Doc Savage Returns to DC?

[The Toyroom]

^ And again....

We’re working with a series of characters that fit within that genre, and we’re exploring their...interactions, to be slightly coy about it. We have several projects on the burners right now, and it’s a little early to start discussing them, but the chances to see Doc Savage encountering The Spirit, Blackhawk, and other characters with that same tone and sensibility is being actively pursued. It’s something we’ll be seeing in the latter half of this year. The best part of it is that the overarching story is something that’s being written by Brian Azzarello.

Yeah, that was just some sample art that we had done a while back. Several things have changed since then, which is why we only were concerned about showing the Doc Savage portion of it. The full picture – it should be pointed out – wasn’t released by DC, so what you see in the full image...some of the things in it have changed since.

[johnnystorm]

^^ The four characters depicted are Doc, The Spirit, Blackhawk and Rima the Jungle Girl. It is supposed to be a series set in the DCU of the early Golden Age.

I can't see what licensing issues there might be here, unless they need the Eisner estate to ok any crossovers. Rima certainly is in the public domain, Green Mansions having been written in the early 1900S- DC even used her on Super Friends & in the SF comic book. Unless they screwed up and because she was on the cartoon, that particular version reverted to Hanna-Barbera? Blackhawk they own, shouldn't be a problem. Sounds more to me like Danny getting a "better idea" in the meantime.

[samurainoir]

Brian Azzarello on something Pulp-ish like this?

Okay I'll definitely check it out. Here is hoping that they strike the right balance between Azzarello's Noir sensibilities and the requirements of what is permissible with the licensed characters.

On the one hand, you don't want to see these characters doing nasty 100 Bullets type things to each other, but on the other you want to give enough "bite" to the characters, otherwise why hire Azzarello in the first place (ala his Superman run). I'm thinking of a tone that might be a bit closer to his Batman/Deathblow stuff, without wandering fully into Joker Graphic Novel territory.

Given the licensed properties and Azzarello, anyone think this might be a WildStorm initiative?

[The Toyroom]

Given the licensed properties and Azzarello, anyone think this might be a WildStorm initiative?

No I think it'll be DC proper....how much control does DiDio have over Wildstorm anyway?

[PNGwynne]

Intriguing & excitiing; I'll watch for it.

I'm a big fan & a member of the short-lived Brotherhood of Bronze. I loved Millenium's comics ('90s) of Doc.

[The Toyroom]

In the DC Nation page in the back of this week's books, DiDio mentioned that DC has the rights to both Doc Savage and the Avenger (Justice, Inc.)...and reading between the lines, in his cutsey way he also mentions the Blackhawks, the Spirit and Batman as being part of the mysterious project...

[thunderbolt]

I was hoping the Avenger would be along for the ride, too. This is going to be one heck of a teamup.

[johnnystorm]

DC announced this series will be written by Brian Azzarello with art by Rags Morales. It's called FIRST WAVE, out in September. Doc, Avenger, Spirit, Blackhawks, maybe Rima & Crimson Avenger.

Not much more, but speculation is it's set in the 1930s DCU and these are the first heroes that appeared prior to the JSA.

Not sure how Blackhawk fits in, as his origin is based on Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939. They'll probably say he was an adventurer pilot prior to the War.

As for the Spirit, DC's solicit in Previews this month says the title was cancelled but that there would be an unexpected re-imagining. So looks like they are going to return him to the original period, which I think is a great idea. The modern Spirit idea just doesn't work for me. Much as I like Darwyn Cooke's artwork, the early scenes with cel phones and satellite TV feeds put me off. The later issues by Sergio Aragones & Mark Evanier have been much better, but still the Spirit doesn't fit into today's world. The whole premise of the living in acemetary, Denny Colt being dead (on paper), even Ebony doesn't work in a modern setting with labor laws, licensing, & unions etc... It's more believable for such to happen in a pre-Social Security number era, an era where a teen-age kid could possibly be a cab driver (my grandfather was a miner at age 12!). Today a news agency like Fox News would track down the Spirit and expose him in like 40 seconds. I imagine the Central City car chase scene with Ebony's cab being followed by cop cars on the expressway for four hours live on Fox.

[The Toyroom]

As for the Spirit, DC's solicit in Previews this month says the title was cancelled but that there would be an unexpected re-imagining.

Just as long as said re-imagining doesn't crib any elements from Frank Miller's Spirit flick....I'm suspicious because in a recent issue The Octopus resembled Samuel L. Jackson's version a little too much for me in the imagery department.

[thunderbolt]

Somehow The Batman is supposed to be in this First Wave event or book or whateever it is.

[Riffster]

he is back in time so unless Doc Brown had brough him forward Bats could show up

[samurainoir]

As for the Spirit, DC's solicit in Previews this month says the title was cancelled but that there would be an unexpected re-imagining. So looks like they are going to return him to the original period, which I think is a great idea. The modern Spirit idea just doesn't work for me. Much as I like Darwyn Cooke's artwork, the early scenes with cel phones and satellite TV feeds put me off. The later issues by Sergio Aragones & Mark Evanier have been much better, but still the Spirit doesn't fit into today's world.

I agree, this solicitation pretty much sums it up...

"THE SPIRIT #29
The Spirit's on needles and pins! What Ellen Dolan wants, she gets. And today, she wants a tattoo! But little does The Spirit know that Ellen's innocent act of rebellion will get him mixed up in the feud between a grizzled veteran tattooist and his new-wave artiste hipster rival! This one's gonna leave a mark! "

Who could this possibly be aimed at?


Even the previous New Spirit Adventures kind of surfed along on a bit of irony, and usually only someone like Alan Moore or Neil Gaiman could pull it off, but only as a kind of one-off gag like Gaiman's Hollywood screenwriter story.

[thunderbolt]

So, if DC is going to entrench this in its early Golden age, what happens when the lose the rights to Doc or The Spirit later on? REBOOT!!!! Not sure why they are so intent on incorperating liscensed characters into the DCU, in addition to the pulpish characters they have added the Red Circle/Archie stuff and the Milestone stuff to the modern day DCU.

[The Toyroom]

So, if DC is going to entrench this in its early Golden age, what happens when the lose the rights to Doc or The Spirit later on? REBOOT!!!! Not sure why they are so intent on incorperating liscensed characters into the DCU, in addition to the pulpish characters they have added the Red Circle/Archie stuff and the Milestone stuff to the modern day DCU.

Part of DiDio's plan to diversify I guess...if only he put the effort into making the DCU proper a cohesive unit that he apparently does into pursuing licensed properties... I also think he's trying to go with tried and true stuff because the work has already been done on establishing these characters and a lot of his effort as far as new characters go with staying power (i.e. One Year Later) has fizzled (except for Blue Beetle who seems to be overexposed....)

[thunderbolt]

The Beetle seems to be overexposed and unwanted by the comic buying public.