We are really short on DC News this week and thus, we are pretty damn short on Views. My apologies on that, but it should be noted that rarely, if ever, have I had the power to force DC to release more news to make my column look better. Don’t know why, that’s just how it has gone down as of late. I suppose it could have something to do with them having a schedule etc, etc. But…whatever. Don’t they know I have a schedule too?
Apparently not.
Anyway, here is your (short) news.
Solo? Like That Mario Van Peebles Film?
This June Darwyn Cooke gets the Solo treatment in the DC series. He showcases, among other things, Slam Bradley, King Faraday and The Question. These are characters that Cooke is quite familiar with and has thought about spotlighting. For those wondering what the title of the series refers to, Cooke stated, “Solo actually refers to one solo artist. Actual content in terms of number of stories or approach is left up to the solo artist.”
No, not like that Mario Van Peebles film. Like that series from DC. Check in with the newest solo artist, Cooke, at The Pulse
Man…Cooke is just crazy talented, isn’t he? I got hooked on his style because of Batman: Ego and I literally can’t recall a bad panel he’s drawn since then. I have yet to pick up an issue of Solo, but I think I can squeeze the cash out of my wallet for this guy. Everything here just looks great.
“Vengeance [is an Act] of Justice
With the release of Countdown to Infinite Crisis some of DC’s upcoming spinoff miniseries became a little clearer. As Greg Rucka explained for example, The OMAC Project is the direct continuation of the Countdown storyline, flowing the repercussions of the murder of a hero and the revelation of the existence of a secret cabal seeking to control all superhumans. Villains United is, by and large, what its title says – the worst of the worst of the DCU’s villains joining forces to exploit the weaknesses in the superhero community. Likewise, The Rann-Thanagar War is straightforward in its scope.
But what about Day of Vengeance?
As originally talked up by Dan Didio, Executive Editor of the DCU as being the miniseries that redefined magic in the world of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, the six-issue miniseries which starts this month was still somewhat…out there. Obviously, from its covers, the Spectre is looking to do some serious damage, but what’s this about Eclipso joining with him, and a new team, The Shadowpact, joining forces to stop them?
We sat down with the writer of the miniseries, Bill Willingham for more about the story, the behind the scenes, and how a talking, drunk monkey fits into it all.
Will justice be served at Newsarama? You, Samuel Johnson, and I all want to know.
A lot of people seem really excited about this mini now that they read this interview despite having little to no interest prior. I think that’s great and all, but beyond the revelation of who is Eclipso (which, come on, you had to kind of see coming, right?) I am not sure what this interview revealed that wasn’t already on the table.
I am excited for the mini for 2 reasons: 1.) Spectre is always a character that can get me to pick up at least one issue of a book and 2.) Ragman. Ragman is one of those characters, like Marvel’s Moon Knight, that I fell in love with the costume/aura of the character before I really got to know anything about them. Then, when I did learn something, I rapidly realized that the good Ragman (or Moon Knight) stories were about as rare as anything in the comic world. So maybe, just maybe, this will be a mini that will enable me to read a series with Ragman and actually be good enough to interest me in the character beyond the costume.
Whether or not it will be is still a matter very much in the air. On the one hand you have Fables and on the other you have Robin. If Willingham catches Fables magic in the bottle again, then we are in business. If it is Robin-esque…I’d rather sit this one out thanks. The preview does little to convince me one way or another so it looks like DC’s get me onboard for the first issue, at least. We shall see after that.
The Fountain Showers Us All With Wonder
Back in February CBR News got a chance to visit the Montreal set of Darren Aronofsky’s “The Fountain” starring Hugh Jackman. This is Aronofsky’s third and most ambitious film following the success of “Pi” and “Requiem for a Dream.” A full report of that set visit is to come a bit later here on CBR, but first we’d like to share with you some news about the upcoming graphic novel adaptation coming from DC/Veritgo this August.
Because Aronofsky is just such a full helping of goodness, get soaked at Comic Book Resources
I have zero clue if this graphic novel will be worth the paper it’s printed on. However, I am so unbelievably in awe of Aronofsky’s abilities as a filmmaker that I was sold on the film before I even heard a plot description, the actors involved, or anything else beyond a title for that matter. I figure some of that good will and commitment can certainly be pointed into the direction of giving the OGN a shot. In either case, I encourage everyone reading this to rent (or buy!) both of Aronofsky’s films and watch them. Then, support this project (in either medium, or both). His stuff can be very rough and worm its way into your head, but that’s because of the skill with which it’s made and the things about people his work does not hesitate to lay bare. I’ll stop before I sound too overwhelmingly fanboyish, but trust me, supporting this guy is a good idea.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
NIGHTWING #107
Bold new direction time with the same writer and an excellent new art team of Hester and Parks. Grayson did a hell of a number on Dick’s life in tearing it down; let’s see how she does taking him, ever so slowly, down the path of redemption. And let’s see how excellent it looks with that art team.
