Publishers

In the 4th "New 52" writer shuffle of the week, DC has announced Gregg Hurwitz as the new writer for Batman: The Dark Knight, as of issue #10. I suspect they really mean co-writer on that, as I'm under the impression artist David Finch, for whom the title was created pre-relaunch, has a pretty good amount of input on the plot.

Wow, February 1 is a banner day in comics history. It is also the day that Image Comics was created—20 years ago. Via Facebook co-founder Jim Valentino shared a photo of the founders and one pal on that fateful day, from left to right Erik Larsen, Hank Kanalz, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino. They'e all still in the game, all better off than they were 20 years ago. Collectively, they've changed the industry a time or two. It was also a day when people wore denim shirts. Ah, what a time...

And also from Image...this Shep Fairey-influenced teaser for..something. Guess we'll have to be...calm until we find out what it's all about.

Okay, just so we don't forget the OTHER member of the Big Two on this day long to be remembered...Marvel has a new project involving...more than one man tagged Spider. It comes out in June. As you were.

You may have noticed the Warlord of Mars, Fall of Barsoom tpb was in stores today. Maybe you'd like to read the first issue and see if you like it?

Oh, we all knew the Watchmen sequel was coming. The art leaked and DC's lawyers went wild -- unusual enough to know something was close to an announcement. Then the last round of announced reprint books included The Art of Amanda Conner (some of her art was in that leaked batch) and a HC reprint of Dave Gibbons' Green Lantern work (more on that in bit) made it clear an announcement was imminent. What do we get with the actual announcement? Comedy. And more comedy from the PR than from the reactions, if you ask me.

Whether you think the original WATCHMEN is akin to Moby Dick—as Alan Moore opined—or the Bible, as J. Michael Straczynski thought, it is definitely something—DC's bestselling graphic novel of all time[*], a beloved classic taught in schools, one of Time's Best 100 novels of the last 100 years, the book that defined grim and gritty. You name it. Like all great works, it's multifaceted. So doing a "Scarlet" on it brings up every argument over whether comics are literature or licensing. You wouldn't get much argument that Watchmen is literature and Moore is a literary figure. But there's also the obsessive need of devotees to get MORE -- there's a reason why 12 volumes of the J.R.R. Tolkien's jumbled, confused notes and scribblings were published as hardcover books. Once you enter a beloved fictional world you don't want to leave -- even if your hosts are yawning and looking longingly at their pajamas.

Over at his blog, Adam Hughes has posted his thoughts on drawing Dr. Manhattan for BEFORE WATCHMEN:

After years of rumors, DC has confirmed that they will publish BEFORE WATCHMEN, a series of seven interconnected prequels to the Alan Moore/Dave GIbbons classic. As absurd as the idea may seem on the surface, they have rounded up a bunch of A-listers for the project which will consist of six mini series, a wrap-up and an ongoing pirate-themed "featurette". Here's the line-up:

We've mentioned a few times here a lawsuit for copyright infringement by DC against an outfit called Gotham Garage, which sells replica Batmobiles—based on the '60s Batman TV show in particular—as well as other vehicles based on famed fantasy cars, like the Mach Five. If you were thinking of buying one, better hurry, because a judge has ruled that the Batmobile is subject to copyright.

You knew you couldn't go much more than two weeks without DC shuffling creative teams on the not-as-new 52. This time, it really is more of a shuffle than wholesale replacements, though, as three books get a new writer and DC's announcing things a little further out.

DC has released it's book schedule for Vertigo for the fall, including two originals, one yet to be announced -- THE PRINCE OF CATS by Ron Wimberly. Judging by his tumblr for the project, it an updated take on Shakespeare's ROMEO AND JULIET starring Tybalt.