My name is not Brandon Burpee. For this, I apologize. Some of you may know me, but for those who don’t, my name is Matthew Meylikhov. I write for this site (every now and then). That being said, this is ostensibly Burpee’s article, and I wouldn’t take that away from him.
However, I am helping out. Burpee will be covering Marvel’s 2011 solicits, and I will be covering DC (and, supposedly maybe, solicits for other comic companies soon as well). So be sure to check out Monday’s edition of the article where Burpee discusses the various offerings from Marvel comics, and when you’re finished might I offer you in some commentary about what DC plans to release the month of my birth?
Take a look behind the cut for some thoughts.
Where In The World Is Geoff Johns?
Some of you might have noticed that earlier today, I wrote an article hypothesizing the future of the Green Lantern line. In it, I pointed out something that struck me as incredibly odd: Geoff Johns is not writing any Green Lantern books in the month of July. Considering Johns’ Green Lantern run is the book that really got me to check out the extended DC line, this strikes me as incredibly odd. Green Lantern helped me get back into comics with it’s incredibly rich and mythos-dense storytelling. Yeah, Johns hasn’t been hitting the ball out of the park as much as he used to, but that doesn’t mean I want the book gone.
Geoff Johns has been odd as a writer lately. Brightest Day has been – apologies – terrible, and Green Lantern and the Flash have both been met with a lot of delays, to the point that Johns won’t be writing Flash during Flashpoint as we previously thought – the book is “cancelled”. I know Johns is a busy man now what with his promotion to CCO, but it was assumed (and explained to us, the readership) that he would continue duties as a writer as much as he is one of the main people in the business side of DC. While Aquaman is around the corner, is it possible that Johns is no longer able to sustain more than one book at a time? And if so, what does this mean for Hal Jordan?
David Finch Becomes A Cover Man
One of the – reportedly – main reasons that David Finch went exclusive to DC is because they allowed him to write and draw a book starring his favorite character. This is why the book Batman: The Dark Knight is on the shelves – this is David Finch’s world to play in.
However, with issue #5, Finch is no longer the artist, but upcomer Jay Fabok is. He’s also apparently coming on as an artist change mid-arc, assuming that Etrigan’s involvement with the story lasts more than four issues. I know that, for a lot of people, Finch’s art was the initial selling point of the book. If Finch leaves the art, how many fans will stick around just for the story?
Flash Question: How Many Flashpoint Tie-Ins Are Too Many?
There are 18 Flashpoint tie-in books, including the main tie-in. 16 of these books are 3-issue minis, and – personal opinion alert – only 5 are on my “maybe” pull list. Heck, even Reign of Doomsday is somehow crossing over with Flashpoint. That’s how big this is at the DC camp.
So I ask you, fans – The Flash was given 12 issues (not including Rebirth) before being put into an event and having his personal title cancelled. Now there is an event that spans 18 books. Was this a fair trade?
Let’s Play A Game – Finally
It’s been delayed every which way, but now we’re finally getting it – Teen Titans: Games by Wolfman and Perez. This is their first collaboration on the characters since their historic run on the title twenty some odd years ago, and it’s rather highly anticipated by fans. With DC also publishing a New Teen Titans omnibus series of their work, it’s safe to say that more than just us will be looking forward to this graphic novel.
Chris Burnham and Cameron Stewart – What More Do You Want?
Chris Burnham is a fantastic artist who is finally getting some attention thanks to his work with Grant Morrison and his new DC exclusivity. Now fan-favorite collaborator Cameron Stewart is coming to Batman Inc. for an issue (maybe an arc), and it starts with a cover by Chris Burnham featuring Batman punching out a schoolgirl who was wielding a set of nun-chucks.
What more do you want?
Wonder Woman Won’t Be In Her Old Duds Until #615
Let the peanut gallery say what they will. With Hester on the title, I’ve been a rather unashamed fan of Odyssey and the story it is telling. Now DC has announced in their solicits that Wonder Woman’s pants will stay on for two more issues to round out the originally 12-issue story. Call me whatever names you’d like, but based on the cover alone I’m quite looking forward to what ways Hester will be working with the extended Wonder Woman mythos, especially after the last issue (which I myself noted as one of the most underrated comics of last month).
Same Look, Different Puppet Master
I… uh… probably could have thought of something better for that title there.
Either way, Power Girl #26 loses Judd Winick as a writer and gains Matthew Sturges. Little old me can’t decide if that’s a win or not! While I’m VERY glad Basri will remain as the artist of the title (he has been doing fantastic work on the book), I’m sad to see Winick go. Winick was obviously writing it somewhat in conjunction with Justice League: Generation Lost, but the connection between the title was just loose enough that you could read it by itself and still have a really fun comic. Why would Winick leave us?
That being sad, Matthew Sturges is a writer who has consistently managed to hit a lot of the beats that Winick has as a writer. Sturges mixes humor splendidly with the general action of comic book storytelling, as anyone having read JSA All-Stars can tell you (or, at the very least, I can). With JSA All-Stars gone, I’m glad to see Sturges as a writer of a title – any title – in the mainstream DCU and not just Vertigo. The man deserves more work!
So … am I happy about this, or am I happy about this? I can’t decide.
PRE-O.R.D.E.R. T.H.U.N.D.E.R AGENTS
Last week, Nick Spencer tweeted the following:
I see the news is out– I have the honor of working with the legendary Mike Grell on T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS this next arc! This is a huge deal for me– the guy who did THE LONGBOW HUNTERS. WARLORD. JON SABLE. GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW. One of the best ever. And this isn’t just a 5-pager– Grell is all over the entire second arc. I’ve seen his stuff, and it is GORGEOUS. But that’s not all– we also got the amazing Nick Dragotta on board for each issue of arc 2 as well. Old school TA fans are gonna love this. All that great news said, today would be a good day to tell @DC_NATION how much you love T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS.
After that was a pause, followed by
Um, I was serious about that last tweet.
which was followed by another pause, ending with
Is that REALLY all you guys had to say to @DC_NATION about T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS?
I’m not an idealist (well, I am, but shh). I know how comic things work. Comics – particularly ongoings – live or die these days based on pre-orders. On top of that, Spencer is an exclusive over at Marvel now, writing 4 titles (both ongoing and mini) in addition to his continued Image work with Morning Glories, Infinite Vacation, and the upcoming Thief of Thieves. It’s not too impossible to believe that DC would drop his title based on a) sales and b) his becoming a full member of the Marvel camp. It’s not personal – it’s just business.
Continued belowThat being said, Jason Aaron still writes Scalped over at Vertigo. And you know why? It’s because Scalped is fantastic and enough people are buying it that it warrants the continued publishing of it (and if you don’t think that’s a big deal, you must not know about the recent cancellations over at Vertigo of critically acclaimed books). So what does this mean? It means that if you like T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents, you should pre-order the book. The more you pre-order, the longer it stays around. Trust me.
Superboy-Prime Leaves Reality
The last time we saw Superboy-Prime, he was in “our” universe fighting Black Lanterns and busting up the DC Headquarters. He had finally been given his “happy ending”, in that Laurie returned. However, the final panel revealed that he was in the arms of a Black Lantern ready to feast on the emotion of hope inside him.
Now he’s back in the DCU in Teen Titans #98. The character that had finally reached an emotional finale for the insane character arc he was given since his return in Infinite Crisis … is back. And angry.
Uhm… k?
Vertigo Is Still The Best
American Vampire x2. Fables. Northlanders. DMZ. iZombie. Scalped. Sweet Tooth. The Unwritten. Various trades of various volumes.
’nuff said.