BLOODHOUND #10
This is it, the end. What a shame.
BATMAN YEAR ONE DELUXE EDITION HC
Alright, so strictly speaking, this is not a new issue. But whatever, it is great stuff and easily what has me most excited this week. A hardcover collecting the definitive Batman origin story for our era, featuring Miller on writing and Mazzuchelli on art (who, by the by, needs to get more work in comics today. He is so very excellent)? And it is not ridiculously expensive (20 or 25 bucks American)? How could I not put this in my eagerly awaited file?
OPINIONS ON THE WORK OF PEOPLE FAR MORE TALENTED THAN I
FIRESTORM #12
One more issue with Jason and Ronnie and this time nobody comes out looking particularly good. Jason, at times, seems well on his way to being a tin pot psychotic. Ronnie, meanwhile, proves almost utterly useless until he takes over control. Then, suddenly, he knows exactly how to defeat Tsunami. Why not share this information while Jason was in the driver seat? Did he get lost in the moment? Or did he hold back on purpose to give himself an excuse to seize control. And doesn’t Jolley’s run end with this issue? Cause, if so, ugh, what an awkward way to pull things to a close. Normally this book runs okay to pretty good but wow…did this issue go off the tracks fairly spectacularly.
GREEN LANTERN REBIRTH #5
Nice to see Hal give Kyle his propers. Otherwise, not much to see here. Hal fights Sinestro, Sinestro escapes, Hal goes to earth to inspire the troops, Batman just ain’t having that nonsense. Good stuff, to be certain, it’s just after a month or so of extra waiting, my anticipation for the issue far eclipsed what the issue delivered.
SEVEN SOLDIERS ZATANNA #1
Morrison is batting 3 for 4 after this issue, only dropping the ball on Shining Knight thus far. This one is not as good as Guardian, but better than #0, in my opinion. Great to see the most random of guest stars ever Dr. Thirteen show up and just as I was thinking, “With a new emphasis on magic in the DCU (with Day of Vengeance going on ), I bet Dr. Thirteen could find a place to hang his hat these days. I’m not sure how much hat hanging he’ll manage after his appearance here, but it’s always nice to forecast an appearance of the obscure.
TWILIGHT EXPERIMENT #3
Okay, okay…this book is starting to get a rhythm to it, that’s good to see. But the, “it’s all connected” move that shows up…that’s a touch difficult to swallow right now. If next issue can’t sell it to me, I might be getting off this here train.
****REVIEWS FROM THE FUTURE****
BREACH #4
The JLA shows up, but, even being charitable, one can hardly what happens to be a good thing. The spin used, placing them not as heroes, but as individuals who complicate manners by reacting without all the facts, is well done. It was a bit difficult to swallow the Major not being aware of being Surperman, but given the DC timeline and how long the Major had been comatose, it fits. I just think that rigid adherence to the ten year rule doesn’t always work and this is one such example of that. That being said, Breach’s (this isn’t really his name, is it) reaction to Superman, (“What, you’re serious? That’s the big guy’s name? Not too much of an ego, eh?) is priceless as both a display of how little Breach knows of the current world and, really, how odd it must be to the uninitiated that a man would ironically (and somehow) without ego, call himself Superman on a daily basis.
Harras gets credit for utilizing J’onn the best I have seen in sometime and resisting the temptation to give the spotlight over to Batman (although he does get a standout moment, somehow evading being seen in the middle of the desert). With J’onn’s no show (by in large) in ID Crisis and his unfortunate harshness in Countdown, it is nice to see him played as the more shamanistic hero that I think of him as, even if he does get it handed to him in the process.
The ending was a touch confusing to me, but I could put it together when I read the solicitation info again. Then again, you may not be as sub grade an intellect as I am so you might just get it straight away.
Props to Martin and Lopez as always especially with their Cooke-esque Batman this issue.
