It’s one last go-round for some classic DC logos and characters with DC’s new RETRO-ACTIVE mini-event, which features creators and characters from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s with a series of one-shots. Each decade has been given its own, era-appropriate logo.
This past weekend at WonderCon, VP of Sales, Bob Wayne, announced RETRO-ACTIVE. Published throughout July and August 2011, these are exactly the kinds of one-shots people often associate with summer. RETRO-ACTIVE reunites classic writers and artists with classic characters Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and Justice League of America, returning to the interpretations they are best known for. Each of these series will have 3 one-shots that pay homage respectively to the‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s.
The 70’s
Superman: Martin Pasko
Wonder Woman: Dennis O’Neil
The Flash: Cary Bates
Justice League of America: Cary Bates
Green Lantern: Dennis O’Neil
Batman: Len Wein
The 80’s
Superman: Marv Wolfman
Wonder Woman: Roy Thomas
The Flash: William Messner-Loebs
Justice League of America: Gerry Conway
Green Lantern: Len Wein
Batman: Mike W. Barr

The 90’s
Superman: Louise Simonson
Wonder Woman: William Messner-Loebs
The Flash: Brian Augustyn
Justice League of America: Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis
Green Lantern: Ron Marz
Batman: Alan GrantEach title in the series will feature 26 new story pages with 20 pages of classic stories, running at $4.99 a piece.
What do you think, Beatles? Are these logos era-appropriate enough?
This is a fun concept and I’ll probably be picking them all up.
It is weird how few artists were announced. Just re-uniting old team will make this a pure nostalgia trip. However, it becomes a bit more interesting when re-uniting creators of a similar ‘vintage’ that worked together rarely, or are famous for their collaborations on other characters.
$5 for what is half a reprint book? I don’t know…
I would have preferred $3 books of just new material….. I probably won’t buy these….
This is why I hate April Fools.
I thought this was a joke when I saw it on Comics Alliance.
Why not just hire these creative teams to do an arc or two on the corresponding series? Could help with the constant lateness on Flash, the crappy stories in JLA and the unending multi-Lantern Corps stories in GL.
Looks to me like another missed opportunity to do right by these old creators. The price point is going to be a deal-breaker for many who might have otherwise picked these up.
Five bucks will buy a lot of 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s comics out of the quarter bin.
Geez lou-EEEZE!
Point One: TWO self-contained stories, one of which is brand-new by a respected creator, one of which is a classic reprint.
Point Two: Those quarter bin comics? Most aren’t self-contained stories. Most are going to be mediocre stories or characters or creators. You want something good, you’re gonna have to hit the $1 bins. And good luck finding 1970s comics for a quarter…
Point Three: The books haven’t even shipped yet! Most don’t have art teams! And people are already complaining!?! I can understand people griping about writers who aren’t doing great on titles on newsstands now, but to complain about these All-Stars?
My complaint? Each name up above… they should each write each title. Six stories, from each person.
Actually, what I want to see? An ongoing title: “DC Comics Presents”! Each issue is a self-contained story, by a great writer and artist. Characters and creators rotate. Maybe even let the fans select the characters they want to see.
Point One: So we’re going to have one mediocre ‘done-in-one’ from both the past and the present? Some of those comics eras definitely weren’t known for stellar self-contained story-telling.
Point Two: You just pointed out my point one for me. Congratulations!
Point Three: SO WHAT if they haven’t shipped yet? They’re already hyping them even before they have the creative teams in place, so they’re fair game. Given DC’s recent track record of switching writers and and artists at the last second before shipping, it’s entirely possible that half of these names will change anyway.
Point Four: They’re still TOO EXPENSIVE. Whatever happened to that “holding the line at $2.99” hyperbole? Guess DC found out they couldn’t pay the bills with that one…
I havent bought a new comic in 18 months but I am picking up all of these.
80s Batman will be by Alan Grant & Norm Breyfogle – Norm revealed on fb yesterday
80s Green Lantern will be by Len Wein and Joe Staton as revealed on Joe’s FB page
70s Green Lantern might be Dennis O’Neil and Mike Grell as it was announced that Grell has signed on
Personally I would start buying comics again if Grant, Breyfogle, Staton, Bill Loebs and Louise Simonson was on the main titles.
Now, if they can only get Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez to draw Marty Pasko’s 70s Superman
We don’t know what’s going to be in the issues! Complain after they announce the reprints. Critique the new stories then.
Sturgeon’s Revelation applies to any comics decade. However, the names above are good writers. They know their craft, and will most likely produce material worth reading, or at least deserve the benefit of the doubt. Dennis O’Neill edited one of the best “event comics” ever: No Man’s Land. I will buy his comics sight unseen. (And “mediocre” from these names? Pretty unlikely. Even Neal Adams current Batman series, as crazy as it is, is not “mediocre”!)
