Publishers

By Jeff Trexler-- In March 2008, Grant Morrison's homage to Siegel and Shuster appeared in comic shops on the very same day that the Siegel heirs recaptured half the original Superman copyright.  Now Morrison is set to work his shaman's magic once again in the September relaunch of Action #1--and this time, the Siegels could lose everything. Morrison's upcoming Supergods holds the key to understanding why. For an explanation and a sneak preview of Morrison’s new book, click below. A mysterious appeal, Joe Shuster’s super-swastika and the final crisis of the legal multiverse--this one has it all.

In answer to all the questions that retailers -- and a few readers and certainly Beat readers have -- DC has sent out an FAQ on the relaunch/reboot/September to their retailer accounts, with a cover letter by Bob Wayne. It shows great insight into what people are squawking about and gives a good fact sheet on returnability, pricing, digital, and so on. Well be back later with analysis of all this.

DC has launched a subsite for their September relaunch, and at last it has a name The New 52. The site includes the video of DC execs promoting the launch which was widely circulated yesterday, as well as previews of the various titles. It also, as Comics Alliance slyly pointed out, hadn't been properly proofed, as when it went live it included earlier, Earth-4 versions of the creative teams on a number of books:

A Facebook page has sprung up to organize a protest march against the new awful designs of the new 52. It seems some folks don't like the new fresh DC designs that are all new:

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 John 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.

Via BOOM!'s mailing list, Chip Mosher has a pretty clear suggestion that shows just how publishers are living on a copy here and a copy there. With DC's massive relaunch coming up a lot of retailer dollars are going to be tied up elsewhere so a book like Roger Langridge's SNARKED needs every little boost:

Ludovic Debeurme'sLUCILLE hits these shores this week, and it's a stunner. In France, this hefty (500+ page) graphic novel about two teenagers from troubled families coming of age together was a major literary event, crossing over even with non-comics readers, and Top Shelf's English version is very faithful to the original.

A collected edition of MALINKY ROBOT, Sonny Liew's charming series about two urchins in a city full of giant robots, is coming out in August, and here's the cover. Liew is the artist of MY FAITH IN FRANKIE, Marvel's SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, and many other fine comics; he also edited two volumes of the Eisner-nominated LIQUID CITY, the Singapore comics anthology.

If you were wondering when a Game of Thrones comic book would show up, it's been in the works for quite a while from Bantam Books and Dynamite The first issue is due in September. Daniel Abraham writes, Tommy Patterson draws, and Alex Ross and Mike S. Miller will provide the covers. Martin had a previous comics encounter when the Dabel Brothers adapted his Hedge Knight Books.

Dunkin Donuts and Captain America are teaming up for a plastic cup. And also a remarkably red slushee called a Cherry Coolata. This charming, imaginative spot for the drink -- and the movie -- may just sell more tickets to CAPTAIN AMERICA than the regular trailers. Captain America opens July 22nd nationwide.

The DC reveals continue apace. Over the weekend, a beverage glass manufacturer Facebooked an image of their San Diego exclusive: a JLA tumbler that seems to reveal all 15 members of the nü JLA Identified thus far: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg, Deadman, Atom, Element Woman, Firestorm, Green Arrow, Hawkman, and Mera. Element Woman is a new Jim Lee designed character from Flashpoint. However, the identity of the 15th character, a seemingly blonde woman on the right, remains a mystery.

In for a penny in for a pound: Despite bad reviews, and a 66 percent decline at the box office this weekend, Warner Bros. is still planning a sequel to Green Lantern, THR reports. A WB spokesman admits that the studio was "somewhat disappointed” with the box office, but they still believe in it as a franchise.