GEEK HITS

Why George why, just leave it:

Ageing superhero:

Oh and I think that above pic needs a soundtrack: Newton Faulkner

Honest logos:

DCUNU:

The admiral's exam:

ht: Geeks

52 DCs

DC has been over in London to explain the mechanisms of the new DC universe.
Now I am not convinced by the whole idea of this. The system looks far to messed uo with some continuities (eg Green Lantern) keeping going while others such as Superman debuting as the first superhero. It strikes me as the same mash that happened after Crisis where everything was all over the place.

In addition there is some confusion over the status of my favourite team, the Justice Society of America. I have been following them since a team-up with the JLA and the occasional All-Star comic that reached these shores in the days before comic shops. If supes was the first then how does the moored new JSA come into play? Perhaps they will follow Smallville's way and that people have just forgotten about the mystery men of WW2? I dunno but this launch fills me with unease. Will I check some of them out? Of course I will.

Still there is some good news- according to the bleeders report on the UK trade show, Bob Wayne commented:"Vertigo will continue as normal and there are new series in development, a batch of them will be debuting in 2012. Wayne pointed out that SPACEMAN #1 is set for October with a $1.00 introductory price..."

After mine, and others' fear that the knives were out for Vertigo this is very good news indeed!

HOLY BOOBIES BATMAN

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAHA…AH!



HT: Bob Mitchell

RIP GENE COLAN

An absolute genius of an artist died yesterday.

RIP Gene, September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011

pic: Inside pulse

TELEGRAPH AND SUPER PANTS

Either I missed that it was an completely slow news day and there is absolutely nothing going on in the world or this editorial from the Telegraph is mind-boggling.

If anyone doubted that Superman had the courage to be the world's greatest hero – and to foil Lex Luthor's sundry evil schemes – such misgivings were instantly dispelled by his choice of costume. For more than 70 years, the fashionistas have pointed out that underwear is more conventionally worn inside the trousers, rather than over them. The Man of Steel not only defied them – he advertised his choice to the world, by sporting Y-fronts in a fetching shade of bright red.
We cannot help feeling rather disappointed, therefore that DC Comics, the character's owners, have decided not just to rebrand the character (doubtless to make him "funkier", "edgier" and "more relevant") but to place the pants on the inside. Indeed, given that the hero still wears a cape, can leap tall buildings, block bullets and generally defy the laws of physics, this gesture towards normality seems token at best.

OK, it's online but Superman's pants? In the Telegraph?

FEAR OF HEIGHTS cont...

Rich is reporting that Pornsak Pichetshote, Jonathan Vankin And Joan Hilty are to be made redundant by Vertigo.

I've written in the past (here and here) about my fears for Vertigo and this seems to confirm it.

Vankin and Hilty were responsible for the critically acclaimed original Graphic Novel division while Pichetshote has had a string of hits including the award-winning Unwritten, We3 and Losers among others (the latter two as deputy).

Well what's next?

I presume Karen Berger will be gone next and Vertigo folded up. That seems the most logical root.

Although others have said this could mean that Wildstorm editors could be shifted over to Vertigo leading to a revitalised line, I doubt it. Vertigo does seem to sit uncomfortably with the current DC headhonchos.

DC is becoming worse by the month, day even. It is like watching an old man playing 77s to remind him of his childhood. The shift to the Silver age characters is almost complete in the DC universe and there appears to be no room for modern, adult comic books in this world of Dan Didio and Geoff Johns (dead cats aside).

So I suspect no room for Vertigo - you know the publishing arm that released Neil Gaiman's Sandman, DMZ, Losers, Y:The Last Man, etc etc etc.

I'll quote myself I think:

Vertigo stands alone among mainstream publishing companies for its sheer variety and nerve...someone in Warner Bros should really start looking at the management of DC as a whole because there appears to be some serious retro, backwards-looking, sales-dropping, movements happening at the moment without the kudos that the likes of Vertigo gives the company.

MORE FEAR OF HEIGHTS

Karen Berger has confirmed that all "DC" Vertigo characters will be heading back to home to DC.

Bah!

As I explained in a previous post Vertigo essentially was created to give DC's horror and...less mainstream shall we say... comic books a place to hang out away from the tighter controls of DC.

Orginally formed from seven books - Animal Man, Doom Patrol vol. 2, and Shade, the Changing Man vol. 2; the Black Orchid miniseries The Sandman vol. 2, and Hellblazer and The Saga of the Swamp Thing - its stated aim was to allow creativity and to allow comics to grow up.

Since 1993 it has encompassed thrillers, sci-fi, fantasy, politics, horror and westerns to name a few.

And now the devoid-imaginations of DC wants their toys back.

F*** em

Seriously.

DC seems to be taking the same path as Marvel with multiple titles of the same core characters, non-event event books, depressing decompression and this fills me with dread.

Granted Doom Patrol and Animal Man have already gone back to DC Universe but they are probably a better fit over there, especially Animal Man whom, Grant Morrison's thrid-wall, decontruction heroics aside, didn't really fit in Vertigo that well while I never really got on with Doom Patrol tbh.

But now you are seeing Death with Lex Luthor?


And there are rumours abound that Swamp Thing will be in DC's latest bump to the Lantern franchise!


Sigh, just waiting for John Constantine to wear a nicotine patch, drink smoothies and when he whips off the trenchcoat we will hear him shout: "This is a job for Magus Man!"

FEAR OF HEIGHTS

Potentially disturbing news from over the pond...

It appears that there is some serious powerplay going on at DC where rumours say the Swamp Thing is to return to the DC universe.



At the same time, the China Mieville scripted Vertigo series has been ditched with a kill-fee despite having a couple of issues done already.

Now I know there is not a lot of love for Dan Didio but I really hope that this isn't a case of pinning down, if not removing Vertigo from existence.

Let me briefly explain:


Vertigo is essentially the 'adult' inprint of DC Comics. Started on the back of Alan Moore's success on the DC labelled Swamp Thing, it has spawned such brilliance as Sandman, Preacher,Sandman Mystery Theatre, Fables, rescued Transmetropolitan and continued Hellblazer.

It has shifted between fantasy, science fiction and reality seeing such titles as DMZ and Northlanders.


Now sales in the monthly format have never been brilliant but all the titles above have a long shelf-life in bookstores and I know of people who happily read these titles without ever considering that they came from the same stable as Superman and Wonder Woman.

Conceptually I have no problem with Swampy going back to the DC universe if done right. Hellblazer on the other hand...erm nope, not for me.



I do have a problem of ditching the Mieville Swampy as the crossover market could have been huge and garnered a hell of a lot of media attention.

However, what gets me is that if this is indeed powerplay then what a stupid, idiotic thing to do. Karen Berger has been one of the most innovative publishers in the States and if DC is about to shaft Vertigo then if I were her I would find another publishing company and restart again - after all most of the current titles are creator-owned, which come to think it, maybe what really annoys the paymasters at Warner Brothers.

Vertigo stand alone among mainstream publishing companies for its sheer variety and nerve and I hope the rumours are totally unfounded. If not then someone in Warner Bros should really start looking at the management of DC as a whole because there appears to be some serious retro, backwards-looking, sales-dropping, movements happening at the moment without the kudos that the likes of Vertigo gives the company.

Seriously angry if this is true