$2.99 applies to the regular 20 stories pages in 32 page comics. Larger issues have larger prices. But these retroactive titles are self-contained, have more pages, so you can ignore them if you wish. The majority of what DC is publishing is priced at $2.99.
I’d say “shut up until they put up”, but then, this is the Internet, fueled by fan expectations, so I’ll just filter until then. DC is doing something different, and for that alone they deserve support (until they screw up, then they deserve constructive criticism).
Yeah, I’m gonna pass on these too. I WANT to get them, but not for five bucks an issue — for half an issue of new story, and half an issue of reprint. A reprint of a story that I already have in my collection, in it’s original printing. I just can’t afford that. Especially not on top of Flashpoint and it’s umpteen tie ins, which, at least, will be all new material.
“We don’t know what’s going to be in the issues! Complain after they announce the reprints.”
They HAVE announced the intended reprints; they were included with the original announcement I read at Comic Resources. I already have the original printings of those stories and don’t want or need to pay for another copy of each of them.
I feel the pain here. It’s TERRIBLE to price a comic book… a SINGLE comic book at $24.99!!!! I mean, that’s a lot of money for those extra 5 or 6 pages over the standard $2.99 comic and th…
…what? They’re $4.99??? Oh, well good gobbles, I assumed from the way everyone seems to be reacting they were at least over $20.00. My bad.
$4.99 for 42 pages of content is not bad. that’s in line where prices were 10 to 15 years ago. I do think that this is kind of evidence that DC spends too much time dabbling in nostalgia, though. Maybe I’ll buy it.
“They HAVE announced the intended reprints; they were included with the original announcement I read at Comic Resources.”
Can someone link to the CBR article? I found the exclusive where they interviewed the creators, but cannot find any mention of the reprints.
This is awesome! I will def. be picking up these figures to add to my collection!
WHO is the target audience for these comics?
HOW will DC tell that audience (provided there is one) about these comics?
WHY does this feel just like the launch of First Wave?
WHAT will stores do with the unsold quantities of these comics once we realize that once again the first two questions were not considered before announcing them?
WHEN will any of us (publishers and retailers alike) learn?
(Check out the #ComicMarket hashtag on Twitter for some answers to the final question!)
Torsten, I have bunches of 1970’s comics in my 3/$1 bins. They’re not in 9.8 condition, but they’re there.
Also, lots of Spider-Man 2099 #1s…
“I feel the pain here. It’s TERRIBLE to price a comic book… a SINGLE comic book at $24.99!!!! I mean, that’s a lot of money for those extra 5 or 6 pages over the standard $2.99 comic and th…
…what? They’re $4.99??? Oh, well good gobbles, I assumed from the way everyone seems to be reacting they were at least over $20.00. My bad.”
Yeah, because paying extra for a reprint story you most likely don’t want/already have is a great bonus/incentive to picking up the book…
I figure if you wait a few months after these come out you can probably find all of them for 50 cents a pop.
I’ll be waiting and seeing. I like the 70’s and 80’s lineup more than the 90’s, but sorry, I will not commit to paying $5 per comic until I actually flip though them on the shelf.
Let’s hope for the best for these!
I’m actually really excited about a new Giffen & DeMatteis JLI story (if that is, of course, what they mean by “the interpretation they’re most known for”), and a Hard Travelling Heroes-era Green Lantern story. but I guess I’m in the minority there.
“80s Batman will be by Alan Grant & Norm Breyfogle”
I’m onboard for that one, I loved their Batman/’Tec era, that’s what got me hooked on the Dark Knight.
I thought I heard they were both blackballed from DC, good to see they still get some work…
Looking at this completely objectively and dispassionately, taking into account the talent involved, pricing, etc, I have to come to the conclusion that if you don’t like this then you’re a dick who hates comics.
… I have to come to the conclusion that if you don’t like this then you’re a dick who hates comics.
??
Or maybe a Comics fan who’s just not THAT into the mainstream ’70s/’80s/’90s DC line-up? Much less paying $5 a pop for a run of one-and-done
excavations into the past that feels so much like corporate penance for inflicting BLACKEST NIGHT into the market…
But I’m grateful for learning about those DC Writer/Artist teams: now I know what names and titles to look out for combing those longboxes of Used Comics at SDCC this year— they’ll go great with that #1 – 13 run of Wein/Wrightson/Redondo’s SWAMP THING I picked up a couple of years ago; if I could find them for 3/$1, even better!
And I look forward to searching for these RETROACTIVE issues in the dollar boxes at next year’s SDCC.
“And I look forward to searching for these RETROACTIVE issues in the dollar boxes at next year’s SDCC.”
QFT
This whole event screams, “dollar bin fodder”
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