By Todd Allen

“Speak of the Devil and he shall appear.”  On Wednesday, we were discussing how books were shipping on time, but there were a lot of fill-in artists. Now it’s Friday and DC has announced two more “Guest Artists.”

First up is Ed Benes, who probably doesn’t need introducing at this point, will be drawing Detective Comics 10-12.  Normal writer/artist Tony Daniel will still be writing it and will return to pick up the drawing pencil with issue 13.  Detective has surprised a lot of people with it’s success and the steady stream of extra printings for #1, so any change to the formula is a concern, but Daniel was already drawing a Batbook before the new 52 and getting him a little breathing room to get ahead probably isn’t the worst idea in the world.

Second up, Trevor McCarthy (probably best known for last year’s Gates of Gotham series) will be stepping in for Amy Reeder on Batwoman 9-11.  The PR doesn’t actually mention Reeder’s status on the title.  Not coincidentally, the following appears on Reeder’s Facebook page:

I know, I know. You found out about it pretty much as soon as it went final, too. It’s definitely regrettable…some real creative differences were going on, to the point that it became untenable.

“As soon as it went final” seems to be right.  Reeder is still listed as artist for Batwoman #9 on DC’s own website.

It remains to be seen if Reeder is permanently out of the Batwoman rotation and if McCarthy is the regular replacement.  Batwoman has been a very art-driven book, and fans have seemed a bit picky on who’s alternating art chores with J.H. Williams III, so the reaction to this move will be interesting to watch.

Still, as was talked about on Wednesday, if the emphasis is on getting the comics out on time, there’s going to be more fill-in artists on the way.  And creative differences will happen once in a while, too.

DC Editor-In-Chief Bob Harras has his own spin on the situation:

“We’re excited to be getting such great talent to step in on these books,” said Bob Harras, DC Entertainment’s Editor-in-Chief. “The work on both titles thus far has been exemplary. Tony Daniel has been going non-stop since the launch of DC COMICS-THE NEW 52, and Amy Reeder’s contribution to BATWOMAN has been a beautiful transition from J.H.’s first story arc. Both Trevor and Ed are going to have to bring their A-game to maintain those standards.”

1 COMMENT

  1. DC: Find me the brightest, prettiest parrots you can, so that I may pluck out their feathers and paint them grey.

  2. @James, yeah, I might drop the book. I only picked up the series for Williams and Amy’s art. The writing has been very solid.

  3. Hasn’t she been working on this book for over a year now???? And only 3 issues are completed. One of which has already come out! I can see why they got rid of her, she is as slow as Williams – and I didn’t think that was possible. There would of been delays. Speaking of slow, if Williams is indeed back on for issue 12, how long is his arc? 2 issues? – cause anything longer and his arc will also need fill ins.

  4. Good grief James, talk about jumping to conclusions. Who says she hasn’t drawn all her issues? Maybe the scripts changed. That seems far more likely. Also, “creative differences” certainly suggests some editorial brouhaha.

  5. When the relaunch was first announced, I wondered at how many contracts would be affected. And to see how many of the DCNU books have had ever-shifting creative teams since…it just doesn’t bode well. I can accept the books are still trying to find themselves, but that cannot happen if rosters can be dropped based on short sales and projections. Or the idea that good talents like Amy can be shuffled off over “creative differences” after so short a turn at bat. How about the editors? Shouldn’t it really be their job to keep the ship afloat?
    Maybe I just miss the epic runs of decades past, where a creator would stay on a title for a few years, and so have the time to really build something special. I just don’t see the new DC giving much room for creative growth. Creative Industry might be an oxymoron, but they could be a lot less obvious about the juggling.

  6. @Rebis – jumping to conclusions?!? haha… I didn’t need to ‘jump to conclusions’ I just read the article. Did you?

    And lets use a bit of common sense shell we? what seems more logical? – she produced all 6 comics, but DC decide they only want 3 from her, and want a different artist to redo the other 3? Or she only actually did 3 – and left because of creative differences… like SHE said?

  7. “Maybe I just miss the epic runs of decades past, where a creator would stay on a title for a few years”

    —maybe? maybe?

    Note:

    time does not move backwards…

  8. The new DC 52 is based on a unstable deck of cards that will fall soon. I expect a massive DC IMPLOSION by this time next year.
    btw if your a Batman,Superman or Green Lantern fan don`t worry. They will always have new adventures. This DC new 52 makeover smells like a last gasp Hail Mary from DC Comics to try to save it`s arse. I bet the corporate bean counters at Warner are putting pressure on DC Comics to deliver better sales or else!
    respectfully Stam.

  9. Why don’t they change the editors around? It’s them editors who make all these choices that doom our books and creative teams. See how they like it.

  10. I think they should use Guest artists. I wouldn’t mind having each story arc done by different artists, as long as it can benefit the story. Its fun to have different looks on the books. Heck..I’d love to see Griffen to a Batwoman issue.