Green Lantern #50 from writer Geoff Johns and one of my fave artists Doug Mahnke is released on the same day as Arcana #1 (Jan 27). Courtesy of DC’s blog, here are two uncoloured pages from the issue by Mahnke.
This Week’s Winners
Blackest Night is the best DC event since, well, ever. Infinite Crisis was too convoluted to be enjoyable but Geoff Johns excels at the kind of straight forward storytelling approach that is an unfortunate rarity in comics today. Even the few mini-series tying in to Blackest Night, such as those involving Superman and Batman are enjoyable. It is with the former that James Robinson is doing some great work. Far greater than his Cry For Justice mini-series, Blackest Night: Superman #2 (of 3) is by Robinson and artist Eddy Barrows. It begins with a few pleasant scenes in Smallville, and you just know that’s not going to last long. Soon, Superman and Superboy team up to fight another risen from the dead character – the Superman of Earth 2, Kal-L. The black power rings that reanimate and corrupt dead heroes, villains and supporting characters from DC’s storied past is a great way to get around the whole “revolving door deaths” of superhero stories, and it works well here, with a menace that has been seen in every Blackest Night tie-in. Psycho Pirate inflicts his emotions on Smallville’s helpless citizens, while the three “Supers” battle above. Then a teary Supergirl shows up and is hopeful yet horrified to see her recently killed father standing before her as a grinning skeleton. It ends with the also risen Lois Lane of Earth 2 hunting Martha Kent through a cornfield and ends on a page that is funnier than it’s supposed to be, with the elderly Martha doing her best action hero portrayal.
Robinson and Barrows work well together. Barrows in particular makes the most of the darkness in the tale and makes everyone look frightening. Well, everyone except Martha Kent. He also shows superb control of page design in the many fighting/chasing scenes, adding to the desperation for survival.
The New Avengers #57 is another pitch perfect Brian Michael Bendis tale. He’s essentially Marvel’s version of Geoff Johns – a popular writer who respects the past but is creating the future. With The New Avengers he doesn’t let himself get too talky, but gets straight to the nuts and bolts of superhero shenanigans. The handy intro page in each issue is a worthy addition, as the cast of characters grows every month, but Bendis makes it work. He gives each character their own voice (Spidey’s wit, Luke Cage’s toughness, Norman Osborn’s arrogance). There’s more spandex wearers fighting each other in the streets than Civil War but with Stuart Immonen’s grand and fluid pencils on display it all looks so elegant and dramatic. The New Avengers are powerless, as are their enemies Osborn’s Dark Avengers, all thanks to some renegade baddies with a high-tech gizmo that takes powers away. Everyone is desperate for victory and Osborn makes a deal to ensure he gets his, as does Luke Cage. Every time I read this series, I wish JLA could be this good.
Superman: Secret Origin #1 is the premiere ish of a new 6 part series re-telling Superman’s origin. What, again, I hear you ask. Yes, that’s what I thought to. I mean, Mark Waid’s Birthright did the same thing not that long ago, and John Byrne’s Man of Steel did it before that. However, a lot has changed in the DCU since Byrne’s bold 1986 series that reintroduced Superman after Crisis on Infinite Earths that changed everything in its wake. Geoff Johns proves me wrong in the first few pages. Where the 12 issue Birthright got it wrong was that it took too long to get to the juicy parts. Johns knows that we are all very familiar with Superman’s origin after 80 years, so he hits the ground running. This debut ish begins with young Clark Kent discovering that he’s different when he accidentally breaks his friend Pete Ross’ arm, and expels heat from his pupils after his first kiss with Lana Lang. Then his parents give him the talk and show him the rocket he arrived in. Clark’s upset when he sees it and activates a holographic message by his Kryptonian parents. Johns continues to wear his love affair with the Silver Age on his sleeve, and keeps most of what readers of Superman comics from the 1950s and 60s would be aware of, but also puts a contemporary spin on it. There’s nods to Braniac and Doomsday, and even Smallville, with Clark meeting Lex as a child, and his rescue of Lana from a tornado. Jor-El and Lara look like their versions from Johns’ recent Last Son storyline and artist Gary Frank is proving himslef to be the premiere Superman artist these days. The last page in which Clark puts on the Superboy costume for the first time truly reveals Frank’s grasp of pre-teen awkwardness and was a pleasant surprise. It appears as though Johns is going to rocket through this origin tale in only 6 issues and I’m glad.
