Some DC News and Happenings....

[The Toyroom]

Some points from Newsarama's latest interview with Dan DiDio....

- James Robinson's "Justice League" (featuring Hal Jordan, Green Arrow, Capt. Marvel Jr., Congorilla, Supergirl and blue-skinned Starman) is NOT on DC's schedule right now. Considering this book was supposed to get a big push after "Final Crisis" that doesn't sound too good. Especially on the heels of the rumors that Robinson was quitting the DCU after an editorial scuffle with Dan DiDio...

- Aquaman returns in "Blackest Night" supposedly. Now conventional thinking would imply that he returns from the dead as one of the Black Lanterns. This has also been rumored for J'onn J'onzz. Given the fact that Geoff Johns is writing "Blackest Night" I have hopes that through this DC will be returning the classic ARTHUR CURRY-ORANGE SUIT-TWO HANDED version to the forefront. And hopefully he'll be living and breathing after he shakes off the Black Lantern gig. With Johns on board I think DC may be heading in the direction that Aquafolks have wanted for quite some time. But with DiDio still in charge some skepticism is expected.

- Stories about the Seven Soldiers as well as the Multiverse are being held for Grant Morrison, schedule permitting. Now "granted, Seven Soldiers is Morrison's baby, but is it really wise to lay the keys of the multiverse upon ONE writer. Methinks not....

- Bill Willingham and Matt Sturges are the new writing team on "Justice Society of America" following the departure of Geoff Johns. Now I enjoy their work on "Fables" and "House of Mystery" but I'm not sure how their style will fit in the super-hero world of the DCU....
And apparently Dale Eaglesham may have signed an exclusive contract with Marvel?

- I found this quote funny....

Because we’ve just done a #1 on that series, to tell the truth. Realistically, a change of direction is something that every book has happen, and if we renumber a book every time a series changes direction, we’ll be putting out #1s every few months.

Now the question was in regards to things upcoming in "The Outsiders"...but c'mon! If you're changing directions on titles THAT frequently then it should be very apparent that you're doing SOMETHING WRONG. And yes, constantly changing directions could imply that you're trying to fix it but it really just means that editorially you have NO IDEA what the core of the series is and you're flying by the seat of your pants....

[BlackKnight]

I'll check out the Blackest Night for sure. Interesting Tid Bit about Aurther, ... I actually didn't know the guy was Dead. John Jonzz,.. I suspected as much,.. with him,.. or Even Bruce if they are seriously gonna Kill him in Crisis.
The Justice book spin off sounds cool. If it's written right,.. the Chemestry between Hal & Oli should be great.

[thunderbolt]

I just want a 7 Soldiers Frankenstein ongoing. He was the best character of the bunch and would give DC a Marvel style bruiser.

[BlackKnight]

I dunno,.. Just a Flipp'in Monthy with Shinning Knight & The Western Vigilante Would be great too imo. I loved those guys on JLU .. great stuff when they are just the 2 of them interacting.

[The Toyroom]

^ Along those lines I'd like to see the return to anthology comics like in the Dollar Comics days....guys like Shining Knight or Vigilante for example who may not be able to carry a book on their own but can certainly hold down the fort for 8 pages or so every month. Sadly though, since everything seems to be written for trades today we probably won't see that happening anytime soon.

[The Toyroom]

I just want a 7 Soldiers Frankenstein ongoing. He was the best character of the bunch and would give DC a Marvel style bruiser.

I think he'd work well in a solo monthly and I also enjoyed the Bulleteer too. Morrison's Guardian seems to have been f'ed over for yet ANOTHER James Harper clone in the pages of "Superman". Zatanna is supposed to be getting her own series by Paul Dini.

[thunderbolt]

^^ Hope Zatanna doesn't ignore the 7 Soldiers continuity. I liked her sidekick and it would be nice if she were along for the ride.

[Airdave817]

I'm getting my James Robinson fix by re-reading Starman. I keep reading the Previews descriptions, and it just makes me sad. Nothing outside of Green Lantern appeals to me right now. Trinity is pretty good; but, I like 24, so that's why that one works for me...The Brave and the Bold is on the bubble, and I'm only trying out the Batman: Brave and the Bold. I have a lot of reasons to look into back issues or the Showcase line of trade paperbacks...

[ctc]

>I'd like to see the return to anthology comics like in the Dollar Comics days....guys like Shining Knight or Vigilante for example who may not be able to carry a book on their own but can certainly hold down the fort for 8 pages or so every month. Sadly though, since everything seems to be written for trades today we probably won't see that happening anytime soon.

That, and anthologies haven't sold since the 80's. I think the problem is that a regular comic is WAY too expensive for the anthology format. If each story is 8 pages or so, that's three stories, and i'm probably NOT gonna pay $4 if I only like one. Shonen Jump has 350+ pages for $5, with about 30 pages of 7 or more different stories. At that price it's worth it for one or two stories.

....and the best thing about an anthology is that most folks who buy it will read all the stories; which gives the publisher room to experiment.

Don C.

[thunderbolt]

Adventure Comics is supposed to be an anthology, right?

[The Toyroom]

^ Yes, but I think anthology in the sense of rotating features, not necessarily 4-5 stories per book. I think Mon-El is in the first arc and then the Legion is in the second arc.

[thunderbolt]

The marvel anthology coming up, I think its Astonishing Tales or something is a good idea, but its loaded with guys that already have their own books like Punisher and Wolverine.

[The Toyroom]

But its loaded with guys that already have their own books like Punisher and Wolverine.

Naturally...

[thunderbolt]

of course. Marvel couldn't try giving guys like Kazar or the original Torch a shot.