GOTHAM CENTRAL #30
It’s has to be annoying being anyone else but Batman in the DCU and then dealing with Batman. ‘Cause, he’s just always right. Always. Even when he’s wrong (Tower of Babel for instance) he was still right about his techniques being the means to take down the Justice League. Anyways, the GCPD gets a lesson in that this month as they go against his advice and bring the dangerous Desmond (ahh, alliteration) back to town. Suffice to say, things go badly.
The good news is that the same can’t be said for this issue. Things to not go badly, in the end. At the start, though, they certainly seemed to be headed that way. The first three or four pages read as if Rucka simply copied down dialogue from Silence of the Lambs and rewrote it for three characters instead of two. And I don’t say that by means of exaggeration. Read the pages and pop in the DVD. Fast forward to the Quid Pro Quo scene. You’ll see (or rather, hear) it. In fact, Rucka even uses “Quid Pro Quo”. So yeah, things didn’t look so good in the beginning. However, we soon have Desmond dropping homophobic slurs, calling Allen “Detective Stowe” (think Harriet Beecher and you’ll get the gag), and Daria (Renee’s partner, in the “involved in a committed relationship” sense of the word) meeting Renee’s Dad face to face for the first time. But boy…that opening scene had me worried.
SHOOTING BACK AT THE GRIMACE
Dear Mr. Stevens,
For a change, I will not complain about the death of characters in the DC Universe, but rather the life (or bringing back of) of characters. My first comics I read as a kid were my grandfathers, the old stuff from the 40s and 50s. As I started getting stuff from the racks in the late 70s and early 80s, I became aware of the historic span of the DC characters. When they were dying, I took their deaths personally, but moved on. Recently though, I am becoming very upset with DC. When Oliver Queen and Hal Jordan died, I wept, but also looked at Conner Hawke and Kyle Rainer and knew that the legacies of these heroes would live on in the new blood. When the Atom, Hourman, and Dr. Midnite were killed in Zero Hour, I was furious, the JSA having been my first exposure to super heroes, but I moved on. I never liked the Batman books, so I don’t really have an opinion of Jason Todd, but seeing how his death meant something to Batman, it shows me there is a human side to him.
Now, Oliver Queen is back. I kinda hate this because it means that Conner is now seen as an “inferior” Green Arrow. Hal Jordan coming back upsets me because I like to think his life and death as a Green Lantern inspires Kyle and other heroes who have self-doubts about their vocation as super heroes. When the Golden Age Hourman was brought back recently by having the android take his place, it bothers me that now, I can’t be as angry with Zero Hour. Finally, by bringing Jason Todd back, it shows me that instead of death being used as a sometimes sad reminder that being a super hero means paying a great price, it’s now used as a way to mark time until sales are needed. If they bring back Barry Allen, then consider DC to have used up their last amount of goodwill I had towards them.
–James Lawson
Believe me, I can relate. It was tragic when Hal went bad and beautiful (in a sad way) when he redeemed himself in the eyes of many through sacrifice and saving the planet. I loved most of the journey towards being a hero that Rayner took (I lost interest when he left earth for cosmic adventures towards the tail end of Winick’s run on through Raab’s). Ollie’s death was fitting, he cursed and spat the whole time but never hesitated to do the right thing. Connor was a great addition to the DCU; his revelations about himself, his father, and how to reconcile his peaceful upbringing with his desire for adventure was very interesting. I enjoyed the “new” generation. It hit at a time when I was first getting into comics for real (not just the characters, but the actual books and stories) and it is sad to see these guys, rookies as I, the heroes I came up with, being moved aside for their Silver Age counterparts return.
On the other hand, there are a whole stock of fans who couldn’t be happier. Who loved Hal and Ollie and never understood why DC had to kill or drive them crazy. Who always thought that if the right writer could take a crack at them such “stunts” (in their thinking, not mine) would have never been necessary. They felt that DC took the easy way out then and they are thrilled as can be to see DC make amends now. So, for DC and those fans, these moves makes sense.
I too wish death was a touch more permanent in comic-ville (and perhaps a touch less permanent here in the real world), but I also understand that every character that does die is someone’s favorite and they can’t wait to see them resurrected. That doesn’t make me any happier to figure that out, but it helps me explain it.
What did I tell you, eh? Not much in the world of news going on here. Hope that does not leave you all too angry or bitter. Next week there will be more. I mean, there has to be, right?
In the meantime, lodge your complaints, disappointments, etc with me via e-mail (the link below or parallax2@juno.com) or our most excellent message board. John Babos and I need the company before one of us loses our minds.
Thanks for your time
Un Gajje Wields The Power Cosmic. But That’s That Other Company, So We’ll Just Leave That Be