Secret Six’s Secrets
I met artist Nicola Scott a few weeks ago at the Supanova convention in Perth. I complimented her on her work for Secret Six, DC’s villain-centric series. She thanked me and said it’s writer Gail Simone’s best work. She’s right. Now having two great female creators on a mainstream title is rare enough, but those two ladies are making magic. Secret Six is a spin-off of sorts of the Villains United mini-series, and the quirky cast has grown on fans. It’s a pleasant surprise that it works so well. I initially picked it up out of curiosity, but now it’s one of the few regular series in my pullbox. Over at Newsarama, is a great interview with Simone as she talks about the characters and its secret to success. It’s an insightful read and is filled with as much dark humour as the series itself. Just to prove the point, here’s a few of my favourite quotes from the interview. Out of context, they’re even funnier.
“I liken Secret Six to a beautiful, sunny morning, where you’re walking down the sidewalk eating a delicious, juicy peach, and all of a sudden you step in the carcass of a dead housecat.”
“That’s what those two represent, to me, sort of the proof of chaos theory in human form.”
“I have a well filled with the tears of children.”
“Where normal people talk, they tend to stab.”
If that taste isn’t enough for you, you can read the rest of the interview here.
DC On iTunes
The following DC titles are now available on iTunes, while Green Lantern: First Flight and Watchmen: Director’s Cut are also available on DVD, Blu-Ray and On Demand. Here’s 2 preview clips for your vieiwing pleasure.
The new Superman: Red Son Motion Comic is available here.
Green Lantern: First Flight can be bought here and Watchmen: Director’s Cut can be purchased here. Ain’t technology grand?
Superman, Batman And Batgirl Motion Comics
The Watchmen Motion Comic is awesome, and now more are on the way. Full skinny below.
WARNER PREMIERE CONTINUES TO LEAD THE MOTION COMICS CATEGORY WITH THE DEBUT OF “SUPERMAN: RED SON,” “BATGIRL: YEAR ONE” AND “BATMAN: BLACK AND WHITE” COLLECTION 2
First Episode of Superman: Red Son Available for Free via iTunes for Limited Time – Click here now.
Complete Motion Comics Series for “Batgirl: Year One” and “Batman: Black and White” Collection 2 Debuts
Warner Premiere and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution today announced three new additions to the best-selling Warner Premiere Motion Comics slate. Classic graphic novels Superman: Red Son and Batgirl: Year One, as well as graphic album Batman: Black and White Collection 2 entered the digital age as Warner Premiere Motion Comics on the iTunes Store. Also announced today comrades everywhere, for a limited time, can download the first glorious episode of Superman: Red Son for free and see how Stalin’s most powerful weapon swayed the balance of power during the Cold War.
Continuing to lead the motion comics experience, Warner Premiere’s Motion Comics connect comic fans to authentic DC characters through short-form content. The Motion Comics slate draws on a deep reservoir of source material to bring a visually engaging experience to life through the use of subtle movements, voice-overs, sweeping music scores and stunning comic book artwork.
“Last year we debuted our Motion Comics slate and saw the voracious appetite graphic novel fans had for this digital content,” said Diane Nelson, president, Warner Premiere. “One of the reasons for our success is Warner Premiere working closely with DC Comics to determine if a story naturally lends itself to becoming a motion comic. Another key is the process we use to select the studios that ultimately create these motion comics. They are very passionate comic book fans so creating these motion comics really are a labor of love. We’re very proud of our success and look forward to bringing more titles to comic fans in the future.”
Superman: Red Son
Warner Premiere Motion Comics is proud to bring “Superman: Red Son” to its Motion Comics slate. Based on the Eisner Award-winning graphic novel written by Mark Millar and drawn by Dave Johnson and Kilian Plunkett “Superman: Red Son” takes viewers back in time to the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union where Superman is fighting for the Communists. In this alternate universe, Superman lands in Russia rather than the United States andSoviet Union’s greatest weapon as the world is transformed into a communist state opposed only by a crumbling capitalistic AmericaLex Luthor. Now as Superman stands on the brink of ultimate power, three heroes, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern, each make a valiant stand to destroy the reign of the Man of Steel. The Superman: Red Son Motion Comic was animated by New Zealand-based Karactaz.
For a limited time, the first episode of Superman: Red Son is now available on iTunes for free. To download, visit here or here. Future episodes will debut once a week and fans are encouraged to sign up for a Season Pass to automatically receive future episodes.
