I’m the best and worst comic blogger around. I’m the worst because I get most of my news from other bloggers, so if you’re an avid blogreader you’ve all heard it before you get here. I’m the best because I only report on the really cool stuff that matters, and I do it all in big posts. One stop shopping. You don’t need to filter through endless press releases, rumors, and items about Aquaman.
Today, I promise a maximum of one Aquaman item. Also, I have a bit of an anti-DC bias—I only read a few DC books regularly, and don’t particularly dig most of the DCU—but you have to see the truthiness of this quote:
“DC as a company has ditched their continuity so many times over the course of their publishing that smacking that reset button has become their go-to move every time they start lagging behind Marvel in sales.”
–Chris Sims
I love this dude’s blog.
With that in mind, hit the break for DC news….News on indies and Marvels will be coming soon.
There’s so much on the horizon, I thought I’d break out the “chances this will suck” meter on some of these upcoming items…
DC ANIMATION ISN’T DEAD?!? I’d heard, and reported, that the company wouldn’t be producing any more animated DVDs after their adaptation of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight comic—but at NYCC they announced Superman: Unbound (based on Geoff Johns’ Brainiac story from Action Comics—one of the best Superman stories of all time), and Justice League: Flashpoint. I’m extremely curious to see how they handle these stories, as DC’s DVDs have pretty much been universally good. (For a complete review of their output, click here.) WILL IT SUCK? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say, “Definitely not.” Place your advance orders now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JMli3MopNs
JUSTICE LEAGUE MOVIE GREENLIT FOR 2015. Having won a 50% share in the Superman copyright, Warner Bros. has confirmed a 2015 release date of a Justice League movie. It will not feature Batman from the Nolan movies or Superman from Zack Snyder’s upcoming Man of Steel film. Which, frankly, matters not a bit. I think I can figure out that the dude in the red cape is Superman, regardless of the actor. Warner Bros. has said it intends to use the JL movie to launch its other franchises (the most important of which, of course, have already been launched several times). If it were me, I’d say launch the characters through a series of shorter origin TV shows—like DVD extras—or create a pre-movie of short films about each one. The barrier between the big and small screen should be pretty much dissolved by now, between watching stuff on iPhones, pervasive pirating, people avoiding movie theaters because they hate crowds/babies/etc….It’s time for someone to take a fresh approach to the whole thing. In the past, there were fears that a TV show like Smallville would dilute a potential movie audience, but I can’t understand why those fears persist. There’s absolutely no historical basis to them. Did the Jackass TV show dilute or contribute to the film’s box office take? Is there really a concern that Joss Whedon’s SHIELD TV show will reduce asses in the seat for Avengers 2?
SCOTT SNYDER AND JIM LEE’S SUPERMAN. Snyder’s the guy doing Batman and Swamp Thing, and he’s also the writer of Vertigo’s best ongoing comic (American Vampire), and now he’s going to take on Superman. Hmm. He took over Batman after Grant Morrison, and 
now Superman. WILL IT SUCK? Unclear. Snyder’s Batman work pre-new 52 was amazing, but since then it’s been slow going and not terribly original—but very well written.
SCOTT SNYDER AND SEAN MURPHY’S “THE WAKE.” A new Vertigo book by DC’s most important writer and comicdom’s best artist, The Wake will be a 12-issue underwater science fiction/horror story. NOT A CHANCE THIS WILL SUCK.
THE NEXT D.C. EVENT: DAVID GOYER RETURNS. David Goyer used to write some pretty good comics, before becoming a moviemaker. To his credit: The latest Batman movies and the Blade movies. Not so much: Ghost Rider movie. He announced he’s working with DC’s version of Mark Millar (Geoff Johns) to write a one-year event. WILL IT SUCK? Almost definitely. Johns hasn’t written any “big” book worth reading since Hal Jordan’s Rebirth.
THRESHOLD. Keith Giffen is my favorite space writer. He’s played important roles in the development of Marvel’s “cosmic” team (bringing it back before Abnett and Lanning’s run), and some of the best Legion of Super Heroes and Lobo comics as either a writer, artist, or both. He’ll be writing a new DC comic titled Threshold, with art by Tom Raney and Scott Kolins. I love Kolins, but I’d really love to see Giffen’s art as well. The book will be a sci fi series featuring Omega Men, Blue Beetle, Space Ranger, Space Cabbie (yay!), Larfleeze the Orange Lantern, a new Green Lantern, and many others. Giffen describes it as a sci fi version of Battle Royale (Fun fact: Giffen 
wrote the English adaptation of the Japanese anime for BR). CHANCE OF SUCKING: Minimal.
IN OTHER KEITH GIFFEN NEWS...He’s going to return to Legion of Super Heroes to team up with Paul Levitz. That could be good, as they were responsible for the book when it was DC’s #1 seller—twenty years ago.
MORE SERIES CANCELLATIONS: Blue Beetle, Grifter (more evidence that New 52 is crushing all the potential out of the old Wildstorm characters), Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E., and Legion Lost. Three people will have to change their pull lists.
THE QUESTION IS A GUY AGAIN. At one of the NYCC panels, Geoff Johns said that “he” (The Question) would return soon, indicating that Renee Montoya is not the mysterious DC character. We haven’t seen Rene in the new 52 yet, but, frankly, she was always most interesting in her role in Gotham Central—one of the best series DC ever produced. WILL THE NEW QUESTION SUCK? I’m guessing I’ll think so, since I’ve never, ever liked this character.
TRILLIUM. Also, Jeff “Sweet Tooth” Lemire will launch a new Vertigo 10-issue miniseries that will take place in the years 1921 and 3797 and will tell the tale of two people on individual quests, who fall in love across two centuries. WILL IT SUCK? I trust Lemire’s creator-owned stuff, based on Sweet Tooth, Underwater Welder, Essex County, etc. So, I’m hopeful.
