Tag: New 52

After carefully strewing the Woman in the Red Hood, who kicked the whole collapsed multiverse in FLASHPOINT, through every debut issue of The New 52, she's got a name: Pandora. She also has a double-breasted jacket, like everyone had in The Watchmen......hm. Anyway, looks like the first mega crisis crossover of the new DCU is getting set up.

Ever since the New 52's flagship book -- Geoff Johns and Jim Lee's JUSTICE LEAGUE -- was announced people have been sniggeringly wondering when it would miss shipping because of Lee's lateness. Well, haters, they just aren't going to let that happen: Gene Ha has been announced for JUSTICE LEAGUE #7 -- as excellent a fill-in artist as you could find. Message: DC is serious about shipping on time.

Oh that old New 52 gang...the memories. But it's breaking up so fast. Over on Twitter writer Paul Cornell confirmed that he was off STORMWATCH with issue #6, but

I'll be staying on Demon Knights and Saucer Country, but #6 is my last issue of Stormwatch. Thanks, everyone, and good luck to Paul Jenkins.

The new STORMWATCH writer is Paul Jenkins, but he's only been confirmed for two issues.

The new 52 Universe is getting even more diverse with the return of Steel, who returns in ACTION #4 by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales. In addition to teaming with Superman in the main story, the "John Henry Irons" of the DCU will get his very own 8-page back-up by Sholly Fisch and Brad Walker. And he'll be back for another back-up in ACTION #7. Created as one of the "variant Supermen" during the Death of Superman story, Steel had a pretty good comics run in the '90s, getting up to issue #52 of his very own series -- until he had the misfortune to star in a movie. With Steel by basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal, the film is considered one of the very worst superhero movies of all time. Since then he's appeared as a back-up character here, there, and everywhere. Despite the cinematic setback, Steel has always been a pretty cool character, so it's about time he returned.

Our review copy of THE NEW 52, the $150, 1216-page collection of EVERY SINGLE NEW 52 #1 issue has arrived. Future uses: pressing flowers, anchoring papers during hurricane. This thing is HEAVY. And big. We've shown it here next to a cup of coffee for size reference. Meanwhile, James Robinson is on Twitter drumming up support for the non-New 52 SHADE which is selling badly and in danger of cancellation. Which, if it had been a New 52 book, would probably be selling as well as BATWING or OMAC.

Just like the girl in the above panel from SWAMP THING, the New DC Universe is beginning to BRANCH OUT (haw haw) and get ENTANGLED (hee hee) in the vines of....continuity and crossovers! This according to hints and forebodings from EIC Bob Harras:

Poring over the February solicitations this week has revealed several bits of news. For instance, the Old New 52 gang is breaking up some more as Ron Marz is no longer writing VOODOO, to be replaced by Josh Williamson. Although VOODOO's cameltoe-tastic art by Sami Basri had drawn criticism, most observers agreed that for a story about a stripper who is really an alien, Marz had done a decent job. However, editors wanted a different take, even though editor Rex Ogle was leaving to take a job at Scholastic, as Marz told Newsarama.

Over on their blog, DC has announced the rollout for the New 52 collections. Instead of dumping 52 trades in one month, they will be staggered from May-November, with 7 or 8 books released a month. Justice League, Batman, Green Lantern, Detective, Batman & Robin, Batgirl, Batwoman, Batman: The Dark Knight, Aquaman, Green Lantern Corps, Green Lantern: New Guardians, Action, Superman and Flash are all getting hardcovers; the rest get TPBs. Missing from the list: Wonder Woman.

It's the daily DC 52 trailer, this time for LEGION OF SUPERHEROES by Paul Levitz and Francis Portela. Surely you all know the name of the music, right? And you got the hidden in-joke, right?

Here is a Village Voice interview with Marv Wolfman, which is interesting for many reasons. Because Wolfman is always a thoughtful commenter on the comics industry and its may pressures, but also because CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS --and NEW TEEN TITANS by the same Wolfman/Perez team -- is to the New 52 generation what Fantastic Four #1 (the 1961 one) was to so many before it. With its sweeping changes, dramatic deaths and multiple universes, it set the stage for many a crisis to come. And, famously, there was talk after CoIE of doing a line-wide issue #1 reboot. The idea lay dormant until now. But Wolfman points out that for an event to be an event it should have actual motivation:

Before I go any further, these comics are not aimed at me...nor should they be. I am a long lapsed superhero reader, but surely not the kind that the DCnÜ wants to entice into reading their comics. So accept this as just one review out of 8264 that will be posted today and tomorrow. AND YEAH. SPOILERS. so don't read until you've read the comics in question.

If you couldn't stay up late enough for midnight madness last night, Jim Lee and Geoff Johns will be at Manhattan Comics on 10 E. 23rd St., between Broadway and Madison sometime between 11 and 1 pm today to sign. They will only be there for about 30 minutes. Everything in the store, except new books is 52 percent off today only, so it's also a good chance to grab some other loot. No pizza will be served, unfortunately.