Green Lantern: First Flight Preview
DC’s latest animated film debuts on July 28 on DVD, Blu-Ray and On Demand, and below is a sneak peek at the film, starring Hal Jordan and Sinestro. Looks good.
Superman and Ali vs Wednesday Comics
DC’s Wednesday Comics came out this week, on Wednesday! (which is new comics day for US residents).I think fans have put undue pressure on the series, whereas DC are just playing it as an experiment. It’s a grand idea from art director Mark Chiarello, but it’s not the saviour of the comics industry as some would like to believe. However, featuring the first Superman tale in USA Today, with future Supes installments on the USA Today website holds great cross-over potential. The new weekly series is in old newspaper, or tabloid format, at 14″ x 20″ and holds 15 one page stories, by different creative teams. To give you a sense of scale, here’s a bunch of photos of people reading it. There’s some great stories inside, and a flavour for everyone. Most stories are fine for non-fans too, whether it be Teen Titans by Eddie Berganza and Sean Galloway or Green Lantern by Kurt Busiek and Joe Quinones. There’s no continuity tie-downs, but on the flipside there’s not a lot of info about all these characters either. Since they’re being sold in comic shops where nerds dwell, the ideal situation would be for fans to buy a copy for their young relative who may be hooked by the spectacle, or the old relative who may remember the large Sunday funnies of their youth. After they buy a copy for themselves of course.
Speaking of nostalgia, I dusted off another large comic I haven’t looked at in years. It’s not as large as WedCom however, but in the spirit of big comics, I thought I’d share a few pages of 1978’s Superman vs Muhammad Ali, in all it’s faded paper glory. The cover boasts the story as, “the fight to save earth from star-warriors” and is deliciously drawn by Neal Adams, which makes the pages seem even bigger. Inside is a de-powered Supes fighting Ali for the right to save earth from aliens. It’s written by Denny O’Neill and has ’70s attitudes written all over it.
North 40 #1 Review
This new series from the DC imprint Wildstorm is a freak fest and I think it will continue to build upon the chills. Written by Aaron Williams (PS238) with art by Fiona Staples (Secret History of the Authority: Hawksmoor) the series is like a creepy European horror film that they’d only show on TV past midnight. With hints of BOOM! Studios’ Cthulhu Tales mixed with the nasty small town characters of Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Deliverance North 40 launches from the gate like a crazed horse with flaring nostrils and bleeding hooves. We are the terrified jockey gasping for air and wondering where this strange beast beneath us is going.
The series is set in Conover County, which is the kind of town where everyone knows each other and where there’s nothing to do except drink, fight or gossip. That all changes after two foolish high schoolers open what looks like the book of the dead, Necronomicon. Now if you roll your eyes and start thinking this sounds like the plot of a cheesy ’80s film with bad lighting and rubber monsters, you’d be wrong. This is a genuinely atmospheric tale that happens at breakneck pace. Scenes never really last longer than to establish the various characters (veteran sheriff, bored young waitress, town outcast, etc) before horror knocks on their door in the form of flying vampire creatures, odd voices that order an arcane ritual and other assorted weirdness. Every character and scenario is interesting enough and Williams handles realistic dialogue colliding with fantastic chills with a superb blend.
Staples’ art is reminiscent of the light touch of Phil Noto, with few lines and muted colours. It’s not an approach I thought would’ve worked in this context, but it really does. Staples sells the environment dutifully, with its parched lawns and endless sky.
North 40 could just have easily been a Vertigo book and there’s an interesting behind the scenes 2 part look at how the series developed over at the new Wildstorm blog, with a glimpse below. Also included in this issue is a 3 page preview of August’s Red Herring 6 ish mini-series.
For fans of mature horror and people in desperate situations, North 40 will help you get freaky.
Warner Bros. Has Fanboy Leverage
It’s just been announced that Ryan Reynolds will play Hal Jordan in the live action Green Lantern film directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale). That’s great news. Reynolds has not been secretive about his comic book leanings since appearing in the last Blade film and more recently as Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, as well as in the future solo spin-off. Reynolds has the right youthful presence to play Jordan in multiple films as well as the necessary bravado. Nathan Fillion (Firefly) was the other obvious candidate. Green Lantern begins shooting in Sydney in January, and this month sees the release of the great looking GL animated film on DVD and Blu-Ray. The live action film is being written by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim and Michael Green. Berlanti and Guggenheim created the TV series Eli Stone, while Guggenheim has also written comics such as Blade, Flash and Oni’s Resurrection. Green has dabbled in comics too, with a great run on Superman/Batman and Batman Confidential.
