convention moments of all time — both Kirbys, Shooter, Miller, Moore and Groth all locked in eternal battle.

Former Bullpener Ron Fontes chimes up in the lively comments section with a hitherto unknown reason for some of Marvel’s 80s art mysteries:

First, I want you to know that I bear no love for Marvel. I view my employment there as Time in Hell with some very good things mixed in that almost compensate for the torture. I hate to tell you this, but I worked in Special Projects at Marvel from 1982-1985, under Sol Brodsky and Johnny Romita (the Nicest Man in Comics). Here’s what REALLY kept Marvel from returning artwork: Old pages were stored in a Brooklyn warehouse which was FLOODED around 1983. Decades of artwork was actually destroyed and could not be returned to anyone at all as it was just so much soggy paper residue. That is why the Marvel Masterworks series was repro’d from faded plate negatives and had to be touched up by the likes of Phil Lord et al. I’m really surprised in all this time no one has revealed this fact. I strongly remember the day of the flood because Sol and others were pale with shock. I also have to add, great as he was as an artist, Jack Kirby was a lousy businessman who cut bad deals. See TALES TO ASTONISH by Ronin Ro. Unfortunately, creative talent does not go hand-in-hand with good business acumen. In case you haven’t noticed, arrogance and egotism runs rife in the comics industry, just as it does in the film industry. Artists have been notorious for being self-aggrandizing pricks throughout history. If they were normal people with realistic self-images, they wouldn’t be artists at all. Shooter is just a man. He’s a prick, he’s a good guy, depends on circumstance and who you talk to. We’re all flawed fools. So back off the jackass’ corpse you’re beating. It was all long ago, and besides the King is dead.

As several have noted, although this seems like ancient history it is actually the very heart of the matter with long veins of greed and judgement winding down to the present.

§ Just to show that the world is a mixture of greys, the same Shooter blog has a lecture on storytelling that includes notes on panel layouts taken entirely from Wtachmen and Los Bros. Hernandez, just so you know it is, you know, PERFECT.

I always get in arguments with Barry Windsor-Smith over this. He says there are nine kinds of shots. I say there are three kinds of shots. You can say whatever you want, as long as you understand the principles, but let’s use my definition for the moment because it’s me here.

§ And David Brothers explains why artists love Moebius via the vessel of Silver Surfer: Parable, the book that they argued about in Crimson Tide. Interestingly, the piece also tacitly explains how unsatisfying our current pirate-based scanning technology is where paper-density is concerned.

So, in the end, you have a book that’s a perfect storm of comics legends. Stan & Jack helped revolutionize American comics. Moebius is a pioneer who has been at the top of his game. Kirby didn’t have any direct involvement in this project, but when you collaborate with Lee on a project starring two of their greatest creations, you don’t get to just ignore Kirby. He haunts the book, forcing you to compare his Surfer and visual storytelling to Moebius’s. This is a master coming to play in another master’s backyard, and at least a tip of the hat must be paid to the originator.

§ This quote from Roger Langridge about turning kids’ characters into gritty R-rated characters has been getting quite a bit of play. I’m with those who hold that there can be different levels for various ages, but it IS unusual to see major, licensable characters going from PG-12 to R as most Marvel and DC characters do. This is yet another spin-off of the “vast universe” of superhero comics — it would be easy to keep Spidey the PG-13 hero and the Punisher the R hero except that they are always meeting up for a ham sandwich.

As a whole, no. I really don’t think Marvel and DC are helping things by having gritty, R-rated versions of their superheroes in their main comics – what they sell as the “real” versions – while simultaneously selling those exact same characters in kids’ comics and plastering them all over lunchboxes and animated cartoons. Only a parent who actively follows the comics – which most don’t – has a hope in hell of knowing which Batman comic is okay for their kids and which ones they shouldn’t be allowed to touch with a ten-foot bargepole. Casual readership by kids, or by parents for their kids, is effectively impossible the way things are currently structured. And I think the waters are muddied too far now to claw that ground back. I think it’s insane that DC have spent 70 years making Superman as big as Mickey Mouse, and branding him to be understood by parents as being pretty much as kid-friendly as Mickey Mouse, only to piss that brand away in a decade. Nothing wrong with doing mature content in comics – in fact, it should be encouraged as often as possible – but doing it with characters who are on your kids’ lunchboxes is kind of moronic. Take a lesson from Watchmen and come up with new characters for that stuff. And then go back to Superman and Batman and put the same kind of love and effort and craft and intelligence you’ve been putting into all those rape scenes and body mutilations into something kids can read, and adults can also be proud to read because of all the love and effort and craft and intelligence you’ve put into it, and make those the “real” versions.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the ongoing reorganization at DC gets some airing. Rich Johnston seems to have been leaked some kind of promo piece for the West Coast DC office, with names, ranks and serial numbers. As reported, editors Mike Carlin, Sean Ryan, Adam Schlagman and Pornsak Pichetshotehave all moved to the West Coast to achieve great deeds of renown apparently.

Rich also puts together the obvious clues about Constantine showing up in the DCU in the Swamp thing storyline. With all this switching around going on, some are beginning to wonder what’s up at former Hellblazer home base, Vertigo, with iFanboy’s Josh Flanagan boldly declaring A World Without Vertigo Comics Is No World I Want

From the outset, the number of high quality, professionally produced, non-superhero titles available in comic shops would plummet. Let’s face it, if it doesn’t have a cape and mask, a comic book is likely to be a hard sell for most of the folks buying from comic book retailers. Further, the comics produced by Vertigo are usually exceptionally good. There are hits and misses, sure, but by and large, there’s a strict quality control, and as a comic book reader, the loss would be devastating. To understand such a thing, it’s important to have a good grasp on just how essential Vertigo Comics is to the creative development of the modern comic book.