There’s a host of writers working on comics, film and TV these days. John Rogers is another example. His work on the new Blue Beetle series from DC and on the Global Frequency TV pilot gives him serious fanboy cred. He too is writing for TV now, specifically the new series Leverage which is being guided by Dean Devlin (Stargate) and Rogers. It’s described thusly:
In the series, a renegade team of modern-day Robin Hoods operates outside the law to take revenge against those who use power and wealth to victimize others. Separately, they’re criminals with reputations for working alone. Together, they’re the perfect team to turn the tables on the corrupt and level the playing field for the little guy.
To give it more nerd gratitude, alongside Timothy Hutton it stars Christian Kane (left) from Angel and Aldis Hodge as a sci-fi fanboy. The series has also included Star Trek actors Armin Shimerman and Brent Spiner. That’s a pretty good pop culture pedigree right there. The second series airs July 15 on the U.S TNT network.
Superman/Batman In September
Up next from DC’s awesome animated movies is Green Lantern: First Flight, which comes out next month. Then only a few weeks after that we get the previously announced Superman/Batman: Public Enemies DVD, based on Jeph Loeb’s and Ed McGuiness’ first 6 issues of the ongoing series. There’s also an interesting behind-the-scenes feature about the film here.
SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES FROM WARNER HOME VIDEO ON SEPT. 29, 2009
The World’s Greatest Super Heroes become America’s most wanted criminals – and are hunted by friends and foes alike – in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, the sixth entry in the popular DVD series of DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movies. A co-production of Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation, the full-length animated film will be distributed by Warner Home Video on September 29, 2009.Superman/Batman: Public Enemies will be available as a Special Edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray Hi-Def for US$24.98 (SRP) and US$29.99 (SRP), respectively, as well as single disc DVD for US$19.98 (SRP) and On Demand. Order due date for all versions is August 25, 2009.
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is based on the popular Jeph Loeb/Ed McGuinness comic series/graphic novel. Animation legend Bruce Timm (Superman Doomsday, Green Lantern) is executive producer. Michael Goguen (Justice League: The New Frontier) is supervising producer. Sam Liu (The Batman) is directing a script written by Stan Berkowitz (Justice League: The New Frontier).
In the film, United States President Lex Luthor uses the oncoming trajectory of a Kryptonite asteroid to frame Superman and declare a $1 billion bounty on the heads of the Man of Steel and his “partner in crime,” Batman. Heroes and villains alike launch a relentless pursuit of Superman and Batman, who must unite – and recruit help – to stave off the action-packed onslaught, stop the asteroid, and uncover Luthor’s devious plot to take command of far more than North America.
The movie reunites the lead voices of Superman, Batman and Lex Luthor from the landmark Superman: The Animated Series and Batman: The Animated Series. Tim Daly (Private Practice), Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series, Justice League) and Clancy Brown (The Shawshank Redemption) reprise their roles as Superman, Batman and Lex Luthor, respectively.
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies – 2 Disc Special Edition version will have more than three hours of incredible bonus features, including:
Featurettes:
The Blackest Night: Inside the DC Comics Event: Behind-the-scenes of BLACKEST NIGHT, the epic DC Super Hero event in which the dead shall rise.
A Test of Minds: Superman and Batman featurette with Jeph Loeb, giving viewers a fresh and revitalized look at the team-up of Superman and Batman working together despite their often competitive and challenging relationship.
“Dinner with DC: With Special Guest Kevin Conroy”: Reprising his role from Batman: The Animated Series, Kevin Conroy joins the crew for dinner to discuss their creative approach and what the Superman/Batman team-up means. The evening will be hosted by Voice Director Andrea Romano, Producer Bruce Timm and DC’s Gregory Noveck.
Extended Sneak Peak at Next DCU Film.
Digital Copy Download.
Widescreen (1.78:1)
Two Episodes of Justice League Unlimited hand-picked by animation legend Bruce Timm.
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies Blu-Ray versions will have more than three-and-a-half hours of bonus materials, including all the great extras from the 2-disc Special Edition as well as two additional episodes of Justice League Unlimited and two episodes from Justice League, both personally selected by fan-favorite Bruce Timm.
Batman: Brave and The Bold Is Awesome
I’ve been meaning to say this for a few weeks now, so here it is; Batman: Brave and The Bold is awesome. It makes me laugh more than watching The Office, and since the majority of the laughs come from insider jokes for those with deep DC knowledge, it makes me feel smugly proud. It’s kinda like The Simpsons, (or at least the first ten good seasons) in that on the surface it looks like a kids show, but thanks to the crafty writing it’s as multi-layered as a lasagna. My morning routine since the cartoon debuted has been to wake up at 9:30 am (just like in my lazy art school days) allowing me just enough time for a quick shower before it starts. I then mute Channel 9 in between some new Shaggy and Scooby Doo toon and the annoying hosts unfunny “banter” and wait for the goodness to wash over me. Each episode starts with a brief team up before the credits, and with the main story a different partner for Bats shows up, whether it be Plastic Man, Green Arrow, Blue Beetle, Huntress, etc.
This week started with Batman and Ace the Bat-Hound fighting Catman and a Sumatran tiger. Need I explain why this show is awesome?! The main story featured Bat-Mite and was written by Paul Dini. It featured more in-jokes than the cubicles at Comic-Con. I mean, where else will you see Bats fighting mutant Easter bunnies, and bikie Santas, or being zapped into all his various costumes? I had my doubts that this show would appeal to me when I first saw the pics at last year’s Comic-Con, but I’ve been convinced of its entertainment powers. The team behind B: B&B are unashamed geeks. I love it when the fanboys are in charge. Watch this show.
Wednesday Comics In USA Today
DC Comics really seem to be pulling out all the stops lately. Well, not all the stops, but they’re definitely moving in the right direction. As announced on The Source, DC’s new blog USA Today will be publishing the Superman stories from their upcoming 12 part Wednesday Comics series, that has an impressive array of talent tackling diverse characters in its extra large pages. The first of the John Arcudi/Lee Bermejo strips will appear in the print edition of USA Today, while the rest will appear on its website. This is big news and will do more for mainstream exposure of comics than this week’s Captain America returns event did. The first issue of Wednesday Comics is released on July 8 and the USA Today release will be timed to coincide with all subsequent weekly releases in comic shops. With this news, plus The Source, and the two newer blogs for Vertigo and Wildstorm DC appear to be taking some great steps to making their presence felt.
Vertigo and Wildstorm Blogs
It’s awesome that DC Comics finally have a blog, called The Source. It’s not exactly a barrage of news but it makes up for it with almost daily previews of projects days, weeks or months away. Now, two of DC’s imprints also have their own dedicated blogs. The Bleed belongs to Wildstorm and it kicked off with the news that Planetary #27 would be the series’ last, produced by its creators Warren Ellis and John Cassady.
Vertigo’s blog, Graphic Content launches with an excerpt from October’s Fables novel. Peter and Max is written by the writer of the series, Bill Willingham with art by Steve Leiahola. Also on Graphic Content are a few pages from DMZ #42, which is now on sale. This begins a new 3 part story entitled No Future, and is brought to us by writer Brian Wood and artist Ryan Kelly. Pics below.
The Unwritten Stuff
This new series from the Lucifer team of Mike Carey and Peter Gross is different in a number of ways. Firstly it stands out from the other “Un” series launching this month (Unknown and Unthinkable from BOOM! Studios) by being bigger. Not bigger in format, but bigger in its story and by its very approach to the concept of storytelling. This debut issue has extra story pages, so you can feel a little heft when picking it up from the shelf. It’s also only $1! Thanks Vertigo/DC. They’ve had success with similar cheap launches, such as the After Watchmen…What’s Next? series of re-prints. This is a wise marketing move, and will only help give this series the attention it deserves.
So ,what’s it all about then? Imagine Harry Potter was real. That’s the basic premise. Of course, it’s not as straightforward as that, but basically Tom Taylor is a grown man trying to live away from the shadow of the fictional boy wizard Tommy Taylor, the hero of a series of much loved books by Tom’s father, who has been missing for a decade. It’s a very well constructed first issue and barrels along at a nice pace. It takes itself seriously but isn’t melodramatic about it. With clever use of web-site comments, news casts and journal excerpts it becomes obvious that this creative duo have thought long and hard about the story they’re building. There’s an insightful interview with the creators at Broken Frontier and you can also find Carey’s commentary on the issue at the same site.
If you’re looking for something fresh, with just enough nods to pop culture to make you feel smart, then pick up this ish.
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